Considering Sony XBR purchase... (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kasting]

Hi, this is my first post here...
I'm considering purchasing a Sony XBR WEGA tube "soon" (any time between immediately and, say, 6 months from now). However, I'm unclear on a few things, maybe you guys have some tips. For informational purposes, I use the TV to (a) watch Cable... currently have analog, (b) watch movies... intend to get a progressive-scan DVD player at the same time as the new TV, and occasionally (c) play video games. I watch more TV than movies, maybe 2 movies a week.
1) When I was in the store, I looked at both the 36" and the 40" models. They did NOT have them right next to each other, and I had a hard time seeing much of a difference in size. Since the 40" costs about ~$700 more than the 36", I'm tempted to just go with the 36". Is there some reason I'll really regret this later? Is 36" "too small"?
2) They DID have 36" XBR and non-XBR WEGA models side-by-side, and I could tell some difference in the image quality (I guess the XBR has the "DRC" chip in it and the non-XBR doesn't, or something?) but I'm really unclear on what the differences are. Does anyone know the important differences?
3) I don't know anything about various modes on the TV, when people use phrases like "3:2 pulldown" it means nothing to me. So the salesman said a few things about the TV's capabilities (which I assumed had to do with the color correction/image interpolation the TV was doing) in different modes, but I didn't really understand it. What sorts of things are important here? If I get a good DVD player, does that make some of this stuff on the TV irrelevant? Should I consider getting a cheaper model without features I "don't need"?
4) How will this set look displaying my analog cable signal? Some comments on best buy (or circuit city, or somewhere online) indicated that people felt their 36" Sony XBR displayed analog cable _worse_ than their "cheap" TVs, though it rocked with a digital signal. But I think they may have been talking about the 36" widescreen "hdtv monitor" or something. I'm just wondering if I should consider going to either digital cable or something like DirecTV when I get the new TV.
5) The salesman mentioned upcoming new models from Sony soon, and seemed to imply that the new models will cost more (their current models are about $2300/$3000 for the 36"/40", with free delivery... this seems to be a fairly good price to me) but won't really give me anything better, so I should probably buy one of the current models sometime before they change their stock over (this is a small a/v store) if I don't want to pay more. Should I take this seriously? What should I expect from the "new models"? Should I wait to get one of them instead?

TIA for your help.

 

[shane_watson]

i have a sony xbr 32 inch and love it but the reviews are correct my analog cable looks terrible,digital cable is great though,dvds look awesome,im using a jvc pro.scan dvd player.and games ,this thing makes xbox games look awesome.

 

[Mike Kao]

get digital cable, as satellite quality has been going down the tubes of late. The salesman was lying to you about the upcoming models being more expensive just to get a sale on the spot as they are actually reducing the price of the wega line. If you can tolerate a 32" screen, the recently introduced KV-32HS500 should fit the bill very nicely at only $1,499 retail (you can find for less). The 36" version of this will be coming out in a few months I believe for not much more (like $1800?).

 

[Peter Kasting]

Ah, but at other sites on line I have also seen things like "Sony typically introduces new models around September at a high price, drops the price aronud Christmas, and again in the next spring/summer". Which seems to suggest that the new models will be more expensive again... I'm not sure how much the "reducing price of the Wega line" will offset that, though.

I notice the KV-32HS500 is not an XBR set, so again, I reference point (2) in my original post--what are the differences? Is it worth spending (by your estimation) $400-$500 more to get the 36" XBR set?

 

[Jim FC]

Peter,
Good choice on the XBRs. Hard to argue that the XBR isn't the best tube TV on the market right now.

First off, the HS and XBRs are different TVs, so don't let the above quoted prices mislead you into thinking you can get an XBR for $1800. Of course the salesman was trying to get a sale, but I don't think he was lying to you... the new XBRs will be at a higher or similar price compared to the current ones. The new style Sony cabinets do look better, IMHO, so you might want to hold off for that reason alone. You say you see the difference between the XBR and the regular one, so I say stick with the XBR - it's a better TV! All the DCR/3:2 pulldown jazz is just fancy talk for "looks better" -- I'd be happy to explain it if you want, but if it looks better to you, then that's all that counts. I think it's worth the difference in price; my parents have the 36" XBR on DISH Network, and it looks incredible.

To figure out which size TV to buy, I'd recommend you do this: set up your room the way it will be when the new TV arrives, and measure how far you are from the TV. Now go back to the store and measure out this distance from both TVs, and watch both for a while. Keep in mind that any TV looks bigger when you get it home than it does in a store. Also keep in mind that the only stand available for the 40" is about $500, and a good stand for the 36" can be had for about $250. Hope this helps!

 

[Thomas_P]

In a purchase as big as the XBR, I would definitely wait for the new line. It will have DVI/HDCP. The New line will start at about the prices the sets they replace are now. I believe the list price on the 36XBR800 will be 2500, which means it will be 2200 in stores, The same price on the 450. While the 40 incher is an amazing set, it's very expensive compared the the 36 inch sets. I, like you, have no clue the differece between the HS and the XBR, but i plan on finding out before the fall.

 

[Harley]

This is a press release from SONY that includes suggested prices for some of the new models.
Also there are some interesting links to be found on this page.
Harley

 

[JohnDPug]

I chose the 40" XBR over the 36" XBR model based on the "I'm in this deep, might as well go in all the way" theory. Got a great deal on the 40 since I went in with a buddy who was getting one at the same time from a local "mom and pop" Sony dealer. Mine runs on an excellent analog cable feed and I'm extremely happy with it (more so after Greg calibrated it). My buddy has a digital cable feed and he's less satisfied than I am. There seems to be quite a bit of variability in the quality of cable feeds. If you've got a bad feed, it'll look absolutely horrible spread out on the 40. Perhaps there's a way to measure the quality/signal strength of your existing feed.

Jim FC makes some excellent points about the stands and difference between the HS and XBRs. If you are thinking of waiting until the new Sony's come out with DVI/HDCP, you're probably sophisticated enough to go for the XBR over the HS. My set has more inputs and functions than I can use so having the latest generation input feed is not a big deal for me.