Sony EX720 - who knows anything about it?

The EX720 was displayed at CES earlier this month. Certain sizes are supposed to be available in February. Do a Google search and you should be able to pull up a few sites with specs.

Dont see it anywhere either but we will found out next month, im also interested in this model except the 32" one for my bedroom, unless i get the 929 and my XBR8 gets moved to the bedroom...

I assume it will be non-glossy - as it is not a monolithic design, which tend to be more glossy (at least in the 2010 models).

I have reserched everthing on this EX 720, there is no mention of any change to the screen from the 710. orderd a 55'' yesterday not sure when i will get it, I live in N/W Canada. the 720 is 3D and Wi-Fi read, XR 240 Hz, light and presance sensor i believe are new. I will confirm this when i receive the tv.

That's great you actually ordered a Sony EX720! I'm very interested in this as well. I mostly want to use it as a computer monitor... If you can hook up a laptop or some computer and try it out like that, it would be nice to hear how that works.

Question #1: How glossy is the screen or is it matte?

Question #2: How is the picture? Flashlighting in the corners? Screen uniformity? Black level? Colors?

Question #3: If used with a game console or computer - what kind of input lag exists for playing games or using a mouse? Is there a videogame mode which can reduce the input lag and does it work well? Also, can it perfectly display the full resolution 1920x1080 mode from a computer?

Question #4: Can the dynamic contrast be turned off completely? I can't stand when the screen darkens/lightens during screen changes. I think the last TV Sony forced dynamic contrast was the XBR6 but its always good to confirm this feature is user selectable especially with the new X-Reality engine.

Question #5: Did you get the new Sony 3D glasses to go with it? I don't even know if they are out yet. It would be nice to know what changed with them and if there is less crosstalk since that's something Sony claims was improved.

If you do happen to test it as a computer monitor, maybe you'd be interested in trying Nvidia's 3DTV Play which allows all computer games to be played in 3D right now on a 3D TV (need an Nvidia Graphics card). It's difficult to get feedback about that but it should be pretty fun and there's a huge library of computer games which currently work in 3D with the Nvidia driver.

Sorry to bombard with questions - I think this may finally be the TV I get if it has a matte or semi-matte screen.

Thanks.

When I pickup the TV I will try to answer your questions.

Wi-Fi ready as in you don't need a dongle? I thought you still needed it for the 720 model. The 710 also had a presence sensor. Looking forward to your first impressions of it, once you get it. I'm considering the 40" 720.

your right the 720 does need a dongle, it's $89.99 on the Sony website. also, yes the 710 did have a presance sencer.

The EX700s and EX710s were matte, so I expect the EX720s will be matte as well.

I just got my 40EX720. I'm about to assemble it now, but just wanted to toss out a quick observation. 1. Its much more reflective than I realized, which isnt so much of a bad thing (pictures coming soon). 2. The grey bevel on the bottom is more black, so you dont really see the same visual element as much as in the earlier EX's.

I will post some pics in a few.

Looking forward to your pictures and first impressions.

So far so good. It certainly feels like a next gen hdtv in every way. This is just with a standard VGA connected to my PC so its not going to look good till my Display Port to HDMI cables are delivered. Gonna have to change my set up as well so the TV isnt right in my face. I can toggle on and off simulated 3d just by pushing the 3D button on the remote.

Also as you can see, the screen surface is fairly reflective, but thats not always a bad thing, though if this is right next to a window you might get some reflection going on during dark scenes.











http://img203.imageshack.us/g/ex7201.jpg/

Hm. Looks like it may be more reflective than the XBR6, which to me is not good. I'll see how it compares when I get home tonight.

DataDay,

Thanks so much for putting the pictures up. The TV looks nice.

It seems to me from the second picture and the last picture that it may be semi-matte. I can see your arms in the second picture don't look like they are reflected like a mirror. But then on the fourth picute, the distant part of the reflection looks fairly sharp. Basically, if you look at a lamp reflected in the screen is it a really sharp reflection? How does that compare to the Dell glossy screen?

Yeah, VGA is going to look a bit fuzzy. But if you are really used to the Dell glossy screen and the sony is matte or semi-matte, it won't seem as sharp in comparison. That's the tradeoff with a matte screen. But, I know I wouldn't be able to stand looking at my reflection in mirror clarity on a 40" computer monitor all day long when it will only be 4 ft from my eyes. That's why I want a matte screen for this TV. Maybe if I was using it in a living room and I was on a couch, I wouldn't mind glossy but not when I'm sitting that close. It's funny how all the consumer monitors/TVs have all gone glossy which is unfortunate. Sony used to be all matte/semi-matte until last year when they went mostly glossy except the lower end models. But most professionals use matte screens for imaging/graphics even though they don't have the same punch as glossy for a good reason - the picture can be seen more accurately without reflections. When sitting close to a screen, even the light from the screen will be enough to cause an annoying self reflection in the screen. It doesn't even matter if the rest of the room is pitch black. Anandtech also jokes about the glossy screens... This whole issue will hopefully be gone with the eventual advent of OLED but I don't really know much about that yet.

The only other thing which can cause blurriness is the settings. It is important when using a TV as a computer monitor to be sure it is using 1:1 pixel mapping. So when the graphics card puts out 1920x1080, the TV needs to be set to show every single pixel. It should be doing that if going in through the VGA port because the TV assumes it is coming in from a computer. But be sure when you get the Displayport->HDMI that the settings are correct and the TV isn't doing a bit of overscan which is basically a slight zoom to the image. If any pixels on the edge of an image are not being shown, then the TV is zooming the image a bit and everything (text especially) will be slightly blurry.

The other thing about VGA is that you should easily notice the noise caused by the analog VGA signal. Just put up a black background for your desktop and look closely at the blackness. With VGA, there will be a lot of low level noise throughout the blackness. When you go in through HDMI, the noise will be completely gone.

It sounds like it's definatley not completely matte. Again, please compare with the Dell glossy how a lamp/flashlight reflection looks. Its difficult to judge with pictures although it seems like semi-matte. Not great for me but I can live with it hopefully. If there are no major problems with the TV, I'll probably order the Sony EX720 40" very soon. And I don't have cable either - just using it as a computer monitor and to watch blurays!

Thanks for the info. I find myself working with Maya, Zbrush and Photoshop quite a bit these days, so I can understand why the glare would be a problem. The little corner I carved out for computer work at home thankfully doesnt get too much light unless I turn one on and redirect it, as seen in the pictures below. I have a pretty big light directly on me just to show off the matte, so it is probably not normal every day lighting you or someone else would probably use.

Thanks for helping me confirm the VGA and computer were causing the blurring.

Anyways heres a quick comparison pic. I have a lot of monitors haha. The old sony LCD is back from 2003-2004ish, it was a very glossy screen. The samsung 23" is about 2.7 years old, full matte. Dell is full gloss, about a year and a half old. You can see how they compare in the same lighting to the Bravia EX720.




Couple other things to note. The user interface is a step away from the 2010 models. It is no longer completely like the Playstation menu/OS, at least visually. It isnt bad though, probably even better, but I was kind of looking forward to the familiarity of the PS menu on a TV.

Still loving it.

DataDay,

Well, you've answered my "matte/glossy" question as good as it could possibly be answered. I wish magazine/internet reviews were as thorough! Seriously, your photos showing the split screen matte/glossy and matte/semi-glossy is better illustrated than I've ever seen done on the internet - wow. Your post should be a sticky as it could really help people understand what the differences really are between matte, semi-glossy and glossy!

Anyways. I don't know why I kept saying semi-matte when semi-gloss is definately more accurate. It's alot more glossy than I am used to because I use pure matte screens right now. But as you said, I won't have a light directly above me and the screen will be a few feet back. So I think it will be fine. When I see the reflection in the glossy screens, and I consider that all the rest of the screens coming out this year are glossy, I think this EX720 is the best compromise I will get for at least the next year.

As far as the 1:1 pixel mapping - I'm sure the television does that. So there's really only one more big question from me. If you could answer, I will order the the EX720 right away. It's basically a yes or no question. But unfortunately, you might not be able to answer until you have the displayport -> HDMI cable.

Question:
Does the TV have defeatable auto-dimming when using a digital connection?

Let me explain.

The XBR6 had undefeatable auto-dimming. It was always on no matter what. It was a lot of effort to buy the thing and then I had to take it back basically because of that issue. This is an important option when using the TV as a computer monitor because if you have a black background for example and open up a window with a white background, the auto-dimming will kick in and suddenly the screen will dynamically increase the brightness. If you close the windows, the TV will dynamically decrease the brightness. It drove me nuts very quickly. After a while I figured out that I could hook up the XBR6 through VGA and the auto-dimming stopped because the XBR6 assumed this was a computer source. But then the text got blurry and there was a lot of noise. So I returned it. With a lot of complaints, Sony finally gave the XBR9 the option to turn off autodimming but I never found a good enough deal on the XBR9 40" to buy one. Then, the next year I thought I wanted 3D so I waited but all the 3D sets were glossy. So the EX720 is the first TV in many years that is likely the best compromise. I also tried to find the answer to the auto-dimming question in a manual for the TV here:
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/sel...=36&NAVDISP=tv
But the EX720 isn't listed so there's no manual to look at yet. Maybe in a month or two... And even though people assume auto-dimming can be disabled because the previous year TVs had that option, I'm not always sure. Samsung had the option to turn off auto-dimming for a while and then they started forcing auto-dimming on some TV in the last two years. I guess they figured nobody would ever want to use a TV as a monitor.

So to test this properly, some source needs to be hooked up digitally and then in the TV menus there would be some place which allows auto-dimming to be disabled. A playstation HDMI hookup should work. I'm not exactly sure how to really test it with a Playstation but I guess a movie that goes from light to dark or vice versa would trigger the auto-dimming. If the auto-dimming were disabled, there would be no dynamic contrast adjustments when the scene brightness changes. Either way, it's good to know how to disable it so you aren't wasting time figuring it out. The rest of my previous questions like picture quality etc, other people will probably care about more than me. For me, I'm sure the picture will be good enough. I really just need to know about matte/glossy (answered, thanks) and auto-dimming (?) before I pull the trigger. The "yes or no" to the above question is all I'm looking for right now.

Lastly, on one of your pictures, I noticed you had two mouses next to each other. I used to have the same thing so maybe this info could help you. I don't know your setup, but if you happen to be running two Windows boxes, and have one mouse controlling each box, I seriously suggest you spend a bit of time and try out a free program called "Input Director". This program allows the sharing of a single mouse/keyboard through a typical home network router to control two computers. No need for two mice/two keyboards. It's basically a software KVM but the switching is instant and it very easy to use. Another free program called Syncronicity (EDIT: Woops, the program is really called "Synergy", my next post below explains how I got the name wrong.) does the same thing but that program isn't quite as polished although it seems to have gotten better since I last used it. And if you don't need this functionality now, look it up anyways because if you're doing Maya, Photoshop and Z-Brush now, you will be wanting this ability eventually. Just something to consider for the future.

Alright - thanks again.

Dataday can you attach the 720 to a cable box and look at various sd/hd channels and tell me what you think?

Orbidia, I know exactly what you are talking about. I had to work on a Dell M6500 with a screen that did that for some odd reason and it drove me nuts as well.

Since I do not have an HDMI cable as of yet to test anything out in that area... I did noticed an option you may like. Maybe this is what you were looking for in general?




There is also a menu which lets you pick your "theme" based on what you will be using the screen for. When going through each option, I found the tv adjusting for the type of use it will be used for.




Anyways, I should have the DP and HDMI in couple of days, then we can test further, unless of course you bite the bullet and order the TV before then haha.

Thanks for the info about the sync software. Yeah I have two mice for two different computers, so I will definitely look into it. Thanks again.



I dont have a cable box unfortunately. If you mean just displaying HD content though, I can do that from the computer or USB drive (which can be plugged into the TV and used like a PC for video).

I think you said earlier your problem was related to the white values right? Did you play with the Settings--> Preferences ---> Scene Selection options? This TV gives you quite a bit of control over how the visuals will display.

Hey Dataday. Yes I've been playing with the settings like crazy. Maybe its my eyes. Blu ray from my Dune media player looks great. Everything else not so much. I wish I had a good camera to take quality pictures but my iphone just isn't cutting it. Either way I'm glad your happy with the tv. I'm going to have to try and ditch for somehow.

DataDay,

I finally decided to order the TV from Amazon. Hopefully everything else about it is good - like no dead pixels, etc. The last thing I'm worried about is the input lag. But I'm not an FPS pro or anything so a bit of normal mouse lag (1-2 frames) doesn't normally bother me. Since you didn't mention it, I assume it isn't a major problem.
All that's left now is to wait...

As for Input Director, the address is here:
http://inputdirector.com/
I spent a long time testing a bunch of programs which do this.

I was wrong about the program called "Syncronicity" - that was a silly movie title. I meant "Synergy".
http://synergy-foss.org/
The advantage of Synergy is that it is actually mac/pc compatible so you can actually use one mouse/keyboard with a mac and a pc. But I found for just PCs, Input Director was the easiest to set up. These programs work like magic. When I first tried synergy actually, I was wondering why it took me so long to find it.
The only other one I tried was "Multiplicity": (I think when I said "Syncronicity" earlier I was actually thinking of the combination of the word "Synergy" and "Multiplicity" - Go figure out the human brain...
http://www.stardock.com/products/multiplicity/
But that one costs money and didn't actually work as well as Synergy or Input Director. There were a couple other competing programs that aren't worth mentioning.

Well, thanks again for all the photos and info about the monitor. I'll write a bit up about it when I get mine.

Congrats are in order then. =)

I wouldnt say the EX720 is the best of the best Sony has to offer for 2011 (obviously the others are more expensive), but its certainly up there as far as Sony's entry level 3D HDTVs are concerned. Everything about it is... Solid. I didnt notice any dead pixels and the screen is pretty uniform in its picture quality. Granted this is all based off use with a VGA and the internet video. I also plugged in a USB stick with a video on it to test it out, and it played it off the USB fine...though it seems no support for AVI files. =(

I would say theres quite a bit of value in this HDTV for its price tag. I noticed on the back it was assembled in Mexico and the chances are high that as they begin to mass produce this model, it will pull from some of the cheaper LCD plants. I have a feeling this initial launch batch is probably going to be of better quality, but thats just speculation on my part. I dont know too much about the TV making biz.

I havent noticed any noticeable mouse lag either. To be fair though, I havent tested it for PC gaming or zbrush work as of yet.

I look forward to your take on it. Thanks for the links btw, I will check them out.

Add: Just in case you are interested in the 3D aspect, these are the 2011 3D glasses which will go along with the 720, just have to wait for a release date and pricing info. If anyone knows it, please share.

do you know if the 2011 glasses are different than the 2010's

They are supposed to be. micro usb port for charging battery, lighter weight, and improved 3D capability (less cross talk, flickering). The only way to find out for sure though is to test em.

thanks for the info, the glasses are not available in Canada as for as i see but i will keep checking to see if there on line.

Just got my 40EX720 yesterday and it is a nice TV for sure. It's replacing a Loewe Aventos 30" CRT. I've held off buying a panel TV for years because I just never saw one with a picture that I liked better than the Loewe. It is in a bright room but I think reflections are reasonably under control, they don't bug me when it's on. The Loewe was great at black levels in its day but the EX720 is amazing.

One thing I've noticed is the EX720 screen isn't as bright as my old CRT. Maxed out the backlight and fiddled with the picture settings but it didn't make much difference. Objectively speaking it's still plenty bright, just not as bright as what I'm used to. Is that a normal LCD vs CRT thing? I still need to calibrate it.

BTW I'm a "prime" member of a certain online retailer and paid the $4 for 1-day shipping. I had the thing 18 hours after I ordered it!

Congrats. A lot of it depends on the scene you have selected (scene button on remote). For computer use I prefer "Picture Mode" as its much brighter and sharper for reading text and images. The general mode allows you to do quite a bit of tweaking as well.

Now that you folks have had the EX720 for a little while, what are your thoughts about it? Any tips? Mine's arriving in the morning! It's replacing a projector, so much smaller picture, but with the much higher pixel density the picture should look amazing.

does anybody know which samsung tv is comparable to this one?

are you guys happy with the black levels of this set?