Sony SXRD Grand Wega is Amazing!

[DifferentLee]

I just saw the 60" at Circuit City (poorly calibrated) and I was blown away by the picture. This set has amazing contrast and black levels. I am going to be purchasing a 50" set soon. This LCOS tech is a step change up the video ladder I believe.

I did not like the JVC DILA since the black levels were bad but Sony has definitely solved that problem.

[Trevor Schell]

Sony's panels are vertical in which less light gets through
creating better blacks.
That is, I believe what I was told today while visiting
Future Shop today.
They didn't have them in stock yet.
Another 2 weeks away.

[aud19]

Haven't seen one yet... but I've been hearing a lot of good things! :P

[DifferentLee]

Sony's panels are vertical in which less light gets through
creating better blacks.

I think this has to do with Sony's LCOS mfg techniques and the beauty of a 1920x1080 video image is breathtaking. HT Magazine measured the contrast at 13,000:1!!!

Randy Tomlinson is reviewing one now for The Perfect Vision. He tells me the video is superb.

Imagine you can now get a picture equivalent to the $30K Qualia for $4K retail and CC has them for $3,700. That's a deal. The video landscape is changing rapidly.

[Brandon B]

D-ILA uses a vertically aligned LC layer also. Sony just seems to have leapfrogged them in the contrast performance.

BB

[DifferentLee]

Lapped indeed...The DILA contrast performance is under 1000:1 last I checked. The local audio club attended a JVC event and the picture looked great on the DILA until you looked at the blacks - there was very little gradation. A great set otherwise but for someone who has CRTs there is not enough video quality to get me excited about JVC.

The Sony has the picture beyond even a Pioneer Elite plasma and very close to the Qualia 1920 x 1080 image I saw at the Stereophile show and that was like being on the movie set 'cept it cost $30K.

[Brandon B]

I don't think the JVCs are that bad, I would put them at 1200-1500:1 or so, but certainly not in the Sony's league. One hopes the new 1080 JVC's will be a bit better than the present models too. Although the 1080/720 side by side I saw at CEATEC did not show a huge difference in contrast under show floor lighting, so we'll see.

And you can get pretty close the $30K Qualia image for $10K when the Ruby comes out, only put it on a 120" screen. Somewhere down the road that's where I may be going. Gotta bank a couple years of tax returns first.

BB

[Snap]

Sony has really steped up there LCD and RP LCD TV's. They dropped the plasma line almost totally and when the LCD route! There XBR line (SXRD technology for the RPLCD's) is truely amazing. The 40 inch XBR LCD is one of the best flat panel displays that I have seen. The rear projection stuff is also top notch.

[Cooldmitriy]

Trevor Schell, do you have that Sony model # by any chance?

Is this rear-projection set? If yes, would you recomment it over plasma ?

Thank you ;x(

[DifferentLee]

I would definitely recommend the Grand Wega SXRD over all but the higher end plasmas.

[Shane Martin]

Is this rear-projection set?

Yes it is.

[Cooldmitriy]

DifferentLee, when you say high-end plasma, do you imply Pioneer Elite units?

Shane Martin, do you know where that SONY set is made? I hope it's Japan.

[Shane Martin]

I wish I knew. You never know with Sony. My ES receiver was made in Malaysia.

[Brandon B]

Sounds like it's Pittsburgh.

Now, the new SXRD panels have been redesigned and reduced in size from 0.78-in. to a svelte 0.61-in. The SXRD panels are assembled at the Kokubu Technology Center (KTC) in Japan. The KTC will produce 3 million panels per year, which translates into one million TVs annually. The SXRD panels are then placed into a new optical engine that uses an advanced Wega HD engine, which is being shipped directly to the STC plant in Pittsburgh for assembly.

Google is your friend.

BB

[Scott Simonian]

Sony's panels are vertical in which less light gets through
creating better blacks.

The better blacks and that very high rated (and measured according to HT mag) contrast is from the auto-iris that came out with the release of these 1080p displays.

[Brandon B]

Partly. The Sony probably has a native (Iris function disabled) onff contrast of around 5000:1.

BB

[Scott Simonian]

That is a REALLY good rating for contrast on any form of solid-state projection. In conjunction with the iris the contrast could double!

[DifferentLee]

DifferentLee, when you say high-end plasma, do you imply Pioneer Elite units?

Yes, I was thinking of the Elites and the Hitachis and the Panasonic Onyx high end line.

Please keep in mind that the iris function on is the likely viewing configuration and there you get boatloads of contrast.

[Cooldmitriy]

Guys, do you think reatial price of $3,999.00 for 50'' set might come down around the holiday season ?

rebate from SONY also would be nice :T

[Shane Martin]

Doubt it with it being new. The price you pay for an being an early adopter. I would not expect to see a rebate or a price break until this time next year.

[bullitt731]

You can easily find them for $3,500 now and I have read numerous posts where people are paying under $3,000. By the holidays you should easily be able to get one for $3,000 and attractive financing ect. Search the net, there is a lot of information out there already.

[Brandon B]

That and the flat panel price war going on right now might help a little with the Sony's price.

BB

[MarcoV]

The new Sony SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display) technology was designed to create a device with the highest pixel density and smallest inter-pixel spacing. It produces picture clarity that rivals the 35mm film experience. Home theater is just that, being able to create the same effect you get at the movie theaters when using the Qualia 004 Projector.

The Qualia 006, Sony's top of the line Home Theater Projection Television at 70" has probably the best HD performance I've ever seen...then again, this is a high end product at about $14K.

The Grand VVega sets are definitely the way to go in LCD....

[Brandon B]

Sony's new XBR's Wega's are SxRD too, not just the Qualia 006 and 004.

And 1920x1080 does not in any way come close to a good 35mm experience with the media we are using now.

Feed it 35MB/s from a Qbit array and it starts to rival 35mm.

BB

[Cooldmitriy]

Brandon B,

I agree with you 100%.

[DifferentLee]

Feed it 35MB/s from a Qbit array and it starts to rival 35mm.

English please.

[Brandon B]

Feed it very high bit rate very low compression full HD from the disk arrays that are used in the newest D-cinema venues, and it surpasses good 35mm film setups in some ways, but not in others.

I was able to do a really good A/B of this with Ep. III in a really nice theater with a brand new 2K DLP. SxRD would have had an advantage or two over the DLP, also a disadvantage or two, but film still had a couple of points going for it also.

BB

[DifferentLee]

HHGregg in my neighborhood is already knocking $200 off the price of the 50 inch set.

[Cooldmitriy]

Guys, I can get 60'' from my local dealer that sells high-end audio/video equipment for $4,400 delivered. It's $600 off retail price.

[Drewbert]

its the most clear tv I have seen.... Im not an LCD fan, but its makin me change my mind.
I just wonder what it would look like with a true 1080p signal :E
Im just waiting on the release of the Samsung 1080p DLP

[JKalman]

The lack of a 1080p input was a deal breaker for me. I want to be ready for the PS3, BluRay and HD-DVD when they release. Perhaps in a few months they will release a ~60" SXRD TV with 1080p inputs or else I will have to go with something else that does. IMO this was a stupid decision on Sony's part, at the least they could put a 1080p input for the PS3, which would, at the worst, allow me to use the PS3 and BluRay, while perhaps forsaking HD-DVD if it uses another connection type. It seems to me like a lousy way of trying to milk more money out of consumers who are willing to buy early.

[aud19]

As I've mentioned before, the difference between de-interlaced 1080i input to 1080p display and 1080p input to 1080p display will be small to nill. Though I do agree it was a boneheaded decision not to include it if for no other reason but marketing. Jeff being a prime example of that.

[peterS]

I would definitely recommend the Grand Wega SXRD over all but the higher end plasmas.

i look at these all day and id have to dissagree

while itrs nice it does have glitches w/ the upscalling

pioneer/ pioneer elite plasma still is tops in my book even w/ "half" the pixels

[peterS]

Guys, do you think reatial price of $3,999.00 for 50'' set might come down around the holiday season ?

rebate from SONY also would be nice :T

we have had it down to 3499.99 .... but id get a mitsubishi dlp for that price

[Cooldmitriy]

Is there any reason besids war of prices that 60' SONY LCOS XBR1 go for $4K at Circuit city this week. It's almost $1K drop.
Is there a new model coming up?

[peterS]

new model in the works for 1080P...
price drops are purely due to competition
keep in mind price matching too

[Richard in SF]

Another fact that I call the dirty little secret of LCOS is convergence. Try to test using convergence grid DVD or at least scrolling white print on black background.