The Official Kd-34xbr960 Thread - Page 149

I unplugged the set after it didn't turn on initially. After turning it on to see the green monster I've since pulled the plug on it so to speak. I have to otherwise the standby light will keep flashing. I wish it were as simple as that. Also, how is your set after the two DZ board switches? It's a shame so many of these tvs have so many problems. Is there a such thing as sony QC anymore?

Quick question that I couldn't find answered in this discussion thread via a couple of searches:

Connected to my XBR960 is a cable company-supplied Motorola 6412 Phase III HD DVR which is configurable to outputing 720p or 1080i (all programming is recorded at whatever resolution it comes in at).

Any advantage one way or another to setting the DVR to ouput 720p or 1080i and letting the XBR960 display one resolution "natively" and scale the other?

Yes, I know that I could test this myself, but I was hoping that I wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel given the level of net wisdom available. Surely knowledgeable opinions can be had ...

A question for everyone:

I just took delivery of a brand new XBR960 on Sunday. I have heard that this particular set is prone to problems. Once already, I think mine lost the picture for a second. I'm not sure if it was the cable cutting out or the TV though. Prior to this, I was using the 30XS955, and never had any problems. I am wondering if perhaps the 34XS955 is more reliable than the 34XBR960. I don't care about the extra features of the 960...all I want is a trouble free/reliable SFP tube that will last years. Comments? Opinions? Thanks.

Depends on your definition of "prone for problems"

If Sony sold 750,000 of these sets and 1000 people had "problems" you have to decide if .13% is prone for problems.

Fortunately for me I'm not part of the .13% therefore, my set is not prone for problems.

I've had mine over a year, no problems, and I have it inside a cabinet (in TX) so I know it runs hotter than most. It was manufactured in May or June of 05.

I mean a significantly higher percentage of problems than Sony's other XS955 series. 0.13% vs. 0.26% - I would consider insignificant. 5% vs. 10% - I would consider significant.

I love the PQ on this set, and the increase in size from the 30XS955 makes a big difference. I might want to consider returning this one and getting the 34XS955 instead if it will likely be more reliable.

Until Sony releases the actual sales numbers and number of service calls anyone who says the set is prone to problems is talking out the side of their neck.

I have the 960 and the 30XS955 both purchased at the same time neither has had a problem. The 960 replaced a 27" XBR purchased in December of 1989 that went to the shop once but is still working fine today. I hope to get the same life out of my 960.

If you're happy with the picture quality of the 960 keep it. But it sounds to me like you're trying to talk yourself out of it for some reason. You can get an XS and it could explode the next day or work for 15 years just like the 960. The choice is yours.

I know. It's all anecdotal. It just seems that from reading this board, there seem to be more problems with this set than the XS series. Could be pure coincidence.


I'm only concerned because of an apparent picture drop-out that occured yesterday. As I said though, I'm not sure if the cause was the TV or the signal. At any rate, I prefer the look of this set vs. the 34XS955, so I'd prefer to keep it. I also bought it at Best Buy and got a really good deal.

i've had the Toshiba hd dvd player for about a week now. It is awesome!!! this blows away any hd material i receive from Directv and antena. the first time i watched an HD DVD was almost as good as the first time i had the XBR960 set up. the toshiba has great sound, PQ, and the upconverted standard dvds are great too (so far KIng Kong was the best upconverted title for me).
i remember a few posts in the past mentioned the 34" as a waste for HD, hardly any difference would be noticed from dvd to HD. the Toshiba HD DVD player is a great addition to this tv, and i can see the benefit of 1080i with no problem on this great TV.

Well today was the day. My roommate moved out and took the only tv in the house with him. I figured it was time to break the bank and buy a hdtv for the household. I am a long time lurker and have done a few months of research (Thank you everyone for the information). Anyways to make a long story short I am a student on a limited budget and saw that my local BB was having a sale on a 1080p 37" Westinghouse that was in my price range. After 2 hours of playing around with the darn thing I was unsatisfied with the picture quality and the amount of ghosting the set displayed. Even after having the salesmen setup up a dvd player with an hdmi connection I was still unsatisfied with the picture.

In the far back they had their CRT's lined up and I saw an open box 970 sitting on the bottom shelf. After the negotations were done I headed to the checkout register. For whatever reason I thought to ask if any local BB's had any 960's in stock. Low and behold there were 2 left in the area and listed as on hand. Well I had him call up the first BB and ask if the unit was available and to figure out if it was OB or a display. After about 20 minutes he notified me that the unit was brand new and listed at 1199.99. A bit more than the negotiated price of the 970 but I figured what the hell and told him to have it shipped.

The darn thing should be here in a few days (free shipping too!!) I am freaking excited!!! The only question I have regarding this unit is.

What cables to order for my Samsung HD850. I know people have been experiencing artifacting images when using HDMI on lower end dvd players. Would component be a better choice than HDMI for DVD use?

Other than that I can't wait to play with her. I will be ordering a copy of Avia in a week or so pending on how well I can tune the set myself. Anyways thanks in advance for any input given.

Congrats on the new tv and welcome to the AVS Forum!

The 850 will only upscale the picture in HDMI mode. I tried the Samsung "850"upconverting player with my Sony set and found it exhibited black crush (details in the shadows lost). I was unable to mitigate this so I returned the player. In its place I purchased the Oppo OPDV971H upscaling DVD Player. What a fantastic player, especially for $200.

I use this combination and find there's actually little difference between setting the 6412 at 1080i or 720p. I did notice slightly better PQ with 1080i for sports, so that's where I leave it. I recommend using component cables with the 6412, reather than HDMI. Many users have found the PQ with the HDMI interface to be of lower PQ, and also have found the implementation of HDMI on this box to have problems. Fo details look to the appropriate section on AVS for HD receivers.

Ok, so there is an XBR960 at CC for $699 open Box, says it has everything and works fine, just Open Box. Should I buy this TV??? I was looking for a tube HDTV because I just dont think and LCD or Plasma are going to cut it for my eyes. CC had a 34XBR961 (I think that was it) for like $1100 then I saw the 960 for $699. I take it the 960 has no QAM, maybe buy an add on QAM tuner. Anyway, what do you all think? I tried reading as much of this thread as possible, but I cant wait 2 weeks to read all 145 pages

EDIT: I'm an idiot, just read the first specs page again, seems it does have QAM

I found upconversion by the 960 slightly better than using the upconvert options on our SA 8300 HD DVR. Same holds true for our progressive scan DVD Player - we keep it at 4801.

There are a few factors to consider since Sony no longer produces the 960.

By "open box" does Circuit City mean refurbished? If so, would avoid taking over a set that was a problem for the original owner. If a display model, who knows how long it was used and if the lifespan of the tube was affected by store settings constantly at high contrast/color levels.

There are no KD34XBR961s. If the $1,100 unit is an XBR960 that is new in box go for it. It would be worth the extra $400 plus tax.

I'll take that into consideration, but $400 of a $1000 TV is nothing to scoff at. I'm confused as to why people are so worried about the lifespans of tubes now, have they started making them differently? I've had my same CRT since 1996 and it still looks fine. It still has a 30 day money back so I think I will try the Open Box and see what I think, if I hate it I can always return it. After 30 days I should be able to see any defects, and it still has a 12 month manufct. warranty.

The Moto is currently connected via component. I had also read of HDMI issues, with the audio, if I recall correctly.

I definitely have my el cheapo DVD player set so the the XBR960 does the upconverting of the DVD signal.

It's less obvious to me with the Motorola 6412 pIII HD DVR as to which signal to pass through natively (and convert the other) and which signal to let the XBR960 convert.

Which resolution conversion is more demanding of a scaler? Taking 720p and changing it to 1080i or taking 1080i and changing it to 720p ...


6412 records programs at whatever resolution they come in at: 720p and 1080i

6412 can be set to output 720p or 1080i

So the 6412 will be either passing 720p and converting 1080i to 720p
or
the 6412 will be converting 720p to 1080i and passing 1080i.


Both the 6412 and the XBR960 are "expensive" boxes and with no electronics background on my part I have to idea as to which one might have the better scaler for either or both resolutions.

I was thinking that with the paucity of HD recorders out there, a fair number of XBR960 owners might have the Moto 6412pIII.

I guess I will order a HDMI cable and hope for the best. Thanks again Justsc I really appreciate it.

Well, I echo many folks complaints about this model. SONY's QC is hell bound. I have seen others having problems turning on their TV. It happened to me a few days ago all of a sudden after 10 months of fun. The standby light is flashing (7 times then pause, repeat). Power cycling didn't work.

It's almost $2000 from CC and that's the best SONY can offer. I wouldn't recommend others to buy this unit. It's just not worth it going through all this trouble for a TV.

Anyhow, now I believe this particular model has a much higher rate of failure, likely higher than a few percents. SONY won't admit it. But someone should call some lawyers and file some class action lawsuit. My guess is that they have over-engineered the super fine pitch technology, which is NOT a reliable technology probably. It works sometimes, and has a high failure rate due to challenging power demand and requirement. No wonder this model is discontinued after a short life.

Hi Ladd,

I experimented with upconversion through my HD DVR at both 720P and 1080i but found the non-hd stations a slightly bit better leaving the box at 480i (for non-HD, of course) and letting the 960 do the upconversion. Once the 960 receives a progressive scan signal of any kind (480P or 720P) it accepts the upconverted signal as is. Of course, you might find SD looking better through use of your Motorola than I did with my SA 8300 HD DVR. Best to compare how a good SD signal looks with each.

- Joe

Not that I am totally disagreeing with you man, but that entire post is pretty much heresay. You are on an AV board where people have geomoetry off by 1 pixel and return a TV, or the color isnt 100% photorealistic so they post half a page about why the TV sucks. All TVs have problems. I've been in the market for a longgg time for a new HDTV and if all I did was read threads here on TVs I would have to come to the comclusion that every TV on the market right now has a 50% failure rate. The VAST majority of people who own this TV are not on this board. This is still in fact one of the best PQ HDTV's ever made, and some are willing to go through some hassle to get such a great picture.

That being said I just bought one and am knocking on wood right now that when I get it home it works. If it doesnt then I will probably be back in this thread telling you how right you were

A question for everyone:

How many of you have had the 960 for close to 2 years without any problems/glitches whatsoever?

Mine is dead right now...waiting for a new board. Turns off by itself and I have 7 flashes, then a pause, then 7 flashes, etc.
Got mine 9/04.

Were there problems/glitches that led up to complete failure, or did you have trouble free performance and then sudden failure?

Trouble free before this. Turned it off one night a few weeks ago, and it had a funny sound as it turned off. The following morning, I turned it on, and the picture looked funny (not the usual color)..then after about 30 seconds the screen turned bright orange, a vertical line in the center of the screen and it shut off.
I tried this a few times with the exact same thing happening. Then I noticed the 7 flashes on the front of the set.
The rest is history. I have to call the place today to find out where the heck the part is......

[quote=Amiable-Akuma]Okay, well, now after having actually put it on it's new finally-assembled stand and turned it on - the TV doesn't work at all. My wife was the one who drove it home from CC and she said that she thinks she broke it by letting it roll all around the back of her SUV (god help me).

QUOTE]


It would be the guillotine for her if she were my wife

In two weeks it will be exactly 2 years of owning my 960. I only have some mild geometry issues that are barely noticeable and from what I understand, are quite common in CRTs of this size. I'll get that taken care of with a full professional calibration as soon as I upgrade to the newer HD formats. No other problems whatsover.

You bring up an valid point in considering options -- one that doesn't actually affect me but might other folks looking for wisdom.

I watch essentially zero SD programming via the Motoroal 6412 pIII HD DRV, so that considering the quality of 480i output/viewing wouldn't enter into my equation of trying to figure out if 780p or 1080i output is better for the XBR960. But I very much appreciate you bringing up a consideration that might be important to other folks.

Mine is two years old this month. Wonderful set--never a problem, other than an initial service call for--you guessed it--the geometry. Of course, somehow I let them talk me into buying the extended warranty.

My frustration is my cataract--but I hope to fix that problem later this month!

Mark