Official Sony XBR2 (60" & 70") Owner's Thread - Page 229

Thanks.


Thanks.

i've had my 60 xbr2 since 12/06. i still tell everyone it's the best christmas gift i've gotten since i was 10 years old. i just love watching movies and sports on this baby!

Gefen and others sell something called an HDMI Splitter. It turns 1 HDMI signal into 2. Using one of those, you can send HDMI to the AVR and HDMI to the video display. Then you can get your HDMI-based audio (the best quality) to the AVR for decoding, and you can get the HDMI video to the video display for the best settings on the User Menu items on the XBR2.

If you look at the manual for DRC... any 1080p input disbles DRC altogether. If your AVR upsamples everything to 1080p with a Silicon Optix HQV or Faroudja processor or something equally good, the DRC in the XBR2 is never going to be on anyway and it won't do as good a job as a quality video processor in an AVR. If your AVR is just a "pass through" setup, you may find you get better results using HDMI for some programming and component for other programming... like a satellite box for example... run the HDMI to the AVR or display and use that for high-def programming. Run the component connections to the XBR2 directly and switch to that input for standard def satellite programming where DRC makes some TINY incremental improvements to what's basically AWFUL video quality from satellite (and cable) providers... I mean DRECK quality - loaded with severs compression artifacts that you can NEVER get rid of.

One direction of DRC does about the same thing as the sharpness control but on a lower level. If you have a test/setup DVD with a sharpness pattern (black vertical lines on a gray background), you can set the Sharpness control low enough to not see any outlining of the black lines. Then switch to DRC and fiddle with the vertical (Reality) setting watching for any white outlines appearing on the vertical lines in the test pattern. Go as high as you like as long as you aren't introducing edge outlining on the vertical lines. Then mess with the clarity control while observing the horizontal black lines on the same Sharpness test pattern. The horizontal Clarity adjustment will make the top and bottom edges of the horizontal lines more or less defined - but again, watch for false outlining (looks white or at least much lighter than the gray background that should touch the black lines). If you use a high-def disc player for this, you'll have to set the player to 480i or 480p (or Direct mode if it is a Sony player, that sends whatever is on the disc rather than converting to some other format) for this to give you an idea of what to use for 480 video if you are ever going to send that to the display. Frankly, there aren't many sources you may actually end up sending to the display in less than 1080i if you have an HD cable or satellite box and high-def disc player(s). So you'd only use DRC mode and pallette for the 1080i inputs (the only one I have right now is the satellite HD DVR - and it doesn't do a good job at all of converting 480 programming to 1080i but if I watch HD programming, I don't want the satellite box set to some lower res to ruin the HD - on the box I have, there's no "do not convert the video" option. You pick 1 resolution and everything comes out that resolution - so unless you go into the box's setup menu everytime you switch from HD to SD and back, you're stuck with 1 resolution.

This all sucks, by the way. A lot of new products are going to be appearing in the next few months that have Silicon Optix HQV or other good quality video processing... those I trust to move 480 programming to 1080p. Most other "no name brand" video processing in mid-to-low-priced equipment (and the XBR2s are mid-priced compared to what you COULD spend on a 60" or 70" display) isn't very good. Sony's processing in the XBR2 doesn't seem to be quite as good as the processing in Sony Blu-ray players. Some next-generation Blu-ray and HD-DVD players are going to have HQV or other high quality video processing in the player... that means DVD will come out looking about as good as it is ever going to look and you'll have 1080p and won't have to worry about DRC at all.

Yep, fan failure. There's been 3 or 4 of us that have had this problem, all fairly well documented in this forum. My problem started when the TV was just a few month old, but has been perfect since the fans were replaced.

Is anyone using a HDMI switcher because they don't have enough inputs (I don't want to use the front)? I'd like to plug my XBOX 360 and PS3 into the switcher and have that go into input 8 (Input 7 is Satellite). Thanks.

DGP

Does Sony (not the dealers) offer an "extended warranty" on the 60/70 XBR2 that can be purchased? Thanks

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...0151&langId=-1

I have an HDMI switch for my Blu-ray and HD-DVD players. No issues that I've seen. I'm using a 4to1 switch from Octava. I choose it because it switches both HDMI and optical cables.

I was plagued with a bad optical block on my 60" XBR1, which Sony replace with a XBR2. It worked great for a month, Now the set is losing color with yellow splotches over the screen. I have checked to see if the source was causing it, but it is the set.

I haven't seen anyone post this problem before and wonder if anyone has seen this or know what might be causing it. I have uploaded some pictures. Hope they load. Thanks in advance for the info and advice!

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a quick fix hopefully.

MAN!!! Hell I'm thinkin' about callin' Sony and raising hell cause I've got a green circle/halo around the outer edges of mine. If I were you I'd so be on the phone with Sony demanding somethin' be done! What is the build date on the tv? How long you had it? Where'd you buy it? When did the screw up start?

seems like i remember you were going to get a refurb xbr2. is this the refurb? or did you haggle for a new one? did you get any kind of warranty with the exchange? i'd definitely be on the phone with Sony if i were you.

I tried to search on this but couldn't come up with anything... Has anyone ever had any issues with their 60XBR2 with intermittent flickering? I've got about 1700 hours on the tv and recently I've gotten some fast flickering on Low Power mode. Just by trial and error I switched to Normal Power mode and it seems to have went away. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

kt what is the status of your set? have you contacted sony? you should still be under the manufacturers warranty as the optical block was guaranteed for 2 years.

please keep us posted.

It was a refurb, but I did get the extended warranty from Sony with it. This problem started exactly one month after I received it. It has done it several times but it's very intermittent. Sometimes it will do it after the set has been on for a while, and sometimes when first powered up.

I have switched to my DVD player when it's done it, just to make sure it wasn't a problem with the satellite receiver which it wasn't. Both sources are using HDMI cables.

Thanks for the feedback and info. Appreciate all the advice!

The build date was Feb 2007 and was a replacement for a 60XBR1 that had optical block problems. The set was an exchange straight from Sony. I've had it for a month and a half and the problem started about a month after I got it.

The green halo sounds like an OB problem. If you take all the color out of the picture does the green still linger behind. That's the easiest way I know of to check.

Keep us posted.

Hi Guys,
I'm a new owner of the r60xbr2 and have noticed from day one of switching on what appears to be and can only be described as a small smudge about 2 inches across, round (dohnutish) in shape, slightly to the right of the screen centre.

It appears on all AV inputs and regardless of video settings, and is visable on all seperate RG&B channels.

It is only really visable or noticable during brighter and when the screen has just one light/ bright colour (eg sky shot) on it.

I haven't done any further or in depth investigation. Am just wondering at this stage have any of you come across this already?

The smudge doesn't have any colour to it. To be honest, it looks more like some dust or dirt at the back of the screen.

So before I go taking the TV apart.... I'd love to hear your input.

More than likely, there's a bit of dust on the mirror behind the screen or on the lens, which faces up from the bottom of the area behind the screen. There have been links to the service manual posted in this thread somewhere and that manual tells you how to remove the screen. If you do that, use extreme caution cleaning the mirror as the reflective surface is the surface you look at and any abrasion on that surface removes the silver coating and you will ruin the mirror surface and you WILL be able to see that when you re-assemble. Best ways to clean the screen of dust are:
1) light burst of pressurised air... but if you use "canned air" you have to be careful not to tilt the can much or liquid propellant will come out and get on the mirror - then you will have a mess to deal with.
2) Get a NEW camel-hair paint brush that comes sealed in a bag or plastic container so the brush is clean. Use the brush to softly move the dust off the mirror, then brush the lens clean also.

If the link to the service manual doesn't work, someone who downloaded it could Email it to you.

While you have the screen off, you may want to paint the silver (metal) and white parts with flat black water-based paint to cut down on internal reflections. You may even want to paint all the gray plastic behind the screen flat black. And if you have light leaking around the lens area, you may want to make a baffle to elminate the light leak... whatever you use should be flat black so it doesn't reflect light also.

I had this issue with my 60" XBR1. Switch from low power to high and it would disappear. Leave on high for a while and it would start there. Switch to low and it would go away for a period of time and then come back. I believed to be a defective lamp balast. Sony service never believed that. Thank goodness I had 2 bad OBs and Sony sent me a new XBR2.

Thanks for the response, I'm pretty sure the bulb was the issue but I'll give it a little more time to make sure. The TV started flickering on normal power also so I thought that I would switch out the bulb to see what happened and so far everything has been fine. Hopefully if it is a bulb issue, it doesn't need to be replaced once a year!

I had this issue start over the weekend with it happening every couple of hours. I pulled the existing lamp out and put it back in. I haven't had any flickering since then. I was told this is probably a lamp issue, but I hope not as I have 2300 hours on it almost 11 months.

Thanks for the reply! I was hoping it may be just dirt and not a defect. I haven't got the Service Manual and looking around the links on this forum don't work any more (at least the ones I found).

If any one would be kind enough to e-mail it to me I'd really appreciate it.

From what I gather it's a pretty large file, to big for most in just a single e-mail. If that is the case I could send on a program to 'Split' up the PDF document into a couple of files so it could be sent over 2 or 3 e-mails?

There's a handy 'file splitter' (I just tested it) at http://www.dekabyte.com/filesplitter/download.html

If I do take it apart I will document and photograph my experience and post all the info.

Rev.

Folks,

Just a quick note to those who are waiting on Jeff Meier to get to your calibration.... it is worth the wait. According to Jeff, my set was in pretty good shape, but had some color problems - particualrly toward yellow/green but was fundamentally off of the 6500 temp overall. A couple of hours later, the set is just flat out awesome. Contrast, black levels, color... truly natural and realistic. The picture really pops, but not overdriven.

Sound was the next on the agenda, while simple things like polarity and such checked out ok, I had a major blunder (a seeting I had never looked at) - Dolby Digital Compression was set (which compressed the dynamic range - typically used when watching movies at night to allow you to hear soft passages while not blowing out the windows on loud ones when others are sleeping). I also had set my front speakers to large, which we changed to small to rely on the dedicated sub to push low frequencies under 80HZ. Another issue was the balance, which I had set using the Video Essentials disks, which turned out to be more than 3 or 4 DB off based on Jeff's more sophisticated equipment and a very precise test sample.

All in all, a very good visit from the master of AV, and well worth the money spent. Looking forward to spending some real quality time with the setup falling in love all over again.

Jeff

yep it is too large to send through most e-mails. i have tried it.
somewhere in the threads a user posted the downloaded PDF on a web site and provided a link to that site but i cant find it now.
i installed the splitter you linked. if you would PM me your e-mail i'll try splitting the PDF and sending it.

That's good news. I'm on Jeff's (UMR) list for next month when he comes through my area. He'll be setting up my 70"XBR2 and new Integra DTR-8.8 with my Definitive Technology 7.1 speakers.

Thanks for the calibration report.

I've included it in the owner's list that is linked at the bottom of my post.

I second JeffCar's enthusiasm about UMR. Its well worth the wait and money. You should be most impressed after Jeff Meier is though calibrating your XBR-2 and audio system. I've posted on both the XBR-2 and A2000 threads regarding the awesome video and audio calibration that he did on both my A2000 and home theater audio system.

W. Jeff Meier (UMR) calibrated my system (70 XBR2, Radiance XD, Denon 3808CI, Comcast HD DVR, Denon DVD and Sony DVD) this past week and the results for the audio and video improvements are incredible.

I read many threads on AVS and had come to the point of actually searching for his comments and insights. He is one of the main reasons that I bought my 70 XBR2. Jeff knows this display inside out and has the skill to make it function to its full potential. His attention to detail in making sure that his test gear was calibrated before starting the actual calibration was impressive. He methodically measured the existing black level, gray scale, display gamma, color, clarity, contrast, etc. to establish the display's current baseline. He then began his adjustments, measuring as he progressed. When the measured display settings approached the target calibration settings he brought out his DVDs to highlight different aspects of video to fine tune and save the display settings. He then measured all parameters again to establish the final deltas for the display. Then he began to check and adjust each source input to the display, measuring and adjusting as he progressed. He completed the calibration by methodically measuring and adjusting the audio, with which he is just as talented with. Finally, he provided a written report that documented all changes and recommended settings for the display and each source component. After viewing and listening to his calibration results this past week I can say that the magic is back.

Jeff's education, background, on the job experience and professionalism all come together to give him the tools to achieve the incredible results visible on my system. I highly recommend him and will definitely use him again when I build my dedicated home theater in the basement.

A side note on calibrations in general. To achieve accurate results in calibrating a display a source must be provided that is calibrated to known values and the equipment measuring the display must be calibrated in order to measure the deltas that are to be adjusted on the display. I had previously used the AVIA and DVE disks along with different suggested display settings from this forum in an attempt to fine tune my system. I was not even close to the final settings that Jeff arrived at. Also, many of the changes that he made took place on the service menu. I have seen the access codes but could never bring myself to actually go into the service menu in fear of damaging the display. Jeff confirmed that this is possible and that he has worked jobs where he has come across damage to the actual hardware due to service menu settings being applied incorrectly. Given the above, if one wanted and money was no object, one could purchase a video signal generator, a radiometric colorimeter and a spectroradiometer in addition to the other odds and ends needed and probably achieve passable results after much trial and error. Or one could call Jeff who uses professional quality equipment and has the experience to use it for much less money.

Thank you to all who posted regarding Jeff or I would never have contacted him. I waited for over three months for his visit and it was worth every penny. Jeff can be reached at http://www.accucalhd.com/.

You know, one of these days, someone is going to have to post a less then glowing review of a Jeff calibration, or everyone's going to think we're all just fake logins that Jeff uses...

(Still thrilled with my umr calibrated set!)

I've gone through phases where I had adjusted the sharpness setting or went with an auto iris setting etc..., I always go back to the exact settings that Jeff left me with. Jeff can play havoc on a compulsive picture tweaker.

I bought a Plasma for upstairs and no matter what I do I can't get the skin tones accurate without lowering the color saturation way down. Jeff was able to get the skin tones of the XBR2 perfect AND have accurate, vibrant colors.