Sony Kvhr36m31

[barri]

Has anyone one ordered the Sony from a "Good Guys" store in the last few months? If so how were stock levels? Which Melbourne store?

I know I've only been waiting a bit over a week but I'm very impatient.

[barri]

It was the first time I've seen a HD broadcast that wasn't the nine demo loop. I must say that the demo certainly sucks you in to HD because the the regular broadcast didn't. Whilst Jana looked good the blue background of her set was clearly banded (ie not smooth in colour transition) and it had an annoying flicker in it. It was connected to a Toshiba STB via component. I'd be interested in your observations.

When I first saw this TV (Harvey Norman) it had a cooking show on in HD and the PQ was outstanding. Better than any of the plasmas showing the same thing. I think you were watching something that was poorly recorded and broadcasted.

Some shows look better in SD than others in HD simply (especially on ABC)because of better recording and broadcasting. You can't judge a TV on one program.

[IanSav]

Hi Le_paulo,

IanSav and others with overscan problems -

The KVHR has a well known overscan issue that has been discussed ad infinitum by myself and others earlier in this thread.

Some people claimed that this was due to my setting up of the TV but later analysis, confirmed by technical reviews on the net suggest that you do in fact lose around 5% of the picture on each side and a little less top and bottom.

The only way to fix this is to get into service mode and use AVIA test signals to get the rest of your picture back. As this is a digital set, you should theoretically be able to do this but you need to be careful how it is done to preserve aspect ratios and geometry of the image. Not something to be done lightly!

When I get around to it, I'll be getting the Sony techie to come around to fix this.

I had probably read the earlier posts on overscan but until I purchased the TV the information didn't sink in. I rang my local service agent last week but I am still waiting for them to get back to me. I am going to get the set properly adjusted.

I am still pleased to be able to report that I am getting nothing but joy out of this TV. I am starting to get used to the remote and the operation of the set. So far, I am happy with my purchase.

Has anyone else worked out what Eco mode does? I have been told that this mode reduces power to the tube thus saving power. The effect is meant to be a slightly dimmer picture. I find the effect to be subtle and have not noticed any significant degradation. Any one else have any observations? I will create a KV-HR36M31 FAQ topic so we can start to build up a knowledge base on this TV.

Regards,

Ian.

[Cam73]

Has anybody connected a PC to one of these TVs yet.

I have been trying for the last couple of days. As yet I am not totally satisfied with my results.

I built a new PC specifically for this task.

The key information is that it has a PowerColor Radeon 9800 Pro Video card, Windows XP and the newest version of Powerstrip. I am connecting the primary display output to the Sony using a VGA breakout cable.

Using power strip I can get both 1080i and 720p to display on the screen. The problem I am having is probably related ot the overscan everybody is talking about.

Basically I cant seen most of the taskbar to the bottom, and the left and right edges of the tak bar are off the screen also.

Any sugestions on how to resolve this?

[mrmaxwell1503559518]

Has there been any price movements yet leading up to Xmas?

I know Dick Smith's 'special' price of $5998 is amazing...not.

[Binxx]

Has there been any price movements yet leading up to Xmas?

I know Dick Smith's 'special' price of $5998 is amazing...not.

Im hoping that post xmas, there would be significant movement (downwards) in the prices for these sets. Hoping to pick one up for around 4,500 including HDSTB early in 04. What do you guys say, is it possible?

[Dropbear1503559515]

Has anybody connected a PC to one of these TVs yet.

I have been trying for the last couple of days. As yet I am not totally satisfied with my results.

I built a new PC specifically for this task.

The key information is that it has a PowerColor Radeon 9800 Pro Video card, Windows XP and the newest version of Powerstrip. I am connecting the primary display output to the Sony using a VGA breakout cable.

Using power strip I can get both 1080i and 720p to display on the screen. The problem I am having is probably related ot the overscan everybody is talking about.

Basically I cant seen most of the taskbar to the bottom, and the left and right edges of the tak bar are off the screen also.

Any sugestions on how to resolve this?

DVDHack has done this, and he has the same sort of overscan issues as you described ...

[DVDHack]

Yes sure enough I have the same issues with my HTPC on the Sony. Most of it can be fixed in Powerstrip but there is still overscan. I haven't fixed it 100% yet but you can address most of the remaining issues by moving the task bar to the vertical to get to the toolbar.

Powerstrip will let you fix the horizontal width completely but you will slightly distort the AR by doing this - I was happy with that as its minimal. The vertical is more an issue due to the change in vertical scan rates having very low tolerances.

[Cam73]

Yes sure enough I have the same issues with my HTPC on the Sony. Most of it can be fixed in Powerstrip but there is still overscan. I haven't fixed it 100% yet but you can address most of the remaining issues by moving the task bar to the vertical to get to the toolbar.

Powerstrip will let you fix the horizontal width completely but you will slightly distort the AR by doing this - I was happy with that as its minimal. The vertical is more an issue due to the change in vertical scan rates having very low tolerances.

Thanks for that.

What settings have you used that completely fix the horiozontal overscan?

[captaineos]

Umm, It seems a little obvious to me that instead of using powerstrip to reduce overscan, why not access the service menu and correct it from there? I did read in this forum that a member had some success and suggested using the NTSC codes worked/

I tried forum searching but it didnt work, so I googled and found:

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecif...emenu_sony.html

Service Menu Tips

With the TV off press in this order (on the remote):

Display

"5"

Volume "Up"

Power

When you’re in the menu, the 1 & 4 keys cycle through the options and 3 & 6 should change the properties for each option. Press the mute button to "write" or save setting and then press enter.

To adjust the Overscan

Set HSIZ and VSIZ to around 11-13.  Use the Avia overscan screen to get it to under 5%.

Optimize the Black Level

Set Y-DC to 0 for improved black levels.

This website also has links to other pages for NTSC and PAL TV's that may work . I suggest you try this aswell, but as always comes a strong service menu warning.

SERVICE MODE WARNING:

Without proper documentation and training, you can probably do quite a good job of messing up your television set, perhaps even damaging it.

Don't mess around with the service mode adjustments unless you know what you're doing and have the service manual to guide you.

Once you enter service mode the first thing you should do is record all the original values BEFORE you change anything! - This is the only way to restore the television to it's original (factory default) state should it become necessary to do so.

Good luck,

Jeremy Barr

[hap]

Has anyone been successful in accessing the service menue and adjused the overscan as described in http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecif...emenu_sony.html ? I would be intersted in real world results.

Something I noticed yesterday is that Home Zone Sydney City have Crest cables. One of which is VGA to 5 RGB. Maybe useful for those who would like to display a PC picture through the Sony Kvhr36m31

[robertr]

I also own the KVHR36M31 however the overscan issue is not a great problem for me.

Is it such a big problem as the last thing I want to do is fiddle with the service menu.

It surprises me that Sony have this 5% overscan on all sets which may mean that if you try to fix the problem it may throw the geometry out elswhere.

My question is why are they set in the factory like this in the first place?

[IanSav]

Hi Robert,

I also own the KVHR36M31 however the overscan issue is not a great problem for me.

Is it such a big problem as the last thing I want to do is fiddle with the service menu.

It surprises me that Sony have this 5% overscan on all sets which may mean that if you try to fix the problem it may throw the geometry out elswhere.

My question is why are they set in the factory like this in the first place?

I can't answer why Sony pre-program the overscan to be that big but I can say that on my TV I am unable to read most news crawls and other information that is regularly shown on the bottom of the screen. For example, the volume menu on the DGTEC 2000A is almost completely hidden, and on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire the bottom two answer choices are mostly hidden. I feel that this is just too much overscan.

Anyway, Sony techs are due out today to adjust my set.

Regards,

Ian.

[Cam73]

Something I noticed yesterday is that Home Zone Sydney City have Crest cables. One of which is VGA to 5 RGB. Maybe useful for those who would like to display a PC picture through the Sony Kvhr36m31

Jaycar also sell these.

I have one and its workign well (apart from the over scan )

[barri]

Anyway, Sony techs are due out today to adjust my set.

Ian, I have a few questions

1. What's the availability like on the Sony techs.?

2. How much does it cost?

3. Will they travel anywhere?

I'd love to hear what they did and how easy was it for them to fix the overscan. I wonder how they would feel if the instructions for fixing the overscan (or anything else for that matter) were posted on this forum. That would same them a trip and save us some money.

Anyway give us a report Ian when they leave.

Thanks

[IanSav]

Hi Barri & Others,

Anyway, Sony techs are due out today to adjust my set.

Ian, I have a few questions

1. What's the availability like on the Sony techs.?

2. How much does it cost?

3. Will they travel anywhere?

I'd love to hear what they did and how easy was it for them to fix the overscan. I wonder how they would feel if the instructions for fixing the overscan (or anything else for that matter) were posted on this forum. That would same them a trip and save us some money.

Anyway give us a report Ian when they leave.

Thanks

I have the Sony tech standing behind me as I am typing this in...

1. Call your local Sony service centre. They should have agents in most places where the sets are sold.

2. Nothing! Assuming that your set is still under warranty. Remember that frivolous service calls may be charged for. In my case I can clearly show that important picture information is missing.

3. Ask the company you call. European Electronics, my local service agent, services the greater melbourne area. Remember that the TV is too big for you to carry around, if they won't come to the set then they should arrange for collection and return.

I had to wait a week for the tech to be available. I am about a 15 minute drive from their offices.

As for posting instructions here, I have been told that you can void your warranty by playing with the service mode settings. I would suggest that if you are outside the range for a normal service call then you should talk to Sony or the nearest agent and ask for their advice. (In my opinion I think that geometry settings should be done onsite. That act of moving the set may have impact on the settings that are being made.)

The question/report that I want to make now is that the tech has been though the official service adjustments and has made the picture look correct (reduced the overscan on all sides so that no data is lost) but saving the settings does not stick. That is, after a full power off the set restarted with the same settings that were in force before he made the adjustments even though his changes were shown as Stored. The reason for this post now is to ask if anyone else has had a Sony tech on-site and had similar issues. Please post ASAP.

More info will be posted as it comes to hand.

Regards,

Ian.

[barri]

Ian, what did the techos say when the settings wouldn't save?

[IanSav]

Hi Barri,

Ian, what did the techos say when the settings wouldn't save?

I watched him carefully issue the commands to save the changes and I can confirm that the TV said they were stored. When all the settings reset he indicated that he hadn't had to work on many of these new models and that the firmware was quite different from the old model. I suggested posting the question here and see if anyone else has tried to adjust their overscan. He was curious to hear about other experiences. Failing any comments from owners who have had the adjustment made he left and is going to refer the issue back to Sony and get back to me as soon as they respond. He thought it would take about a week before he would get back to me.

With all the comments about overscan has nobody else tried to get their TV adjusted?

I will post back when I hear more.

Regards,

Ian.

[Bergust]

I also recently purchased a KVHR36m31, and let me say I'm impressed. I do have a slight geometry issue though ,a slight pin cushioning on the upper left and right edges of the screen. I havn't made the service call yet, but hope it will involve a tech comming out to my house, this TV is real heavy. I also had a look with the PC connected (VGA out - RBGHV in) and have the same overscan issues (toolbar totally gone). Will the tech adjust the set to the PC's input or is this regarded as a non-supported function of the TV?

[Cam73]

Will the tech adjust the set to the PC's input or is this regarded as a non-supported function of the TV?

I have the same problem, I have my output set to a HDTV standard though (720p).

So the fact that the source is a PC should be irrelevant - it is still a 720p signatl in RGBHV format - and that should be supported.

[IanSav]

Hi Bergust & Cam73,

I don't yet have a PC connected to the TV but I have asked the tech to bring his notebook with a test pattern generator so that he can generate an appropriate test pattern and set the TV up against it. This seems to be more or less what you guys are after. (I hope and assume that this will be via RGBHV and not Composite or S-Video. I understood that the notebook was used for testing HD TVs in the workshop.)

In any case I didn't get the feeling that any external input, from any source, would be a problem. My only reservation would be that you should be absolutely sure that your PC is properly configured before you ask for service. If it turns out that your PC is out then I think that you could be liable for the service call. Remember that in my case I could show the problems with the DGTEC 2000A or a DVD as input. I think the analogue tuner would also show overscan problems if we had access to an appropriate test pattern.

I will post updates when they are available.

Regards,

Ian.

[bazman]

Just one question. If i plug my computer straight into this tv and set the resolution on my video card to 720 x 1280 at refresh rate 60Hz, will the tv sink that signal, without using powerstrip to specific HDTV timings.

The tv says it can do 720p at 60Hz so assume this would work but i don't know a lot about these kind of things!

[Bergust]

Just one question. If i plug my computer straight into this tv and set the resolution on my video card to 720 x 1280 at refresh rate 60Hz, will the tv sink that signal, without using powerstrip to specific HDTV timings.

The tv says it can do 720p at 60Hz so assume this would work but i don't know a lot about these kind of things!

No it wont, you need to set it to 1280x720 @50/60Hz for 720p. The 720p refers to vertical lines resolution, not the horizontal. As this is a non standard resolution for most graphics cards you will need something like PowerStrip to configure it. I'm not sure if a refresh rate of 60Hz will work either, I only tried 50Hz so far (720p). The 60Hz is for NTSC (50 for PAL), so theoretically it should work, I'll be trying all different settings on mine this weekend as I'm putting my dedicated HTPC together then. I'll post my findings as they come to hand.

[bazman]

When i set my graphics card to 720x1280 the monitor doesn't know what to do with this resolution it stretches the picture tall. I thought that would proves it to be a 16x9 signal therefore the tv would see it as that also.

Where do you get powerstrip from and how much does it cost!

[Cam73]

Where do you get powerstrip from and how much does it cost!

From here:

Power Strip Website

It is shareware - so you can try it for free.

Registration costs US$30 - not bad at current exchange rates.