Official 2010 Sony ...HX701 Owners Calibration thread - Page 9

Finally got my HX701 55 on 20th, this past Tuesday.

HD picture quality is noticeably better than EX500 55 that it replaced.
However, SD picture quality seems worse than EX500.
Network interface works okay (hardwire). SD

Haven't tried tweaking and just been watching in standard mode. Movies that I saw on EX500, they look more "realistic" on HX701 and the difference is noticeable.

Good afternoon everyone...

I have the KDF60WF655 unit with the defective Optical Block.... I tried and pleaded with them on seeing if they offer a 60in in the replacment program but after 5 calls and 3 emails no luck at all... here is the offer they provided me with:
KDL52EX700 $725.00 + local sales tax
KDL55EX500 $625.00 + local sales tax
KDL46EX700 $400.00 + local sales tax
KDL46V5100 $280.00 + local sales tax

After speaking with the rep in stating that there are other offers for the same model at a lower price he indicated that they take several factors into consideration when the offer the discounted price such as which model you currently have that is being replaced.

I do know that the XBR was more $$$ than the WF series so I guess you all that have the very nice low discounted price congrats... I will have to choke it up and settle for the $625.00 (KDL55EX500) as this being the best offer for the size in my paticular situation...

It totally sucks that they don't offer the 60in units in this program.... I had to decide within 1 week or the offer expires for my case #....

MY son is a game ninja, and he says that he no problens with the PS3. However with the 360 he has to turn motionflow to standard. PS3 is played in custom picture mode with motionflow at high setting. I must say the games look awesome with motionflow at high setting.

Yes, the pronto hex codes worked for the funtions that were not already in the remote's database. These are mainly the component input options since the HDMI 1-4 were in my database as of last week. The trick is that you can only add 1 hex code....so I had to copy it from my Harmony One to another learning remote & then "learn" the command back to my Harmony One. After that, I moved to the next Hex code. It's messy, but works.

I just got this TV and overall I like it. A few things though, Samsung released their C750 series which is close in price and features but offers 3D. Just wonder what you all think of that.

I had an XBR8 and a Samsung A750 and PQ wise I feel the HX matches the A750 more. I cant say that the HX matches the black level and color accuracy of the XBR8. I do think the HX has more "pop" than the XBR due to the UCP Im assuming. I think that the HX does have good black level for a CCFL though. I was pretty happy with the screen uniformity its much better than the edge lit LED's.

The motion handling seems better than the XBR8, that was the reason I returned the XBR8. I was a tad dissapointed in the 240Hz customization level of the HX though. I was hoping Sony was gonna follow suit with Samsung's motion customization settings ie; independent judder and smoothness adjustments.

All in all it seems to be a pretty well rounded set. I do like the UCP on the HX myself but others like a matte panel more. I think the UCP gives LCD's deeper colors and better blacks of course the by product being more reflection.

Also the remote is subpar at best. I am using the XBR8 remote which is far supperior I can control my Samsung BD player my Sony sound bar and its backlit with a blue light.

one last thing, I really liked the fact that the TV has handles on the back you can use to pick it up. A simple addition but out of all the TV's I have owned none them had that.

EDIT: thanks PYOO for posting some settings Im looking forward to giving them a shot for Avatar on Bluray!

Am I the only one to have some very minor clouding? I can see it when in between channels (solid dark grey) and on all black content when there is not a lot of light in the room. It's like a 3 inch wide bar, located to the right of the screen and going from top to bottom.

I can't see it when I'm watching something, so it's not really bothering me. I'm just worried it might get worse over time... will it?

Saw the HX703 at Sony Style in Quebec City, i was impressed with the PQ
Can't wait for the HX8 series

I discovered a few things with my 46' last night while watching Avatar. First the 46' doesnt seem to have a "cinema" preset. It only has vivid, standard and custom. I felt all those settings needed alot of tweeking. Of course I dont have a colorimter ( even if I did I wouldnt know how to use the damn thing ) and I couldnt find the right settings.
In this department the XBR8 does out classes the HX. The XBR8 has better blacks and shadow detail and seems a bit sharper. Also color accuracy is far better on the XBR8.

Motion handling is better than the XBR8 for sure but I really want to be able to adjust it more. i think having two settings is not enough. I found myself wanting a setting that was in between High and Standard.
I feel Samsung has the edge in this department with more customization. I like a little more interpoling but not too much to were artifacts ruin the experiance. i must say the HX in standard had almost zero hiccups which is great.

Now for my biggest complaint. Like the above poster I have some pretty bad Flashlights and clouding. The weird part about this is when the screen is all dark with nothing on it the screen will adjust and lower the backlight and then zero flashlights. Now if I have source material that is displaying a single thing against a dark background, the flashlights appear. It seems to my eyes that the TV will shut down its backlight or lower it on an all black screen. This was observed in an all dark room which I didnt do before just FYI.

Anyways Im not a total noob I do own and have owned alot of LCD's and this one seems to have the worst screen uniformity yet. Right now Im running some Pixel fix software for about ten hours to see if that helps clean up the uniformity. My understanding is that screen uniformity issues will not get worse. Anyways these are just my humble opinions and observations.

Now with the Samsung 240Hz 3D C750 at a price point that is only $40 more than I paid for the HX I find myself drifting towards Samsung.

It has vivid, standard, and custom (all of which can be customized) and then 7 different scene modes which seem to do the exact same thing. I didn't play around much with how scenes interacts with the normal 3 presets, but presumably you could end up with as many as 3x7=21 different preset combinations.

If I put my ear behind the set, I can hear a very faint buzzing sound, regardless if the TV is on or off... I don't care that I hear it when it's on, it's pretty normal to me (never had a quieter tv before). However, I wonder if it's normal to hear it even when the TV is off.

Can anyone tell me if they hear any sound coming from their set when it's off? You will have to put your ear to the back of the tv to hear it...

Thanks!

I know they all can be customized but what I didnt know was there was 7 different scene modes. Cool thanks I will look into it tonight.

it could be the PSU since TV's will go into a standby mode that will suck a lil power but allows for a quick start up. Atleast thats what my XBR8 did.

How bad do you think the flashlighting and clouding is compared to the XBR9's. From what I've heard is that thes HX701's are spposed to be much better.

Well it could just be mine but the HX is far worse than the XBR8 was. The XBR8 in the "sweetspot" had almost no clouding or flashlights. As soon as you start getting off center you could start seeing some flashlights but no clouding. Also I find the HX has a pretty narrow "sweetspot" compared to the other LCD's I have owned. let me say this, all four corners of the HX have pretty bad clouding. I think sony's solution to bad clouding has been that thing with the backlight i was describing. it gives the appearance of a uniform screen.
Otherwise after some adjustments and the use of PYOO's settings with my own tweeks I really like the picture.

EDIT: I may be jumping ship here soon the C750 is now $100 less than I paid for the HX. Im waiting for BB to carry it.

How far do the flashligts extend on the screen?

I understand the the XBR8's were near perfect in theis regard, but the XBR9's were pretty bad with some flashlights extending 10 inches or more onto the screen and they also had clouding in the middle as well.

I never heard about a flashlight effect regarding an LCD. Is this another expression for backlight bleed or clouding? Or is it a different phenomenon? Could someone please explain?

Same thing but in the corners.

Thank You.

Would you guys keep this or have it exchanged? I'm worried I might end up with worse, but since I haven't seen any other HX 701 besides mine, I'm asking for your help here.

All the pictures are in this album: http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s...ny%20HX%20701/


I see some uniformity issues when switching inputs



But an all black slide in the dark shows I have no real clouding (the artifacts are from my camera, there is no stuck pixel here)



And I can't tell if my mind is playing some tricks on me or if there is really an issue when watching real content







thank you!

I see a couple of stuck pixels and what looks like a cloud mostly on the right side but maybe lighter across most of the screen. Assuming it's not a reflection from something in the room, only you can decide if you can live with it.

There is no stuck pixels, it's the camera's fault.

And no it's not a reflection, it seems to be some kind of cloud that is only visible on certain colors (not black). It does bothers me a little, but I really don't know what are my odds of getting a better set... that's why I'm asking for help here, so others can tell me if their set is kinda like that or if it is perfectly uniform.

At least it's only on the right side and not both, my XBR9 has this on both the right and left and it extends further on the screen than that. If you were to put up a grey slide it would show it the most.

I posted about this in the XBR9 forums and people were oblivious to it even though it was quite common. People in the samsung b750 boards (same panel as xbr9) knew about it and complained about it. It's called "pillaring", you can do an internet serch for lcd pillaring to find out more about it.

You're right in that it doesn't show up on an all black screen, but rears it's ugly head in light colored scenes. If you do not notice it watching content such as golf with the light green grass or a scene with a really light blue sky or ocean, then I'd say not to worry about it. It looks as though you really don't have any other clouding issues or stuck pixels. Unless you are unhappy with the set for other reasons, then I's say keep it.

I don't see it on light blue background, but I THINK (I might be going crazy tho) that I see it when watching golf or soccer. It's easy to see on a grey slide (like my first image), impossible to see on a red, very hard to see on blue and noticeable on some shades of green. Beige and grey are the worst, but it's hard to tell if there is really an issue when watching real stuff and not slides.

Except for that, this tv is amazing!

Do you notice any banding on grey slides?

Not really... just this pillaring.

I think you're fine.

Take a look at this picture, I'm sure your's doesn't look nearly as bad as this.

It sure doesn't... that's your set and you learned to live with that?

Did anyone with the HX 701 saw anything like that on their set, or any other issue like clouding? I'm really wondering if trading would have a real chance of improving my situation.

Attached are some grey slides used for beaking in plasmas.

These will show the pillaring and banding. If want to, please take a look at these on your set to see if there is any banding.

Please keep in mind that these slides can bring out the worst and are not always a representation of real world viewing.

thats about what mine looks like, my TV is going back for sure. I think thats why this TV feels like it has such a narrow sweet spot is because of the pillaring. I dont think im gonna try another HX though I think its back to Samsung I go.

Can you see the banding in this picture? This is taken with the all grey slide displayed. Does yours look similar to this , or it is pretty much band free?