Official Sony KDL-XXZ5100 Owner's Thread - Page 2

Send the tv a 720p signal using a ps3/xbox/blue-ray player/upscale dvd player or whatever you have that you can manually choose 720p

After doing so go to

Picture and Display -----> Screen Settings -----> Display Area

See if it lets you choose Full Pixel in that option menu

The options should be;

Normal
+1
+2
Full Pixel

The manual says that "Full Pixel" is only available with 1080p/i
I find that hard to believe since the S and V series is able to do it with 720p also.

The reason why i am asking is because some PS3 games are only in 720p, and i cannot stand overscan. I want a full picture with nothing chopped off the sides.

it seems to be a very good and perfect TV set
i think i should also have one,so how do blue-ray look to it?

Ah well hopefully there is a very small amount of overscan on "normal". I appreciate the help. I should have the set in another week, i'll write up a review

40"

@bullethead
can u tell me which panel it uses,could u post a close up of the pixel.

Its most likely a S-PVA panel based on the fact that they been using that panel type for years now

well you need to look at the shape of the pixel usualy till now sony used to use SPVA or AMVA panels both are pretty much even ,with the spva panel having a very slight edge in blacks ,so a bit more contrast.
but in a recent european review then mention that the z5500 model appears to have a ips panel ,which have good viewing angle upto 65 degress of axis before contrast shift but the major drawback is lack of ANSI contrast.
but it is unlikely that sony will use a ips panel.

S-PVA
Best Black Levels
Best Contrast Ratios
(Pretty much best picture)

more prone to Flashlights
more prone to Ghosting/trailing/smearing (XBR4 comes to mind)
lower view angles
more prone to Input Lag
more prone to motion blur
slower response times

The technology has improved alot in those aspects though from when it was original introduced.

IPS Panels
Pretty Middle of the Road
Best view angles


TN panels is another type, not used so much in tv's though, they are mostly found in computer monitors
lower contast
lower view angles
lower black levels

but very good response time
very low input lag
Cheap manufactor costs


Taken from another thread

Sony + Samsung = S-PVA
Panasonic, Hitachi, Toshiba = IPS Alpha( IPS-Pro or AS-IPS, one of the two)
LG + Phillips = S-IPS
Sharp = Their own technology (not sure)

flashlighting ,ghosting can happen in any lcd panel based on your luck.

yes your correct, its a downfall in LCD technology all together, but s-pva is more prone to it. I fixed the post to make it more clear

Made it to the UE HQ store yesterday and saw a properly set up 52Z5100. Very impressive. Very comparable to the Samsung B750, which I consider the benchmark for 2009 LCDs, which was mounted one over from the Sony. Compared them both with two different available inputs (HDMI (pseudo-HD feed, and component video store feed). BD feed wasn't available for either of these sets, nor was a live Dish or DirecTV feed.

Black levels seemed excellent on the Z5100, especially compared to a closeout XBR (didn't get the rest of the model number) from last year's Sonys that was mounted immediately below the Z5100. The sales associate really pushed the 10-bit panel/processing as the key technical advantage of the Z5100, but said the Z5100 had a little less viewing angle than B750 because of the matte screen. My test of the effective viewing angle of both sets concluded that the B750 experienced color shift a few degrees over 45 degrees from center, while the Sony Z5100 had the shift a few degrees under 45 degrees. Both have viewing angles typical of most mainstream LCD HDTVs today.

The sales associate claimed that the Z5100 was the best matte screen LCD HDTV for the money. He told us that UE refused to carry Samsung's B630 line because it was a cheaply made matte screen LCD HDTV with 120 Hz technology rather than just a matte screen version of the B650 that they did carry. He claimed that the B630 was just a B550 with 120 Hz technology. Don't know that I agree with those statements, but it is a bit disconcerting that the top mid-level HDTV dealer in my area and BB;s main competitor here, won't even carry what I thought was Samsung's top matte screen line. As a result, I've pretty much dropped the B630 from consideration despite its attractive price.

So now I have to decide if I'm ready to pull the trigger on a Z5100.

I truly believe Sony's televisions would look even better, maybe better than the Samsung, if they offered glossy screens... what do you think?

glossy screens no thanks,i wish there was display with even lesser glare then current screens with the anti glare coating.

I think it doesn't matter since Sony doesn't offer glossy screens. However, I think I'd be more handsome than I am now if my parents looked like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and I weighed 25 pounds less. What do you think?

Glossy screens are terrible, i wish samsung would take sony's route

Has any one played any Video games w/ 240 hz on?? Could an owner plz run try or test for me... Had an 52b750 and it was horrible w/240hz on gaming, Thank You

ok never mind you guys...

If Sony went glossy-only at the high end of their HDTV line like Samsung has, then I think I'd be looking at a Mitsu the next time I was shopping for a new HDTV.

Yes, the B750 Samsungs have excellent PQ. IMHO, a hair better than the Z5100/XBR9. But, how could I appreciate that excellent PQ at home when in every dark scene on the screen I'd be looking at a mirror image of my ugly mug instead of the video source.

One of the happiest days of my TV viewing life was when we bought our Samsung DLP in 2003 and no longer had to try to block every light source in the house so I could watch Sunday NFL games without the glare and reflection I had endured for many years off our now departed Sony Trinatron.

BTW, I pulled the trigger on a 52Z5100 and it is scheduled for delivery later this week. Ordinarily, we would have waited until two weeks before XMas to buy "big ticket" electronics, when prices bottom out, but personal factors made a purchase now most beneficial to our family.

Congrats on your purchase. I could get a pretty good price on both the 52Z5100 and the 52XBR9 right now from my local dealer but I'm going to hold out as long as I can for prices to drop more as it won't be my main display. I picked up the 46Z4100 last August just north of 2K and thought I got a good deal at the time and then the set dropped to about 1.5K by January 2009.

Yeah I'm looking at the 52Z5100 and the 52XBR9. They're both so similar. I can't seem to make up my mind between the two.

Technically they are almost the same HDTV with the same capabilities and the price differential was down to $150. Neither of us could see a PQ difference, so for us it got down to which one did the wife think would look better in "her" family room. She wasn't too crazy about the blue/black/silver of the XBR9 versus basic, flat black, so she was happy with the $150 savings and she gets the TV she thinks looks best.

What exactly is smearing?

Whatever makes everyone happy!

Has any one played any Video games w/ 240 hz on?? Could an owner plz run try or test for me... Had an 52b750 and it was horrible w/240hz on gaming, Thank You