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Sony GWIII Owners thread - Page 2

post #31 of 3887
10/5/03 at 7:40pm
Quote:


Originally posted by BMW330iFan
Have just purchased 50" GWIII after comparing it with the Panny 50. The price was the same for both so after reading other favourable threads and checking them both out myself decided on the Sony. My concern at this time is what height of stand is the best to maximize the tv's viewing angles. The Sony stand is pricey and doesn't look to be very good value for the money so I was looking at alternates and found one I liked but I thought it may be a little high at 26" for that set. Any suggestions as to stand heights? I think the Sony stand is about 16" off the floor and I assume that is their recommended height. Thanks for any input.

An excellent stand alternative for the 50" GWIII is the Furniture Works Cosmic VT2 Video Table (still about $400+)...the dimensions would accomodate either the 50" or 60" GWIII very well, and it's just 2" higher than the SU-GW1 stand. It's a great looking stand with metal and glass. Below are the details:

FEATURES
RTA(Ready to assemble)
Incorporated cable management.
Highly polished 10 mm thick glass shelves.
Steel mesh accents.

SPECIFICATIONS
300 lbs. top shelf capacity
50 lbs. lower shelf capacity
18 in. H x 58 in. W x 19.25 in. D
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post #32 of 3887
10/5/03 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
[quote]Originally posted by mike50
Quote:


Originally posted by compfan
[
-DVI PC connecticity looks amazing. It was truely plug and play, it recognized the make, model and even posted the manufacture date. Initially the reolution is funky and needs work but nevertheless it does work. Im still working out final resolutions with power strip, and as it stands now has a little to much overscan but I am close. I will say a PC using DVI on the GWIII looks every bit as good, maybe even better than any of the LCD monitors I have, Samsung,Viewsonic and Dell.

Scott,

I'm pleasantly surprised of the "plug and play" capability thru the DVI port, given Sony's statement that it is not intended for PC and the problems encountered by some members of this forum with the GWII. Maybe the GWIII differs for the better on this issue.

Could you please tell us which video card and resolution/settings you used? Also, what type of DVI cable? DVI-D ?

Mike50

I am using a Abit Geforce4ti4600 with DVI out. The driver version is 40.72 WinXpPro WHQL certified. The cable I am using is DVI-D, Monster Cable DVI400.

On my first attempt I simply plugged the cable in DVI port on both my PC and TV. Powered both on and it was like any computer monitor. I saw the bios screen, WinXpPro logo and it booted to the desktop fine. When I got to the desktop it gave me a message saying it had detected a new display, gave the make, model and manufactured date. In the same message it told me my resolution was set to low and needed adjusting for optimal viewing. But it was working, I could see everything, it was very clear with no flickering or sync issues.
I knew 1386x788 wouldnt be an option in my videocard settings and as it turned out there werent any HD resolutions though they are supported. So last night I downloaded powerstrip and have since only been able to mess around with it for about 2 hours all together. I have gotten a few things to work but I so far nothing perfect with the best being 1280x960i and letting the TV scale. I am less than a quarter inch off all the way around but its still not prefect. For gaming its not bad as I usually only miss some scenary, but missing almost all the start button, webpages, email buttons, lol, isnt acceptable.

Personally I think its going to take a change of my videocard because the drivers for the generation of card i have, the G4 werent really meant for HDTV compatability, they dont support oddball resolutions very well. I know the new ATI cards are actually advertised as being compatable with HD resolutions built right into their drivers. They even sell a DVI/RGB to component adapter. Im gonna mess around for a day or so, if it doesnt work out ill likely upgrade my PC sooner tha later to ATI.

Next time i turn my set on I will connect my PC and take a pic to show u what it looks like.
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post #33 of 3887
10/5/03 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by TweakFreak
but surely you don't mean the GWIII is doing 1-to-1 pixel mapping like what you get with LCD monitors through DVI? Since the LCD panel of the GWIII has resolution of 1386x788, I assume that the Wega engine scales and converts all incoming digital signal, regardless of resolution, into one of the 480p, 720p or 1080i display modes. I'll be pleasantly surprised if the GWIII lets 720p (or any resolution) signal straight through without conversion.

yeah u got it, thats the problem. I can make the resolution using power strip but cant find a driver for my videocard thatll accept and display it. Right now im overscanned about a quarter inch all the way around.
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post #34 of 3887
10/5/03 at 8:16pm
I notice something very interesting in the owner's manual for the new GWIII XBR line. The set allows you to adjust the white balance for RED, Green and Blue Gains and Bias (and has a reset button if things get out of hand!). Did the last XBR generation have white balance controls? Do the new WE610 models have this kind of picture control too? Has access to the service menu become obsolete? Hmm....?


Forgive me for not keeping up with the times, but I've been in a coma for the past 5 years due to an assassination attempt on my wedding day.

-INAB Bill!
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post #35 of 3887
10/5/03 at 8:18pm
Scott,

Thank you for the information. Looks like you have achieved quite a bit in just 2 hrs with Powerstrip. Before using Powerstrip, what was the PC resolution that you managed to feed the TV for best viewing? I'm somewhat afraid to use Powersrip, so that is the reason for my question...

Mike50
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post #36 of 3887
10/5/03 at 8:23pm
Hello: I was visiting the local CC store looking for a plasma. The sales assoc. told me about the SOny GW II. I was not that impressed. Some images on fast movement had some trailing effect. Anyway the SA told be about the GWIII XBR class. They did not have one, but the SA was adament that this was a great display. I currently have a SOny KV32SH500 4:3 set. I want to go to 16:9. The resolution on the 32 is great. My question to all of you is if I like the 32's resolution and look, is plasma or the GWIII the way to go to match the performance of the 32? I want a large screen 42" to 60". Any advice form the experts?

Thanks.

Ed
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post #37 of 3887
10/5/03 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by mike50
Scott,

Thank you for the information. Looks like you have achieved quite a bit in just 2 hrs with Powerstrip. Before using Powerstrip, what was the PC resolution that you managed to feed the TV for best viewing? I'm somewhat afraid to use Powersrip, so that is the reason for my question...

Mike50


The default was 848 by 480 but would let me adjust it up to 1152 x768. With power strip if I deinterlace it I can get 1280X960 but its still off.

I have been talking with someone who is helping me, the whole problem is the card. Nvidia doesnt like to go past I think 540 where as the newer ati cards have res all the way up to 1080.

Im going to try one more setup tomorrow at 960x540 and if it doesnt work im buying a new card, hehe.
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post #38 of 3887
10/6/03 at 5:57am
Folks, as a likely near-term purchaser of a 70" XBR, this thread is quite helpful. Thanks!

If anyone has any experience playing XBOX on the GWIIIs, I would be interested to hear from you. A 60" GWII, I looked at seemed to have some trailing during quick action sports (soccer). Of course, I was only 2 feet from the screen, so this may not be fair. And the GWIIIs may have improved on this. Anyway, any real world experience would be helpful.
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post #39 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:04am
Quote:


Originally posted by bsgoren
An excellent stand alternative for the 50" GWIII is the Furniture Works Cosmic VT2 Video Table (still about $400+)...the dimensions would accomodate either the 50" or 60" GWIII very well, and it's just 2" higher than the SU-GW1 stand. It's a great looking stand with metal and glass. Below are the details:

FEATURES
RTA(Ready to assemble)
Incorporated cable management.
Highly polished 10 mm thick glass shelves.
Steel mesh accents.

SPECIFICATIONS
300 lbs. top shelf capacity
50 lbs. lower shelf capacity
18 in. H x 58 in. W x 19.25 in. D

I got the three-shelf version of this stand for my 50" GWII (top + two shelves for components). It looks great and it comfortably holds all my components (Amp, Monster power, pDVD, VHS, digital tuner). I was a bit concerned about the height before getting it. However, those extra couple of inches of height don't make a difference -- I don't see any vertical falloff in mage intensity until I'm pretty close to the set (around 6 or 7 feet).
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post #40 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by ebrigham
Folks, as a likely near-term purchaser of a 70" XBR, this thread is quite helpful. Thanks!

If anyone has any experience playing XBOX on the GWIIIs, I would be interested to hear from you. A 60" GWII, I looked at seemed to have some trailing during quick action sports (soccer). Of course, I was only 2 feet from the screen, so this may not be fair. And the GWIIIs may have improved on this. Anyway, any real world experience would be helpful.

I play Xbox on my TV everyday. Until about 3 days ago I was playing on a 60XBR800 and now the 50WE610. To be honest besides the imporvements from the TV itself, better blacks and brighter colors they both perform the same.

First of all make sure u use the Xbox HD pack for component out and optical audio out. Then get some good component cables. Make sure in the Xbox menu u select 480P/720p/1080I or else it wont display those resolutions.

Some games are 480i, some are 480P, a few are 1080I but there are several that are 720P. 720P games are gorgeous. I personally dont notice the streaking.

Let me know if u want any help.

Pic of the Xbox HD pack,,,, DONT buy the svideo pack, get the HD pack.
LL
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post #41 of 3887
10/6/03 at 8:01am
Hi Compfan. Thanks for your advice. On my current CRT RPTV, I do indeed have the XBOX HD pack - it was the first purchase I made after receiving the XBOX as a gift last year. And I agree that it is a must have, both for the better video and the 5.1 surround sound. I can't even imagine going back.

Lack of 720p capability is one reason why I am shying away from the new Mitsubishis, and I plan on buying some 720p (and 1080i) games as soon as I get my Sony - assuming I don't change my mind again.

It is good to know you haven't notice streaking. Thanks again
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post #42 of 3887
10/6/03 at 8:32am
This may be a stupid question, but is there any technical reason a 120 bulb couldn't be put in the 60"WE610 if brightness was an issue with this set?

Also, my viewing environ ranges from very bright in the day...high ceilings with high unshaded windows...to very dark at nite. I understand the III's are very bright would this be an issue in a very dark room?

And finally, has anyone actually viewed the 60" model yet?
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post #43 of 3887
10/6/03 at 8:33am
I picked up the 42WE610 this weekend. HD Footfall and other HD input over Component input looked very good. SD Analog doesn't look that good. I didn't expect it to.

Can someone explain Sony's picture modes? As in what's happening to the picture when you select Standard, Vivid or PRO? Are those names descriptive? Not to me.

I went out and bought a DVI cable only to realize that while my Comcast STB has a DVI connector, it does not work. This is a Motorola STB. Does Comcast have to program the STB to send the video out the DVI port??? I called Comcast and they said that in the future they will use this port.

I noticed a lot of people asking about stands. I saw the pitcure of the Salamander Stands. I liked them but not the price. I bought a 4 x 8 piece of Maple plywood for $65 and build a custom stand. It looks like the Salamander Triple 20. My center speaker fits below the Sony on a fixed shelf. I would bet I could put 7 components plus the center channel speaker if I wanted. The height is 21" which I thought would be okay for the 42".
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post #44 of 3887
10/6/03 at 9:52am
Scott, I just sent you a PM.

Ray
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post #45 of 3887
10/6/03 at 10:08am
So far the only thing I'm a bit disappointed in is black level and shadow detail. Out of the box, this TV definitely has some issues there, as I knew that it would. For me, this is an acceptable limitation, given that so far I absolutely love almost everything else about the TV, but I'd still really like to make some improvements in this area.
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post #46 of 3887
10/6/03 at 11:23am
I'm awaiting arrival of a 42" GWIII, and I was wondering what screen modes are available over the DVI connection. Would I be able to display a 4:3 source from a DVD player that stretches it (Samsung hd931)? I know 720 and 1080 are locked, but will 480p still work?

I have a Denon 1600, but would I see a difference with the HD931 even without 1x1 pixel mapping?
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post #47 of 3887
10/6/03 at 12:03pm
You can use all of the stretch modes with 480p over component, but I'm not sure about DVI.
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post #48 of 3887
10/6/03 at 12:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by Likwid
I'm awaiting arrival of a 42" GWIII, and I was wondering what screen modes are available over the DVI connection. Would I be able to display a 4:3 source from a DVD player that stretches it (Samsung hd931)? I know 720 and 1080 are locked, but will 480p still work?

I have a Denon 1600, but would I see a difference with the HD931 even without 1x1 pixel mapping?

The only DVI source I have is my PC and that does NOT allow me to change the display modes at all.

I cant comment on if this is consistent for all DVI sources.
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post #49 of 3887
10/6/03 at 6:00pm
I got my GW III 42" yesterday. I am really impressed with SD, especially after a Sammy HLM I returned last summer. xbox looks great with the component cables (HD pack)--I didnt notice any particular artifacts. Only one thing that's really bothering me. I have noticed that when the TV displays a "black" screen, (ie an empty video input) the color on the screen is not uniform. The lower Left hand corner has a large splash of darker black (may even look a little gray or greenish), and there is a smaller area of the same darker coloration in the upper Right hand corner. The other two corners, as well as the middle of the screen, are a slightly lighter dark blue/purple color. I originally noticed this while watching my first DVD on the set--the horizontal black bars were lighter on one side and darker on the other. It also shows up when there are dark images over the green/blacker corners of the screen, as that area of nonuniform color bleeds through to some extent. This is subtle, and is best seen in low or no ambient light. If there is color displayed in those darker areas of the screen you cant see the defect. I stopped at a couple stores in town to see if I could see the same thing on other GWIIIs, I couldnt, but I'm not sure if that was because of the bright store lights.
I would be great if those of you who own the set wouldnt mind checking yours and let me know. CC is delivering a new set in a couple of days, as they have said what I describe is not normal. But I want to make sure this is a "defect" and not inherent in the display. I've been waiting so long for a bigscreen and I want this to be "the one"
Thanks.
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post #50 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:07pm
The one I checked out the other day had a lopsided LCD panel. The 2.35:1 DVD that was playing was about 3/8" lower on the left side than the right. Not a big deal, but both me and the salesman noticed it right away. Probably just an anomaly with that particular set.

However, the black levels appeared to be very consistent all the way around the screen when I tuned it to an empty video input...
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post #51 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:20pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah I would think something is wrong with it. Mine is perfectly even across the screen.
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post #52 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:33pm
Hello!

I finally made my decision. It came to either this set or the Samsung DLP.
After viewing the set I decided this was the one for me! I'm just
making my home with it and setting up a HTPC for the first time
to get the best resolution. I connected it to my 8500DV via DVI
and it is recognized as a sony monitor but only supporting 16bit
color and 640x480 resolution. Is this correct?

Thanks!

Gowry
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post #53 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
I setup Time Warners HDTV today. It looks amazing. Ive seen true HD in stores but upclose and personal in your own home is a whole other story. Watching DVD's on these LCD's has always been enjoyable, but watching HDTV on it is flat out impressive. I find myself marveling at the picture more than watching the program, lol.

Now I know what everyone means when they say HDTV was made for Monday night football! (:
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post #54 of 3887
10/6/03 at 7:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Originally posted by Gowry
Hello!

I finally made my decision. It came to either this set or the Samsung DLP.
After viewing the set I decided this was the one for me! I'm just
making my home with it and setting up a HTPC for the first time
to get the best resolution. I connected it to my 8500DV via DVI
and it is recognized as a sony monitor but only supporting 16bit
color and 640x480 resolution. Is this correct?

Thanks!

Gowry

Gowry,

Rough resolution buddy(: It appears for anything other than an ATI 9xxx series card you will need to use power strip and create custom resolutions.

I am using an Nvidia card at this moment so cant really help but I can say with a little work it will definetly work.. Check the HTPC forum, theres tons of info, especially for ATI.

Scott in Rochester
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post #55 of 3887
10/6/03 at 10:34pm
Scott,

In the HT/computer section, Troy reports that nVidia latest 4523 drivers support a wider range of HDTV resolutions. However, he was unable to run Quicktime and Wmv9 files. Have you tried to run video files with either QT or WM player ?

Mike50
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post #56 of 3887
10/6/03 at 10:53pm
Hi everyone,
I've been following this forum for quite awhile now and was deciding between the hitachi 50v500, cineos 55", and the gw III. After thorough browsing of the posts, I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase the gw III today. I got mine from goodguys here in san francisco, and I'm not gonna post the price I purchased it at, but could anyone PM me if you got yours at a good price? goodguys happens to have a 60 day low price guarantee which I'm sure everyone is aware of, so any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm just waiting for delivery at the moment... can't wait 'til friday!

Thanks!
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post #57 of 3887
10/7/03 at 6:33am
Picked up my Sony 50" GW-III last evening at Tweeter. Just fit into a friend's GMC Envoy (on it's side - salesman said no problem for the 30 minute ride home). When we got back to my house, my friend was amazed at how light the set was - took us about 2 minutes to get it from the Envoy into my house up a flight of about 8 stairs.

I ended up taking the box off myself and got the set up onto the TV stand by myself. Taking the 36" set off of the TV stand was more difficult than getting the Sony GW-III onto the stand.

MNF in HD is absolutely fantastic! Jay Leno in HD is also great. The stuff I saw on CBS was pretty good too. The PBS HD loop is also impressive. Just wish Fox would go to 720p or 1080i in my area. Looking forward to the Washington Capitals games in HD (understand WB50 is going to do HD for hockey this week).

SD is certainly acceptable on this set. I am using a DirecTV TiVo until the HD DirecTV box gets installed.

Now for a good DVD player - trying to decide between the Bravo D1 or the Samsung 931.
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post #58 of 3887
10/7/03 at 7:23am
Quote:


Originally posted by davidjplatt
Picked up my Sony 50" GW-III last evening at Tweeter. Just fit into a friend's GMC Envoy (on it's side - salesman said no problem for the 30 minute ride home). When we got back to my house, my friend was amazed at how light the set was - took us about 2 minutes to get it from the Envoy into my house up a flight of about 8 stairs.

I ended up taking the box off myself and got the set up onto the TV stand by myself. Taking the 36" set off of the TV stand was more difficult than getting the Sony GW-III onto the stand.

MNF in HD is absolutely fantastic! Jay Leno in HD is also great. The stuff I saw on CBS was pretty good too. The PBS HD loop is also impressive. Just wish Fox would go to 720p or 1080i in my area. Looking forward to the Washington Capitals games in HD (understand WB50 is going to do HD for hockey this week).

SD is certainly acceptable on this set. I am using a DirecTV TiVo until the HD DirecTV box gets installed.

Now for a good DVD player - trying to decide between the Bravo D1 or the Samsung 931.

David,

2 things:

If the set is HDMI ( I THINK that's the acronym) compliant, and I think it is, then from what I understand, you can NOT use the Bravo D!. Also, suspect that the D2 WILL be HDMO-compliant. At this point, and I need an answer also, the Samsung is the ONLY DVI DVD player that will work with this set.

Also, I'm not sure that you know Comcast SportsNet (in Philly and Balt/DC) do Caps/Wizards/Flyers/Sixers in HD, and do a great job.

David
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post #59 of 3887
10/7/03 at 7:27am
For anyone who has replaced a CRT set with the Sony...what is the difference in quality on SD viewing? Is the Sony better but not as good as you'd like, or is it worse? How would you compare the two?
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post #60 of 3887
10/7/03 at 7:28am
The Bravo works with all other sony sets so I dont see why it would be an issue with this one
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