mark1101 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 You could be right about the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Don't have any of that. But I do have a Sony Bravia XBR4 in my Kitchen bar and again I can't tell the difference on update rates on that TV either watching anything Dish network delivers to our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 120Hz with true 5:5 pulldown was designed more for DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray than cable/satellite/etc. Once you see a 24fps signal displayed in such a manner you'll be quite impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 there is a huge difference in information size used by bluray versus non-hd signals. Blu rays hold i think it was 50 or 54 gigabytes and thats a single bluray movie, thats a rediculous amount of info to be processed compared to a dvd which can hold 8gigs or so, about 6 times more information, that type of graphic load can be too heavy for a lower refresh rate. What you all said makes sense, i suppose i should have been more descript. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdridq Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 I've made a little headway in my TV search. I think I want to go with a 40" Sony LCD set. I don't need 240 Hz, 120 is fine, and 1080p is mandatory. Internet streaming would be nice. I've looked at various sites like Consumer Reports, Cnet, Crutchfield, and Amazon. I'm a little confused by all of Sony's different model numbers and "series" for what seems like the same thing in some cases, but often with huge price differences. If someone is familiar with how they name their stuff I would appreciate a little insight. There are a bunch of different XBR sets ranging in numbers from 3 to 10. Are the highest numbers the newest models or do they make some of them yearly and update them with new technology when needed? Then there are S, V, W, and Z "series" models? I just want to make sure I don't buy an old design if newer stuff is available, but I can't find anything at Sony or any of those other sites that explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 In the XBR series the higher the number the newer the TV. Not sure about the letter differences but I do believe the Bravia XBR is their top TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdridq Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 Also, do you know what is the difference between the Bravia 2 and 3 processors? Some sets use 2, some use 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I'm pretty sure XBR 9 is the present top dog with Sony. But don't think your buying the latest and greatest because that stuff hasn't gotten to outlets yet. Did you know that 2160p is on the way? If I were shopping today, I would strongly consider an LED over the older tech LCD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yura Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Sony is a good choice. I'm getting one myself for the new year. In Sony XBR is the best you can get (the higher the number after the letters, the better). The next one down is KDL Z series and then W series. I'm getting the KDL40W5100 - 40", 120Hz, 24p, Netflix, YouTube, Slacker radio, Amazon Video on Demand, weathe/news/stocks, DLNA for movies, pictures and MP3s over built-in ethernet card.... Sony and Samsung make the best sets. I've looked at prices and features and found that KDL W series is the best for me. XBR will have slightly deeper blacks (just like top of the line Samsung sets), but may not be as good for shadow detail (which to me is quite important). Sony's are said to have better color accuracy, but Samsungs are known for good blacks. One thing to note - most Sony's are made/lustre screens. Most Samsungs are glossy - which means a ton of reflections. Glossy screens is partly how they get deeper blacks by the way - glossy screen increases contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdridq Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 Yura, I notice the Z series and XBR use a 10 bit panel versus 8 bit in the W series. Does anybody think this makes any difference in the real world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yura Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 This is a touchy subject similar to blur. Some will claim they see the extra colors, but I yet have to see anyone pick a 10bit panel reliably without knowing which one is which. In fact just today I was comparing W,Z and XBR at one of the local stores. XBR looked the best of all them, but not because I saw more colors or better color accuracy, but because it had deeper blacks and stil didn't lose as much in the shadow. To me - 8 bit is not an issue since i can't tell the diference (Especially in video/movie/broadcasting content due to limited range of colors that needs to be reproduced). Even i you look at very high quality pictures on your screen trying to see the difference - you won't be able to as most picture files support only 8 bits of color. I really don't see 10bit as being anything but a marketing tool. My advise - get the features and picture quality you want (by looking at TVs in a store) in the right size without worrying about 8bit/10bit issue or even 240/120hz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 I have the (OTA) Sony XBR 2 and 6 (60 HZ) and when I play the Avia test disc the color rendition looks just great to me ( no changes required) except for the depth of the blacks. I am waiting for the 2160P with 3 D. The backlight does dimm down after a couple of years which I have boosted back up from 2 to 5. The linearity is so good it does not even have to be tested. The overscan is set to 2.5 percent. Any better and you see all the edge crap info. The only thing that really bothers me is "SD" performance (blocking and smearing) and "stretchovision". JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yura Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 I assume you mean standard def programming when you say SD - yes - it is a major issue with TV service providers. They don't have nearly enough bandwidth to actually output in high resolution without doing a ton of compression on the stream. And what's worse - they pick what should be compressed and what shouldn't. For example - i don't watch sports and could care less about any game in HD, but would love to watch more of the discovery/CBS/BBC type channels in HD By the way - the 3D part can be cool no doubt, but 2160p is going to be an utter overkill. They can't deliver even 720p on all channels, which looks rather poor with current compression on anything below 37". with 2160p we will end up watching 1080i first compressed for bandwidth concerns and then stretched on our TVs to fill the view. Going to be horrible. Plus imagine watching any kind of a raunchy scene in 2160p - it will be like being there with a microscope. One thing I wish for is for studios to switch to some other frame rate, as 24 frames is really not doing anyone any favors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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