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Sony BRAVIA S3000 Series Owner's Thread [No Price Talk] - Page 19

post #541 of 1116
11/19/07 at 7:19pm
Hey guys,

We just got a 40S3000 yesterday and, I know this sounds stupid, but I'm having a tough time trying to get it to tune cable channels through a VCR. Since this TV has only one coaxial input, we have an antenna for OTA HD connected to the coaxial input and a VCR
(by father's insistence) connected to the Video 1 input (with composite cables). The CATV cable is running to the VCR, so we are able to watch analogue cable when I switch the TV's input to Video 1.

Everything is working properly except for the fact that we can't view cable channels without having to turn the power on the VCR on, thus preventing us from recording TV and watching a separate cable channel at the same time.

With our old tube TVs we were able do an initial channel search to program the channels in the TV and use the TV's remote to watch cable channels without having the VCR fully powered on all the time form then on. With the KDL-40S3000, we have to switch inputs, turn the VCR on, and use the VCR's remote to watch cable.

Basically, I just want to find out if it's possible to switch from OTA HD to cable from the VCR by switching the input on the TV's remote and using it to switch channels without having to turn the VCR fully on. I've already tried switching the input to Video 1 and using the Auto Program function, but it just searches for channels on the antenna instead of the VCR.

Thanks in advance for your help, and I really hope this makes sense. I have to be missing something really obvious.
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post #542 of 1116
11/19/07 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bnet504 View Post

Hey guys,

We just got a 40S3000 yesterday and, I know this sounds stupid, but I'm having a tough time trying to get it to tune cable channels through a VCR. Since this TV has only one coaxial input, we have an antenna for OTA HD connected to the coaxial input and a VCR
(by father's insistence) connected to the Video 1 input (with composite cables). The CATV cable is running to the VCR, so we are able to watch analogue cable when I switch the TV's input to Video 1.

Everything is working properly except for the fact that we can't view cable channels without having to turn the power on the VCR on, thus preventing us from recording TV and watching a separate cable channel at the same time.

With our old tube TVs we were able do an initial channel search to program the channels in the TV and use the TV's remote to watch cable channels without having the VCR fully powered on all the time form then on. With the KDL-40S3000, we have to switch inputs, turn the VCR on, and use the VCR's remote to watch cable.

Basically, I just want to find out if it's possible to switch from OTA HD to cable from the VCR by switching the input on the TV's remote and using it to switch channels without having to turn the VCR fully on. I've already tried switching the input to Video 1 and using the Auto Program function, but it just searches for channels on the antenna instead of the VCR.

Thanks in advance for your help, and I really hope this makes sense. I have to be missing something really obvious.

Your problem is the fact that you need both your off the air antenna and cable hooked directly to the TV, and you only have one coax input. The way you would be able to watch cable without turning on the vcr is by having the coax out from the vcr hooked up to the TV. That would be giving the TV the cable input. But currently your antenna is hooked to this TV input. With the vcr hooked up to Video 1 only the TV is only going to get what the vcr outputs while it's on, which is why you have to currently use the vcr to watch cable. Maybe a coax a/b switch would work?
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post #543 of 1116
11/19/07 at 9:36pm
The A/B rf would be needed and you'd also have to change the OTA or Cable(2 different tuners if I'm not mistaken) setup in the menus somewhere(can't remember the exact option from the top of my head, but its there in there).
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post #544 of 1116
11/19/07 at 9:48pm
OK, I found a remote controlled a/b switch online from Radioshack. I'll purchase it at the store tomorrow and report back with results.
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post #545 of 1116
11/20/07 at 3:09am
feed your tv 720p whenever you can

that was what cnet recommended for the sony s3000 series.

and about your settings----play around with them a bit, see what you like

I like a really bright picture,
all I did was turn the backlight down to 5 and make a few other minor picture changes, To get the perfect picture for my preference

I might be being very stupid, but I cannot for the life of me work out how to change the setting to a 720p output. There is no option to do that in the menus that I can see!!
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post #546 of 1116
11/20/07 at 3:44am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tim_love99 View Post

[i]feed your tv 720p whenever you can

that was what cnet recommended for the sony s3000 series.

I might be being very stupid, but I cannot for the life of me work out how to change the setting to a 720p output. There is no option to do that in the menus that I can see!!

The key is OUTPUT on the connected devices like the Cable STB, Game Consoles, DVD players or AVR and so it means delving into the menu settings for those devices to better match the settings on your TV's INPUT. As mine is 1080P I've never had to reset any (except Xbox) but the key would be the menus of the devices outputting to the panel and not stupid at all but it can sure humble one.

Want to feel stupid just buy one of these advanced AVR's like the Pio Elite 94 series with lots of wonderful HDMI in's with one out and I'd thought this would simplify the process and boy was I wrong. I think I need a Dummies Book on the Remote as it has about six different color codes and choices so vast as to make you go WTF! After going from a simplified Panny AVR55 this thing is complicated as hell so my Thanksgiving will be spent tutoring myself to somehow make this thing work.

Good Luck to new owners - I've been impressed with these panels for months and I just bought three new 40S3000's for classrooms and conference room yesterday in a new Office I'm opening next month for our agency - the cheaper comparable Olevia's cannot compare and though I would've saved money the Olevia's weigh about twice as much and too much for safety and movement by staff for the Ergotron mobile display stands they'll go on.

Enjoy!
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post #547 of 1116
11/20/07 at 9:18am
I have an odd issue. My TV is a Sony 26M3000 that I just bought from BB on Sun. I use it to replace my old LCD monitor, and set the resolution to 1360x768 through DVI (from PC) to HDMI (to TV) connector. It runs smoothly, and I'm pleased w/ its image quality. However, I did notice that some characters seem to be thicker than the others in a web page (esp. noticeable if it's an article), and the patterns seem to be "by column"...like thick-characters for 3" of the screen, thin-characters for another 3" of the screen, and the back to thick again. I set the font to MS-Sans Serif, and it didn't seem to help much. Did anyone have any similar experience, and can help me on this? Thanks a million!
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post #548 of 1116
11/20/07 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by YY_MINI View Post

Hello all S3000-ers!

Another new 46S3000 owner just wanna say Hi before I ask tons of questions next week!
I just bought 46S3000 from Sears this past Saturday, the same doorbuster deal kingkap metioned. However, I was able to get the 46S3000 for $850 + tax. I think I was doing all right on the deal.
The TV should be home this Wed, this should be a fun holiday.

Please answer my questions later!

YY

I got mine Saturday for $950 + tax. I got to bring it home with me. Only had 2 in stock. I'm really enjoying it so far.
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post #549 of 1116
11/21/07 at 5:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by westa6969 View Post

The key is OUTPUT on the connected devices like the Cable STB, Game Consoles, DVD players or AVR and so it means delving into the menu settings for those devices to better match the settings on your TV's INPUT. As mine is 1080P I've never had to reset any (except Xbox) but the key would be the menus of the devices outputting to the panel and not stupid at all but it can sure humble one.

Want to feel stupid just buy one of these advanced AVR's like the Pio Elite 94 series with lots of wonderful HDMI in's with one out and I'd thought this would simplify the process and boy was I wrong. I think I need a Dummies Book on the Remote as it has about six different color codes and choices so vast as to make you go WTF! After going from a simplified Panny AVR55 this thing is complicated as hell so my Thanksgiving will be spent tutoring myself to somehow make this thing work.

Good Luck to new owners - I've been impressed with these panels for months and I just bought three new 40S3000's for classrooms and conference room yesterday in a new Office I'm opening next month for our agency - the cheaper comparable Olevia's cannot compare and though I would've saved money the Olevia's weigh about twice as much and too much for safety and movement by staff for the Ergotron mobile display stands they'll go on.

Enjoy!

Ah I see! I thought that was the case, I did change it on my 360 and Wii, but was wondering if I could change it for my cable TV settings. Will have a look later.

My 32S can't do 1080p, is 1080i pretty much the same thing? Halo has a few nasty edges, although maybe I'm just sitting too close to the screen...
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post #550 of 1116
11/21/07 at 6:22am
Just bought a new 46S3000 and enjoying it. I hooked up my old PS2 but the image is not spectacular (my expectations were not great). Does anyone have any advice on how to optimize the image with the PS2? I understand it will never be fantastic but some advice on making it as good as possible would be appreciated!

EDIT: Should have mentioned there are not component outputs on my PS2 so by old I am assuming no progressive scanning...
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post #551 of 1116
11/21/07 at 8:45am
A couple days ago I bought a 37" Vizio mainly for the Xbox 360, going from a normal 32" JVC. I know you get what you pay for and I was trying to take the cheaper way out (20% off at Kmart).. At first I thought it wasn't a bad LCD but I just couldn't deal with the back light bleed through, which was so bad on the corners I didn't even finish watching the movie I started. Also I had to max out the volume just to hear a DVD. So the yesterday I packed it back up and took it back..

Went to Sears to see what they had and it was up between a Samsung and the Sony 40S3000. I checked out some reviews and they seem to be about the same. I bought the Sony and I'm now in heaven. I can't believe how nice this screen is and can't imagine seeing anything better..
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post #552 of 1116
11/21/07 at 9:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BioVader View Post

A couple days ago I bought a 37" Vizio mainly for the Xbox 360, going from a normal 32" JVC. I know you get what you pay for and I was trying to take the cheaper way out (20% off at Kmart).. At first I thought it wasn't a bad LCD but I just couldn't deal with the back light bleed through, which was so bad on the corners I didn't even finish watching the movie I started. Also I had to max out the volume just to hear a DVD. So the yesterday I packed it back up and took it back..

Went to Sears to see what they had and it was up between a Samsung and the Sony 40S3000. I checked out some reviews and they seem to be about the same. I bought the Sony and I'm now in heaven. I can't believe how nice this screen is and can't imagine seeing anything better..


LOL, I took my 32" Vizio back to Costco because to me, it just didn't seem as crisp in HD as my 26" Bravia. The panel was fine, no flashlights, it just didn't seem right to me. So I went and picked up the 32S3000 instead... SO Much Better!!
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post #553 of 1116
11/22/07 at 7:42am
Hi,

registrered here because I just bought a 32S3000 and this is the biggest thread I've found discussing it.

I'm a bit concerned about the viewing angle on my tv. I've only owned (and returned) one lcd-tv prior to this, it was crap, but the viewing angle was more or less like a pc screen. The S3000 on the other hand seems to have a terrible viewing angle. I tested it with my 360 just now and I have to watch the tv dead on to avoid it looking greyish.

I haven't done anything to the settings yet so maybe you can change something to make it better, but it wasn't a good first impression.

The 360 is connected with a vga-cable btw, and another problem I have is that the tv sets the resolution to 1280x768 and stretches the image to fit even if I choose 1360x768 from the display settings on the 360. Is this normal? Haven't tested a 360 on any other HDready lcd-tv's so I don't know. The Tatung set it to 1360x768 or 1920x1080 depening on what I chose from the settings.

I didn't notice any motion blur or smearing with the 360 which was positive. After reading about it being a problem on the D3000 and S3000 I was a bit concerned.

Thanks in advance.
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post #554 of 1116
11/22/07 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neo1022 View Post

Every 2007 Sony LCD TV that I looked at in stores (includingn multiple 32S3000 sets) had the buzzing noise. This convinced me to return my 32S3000 for refund instead of exchange.



mine's going back. what tv did you end up buying btw?
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post #555 of 1116
11/22/07 at 4:17pm
I just connected my pc via vga and the tv still only displays a stretched 1280x768. It refuses to 1:1.

Anyone else experienced this?

Going to buy a DVI->HDMI cable tomorrow and test it over the HDMI.
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post #556 of 1116
11/22/07 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TwiiK View Post

I just connected my pc via vga and the tv still only displays a stretched 1280x768. It refuses to 1:1.

Anyone else experienced this?

Going to buy a DVI->HDMI cable tomorrow and test it over the HDMI.

It worked fine for me. Once the computer was hooked up I was able to change the display setting so it went 1:1.
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post #557 of 1116
11/22/07 at 9:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yetiboy View Post

mine's going back. what tv did you end up buying btw?

I still don't have one. While I had the 32S3000, I decided that I would like a set with better blacks, so I started looking at the Samsung LN-T4065 because the glossy screen should help out in that area. In the mean time, Samsung released the LN-T4071 which I've also been considering (but Samsung hasn't seem to have worked out all the bugs yet.)

Originally, I was looking at the LN-T3253 and was only able to find a very quiet hissing sound after a lot of searching.
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post #558 of 1116
11/22/07 at 11:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tim_love99 View Post

feed your tv 720p whenever you can

that was what cnet recommended for the sony s3000 series.

and about your settings----play around with them a bit, see what you like

I like a really bright picture,
all I did was turn the backlight down to 5 and make a few other minor picture changes, To get the perfect picture for my preference

I might be being very stupid, but I cannot for the life of me work out how to change the setting to a 720p output. There is no option to do that in the menus that I can see!!

In my quick A vs B comparison reseting the Comcast Motorola box....and use off the air to determine what the source was 720P or 1080i......

I found the TV displayed everything better no matter what....when I had the Motorola sending at 1080i. So if the source was 720P the TV looked better if the cable box outputed it at 1080i.

The final decide was motion....for some reason the motion looked better at 1080i....which made no sense....but I accepted it.
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post #559 of 1116
11/23/07 at 2:11am
Can someone here please do me a huge fav? I would so so greatful as it would save me a trip to the store.

The 40S3000, can someone measure the screen only diagnally? I want to find the EXACT size as ive had bravias in the past and they were always half an inch short of what its marked to be. I know im anal about this but the extra .5 inch off is noticable.

Also, to sum it up what are the common problems with this model? has clouding been 100% been fixed? I hear the viewing angles arent up to par on this set? My sammy has amazing viewing angles so if this set is noticable worse that will be a big downfall for me.

And also will the PQ on this guy match the LNT Sammys? Specially 4042H, thx! From what I read it doesnt have as much vibrancy in terms of colour as the sammys but more natural.

And is the set grey or black? thx

Please answer someone! =)
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post #560 of 1116
11/23/07 at 2:34am
Quote:


It worked fine for me. Once the computer was hooked up I was able to change the display setting so it went 1:1.

This was with vga? And the display setting you changed was on the tv? Is it called 1:1 or similiar? I only have Full1 and Full2 available. And they only stretch the image horisontally.

Found a DVI-HDMI cable today and will try 1:1 over HDMI when I get home. If that works I won't care that it doesn't work with the vga.
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post #561 of 1116
11/23/07 at 3:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TwiiK View Post

This was with vga? And the display setting you changed was on the tv? Is it called 1:1 or similiar? I only have Full1 and Full2 available. And they only stretch the image horisontally.

Found a DVI-HDMI cable today and will try 1:1 over HDMI when I get home. If that works I won't care that it doesn't work with the vga.

It was VGA and the computer is where the settings were changed. Good luck.
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post #562 of 1116
11/23/07 at 6:29am
Anyone in the market for the 40S3000 go check frys.com quickly. Wow, better check out the 32S3000 as well.
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post #563 of 1116
11/23/07 at 6:40am
Here's a few shots I took with my new S5is. I totally have to get used to this camera. So if you guys see anything out of place, it's because I'm learning how to use the camera. I've always been used to the "Point n Shoot" cameras so this whole "Manual" thing is pretty cool and a bit complicated. But I have the whole weekend to practice.











Once I figure out how to use this camera, hopefully I'll get to take better pics. Those pics don't show how good the monitor really is.
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post #564 of 1116
11/23/07 at 6:44am
Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. I just came from PC Richards and purchased the 40KDLS3000. MF date Nov 07. OMG this TV is incredible. I purchased this panel due to reading all these wonderful posts on this thread and so far I couldn't be happier. I only have a progessive scan dvd player w/ component cables and Digital Cable through Cablevision. If anyone could send me some calibration settings for component dvd and sdtv I'd greatly appreciate it.
I also own a wii, ps2, and xbox, if anyone has personal settings for those systems as well. Thanks in advanced!
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post #565 of 1116
11/23/07 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neo1022 View Post

I still don't have one. While I had the 32S3000, I decided that I would like a set with better blacks, so I started looking at the Samsung LN-T4065 because the glossy screen should help out in that area. In the mean time, Samsung released the LN-T4071 which I've also been considering (but Samsung hasn't seem to have worked out all the bugs yet.)

Originally, I was looking at the LN-T3253 and was only able to find a very quiet hissing sound after a lot of searching.


I see. I used to have a Samsung 32" LE32R1BD, it was completely silent. Unfortuantely it broke after 18 months and required a new mainboard which would have cost a fortune to install. Support weren't helpful and basically said 'oh well, unlucky, bye'. I'm kinda reluctant to do business with them again.
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post #566 of 1116
11/23/07 at 8:38am
DVI->HDMI worked perfectly.

Set the resolution to 1360x768 on the pc and the image is razor sharp. Sharper, clearer and better colors than my oldest lcd monitor.
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post #567 of 1116
11/23/07 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princeismyname View Post

Can someone here please do me a huge fav? I would so so greatful as it would save me a trip to the store.

The 40S3000, can someone measure the screen only diagnally? I want to find the EXACT size as ive had bravias in the past and they were always half an inch short of what its marked to be. I know im anal about this but the extra .5 inch off is noticable.

Also, to sum it up what are the common problems with this model? has clouding been 100% been fixed? I hear the viewing angles arent up to par on this set? My sammy has amazing viewing angles so if this set is noticable worse that will be a big downfall for me.

And also will the PQ on this guy match the LNT Sammys? Specially 4042H, thx! From what I read it doesnt have as much vibrancy in terms of colour as the sammys but more natural.

And is the set grey or black? thx

Please answer someone! =)

The screen size is 40" just as stated by Sony. The only size that's different is the 32" model and that is clearly stated in Sony's advertiseing. There are no clouding issues on my set, and I havent' heard of any real issues like that in this thread. The color is black and the off angle viewing is good on my set.
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post #568 of 1116
11/23/07 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CuzinMike View Post

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. I just came from PC Richards and purchased the 40KDLS3000. MF date Nov 07. OMG this TV is incredible. I purchased this panel due to reading all these wonderful posts on this thread and so far I couldn't be happier. I only have a progessive scan dvd player w/ component cables and Digital Cable through Cablevision. If anyone could send me some calibration settings for component dvd and sdtv I'd greatly appreciate it.
I also own a wii, ps2, and xbox, if anyone has personal settings for those systems as well. Thanks in advanced!

Hey Cuz, how long did you have to wait in line for your set? I moved on as the line in Paramus was about two football fields. Good luck with the set.
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post #569 of 1116
11/23/07 at 3:40pm
Thanks for the heads up on the Fry's deal. Just took advantage...good stuff!
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post #570 of 1116
11/23/07 at 3:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by overtime View Post

Thanks for the heads up on the Fry's deal. Just took advantage...good stuff!

I ordered the 40" from Frys.com but the order status still shows, "In process". At the time of the order, it said, "Call for availability". Looks like they may be backordered. Hope they don't cancel the order.
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