Official Sony 40",46",52" XBR2, XBR3 Lcd'S NO PRICE TALK! - Page 8

Man, I can't imagine SD possibly looking that good. But if it does, then so be it. DRC 2.5 here I come!

Thanks for the info MUGEN!

A 52 Sony in 2006...that would be super sweet. Can't wait for "official" news and specs regarding this. Hope it is under the XBR3 badge

Anyone wanna guess?

If the linespan is 60,000 hours, then that's more than enough for me. (The 45 inch Sharp Aquos has that kind of lifespan : LC-45GX6U)

Granted that even if you keep the TV on for 24/7 NONSTOP!!!, the TV can still last for more than 6 YEARS!!!

60,000/24 =2,500 days

2,500/365 days in one-year = 6.84 years.

Though my calculation may be wrong :P

I'm going to kind of switch gears here for a second and ask for advice or suggestions about something. Last October I bought the 40 inch XBR, and for the most part I really like it. High definition = amazing. SD = not so amazing, but good enough. I've kind of gotten used to the SD picture quality, but the bigger problem for me is that SD turns the TV into a very un-amazing 32 inch version of my TV. It's just not big enough. (Especially for the price I paid for it.) At the time, though, it was the biggest LCD you could get.

Now, however, comes the 46 XBR2 and XBR3!! Had I known they were going to come out so soon after the XBR1, I would have waited!! Is it too late to make any kind of decent return on the XBR1? What do you think I should do? I bought it at the Sony Store. Do you think they'd take it back, and give me at least something for it? Or do you think I'd be better off selling the TV on my own? And if I bought it for 4000, how much could I realistically expect to sell it for? I'd like to be able to get the price of the XBR2 down as much as I could. I see in this thread that the 46 XBR2 is going to be listed around $5000. Is that in American, or Canadian? I phoned my local Sony Store yesterday, and they're still waiting for the prices.

New technology makes me insane sometimes!!

Sell it for 2k. You probably won't get much more than that used.

Eeek. Not a great return for a TV less than a year old. I should have gone to Costco!!

And again, is the 5k for the 46XBR2, Canadian or American? If that's American pricing, my dream would come to a pretty quick final finish!!

Yikes, 5k American would make it about 5.5K Canadian, I think! Plus taxes? 14% here in Manitoba, so with taxes = about 6.3K!! That sounds like an AWFUL lot for a TV!! Not sure the wife would be too enthusiastic about upgrading. The XBR2 does look like an amazing TV, though.

'sigh'

Hm, I wonder what she'd think if I put up the garage she's always wanted.

I'm hoping (baselessly) those aren't the final MSRP prices we'll see when they come out. Also there's been a lot of talk about lcd prices plummeting later this year... unfortunately Sony tends to be very impervious to price pressures.

I will say this - and I'm not a fan of Sony's TV design aesthetic - these sets look great. I'm a big Loewe fan, and the styling on these Sony LCDs have got me drooling. Anyone's who's bought a TV in the past year will be kicking themselves when they see these sets. This is a big step up from the current Bravia LCDs.

Yeah sorry about that man . Thats one of the main reason why I've been holding back on a tv . Every year something crazy comes out .

[quote=krishka]I'm going to kind of switch gears here for a second and ask for advice or suggestions about something. Last October I bought the 40 inch XBR, and for the most part I really like it. High definition = amazing. SD = not so amazing, but good enough. I've kind of gotten used to the SD picture quality, but the bigger problem for me is that SD turns the TV into a very un-amazing 32 inch version of my TV. It's just not big enough. (Especially for the price I paid for it.) At the time, though, it was the biggest LCD you could get.

Have you tried turning DRC off and CineMotion to automatic as recommended in this PCMag review?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1958232,00.asp

Obviously it will expensive, at least US$6000 - since the 46" XBR3 is set at $5300 - and probably closer to $7000. I think the reason for the extra premium - aside from the usual Sony brand markup - is because an LCD plant does not exist yet that makes a single pane of glass in that size. That means the 52" set will be made out of two separate, smaller panes, which is less efficient and therefore pricier. Correct me if I'm wrong.

This is a hd display, so who cares about ntsc color space?
How much it can show from 709 color space?

I've got a bit of a size/resolution dilemma. i have a cabinet where the absolute limit in width is 45 inches. It's an expensive piece of furniture, so wonlt be replaced. I could fit the 40xbr2/3 or the 46v2500, but not the 46xbr. I'll probably still watch a bunch of SD. not sure how much difference the Bravia pro and drc v 2.5 is going to make to my experience.

With the v2500, I'll obviously have a larger screen, which is great. Let'sx say i can live with only 2 hdmi inputs and don't care about the sound. I think the aesthetics of both are fine. How is my viewing experience going to differ. I'm a little fuzzy on the diiference in the Bravia Pro/Bravia, and don't know which version of DRC the V2500 will have and how it will affect my picture on HD or SD content.

My viewing distance will vary between 6.5 and 10 to 11 feet.

Any thoughts?

Either way, I'm sure its going to be better than my 20 inch TV. Jsut measured. My real viewing distance will be between 6 and 9 feet, depending on the seat.

Are you saying I'm fine with the current S model 46 inch, with 720p? (if that fits, havenlt checked the measurements on that one) I was assuming the bravia engine, or bravia pro, with whatever version of DRC, will deliver a better picture with SD, and potentially with real HD, a la blu ray.

I would only recommend the 32" for smaller rooms, or if you are going with a cabinet placement. If you are going to use the included stand, or will wall-mount, I would think seriously about the 40XBR2 (or even the V46XBR2) "at minimum" for that space (I have both models on my radar instead of the V32XBR2, not because of the lack of DRC, but because at my typical viewing distance and that I will be going with a wall-mount instead of a cabinet, which adds two feet to the viewing distance). The three HDMI inputs are a plus (especially if it also lacks CableCARD), since I'll need a STB.

The dismissal of CableCARD in the entire BRAVIA line would actually be a step *backward* for Sony in the US (the S2000 subseries lacks CC currently; however, the XBR subseries supports CC as standard). The S2000 and XBR models use the same panels (size for size); however, they differ in feature sets. I would be seriously surprised if both the XBR subseries lack CC (at least in the US); however, the XBR2 may not support it (if it will price below the XBR3); instead, the XBR2 may support the third HDMI input (while the XBR3 will support CC and two HDMI inputs). If CC gets the axe, so will Sony (at least from my short list), as CableCARD support (for me) is a *requirement* at this point (I am trying to avoid adding a cable STB if at all possible).

Sony may as well leave off the cablecard and save us some money. After all, CableCards may very well become useless in the near future. The reason for that is switched digital. You can read this thread for more info The Demise of CableCards

The BRAVIA Engine *is* better than the old WEGA Engine (common in all current BRAVIA models, both S2000 and XBR1), and the BRAVIA Pro Engine (in all XBR2/3 models except KDL-V32XBR2) trumps even that. Are you going to wall-mount your BRAVIA? Is CableCARD a priority? If you require CableCARD, then get an XBR1 *now* (as neither the XBR2 or 3 support it except for the much larger SXRD projection models). If you don't need CableCARD, but are thinking about wall-mounting, seriously consider waiting and looking at the XBR2/XBR3 (which actually support VESA mounting brackets; this is a first for Sony). The XBR3 has a *piano black* (glossy black) bezel finish (which can't be changed out), whereas the XBR2 comes standard with a silver bezel, which can be swapped out with bezels in five other colors (including flat-black). If you need more HDMI inputs, then your only choices are the 40" and larger XBR2/XBR3 models (the KDL-V32XBR2, like the XBR1 it replaces, only supports a single HDMI input; it also drops CableCARD support which was standard in the XBR1).

TWC, Cox, and CV are talking up switched digital, while Comcast (and Verizon) are going all digital. Note that Comcast is the largest cable company, and also has the most pro-CC plan (while Verizon is also all-digital, it requires a STB for reception of all non-basic programming; Verizon also doesn't support CableCARD whatsoever). TWC has deployed SDV in three systems; Comcast has deployed ADS in almost a quarter of its systems (including Prince George's County, MD, which serves me). Verizon's FIOS TV is cheaper in terms of programming costs, but the STB requirement pretty much wipes out any cost advantage (and actually results in a larger total bill with greater than four sets). Satellite, like the telcos, is cheaper than cable in terms of programming costs; however, like the telcos, it requires a STB to receive programming. Worse, unlike either cable or the telcos, satellite is extremely unfriendly to households with more than four sets.

The ability to not use an STB (which Comcast retains) has pretty much helped them to keep me as a customer (along with the fact that I have had little trouble with them in terms of service). I currently have *one* STB (due to the one non-cable-ready TV in the house) out of the six TVs (and one PC) currently equipped with Comcast's analog cable TV service. While Verizon FIOS TV would be cheaper than even my existing basic+standard programming package (FIOS TV Premier, which is the equivalent of Comcast Digital Cable, is $39.95 monthly) I would need seven STBs ($3.99 each per month, or $27.93 for seven per month). That is $67.88 per month for FIOS TV (programming plus equipment). And that doesn't include HD ($9.99 per month per STB) or a DVR ($12.99 per month per STB, and includes HD). So much for any cost advantage for FIOS TV! I live in an area where Verizon is currently upgrading to FIOS (in fact, they will be upgrading my own subdivision within the upcoming month); however, that sort of tradeoff (lower programming costs offset by higher equipment fees) will keep me a Comcast customer for TV for a while yet.

Just so I'm clear, you're saying my viewing distance is too great to notice the difference in the 720 and 1080 HD pictures on the 40 inch sets? What about SD content?

Bigger question, if this is true, why is sony even bothering with a 40 inch 1080p set. do any of us really sit that close to the TV for regular viewing. I would think 6 to 9 feet is pretty standard.

Let me refrase: who cares about ntsc gamut with hdtv? Essential thing with hd display is how much it can show from hd gamut.

Yeah, it'd be nice if TV vendors reported HDTV Rec.709 gamut.