Comments on: Sony KDL-55HX800 3D HDTV-First Impressions

By: Coleen

Coleen — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:04:02 +0000

Hi,

I purchased a 46″ HX800 and I tried to search some information about its 3D technology but I didn`t get it… My question is: Is it working with passive 3D glasses or just with the active one?

I think the Sony active glass is a bit expensive… Has anyone a better option for this problem or I have to buy a sony glass?

By: Ibrahim

Ibrahim — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:08:02 +0000

I bought a sony 55” hx800 over boxing week. The 3D effect does go away when you tilt your head 45Ã‚Â°, but not at ‘normal, slight’ tilt. However, i do not mind this drawback. (3D and 2D) The colors are amazing, the picture is detailed, and almost no flicker. According to what is mentioned above, I would mind the flicker if I had the samsung or panasonic, but the flickering vs the crosstalk issue is truly a consumer preference problem.

Now to the main issue, not even a week has passed and there is a green pixel that appears and disappears (randomly) near the lower right corner of the screen. I am definitely going to get the set exchanged. I have had a Sony lcd before ( so does my aunt) and we have never experienced this problem before. is it just a quality control issue? Any comments on the pixel problem?

By: Ernesto22

Ernesto22 — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:30:12 +0000

Sony is offering filters that clip on to the glasses. These filters were made to help eliminate crosstalk. When I tried them, not only did I notice that crosstalk issues were gone but that the filters also helped eliminate crosstalk issued that occur due to head tilting. Here’s the link were I found out about the filters.

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=C1017777&sliceId=2&docTypeID=DT_KNOWLEDGEARTICLES_1_1&dialogID=180330796&stateId=0%200%20189737969

By: AJ Henderson

AJ Henderson — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:25:35 +0000

I’m not sure I follow how any set could maintain a 3d effect when you turn your head. Are you talking about turning on vertical axis or tilting your head. If you were to lie sideways and watch it, I would expect any TV to fail as the horizontally seperated image would now be expected as vertical seperation. Based on my viewing of a production model in store, I saw none of the stated problems and simple testing of the 3d on the 46 inch HX800 revealed no issues to me with turning my head to what I thought to be reasonable levels.

Either way, it sounds like the described problems are more a side effect of 3d glasses design than TV design and a future varient of the technology could foreseeably allow the problems to be fixed by obtaining new glasses at a fraction of the price of a new TV. I know for me the deciding factors in purchasing the Sony TV were the exceptional color performance at a highly discounted price (I purchased it under a very good holiday sale.).

By: Aaron Cohen

Aaron Cohen — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:02:39 +0000

For those that can, check out the Mitsubishi. I just received my starter kit in the mail for my 73-738 set. I work at Best Buy and all I do when we are not busy is compare 3D technologies and swap the demo discs around between the sets. The Samsung is borderline terrible (see world cup 3D) as the ghosting and crosstalk is unbelievably bad. Our rep tells us firmware update blah blah coming will fix all. I’ll believe it when I see it. The Sony looks good until you tilt at all any way to the side. I spoke to our store’s Sony rep today who said they were all complaining about it on conference calls to corporate. The official word from the “engineers” at Sony was that it was how it had to be and that there would be no fix. Some nonsense about how they envisioned everyone to watch 3D in the same position as in the theater where you have to sit up straight. Whatever. Garbage. LG’s set with the underwater fish demo has good depth, but there are 2 and 3 of every fish. Just blah.

The Panasonic looks great to my eyes but does have clear issues with flicker. Before opening my Mitsubishi starter kit, I expected to return it the next day. I honestly expected the picture to look horrible. It is anything but and I am definitely keeping it. There is zero crosstalk. No ghosting. An amazing depth to the 3D image. The only caveat being that the picture is not as bright as the flat panel displays. However, the 3D depth, no ghosting, and ability to lay on my side, upside down, grab a soda, or even just tilt my head and still have a 3D effect makes it even better. Also, the enermous screen size makes the effect that much more pronounced. Truly amazing…

Of all the offerings though, I was truly stunned by the drawbacks of Sony’s set.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:21:57 +0000

Good article but I question why nobody who actually owns this tv has made similar complaints? On Best Buy.com there are currently 9 reviews of this television. None of them have anything negative to say about the 3D, and in fact, they have only stated how impressed they’ve been with it. Is it possible that the demo you reviewed was technically different than an in home ” real” setup?

The situation is similar to the introduction of HDTV. I am not surprised about the comments. How does a new set owner compare the set’s performance against another product at home? Without a point of reference, it is really difficult to know if the 3D is good, mediocre or poor.

Sony has just supplied a production sample of its XBR-52HX909 for review. We will post a review soon, stay tuned.

HD Guru

By: SFMike

SFMike — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:44:13 +0000

I was excited about the new Sony 3D models but have been really saddened by the amount of crosstalk I’ve seen on every set I’ve viewed at multiple retailers. My experience has been that the Sony sets exhibit more crosstalk than the Samsungs. I had high hopes from Sony that just haven’t been realized. The Panasonic plasma still seems best.

By: nathan

nathan — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:38:47 +0000

I also found the Sony to be superior to the others (Panasonic & Samsung) in it’s rendering and overall picture. Especially in 2D.

I found the article informative and thank the author for his findings.

However, as for the head tilting issue…I do not see this as a deal breaker for the Sony or any of the other TV’s that have darkening, etc when your head is tilted. While it would be IDEAL to NOT have this happen (let’s say you watch tv laying down on the couch), it certainly isn’t a deal breaker. I wouldn’t care if the 3D effect went away when I reached for a remote, etc…small price to pay for the technology at this point. I think this issue is smaller than some of the other previously mentioned issues with other manufacturer’s…and it should be noted that I am not a Sony fanboy by any means.

The amount of crosstalk that appears in 3D content varies greatly. I spent another hour at a retail store this past Saturday looking at Sony’s 3D demo disc and the Panasonic’s 3D demo disc on another HX800. I also played with the Sony remote control in an attempt to find any 3D TV adjustments and settings that may mitigate the crosstalk. None were found.

Viewing the most challenging segments (regarding crosstalk), I could begin to see it on the Sony using its 3D glasses with only about a 5 degree head tilt, as the tilt increases, so did the degree of crosstalk.

Perhaps I am atypical, however I do not always keep my head perfectly level when viewing TV and neither do other persons interviewed.

The Samsung 3D glasses gradually darken as one tilts their head while viewing one of its LED or LCD displays. While the image is very slightly darker with a 5 degree head tilt, the 3D effect remains the same, with no increase in crosstalk. A condition we find very tolerable.

While all HDTVs and 3D TV have viewing artifacts and anomalies, we find crosstalk very disturbing to the viewing experience.

We don’t like the color shift the Sony glasses produce with any degree of tilt, however we don’t feel it is as disturbing as crosstalk.

Thanks for the input

HD Guru

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:13:07 +0000

Well, I thought it was an informative review. Probably because I actually read it :)

Any color and brightness drop-off when viewing off-axis (but still directly facing) under 3D viewing? Sony’s EX700 series has a huge drop-off when viewing from even 45 degrees off center, hoping there’ll be some improvements here?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:56:45 +0000

5 degrees? Nonsense. Have you actually used the set in a home situation?

How can you claim that the Sony implementation is worse than Sammy and Pana? The flicker issue is serious on both manufacturer’s sets. Especially in countries using 50Hz AC mains frequency.

In addition the Samsung struggles with crosstalk, and the emitter for the glasses is so weak that it constantly loses sync when anyone in the room moves near the LED emitter beam.

The Panasonic picture quality is terrible with zero shadow detail. The Sony picture quality is far superior.

I think that the review is poorly researched and lacks understanding. The 3D effect (+ or – Z plane) will be identical for any screen as it is not screen dependent, but depends on the content itself. The differences between screens is the quality of the picture, not the extent of the effect.

Key issues are:
1. Picture brightness
2. Dynamic Range
3. Colour Fidelity
4. Crosstalk
5. Viewing comfort (flicker, fit and weight of glasses)

A 50 Hz model designed and engineered to be sold outside of the US (South Africa according to your IP address) makes any comparison and associated comments irrelevant.

I suggest you re-read my article regarding the Sony demo content.

HD Guru