A chance to talk to FlatpanelsHD's reviewers.
By jro
#6885
Sony W9:

Apparently there are issues with off-axis viewing, but I actually tested the W9 recently by observing the picture from a big angle, noticed no real difference in pic quality.
Has Sony recently improved their off-axis viewing quality?

Another thing: An experienced salesman showed me a colourblind test from Sony on USB stick, with which to test the coloursublety in red. With the Sony W8 I could clearly read the text colourblind in red tints and then he inserted the stick into an expensive Samsung F8000 tv, but it only showed a red band, but no discernable text !
So does this mean Sony's colourpalette is that much more subtle than that of Samsung, or is there a more obvious explanation for this failed colourtest with Samsung ?

Thanks for your attention !
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By Rasmus Larsen
#6886
I don't know if Sony changed the panel, but interesting. I will see if I can find a W9 to check for my self.

Regarding the test, were both TVs calibrated or non-calibrated? It's really hard to determine stuff like that in stores, especially because store demonstrations want to, well sell you something.
By jro
#6887
Regarding the red colourtest in which the Sony W9 excelled and the Samsung F8000 failed, both makes had their own showroom space with tvs out-of-the-box, so no preference was given to one particular make., as far as I could ascertain.
So perhaps you could try this red colourtest for yourselves, it can be a decisive factor in what screen one wishes to purchase in the end.
As for the colourgamut difference between a Sony W8 or W9, it supposedly doesn't show up in normal broadcasts, only in 4k broadcasts ?
And there might be slightly less black and white contrast with the W8, compared to the W9, is that about it ? So the W8 would perhaps be better value for money than the W9 ?

I fail to understand why most flatpanel juries wax so lyrical about plasmascreens ?
Colourspectrum is supposedly superior to that of LED, (also the Sony W9 ?) and they have an extremely quick responsetime.
For the rest, they're not more detailed or focused than modern screens, but the unsurmountable stumblingblock for me is the sunglass image, all plasma tvs present us with, such a pity, that sun-lit snowlandscapes etc. are always tinted, due to the insufficient lightcapacity of plasmatechnology !
Otherwise I would certainly consider buying a plasma tv. Ofcourse their energyconsumption is somewhat higher than with LED and one needs to transport the screens vertically, that's not a big deal deal really, but the lack of true white colour definitely is !

My sister recently bought a 32 inch Panasonic tv, very impressive picture and imo the best 32 inch tv award 2013 by What Hifi is is well deserved. What's your problem with Panasonic LED tvs on the whole ?

Thank you for your attention.
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By Rasmus Larsen
#6889
Out-of-box settings are rarely good, so I wouldn't put too much meaning into a side-by-side demonstration with two TVs in the Standard or Dynamic profile. We do similar tests during our testing, which is included in our thoughts about color reproduction :)

Yes, the Triluminos filter only benefits viewing when you use one of the "Mastered in 4K" Blu-rays with x.v.Color gamut - and possibly future formats with x.v.Color. No benefit for normal Blu-rays, DVD or TV channels. Triluminos doesn't support the Rec.2020 gamut proposed in the Ultra HD standard either, and I doubt any movies besides those mastered in Sony's own studios will be released in x.v.Color. It will either be Rec.709 or Rec.2020 in the coming years, I believe.

Besides Triluminos, the W8 is based on an IPS panel (the W9 has VA), which basically means that black depth on W8 is noticeably worse, but that viewing angles are better and that it uses passive 3D technology instead of active 3D. Which compromise suits you best, only you can decide, but I personally prefer the far better black depth of VA panels (such as the one in W9) over the advantages of the IPS panels.

Yeah, that's one of the disadvantages of the plasma technology. That is why they are often recommended for dark room viewing or home cinema setups, but not for bright living rooms. And I agree with you that it can be pretty frustrating.
By jro
#6898
Thanks for your reply.
Actually, I carefully examined the Sony W9 off-axis image a few days ago and imo I couldn't detect any serious image deterioration, viewed from a realistic angle.

Secondly, comparing the W8 and W9 out-of-the-box, next to one another, I seemed to notice a more diverse blue spectrum, more greenish-blue in the sky, depending on the image ofcourse, where as the W8 merely showed one colour blue. This trend I noticed with all Triluminos pictures and I recognize it also with my CTR television with its superior colourspectrum. Compared to some of the flatpanels I've examined, I certainly do not find my CTR image lacking in most respects, bar picture size and flicker-free image !
Thanks for your attention.