Sony XBR-HX950 Owners' Thread (XBR-55HX9​50 and XBR-65HX95​0) - Page 72

mbart11: What is the build date on your latest TV?

Thanks XxDeadlyxX: I am getting ready to return my Panasonic TC-P65VT50 and purchase the 65HX950 sight unseen. BB is out of them everywhere, which makes me nervous.

According Robert Zohn, the VE guy, one out of thirty Elite's in his store had stuck pixels. There was also one owner who received three Elite's so far all with dead or stuck pixels.
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/hdtv-video-displays-processors/48747-elitepro-60x5fd-pro-70x5fd-discussion-thread-59.html#axzz2GBpg9NBS

When you do some googling (or yahooing ) you will find Elite banding. I do remember this Suzook guy who returned several Elite's because of bad DirtyScreenEffect.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1358702/official-sharp-elite-pro-70x5-and-60x5-owners-thread/7830

Those Elite's are certainly not perfect either.



btw CES is 08-11 january 2013
http://www.cesweb.org/

Didn't check the 1st one, but this one says Nov 2012.

My current one was built in Sept. Aside from the banding, I've also noticed more judder in this one than the last three. The third had judder problems as well, but this one is much worse. First one had the best motion but the worst banding. I use the same settings on each one.

I just got back from Best Buy to exchange my Panasonic TC-P65VT50 for the coveted Sony XBR-65HX950...

I have this overwhelming sense of relief now...



The flicker was so bad on the VT50 for me that every night when I turned it on I would cringe and not look forward to it. After a while, I was met with a certain headache and would inevitably fatigue. Just not a worthwhile investment...

The exchange process at BB was relatively painless. They are picking-up the VT50 this Friday and dropping off the HX950 at the same time.

Granted the price was significantly more ($3299 vs $5199) so dropping an additional $1900 was a bitter pill to swallow. But, there is just no way I could live with the VT50 flicker. Interestingly, the protection plan is less expensive on the HX950 because plasma screens are more expensive to repair so one more check in the win column for the HX950.

I guess I'm coming home to roost. I've always been an XBR fan going all the way back to the Sony KV-32XBR100 32" CRT. I loved that TV and still have it today in our guest room. Can you believe that CRT retailed for $3299? At the time, it was certainly the reference 32" available. I still to this day remember seeing that television on the showroom floor and it was so far above and beyond anyone elses picture quality I had to have it. That television lasted as my main viewing TV until I came across the Sony KDF60XBR950 back in August 2004. It was, at the time, one of the best televisions for the money. I believe it retailed for around $5500. I remember I wanted the 70" model at the time but the wait was significantly longer to get one (>2 months) due to demand. Then, just last month, my beloved KDF60XBR950 started exhibiting the dreaded optical block problems this particular series of televisions are plagued with. I was way outside of the class action lawsuit time frame so that's when I decided to look around. I noticed all the reviews of the VT50 were stellar and the price was very attractive. Little did I know plasmas all have a flicker issues for those predisposed to seeing it.

At any rate, the purchase of the Sony XBR-60HX950 was purchased sight unseen. I tried to find the nearest place but it's a two-hour drive away. So, I am taking it on faith that most of you in this forum are pleased with the set. The only fear I have now are the banding issues and dead pixels. I'm really crossing my fingers on this one. Maybe one good sign is that the BB Magnolia rep said that he just got 5 new sets in and that's all that they have in their warehouse. So, maybe that's a good sign that they are recently manufactured? I'll be sure to post the build date once it arrives this Friday.

On a funny note, they had the Elite 70" LED PRO70X5FD out on display. I jokingly said to the Magnolia rep it would be nice to have that one instead. He pulled up the TV in his system and said that he has 5 left in stock. He was willing to work with me on the price if I wanted to pull the trigger. I gotta be honest here and say I was extremely tempted. But, at $7,999 for 5 more inches would put me at $2,800 more than the HX950 and an additional $4,700 more than the VT50. Just dreaming...Besides, based off of what I've read in this forum the HX950 can go toe-to-toe with the PRO70X5FD, which is extremely encouraging.

Another 950 review. This one is interesting as it hints that the 929 may be the better performer and the the 850 is very close in performance.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/sony-xbr-55hx950-3d-lcd-tv?page=0,0

I tried this Rizzo. They never answered or acknowledged. I personally don't think they are listening or it's very selective.

Im returning my 50st50 and will stick with Sony from now on. My past tv was an xbr9. Should I go with the hx850 or hx929?

Im returning my 50st50 and will stick with Sony from now on. My past tv was an xbr9. Should I go with the hx850 or hx929?

IMO the xbr9 looked like crap.

Get the hx929...

Ok guys well after realising that Motionflow = Standard and Cinemotion = Auto 1 was not perfect in terms of motion during faster panning/scenes etc, I have just had a thorough play around with all the combinations of both.

I have found a better option (I am pretty sure!) - which is...

Motionflow = Smooth
Cinemotion = Auto 2

A good test scene is in I Robot where Spooner is talking to his grandma at the beginning and she sits down at the table. When she is going to sit down, on Standard + Auto 1, it is not perfectly smooth and jitters slightly as she has almost sat down.

With Smooth + Auto 2 it seems much more consistent and does not jitter up.

Let me know if any of you try this setting and if it is better/worse!

By the way, some Motionflow settings are pretty much unusable- Impulse which causes horrible flicker and very low light output, and Clear Plus which also reduces light output for some reason. So I just avoid it. That only leaves Smooth, Standard and Clear to choose from.

Whatever you do though don't choose Smooth + Auto 1 - that is SOE to the extreme and horrible artifacts.

Now other people's results *may* be different to mine, since I actually have the 65HX955 (in Australia), but I have no idea if there are any differences whatsoever in terms of specs to the 950 in the US. I don't think Australian PAL standards etc should make any difference to the motion of the TV but you never know.... For example, here the TV is promoted as having 'Motionflow XR 800', whereas the 950 is 'Motionflow XR 960'

All testing done with 24hz pc hdmi output.
Edited by XxDeadlyxX - 12/26/12 at 9:38pm

Sorry guys, but here comes a dumb question. I am about to hookup a Sony BDP-S590 3D BR player to my new Sony XBR-65HX950 TV and my 4 or 5 year old Integra 8.8 A/V receiver. I plan to use HDMI from the BDP-S590 to the XBR for 3D and video and a seperate audio hookup to the Integra 8.8. The reason: The 8.8 will not process a 3D signal through it even in the "through" position on the 8.8 via HDMI.

Here is the dumb question: Which is better for the audio hookup.......a coaxial audio cable or a toslink audio cable to hookup the audio from the BDP-S590 to the Integra 8.8? Thanks for any/all replys.

Not a dumb question at all. If you can swing it you should get a player with 2 HDMI outs; this way your receiver will be able to get the new audio formats through hdmi (can't via other hookups). If your receiver does not decode the new formats; but yours receiver has analog inputs. You can get a player with the 2 HDMI outs and 7.1 analog outs (then you can get DTS-HDMA and the "other" one). Sorry I went off topic; try both out and see if you can tell the diff and if you can pick the one you like.

Try to find a 929 (some still available) IMHO it is just a little better and less problematic than the current 950's.

I go HDMI from the Bluray player to the TV HDMI input.

I use the optical output from the TV to the TV input on my AVR. That takes care of DD for bluray and TV off air audio.

I also use the audio output (coax or optical does not matter) from the bluray player to the AVR bluray input. That takes care of DD and DTS.

All that I have to do is select either the TV or Bluray input on the AVR. DTS only works on the AVR's Bluray input, but DD works on both inputs.

Potentially stupid question...

Is the Sony XBR-65HX950 considered their flagship television?

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666483159

If yes, what about their 4K 84" $25,000 monster be considered their flagship?

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&identifier=S_4KTV

Potentially stupid response...

Their 4K 84" $25,000 monster would be considered Titanic.

Boooooooooo, bad joke.

I went to the XBR-84X900 owners thread and so far only 4 posts!

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1446527/official-sony-84-inch-4k-bravia-xbr-84x900

I'm going to throw this out there..

Put aside, the banding issues with some HX950 panels and reports of dead pixels on others...

What else needs to be improved on the HX950 to make it perfect?

After owning a 006 Qualia for 6 years I was blown away when by the HX950 once it was calibrated (thank you Flavious). The Blu Rays, 3D and HD content are pristine......BUT......when I watch basketball or football (this is the only time I get to show off the unit to buddies) I get severe graininess during action sequences. For example, when a point guard brings the ball up court, he appears grainy and blocky (same thing happens when their is a fight for a rebound under the basket). The same thing happens when there is a lot of action around the line of scrimmage during a football game. All the close up shots or face shots look amazing, but the heavy action shots are really grainy. It appears that I am getting this distortion due to the "zoomed in shots" (when the birds eye camera zooms in during each basketball possession or football play)

To make this issue minimal I am forced to turn the Sharpness to 0 and Noise Filtering all the way up. This makes it so that the graininess is only visible if you are looking for it, but it affects the picture quality.

As a side point, I have Dish Network and have verified that my point dish score of 63 is supposedly as high of a signal as can be obtained (I live on the top of a mountain without any satellite dish obstructions and have had dish over at my house twice). To make a long story short, is this normal and is there anything I can do to fix my issue? I have read countless posts about how great sports look, and I will be EXTREMELY disappointed if what I have now is as good as it gets. Thank you very much for any help that can be offered because I am sick of pulling out my hairs trying to fix this issue.


L-

deadlyX, just asked this question in the 850 forum, what settings to use that are best for fast action, I don't care if it causes SOE, just the best settings. Will try yours. Anyone else have an opinion. Thanks.

You may be seeing artifacts from using standard and auto 1. You should first try cutting them both off to see if the problem is resolved. Next step would be to use clear and auto 1 as it improves motion without the artifacts during fast motion.

Try some other picture settings as I don't really think Flavs setting do the tv justice. You can always have his on standard and a diff one on custom.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1435724/sony-xbr-hx950-settings-thread

I notice from viewing from angles the color seem to fade. I know this is normal for this panel but is there setting to help with this?

There is no setting that will improve viewing angles falloff.

Thank you for the suggestion. I just tried it out......it helped.....but it had more graininess and boxiness when compared to my sports calibration adjustment:

1. Sharp = 0 (from 53)
2. Resolution = 0 (from 20)
3. Noise filter = max (from 18)


Can anyone here confirm that they can watch Basketball (I had the same problem on all 3 games on Christmas day) and Football without graininess or boxy pixels during action scenes. If so what are your calibrations (I currently use Flavious's recommendations with a few tweaks). Thank you very much for any assistance.


L-

Hi all. I've been running around in the ES8000 forum for a few days and have a question in relation to the newer 65" Sony panels. Do they suffer from the apsame horrible banding issues as the 65" ES8000 panels ? The ES8000 has horrible banding (noticeable around 10% of the time, mostly on solid backgrounds when the camera pans). I am faced with the option of either downgrading to a 60" ES8000 or trying my luck with a 65" HX955 (Aussie model)... I can't tolerate the banding though.

1000

Since you say that you get perfect picture with your other sources, your description of the problem seems to be signal compression artifact/pixelation from the dish network signal. It doesn't sound like a TV problem or a settings problem. You may be able to mitigate it a bit with different settings, but it is not going to go away.

Question posed...

What other sets currently out there can compete and go head-to-head with the Sony XBR-65HX950?

So far, I have the following:

Panasonic TC-P65VT50
Sony XBR-84X900
Sharp Elite PRO-70X5FD

Thoughts?

The Plasma will have little better motion and no banding. But it will have a dim picture, bleeding, burn in and I,age retention, buzzing, lots of heat generated, and use more energy.

The 84 x900 is in a different class price wise entirely. It's probably nice though.

The elite is great, but in looking at one myself, I had several issues with the design, numerous reports of early failures, and my contacting elite support to test the waters. The elite is the only other I'd consider, but it's a gamble when buying a sharp right now.