Official Sony HX929 Owner's thread (46HX929, 55HX929, 65HX929) No Price Talk - Page 504

Received my Darbee 5000 this AM will set it up this weekend and report results.

Thanks IMRIZZO...

See PM re: Darbee 5000 $$

My 55HX929 arrived on Tuesday. It came complete with all accessories, right down to the batteries for the remote. So far the only anomaly I have found is one seemingly dead pixel (at first I thought there were at least two, but either the other one has magically reset (!) or else it must have been a speck of dust I had overlooked); but, as much as I am a perfectionist, I can not spot the dead pixel from more than six feet away even using color slides so it's really not a deal breaker for me at this price. I haven't seen any significant clouding, banding, flashlighting or other issues. Cosmetically, the set is all but perfect and everything came wrapped in the appropriate protective wrappings just like brand new. I ran a self-check, which showed single-digit panel hours and only one error in line 103 (HOST_WDT), which I do not think is significant.

BTW, date of manufacture is March 2012.

I've begun playing with the picture settings (including using Rizz's calibrations) but so far I can't replicate the "pop" of my 46XBR5. I have the two sets side by side and the XBR5's colors are just more vibrant. I'm not sure how much of this difference is attributable to the matte vs. glossy screen, or the CCFL vs. LED backlighting, or whether I just haven't found the right combination of settings yet.

I definitely plan to keep this set (and will sell my XBR5), so any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hi folks, I have an 55hx929 connected to my HTPC via HDMI. Problem is the picture mode on the SONY is fixed in "Graphics" mode and I cannot change it. Can somebody please shed some light on this? All other devices allow me to change picture mode except the HTPC.

Thank You!!

I initially thought it was because of the input labeling, but I think I was confusing it with my last TV. You could try removing the PC label from the "Channels and Inputs" section of the options if you such a label there...but I don't know what could be causing your issue.

What video card are you using in the PC and have you updated the firmware of the TV?
Edited by Datacide - 3/14/13 at 11:15pm

Turned ambient light sensor off under system settings?

Yes the firmware is up to date. The video card is onboard Intel HD graphics. Input label is not applicable here. Any thoughts?

So when you go to the Scene menu it simply will not let you move off of the "Game" Scene? You are HDMI out from the PC and in to HDMI 1 on the TV? This same result will happen if you plug the PC in to a different HDMI port? What resolution is the PC set at?

Sounds completely bizarre to me to be honest. I can't imagine what the PC is sending that would lock you in to the Game Scene...or even how that is possible. The picture adjustment lock isn't on is it?

Sorry man, I dunno what to tell you. If no one else has an answer and a thread search doesn't reveal anything, I guess it is Sony Support time. Post an update of any progress you make.

Can you take some pictures of the TV OSD when you press the remote control's "SCENE" key?

My HTPC's video card is HD7970. It can send out 1920x1080p23/p24/p50/p59/p60 / 3D mode signals with 10-bit color depth. The 65HX920 (mine is TW model) still allows me to use different scene settings...

Thank you I figured it out. But to answer your question, It's not the scene menu. It's the "picture adjustments menu". The picture mode is fixed on "graphics" vs. standard, vivid, etc...
Also the "scene" menu is not available at all. It pops up "feature not available". The culprit to all of this is the Intel Graphics UI. There is an optionb within it called "IT Content". When I uncheck this, the Sony now has all normal scene as well as picture adjustments and it also fixes the overscan issue. However, anytime the computer is rebooted or hibernates, the check reappears again and I'm back to square one. I did a search on this and it appears this has been an issue with Intel graphics for a while. Now I'm hunting for a solution. I hope this info helps someone else as you all have helped me.

Thank You!!

It won't ever look good next to the XB5 because the XBR5 "pop" is really "push" ... the primary colors are pushed too high which produces that "pop" effect.

When I first tried Rizzo's settings, they looked washed out to me. But within a day or so, my eyes adjusted and I saw a lot of "new" more subtle colors that hadn't been visible before. A lot more gradations and subleties. Much more like what you see in the movie theater.

Once you get used to the much more visually interesting tones you'll never want to go back to the eyeball-burning "pop".

Turn off the XBR5 for a few days, try Rizzo's settings, and watch a few HD movies.

Then, after watching up to and through the bar scene in BladeRunner, skip back to the beginning of that scene, turn on the XBR5 and switch cables, and play it on there... then make your decision.

Interested to see what you think...

Natch.


That sounds like sensible advice. In fact, I've saved Rizzo's calibrations and one other alternative to the CUSTOM and VIVID general settings so that I can flip between them and my currently used calibration (under STANDARD).
I am even more pleased with my 55HX929 now that I've had a few days to play with it. I finally dialed in what my wife and I find to be a realistic, vibrant (NOT "vivid") picture comparable to the XBR5, but I anticipate at least several more weeks of experimentation before settling on the optimal adjustments. Our initial impressions using Rizzo's settings, besides the washed out colors, was that flesh tones looked unnatural and brightness was too low. In fact, the Spears & Munsil PLUGE Low slide appeared almost solidly black, with only the faintest sign of the two right-hand bars.

For the present, I'm basically using the default STANDARD settings with the following changes:
Backlight: reduced from Max to 5
Brightness: increased from 50 to 65
Color Temp.: increased from Neutral to Warm 1

Here's a pic of our current set-up:

Sony XBR-55HX929 005.JPG 1312k .JPG file )

A lot of light sources next to your screen.

I'm so sensitive to that that I have my other HT equipment panels grayed our blacked out with special plastic coverings.

FYI, it seemed like such a pain to switch between profiles for different content (tv, games, sports, movies) and different contexts (all lights-off movie-mode, lights on tv mode & game mode, window shutters and curtains open/closed) that I just optimized for the in-the-dark movie scenario and let everything else suffer the consequences . Let's face it, "New Girl" doesn't really depend on exreme color accuracy and detail :>

I'm of the same frame of mind: I am not interested in having to change the picture settings for various sources or content; that's just too much of a PITA. No, it's strictly a one-size-fits-all compromise for me.

BTW, this is our living room, not a dedicated HT; and there are a number light sources, including a blue LED rope light backlighting the TV cubicle from behind a valence for night viewing (see attached pic). Fine arts and lighting are two of my passions, so my condo is filled with unique specimens of both.

Sony XBR-55HX929 007.JPG 1448k .JPG file

Darbee 5000 up and running and it does add PQ not a super increase in PQ, but definitely an increase, but in my opinion every bit of PQ counts.

Can you be more specific? How is the PQ better? I'm interested in one of these as well.

It adds depth and sharpness the image is crisper it's almost like it takes a haze off the image ? if you can understand that, it is difficult to explain, see the results here:

http://darbeevision.com/gallery
Edited by IMRIZZO - 3/18/13 at 6:19pm

drag your mouse across the image for example of results

hmmmmm In some ways, it almost seems too sharp / contrasty........ I'd be interested to hear what you think after using it for a while.

Seems like it adjust the contast and the sharpness. Makes me think of Photoshop adjustments that can almost go too far with the sharpening..if you know what I mean.

I dunno...... Will it do the same thing with an SD picture?

I would say it is sharper for shure but could almost be considered "harsh" to some degree???? Need to think about that one.

Best Regards,

GPHVIDEO

The amount of enhancement is adjustable I have mine at 48 (of a maximum setting of 120)

So basically artificial edge enhancement.

IMO it is more than just 'edge' enhancement I can only suggest trying it for yourself (Amazon has a great return policy)

Hi all, can anyone provide me with IMRIZZO settings ? just got my tv last week and would like to play with the colors, i been reading the forum and everyone talks about IMRIZZO settings . Thanks !!!

Gentleman right above your post. Send IMRIZZO a PM for setting info

done

see review HTM
http://www.hometheater.com/content/darbee-visual-presence-darblet-video-enhancer

I called Newegg today to tell them about the dead pixel, and they are going to issue me a $100 credit as compensation. That brings down my cost to $1830 for an otherwise perfect new set with full warranty.

Gotta love Newegg!

With all due respect, you can achieve the same "depth perception" enhancement on the 929 (or 950) simply by utilizing all the picture enhancement features already built into the set. The question is this though, are you a "realist" or a "pop-ist"?

Here's what I find funny and sort of ironic about the Darblet; you can read mountains of threads & posts on this site about picture fidelity and purity. Many if not most video enthusiasts will recommend dialing down those built-in enhancements or shutting them off all together in an effort to achieve the intended best HD representation. So what does this dude (Darbee) do? He devises a low cost (low cost to him) add-on solution, that essentially adds contrast enhancement to edge enhancement and dumps it back into the signal path. The whole split-picture processing to mimic brain function is pretty creative marketing-speak, no? How about calling it what it is, shadow information/light source redirects. LMAO So let's see, hmmmm, pay this company ~ 300 in hard earned coin to add noise back to the picture (in an effort to achieve "Pop" or run Vivid mode with all the detail, edge and contrast enhancement the 929 has to offer? Anyone that has thrown down coin for one these gadgets and that is an owner of a upper-tier HD panel - well - I'll be nice and leave it to the discerning mind to figure out what I would have said next..

This thing is hardly snake oil, so don't get me wrong. But seriously, reprocessing the picture by adding in arbitrary contrast info and edge noise? Anyone else seeing the irony here?

The guy was once a universal remote entrepreneur. Do the math folks.

Can't knock the dude for being opportunistic though..
Edited by amatot - 3/22/13 at 9:48am

I watched Avatar 3D on my 55 today and it looked incredible. Extreme parallax shots rendered very well, and I only noted crosstalk on the lettering of the English subs. I love this TV.