Has anyone seen or bought new Sony 55' LCD?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Has anyone seen or bought new Sony 55" LCD?

mooder

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#59134 27-Mar-2010 21:55

Hi. New Member, first post.

Has anyone seen the new sony 55" LCD tv - KDL55EX500?
Only for $2995 - am I dreaming or what??
Any comments from people who has viewed the tv or even bought it??

Thanks.

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219 posts

Master Geek

#311964 28-Mar-2010 00:13

Hey there.

Welcome to geekzone.

I've not seen the EX500 but the EX400 has been in my store for a few weeks now and the picture should be all but identical between the two. The only difference between the two tvs is meant to be motionflow (100hz).
Unless they use different panels the picture quality should be the same 100hz aside.

32EX500-LTY32OHF01 (S-matrix LCD-Samsung)
37EX500-T37OHWO3 (AUO)
40EX500-LTY400HF06 (S-matrix LCD-Samsung)
46EX500-LTY460HJ01 (S-matrix LCD-Samsung)
55EX500-LTY550HJ01 (S-matrix LCD-Samsung)

The ex500 uses a samsung panel. Finding out panels used can be difficult on new tvs and I wasn't able to find anything on the ex400 though.

Check out the ex400 in any store near you as they should be everywhere by now, they're fairly good for LCDs with quite neutral colours all round, a similar picture to last years v5500.
If you want to play it safe then either wait til some stores get stock of the ex500 or someone buys one or alternatively check out a few american forums like avs as they've had these models for quite a while with mostly good feedback apart from a few uniformity issues.

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#311976 28-Mar-2010 06:06

Haven't seen it but a few days ago heard Magness Benrow in Auckland advertising it on the radio for either $2700 or $2800

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Dunnersfella

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#311978 28-Mar-2010 07:50

I've seen 40's of the EX400 and EX500's side by side, and I must say...
For whatever reason, the EX500 looked a little crisper to me. I don't know if it's a panel thing though.
Honestly though, the difference is minascule. The only differences between the models (in real world terms) are the adjustable base (twists left to right) and 100Hz on the EX500.
Sure the 500 is made from more recycled plastic and has a brushed metal strip at the bottom, while the 400 has plastic...
Are you purely looking at the 500 in order to get a 55"?

Esteban

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#311980 28-Mar-2010 08:28

They are in Wellington. JB HiFi has one, the SONY shop also.
They look pretty amazing to me. There are a few reviews on the net but but I can't find any by the big players. There was talk of the blacks being a little blue. Not stopping me from getting one - just waiting to see what the Easter deals are. $2600 is a price offered by a couple of stores.

mooder

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#312085 28-Mar-2010 16:59

Thank for the reply everyone! That was really helpful.
I am actually looking at it, as it seems to be the cheapest >50" full HD LCD/plasma screen.
I own a 40" Sony LCD KLV40V300 from 3 years ago which can't go to full 1080p.

I will certainly wait till Easter to see whether there is any good deal - but if anyone hears or sees a good deal --> Let me know!!

Thanks again.

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#312172 28-Mar-2010 20:15

Wow, you're right. Thats actually the cheapest tv over 50", never thought I'd see that seeing the samsung equivalent is $4000.
Theres definitely some good deals coming up over easter, not too sure about tvs specifically but should still be good pickings.
Otherwise all the other manufacturers 2010 models are coming out aprilish.

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BigFella

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Master Geek
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#312321 29-Mar-2010 10:34

I'm in the process of buying a new TV at the moment, and have narrowed it to either the 46" or 55" EX500.

I've seen them side-by-side at the Sony store in CHCH - both look fantastic for the price. The 55" feels significantly bigger, but of course feels less sharp than the 46" unless you're a long way back from the panel.

If your inputs are HD then definitely run with the 55".

Comments are my own, don't blame my employer...

Bolly

68 posts

Master Geek

#312914 30-Mar-2010 17:15

Sony have made some very poor TV's this year with the EX series no exception, very disappointed. But then there TV's have been getting worse and worse over the past 3years.
Why not spend an extra $500 and get the Panasonic TH-P50V10z? Sure its a tad smaller but don't we buy a TV to get the best picture we can?
Hummmmmm.

"They mostly come out at night...........mostly"

openmedia

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#312929 30-Mar-2010 17:56

Bolly: Sony have made some very poor TV's this year with the EX series no exception, very disappointed. But then there TV's have been getting worse and worse over the past 3years.
Why not spend an extra $500 and get the Panasonic TH-P50V10z? Sure its a tad smaller but don't we buy a TV to get the best picture we can?
Hummmmmm.

So what is so wrong with Sony's recent TVs. Most of the reviews of the new EX series seem to be pretty positive?

Also why suggest a Plasma over an LCD?

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Dunnersfella

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#312983 30-Mar-2010 19:11

Bolly: Sony have made some very poor TV's this year with the EX series no exception, very disappointed. But then there TV's have been getting worse and worse over the past 3years.
Why not spend an extra $500 and get the Panasonic TH-P50V10z? Sure its a tad smaller but don't we buy a TV to get the best picture we can?
Hummmmmm.

To start with - how many 50" V series Pana's are left that aren't demo models?

The Sony's look very nice to my eyes, especially in a room that suffers from a lot of bright light sources.
I'd love one for a marathon gaming session.
I've played with the MP3 / DIVX / JPEG features via USB and they seem pretty easy to get on with.

In regards to the TV's getting worse over the past 3 years, what models are you referring to?
I don't remember the 2007 range being a particular standout vintage... what did you like more / less?
BE1? The bezels?

trig42

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#313070 30-Mar-2010 20:26

It's pretty hard to get that 55" Sony.
I heard from someone at Sony today, he reckons they have people paying full price for them at the Sony stores, with delivery expected mid- to end-April. They have pretty much sold through their next shipment (of course, that includes sales to other retailers).

I know Magness have a few, and they are discounting them. If you want one, go get it tomorrow, there won't be any left at Easter.

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samwooff

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Master Geek

#313083 30-Mar-2010 20:36

As much as I love plasmas and panasonics in particular an extra 5 inches is a lot at that size and would make arguably a larger impact on the viewing experience than the V10's better picture quality.

The new sony range, (at least the non LED edgelit models) look to have rather natural colours for LCDs and half decent blacks as well. The main problems which he might be referring to could be a lack of quality control on sony/samsung's part on the panels as there have been quite a few complaints over uniformity issues in the states, I've not had a chance to play with many of the new sony's yet so I can't comment on our models for certain.

Dunnersfella

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#313173 30-Mar-2010 21:53

Well that's the point really - next to no one has bought one.
So people simply won't have had a chance to use the TV's that are being sold into the NZ market.

I had a look at one today, and it's easy to see why people would be impressed in-store - and at the same time, buy one on the spot. I'm not sure there'll be a lot of top deals going initially (with the strangled supply of Sony's). But I do think they'll be at 2.5k by mid-year.

Bolly

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Master Geek

#313175 30-Mar-2010 21:54

Hey gang, few questions about my Maddness!!!
Cool here we go, please note these are my thoughts and I'm sure people will correct me if I'm wrong as we are all in search of the truth! (No xfiles pun intended lol)

openmedia: So what is so wrong with Sony's recent TVs. Most of the reviews of the new EX series seem to be pretty positive?

Not sure what reviews your reading, I never trust reviews anyway I like to see for myself. For a start a couple of models back we saw the first W series Sony lcd tv's which were 10bit (colour) processing panels but the last of the W's and the current EX range is (if not mistaken) gone back to 8bit panels.Why???
Blu-Ray at the moment can process colour at 12bit while a cheap nasty $1000 720p plasma is around 14-16bit. Thats one of my gripes the other is I went into a retailer with free reign over the KDL40EX500 and the LA40B650 with there remotes and couldn't get the Sony anywere near the picture quality on the Samsung (note the B650 is 10Bit panel) The picture had like a fine blur over it and I couldn't get it sharp, plus not sure if Motionflow actually does anything at all anymore? The LA40B650 was clear winner.

openmedia: Also why suggest a Plasma over an LCD?

The picture is better! Thats the short answer! Better blacks, Better colour, Faster speeds, viewing angle, value for money, easyer to watch (eyes don't get burned out of your head!(Some backlights can be turned down I know))
And in my opinion these things out weigh Screen burn(LCD for gaming computer etc) and power consumption.

Dunnersfella: To start with - how many 50" V series Pana's are left that aren't demo models?

Still a current model for another couple of months anyway, I would think stock being display models may have to do with were you live? Dunedin? But would't be suprised if they carried it on for a bit longer nice TV.But Panasonic generally make a better model to replace it! Oh apart from the "42G" replacing the "42PZ800" when in the "G" Intelligent frame creation feature couldn't be turned on! :( FAIL.

Dunnersfella: In regards to the TV's getting worse over the past 3 years, what models are you referring to?

See above 2nd reply to openmedia.

Also I'm not a LCD basher (I game on 32"lcd and use it for a monitor) or a Sony basher......well maybe starting to be! :p But thats because I used to buy everything Sony but after a while you'd think things should be getting better not worse!

Hope I made sence and not sound like some stupid fanboy! I'm just a geek whom loves home theatre! But will admit when wrong so don't be afraid to correct me if needed, but be nice! ;)

Cheers.

"They mostly come out at night...........mostly"

Dunnersfella

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#313209 30-Mar-2010 22:25

I wouldn't be surprised to see an 8 bit panel on the 500's, as it's a replacement for the V series... not the W's.
As a side note, if you really want to calibrate a Bravia, you'll want to get into the Service mode and tweak everything to your liking. A 'how to' is here.
http://lyris-lite.net/bravia_tips.html
Remember, not all TV's from a range will be calibrated the same in the factory - so get tweaking.

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