Sony introduces high-end ZD9 TV series with HDR

[elwaylite]

If buying 65 or 55", I would only buy an OLED.

[vincentric]

^Am assuming that's due to inherently narrower (va) lcd viewing angles in that a larger 75'' panel would help alleviate some of it?

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I'd take it back, you've got your other OLED anyway so why not wait and see what 2018 brings?

True that though am pretty satisfied with the increased hdr10 highlight detail am seeing on the 930e over the c6.

Decisions, decisions, as always.

[Geoff D]

Heck of it is that the larger >65" panels that Sony have been sourcing are sometimes IPS anyway, the inference perhaps being that such a large display might well be used for more communal home viewing and/or public display where the viewing angle being wider is of greater importance.

[elwaylite]

OK, for anyone interested about using Clearness along with Smooth in Custom Motionflow.

These are Cinema Pro readings, from the mode cal'd by ChadB:

SDR
Brightness 9
Clearness 0
100% full field
160 nits

SDR
Brightness 9
Clearness 1
100% full field
95 nits

SDR
Brightness 28
Clearness 1
100% full field
160 nits

HDR10
Brightness Max and Xtend Dyn Range High
Clearness 0
10% Window
1292 nits

HDR10
Brightness Max and Xtend Dyn Range High
Clearness 1
10% Window
650 nits

So, in SDR, I had to go from 9 to 28 to counteract Clearness 1 (backlight scanning)
In HDR, you cant make any changes, so it basically takes you from a 1300 nit LCD to a 650 nit OLED


I also have a very aggressive ansi contrast pattern I decided to use while I was goofing off (small squares). 0.0047 footlamberts MLL, and 45.10fL peak. If I did my math right, that's like 9600:1 CR on very small squares (white/black/white/black staggered across screen), which is excellent.

[pbz06]

Did you happen to take measurements using the default Brightness and Light Sensor on? It feels right to my eyes and I'm curious what nits Sony was aiming for.

[elwaylite]

I did not. In SDR, most people are gonna aim for 150 nits for a dark/night mode. That is what I like, 150 to 160 nits, and I use it all the time for SDR.

I do think I like the backlight scanning on so far, watching football.

[A17]

I chose the 930E over the ZD9 because side by side, the 930E was a lot brighter and the picture just popped a lot more than the OLED sets. I never watch in total darkness, so the blacks being total is less important to me personally than having incredible looking colors and brightness that is more impressive than an OLED can muster.

[Geoff D]

Nice one elway, I've always meant to do some checking to see what the black frame insertion does to the brightness output but whenever I use it I've just eyeballed it. I aim for 130 nits but that's close enough to your 160, I'll put brightness on 25 the next time I use the Clear motionflow. I've found that Clearness on 1 and Smoothness on 2 gives a nice boost to the temporal resolution without either going full soap opera OR inducing a lot of artefacts (the hammock motion pattern on S&M is great for testing this, those little cross-hatched patterns in the weave of the hammock are murder for this sort of motion processing to keep track of).

[elwaylite]

After some time, here are my observations from the calibration work Chad did.

SDR - He definitely improved, even though the HDR C6 I have with Calman had SDR dE about 3 or less, I only used slight 2pt work. He went into 10pt on Cinema Pro and also fixed my Gamma. SDR looks even richer, and I had a little too much red in my white balance results.

HDR - The Sony's (and this is a GREAT feature) will map over from SDR cal to HDR, so if you cal Cinema Pro in SDR, just leave it in that mode and watch away when it flips to HDR. I had also been told by other professionals that Cinema Pro would be the best choice for HDR due to its tone mapping. When Chad finished his cal, he tested HDR with it mapped from SDR, and it was really good. He then checked Custom vs Home, and we found Custom to produce better on patterns, so he calibrated Custom in HDR mode. Results were outstanding by the charts.

After some usage, and going back and forth, I have been using Cinema Pro for everything, it just looks better to my eyes. Now I can't comment on accuracy, end of the day, use what you like. But I know, either way, both modes are calibrated, I just prefer Cinema Pro.

DV - If Sony goes the same route, and say you are in SDR Cinema Pro, and it gets a DV feed and then heads into Cinema Pro DV, and maps from the SDR white balance, this will be GREAT for Sony users.

[mutelight]

Originally Posted by A17

I chose the 930E over the ZD9 because side by side, the 930E was a lot brighter and the picture just popped a lot more than the OLED sets. I never watch in total darkness, so the blacks being total is less important to me personally than having incredible looking colors and brightness that is more impressive than an OLED can muster.

Hmm, as an owner of the X930E and the Z9D, the Z is definitely brighter and it has been measured to be so.

When you saw them, were the picture settings and source the same?

The Z hits 1,800 vs the 1,500 on the X930E.

Don't get me wrong, I love my X930E and it is a great set, just your experience wherever you saw them does not match mine.

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by mutelight

Hmm, as an owner of the X930E and the Z9D, the Z is definitely brighter and it has been measured to be so.

When you saw them, were the picture settings and source the same?

The Z hits 1,800 vs the 1,500 on the X930E.

Don't get me wrong, I love my X930E and it is a great set, just your experience wherever you saw them does not match mine.

I think he meant he chose the 930 over the Sony OLED :whoknows:

[Geoff D]

I watched Harry Potter 3 on UHD earlier, the black levels on this are amazeballs. Right from the opening credits I was like "whaaaaaaaaaat?!?"



Opening WB logo ^, yes there is a TV in there somewhere. Left my OPPO's display on just in case people think I'm cheating!

[DJR662]

^^

Like I said before, I think the Z9D is the best LCD TV ever.

Let's see if Sony can top that next year. If not, the Z9D will hold that title for some time to come.

[pbz06]

Check out Godless on Netflix in UHD if you have it. I know it's streaming but it looked spectacular in 4k and HDR.

In the first episode, after the initial opening stroll through the carnage, the next few scenes take place in pitch dark night with some moonlight and lanterns and lightning. So inky black and fantastic to watch

[elwaylite]

Im still shocked how good the 940E is, and the ansi CR numbers are crazy.

[mutelight]

Dolby Vision update is out for the Z, 930/940E today.

I haven't had a chance to update my Z or 930E but people are reporting it isn't accepting Dolby Vision signals via HDMI.

Hopefully this is only temporary and the reason it isn't working currently is because they are awaiting a fix for the elevated black issue. If it is restricted to internal apps only, I will be really sad.

[Geoff D]

Yes, I just shared the same sentiments in the other 'Sony DV When?' thread. Gonna be a massive letdown if true.

[vincentric]

A while back in this thread I mentioned trying to decide if I wanted to keep or return/exchange the 930E, thought I had until early January but it turns out I have until the 13th of February to decide.

For a top and bottom edge lit TV, the 930E's auto local dimming works well. I mean, make no mistake, it isn't perfect. Blooming, most notably in letterbox bars can be distracting at times but need to say that when it works, it works quite well.

Such as at the start of BR2049, the bright text is displayed perfectly against a pitch black background without any blooming -


But the bloom is inescapable no matter how well the TV handles it, here are a couple shots of Lucy where blooming can be seen here and there -



The TV's positives outweigh the negatives overall and am leaning towards keeping the TV but on the other hand, am really curious to see how well or not the 2018 LG OLEDs improve over last year.

[Robert Siegel]

I am so thrilled to join this thread, my 75" Z9D arrives on Wednesday, my current model is the Samsung KS-8000 60", but now I will have 3D back and don't need to go to my basement to my JVC projector for 3D every time. I am counting the hours. I purchased this for my bedroom, as I have bad legs and am there alot, and 75" is going to be awesome. Thanks to everyone for 36 great pages to learn about this TV.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by Robert Siegel

I am so thrilled to join this thread, my 75" Z9D arrives on Wednesday, my current model is the Samsung KS-8000 60", but now I will have 3D back and don't need to go to my basement to my JVC projector for 3D every time. I am counting the hours. I purchased this for my bedroom, as I have bad legs and am there alot, and 75" is going to be awesome. Thanks to everyone for 36 great pages to learn about this TV.

Congratulations on owning what surely must be one the greatest (if not the greatest) TVs ever known to mankind.