Any thoughts about the Sony KV30XBR910? (1 Viewer)

[Gary SI]

Hi Folks,
I have been looking all over the place for a good review , but I think that it is too new.
Any and all comments would be helpfull , Thanks
Gary

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Bump,

Ive not had the opportunity to view this one...perhaps somebody else has.

 

[Bill R.]

Gary,

I saw a positive review of the larger cousin of this set (the KV-34XBR910)and it prompted me to venture to take a look at the 30-inch version. What I saw caused my immediately open my wallet and slap down my credit card! This is flat out THE best home TV/Monitor display I've ever seen -- no plasma, LCD, DLP or other CRT I've seen can produce an image that has as much honest resolution as this. The main reason for this is a new high resolution CRT that has a MUCH smaller dot pitch than anything else out there at the moment -- you've really got to get very close to the screen before you see the Trintron "stripes," so at normal viewing distances they're totally invisible which really creates an effect that is like looking out a window.

Don't know what else to say about it. If you have a chance, find a store that's got it in stock and have a look for yourself. It blew me away, and I'm used to looking at pro monitors that cost in the five-figures.

--Bill R.

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Bill,
Thank`s for the great review
I had a chance to see the 34" version at CC and one of the first things I noticed ( aside from a great looking picture) was an * upper pin cusion* problem.
So I did the ; display +5 + volume up + power on ,
and could not get the set adjusted perfictly , the image would either bend too much to the right or left and could not get it "dead center" .
I have since seen the same TV at other locals and same problem :frowning:
So I was wondering if it was just the 34" or the 34" and 30" ( I hope not ).
Is there anyway that you could put a movie in that has a THX Optimizer and check out your sets geomitery ?
Thank you , Also maybe it could be a "burn-in" issue where once it has a few hours on it it would check out fine.
Anyway many thanks , and best of luck with your new TV
Thanks agian
Gary

 

[Bill R.]

Gary,

Sorry to say that my set has yet to be delivered (it should be here today), so I can't run any tests on it for you. I didn't notice any pinchusion problems on the demo set, but then again, I didn't watch it long enough to see the kind of material that shows up that problem. I know what you're talking about though, as I've spent hours inside pro monitors tweaking pincushion, linearity and all the other settings that affect geometry. I'm really a stickler for that kind of thing, and get irritated when it's not "just so."

Anyway, once I get this thing unboxed and setup, I'll give you a report. It could be a few days though, as I have to completely revamp my entire system in order to integrate this thing in. But I will definitely check it out, even if it's just sitting on the floor, to make sure it WORKS before I go through all that trouble!

I don't know if I have a movie that contains the "THX optimizer," but I have the Avia test disc that contains plenty of signals that will expose this problem. I'll let you know!

--Bill R.

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for the help
Looking forward to the results of your test , but please take your time . I`m in no rush right now.
I have a Sony 1st gen. XBR Wega (KV32XBR200) and I`ve had that pincushion problem for awhile , when I first got the set geo. was a-ok , it took a couple of years for it to show up.
But I do have the service manual , but there is no fine tunning for , upper pin ~ lower pin or pin amp.
In fact theres not fine adjustment for any geo settings.
Given that it was the first , I`m hopping that after 5+ years the they have greatly improved.
Even though the 34" that I saw , and noticed the "pin problem , it sure had a great picture.
I was realy luck CC had set up a KV 34 HS 510 to the right of the KV 34 XBR 910 and I can say that it was like looking at two different brands. I`ve heard some say that there isn`t that much differance between the 2 , but to me it was like "night an day" the 910 was sooo much clearer , the 510 you could almost count the lines.
I wish you all the best with your new XBR
Looking forward to your post/reply
Gary

 

[Bill R.]

Gary,

I took the set out of the box last night and did some prelimary viewing tests with it. First impressions:

Geometry looks good -- no pinchusion problems to speak of. With 4:3 material, looks like there might be a little trapezoid error, but I'm sure that can fixed in the service menu.

Convergence not that great out of the box. I went into the service menu and did some minor tweaking which brought into shape -- looks good now.

Vertical and Horizontal size a little wide -- fixed the vertical, but ran out of time to do anything more. Will get to the Horizontal later.

Watched a little HD Leno and the PBS demo loop -- both looked damned good. Not equal to the $40,000 Sony pro monitors I've seen , but for a home set, very, very impressive.

Only downside so far: When viewing regular 'ol NTSC material either via S-Video, composite, or the built-in tuner, it looks pretty ugly. Everything looks super-processed and milky. I dinked around with the "DRC" settings, and the only range of options seemed to be "pretty ugly" to "super incredibly ugly." Perhaps there's a way to turn this junk off completely, but if so, I haven't found a way.

--Bill R.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Are we talking about the 30- or the 34-inch 910 here?

So Sony's claims for the new version of the "aperture grill" aren't mere advertising hype?

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Bill,
Thank you for your info
It has been a big help,
Sorry to hear that "anaolg" isn`t that hot :frowning:

Hi Jack,
Yes, we are talking about the two new 16X9 XBR`s .
They are the KV30 & 34 XBR 910.
I have seen the 34" in and have noticed that it has an "upper pin amp" problem , but have not seen the 30" , yet . Looking forward to seeing one soon, it`s to bad that the analog input is not that great.
Sounds almost like the same "wash-out" that I`m getting with my KV32XBR200.

Take care folks and thanks again for your help Bill , I hope you have a chance for further advise , when you have the time , thanks
Gary

 

[Bill R.]

Jack,

For once, no hype here -- the tube in both the 30 and 34-inch versions of this model has a markedly denser aperture grill. Comparing this to previous incarnations, it has the appearance of being twice as dense, even though the claim is 65%. I have the 30-inch model, but the 34-inch tube appears to have the same grill (judging from what I saw in the store).

And Gary, it looks to me like they're applying a big bucket of noise reduction to the NTSC inputs, and if there was a way to back that down, it might help a lot. Unfortunately, I guess I will need the service manual to see if that's possible, because paging through all the items in the service menu didn't lead me to anything obvious.

--Bill R.

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for your info , sounds like maybe there using too much noise reduction (DCR + 10bit Comb Filter).
Kind of like the first gen. Wega`s where you could not shut off the VMS , and the only way to reduce it was to use the movie mode , but then the picture looks too soft .
I Hope you have the best of luck, it sure does have a nice picture ( the 34 ) I`m sure the 30" looks even better.
Especially where it`s a smaller tube , less viewing area but a better picture
Sony sure does make good TV`s
Now they just have to decide how to make them !! LOL
Take care , and , happy veiwing. Thanks again for your help
Gary

 

[Jack Briggs]

I've been following the KV-34XBR910 ever since it was announced. The review in the current Sound & Vision, though quite positive, read just like any other display review in that magazine (which is to say, by the numbers with too much personal fluff and bad writing; they could review a 3-D television and it would read like any other of the magazine's reviews).

But I've been wondering if the new aperture grill will make a truly noticeable difference and it appears that is the case. I am seriously considering this set.

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Jack,
Realy that good !
Tuff call, however , I did see the KV34HS510 and the KV34XBR910 side by side and there was a difference.
So how was it ? The 510 had the best geometry but the 910 had the better quality picture. With the 510 it was almost like you could "count the lines" and the 910 there were no lines.
But please keep in mind that that was in a store using a "fixed signal" . But both tv`s where set to "standard" and reset ( by me ) so as to get an accurate compairison.
Can the geometry problem of the 910 be fixed in the service menu ? I don`t know , I have a 32" - 1st gen. Wega and it has an upper pin amp problem that can`t be fixed in the service menu , and I was told that I most likely would have to have a chip replaced. Even though I have an extended warranty , it would not be an easy task to move the "beast" so a tech could work on it.
However , it may come to that. I have offen wondered why there isn`t a "fine adjustment" . Not sure if the new ones do or not ( only have service manual for the set that I have now) It would be good if they did.
Also keep in mind that "the next batch" may not have that problem. Crutchfield has sold there 1st batch.
I would buy another Sony because even with there "little glitches" there still the most "user friendly" TV around IMO
I hope this info helps
Happy viewing !!
Gary

 

[Frank@N]

I was also impressed with the 910 series after seeing a Two Towers demo running at CC.

Do you guys think that 34" is the outer limit for 16x9 CRTs or will these displays eventually go a bit larger?

 

[Gary SI]

Hi Frank,
I think that a 34" would be the largest we`ll see.
That is just a guess , but considering the compition , i doubt that you`ll see anything bigger.
Besides , the 34" wieghts about 200 and the 30" about 160 , there heavy tv`s.
I think there 40" 4X3 is about 300 lbs ( I wouldn`t want to make that a portable LOL )
With only a couple of years till the end of NTSC , I think that we are seeing the "last gasp" for tube tv`s.
I maybe wrong , but the prices of LCD & Plasma , keep comming down.
But there are a ton + of folks that will still keep there tubes , even all analog and just get a down converter from there cable co. or "radio shack".
I figure it will take a good 5 ~ 10 years after the change over for HD to become realy main-stream. IMO
There are way too many people who won`t even know what is going on !!
Most have cable and cable co. will continue to send a coverted 480i signal .
But when there tv`s start to fail then they up-grade and NTSC will really be history!!
That`s my guess
But they are good looking tv`s and having 3 HD inputs is a huge plus , most "flat panel" have 1 or 2 at most.
And you have 4 analog inputs as well and one out !!
So , they sure have peaked my interest
Best of luck , and happy viewing !!
Gary

 

[Jack Briggs]

Well, there have already been two direct-view widescreen sets larger than 34 inches, both of them sharing the same tube but possessing much different electronics: that ill-fated RCA 38-incher and the very, very highly rated Loewe Aconda 38. But, for reasons noted above, you most likely won't see direct-views larger than that (or the Sony KV-40XBR800); they push the boundaries of practicality because of their weight and bulk.

 

[Bill R.]

Jack,

Yeah, that S&V article is what first alerted me to this set, but the reviwer really didn't make a big deal out of the improvement in the CRT. To my eyes, this is a HUGE deal, as it makes all the difference in the world -- you really can get to the point where the screen appears to disappear, and all you see is the PICTURE and nothing more. Looking at "regular" CRTs always leaves me with the feeling that I am peering through a screen in order to see the picture that is BEHIND it. This tube however looks more like a a computer monitor CRT than a "TV" CRT.

I'd say, it's definitely worth a moment of your time to check it out.

--Bill R.

 

[Paul.S]

Jack et al.:

. . .{snip}
I am seriously considering this set.[/b]

So am I. Did you pull the trigger or are you still doing due diligence? Which issue of S&V was the review in?

Paul

 

[Paul.S]

October 2003 issue if anyone else was wondering. The Perfect Vision review is far more thorough and ebullient.

-p

 

[Paul.S]

Well, there have already been two direct-view widescreen sets larger than 34 inches, both of them sharing the same tube but possessing much different electronics: that ill-fated RCA 38-incher and the very, very highly rated Loewe Aconda 38.

Just for shits and giggles, does anyone know how much either of these sets cost?

-p