Suggestions wanted for LED TV

[sanjukoli]

Finally concluded my quest by buying the 42" Sony KDL-42W650 on 3rd May 2013. The choice was made easier by the fact that .mkv is now supported.

Went to the Sony Centre showroom on 01/05 and this set was not in stock. Asked them to let me know when it arrived. This happened on the afternoon of 02/05. Finally booked on 03/05, the next day. I didn't delay as I knew that the showroom piece would be delivered, and I was in a hurry for personal reasons. The reasoning was that even if the showroom piece were to be delivered, it'd have been on display for less than 24 hours (as it was unavailable the previous day), and in any case the model had been introduced to the Indian market less than a fortnight ago.

On the flip side, there's only one USB port now, and the set is ultra-thin so that many ports have been inconveniently positioned now. The picture quality is comparable to last year's lower -end models. One disadvantage is that at a distance of 7-8 feet, SD channels are unbearable to watch.

Thanks to all those who took the trouble of reading my posts and contributing with their valuable comments and suggestions.

At what price did u buy it.

 

[Jambumali]

Am surprised to note that SD channels are that bad.

By chance did you demo EX430/EX650? If yes, how does the SD playback compare between W650 & these two?

 

[sanjukoli]

Am surprised to note that SD channels are that bad.

By chance did you demo EX430/EX650? If yes, how does the SD playback compare between W650 & these two?

I have EX430 at my home and it is good for normal SD content.

 

[Jambumali]

@sanjukoli:
Sorry for asking twice: only asking about SD content : is the W650 that bad compared with EX430?

How do the EX430 & W650 compare otherwise? Can we say EX430 approaches 90% of the W650 performance (pricing is ~75%)

 

[sanjukoli]

@sanjukoli:
Sorry for asking twice: only asking about SD content : is the W650 that bad compared with EX430?

How do the EX430 & W650 compare otherwise? Can we say EX430 approaches 90% of the W650 performance (pricing is ~75%)

Buddy i have not checked the W650 out. But the one i have at my place is ex430 and watching SD content on it is good. But watching 720p on the EX430 is damm good. Gives good color reproduction.

 

[Jambumali]

@sanjukoli: sorry, that was actually to be asked of @gauravdp.

I actually demoed both EX430 & EX650, but for a small increase in "brightness", I did not find the 650 worth the extra for SD content. I was interested in knowing how the W650 fared on SD content against the EX650/430.

 

[Gauravdp]

HD is Good. I have Videocon d2H and they have a number of HD channels. Some are clearly good but on others it's clear that they're upscaled.

 

[Gauravdp]

At what price did u buy it.

Well it was Rs 62900.

 

[Gauravdp]

Am surprised to note that SD channels are that bad.

By chance did you demo EX430/EX650? If yes, how does the SD playback compare between W650 & these two?

Well I didn't mean bad SD per se, but having watched normal CRT TV for so long, and suddenly having 1080i HD in the living room, the contrast with watching regular SD from a distance of 7-8 feet seems overwhelming. The large screen seems to amplify the blurriness of regular SD.

 

[Gauravdp]

Am experimenting with the settings. Currently everything, including backlight, is set to 50%.

 

[just4kix]

HD is Good. I have Videocon d2H and they have a number of HD channels. Some are clearly good but on others it's clear that they're upscaled.

What channels do you feel are not true (asli) HD but upscaled? I ask because I am considering a switch. Videocon is gung-ho on asli HD.

 

[Dirac]

What channels do you feel are not true (asli) HD but upscaled? I ask because I am considering a switch. Videocon is gung-ho on asli HD.

I suspect that have separate feeds from NGC, discovery hd etc. Asli doosra hd

 

[adder]

Am experimenting with the settings. Currently everything, including backlight, is set to 50%.

If you don't mind can you check the service menu and see what panel they are using.

During stand by in the remote press the buttons Info(i) ,5 ,vol+ ,power and post a picture of the service menu.

 

[slash1814]

I compared EX-650 with new W-650 A. One to one.
W-650 A, has inferior brightness levels, looks like u're comparing non-LED LCD panel with LED LCD one.

I wanted to love W-650 A due to gr8 looks & price for the functionality provided and its 42" screen. But with all parameters set to full, W-650 A was missing something, no clue why its images were shadowed?!!

Finally got the EX-650

Yes, there was slightly more pixelation in SD content with W-650 A. But motion clarity was marginally better in W-650 A due to 200 Hz motion flow against that of 100 Hz in EX-650.
So new W-650 loses to EX-650 in overall picture quality. Something fishy in new models at competetive price.

 

[avmaxfan]

^

That's cuz W650A uses IPS panel and EX650 uses VA panel.

 

[slash1814]

False. W 650 A has VA panel. I thaught IPS was better than VA panel though.

 

[adder]

W650 uses a IPS panel.

IPS has good viewing angles but VA has higher contrast.

 

[slash1814]

The wallmount guy from sony also told me that they are hearing some problems with KDL-650-A (42"), he mentioned pixelation on SD content as main concern.

 

[manzb]

AFAIK, all HD TV is really bad in displaying SD. HDTVs are meant for good input which shall be atleast HD (720) if not Full HD(1080). Anything less than DVD resolution will not be able to impress you. For such inputs, it is better to go for HD ready sets.

 

[just4kix]

AFAIK, all HD TV is really bad in displaying SD. HDTVs are meant for good input which shall be atleast HD (720) if not Full HD(1080). Anything less than DVD resolution will not be able to impress you. For such inputs, it is better to go for HD ready sets.

To add to this, even though DVD resolution and sd resolution is theoretically same, practically there is day and night difference due to heavy compression used by broadcasters.