No. The unit will take a 480p signal, but will upconvert (everything) to its native 1080i...otherwise it wouldn't fill the screen.

I want a source on this. Nowhere can I find literature that states that this tv has to convert everything it recieves into it's native resolution. This tv is a CRT, not a fixed pixel display. I find it very hard to believe these statements because the XBR970 has self generated test patterns in the service mode that display at each resolution that the tv can display (1080i, 480i, 720p, and 480p) All the patterns look alittle different because they are different resolutions. If it were upconverting everything to 1080i, all the patterns would look the same. You won't find how to get into these test patterns on this forum because nobody seems to know about them. I need to see some proof from a reliable source to believe that it upconverts everything like an LCD has to to display all other content.

I want a source on this. Nowhere can I find literature that states that this tv has to convert everything it recieves into it's native resolution. This tv is a CRT, not a fixed pixel display. I find it very hard to believe these statements because the XBR970 has self generated test patterns in the service mode that display at each resolution that the tv can display (1080i, 480i, 720p, and 480p) All the patterns look alittle different because they are different resolutions. If it were upconverting everything to 1080i, all the patterns would look the same. You won't find how to get into these test patterns on this forum because nobody seems to know about them. I need to see some proof from a reliable source to believe that it upconverts everything like an LCD has to to display all other content.


From what I understood you are correct. Since this is not a fixed frequency display I can display both 480p AND 1080i w/out upconversion.

I want to get this tv, but the resolution is scaring me a bit. Also my entertainment stand probaly cant hold it, but thats another story.

People who own it, do you see a problem with 720p on this tv?

The way I understand it is that the XBR970 can display 1080i, 480p, and 960i ( The latter of which is just 480i with line-doubling, so not exactly upscaling but sort of I guess. ). So I think the only thing that gets upconverted to 1080i is 720p.

I would like to add my cable box, up-scaling DVD player and xbox elite (new HDMI port) through HDMI. Since the 970 only has one HDMI input, would you consider getting a HDMI switch like the one below?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=3029&style=&seq=1&format=1#largeimage



Thanks,


-Nick

The way I understand it is that the XBR970 can display 1080i, 480p, and 960i
I wish I had a fast frame camera or something to where I can film the screen to try to see any scan lines. Ya know when you see a filmed computer monitor and the lines move top to bottom. That way I could change modes to see if there's any difference.

2. Last time I was at CC I was looking at this set and noticed that the screen was bending (curving) downwards on 1/4th of the screen to the left. Is this something I can fix in the service menu? If so can someone tell me how?
I too have this problem. Haven't investigated yet in how to fix it the menu, but I'm sure one of the 50 million options should be able to help it a bit.

I recently bought this TV and just noticed that when watching SDTV and anything in normal mode the bars are different sizes on the left and right? Has anyone else experienced this? Is this something I should have a service tech come out and adjust?
I too have this problem also. I believe it has to do with too much picture on the left side is being cropped. Try to pay attention when text is being centered on your screen, preferably large text filling the area. You might notice the text appearing like it's not actually centered in middle of the programming, and appear shifted to the left. For me, it's because the TV is cutting some of my left side. When I view using Zoom mode I see picture info that was being cut off in Normal mode (I have a Tivo so a pause button helps in this respect). Maybe tomorrow I'll play with some settings to see if I can get my cropped picture back and make my 4x3 look more centered using some MID options.

If just want a quick fix, enter your service menu and adjust HPOS in the sub menu 2170D-2. That should center it right up.

anyone tried using this as a computer monitor?

For those people who are contemplating buying the 970,just a few things to consider. This is not a "true" HDTV,the tv's resolution is not 1920x1080i,its more like 800x1080i. The only Sony tv I've seen come close was the 960,that displayed 1400x1080i.

From what I've read no tube television can display that many pixels,heck plasma tv's are just starting to be able to display 1920x1080 natively. So if you go and purchase one really "grill" the salesman,ask the questions they don't want to you ask like.. "What is the native resolution of this tv?" "What are the drawbacks of owning a tube tv?"

The only "true" HDTV's are either LCD's and DLP's and other 3 letter names we are too lazy to pronounce fully.

Codek,I have used my 970 as a monitor,it depends on how much you don't mind squinting.. there is a lot of high frequency "noise" even when you are using an HDTV dongle from your video card.

I bought mine about 10 days for $650. It is now $600. I called Circuit City because they have a 30 day price guarantee. They credited me the $50.

In my opinion, the 970 is a great TV. I don't know all the technical ins and outs, true HDTV vs whatever the 970 does, etc. I just know it beats the pants off my old console in terms of picture quality. And at $600, it is just a tad more expensive than SD TVs in this size range.

But, after all, picture quality is relative...The new $3200 Sonys with 1080p being fed from a $800 blue-ray DVD player produce a unbelievably beautiful picture, insanely realistic...Optimum setup for Optimum output.

I don't know about the rest of you, but my pocketbook and my setup currently doesn't support optimum, so the 970 works well for my application.

For any comcast users out there... I just found out that if you push "cable - power - menu" on your remote, you are able to enter a menu to switch your SD cable from 480i to 480P. This cuts down on the brightness. (which is way to high on SD, at least for me)

My picture has an inward slant as it goes down. So when it reaches the bottom of the screen its slightly smaller and at an 80 degree angle. Any walk-through I could get for fixing this?

For those people who are contemplating buying the 970,just a few things to consider. This is not a "true" HDTV,the tv's resolution is not 1920x1080i,its more like 800x1080i. The only Sony tv I've seen come close was the 960,that displayed 1400x1080i.

From what I've read no tube television can display that many pixels,heck plasma tv's are just starting to be able to display 1920x1080 natively. So if you go and purchase one really "grill" the salesman,ask the questions they don't want to you ask like.. "What is the native resolution of this tv?" "What are the drawbacks of owning a tube tv?"

The only "true" HDTV's are either LCD's and DLP's and other 3 letter names we are too lazy to pronounce fully.

cool, all that extra res gets you a nice fuzzy picture and you get to pay thousands more

enjoy

Given all the confusion, I called LG to confirm what they had sent me in an email response concerning "upconverting of all signals". Even though their documentation states this, it is not true for "live" signals. Upconversion only works for playback. So, the broadcast signal from my Dish Network receiver is not being upconverted, at least not according to the person I spoke with today. I will say the image is improved but I now have no explanation as to why.

Also, I got my HDMI cable in. Unfortunately, I did not see any drastic improvement over component for the satellite broadcast, that I now am told is not being upconverted anyway.

Curiously, there is a Toshiba DVD/VCR combo model that claims to upconvert all signals. I wonder if it is another alusive dream.

I would like to know if anyone has had any luck with a video scaler with a Sony CRT.

I wouldn't get a DVD/VCR combo player,it's kind of like buying "all weather" tires,it's bad in all kinds of weather. It's the same with Combo players,they're usually bad at both playing both DVD's and VHS. When it breaks you'll have to have it repaired and then you're stuck with no way to watch anything.


You are better off with the component approach,besides who watches VHS anymore? :D

For any comcast users out there... I just found out that if you push "cable - power - menu" on your remote, you are able to enter a menu to switch your SD cable from 480i to 480P. This cuts down on the brightness. (which is way to high on SD, at least for me)

i think that will send everything in 480p, even the 1080 stuff

i've played around with it

Are you guys getting better SD/HD TV through HDMI or component?

I'm getting a better picture via component. I have a monoprice HDMI cable BTW.


The picture is outstanding, color wise, but it seems "snowy" in the background. Not washed or anything, but visible from at least 5 feet away. Not much of a problem because the colors are so vibrant, but since it's in my room, and I'm pretty close, it IS noticeable.

Is this something one must live with, or is this fixable? I ordered the Avia HT calibration disk yesterday BTW.

just got mine delivered today, very nice

first thing i did was turn the picture control down from 100 to 50

i have everything in the middle for now, just wondering where everyone else keeps all their video settings

thanks

just got mine delivered today, very nice

first thing i did was turn the picture control down from 100 to 50

i have everything in the middle for now, just wondering where everyone else keeps all their video settings

thanks

What did you turn down from 100 to 50? And why? I'm watching NBA in HD and it's CRYSTAL clear.. ammmazing picture..

Just wondering.. :)

What did you turn down from 100 to 50? And why? I'm watching NBA in HD and it's CRYSTAL clear.. ammmazing picture..

Just wondering.. :)

the contrast, i think they call it "picture"

the contrast, i think they call it "picture"

Thanks. I ended up turning it down 7. I watch TONS of sports, and it's nice to have a nice bright, crisp picture. Baseball fields look stunning..

Or maybe it's just my eyes, but I really like what I see... :cool:

Sooooooooooooooooooooo Excited! What a DEAL on Circuit City!

Had looked at buying this monster over the holidays but opted to go with an LCD cuz I'm a single mom and didn't think I could manage the weight! Now I'm sorry I did! Bought my kids a 32" Sony LCD at Christmas, and about 6 weeks out my 9-year-old smacked it with the PS-2 Controller when he got frustrated - RUINED it! Cracked the plastic screen and it's just CRAP!

Homeowners covered about half the cost, but I'm afraid to put anything else down in the basement now. I've got THREE boys, two dogs, one cat, and the crazy life of a single mom! I'm doin' laundry and other housework, not watching everything the guys do!!! They're SURE to get rowdy and throw something - a ball, a bat, each other! I don't wanna risk it with another lightweight unit!

In March I saw that Circuit City delivers free, and sets up with your other components for an amazing 20 bucks! Income tax check came this week and I checked for sale prices and - OMFG! It's 400 OFF! Bought it, bought the 5 year parts/labor warranty, and looking for the freakin' discontinued stand now!

Say what you want about the electronics of it all, I like it cuz its a TANK! Drive it to Baghdad and show them videos of torture - they'll all surrender!

HAHAHAHHAHAAH! :p

Sooooooooooooooooooooo Excited! What a DEAL on Circuit City!

Had looked at buying this monster over the holidays but opted to go with an LCD cuz I'm a single mom and didn't think I could manage the weight! Now I'm sorry I did! Bought my kids a 32" Sony LCD at Christmas, and about 6 weeks out my 9-year-old smacked it with the PS-2 Controller when he got frustrated - RUINED it! Cracked the plastic screen and it's just CRAP!

Homeowners covered about half the cost, but I'm afraid to put anything else down in the basement now. I've got THREE boys, two dogs, one cat, and the crazy life of a single mom! I'm doin' laundry and other housework, not watching everything the guys do!!! They're SURE to get rowdy and throw something - a ball, a bat, each other! I don't wanna risk it with another lightweight unit!

In March I saw that Circuit City delivers free, and sets up with your other components for an amazing 20 bucks! Income tax check came this week and I checked for sale prices and - OMFG! It's 400 OFF! Bought it, bought the 5 year parts/labor warranty, and looking for the freakin' discontinued stand now!

Say what you want about the electronics of it all, I like it cuz its a TANK! Drive it to Baghdad and show them videos of torture - they'll all surrender!

HAHAHAHHAHAAH! :p


It comes standard with a 2 year warranty, the best I've seen on most TV's, but I opted not to purchase the purchase plan, as my CC company covers TV's as well. I just send it to their "facility" and they issue a refund upon inspection.

Anyways, sonystyle.com has the stand, which I've been looking for locally as well, without any luck. I found a place that sold them for $250 shipped, and wanted to purchase it at the end of the month, but they no longer carry it. I will try a few Sony outlet stores, and the Sony store in the mall before ordering online.

And I got the feeling that this baby is being discontinued - the stand is, and the price drop certainly is the writing on the wall!

CC warranty was parts and onsite labor for 5 years, and since I can't pick the sucker up, let alone SHIP it, I figured it was worth the 200 bucks!

If you've read the posts, I purchased the stand from Walmart for $90. It works well for this TV. It is not the stand that Sony sells as an accessory for this TV, but I thought Sony's stand was too expensive and too modern looking. I prefer the wood look of the Sauder stand from Walmart. Of course, it's a matter of taste.


Sooooooooooooooooooooo Excited! What a DEAL on Circuit City!

Had looked at buying this monster over the holidays but opted to go with an LCD cuz I'm a single mom and didn't think I could manage the weight! Now I'm sorry I did! Bought my kids a 32" Sony LCD at Christmas, and about 6 weeks out my 9-year-old smacked it with the PS-2 Controller when he got frustrated - RUINED it! Cracked the plastic screen and it's just CRAP!

Homeowners covered about half the cost, but I'm afraid to put anything else down in the basement now. I've got THREE boys, two dogs, one cat, and the crazy life of a single mom! I'm doin' laundry and other housework, not watching everything the guys do!!! They're SURE to get rowdy and throw something - a ball, a bat, each other! I don't wanna risk it with another lightweight unit!

In March I saw that Circuit City delivers free, and sets up with your other components for an amazing 20 bucks! Income tax check came this week and I checked for sale prices and - OMFG! It's 400 OFF! Bought it, bought the 5 year parts/labor warranty, and looking for the freakin' discontinued stand now!

Say what you want about the electronics of it all, I like it cuz its a TANK! Drive it to Baghdad and show them videos of torture - they'll all surrender!

HAHAHAHHAHAAH! :p

For those people who are contemplating buying the 970,just a few things to consider. This is not a "true" HDTV,the tv's resolution is not 1920x1080i,its more like 800x1080i. The only Sony tv I've seen come close was the 960,that displayed 1400x1080i.

From what I've read no tube television can display that many pixels,heck plasma tv's are just starting to be able to display 1920x1080 natively. So if you go and purchase one really "grill" the salesman,ask the questions they don't want to you ask like.. "What is the native resolution of this tv?" "What are the drawbacks of owning a tube tv?"

The only "true" HDTV's are either LCD's and DLP's and other 3 letter names we are too lazy to pronounce fully.

What is your source for this information?

Hey guys, I've had my 970 now for 5 months and I'm noticing a pixel discoloration in the extreme top left corner whenever the screen is displaying HD. I think it does it on stretched standard signals too. It's most noticeable on some colors (especially if the screen goes all red, it'll discolor it to a yellowish green smudge). The area in question is about the size of an apple.

Anybody else ever have something like this? I'm going to have someone come out to look at it.

Hey guys, I've had my 970 now for 5 months and I'm noticing a pixel discoloration in the extreme top left corner whenever the screen is displaying HD. I think it does it on stretched standard signals too. It's most noticeable on some colors (especially if the screen goes all red, it'll discolor it to a yellowish green smudge). The area in question is about the size of an apple.

Anybody else ever have something like this? I'm going to have someone come out to look at it.

Have Sony come look at it.. its covered under warranty..

I would like to know exactly how (if possible) to adjust horizontal and vertical sizing like you can do on just about every computer monitor. I would like to know how to do this through the service menu (I know about the huge thread and I've tried looking. I just can't find the answer) so I can see 100% of what my 360 puts out at 1080i.

Are you guys getting better SD/HD TV through HDMI or component?

I'm getting a MUCH better picture via component. I have a monoprice HDMI cable and Brighthouse Scientific Atlanta 8300HD BTW.





Anyone?


Thanks..

Are you guys getting better SD/HD TV through HDMI or component?

I'm getting a better picture via component. I have a monoprice HDMI cable BTW.

The picture is outstanding, color wise, but it seems "snowy" in the background. Not washed or anything, but visible from at least 5 feet away. Not much of a problem because the colors are so vibrant, but since it's in my room, and I'm pretty close, it IS noticeable.

Is this something one must live with, or is this fixable? I ordered the Avia HT calibration disk yesterday BTW.
Anyone?
Thanks..The Sony CRT sets convert the digital hdmi/dvi signal to analog component signals very early in the processing chain and are then handled/digitized/processed the same as other component inputs. However, the set has many service menu parameters that are input dependent. Most of the differences you see between component and hdmi inputs can very likely be negated by adjusting service menu parameters.

Please record ALL service menu parameters prior to tweaking.

My only experience has been DVD playback over HDMI vs. Component when I had the LG194H. I could tell no difference in the quality between the two.


Anyone?


Thanks..

Can anyone confirm if the 34XBR970 has been discontinued? I could have sworn just a week ago I was able to find it on http://www.sonystyle.com but now, unless I'm looking in the wrong spot, it is nowhere to be found on their site.

I guess if it is true now is the only time to take the plunge since it can be had for $600 and any that are left will probably be snatched up soon.

I would like to know exactly how (if possible) to adjust horizontal and vertical sizing like you can do on just about every computer monitor. I would like to know how to do this through the service menu (I know about the huge thread and I've tried looking. I just can't find the answer) so I can see 100% of what my 360 puts out at 1080i.

Well, remeber the setup for vertical and horizontal tilt when you first turned on the TV? The horizontal tilt won't help you at the side edges, but if your fit issue is on the vertical axis, this is an easy control to use. It's in the basic menu, on the bottom. Vertical tilt is what you want, in this case, I believe. Otherwise, it's probably service menu time?

Good luck.

What is your source for this information?


I did a lot of Google and Soul searching Vega78,hehe :)

Can anyone confirm if the 34XBR970 has been discontinued? I could have sworn just a week ago I was able to find it on http://www.sonystyle.com but now, unless I'm looking in the wrong spot, it is nowhere to be found on their site.

I guess if it is true now is the only time to take the plunge since it can be had for $600 and any that are left will probably be snatched up soon.

It was on Sony Style just a few days ago but is clearly gone now. The 27" and 34" SD CRT models have also disappeared.

Sony announced several months ago that they were abandoning the CRT technology. Get em while you can.

I did a lot of Google and Soul searching Vega78,hehe :)
It seems like the consensus is 853x1080. I know resolution isn't everything though. I'm not sure how accurate the information is, but I found this post to be helpful:

... but information can be displayed between "sets" of phosphors.

Let me illustrate this way. The TV has red, green, and blue phosphors layed out like this (and I'm not sure of the order of the colors, but that's not important to my illustration):

R G B R G B R G B R G B R G B R G B

In order to display "white," the TV has to "light up" one set of red, green, and blue phosphors (illustrated by the parentheses):

R G B R G B(R G B)R G B R G B R G B

If it were a fixed-pixel display (like a plasma), it would only be able to "light up" one set of RGB phosphors, or the next set over:

R G B R G B(R G B)R G B R G B R G B
or
R G B R G B R G B(R G B)R G B R G B

But since it's analog, it can "light up" any set of RGB phosphors, as long as it lights up three of them to make white:

R G B R G B(R G B)R G B R G B R G B
or
R G B R G B R(G B R)G B R G B R G B
or
R G B R G B R G(B R G)B R G B R G B
or
R G B R G B R G B(R G B)R G B R G B

And as such, it can resolve finer detail than a fixed-pixel display could, by drawing the image where it belongs, instead of being strictly bound to 853 horizontal pixels.

On the other hand, since it does need all three colored phosphors in order to show color correctly, and there's only 853 sets of RGB phosphors, it can really only show 853 pieces of data horizontally. But it can place those 853 pieces of data in more than just 853 locations, as I illustrated above. It's hard to explain -- it's fuzzy -- it's analog!source:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9568888&&#post9568888

Well, remember the setup for vertical and horizontal tilt when you first turned on the TV? The horizontal tilt won't help you at the side edges, but if your fit issue is on the vertical axis, this is an easy control to use. It's in the basic menu, on the bottom. Vertical tilt is what you want, in this case, I believe. Otherwise, it's probably service menu time?

Good luck.

I've adjusted the color settings slightly about a month ago so I know how to change values in the service menu I just don't know where to find the appropriate settings to chance for sizing. My problem is on all edges.

It was on Sony Style just a few days ago but is clearly gone now. The 27" and 34" SD CRT models have also disappeared.

Sony announced several months ago that they were abandoning the CRT technology. Get em while you can.

I checked that out yesterday and it was still up. I checked bestbuy.com and they have taken it out too. I just bought mine about a month and a half ago from BB. CC still has it on there website though.

I found it interesting the set we purchased from CC has a manufacture date of March 2007...I found that strange, considering they had already been on clearance pricing by them, and I think it was already announced they were being discontinued.

At least we can feel good that they were being made until the very end! ;)


I checked that out yesterday and it was still up. I checked bestbuy.com and they have taken it out too. I just bought mine about a month and a half ago from BB. CC still has it on there website though.

Can anyone confirm if the 34XBR970 has been discontinued? I could have sworn just a week ago I was able to find it on http://www.sonystyle.com but now, unless I'm looking in the wrong spot, it is nowhere to be found on their site.

I guess if it is true now is the only time to take the plunge since it can be had for $600 and any that are left will probably be snatched up soon.

i knew this would happen then the tv dropped to $599 at CC so i saved all the web pages from sony to my hard drive

The price dropped down to $549 at Ultimate Electronics! I am going tomorrow to buy one!

I checked that out yesterday and it was still up. I checked bestbuy.com and they have taken it out too. I just bought mine about a month and a half ago from BB. CC still has it on there website though.

BB had the 970 "on sale" for $850 about a week ago, and then I saw it on sale at CC for $650 the same time, now I get ready to buy, and it's dropped another $50 so I had to snatch it up. It was also on "sale" until Friday, so I didn't have much choice. Curious to see if it goes up, or even further down..

BB had the 970 "on sale" for $850 about a week ago, and then I saw it on sale at CC for $650 the same time, now I get ready to buy, and it's dropped another $50 so I had to snatch it up. It was also on "sale" until Friday, so I didn't have much choice. Curious to see if it goes up, or even further down..

Fry's had it on their red clearance tag for $602.XX today...I tried to talk them down to $450, but they wouldn't budge. Would be a nice bedroom TV and I have dresser that outweighs the TV about 2x so it would hold it :)

BB had the 970 "on sale" for $850 about a week ago, and then I saw it on sale at CC for $650 the same time, now I get ready to buy, and it's dropped another $50 so I had to snatch it up. It was also on "sale" until Friday, so I didn't have much choice. Curious to see if it goes up, or even further down..

Unfortunately I bought mine the day after BB cut the price which at that time was cheaper than CC. :(

BTW... does anybody at least know where I can find info on resizing my 970s screen?

Fry's had it on their red clearance tag for $602.XX today...I tried to talk them down to $450, but they wouldn't budge. Would be a nice bedroom TV and I have dresser that outweighs the TV about 2x so it would hold it :)

That's actually my concern right now about this TV. I'm not sure if I have anything that can hold it up. Anyone have any suggestions?

It's in my bedroom, and needs to be higher up as right now my TV is on a desk that's about 28' high, and most TV stands aren't that tall.

I'm not sure if the desk can hold it or not. Right now on top of it I have a 21" TV, a VCR, Cable Box, DVD Player, PS2 and Wii, but I'm sure that doesn't add up to 200 lbs.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

That's actually my concern right now about this TV. I'm not sure if I have anything that can hold it up. Anyone have any suggestions?

It's in my bedroom, and needs to be higher up as right now my TV is on a desk that's about 28' high, and most TV stands aren't that tall.

I'm not sure if the desk can hold it or not. Right now on top of it I have a 21" TV, a VCR, Cable Box, DVD Player, PS2 and Wii, but I'm sure that doesn't add up to 200 lbs.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

Buy a TV stand rated for 34" tube TV's, and something that can support 200lbs or more. I'm not taking any chances.. I'm just going to get something that can properly support a 200lb tube TV.

I have moved from a 30xs955 to this TV.

I do not know if it is that I am used to the super fine pitch, but I can see the vertical lines from 9 feet or more away. The lower resolution is really getting to me. I have heard a lot of people compliment the picture of this TV, so I am wondering if a setting is wrong or something?!? The color is great, but the resolution is very disappointing.

Is there something that I am doing wrong that the resolution looks so bad?...is it simply that I am used to the super fine pitch of the 30xs955?

I have moved from a 30xs955 to this TV.

I do not know if it is that I am used to the super fine pitch, but I can see the vertical lines from 9 feet or more away. The lower resolution is really getting to me. I have heard a lot of people compliment the picture of this TV, so I am wondering if a setting is wrong or something?!? The color is great, but the resolution is very disappointing.

Is there something that I am doing wrong that the resolution looks so bad?...is it simply that I am used to the super fine pitch of the 30xs955?

maybe the 955 had better res plus being 4" smaller is a factor

I have moved from a 30xs955 to this TV.

I do not know if it is that I am used to the super fine pitch, but I can see the vertical lines from 9 feet or more away. The lower resolution is really getting to me. I have heard a lot of people compliment the picture of this TV, so I am wondering if a setting is wrong or something?!? The color is great, but the resolution is very disappointing.

Is there something that I am doing wrong that the resolution looks so bad?...is it simply that I am used to the super fine pitch of the 30xs955?


I sit about 3-4 feet away, and I don't see any sort of vertical lines.. just a little "artifacts", but its not on every channel, nor is it very bad. I am going to use the Avia calibration on at the beginning of the week when it arrives. And eventually have it calibrated by an ISF pro.

May I ask why you went from the XS955 to the 970? Just curious..

Moved from the 30xs955 to 34xbr970 because of the 4 extra inches...also TV on sale for $600, sold xs955 for close to that...got 4 extra inches for a little money...but didn't realize that the resolution was so much lower...sort of regretting my decision right now.

The color on the 970 looks great, but the vertical lines are killing me because I cannot stop looking for them. It almost seems like there are blank pixels for every line of "good" pixels. For example, look at the ESPN in the bottom right corner of ESPNHD, even from a good distance away, I can see the lines throughout the lettering and it is driving me nuts. Maybe I have something calibrated wrong?

Moved from the 30xs955 to 34xbr970 because of the 4 extra inches...also TV on sale for $600, sold xs955 for close to that...got 4 extra inches for a little money...but didn't realize that the resolution was so much lower...sort of regretting my decision right now.

The color on the 970 looks great, but the vertical lines are killing me because I cannot stop looking for them. It almost seems like there are blank pixels for every line of "good" pixels. For example, look at the ESPN in the bottom right corner of ESPNHD, even from a good distance away, I can see the lines throughout the lettering and it is driving me nuts. Maybe I have something calibrated wrong?


Don't have that problem, and I live with ESPN HD on. I would let others comment first before calling CC or Sony to come look at the problem. Like I mentioned above, I do not notice any of these problems. The only thing that isn't great, is the artifacts, but even those aren't bad at all.. only a few channels have such a problem.

Hi, I just bought the KD-34xbr970. Does anyone know where I can get the stand for this TV, model su-34xbr4?


Take Care & Thank You
Damon

Ordered mine from CC online late thursday and it was delivered (free) today. I was also able to scam a 10% off coupon from AAA's website w/out being a member using a technique I read about on slickdeals,net. Paid $565.37 delivered.

I'm in a southern Denver suburb, using a Radioshack amplifed antenna and am receiving 6 digital channels. Is that about what I should expect for my area?

I had high hopes of using this TV as a secondary monitor for my laptop as well, but so far it's displaying very poorly. Anyone else using this tv for their PC display?

Name's Evvy, btw.. Like Eddie but with V's. I'll be the annoying noob asking questions w/out doing the searches, k? :)

Ordered mine from CC online late thursday and it was delivered (free) today. I was also able to scam a 10% off coupon from AAA's website w/out being a member using a technique I read about on slickdeals,net. Paid $565.37 delivered.

I'm in a southern Denver suburb, using a Radioshack amplifed antenna and am receiving 6 digital channels. Is that about what I should expect for my area?

I had high hopes of using this TV as a secondary monitor for my laptop as well, but so far it's displaying very poorly. Anyone else using this tv for their PC display?

Name's Evvy, btw.. Like Eddie but with V's. I'll be the annoying noob asking questions w/out doing the searches, k? :)

"Search" feature is your friend. Although I'd rather search and search some more, because it's all the "little" things you find when searching that makes it worth while.

I am getting 6 channels as well, free of charge, without any external antenna. Although I have the HD cable box, that's what the set "found" when I ran the channel search prior to viewing the set.



Were you planning on going DVI-HDMI from the computer? I have a decent 23" LCD for my computing though..

And I just received mine as well, this week, and it's perfect to date (knock on wood), without any problems. I'm doing the INHD "TV tune-up" at 7am on INHD, and will be preforming the Avia HT calibration when the DVD arrives next week. Xbox360 looks amazing, as does the HD picture; extremely crisp and clear, and provides a very vivid and colorful picture. I'm just looking for the best possible picture the TV can produce, and will likely have an ISF professional calibrate it the first week of June.

Sorry, I can't help you with your situation, but I am sure others will chime in. :)




-Nick

Just curious whats the native resolution of the 970 is? I ask this because the Xbox 360 gives you the option of 720p and 1080i. I think I remember it's like 8xx by 1080, but I don't remember.



EDIT: Found it to be 853x1080 by searching the thread. Can anyone confirm this? And that would make the native resolution 1080i correct?





Thanks,


-Nick

could anyone help me with my screen sizing problem?

could anyone help me with my screen sizing problem?


I'm no expert by any means, but maybe I can help you..

Are you trying to adjust your screen horizontally or vertically?

I got this heavy TV yesterday from CC!! I have a question about 480p 16x9. When I have my progressive scan DVD player hooked up it says "480p 16x9" when I hit the "display" button. But when I display the screen on "normal" you can see the bars on the sides. So when it's on "full" the image is stretched isn't it? What is the point of having the DVD player output to 16x9 then?

You want to set the DVD player to 16x9 mode. Setting it to 480 with 16x9 tells it that you're watching a widescreen movie on a 4:3 set. You have a widescreen set, so you don't want the player set to 4:3.

I'm no expert by any means, but maybe I can help you..

Are you trying to adjust your screen horizontally or vertically?

I'm trying to adjust both. All 4 sides go "way" past the viewable range.

You want to set the DVD player to 16x9 mode. Setting it to 480 with 16x9 tells it that you're watching a widescreen movie on a 4:3 set. You have a widescreen set, so you don't want the player set to 4:3.

? Can you explain better. I think it has something to do with the 480p. In the book for the TV it says there are 4 screen modes for 480i/p. And they are for 4:3 stretching (or normal w/o stretching). Can 480p be naturally 16:9 or does it have to be stretched? I do have my DVD player in 16:9 mode. And when I use the "display" button on my TV it is reading the signal as "480p 16:9." But it still has to be stretched to get rid of side black bars.

On my DVD player at least, there are 3 different settings:
1) 480
2) 480 for 16x9 content (widescreen crap)
3) 16x9 (widescreen)

As to the TV, since I have a 4:3 set, I have to manually select the aspect ratio as 4:3. For a widescreen set, you'd leave it in widescreen ratio,

If you're still having issues with black bars on the side, then I guess something's quirky about that set. Not having it, I can't offer any more suggestions. Sorry dude :(

? Can you explain better. I think it has something to do with the 480p. In the book for the TV it says there are 4 screen modes for 480i/p. And they are for 4:3 stretching (or normal w/o stretching). Can 480p be naturally 16:9 or does it have to be stretched? I do have my DVD player in 16:9 mode. And when I use the "display" button on my TV it is reading the signal as "480p 16:9." But it still has to be stretched to get rid of side black bars.You should set your DVD player to 16:9. 480i/p is generally 4:3 SD.

However, most widescreen DVDs are anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 (usually indicated in the small print on the back) and when viewing these DVDs, FULL is the correct screen mode. These DVDs will appear stretched vertically in NORMAL mode.

Fool's (Full) screen (pre-cropped) DVDs will require ZOOM or Wide ZOOM to get rid of the black pillars. However, even more video is lost in the process.

Raouliii, with my newly purchased 34XBR970, I'm finding ZOOM to be the most proportionately correct screen mode for watching 480i SD anamorphic widescreen DVDs.

I've been busy this week and haven't had the time to more closely scrutinize the picture yet, but that has been my initial observation.

To me, 480i SD anamorphic widescreen DVDs in the FULL screen mode are too disproportionately stretched along the horizontal axis.


nx211

Raouliii, with my newly purchased 34XBR970, I'm finding ZOOM to be the most proportionately correct screen mode for watching 480i SD anamorphic widescreen DVDs.

I've been busy this week and haven't had the time to more closely scrutinize the picture yet, but that has been my initial observation.

To me, 480i SD anamorphic widescreen DVDs in the FULL screen mode are too disproportionately stretched along the horizontal axis.


nx211If that is the case, then your set's geometry may be out of adjustment. Have you made geometry adjustments to your set?

DVD players, when set to 16:9, send the ID1/WSS flag to the tv when anamorphic DVDs are played. The Sony CRTs detect this flag and automatically set to FULL screen mode. However, the user can select other screen modes.

Hi, I just bought the 970, it will be delivered Tuesday. Is it worth it to get it calibrated and what kind of cost is associated with getting this done?


Rgds
Damon

Hi, I just bought the 970, it will be delivered Tuesday. Is it worth it to get it calibrated and what kind of cost is associated with getting this done?


Rgds
Damon

Well, there's an ISF thread on the Display Calibration section, and check for certified ISF calibrators in your area.

I'll be trying the Avia HT calibration DVD next week. But I plan on having mine professionally calibrated down the line.

In my area, $225 is the going rate for calibration of the TV. This may vary for you. Worth it? I hear others post such a significant difference between the "standard" picture and a calibrated set.

225 BUCKS!!!!??? They better do alot more than adjust my picture for that kind of money. I better get atleast one sexual favor.

Hey all, first time posting but long time reader. So I finally gave up on my standard 32inch sony tv and wanted to go Hi Def for my xbox 360. I purchased a top of the line 22 inch samsung LCD and it was terrible. I popped in a few movies and I was disappointed. I think I'm going to return it and purchase the Xbr970. What do you guys think?

If that is the case, then your set's geometry may be out of adjustment. Have you made geometry adjustments to your set?

DVD players, when set to 16:9, send the ID1/WSS flag to the tv when anamorphic DVDs are played. The Sony CRTs detect this flag and automatically set to FULL screen mode. However, the user can select other screen modes.

Raouliii, your right. FULL screen mode is the correct mode.

My anamorphic SD DVDs look much better now in the FULL screen mode. The problem was with my DVD player. Hadn't gotten around to setting its output to 16:9 yet. That made all the difference.

Thanks for your input.


nx211

225 BUCKS!!!!??? They better do alot more than adjust my picture for that kind of money. I better get atleast one sexual favor.
$225 is cheap for ISF calibration.

$225 is cheap for ISF calibration.That is the standard (ISF recommended) price for calibrating "one" input. Additional inputs and scan rates are generally additional.

Just curious whats the native resolution of the 970 is? I ask this because the Xbox 360 gives you the option of 720p and 1080i. I think I remember it's like 8xx by 1080, but I don't remember.



EDIT: Found it to be 853x1080 by searching the thread. Can anyone confirm this? And that would make the native resolution 1080i correct?


Anyone?

Anyone?

1080i as sent is 1920x1080i - so resolving 800 vertical lines horizontally while scanning at 1080 interlaced lines is not the same resolution by a long shot.

1080i as sent is 1920x1080i - so resolving 800 vertical lines horizontally while scanning at 1080 interlaced lines is not the same resolution by a long shot.

qft

1080i as sent is 1920x1080i - so resolving 800 vertical lines horizontally while scanning at 1080 interlaced lines is not the same resolution by a long shot.

So it's best to use 720p for cable and gaming?

So it's best to use 720p for cable and gaming?

I have no idea. Regardless of what you send it the TV will convert to 1080i. So what does the better converting - the cable STB or the TV should decide where you convert 720p material. I would avoid double converting 1080i source material

So it's best to use 720p for cable and gaming?It is best to use the scan rate that looks best. There are many factors that com into play. The TV will internally scale all signals to it's native signal. If it is 1080i, then for a CRT there is no pixel (1920x1080), but it draws 540 odd lines, then 540 even lines. The horizontal lines are divided by the screen pitch or aperture grill (something like a screen door effect).

Thanks for the help Glen and Ralph. :)


Makes sense now..

ok. i got some minor, but anoying problems with my set.

ive done everything, and i cant seem to figure it out. I fixed the overscan issue, but i got a geometry (sp) issue, that i have no clue how to fix. The image, most notasable in widescreen movies, seems to form a slight Frown shape. Now, if it was only that, i wouldent bitch so much, but, when i try to fix the overscan issue, no matter how many times ive done the overscan fix in the service menu, it always is off because of the slight bend in the image. Ill come within a pixel or 2 of perfection, and blam, the bottom of the screen will smuge towards the left or ill have the image curved at the top, so i see noise in the corners.


Any help with fixing this would be great. Its such a beatutiful tv, the image is perfect, its just such a minor problem, ya know but it drives me up a wall!

Thinking about grabbing one of these before either the sale ends or they run out. Only thing i'm worried about is them fitting it through my door. Thre box barely from my old 27 inch wega barely fit so i'm worried that either A They will have to take it out of the box to get it through or B it wont even fit out of the box! I checked out the specs of it but am still worried. I measured the door into the room it will be going in and it comes out to about 30 inches, but even that is stretching it i picture 2 delivery guys trying to push it through the door LOL. The only other option would be for them to carry it down a rather steep flight of stairs or for me to find a different sized TV :( Also this will be my first HD set! can't wait to play some 360 on it! Will i be in for a shock as compared to watching on my 27 inch SD wega in 16:9 mode :eek:

I had the "free" delivery, and they took it out of the box prior to setting up, and used a dolly and rolled it into my room. I kept the packaging materials because we're moving in a few months, but I couldn't pass on this... it's a steal.

Well got all ready to order it and BAM! shipping not available to my location WTF? knew there would be a catch! It says can pick it up at the store but man that beast wont fit in my car then i'd have to worry about carrying it in my house with friends.

Well got all ready to order it and BAM! shipping not available to my location WTF? knew there would be a catch! It says can pick it up at the store but man that beast wont fit in my car then i'd have to worry about carrying it in my house with friends.

I told the salesman that there was free delivery online, and he didn't even check, just discount the TV $54 and charged me for delivery.

They stopped free delivery, I think this weekend.

It doesn't even say anything about paying for delivery. Just says when i put in my zipcode "This item is currently not available for delivery to selected zip code" LOL i live in NY! how can they not deliver here?!?! this blows

Hi, I bought mine on Saturday the 28. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on the stand Sony makes "SU-34XBR4". No one seems to have it.


Thanks
Damon

Hi, I bought mine on Saturday the 28. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on the stand Sony makes "SU-34XBR4". No one seems to have it.


Thanks
Damon

Search on google.. there's also a few stands at Walmart and Circuit City, that hold TV's up to 260lbs.

I just got the KD-34XBR970 this past weekend from CC. After reading all the reviews about black levels issues with lcd / price, I decided to get this one. But I am having an unusual problem. The darkest black is a faint purple-ish (hard to explain). Turning down the brightness/contrast has no affect whatsoever...This anomaly is visible on all inputs w/ or w/o a video signal, under any lighting condition. Has anyone experience this problem. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Can anyone who has picked up this tv recently measure the size of the box? I searched through this thread and only found an eyeballed size of 3' x 3' x 4'. I'll need to find a vehicle to transport one about 50 miles. I don't want to have something too small and make two trips.

These are disappearing quickly from area CCs. There were three or four Indianapolis area stores with 970s in stock. Today there is only one store showing it in stock.

I appreciate any assistance.

I can't tell you the size of the box, but I used a mercury mariner to transport the tv, and the trunk had to be propped open to fit the whole box in.

I just got the KD-34XBR970 this past weekend from CC. After reading all the reviews about black levels issues with lcd / price, I decided to get this one. But I am having an unusual problem. The darkest black is a faint purple-ish (hard to explain). Turning down the brightness/contrast has no affect whatsoever...This anomaly is visible on all inputs w/ or w/o a video signal, under any lighting condition. Has anyone experience this problem. Your help is greatly appreciated.

I just got this TV yesterday and experienced something similar. When I first turned on the TV everything was fine. After an hour or two of use the TV screen went blank and a red light on front of the screen started flashing. I wasn't able to turn the TV back on again until unplugging it. When the TV came back on the screen flashed blue and then red over and over again for about a minute and then stopped. I was then left with an overly blue picture. The bars on the side of 4:3 material were bright blue and all the inputs w/o a video signal were very blue. I contacted tech support and they had me do a power reset (basically unplugging the TV for a minute and plugging it back in). When I turned the TV back on the blue I was experiencing was darker (a dark blue/purple color) but still not black. Tech support recommended I return the TV. This morning when I turned the TV on the blue was gone, I had dark blacks and the picture looked great.

Thanks wildminer for the quick post.

I will try this tonight, its not a good sign of things to come, I might end up exchange / returning it and hopefully not end up with a worst scenario.

I will post my results tomorrow...

Can anyone who has picked up this tv recently measure the size of the box? I searched through this thread and only found an eyeballed size of 3' x 3' x 4'. I'll need to find a vehicle to transport one about 50 miles. I don't want to have something too small and make two trips.

These are disappearing quickly from area CCs. There were three or four Indianapolis area stores with 970s in stock. Today there is only one store showing it in stock.

I appreciate any assistance.


Best off getting a U-Haul pickup truck. $19.95 plus $0.49/mile. Or pay for delivery - $54.95.

The box is HUGE. 3x3x3 is no understatement. It might be bigger..

For those of you who are looking for the Sony stand.. I found one place that has them still in stock.

http://www.discountav.com/product.asp?product_id=SU-34XBR4&cookie%5Ftest=1



I e-mailed them first, to make sure they still had it in stock, because many places have them on their websites, but no longer carry them. This company has them ready for shipment.

honestly, my stand is so much better. i got it when i bought the tv at cirucit city. 99 bucks and it is beautiful and perfect for the tv. they dont sell it online though. i really think that i got the best possible stand ever made for this tv

If you are looking for a good stand for this TV, I have this Sauder stand and it works perfect.

(Apparently I am not allowed to post a link, so go to Sauder's website, and put the item number 161153 in the search box at the bottom of the page. It is called the Universal TV Stand With Swivel)

It is rated for 240 lbs, and the width of the stand sits almost flush with the TV. The TV hangs over the back a little, but nothing crazy. The stand also has a swivel in case you need to pivot the TV. I don't have time to do it now, but if anyone is really interested in pictures of what it looks like with the TV on it, let me know and I will get them uploaded.

The only negative thing I can say about the stand is that it takes some time to put together. The whole swivel aspect adds several steps to the assembly.

It seems like most Best Buy's still have this available for about $140.

Ended up going to CC and getting this TV. Having them deliver it! will be here on friday. I asked what was up with the free delivery i saw online and he said thats only if you order it online, so then i said when i checked online it still said Unable to deliver to that location. So then the guy told me it's cause i live so close ( like 5 miles) from the store and thats why the delivery aint free. :confused:

Best off getting a U-Haul pickup truck. $19.95 plus $0.49/mile. Or pay for delivery - $54.95.

The box is HUGE. 3x3x3 is no understatement. It might be bigger..

Wow! I guess my folks Jeep Cherokee is out then.

Wow! I guess my folks Jeep Cherokee is out then.

If it's tall enough to fit the TV in, then I'd go for it, but we broke down our box, otherwise I'd measure it.

We're moving in a few months, but I couldn't pass on the deal, and we saved the box and shipping materials.

For $50, it might just be cheaper to have them deliver it if anything. I live about 7 miles away, and the price to rent a U-Haul pickup and mileage, I was better off having them deliver.

anyone tried using this as a computer monitor?

That's what I need to know. My desk has enough room for the 970, but not the 970 and my monitor. I plan to use a VGA-to-component adapter and connect that to the 970. Would I be better off getting a video card with DVI out and getting a DVI-to-HDMI adapter?

Or this this thing not really suited to be used with the fine detail needed for standard PC stuff? I'm set to jump on this, but I'm wondering about other people's experience with it.

That's what I need to know. My desk has enough room for the 970, but not the 970 and my monitor. I plan to use a VGA-to-component adapter and connect that to the 970. Would I be better off getting a video card with DVI out and getting a DVI-to-HDMI adapter?

Or this this thing not really suited to be used with the fine detail needed for standard PC stuff? I'm set to jump on this, but I'm wondering about other people's experience with it.

Can you desk hold 200lbs? I haven't seen anyone use it as a PC monitor though...

The 970 would be a very low resolution computer monitor

The 970 would be a very low resolution computer monitor

Thanks for the help. I'll stick with what I have for now.

Mine is hooked up to my PC via DVI to HDMI and it looks great for movies and games, but for applications like web browsing it is not clear enough. Text is very fuzzy. With regular fonts I can navigate my PC and get by, but it's not easy. I haven't tried oversized fonts or anything.

To get my TV home I put it in the back of my Scion tC. I put the back seats down, slid the box in and tied the box and the hatchback down. It just fit.

970 shoud be here soon. Just wondering how long i should wait before doing a basic calibration with avia? Not a FULL service menu calibration just basic until set is probably broken in.

One more thing. I have the belkin pure av surge protector and was wondering if i should just plug this TV into the ' TV monitor" in? it also has a "high current input" but says thats for audio receivers but wasnt sure if i should use that for the Tv instead. Also have my xbox 360 plugged into said surge protector in the DVD input of the protector and that takes in a lot of juice as well

970 shoud be here soon. Just wondering how long i should wait before doing a basic calibration with avia? Not a FULL service menu calibration just basic until set is probably broken in.

Not sure about basic calibration, but I waited 8 days until Avia arrived.. did a little calibration, but I will be having it calibrated by an ISF professional at the end of the month.

I'd wait at least a week, if not more.

Wasted too much time figuring out how to transport it. Now the closest CC with one in stock is 90 miles away. These are REALLY disappearing fast now.

yea i figured doing a calibration too soon would be ponitless since everything will probably drift. How did everything come out in color decoder on Avia? Will i actually be able to lower any red push in service menu on this TV and see flesh tones how they are intended to be? unlike on my old wega 27 inch with no color adjustments in the service menu!

Wasted too much time figuring out how to transport it. Now the closest CC with one in stock is 90 miles away. These are REALLY disappearing fast now.


TELL me about it! the day i bought mine i came home and checked online! 3 of the stores closest to me didn't even come up! Must have went out of stock! Glad i didn't wait too much longer.

Wasted too much time figuring out how to transport it. Now the closest CC with one in stock is 90 miles away. These are REALLY disappearing fast now.

Did you consider having it delivered... I didn't pay a thing to have them deliver mine.. they offered free deliver for a while.. even if it costs $54, I would have paid to have it delivered..

Will i actually be able to lower any red push in service menu
Yes, you can. The nice thing about the 970 is that you can turn the individual guns on and off. So you can turn on just the red gun and tweak that, then check green and blue by themselves.

Got it a few hours ago and ran though some basic avia calibrations! my settings right now are

Pro
color axis: monitor
color temp: warm

picture-35
brighness- 50 ( too light in my room right now to adjust ill wait till night time)
color- 46
hue-R1
sharpness- 15
Clear edge-off

red is still alittle off on color decoder by not by much! i'll wait until going into the service menu tho till TV breaks in more.

Wow! I guess my folks Jeep Cherokee is out then.

I took my back seat out and it slid into my 2000 Chrysler Town & Country van, but just barely. It is a massive box. It does have several hand holds so that helps some.

Man tho after reading all this before my 970 came i have to say that i was expecting the box to be the size of the titanic. It's not THAT big but i'm glad people here made me think it was going to be bigger then expected. After the delivery guys left and had the box outside it slide easily right in through the door to my house. Definetly wont fit in a normal size car tho!

Man tho after reading all this before my 970 came i have to say that i was expecting the box to be the size of the titanic. It's not THAT big but i'm glad people here made me think it was going to be bigger then expected. After the delivery guys left and had the box outside it slide easily right in through the door to my house. Definetly wont fit in a normal size car tho!

Well I can comfortably fit inside the box, and I'm 6'3 200lbs. To me, that's a huge box.

LOL true, true.

yo clay pidgeon, updates on your calibration settings would be awesome. Unfortunantely SOMEONE scratched up my AVIA disc. So, I'm doomed......thanks alot clay

yo clay pidgeon, updates on your calibration settings would be awesome. Unfortunantely SOMEONE scratched up my AVIA disc. So, I'm doomed......thanks alot clay


What settings work for him, will not work for you. Because no TV set is the EXACT same. Sharing settings is good for "ball-park" settings, but you cannot go off of someone else's settings, because your picture won't be the same as theirs.


I'll sell you or anyone here, my Avia disk, and color filters for cheap, if interested (PayPal or cash). I used it once. I used it in the meantime, before I get my set ISF calibrated sometime next month.

Great point. One thing i'm concerned about is the overscan, it's terrible on my set but i'm worried about adjusting it in the service menu without messing up the other modes! also wouldn't it be a bad idea to adjust it using the avia dvd for say 1080i material? even if i shrink the screen using the zoom modes not the whole picture is seen! it just cuts off at like 5 and can't even see the number 5! man tho i had one of the zoom modes on when i first booted up avia LOL i went into the geometry pattern and thought my set was allout of whack.

I wonder how the greyscale is on this set out of the box. Looked a little like blue scale to me when raising brightness! :p

Great point. One thing i'm concerned about is the overscan, it's terrible on my set but i'm worried about adjusting it in the service menu without messing up the other modes! also wouldn't it be a bad idea to adjust it using the avia dvd for say 1080i material? even if i shrink the screen using the zoom modes not the whole picture is seen! it just cuts off at like 5 and can't even see the number 5! man tho i had one of the zoom modes on when i first booted up avia LOL i went into the geometry pattern and thought my set was allout of whack.

I had NO problems viewing the Avia disk. I set my DVD player to 4:3 FULL, and had no problems at all. What you're experiencing, is some-what common. You're not the only one.



On another note, I'm still a little confused what the native viewing resolution is. Since it's 853x1080, when I play games or view cable, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be 720p or 1080i.

Are you using the 360 to game and as a dvd player? I have mine set to 1080i.

Are you using the 360 to game and as a dvd player? I have mine set to 1080i.


I play the 360 on 1080i, because I thought the last number, in this case 1080, meant the native resolution. Maybe I'm wrong.. that's why I'm asking.

I see users with LCD's that have like 1366x768, and they play games in 720p not 1080i. So since I figured ours is 853x1080, I would play in 1080i.


I use a dedicated up scaling DVD player for viewing movies. This question pertains to both though, because I can select which format I want to view the movies in. (1080i, 720p, 480p or 480i)

native is 1080i i believe on this set. Yea man now that i have a TV with more then one componet input is till wish i had some old dvd player lying around! anything would be better then the 360's. Nice what player you using? oppo?

native is 1080i i believe on this set. Yea man now that i have a TV with more then one componet input is till wish i had some old dvd player lying around! anything would be better then the 360's. Nice what player you using? oppo?


No, Sony NTS75H. Got it refurbished from Sony, for $60 retailed for $130 new. But I am considering other options at this point. Others say its a good up-converting player, but no luck for me.. yet.

Either it's a new DVD player (Oppo 981) or a HK up converting receiver.



http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_index.html

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=KR4IZBVSGOYMBKC4D3DVAFI?skuId=8258921&productCategoryId=cat03031&type=product&tab=1&id=1170289629684


Since I don't have ANY sort of HT setup, I don't have a receiver yet.

yo clay pidgeon, updates on your calibration settings would be awesome. Unfortunantely SOMEONE scratched up my AVIA disc. So, I'm doomed......thanks alot clay

Like wisconsin said every Tv is different, but it's still nice to read what settings others have and see how they apply to your set, so if you want to know anything just PM me. I'm not gonna be changing them for a little while tho and will leave them as is. Also clearedge is never going on.

native is 1080i i believe on this set. Yea man now that i have a TV with more then one componet input is till wish i had some old dvd player lying around! anything would be better then the 360's. Nice what player you using? oppo?


So would this be TRUE 1080i? No upscaling to 1080i?


And why no "clear edge" on your set?

Oh nice! harmon Kardon makes great stuff. Not sure if you mentioned it but are you keeping settings global for every input? Thats how i have mine set right now with the mode memory off.

So would this be TRUE 1080i? No upscaling to 1080i?


And why no "clear edge" on your set?

Isn't clearedge another name for VSM? Just adds extra sharpness that i dont need. I have my sharpness on 15 and it's perfect right there, No added noise and no blurring. I'll mess with the clearedge later tho, just to see what kind of effect it has on overall sharpness! might be good for watching TV.

Like i'll see what turning sharpness all the way down does but raise Clear edge and see how it looks.

Oh nice! harmon Kardon makes great stuff. Not sure if you mentioned it but are you keeping settings global for every input? Thats how i have mine set right now with the mode memory off.

I am REALLY brand new to this whole HT set. I just did some research on CC, which lead to a search on google, which lead me to here.

I left all settings the same, except for what I changed via Avia. The picture is really stunning, although just a few artifacts on some channels.

Like i'll see what turning sharpness all the way down does but raise Clear edge and see how it looks.


I've always left Clear Edge on high. Even when viewing Planet Earth in HD, I cannot tell the difference with the CE off or on.

What am I looking for?

I've always left Clear Edge on high. Even when viewing Planet Earth in HD, I cannot tell the difference with the CE off or on.

What am I looking for?

I found that it is very easy to see clear edge effects on text like the TV menus.

I found that it is very easy to see clear edge effects on text like the TV menus.

Good or bad? Do you use the CE on?

Good or bad? Do you use the CE on?

I don't use it. I just have sharpness set at around 40 on xbr 970.

I don't use it. I just have sharpness set at around 40 on xbr 970.

Mines at 35. I'll turn the CE off and watch for a while, and see if I can notice the change.

anyone have slight pixelation here and there on sports broadcasts (NBA playoffs on TNT particularly). For me, this usually happens when the camera shifts fast. Maybe my expectations are too high, thinking that it would be perfect, perfect picture with no flaws. However, the INHD2 is pretty flawless......lol

also discovery doesnt look particularly stunning either. Anyone with insight?

anyone have slight pixelation here and there on sports broadcasts (NBA playoffs on TNT particularly). For me, this usually happens when the camera shifts fast. Maybe my expectations are too high, thinking that it would be perfect, perfect picture with no flaws. However, the INHD2 is pretty flawless......lol

also discovery doesnt look particularly stunning either. Anyone with insight?


I get the same thing on TNT-HD. Discovery HD and INHD are the best channels in HD in my area. Followed by Fox and ABC/NBC (whichever has tonight show w/ Jay Leno). All these channels are absolutely mind blowing-ly clear.

Planet Earth on Discovery-HD is....wow... :eek: When I showed my friends and parents Plant Earth HD, they could NOT stop wowing, or oooh-ahhh-ing. It was starting to get annoying.. :rolleyes:


It all depends on your local area. Some better than others. I'm in Orlando, FL btw.

anyone have slight pixelation here and there on sports broadcasts (NBA playoffs on TNT particularly). For me, this usually happens when the camera shifts fast. Maybe my expectations are too high, thinking that it would be perfect, perfect picture with no flaws. However, the INHD2 is pretty flawless......lol

also discovery doesnt look particularly stunning either. Anyone with insight?
That's normal for HD broadcasts. It's not the set's problem.

First of all folks thanks for all the amazing stuff in this thread, I've been reading it for literally hours. It my 970 yesturday. Inititially the tuner looked great, but as I started experimenting with other inputs, I kinda started freaking out, but after some reflection, am I think less so, but I'll explain.

A few months ago another family member got a 42" vizio plasma (incidentally the mushy blacks are what made me want the 970) one of the things I noticed on it was on the directv OTA tuner vs. the one built into the TV, the channel logos always appeared larger, and closer to the edge of the panel ... but there was nothing I could do about it.

So that brings me to the 970. Now after all the wonderful info on this forum, I get the VSIZ and HSIZ service menu options, and I understand tubes have overscaning issues, but after all I bought the set for better colors after all.

Here is the thing though that well, I'm almost wondering if its not normal, sorta like with that vizio. Even when I reduce the hsiz and vsiz options to an exaggerated extend and you just get black .. I mean, well you'd think thats where the inputted picture ends right? Wrong. If you do this on any device with an ability to scale the video say xbox media center, or even just a dvd player with a 1/2 zoom mode, you can then see all you are supposed to be seeing.

Much like I said before its easiest to see this using the channel logos as reference points.

Because like I've said I've seen something similar before, is this actually a limitation with the electronics in the TV? I mean adjusted like this it doens't look like overscanning.

But hey I'm not an expert, thats why I'm asking. All I can really says is I've seen it on 480p and 720p over a mad catz xbox cable plugged into video 4. (unfortunatly since I just upgraded personally from a 12 year old sanyo 25" set, I do not have any progressive scan dvd players otherwise).

I'm really not that sure on broadcast stuff yet because there hasn't been much on since last night when I hooked it up (ota only currently).

Just finished fixing some of the geometry issues after figuring out what the parameters even were. I noticed why the overscan was so high on the top and bottom. VSIZ was originally 35, so i moved it down to around 29. Watched Tv for a few and there was some weird noise on the bottom! like it made everything all wobbly looking and messed up so i went back up to around 32 and that got my overscan to about 4% on the top and bottom i think thats the best i can get it without that noise coming back in. was able to get it to around 2% on the sides. Maybe i will be able to fix it more after figuring out what the landing settings are.

Also fixed the color with RYR,RYB,GYR,GYB.

I got all the bars to match up in avia CEPT for the saturation in green! No matter what i did too! This Tv has a GREEN push i guess! Atleast not red tho like my last sony.

I measured the opening on my folks Jeep. The height opening is just over 33 inches. With the tv measuring 25.75 inches tall, will it fit while it is in the box?

Interesting. Now that it has gone back to the normal price at CC, an Indianapolis store now has some in stock. :mad: I wonder how many other store will miraculously find some it stock.

native is 1080i i believe on this set. Yea man now that i have a TV with more then one componet input is till wish i had some old dvd player lying around! anything would be better then the 360's. Nice what player you using? oppo?


Anyone confirm this?

I was reading CC's website wrong. I was looking at the store list rather than the availability list. They didn't find more in Indianapolis. They are now being listed as "not carried". I guess when they are gone, they aren't getting any more.

Yea i saw the price went back up :( Bought mine just in time! right after i got it all the stores in my area ran out. I don't understand why they would raise the price back up with only a few left. Figured theywould keep the price at 599 until they were all gone.

Ok now back to my tweaking. One thing i noticed is this TV has amazing blacks. BUT too black to the point i lose all shadow detail. I put my brightness in the middle and went into service menu to adjust SBRT. It was originally at 14 so i raised it to 17. Only problem is i can't get it just right, both bars either become obviously visible, but then if i lower until the point of just barely making out the one on the right it's still too dark. I have my settings on Pro. I'm thinking maybe raising Gamma to 1 ( it's at 0 in pro) that might bring out better shadow detail. Any ideas?

Update on mine. I got my over scan fixed, in fact it sounds just like claypigeon, which the vsiz of 29. I also got the jutting to the left, which I assume is the noise he described.

Unfortunatly for me fixing this has not gone the same way. Basically my thought process was this. The justting would not bother me watching a letterboxed movie, because it wouldn't be affected. So I why would I want to distort the aspect ratio of everything if everything wasn't effected?

So basically I started fiddling with various service menu options just trying to find something to correct that jutting on the bottom (I wasn't saving them.) Short story is the top of the screen is now color, the bottom half is now black and white. I've unplugged it hoping it will help but .. I don't have high hopes. I don't think the service menu will fix this but, if anybody has any ideas ...

Ok guys got color and gamma perfect now! Forget what i said about the green push. Don't know why but i was able to get all three colors perfect today. Also putting GAMM to 1 is much better for opening up the blacks. default i cjecked the gamma chart and it matched the background at like the 3.0 range! raised it to 1 and it matches the 2.2-2.5. Also decided to up the overscan a notch back to 4% on the sides. At 2 was a little too close.

FWIW here are my changes to color starting with the originals..

SBRT was 14, have that at 15 now and brightness right in the middle at 50.

RYR was 15, changed to 13
RYB was 15, that stayed the same, no change.
GYR was 9, changed that to 5
GYB was 3, changed that to 2

Colors are perfect when viewing color decoder at 0% when viewing flashing color bars there is no flashing and all the bars are the same intensity. I know these settings can't be applied to anybody elses since they all might be set different but a way to tell is we have the same color, color cut off, Color drives settings in service menu then they are the same.

Update on mine. I got my over scan fixed, in fact it sounds just like claypigeon, which the vsiz of 29. I also got the jutting to the left, which I assume is the noise he described.

Unfortunatly for me fixing this has not gone the same way. Basically my thought process was this. The justting would not bother me watching a letterboxed movie, because it wouldn't be affected. So I why would I want to distort the aspect ratio of everything if everything wasn't effected?

So basically I started fiddling with various service menu options just trying to find something to correct that jutting on the bottom (I wasn't saving them.) Short story is the top of the screen is now color, the bottom half is now black and white. I've unplugged it hoping it will help but .. I don't have high hopes. I don't think the service menu will fix this but, if anybody has any ideas ...

Just go back to 4%- 5 % overscan on all sides to hide it. Thats what i had to do.

Also i still can't fix the overscan being at 5 and not seeing the 5 when it squishes the 4:3 image. I can't find away to open the blanking settings when in 4:3 I decided to just use "full" 4:3 mode when watching regular channels. i'll take a pic of it in a few so you can see what i mean.

Well unfortunatly claypigeon I wish it was that easy. I tried putting the settings back to the factory defaults and it didn't fix the b/w problem.

I'm pretty sure this couldn't be anything I did because all these settings relate to the electronics generating the image, and this b/w problem appears to be with the tube itself which is of course a seperate independant part. Of course I could be wrong.

I'm still open to suggestions ...

See what i mean? When in 4:3 normal mode.

Oh my bad! i re-read your post and just noticed you said something about the color. what did you change? do you remember? i can check my service menu for the defualts if you can remember what you hit.

But like you said, if you changed anything and didn't save them then the set should have been fine after unplugging it and plugging it back in. Hope you didnt hit any different button combos on the remote.

Update on the B/W problem. Before my initial post on the subject I had unplugged it (others earlier on this thread with problems reccomended this). I just plugged it back in, but directly into a wall outlet instead of a crowded power strip which may or may not have been part of the problem, time will tell.

So that brings me back to the screen jutting to the left at the bottom problem. Is there any way to correct this other than like claypigeon said basically cutting it off?

Claypigeon you're problem is very weird. I mean this overscan stuff on the HD stuff is bascially pre-programmed stuff sony did to all the sets it would seem but yours seems to defy that.

So ok while this 2701-D stuff is a "global setting" I'm pretty sure its for anything thats "HD full". If you adjust those on normal mode is it not different? sorry if thats a dumb point.

hey guys whats this about a "service menu"? how do i enter it? whats is it good for?

There is a good post somewhere in the service menu thread about how to adjust the 4:3 image size (the pillar size) and then properly set the 16:9 image size.

does this tv have a built in HD tuner?

does this tv have a built in HD tuner?

Yeah, it has ATSC, NTSC, and QAM. It doesn't have a cable card slot though so that kinda' limits the usefulness of the QAM tuner.

I was able to fix the problem i was having with the 4:3 image thanks to the Sony KD-34XBR960 Overscan Fix? Service Menu walk-thru? post a few topics down. The parameters on the 970 were different but i found the ones that worked. So while that has helped my 480p i don't know how i'm going to be able to correct my 1080i overscan since they use different values. I need a HD signal pattern for the 1080i and thats impossible with the 360 dvd player. So i'm wondering what are you guys using? are you just using your same defaults for the 480p and moving them over to the 1080i?!?

hey guys whats this about a "service menu"? how do i enter it? whats is it good for?

It's a good thing to get into if you want OCD and notice how many things are wrong with your TV that you would have never even noticed before.

So i ended up returning the parameters i switched for the 4:3 problem back to default. Since i have no way of seeing what they do to the 1080i/720p picture. I noticed the dafaults were all different but i didn't want to take any chances fixing one thing and messing up another until i do some more reading on the MID settings. I been reading up kentechs service menu topic and did some of the tweaks. I found out how to turn off individual color guns on this set so i don't have to use the avia filters. But now another problem! remember i posted yesterday how i got colors perfect? well now today they were off again! and i can't get Green right. I'm wondering if it's due to me using the color guns instead of the filters, or my set wasn't properly warmed up. I'm getting annoyed now LOL.

Interesting stuff since I just got my 970. I replaced a lightning damaged HS510. The resolution does not look quite as high as my old Sony but I am still using the out-of-the-box settings. I also lost my Denon DVD1600 and I can't calibrate until I buy another DVD player. I am considering the OPPO and the Denon 1930CI. Any recommendations on a new DVD player?

Does anyone know the resolution on my old dead SONY KV36HS510? Is the new 34" 970 a lower res? Or is it the fact that my set is in desperate need of some svc menu adjustments?

Thanks and good luck Clay with your tweaking. I will try to follow along and learn from your experience.

Interesting stuff since I just got my 970. I replaced a lightning damaged HS510. The resolution does not look quite as high as my old Sony but I am still using the out-of-the-box settings. I also lost my Denon DVD1600 and I can't calibrate until I buy another DVD player. I am considering the OPPO and the Denon 1930CI. Any recommendations on a new DVD player?

Does anyone know the resolution on my old dead SONY KV36HS510? Is the new 34" 970 a lower res? Or is it the fact that my set is in desperate need of some svc menu adjustments?

Thanks and good luck Clay with your tweaking. I will try to follow along and learn from your experience.

Our TV res is 853x1080.

I would advise you look for the Sony DVPNS75H. Sony has the direct, refurbished for $60. That's the route I went, and I'm extremely pleased.

Here's some benchmark results:

Sony Benchmark Results (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=133#SonyDVP-NS75H%20(HDMI))


"Official" thread on this player:

Sony DVD Player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=639621&highlight=Sony+DVPNS75H)



If you search within the thread for Oppo 970, many compare both the Sony and Oppo, and they are about equal PQ wise, but the Oppo has a few more features, which many don't need.

Hi, got mine delivered today, great picture. After about an hour I heard a pop from the 970, any ideas. Is it worth it to get the tv calibrated?


Thanks

Hi, got mine delivered today, great picture. After about an hour I heard a pop from the 970, any ideas. Is it worth it to get the tv calibrated?


Thanks

I'm having mine calibrated by an ISF pro June 9th...

Hi, got mine delivered today, great picture. After about an hour I heard a pop from the 970, any ideas. Is it worth it to get the tv calibrated?It's like buying a piano and not getting it tuned.

Sorry, I haven't had time to catch up on this thread (I've been playing with my new Samsung LED set).
My 970 recently started displaying a sort of "Boomerang" shape (after we moved, though it didn't take any lumps). I've had it serviced under warranty; however, it's still got some droop on the left side and now there are green tinges on the left and right sides.
It really bothers me. Does anybody know when this set will be discontinued? Maybe if they can't fix it I can get the next model from them....

Sorry, I haven't had time to catch up on this thread (I've been playing with my new Samsung LED set).
My 970 recently started displaying a sort of "Boomerang" shape (after we moved, though it didn't take any lumps). I've had it serviced under warranty; however, it's still got some droop on the left side and now there are green tinges on the left and right sides.
It really bothers me. Does anybody know when this set will be discontinued? Maybe if they can't fix it I can get the next model from them....

There won't be any "next" model.. this is the last one.. Sony recently took this TV of their website..

There won't be any "next" model.. this is the last one.. Sony recently took this TV of their website..

didn't i read somewhere that for next year sony would make 2 CRT tv's and they would both be 16x9?

or have they scrapped that idea

didn't i read somewhere that for next year sony would make 2 CRT tv's and they would both be 16x9?

or have they scrapped that idea


I'm pretty sure they've scrapped the whole CRT idea all together..

I'm pretty sure they've scrapped the whole CRT idea all together..

In the USA or worldwide?

In the USA or worldwide?

From a May 1st news story:

Sony, one of the premier television brands worldwide, will stop making CRT sets for the American market at the end of this month and will not import tube sets into the United States, either. "We still make CRTs, but mainly for India, China, South America and markets other than the U.S.," a company spokesman said.

Maybe you could pick one up on a trip to Tijuana. :)

Here's the largest Sony CRT I can find for sale in India:
http://www.sonyindia.co.in/productdetails.do?prod_id=214

Here's the largest Sony CRT I can find for sale in India:
http://www.sonyindia.co.in/productdetails.do?prod_id=214

Dang, why doesn't the 970 have some (or all) of those features.. :confused:

I don't know if whomever it was claypigeon I think ever managed to fix the problem they were having with the normal mode cutting off the image, but I believe I have figured out a fixed.

You have to use the Mid3 DHHS and DHHP options. You basically move the image to the right (so its not cut off on the left and you described.) and then shrink it. I had basically the same problem experimenting with some 4:3 PC resolutions through the DVI-HDMI cable I just got.

It has been asked if this is a good PC monitor ... well yes and no. Its just not very sharp like fixed pixel displays for text, so you kinda need to keep the resololtion down. 800x600 works ok but since it sees that as 720p (basically becaust its higher than 720x480) it stretches it to 16:9 and you can't set it to normal. Something like 960x540 might work but I'd need something like powerstrip to add that.

Also the overscan problem is even worse, even though I pretty much have it tweaked so on broadcast stuff and on other things like games inputted through component I don't even see it, here its there. You can compensate for it with the mid1 options (if you've already done the thoser vpos vsiz stuff), but the fact that the bottom of the image is no matter what slanted to the left and has to be cut off is just a problem with a pc display, where it isn't with other things.

On that subject, somewhere somebdoy on this thread posted a link to a pdf named "Pages from KD34XBR2.pdf" with some instructions for correcting this stuff. Basically the first thing it says to do is set VPOS to 27 ... which yes cuts off that area. So, I guess there is no fixing it. I've tried pretty much everything in the service menu that relates to warping the image so, I'm pretty sure. Same thing so for somehow if there is a straight line at the bottom of the screen it looks bent. Well, they can call it a flat screen, but it isn't. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt there is any fixing that either.

The good news about the dvi-hdmi cable is if you get it off the windows desktop and actually get it to playing some video is, just like any other video I've played on this TV so far, it looks amazing, and the sound throughput through the analog audio input is good too, no need turn it way up like on some TVs I've use PC audio on. So strictly for the purpose of playing video from a PC, I'd say its fine. Also, it does accept 1920x1080 PC input and read it as 1080i. I actually wonder if any 1080p hdmi input would work.

On another amazing note ... I have an old VHS vcr with only composite outs. I've been using the RF in on the TV for HD OTA, so I figured I'd try using those for regular NTSC cable. WOW. I've never seen any HDTV render a picture this good through composite ... I mean you usually just want to immediatly throw it out in favor of something with s-video or component, but not here. I even watched a recording of motorweek (which of course you may know is broadcast in 4:3 LB format... yes 4:3 LB composite VHS) in zoom mode, and wow, it STILL looked good. And whats better, unlike a lot of TVs I've seen it didn't overzoom so half the image was cut off, I basically just got the 16:9 area, no more, no less.

I have to wonder if there is even a benefit if getting upconverting or even progressive scan DVD player for this TV or if you only need those for TVs with crappy display technologies and video processors than this one.

I've found out how to resize the picture through the service menu... I stretched the picture inwards on all sides to were I could see 100% of what my 360 was displaying.

(edit: I tried to make a picture out of ASCII but I failed :( )

About a vertical inch (if it's taking up 100% of the screen) from the bottom... I don't know what to call it but if a vertical line is being showed like in say the 360 dashboard it will change from going up and down to diagonal.

Is there a way to fix?

I've also noticed that there is some picture missing from the left part of the image. It makes everything off-centered to the left

About a vertical inch (if it's taking up 100% of the screen) from the bottom... I don't know what to call it but if a vertical line is being showed like in say the 360 dashboard it will change from going up and down to diagonal.

Is there a way to fix?
PSTP in MID3.

PSTP in MID3.

"IN" ? MID3... is mid3 a submenu? (sorry, the only experience I have with the service menu is changing 'r''b''g' and hor and vert size and pos)

"IN" ? MID3... is mid3 a submenu? (sorry, the only experience I have with the service menu is changing 'r''b''g' and hor and vert size and pos)
Excuse me, I thought that since you had fixed your overscan problem you had more than just a basic understanding of the service menu. Allow me to go a little deeper for ya.

First, don't go changing things without knowing what they do. You might break something. Not everything in the service menu can just be changed or "fooled around with" without causing problems. The service menu is really there for the service professionals, most end-users have no business going on there and changing things. Write down whatever settings you change, and usually you'll want to also write down what resolution you're on (720p or 480i or 1080i) as well as what input you're on (input 4 or input 5 or the built-in tuner) because some settings in the service menu are input- or resolution-specific.

Anyway, to answer your question: yes, MID3 is a submenu. When you fixed your overscan, you probably were using settings in the submenus 2170D-1 and 2170D-2. Well there's quite a few submenus, so go ahead and scroll through the service menu and you'll eventually find a submenu called "MID3." In that submenu is a setting called PSTP which affects the slanty stuff at the bottom of the screen. I don't recall if you'll want to increase or decrease the value of PSTP, but it should be clear when you begin to change it if the slanty stuff is getting better or worse. Reduce the slanty stuff just far enough that it's gone - don't go too far with it or the whole screen will go all crazy. If you do go too far, just take it back a notch. Once you're happy, write the settings and smile.

to answer your question: yes, MID3 is a submenu. When you fixed your overscan, you probably were using settings in the submenus 2170D-1 and 2170D-2. Well there's quite a few submenus, so go ahead and scroll through the service menu and you'll eventually find a submenu called "MID3." In that submenu is a setting called PSTP which affects the slanty stuff at the bottom of the screen. I don't recall if you'll want to increase or decrease the value of PSTP, but it should be clear when you begin to change it if the slanty stuff is getting better or worse. Reduce the slanty stuff just far enough that it's gone - don't go too far with it or the whole screen will go all crazy. If you do go too far, just take it back a notch. Once you're happy, write the settings and smile.

Thanks alot for the info. I just found out that there was a search tool in front of my face. Would you or anyone else know why the adjustable picture seems like it's missing a little bit at the left side?

I been messing with my service menu for DAYS now. My picture was just cut off for some reason, i asked about in the sony service code topic. Nothing would help, not moving the picture, not disabling the RBLK, or other blaking parameters. I don't know why the guy who set my TV up the way he did did this but i wish i could smack him. I had to mess with the Mid1 settings DHPH -MDVS. Now these settings were global, so i used the internal test charts built into the service menu and used 1080i. Once i got everything centered and saw the whole picture on all 4 corners i adjusted the settings in MID2. At first i didn't know the settings in MID 1 would be the same for all settings so that blew! So once i got everything right i went into the other resolution patterns and then tweaked with MID 2 DHHP- DHVS. But i had to be careful cause if you put one too much over the screen just turns into a bunch of noise.

This was the most tedious thing i ever done in the service menu and i wanted to just dropkick my TV a few times. The most annoying thing tho that i couldnt fix is if i go below 5% overscan vertically the bottom of the screen goes into a far left direction and distorts the bottom of the image. There seems to be no fix to this tho.

Ok now i'm PISSED. Everything "looked" fine in the test patterns right? Well when watching TV and when it compresses the commericlas they were wayyy over to the right of the screen. I don't know how to fix this without messing up the picture for ALL the other resolutions. LOL i should have never went into the service menu of this TV. Stuck at 5 percent overscan, unfixable geometry problems. That kinda pisses me off tho that i was able to get less then 3% overscan on my crappy SD 27 inch wega, but now with this TV i'm stuck at 5. What do you guys think? should i call sony and see about getting a tech?

could someone tell me the following "Default" values

RDRV
GDRV
BDRV
RCUT
GCUT
BCUT
RYR
RYB
GYR
GYB
SBRT

could someone tell me the following "Default" values

RDRV
GDRV
BDRV
RCUT
GCUT
BCUT
RYR
RYB
GYR
GYB
SBRTIMHO, there is really no good reason to adjust these parameters to a default value prior to tweaking. The existing values are the most appropriate starting points.

The first six are for grayscale calibration. Unless you have a very good understanding of the procedures and/or appropriate test equipment, you should leave these at the factory calibrated values.

The next four are for color decoder calibration.

Record the existing values prior to any tweaking.

jere are my defaults. Remember tho that these might not apply to your TV.

RDRV- 40
GDRV- 33
BDRV- 31

RCUT -40
GCUT- 21
BCUT- 17

RYR- 15
RYB- 15
GYR -9
GYB- 3

SBRT- 17

The most annoying thing tho that i couldnt fix is if i go below 5% overscan vertically the bottom of the screen goes into a far left direction and distorts the bottom of the image. There seems to be no fix to this tho.
This sounds like the problem that I helped clumzyjojo with in the five posts that immediately precede this post of yours.

IMHO, there is really no good reason to adjust these parameters to a default value prior to tweaking. The existing values are the most appropriate starting points.

The first six are for grayscale calibration. Unless you have a very good understanding of the procedures and/or appropriate test equipment, you should leave these at the factory calibrated values.

The next four are for color decoder calibration.

Record the existing values prior to any tweaking.

I lost my notes with what those values were... I was hoping to find a factory number because I just don't know what they were to begin with

Ok now i need a favor please!

I need the default values in MID1 and MID 2 :(

i think i wrote the wrong one down for a different resolution.

If somebody can do me a big favor i need the defaults for 1080i, 720p FULL mode

MID 1 DHPH - MDVS

then MID 2 DHHP-DHVL

This sounds like the problem that I helped clumzyjojo with in the five posts that immediately precede this post of yours.

I will try messing with PSTP and see if thats all i needed instead of changing the MID1- MID 2 values.

I lost my notes with what those values were... I was hoping to find a factory number because I just don't know what they were to begin with
Regarding the drives and cuts (grayscale calibration settings), every television is different. Someone else's settings will not work on your television. At this point it seems you have limited options: do some internet research on grayscale calibration, and once you've got a comfortable understanding on how it works, adjust it yourself by eye. Without proper instrumentation (like a colorimeter or spectral analyzer) you won't be able to set your grayscale to the industry-standard, but you'll probably be able to get it to where you like it and you can watch TV without being distracted by it. Or your can hire someone (like an ISF-certified tech) to come out and calibrate it for you. In any case, you should check out the "Display Calibration" area of this forum for more information on grayscale calibration.

For RYR-GYB (color decoder settings) there has been much discussion about the proper values for these. These settings should be interchangeable from set to set so ClayPigeon's defaults should work for you. Otherwise search through other posts in this thread or the sony service codes thread for "color decoder" and you'll probably be able to find other people's findings on these settings.

could someone tell me the following "Default" values

RDRV
GDRV
BDRV
RCUT
GCUT
BCUT
RYR
RYB
GYR
GYB
SBRTIf you ruined your grayscale, CUT/DRV, you may find a Calibrator who will do only the grayscale and let you do the rest of the calibration. It will depend on the calibrator. In any case, to accurately set the grayscale/white balance, you need a color analyzer and know how to use it.

People need to be more careful. It seems like more and more people are screwing up. When in doubt, write down everything. Input, resolution, screen mode, the whole enchilada. When I start messing with stuff, I triple check I have the original values correct. I can't afford to jack up my 970, so I try to be ultra careful.

To GlenC and other ISF calibrators in this forum, does changing the color decoder values change the position of the corners of the "pyramid" on the CIE chromaticity graph? I have been contemplating picking up a color analyzer to start learning how to adjust greyscale, gamma, etc, but I'm trying to read as much as I can and learn the theory behind everything before I start tinkering.

......does changing the color decoder values change the position of the corners of the "pyramid" on the CIE chromaticity graph? NO

This sounds like the problem that I helped clumzyjojo with in the five posts that immediately precede this post of yours.

You are the MAN! Fixed it perfectly thanks a lot.

I've adjusted the black shutters and tried to resize the picture from my 360 at 1080i but I can't get 100% viewable :(

NO
I'm sorry, I thought the RGB settings were adjusted using RYR, RYB, GYR, GYB, which I assumed was the color decoder. Is there no way to adjust RGB on the 970 then? Perhaps I am confusing terminology here.

Ok forget about the defaults. I found all my default values and i still needed to mess with sme settings in MID1 and MID2 to get the full picture. Some shouldnt be messed with tho and noticed when switching some of them ( i forget which) it makes some of the lines look duller then the others when using the internal overscan pattern.

I'm sorry, I thought the RGB settings were adjusted using RYR, RYB, GYR, GYB, which I assumed was the color decoder. Is there no way to adjust RGB on the 970 then? Perhaps I am confusing terminology here.I am not sure what you are trying to do. CRTs are very close to REC 601 colorspace, and do not do REC 709. Yes, RYR, RYB, GYR & GYB are color decoder adjustments.

I am not sure what you are trying to do. CRTs are very close to REC 601 colorspace, and do not do REC 709. Yes, RYR, RYB, GYR & GYB are color decoder adjustments.
Thank you, GlenC. Believe it or not, you answered my question. What I'm trying to do at this point is comprehend and decipher the interplay between the various aspects of image generation. I am well aware of the complexity of tackling the subjects of calibrating gray scale, gamma, etc. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? I apologize if my queries seem rather confusing. Perhaps as time passes I will learn how better to articulate my questions. :)

Where would I be able to get a 960. I can't seem to find them anywhere online and at the stores Circuity City only sells the 970. When I use pricegrabber etc. it says there are no sellers. I have no idea where to look.

Where would I be able to get a 960. I can't seem to find them anywhere online and at the stores Circuity City only sells the 970. When I use pricegrabber etc. it says there are no sellers. I have no idea where to look.

you might want to try the 960 thread :eek:

Lol, sorry. I thought this was the thread for both because everyone was talking about the 960 so much. I'll go and check the other thread.

Where would I be able to get a 960. I can't seem to find them anywhere online and at the stores Circuity City only sells the 970. When I use pricegrabber etc. it says there are no sellers. I have no idea where to look.

craigslist.org? Or maybe at the same store that sells the time machine...even the Sony outlet stores can't get refrubished units anymore...I asked back in December....only the 970's at that time.

Claypigeon unless I lack understanding of what you meant (cropping on both sides on normal mode) ... I am getting the exact same thing in 480p normal. Though not in NTSC as I think you are descriping. The MID1-MID5 settings are NOT global, they will only effect that resolution (at least generally ... and I only say this because I did this on 720p today and for whatever reason the jutting to the left problem I've been complaining about seems to have got a little worse on 1080i)

Anyway I'll rundown all the settings I've been adjusting for those HD modes and on 480p to correct what appears to be a similar problem (all of these are between mid1 and mid3)

MDHP - this should default to 0. as you increase the number, it will push the picture to the right, and the stuff cutoff on the left, should appear.

MDHS - You'll want to decrease this basically to shrink the stuff you just pushed off the right side of the screen, back onto it.

DHVP - the above settings will leave you with a bit of a scrunched picture, so you have to decrease the vertical setting snow as well. For whatever reason by default a good part of the top part of the image is just chopped off. Decreasing this number, in my case from 52 to 22 in the 720p I have actually written down and finalized so far, got it all on the screen.

MDVS - Much like the above setting, when push that extra vertical information onto the screen, you pushed some more off the bottom, you'll just want to adjust this so it all fits.

MDVP - You may think this logically would need to be adjusted, but in my case, I did not, it stayed at 0 ... you may need to, you may not.

Now, as far as I can tell, assumming you have already done the global settings in the 2701-D menu that have already been discussed at some length, this is basically what you need to do at each resolution to polish things off.

Again claypigeon even with that pic you posted, if this doesn't work for you, do the 2701-D stuff first, then this ... if it still isn't working, I'd be interested to know what is.

Now, this still doens't fix the picture jutting off to the left at the bottom of the image (other than it can cut off) I've mentioned repeatedly, though at least it gets you all the image at the top so they are not both cut off.

I still wish somebody would comment on a fix if there is one, even if that fix is if a sony service center could fix it.

Man i been messing with stuff for hours LOL i don't care about 480p normal mode anymore! i'm tired and maybe i will get to fixing it tommorow. Ok tho i have my picture PERFECT now on all resolutions( cept 480P) Turbo try these settings that i have and let me know if they work for you. i got 3% overscan all around using the butil in overscan pattern in QM. Once again i got everything perfect and no part of the picture is being cut off. But boy was it a pain to go back and adjust for when watching Tv also to get the picture center. Once again i had to hold myself back from dropkicking my TV.

1080i

VPOS- 30
VSIZ- 26
HCNT- 38
HPOS- 20
HSIZ-35
SCRL- 32

I still need to go back and fine tune these settings, but they are colose to perfect for me geometry wise.

VLIN-5
MPIN-8
PIN-15
UCP-31
LCP-30
PPHA- 26
VANG- 33
LANG- 22
VBOW- 25
LBOW- 25
LBLK- 54
RBLK- 32
TBLK- 5
BBLK- 1

Ok now for the fun ones.
DHPH- 108
DVPH- 40

MID2
DHHP- 30 ( for when watching TV i set this to 39. Picture was off to the right. i have my HD box plugged into componet tho, so may not be needed if using HDMI)
DHHS- 178
DHVP- 29
DHHS- 67

MID3
PSTP- 140 ( thanks to G-bull for the fix!)

Now, this still doens't fix the picture jutting off to the left at the bottom of the image (other than it can cut off) I've mentioned repeatedly, though at least it gets you all the image at the top so they are not both cut off.

I still wish somebody would comment on a fix if there is one, even if that fix is if a sony service center could fix it.

PSTP = Fixes that problem.

Well turns out i had to chnage some more settings cause i noticed when raising the brightness i saw the edge of the raster. Only way to fix it was to change DHVS in mid 2. But it seems when changing that it does something and makes some lines on that internal pattern to appear duller then others. It kinda stretches the bottom of the picture while not moving the top so you can fit the whole image in. Man tho, i wish it was simpler! it would help if there wasn't like 20 VPOS parameters!

i found this cool screen with a bunch of info tho in service menu! Like how many hours you logged on the TV! i got 180! 2 to watching TV, 178 to calibrating :(

clumzyjojo .... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! I thought I had messed with like all of those parameters in the mid1-mid3 settings, I guess not.

Ok claypigeon now that i have this hurdle cleared ... I haven't used any test patterns, but the worst distortion I've seen is in lines at the very bottom or top of the screen that is because of the shape of the tube ... I'm just going to assume your problems are worse than what I understood now.

LOL i went back to defaults. I'm gonna get it right today! i swear. None of the parameters with a VS, or HS shouldnt be messed with in mid1-2. Like DHHS, DHVS etc. The ones with a P tho is phase and can be tweaked. So i just minimized the screen and centered the screen with HPOS, this will stay where it is so it dont mess my center up when TV switches to 4:3. What i'm foing now is i just have my xbox360 on the dashboard so it shows FULL 1080i. I'm looking for a 1080i overscan pattern that i can burn to disc and play through the 360 dvd player but no luck yet. Hey tho if you get a chance when your in service menu can you double check these values for me, i think they switch with different inputs and NOT just resolutions.

I need MID2

DHHS ( mine is at 178)
DHVS (mine is at 67)

when in 1080i full screen using video 4.

See what i'm trying to do is get the whole picture inside! So when i have HSIZ to 0 i have the full picture inside the box. The full picture IS not in there, i know cause if i use say DHHP in mid2 i can bring in the right side a TON more, i need to do this on both sides tho and so far the only parameters that let me do that was messing with the DHVS, MDVS ones.

Ok i fixed it again lol. I HAD to change some of the settings that i read shouldn't be changed. I made sure when adjusting that it wasn't doing anything to the picture so i think it's safe. It was the ONLY way to fit the whole image inside and also get rid of this Bright white line that was noticeable on the right side of my screen when HBLK was off. Like i read it's a picture inside of a picture pretty much, now the picture fits perfectly. LOL now to tackle 480P, 720P then do it all again. :)

See what i'm trying to do is get the whole picture inside! So when i have HSIZ to 0 i have the full picture inside the box. The full picture IS not in there, i know cause if i use say DHHP in mid2 i can bring in the right side a TON more, i need to do this on both sides tho and so far the only parameters that let me do that was messing with the DHVS, MDVS ones.

I've been trying to do what you're trying to do. I've got the whole picture in view. BUT NOW... I noticed that the radar on "Crackdown" is clearly distorted and is not a perfect circle... note that this is on the bottom left of the screen. I'm not exactly sure off hand what the setting for all those awkward geometry settings are.

i found this cool screen with a bunch of info tho in service menu! Like how many hours you logged on the TV! i got 180! 2 to watching TV, 178 to calibrating :(

How do you find time to post in this forum? :p

LOL we can't win! well once again i went back to the defaults for mid 1 and 2. I couldn't live with the fact knowing my Tv was messed up after reading this post from kentech.

"According to the MID1 data chart, (charts are frequently cryptic), the column that applies to 480i seem to be Single - Others - Others, and the default value is 0! I checked my TV with a 480i feed from a DVD on V5, and MDHP is, indeed, set to 0.

At the column level, I don't quite get the "Normal" / "Others" distinction. "Single" does seem to refer to a screen-filling main display, and VGA is for a computer-generated video source connected thru HDMI, as far as I can tell from several charts.

In the MID1-3 groups, be sure to get the values for width and especially height exactly right, as these values control (as I have discovered) the precise sampling of the video for display. Get the vertical ones wrong, and the image quality will be compromised! There are exact ratios between the particular video-line count and the internal digital representation of that video that have to be maintained.

The critical values are DHAR, DVAR, MDHS, and MDVS in MID1; in MID2, DRHS and DRVS (if relevant); and in MID3, VDHS and VDVS. The correct numbers are the ones in the data tables.

I would copy all other numbers exactly as listed in the MID1-3 tables, especially MID3 #4-11. The ones associated with "phase" or "pos" (position) can be tweaked a little to balance the centering of a video frame between inputs; but don't mess with these without first getting the positioning right in the 2170D groups."

Would messing with the geometry in any way affect colors? I got my picture just perfect with the info from claypigeons posts. But now whites are too bright and blacks are too dark... anyone?

I fixed up the convergence a TON. Also got geometry as perfect as i can get on this set. You know what the best feeling is tho? when you think you have everything perfect and centered then sit down to watch TV and when a commercial comes on a 1080i program the screen is over to the right too much :) UGH!

You know whats pissing me off tho? i measure the damn picture and make sure everything is centered then like i said it will go a commercial, or i'll use my box and the menu of the box and commercial is off farther to the right.

Would messing with the geometry in any way affect colors? I got my picture just perfect with the info from claypigeons posts. But now whites are too bright and blacks are too dark... anyone?


nah! thats weird. But i'm willing to bet moving the picture over too much or to a certain point messed with the brightness of the screen. That happened to me when i was messing with the mid1-2 values. Anyways i did a much better geometry job a little bit ago. I didn't use avia this time cause everytime i been using it on this TV my overscan is all whacked anyways, So i used real world stuff. B-ball game on espn and Xbox dashboard in 1080i mode. Couldnt get it perfect, but it looks nice and better then having it all bumpy like i did before. Also my top left corner is slanted down a tad and its not like that on the left, so the only way to deal with it is cover it with overscan. Also i finally remembered to go into the menu and return the tilt correction to 0 so i can fix it in the service menu.

Here are my new values for 1080i FULL mode.

VPOS- 25
VSIZ- 24
VCEN- 13
VPIN- 14
NSCO- 11 ( this is the tilt correction control)
HTPZ- 20
SCRL- 36
HCNT- 31
HPOS- 37
HSIZ- 32
MPIN- 10
PIN- 14
UCP- 32
LCP- 27
PPHA- 22
VANG- 35
LANG- 10
VBOW-26
LBOW- 39

MID2
DHPH- 101
DHHP-30

Hey this might be a silly question but I'm gonna ask anyway....I'm about to buy a 970 but when i view HD (widescreen) material. It seems to cutt off some of the material on the right side while the LCDS that are next to it dont cut off any material. Is this a problem or has a simple solution? I played with the menu to try with the different viewing types but I could not fix it.

Upon trying to fix my awkward brightness issue I noticed that the Horizontal shutter "HBLK" will cause the screen to get brighter when switching the value to "1". This was one of the defaults I had in the notes I've lost. Does anybody know what the default value if for "HBLK" and "VBLK" is?

yea the value is 1, dont forget to mess with RBLK and LBLK and make sure your not cutting the picture off too much when you have your VSIZ/HSIZ set.

Ok tho thing i just noticed right now is be VERY careful when setting VCEN and VPIN. IT MESSES with the convergence of the horizontal lines! I'm going my convergence again and just noticed this right now. A good way to tell is by using any crosshatch pattern white lines on black screen. LOOK at the horizontal lines very closely, and if your VPIN and vCEN is off you will see the red and blue bleeding through, adjuct these just right, even if your picture looks all distorted, then fix the messed up picture using the other geomtery parameters.

Claypigeon you may be in for more than you bargained. While it has been stated that the mid1 to mid3 settings re not only not supposed to be global, but input and resolution independant, at least on some of them, that is not the case.

Basically because of what i was using (pc over HDMI 720p, xbox 1 on video4 720p, fox ota 720p) I pretty much got all the 720p stuff done, and as I did that 1080i got progressively worse on OTA. Odd thing is I still don't entirely understand why because I have now been able to go in and correct that without seemingly causing any noticeable damage to any of the 720p sources ... except for one that is, and this is odd and irritating.

For what reason I don't know, the MDVS and MDHS and MDHP (the latter two the difference is only slight, the first its +6, which is enough to like push the start bar all the way off the bottom) on HDMI and TV are linked. Now this wouldn't be a problem, but like I just said the settings are significantly different. If it is set incorrectly on either one it results in a signicicant chunk being cut off the bottom.

Now I might be able to ignore this for now because I'm only watching videos from a PC over HDMI on this port ... but if I wanted play an HD-DVD, or use a PS3 or something, this really could be a problem. So the question is, is there some other way I can compensate for this ... or, for that matter I mean its a pretty quick adjustment, so it possible to wear out whatever flash rom chip you write to in service mode?

I don't know if this will matter in anyone's answer at all, but even though it really isn't enough to bother me, I can tell the geometry isn't perfect, the top-left corner isn't perfect, it kinda slants a little starting an inch away from the corner, and there is a slight you know ) effect at the bottom of the screen. the VCEN option appears to help on both counts but without a test pattern its hard to tell if its perfect so I guess I decided to ignore it, its not that bad. However if that factors into somebody's answer to the other question into the large difference between correct MDVS settings between inputs, so be it, thanks.

Yea , it'd be nice if any calibrators who worked on this set could share their input, or people who have had this set calibrated share some information and changes made instead of " have your set calibrated by a pro" Do calibrators make you sign something that says you can't tell ANYBODY what settings they tweaked? and can only mention who calibrated your set and how to contact them? :D I know this isn't just an isolated problem as a few users on here share the same problem.

Turbo i noticed that too, thing is when using the OTA the settings are different then all the other inputs! It's like it's on seperate video channel! i noticed this when using the internal test patterns built into the XBR970 set. The changes i made didn't apply to my xbox 360, or set top box input (both using componet) I have everything fine as of now cept for 720p for some reason! it's centered when i look at charts and patterns! but when there is a commercial in 720P it's off to the right! makes no damn sense! LOL i'm about to just set my box to 1080i and have it play everything in 1080i. I mean it's not that bad! but i just wish i could fix it. it's not that i don't have the know how, it's just the parameters i USED to fix it and make it work are not supposed to be messed with for some reason ( DHHS, etc in mid 1)

I have the bowing too man! bad on the top and bottom. Can't get the top line straight tho! it always has bumps in it. I'm gonna go through some linearity patterns and get all the squares evenly spaced and see if that helps some, but i doubt it would since they are horizontal lines and seems the only way to fix this is using VPIN and VCEN, cept there is no happy medium between the two. I need a UPPER/bottom line correction or something! I mean this is only noticeable during certain instances, like say menu or soemthing comes up and i can see it bow down or up, like in the xbox dashboard it's easy to see.

Still tho i can't fix the overscan to get under 5 unless messing with some of the settings in MID 1 2. I NEED the raster to be bigger to fit the whole picture! but the only fix is too squeze the picture then stretch it out.

Well i'm pretty much doen with certain tweaks tho and now am able to enjoy my TV cept for some minor annoyances. I touched up the convergence and got better geometry settings then i had before. If you wnat me to post the setting si will be sticking with for now let me know.

As I said CP some of the MD settings (MDVS, MDHP and MDHS for certain at least) do bridge across mutiple inputs and TV mode, it just seems like if you keep correcting them enough eventually a happy medium is reached and its not noticably bad.

An update to my last post. I now think the computer is the problem with the MDVS problem, because I tried plugging a directv satellite box into it just to test (it was actually plugged into the vizio plasma I had mentioned previously) into the hdmi port and well, not only is their no croppy problem on the bottom, its cutting off way less of that ESPN HD ticker than the plasma is.

I'm using a geforce card with the latest forceware, and it did recognize it as a sony TV connected through DVI. There is an option in there somwehere for "show only standard HDTV resolutions" or something ... perhaps this would enable more custom timings that would more commonly mimmick standard broadcast and fix this problem, perhaps somebody can comment. It certainly does something because when I ticked the option it brought up its own ULA .. I backed out for now, hopefully somebody will comment.

Yea , it'd be nice if any calibrators who worked on this set could share their input, or people who have had this set calibrated share some information and changes made instead of " have your set calibrated by a pro" Do calibrators make you sign something that says you can't tell ANYBODY what settings they tweaked? and can only mention who calibrated your set and how to contact them? Some of us are trying to make house payments and put food on the table because calibration work is the only source of income. Why do you think they don't want to give FREE information and techniques they have developed over time. Does your boss ask you to work for free?

Some of us are trying to make house payments and put food on the table because calibration work is the only source of income. Why do you think they don't want to give FREE information and techniques they have developed over time. Does your boss ask you to work for free?

I agree with claypigeon on this one. I payed alot of money for my TV and it absolutely should cost me more money to "fix" what the manufacturer "should" have fixed.

I think you need to recognize that there's a difference between "fixing"
a TV and "tweaking" or "calibrating" a TV.

If you think there's a problem with your TV that the manufacturer should have fixed, then you should call an authorized service center for a repair. The manufacturer does give you a warranty against manufacturing defects, and if there's a problem with your TV the manufacturer will pay to have it fixed.

If you're simply trying to make your okay TV look better, you can either do the research and spend some trial-and-error time to do it yourself (and take the risk of screwing something up), or you can hire someone who does it professionally to come out to do it for you.

But you can't expect a service professional - who spent time and money on his professional training - to turn around and give you some of that training for free, or provide you with free lessons on how to set up your TV.

Imagine that you go out and buy a car. It works fine, but it's not the high-performance machine that you want. You've heard that you can install new parts on the car to make it drive faster and handle better. You buy the new parts, but instead of taking the car to a local mechanic to install them, you decide that you want to do it yourself. Would you then call the mechanic and expect him to give you step-by-step instructions on how to install your new parts, for free? "Hi, I don't want to pay you for your knowledge and expertise, so will you just tell me how to install these parts so I can do it myself?"

We're indebted to GlenC and the other professionals on this board for the help they have provided to the do-it-yourself community.

Some of us are trying to make house payments and put food on the table because calibration work is the only source of income. Why do you think they don't want to give FREE information and techniques they have developed over time. Does your boss ask you to work for free?


Ok so i guess you're just posting on this forum for your calibration services and to tell people they need to " have there set calibrated"and not to help people? I see you're point is taking about it being your job but are you trying to tell me i have to pay 200-300 dollars to have a guy change a few parameters in the service menu for this greatly guarded "sercret fix" for the xbr970? Come on now! I would get my set calibrated for things like greyscale and have white level properly set, as instruments are needed, BUT for something such as geometry or a overscan fix that any user whos been around the service menu can do. You must cringe everytime kentechs service menu code topic gets bumped to the top :D

I think you need to recognize that there's a difference between "fixing"
a TV and "tweaking" or "calibrating" a TV.

If you think there's a problem with your TV that the manufacturer should have fixed, then you should call an authorized service center for a repair. The manufacturer does give you a warranty against manufacturing defects, and if there's a problem with your TV the manufacturer will pay to have it fixed.

If you're simply trying to make your okay TV look better, you can either do the research and spend some trial-and-error time to do it yourself (and take the risk of screwing something up), or you can hire someone who does it professionally to come out to do it for you.

But you can't expect a service professional - who spent time and money on his professional training - to turn around and give you some of that training for free, or provide you with free lessons on how to set up your TV.

Imagine that you go out and buy a car. It works fine, but it's not the high-performance machine that you want. You've heard that you can install new parts on the car to make it drive faster and handle better. You buy the new parts, but instead of taking the car to a local mechanic to install them, you decide that you want to do it yourself. Would you then call the mechanic and expect him to give you step-by-step instructions on how to install your new parts, for free? "Hi, I don't want to pay you for your knowledge and expertise, so will you just tell me how to install these parts so I can do it myself?"

We're indebted to GlenC and the other professionals on this board for the help they have provided to the do-it-yourself community.



I see your point man! it's just frustraing! trying to get an answer :( THANK god you came through that that PSTP fix and didn't tell me you needed 300 bucks first to tell me :)

I see your point man! it's just frustraing! trying to get an answer :( THANK god you came through that that PSTP fix and didn't tell me you needed 300 bucks first to tell me :)
Well, see, I'm not a professional TV guy, so I'm not taking food off my kids' plates when I help you out - I'm just a do-it-yourselfer like you. I spent more than a few frustrating late nights cursing at my TV, trying to get it like I wanted it. I was at a point where I couldn't watch a TV show without being distracted by minor problems with the TV - like too much overscan or uneven pillar bars or improper linearity or bad grayscale. It took me a month or so of working in the service menu (not every day, but often enough that my family started wondering what my problem was) before it all started coming together. Then I got it to a point where I was happy with it, and I haven't gone into the service menu since then.

So just keep at it, keep learning about it, and you'll get it. Whatever problems you're having CAN be corrected. Even problems with images getting cut off and overscan and geometry.

I'll post help when I can but like I said it's been some months since I've done any tweaking at all, and I don't remember exactly what steps I took to get my set to how it is. Of course I have my notes with my values and perameters and everything I changed, but I don't remember all the steps I took. As I'm sure you're aware this "do it yourself" stuff is a lot of "learn as you go" and "learn on your own." Good luck!

Cool man! yea tho i should have thought about how this is some peoples livelihood before posting that and believe me glenc i don't want you to think i'm trying to take food off your plate. I wasn't asking for a specific setting to change, i just wanted a response to as if i can fix the overscan to fit the whole screen using the Mid 1 DHHS, DHHP, MDHS settings etc. cause thats the only way i can center the screen to fit the whole picture and not have it cut off and like 10% on the left and 5 on the right. I already know what the parameters do that i tweak with , but read messing with those settings do something to the video sampling or whatnot!

Cool man! yea tho i should have thought about how this is some peoples livelihood before posting that and believe me glenc i don't want you to think i'm trying to take food off your plate. I wasn't asking for a specific setting to change, i just wanted a response to as if i can fix the overscan to fit the whole screen using the Mid 1 DHHS, DHHP, MDHS settings etc. cause thats the only way i can center the screen to fit the whole picture and not have it cut off and like 10% on the left and 5 on the right. I already know what the parameters do that i tweak with , but read messing with those settings do something to the video sampling or whatnot!Some people have only worked on their Sony, day in and day out for years. There is enough information in this thread for you to start the learning process to fix your problems. It will just take time, lots of it. Geometry can be a very touchy process. I recently made a slight overscan tweak on a RPTV that resulted in a 15-hour day because of the problems induced by reducing factory overscan on a CRT. If i go in to specifically correct geometry, it is done on an hourly basis, not a flat fee. I calibrate so many different TVs, I don't know all the adjustments for all TVs by memory. Would I go review my notes and study service manuals to give out free technical advice, no, what I contribute here is helping DIY'ers stay in the right direction. When it comes to SM adjustments, there have been plenty warnings. Just ask your Doctor, Accountant, Lawyer, auto mechanic, etc. for free advice.

Is the 970 natively 720p or 1080i? I'm trying to avoid any additional scaling..

It's natively 853x1080i

It's natively 853x1080i

So it's not "true" 1080i correct? True 1080i is 1920x1080 correct?

I see your point glenC Sorry about all that! Well anyways back to my tweaking. I think i was just jumping to conclusions, cause i have set my set again and in 480p in full screen mode i got 3 % overscan. I don't know why but i thought i was losing a TON of picture but i really guess i'm not? Maybe it was cause i was seeing how much picture was being cut off while watching TV, but then again this is running avia 480P on xbox 360, so maybe i still am losing alot of picture on 1080i/720p. Or maybe i was just squzing the picture in on one side and in effect it was stretching the other maki9ng it "seem" like there was alot more picture? But then when i ran a jpeg image of a overscan pattern from my PC in 1080i on 360 it was saying like 5% overscan.

On a sde not i'm kinda pissed cause as i was looking through the landing parameters i now see there is geometry tweaks also in there! what gives? how many are needed? Are those specific ones tho? they seem to do the same thing as the ones found in the other settings. Should those ones not be tweaked and just concern myself with the main ones like MPIN and what not?

I think i'm gonna tackle the vlin and scor now, or whatever they are called on this TV. luckily i have a service menu which lists what and where they are. I been putting this one off as it's my least favorite calibration to do. It's Something about measuring square blocks and circles that doesn't do anything for me.

So it's not "true" 1080i correct? True 1080i is 1920x1080 correct?
No CRT TV has a true 1920x1080i. The highest is 1440x1080i by Sony (XBR960) but
you'll see barely a difference.

So it's not "true" 1080i correct? True 1080i is 1920x1080 correct?CRTs are not fixed pixels, they just have scanlines. In the case of the Sony 970, there is a mask at the back of the screen. The lines are drawn uniformly left to right odd then even. Think of it as a light panning across a picket fence. The beam never stops, just blocked by the pickets.

Maybe a repost, but circuitcity dot cam has this TV sale priced again. $100 more this time at $699. Still a good deal if you ask me.

I have recently moved and the USPS change of adress process included a C.C. coupon for 10% of all tv's over $100. If you are going to buy this TV, mail me and I'll give you the coupon code as I already got my 970 and have no use for the discount.

evvy at evvythomas dot cam

Well i noticed something during my tweaking yesterday. Anybody else have having curved lines on the left and right side middle that don't seem to get fixed no matter what you try? after messing with all differnet VBOW LBOW settings i couldnt get rid of the curve! and if i would on one side it would still be bad on the other or mess up soemthing else. It seems that when lowering VSCO to like 0, 1,2, straightens out the lines pretty close to being perfect! then when raising VSIZ to fill the screen the lines dont get bent like they normally would! Now doing this would probably cause lineraity issues! but thats easily fixable compensating with say ULVN/LVLN. And even then the linearity wasnt even that off! I'm gonna mess around more later on and see iof there might be a similar setting instead of using VSCO. cause it might just be stretching the screen when setting it low and then rasing it with VSIZ. Maybe ASPT would be better.

Here are my settings i been using now (1080i, componet) so you can see what i mean. Then lower VSCO and watch the effect.

*Tilt correction, vertical off in user menu*

VPOS-26
VSIZ-27
VCEN-13
VPIN-18
NSCO-18
HTPZ-17
SCRL-35
VSCO ( originally 6, lower to watch line straighten)
HCNT-29
HPOS-29
HSIZ-33
MPIN-5
PIN-20
UCP-32
LCP-29
PPHA-21
Vang-29
Lang-29
VBOW-27
LBOW-40

and my color decoding setting for perfect color ( may be different on your side)
RYR- 13
RYB-15
GYR-5
GYB-4

Gamma
GAMM-0
GAMS-0
GAMR-1
GAMG-1
GAMB-1
BLK-0
SBRT- 18 (brightness set to mid, UBOF set to 4 for other componet input for HDbox)

DRV/CUTS
RDRV-49
GDRV-39
BDRV-34

RCUT-42
GCUT-23
BCUT-16

*User settings*

Picture mode- PRO

Picture- 38
brightness-50
color-47
hue-R1
color temp.- warm
sharpness-12 ( mayb be way too low for some but i tweak my sharpness in service menu)
clear edge- off
color axis- monitor

Maybe a repost, but circuitcity dot cam has this TV sale priced again. $100 more this time at $699. Still a good deal if you ask me.

I have recently moved and the USPS change of adress process included a C.C. coupon for 10% of all tv's over $100. If you are going to buy this TV, mail me and I'll give you the coupon code as I already got my 970 and have no use for the discount.

evvy at evvythomas dot cam

Sadly, the 970 has now disappeared from Circuit City online - at least for my zip code. If you do manage to find one at a brick and mortar CC you could also use a 10% off coupon from AAA. I got one at $540 with the AAA discount.

RIP