Official Sony HX820 Owner's Thread (46HX820, 55HX820) - Page 2

Mine arrived today!! Amazing TV. No issues with off-angle viewing.

Man, that review really made me have second doubts about wanting to order this television.

I agree with earlier posts questioning the methods of testing that televisioninfo.com used. PC world provides a review and, in my opinion, is a more reliable source. (Google search "Sony HX820 pcworld"...I don't have enough posts on AVSforum yet to post links :-) )

Notably, according to the review, the HX820 has better black levels than the Samsung plasma D8000 which received top marks from cnet. Interesting that an LCD can now beat a high-end plasma in black levels.

At this point, I'm still waiting for more reviews and opinions on the HX820 before pulling the trigger. It costs as much as other brands' higher-end LCD/LED models, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't suffer from some of the same problems (namely flashlighting and clouding). I'm curious to see if those issues arise once more people get theirs paws on the Sony...

I had a lot of clouding with my 55NX810 and Sony swapped it for the 55HX820 and I'm happy for now. The clouding on my NX came only after watching 3D and it would go away right after. I watched 3D on the HX and did notice clouding but much less, almost barely visible. Also on the NX I had too much Crosstalk and the HX doesn't have any. I like it. In NYC I haven't found one single store to have the 3D glasses for Sony to see but Samsung has it everywhere and when I tried looking at different models for 3D I thought my eyes would turn inside because it was so bad. Everything looked on top of each other.

I am considering the 55NX720 or 55NX820 and was wondering how the owners feel it does with fast motion like sports? Regarding the NX720 I am concerned that it is a 120hz panel and not a 240hz panel like the NX820 or NX810. My other choise is the 55NX810 which is at a good discount and has a 240hz panel with the Bravia Engine 3. I have been told by Sony sales people that the NX720/NX820 may have a better picture due to the new X Reality Engine and I am concerned with the 120 hz panel of the NX720 since I will be watching alot of sports.

Sony sales people also recommended the HX729 since it has motion flow 480 and the X Pro Reality engine but does not have the momolithic design which I am told adds contrast and enhances colors and blacks.

Any comments and experience on these isuues would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks.

I considered both as well NX720 or HX820, but the price difference at Amazon was next to nothing. Obviously the HX820 was a no brainer when only $50 more. Watching a Moto GP race right now and it is awesome. Watched Avatar earlier and the colors were unbelievable. My wife even noticed. Her comment was "I never noticed the patterns on those creatures last time". Kept saying "the colors are really vivid".

Hey, great to see someone else bought this set. All I've seen is reviews and comments about the XBRHX929, which is much more expensive than the 820 and had significant "blooming" or haloing issues that I saw at two separate retailers. Both sets are really the same except for the LED panel configuration from what the salesman told me.

That review cited above is rather interesting. After going through that irritating I-Manual (E-Manual is a better term, what is this stupid "i" - some lame reference to ipods, etc.? ), I had initially saw real issues with clouding and minor flash lighting in the lower corners when the screen was black or had large areas of black. This was using Standard and Custom modes. What threw me was that the LED Dynamic Control was default at OFF. Bad move.

The black levels are not much better than my 5 yr old 32XBR4 Sony with this setting at Off. The calibration thread for the XBR-46HX929 has virtually all postings listing this control at Standard (not Low or off). That made all the difference. This now has black levels approaching my old CRTs.

This control should be set at Standard or Off for all Scene Selects or Picture Modes. By the way, why aren't all those "scene selects" listed in the drop down for Picture Modes in the Picture Adjustments area? I found that pretty annoying to have to go to another menu entirely to access them. Sony has designed a rather poor menu system in my view.

I had looked for Cinema 1 or 2 and couldn't find it under picture modes, as it should be listed. It certainly was on my old set. Whatever...

Either of those gave me this control on and those issues I mentioned disappeared. I suppose they are still there but no longer showing. I was contemplating a return and exchange but don't wish the hassle.

I plan to have a pro calibrator out here around Labor Day and see what can be done to tweak this better. All in all I think this a great set with a few reservations. What's with the "Video/Component Adapter?" A real pain and badly constructed. Love the "Reality Creation" though but it introduces too many artifacts into the image. Keep the comments coming!

My HX820 finally arrived today, to replace a defective SXRD set that turned green and yellow when the lamp was replaced. Because I'm kind of a clutz, the new set will remain in its box until Wednesday, when a tech from San Diego will unpack it and set it up. A week from today it will be calibrated. That will give me some settings to share with y'all.

Watched the 3d version of Avatar on mine this weekend. Excellent color and detail. The 3d imaging was well done and the fast action sequences were perfect. I was told that having 240hz for fast action 3d is important. Whether that is correct or not, I don't know , but I can say that it was excellent on my tv.

Do you have motion flow on or off?

Whatever the factory default is because I have not changed anything yet.

I am considering the 55NX810,besides the cloading issue, do you see any other picture quality differendes (2d and 3d) between the two sets? I am also considering the nx720 but I am concerned with the 120hz panel. The final tv I am looking at is the 55HX729, great specs but not a monolithic design which I like. I woud appreciate feedback and comments. Thanks.

Interesting....how do i get the update? Will it automatically ask to update when I turn on TV?

I am looking at the 55NX810 at a great price (last years model), the 55nx720 or the 55nx820. I was considering the 55hx729 but I like the monolithic design better. I am not near a sony store so I cannot view these side by side. I can only see the 55nx720 and the 55nx810 in different stores. I have talked to sony many times to get a reading on the different specs that these sets have and what I have found is the differences are small in actual viewing differences. According to sony especially in 3d that people can see differences because of everyone has different preceptions, some real some not.

I am very concerned with the motion flow capability because I watch alot of sports but I have been told that you cannot see the difference between 120hz and 240hz. In regards to the specs the new motion flow XR240 is a 120 hz panel with software that uses backlight blinking to give the effect of 240. The XR480 is a 240 hz panel uses backlight blinking to give the effect of 480 According to Sony you need to keep in mind that the motion effect is a combination of the refresh rate of the panel, the speed of the processing engine and the backlight blinking used. Sony stated the their new X reality processor is faster then their previous Bravia Engine 3 which should create better motion effects for the new models

Like I said I have been unable to see these sets side by side to see if the differences are worth paying extra. I am confronted with a great deal on the 55nx810 vs the 55nx720 (500 more) vs the 55nx820 (600 more) and since I cannot see the side by side it is hard to decide. I am also keeping in mind the 60nx720 but the premium for the 60 inch is around $900 from the 55nx810. I have read the threads but still does not give me the information that I need to make the correct decision. If any one could add any info or experiences I woud appreciate it. Thanks.

You need to pose these questions on the proper thread. Note that you are on the HX820 owners thread and none of your questions are in reference to that model.

I did post to the prper thread. One of the sets I am considering is the
55HX820. Please respond if you have some product information to share. Thank you.

You need to make that a little more clear. From looking back through yor posts on this thread, you never mention that you are considering an HX model.

I stated that I was interested in the 55nx820 which was in error it should of read the 55HX820, there is no such model as the 55nx820. Thanks.

If you connect a USB HDD to this HX820 model then it has these features:

- Recording and playing back TV programs (like having a VCR)
- Time shift function

Has anyone tried these functions?

HX92x sets have this "crease issue".

Does it also appear on the HX82x sets?

What's a "crease issue"?
I owned the 55NX810 model and I've been on that thread from the beginning of it's creation. All I can say is that it's a great TV for picture quality but because I bought it specifically to watch 3D on it since I also own the XBR9 (2009) model I was a little disappointed with the "Crosstalk and Clouding" issues. The clouding on my NX810 appeared ONLY during and after watching 3D and even though clouding would fade away within short time, after owning the TV for 5 months clouding got worse and to a point where it didn't fade away for some time. I watched a lot of 3D so it bothered me too much. If you are not a 3D person and want to save money I recommend the NX810 if you can find one. BUT if you want great 3D picture and very little clouding, I mean almost none visible I strongly recommend the HX820. I can't tell a big difference in picture quality in regular TV viewing of these 2 very fine TV models.

Just found this on the Internet by searching "Crease issue"

Sony Investigating "Crease" Defect On Flagship HX923 3D LED TVs
By Jonathan Sutton o Friday, 1 July 2011, 4:40 am BST
Update: Since this article was published, Sony has clarified that the company has not issued a full product recall on all existing display models and boxed units from Sony Centres and independent dealers, and is carefully investigating the batch that has been affected (which is confined to a small number of stock).
It's been barely a fortnight since UK customers started receiving their pre-orders for Sony's flagship HX923 series of Bravia LED-backlit LCD TVs, but now the Japanese manufacturer has initiated investigation on existing display models and boxed units from Sony Centres and independent dealers, following complaints from KDL-46HX923 and KDL-55HX923 owners about a physical defect on the LCD screen.

Anecdotal reports started surfacing on several popular home cinema forums (not only in the United Kingdom, but also in Europe and the USA) last week, describing the presence of a vertical line situated approximately 1cm from the left or right screen borders of HX923 TV sets. Dubbed "creases" in these reports, the vertical lines appeared slightly darker than the rest of the on-screen image, and were particularly noticeable over a solid colour background. Posting photos to back up their claims, concerned owners of these premium 3D-capable HDTV displays understandably expressed their dismay to Sony in the hope of a swift resolution.
Communicating through its website forum, a Sony official confirmed that the company is aware of the issue which has since been investigated by its Product Quality engineers at the manufacturing plant. It is thought that only the initial batch of Sony HX923 televisions are affected, which explains why the TV maker is placing a hold on present stock from dealers while waiting for the arrival of a fresh batch that will hopefully be crease-free.
The Bravia HX923 series is one of the most eagerly anticipated HDTV range for this year, owing to some mouthwatering features that include full-array local-dimming LED backlight technology, Motionflow XR 800 motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI), X-Reality Pro 14-bit video processing engine, elegant Monolithic design, and OptiContrast panel made from Gorilla Glass. Partly as a result of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck Japan a few months ago, stock of these HDTVs arrived in the UK later than scheduled, and remained scarce on the ground. With this investigation in place, potential buyers may face further delays in getting their hands on a 46-inch Sony KDL46HX923 or 55-inch KDL55HX923 3D TV.

If I could, a few questions for you happy HX820 owners out there:

Firstly, what made you choose this set over the HX729? (or any other options you considered for that matter) The two models seem to be close in terms of specifications but one is significantly cheaper than the other. Was it the (admittedly awesome) monolithic styling or is there some PQ performance difference that I'm missing.

Secondly, I've been able to see the HX729 in person but have been unable to find somewhere to demo the HX820. The picture is nice for sure, but I wasn't all that impressed with the viewing angles. It could've partially been the environment, (a dimmed Magnolia floor) but I found that the HX929 performed noticeably better in this regard. Could someone please comment on their personal experience with off-axis viewing performance?

Thanks in advance!

Sony recently announced the HD-PG5U portable hard drive will be available in Europe that can do those functions, but I haven't heard of anything available in the US.

I would assume (but don't know) that the hard drive would have to have the correct software on it.

This is for Curly21029. I sit on the end of the sofa directly across from the 820. My wife sits two cushions away, at the other end of the sofa. She hasn't complained about the picture quality. Knowing my wife she would say something loud and clear if she if there was anything to complain about.

Thanks for the reply... and the laugh.

It may be possible that the screen coating/composition might be of benefit to viewing angles. I was checking out some of the other sets again today (NX720, HX929 and HX729) and both with the monolithic design held up well (the HX929 a touch better, but both were respectable) while the HX729 seemed to exhibit washout that I would consider to be average to other LCDs.

This link here shows the 820's viewing angles which do seem a bit poor: http://www.televisioninfo.com/conten...ng-Effects.htm
I can't find the article for the 929 right now, but for some reason its viewing angle is the best in any LED TV out there right now.

The 729 doesn't have the Gorilla glass right? I think it has more of a matte look to it. Supposedly the 820 has better 3D performance and I've seen more complaints about flashlighting on the 729 sets.

http://www.televisioninfo.com/conten...Conclusion.htm

Thanks for the response!

I thought some were under the impression that Television Info wasn't a reliable source of info? To be honest, I don't know who to believe. Cnet has more or less been regarded as reliable in the past, but David claimed that the HX929 had poor off-axis viewing. Based solely off of my viewing in a Magnolia, I'd have to disagree wholeheartedly. I actually did a bit of reading before going in and went with my fianceé. I told her "that's the high end one, but it won't be good for our living room because it washes out unless you're viewing from dead center." Yeah... I had to eat crow after that, but it wasn't like she really cared to begin with.

On the other hand, Television Info wasn't all that impressed by the viewing angles of the NX720. I'd say that it definitely has a wider than LCD average sweet spot. I'd have to agree that the HX729 is quite narrow, however. A shame since it's a really nice set otherwise.

You're correct that the HX729 does not have the Gorilla Glass monolithic design, but the screen is still glossy. The design is more similar to Sony's entry-level sets from last year. Fortunately, it doesn't have the brushed silver strip at the bottom of the bezel, but rather a brushed black one. The speakers do jut out from the bottom ever so slightly and it would've been more elegant if they just made the bottom flat, IMO. Of course, removable speakers are the best design of all as most don't use them anyway, but that's just daydreaming.

EDIT:

Thanks for the comment on 3D performance, but I guess that I should provide the transparency that I have little interest in the technology. If I could get a top-performing display without 3D it would probably be cheaper and that's what I would purchase. Unfortunately, it seems that high-end 2D performance and 3D capabilities are not made available a la carte in the current market. (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!)