Lcd Buying ? - Sony Ex300 / Sony Bx300

[wingsoffires]

Hi ,
I have been following this forum for the last few months and thought that now is the time to post some of my own. Write now I have a question with which I need some help.
I am in the process of buying lcd tv for my room. I need your expert advises with regard to the same.
My requirements are as below.
26 Inches Lcd with decent picture quality on tata sky.
Usb slot capable of playing range of movies.

Earlier I was about to buy the Philips 5609 in 32 inches but did not went ahead as it is possibly a little bit larger for my room. So now I want to purchase something in 26 inches but unfortunately Phlips do not have a lcd below 32 Inches. Also the thing is that I do not wish to buy any lcd which does not play movies through usb slot / pen drive. Recently I came across my friendly neighbourhood dealer who told me that Sony had recently launched a lcd with my above requirements. Models being Sony Bx 300 or possibly Sony Ex 300. These Lcd's have an option of playing videos through usb slot. Can anyone advise how good these lcd's are from Sony. The Bx300 in 26 inches is available for 24000 Rs. Is anyone aware about the Picture Quality and usb Video playback for the lcd's. The viewing distance for me would be around 6-7 feet. Also whether this lcd plays all kind of formats for movies thru Pen Drive ?
Thanx in advance.

 

[prakasse]

Sony BX300 would be better choice/VFM. When you go for higher screen sizes may be you can go with EX series.
Reg movie playback the catalog i have says that movies.music are supported on BX300 series. Best is to take you own USB with movies, go to showroom and test yourself
Thanks,
Prakash.

 

[GunMo]

26 Inches Lcd with decent picture quality on tata sky.

Also checkout the Sony dealers that have Tata Sky or DishTV (both use similar technology) and insist to play them directly connected to the TV - not through any splitter/scaler etc - and pick the one that looks best for your eyes.

Good luck!

 

[adder]

sony BX and EX range currently available in india have limited video playback.they only can play MPEG1 and MPEG2 videos.

if u want to buy a tv based only on the USB playback they u don't need a sony or a philips,u can go with the LG models.

buy a sony or philips if u want the performance.

i believe the sony 32BX300 is available for around 24k in the grey market,making it the cheapest good performing lcd in india.

i would avoid the 26" lcds since many have the inferior panels compared to their 32" siblings.some even have the crappy TN panels.

 

[thekinge]

I have a 46EX500 and the video playback capabilities of Ex500 is very limited and the EX series also do not support DLNA. Based on my usage and experience, they do not upscale or optimize SD sources such as standard DVD or cable. However, for me these are only minor gripes and I knew about these even before I purchased the TV.

On the positive side, EX500 series are 100Hz models so they do make a minor difference while viewing SD videos. I also have a 40EX400 which does not have 100Hz refresh rate and there is discernable difference in SD video quality between EX400 & EX500, at least to my naked eye.

 

[eby83]

is the ex500 better than w550?

 

[adder]

is the ex500 better than w550?

well the performance of Ex500 seem similar,perhaps a whisker better in blacks,but the W550A has better build and sound quality.

 

[thekinge]

well the performance of Ex500 seem similar,perhaps a whisker better in blacks,but the W550A has better build and sound quality.

I am not sure about the video quality since 2010 models of Sony including EX series are supposed to have the U2VA panels. I tried finding out if the panels are U2VA by looking behind the TV but could not. Have written to Sony about a week back but haven't heard back from them yet. However I agree on the sound quality though. Both the EX series I have are so bloody flat that I am now considering buying at least a 2.1 setup to compensate!

 

[adder]

I am not sure about the video quality since 2010 models of Sony including EX series are supposed to have the U2VA panels. I tried finding out if the panels are U2VA by looking behind the TV but could not. Have written to Sony about a week back but haven't heard back from them yet. However I agree on the sound quality though. Both the EX series I have are so bloody flat that I am now considering buying at least a 2.1 setup to compensate!

well i can assure u that the only sony tvs with UV2A panels are the 3D range of tvs like NX800,HX800/HX900 which have the 240hz PRO and 480HZ respectively.
the cheaper BX,EX,NX which have 100/120hz and 200/240hz all have either a SPVA or a AMVA with the 60+inch versions having sharp panels based on ASV.

well about the sound the thing is its hard to get good aesthetics and sound at the same time with cheaper price tag.
the samsungs lcd for example have even poor sound since they concentrate more on aesthetics.

 

[wingsoffires]

Nice to see so many replies in such a short span of time.
I had checked the Sony India site and as per features mentioned for the two lcd's i.e ex300 and bx300 there is not much difference between the two sets. Even the price is pretty similar. The main difference visible is the number of HDMI terminals which happens to be 4 for ex300 and 2 for bx300. Other differences include FM playback, Headphone and some not so important features. The price difference between the two is just 1000 Rs.

Check Out : -
Product Comparison : BRAVIA LCD TV : Sony India

@adder : Buddy you suggested to avoid 26 inch lcd's. But the problem is that my viewing distance is not much and a 32 inch one would possibly be shade too large for my room and from where I would be watching. You also said that Sony have very limited video playback capability. Any idea how good the LG lu10 / lu11 is ? I checked out this model at the shop and the picture quality on Tata Sky / Reliance STB was not too impresive. There was some pixelation visible on the LG lu10 in 26 inches. Can u suggest anything else in 26 inches capable of playing all video playbacks. Or should I possibly go ahead with LG lu10 / lu11 ?

 

[thekinge]

well i can assure u that the only sony tvs with UV2A panels are the 3D range of tvs like NX800,HX800/HX900 which have the 240hz PRO and 480HZ respectively.
the cheaper BX,EX,NX which have 100/120hz and 200/240hz all have either a SPVA or a AMVA with the 60+inch versions having sharp panels based on ASV.

adder, if i may ask, what is the source of this information?

 

[adder]

adder, if i may ask, what is the source of this information?

well their is no official version ,no lcd vender will disclouse what lcd panel is their in their tvs,only sharp advertized the UV2A pubicly in thier LX range.

the 10g joint fabrication facility of sony/sharp are not running in full production yet,due to difficulty in yields.currently the prices are high for UV2A and sony and sharp both reserve this panels for their high end tvs.

the BX,EX,NX are positioned as economy to mid range ,the reviews and the peformance on the EX range for that ,matter EX500 doesn't come close to the performance seen in sharp demo videos ,the viewing angles & contrast of the present sony lcds in india doesn't seem much difference b/w last year models.

lastly have a look at these 117cm/46 152cm/60 BRAVIA LCD TVs : TV and Home Cinema : Sony

notice their are many versions of motionflow the regular 100/120hz ,200/240hz and the NEW 200/240hz PRO and 480HZ PRO( the LX800,LX900 and HX700,HX900 these models are also advertized as deep black panel).

the UV2A panels have twice the refresh rate of current lcd panels,so one can have fair idea where the UV2A panels are going .