The Official Sony 2006 KDS-(XX)A2000 [NO PRICE TALK] SXRD Owner's Thread - Page 211

Hi. This is my first post! I just got my 60-A2000 and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed a very slight curve at the top of the unit? It's the black and silver bezel curving down in the middle. I only see it from the side if I really look. Probably too anal, but to pay that much for the t.v. and have an imperfection is annoying.

I've got the 50" A2000 & just put a yardstick against the edge of the bezel to check. Mine was straight.

real quick...
Took delivery today and finished initial setup about an hour ago. So far everything's great. Been playing around with the Directv H20 HD box and my prog-scan Toshiba SD-4900 dvd and it all looks amazing. Put in Pirates of the Caribbean and was drooling - can't hardly wait for HD-DVD/BD!

now I'm off to get ready for the Penguins game in HD!!!! Puck drops at 7 and I can barely contain myself

I tried searching but could find anything concrete. If this has been answered already feel free to flame...

Anyone know if the KDS-55A2000 will fit on a SURG12L Sony stand? The SURS11X is too wide for my space. I only have a 53" to work with width-wise. And the stand I choose has to be 18.5" or shorter. These dimensions are not an easy find!

RCNs cables box has either option for DVI ir Component. Sony says that for DVI connections Input 7 is to be used. Currently I have my Oppo 971 plugged in to input 7. Can I use Input 6 for the cable box?

Are you using the TV sound system, or are you running audio through a separate AV receiver? If you are not using the TV speakers, it does not make any difference. But if you are using the TV speakers, Input 6 does not have connections for audio (Input 7 does). HDMI connections carry the audio and DVI does not. So when you run an DVI-HDMI cable to input 6 you have no audio connection to the TV.

Seeing that I bought my KDS 60A2000 ( June build) back in the beginning of July.
I decided to call Sony back in July about the resolve issue for displaying 1080i and they confirmed that my HDTV had the incorrect setting. Well just this week they sent me a UBS device along with instructions to down load the updated service menu which took about 10 min. to complete. Things look pretty much the same as
before, but I had to reset all the picture tweaks obtained from this forum.

I have not had any green blob issues and so far the TV is working great, and the HD stuff is amazing!! I wish something could be done with the poor SD signals we have to pay for. Thinking about having the set calibrated. Is this a good cost vs benefits decision?

I have been playing Splinter Cell Double Agent @ 1080i and it is spell binding to watch and play to say the least.

For a more tradition look in a TV stand I bought mine at Bombay and the quality
is very good, it has glass doors and (2) open bays for my Oppo DVD player and Xbox 360 console. It is 28" high 22" deep and 42" wide.

Is anyone receiving 5.1 when they watch HDTV and if so, what setting did you
set in the DSP? I have the Anthem AV20. Thanking in advance.

Ok, I need your help. I've been banging my head for some time now - After months of research and endless trips to various stores, I've narrowed my HDTV choices down to either the Sony KDS-60A2000 or the Samsung HL-S6187W - that was actually the easy part. Now it seems each time I go back to a different store to compare the two one last time I change my mind.

So since you've already made your decision, and hopefully considered the Samsung - tell me why I should buy the Sony, or better yet, tell me what you noticed when comparing the two - what was the main driving point or points that made you select the Sony?

Thanks in advance!

Cudos to Sony on this one. I recently upgraded to the xbr2, but just received my software update for the a2000 that I no longer have. I did complain to them early on and they did come through, although Googer came through much earlier. I feel good about owning another Sony product because it shows that will respond to issues that customers and reviewers complain about.

Mine's an August build. So supposedly, from what I remember reading, already has the lpf fix. I'll probably call Sony tomorrow to see if they can tell me if it was indeed fixed.

After watching the entire 1st period of the Penguins game in SD on VS I finally found that to watch that channel's HD broadcast I had to tune to channel 95. Once that was done it was a much better experience

Directv's HD choices is rather limited. Especially since I don't even get the locals in HD. But as long as they offer the NHL Center Ice and NFL ticket I'll be sticking with them. Looks like I'll definitely be getting an antenna though. Gotta get Earl & the Office in HD!

I was in the same situation a month ago. I couldn't pick between the two. They both looked great to me. In the end my family members who live at home with me favored the picture of the Sony over the Samsung when we viewed it, so I got that.

Now a month later I am still liking the Sony. Great colors and not one hint of the green blob on my set. However, I am sorta disappointed by missing features the Samsung has over the Sony, mainly 1080p over component (Xbox 360), 1080p over VGA, and it's better with SD. Just a thought.

I went back & forth for the last two months before I finally settled on my decision, the A2000, which was actually my first choice. It is tough to judge pq in-store, especially at BB who won't change channels or hook up other equipment. I figured out what features I wanted most and the A2000 fit my choices. I checked out the Samsung and considered it, but each time I saw it side-by-side with the Sony, the Sony really did seem to have the more 'film-like' image that I've seen other people mention which is a plus to me since dvd's will be one of my main uses of this tv. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to couple it with a BD/HD-DVD player combo - I won't be buying each seperate, too rich for my blood.

Anyone got any links on how to get 1:1 pixel mapping on these sets?

I was in the exact same boat as you, and decided to go with the A2000.

The main reason I chose the A2000 is because the Samsung is a DLP tv and you are subject to see the Rainbow Effect (RBE). I personally do not see RBE however if one of my guests were to come over and get sick (headache, nausea, etc... all side effects of RBE) because they watched TV at my house I would feel horrible. Not to mention they would never want to come over again to hang out, watch the game, play video games, etc...

The second main point was the reviews of the A2000 all boasted of superior picture quality over the Samsung DLP, and most other mainstream HDTV's.

Also third point, when comparing the Samsung and Sony Side by side. Sony had a noticebably more stunning overall picture. I compared the set at 5 different local stores, so it wasnt based on a situation where one set may have been configured badly at a particular location.

If money is not an object, my educated opinion is DEFFINITELY go with the Sony.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=641143 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=362324

Couple of questions.

1) How long should one own this set (viewing hours) before having it professionally calibrated? I'm sure mine needs it, but I don't want to have someone come too early if there is a specific "break in" period.

2) About this DRC Palette. I know this is supposed to make SD programming clearer, but I am not noticing any difference at all when playing around with it. I have gone from 1,1 up to 100,100 and have not seen a bit of change in the picture. Anyone have a clue why something that is touted to be this big help in SD picture quality doesn't seem to work? Also, what is the best setting for this palette? I know the default is 55,1. Just curious what you guys have set it at to achieve the best PQ.

Now I know I own a XBR1, but the DRC Palette should be the same. Why can I not access the DRC Palette via HDMI connection on my Satellite setting? It works for my DVD/HDMI setting.

DRC is disabled if you have a 480p or 720p source. It is enabled for 480i and 1080i sources. Also, DRC is disabled if you are using Game mode or have Direct Mode (for XBR1) set to On.

There are so many threads here on the SXRD can someone point me to a thread that discusses connecting an HTPC from DVI to HDMI on the SXRD and what the results have been I want to connect mine that way but the manual says not to and I dont want to ruin my TV. Please help I dont want to have to trash my HTPC that I built for the TV.

Thanks for any info.

First: You will not damage your TV by using the HDMI input and a DVI to HDMI cable from your computer. How well the connection does will depend on the graphics card in your computer more than anything.

Second: There is a forum for HTPC issues here at AVS.

Home Theater Computers

I bought mine for a week now. 50 2000a, it was fine at first but since my brother played his Xbox 360 on it I started to notice the TV has too much green in it, especially stuff that is supposed to be yellow and faces of black people, is there something wrong with my TV? how do I fix it or do I have to replace it?

Thanks

Is the middle shelf of the SU-RS11X adjustable? It doesn't look like it, but I thought I'd ask. Could someone take a quick measurement of how "tall" (vertical spacing) the shelves are and post back? I'd appreciate it--thanks in advance.

Have you done any picture control adjustments to calibrate the display in any way? Search for theads (or on google) for using DVE or AVIA or the new (simplified) Monster ISF (see banner ad at top of AVS) calibration DVDs that can be purchased for a reasonable price considering how much better a TV can look after going through the 20 minutes of adjustments.

Definately adjust: Brightness, Contrast, Color & Tint, Sharpness
Possibly adjust: image position, etc....

Most techs seem to recommend 100-150 hours.

Hey Dave, it was right there in the settings!! Thanks for the help. WE have the somewhat less distracting black bars now!

Oh yeah... dont even try it alone. They are so awkward that it is not worth the risk.

I wanted to move mine and I ALMOST went ahead and did it myself when that little voice popped into my head saying: "Greg, don't be an idiot... you will hate yourself when you screw up your $3800 TV!!!".

I usually ignore the voice but I went with it this time and got a helper!!

I know how you feel!! I had that joy a few weeks ago when my A2000 arrived.

I got it in time to see the fist HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA of the season. They broadcast the games in High Definition and the Leafs games are unreal on the A2000.

The only problem you are going to have is that no matter how great the A2000 is, the pens will still be a let-down! lol.

I will probably take abuse for this reasoning, but here is why I went with Sony:

Most of these high-end sets look fantastic in the store, but I know MANY people who own a Trinitron from 5, 7 or even 10 or 15 years ago. After all that time they STILL brag about the picture quality. I have had this very same experience with my older Sony tv. After putting out the big bucks, I wanted this new set to stand the test of time. Sony is proven.

Not to knock the Samsung (or any other HD TV), but they just do not have the track record yet.

"Though a 1080i frame is presented in two fields of 540 lines each, they are staggered on the screen and do present over twice the number of pixels as 720p - PERIOD! I do not believe that your term of "apparent resolution" is legitimate, (A Google search, yields lots of entires - but none in the first 10 pages of results relates to your use (how an interlaced image relates to a progressive one). Granted, our 720p standard is superior for lots of action - hence it's choice by ESPN, but is clearly inferior for lots of detail - hence it's choice by Discovery (and HBO, Showtime, Starz, CBS, NBC, CW, TNT, etc - everyone but ESPN, ABC & Fox). What would be ideal (but I don't think that the infrastructure would support it) would be to switch the program scan mode (between 1080ix1920 and 720px1280) on a program by program basis."

__________________
Dave Hancock

Dave, thanks for trying to get a handle on this complex issue. Remember, there is no standard way to express "resolution". Is it the number of display pixels per picture on the face of the display? Is it the bandwidth of the video amp? Is the the number of vertical scan lines? Is it the horizontal pixel count? I could go on but you get my point.

On a fixed pixel display with an adequate number of fixed pixels to fully display a 1080p source, (without its fixed overscan the A2000 might fit this definition). But this ability to present an image that has the potential to display all of the resolution in a moving or static image is only true for a quality 1080p source. If the brightness is too high, or sharpness is too high, the resolution you will see will be reduced because the display will not present all the resolution the source and the pixel count can present, it is either masked distorted.

But sometimes the brain plays tricks on us, on our perception of detail. An interlaced 1080 source is an example of this. Since the two fields are set apart from each other in time, and the image scanned is slightly different in each split frame, the brain reduces the perceived detail. This is a know fact and there is a formula for this, it accounts for about a 20% reduction in our perceived detail, or the displayed apparent resolution.

Thus, if we are talking about a 720p source displayed on an ideal 720p display, compared to a 1080i source displayed on an ideal 1080i display, the apparent resolution between the two would be very close. Again the 720p source and display would be superior with moving images, and the 1080i source and display would be superior with static images. Don't get hung up on pixel counts, the two formats are different, and 720p simply does not need as many pixels to present the brain with adequate resolution.

But now we own a set that does a good job displaying 1080p source material and at converting 720p and 1080i source material to 1080p. There are so many fudge factors I can't get a handle on this any longer. When we all switch out to 120 inch displays in about 5 years we will all lust for 1080p or perhaps even 2160p source material.

My point is that both 1080i and 720p source material are very close in their ability to provide a quality HD image and it will take time to see how well the new 1080p chip sets do with such source material on a quality 1080p display. In the short time I have had to play with my 60 inch A2000 I like what I see with programs presented in both formats. With talk of 120Hz scan rate displays combined with 1080i/24 source material, on 1080p displays, 1080i may prove superior to 720p/24. Check this out next year.

Richard.

If you want a reliable tv I suggest you buy a Trinitron again. They were pretty bulletproof. Even RCA tube tv's were pretty bulletproof. These new Micro-displays, whether DLP, 3LCD, SXRD etc. are not as reliable as the old tube tv's. Remember tube tv's have been around in quantity for about 55 years! The bugs were long ago worked out. SXRD is the best RPTV available for PQ in my opinion, but I would bet a Trinitron would be more reliable on average. Sony was 'proven' on tube tv's. They have dropped the ball somewhat lately on their newer offerings, although probably no worse than their competition. I strongly suggest you buy an extended warranty on any new Micro-display tv.