Official Sony KDL-XXZ4100 Owner's Thread - Page 8

I hear ya... the more the merrier!

Check out page 42 of the 4xZ4100 manual. Its say "video or text" for picture mode. See if that works, dont have access to a Z to check it out, but still curious.

for the lag thing, thought I'd post it here as well just in case you miss it on the on the other thread.

so are there any negative aspects for the Z4100 ?

damn lag is that bad?? is that with game mode on??

is the 650/750 worse than that?

You should look in the 650/750 threads for an answer to that question, not bother the Z owners.

Latest post on 750 lag: 15ms game mode.

EDIT: btw, don't you OWN a 650?

CAREFUL the test that he did is different! He was comparing the TV to his other LCD. You CANNOT find out the true latency that way, you must use a CRT or else you cannot account for the latency of the other LCD (which is going to be at least 10-15ms)

Can any owners comment on whether the Z4100 has a sufficiently better picture than the W4100 to warrant the higher price? Also interested in comparisons between the Z and the Samsung A550 (A650 or A750 not an option because of ambient sunlight in room).

This is probably a stupid question, but is it correct to assume that the Z and the W have the same lag time?

(No the W and Z have to many internal differences to believe that their lags are going to be the same)

The manual says, for PC over HDMI:

"The 1080p timing when applied to the HDMI input will be treated as video timing and not PC timing. This affects picture settings, wide mode settings and PIP function. To view PC content set picture mode to custom, widemode to full and display area to full pixel.

Sounds like the TV acts differently if your computer send it 1900x1080@60hz and possibly doesn't get the latency reduction the way the samsung seems to when in 'PC' mode.

No sparkles. Very satisfied with just Comcast HD cable so far. SD PQ is also better than I thought it would be. Using standard picture settings with just minor adjustments. Will be testing with blu-ray shortly.

Welcome aboard zskylar!

(No the W and Z have to many internal differences to believe that their lags are going to be the same)

Cool, thanks for the quick response. The reason I ask is because people seem to be pretty happy so far using their Ws for gaming. I bought the Z for its svelte physique though

For all of you Z (and/or W) owners: I'm pretty much ready to replace my Sharp 720P 37" set (that I've grown to dislike intensely) with a 40" 1080P model. My choices seem to be:
- Sammy 40A650
- Sony 40W4100
- Sony 40Z4100
The Sammy has a great picture but the glossy screen is a concern so I'm more partial to the Sonys. I've seen the W4100 at the stores and it looks like a very good set. I have not been able to see a Z4100 yet and have no way of predicting when BB or CC will actually have them on display. I believe that Ambulance Chaser has asked about the price difference between the Z and W series ($400). I'm probably willing to fork over the extra bucks for the Z since it appears to be closer to the XBR series that the W and would eliminate any buyers remorse but I guess some input from those lucky enough to have the sets would help me pull the Amazon trigger (they now have the 40Z in stock). The more feedback, the better. To quote Jim Carry in the dance scene from "The Mask": "Somebody stop me!" Thanks in advance.

All I can say is, every time I've seen the new W next to last years W...last years looked better =x

i asked that cuz he mentioned the 650 thats all buddy..calm down i know what thread im in i can read yah know...and yes i did but if you actually read my posts in the 650 room( which means your also debating on the 650 if your in there) i said i have it but plan on getting rid of it...

if the 750 is 15ms compared to the Z's 30-40 ms wouldnt the 15ms be better than the 30ms?? SOAP said that the 30-40ms is not bad!! i dont understand how its not bad its like a whole 30 seconds behind

UPDATE: i was just in that thread you sent me and it seems the 750 has less lag than the Z...so how is this lag on the Z NOT bad??!!!! and how is the 650 have worse lag than 750 it cant be possible..so all in all it seems the Z has worse lag than both the 650 and 750...and this freakin sparkle thing is making me about this close to purcahsing the 750

I assume that your Z beats both of them?

The 750 appears to have the same lag as the Z. The 15 ms is reported between the TV and another external LCD. That doesn't really prove anything unless the other monitor is a CRT. Another member tested the TV against his laptop screen and got this:

Set-up: Dell Laptop running Vista hooked up to LN52A750 with a 25' DVI/HDMI cable to port HDMI2 on the back of the TV.

Test 3:
HDMI2 was not named
Game Entertainment Mode
Lag = 20ms or 30ms (slightly more towards 30ms then 20ms)

This is the exact same result that I had with my Z hooked up the same way. Laptop LCD's still have lag but i can do a quick test and show you that my (and most) laptop LCDs will have less lag than any LCD hooked up to the external monitor port.

HOWEVER there seems to be an ability in the 750's software to enable a 'pc' mode that, i assume, gets rid of all signal processing and lets the TV act as a pure monitor. I have yet to enable this mode on my Z...

Not a flame, so relax. Just trying to be sensitive to the fact that this thread is for Z owners.

Just figured if you had a 650, you would be able to judge for yourself how noticeable the lag is. And your own judgement is the most important.

i dont plan on ever using it as a pc monitor cuz if i were to do that i would by a PC with a monitor id ont need a 40 inch tv for that...

CNEt mentioned red push on the w4100 is this the case with teh Z as well...and my other question is has anyone really compared this set to the 650/750...i am really close to getting the Z cuz the 750 lacks adjustment in game mode but i dont want to sacrifice PQ for an adjustable game mode...

What?! Your eyes must be bad. After reading through this thread in anticipation of purchasing my own Z, you'd think this was one of the worst sets Sony ever released.

I really appreciate this forum to gather a lot of tech info, but I swear the number of people who nitpick every little detail gets quite annoying after a while.

yea i hear yah man...but the sparkle thing is unacceptable from amajor company like that...other than that i would be purchasing this TV over the 650 anyday cuz it seems to be better eature and PQ wise but the sparkle thing is holdin me back!!!

has anyone heard anymore news on this issue?

Have you considered the possibility that it isn't a problem inherent to Sony's manufacturing process?

First, we have no pictures displaying the problem.

Second, one member admitted that it was only after staring at black on the screen for a long period of time up very close that he noticed some small amounts of it.

Third, has no one considered EMI as a possibility? Most members here usually have, at a minimum, some sort of stereo or surround system that includes a processor/amplifier.

Fourth, improper grounding maybe?

Fifth, voltage drop or spike on the member's circuit?

Sixth, maybe the internal speakers aren't shielded enough? Admittedly this would be a problem with Sony's manufacturing but is easily remedied.

Seventh, has anyone actually confirmed this "sparkle" occurs on ALL video input sources?


Don't get me wrong, if I drop a lot of money on something like this I damn well want my money's worth but this sort of problem reporting with the "sparkle" is getting really blown out of proportion.

I'd have to say this sparkle issue is getting a little to much attention, I've been watching tv, movies, and GTA4 on the ps3 since monday on my Z and I've yet to notice a single picture quality flaw. To me the picture is perfect.

I'm not saying people haven't seen it, but even most that have say it's rare and hard to notice.

I think we just need to work with people that Do see it to quantify it's reproducibility to see if it affects all TVs and pass that onto Sony.

Hey I don't think it's fair you guys are taking this attitude, if there are truly issues with something, this is where people come to discuss these issues with who have similar sets. I'm glad that you don't have issues with your set and are happy with, it so enjoy it even if it does have sparkles. Seriously people have a right to voice their issues, I personally have seen the sparkles on the Z series at Sony Style and I didn't have to have my nose right in the screen, they were very noticeable to me and that would bother me if I owned the set, further more I would like to know if it was a few sets, a bad batch, or a design flaw inherent with the set. Look I'm not ragging, but please be cool, don't take it personal and just let people know your experience, again the Zs an awesome set and I'm glad you don't have any issues , a lot of people want to know what people are experiencing one they get these sets home, that's what we're here for, can't get that at the store.

Here is my Picture settings for my 40Z4100.

I used the stock Vivid picture settings as my base line and used it to tweak the standard picture settings. The stock vivid picture settings looks pretty good, except it was difficult to distinguish pink and red color when watching regular cable shows. Also the people skin color didn't look natural.

Note: I only use this picture setting when I watch regular cable shows. I haven't tried using this setting with Bluray Movies or DVD movies.


Standard picture Settings

Backlight: Max
Picture: Max
Brightness: 50
Color: 60
Hue: 0
Color Temp: Neutral
Sharpness: 20
Noise Reduction: Auto
MPEG Noise Reduction: Low

Advance Settings
Black Correction: Medium
Advanced CE: Medium
Gamma: High
Clear White: High
Color Space: Standard
Live Color: Low
White Balance: Stock settings

Motion Flow: Standard
Cinemotion: Off

Yes but this is exactly what I'm talking about. You state you can see this "sparkle" problem and don't have to have your nose up to the screen to notice it? Fine, take a few high res pics and post them here so we can all see this "problem" and determine for ourselves if it's a major issue.

Oh before I forget. No Sparkle issues with my 40Z4100.
I have Monster Game HDMI Audio/Video Cable hooked up to my PS3. Bought the HDMI Cable from Target for $49.99.