# new telly. bit poo



## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

hello all. the new telly arrived this morning but i'm thinking of sending it back. its a sony kdl40v4000 and the picture is crap. i know its the source and not the TV. freeview picture is blocky and when i watch a DVD (lord of the rings in this case) the faces of some of the characters seem to wobble or "ghost" when they are against a dark background. is there a way to reduce this and if not will the arrival of my blu ray and freesat cure it? 

thanks in advance.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

most likely your blueray and freesat will massivley help it,


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Do you have a DVD Player which will upscale to 1080P? It makes a huge difference IMO.

Blu-Ray is simply awesome. 

I have a similar problem - standard tv looks ****! I might go V+ - not decided yet.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

LCD TVs can take a while to settle in apparently.

I thought ours was crap when we got it, but after a good few hours viewing and getting the optimum settings (with the help of AV forums, adjusted to my own taste) the picture became so much better.


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

Or swap it for a smaller one if you are sitting close to it?


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## richjohnhughes (Sep 24, 2007)

standard TV source is always going to look rubbish on a big screen. - even freesat and sky can look a bit rough sometimes. 

bluray should look very good tho. 

some people would say there is no point getting a HD TV unless you are going to put a HD source through it. 

good luck with it mate.


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

thanks fella, i will be getting blu ray and freesat and i wasnt expecting much from the SD transmissions but the pic really is bad. ghosting is awful even on slow moving objects. Lloyd has just mentioned something a friend of mine just told me, that the liquid in the crystals will have been adgitated in transit and will have to settle. I thought it was BS but i'll give it a chance seeing as thats the 2nd person thats mentioned it.


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

Wheelie_Clean said:


> Or swap it for a smaller one if you are sitting close to it?


sat plenty far enough back. about 13ft and its still bad.


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## empsburna (Apr 5, 2006)

Freeview is terrible, really low transmission bitrate - some of the +1 and music channels are unwatchable.


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

panama said:


> sat plenty far enough back. about 13ft and its still bad.


Hell, it must be bad:doublesho

We have poor signal here so have only ever had a sky feed.

I have a 32" Samsung lcd in my dining room and a 42" Panasonic plasma in the lounge (both 720p). The plasma picture quality is far superior to the lcd regardless of input.


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## wrx man (Apr 18, 2008)

It definately needs to settle mate.

We got a Samsung 42" and it took a while to settle down.

Its great now though. Good luck :thumb:


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## Jakedoodles (Jan 16, 2006)

Did you ask on here which one to get? If you had, I would have said don't get Sony as they aren't as good as Panasonic, and more money!


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Ive just had a Sony Bravia v4000 and yes i know what you mean the picture was not good at first but with messing around the controls and settings and it has had time to settle im happy with it. It seems to be blocky on some channels but my sky + and freeview is really good. The gaming i have to say is superb it really is especially playing COD5 in 1080p - Mega.. 

I chose this TV as IMHO i think Sony are one of the best TV's on the market and ive always stuck to them..Im still trying to work out all the settings though! :lol:


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Get yourself a set-up DVD - DVD Essentials is but one of many available, and use it to adjust the settings.
Also, turn off ALL the various picture management functions - they spoil the PQ, rather than help it.
Might be worth a read over on AV Forums, LCD section, to see if the PQ you're seeing is representative of a known issue, settings too high, or just a so-so TV with mediocre processing.
Used to rate Sony many, many years ago, but it's only been the past year or so they've managed to come back to something halfway decent.
Still wouldn't recommend them for someone wanting an LCD screen, would sooner point them in JVC/Panasonic direction, with Toshiba a consideration too if budget is limited.
Similar in respect to Sharp - they too lost their way when they tried to chase Samsung on price. Up until then, their offerings were superb, but they've never really recovered since - not least with coupling the Component input with a VGA adapter!

To be perfectly honest though, you'll not find an LCD matching the PQ of the current Panasonic or Pioneer plasmas - at normal HD resolution (720p) or Full HD (1080p), and definitely not with Freeview at SD resolution.
Should've looked at the PX80 or PZ80/81/85, if budget permitted.


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

got the sony for 499 with five yr guarantee. it was all i could afford so couldnt have gone for anything mega expensive. i have hooked the xbox up and am watching wall-e upscaled. wow. cant wait to get blu ray if it gets better than this!


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## Gary-360 (Apr 26, 2008)

I thought the picture quality on my Samsung 42" LCD was pretty crap, but after finding the optimum settings on AV forums, I can't fault it, even with council telly 
Blu-Ray is simply stunning!

Gary


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## Beeste (Oct 25, 2005)

I know what you mean about poo. I just spent the best part of 2 grand on a Sony X series 42. Picture is sh!te. Need to get on over to the AV Forums I reckon.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

I have the Panasonic 32" LXD70 100hz LCD model.

With the Panasonic BD35 hooked up the picture quality is superb, freeview and sd broadcasts are pretty decent in comparison with most, though you really dont want to get too close to the screen even though it upscales to suit the 720p resolution.

Xbox360 and HD pictures are cracking though.

My only reservation that annoys me on this panel is the black levels when you're watching a film at night in low light. Its dark grey at best.

i thought it was supposed to have an adaptive backlight which reduced this greyness in low light?


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## Lloyd71 (Aug 21, 2008)

panama said:


> got the sony for 499 with five yr guarantee. it was all i could afford so couldnt have gone for anything mega expensive. i have hooked the xbox up and am watching wall-e upscaled. wow. cant wait to get blu ray if it gets better than this!


Blu Ray will blow you away if you think an upscaled DVD looks good! I recently got The Bank Job on Blu Ray, not the best quality transfer in the world but it still looks stunning. If you want to show off your Blu Ray picture, or see it at it's best then try Pirates of the Carribean or Ratatouille. I've been told both of them are stunners. My favourite Blu Ray to date is probably Sweeney Todd but my favourite HD DVD has to be Planet Earth. It's not filmed entirely in HD but the parts that are HD look jawdroppingly beautiful.



James_R said:


> My only reservation that annoys me on this panel is the black levels when you're watching a film at night in low light. Its dark grey at best.
> 
> i thought it was supposed to have an adaptive backlight which reduced this greyness in low light?


All LCDs will look like this in a completely dark room. Even the top of the range Pioneer Kuros plasma screens look grey against a black background;

















On the left is the current best TV for dark black levels (the best for dark black colours is Plasma). The one on the right is their concept OLED TV.


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Lloyd71 said:


> Blu Ray will blow you away if you think an upscaled DVD looks good! I recently got The Bank Job on Blu Ray, not the best quality transfer in the world but it still looks stunning. If you want to show off your Blu Ray picture, or see it at it's best then try Pirates of the Carribean or Ratatouille. I've been told both of them are stunners. My favourite Blu Ray to date is probably Sweeney Todd but my favourite HD DVD has to be Planet Earth. It's not filmed entirely in HD but the parts that are HD look jawdroppingly beautiful.


Pirates is outstanding through PS3 blu-ray player. The pic is crisp and very clear..I was only watching that the other night as it happens..


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Lloyd71 said:


> All LCDs will look like this in a completely dark room. Even the top of the range Pioneer Kuros plasma screens look grey against a black background;


Cheers Lloyd, I was aware of this when I bought it last xmas. My brother has the 37" plasma and the black levels on that are superb.

Wish I'd gone plasma sometimes. Still have a bit of this years xmas bonus left though......


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

PS....

Bought Black Hawk Down on Blu-ray this afternoon with a few other discs including Ice Age and Ice Age 2 for the little lad.

I will let you guys know what the quality is like.:thumb:


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/sony-kdl40v4000-review-20080822127.htm

Gives a review and some recommended settings if you don't have them yet. Hope you get it setup ok:thumb:


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

thanks for the replies fellas. it does look much much better today than it did yesterday. no ghosting even when watching footy.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

After a quick read of the replies it looks like its mostly been covered.

The 1st thing that springs to mind is as said it will need a bit of time to settle, and also TV's never come out of the box with their settings set to anything half sensible - normally Contrast and Colour is stupidly high.

Take a look here for some ideas on setting it up, or if you have a DVD that is THX certified (Star Wars for example) then find the THX Calibration set-up (follow the instructions) as this does a good job for Video and Audio Calibration:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-...t-picture-settings-your-tv-find-out-here.html

http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-...v4000-series-1080p-be2-33-000-1-contrast.html (specific thread for your TV)

http://www.avforums.com/forums/sony-owners-forum/897152-kdl-40-v4000-picture-aint-great.html (this one has some more suggestions for settigns)

Your Blu-Ray will look amazing and Freesat will be a big improvement over Freeview. Sky looks so much better on my 50" Plasma than Freeview its unreal.

HTH's and I'm sure before long you will love it :thumb:


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## Abbo1986 (Jul 14, 2008)

Its not a bad product mate, certainly will help set the TV up when you get Blu-Ray, yes the naration is a little annoying but improves on picture quality I would say


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Glad you have got it sorted.

I have the KDL40V4000 too.

The salesman in John Lewis gave me a list of optimum settings, and I followed his word.

I have PS3/Blu Ray and and the picture is fooking IMMENSE!

Wall-e on Blu-Ray is incredible, coupled to my surround sound


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Optimum settings? What's that?
No such thing as generic optimum settings - everyone's will be different for a whole host of reasons, which they find out by using the likes of the set-up discs available, or calling in an ISF accredited calibration professional, at circa £150 per input for two settings (night and daytime), if your set has the facility to manage it per input.
Otherwise, a best compromise for all or those used the most.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

^^^ This is true as light in the room, positioning, eye sight etc will all look different. As you say ISF is good but can be pricey to some, hence why I like to use the THX set-up as a cheaper alternative - that said even with mine set using that I still changed it slightly - at the end of the day as as long as you're happy with the PQ that's all that matters :thumb:


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Mark M said:


> Glad you have got it sorted.
> 
> I have the KDL40V4000 too.
> 
> ...


What settings are those mate?


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## wookey (Jul 13, 2007)

PJS said:


> Optimum settings? What's that?
> No such thing as generic optimum settings - everyone's will be different for a whole host of reasons, which they find out by using the likes of the set-up discs available, or calling in an ISF accredited calibration professional, at circa £150 per input for two settings (night and daytime), if your set has the facility to manage it per input.
> Otherwise, a best compromise for all or those used the most.


probably meant base settings

using the Lucas calibration thing on the Star Wars DVDs is a good start for setting up a new TV


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

RS Adam said:


> using the Lucas calibration thing on the Star Wars DVDs is a good start for setting up a new TV


It's the bare minimum, to be honest, otherwise you'll never fully appreciate what you're watching.
Regards base/recommended settings - Cinema/Movie mode is the best place to start from, especially with plasmas for the first 1-200 hours.
There can, IMO, never be ANY justification or need for Dynamic mode once installed in a home. On the shop floor, it's understandable the manufacturers want you to notice their product over a rival's, but this is the only time, and unfortunately from out-of-the-box (for most, bar at least Pioneer) is going to do the most harm.


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Panama how have you got your tv set up? Im trying to link mine up with HDMI,OPTICAL whic i have done. Im connected up to a amp with one optical output,i have a Sky + box too and trying to get the sound out of sky to my amp, ive tried a Toslink splitter and as yet now they both dont work!!!:wall:

Any teccys on here now how to set all this up properly??

TV, SAMSUNG AMP, SKY + , PS3??


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

autobrite-direct said:


> TV, SAMSUNG AMP, SKY + , PS3??


What models mate and are there any specific problems (other than what you've mentioned)? I would have thought as a basic:

TV and PS3 = HDMI for Video.
TV to Amp = Stereo Output to Amp?
Sky+ and TV = Scart for Video - make sure it goes to an RGB I/P and the Sky box is set to RGB.
Sky+ to Amp for Audio = Either Optical, or Stereo Out but this will only give DPL and not 5.1 (I dont use the movies on Sky but do they braodcast in 5.1?)
PS3 toAmp = Optical. Set PS3 to Bitstream and make sure the 5.1 etc is actaully selected.

I'm not sure how a optic splitter works, but are you trying to feed two optical inputs (PS3 and Sky) into one optical input of your amp?

These's are just a rough guide and some initial thoughts, as without knowing exactly what equipment you have and their respective ins and outs it is hard to guess, so dont shoot me down but hope it helps.


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

ahaydock said:


> What models mate and are there any specific problems (other than what you've mentioned)? I would have thought as a basic:
> 
> TV and PS3 = HDMI for Video.
> TV to Amp = Stereo Output to Amp?
> ...


Hi mate

Ok thanks for your input on this - im lost!:wall:

right!
TV and PS3 = HDMI for Video. - Done that connected a HDMI lead from tv to PS3 = Picture?
TV to Amp = Stereo Output to Amp? - Done that connected a HDMI lead from the tv to amp - ? what does that do??
Sky+ and TV - Done that scart from tv to SKY - make sure it goes to an RGB I/P and the Sky box is set to RGB. ???? How do i do that?
Sky+ to Amp for Audio via optical/PS3 to Amp = Optical= Now this is where the problem starts! Ive basically got 3 optical cables.. I want sound to come out of the amp when playing ps3 games and when watching sky? When i connect all the opticals up using a Toslink 3 way adapter (just links 3 optical leads up) i get no sound out of any of them???? If i connect 1 lead from the amp - the ps3 OR sky = works fine??? 
Set PS3 to Bitstream and make sure the 5.1 etc is actaully selected.
How do you do this??
I'm not sure how a optic splitter works, but are you trying to feed two optical inputs (PS3 and Sky) into one optical input of your amp?
that is eactly what im trying to do:thumb:

My amp is a Samsung HTX-200 
http://www.shopcompare.eu/ash/retai...81ac882&kuid=35520fd9a61cc6ed11b7d74f1ec93f73

Mate you are a big help:thumb:
Hope this lot makes sense?

Mark


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Answers below in Italic Blue mate (sorry if this is a hi-jack). Let me know if I can help anymore.



autobrite-direct said:


> Hi mate
> 
> Ok thanks for your input on this - im lost!:wall:
> 
> ...


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

ahaydock said:


> Answers below in Italic Blue mate (sorry if this is a hi-jack). Let me know if I can help anymore.


i will read through it mate and thanks for your time..

Mark:thumb::thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

You're welcome - hope it helps and happy to help some more...


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## PWOOD (Apr 30, 2007)

If you dont like the set now especially with a few tweeks then you never will LCD has a certain look and some folks just can get on with it especially those that like to watch in a darkened room. You would be best to send it back and consider a Panasonic Plasma £499 in 42" size if you will be watching say 50% SD and 50% HD. Its personal preference but only the latest LED backlit screens are now getting close to the natural look of Plasma screens.

avforums.com is the place to go for all things av


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Mark, don't know if I can help any more than ahaydock has tried, but to recap and clarify, hopefully.

PS3-TV - HDMI cable providing sound and video signals. Presuming there's an option with the settings of the PS3 (360 user here) then you'll need to set that such that the Optical output is enabled - assuming it's not auto-detect.

Why the 2-1 adapter isn't working - faulty or perhaps you've one of the inputs connected to the HT system, so make sure you've the unit connected correctly. Should work fine, as all it's doing is directing light signals. That said, I presume there's a switch to select which input you want?

Regarding the TV - you don't connect a HDMI to the HT system, you're using the AUX input on it with a pair of phono cables from the TV's audio output.

As pointed out for the PS3, with the Sky+ box, you'll need to go into the Settings/Set-up and choose the output for the video and audio signals. RGB should be set for the SCART (which also carries audio), and the optical output enabled - which it sounds like you've done since the PS3 and Sky+ work fine connected to the HT system individually.

In reference to the RGB input - your TV should be set for RGB on the SCARTs by default, but in the off chance you have options for S-video and Composite AV (CAV) as well, make sure the SCART in AV1/AV2 from the Sky+ box is set as RGB.

If you don't use the TV's in-built Freeview tuner, then there's no point in hooking up the phono cables as described above.

Therefore, all connected up should look like thus:
PS3 --> HDMI --> TV
PS3 --> Optical --> HT X200 (via 2-1 adapter)
HT X200 --> HDMI --> TV (for DVD playback)
Sky+ --> SCART --> TV
Sky+ --> Optical --> HT X200 (via 2-1 adapter)
TV --> RCA Phono --> HT X200 (AUX in for Freeview sound)


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## adamf (Feb 5, 2006)

My mum has the kdl40v4000 and I have kdl40v3000.

Mine run V+ via HDMi (upscaled to 720p or 1080i) and hers runs the standard freeview. My picture is far far better than hers even though hers in a better tele.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

i am suposed to be purchasing this TV also at the weekend (v4000).

I am not sure if to get it now or not, has your settled down and give a better picture now. It will mainly be used for gaming and DVDs, however my dvd player is only a cheap one with no upscailing. Also i need a new digital aerial as my current one is poo.


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

the freeview pic is much much better tha it was. dvds still look a bit pants but i play them through the xbox (which upgrades slightly) til the blu ray arrives.


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

PJS said:


> Optimum settings? What's that?
> No such thing as generic optimum settings - everyone's will be different for a whole host of reasons, which they find out by using the likes of the set-up discs available, or calling in an ISF accredited calibration professional, at circa £150 per input for two settings (night and daytime), if your set has the facility to manage it per input.
> Otherwise, a best compromise for all or those used the most.


Bla bla bla.

What is all this settle down rubbish.

Mine is mint out the box, set the contrast, colour temp, brightness etc, and away you go.


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

Mark M said:


> Bla bla bla.
> 
> What is all this settle down rubbish.
> 
> Mine is mint out the box, set the contrast, colour temp, brightness etc, and away you go.


tbh mate mine looked sh1te out the box. so much i was sending it back for a refund. left it for a few hours (as a few people including sony said the liquod in the crystals get disrupted in transport and may need to settle)and then messed with the settings using a THX config disc and the pic is miles better.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

why is the dvd picture still poo though, surely it should have a good dvd picture.


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