New Sony A2000 - Page 3  

So are there yet any owners with the a2000 in hand that are willing to take some pictures and comment on their set's brightness?

Greetings folks,

Just got the kds-60a2000 60" set. Answering the questions everyone has:

- No PIP but because the site and the rep I pre-ordered it from both said it did have it I was able to have them discount the unit to keep it or I would ship it back. Talked to tech staff and customer service reps today and they verified it does not. So, they cut me a break to keep it. Okay by me as PIP would be nice but not completely necessary. Sorry, not a big sports fan other than Ohio State football.

- Manuals all say v1 of the DRC.

- Was able to get the 5 year warranty for $249 at the time instead of the $319.

- No additional shipping costs when I bought although I know you're paying for it in the higher price of the unit buying direct rather than from some reputable online dealers.

- Did the 18 months no payments no interest as long as it is paid off before the end of the 18 months. I am the type where I already have the cash and will move it to savings or a CD to earn 5%+ interest until I need to pay it off.

- Otherwise, not being a very picky audiophile I am already happy with the unit with even just digital satellite and DVD and can't wait to get an OTA antenna up to get HD until cable/satellite companies start cutting really good deals on HD programming and equipment. Waiting for the HD DVRs here as I currently have DirecTV and the Tivo DVR.

- Have not noticed the green spots folks have talked about. Any comments on how to "force" them to appear or settings that cause them are welcomed.

- Contrast seems good. Blacks seem pretty darn black.

- Speakers are decent to good for most normal TV watching and I will add my own speakers here shortly for movies, etc.

- For me, I really liked the width profile of this 60" which is 2 inches less wide than the 50" with speakers on the side.

- Have not tried the PC inputs yet to see max supported res there. Will try to post shortly.

That's about it for now. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and we'll really see in a couple of years what one really thinks.

cheers and enjoy,
tim

Congrats tfgacek! Can you post some photos of the set when you get a chance? I am sure others will ask you some other questions. Enjoy!!!

[quote=tfgacek]Greetings folks,

So, they cut me a break to keep it. /QUOTE]

How much of a break did you get?

Is this the "offical replacement thread' for the other one that was closed this morning? (Sony's New SXRD 2006) Can't find an owners thread yet either?? hint hint ;)

That really sucks. I needed PiP because I planned on using my TV as a computer monitor and then having a small TV picture PiP on the screen (this is how I use my Dell LCD now). :(

Post Pics <roger-rabbit>Pbbbbbbbleeeeeeeze</roger-rabbit>!

I'm not falling for ANY of these "low poster" claims. I'll believe it when I SEE it.

Congrats on the Set. I took the same deal as you. Direct from Sony, 5 yrs for price of 4. Mine is supposed to be delivered by BAX global services Friday. I will take pics the same day and post. If everything goes as planned I will also have a direct TV HD Tivo receiver with HDMI on Saturday. Glad to hear there are no green blobs thus far. How do the standard TV channels look? Have you done any picture tweaking yet??

Same deal here as well, my TV is at a BAX warehouse about 20 miles from my house and they havn't called to schedule the appointment but was told they are only obligated to deliver by Monday. I'm a little irritated with this shipping co but perhaps I'm just anxious to get this set.

Ok, I apologize about getting off topic (somewhat) but I've been looking at rptv's for a while and now and I've seen a lot of discussion about DRC and available versions and how they will differ from the A2000 and XRB2

Anyone have any good links to explain what DRC is/does?

tfgacek PRETTY PLEASE POST PICS....PLEEEEEASE!

Congrats on your delivered set!!!

Shouldn't an OWNERS thread be created for further discussion???

The new thread should be so named:
The Official Sony 2006 KDS-(XX)A2000 SXRD Owner's Thread.

IMO the first thread of the eventual owner's thread should include photos or otherwise be closed by the administrator, as a number of people have already "claimed" ownership.

User rating
Excellent
8
out of 10
"I think KDS-R60XBR1 is better than KDS-60A2000 features wise and can confirm..."
by techstar9 (see profile) - July 19, 2006

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Pros:
1080p and detachable side speakers

Cons:
no dual tuner pip and blacks are not as good as XBR1

Full user opinion
As long as it supports 1080p this will be the best. But I heard that KDS-R60XBR1 is also supporting that. If once ps3 is out and XBR1 supports that, I will vote that as first and this as second. ( note this is not my review i copied and paste from a web site, i tried to give direct link but came up i need 5 post to do so but enjoy)

Is this guy an Auditor55 variant?

absolutely

There are at least two factual errors in that. I ain't buyin' it...

plz read my note at the bottom. i'm curious also.

I realized that it wasn't your review. It was posted on CNET. The fact that he claims that the A2000 has detatchable side speakers, and that the XBR1s will be recieving a 1080p input upgrade puts any other opinions he has in doubt.

Seriously, how pathetic of a loser does someone have to be to start making posts that they have a stupid television set when they don't. Why would somebody do that??? Attention? If you need attention from people in a tech forum or on a review website based on lies you've got serious issues...

Do you use a cable STB?

Does anyone know what kind of price we can expect at stores like BB or CC on the 50" A2000? I am hoping they will be at least a few hudred lower than the retail price on Sony Style. What advantage is there from buying directly from Sony?

They will probably be the same as the MSRP. The BIG advantage of buying locally at BB or CC is that you can return a problem HDTV without having to pay shipping. If you buy online though, you may not have to pay sales tax.

Okay my tv will be here in 7-10 days, I just ordered it. [b]I will be happy to do a very comprehensive review. Now while we are waiting for it to arrive, how about as a group we come up with a list of things I can test and how you would like me to test them. I have a macbook pro, so I can play 1080 through the VGA, or with my DVI to HDMI cable for testing computers, I have comcast dual tuner HD-dvr, and will have the $399 sony speaker system from their website. I also have a very nice (standard def) brand new camcorder, with firewire, and final cut pro on my computer, and my professional nikon d70 digital camera. (Sorry about listing off hardware). I also own a small hosting company, so I will gladly post, videos, photos, and any data you guys want

maybe now we can start listing off the things you want me to check when it arrives, a ordered list with instructions on how i can do the tests you want done would be great. I want to give back to the community since this place has been a valuable source of information regarding the choices of av gear I make.

So start making those lists for me! I'll setup a website at www.glancehere.com and get it all ready with the most relevant questions and tests listed, so I can just pop up the results, and gallery as soon as it arrives.

I'll make sure everyone gets lots of video footage of the set in action!!!! Hope I'm helpful,

all the best!

edit, I put up a temporary page at www.glancehere.com already. I know it's ugly, but I will be posting all my review images and thoughts here as it arrives. I will also post people's questions there and respond to them. I put a link to this thread on the site already :-)

Man, do i love you!
OK, can you try VGA and what you max out with? Then try HDMI/DVI and let us know if you can squeeze out 1920x1080. In fact, anything else you can add as far as HTPC would help.
Can you try the different custom modes and which one allows for the best tweaking.
If you use a Comcast Motorola HD STB does it use passthru?
If possible, does game mode do anything special or is it much ado bout nothing?
SD content, is it acceptable?
Upon startup, is there a green haze?
Are blacks black or do they have a purple tint?
Are whites white, or are they pinkish?
How long after turning on is the TV ready to go?
What settings are disabled in PC mode.
Does it have PIP? just kidding.

Some people may not have a digital camera or simply do not feel like posting pics. I don't see how that should be a reason for closing a thread.

First order of business, determining just what the deal is with DRC and deinterlacing of 1080i. Do you know if the Macbook is able to output native 1080i over DVI? If so:

Grab the VLC media player.
Grab this 1080i test pattern.
Load the test pattern in VLC and set "Deinterlacing" to "Disabled".
Playback fullscreen with 1080i output to the DVI port.
Verify that the set is receiving a 1080i input
We're interesting in what the topmost set of lines does (1 pixel height alternating black + white)

If the lines remain distinct, then the set is doing a proper weave deinterlace and preserving the full 1080 lines of resolution.

If the block goes to a single color (black, white, or grey), the set is performing a blend deinterlace.

If the entire block starts flashing between white and black, it is performing a bob only, and discarding half the resolution.

If that works, grab this version of the same pattern that adds a spinning "blade" to simulate motion. See whether the topmost block of lines performs the same as it did with the first pattern. Also of note is the behavior of the blade. May need to step through frame by frame to see the subtleties of this.

If it shows a double image of the blade that both display fine interlacing lines, the set is weaving.

If it shows a double image that are both solid (no interlacing lines), the set is blending.

If it shows a single solid image, the set is bobbing.

The ideal behavior that will indicate motion-adaptive deinterlacing would be for the top block of lines to remain distinct, while the blade shows as a single, solid image.

Finally, grab this pattern that simulates telecined material without IVTC flags, and
this one for telecined material with IVTC flags. Look for the same types of behavior in both the topmost vertical bar and the blade. Again, proper 3:2 pulldown should result in the top block of lines remaining distinct, and the blade showing a single solid image as it moves.

You da man inkhead!

Just follow both lipcrkr and fade23's testing guidance (both are knowledgeable contributors to this effort) and we should be on our way to finally getting some closer to the big questions.
I would also be interested in your take on the sets degree of SSE with a nice high def source -Some stimulating PBS fair on the erosion of the California coastline or real-time glacial movement should suffice :) Happy testing and thanks in advance!