Cheap SONY 34 Inch Super Fine Pitch(TM) XBR(R) Television KD-34XBR960 (Electronics) Price

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Customer Reviews of SONY 34 Inch Super Fine Pitch(TM) XBR(R) Television KD-34XBR960

My First Sony - My Last CRT
For Christmas, I did the unthinkable (and irresponsible): I purchased a new Sony 34XBR960. The TV is being moved out of production and it's hard to find anywhere on the market nowadays. I felt the need to jump on this monitor before it went the way of all CRTs. The cathode ray tube is being replaced by the inferior technology of plasma and LCD (although, to be fair, this quality gap is narrowing with each passing generation). I visited a local electronics store and sampled a few TVs with my attention piqued by two Sony's: a 55" Sony LCD Projection and this 34" Sony CRT. <
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>55 inches is extremely large, especially considering my relatively small viewing space. It required a good ten feet of clearance before the screen door effect was eliminated. Since I knew my couch is a mere eight feet from the television, I felt this could be detrimental to my viewing pleasure. It also was not able to achieve 1920x1080 resolution, something I felt would be irritating since I intended to have this TV for years (and HDTV is becoming more mainstream each day). <
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>But the real distinction was in my testing of the two monitors. I brought my brother's XBox 360 in to hook up and watch the results (the sales reps were extremely helpful). Playing the 360 on the 55" LCD was an astonishing display--beautiful, crisp details and a completely immersive experience. I then swapped it out for a copy of "Batman Begins" and my heart sank. The bats flying in the opening credits were a blur of LCD splotches, an ugly mess if you ask me. I will be the first to admit that since DVD puts out a maximum of 480p, a higher-resolution DVD may look vastly superior. But everything considered, the size and relatively new LCD technology left me a bit cold. <
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>The 34XBR960, on the other hand, not only handled the XBox 360 well, but made "Batman Begins" look rich in detail, color, and clarity. The blacks were simply astonishing--something LCDs have yet to replicate. And being a fan of both B&W and film noir motion pictures, blacks were an essential for me. It became clear that the XBR960 was my choice--in spite of the relatively small size given the price (it cost the same as the 55 incher). <
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>Picture: Hands down the best CRT I've ever seen. There are the two dark fine lines which only become apparent during white outs (such as the opening "death" credit of "Six Feet Under"), common in Trinitron displays. There also appears to be some focus issues near the corners, although this is quite possibly due to the camera lens instead of the TV. I have not done any testing to ensure which is the case, since it doesn't bother me (I'm leaning to camera lens distortion since it doesn't seem to affect video games). <
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>As mentioned previously, it entirely matters upon the input source. Crap in, crap out. DVDs look fine and, thanks to Comcast's HDTV DVR which upscales the 480i signal to 480p, even most standard programs are watchable. That said, once you view 720p or 1080i with this TV (which purportedly only supports 1080i and upsamples 720p), you will have a hard time reverting back to the standard definition programs. I hooked up a standard rabbit-ear antenna and my TV found all the HDTV stations in my area. Nice, although it takes a good long time to scan for all channels--the TV says it can take up to 50 minutes to do this, though it was much shorter for my 20 channels. <
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>There are a couple problems which may or may not be limited to my experience--ghosting in high-contrast motion areas and an overly bevelled TV frame, which becomes a problem when lit from an overhead light (causing a slight shadow to be cast onto the screen). These are minor problems which rarely detract from the viewing experience. <
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>Sound: Let's face it--you'll never get good sound from a TV monitor, no matter how good it is. If you are going to invest in an expensive monitor, drop some money down on a good surround sound system as well. <
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>The weight of the TV has been an issue for many, although I did not find this to be the case (maybe since my brother's TV is a good 150 lbs more). Its 200 lbs is hefty, and since it is a CRT, the depth of the TV is approximately 32"--not quite as friendly as flat panel LCDs or plasmas (or even projections, for that matter). However, a friend and I were able to lift the TV onto our stand without much trouble. Sony was also nice enough to create a box which folds away from the TV instead of having to lift the TV from the box. <
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>It has been a few months of watching the XBR960 with nary a problem. I am still to this day awed by some of the pictures this TV produces. I hope to have this thing for a long time. Here's hoping it lasts!

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The TV is great (when works)
I made a deep investigation about what TV I had to buy. Finally I choose this one: Sony Tube 34" XBR960. The image was great, but five months later I had a little problem with the image. Sony's service show me how bad could be a customer service. <
>Nobady at Sony knows how resolve the little problem. Do it a favour to your own: buy other brand.

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Finest picture quality of any other CRT, LCD, or Plasma on the market.
Equipment I Have <
>Sony KD-34XBR960N 34" Widescreen HDTV (HR10-250 connected) <
>DirecTV HR10-250 Receiver <
>2 DirecTV R10 Receivers <
>Sony RDR HX715 DVD Recorder <
>Terk 3-LNB HD Satellite Dish <
>Sony 27" Standard Definition TV <
>Sony 13" Standard Definition TV <
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>Praise and Info <
>If you do a web search, many online retailers will drop the letter `N' at the end of the model number (Sony KD-34XBR960). <
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>Like most everyone else who has purchased this Sony TV, I agree that it offers the FINEST picture quality of any other CRT, LCD, or Plasma on the market. To get better quality than this you would have to upgrade to a high-end and very expensive projection TV system. <
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>Standard definition and high definition broadcasts are both flawless. High definition is of course superior. Sound quality is also excellent, even without external speakers. If you're a TV video quality "Hitler" or "Mussolini" (fanatic) like I am, you insist on the most perfect picture quality possible. I have had Sony TVs since the 1980s, and the 960 required the least amount of adjustment and calibration. Some may not even need to make any adjustments, since the out-of-box picture quality is practically perfect. It depends on how discerning you are. <
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>Even though it is not required, I would highly recommend The AVIA Guide to Home Theater DVD. It is much easier to use than the Video Essentials DVD. This will ensure that you have the best audio and video settings. <
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>Even though resetting the service mode settings is often discouraged (for good reason), I tweaked the service mode settings to correct overscanning and to eliminate the slight push of the color green. <
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>Changing the service mode settings can mess things up for you if you don't know what you're doing. Do some reading first and use caution. <
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>After tweaking the TV, the picture is flawless. The white and black levels are the best I've ever seen. Even the most highly-degraded VHS tape looks better with the 960. <
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>Criticisms <
>Quite a few people have had both serious and small problems with this model of Sony TV. I have had it for over a month now and I have had no problems. I did purchase the in-home extended warranty just in case. <
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>Suggestions <
>An additional HDMI input would be much better. One HDMI for the HD satellite receiver, and another for the DVD Recorder. Component input for the DVD is fine, but HDMI would be better. <
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>A CableCard slot that supports a DirecTV access card would be great. Then Sony would have to include a satellite cable input. DirecTV probably will not allow this for some time. <
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>The TwinView (Picture-in-Picture) and Scrolling Channel Menu should be able to use the component and HDMI inputs simultaneously. <
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>Hints <
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>Color Axis <
>Everyone says to switch the Color Axis from Default to Monitor. For the most part I prefer the Default setting, which doesn't push as much red as you might think. For HD programming though, the picture is better on the Monitor setting. <
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>In-Home Delivery <
>Unless you are strong and have at least two other strong friends, definitely plan on getting in-home delivery or free in-home delivery for this TV, which is at least 200 pounds. The two guys from the local freight delivery service had to use a maximum amount of effort to get it from their truck onto the Sony stand in my bedroom. <
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>Extended Warranty <
>The extended warranty with in-home service is recommended, especially for a 200-pound TV. I paid for the 4-Year Extended Warranty. In four years I'll probably be buying a new Sony TV anyway, assuming Sony comes up with a TV better than the 960 in 4-5 years. <
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>Sony Matching Stand <
>The Sony SU-34XBR1 matching TV stand is also recommended. Make sure you order this first BEFORE you order the TV. It comes unassembled, but assembly was actually quite easy. It is very strong and it perfectly meshes with the Sony 960. I purchased it online, then I ordered the TV the same day I received the stand. This way I would be sure that the stand would be assembled in plenty of time before the arrival of the TV.