Bravia X To Launch Soon?

[_sinnerman_]

Hey All,

I'm fairly close to purchasing a 40" model, but am curious as to the lowest price people have come across. If you've received a great price, let everyone know! Where and at what price did you purchase yours?

Thanks.

[dbb]

I paid $5k on 40 months interest free through Harvey Norman, But I also got quoted $4700 cash through a small Sony reseller on Rundle St in Adelaide (but could not get delivery on this until November).

Sony Central in Adelaide, the tight bastards, would not budge down from $5400.

[Craigus]

I've seen some wholesale prices for the X-series, to give you an idea of what the retailers cost might be (not sure how much wholesale prices can vary).

40" approx $4500 inc GST

46" approx $5700 inc GST

52" approx $8100 inc GST

This should give you an idea anyway.

[Vatoe1503560767]

I've seen some wholesale prices for the X-series, to give you an idea of what the retailers cost might be (not sure how much wholesale prices can vary).

40" approx $4500 inc GST

46" approx $5700 inc GST

52" approx $8100 inc GST

This should give you an idea anyway.

Nice one, thanks..

[Fred Snr]

I was offered the 46" X Series for $5,850 plus $424 for extra 4 years warranty - in stock - @ a well-known group of franchise stores in Perth today - difficult to knock back -

[croops]

Has anyone managed to hook up an Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro into the X Series and get the correct resolution?

[gqst]

I was offered the 46" X Series for $5,850 plus $424 for extra 4 years warranty - in stock - @ a well-known group of franchise stores in Perth today - difficult to knock back -

Which well known group of franchise stores are you talking about ? Can you divulge that information ? I'm on the lookout for a good priced 40" X series.

[The Jones's]

And then we get the same people (read 'The Jones') in these forums asking why SD looks shyte on their $5K TV!

I'm not sure why good balanced SD performance is such an unreasonable requirement in a $5K panel, if thats what you mean.

I provided the most detailed review I could of my 46X review, including settings at Sony Chatswood and the responses from Winston. Heck, I was trying to buy it! Whilst the HD looked awesome, SD left me disapointed despite efforts to resolve it. Just try a DVD freeze frame and look at it compared to HD or still picture.

Really, we all have to evaluate the pros and cons of new technology (Full HD) and decide what is a fair compromise in our own opinion. I think its also fair to suggest alternatives worthy of inspection if thats the results of our labours in search of the right panel. Otherwise what is the point of commenting and posting at all? It's certainly what I want to hear when I'm researching a product. Then I make up my own mind.

PS. Re Why demo display SD and Foxtel?

umm.... that's what people are watching at home - not 3 minute HD loops (c:

I couldnt agree with you more!

[Scalpel]

I would also like to back up the above poster.

It is always difficult to demo a shop screen, given that the shop sales assistants may often have (significantly) less knowledge about the screen than ones self, and the opportunities to put a screen through it's paces (and various inputs) are limited. One cannot also alter the environment very well (most shops are not that dark).

Also, I have learnt that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder - plenty of people can't see motion blur, rainbow effects, dont care about good blacks etc etc - even what I would consider grossly poor image resolution isn't even noticed by my wife. . So the only way to develop an opinion on a screen is to see it with my own eyes and then say what I saw.

This doesn't mean that I think that someone who has a different opinion is wrong - they may have seen a better setup, or be less fussy, or just have different needs in a screen. In fact, I am always interested in finding out how a screen was set up when someones impression is a lot better than mine. It also means that several trips will be required (say for example after I posted the Bravia 'ideal' settings) along with the patience from the salespeople.

SD performance is crucial if you are going to watch tv / dvd's / foxtel - ie the majority of most peoples viewing - so this screen really needs (IMHO) to perform well at this task. So demoing SD performance, whilst not going to grab passers by, is critical for a decent assessment of the screen.

I can fully understand why shops have the 720p demos running. Yet the person most likely to buy this screen is going to be an enthusiast - otherwise you are paying quite a premium for not much immediate benefit. So running it on a SD feed isn't such a bad thing - whilst I was looking at the Bravia, every person who came to look at it (for moe than a passing glance) wanted to see a SD feed (they were all probably DBA members from this thread ).

So - I am reassured that people are now reporting good SD performance when the screen is set up properly, and even more so that the HTPC performance is ok (UK).

Role on other people's reviews - it is refreshing reading. Even if what is said is at odds with what others are seeing. Hopefully these can be posted without need for personal insults - unfortunately these tend to just reflect the insecurities of the poster.

J.

More HTPC performance reviews would be fantastic.

[Fred Snr]

Which well known group of franchise stores are you talking about ? Can you divulge that information ? I'm on the lookout for a good priced 40" X series.

HN Belmont

[croops]

Has anyone managed to hook up an Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro into the X Series and get the correct resolution?

anyone??

and...

What AV Recievers are you folks using with the Bravia X? Is it essential that it's 1080p?

[dbb]

I've bypassed the AV receiver question altogether. All of my audio outputs are going direct from the device in question (ie. Topfield, DVD player etc.) into a BOSE lifestyle system. All of the video is going through the X series.

[Souwalker]

Hi

I am abit confused. I understand that the X series is new but what about the V series? Looking at the sony site, the V series is tad more expensive for 40".

Many Thanks

Pat

[d-train1503560846]

Hi

I am abit confused. I understand that the X series is new but what about the V series? Looking at the sony site, the V series is tad more expensive for 40".

Many Thanks

Pat

Sony.com.au hasn't been updated. The V series listed there is the previous model, and its price is still what it was originally.

I think in general, you can take the prices on the website with a grain of salt, and indicative only. Shopping around is still the best bet.

[gqst]

HN Belmont

Thanks was just there the other day and they gave me a price of $4999 plus $400 for extended warranty. Managed to get a better quote at HN Cannington for slightly less. The manager there quoted me $300 for extended warranty and $4999 for the x. But another salesperson quoted me $400 and $4900 for the X. But when I told him that I got quoted $300 from the manager then he said ok that should be alright then.

So maybe you can get a better price at HN Cannington ? Worth giving a try I guess.

I got an alright quote from Sony Central but the extended warranty which is with Sony itself costs a bomb. Cost about $600 or so. That's why I'm still looking around. If it was for about $300, I would've gotten one from them. I wonder if it really is worth the premium to get the warranty with sony itself ?

[dbb]

I doubt it - the HN people I got my extended warranty from said they just subcontract out to Sony anyway ...

[Vatoe1503560767]

Well I took my Marantz DV8300 down to the store and hooked it up to the 46X. Initial impressions wasn't that great, but I had memorised the settings recommended by the UK Forum.

So I grabbed the Sonys remote control and went to work on the settings. The magic started to appear before my eyes. If you ever test drive this panel, make sure amongst other things you turn off all the noise reduction circuits as this makes a huge difference to the quality of SD images. I used Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as my main test DVD, as it one of those movies in my opinion that has all the things you want to see - fast motion (eg fight scenes), slow pans, dark scenes, very well lit scenes etc. Its pretty much got it all. I was more than happy with the SD quality I managed to get by implementing these settings. Unsupprisingly, those settings greatly improved SD digital reception as well. I am happy to relate exactly what they were if ever anybody needs them.

I also tried various settings on the Marantz and on relatively quick review found that there didn't appear to be a significant difference having it ouput via 'PDP' or 'Professional' settings. I then tested the Sony with some upscalng (1080i) DVD players that they had in the store and from memory they were Pioneer, LG and Panasonic. None of them were very impressive (not suprrising they were fairly cheap), but I would order them Pioneer, LG and then the Pana in worst to best order. Funnily enough, I perferred them set to 576 lines of rez and letting the Sony do the scaling.

FTA HD transmissions are absolutely superb, this set has no peer in that regard. Please treat yourself to a HD view (with the panel set up correctly) as this will show you what this TV is capable of. HD DVD and BD are around the corner as are X360 upgrade to 1080p and the PS3, which will really bring this set into its own.

Very nice panel.

Mine (46 inch) is being delivered t'mow morning

Cant wait to watch the footy grandfinals and get the x360 hooked for some serious gaming!

[/message ends]

[2dr4u]

I got an alright quote from Sony Central but the extended warranty which is with Sony itself costs a bomb. Cost about $600 or so. That's why I'm still looking around. If it was for about $300, I would've gotten one from them. I wonder if it really is worth the premium to get the warranty with sony itself ?

Is it possible to buy extended warranty on its own and buy the TV from somewhere else? Also, do you guys think $700 (Sony extended warranty) is worth for 4 years. i.e. around $180 per year for the 5k panel. Whats your experience, would you take a chance and not buy the warranty? After all its Sony not Sharp or LG???

[Scalpel]

I got an alright quote from Sony Central but the extended warranty which is with Sony itself costs a bomb. Cost about $600 or so. That's why I'm still looking around. If it was for about $300, I would've gotten one from them. I wonder if it really is worth the premium to get the warranty with sony itself ?

Given that Sony Chatswood offered the "Bing Lee" warranty (I presume they meant the warranty provided by the same insurer that Bing Lee uses) and said the Sony Warranty was "too expensive", I cant imagine that there is any great reason to stick with the Sony one.

You could compare the conditions I suppose

J.

So I grabbed the Sonys remote control and went to work on the settings. ... I am happy to relate exactly what they were if ever anybody needs them.

Were they similar to the settings that I posted in posts #232 (here)

I am keen to go and have another look.

J.

[The Jones's]

Given that Sony Chatswood offered the "Bing Lee" warranty (I presume they meant the warranty provided by the same insurer that Bing Lee uses) and said the Sony Warranty was "too expensive", I cant imagine that there is any great reason to stick with the Sony one.

You could compare the conditions I suppose

I dont have these warranty brochures now but a few months ago I noticed the Bing Lee and Dick Smith warranties were similar terms and conditions, some paragraphs were almost identical wording. They had different flyers or cards, their own brand name, different 1800 phone numbers, but then I noticed the FAX NUMBERS were identical! So obviously the same insurer for both chains.

[gqst]

Given that Sony Chatswood offered the "Bing Lee" warranty (I presume they meant the warranty provided by the same insurer that Bing Lee uses) and said the Sony Warranty was "too expensive", I cant imagine that there is any great reason to stick with the Sony one.

You could compare the conditions I suppose

Actually I was not offered any other extended warranty except for the one from Sony. If he had offered me a "Bing Lee" warranty then I would have jumped at the chance to get it sooner.

Having said all that, if anyone is interested in a group buy let me know. I've asked around when I went looking around so I have some prices that were quoted to me for 3 or more sets. PM me and we'll see how it goes from there. I'm looking at the 40" x series so the group buy would be specifically for this model. If not its ok as I have a good (individual) price given to me from somewhere else but I just have to wait til mid October for it. This is only for Perth, WA metropolitan areas or thereabouts I'd say.

[MichaelR]

Well I took my Marantz DV8300 down to the store and hooked it up to the 46X. Initial impressions wasn't that great, but I had memorised the settings recommended by the UK Forum.

<Snip>

I was more than happy with the SD quality I managed to get by implementing these settings. Unsupprisingly, those settings greatly improved SD digital reception as well. I am happy to relate exactly what they were if ever anybody needs them.

[/message ends]

Please do post those settings. I started with the UK forum settings, and have then deviated a bit. I have been quite pleased with SD. I have a Topfield and like it; based on other comments in the forum, I was not keen to jump to one of the currently available HD PVRs. I was a bit worried how it would go (being SD), but it is fantastic. Thanks

[Vatoe1503560767]

Please do post those settings. I started with the UK forum settings, and have then deviated a bit. I have been quite pleased with SD. I have a Topfield and like it; based on other comments in the forum, I was not keen to jump to one of the currently available HD PVRs. I was a bit worried how it would go (being SD), but it is fantastic. Thanks

Ok, my setttings are little different dependant on what input (source) I am using, and are generally based on the UK settings. When I have more time, I am going to see if I can tweak them with the Video Essentails DVD.

I am running my Toppy (Masterpiece) via the SCART=>Component lead (I never could use these lead with my Pana plasma, I got severe colour problems) on HDV DVD input 1.

These settings I have used for the Toppy are:

Target inputs: HD DVD input

Picture Mode: Custom

Backlight: 4 (one up or down would be ok if needed)

Picture: 85

Brightness: 54

Color (sic): 45

Color (sic) temp: Neutral

Sharpness: 50 (might drop this down to about 46, need to experiment a bit more)

Noise Reduction: Off

Black Correction; Off

Advance Contrast Enhancer: Low

Gamma: Low

Clear White: Off

Color Space: Normal

Detail Enhancer: Off

Edge Enhancer: Low

For the Digital TV Use:

Target Input: Digital TV

Pciture Mode: Custom

Blacklight: 4

Brightness: 48

Color: 49

Color Temp: Neutral

Sharpness: 50

Black Correction: Off

Advance Contrast Enhancer: Off (might be low?)

Gamma; Low

Clear White Mode: Off

Color Space: Normal

Detail Enahnacer: Off

Edge Enhancer: Off

I still have my Marantz and Xbox 360 to configure, however I suspect that the 360 will have game mode enabled and the Marantz will be pretty similar to the above settings.

Let me know what you think. As I say the settings are based on my 'play' with the TV this mornijng and will no doubt be fine tuned a little.

Enjoy, I off to watch the footy....

[Kjay]

Thanks Vatoe..

Any future comments/settings will be appreciated.

Cheers..

[Vatoe1503560767]

Thanks Vatoe..

Any future comments/settings will be appreciated.

Cheers..

My pleasure. I will definately be tweaking t'mow. I will also post my DVD and Xbox360 settings for the sake of completeness and/or assistance of others.

regards,

John.

PS: What is going on with the Swannies??