Sony Bravia LCD HDTV Sets

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Solid Lifters

Solid Lifters

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Does anybody here have one? I'm in the very near future market for a new HDTV set. My beloved Sony Wega KD-34XBR2 HDTV set is on it's last legs. The knell is ringing, and ringing loud.

I want a SED set, but it looks like Toshiba or Canon wont have them available for at least a year, perhaps two. So, there goes that plan.

I would consider buying a cheap HDTV set to hold me over, but I really want a fantastic PS3 experience.

The problem with the set I've been looking at, the Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR3 are the HDMI inputs. They're version 1.2 and not 1.3 like what the PS3 will be (Note:This is not really a problem since this set cannot take advantage of the video quality HDMI 1.3 can offer but audio is a different story). Plus, the PC input is rated for 1080i only, and not 1080p which spoils my desire to get a Blu-ray drive PC one day(This has been confirmed by owners of this set not to be true. It will do 1080p via the RGB PC input and all other HDMI inputs. Thanks Sony Product Specialists for being wrong, again!).

But, other than these two shortcomings, do you who own one have any problems with this set? Any audio or audio sync problems (These aren't shortcomings, afterall)?

I appreciate any help you can offer.

KDL40XBR3.jpg
 
If you want a 1080p HDTV, then wait till some better 1080p HDTV's to come out. But, nothing is ever future proof, because the video processors in the HDTV's are always improving.

Also if you can wait a bit, then wait till OLED HDTV's come out.
 
TVR&Ferrari_Fan
If you want a 1080p HDTV, then wait till some better 1080p HDTV's to come out. But, nothing is ever future proof, because the video processors in the HDTV's are always improving.

Also if you can wait a bit, then wait till OLED HDTV's come out.
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If I were to wait for something, witch I cannot do, I'd wait for SED. Those sets will actually take advantage of HDMI 1.3. OLED is still an in-development TV technology. They still have reliability issues; the blues don't last very long. Wait about four or five years, then the technology will be advanced enough to make some decent HDTVs.

It's kind of how LCD broke out into the HDTV world. At first, they were terrible but they had great potential. Now look; I'm planning on purchasing one.
 
I have a V Series 40 inch Bravia LCD TV that we got two months ago I think. The colours are just so much better than what the other competitors displayed, and 720p is enough for me - it looks crisp. :) I'd highly recommend them...I guess the only problem would be having only one HDMI port.
 
DODGE the VIPER
I have a V Series 40 inch Bravia LCD TV that we got two months ago I think. The colours are just so much better than what the other competitors displayed, and 720p is enough for me - it looks crisp. :) I'd highly recommend them...I guess the only problem would be having only one HDMI port.
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A lot of owners of the set you have are complaining about the DRC performance with SD (Standard Definition) sources. Do you have any problems? Many turn off DRC, which was made an option because 1080 DRC adds so much noise it makes SD signals look horrible.

So far, other owners of the same HDTV set I just purchased, that is yet to arrive at my house (Saturday), have mixed results for SD (Standard Definition). Some say it's pretty good, and some say there are a lot of artificial artifacts that tend to ruing the SD picture. What are your results for SD? What sources, digital cable, analog antenna, of SD are you using to judge? Some say digital SD sources are fine but analog SD sources are terrible.
 
Well Standard definition (digital) is fine on my TV, it looks fantastic to me...of course not as good as high definiton though. In Australia I don't think we have analog standard definition...I purchased a Sony HD set top box a few days after purchasing the TV because the analog signal is just not made for TVs with the a higher resolution.
What is DRC by the way? My TV runs in 1366x768 I think (either that or 1280...) so I can't run 1080i on it - maybe the American model is different?
 
DODGE the VIPER
Well Standard definition (digital) is fine on my TV, it looks fantastic to me...of course not as good as high definiton though. In Australia I don't think we have analog standard definition...I purchased a Sony HD set top box a few days after purchasing the TV because the analog signal is just not made for TVs with the a higher resolution.
What is DRC by the way? My TV runs in 1366x768 I think (either that or 1280...) so I can't run 1080i on it - maybe the American model is different?
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My runs 1080p. It has DRC2.5.

DRC is Digital Reality Creation a Sony process for deinterlacing / upconverting SD and other video sources to the set's native resolution. DRC2.5 converts everything into 1080p. However, on 480i sources, it may look horrible with it on to some people. I agree, it adds some "artifacts" and digital noise "pixelation" "digital crap-out" that some hate. But, for the level of detail it offers compared to it off, I think those effects are a very fair trade off.
 
This is the url for the TV I have, I couldn't find any DRC related things on it there so I'm guessing it might be for the newer American models only.
So when will you receive your TV?
 
DODGE the VIPER
This is the url for the TV I have, I couldn't find any DRC related things on it there so I'm guessing it might be for the newer American models only.
So when will you receive your TV?
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You're right, I don't see DRC listed. Odd. Maybe your set is after the one people were complaining about and took out DRC.

I've got my set right now. This is the first post with it. It looks horrible. LOL. I have no choice but to connect via the PC input on the back. (I'm using my S-video input). There also seem to have some picture uniformity issues. The picture looks concave a bit, but there are settings to fix that. I'm not going to touch them, though. I'll wait until I hook this PC up via the RGB cable first.


HD is unbelievable. It's better than my last set. So crisp and clear with more intense colors. I cannot be happier with it. This is the reason why I bought this set.

I tried out the PS2 just now, it looks good. Better than before but there's a bit of digital noise. I turned up the noise reduction, and it helped. The sharpness and detail are amazing. Colors are so vibrant it's hard to describe. There is some noticeable motion blur when the action gets fast, but this is a LCD and this is 480i enhanced. I had very little of this on my last set, though. It still looks damn good, so no problems here. But, I cannot wait for the PS3! Oh, I'm gonna try GT4 and 1080i mode latter to see how that looks.

Unfortunately, this set cannot handle 480i well, but that really doesn't bother me. It's good enough, but not spectacular. I bought this set for PS3, HD-PVR and my DirecTV H20. This wont be a big issue for me. But, those stuck with SD should stay away until they can afford new HD equipment to use this set with.

OK, I just turned off DRC and the picture is A LOT better. DRC mode on for 480i adds too much noise. But then, I knew that beforehand and again, I don't care much.
 
Now go out and buy an Xbox 360 so you can truly experience HD gaming...it's worth it! :D Good to hear you like it - the colours are excellent.
 
DODGE the VIPER
Now go out and buy an Xbox 360 so you can truly experience HD gaming...it's worth it! :D Good to hear you like it - the colours are excellent.
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Who needs a 360 when you 1080i mode in GT4 and 480p Wide Screen mode in God of War? Both look incredible and GOW had NO dot crawl or blur. 👍
 
Solid Lifters
Who needs a 360 when you 1080i mode in GT4 and 480p Wide Screen mode in God of War? Both look incredible and GOW had NO dot crawl or blur. 👍
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1080i in GT4 isn't true HD. And since there's no anti-aliasing, it looks like a chimp with acne.

Not to mention you play every single 360 game at 720p/1080i, and hell, even Table Tennis looks great.
 
My question with this television has been pretty simple since I first heard about it.

Is there an advantage over the Westinghouse LCD televisions? Those are 1080p, too.. and a hell of a lot cheaper.
 
Jedi2016
My question with this television has been pretty simple since I first heard about it.

Is there an advantage over the Westinghouse LCD televisions? Those are 1080p, too.. and a hell of a lot cheaper.
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Go to a TV store and see a comparison. But first, make sure the settings are similar and they're displaying the same feed. Remember, stores set up HDTV sets to be extra bright, so turn down the Backlight, Picture and Brightness settings.

So far, most everyone I've read who went to check it out, claim the XBR2 is better that whatever it goes up against. There are some people who acknowledge it's a great set, but don't like the analog 480i performance which is not that great.
 
Solid Lifters
*snip*
There are some people who acknowledge it's a great set, but don't like the analog 480i performance which is not that great.
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Like you said, as if you're going to use analog 480i on this TV though...if you do (regularly) you might as well buy a regular TV!
 
Im looking at this set the "Sony KDL-32V2000" UK. Its has got great reviews.

5/5 from what hi-fi sound and vision (Respected Hi-fi mag)
4/5 from T3 gadget magazine (not so respected)

The only reason that they didnt give it 4/5 in the T3 mag, was because of the old price of £1700 and only one HDMI, Now its about 6 month later the price is £1025 with delivery and VAT, and I can do with only one HDMI because the PS3 will do me for BD movies and upscaled DVD, plus im not too bothered about 1080p as its only a 32inch set and it would be wasted on such a small screen so 720p is fine for me.

Anyone over in the UK got one of these sets?

T3 Review
 
The contrast ratio is a little low, but at 32" it's okay. It seems bright and colourful when I saw one in a shop last week. Definately one I would get if I didn't already have a DLP. But then I'm a sucker for size and 32" would'nt be enough. 40" is minimum.
 
slackbladder
The contrast ratio is a little low, but at 32" it's okay. It seems bright and colourful when I saw one in a shop last week. Definately one I would get if I didn't already have a DLP. But then I'm a sucker for size and 32" would'nt be enough. 40" is minimum.
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Dont get me wrong, Size is everything... apparently :O , and so is the price, having a poorly paid job, and saving to go out to south africa puts me at the low end of the market, and seeing as this TV has got great reviews and now has come down in price it definatly comes into my price bracket.

I could always go for a DLP set, but the con's outweighs the pro's for me, plus I only have a very small space to have a screen so this also puts me into the smaller screen bracket.
 

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