Robert D Davis
Grip
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2000
- Messages
- 17
Well, I went out and took the plunge last night and bought what was supposed to be the first floor model of the Sony KD-34XBR2 for Colorado Springs (good timing on my part). Fortunately, I bought it before they had a chance to unpack it so it was brand new in the box and untouched. Well, I have to say, it's the most beautiful TV that I've ever seen in my life, and I haven't even had time to properly calibrate it yet. It stinks that the Springs doesn't have HD broadcasts yet, but hopefully that will change by next year. Anyway, this set still doesn't show up on Sony's website, so I'll try and give a few specs. First, it has a great ability for aspect ratio switching, and makes non-anamorphic DVDs display in a 16x9 format with no distortion of the image (the modes are normal, full, zoom, and wide zoom). Oh, and it has a truly stellar bitmap menu system that's a real treat for the eyes. It's 206 lbs. and comes with an ATSC tuner built-in. The Cinemotion 3:2 pulldown just simply is awe inspiring.
Ok, now for my question. I have Video Essentials, and in the past, I used it to calibrate conventional sets. However, are there any discs out there that could help me calibrate an ATSC 16x9 set, especially with regards to correcting overscan (since VE appears to be shot in a 4x3 format, I'm sure you can see the problem with trying to use "overscan templates" with this set)? I would really appreciate any input on this, and feel free to ask any questions about the set as I'll do my best to answer them. BTW, I paid about $3425 for the set, with the store price being $3879 and their cost being $2800. I obviously got a pretty good deal, although be forewarned that if you try to get it this cheap, you're going to go through plenty of hassles with salesmen since the set officially won't even be released until September (I had to pit three different stores against each other to manage this price). Anyway, I've always wanted to buy an HDTV, and thank God I finally own one.
Ok, now for my question. I have Video Essentials, and in the past, I used it to calibrate conventional sets. However, are there any discs out there that could help me calibrate an ATSC 16x9 set, especially with regards to correcting overscan (since VE appears to be shot in a 4x3 format, I'm sure you can see the problem with trying to use "overscan templates" with this set)? I would really appreciate any input on this, and feel free to ask any questions about the set as I'll do my best to answer them. BTW, I paid about $3425 for the set, with the store price being $3879 and their cost being $2800. I obviously got a pretty good deal, although be forewarned that if you try to get it this cheap, you're going to go through plenty of hassles with salesmen since the set officially won't even be released until September (I had to pit three different stores against each other to manage this price). Anyway, I've always wanted to buy an HDTV, and thank God I finally own one.