Official Sony XBR2 (60" & 70") Owner's Thread - Page 47

STB--Push the settings button on the remote twice, arrow down to tv:set borders, dark'll be an option there.

Wow, I was going to get the Samsung for the price, but this might move me back to the Sony.

Thanks

On the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD used by Time Warner Cable in Southwestern Ohio, there is no such option....finally figured it out though.... on STB remote push "settings", then push the yellow triangular "A" for "More Settings", then select "Aspect Ratio"... it will ask for your tv type (which for the XBR2 is obviously 16:9) then it will ask you how you want 4:3 sent to your TV, "Stretch, Zoom or Sidebar"....if you select "Sidebar" you will get Grey sidebars that you can't get rid of through the TV....HOWEVER, if you select "Stretch" then on your TV select "normal"....you will get a 4:3 image with BLACK BARS for anything that originates from 4:3! Hallelujah! there it is for whoever may run into this scenario....thanks to all who tried to help.... adios, toby

Saw a 70 in a store and noticed a slight pincushion effect on SD sources where the sides were drawn in ever so slightly narrower than the top and bottom. Assuming it is NOT the output...does the TV offer a use the ability to correct for that? As in, a "regular user" adjustment and not a service menu adjustment?

It was very slight, and probably on a smaller set not so noticeable, but the saleperson and my cousin all acknowledged that I wasn't just seeing things.

believe me... you won't be disappointed once you get it home and get to play with it and adjust it to your liking.... just got my 60 yesterday and the only complaint is that it feels a little too big! had a 35" CRT for the last 7 years.... i have a feeling i'll get used to it...
as for the pincushion effect, it does exist...but it depends on a combination of the way it is sent to the TV and the "mode" you ultimately view it in... ie "normal, full, zoom, wide zoom, etc"...this can be minimized with a little patience...As a new owner and incredible skeptic, ,IMO, this is the best out there by a long shot... my only advice would be to make sure you are buying the size that will be approriate for your viewing distance... if your screen is too big or you are too close, then SD is gonna bug you....if you tweak things and have the proper distance/size then even SD is great...and HD? forget about it.... I'm watching the Bengals game right now and literally flinched at one of the hits, it looked so real!
good luck, toby

Many thanks. I have a similar situation that would be better served by a stand with an angled footprint. Removing the speakers I'm sure gets the weight load down closer the SUGW12 rating, too. Looking forward to your pix.

Good luck with your new set.

Just got my 70 on Friday! There is a real derth of photos on this thread so here goes:




Awesome picture quality! This set is huge; it is definitely the center of attention. This photo is taken with a 21mm lens which makes the set look smaller and the area look more spacious than it is. My first thought was, "Man, I've got to return this for the 60." But you get used to it. Although the size dominates a small room, the immersive effect of 70" is well worth it. Screen to eyeballs = 11 feet for me. As you can see, I'm waiting for my surround sound system.

1) I'm new to this, but ran the AVIA disc as best I could. Turns out the White Level (Picture) was correct at the default MAX setting. The Black Level (Brightness) was also right at 50 with this test, but when I put up a 0 IRE (black) test screen which had 4:3 bars on the sides, I had to lower the Brightness to 47 before the picture was as black as the side bars. Saturation was a difficult test to do and more subjective, but 50 was about right. On the Hue test using the supplied filters you look through, I found Red, Green, and Blue to be right at zero, within the limits of the test (+- 5%). I guess this means no significant red push on mine. Fleshtones look great.

2) Over cable, HD Discovery looks excellent, but if you get up close you see a lot of mosquito noise. Other HD channels are highly variable, sometimes disappointing. I think it's compression and not the set. I'm seriously thinking of trying out the Algolith Flea.

2) For other settings, I use Auto 2 on the Iris, Low gamma, and Medium on the Black Corrector. I don't really understand this last one and I see others set this to Off, but it does give the picture more punch, or contrast. Suits my tastes.

3) Avia does have a Sharpness test. I found it very difficult to see the changes when adjusting the setting, but I think 25 is good. I change the Detail and Edge settings between Low and Medium, depending on my mood. To my novice eyes, I find most of these changes to be very, very subtle. Maybe it's compression artifact from cable that's obscuring and overwhelming any effect of these settings.

3) I do have some concerns about the set's deinterlacing capablility. I find DVD's look better with my inexpensive Sony player set to 480p output rather than 480i (yes, Cinemotion is on Auto). On HD, if I pause the DVR (SA 8300HD) I have seen combing artifacts when a white diagonal line is seen against a dark background. It's not really evident at normal viewing distance, but you can see it up close.

4) Info about my stand can be found here.

This is my first HDTV. I am thoroughly enjoying my set. I was worried about DVD and SD quality at 70", but it greatly exceeds my expectations. I'll post some screen shots later today.

With a price drop so quick, the dealers were probably price protected, which means that difference should be refunded to those early purchasers who inquire.

i've sent an email to my dealer and am waiting to see what they say. Has anyone else who paid the higher price contacted their reseller to find out about a refund of the difference?

You may be seeing an effect due to bowing of the screen inwards. Many of these large screens appear to arrive with the screen pushed in (in the center). Perhaps a problem with temperature swings during storage/shipping? I poped mine back to flat using a suction cup.

Do not still frame an image to judge picture quality:

Hi Blue 911.
On many, if not most, DVD players and TV tuners/DVRs the Pause mode will immediately throw away 1 entire field and leave you with a paused still frame image tricked from a single field. In any case, the vertical resolution will drop by half and you will therefore see diagonal line problems etc. as you describe.

This is not the XBR2's fault--it never got both fields in the first place

Hence KT rule #1 in judging image quality:
NEVER STILL FRAME ANY IMAGE TO STUDY IT'S QUALITY.

Too often something going on in the adjacent field is required to properly reconstruct the still frame and it is usually not provided. The more sophisticated the processing prior to the display the more this rule applies.

PS Yves Faroudja taught me that.

KT

Hi, here is my suggestion on how to resolve the source of your noise issue.

Set up your Tivo to record next monday nights Conan O'Brion show at 12:30 AM. This show uses relatively new Sony Cameras and the program has absolutely no noise or grain. In particular, look at the opening of the show where he is in front of a blue background.

Yes the face has too much makeup and therefore has little detail but , but look for noise?...there is no noise. Try it.

KT

Yup. Tweeter is going to refund the difference between what I paid and the new price. I waited until the new price was in their system -- making the conversation a lot simpler. I'll still get the AvID member discount of 5% on top of that. Given that I pre-ordered, I'm pretty happy with the situation. At least Sony didn't wait until day 31 after my delivery to lower prices!

Great looking TV stand Blue 911. Is that the BDI Deploy Max 9640? Do you get any reflection from the glossy finish from your lamp lights or sun light. I'm thinking about getting the same stand. Also, How much does it weigh. Thanks

Thanks. Yes it is. No reflections off the stand, it's low so nothing reflects back. Shipping weight is 185 lbs! Be aware that although the online store had free shipping, it came on a 48' tractor trailer that was too large to go into residential neighborhoods. Had to off load it in a Wal-Mart parking lot onto my pickup. Once home I opened the box and carried each piece in. It's the glass shelves that are very heavy.

I was very dissapointed in removing the speakers on the 70 set. You still have to put up trim pieces where the speakers were. This takes up useless space and makes this behemoth look larger that it really is. I would have much preferred a thin bezel design like the Mitsubishi or the Samsung. I do like the performance of the Sony much better.

I like the thin bevel that replaces the speakers. I would probably prefer nothing there at all, but it certainly is better than the dumbo ears.

It's set to 1080i.

RobbinMerritt...you have a PM

A few screen shots from my 70. It's actually difficult to accurately reproduce what you see on the screen. Technically challenging. I used a tripod, shot at f/5.6 (my zoom lens is slow and I wanted some depth of field), shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/125 (so no fast motion), and an ISO of 1600! All were taken in real time, that is, none of the images were paused. I found that pausing the DVD or PVR resulted in artifacts that you don't see otherwise. I don't understand why. Since the TV converts to progressive, each "frame" should be whole, unlike interlaced, but such as it is.

Some SD examples. Nemo, of course, looks good:


Lord of the Rings:


Fox News over HDMI from cable box (SA8300 PVR). I get gray bars:


But the same channel over coaxial from cable box has black bars:


Overall, the XBR2 does a very good job upconverting 480i. These images look a little better than real life. On the 70 the actual picture is a bit softer than you see here, but detail is still present. On these stills, you also can't fully appreciate the mosquito noise that is constantly moving around the edges of cable programs (DVD's seem free of this type of noise). Even HD, however, has this noise. A detail from this Discovery HD program:


shows it:

Wow... Looks like Tweeter, CC, BB don't price match ( if<15 miles from store) and Crutchfield doesn't with XBR's. Still waiting to hear from Sears but has anyone else price matched and had problems?

Do you mean ">15 miles"? I don't know what "<15 miles" would mean in this context.

And what does "Crutchfield doesn't with XBR" mean?

Yes sorry about that unless you live 15 or so miles from the other store they wont match...

And for some reason Crutchfield isn't authorized to match on any SONY XBR sets (?)

"15 miles or less". I don't think they care that it's close to 15 miles.

where did you buy your 70"? I live in Greensboro and will probably buy it at Tweeter. BTW is their any height adjustments on the Deploy MAX?

1) Are both component inputs on the 70XBR2 capable of HD or just one?

2) There's been mention of making sure when you connect the XBOX360, that you set it to 'Direct Mode' on the XBR2. Yet, in the XBR2 user manual, there is absolutely NO mention of 'Direct Mode' or how to access it. But the specs of the XBR2 say 'Direct Mode' is available.

How in the world do you access this 'Direct Mode' and when is it supposed to be used??? Does Sony just expect you to find out about these various settings on your own and what and when they're supposed to be used?

Ask yourself this - does the Sony support 1080P via component?

And, no component upscaling of D1 footage thats only for VGA.

Well, does it?

No! The only hope seems to be the possibility of an HDMI output which - last I heard - MS were investigating.

I got my set Saturday and overall am very pleased....definite WOW factor on HD sources, especially the Bengals game today- WHODEY!...had to do it, sorry...
Here's my question....hate to admit it, but have been eagerly anticipating the return of the show "Breaking Bonaduce" on VH1....apparently this is broadcast in 480i and the "mosquito noise" was VERY distracting especially around any white text on the screen and also around the VH1 logo at the bottom right corner....any suggestions? Thanks in advance,
toby

Im really thinking about getting this one, just gotta make a final decision though!