Sony XBR-HX950 Owners' Thread (XBR-55HX9​50 and XBR-65HX95​0) - Page 78

Originally Posted by fatuglyguy 

Yeah...if you click on "available locations" it's very few stores. Appears to only be available at a few of the "Design Center" stores, which there are very few of to begin with. Doubt these will make their way into your run of the mill "Magnolia Home Theater" store.
Sony does have a 70" model in the pipeline for 2013, but it's not an XBR. It's a KDL-70R550A. 120Hz, edge-lit, passive 3D. See link:

http://store.sony.com/p/70-inch-HDTV%2C-LED-TV%2C-R-Series%2C-R550%2C-genie-whole-home-DVR%2C-3D-TV%2C-Edge-LED%2C-smart-TV%2C-Full-HD/en/p/KDL70R550A

Originally Posted by CRITICALSHOT 

I have multiple settings that I use; I used Clear for the settings I gave you as it does not introduce artifacts and it doesn't darken the picture like Clear Plus. I do have a setting that I use Clear Plus and it compensates for the darker setting.

Originally Posted by CRITICALSHOT 

"Comparisons and Conclusions
In a side-by-side 2D comparison with a Panasonic TC-P65VT50 (Home Theater, October 2012) in a fully darkened room, and relative size aside (the Panasonic’s screen is 10 inches larger), the two sets’ performance was very close. I’d give a slight edge in black level and shadow detail to—surprise—the Sony, though the differences were small in that dark room. But when I turned on some over- head lighting, the Sony’s visible contrast held up better than the Panasonic’s. The black bars on less than full-screen sources were also darker on the Sony; on very bright scenes, the Sony’s picture also popped slightly more. Plasma sets can’t, in general, go as bright as LCDs, and particularly not when they’re called on to produce a very bright full-screen image. The colors on the two sets varied slightly, but not enough to give the edge to either. The Sony was a bit sharper as is typical of LCDs, though its smaller screen likely helped here as well.

But the Panasonic had the clear edge in off-axis viewing quality—and also in value. While this 55-inch Sony is comparable in price to the Panasonic, Sony’s 65-inch equivalent (the XBR-65HX950) will run you nearly $1,800 more than the Panasonic at list prices.


Any way you look at it, however, the Sony XBR-55HX950 is a striking performer. From the deepest, darkest scenes in 2D and 3D to its bright, vivid 3D, it’s definitely among the best sets I’ve yet had the pleasure of testing."

Originally Posted by CRITICALSHOT 

The blacks are great but that dang blooming gives the impression of gray on subject matter with black bars. Try assessing the blacks on something that fills the entire screen; LED-backlit, local-dimming is this TV's gift and curse.

Originally Posted by CRITICALSHOT 

It is true that all detail is crushed in every aspect of the LG image; not just the suit. The box in the middle, the boiler type thing on the right, the barrel next to the box, the door on the right, oil stain on the ground to the left and the details (horizontal lines in the guard rail) on the left. In the settings I gave you; you can always go -1 on the gamma but........

Originally Posted by Tyrindor 

Anyone here upgrade from a HX929? I'm debating selling my HX929 and buying a HX950, it'd be about a $1200 upgrade and was wondering if it's worth it or not.

What are the key differences? I know it has pretty much double the local dimming spots, so blooming should surely be reduced? Is off angle viewing improved any?

Originally Posted by THX 

Check this out...available soon at your select Best Buy stores!!

http://www.magnoliaav.com/Brands/SONY

Originally Posted by kdog750 

lol I love the way Sony is trying to push 4K in this advertisement:

"---stand very close to the screen,----it's seamless!"

---

I should charge them for that...that's my saying for my frontstage. My 3 Klipsch RF7IIs are "Seamless"

Originally Posted by cmay91472 

Was wondering if any 950 owners could fill me in on the following....

- How is vertical banding on the HX950? I returned a couple Samsung 65ES8000s due to vertical banding that was noticeable not just on panning shots but any solid background as well. 3D was flawless in the 65ES8000 with razor sharp/zero crosstalk even on cross talk prone 3D blus.
- Which brings me to the 3D.... how is the level of crosstalk and 3D in general? In an effort to eliminate vertical banding, I downgraded to the 60ES8000 only to discover that since it is a different panel inside (Sharp) compared to the 65ES8000, that it eliminated noticeable vertical banding at the expense of a terrible 3D image compared to the 65ES8000.

Was hoping that the HX950 would be something that would have both a solid 2D and 3D performance.

Originally Posted by Tyrindor 

Anyone here upgrade from a HX929? I'm debating selling my HX929 and buying a HX950, it'd be about a $1200 upgrade and was wondering if it's worth it or not.

What are the key differences? I know it has pretty much double the local dimming spots, so blooming should surely be reduced? Is off angle viewing improved any?

Originally Posted by hellotv 

to the guy asking about selling the 929 for a 950, dont do it..

how long do you guys think it will be before the 4k 55 inch sets reach the 3000/3500 price point..

if they put out a 4k 55 in the next couple of years for 3000/3500 or a 65 for 5500/6500, will you guys regret buying a 950..??

Originally Posted by THX 

kickalillas2: do you notice the flicker inherent with plasmas especially the VT50?

Originally Posted by kickalillas2 

I'd say i only noticed it once, but after 10 or 15 minutes i didn't see it again. It could have been the source or the tv needed to warm up...Speaking on which this tv does run HOT, my room is 12 x 12, get's to be short weather after a whole day of movie watching(keep in mind its 30 degrees in Chicago right now)

I also have an older Samsung 720p plasma that i can honestly say i never noticed it on. Flicker might be limited to certain sets/models.

Originally Posted by CRITICALSHOT 

gorthocar noticed the flicker all day every day with the VT50. I didn't notice the flicker with my old VT50 as I may not be sensitive to it. Forget about the dang VT50; if we are going off topic I would rather hear about the Vizio 70 inch E-Series for $1,889.

Originally Posted by jrmtl 

I'm sorry but how do we notice this so-called dirty screen effect, I can't seem to notice on mine?
Is it only on white background ?

Originally Posted by Dave A. 

Do not look for it. I was perfectly happy with my Pioneer plasma until I read a thread about DSE on this site. After that it was all I could see for a while.

Originally Posted by jrmtl 

I'm sorry but how do we notice this so-called dirty screen effect, I can't seem to notice on mine?
Is it only on white background ?

Originally Posted by IMRIZZO 

Amen !! if ya don't see it don't go looking for it .....or else it becomes OCD like.( Looking at the TV but not seeing the picture, cause yer busy lookin' for problems).

Originally Posted by bunyun316 


Got the 3rd and final swap for the 55HX950, December build date, and same result with Dirty Screen Effect.

While not as prominant as the first set, it is almost identical to the second set.

Is anyone else having issues with panning shots with this tv on light backgrounds? This link really exploits the DSE issue on the sets that I have owned and swapped. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtmqhAtdjE0.

Originally Posted by klinge 

I think all newer LCD/LED suffer from DSE for some reason. So there is no way around it. Just hope for a set which only has a mild degree of DSE.

Originally Posted by bunyun316 

I completely agree on the "don't look for it part."

When I got my first set, of all people to point the issue out - my wife asked what were those smudges on the tv screen.

I was watching John Carter on Blu-ray - beginning of the movie with the airships.

When I rewound the Blu-ray, I was like nooooooooo .

I had tested the other 2 Sony's hoping that the issue would be minimal enough to not notice it. I even tried really low backlight, picture, brightness, and local dimming on and off combinations and couldn't make it un-noticeable.

The same DSE test link posted on my orginal post runs flawlessly on my Samsung UN55B8500.

I bought the Sony to replace the Samsung as I had to replace the power board due to capacitor power board issue.

Don't get me wrong, the sony picture pops amazingly and is definitely crisper.

If you don't notice the DSE on your tv then no worries.

I was even tempted to call Sony for a replacement but tired of swapping.

If you still want to look for it, watch a hockey game. On the fast pans on the ice it will look like faint dirty blotches on the screen - like faint clouding on the panel.