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Official Sony XBR HX909 owners' thread (52HX909, 46HX909, HX9, HX900)

559K views 3K replies 414 participants last post by  guho 
#1 ·
Hi all. Lots of talk, expectations, speculation about this unit. Let's put HX praise, reviews, gripes, observations, calibration settings, etc. in a thread here, away from the massive "2010 Bravia" thread.


So I just received my 52HX909, replacing a 60NX800 that I had for a month. The sticker says it was manufactured in June 2010. Minty fresh.


I have it in a very bright room with floor-to-ceiling windows. In my first couple of hours, I can make a few positive observations:

1. Reflections are significantly darker and less distracting than the NX series

2. Reflections are not doubled as they are in the NX series (due to Opticontrast resin)

3. Off-axis viewing is better than the NX series


Non PQ observations:

1. I can see ribbon connectors through the top of the chassis in the back, likely feeding the matrix or columns of backlighting. Through the same grille in the back, I can also see several columns of white LEDs themselves.

2. The power cord is surprisingly thin, compared to the NX cord and has a non-polarized "electric razor" style end as opposed to the appliance or computer PSU style end.

3. I'm not hearing the plastic warm-up cool-down cracking (yet?) as I did on the NX. It never actually bothered me on the NX, but I see some people here talking about it.

4. The stand swivels (unlike the 60NX800). I suppose it will fit in a slotted metal Sony Bunchin stand (I've seen photos) but SonyStyle isn't currently saying so explicitly.


Not news to anyone following this TV's release but the first real English review appears to be CNET:
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...-33943224.html
 
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#2,634 ·
Hello Viper2847!


I use your settings :

Picture Mode: Custom


Scene: General


Backlight 3

Picture 85

Brightness 50

Color 50

Hue 0

Color Temperature Warm 1

Sharpness 60

Noise Reduction off

MPEG Noise Reduction off

Motionflow Clear 1

Cinemotion Auto 1


Black Corrector off

Adv Contrast Enhancer Off

Gamma -1

LED Dynamic Control Standard

Auto Light Limiter Off

Clear White Off

Live Color off

White Balance: Default



Detail Enhancer Low

Edge Enhancer Off



Power saver: Off


I use my 55HX900 for TV and the game


Have you changed a setting from?


thank you!
 
#2,635 ·
After reading through some of this thread, especially those comparing their TV's to the new 929's, I picked up a demo 52" - they seem to be going fast.


I'm somewhat in shock as I never thought I would buy an expensive LCD (considering I could have bought a brand new Panny 54VT25 for $50 less, or Sammy 58C8000 for the same price or any number of other plasmas for 1/2 the price). Nevertheless it is being delivered monday, and I hope that local dimming lives up to the hype when I finally get to test it out at home!
 
#2,636 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chemi /forum/post/20731182


Hello Viper2847!


I use your settings :

Picture Mode: Custom


Scene: General


Backlight 3

Picture 85

Brightness 50

Color 50

Hue 0

Color Temperature Warm 1

Sharpness 60

Noise Reduction off

MPEG Noise Reduction off

Motionflow Clear 1

Cinemotion Auto 1


Black Corrector off

Adv Contrast Enhancer Off

Gamma -1

LED Dynamic Control Standard

Auto Light Limiter Off

Clear White Off

Live Color off

White Balance: Default



Detail Enhancer Low

Edge Enhancer Off



Power saver: Off


I use my 55HX900 for TV and the game


Have you changed a setting from?


thank you!

I kept everything the same except the color at 55 instead of 50.


I also like motionflow with clear1/auto1 or standard/cinemotion OFF
 
#2,637 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackvette94 /forum/post/20546110


My 52HX909 Review:


Hi everyone, I wanted to post my review of the 52HX909 that I bought from PC Richards. It was a display model and was in like new condition other then some finger prints



I want just briefly go over the most recent displays I have owned. I will start with the Pioneer Pro1150 768P plasma. I currently still have this tv in the house and I will reference it later in the review. I also owned two different Pioneer Pro110's 1080p and one Pioneer Pro111 1080p plasma. All three 1080p plasma's suffered from the dirty screen effect, the first was ironically better then the last two. The DSE as I will refer to it going forward is fairly noticable in movies and tv but painfully obvious while gaming.


Although the 1080p Pioneers offered to me the best color, contrast and clarity among the tv's I have owned, the DSE really was distracted to me and I sold them, at a large loss I might add. I then purchased the LG 15 inch OLED tv. Thinking this would not have any downfalls that Plasma or LCD would have. Problem with this OLED is that one it was WAY too smalle and two the motion handling wasn't alot better then a normal 60hz lcd. I was pretty shocked about that. The blacks no doubt were amazing and better then any plasma or lcd before it. This tv was sold again at a loss because the size and motion blur were too distracting.



Now this brings me to the Sony 52Hx909. I had saw this tv last December at Ultimate Electronics in NH. I was very impressed by it for many reasons, one the moiton handling with motion flow on clear 1 was VERY impressive. Two the DSE was really non-existent on this tv. This was huge for me because I am very sensitive to it.


Anyway the 909 was about $4200 at the time and I had my share of buying $4k plus plasma's that were not up to what I was looking for. So I held off on buying it. Then last week I was looking around at PC richards and they had a floor model 52HX909 that they had on sale. It was less then the 46 inch NX720, so I figured I would jump on it.


After getting alot of quality time with the 909, I have to say its the second best tv I have ever seen. The only display IMO that is better is the Pro1150. The reason for this is uniformity, the Pro1150 does not have the DSE that the higher pixel 1080p panels had, and the phosphor lag is just not there on the 768p model. The Sony 909 has not horizontal banding or Uneveness BUT it does have some slight veritcal banding/uneveness on the screen. This can bee seen on mostly solid color screens or very quick motion going left to right.


I had checked out the 55hx929 at two different stores before purchasing the 909, and I saw much worse uneveness on the 929. But I felt the 929 did handle the blooming off axis better, and the off axis viewing was improved on the 929.


I will say that I mainly use the tv for gaming and some blu ray movies. So if your going to be using the 909 or the 929 for movies and tv, the uneveness is a NON issue. If you plan to game on it, be prepared to see some uneveness. In all fairness, I have yet to see any tv have perfect or close to perfect uniformity. Even the LG OLED had issues with that. Below is my settings for the Sony 52HX909, please try them out, I think everyone will be very satisfied with them



Also for gamers, all tv's mentioned in the review have NO issues with input lag, even with local dimming on and motion flow on clear 1. I tried in game mode, graphic mode, and I could not detect any difference. The settings below is how I play all content including games:


--Home Menu>Settings>Picture & Display--


--Picture Adjustments menu--

Setting Memory: [any]

Picture Mode: Custom

Backlight: 2

Picture: 90

Brightness: 50

Color: 50

Hue: 0

Color Temperature: Warm 2

Sharpness: 50

Noise Reduction: Off

MPEG Noise Reduction: Off

Motionflow: Clear 1

CineMotion: Auto 1


--Advanced Settings menu--

Black Corrector: Off

Adv. Contrast Enhancer: Off

Gamma: -2

LED Dynamic Control: Standard

Auto Light Limiter: Off

Clear White: Off

Live Color: Off

White Balance: [See below]

Detail Enhancer: Off

Edge Enhancer: Off

Skin Naturalizer: Off [grayed out]


--White Balance menu--

R-Gain: -11

G-Gain: -8

B-Gain: 0

R-Bias: 0

G-Bias: 0

B-Bias: -1


Home Menu>Settings>Ambient Sensor: Off


Home Menu>Settings>Screen menu--

Setting Memory: [any]

Wide Mode: Full

Auto Wide: Off

4:3 Default: Off [grayed out]

Auto Display Area: Off

Display Area: Full Pixel

Screen Position: [grayed out]

Vertical Size: [grayed out]


Home Menu>Settings>Pro Picture Setup: [All settings Auto]


--Home Menu>Settings>Preferences--


--Scene Select menu--

General


--Eco menu--

Power Saving: Off



Also I want to say that build quality wise the 909 was much better then the 929, the 929 uses Gorilla glass/acrylic and the 909 uses thick glass. The Gorilla glass looking off axis has some slight wave to it on the borders where its attached to the rest of the tv, just looks cheaper then perfectly flat glass ont he 909, and the metal border on the 909 looks VERY nice!


Overall, Sony really surprised me, I haven't been a fan of lcds in a long time for gaming and movies but this has changed my mind. The blacks in a dimly lit room look the SAME as the LG OLED I had. Other then some slight blooming the two looking very much the same as far as blacks go. The last time I enjoyed a Sony tv was the 34XBR2 crt, the 30XBR910 and the 24FW900 monitor. All of which I owned in the past. This tv is right up there with the best I have ever seen, I would give a 10 but because of the vertical uneveness/uniformity I will have to say its a 9.


Sorry for the long post, if I missed anything please let me know, thank you!

And you, Blackvette94,


Have you changed settings since the last time?


Thank you
 
#2,640 ·
I too would slightly increase the backlight.

It lacks a bit of light (the image is slightly faded).

But I do not want to lose details in the gray. I want accurate colors.

I do not know what settings to change for that.

I tested today Blackvette94 settings.

They are almost perfect ... it lacks a bit of light
 
#2,642 ·
Hey everyone, I just purchased the 52" version of this TV at a great price and am super excited about it. I have been researching which TV to buy for a couple of months and given the price, features and looks of this tv, I can't think of a better choice.


I have a couple of questions:


-do all of Sony's 3D glasses work with this model? of course with the 3D transmitter.


how many glasses can work with one 3D transmitter?


lastly, what is the vast majority's preference for video settings?


Thanks so much for the input.
 
#2,643 ·
Has anyone purchased a refurbished XBR52HX909 or XBR46HX909? Comments or concerns? 52" is going for $1600+tax, 46" for $1300+tax. I've never purchased a Sony refurbished product before, but I haven't found a local store with a new one still in stock to date. 48 month interest-free financing is enticing too.
 
#2,645 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chemi /forum/post/20734585


I too would slightly increase the backlight.

It lacks a bit of light (the image is slightly faded).

But I do not want to lose details in the gray. I want accurate colors.

I do not know what settings to change for that.

I tested today Blackvette94 settings.

They are almost perfect ... it lacks a bit of light


Those settings posted are from a professional calibration, you can raise the backlight but then the gamma, color etc will not be within ISF specs.


Can you post videos/pics of the dse / banding your getting with your new 52hx909? Lets see if it is the same as mine and others I have seen.
 
#2,646 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by psgmr /forum/post/20736481


Has anyone purchased a refurbished XBR52HX909 or XBR46HX909? Comments or concerns? 52" is going for $1600+tax, 46" for $1300+tax. I've never purchased a Sony refurbished product before, but I haven't found a local store with a new one still in stock to date. 48 month interest-free financing is enticing too.

I paid $1800 about two months ago for a display model 52hx909, I would not hesitate to get a refurb for $1600 from Sony. Chances are someone returned the set because of blooming or somthing else that is NOT a fault of the product but design. I would go for the bigger size if you can as movies/games are grat at bigger sizes but you cant go wrong with either!
 
#2,648 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeres8860 /forum/post/20739403


which are the best 3d glasses for the HX909?


do this years' models work with the 909? are there any differences between this and last year?


thanks,

The 250 models are the best that I have used because compared to their predecessor, they are much more comfortable while not having much of a difference in visual quality.
 
#2,649 ·
Professional calibration doesn't really mean anything since each set is unique enough to be different. Also everyone's eyes do not see the same exact thing either. I calibrated my TV once with DVD Essentials BD and it came out pretty lame. I just played around with the settings that looked good to me and kept them there. I'm VERY happy with how it looks, on all sources.
 
#2,650 ·
Guys


Just received my TV today and everything looks good except there is a big smudge in the top and a little on the right side of the screen. I tried to clear it out by wetting some facial tissues but can't get rid of it. If the TV is turned on, it won't interfere with your picture quality at all but if you stare at the dark screen from an angle, you'll definitely see it


Any other way to clean it out? If it doesn't go, should I return the TV?


Thanks
 
#2,651 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackvette94 /forum/post/20737687


Those settings posted are from a professional calibration, you can raise the backlight but then the gamma, color etc will not be within ISF specs.


Can you post videos/pics of the dse / banding your getting with your new 52hx909? Lets see if it is the same as mine and others I have seen.

Hello Blackvette94,


I keep your settings ... they are perfect!

By increasing the backlight, it accentuates the DSE / banding.


I tested two 52HX900 in a specialty store to see if they were just as DSE / banding:

They date back to November 2010.

They have a slight vertical banding (and horizontal).

They have the same amount of DSE on mine.

I do not have material for film.

The DSE is rather annoying for watching broadcast football and video games (PES: football games)

For the rest, it is not a problem (just a little on clear images of FPS as the sky for example).



I also test the 55HX920 exposure (May 2011) :

He had a lot of banding (wide vertical stripes on a background fixed of light color)


I saw them on a image on light-colored!

I could not test the DSE, but I guess it should not be better than the HX900. (???)


Like you say, the HX929 is less uniform than the HX909.

Apparently sensitive people (like me) also complain about DSE on this new model.


I had the choice between the two. And I chose the 52HX900.

I must not regret my purchase.


But le DSE still bothers me ... My old 46HX900 had the same amount of DSE.

Unfortunately, we can not escape this phenomenon on the new generation of flat panel displays.


I've never had DSE on my old LCD ... it disturbs me



But it is not possible to have a better panel, I would be satisfied.


I hope to adapt to the future.

I wish we still reassures me (please)


Blackvette94, do you see DSE on broadcast sports (hockey, football)?
 
#2,652 ·
I've had the Dynamic contrast set to Low instead of Standard for the past couple of nights and the DSE during upward pans has gotten better. (with the Doug Blackburn settings) It's a very minute difference in contrast from standard, if anything positive there's a more natural gradation between colors. You can notice the difference as the local dimming zones engage with significantly less intensity allowing clouds, smoke and liquids being displayed to blend back into backgrounds without the on/off effects of the dimming zones. I don't know if anyone has seen the Molson "M" beer commercial which is an awesome example of how the local dimming zones can become extremely visible on a black background.


I might leave it set to Low, we'll have to see what happens when hockey season starts and the tv has to process some bright white ice with dark team colors.


If anyone else tries the Low setting, feel free to share your thoughts.
 
#2,654 ·
can anybody help me out here?

Guys


Just received my TV today and everything looks good except there is a big smudge in the top and a little on the right side of the screen. I tried to clear it out by wetting some facial tissues but can't get rid of it. If the TV is turned on, it won't interfere with your picture quality at all but if you stare at the dark screen from an angle, you'll definitely see it


Any other way to clean it out? If it doesn't go, should I return the TV?


Also, sometimes I see a big lag with channel change like I'll press the button once and nothing moves. Then a few seconds later, I press a few buttons and nothing. Then after 5-7 seconds, all commands that I put in take effect
 
#2,655 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by sam008 /forum/post/20743310


can anybody help me out here?

Guys


Just received my TV today and everything looks good except there is a big smudge in the top and a little on the right side of the screen. I tried to clear it out by wetting some facial tissues but can't get rid of it. If the TV is turned on, it won't interfere with your picture quality at all but if you stare at the dark screen from an angle, you'll definitely see it


Any other way to clean it out? If it doesn't go, should I return the TV?


Also, sometimes I see a big lag with channel change like I'll press the button once and nothing moves. Then a few seconds later, I press a few buttons and nothing. Then after 5-7 seconds, all commands that I put in take effect


First of all NEVER use anything like that to clean your screen. Facial tissues are made out of trees! Does that seem like a good thing to rub around on your TV screen? Buy a high quality lint-free cloth. The best TV/LCD/Glass cleaner I've used is from http://www.purosol.com/ company. I suggest everyone invest in a bottle to safely clean their LCD's and TV's.
 
#2,657 ·
Just a few thoughts on my new 52HX909. I've had both a samsung plasma (hpt4264) and lcd for a couple of years (with the original 1080P panel that the XBR used, can't remember the model), and think the plasma has the much better picture.


I set the TV up with basically Doug Blackburn's settings. To me they are more than bright enough. I've played Transformers in HDDVD and Cars, Fifth Element in DVD. Overall, as I think everyone knows, this is probably one of the top 3 LCD tv's ever made and the blacks are stunning, as is shadow detail. However, the following is what I see that makes it less than perfect:


1. I actually did see the blue tinged blacks after initially setting up the tv. I don't think the blacks themselves are like that, but as light spills into some darker areas it can create this effect. Setting backlight from 3 to 2 and picture from 85 to 82 has helped minimize this. Also, I believe going down to gamma -2 from -1 helps. Not a huge deal, but could certainly be improved. (I'm sure adjusting white balance correctly would be the icing on the cake)


2. Clouding is obvious on the set when the menu is up (no local dimming) but that's nothing new.


3. Viewing angles are really bad compared to a plasma. The LG IPS set is the only one I can remember that has acceptable ones.


Despite the above, I love the TV. The design is great, it does not hum, it does not heat up the room, it has no dithering problems, and it is super sharp in a way that only LCD's seem to be (but at the same time the naturalness of the picture is there, like plasma). Also, I just set up the outdoor antenna and am watching the tv without local dimming, and wheel of fortune looks amazing.


Overall, after the little use I have had with it, I would recommend this tv to everyone. Also, I dislike Sony as a company, since they have done very little in the last 15 years in the way of products that live up to their once high standards. This TV (and their digital radio tuner) seem to be the exception.
 
#2,658 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by seememom /forum/post/20748515


Just a few thoughts on my new 52HX909. I've had both a samsung plasma (hpt4264) and lcd for a couple of years (with the original 1080P panel that the XBR used, can't remember the model), and think the plasma has the much better picture.


I set the TV up with basically Doug Blackburn's settings. To me they are more than bright enough. I've played Transformers in HDDVD and Cars, Fifth Element in DVD. Overall, as I think everyone knows, this is probably one of the top 3 LCD tv's ever made and the blacks are stunning, as is shadow detail. However, the following is what I see that makes it less than perfect:


1. I actually did see the blue tinged blacks after initially setting up the tv. I don't think the blacks themselves are like that, but as light spills into some darker areas it can create this effect. Setting backlight from 3 to 2 and picture from 85 to 82 has helped minimize this. Also, I believe going down to gamma -2 from -1 helps. Not a huge deal, but could certainly be improved. (I'm sure adjusting white balance correctly would be the icing on the cake)


2. Clouding is obvious on the set when the menu is up (no local dimming) but that's nothing new.


3. Viewing angles are really bad compared to a plasma. The LG IPS set is the only one I can remember that has acceptable ones.


Despite the above, I love the TV. The design is great, it does not hum, it does not heat up the room, it has no dithering problems, and it is super sharp in a way that only LCD's seem to be (but at the same time the naturalness of the picture is there, like plasma). Also, I just set up the outdoor antenna and am watching the tv without local dimming, and wheel of fortune looks amazing.


Overall, after the little use I have had with it, I would recommend this tv to everyone. Also, I dislike Sony as a company, since they have done very little in the last 15 years in the way of products that live up to their once high standards. This TV (and their digital radio tuner) seem to be the exception.

i disagree with you in everyway i spent big bucks on this tv im gonna b happy and enjoy every bit of it no complaints no crying no nothing just all smiles
 
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