steve_hobart Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Dear all, Today I had a look at the much awaited 40" LCD X-series 1080P Sony Bravia at Sony Central in Hobart. It was lined up next to an older S and V series TV showing the same content for a good comparison. The sales person (Isaac) was helpful and interested. I've got to say that it is a great looking television, with a fantastic picture when showing HD content (well at least the Sony promotional content from a local hard disc). It seems to me that the television is better than a lot of the broadcast content and that some content looks better than others on this tv - the picture quality varied with the program. One concern that I had with the TV was that when showing SD broadcast content and standard SD DVD's, the picture had unnaturel (overbright) colours (eg: skin tones too bright), and lost a significant amount of edge sharpness and quality - in fact the picture quality was more naturel and sharper on the S-series than the new x-series. I don't know if this had something to do with the settings of the x-series for SD content (mabe the settings could be adjusted). Has anyone noticed this with the x-series. I ask the question because I have an SD PVR (Topfield) and SD (non-upconverting DVD playr) and will need to hang on to these for a while until the Minister of Finance gives approval to purchase a replacement HD PVR. I don't want to buy the tv if it struggles with SD picture quality. I also understand that Sony are bringing out a new upconverting DVD player in 3 weeks time with a price of $249, not bad if it performs well - maybe this will improve the picture quality of the DVD. Pro's: -style - it looks great -HD looks great -SD DVD (no upconverting) and SD broadcast was not as sharp, clear or naturel in colour as the S series Welcome your comments Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 One concern that I had with the TV was that when showing SD broadcast content and standard SD DVD's, the picture had unnaturel (overbright) colours (eg: skin tones too bright), and lost a significant amount of edge sharpness and quality - in fact the picture quality was more naturel and sharper on the S-series than the new x-series. I don't know if this had something to do with the settings of the x-series for SD content (mabe the settings could be adjusted).Has anyone noticed this with the x-series. Yeah mate, they are factory set to "Vivid" mode. Kick it back to Standard and this effect will disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalpel Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Dear all, Today I had a look at the much awaited 40" LCD X-series 1080P Sony Bravia at Sony Central in Hobart. It was lined up next to an older S and V series TV showing the same content for a good comparison. The sales person (Isaac) was helpful and interested. I've got to say that it is a great looking television, with a fantastic picture when showing HD content (well at least the Sony promotional content from a local hard disc). It seems to me that the television is better than a lot of the broadcast content and that some content looks better than others on this tv - the picture quality varied with the program. One concern that I had with the TV was that when showing SD broadcast content and standard SD DVD's, the picture had unnaturel (overbright) colours (eg: skin tones too bright), and lost a significant amount of edge sharpness and quality - in fact the picture quality was more naturel and sharper on the S-series than the new x-series. I don't know if this had something to do with the settings of the x-series for SD content (mabe the settings could be adjusted). Has anyone noticed this with the x-series. I ask the question because I have an SD PVR (Topfield) and SD (non-upconverting DVD playr) and will need to hang on to these for a while until the Minister of Finance gives approval to purchase a replacement HD PVR. I don't want to buy the tv if it struggles with SD picture quality. I also understand that Sony are bringing out a new upconverting DVD player in 3 weeks time with a price of $249, not bad if it performs well - maybe this will improve the picture quality of the DVD. Pro's: -style - it looks great -HD looks great -SD DVD (no upconverting) and SD broadcast was not as sharp, clear or naturel in colour as the S series Welcome your comments Steve Would be much better to post in the ongoing bravia X thread with other reviews (Thread Here) J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelR Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Dear all, Today I had a look at the much awaited 40" LCD X-series 1080P Sony Bravia at Sony Central in Hobart. It was lined up next to an older S and V series TV showing the same content for a good comparison. The sales person (Isaac) was helpful and interested. <snip> I also understand that Sony are bringing out a new upconverting DVD player in 3 weeks time with a price of $249, not bad if it performs well - maybe this will improve the picture quality of the DVD. Pro's: -style - it looks great -HD looks great -SD DVD (no upconverting) and SD broadcast was not as sharp, clear or naturel in colour as the S series Welcome your comments Steve I have just bought one. Tried the settings from the posting in that other Bravia thread, and it looked much better. I also have a Topfield PVR - and it looks good. With good content it looks exceptional. In fact sufficiently good that I no longer have a desire to get a HD PVR. SD content (whether on the Bravia tuner or the SD Toppy PVR) looked much better at home. That said, the quality of some broadcast material is not that good, and the TV shows it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_hobart Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 thanks for your feedback. I'll go back and adjust the tv away from vivid. (sorry about posting in the wrong thread.....) Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiron Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Dear all, Today I had a look at the much awaited 40" LCD X-series 1080P Sony Bravia at Sony Central in Hobart. It was lined up next to an older S and V series TV showing the same content for a good comparison. The sales person (Isaac) was helpful and interested. I've got to say that it is a great looking television, with a fantastic picture when showing HD content (well at least the Sony promotional content from a local hard disc). It seems to me that the television is better than a lot of the broadcast content and that some content looks better than others on this tv - the picture quality varied with the program. One concern that I had with the TV was that when showing SD broadcast content and standard SD DVD's, the picture had unnaturel (overbright) colours (eg: skin tones too bright), and lost a significant amount of edge sharpness and quality - in fact the picture quality was more naturel and sharper on the S-series than the new x-series. I don't know if this had something to do with the settings of the x-series for SD content (mabe the settings could be adjusted). Has anyone noticed this with the x-series. I ask the question because I have an SD PVR (Topfield) and SD (non-upconverting DVD playr) and will need to hang on to these for a while until the Minister of Finance gives approval to purchase a replacement HD PVR. I don't want to buy the tv if it struggles with SD picture quality. I also understand that Sony are bringing out a new upconverting DVD player in 3 weeks time with a price of $249, not bad if it performs well - maybe this will improve the picture quality of the DVD. Pro's: -style - it looks great -HD looks great -SD DVD (no upconverting) and SD broadcast was not as sharp, clear or naturel in colour as the S series Welcome your comments Steve You can probably adjust each inputs' picture quality to suit whatever you've got plugged in. i.e. drop the colour level and temp on the DVD player input while leaving the STB input settings higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelR Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 You can probably adjust each inputs' picture quality to suit whatever you've got plugged in. i.e. drop the colour level and temp on the DVD player input while leaving the STB input settings higher. You can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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