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Official Sony KDL-XXZ4100 Owner's Thread - Page 7

post #181 of 3520
6/10/08 at 4:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dohspc View Post

Z owners a discussion in another thread regarding where this TV is made. What does the back sticker say. Made in Mexico or USA? Thanks!

Mine says made in Mexico also...
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post #182 of 3520
6/10/08 at 6:09pm
I was in a Sony Style store today looking at the new Z series and while I was sitting and watching the blueray demo on the 40Z4100 the rep approached me and asked if I had questions I basically told him that I was there to see the new Z series TV and he said is there a reason why you are interested in this set, I basically told him that the reviews I am reading say that the black levels are pretty darn good. He then said that I should look at the W series instead b/c it is the exact same set, the ONLY difference is the bezel and the Z series is not as deep a unit (looks better mounted on a wall), and then went on to tell me that I shouldn't even bother with the Z series since the W was about $500 less and as he kept saying it was the same TV that the only difference was the cosmetics. I understand big box stores not knowing a whole lot but a store where you only sell ONE brand and not near as many products, is this guy correct or full of it?
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post #183 of 3520
6/10/08 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdbarke1030 View Post

I was in a Sony Style store today looking at the new Z series and while I was sitting and watching the blueray demo on the 40Z4100 the rep approached me and asked if I had questions I basically told him that I was there to see the new Z series TV and he said is there a reason why you are interested in this set, I basically told him that the reviews I am reading say that the black levels are pretty darn good. He then said that I should look at the W series instead b/c it is the exact same set, the ONLY difference is the bezel and the Z series is not as deep a unit (looks better mounted on a wall), and then went on to tell me that I shouldn't even bother with the Z series since the W was about $500 less and as he kept saying it was the same TV that the only difference was the cosmetics. I understand big box stores not knowing a whole lot but a store where you only sell ONE brand and not near as many products, is this guy correct or full of it?

I won't go as far as to say the guy is full of it (I have no experience with either set except in-store and I'm not an insider), but I find that SonyStyle store employees are just as unknowledgeable as CC and BB employees. The difference being that it's naturally expected they be more familiar with the products because it's a Sony store sponsored by the company. In reality, they don't know much.

Brandon
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post #184 of 3520
6/10/08 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bplewis24 View Post

I won't go as far as to say the guy is full of it (I have no experience with either set except in-store and I'm not an insider), but I find that SonyStyle store employees are just as unknowledgeable as CC and BB employees. The difference being that it's naturally expected they be more familiar with the products because it's a Sony store sponsored by the company. In reality, they don't know much.

Brandon

AGREED!!!
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post #185 of 3520
6/10/08 at 6:36pm
The Z and W do not have the same panel
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post #186 of 3520
6/10/08 at 6:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdbarke1030 View Post

I was in a Sony Style store today looking at the new Z series and while I was sitting and watching the blueray demo on the 40Z4100 the rep approached me and asked if I had questions I basically told him that I was there to see the new Z series TV and he said is there a reason why you are interested in this set, I basically told him that the reviews I am reading say that the black levels are pretty darn good. He then said that I should look at the W series instead b/c it is the exact same set, the ONLY difference is the bezel and the Z series is not as deep a unit (looks better mounted on a wall), and then went on to tell me that I shouldn't even bother with the Z series since the W was about $500 less and as he kept saying it was the same TV that the only difference was the cosmetics. I understand big box stores not knowing a whole lot but a store where you only sell ONE brand and not near as many products, is this guy correct or full of it?

I thought the Z's have the WCG-CCFL upgrade, which includes x.v.color, Deep Color, and Live color creation? Maybe they were out of stock and he wanted to make a sale or he just had no idea. Just beacause he works for sony doesnt mean he payed attention in training class or read the specs carefully
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post #187 of 3520
6/10/08 at 7:05pm
And, according the Sony literature, the XBR6 and XBR7 will have the Z panel.
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post #188 of 3520
6/10/08 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andytrackk View Post

And, according the Sony literature, the XBR6 and XBR7 will have the Z panel.

Yeah, and the better processor in the XBR7 which will probably give the same PQ advantages that the xbr4/5 had last year over the W and below. Too bad no 46 though, which will probably help sony sell more xbr8's. I'm just waiting to see prices on XBR8 and sammy 950. If they are out of my budget i will probably get a 46Z or 650. Then again i may just settle for the 40xbr7 if there is a very noticible difference over z and 650, and the LED sets are too expensive since i'm only about 7-8 feet away. I hope they announce pricing soon so i didnt wait all this time for nothing, and could have had a new TV already!
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post #189 of 3520
6/10/08 at 8:21pm
now i'm just speculating here, but I think what will separate the Xbr6/7 from the Z4100/W4100 is the type of bravia engine they use, because the on xbr4 with it's older bravia engine1 PRO still looks a tad sharper and more detailed than the W4100, or the Z4100 even. so even though the xbr6 still uses the same bravia engine 2 as the lower Z/W series, it could probably still look sharper like the xbr4 if it has the more powerful Digital Reality Creation processing. the BE1 PRO on the xbr4 had DRC v2.5, while the w3000 had DRC 1.0. Sony hasn't mentioned which versions of DRC are used in their new BE2, BE2 EX, and BE2 PRO yet, so I don't know, the xbr6 might be worth the premium over the Z4100 if it has the superior DRC processing.
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post #190 of 3520
6/10/08 at 8:42pm
If I am not mistaken, I believe that the Pro 2 engines may have a DRC v3.5
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post #191 of 3520
6/10/08 at 8:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by diabolyte View Post

so even though the xbr6 still uses the same bravia engine 2 as the lower Z/W series, it could probably still look sharper like the xbr4 if it has the more powerful Digital Reality Creation processing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JOEZO View Post

If I am not mistaken, I believe that the Pro 2 engines may have a DRC v3.5

My experience with DRC 1.0 is that it is useless. According to Sony, it "allows you to customize the level of detail (Reality) and smoothness (Clarity)". In practice increasing "Reality" adds sharpness to the image, while the effect of increasing "Clarity" is hardly noticeable. In any case, DRC doesn't contribute to HD picture quality in any way. With HD content, it is best to leave it off. You should only use DRC with SD content, and when all else fails. Think of DRC 1.0 as the last-ditch attempt to improve image quality for a bad SD channel.

Maybe (hopefully) v.3.5 will be more useful, but based on my experience with v. 1.0, I wouldn't pay a premium for that feature.
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post #192 of 3520
6/10/08 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by drivendriver View Post

My experience with DRC 1.0 is that it is useless. According to Sony, it "allows you to customize the level of detail (Reality) and smoothness (Clarity)". In practice increasing "Reality" adds sharpness to the image, while the effect of increasing "Clarity" is hardly noticeable. In any case, DRC doesn't contribute to HD picture quality in any way. With HD content, it is best to leave it off. You should only use DRC with SD content, and when all else fails.

Maybe (hopefully) v.3.5 will be more useful, but based on my experience with v. 1.0, I wouldn't pay a premium for that feature.

That may be true but lets just hope the prossessor upgrades in general make as much of a difference as it did last year to justify the suspected price gap. It already looks like the xbr6 at least wont look much different from the Z series, PQ wise. Of course we wont know till the fall
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post #193 of 3520
6/11/08 at 1:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andytrackk View Post

And, according the Sony literature, the XBR6 and XBR7 will have the Z panel.

But even though the panels come from the same manufacture/assembly line, they could still be sorted based on quality (factory test) and then be divided into the various product lines. That is fairly common in the electronics industry.

If that is happening then your chances of getting an ok vs. good vs. great panel increase by going with the higher end model.
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post #194 of 3520
6/11/08 at 4:15am
Thread Starter 
Is this the Z owners thread of the Sony 2008 model thread?
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post #195 of 3520
6/11/08 at 4:34am
yeah
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post #196 of 3520
6/11/08 at 6:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andytrackk View Post

40'' or 46'' is just a question of where you're going to put it. For me it's never going to be viewed from more than about 8 feet away, with most around 6-8 feet so the 40'' was a clear choice for me. Not to mention that the 40'' looks big where i've got it and I can't imagine a 46'' there!

PQ is going to be the same on both sets, the panels are the same technology/specs. I like smaller sets; I hate being able to see pixels if I sit a little close to play a video game.

yea i have a descent sized bedroom and thats where its going im no more than 6-8 ft away my self so the 40 for i think is the way to go as well...

plus when your in the store and you see the 46 yourl like oh its not that big but then when you bring it home and no other tvs are next to it..it looks gigantic...plus with the slim bezel it probly makes the 40 inch screen look like a 42-46 inch
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post #197 of 3520
6/11/08 at 6:48am
'i dont understand why sony would get rid of a feature that makes there picture known which is the sharpness aspect...i even noticed that with the xbr4 it was always sharper than the 71 series..now that they have gotten rid of this i dont know if i want the Z and might just settle for a 650 or 750...that was one of my main reasons for returning my 71 was becasue the sonys were sharper but now people are sayin the Z is missing sharpness to it wuts up with that?? if that is the case i mine as well buy a samsung for like 5 bills less
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post #198 of 3520
6/11/08 at 7:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by STILESP113 View Post

'i dont understand why sony would get rid of a feature that makes there picture known which is the sharpness aspect...i even noticed that with the xbr4 it was always sharper than the 71 series..now that they have gotten rid of this i dont know if i want the Z and might just settle for a 650 or 750...that was one of my main reasons for returning my 71 was becasue the sonys were sharper but now people are sayin the Z is missing sharpness to it wuts up with that?? if that is the case i mine as well buy a samsung for like 5 bills less

I'm waiting for a verdict as far as whether or not Sony has about the same PQ and features with the Z4100 as Samsung had with their ToC lineup this far or not myself, so I'm definitely in your same boat. I mean, if I'm gonna drop anywhere between $2000 - $3000 on a nice, futureproofed 46" set, I need to know which one will offer that bang for the buck once and for all.
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post #199 of 3520
6/11/08 at 7:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by drivendriver View Post

My experience with DRC 1.0 is that it is useless.

Maybe (hopefully) v.3.5 will be more useful, but based on my experience with v. 1.0, I wouldn't pay a premium for that feature.

Same here. The premium paid should be for other reasons, IMO.

Brandon
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post #200 of 3520
6/11/08 at 10:32am
has anyone who has contacted sony about the "sprakle" issue gotten anywhere with them yet??like have they told you any info on the issue yet or what the problem might be??

this issue is pretty widespread its in the w, v, and xbr6 forums... and they believe that it is NOT a connective or source issue that it is indeed the fault of sony..but most find it to not be a problem but i think they shoould still call in with teh issue cuz it shouldnt be an issue at all
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post #201 of 3520
6/11/08 at 10:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by STILESP113 View Post

has anyone who has contacted sony about the "sprakle" issue gotten anywhere with them yet??like have they told you any info on the issue yet or what the problem might be??

this issue is pretty widespread its in the w, v, and xbr6 forums... and they believe that it is NOT a connective or source issue that it is indeed the fault of sony..but most find it to not be a problem but i think they shoould still call in with teh issue cuz it shouldnt be an issue at all

Guess I am the only person on the forums that doesn't have the issue then, or my eyes are just really bad...
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post #202 of 3520
6/11/08 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andytrackk View Post

And, according the Sony literature, the XBR6 and XBR7 will have the Z panel.

That would definitely be a new low considering the $500 price premium and fact that the super slim bezel is actually the more premium bezel of the two. If the 6/7/8's don't have higher native CR's/PRT's than the Z's and W's, the 6 will go down as the worst value in the history of the flat panel market IMO.
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post #203 of 3520
6/11/08 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soap View Post

I will update this once I have time to test my current changes. Currently my son won't let me turn off Noggin...

How does SD content look in general on this set?

I'll be ordering one soon, but most of the content we watch is still SD. (It'll change slowly, too slowly is the problem.)
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post #204 of 3520
6/11/08 at 3:12pm
For those looking, the 46Z is in stock at Crutchfield and Amazon, at least as of this posting time. MSRP.
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post #205 of 3520
6/11/08 at 3:37pm
So I really wanted to see how good the game mode was on this set (especially after not getting the 750 for that very reason).

I proceeded to incorrectly test the lag! I know this is the wrong way do it it, hooking it up to my laptop as a mirrored monitor, but i don't have the ability to split my source with my CRT right now. I will soon




My TV is consistently 30ms behind the laptop.

I did this test on my CRT to see what the lag was with respect to a 'no lag' device.



Something is totally whack with my CRT's second VGA input, but it's clear enough to see that the CRT is 10ms AHEAD of my laptop (to be expected).

THEREFORE I DECLARE the 'game mode' latency on the Z to be 40ms

*bows*

I'll be receiving thanks and awards at $8.99 fajita night tonight at Don Pablos, cya there!

APPENDIX A:

The TV was sent a digital signal from my gfx card through a DVI, and the CRT was sent an analog signal from the DVI. I know this sorta invalidates the test, sorry.
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post #206 of 3520
6/11/08 at 3:45pm
Nah ... excellent work IMO ... proves lag is between 40ms and 30ms IMO.
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post #207 of 3520
6/11/08 at 4:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdbarke1030 View Post

I was in a Sony Style store today looking at the new Z series and while I was sitting and watching the blueray demo on the 40Z4100 the rep approached me and asked if I had questions I basically told him that I was there to see the new Z series TV and he said is there a reason why you are interested in this set, I basically told him that the reviews I am reading say that the black levels are pretty darn good. He then said that I should look at the W series instead b/c it is the exact same set, the ONLY difference is the bezel and the Z series is not as deep a unit (looks better mounted on a wall), and then went on to tell me that I shouldn't even bother with the Z series since the W was about $500 less and as he kept saying it was the same TV that the only difference was the cosmetics. I understand big box stores not knowing a whole lot but a store where you only sell ONE brand and not near as many products, is this guy correct or full of it?

this guy probably doesnt know much. Ive always been a sony fan but after comparing the new 750 it;s just really hard to stay in the sony camp. with what I think is a definate inferior picture quality to the 750 and the higher sony price, just seems that the samsung is the smart choice.
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post #208 of 3520
6/11/08 at 5:44pm
Thread Starter 
Just wanted to say that Amazon now has the Z series for $200 under MSRP and SonyStyle is offering bundles. I just called Sony and got them to ship me a 40GB PS3 for only $80.
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post #209 of 3520
6/11/08 at 5:54pm
LOL SOAP! well done sir!
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post #210 of 3520
6/11/08 at 6:51pm
Soap, considering new 80G PS3s with dual shock controllers are coming out tomorrow I'm sure they can afford to get rid of quite a few of those 40GB. :P
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