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

[donquixote]

Hello Robert

first of all thank you very much for your feedback and patience with our questions..

Have you a reliable information about the type of panel (VA or IPS) the 49X900E uses? It's clear that 55" and 65" sized versions use a VA panel but I'm a bit suspicious regarding the 49" model because the rest of Sony 2017 TVs (i.e. X800E, X850E) of this concrete size according to I know use IPS panels.. Also it's a bit strange that the 49" version of X900E series is going to be released the last one and several weeks after his bigger sibblings..

Thank you again

 

[Robert_Zohn]

I do not know for sure if the 49" X900E is a VA panel, but I was told all 900Es are VA. Once we receive our 1st allocation I'll test them and get back.

Not sure why the 49" X900E is launching slightly later than the other sizes, but my latest update says my allotment will ship March 17th.

 

[donquixote]

I'm at at trade convention in Orlando FL and when I get back we'll be more throughly evaluating the X930E, X900E and LG's W7 and C7.

Hello Robert, have you had time to evaluate calmly and to compare Sony X930E vs X900E series? Is X930E better than X900E or the FALD backlight of the latter makes it better in some areas of image quality? Which one do you prefer? I'm doubtful in which one to buy I'd really appreciate your advice..

As usual thank you very much

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Sorry I have not put the time into a serious comparison, but with casual viewing I slightly prefer the X900E. Color fidelity looks slightly better on the X930D as does most, but not all up conversion. But local dimming control and blacks are better on the X900E and hallowing is less pronounced vs. the X930E.

We have them wall mounted side-by-side on our TV Shootout wall and I'll try to put more time to further evaluate them.

 

[Sam Posten]

We are getting close. At least one AVSer thinks BB will have their 940E today. Waiting to see early reviews but I'm likely to pull the trigger on either the E or the Z /freakout

 

[Sam Posten]

First one has arrived.
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2034713&d=1489869518

You probably need to be logged in there to see the pic

 

[donquixote]

Not sure why the 49" X900E is launching slightly later than the other sizes, but my latest update says my allotment will ship March 17th.

Hello Robert, are you finally selling the 49" X900E right now as expected?
In that case when you have a moment could you confirm to us (potential buyers) that 49" version has VA panel? We are 99% sure of that but...

Thanks in advance

 

[Robert_Zohn]

We've shipped out all of our 1st allocation and our next allotment is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'm putting one one display and will test the panel and get back with my findings.

 

[Viper]

Can anyone confirm how long the launch prices of these TVs will hold out? I just realized that 49" X900E is set to jump back up to $1700 at some point. I'm still waiting to see if anyone around here gets any of them. I could order online, but I don't particularly like the idea of getting a TV online. Though I have once before. I'd prefer not to order until after the 5th of the month if I'm going the online route due to my credit card billing cycle.

 

[Sam Posten]

Joe: Give Robert a call for the best answer to your Q.

As for me I am officially in with either the 940E or the Z. I'm hoping the E will be good enough for my purposes, at this point I'm wiling to sacrifice 3D and a few percent worth of PQ for the price difference. But if the reviews of the E arent as good as I hope I'll cave and buy the Z.

 

[Viper]

I'd also like confirmation the 49" is a VA panel. Someone asked on Amazon and got conflicting answers. The idiot from Sony claimed it's IPS, but someone else says they're idiots and it's really a VA this year.

 

[donquixote]

In this european review

http://www.whathifi.com/sony/kd-49xe9005/review

they don't say explicitly that the TV uses a VA panel but by the context I'd say that 100% virtually sure that it sports VA

 

[Bryan^H]

I own the 930D 2016 model. The direct view thing is a HUGE turn off for me.
If you watch the tv direct center, no issues. Amazing picture, sit off to the side 3,4 feet, and the video quality degrades quicker than a sinking ship.

I was shocked after reading the reviews of the 2017 models that this is still a big issue. The "sweet Spot" should not be relegated to direct center viewing only. There should be a little more wiggle room.

Haven't read about the Z yet. Wonder if it suffers from the viewing angle dilemma also.

 

[Viper]

Well, the 49" better be VA. I ordered at B&H. They don't have it in stock yet, but when they do I get a $60 gift card with it.

p.s. I know only HDMI 2 and 3 do full bandwidth 4K. Will any of the 4 work fine for 1080p@120hz or do I need a full bandwidth port for that too?

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Sorry I have not gotten back here sooner. It's been a crazy busy past few days for me.

We set-up a 49", 65" and 75" X900E in our showroom yesterday and they are all VA panels. I love the 900E picture quality. Excellent HDR performance, very low MLL with near perfect detail throughout the contrast range with a great looking design and best of all an excellent value.

We don't include a $60 gift card, which is a very nice offer, but we do include a Sony Blu-ray player at no charge with every 49" X900E, free shipping, and no tax.

 

[Viper]

Sorry I have not gotten back here sooner. It's been a crazy busy past few days for me.

We set-up a 49", 65" and 75" X900E in our showroom yesterday and they are all VA panels. I love the 900E picture quality. Excellent HDR performance, very low MLL with near perfect detail throughout the contrast range with a great looking design and best of all an excellent value.

We don't include a $60 gift card, which is a very nice offer, but we do include a Sony Blu-ray player at no charge with every 49" X900E, free shipping, and no tax.

Thank you for the confirmation. Now I feel better. I just hope it doesn't wind up getting delivered while I'm gone Wednesday or Thursday. I'd almost prefer they not get theirs in until the 4th so it goes on my next billing cycle. It was originally listed as expected the 24th but it isn't now, so I'm assuming that shipment sold out and I'm waiting on the next one.

 

[Viper]

So I've got another question. It's really pissing me off that these TVs only have 2 ports that are full bandwidth. WHY!? Seriously. How stupid is it to not make all 4 ports equal on something they're asking these prices for? Anyway, I need to figure what I'm going to do when I get an Oppo 203 later on. I've already got 2 4K devices. My XB1 and one of my PCs. The other PC will stay 1080p@120. Does a UHD player actually NEED the full bandwidth ports? I was under the impression movies are typically ~30fps. Can the other 2 ports still do 4K@30 4:4:4? Arguably, my non-gaming PC doesn't need 4K@60 but I'd prefer it. It makes no sense to have 4 ports but only 2 of them are actually HDMI 2.0b spec. Of course, it makes even less sense to inlcude USB 2.0 ports when 3.0 is backward compatible, but they did that too. So my problem will end up being whether to get a 4K receiver to run through or use an HDMI switch. From what I always heard, a switch adds less input lag. I never hear anything about people actually testing input lag on AVRs. They obviously add lag. Has anyone ever attempted to pass 4K through the XB1's HDMI passthrough? lol

 

[donquixote]

Well, the 49" better be VA. I ordered at B&H...

Please keep us informed and give us your impressions when your new TV finally arrives..

I had virtually decided to go for the X900E but now I have some doubts between that one and the X930E model. Until a few days ago I was convinced that both models were more or less similar in quality but recently I've read several reports from new owners that say X930E is much better and worth the price difference.. DV and X1 Extreme are very tempting

 

[Viper]

Please keep us informed and give us your impressions when your new TV finally arrives..

I had virtually decided to go for the X900E but now I have some doubts between that one and the X930E model. Until a few days ago I was convinced that both models were more or less similar in quality but recently I've read several reports from new owners that say X930E is much better and worth the price difference.. DV and X1 Extreme are very tempting

Depends on what you're doing with it. rtings said the X930E is all over the goddamn place on input lag. The X900E is solid, but still bullshit. I decided to to cancel it and hold off for now. I don't care to spend $1200 on a gimped model with no DV, half the ports not being full bandwidth, and more input lag than my Vizio. Maybe next year somebody will start making OLED in other sizes instead of just 55". Still seems ridiculous those things are edge lit instead of FALD. One step forward, two steps back. ugh

 

[Robert_Zohn]

I absolutely agree that the X930E's advantage of supporting Dolby Vision is a good thing. But in the 49" class the value and performance of the X900E is in a class of its own. Excellent blacks, very high peak luminance and full array locally dimmed actually gives the X900E a edge over the X930E and with HDR10 being mandated on all HDR devices you will not be missing much when playing DV HDR content.