Official KDL..EX500/501 Thread - Page 5

If anyone would be willing to take pics, I'd love to see this tv with a 0IRE signal in a dark room, along with some pics with content.

I'm starting to get the feeling that there won't be ccfls from Sony next year.

I'm not really familiar with the term 0IRE but I assume you mean 0-255 with 0 being black and 255 being white. I have my pc hooked to a 60EX500 and I have my pc set to output full rgb, 0-255, and MPC-HC is also set to output 0-255. I've calibrated the tv using test patterns from this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496

Let me know if you want pics and what kind of content your looking for. PC games in 1080p look amazing and so does 1080p video.

Actually, what you could do is pause a blu-ray film during a blackout between scenes of a movie. I'm really interested in seeing the luminance level or how black the blacks are in a dark room.

I'd love to see pics with blu-ray content, as well.

Thanks!

I am curious about the black level on this set as well. I know sony says it has a higher contrast than the XBR9 or W5100, but I can not tell in the store with the lights.

Here is a picture of the pixels (the best I can get). Any ideas on this? Does not look exactly like the EX700 from what I can tell.

I want to say thats s-pva, but I need to look around at pics of mva and s-pva pixels. This could be s-pva. Usually, that can be told from off axis viewing. If the pictures colors washout quickly off axis, then it could be s-pva.

This is confusing too because it looks very close to uv2a, except uv2a pixels are completely square- these seem to look like teeth, if that makes sense. However, Sony/Samsung S-LCD have made some advances t0 their panels that they had mentioned back in the fall. I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of their new s-pva panels.

Actually, I just looked at the Sharp uv2a presentation on diginfo news. This looks exactly like uv2a pixels, my mistake. It's hard to believe that they're using this on their ccfls.

It shouldn't be that all surprising to see UV2A in CCFL televisions, in fact, they would fit perfectly with it.

UV2A production/manufacturing is actually cheaper than manufacturing S-PVA or other conventional LCD panels today. I see why Sony invested a huge stake into it.

Is this a good thing? Is the Sharp uv2a good? Different from last years models?

Considering this set and have a couple of questions:

1) I wanted last years model (v5100) but with all the bad reviews, even after the software update, I waiting until the new ones came out. the EX500 doesn't have a usb 1.1 (service only) in the specs, so I called Sony to ask how one would update this if you ever had to - they said via the internet, but this doesn't have connectivity (does it?) - I couldn't see anything in the manual - so does anyone know if this set is upgradeable should problems arise like in last year's model?

2) This is silly, but on how the new model looks - does anyone think that having 3 sides of the TV black and the bottom silver looks bad? I think it looks good otherwise, but when I saw this at Best Buy I felt the silver ruined the look. How does it look in your home, and does the bottom distract? I seemed to think so in the store. Just seems odd to me, pick black OR silver, not both?

Also worried about the Wii lag - any comments on that? I see a review on Best Buy about the Wii lag 1/2 second.

It is a good thing indeed. Better contrast ratio and hopefully less uniformity issues than last year.

its lists a USB all over sonys website http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...specifications

It has a USB 2.0 for connectivity, but last year's models had 2 USBs - a 2.0 for connecting things, and a 1.1 (service only). The new ones only have one USB 2.0, and mentions nothing about service. When I called I specifically asked if the USB 2.0 could be used for service and was told no, but you can use the internet to download firmware updates if needed...but I don't see that in the manual, and the Sony guy who answered my question seemed annoyed I had even called to ask. While it would be best to never need to upgrade, I'm worried about the possiblity of not being able to if needed.

just another opinion:
i saw the 40ex500 on display at work today and i was very impressed. the colors look great and the black levels are outstanding for an lcd. all in all looks to be one of the better bang-for your-buck tv's out right now.

Not sure about the Wii lag, XBOX 360 is fine in game mode from what my son says. I would think the Wii could use the game mode also.

Also about looks, the Costco version has a black bottom and looks great.

I do not see why the USB 2.0 could not be used. I bet in the future if there is an update it will be able to use it. There is no other way on the EX500 regardless of what the support person said. Probably not up to date on the model yet.

I don't have a Costco near me - is that the only place you can get that? I really want the all black version. I prefer buying from places that offer easy return if needed - so purchasing online scares me. What about Sam's Club?
Thanks for letting me know this though, as the silver was the main thing holding me back from this!

Check with Sams Club about the model EX501. The 501 (or any 01 models) appear to have the black bottoms (though not all). I am not sure who besides Costco carries that version.

I just got a new sony 60ex500 and so far so good. My eyes say the colors are about an 8.5/10 and the baclk levels are about an 8/10 very good for a standerd lcd ccfl lit tv. When I was in the store they had it up next to the 60ex700 and I honstly have to say the picture on the ex500 in my opn was better. I went in to buy the ex700 and came out with the ex500. Anyways just thought I would post my experince because I know how usefull other peoples posts here have helped me so I hope this helps some thanks for everyone posts.

Your not the first one i have read that preferred the ex500 to the ex700, although comparing in a store is hard to do. I saw both in BB, one on top of the other and thought the ex500 looked better myself. They were up on a wall so i could not reach them to adjust the controls. I may have to go to costco tonight since they have both side-by-side and displayed low enough that i might be able to play with both of them to compare. If the ex500 is using uv2a panels as speculated here, that might explain all the positive comments on black levels i am reading.

being that this is the V5100 replacement, has anyone tried the calibrations in the V5100 thread to start with as a base?

That would be a great place to start. I'd look at Home Theater Magazine's settings on their website. They had the V5100 as part of a shootout a few months back.

I liked their settings the most out of about 4 that I tried.

Many have mentioned how good the blacks are on this set, but how does it handles motion? Do you see a lot of artifacts when watching sports or any fast moving scene?

Since Costco seems to have some of these without the silver, a couple more questions:

1) Someone said not all have the all black design (without the silver bottom pane), is the 46" all black does anyone know? (KDL-46EX501) - and does it have a swivel stand like the KDL-46EX500? (is there anywhere we can see the specs for this costco version yet?)

2) Why do they have these different models for Costco only? Do they cheap them out somehow (quality, features, etc.) or is there some reason why they are a little bit different than the models sold everywhere else?

3) Does anyone know how much the KDL-46EX501 is at Costco right now?

ty!

Yeah, I went to BB specifically to look at the EX700 and was surprised to find the EX500 looks much better to me. I guess the out of the box settings need a lot more tweaking on the ex700 though.

I was also surprised to see the EX500 is already "on sale" for $250 off msrp. Which makes the price $750 less than the EX700... Interesting for sure.

Finally going to upgrade my XBR2 with the EX500. i have a 32 " now but will be going to 40" (its a small room and i dont want to be that guy with the enormous TV in the small room).

Anywho, my wife has a SONY rewards card and she has never used any points. We checked it out, she had over 37,000 points. 1 point=1 cent and SONY rewards is offering the EX500 models. So i am pretty excited to be getting 370 dollars off the price of a 40EX500. I have to go this route considering I will be getting the TV for $530 bucks.

Has anyone ever bought anything via Sony rewards? I have been searching high and low about warranty information if you buy from there and i cant seem to find anything. I was just curious if anyone might now about warranty information or any general info when buying through Sony rewards?

I had a look at the ex500. The set looks good, but it's hard to gauge a difference in black level with so much light. I saw the 46ex500, yet when I played with the menu settings, it listed picture settings that are in the ex400 series. However, it was still displaying motionflow as part of the demo, so....?

Basically, there was no cinema setting, only custom, which is an ex400 setting. There was a W5100 next to the ex400, and the blacks were slightly deeper on the W5100. There was a 55ex500, but it was on the other side of the store, so I couldn't do any comparisons.

Off axis was pretty good, but then again, it's hard to judge in the store. Looking forward to more reviews on this set.

I have had the 40v5100 for a couple of weeks now and it is giving me problems. First there were audio issues with HDMI. I managed to avoid those for the last week (thank god) but now I am noticing some heavy flashlighting and a few stuck pixels (OCD sucks).

I have contacted the retailer (an online retailer) and there is a chance that I can exchange this set for the EX500. What do you guys think? Is it a better quality set than the V5100? My main concerns aren't incredible black levels or online functionality, but that the set works perfectly without defects. Does this set suffer from any "red flashing" type issues or HDMI audio drops? Let me know, I have a couple of days to figure this out.

I have the 60ex500 abd Mine has a cinema setting

I think it was just a demo panel that may or may not have been an actual ex500. It basically was there to show off motionflow and bravia engine 2.

If the uk review says these are the deepest blacks they've ever seen on a ccfl, I'd believe it. I think Techradar is a legitimate source.

The z5500 (uk model, equivalent of the z5100 in the states) was very popular last year with uk reviewers. If this is besting that, we're talking maybe .003-.004 ft/L blacks.

When HTmag reviewed the V5100, they measured blacks at .008 ft/L. However, when I used their settings, I sacrificed a little shadow detail to get deeper blacks by lowering the brightness slider. This set was very inky.

The xbr9 review in HTmag had the set measuring in at .008, as well, yet the backlight was set to 1 vs. a setting of minimum. Then again, the xbr9 was using an S-PVA panel vs. the AMVA3 panel used for the V5100. Again, blacks could get lower than .008, but there would be a slight amount of shadow detail obscured, although this set was doing shadow detail equal to that of a panny plasma.

Getting the best black level this year would be with the backlight at minimum, brightness no higher than 51 (this was the best brightness I could get on a black screen before it would get light on the V5100, although this could be different) and perhaps a low gamma setting for more shadow detail, along with ACE on Low (anything higher caused a screen dimming effect and their was some shadow detail loss, though again, this could be fixed for 2010, in which case, I believe that Neilo TM got a .01 candelas reading on the Z5500 with ACE set to high), perhaps playing with black corrector which has been added to this year's models.

Backlight at minimum is actually great for a room with low ambient light. I always found the light output of this to be perfect for dark room viewing.

In eco mode on the V5100, the blacks would not be measureable with a light meter, although there would still be a glow on the black screen. The brightness would be too low for watching any material in a dark room, since the eco light sensor would set the backlight to a level below minimum on the slider.

These are really some of the best bang for your buck sets on the market right now.

I had the same issues with the 55V5100. I have had no issues at all with the 55EX500. I would try and go with the EX500 if you can.