Official Sony KDL-XXZ4100 Owner's Thread - Page 3

Full pixel mode was added two years ago for 1080i and 1080p content. Last year they introduced a +1 mode for 720p content that virtually eliminated any overscan on 720p sources. A person in the 2008 Bravia thread stated that a Sony rep told him due to consumer indifference they would not be including that option from now on.

Brandon

Would that also be what is responsible for the deinterlacing and pulldown features that Sony's been known to shine on during the past generations of Bravia sets?

I doubt it highly. Over the past two years there have been very few sets that have passed the 1080i film deinterlacing tests. The Samsung 71/81 did not pass until a firmware upgrade I believe. And even then it was only in a certain mode...which technically (according to HQV) is a fail, because the TV is supposed to natively detect the cadence and lock into film mode. Even when it passed some reviews noted the 71 evinced "light strobing", which is also supposed to be a fail from the documentation that comes with the HQV disc.

Anyhow, a quick look at the top 5 TV lists from last year reveals that several models accross different technologies couldn't deinterlace film content properly. That includes the Panny Z700u, Mits 144, XBR4, Sammy 65/61, as well as the top 2 rear projection models. I believe of last year's models the ones to pass with flying colors were the Sharp D64u (which had other signficant issues of it's own) and the Pioneer Elites. Note that almost all of these models deinterlace 1080i video content properly, it's just the film content that is a struggle. If you have a blu-ray player and a 1080p TV, then the only time you'd be viewing 1080i film content is on certain Cable/Satellite TV channels with certain shows. It may be the minority of content, but I'm not sure.

This year I would expect each manufacturer to step up their level of onboard deinterlacing/processing, but it's likely that with much thinner margins on each new line of TVs they are assuming the cost/benefit factor is not there, as most consumers will never know or care. Hell, even mid-to-high end AVRs aren't able to deinterlace 1080i film content properly. The reality is it's hard to notice a difference either way, but I would expect any high end models to be able to do this properly from now on.

Brandon

Yes I had a samsung 81 before i had the xbr4, I had been waiting for LED lcd for the longest time, it looks like i was one year early (xbr8).

I really can't comment on the tv sound other than saying the surround simulation was about as good as it gets, on the xbr4 i was playing madden and sometimes would hear things that really sounded like they were behind me.

Other than that i really never use tv sound, and you really have to crank it up on movies (near 50) to hear voices sometimes. This is why you really should have a surround sound setup with a dedicated center speaker.

also on last years W and X series in europe we had the +1 mode for 720p but now its removed and the full pixel works for 720p too.

Are you sure about this??

Full pixel has only been availible on 1080 sources, and i confirmed this last night with soap's Z46"

For europe its confirmed but if the Z doesnt seems like the US are different to the EU

FYI. Not sure if anyone has posted this yet (my apologies if they have), but it appears the 46'' model is now on the USA BB website. As soon as they have one in stock I am going to check it out in person.

Can those with this set please check for "sparkles" (white dots that flicker every so often) about six inches down from the top bezel when watching anything from an HDMI input? It's most noticeable if you happen to be watching the credits of a movie or something with lots of black, but it can happen anytime. Please don't just quickly say "no, this $2800 set doesn't have this problem." Please, spend some time and watch up close (within a couple feet) and let us know if you notice this issue.

Thank you.

Any sign of a fan in the 46Z? I recall the 46 XBR4 had a fan, and I'm wondering if Sony needs a fan in this smaller package to keep things cool

Thanks, Jim

One would hope not. I mean, does the Toshiba XF550 have a fan in there with the similarly styled television? I'm quite sure that this one would probably have the same internals, with Sony's little addons, obviously, than what the big T would have. I don't think Sony would want a noisy inside to this at all, not if you're gonna pay close to 3 grand on this bad boy like this.

I thought only 40XBR4 has fans while 46" & 52" use heat sink.

If you're getting sparkles it's likely a video cable problem or ground loop problem.

Brandon

Don't think it can be cable I myself tried HDMI and component with the same results and they worked fine on a A550. Interesting theory though on the ground loop possibly causing the flashes. In the wiki it says "In video, ground loops can be seen as hum bars (bands of slightly different brightness) scrolling vertically up the screen." This is another reported issue on some of the W series Sony's so far, you see these bars in the purple no signal screen but on nothing else. I'm one of the other users who see the sparkle on the W series. My "cable provider" is U-Verse and its all ethernet to the box so there is no coax system that could be causing this. I have tried plugging the TV directly into the wall and not the powerstrip and it still had the same issue. What else could be causing a ground loop? Also has any of the few who have the Z see any of these issues?

Example videos I took of the sparkle or white flashes on my W.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9avD7fUScSg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rOSSVZH9Y7w

Dear Moderators. Please combine my original official owner's thread with this one, as these folks actually have their units and have taken images/films, and I continue to sit awaiting delivery from SonyStyle since Amazon's PreOrder Buy that I was told would ship second day on the night of the 1st ate hit oversold status (even though I had contacted them multiple times to make sure I wouldn't have this happen.)
Thank you.
My thread was first--but sitting here waiting with my thumb in an unusual position makes it somewhat secondary. Grin.

I haven't seen this question asked yet, but can any owners of the Z sets tell me what are the dimensions of the pedestal footprint (length x width) ? I imagine the pedestal might be a bit larger for the 46".

hey soap! when the picture or videos coming???

or todbot! throw some more stuff up! i need to know if i should keep my w4100 or return it! haha! thanks in advance!!!!

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!

made in mexico

Soap\\TodboT: A few questions if you don't mind:

Have you been able to get a feel for how wide the viewing angles can go before the picture starts to noticeably drop off?

How well does the Z display SD broadcasts in either stretch or native 4:3 mode?

There was a previous mention of the wide vs. standard color space setting. Any thoughts on this?

I'm really getting antsy to pull the trigger on a 40Z4100 sight unseen this week so any info from Z owners is valuable. Thanks for your help.

Ok I finally looked up the answer to my own question. Sony made available the dimensions for the 40"Z pedestal, but still nothing on the 46"Z.

For the 40" Z, the pedestal footprint is 16.125" W x 11" D

I am waiting for the Z line because I don't have too much space in my apartment and the 40Z is 4 cm smaller than the 40W or 40V

Does the Z4100 have a built in HD tuner?

Virtually every HDTV released 2007 or later should, at this point (unless it's a computer monitor).

Brandon