Sony TV Owners & Discussion Thread

[blacknbrindle]

As I mentioned earlier my worry is that, living in the country, it will be difficult to find a Sony serviceman with any knowledge of SXRD convergence, though yours seemed to have little knowledge but managed to correct it. I hope I will be as lucky.

I'm half expecting that when I ring Sony they'll say that SXRDs can't have convergence issues.

I havnt noticed any errors with my 60 inch so far ?

Might borrow my sisters laptop and run those tests you mentioned and see if any show up , ive gone right up close to the screen when displaying the xbox 360 dashboard and so far everything looks very crisp and detailed without the convergence colour showing anywhere ( crosses fingers )

[drsmith]

As I mentioned earlier my worry is that, living in the country, it will be difficult to find a Sony serviceman with any knowledge of SXRD convergence, though yours seemed to have little knowledge but managed to correct it. I hope I will be as lucky.

I'm half expecting that when I ring Sony they'll say that SXRDs can't have convergence issues.

Based on my experience, I would suggest that a tech with general knowledge on rear pro's would have no difficulty adjusting the convergence on the SXRD upon reading the service manual.

When I contacted Sony, I found their service to be very good and there was no attempt by Sony to avoid the issue. I did however describe the convergence issue in some detail, including what I had done from PC and that it could be corrected via a service adjustment. It was clear to me that the Sony person I spoke to had knowledge about what I was talking about and without hesitation provided me with a warranty claim reference number and contact details for a local repairer.

[pietro1503559499]

Based on my experience, I would suggest that a tech with general knowledge on rear pro's would have no difficulty adjusting the convergence on the SXRD upon reading the service manual.

When I contacted Sony, I found their service to be very good and there was no attempt by Sony to avoid the issue. I did however describe the convergence issue in some detail, including what I had done from PC and that it could be corrected via a service adjustment. It was clear to me that the Sony person I spoke to had knowledge about what I was talking about and without hesitation provided me with a warranty claim reference number and contact details for a local repairer.

I think this has already been discussed, but with the CRT RPTV there is a grid in the service menu for convergence adjustment. But this is not the case with the SXRD is it?

How does the tech know when the adjustment is correct?

Sorry, this is probably all in the other thread you linked to. The heat is making me lazy.

[drsmith]

How does the tech know when the adjustment is correct?

Sorry, this is probably all in the other thread you linked to. The heat is making me lazy.

The test patterns from PC at native (with 1:1 pixel mapping) came in very handy when showing the tech the convergence error and enabled him to adjust it to best setting at the pixel level.

Page 2 of this thread will also be worth another look.

[pietro1503559499]

The test patterns from PC at native (with 1:1 pixel mapping) came in very handy when showing the tech the convergence error and enabled him to adjust it to best setting at the pixel level.

Page 2 of this thread will also be worth another look.

I must try and connect my notebook to the TV. I've never made any attempt at the HTPC thing. Just looking at the available monitor settings the closest seems to be 1920x1440. Is this going to be suitable though?

[drsmith]

The SXRD's native resolution is 1920x1080.

Does your notebook have a digital connection (DVI or HDMI) ?

[pietro1503559499]

The SXRD's native resolution is 1920x1080.

Does your notebook have a digital connection (DVI or HDMI) ?

It has DVI. (Toshiba Satellite PRO P100)

[drsmith]

It has DVI. (Toshiba Satellite PRO P100)

To connect the notebook to the SXRD you will need a DVI/HDMI cable (or a DVI cable plus a DVI/HDMI adaptor).

Once connected you should be able to select 1920x1080 from the graphics software on the notebook. You may need to adgust the DRC mode on the SXRD to get this to work and it is also desirable that the sharpness is on the minimum setting to eliminate distortions around text.

One problem will be overscan, but it should be 1:1 pixel mapped.

A basic test will be to display a forum webpage on the SXRD. With perfect convergence, black text should show up black when viewed very close to the screen. A little bit of colour may occur around the black, but if this is about one pixel wide or more, then the convergence can be improved.

[Degas]

I've also found that the quality of FTA via my HTPC and via the in-built tuner are very similar.

Just thought I'd mention that mine did the reset thing today. I was sitting there watching a DVD and all of a sudden the screen went black and the green power light started flashing like it does when you first turn it on.

This is the first time that it's done it to me - about 200 hours of viewing so far. It's by far the hottest day that I've been watching the TV so maybe it's heat related??

Hi guys,

Looking for some help please! Got the 60" delivered today and set up nicely running HDMI out of a Denon 4306. Everything looked great, then when I went back to the TV tonight it had a green discolouration across the whole screen. Has anybody had the same problem or is is something so basic that I have missed it?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

[MLXXX]

Hi guys,

Looking for some help please! Got the 60" delivered today and set up nicely running HDMI out of a Denon 4306. Everything looked great, then when I went back to the TV tonight it had a green discolouration across the whole screen. Has anybody had the same problem or is is something so basic that I have missed it?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Congratulations on your acquisition, though you must be having mixed feelings.

* I presume the green effect is present at all times, even when watching video from the built in tuners?

* No-one has reported a discolouration developing so quickly. Is it a mild tinge, or very pronounced?

If just a mild tinge, it is possible the lamp is going through a slight change as it settles in. If it is a pronounced discolouration, something seems seriously amiss -- a faulty lamp perhaps.

[pietro1503559499]

To connect the notebook to the SXRD you will need a DVI/HDMI cable (or a DVI cable plus a DVI/HDMI adaptor).

Once connected you should be able to select 1920x1080 from the graphics software on the notebook. You may need to adgust the DRC mode on the SXRD to get this to work and it is also desirable that the sharpness is on the minimum setting to eliminate distortions around text.

I have that cable. But the resolution options for the Nvidia 7300 don't seem to give 1920x1080, only 1440. This from the slider on the settings tab of desktop properties. And going into the Nvidia software doesn't seem to offer any more options.

[MLXXX]

I have that cable. But the resolution options for the Nvidia 7300 don't seem to give 1920x1080, only 1440. This from the slider on the settings tab of desktop properties. And going into the Nvidia software doesn't seem to offer any more options.

To do the convergence testing, you don't really need 1920x1080. You can use a lower resolution (say 1680 x 1050 pixels - the same as your Toshiba Satellite Pro P100) and with many of these lower resolutions the SXRD will still map 1:1. It is just that the picture will only occupy the middle of the screen. I find that with my my 60" SXRD, 1680 x 1050 sent to the HDMI input maps one to one.

However to take full advantage of connecting your PC you will need a custom resolution. Some further thoughts:

*Once you have the notebook connected to the SXRD HDMI input you may find the options the desktop resolution slider allows increase.

*You can also try unchecking the 'display modes the monitor supports' option [When setting the desktop resolution, go to Advanced - Monitor].

*You could update to the latest Nvidia driver

*To get full control, including creating custom resolutions, you could download Powerstrip software.

*Ultimately you need a custom resolution that has active pixels rather less than 1920x1080 to overcome the overscan of the RPTV technology so you can see the PC's desktop in full. [i'm using 1824x1010 myself, which leaves me with a very small amount of overscan of the desktop.]

[pietro1503559499]

To do the convergence testing, you don't really need 1920x1080. You can use a lower resolution (say 1680 x 1050 pixels - the same as your Toshiba Satellite Pro P100) and with many of these lower resolutions the SXRD will still map 1:1. It is just that the picture will only occupy the middle of the screen. I find that with my my 60" SXRD, 1680 x 1050 sent to the HDMI input maps one to one.

However to take full advantage of connecting your PC you will need a custom resolution. Some further thoughts:

*Once you have the notebook connected to the SXRD HDMI input you may find the options the desktop resolution slider allows increase.

*You can also try unchecking the 'display modes the monitor supports' option [When setting the desktop resolution, go to Advanced - Monitor].

*You could update to the latest Nvidia driver

*To get full control, including creating custom resolutions, you could download Powerstrip software.

*Ultimately you need a custom resolution that has active pixels rather less than 1920x1080 to overcome the overscan of the RPTV technology so you can see the PC's desktop in full. [i'm using 1824x1010 myself, which leaves me with a very small amount of overscan of the desktop.]

You have done your homework on my Tosh....unless of course you have the same one.

Thanks for all the advice. I must have a look at Powerstrip software as I'm not familiar with it.

[Degas]

Congratulations on your acquisition, though you must be having mixed feelings.

* I presume the green effect is present at all times, even when watching video from the built in tuners?

* No-one has reported a discolouration developing so quickly. Is it a mild tinge, or very pronounced?

If just a mild tinge, it is possible the lamp is going through a slight change as it settles in. If it is a pronounced discolouration, something seems seriously amiss -- a faulty lamp perhaps.

Picture is back to normal, looks like the child played with the foxtel unit and dislodged the scart connection enough to be not quite right!

[pietro1503559499]

Regarding convergence again....I have a hope in the back of my mind that Owen will buy an SXRD and then post a step-by-step guide of how to adjust convergence so I can do it myself.

Owen....over to you

[drsmith]

pietro,

How have you gone getting the notebook to display a PC image on the SXRD ?

[pietro1503559499]

pietro,

How have you gone getting the notebook to display a PC image on the SXRD ?

Had a lazy day watching cricket. I will make the attempt during the week.

That Powerstrip software looks very impressive.....I would think a must have for HTPC owners?

[MLXXX]

Regarding convergence again....I have a hope in the back of my mind that Owen will buy an SXRD and then post a step-by-step guide of how to adjust convergence so I can do it myself.

Owen....over to you

It is one thing to 'inspect' or 'examine' convergence, as per the convergence test pattern Dr Smith has referred to. It is quite another to 'adjust' it.

To adjust convergence oneself, access would be needed to the service menu codes. This is not a thing to be approached lightly. Service menus are intended to be accessed by technicians, not customers. Accessing a service menu:

• could possibly invalidate a warranty (usually if you make a change within the service menu and save it, the date of save is captured and it will be apparent to whoever inspects the service menu that it was altered after delivery of the unit to the customer)
  
• if a mistake is made, can render the TV unusable until it is corrected; it is also sometimes suggested that it can actually damage a television (though this would probably be a rare occurrence).
  

These sorts of things do not worry me a great deal but I'm sure they'd worry most people.

In any event, I'd be very interested in getting access to a service manual and/or snippets therefrom; if only to satisfy my curiosity. This subject was also raised in the main SXRD thread as follows:-

...

Owen, mate a point I want to provide with deep colour. The ati avivo video pipeline includes the feature to supersample 8 bit colour into 10 bit and higher depths up to 16 bit, for the likes of the 10 bit colour professional LCDs being sold. I have not been privvy to a subjective comparison so I cannot comment on if this actually makes the colours better or not. It is ofcourse possible to create your own footage with say 16bits of colour instead of 8 on pc animation but thats really not mainstream.

Having now come home from holidays to my 60" baby, I can see again why my heart adjulates this toy in the living room so much.

Whats on my mind is:

a) Having access to the service manual

Definitive answers to the UMR calibration mystery

I was wondering if it would be a breach of copyright if some us pooled together into a loosely formed partnership and split the costs for the service manual between us? We could say something like were a partnership of enthusiasts and were sharing the information we bough between us?

I have not found a source for an Oz model SXRD service manual; however the US model should be basically identical in the service menu.

A US model manual can be ordered on line for $20.

I am reasonably confident I know what UMR is up to, and it’s not a big mystery.

When I get a manual and time to play with my test instruments and the SXRD, I recon I well get it sussed.

Owen, can you give us the reference to the manual for the similar US SXRD model, that can be ordered online?

[laurie]

So there is no test pattern in the service menu for convergence testing!!

cheers laurie

[drsmith]

When the tech came to adjust the convergence on mine (~20th December), the service manual that he had was a copy printed on single sheets of paper from a version he had downloaded from Sony and that was on his second visit. He had no service manual at all on his first visit. Clearly, there were not too many SXRD service manuals floating around (if any) then and I suspect that is still the case being just after Christmas. When they do become available, I too would be interested in purchasing one. Even if I never use it to adjust anything, I can still read it and learn more about the SXRD.

Even though he had the manual, it still took him some time to find his way around the service menu options to get to the convergence adjustment. To make matters worse there was an error in the service manual that he had (so he claimed) and that it was his knowledge on the service menu's of other Sony rear pro's that enabled him to overcome that hurdle.

From what I saw, I agree that service menu adjustments are only for those who have a detailed knowledge about what they are doing.

So there is no test pattern in the service menu for convergence testing!!

cheers laurie

The tech never mentioned a test pattern within the service menu, but at the time I did not ask. He may have found it easier to use the PC test patterns I had on the screen than look for a service test pattern if it did exist.

[eyestrain]

Regarding convergence again....I have a hope in the back of my mind that Owen will buy an SXRD and then post a step-by-step guide of how to adjust convergence so I can do it myself.

Owen....over to you

Ahrrr ... aint we all?

Edit: apology for posting without being an owner!

Edited January 14, 2007 by eyestrain

[AndrewWilliams]

I had a play around in the service menu and it's not very intuitive without a service manual compared to my old JVC CRT which had everything in plain English. I did eventually find the convergence settings but I wasn't able to improve on the original settings - not surprising since I was quite happy with the convergence. It seems that mine was setup optimally from the factory.

The menus aren't for the faint hearted so I wouldn't attempt it unless you're experienced.

[MLXXX]

I had a play around in the service menu and it's not very intuitive without a service manual compared to my old JVC CRT which had everything in plain English. I did eventually find the convergence settings but I wasn't able to improve on the original settings - not surprising since I was quite happy with the convergence. It seems that mine was setup optimally from the factory.

The menus aren't for the faint hearted so I wouldn't attempt it unless you're experienced.

Some of the menu abbreviations can be guessed at. In my case there was an advantage in raising blue by 1 pixel; but I can understand why the factory setting was as it was. It was necessary to look at a range of pattern combinations to find the best compromise.

Here is the pattern I developed for assessing the effects of changing the convergence settings. It is quite small (400 x 200 pixels total) and will occupy only a small part of the nominal 1920x 1080 screen of the RPTV.

Here is a gif double snapshot of the improvement for text on my 60" SXRD; note particularly the text on the right-hand side (black on a white background).

Here is a gif double snapshot showing the change in pixel position for blue, demonstrated with a cross-hair pattern.

Here is a gif double snapshot showing the deterioration in fine pixel detail when the 60" SXRD was set to overscan (Display Area setting of -1, rather than the default Display Area setting of Normal).

***********************************************************

And how is it done? A general explanation appears here, but in fact the adjustments on our SXRDs appear to be in 1 pixel steps, not 2, and vertical adjustments are indeed possible. And an excellent fuller explanation appears here.

**WARNING** At own risk. If you make a mistake it could be very costly. These adjustments are intended for use by technicians, not customers.

Commence with SXRD turned off (in standby mode).

On the remote control, press [i+], [5], [vol+],[TV On button] in quick succession.

Press [Prev channel button (underneath 9)], to navigate to 'Panel Service'.

[2] and [5] are used to step through menu headings. [1]and [4] are used to step through menu sub-headings.

Required menu heading is 1 TG. Horizontal adjustments are at menu subheadings 1, 2 and 3. Vertical at subheadings 25, 26, and 27. Use [3] and [6] to change values. Observe the change on the screen. Don't adjust anything you are not sure of. If in doubt always return values to what they were.

To revert entries to their last saved values, press [9] then [0].

If you are sure you want to save changes, press [mute] which will cause the screen to display the word WRITE in green, then immediately press [0] which will cause the word WRITE to change to red, confirming the save.

Note, when reading the American instructions:

*The jump key means the key beneath the 9 (the previous channel key)

*The ENTER or ENT key means the [0] key

*The [0] key means the [9] key

Edited January 15, 2007 by MLXXX

[pietro1503559499]

It is one thing to 'inspect' or 'examine' convergence, as per the convergence test pattern Dr Smith has referred to. It is quite another to 'adjust' it.

I used to adjust the convergence on my 3 Tosh RPTVs via the service menu without any problems. But they did have the grid method which was quite simple. The SXRD does sound more complex.

It seems to me as if the average Sony tech is not going to find it an easy task, but the obvious advantage is that if they bugger it you'll be covered. At least I hope that would be the case.

[AndrewWilliams]

Some good photography skills there, MLXXX. I'd say that your 'After' looks very similar to how mine was out of the box.