Hi all,
I bought a sony 40" xbr7 off of amazon (not a third party seller). Ive read about the clouding issues b/w the samsungs and sonys, and thought id take the plunge into purchasing the xbr7 anyways since the price was $1300. Anyways, I got the TV yesterday and realized that on the upper right hand and lower left hand corners, there is some "clouding", where the backlight appears brighter in that region. It is only really noticeable to me, and no one else in the family, but then again, they arent nit picky like me. Also, the set i have is not nearly as cloudy as some those seen on the avs forums, and can be considered very very minimal.

My question is this: Is it worth having amazon exchange it out for me? I fear the second set may be worse.....

Just some additional info, the set was manufactured in October 2008....if that info is worth anything...

 

pics?

 

^Sorry, I can get em by tonight.

 

If it is noticeable to you, then switch it out and see what happens. You won't enjoy it and if there's a problem with the second one, get your money back.

 

It's definitely worth the hassle to return it. You paid $1,300 for one of the best TVs on the market and it should perform that way. Personally, it would bug me every time I sat down to watch TV if I saw a noticeable difference.

 

Finally got a time to snap a few pics...The pictures do make is more noticeable.

 

I was going to get the XBR first also. My buddy had 2 of them with the clouding issue and the 3rd one he got the backlight was very dim. The tech came out replaced some parts and all is good for now. So when Sears had a sale on the 40" Samsung 630, I got that for $1099.00

my buddy with the XBR also ended up getting the 630 for his living room and cant tell a differ bewteen PQ on both TVs.

Also for more info on the clouding check out avsforum.com I noticed some people are actually loosing the screws on the back and attaching fans to the Tv.

 

Thanks for the advice and guidance all.

I make-shift fixed-it by turning the "light sensor" on, which dimmed the backlight. It is not as noticeable anymore. I would exchange it, but there appears to be no gaurantee of a good replacement. Also, considering that i got it for a good price, my family convinced me to "quite my bitching and be happy".

Thanks dnd2984, i will check up on the avsforums for the loosening up the screws tip.

 

The term used to describe your issue is called "backlight bleed". It's from light escaping around the backlight when it's not sealed properly. Pretty common on LCD panels.

If you search on AVSforum for "backlight bleed" you'll find a lot of posts.

Really LCD contrast (perceived screen brightness) should be turned way down anyway. They put them in torch mode (default very bright) to help sell them. This setting makes animated flims and over saturated material look "poppy" but it ruins black levels, and kills your sub-contrast.

If you wanted deep inky blacks you don't want a LCD panel anyway. If you do get yourself a Kuro plasma while you still can; that is if you value good blacks and details in the sub-contrast. Not to mention better off-axis viewing and color reproduction.

 

i have this slightly on the upper left hand corner of my xbr5...pretty pathetic that they do that. i regret not bringing it back and getting a pioneer plasma....

 

Sadly most people think high end LCD is superior to high end Plasma. This is just wrong...

A good analogy is this...

MP3s are more popular than CDs. The original CD will always sound better than a lossy mp3s but mp3 is a big buzz word. So most people just know they want mp3's "who uses CDs anymore" is what they think. Ignoring the fact that the CD actually sounds better (on a good system).

This is what happened with LCDs, everyone saw them for computer monitor replacements. Then saw the LCD TVs and assumed they were top dog there as well (hell manufactures have insane (BS) contrast ratio numbers they market). And plasma had some issues when it 1st came out with burn-in problems. That's the only piece of information 98% of people know about plasma technology. And sadly that information is useless at this point. Plasmas no longer have burn in issues, haven't for many years.

LCD is better than plasma in 2 ways.
1. It's brighter
2. With a matte screen LCD is way more viewable in a room with a lot of sunlight (this does not apply to anyone who bought a LCD with a glossy screen, ewww!)

But Plasma completely schools LCD in every other way
* Color Gammut
* Color Accuracy
* Black Level
* Sub contrast (details in the dark areas of the screen)
* Off angle viewing
* Motion resolution (this is a huge issue with LCD)

Now if your a tree hugger you could toss in that LCDs can be more power efficient. But don't include a large LED back light LCD in that comparison. I think you'll find it's not that much of an advantage to the green Plasma displays.

What I'm stating here is not my opinion(s), there are plenty of benchmarks done with calibrated equipment and tons of professional reviews. All of which point to the Kuro being the best flat panel made to date by a long shot (consumer level).

I think by the time LCD finally catches up to where Pioneer and their Kuro 9th gen Plasma TVs are now OLED will be here. And LCD will be slowly shown the exit door.

Good thing is the lower end LCD TVs will finally be of decent quality by then. They're just junk now...

Sadly pioneer had to discontinue their Kuro line (all of their TVs)... so if you want one, better get it while you can...

 

yeah i bought LCD out of fear for burn in from playing video games.

i also was afraid to have a shiny screen in the room i have it in...

oh well...you live and you learn...i am still amazed at the picture quality on HD channels and for the most part happy with the purchase. my clouding is very minor and actually you can't even notice it unless the room is totally dark.

however i still wish that i went with plasma...haha

 

100% correct. The 40" Sammy 630 I got is for my Bedroom. For the living room I might go with a Panasonic Plasma.

 

Thanks SiGGy for the words of wisdom. You are right; LCDs cannot match the benefits of a plasma.
It is a shame that Pioneer is killing of the Kuro line of TVs. I do remember seeing them in the store, and being in aww by the picture quality.


Not to derail the thread, but, have you guys seen the new Samsung LED flat panels....The picture quality is pretty dope! And its thin profile is pretty nice (not that an extra inch of space is going to increase my living room...)

 

I wasnt to impressed. They were playing iron man on blu ray at sears and it was the same blu ray player I have along with the Samsung 7000. The PQ on my Samsung 630 was still better. I played with the settings for about 20 mins and the picture was still pretty grainy from 3 feet away. After 5 feet it all looks the same. But the size is pretty pimp. Its almost like having a frame on the wall.

 

Well ankur I got the same issue on mine, But it is fairly noticeable at night. Called crutchfield and getting another set.

 

i got some cloudiness at the top left corner still, one of these days i need to try and see if i can get a new set, but i feel like it is a roll of the dice that it will happen again