The Official Sony 2006 KDS-(XX)A2000 [NO PRICE TALK] SXRD Owner's Thread

[JasonWW]

Originally Posted by Jason30

Guys, stepping into this thread at nearly 4000 posts is a bit overwhelming Can someone give me some cliff notes on known problems so far, if any. Am I to understand the green blob is showing up on the A2000 sets? Thanks guys.

We've had maybe 4 people say they have some green hazing somewhere on the image and is only seen on white or gray images. Only one person has posted pics and yes, it was noticable.
So the green blob problem isn't completely gone, but does seem reduced as well as less frequent.

One guy had the set turn off on him due to heat. Seems to be an isolated event, He got it replaced.

Other than that, no real problems. Just amazing PQ by all who have it. If I'm forgetting anyone, please let us know.

[jonathankk]

I remember that cnet saying in their review that the a2000's couldn't resolve every line of 1080 but after the tweak they were able to. They said that it was because it was a preproduction sample. Does that mean that all new builds will be able to resolve every line of 1080?

[sourcery]

Originally Posted by JasonWW

We've had maybe 4 people say they have some green hazing somewhere on the image and is only seen on white or gray images. Only one person has posted pics and yes, it was noticable.
So the green blob problem isn't completely gone, but does seem reduced as well as less frequent.

One guy had the set turn off on him due to heat. Seems to be an isolated event, He got it replaced.

Other than that, no real problems. Just amazing PQ by all who have it. If I'm forgetting anyone, please let us know.

Four with green haze? The only two I remember were misterjensen and smagill (and smagill, who's seen the real thing more than once, said he didn't think what he saw was the same phenomenon.)

The only other issue I remember (other than those you mentioned) is reports of dust (or perhaps ash) specs on the back of the screen (or somehere in the optics.)

[jdryyz]

Originally Posted by HoundDogCatia

The DVD through S-Video was also very good. Some DVDs were better than others. The Nasa sequence on the DVE DVD was great. Some of my older ones were just ok to good. I put Casablanca in, and it was by far better than I expected. You could see some movement in the white shirts, but for an old B&W, I was very impressed. Fast and the Furious also looked very good.

Interesting. This is the first report I've seen in a while from someone using S-Video on a modern display device. What prompted you to do that? I figured component would be the lowest source anyone would dare use these days. I'm glad to see this, though, as I am giving more serious thought to acquiring an LCD-type display in the near future now that the technology is improving.

I still intend to use a couple of S-Video sources and I'm hoping they will not appear too dreadful looking. I currently have a 57" widescreen rear projection CRT that I occassionally view "zoomed" laserdiscs on. It doesn't look too terrible. It would be nice to know that the same is still true for LCoS.

[Phantom Gremlin]

Originally Posted by sourcery

Four with green haze? The only two I remember were misterjensen and smagill (and smagill, who's seen the real thing more than once, said he didn't think what he saw was the same phenomenon.)

The only other issue I remember (other than those you mentioned) is reports of dust (or perhaps ash) specs on the back of the screen (or somehere in the optics.)

Okay, it wasn't green it was red, but Mr. Foo, the originator of this thread, has reported problems. Here's his latest comment:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...93#post8165693

[sourcery]

Originally Posted by Phantom Gremlin

Okay, it wasn't green it was red, but Mr. Foo, the originator of this thread, has reported problems. Here's his latest comment:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...93#post8165693

Oh, right. I had forgotten that case.

So let's see: People have had their sets for 4 weeks now, and we have 3 known cases of color non-uniformity issues (albeit with everyone here looking for it like hawks.) How does that compare to the situation after the first 4 weeks of the XBR1s?

Edit: After browsing through the first two months of posts on the XBR1 Owners' Thread (which started life on 2006-09-26,) the first report of the green blob that I could find was in post 2753 (2005-11-10.) Interestingly, the big issue at the time was some sort of "blue hue" problem, which I've never seen, and which for some reason doesn't seem to be discussed any more. Also interesting is the fact that by November, the September build cohort was already tagged as undesirable.

[4servants]

Sad to say, I returned my 60" A2000 to CC a few days ago. I got a great price but the SD picture quality was very poor compared to my 58" HP DLP. HD looked fine though.

[HoundDogCatia]

Originally Posted by jdryyz

Interesting. This is the first report I've seen in a while from someone using S-Video on a modern display device. What prompted you to do that? I figured component would be the lowest source anyone would dare use these days. I'm glad to see this, though, as I am giving more serious thought to acquiring an LCD-type display in the near future now that the technology is improving.

I still intend to use a couple of S-Video sources and I'm hoping they will not appear too dreadful looking. I currently have a 57" widescreen rear projection CRT that I occassionally view "zoomed" laserdiscs on. It doesn't look too terrible. It would be nice to know that the same is still true for LCoS.

Well, at the time that was all I had. I am now using components on the DVD. However, as others have suggested, I am using SVideo on my SA 8300 for SD and it looks really good. I can say that I was not able to properly calibrate the DVD SVideo input using DVE because I could not see the -4% black no matter what the settings were. Once I hooked up the components, the black was a lot better.

[HoundDogCatia]

I'm not sure what the problem really is, but I have noticed now on 2 DVDs that I can see a green line at the top of the letterbox. I also see some green on the fast forward arrows that appear on the tv from the DVD player. These are noticeable from over 10' away. They only bother me in the beginning of the movie and are most noticeable when nothing is going on. The player is hooked up with components. Do you think this is a tv, player, or connection issue? One of the DVDs was T2 Extreme.

[cxgy]

Originally Posted by sourcery

Four with green haze? The only two I remember were misterjensen and smagill (and smagill, who's seen the real thing more than once, said he didn't think what he saw was the same phenomenon.)

The only other issue I remember (other than those you mentioned) is reports of dust (or perhaps ash) specs on the back of the screen (or somehere in the optics.)

I was the 4th person.. green haze lasted longer than it should for a few days. Not an issue now as it disappears after initial warmup. Even when it was there it more like an area where the colour temperature was more greenish as opposed to a true discolouration or "blob" (i.e.- white was still white - but it was more like a greenish white ... just like how choosing COOL and WARM gives you bluish or reddish tinted white.) The wife noticed it though.

[jimmyv]

Originally Posted by Jay_Davis

You mean I'm asking too much if I expect the optics in my $2500 TV to be as accurate as those on a one billion dollar anti-ballistic missile laser defense system?

No wonder everyone says Sony sucks.

Or as a $500 35mm camera.

[psincubus]

misterjensen,

how did your green blob problem start? did you first notice it during startup but then it went away? Then after some time it lasted past startup like cxgy's? or not during startup?

I am seeing some green haze during startup I think, it's just hard to tell since the screen is so dark during startup.

[Payton3485]

Has anyone purchased an external scaler to use in conjunction with their (XX) A2000? I am considering getting one but would like to know what difference it would make if any? I currently have HD Cable, HD Satellite and HD DVD player hooked up to my 60 A2000 and receiver. The picture is amazing but if the scaler would improve the A2000 even furhter, I would love to know! Thanks for any input!

[gaucho20]

I was reading all of the talk before about battery backup, UPS, etc. I was digging through my basement and found an APC UPS 500. Can I use it for the A2000? Is it only for computers? I know this sounds like a silly question, but I am clueless here. Thanks!

[gaucho20]

Originally Posted by HoundDogCatia

I'm not sure what the problem really is, but I have noticed now on 2 DVDs that I can see a green line at the top of the letterbox. I also see some green on the fast forward arrows that appear on the tv from the DVD player. These are noticeable from over 10' away. They only bother me in the beginning of the movie and are most noticeable when nothing is going on. The player is hooked up with components. Do you think this is a tv, player, or connection issue? One of the DVDs was T2 Extreme.

I had the same problem with some scenes (those with a lot of green) in the movie Unforgiven, but I haven't had the problem with anything else. White text appears crisp, with no green edges. I can't imagine that this is a convergence issue, but will have to check with test patterns/DVE once I get it.

[JasonWW]

I was estimating about 4 folks or so. Not an exact number and it seems about right. I forgot about the dust specs, but seeing as they were not visable unless you were real close to the screen and had a solid color displaying I don't think they are a real concern. Some dust may have gotten in the optics or on the back side of the screen. I believe that is not going to be a common problem found on many sets. Sounds more isolated to me as opposed to some kind of design defect.

Originally Posted by sourcery

So let's see: People have had their sets for 4 weeks now, and we have 3 known cases of color non-uniformity issues (albeit with everyone here looking for it like hawks.) How does that compare to the situation after the first 4 weeks of the XBR1s?

Edit: After browsing through the first two months of posts on the XBR1 Owners' Thread (which started life on 2006-09-26,) the first report of the green blob that I could find was in post 2753 (2005-11-10.)

Your forgetting a few things. First of all no one even had a name for the color uniformity at first. This seems to be an SXRD specific problem and the very first SXRD (sony's) were the XBR1's from last year. No one was out looking for the green blob until much later. Even to this day there are XBR1 owners out there who really have the problem, but don't realize it. So with this latest version of SXRD sets (A2000) we are jumping all over them looking for it and even a few wanting it to show up. You have to ask, did the green blob problem on the XBR1's show up very late or did no one just notice it? I'm betting they were there from day one. So you can't compare the first 4 weeks between the 2 models at all. No comparison what so ever.

[JasonWW]

Originally Posted by 4servants

Sad to say, I returned my 60" A2000 to CC a few days ago. I got a great price but the SD picture quality was very poor compared to my 58" HP DLP. HD looked fine though.

Are you pulling our legs? You thought the A2000 had poor SD quality? What settings and inputs did you try? Do you have really poor SD signal quality to start with? I'd like some more details.

Originally Posted by HoundDogCatia

I'm not sure what the problem really is, but I have noticed now on 2 DVDs that I can see a green line at the top of the letterbox. I also see some green on the fast forward arrows that appear on the tv from the DVD player. These are noticeable from over 10' away. They only bother me in the beginning of the movie and are most noticeable when nothing is going on. The player is hooked up with components. Do you think this is a tv, player, or connection issue? One of the DVDs was T2 Extreme.

I don't know. Is the green line on the very top edge of the screen like as if your set doesn't have enough overscan? Or was it in the movie? I'm having trouble visualizing your description, can you take a picture of it?

It looks like a couple of these sets are having small convergence problems. My set is fine, but I don't like those pics posted by buccikong. That looks pretty bad, but it may be a zoomed in picture.

Again, I think you guys should turn on the set and go get a beveridge or something. Don't even look at it for the first minute. It's always going to look messed up until it warms up and the color stabilizes. In fact, I read somewhere that an ISF technician would typically let the set warm up for 30 minutes before starting the calibration just to make sure it's fully at operating temperature and the colors have stabilized. Don't quote me on that, but that's what I hear. Maybe Googer can comment on this.

[CaliJ]

Hello everyone,

I just got my 50a2000 this morning (finally) and am trying to play a dvd via my PS2. This may be more of a post for a receiver thread, but I thought I would see if anyone could help me.

My current setup is PS2 to receiver via the component cables and a toslink (digital audio) cable. All 4 connections go into my Denon 2807 receiver. From the Denon to the a2000, I have a single HDMI cable.

My picture is up, but its black and white, grainy, and absolutely horrible to look at. I thought maybe I had reversed the component cables, but I dont think I did because no picture comes up at all when I try switching (the PS2 cable colors dont match the receiver, so its sort of guessing).

Anyway, hopefully i'm just an idiot and there is an easy fix. I thought I was technology savy, but maybe not.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
James

[rsk]

Originally Posted by CaliJ

Hello everyone,

I just got my 50a2000 this morning (finally) and am trying to play a dvd via my PS2. This may be more of a post for a receiver thread, but I thought I would see if anyone could help me.

My current setup is PS2 to receiver via the component cables and a toslink (digital audio) cable. All 4 connections go into my Denon 2807 receiver. From the Denon to the a2000, I have a single HDMI cable.

My picture is up, but its black and white, grainy, and absolutely horrible to look at. I thought maybe I had reversed the component cables, but I dont think I did because no picture comes up at all when I try switching (the PS2 cable colors dont match the receiver, so its sort of guessing).

Anyway, hopefully i'm just an idiot and there is an easy fix. I thought I was technology savy, but maybe not.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
James

James,
The DVD player component in the PS2 is notoriously horrible, same goes for the XBox systems. I would never suggest using a console as your media test, not all players are created equal. Try and get an HD feed going from over the air or from STB to see how the TV should look.

[HoundDogCatia]

Originally Posted by JasonWW

Are you pulling our legs? You thought the A2000 had poor SD quality? What settings and inputs did you try? Do you have really poor SD signal quality to start with? I'd like some more details.

I don't know. Is the green line on the very top edge of the screen like as if your set doesn't have enough overscan? Or was it in the movie? I'm having trouble visualizing your description, can you take a picture of it?

It looks like a couple of these sets are having small convergence problems. My set is fine, but I don't like those pics posted by buccikong. That looks pretty bad, but it may be a zoomed in picture.

Again, I think you guys should turn on the set and go get a beveridge or something. Don't even look at it for the first minute. It's always going to look messed up until it warms up and the color stabilizes. In fact, I read somewhere that an ISF technician would typically let the set warm up for 30 minutes before starting the calibration just to make sure it's fully at operating temperature and the colors have stabilized. Don't quote me on that, but that's what I hear. Maybe Googer can comment on this.

My camera is being repaired, so no picture for now. It was a letterbox format. The green line was at the top and bottom of the image where it fades to the black bars, which was a few inches from the top of the screen. It was about 2 pixels wide, and on closer inspection, it looks as if the top is just faded with a green/white tint. The tv was warm and had been on for at least 2 hours. It could be the movie or DVD player.

[jdryyz]

Originally Posted by hormy_83

I've had my 50 inch for almost a week and love it! I wanted to post up a couple pictures, first showing the TV on the stand for those of you are interested in what stands people are getting. I got mine from the local American TV - don't remember the brand - but if you want to know PM me and I'll check it out for ya.

And all I managed to get pictures of was my computer that I had hooked up to it as my buddy wanted to see how clear that was. And it was great! I had no probs running 1080p over HDMI after updating my video card driver.

That looks great! I thought I read earlier that folks were noticing overscan even from 1080p sources over HDMI. I see 1:1 pixel mapping and no signs of overscan. Beautiful!

[vdmorales1]

Well after fussing alot at retailer and sony i have got a replacement 60a2000 yesterday night from best buy.... Everything looks great i think the SD broadcast look better on this set and on all formats the blacks and the color are more vivid.

I think on HD broadcast the image my be a bit softer i tried adjusting it but i can not go into the drc thing and change the clarity or the reaility like before on my xbr1. You can only adjusted it on 480 inputs.

But overall i am more satisfied with this set no green blob issues nicer and eaiser menu to navaigate.

I liked the steal remote of my xbr1 though....

How do i check if my 1080 inputs have the issue that i have been reading about not seeing all the lines or something.....

I am still fighting with sony about the old set cuz i really want the xbr2 when it releases and i have also joined the lawsuite.

Any thoughts will be greatfull..

Ill put some images up later on tonight going to a party today see ya

[buccikong]

Unfortunately, the green haze has presented itself on my 60A2000. It's not just a startup thing, it's still around after the sets been on for 30 minutes or more. I first noticed it on a 4x3 broadcast that had grey bars - it was noticeable on the right bar. It can easily be viewed by turning the color all the way down - which basically displays a black and white image. The photo that I am including has the color all the way down, and you should be able to see the green haze in the lower right corner. I'm not sure if they are related or not, but the green haze is located in the same part of the screen that has convergence issues. I have the July build incase anybody is keeping track.

[smagill]

Originally Posted by sourcery

Four with green haze? The only two I remember were misterjensen and smagill (and smagill, who's seen the real thing more than once, said he didn't think what he saw was the same phenomenon.)

The only other issue I remember (other than those you mentioned) is reports of dust (or perhaps ash) specs on the back of the screen (or somehere in the optics.)

Hi, hope I'm replying properly (never tried to quote before).

Just as a quick update....we purchased the set through a Sony store here in Canada. They sub out their service to a tech company, and the tech company was supposed to come on Friday but cancelled. The people at the Sony store were great and said that they could either get us the floor model immediately (Saturday) or a new set early in the week. I opted for the new set. Again, the people at the store have been great.

As to the discoloration, having watched the set for a few more nights and having used a dvd calibration disk, I'd still stick with this not being the same problem I've seen in the stores on the XBR1. On those sets the green haze/blob that I've seen has always extended from the edge of the screen inwards towards the center (sometimes it has even discoloured most of one half of the screen). The problem I'm having is an isolated area (cicular shaped) in the middle right of the screen, but doesn't seem to extend right to the edge of the screen. It shows up mainly in greys, but also in greens which tend to be oversaturated in that area.

Sorry I can't send pictures but I just haven't had time. Again I'll reiterate that everything else about the set is great so far. My only major dislike is having to flip through all of the inputs to get the source I want. Sony isn't the only company that does this....but geesh, for a piece of equipment this expensive you'd think that this is something that could have been solved.

I'll post an update once I get the replacement television. I'm truly expecting that the new one will be perfect. I think this was just bad luck.

[Jay_Davis]

Originally Posted by CaliJ

Hello everyone,

I just got my 50a2000 this morning (finally) and am trying to play a dvd via my PS2. This may be more of a post for a receiver thread, but I thought I would see if anyone could help me.

My current setup is PS2 to receiver via the component cables and a toslink (digital audio) cable. All 4 connections go into my Denon 2807 receiver. From the Denon to the a2000, I have a single HDMI cable.

My picture is up, but its black and white, grainy, and absolutely horrible to look at. I thought maybe I had reversed the component cables, but I dont think I did because no picture comes up at all when I try switching (the PS2 cable colors dont match the receiver, so its sort of guessing).

Anyway, hopefully i'm just an idiot and there is an easy fix. I thought I was technology savy, but maybe not.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
James

It sounds like you have a bad cable or a bad input on the receiver. You'll have to swap things around a bit untill you narrow down your problem. But, as the other poster mentioned, don't expect great stuff from the PS2.

[jonathankk]

what would be the best place to see a 50a2000?

[sourcery]

Originally Posted by smagill

H...As to the discoloration, having watched the set for a few more nights and having used a dvd calibration disk, I'd still stick with this not being the same problem I've seen in the stores on the XBR1. On those sets the green haze/blob that I've seen has always extended from the edge of the screen inwards towards the center (sometimes it has even discoloured most of one half of the screen). The problem I'm having is an isolated area (cicular shaped) in the middle right of the screen, but doesn't seem to extend right to the edge of the screen. It shows up mainly in greys, but also in greens which tend to be oversaturated in that area.

You're right that every other case of the green blob I've seen or heard of starts at one or more screen edge(s) and bleeds inward. However, the "mostly in greys, but also in greens which tend to be oversaturated in that area" part of your description exactly resembles my experience with the green blob.

Edit: Consider smd's description of the green blob (2005-11-10):

I have the 50" SXRD with an October build date. I also have the blue hue issue in the lower left and upper right parts of the screen, again, as most have said, only noticable in a dark room when viewing dark scenes or letterboxed DVD's. However, I also have another issue when the screen is blank (no input signal). Just to the left of center, there is a very faint solid green circle. It's only about 6-8 inches across. It appears to either disappear or get so faint that it's not noticable when I switch to Video 8, the PC input and it's not visible when a picture is on the screen. I'm waiting to see what others find out before taking action like exchanging it. At this point, it sounds a little like Russian Roulette to get another set that may or may not be better. I think the idea of calling Sony customer service and letting them know about the issue is a good one. It may be just an artifact of the technology, but if so, I'd like to hear that from Sony.

What you and smd describe would seem to be the same phenomenon.

Using Occam's razor, I think yours should be counted as a variation of the green blob.

[JasonWW]

CaliJ, sounds like a cable issue. Try moving the cables around in a different order. The PS2 DVD playback may be bad, but not what your describing.

buccikong, I thought your convergence problem might produce that green haze and it appears I'm right. Looks like something is wrong with the optical block. Do you remember it being there from day one? Do you know if your TV was shipped improperly like layed down on it's side?
I think warrany work is in need.

Smagill, what your describing sounds like buccikong picture. Is that similar to what you see?

Extra inputs can be set to skip. Just go into the rename section and choose the name "skip".

[skeeball]

[quote=generallee]

Originally Posted by rlb

i don't understand this 24 frames per second. That is slow. Motion pictures are at 30.3 FPS and 60 would be twice the frames needed for film. If HD DVD won't do at least 60 then I will wait. I remember paying 1000 bucks for the first VCR and now they are 25.

You should always wait at least 30 years after a technology is introduced before you buy it. That way you save lots of money. All the people buying VCRs right now for the first time are getting the deal of a lifetime. I envy them.

[skeeball]

^^ buccikong's picture followed by smagill's description is a little eerie. There definitely isn't the straight line element of the XBR1 though.

Originally Posted by JasonWW

No, I didn't read any of the XBR1 posts. I just decided to get a new TV about 6-7 weeks ago and got into this thread. Funny how no one at all in the 3590 posts here have said what the actual cause was. I assumed no one knew. Thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by JasonWW

Your forgetting a few things. First of all no one even had a name for the color uniformity at first. This seems to be an SXRD specific problem and the very first SXRD (sony's) were the XBR1's from last year.

You realize you were quoting someone who had an XBR1 with the green blob? And the XBR1 was not the first SXRD.