| Don't give up on tubes...With flat panel TVs emerging | | | | outlines and picture artifacts in this mode. If you keep |
| nowadays such as plasmas and LCDs, most | | | | the TV in Vivid mode, you are guaranteed to burn the |
| consumers are highly misinformed and believe that the | | | | tubes in no time and shorten the life of the TV. Also, |
| quality of a flat panel is better than that of a tube | | | | the vivid mode is very inaccurate in color reproduction. I |
| (CRT) TV. This is not true at all. The image quality of a | | | | have my set calibrated in the 'Movie' mode, with a |
| plasma or LCD TVs far inferior to a CRT, such as the | | | | picture (white level) setting of 20/63 and a brightness |
| Sony KD-34XBR970. Even worse, more and more | | | | (black level) setting of 30/63. Remember, it is very |
| people are buying these flat panel TVs as a 'status | | | | important to lower the 'picture' setting because it |
| symbol' and do not understand true picture quality. | | | | controls the amount of white light on the screen. If you |
| Why do you think studios use CRT monitors during | | | | do this, the tube will last a very long time and you will |
| production and editing instead of a plasma TV? Most | | | | see an exceptional image. On the other hand, the |
| studios want the best, most accurate picture possible, | | | | 'brightness' setting controls the amount of dark areas |
| so they use CRT monitors. The quality of the Sony | | | | you see in the picture. Turning this setting up will allow |
| KD-34XBR970 is much like a studio monitor, and | | | | you to see more dark areas in a movie, but will not |
| surpasses all other displays regardless of cost. The | | | | burn the tubes or impair image quality. An accurate |
| dot pitch is so fine and the picture has so much realism | | | | image is better than a bright one. |
| to the point where all other displays look dull and | | | | Finally, the color decoder needs adjustment as it |
| muddy in comparison. Convergence and geometry is | | | | emphasizes red severely and makes people look |
| perfect out of the box, and the set looked fantastic. Its | | | | reddish or tanned. If you change the 'color axis' setting |
| picture had depth and dimension, unlike the flat look of | | | | from 'Default' to 'Monitor,' the colors will be much more |
| most plasma and LCD TVs. HD channels look | | | | accurate and vibrant. If you adjust this set properly and |
| amazing they are very real and are not overly | | | | take good care of it, it will produce the best picture of |
| enhanced. The Sony's on-board processing and DRC | | | | any TV and will last a very long time. (My old XBR TV |
| is perfect and does not make sources look pixelated | | | | is 16 years old and still going.) I have a neighbor who |
| at all. The picture is fine, clear, and has exceptional | | | | spent $10,000 on a plasma TV and the picture quality |
| detail. | | | | is far worse than this set. What kind of TV would you |
| One caveat to remember: The set is shipped in 'Vivid' | | | | buy? Is status symbol more important than image |
| mode, which is meant to grab your attention in the | | | | quality? Remember, that after reading this review, you |
| stores with a bright picture but lacking in clarity. It is | | | | are a much more educated consumer. |
| way too bright and much too sharp. You can see | | | | |