Sony's 2017 premium UHD-TV's the X800E, X850E, X900E and X940E series (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

It's not perfect. There's a few caveats I should note:
Apparently it can't support 4K HDR on HDMI 1. WTF? And it only does ARC on HDMI3.
And there is currently a visible vignette effect in all 4 corners during very bright scenes. I am hoping this is correctable with calibration.

If those are the worst problems tho it's worth every penny.

 

[Bryan^H]

I just bought a new home with a decent size livng room. All other hobby purchases have ceased. I need a new TV first, and foremost. Looking closely at the Sony 65" 'Z9D'. The reviews have stated that the brightness, and contrast are otherworldly.
This will be a very difficult choice as the LG Oled models are still very attractive to me.

Advice?

 

[Sam Posten]

If you have the room for a 75" I would and did pick that over the 65" Z

 

[Robert Crawford]

If you have the room for a 75" I would and did pick that over the 65" Z

I think Bryan is heavily into 3-D so he'll be taking that into consideration.

 

[Bryan^H]

If you have the room for a 75" I would and did pick that over the 65" Z

The set you have looks great, and I'm sure the HDR really pops.
I will read up on that model. My projector does 3D well, but this will be the last tv I buy for a lot of years so I just wanted it to be special/3D capable. End of an era so to speak(that and I have close to 75 3D films that I really enjoy).

 

[Sam Posten]

Yeah I dunno what I will do if they stop making 3D PJs. I'll miss it but I'd rather have HDR than 3D...

 

[Breakdancefight]

I was able to pick up the 49" X900E over the weekend. I am coming from the 43" X800D and Samsung 49" KU7000 and the difference is huge.

I am a gamer and use it for my PS4 PRO and Xbox one S. A displays input lag and motion performance are as important as how many pixels are on the screen.
The motion performance on the X900E is some of the best I have seen from a VA based LCD panel. I have noticed little to no trailing in darker panning shots and zero smearing usually associated with the VA panels inherent slower pixel response time.

So far I am thrilled with my purchase, but my only hesitation is last year's KS8500 has better peak luminance and more full bandwidth HDMI ports than the X900E. The KS8500 can be had for almost $200 dollars less at the moment.

 

[Viper]

I was able to pick up the 49" X900E over the weekend. I am coming from the 43" X800D and Samsung 49" KU7000 and the difference is huge.

I am a gamer and use it for my PS4 PRO and Xbox one S. A displays input lag and motion performance are as important as how many pixels are on the screen.
The motion performance on the X900E is some of the best I have seen from a VA based LCD panel. I have noticed little to no trailing in darker panning shots and zero smearing usually associated with the VA panels inherent slower pixel response time.

So far I am thrilled with my purchase, but my only hesitation is last year's KS8500 has better peak luminance and more full bandwidth HDMI ports than the X900E. The KS8500 can be had for almost $200 dollars less at the moment.

Good to hear, but the input lag being higher than most other brands puts me off. I'm wondering if they'll improve it with a firmware update, or if next year's model will be improved plus have DV and all full bandwidth HDMI. I'm trying to hold off until next year to find out, but if I hear about a firmware update improving input lag, I'm all over it.

 

[Breakdancefight]

Good to hear, but the input lag being higher than most other brands puts me off. I'm wondering if they'll improve it with a firmware update, or if next year's model will be improved plus have DV and all full bandwidth HDMI. I'm trying to hold off until next year to find out, but if I hear about a firmware update improving input lag, I'm all over it.

Sony has in the past been able to further optimize their displays through firmware.
For me playing console gaming 31ms isn't even noticeable for lag,but PC twitch gamers are more susceptible to the effects of lag.

After talking to a few Samsung KS8000/8000 owners I am positive the X900E is the midrange set to beat this year.
As I said motion is some of the best I have seen on an LCD. I have seen no Judder in film content and no micro Judder from 30hz content some times noticeable on 60-120hz displays.

Max luminance is around 860nit. While this doesn't meet HDR certification it is twice as bright as last years midrange displays.

I have watched Ghostbusters 2016,Pacific Rim,Star Trek:Into darkness and Oblivion in 4k/HDR.
I was blown away by the amazing color saturation and insanely bright light output.
Pacific Rim is a sight to behold in 4k/HDR.

 

[DutchOven88]

It's not perfect. There's a few caveats I should note:
Apparently it can't support 4K HDR on HDMI 1. WTF? And it only does ARC on HDMI3.
And there is currently a visible vignette effect in all 4 corners during very bright scenes. I am hoping this is correctable with calibration.

If those are the worst problems tho it's worth every penny.

Hey @Sam Posten , Congrats on the 940E! Would you be willing to post the calibration specs?
What Input did you use as your primary source? Thanks !

 

[Mark Booth]

I happened to shop for the 75" Sony X940E at just the right time (when the price had dropped to $3,999). It is being delivered today. Already have a buyer for my 2-year-old 75" Vizio. My 4K Apple TV was delivered on Friday. Life is good!

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

Hey @Sam Posten , Congrats on the 940E! Would you be willing to post the calibration specs?
What Input did you use as your primary source? Thanks !

These are the topics I'm starting with when I go to calibrate my new 940E:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...r-s-thread-no-price-talk-94.html#post54834012

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...ead-no-price-talk-please-88.html#post46576609

And this YouTube video for the X94E, the European version of the same set:



However, I am considering enlisting the services of a professional calibrator. An ISF-certified calibrator here in San Diego has quoted me $214 for the job.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

It's here!

Mark

 

[Sam Posten]

Hey @Sam Posten , Congrats on the 940E! Would you be willing to post the calibration specs?
What Input did you use as your primary source? Thanks !

Sorry, missed this

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...r-s-thread-no-price-talk-84.html#post54743594

 

[Mark Booth]

Managed to install the Sony X940E on Tuesday night and had some time to input and try the calibration settings recommended in various reviews/sites. Then I put 'Planet Earth II' in the Panny UB900, my first time to see the 4K disc (it wouldn't play at all on our Vizio due to the lack of HDR). Wow! No, make that WOW!! No, make that UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME WOW!

It felt like we were looking through a window into the real world, not a video program.

Count me among the 4K HDR faithful! If there is anyone left that still thinks 1080p is "good enough", your mind will be completely changed once you've spent 5 minutes in front of a properly adjusted 4K HDR set with Planet Earth II spinning in the 4K player.

Last night I watched 4K HDR 'The Fifth Element'. WOW again!

As previously mentioned, our 2015 Vizio 4K TV lacked HDR. When we bought it, HDR wasn't really fully baked yet. We knew the Vizio would be an interim step. I am so pleased we are finally owners of an HDR set (and not just any HDR set, but the RTing's pick for best 75" set for 2017.

Color me extremely impressed with HDR. Picking up 4K HDR 'Blade Runner' at Best Buy today. Can't wait to watch it!

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

BTW, we've already sold our non-HDR 75" 4K Vizio for $1,200. That knocked the out of pocket cost for the X940E down to $2,800 (plus tax). We paid $2,200 for the Vizio back in 2015, for a total of $5K. That is $1K below what some folks paid for the X940E when it was released in March.

Mark

 

[Sam Posten]

940E got patched this weekend. WTF would they push out a big patch like this WITHOUT DV? This makes zero sense. None of this junk couldn't have waited until the DV was ready.

Adds support for the Amazon® Alexa™ app that runs on Amazon Echo™ devices
Resolves an issue where optical digital sound sometimes stops
Resolves an issue where the TV speakers and the sound from the PS4 controller are out of sync
Resolves an issue where frame drops occur and the AV is out of sync when playing 4K HDR 60fps content
Adds support for the A2DP Bluetooth® profile
Adds support for PIP (Picture-in-Picture) while using an app (watch TV in a small window while using an Android TV™ app)
Adds support for Hybrid Log-Gamma HDR content via HDMI® and USB/Home network
Improves the Settings screen to support changing settings while viewing TV (some exceptions may apply)
Adds support for task-switching (switch between previously used apps and the current app by holding down the HOME button on your remote until the task-switching menu appears)

 

[Sam Posten]

It's November, where the hell is DV? Starting to wonder if they will ever deliver it at all. Any word @Robert Zohn

 

[Mike Thomass]

hey all, not sure how dead this thread is, but im considering picking up a 75" x900e
best buy reviews are pretty much all positive, however when i look at amazon, i see a considerable amount of complaints about the displays not working any more (bars on screen) and some other display related issues. i look at other brand and see a fairly similar % of 1 star reviews, but for slightly less significant issues. best buy negative reviews were for things that im not worried about, remote control, menu, etc.
im terrified i pick one of these up and the display takes a dump the day after warranty expires.
im i paranoid?
im also reading a bit about how sony support is horrible. any truth to this?
thanks in advance for any input on this

 

[Sam Posten]

DV for the x1 equipped sets is coming.... After CES 2018.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...e-on-its-dolby-vision-tv-update/#19055cca7655

I love the look on my 940E but would never have purchased it in April had I known that it would be 2018 before I got DV capability. I sure wouldnt have bought an Oppo 203 at the time, I didnt even know the thing couldnt do DV until the day Power Rangers came out on disk and wouldn't play. I take part of the blame, I trusted Sony's original Press Release that said it would be DV equipped and didn't keep up with industry speculation that they were full of shit and wouldn't hit until too late.

My recommendation today, and you are welcome to dismiss it if you like, is you are crazy to buy any Sony X1 TVs today until after CES 2018. It's 18 days away. Make an informed purchase knowing exactly what the new year's sets will bring. YMMV.