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Official Sony HX820 Owner's Thread (46HX820, 55HX820)

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#1 ·
Welcome to the Official Sony Bravia KDL-HX820 Owner's Thread (46HX820, 55HX820)


This is the place to share information, questions and settings about the Bravia KDL-xxHX820 series


I have had my 55HX820 for almost a month now and am very happy with it. Of course I upgraded from a 5 year old Westinghouse LVM-42W2 so the jump from that to a new Sony was bound to impress.


No one else had started a official thread on this model yet so I thought I would get things started.
 
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1
#2,432 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oh-san /forum/post/22056322


isrararrafi and chicagorunner10, when your TV rebooted did you noticed the widget and internet content reset back to default? This is what bother me the most. I like to use the weather and the ESPN widget, and all these rebooting render them impractical to use.

I don't use the widgets, so I wouldn't have noticed them resetting; and I really only use Netflix for internet services, and I didn't notice anything appear to reset on that.


I did find a recent comment by 'isrararrafi' interesting, that the counts in the error log (self-check diagnostic mode) will reset after a firmware update. The HOST_WDT error listed '03' when I checked for the first time last week, which I knew was way lower than how many times I've seen it reset since I've owned the TV, however since I manually updated to the latest firmware about two weeks ago, that sounds about right, I think it reset (that I've noticed) three times since the last update.
 
#2,433 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oh-san /forum/post/22056192


Mr-Homer, I have the STR-DH820 receiver with ARC but I don't turn on the receiver during normal TV (Cable) watching. It seem you and I both use gigabit router. Wonder if that has anything to do with this. It's suppose to be backward compatible...

So, I have a gigibit router and switch, are you using a switch (unmanaged) between your tv and router?


I have an Onkyo using the ARC. I use a harmony 8xx remote control, it sequences the power to all the components one after another.


The thing I don't really like (well sorta) with the harmony remote and I was thinking it could be related to the resets is that the remote will turn on the tv and then turn on the receiver. However, since I have ARC enabled, when the TV turns on, it will also turn on the receiver. Vice versa too, if the receiver gets turned on, it will (depending on the output selected) turn on the tv. I've tried disabling the power control features of ARC, but then the audio doesn't pass through.
 
#2,434 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagorunner10 /forum/post/22056389


I don't use the widgets, so I wouldn't have noticed them resetting; and I really only use Netflix for internet services, and I didn't notice anything appear to reset on that.


I did find a recent comment by 'isrararrafi' interesting, that the counts in the error log (self-check diagnostic mode) will reset after a firmware update. The HOST_WDT error listed '03' when I checked for the first time last week, which I knew was way lower than how many times I've seen it reset since I've owned the TV, however since I manually updated to the latest firmware about two weeks ago, that sounds about right, I think it reset (that I've noticed) three times since the last update.

The problem with "HOST_WDT" is that it's such a cryptic description, at least to end-users. I know we are not suppose to know its existence but it's just too vague.
 
#2,435 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr-Homer /forum/post/22056492


So, I have a gigibit router and switch, are you using a switch (unmanaged) between your tv and router?


I have an Onkyo using the ARC. I use a harmony 8xx remote control, it sequences the power to all the components one after another.


The thing I don't really like (well sorta) with the harmony remote and I was thinking it could be related to the resets is that the remote will turn on the tv and then turn on the receiver. However, since I have ARC enabled, when the TV turns on, it will also turn on the receiver. Vice versa too, if the receiver gets turned on, it will (depending on the output selected) turn on the tv. I've tried disabling the power control features of ARC, but then the audio doesn't pass through.

My D-Link 825 has a 4-port gigabit switch built-in, so that make it a managed switch right? As for remote control, I'm using Cable company supplied universal remote. Are you guys out of warranty? I think I might call them again. I'm spending way too much time investigating the causes.
 
#2,436 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr-Homer /forum/post/0



I wonder, of everyone who has chimed in who is seeing the random resets, are you using ARC (audio return channel) for sending the audio out to a receiver? I am. I wonder if that is a common denominator?

Nope. No receiver here, but still with rare random reboots.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oh-san /forum/post/0


Mr-Homer, I have the STR-DH820 receiver with ARC but I don't turn on the receiver during normal TV (Cable) watching. It seem you and I both use gigabit router. Wonder if that has anything to do with this. It's suppose to be backward compatible...

I'm wireless, so no also.
 
#2,437 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeqGuy /forum/post/22045646


Your reply has been very helpful! Thanks



My tv is also Feb 2012 and yes, I was talking about the underside of the stand as well. I was not using HDMI because I did not have the cable. Got 1 over the weekend and connected the cable box to tv using that. Looks good except for the problems I mentioned in the above post. It must be calibration issue or I am just not used to leds but I feel the picture is a bit hazy/out of focus. The picture looks pretty good with lights turned off and from around 8-10 feet.


What settings do you use for watching normal television? Thanks once again for replying

I don't think my TV is calibrated perfectly, but I used the settings from one of these posts. There's plenty of posts with people's settings, and I'm still playing around with mine.


Post #1972 also looks promising, but I haven't had time to mess around too much with the settings.


I did tone down the Reds as I did notice that they were a bit intense on this set.
 
#2,438 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by skeetergmania /forum/post/22062401


I don't think my TV is calibrated perfectly, but I used the settings from one of these posts. There's plenty of posts with people's settings, and I'm still playing around with mine.


Post #1972 also looks promising, but I haven't had time to mess around too much with the settings.


I did tone down the Reds as I did notice that they were a bit intense on this set.

Thanks. I used that setting and haven't mess with it for about 4 months.
 
#2,439 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by getchevyn /forum/post/22064387


Thanks. I used that setting and haven't mess with it for about 4 months.

Getchevyn,


on another subject, I think I read a while back that you had the MonsterVision Max 3D kit. I just ordered a couple pairs, but I'm wondering if you're still liking them and think they're worth it over just getting Sony glasses? I don't really want to be doing a bunch of tweaking to get these to work, nor do I want a bunch more wires, but if they're alot better than the Sony glasses then I'll do it.
 
#2,440 ·
Received my new 46HX820 from TigerDirect.


All looks good, dont find any issues with the screen


1) The 6 Degree Up Down swivel motion does not work. I tried many times, but looks like it does not have any 6 degree movement play. The little movement it has , gets reverted soon back. The horizontal movement is just fine.


Am i missing something ? Is my stand defective ????


2) No S video IN ( for iphone) ( Also the Component extra input part does not even have a holder to snap it in.


3) The USB HDD media player is horrible.
 
#2,441 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by supu007 /forum/post/22073893


Received my new 46HX820 from TigerDirect.


All looks good, dont find any issues with the screen


1) The 6 Degree Up Down swivel motion does not work. I tried many times, but looks like it does not have any 6 degree movement play. The little movement it has , gets reverted soon back. The horizontal movement is just fine.


Am i missing something ? Is my stand defective ????


2) No S video IN ( for iphone) ( Also the Component extra input part does not even have a holder to snap it in.


3) The USB HDD media player is horrible.

I have the same stand on my 55HX729. I don't recommend tilting this stand. After I did this several times, the stand wouldn't stay at the original 90 degree angle. Sony replaced the stand. I never tilted the replacement but if you insist, you must hold the stand base down with one hand and push back at the top of the TV bezel to get it to tilt as shown in the instruction sheet. Don't bother- IMO, its not worth it.
 
#2,442 ·
My HX820 46 has arrived.


It is perfect except for two small backlight bleeding spots on each side of the screen, down under each side, going each on a 45 degree to the center, very minimum, but noticeable on dark scenes.


I mean the whole thing about the monolithic design is that when the screen gets all black, it turns all black from all sides -- it kinda misses this cause of the bleeding.


Anyways, I also have NX720, which does not have black light bleeding onto the screen, and I love both; The HX820 performs better tho and gives a more natural image, even with the bleeding...


but the thing that worries me the most is:


will this continue to be this way or improve? Will the backlight leaking onto the screen get bigger????


Please, can someone help me with this???
 
#2,443 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by madsony1 /forum/post/22081022


My HX820 46 has arrived.


It is perfect except for two small backlight bleeding spots on each side of the screen, down under each side, going each on a 45 degree to the center, very minimum, but noticeable on dark scenes.


I mean the whole thing about the monolithic design is that when the screen gets all black, it turns all black from all sides -- it kinda misses this cause of the bleeding.


Anyways, I also have NX720, which does not have black light bleeding onto the screen, and I love both; The HX820 performs better tho and gives a more natural image, even with the bleeding...


but the thing that worries me the most is:


will this continue to be this way or improve? Will the backlight leaking onto the screen get bigger????


Please, can someone help me with this???

LED lit LCD TVs are prone to issues like light leaks and flash-lighting. My 52EX701 has led light bleeds noticeable off angle and in a dark room when a black background such as a credit roll is being viewed. My 55HX729 does not have this issue. It's very hard to get a perfect display. My feeling is no it will not go away but it won't get worse. If it can't be exchanged, relax and enjoy your TV-you won't be looking at this down the road.
 
#2,445 ·
Well, I've messed around with it last night. Not too much but I can already tell that there's a lot of light bleed on right side of my screen as well as on both bottom corners. So far I'm pretty disappointed. Like other ppl said, it's a lottery with this particular set and I'm not one of the winners here.


Could anyone point me at the most suitable settings that can mitigate these issues ? It's a very long thread to go through all of the posts.
 
#2,446 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by maciekmiszkiel /forum/post/22084404


Well, I've messed around with it last night. Not too much but I can already tell that there's a lot of light bleed on right side of my screen as well as on both bottom corners. So far I'm pretty disappointed. Like other ppl said, it's a lottery with this particular set and I'm not one of the winners here.


Could anyone point me at the most suitable settings that can mitigate these issues ? It's a very long thread to go through all of the posts.


Starters:


Contrast all the way up.


Gamma -3


Dynamic led to Standard


Auto light limiter to max


Black corrector Max


Adv Contrast Enhancer Max


Remember, you gotta do this for every input.


server, audio, photos, blu-ray, tv...


This made my set look way better and blacks are richer.


I have two light bleeds on each side of the botton of my screen, too.

But it's very minimum, the rest of my screen looks perfect.


I hope yours is not too bad tho, but i don't think I could live with the SIDE bleeding you're talking about.


Also, you should watch it from the sides to see if it looks even worst.


This side bleeding you're talking about, also, can be just the leds, does it look the same way on the other side or?
 
#2,447 ·
Hi,

1)

Where can i find the details about all the menu systems.

e.g Picture menu


Clear vs Clear plus in motion flow

auto vs auto 2

etc


2)

Also , i don't see the external USB HDD recording option in this TV. In the thread some where it was mentioned.


3) I believe the 'clear plus' setting makes the back light LED flicker on-off in 240Hz to make it over all picture in 480 Mhz.

(A 240hz set with Black Frame Insertion (BFI) = perceived 480hz.)

Any thoughts if this setting reduces the life of the LED panel, as using this setting , the LED back light has to be significantly increased a lot.

Thanks
 
#2,448 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by madsony1 /forum/post/22084520


Starters:


Contrast all the way up.


Gamma -3


Dynamic led to Standard


Auto light limiter to max


Black corrector Max


Adv Contrast Enhancer Max


Remember, you gotta do this for every input.


server, audio, photos, blu-ray, tv...


This made my set look way better and blacks are richer.


I have two light bleeds on each side of the botton of my screen, too.

But it's very minimum, the rest of my screen looks perfect.


I hope yours is not too bad tho, but i don't think I could live with the SIDE bleeding you're talking about.


Also, you should watch it from the sides to see if it looks even worst.


This side bleeding you're talking about, also, can be just the leds, does it look the same way on the other side or?

Is there anyway you could post your settings so I can test them on my panel. I know there's many things to take under consideration when calibrating it but would be nice to see what you accomplished and maybe I'll get lucky.


I did a few tweaks that you've provided and I am liking it a little bit better. when I get a chance I might take some pictures and share them.


Thanks
 
#2,449 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by maciekmiszkiel /forum/post/22089408


Is there anyway you could post your settings so I can test them on my panel. I know there's many things to take under consideration when calibrating it but would be nice to see what you accomplished and maybe I'll get lucky.


I did a few tweaks that you've provided and I am liking it a little bit better. when I get a chance I might take some pictures and share them.


Thanks

Scene: General


then you'll use most of the Standard settings.


Plus


Warm 2


and Motionflow standard


and Cinemotion Auto 1


the rest is just like the Standard and what I said before in the previous post.


Why didn't I want to turn all effects off?


Cause even if the purists say that its bettterrrr,

sincerely, all the effects Sony did put on the set

actually make a better image. You should use them!


ALSO, ALSO, I did some research and I've found out that the HX820/HX920 sets are PLAGUED with these issues -- YES, the bottom corners flashlighting even on the HX920!! Thank God I didn't spend more money on the 920!!


I've examined some reviews and most of them talk about it, plus two videos of different corners of the world with the same problem as OURS!! The NX720, surprisingly has the better image, even with better blacks. Now I am not surprised why it was the winner of CNET. I have them both, and yes the NX720 has deeper blacks and no flashlight, clouding and nothing of the sort.


Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slc0iIMnydU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWyG8RB3g7M
 
#2,450 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by supu007 /forum/post/22086887


Hi,

1)

Where can i find the details about all the menu systems.

e.g Picture menu


Clear vs Clear plus in motion flow

auto vs auto 2

etc


2)

Also , i don't see the external USB HDD recording option in this TV. In the thread some where it was mentioned.


3) I believe the 'clear plus' setting makes the back light LED flicker on-off in 240Hz to make it over all picture in 480 Mhz.

(A 240hz set with Black Frame Insertion (BFI) = perceived 480hz.)

Any thoughts if this setting reduces the life of the LED panel, as using this setting , the LED back light has to be significantly increased a lot.

Thanks

The menu systems from Sony tv are a bit hard to get TO...


First, you need to be IN the house, sort of saying, so you can change each of them.


Lets say, to change the TV picture, you need to be watching tv,


to change the DLNA (audio, photos, media server) you need to be streaming from your pc; blu-ray and so on so forth.


The thing you'll do is to press HOME, then you'll go to the picture settings, you'll see that it will display TV, or HDMI 1, or (AUDIO, SERVER) something like that for each input. Then you'll change the picture and you can also go back to home and change the audio settings for each INPUT.

same for photos


Clear >> takes the movement defects without much brightness loss.

Clear 2 >> does the same but fu...ks the brightness...

Better use : Standard.


Auto 1 >> videos will look washed, just like a Soap opera.

Auto 2 (name sony gave to a setting that does nothing), that's right, it leaves the content as it is, for movies and all the rest. Pick this one if you wanna see your movies in 24p glory.


For the HDD recording, you just need to plug it in...
 
#2,451 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by madsony1 /forum/post/22094013


Scene: General


then you'll use most of the Standard settings.


Plus


Warm 2


and Motionflow standard


and Cinemotion Auto 1


the rest is just like the Standard and what I said before in the previous post.


Why didn't I want to turn all effects off?


Cause even if the purists say that its bettterrrr,

sincerely, all the effects Sony did put on the set

actually make a better image. You should use them!


ALSO, ALSO, I did some research and I've found out that the HX820/HX920 sets are PLAGUED with these issues -- YES, the bottom corners flashlighting even on the HX920!! Thank God I didn't spend more money on the 920!!


I've examined some reviews and most of them talk about it, plus two videos of different corners of the world with the same problem as OURS!! The NX720, surprisingly has the better image, even with better blacks. Now I am not surprised why it was the winner of CNET. I have them both, and yes the NX720 has deeper blacks and no flashlight, clouding and nothing of the sort.


Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slc0iIMnydU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWyG8RB3g7M


I have applied your settings and they indeed make the set look a lot better. I still have to play around with it though to get my screen viewable during the day. It's a bit too dark before sunset.


Can others put their opinion out here regarding hx820 vs nx720 ? Did I make a wrong choice and shoud've went with NX720 ? Seems like I would've saved money and my nerves on trying to adjust these video settings.
 
#2,452 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by maciekmiszkiel /forum/post/22100097


I have applied your settings and they indeed make the set look a lot better. I still have to play around with it though to get my screen viewable during the day. It's a bit too dark before sunset.


Can others put their opinion out here regarding hx820 vs nx720 ? Did I make a wrong choice and shoud've went with NX720 ? Seems like I would've saved money and my nerves on trying to adjust these video settings.

Yes, I have both tvs and I am actually kinda weird out on how come a "supposedly" better tv is not better at all. The NX720 has better image, better blacks and its screen has no flashlight at all.


But listen...


My NX720 set is 40

My HX820 set is 46


Be aware that lcds up to 46 and on may have more distortion.


remember that was really hard to make an lcd bigger than 40???


LCDs... actually, are very hard to make.


I wont go on the OLED ship wagon that soon... if even LCD tech is not in sync yet... now imagine the freaking OLED??? HAHA
 
#2,453 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by maciekmiszkiel /forum/post/22100097


I have applied your settings and they indeed make the set look a lot better. I still have to play around with it though to get my screen viewable during the day. It's a bit too dark before sunset.


Can others put their opinion out here regarding hx820 vs nx720 ? Did I make a wrong choice and shoud've went with NX720 ? Seems like I would've saved money and my nerves on trying to adjust these video settings.

Short note:


For blu-ray, try to put your backlight at 4

and for general tv, something between minimum and 4 -- Brazil tvs content is very bright, so I don't know yours, just mess around with the backlight...


The HX820 leds are way more powerful than the NX720s... -- not to a good result, tho...
 
#2,455 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagorunner10 /forum/post/22056389


I don't use the widgets, so I wouldn't have noticed them resetting; and I really only use Netflix for internet services, and I didn't notice anything appear to reset on that.


I did find a recent comment by 'isrararrafi' interesting, that the counts in the error log (self-check diagnostic mode) will reset after a firmware update. The HOST_WDT error listed '03' when I checked for the first time last week, which I knew was way lower than how many times I've seen it reset since I've owned the TV, however since I manually updated to the latest firmware about two weeks ago, that sounds about right, I think it reset (that I've noticed) three times since the last update.

Well, after getting two 'random restarts' two days in a row a couple weeks ago, I didn't see a single one for the past two weeks. I also kept checking the Error Log, and didn't see the HOST_WDT error count change from the '03' value.


I finally saw another one today, and right after I saw it, I went into the Error Log and sure enough, the error count for HOST_WDT increased from 03 to 04.


So I'm not even sure if there was any doubt about the connection between the random restarts and the HOST_WDT error, but from what I'm seeing, it seems to be directly related.


So now... how do we get this resolved??


Is it a hardware issue, or will it possibly be able to be fixed by a firmware update from Sony?
 
#2,456 ·
HDD Recording



1)

Can some one help me with the steps of HDD recording.

May be this feature is only available in EU models. I have the USA 46HX820


I have attached a 320 GB exFAT formatted HDD. In the Video menus , the HDD is recognized , and shows the directory structure.


I don't get any option in menu to register the device & do recoding in it.

The HX820 manual does not list this feature & the remote does not have recording buttons . Only in this thread some people mention about this feature.

There are 2 USB jacks in the TV, does it matter which one is used ?


2) The SONY USB feature is horrible , as it hardly supports any of the downloaded videos i have

Will the DLNA setup help here . Will more formats be supported thru the DLNA streaming option ?


Thanks in advance
 
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