Customer Reviews

SonyKV-34XBR91034''XBRWEGAWidescreenHDTVMonitor

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The XBR910 series is the cream of the crop of HDTVs. You can spend more on a Plasma or LCD, but you won't get a better picture. Want fashion & a slick form factor? Buy plasma or lcd. Want the best picture? Buy one of the XBR910 series.

These TVs are a steal for the quality of picture they produce.

Do you actually already have a decent Sony triniton for your computer, and are you happy viewing movies with a smaller monitor? Using something like PowerStrip, and a DVD drive, you can probably already view DVDs in progressive scan mode (at obscenely wonderful resolutions).

The day after taking our KV-34XBR910 (latest Sony out since July/Aug 03) out of the box I had Cablevision in to hook it up for input of HDTV signal. Before the hookup, I explored some neat features of the TV such as being able to look at a (approx 22 inch) screen on the left of the 16:9 format and have 5 windows (approx 5 inch) of other channels scroll top to bottom on the right side of the TV or I could look at two active screens (approx 22 inch) side by side. My wife would love the feature given that I am a remote channel changer, but after hooking up to the SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA digital cable box I appear to have lost these features.

The picture on non HDTV appeared to be good. The KV-34XBR910 has Digital Reality Creation™ Circuitry that appears to improve the regular programming slightly, but the 16:9 format takes some getting use to. The TV puts vertical bars (you can change the color) on the right and left side of the regular program image. The HDTV picture is truly movie quality. I watched the "Hunt for Red October" on HBOHD and switched to HBO without HD and you see a big difference.

If you use a memory stick, this TV has a neat feature that allows you to view the pictures on it along with soft piano music in the background. Kind of brings back the days of the old slide projection show my grandmother use to show after her trips.

I purchased this television back in January 2004. I searched for several months and was planning on buying a flat panel, until so many people told me to hold off for a while. So, I turned my attention to the 34xbr910.

I am so glad that I found this model. The picture is simply awesome along with some of the nice features.

You have the option of viewing in 16:9, wide zoom, zoom and normal. If you use a Sony camera with a memory stick this set allows to view you pictures on line.

I also purchased the Sony DVD recorder. Put these two together and they are able to communicate making recording and viewing error free.

The only downside to this television is the weight. It took three of us to pick it up.

After getting this set up with the best component cables and progressive-scan dvd player $$$$ can buy, I was DEVASTATED to see how poor an image this set produced. I even ordered a service manual in order to adjust the overscan level (bringing in all four sides in hopes of sharpening the screen density), but it was all for naught. The number of "program palette" modes were abysmal failures. I had to adjust the picture and brightness settings for EVERY DVD I played. It was a miserable experience. The only good thing about this set is it's black level. That was outstanding. But for clarity, sharpness, detail - it fails on every count. Almost every image was blurry or "frosty". And this despite every effort made to tweak for maximum performance. Sony used to represent the finest in television set quality. With this model, that reputation is shattered. With heavy heart, I had to return it. Whatever happened to the reference standard set with XBR2? I paid over $2000 for a 32" 4:3 set years ago and it TOTALLY annihilates this supposed "HDTV" by leaps and bounds. I am going to be in a very deep funk the day it goes on the clink.