Official Sony HX850 Owner's Thread (46HX850, 55HX850) - Page 39

There's the imanual but it uses marketing spiel and doesn't tell you of the side affects of manyof the settings.

I'm not in America so maybe that changes things, but here -1 gamma is 2.4. So guessing for you 0 is a gamma of 2.2?

For me -2 is to dark even in a pitch black room.

With my led backlighting i have fitted the blacks are inky regardless of what backlight setting or gamma setting i have which is great, also hides the slight clouding my set has.

But like i say it could be a country variance and by no means suggesting you are wrong.

Aaron

I've asked this before, but will ask again. Is anyone else able to Log In to Youtube through their set? For whatever reason, it ALWAYS fails for me which is VERY frustrating given the lackluster interface.

Do you guys think its worth it to call in a professional calibrator or buy a calibration disc? Is it just better to play with the settings on your own? Is it ok to play with the TV settings or could it damage the TV?

Use Google's two step verification, you can set it up on Google account (security) and set up an application specific password.

Trying your settings including gamma -2 and really liking them. I copied them all including power saving low and they look really good.

Thank you.

Aaron

I think that's unrealistic, in my opinion.

Maybe if you had one of those so-called (and very overpriced) "white glove" delivery options, then MAYBE you could expect to do that. But with regular freight delivery it's just not at all realistic.

I do hear you on buying something so expensive online; prior to two years ago, buying a $2k TV would've been unnerving. However having done it quite a few times now, with absolutely no problems, it doesn't seem like a big deal. You still have the return option, and beyond that, you're protected by your credit card.

Think about how much time it would take for you to check for dead pixels... just getting in into your house, at least a few minutes, maybe even 5-10. Unpacking... easily 15-20 minutes minimum. Then plugging in the input(s), powering on the TV (initial setup), getting oriented, ect, at least 10 minutes at an absolute minimum.

So we're talking about upwards of 30-40 minutes, with the delivery guy sitting around waiting for you, while he exptected to be in-and-out in 30 seconds or maybe one minute max...

What picture mode are you using with these settings, Cinema 1 or Cinema 2? Thanks.

Hey I got the TV Monday and it was in and out, but I opened the box just to make sure I wasn't getting bricks /jk lol. The TV was is perfect condition, no dead pixels from what I can tell, and no defects. I notice very limited flashlighting, but it is to be expected, and I only look for these things now that I read about them on this site. Otherwise, I would never have looked/noticed them.

I love this TV and I'm very happy with it. I calibrated it a bit with someone's recommendation but could probably tweak it a bit more.

I've had this TV (46") shortlisted for a while now, as part of a living room remodel we did over the holidays but missed the best price on Black Friday.

What do folks think are the chances of the price being dropped further between now and say early February? I hear of "Big Game" sales etc. but on the other hand, they may not need much assistance in shifting televisions in the lead up to the Super Bowl.

I figured I would wait in case the Super Bowl or CES (new products) had any impact on the price but to be honest, it's only another $100 more at Best Buy right now than it was in any Black Friday sales I saw, so if the price is unlikely to drop before then, we probably won't wait.

For the record, I'm fine with waiting if necessary but the wall mount and wiring is all ready to go and is torturing my poor wife as she roughs it with a 32" set on a rickety table.

Thanks for any thoughts.

FWIW, I don't think it matters for those two. I think Cinema 1 and 2 look identical for identical settings, and you can use them for day and night viewing, or as I recently have done, for LED Dynamic Control Standard and Low. There are certain scenes in certain material for which Standard yields obtrusive backlight fluctuations, while Low does not, e.g. in "The Wire", the last few minutes of S04E05, where the kids are going through the vacants with the flashlight. I also noticed it in the last episode of "American Horror Story" that aired. In both cases, switching to Low and replaying the scenes cleared it up. This is not a slam against the TV. So far, this issue has been very rare, and it usually doesn't occur even when I think it might, and I continue to use Standard as, well, standard.

Between Scene choices, there can be dramatic differences in the behavior of settings, and Sony of course doesn't document them, which is frustrating. If you aren't using an old remote with Scene and Picture buttons, with Scene doing the obvious thing and Picture switching between scene sub-modes, e.g. Cinema 1 and 2, it's much harder to A/B them effectively, because going through the main menu system is very disruptive.

One thing I've found very interesting is the black level in Warm 1 compared to all the other color temp choices. For example, load up the "2001" Bluray to Chapter 10, and wait for the little shuttle to appear on its way to the moon. It's at about 33:57. In Cinema 1, with gamma at 0 and everything at their defaults, switch between Warm 2, Warm 1, and Neutral. On my 46HX850, I see the black level go down considerably for Warm 1 compared to the other two, which I think makes fiddling with gamma unnecessary when using Warm 1. I'm also liking the less yellowish tint, and as with my past Sony TVs, I'm back to using Warm 1. I'd also note that the blackness of space in that 2001 scene isn't pure black, but around RGB 20-22, so it should not appear as black as the bars. You can get it that black by fiddling with gamma and/or brightness, but it seems to me it should be slightly visible, especially given the relative dimness of the other objects in that scene.

Anyone else see this difference in black level between Warm 1 and the other color temperature modes? I think it's really strange. I expected going from Neutral->Warm 1->Warm 2 to be somewhat orderly, but Warm 1 sticks out in that sequence, with Neutral and Warm 2 being more similar WRT black level than either is to Warm 1. I don't know which is more correct, but needing to use Gamma -2 when using Warm 2 seems rather strange, also.

So I looked into this, but I'm unsure how it would help. I'm kinda surprised this isn't a bigger issue for people as it's a function that simply doesn't work and is quite frustrating.

Additionally, I'm on the fence about what I should expect as far as screen uniformity. I feel like I have a couple 'hot spots' that are very visible on black screens, particularly in the upper right corner. Are people really getting uniformly black screens during black scenes?

Last question, thought's on the extended warranty? Thinking about grabbing the 5 year at best buy.

With local dimming enabled on my 46HX850, there can be a very faint glow in the lower right corner, which is sometimes visible in the black bars when I look for it; it's like a quarter circle an inch or so in radius, with its faint brightness rapidly falling off the further from the corner I look. Otherwise, it's very uniform, and the TV achieves deeper blacks than my older EX500.

I normally don't go for them, but I bought a Squaretrade warranty (with $40 off coupon thanks to monitoring **************) for my 46HX850. I just had a W4100 TCON board go bad on me almost 4 years after date of purchase. Wish I had the warranty on that one! I also had the power board on an EX500 go bad 8 months into ownership. My only reliable Sony LCD TV out of these has been a cheap 32M4000 bought in 2008. I'm hoping the HX850 will last a while; it sure generates a lot less heat than those old CCFL sets, and that's gotta help some. I don't think anyone can say how long it will be before OLED becomes mainstream, and I'm counting on this TV to last me at least 5 years as my main TV, and with the deal on the warranty plus the Thanksgiving-time deal on the TV, it seemed a no-brainer to spring for it.

(ETA: Dunno about the asterisks; the site name I wrote is a combination of synonyms for "chubby" and "billfold". It's saved me a lot of money over the years, and the heck with that; it's PAID me a lot of money over the years, in a combination of a homonym for "cache" and a synonym for "rear". Wouldn't want to get those asterisks again.)
Edited by tima94930 - 1/2/13 at 5:41pm

SOLVED - Youtube login issue. Cliffs - apparently the username is case sensitive (not my problem) but due to Youtube API changes - you have to create a channel in your account and use that login.

http://www.sony-asia.com/support/faq/496356

Hmm - thanks for the input. I'm not sure if it's different with the 55", but mine definitely has some uniformity issues. It's only noticible on black screens, but it kinda frustrates me.



I've increased the exposure in the shot below as my last attempt to post didn't show much, but in general - this is probably a relatively accurate representation.

Are you setting Eco to low only because backlight of min is not dark enough. In other words if my backlight is at 3 because my room is bright, I don't have to bother about setting Eco to low, correct?

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk HD

So I've gotten bit by the new TV bug. Want 3D and worked out a deal with a friend to buy my old TV from me.

How big of a step up from my previous TV would the 55HX850 be in your opinions? I currently have the 52v5100 from 2009.

It's so tough to find good sources to compare past technology with newer technology.

Thanks!

Edit: Does anyone have information on what refresh rate this TV can be set to for computers inputs?
Edited by Microtic - 1/2/13 at 7:31pm

Backlight setting?

Anyone know what the best tweaks are for playing play station 3 games.. I just purchased this tv and so far I'm not to happy with it.. I just purchased my first home and upgraded from my 46 inch xbr3.... I also had to switch from cable vision to Comcast but so far I'm not to happy... Any help would be great and I would love some settings for sports and gaming

I'm not sure what that was taken on, but it's noticeable (same pattern and distribution) even when using Chron's settings above (though I'm unsure if I had Eco on low). Do I need to try to get a replacement?

Btw - is there any way to have different eco settings for different Scenes? I'd prefer to keep eco off for normal viewing (a large portion of which is sports in my household).

I posted my sports settings on page 38 of this thread. I've tweaked them a bit since then, and as I note - I'm not a pro. I have no special equipment nor do I even know what a lot of the options really do. That said, I think they'll provide a decent starting point for you for gaming and sports so give em a shot and let us know what you think.

What viewing setting do you keep your tv on for sports and gaming?

I'm also not sure of what to do in regards to screen size I have the 55inch, my viewing distance is about 8 feet and I seem to have a lot of eye strain while watching. I know everyone says bigger is better but I don't know if the 46inch may be better for me... I'm either missing my xbr3 or Comcast sucks but I do need to figure out a way to keep the eye strain down

Also does anyone else's set have an issue where the input connection flutters and then reconnects?

Others have mentioned to turn off SBM. I tried this and it appears as though this setting is locked. Any answers?

For what its worth I have read that a rule of thumb for viewing distance is 3 feet for every foot of screen dimension. For a 55 inch LED a minimum viewing distance would be 13.74 feet. I have the Sony 46 inch 850 and am sitting about 12 feet from screen and have no eye strain

Every guide I've seen suggests substantially closer viewing distances. A 46" TV is best viewed from 6-9'; beyond 9' or so, there's no benefit to 1080p according to this chart:

http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter

For a 55" TV, your minimum viewing distance would be greater than the recommended maximum by every guide I found by googling /TV viewing distance chart/.

Viewing distance is only one factor that could contribute to eye strain. Personally speaking, lighting is about the only thing that's ever bothered me watching TV. I can't watch an overly bright show for hours in a pitch black room, for example. I'm assuming the contrast, brightness, and other TV settings are within reason; if he's watching on Vivid, that would explain the eyestrain, as could having the backlight set to Max in a dark room. I've got my backlight on 2 for dark room viewing. With computer monitors, I find distance plays a bigger role, presumably due to different focusing requirements. The best thing I ever bought was an Ergotron monitor arm (with extension arm) to go with my computer glasses, which lets me sit however I want while still positioning the monitor just right.

The best time to buy this TV wil be in March/April. With that being said that does not mean waiting until than to buy this TV if you can get a good deal now. Don't be surprised this month if they offer a free soundbar, blueray or 3D glass with this tv.

Thanks for the tip on viewing distance. I will try my 850 at 9 feet and see if I have any eye strain. I would not say that I have a brightly lit viewing area but it isn't dim either. I returned a Samsung 46 ES 7100
because it was just to bright a set-I got major eye strain at 9 feet. The Sony 850 is not as bright as the Sammy.

Thanks for all the suggestions about viewing distance.. I'm going to give it a few more watches.. I got the 55in on a great deal at best buy I think I paid 1600 now that's the price of the 46in.. I'm still thinking about maybe switching to a 50 Panasonic plasma but watching hockey and playing video games are 2 things that my tv will be used for and I don't want to have to deal with ir.