The Official Kd-34xbr960 Thread - Page 7

RJB,

I have seen the forum, although haven't followed it lately. I was wondering if it was worth it to get all 340's. Plus, when I called an engineer at Ascend and told him I wanted to mount the rear speakers on the wall, he told me that the 200's would work better than the 170 in that situation (actually sound better). Any comment on that? How big of a room do you have your setup in? My family room is 18' long by 14' wide, but it's open to the kitchen in the back.

cpschmidt2,

Can you tell me how I can go into my local CC and get the same deal you got? That seems amazing! Plus, what stand are you using? Did you buy the XBR3 $349 stand?

Here is My deal I JUST got from CC.

21 months 0% financing NO payments

Standard price of xbr960 (lower then MSRP)

Son-DP6600 Dream System
($400 Rebate)(4 DVD's)(Backpack)

Basic Delivery $40.00

Sony XBR1 Stand (ALOT Lower then the 349 MSRP)

CC will call me when the warehouse gets it in. I could not get the 10 percent off the dream system because I choose the Sony Deal.

See for yourself...

I just asked for the discount on the XBR, they offered it on the Home Theater system.

I hope this is truth. It sounds like you got a rep who does not know how to do his/her Job.

1.) XBR is NOT 10 percent off (fine print excludes the XBR)
2.) HTIB- Its eithor the 18 months OR the 10 percent off.. NOT BOTH.
3.) Delivery. Its Possible. I hear some CC's will haggle. Mine does not. Most does not from the CC's I went to.

Hey Schmidt- You should have taken the deal offered by SONY. No payments untill 2006- SWEET!

What CC are you dealing with.I went to the Mt.view and Stevens Creek CC's in the bay area and they said they had no idea when these sets would be in and could not do any sales untill they had them in stock.I have a ten percent off coupon that is only good till june 30th that i would like to use.

You HAVE to special order this set to the STORE, not from the warehouse. They cant order it from the warehouse, they can to the store. If the rep wont let you, speak to the manager. This is the same policy throughout the nation. Most employees do not know you can "special order" something this is not in stock yet, but you can....

Well on Saturaday I received my email confirmation direct from SonyStyle saying my KD34XBR960 had been shipped and to expect at least 7 to 10 bussines days for the Premium delivery service.
Even though I have the cash I opted for the 18 months same as cash and got the Sony C.Card the Premium delivery service is availible on any 32" and above and was free if you Pre-Odered from SonyStyle.
The offical Ship date is July 2nd I dout any stores will have them before then.
I plan on using some of the saved cash to upgrade to a better Projector.
I'm going to be more curious if the store price will be the Pre-Order price or slighly higher

I went to a third CC, and no luck. I could finally find someone who would preorder the XBR960 for me, and even then they only agreed because they showed in the system that someone else had preordered one. Still no ETA, though. Problem for me is that I wanted the bottom end HT system offered in the deal, and they didn't show that in stock, either, so they wouldn't let me order that. That was a killer for me, given that nobody actually has these TVs yet. Also, no 10% on XBR, and these guys didn't even want to do the 10% financing deal in combination with the rebate. Overall, they weren't knowledgeable at all about the rebates and deals, even though they had signs all over the place. The sales guy was nice, but basically he just wanted me to leave and buy later...

(Note that for the Sony rebate when buying a TV with HT, you must have both on the same receipt!)

I went to a second GG, and there I finally had success. GG's computer is showing that they received a big shipment today of XBR960s into their inventory (they showed me the screen - over the weekend it was saying July 3, but now it says June 28 - I guess they showed up early). Supposedly mine should arrive at the store by the weekend (but we'll see...). And they price-matched CC (which I couldn't get the other GG to do over the weekend).

Only trouble for me is that GG doesn't list the HT that I want (as part of the Sony rebate deal) in their system at all. [I'm trying to get the - I don't need a HT, but I could use the combo DVD/VHS player for the kids...] They are trying to add it to their system, so that I can get them both on the same receipt. So, it ain't over yet!

Been a long road - 3 CC's and 2 GG's, but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

They offered me that same dream system deal.
I said I have aprox 15k tied up in just A/V gear and I really didn't need another HT or HTiB.
I think the sales dudes jaw dropped when I mentioned the 15k.
and a projector all in the same room.
One thing I had to do was actually call and order it from Sony to qualify for the 18 month same as cash.
The deal over the net was only a 12 month deal.
I thought about just waiting but then looking at the price of the old model and most places have em marked down only a few hundred dollars I figured
why not get one with the tuner built in for roughly the same price.
Sony wouldn't elaborate on whether the 2199 was the MSRP or just the pre-order price.
I guess this is on par my first Sony TV a 27"EXR-25 now 12 years old and it was MSRP at just over a grand is still kickin I just hope this XBR has a better ic in the turn on circuit.
I've had to replace the same Ic every other year since I bought it
Now it's my kids problem he can fix it next time

Anyone live close to the shipping area of this site
Great price, no stock until Aug. But what a price if you are willing to wait.

Hello,

I've had a little 9" TV/radio for the last ten years or so, and though it has served me well through thick and thin, (I don't watch much TV), I've been thinking lately about upgrading.

I still don't see myself watching too much TV in the future, but I love movies, and am finally preparing to give over to DVD addiction. But only on one condition: I want the best quality picture possible from the best source, for a reasonable price.

In my mind that safely narrows the field to CRT's in one fell swoop.
In surfing this forum for the last few days I've read a lot about the XBR960,
and it sounds very promising.

I have two questions that I hope some of the knowledgeable folks on this board might help out with:

1. I'm a little uneasy about the wide-screen format; there are a lot of great
movies out there that were shot in Academy Standard aspect ratio.
I understand that in a few more months Sony will be shipping a 4:3 version
of the 960. I guess the trade off there is that while Academy Standard
movies would be full screen and gorgeous, wide screen movies would
be presented at a lower resolution than they would on the 960, (although
at an apparently similar image size). Its a choice between Apocalypse
Now! and The Third Man.

2. In browsing this forum I've come across some posts that seem to indicate
that while HDTV's like the 960 are great for HDTV signal, its possible they
may be outperformed by regular TV's when it comes to regular broadcast
signal.

What about in terms of DVDs? Like regular broadcast signal, DVDs don't
contain as much information as HDTV signal, so is it possible that the Sony
960 is actually not the best display choice for movies? Maybe there are
tubes already out there that will display DVD's as well or better for less
money?

Since the promotional deals available on the 960 at CC are about to evaporate in a few days, I'd be grateful for any comments or thoughts.

Thanks,

-Bill.

A couple of thoughts for you billhound.

1. Are you considering purchasing one of the finer HDTV monitor with regards to the performance of SDTV? I understand that not all broadcast material is HD quality (someone pinch me, please!), but that will change over the course of time. I believe that you will be happier with a 16:9 in three years time.

2. As we move forward towards HD-DVD (come on Blu-Ray!), this monitor will truly show its' colours and allow you to enjoy increased resolution.

Bottom line, don't just buy an expensive product for today...Look to the future, as a product of this nature is capable of handling what the near-future holds in store for us.

I can't wait!!! I just placed my order through the Sony Family Store this AM for an incredible price! Hopefully, I will have mine before the Summer Olympics begin in August!

Excellent question Billlhound. I too am trying to solve this dilemma. Wish there was more info on this subject. It would be nice to have a 36" full screen televison (that may also provide a better picture with standard signals than the XBR 960; at least no irregular shaped black bars framing a reported soft, fuzzy 4:3 picture). And the HDTV image would still be 33". Further, the 36" model wil also include the Super Fine Pitch technology. Perhaps this is the best combination. What do you think?


Sony is also adding the XS-series to the FD Trinitron WEGA lineup. The expanded line will also feature Super Fine Pitch technology and include the widescreen 34-inch KD-34XS955, KD-30XS955 30-inch and 4:3 KD-36XS955 36-inch models. The widescreen models will be available for $2,000 $1,400, respectively in August and the 36-inch model will sell for around $1,900 in October.

Source: http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4439

Remember, The ONLY set that sony is offering the 2nd generation of super fine pitch tech is the 960. No other set will have this technology. With this tech, supposedly, the set will bring up the picture quality of standard cable to exceed the reg pq of reg sets. The first generation is not that good in accomplishing that.
---------------------------------------------

BSD107,
CC is NOT offering the 10 percent off! Its against their regulations! you can try, but as you seen, fail. The other guy just got lucky with a bad rep. As for GG, I refuse to shop there. The reps Jump all over you for a sale. This does make haggling with them easier, but I dont want to be made a fool if I dont buy their warranty. I am suprised that they would price match. Most GG's would not. PLUS, when I went there, the price was more then the MSRP of 2199.00
What was the financing offer from GG?
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For those others, try to get the son-6600dp. The 5 disc progressive player DVD alone is worth more money if you bought it seperetly then after you get the $400 rebate. Its like getting 6 speakers and a reciever free.
The quality of the DVD player rated really good on the internet as well as the HTIB.
-----------------------------------------
MEANWHILE, HURRAY UP AND BUY FROM CC!!!!!!!
The Sony Offer of 21 months No interest and NO payment ends June 30.
The CC credit card offer of 18 months no interest ends July 3rd.
XBR1 stand at a GREAT discount! Buy it before the XBR3 comes in..
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I just wanted to add that the first generation of the Super Fine Pitch does do a very good job with regular SD channels. I own one and i'm often blown away at how good standard tv channels look.

What's the Sony Family Store?

bob

The Family Store is a Sony Store for employess only. It's usually on Sony property out of reach from the public. They sell the set for around $1400.

DON'T LET THIS CC EMPLOYEE GET YOU GUYS WORKED UP.

THE NO INTEREST DEALS WILL ALWAYS BE AROUND. WE CAN OFFER THEM ALL YEAR IF WE WANT.

A SMALLER DEALER IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN A "GROCERY STORE" CC ANY DAY.

DO YOU THINK THEY WILL STOP MAKING DEALS ON THIS NEW SET..THINK

CC employee. Hell no. They dont get paid very well. Im just reporting what I researched on. The SONY deal is good untill June 30 (as told to me by a cc employee) the 18 month deal I read in the fine print: Expires July 3. Will they offer another deal. Probably. But not positive. This one expires July 3rd. Is a smaller store better? Depends.

Your Keyboard is broken. Your caps lock is stuck ON.

CC told me that they expect new financing deals to come out on July 4 - that's why the current one expires on July 3

Regarding "2nd Generation Super Fine Pitch Tube", I'm not sure what it really means. If you read the descriptions of the tube, the same claims would apply to the XBR910. So, I'm not sure if it's really going to really be any better or not - could just be sales hyperbole.

Note that I did personally see both the new 34"XBR and the 36"XS models for the Asian market a few weeks ago in Singapore (i.e. the ones you can see on the Sony Japan web site - note that they use different measurements outside the US!). Even though the new 34" 16:9 tv has the same tube as the XBR960, and the 36" supposedly has a first generation SFP, each TV had exactly the same "Super Fine Pitch" logos - there was nothing being advertised, including the labels on the TVs themselves, to indicated that the 34" used better tube technology.

Unfortunately, although this was a SonyStyle store, they only had a DVD feed (not digital) through the CRT TVs, so I couldn't do a meaningful comparison. Both TVs look equally good considering...

The CC in Tuscaloosa, AL.

The fact that they won't have stock until August makes me wonder if they are an authorized retailer although the claim full factory warranty on everything.

Their return policy states:

"Wholesale Connection does not accept returns unless they are in factory sealed unopened cartons. If the shipment is refused from the freight carrier, a credit will be issued for the unit price only. The customer will be responsible for any return shipping costs as well as the original cost to ship the item. Any item which proves to be defective within 15 days from the day you received the item (excluding DSS, televisions and installed car audio*) may be exchanged for a replacement (same model only).

"It is the customer's responsibility to ship the defective item to us at their expense. "

"DSS, televisions, and installed car audio are excluded from our return policy. All DSS and Televisions must be taken to an authorized repair center"

Looks like you get what you get, if it's broken that's your problem.

Completely agree...especially considering your past 10-year history with the 9". You'll have this set for many years and it's limitations in the present will certainly begin to melt away over the next 2-3 years as the broadcasting industry moves towards complete HD format. I'd buy the best now expecting that it won't be perfect in every situation but the available content will soon catch up with the display technology. Soon your Academy Standard aspect movies will be in the extreme minority and I think you'll be unhappy down the road if you purchase a set to best suit those films.

Please stop yelling...the caps lock is on the left.

I am very pleased to see that Sony has gone back to adopting animated menus for the direct-view 16:9 XBRs (like they first did with my KD-34XBR2).

Also, if you can trust the manual, it seems that Sony has finally fixed a glaring oversight with my set, namely it looks like you'll be able to select audio streams from devices connected via I.Link (i.e.- you'll be able to connect your D-Theater-equipped DVHS deck to the set via Firewire, select the DD or DTS [if its supported by the set?] stream, and then use the set's optical out to make the picture and sound match up). I can post links to other threads discussing this problem if you're not clear about this issue.

Regardless, it seems that Sony has a winner on their hands and finally a TRUE successor to the 34XBR2.

Now, if only you could select Video Inputs directly...

Drvais,

You ask for direct access to the video inputs?

All Sony monitors have discreet IR codes that can take you directly to the desired inputs.

You can easily find them on www.remotecentral.com or somewhere similar.

Then you can embed those codes into a macro and never have to worry about it again.

Thanks for comment Tigerriot. Appreciate someone who actually owns an XBR 910 and can comment on the quality of SD signals. Both the GG salesman and I thought the picture on Comcast cable looked terrible on the XBR 910, but I don't know if the signal was digital, and the hook-up was probably not S-Video.

Could you tell me what your input source is (e.g., DirecTV via S-video), and, also, have you had any problems with the black bars not being straight while watching standard televison? At GG, the bars bent inward, and I don't know if there is a simple user adjustmnet to fix that?. Thanks!

I have (or had) the 34xbr800 and normal DirecTV (DirecTiVo) looks _awesome_ on it, overly compressed digital cable looked _terrible_ on my neighbor's 32" WEGA and would likely look just as bad if not worse on my 34" since all the artifacts would be 'enhanced'. I imagine DirecTV will look just as good if not better on the 960. In the past DirecTV was through s-video (after passing through my Denon 3801) but now I have a HDTiVo and DirecTV gets feed via component, and likely DVI after I fix the overscan.