Official Sony HX850 Owner's Thread (46HX850, 55HX850) - Page 47

FYI....anyone looking to buy the 850 and couldn't find one in stock. I ordered a 46HX850 directly from Sony's website and just got a shipping confirmation this morning. So....hopefully it won't take too long to get here.

I could also still order it @sony.ch directly, but it's some ~500 US$ more expensive there. Not really a solution, but I hope to pick up one this evening in a store which might still have some on stock

I am not suprised that earlier build are showing better screen uniformity. When a new model is being produce, they often pay more attention to the quality of the build and assembly, often new model will even be assemble in japan. After this, it seems the focus is less on the quality or the manufacturing is move to outside plans.

@doctorM don't hold you breath for too long. All manufacturer have issues and Sony's issue aren't just recent. I bought an HX701 like 2 or 3 years ago. I returned 3 models because of clouding. On the same year, I returned a Samsung for flashlithing too..

Screen uniformity issue on LCD has gotten worst and worst since the manufacturer started to be more concern with how thin they can make their TV instead of focusing on quality.

The price I paid at Sony was the same price Best Buy advertised on their website, $1,599.99....and free shipping. It looks like Sony has discounted the price....maybe to sell remaining stock.

There are still plenty of 46" but not 55"

Well....I couldn't find one in "Stock" anywhere online...including Best Buy. Their website just said "Out of Stock" when I tried a ship to store purchase or a direct delivery. Just checked again this morning and got the same result.

Doesn't matter...it should be delivered some time next week.

Hoping someone has some advice for me, purchased HX850 3 weeks ago and for the most part the TV is great, Blu Ray is great along with most HD channels. However in some HD content in dark scenes (black or even brown backgrounds) I see what looks like shifting boxes of pixels, almost like the TV is struggling to provide a uniform smooth picture in those areas. I've tried almost every setting, and have decided on Cinema 1 or 2 which i think provides the most realistic picture. To combat these I turned on all the noise reduction features, the smooth gradiation feature and have motion flow set to Clear (I can't watch the Standard or Smooth). I also have the LED Dynamic Control set to Standard which seems to make the picture better for the most part, but when i have the pixelation issue i also see some shifting of light in the screen as well. I'd prefer to have all these options off or reduced as it seems having them on washes out the picture. I have Directv and think maybe that's the problem, however with the same box plugged into a XBR9 from a couple years ago there is no problem. I'm about to give up on the TV as i think it just can't handle certain HD content and I'm so particular about how the screen should look that i can't enjoy what i'm watching because i'm always focused on these pixelation issues. Any advice would be great, thanks.

Ive noticed this on several tvs. You probably didnt notice it on your other tv because it was crushing the blacks so bad that you couldnt tell the difference. If it only does it on directv and not blu ray then its a law quality signal despite still looking half way decent. So many hd programming isnt even hd. It drives me nuts.

On another note i checked out my hh gregg service plan about dead pixels. Its the same as the manufacturer. Only fixable within the manufacturers normal range. As ive read this does not include only 1 pixel. I still cant see it at all but at this point i wish i would have saved the 300 bucks and bought the sony extended plan for 150 instead.

I have this exact same problem except I have Uverse, not Directv. I almost switched to Directv thinking the problem was Uverse, but my old Sony Z5100 LCD does not have this problem receiving the same HD feed. I saw this problem when I had the HX750, returned it and got the HX850. The problem is not as bad on the 850, but I can still see it now and then. I see it specially when watching dark scenes from shows like Walking Dead. I would replay the same scene on the HX850 and Z5100 and it seems more noticeable on the HX850. I'm thinking LED is more prone to this problem. I'm still happy with the HX850 overall and will probably just live with it. It was just frustrating in the beginning because I never had this problem before from my XBR7 or my Z5100.

A few days ago I purchased a ViewSonic monitor and it was flawless on the first try. Why on earth can't Sony have better good to crap ratio on their panels?

With the HX850's drying up I'm seriously considering the Vizio M3D550KD. Cnet & PCMag are bullish on it and it's less than half the price.
Still, I'm uncomfortable with Vizio as a brand (for no reason other than its a 55" for under $1000 and not Sony).
The question I keep asking myself is how bad can Vizio be if Sony can't do better than 1 good out of 5?

If Sony hasn't gotten their act together and aren't selling TVs, what alternatives are there? I won't buy plasma.
I can't believe I waited too long.
Edited by DoctorM - 1/18/13 at 11:20am

I bought a Vizio 42XVT a couple of years back and it has been the best TV I've had so far. I wish they still made it or an updated version of it as I'd get a bigger one for my media room and another 42 or 46 for the living room. The picture is fantastic and other than the odd software glitch (random shutdowns was a phase in the first year!), it has been excellent.

The Sony is supposed to replace a four year old Vizio in the living room - it still works just fine, no problems in the time I've owned it and just looks a bit old (and it's only 32" so a bit underwhelming!)

Still hoping for the Sony to come through although the negative posts on here are a bit disappointing. I guess TV picture quality these days, across the board, is pretty poor and "thin is in".

I just got Playstation Active Shutter 3D glasses, model 98079, for $19.99 from BestBuy. I thought the glasses cost a lot more and am curious if they will work with the newly acquired 55HX850 if so it sounds like a great deal from what I have heard about the cost of such glasses.

How do you know the manufacturing date? Is it on the panel somewhere?

Yah its on the back

Other than this flaw this is the best tv i have ever seen. I cant see it but know its there which makes me sad. The questions is whether to return and wait for next years models or settle on it since i have no flashlighting period?

What show are you watching? I can't make out anything. I'd return it.

Its the dead pixel. Cant notice it at all at normal viewing distance.

Matty, usually pixelation is a source issue and not the sets fault.

Danediz, do not return a set for one bad pixel that you cannot see during normal viewing, a chance you would get a set with worse defects. Plus this set is in short supply. I checked mine for banding, flashlighting, etc but not bad pixels, if I can't see them during normal viewing don't even want to know that they are there.

Even if knowing the dead pixel is there and you find yourself looking for it instead of enjoying the set, then return it. Yes, you may get a worse one and if you do then return that one as well. You paid good money for that panel and you should not have to be sad about anything. You may very well wake up tomorrow and realize you don't care about it and that would be great, but if you wake up tomorrow and are still obsessing over the dead pixel, then you have a tough decision to make. If you are still sad about it come the last day of your return period, then that should be a sign. Hopefully you will have forgotten about it by then.

I personally have returned numerous sets due to dead pixels and would not hesitate to do it again if need be. Others I know could care less about a dead pixel if it didn't affect the picture. Point is only you will know which type of person you are in this regards.

That's what I figured. There will be no exchange it would be only a refund. They are out of stock everywhere! Other than this unnoticeable defect, my tv is perfect. All my HD cable channels look good and I have hardly touched any settings! I have 25 days to decide but I will most likely keep it. If sony's no signal screen was black like everyone else I would have never seen it! The good is that I have a 3 yr service plan with hh Gregg if anything else goes wrong.

I set up the TV and used the playstation glasses and all I can say is "WOW"

U don't need the ps3 right?

Correct. Currently 19.99 at BB.

I just charged my glasses thru my PC - USB connection.

I got a couple od the PS3 3D glasses and they work well with the tv.

Question...where are some good places where I can download free (legal) 3D videos that I can play on this set?

The way the USB connection is designed is really poor though. You can barely get the USB cable plugged into the glasses without feeling like the rubber cap over it is going to tear off. Otherwise, really nice glasses for just $19.99 and fit waaaaaayyyyy better for anyone who also wears prescription glasses as well.

I am going to purchase this TV and found a good review of the TV at --- http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/sony-kdl-55hx853-46hx853-201206161860.htm.

In the performance section, they mention the following which may be causing the pixelation issue ---

"Just one last note on this: during the review process, we found a bug with the KDL-55HX853 which can cause it to blur high very high frequency pixel details in motion (yes, that includes film grain and other fine textures). In fact, we detected this with our own Film Grain test pattern. We noticed that despite all the processing being shut off, the sharp pixel details in the film grain test would become hazy upon movement, although they lost none of their motion fluidity (if you’re well-versed on video processing, then you’ll understand this as motion-triggered spatial filtering). Fearing that we’d have to produce a third review in a row lambasting manufacturers for film grain blurring – something we don’t expect from a company like Sony, with their extensive post-production know-how – we were relieved to find out that it’s a bug with the [Reality Creation] “Off” switch, which can be avoided. During calibration, set [Reality Creation] to “Manual” and turn [Noise Filtering] OFF. Then, disable [Reality Creation]. If you disable [Reality Creation] without first setting the [Noise Filtering] to its lowest setting, the filter is not actually off; it’s still running in the background."

You might want to see if this helps the issue.

Will these work in Australia ?

and anyone know place that will ship international for these as BB doesnt seem to

cheers

I think im gonna take the set back tomorrow. Im just not happy enough for what i paid. Maybe better luck with this years models. I love the 850 but the dead pixel is unacceptable. Id exchange but thers no more in stock. Oh well.

I have had this set since 1/11 and I got it on the wall on the 15th. I have loved it until today when I started to watch a hockey game and it started doing this strobe light thing. It strobes and it seems like the settings change since it will get brighter or darker then it will gradually go back to where it was. Has anyone else noticed this sort of thing watching bright HD content?