Sony W4100 series thread - Page 5

So Bill stewart withought any offense why dont you try a replacement?Its more likely to be cloud free rather than again cloudy.I think it worth more than just complaining.BTW I think you really had bad luck

I'd be willing to were it not for the fact that the V I had looked equally as bad. I am bummed, other than this issue (which really was bad enough to be distracting). I thought the PQ was exceptional.

The WCG backlight in the XBR4 probably makes a bigger difference than the 10-bit panel.

Questions for W4100 owners: does it have a Live Color option? Does it make a noticeable difference?

my apologies on that bit as I got you confused with another Bill/Will who also complained about xbr4 clouds/flaslights.


I don't know what you really mean by that or if its just a lil jab at me, but I'm not ignorant of this issue or pretend that it's a non-issue. heck, that's what I'm (and most are) here for, I want to find out and learn about the defects and flaws of certain TVs before I buy one and I'm more than happy to have other owners point out their problems and share their experiences. because we're all in this together right? that's what AVS forums is all about.

So yeh, I'd really appreciated if you could posts some pics pointing out the particular issues with the tv so that we could all discuss it, learn from it and bring it to people's attention, rather than you just whining that you can't tolerate it at all and then proceed to bash the TV as a whole due to one particular issue as if it applied to everyone. I know you probably didn't mean to, but from the sound or tone of your posts it does seem to me like you were trolling, so my apologies if I misinterpret it as such.


I thought the W4100 come with the pedestal already attached? because the pics posted by Hagert seems to indicate they come with the pedestal already attached out of the box and the spec sheet also indicates this. anyways, as the saying goes...pics or it didn't happen .

What are clouds and flashlights, in reference t LCD TVs? A page or two back pictures were posted, but I do not see what they are trying to show me. Could somebody explain that also.

Dont worry about flashlighting. Its when there are slightly brighter spots in teh corners of an lcd panel where the backlight "bleeds" through when it shouldn't against the dark screen. Not a problem on the sony's unless you go out of your way to look for it. No problems.....

if the w4100 handle motion better than xbr4 . im sold !!

i didnt buy the xbr4 until now because of its bad motion, smearing...

i really dont like the blur in lcd. but i prefer lcd over plasma anyway.

so if w4100 has less blur than most lcd i will buy it


someone else can confirm that

Ok, and what are clouds?

I have a RPT Sony SXRD. Do they have clouds?

Believe me its really a shame not to try a replacement.Get an other W4100.If and the replacement has it then go to plasma route

Sounds like a true gaming contender.

I have almost ruled out the Samsung 750/650 due to the need to run games in GameMode (to prevent lag) and then not have ANY access to any PQ adjustments.

The next choice is the XBR4/5 which has a very similar Game/Text mode, but allows for some adjustments in this mode. However, the "smearing" problem still seems prevalent in this mode.

If this TV has been rid of the smearing and allow for picture adjustments will in the GameMode then I would say this is the current GamingTV winner. I'll wait for the Z line to see what the thoughts are...but finally, it looks like a TV I can purchase. Thanks for all the gaming info!

Curious, is there a dynamic contrast ratio number for this TV? I was curious how it compares to the 650 and the XBR4.

I believe the dynamic contrast ratio on this is the same as the A550, which is 30K:1, with 3K:1 true contrast (Sony measures in both true and dynamic, unlike Samsung). However, contrast ratio means squat unless it has the processing power to back it up. A lot of people forget that contrast ratio isn't the only thing behind PQ. Response time is another, and right now, Sony's only got 8ms, whereas Samsung has 4ms on their A650/750. There probably are things on Sony's behalf to make the PQ better, and seems like the right processing will balance out the picture quite well.

@datacide Its not the dynamic contrast everything.The blacks make the static contrast.Have you ever wondered why samsung never provides static contrast numbers??Smearing seems like its definitely improved,to the barely noticeable levels from the distracting of XBR4

Oh absolutely, I just never saw the contrast ratio numbers anywhere. However, the 650/750 can be as fast as you like, but if I can't adjust the settings in GameMode and I need to run GameMode to get proper gaming performance...then all that increased performance is completely lost on me. I'll make some sacrifices for proper gaming...and Sony seems to be the only ones doing this (likely cause they are in the game business too).

Is the Z series still with the 8ms response too? I guess no word on the XBR7 response time either?

Yeah, that's why I was asking about dynamic contrast ratio...Sammy is sneaky. I just wanted to compare the numbers...I wasn't making it the be all/end all.

Anyway still no word on the bigger XBR6/7 response time maybe that will be the difference with the Z series

yeh maybe the difference between the Z and xbr6/7 is the contrast ratio and response time. so the xbr might be better in that regard therefore justifying the premium paid on it.

It wouldn't make sense to compare contrast ratio's between different manufacturer's models as there is no standard for measuring dynamic contrast.

Similarly, response time specs should state whether they are Black-White-Black or Gray-to-Gray. Otherwise we are not comparing apples to apples.

Aren't Sony and Samsung using panels from S-LCD joint venture? Samsung is claiming their new TVs having 6ms/4ms panels. This could mean any of the following:
* Sony is using older panels (8ms) for W and Z series
* Samsung is not sharing new panel technology with Sony (leading to Sony's joint venture with Sharp)
* Samsung is lying about the faster response times

Well, not necessarily lying. It is also possible that Samsung is quoting GTG, while Sony is quoting MPRT.

But you're right, making sense of quoted response times is increasingly difficult. For example, LG makes 120Hz panels with 8ms MPRT and 5ms GTG response time (according to the LG Display web site). LG quotes 5ms for TVs based on these panels, while Philips quotes 2ms based on a different measurement method. Not surprisingly, nobody uses the 8ms number.

In that respect, response times are even worse than contrast ratios (even though static contrast ratios are quikcly disappearing from spec sheets). At least reviewers can "objectively" measure contrast ratios.

Z series and XBR are both from sony not different manufacturer

But the old panels are from Samsung and the newer panels will be from Sharp...Sony doesn't make LCD panels.

I don't think Sony has the sharp panels yet as the new plant hasn't been in operation yet. and sony has 49/51 joint venture with samsung in their current factory, so it's not like they're buying it from samsung.

Very true...I was speaking in too much generalizations. But it is much more of a Samsung plant than a Sony plant I think. CEO is Samsung, plant is in Korea, etc, etc (plus the expansion of the plant is being done without Sony) But I agree...they aren't buying the panels off of Samsung, they are doing joint-venture RnD.

I guess a better statement would have been "The current panels are the same as Samsung's and the future ones will be the same as Sharp's"

I just hope they are not coming from Sharp too soon.

You don't have to worry, Sony will hold Sharp accountable to high standards, and make double sure that banding is at a minimum, if not there at all. They'll reinvent Sharp's panel technology with them to make it perfect. Hey, maybe that'll change the way we see the Aquos line after a while, I should think...

yeh heh, let's hope that new billion dollar factory that sharp is building doesn't produce a bunch of glass with banding issues , but I thought they'd fixed that by now? cuz the 94SE seems to be doing pretty well.

Notice anything strange about the V4100 lineup? It has a 40, 42, 46, and 52.
Samsung (S-LCD) does not make 42" panels. Then, it must be from Sharp!
Sony is using panels from different sources in the V series, I guess.

Only the 42" may be from sharp.The rest will still be S-PVA,also the fact that sony will have a joint venture with sharp doesnt cancel the S-LCD venture as they will continue with both sharp and samsung

j&r is already discounting the 52w4100

Won't be too long until Amazon does something themselves, if they ever get them in stock as they advertise them to.