The Official Sony EX720 Owner's Thread - Page 15

Yes indeed. According to what I read at http://www.digitalversus.com/sony-br..._10659_16.html

"Image Quality: 2D
The EX723 is clearly designed for watching TV programmes and films and it does an excellent job. Once you switch to Custom mode, its deltaE, the discrepancy between the colours in the original source and those shown on screen is just 2.1. That's more than enough to satisfy the most demanding users who insist on accurate colour reproduction."..."Once again we were pleasantly surprised by the PVA display's ability to produce very deep blacks at 0.05 cd/m², giving it a contrast ratio way above the average of 2500:1 reached by last year's TVs. With whites at 200 cd/m², the contrast ratio is over 4300:1, which is an incredibly good result."..."Overall, the picture comes close to perfection. The colour temperature was just a little too cold at 6800 K instead of 6500 K when displaying our grey test card, but this very minor problem is invisible to the naked eye."

If Sony is able to fix the crosstalk issue with a firmware update... this could be one nice BOX.

Iron- I really don't know, I think this is a 4ms refresh TV, and the glasses do 3ms shutter, so I am assuming that is the problem. I find the default LCD performance amazing- and I play FPS and racing games a lot. Very little blurring.

LBJ- This is a GREAT 2D TV. Like the review says, if you use Custom and shut off all the bells and whistles, the source video looks downright incredible. Colors, blacks, etc. Spotlights in the lower left corners and the black level of an all black screen (oddly greyer than a black image on a crowded screen) detract somewhat from the overall impression, but I'd give it a 9/10 for Xbox 360 and FIOS HDTV.

All- Phil told me some stuff he learned from engineering today and he will have a "full report" for me tomorrow. He's awesome.

Hello Kevin: Thanks for your note. I really look forward to hearing more on Phil's report from the Sony engineers.

Jizzed.

Hope it's good news.

So, what did he tell you? Does it seem like it's fixable?

He said as far as he understands it, the problem is related to the compression of the signal used by cable boxes. I assume also the 360. They are trying to design an algorithm to handle it. It sounds more complex than I had first assumed, but also more hopeful for a software solution!

Hmm. That is hopeful. I hope he also addresses the PC/Consoles in it as well, and not just cable boxes.

I received my new "optical blocker" replacement set, the 60EX720 today, much sooner than expected :-) . I'll take the next few days to set up and test . ( I will be connecting to Sony Blu-ray, Internet (Ethernet) and PS3--(no cable, OTA or satellite).

I'll use the Sony Bluray ( S570), PS3 and new Sony 3D Experience ( streaming app) to test the 3d crosstalk.

Also, If anyone has some professional calibration recommendations they would like to share please let me know. I'll use CaliCool's posted settings to start.

In the meantime I hope to hear more from Kevin/Phil in the not-too-distant future on potential firmware upgrade to address the crosstalk

Initial report on my new Ex720 (using Cnet's calibrated settings) and after firmware update.

Pros:
Built-in TV sound/speakers were much better then expected.
3D mode is brighter then the 2010 LX900 model's 3D mode.
Like many of you already commented... the 2D is very nice.
Menu is great with plenty of streaming apps

Cons:
No Vudu--( which is sad since Vudu in my opinion provides the best video and DD+ sound streaming quality)

No surprise here..I experienced the now infamous 3D crosstalk. Using the original Sony 3d glasses (w/batteries) I observed significant crosstalk while viewing content from Sony's new 3D Experience streaming app ( very nice 3D content by-the-way) and while viewing a 3D bluray movie on the PS3. The worst of the crosstalk for me occurred in the background scenes. While I saw crosstalk on the near objects it was the background crosstalk that really caused visual discomfort for me. Something I haven't yet experienced on other Sony 3D TVs. Since I also own last year's LX900 I was able to do a good comparison of the two TVs using the same 3D content/scenes. In my opinion the LX900 also suffers from some crosstalk albeit minimal compared to the ex720. I personally enjoy viewing 3D content on the LX900--I do not on the ex720. One interesting note...like I mention above, the ex720 is able to display a brighter screen in 3D mode then the LX900--this is a big plus. If Sony can improve the 3D crosstalk ( for us firmware upgrade hopefuls) on the ex720 along with a brighter display--then we could be in for a real 3D adventure.

Do us a favor and post on here:

https://forum.sel.sony.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=9542

And since you saw my facebook post, try sending Phil an email. Be nice, and tell him you have the same issues even with Sony brand equipment. Don't post it on the page, he wasn't too happy about that

Most in here seem to say the 2d is really good, despite what cnet said. I was looking at the NX series but I really like the look and matte screen on this tv. There are not many pictures in here, how is the black level? I could care less about 3d on any set.

Vince, for black level and 2D quality check out http://www.digitalversus.com/sony-br..._10659_16.html

Keep in mind EX723 is for Europe EX720 is USA

"Image Quality: 2D The EX723 is clearly designed for watching TV programmes and films and it does an excellent job. Once you switch to Custom mode, its deltaE, the discrepancy between the colours in the original source and those shown on screen is just 2.1. That's more than enough to satisfy the most demanding users who insist on accurate colour reproduction."

"Once again we were pleasantly surprised by the PVA display's ability to produce very deep blacks at 0.05 cd/m², giving it a contrast ratio way above the average of 2500:1 reached by last year's TVs. With whites at 200 cd/m², the contrast ratio is over 4300:1, which is an incredibly good result."

The Cnet review also did not mention the 3D problems so I declare it null and void.

Black level is excellent for an LCD, but still not great. Black things on a busy screen look great, with phenomenal contrast, but a mostly or all black screen appears grayer for some reason. Also, there are spotlights in the bottom corners that are a bit annoying in letterboxed movies. I believe the better models (HX & NX) would be better in the black level regard because they have gorilla glass & local dimming.

About the matte screen...if you are expecting minimal reflection because of it, then well, don't. Despite having a matte screen, the screen reflects quite a lot. You might want to look into that before considering this TV.

Here's a different opinion to yours:

Like the earlier members of the EX family, the 723 doesn't use Sony's 'Monolithic' design, preferring a more traditional look.* The good news is that the finish on the screen itself is matte, which is a real step forward compared to Sony's very glossy top-of-the-range TVs.* There's no need to worry about keeping it out of the way of direct light sources.
http://www.digitalversus.com/sony-br..._10659_16.html

I actually read that review before purchasing my set and i expected no reflection as well. But the screen does reflect a lot and almost hides the picture at that spot.

I like to sleep and watch 2D content and because of that angle my ceiling lamp appears on the top right corner. That entire spot just blotches out with its reflection.

Well thats disappointing, in the store I could not see too much reflection, but you can never tell anything in there. The NX model was like a sheet of glass almost, I did not like the reflections from that.

Every review I have read, CNET asia, hd uk, all say this tv has really good blacks. Only the cnet, america one said it really weak blacks.

Quite conflicting reviews on this TV. None of the review have panned the 3D all that much. It shows not enough testing was carried across...maybe they just viewed what Sony gave them with press kit. In one of the reviews, the 3D of this monitor scored 3/5...it's not even deserving of 1!

Anyway, Kevin, any updates from Phil?

Vince,
My experience with the EX line of Sony tv is that they all do quite well in most bright environments. That's the reason I selected mine. Unless you have a light shining directly or close to the screen, it does a very good job, but that can be said of almost any tv. You shine a light directly on the screen...well. My viewing environment is extremely bright during the day and at night, we never watch tv in darkness. The reason why we gave a plasma to my son, too bright, too many reflections on the screen. His living room is darker and he's still enjoying the excellent pq from the plasma.

Same as the black levels, very good compared to other side lit tv. This allows the tv to obtain top contrast measured numbers. Sure, other models in the Sony line offer deeper blacks. They use a different, more expen$ive technology for backlighting. Buyer's choice.

"While many higher-end LCDs now use reflective screens, the KDL-46EX720 sports a matte finish. As a result, blacks don't look quite as dark in a bright room (reflective screens reject ambient light to help blacks look deeper), but light reflections aren't a concern, so you don't have to worry about where you place this TV in relation to light sources."
http://hometheaterreview.com/sony-kd...viewed/?page=2

When selecting a tv, a person has to compromise, since no tv is perfect. Select one that does well the things that are most important to you and you can live with the other things that the tv seems to fall short of.

I agree with hugh. Reflection is not an issue for me and I have windows all down the side of my living room. I think oldman just needs to adjust the angle of his TV The only problems I have with this TV are the spotlights and the 3D issue.

No update from Phil yet; he emailed me last night to say engineering had a nearly all day meeting about it yesterday so they are still working on it. Sounds like good news to me!

Actually, i do indeed! But the wall bracket is too damn tight, it doesn't move!

The email sounds extremely promising. If they indeed had a meeting, then they have taken the issue seriously. I hope a solution is brought forward soon.

Newbie here...but either my tv set is broken or you guys are all crazy.

The only GOOD setting on the TV is the default "Vivid" mode -- everything else is too damn dark. It's like a layer of black film is covering the screen. The only problem is that the reds are too saturated and there's no "Advanced" setting for Vivid mode to adjust it.

Did I get a bunk TV? I tried some of the suggested settings and it's way too dark -- can't really even see writing on the screen.

Looks like a bad unit, then. Tv works fine on my and it's pretty clear. Could you post a picture showing the problem?

Did you turn off Power Saver and Light Sensor in the Eco Menu (under general settings in the Home menu)? I thought everything was too dark until I turned that crap off.

Ahhh yes...turned off the Light Sensor and it's much brighter now. Now I can play with it and not feel like I should not have thrown the box out just yet. Thanks! :-D

Has anyone tried doing the setup as "Retail" instead of "Home"? I'm curious what all that does.

I think you need an advanced degree to mess with the "Pro Setup" under screen settings...I did not want to mess with it.

As there were some on this forum looking for more pictures of the EX720 go to this url:
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.p...&id=1303374989

By Rasmus Larsen - 21 Apr 2011

I think you will find plenty of pics and yet another opinion on some of the most asked questions:

-Black Levels ( seems majority do not agree with Cnet on this topic).
-Matte screen comments.
-Rasmus' recommended calibration settings.
-2D quality comments.
-3D quality comments.
-Track ID music search ( this is a great feature to find the name of a nice tune you hear while watching a program).

Something interesting I learned from this article, apparently European customers have the ability to record TV to a USB on the EX720. ( Of course I had to try this on my set here in the US after I read this

Wow, just updated the firmware after I got a message that a new one was available. What did you guys do! Will try it out with 3D now...

This morning (July 21, 2011) I received a firmware update for my 60EX720. I went from PKG3.235AAA to PKG3.309AAA.

Not sure what was updated as there is no description yet on esupport.sony.com for PKG3.309AAA.

Does anyone else have PKG3.309AAA ?

For 3D viewing:

IMO, the new firmware is great. Crosstalk has been significantly reduced (there is still some), but not nearly as bad as it used to be.

What is unusual is that when playing 3D content, the picture mode now switches to Cinema 1, or Cinema 2. I couldn't find a way to switch it back to Custom. Interesting....Try it and post impressions.

I don't know what PKG3.309AAA is supposed to do. However I upgraded and powered off/on all my equipment.

My initial observations with regard to 3D crosstalk after the update:

At the moment I don't discern any improvement in the 3D crosstalk on my EX720. I am viewing content from Sony's 3D Experience streaming app ( using the Golf content as the 3D sample--albeit this may be a result of poor bandwidth). I am also using a PS3 with a Bluray 3D movie.

Taking a note from wkreply above, I'll see if I can adjust any of the settings on my TV to see if this helps and report my findings later when I have more time to investigate.