The Official Kd-34xbr960 Thread - Page 11

...tly, I think digital sd looks a lot better on the HD than the sd over analog. Sometimes the artifacts can still be jarring though, so I would say that while digital looks better, it still looked cleaned on my old analog set. I'm curious to hear how the DRC functions on the 960.

I bought my 960 today at the Santa Clara Good Guys for about 100 less than msrp. they will deliver the beast on monday before 7pm pst.

my initial setup sources will include comcast hdtv settop box without pvr, a sa tivo and a five year old panasonic a110 dvd player. (i am waiting for the denon 3810 before settling on a progressive dvd player) I have Comcast's platnium service.

I have the hdtv settop box connected to my dell 17 inch lcd tv in the bedroom and the sd looks ok on that set.

I have my Avia dvd ready to calibrate.....

counting down...

bigbasin, do the GoodGuys have the 960 setup on display or just in their warehouse . Sure would like to see the set before buying.Thanks

on display with dvd and maybe directv

Went to Video Only here in Portland -- they have 'em! Got mine for a sweet deal (well below MSRP). GG has them too, but they wouldn't play ball on the price. Will post review later (I can't pick it up until tomorrow because I need to borrow a friend's truck).

Which store location Daumier?
I was at the Janzten Beach store today and they still had 910's on closeout,
and circuit city just across the parking lot also had a 910
Plus did they offer you any type of extended warrenty as
they have no service department.
I was there to take a measurement I was going to add a plexiglass top to my 36"wide TV stand but eccentually the bottom is flat so I can live with a 2" over hang on each front corner
Anyway Congrats on your puchase

Wanted to let everyone know I ordered my 960 from CC yesterday. The price that popped up was 2199.99 and not 2049.98 as previous. I'm not sure why it's changed, but luckily I had seen the previous price and the manager gave me the lower price. I bought the 3 yr ext warranty for 249.99. I also got the HT6600dp for $499.98 so that I could use the rebate. The price on the HT6600dp has apparently also increased as it came up $569.99 on the computer while the tag read 499. Apparently they hadn't changed the tag but they gave me the lower price. I have no firm delivery date as there are none in the warehouse, but they're to call and let me know.
I also wanted to let people know I saw the new Panasonic widescreen 34" set next to the Sony xbr910. It was absolutely no contest, the sony made the panasonic look terrible! I was really hoping the panasonic would be comparable so I could save a lot of money, but the panasonic was very blurry appearing next to the razor sharp sony. Both were hooked up to the same HD feed.

Saw it a GG. Liked it Seemed brighter than the 910 but no A/B. Picture at standard setting was "48", not maxxed. Before, I always had to max out the picture on a 910 in the store to seem bright enough. New menus are beautiful, sharp and really impressed me!

bob

Can someone please perform a test to see if you can get the set to output Dolby Digital or DTS when a JVC DVHS deck is connected via Firewire to the set?

Jantzen Beach - I was there yesterday later in the evening. They had one on display -- but if that one sold, ask them about later shipments. I believe they're getting more shipment from Salem as I took the last one in the box.

One other thing, the retail price they have is already below MSRP -- go check it out on the floor.

D

Wow! Do you have a picture of this??? I can't wait to see what a metallic-blue contour would look like. I guess they decided to do this to differentiate the XBR960 from the XS955 (which will look exactly like the XBR910). Good thing I didn't buy the old stand...

Is CC throwing in a free stand? The xbr960 page lists the free stand, but the price is also listed as 2049, so maybe that's over now?

No listing on the CC website yet.

You have to be very careful with these "same feed" comparisons. I saw the new Panasonic at CC right next to the XBR910. The Panasonic was blowing the XBR910 away. The reality wasn't believeable - clearly the "same feeds" weren't really the same quality, even though they were HD feeds. I saw this same issue all around the store.

The only real way to compare is to watch one set, then physically remove the video feed and connect to the other TV!

My XBR960 came from the factory set to "Vivid" mode, which is a ton brighter than "Normal" (which is the mode I use all the time).

Make sure to check this setting when doing brightness comparisons...

gundyrat1,
Was in the Video Only in Beaverton at closing and they claim they had two with one being sold while they were checking the warehouse. This was at closing around 6:00 p.m. Good price without the hassle but I did not jump on it as I was looking for Dream System to get the rebeate and they did not have the one I wanted yet in their system.

What xbr960 page please? Web page? Newspaper insert?

Thanks,
Gordon

Now I didint actually look at the model Number cause it well looked just like the 910 I saw there 2 weeks ago on the same stand in the same spot marked down to 1799 for closeout.
So maybe they had it in the back and moved it out later in the day.
they generally have stuff at below msrp anyway cause they only buy what Consumer report rates as 1,2,3,
they buy in volume and pay cash.
The down side is there 7 day return policy and no service department
I've purchase a few things there.
I've never actually asked them If they are Authorzed resellers for the Brands they carry
Just be 100% sure your getting the 960 and not a 910

How about some more reviews of the TV ?

when I did my comparison of the JVC the 910 and Panasonic They had the colors looking better on the JVC and my wife thought it looked the best
what I was looking at was Mask detail and the fine pitch that the XBR uses clearly Better than the other 2

The DVD was smooth with no apparent grill or grid pattern that you could see on the other 2 sets
I guess from a distance you wouldn't normally see the Masking of the apeture grill Pitch
Color setting can be adjust but

This is a five minute review:

The delivery guys from the good guys were on time and did a good job in setting up the tv - i had my inputs laid out before hand.

I have comcast cable in san jose. I live in a condo at the end of the cable run.

1. Minority Report on HD looks terrific.

2. When I watch the local channels hd version such as kgo, I get a torn upper edge on the picture. When I go to the non-hd version, this does not occur. Don't understand what is happening here. This does not happen on all the local hd channels because the hd channel for the local pbs station fills the screen, though not as sharp as a hd picture can be.

3. Have not seen a dvd yet, will watch seabiscut tonight, though it would only be through s-video for now.

4. Still playing with settings, so nothing to report yet, though it was set to vivid out of the box.

5. The sd channels are not too bad, just watch a minute or two, but I don't notice any major problems yet.

Yes, I know. It was on "Standard" and looked great.

bob

Can anyone who has physically seen the TV confirm or deny the claim from another AVS contributor that the silver "shell" of the 960 has a blue-ish tint to it?

I saw the 960 on a 910 stand at the GGs,it fit perfect but did not match color wise. Yes the 960 has a blue grayish color shell with the black face.You will notice the color difference if you mount on a 910 stand.

Can anyone confirm if CC has this set yet?

Sony now has the new 34"XBR960 stand on its website. There is no picture of it however. I'm guessing its new. Here is the link. http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...o32%22TVStands

I finally got a chance to look at a variety of materials on the TV. Unfortunately, I don't have HD content (satellite or cable) yet -- I'm going to pick up an antenna (indoor, since I live in a condo) and hopefully I'll get some OTA signals.

DVD - tried Little Nemo on my old but reliable Toshiba SD2900 - no progressive - just plain ol' 480i. The picture thus far looks terrific - but it is definitely not as sharp as HD materials (wish I have one of those Roku boxes).

Xbox - I have the Matrix game, which is 1080i material. I set the Xbox to display 1080i and 720p -- and it automatically displays the material in its appropriate resolution. The verdict: definitely better than my DVD player. Picture is sharp and vivid.

To do: I'm going to get Video essentials and calibrate my tv. Dunno yet if I want to get ISF calibration done yet at this point.

I will try to post a lengthier review within the next several days as I get to test out more stuff.

-- Ya I was worried about that too -- I couldn't believe it at first that the 960 sticker price was that much lower than MSRP - esp. since it is quite a popular model these days. I was even more surprised that they were willing to knock some $$ off on top of that!

But sure enough - they pulled a XBR960 box out of the back - and it's now sitting in my living room.

Re: warranty - I didn't get any extra warranties. I figure I can buy an extended warranty someplace else (I think I can get them at TV Authority). Plus, my parents had a Trinitron Sony tv from 1979 that still runs today - so I'm quite confident about the quality of the unit.