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OFFICIAL Sony XBR-65Z9D Owner's Thread [no price talk please]

2M views 24K replies 993 participants last post by  LeeSoFl 
#1 ·
It's here!!

Just wanted to do a quick post for now. Spent about 15 minutes doing a quick eyeball calibration and the picture is gorgeous. Currently watching the DirecTV 4K feed of the Olympics. Looks excellent.

Upconversion of DirecTV's 1080 signal also looks very good. Blacks are terrific.

I have a lot more fine tuning to do later today, but so far, I'm very impressed with this display. I'll watch a 4K HDR disk a bit later.

Previous display was the Sony 950B, which, other than the lack of HDR, displays an incredible picture. It's very hard to compare to the Z9D from memory, but I think the blacks and shadow detail are better with the Z9D.

I'll try to post more later, but wanted to let everyone know that so far the set is a big thumbs up.
 
#14,242 ·
Yesterday, I happened to look closely at the screen on my Z, which I've had for over a year. I shined a flashlight accross the screen (holding the flashlight at the side of the Z ). The screen showed a buildup of dust (BAD). Couple of years ago bought a 13" feather duster from Amazon. Using the duster, I gently ran the duster vertically then horizontaly over the screen. Works great! Leaves no swirls as a microfiber cloth will. Hope this is of some help to other Z owners.:)
The microfiber cloth shouldn't leave swirls or streaks if you spritz it first with a decent screen cleaning fluid. This is the one I have been using (although currently out of stock AFAICT, I got it from Newegg.com over four years ago for just $10 and, in the 22 oz. size, it will probably last me a lifetime).
 
#14,243 ·
I believe it is a word the English use for scr**ing . As in "The Spy who Shagged Me". :eek:
Do you really have to ask?:rolleyes:

And did you get the "wide stance" reference? If not . . . :cool:
... When Vincent said something like "he was not into that or If you are into that" he lost me so I'm not sure what he meant by that expression. I know there was an intent at levity, but what it was, I don't know :rolleyes: ! Time to get back On Track before a Mod intervenes and gives me two infractions. One for being Off Track and another one for being so dumb that I had to ask ! :D
 
#14,244 ·
This is the current issue I'm having with my z9d. It's a amazing TV don't get me wrong. Amazing brightness. But it's lacking the color pop on 4k bluray movies. And I can't figure out way. Colors popped on my Panasonic plasma. The look more dull dim on my z9d
Have you tried enabling Live Color? I know it's anathema to calibration purists, but I similarly prefer colors that "pop" a bit more than standard, and leaving this setting on Medium gives me that for the Z9D (combined with leaving the color setting at 65 on warm). This gives me saturation where I want it, without ruining skin tones.
 
#14,245 ·
... You are welcome ! I sit about 7.5' away the same as sjchmura. It's really hard to grasp how bad the problem of bloom/detail loss you are having with your TV. Even sending photos will not show a completely accurate real life picture unless it is obvious due to lighting, quality of camera, IP quality, computer monitor, etc. By chance, before you decided to purchase your Z9D did you go see any and if so since you know what to look for can you go back to compare the picture to see if those other TV's have the same blooming/loss of detail ? As far as the same TV Models having different off center viewing degradation you would think they all should be the same but this is not so. For example a particular TV of the same model may have a problem with DSE or banding where as others do not but on the whole most of the same model TV's will share the same similarities ... good or bad. :)
Well I stopped at Best Buy but the lights are so bright there it’s hard to tell how any of them would really look in a real world situation. I saw this response to a question on Rtings though and is probably what I’m experiencing.

“When you sit this close, the edges of the screen will look washed out if the viewing angle isn't good. If you view a 43" TV from 3 feet away, you are viewing the edges of the screen from a 28° angle. If you're using a TV with a VA panel whose black level doubles at 15° and colors shift at 20° (pretty common for VA), the edges of the screen will look a little washed out.”

Maybe a different set would be better as far as the viewing angle like you said, but would you risk it if it had very minimal DSE effect and no banding? The seller is offering me a replacement of a new one or refunding me $1200 (or $900 and 5 year warranty) because of the fact that the set had 3,000 hours on it. What would you do in that situation?
 
#14,246 ·
Strange - ARC working from HDMI 2???

Issue - Denon 4300H originally plugged into HDMI 3 ARC port on 65Z9D. On Spectrum cable. Recently having sudden loss of picture, but sound continues. Turn off everything, reboot cable box a couple of time and picture is back for a couple of hours and then gone again.


I pulled the HDMI cable from port number 3 ARC and plugged it into port number 2, which I read is non-ARC and requires an optical cable for sound. However, I still get sound through the Denon and my external speakers plus the picture has stayed on properly for the last four days.


Can someone explain what is going on to this old guy with little knowledge? BTW - No customization of any of the components of this home theater have been done. We just use it to watch cable TV.


Thx for any insight.
 
#14,247 ·
Issue - Denon 4300H originally plugged into HDMI 3 ARC port on 65Z9D. On Spectrum cable. Recently having sudden loss of picture, but sound continues. Turn off everything, reboot cable box a couple of time and picture is back for a couple of hours and then gone again.


I pulled the HDMI cable from port number 3 ARC and plugged it into port number 2, which I read is non-ARC and requires an optical cable for sound. However, I still get sound through the Denon and my external speakers plus the picture has stayed on properly for the last four days.


Can someone explain what is going on to this old guy with little knowledge? BTW - No customization of any of the components of this home theater have been done. We just use it to watch cable TV.


Thx for any insight.

What input on the TV is the cable box hooked up to?
 
#14,249 ·
I bought a 65z9d over the weekend ( be delivered in 2 weeks) to replace a Samsung un55c8000xf I got 8 years ago. Wanted to move up to 4K and 3D is important since my 2 grandsons and I like to order a pizza, get out the 3D glasses and enjoy one of our many 3D movies every couple of weeks. I figured the Sony will be a big improvement over my old edge lit Samsung and also my last shot at getting a 3D capable tv.

Looking for a link or 2 on setting it up and dailing in the picture settings please. My search skills are lacking so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also going to order an Oppo 203 to connect to the Sony just for traditions sake since I own 1 each of the last 2 Oppo lines and it will likely be the last chance at a new 3D capable Blu-ray player as well.

Hope I made a good choice since I could not find a store that had the Sony set up and running.
 
#14,250 ·
I bought a 65z9d over the weekend ( be delivered in 2 weeks) to replace a Samsung un55c8000xf I got 8 years ago. Wanted to move up to 4K and 3D is important since my 2 grandsons and I like to order a pizza, get out the 3D glasses and enjoy one of our many 3D movies every couple of weeks. I figured the Sony will be a big improvement over my old edge lit Samsung and also my last shot at getting a 3D capable tv.

Looking for a link or 2 on setting it up and dailing in the picture settings please. My search skills are lacking so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also going to order an Oppo 203 to connect to the Sony just for traditions sake since I own 1 each of the last 2 Oppo lines and it will likely be the last chance at a new 3D capable Blu-ray player as well.

Hope I made a good choice since I could not find a store that had the Sony set up and running.
Two 3D tips since you are one of the few other people owning this set who seem to care about 3D: turn motion flow off, and turn 3D glasses brightness to Low to minimize flickering from the active 3D (or just keep your overall brightness low; I like a brighter more saturated picture than most).
 
#14,251 ·
... It may be as simple as a specific Setting so for process of elimination more information is needed. Starting with when you say 4K Bluray Movies are we talking about streaming/disc playback ? Is your whole Handshake Signal all certified HDMI 2.0 starting with your HDMI Cables ? Your seating position is it straight on center viewing or is it slightly off center ? Is your Display set to enhanced and what HDMI Input are you using ? Then what are your Display Settings starting with what Picture Mode you are using and what are the Picture Adjustment Settings ? Hopefully somewhere in there is what is causing your unsatisfactory "color pop". :)
Blu-ray disk playback and sometimes streaming.
All of my hdmi cables are certified 2.0.
Seating position it dead center not to the left or right.
It is set to enhanced hdmi and for disk playback in using hdmi port 2(cable TV port 1)
Ive been mainly using cinema pro using the settings suggested by Steve in the avs YouTube video. Also tried the out of the box cinema pro also. And played with other like cool cinema home, Standard, vivid.
Hope this helps :)
 
#14,252 ·
I bought a 65z9d over the weekend ( be delivered in 2 weeks) to replace a Samsung un55c8000xf I got 8 years ago. Wanted to move up to 4K and 3D is important since my 2 grandsons and I like to order a pizza, get out the 3D glasses and enjoy one of our many 3D movies every couple of weeks. I figured the Sony will be a big improvement over my old edge lit Samsung and also my last shot at getting a 3D capable tv.

Looking for a link or 2 on setting it up and dailing in the picture settings please. My search skills are lacking so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also going to order an Oppo 203 to connect to the Sony just for traditions sake since I own 1 each of the last 2 Oppo lines and it will likely be the last chance at a new 3D capable Blu-ray player as well.

Hope I made a good choice since I could not find a store that had the Sony set up and running.
Congratulations ....nice setup.
 
#14,253 ·
Two 3D tips since you are one of the few other people owning this set who seem to care about 3D: turn motion flow off, and turn 3D glasses brightness to Low to minimize flickering from the active 3D (or just keep your overall brightness low; I like a brighter more saturated picture than most).
I like the SOE with 3D. To me it makes it look more like your there. So I keep it on smooth and high.
 
#14,254 ·
Looking for a link or 2 on setting it up and dailing in the picture settings please. My search skills are lacking so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also going to order an Oppo 203 to connect to the Sony just for traditions sake since I own 1 each of the last 2 Oppo lines and it will likely be the last chance at a new 3D capable Blu-ray player as well.

Hope I made a good choice since I could not find a store that had the Sony set up and running.
10K'S settings are probably the most used on this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...ead-no-price-talk-please-88.html#post46576609
 
#14,255 ·
Well I stopped at Best Buy but the lights are so bright there it’s hard to tell how any of them would really look in a real world situation. I saw this response to a question on Rtings though and is probably what I’m experiencing.

“When you sit this close, the edges of the screen will look washed out if the viewing angle isn't good. If you view a 43" TV from 3 feet away, you are viewing the edges of the screen from a 28° angle. If you're using a TV with a VA panel whose black level doubles at 15° and colors shift at 20° (pretty common for VA), the edges of the screen will look a little washed out.”

Maybe a different set would be better as far as the viewing angle like you said, but would you risk it if it had very minimal DSE effect and no banding? The seller is offering me a replacement of a new one or refunding me $1200 (or $900 and 5 year warranty) because of the fact that the set had 3,000 hours on it. What would you do in that situation?
... Are you happy with overall PQ of the Z and planning on keeping it for several years ? If so, you can not beat a 5 year Warranty with the added cash back. Are you happy with Z but will be upgrading in a year or so the $1200 is nice maybe put the $ towards a new Z9E/F. If you are not happy with the PQ of the Z but plan on keeping a quality Z9D for several years get the replacement. :)

Blu-ray disk playback and sometimes streaming.
All of my hdmi cables are certified 2.0.
Seating position it dead center not to the left or right.
It is set to enhanced hdmi and for disk playback in using hdmi port 2(cable TV port 1)
Ive been mainly using cinema pro using the settings suggested by Steve in the avs YouTube video. Also tried the out of the box cinema pro also. And played with other like cool cinema home, Standard, vivid.
Hope this helps :)
... Those are the basic starting Connections/Settings. Have you tried 10k's recommended Settings ? If not, a Thread Post back rlb gives the link to 10k's Settings. If all else fails after trying 10k's Settings you can always try using a Live Color Setting other then Off. :)
 
#14,257 ·
The cable box goes to the cable/sat HDMI input on the 4300H. Does the receiver send the sound from the cable box directly to the speakers and the picture to the TV? Is that why I am still getting sound, even though there is no ACR on HDMI port 2?
That is what I suspected...you aren't even using ARC. With the cable box connected to your AVR, the AVR is "grabbing" the audio as the signal is passed through it to the TV...no ARC involved. Suspect your original problem might have just been a loose HDMI cable connection and just "reseating" the cables would have fixed it. In any case, it sounds like you don't need ARC (which would only be in use for TV apps or devices connected directly to the TV). If you haven't done so, make sure all of your cables are "Premium Certified" or get one's that are (the Monoprice, Blue Jeans, etc.are not expensive). It won't matter for cable boxes and such but for any actual 4K sources (UHD BD players, etc.) it will matter so easier to just make sure they all are.
 
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#14,258 ·
I have got ARC working again, finally.:D . . . Until the next time it inexplicably goes south again, that is.:mad:
Last night I discovered that ARC had stopped working once again and, sure enough, the duplicative " ADI Repeater" entry was back on the BRAVIA Sync device list. I firmly believe this was due to the Denon AVR-X8500H having automatically rebooted earlier in the day following download and installation of a HEOS app update.

The same remedy I used last time (disable ARC on the Z9D, deleting the extant device list; disconnect all HDMI inputs to the AVR; then re-enable ARC on both units) successfully restored ARC functionality.

Knowing the cause (auxiliary HDMI inputs to the AVR) and the solution (temporarily removing said inputs) relegates this problem to just a minor irritant.:rolleyes:
 
#14,259 ·
Maybe a different set would be better as far as the viewing angle like you said, but would you risk it if it had very minimal DSE effect and no banding? The seller is offering me a replacement of a new one or refunding me $1200 (or $900 and 5 year warranty) because of the fact that the set had 3,000 hours on it. What would you do in that situation?
Depends on what the initial payment was on the Z9D.....
 
#14,260 ·
Guys some help, in a shop near me there is a zd9 with a crazy price (normal price is above 4200€ here in Greece and they give it 1450).
I have a stick with me and we plugged it and i saw 5-10 and 100 white and i haven't spotted anything bad. Haven't saw any crack around (even though with that price i would had been ok with cracks and no sound as long the panel was fine).

The tv seems fine and it was some months in demo in the shop playing the Sony demo.

What to do? Is there anything else i need to see?
The joke is that i went for a kitchen Led tv and saw that and stuck so if i take it i must some how put my c6 in the kitchen lol because now if i buy it wife will think I'm crazy.
 
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