Question for Sony XBR owners... (1 Viewer)

[Rodd Sato]

I'm thinking of getting the 32 inch Sony XBR450, but I was wondering how your basic cable looks on this set. I was at the store checking the set out, and they had ESPN2 on and the picture looked crappy as hell. I know DVDs look great on this set, but how does "regular" or analog cable look on a channel-to-channel basis? In my area, HDTV is not available and the next best option after analog is digital cable, which isn't getting any rave reviews from what I hear.

Also, is there a way to "dumb down" the XBR so that analog feeds look acceptable and then switch it to high def when viewing DVDs? This is probably a stupid question, but I'm new at this HDTV stuff.

 

[Matt Bloxham]

I've had my 32XBR450 now for almost 9 months and I love it. Like you said, DVD's will blow you away with the clarity and the colors, they look amazing
I have regular cable, and most channels look good, but some look grainy. I would say 85% look good, and 15% look grainy.
Having said that, I would'nt trade in my XBR for anything else, I watch 70% DVD's and 30% cable, and until I upgraded to a largerRPTV widescreen set in a couple of years, it is staying put
I don't yet have it hooked up to HDTV as PBS just went live with their feed in the beginning of May and CBS is going live in July. Hopefully by Christmas STB's will be a little cheaper and I'll take the plunge
Just my .02
Matt

 

[ChrisMatson]

My cable experience closely match Matt's.



Not on the 450s, but I have heard that the new models will have defeatable DRC circuitry.

 

[Rodd Sato]

Good to hear you guys are satisfied with your XBRs.

Maybe I should just flip the channels at the store and see exactly which stations come in the best.

Thanks for your input (no pun intended).

 

[Todd smith]

Any idea when the new 36" xbr will come out?

Do you think the geometry will be improved on the next wave of these flat sets?