SONY's NEW SXRD 2006 - Page 3  

Just the thing for my next boat. Just think of the reception I'll get putting it at the top of the mast!

Sh!t! I knew there was something weird about the way they had an LCD
bravia on one side and the 55 in. "slim" cabinet mounted on the other...

Just an FYI - Was out comparing sets today seeing what the new Panny Plasma has to offer the 60 series but all it did was reaffirm the impressiveness of the SXRD. BTW - Bravo to CBS and the Masters what an awesome HD Display even the commercials were 16:9 1080i. Viewing it on my Sharp in 1:1 pixels is amazing and the only panel I would compare to the SXRD it and the future Bravia 46" but hard to make up for the size difference. Outside the rain delay that was one beautiful display of quality HD.

It had been several weeks since last viewing and needed fresh comparisons. My post isn't so much about the new SXRD but points to the strengths of the current model and with the tweaks how generation two will be hard to beat. There's not much to discuss anyways except for the Jumbo Jet Pic's - great idea.

Here goes with my trip today . . .

That Sony HD Feed cannot be beat. I actually went to CC & BB stores today hoping to compare the new Panasonic 60 series plasma and ended up with a different experience than expected. CC had the 6768 Samsung with the Masters on and it was large and nice but getting close I could see edge problems and it was sitting next to the SXRD and it was a hands down SXRD with that HD Feed showing the full potential and I discussed the HD Feed with the Mgr and he said they've tested that feed on their own with other panels and the SXRD still wins and people try to buy the HD DVR but they aren't allowed to sell it. But he insists the SXRD is not only showing it's potential but when feeding the other sets it wins also but Sony of course does not allow them to have that feed on competitors sets during open hours. The Samsung was nice and big but did not have the fill factor the SXRD did.

I witnessed the Panasonic Plasma and it was nice but did not wow me at all at either store. In fact at BB I stood for about 20 minutes observing the Panasonic 50" 60 series and at BB they were getting the same HD feed - BB didn't use the Sony HD DVR. What I found amazing is the fact I was about 8' back from the Plasma and the 60" SXRD was 60' at the back of the store and I could see more detail on the SXRD from that distance than the plasma and it beat the plasma hands down with each color and it's display of whites with contrasting colors.

Beside the SXRD was a JVC 720P (they still fail to get 1080P's in our stores to compare) and a Mitsubishi and the SXRD was the easy winner even without the HD DVR Feed. The Sony HD DVR feed makes your mouth water thinking of what Blu-Ray will do with that baby. So I went to see how much better the new Panasonic was and I can confirm I am not going to trash it but it does look cheaper and the 600 series will at least give you an attractive set but it is still a reflective panel but not as much as it was. So I went to check the plasma but all I ended up was the Wow factor of the SXRD smacking me square in the face yet again. I'm not denying the Green blob issues but man this TV is hard to beat in the sweet spot and cannot wait for the second generation panel to get tweaked!

Westa69

Do we even know that there is a second generation panel?

I agree the SXRD has a WOW factor on HD and HDDVD feeds, however, once again, the SXRD dissapoints in a DVD movie. CC now has been playing the new Harry Potter movie on the 50" and it is downright aweful. This TV has been tweaked to death. The picture on this movie is dark, grainy, and depressing. Then you walk 50 steps to the other SXRD playing the Sony Hawaii loop and your jaw drops. The main reason i am interested in the SXRD (the new one) is it rocks as an HTPC (using HDMI and a high end card). I hardly ever watch DVD's. I'm strictly a cable guy and will primarily be watching HD cable with PC use. I will also say that the 50" Panny plasma has a WOW factor on everything it shows.

lipcrkr: I don't thing the SXRD is a disapointment at all on DVDs. I have a cheap Toshiba Tivo/DVD Player and it looks fantastic. Now for kicks I hooked up a Denon 5910 from my main HT room in the basement and I must say it has HD quality to the picture. I also have a new Sony(inexpensive) DVD changer and that upconverts and that looks good. I agree with you on HD, jaw dropping!!!

FYI to ALL: March 2006 builds from what I have seen don't have any issues with Green Blob and or Purple haze on blacks. I have seen 3 sets now and none of them show it.

I won't say all DVD's, especially the Pixar movies, but so far "Master & Commander", "Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter", and a few others that have lots of dark scenes. The blacks are fine, there is even detail, that's not the problem, i think it's because Sony over softens the picture so 480i darker movies suffer. I will say this, these same movies on HD cable probably do and will look awesome on the SXRD. I am not alone in this as even the CC employees i know say the same thing. At BB the other day i was watching the promo for "Ice Age 2" and it was WOW. So go figure.

I had the Samsung 950 and Oppo 971 upconverters and they both looked great on the SXRD - not as good as true 1080i but upconverted just short of that PQ but still great looking which leads me to believe the Blu-Ray will be the real deal.

I agree with NTSC weakness though which is why I'm certain to add the new VP40/50 later this year with it's new deinterlacing card for 480i - it was demo'd in Orlando recently to very favorable feedback. The next gen DVDO VP Scaler is working on incorporating the Deinterlace card to refine NTSC SD plus taking the 1080i to 1080P. They just started selling the add in card for the VP30 and due to ship anytime now. Yes, it means more than an added $2K but it refines SD and can take inferior HD to the next level. Or there's several other VP's but they cost significantly more but the most important area is filling the SD Gap and DVDO says their card can do it. :)

If the 70 in. SXRD XBR includes the Ruby scaler then you most likely won't need an external VP...

Two questions I had:

1) will the new 2006 model LCD rear projection Sony's be 720p?

If so, then I can understand the overlapping 50" and 55" sizes since the LCD models will be 720p and the SXRD models will be 1080p

2) What type of lamp will the new 2006 model SXRD sets be using? And is there any chance that the 70" XBR model might use a different lamp from the 50", 55" and 60" 'A' models?

There is clearly a lot of interest in Samsung and Hewlett Packard's new "1080p" (960 x 1080 wobulated) DLP rear projection sets that use LED light engines. I'm just curious how people think that might affect the perception of the new 2006 SXRD sets that will (I assume) still be using UHP lamps.

Jon

I use a Denon 2910 upconverting to 1080i over HDMI. Picture on my SXRD looks as good as any DVD (480 lines of original resolution) is going to look. However, if setup poorly, the SXRD can be made to look bad. Mine was very good before; but truly outstanding after the set was ISF'ed and DVD input individually tweaked.

I agree with you on this one. Since Sony says that there are no light engine problems, why would they want to say they are addressing any issues. To me that means we will have to get comments from a lot of future owners before we will know if there have been any improvements.

So what screen sizes do you see as being available?

But hinting that the first 06's will be downgrades from the existing 05's would make people want to buy the 05's rather than wait another year for the real XBRs. If it walks and talks like misinformation . . . . .

[quote=Amadeuz]IS this the new TV ?

I think that's a fake photo -- we had another string on this that included it and I believe it pretty much got shot down

ANY WAY AVS FORUM CAN COMBINE THESE TWO STRINGS -- IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER IN THIS STRING AND IT WOULD BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ONE CONVERSATION.

The non-XBR SXRD 'A' series will have 50in., 55 in., and 60 in. for sure.

The 2006 XBRs will have a 70 in. for sure and possibly a 60 in.

"This set may turn out to be an SED killer :-) Or least something that will
satisfy us until 80 in. SED becomes a reality... "


PUL LEEZE!!

You have to remember not everyone wants a RPTV with a bulb. The era of the bulb will soon become a thing of the past.

Also, I personally believe the SED is going to destroy all current display technologies.

"I agree the SXRD has a WOW factor on HD and HDDVD feeds"

What is WOW factor?

How about Summer 2007 a 55 inch SED set that's 3 inches deep :D

Well, a couple of weeks ago i was at the Playboy Mansion and the first thing i said was "WoW"......like looking at 3D, or should i say 3DD.

It might kill it, assuming IT even existed. LOL ... Meanwhile, I'm waiting for Godot ...

[quote=slowdriverdown] This is the new 60" XBR SXRD on video, presented by Molly Wood at CES 2006:

http://www.cnet.com/4831-11405_1-6413188.html?tag=all

westa6969....Any idea why the Sony HD DVR looks so good when compared to HD from other sources? I noticed that Sony likes to use the HD DVR to show off the TV and it is mouth watering even when compared to HD cable or satellite. Don't get me wrong, the HD signal is very good from cable or satellite but its not as good as the jaw dropping HD DVR picture.

The signal coming from the Sony HD DVR (1080i?) is it going to be the same as a signal from HD-DVD or Blue-Ray players,? If so, than I guess were in for a real treat when they players become available.

I bet my Blue-Ray it will look like this and will be under the Bravia moniker. (50,55,60)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...HOTS/SXRD3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...HOTS/SXRD4.jpg

The Sony Hawaii loop is uncompressed in all its glory, HD cable and satellite is compressed for bandwidth. When a signal is compressed it loses a bit of quality to various degrees. The HD DVD's will look better than HD cable and satellite when they come out. Having said that, HD cable and satellite will still look awesome like today's Masters golf.

[quote=lipcrkr]
That is definitely not a 2006 XBR...

Yeppers. I said this in post #494 of the speculation thread. I mentioned that the bottom speaker will look like the side and that "bravia" will be on the upper left. If this baby accepts 1080p thru HDMI and PC, and has at least similar internals than the 2005 (another words no downgrade) then this might be it...finally.

[quote=tonydeluce] If it's not the XBR, and not the 2000 series, then what is it? The newer non XBR's
do not have an extension after the frame and branded 'bravias". Is it possible it's the new 55" slim fit that's seperate from the look of the 50" and 60" bravias and the 60' and 70" XBR's?

[quote=lipcrkr] It is the 2005 60 in. SXRD shown at CES...

Made in Japan. That would be icing on the cake - no complaints regrading the price if that is really the case :)