Thursday, January 28, 2010

It's a Sony

It indeed is a Sony. However it wasn't the first choice... 

Ever since the old TV blew up, it was a struggle to get a new one. I thought asking the Twitter followers would be helpful, so I brought it up. I usually don't bring up stuff as expensive as this to public because I tend to keep that stuff private. Unfortunately I know NOTHING about TVs nowadays. LCDs? Plasmas? LEDs? Woosh! It went all over my head.



I was researching through Google and asking on Twitter. A good combination, except whenever somebody suggested something I went off-track of my search and looked at the new option ^^;

Yuuichi-kun and RadiantDreamer suggested LEDs, but I don't want to spend that much. They were also the first few who suggested LCD. LCD was my first choice because of the old problem that Plasmas used to have; burn-in images, and short life time. However as I was researching plasmas, I've learned that the old misconceptions have been fixed now. Not only that, but Plasmas are much cheaper than LCDs! So with the help of FatB, I followed through the plasma route.

So I looked it up, asked questions to FatB many, many times, read reviews and even looked at prices. I decided on the 42" Panasonic plasma. I found a cheaper price at Visions.ca, but I wanted to get it from Best Buy so I can get the price match. So even though it was a website printout, Best Buy accepted my price match. So I got a good price and since I wasn't sure if the TV could fit in my car, I asked it to be delivered but also to get the old bulky TV to be picked up.

Then the drama begins... TV was delivered on Friday, January 8th. One guy came and delivered it... I wondered if he'll be strong enough to pick up the old TV, I wouldn't mind helping... Except they never got an order to pick up the old TV. The guy claimed it was a different company, yet the receipt says it's the same company! I told him to check, and he called his boss and then just left... I am pissed off at this point. I drove right away to where I bought the TV from since Best Buy don't pick up their phones apparently.Of course, the problem was I was so enraged I forgot to bring the receipt and my wallet! Once again anger just took over and it made me clumsy... Thankfully Best Buy were able to clear it up and the next day the same guy from the same company with two other people came by and picked up the old TV. So now I'm free to enjoy the new TV.

I was finally able to play Bayonetta, because the TV blew up the night I got it.

I was happy. The TV was bright, crisp and clear! I really loved the colours and the sound wasn't as bad as I've heard on these new types of TV. Games looked great and movies looked good too. Unfortunately, just as Chun said on Twitter... She and her husband weren't satisfied with her first TV and had to return it. I was feeling the same... As you can see in the picture below, the TV is pretty much like a 42" mirror. I had too much lighting in the room; even at minimum lighting, it still reflects.

I thought I could be fine with it since it was such a hassle already, but it was such a "glaring" problem... At first I looked up many alternatives to make it less reflective, such as an anti-glare spray and a screen cover/protector. Unfortunately that might just cost me more on this already expensive TV. I guess I shouldn't have gone cheap. If I spend just a bit more money then I could have one with the anti-reflection filter. Alas, that sold out already at Best Buy. So I had to exchange it. I can't live with it. Time to research again... This time with the help of my brother. He suggested the 46" Sony with 120Hz refresh rate, while I looked at the 40" Sony with 240Hz refresh rate; both at the same price. The table was made for a 42" TV.

I bought that table real cheap at Wal-Mart, but it was really hard to make, and it was definitely not an Ikea quality. My brother and his girlfriend pretty much made it. I was too dumb to make it. So I was worried if I get a 46", it won't fit this table. I measured again but the size is only 10cm difference and any of the LCD choices was lighter than this plasma. So now it was my choice what to pick. One was more "eco-friendly" while the other had better features and refresh rate. In the end... size matters, and I chose the 46" "eco-friendly" TV from Sony.

But before I returned the plasma, I played Bayonetta one more time on the brightest setting!

So the next Thursday my brother helped me return the TV and I was hoping to get the new TV right there and then. Unfortunately the last one sold an hour before we came... Sigh... Another wait. It felt like forever, but the next Tuesday, we picked it up and installed it with a slight problem because the stand seems funny. But I think I'm finally satisfied with this choice.

Yay Sony again! Do you believe in the Sony Timer?

 Do you trust Sony? Would you buy an extended warranty for Sony products? They're supposed to be the best, right?



So far I haven't had any problems with it after more than a week. Some pictures do look strange, but probably because I don't have an HD feed and I'm not too sure how to set up the pictures properly ^^;

First thing I did after getting the TV was to expand my HD movies library! I got the Top o Nerae Gattai movie aka Gunbuster/Diebuster movies, Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder, and Up. The Bayonetta case was around the same spot, so I just included it in ^^

I forgot the first Top o Nerae/Gunbuster was in 4:3 format. There were a lot of cuts in the movie though... I've always loved anime Blu-Rays after watching the Paprika Blu-Ray. They look so good! Now with the HD TV, they look even better! Hopefully future anime Blu-Rays will be as good or even better than these.

Yes... they look better! *drool*

I'm really loving Gunbuster again... Maybe I'll go watch the OVAs again soon. I wasn't completely satisfied with those cuts in the movie. They even barely included the Gainax Bounce! What's up with that!? They had a great extra too, where the second Top o Nerae cast does commentaries for the first movie while the first Top o Nerae cast does one for the second movie. Unfortunately they didn't include English subtitles for these... That's too bad. I really need to learn Japanese again...

I also bought a couple of new cables; HDMI and a component cable. The HDMI was for the PS3 and I didn't realize it connects both video and sound... I was struggling to figure out how to make the screen fits from the DVD player because it didn't seem to give me the optimal picture. So I asked around again; RadiantDreamer and FatB and a few people (whom I forgot, sorry!) answered and told me that component cable would definitely help. It really did! Not only did I clear a plug for my composite cables, but the DVD player connected perfectly with the TV! These cables are the cheap kind by the way. I know I shouldn't go cheap, but they're only cables :P

The stuff that was on top of the old TV had to be moved unfortunately... The center speaker won't fit properly and it would block the motion sensor on the TV. You heard me right, "motion sensor on the TV". If there are no movement within the set time (I set it at 30 minutes), the TV will turn off by itself! It's perfect for me actually because sometimes I fall asleep when I play console games ^^; Damn old age...

Some smaller figures should fit on top of this TV though... The Meiko puchi nendo seems to fit ok. I wonder if it's save to put it on top... Or maybe I'll put it on the table (in the red circled area). Definitely need to clean up the area first, but I've been lazy and doing nothing but "test" the TV ^^;

Well that's my adventures in getting this TV... It was more of a hassle than I thought it'd be. At least I'll have better pictures this time around. I'm connecting the computer to the TV too now. Looks pretty good as I'm getting tired of sitting in front of the computer to watch anything. And for sure I'll have more fun watching anamorphic anime now! It's just a matter of what I want to watch! If only this stupid ringing in my ear would stop... Sigh... Nothing's ever perfect, is it? Oh well... it's バヨネッタイム!

23 comments:

  1. Glad you finally got everything to your liking. As I've told you before, the most important factor is how it looks to you as you're the one watching the tv.

    You should be happy with your new Sony set tho. Looks like it's a V-series, and not a cheap S-series set so it should stand the test of time.

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  2. Yay!you got the new TV! ^o^ talk about Blu-ray discs, most can be play on DVD player! >< so it's still not sold in original here. I'm still disappointed in this.

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  3. Sounds like quite an experience you went thru with the TV, brick and mortar store has that advantage of being able to return product easier. I am glad you managed to find the right TV! Wonderful, congrats on joining the Sony camp :)

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  4. "-a hassle already, but it was such a "glaring" problem..."
    Brr, cold, man >;)

    Ouch, that was a major hassle. I'm surprised you went through all that; I would've given up by the first plasma. I would've also probably went on a rampage through that Best Buy if I'd gone all the way and forgotten a receipt. I'd get blacklisted.

    My first HDMI cable was pretty stupid as well. It was for my xbox, and I'd gotten two xbox VGA cables for it totaling over sixty bucks (one of them was malfunctional), thinking HDMI was only video and I'd still need an audio output. Then I found out it was some magical do-all wire that did both and shook in rrrraggeee (probably because of my friends who had to rub salt and say 'you didn't know?'). Huff, they're just noobs that've never understood the concept of the good ol' VGA.

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  5. @FatB: I really wouldn't mind having a plasma. It looked good and my dad liked it as well, but unfortunately I chose the wrong one. Oh yea, I didn't go cheap with the Sony, lol. Thanks again for the help!

    @Yamada: Wow... Not really a place to get authentic Blu-Ray then if you can play it on a DVD player ^^;

    @Wolfheinrich: Yea, it really helped that it was Best Buy too who would accept returns without any question. Haha wasn't really my intention to join the Sony camp, but sounds like a quality brand ^_^

    @Ningyo: LoL was the pun too much for ya? XD

    I was going to give up, many times I kept going back and forth to see if I can live with it. But it only looked good in the dark and I know it's impossible to be dark in this room...

    Even now I still have an optical audio cable connected to the PS3, but that's connected to the receiver for 5.1 sound. You can always return it, but there are other uses for audio cables ;) Honestly though, it's all over my head, lol.

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  6. Nice TV. It's definitely a good time to buy LCDs now. And you can move on to LEDs (or whatever they come out with) when this one dies 10 years later.

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  7. @Tommy: Thanks! I imagine some kind of holographic TV 10 years from now XD

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  8. congrats on the new tee bee! :P We has a samsung lol

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  9. @Chun: Thanks! Samsung!? That's not a catchy anime line? Buy another TV and it'd better be Sony! LOL

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  10. TV's has a setting that turns off at the set time, man I wish my toshiba could do that. I think ill blame my old man again.

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  11. Nice plasma set. Your new should be able to glide through any HD content with no trouble at all (especially current generation of games :D).

    And yes, repeat the mantra:
    It's a Sony.

    :D

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  12. I don't know that much about TVs. Up until your post, I had thought plasma = LCD = LED...
    Still, 42" is huge, and that's a really nice TV set.
    I love the glare pun too.

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  13. @GunStray: Is it one of the new flat screens? I thought all new TV has it now. This one has a sensor that detects if there are movement or not, which is not in any other TV. Heh you can give your opinion on what TV to get to your old man next time ^^;

    @bd77: Ah sorry, this is the LCD, not the plasma. So far no trouble with this one... because it's a Sony... XD

    @Yi: Oh believe me, I was pretty much like you too regarding TVs... I'm so out of the loop until I read up everything. It's mind boggling if you just enter a store and wanting a TV right away >_< Heheh, I love puns, so it had to be there. I think I even sent Panasonic my pun in a serious tone, lol.

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  14. Sony product has quite a good reputation. You have a good buy. :)

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  15. I'm not much of a techie but I do think you made an awesome choice. Sony stuff may be expensive but they do excel in quality. ^^ And by buying Sony you're helping out the Japanese economy, so kudos for you. lol

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  16. Sweet stuff! Congratz on your new TV! Sony TVs are good. I have a old 29" WEGA and it's still working great. Yeah, should have warned you about the tvs that have the non-matte screens. While they definitely are much sharper, the glare can be terrible under bright lighting.

    The new LED tvs aren't actually LED. They're LCD TVs, that are back-lit using LED, so it's a lot more energy efficient, and have better contrast ratios. The most important thing though, is the refresh rate. 120Hz is almost a REQUIREMENT nowadays. Things look so much smoother with it.

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  17. Well, I have Sony Bravia and Samsung. Bravia for watching movies, while samsung for PS3 (I know, it should be the opposite hahaha..)
    Sony tends to have a good reliable and reputation, but a bit pricy.. (well it happens in my country..)
    LG having the low-end LCD TV market,
    while Samsung is quite famous here (with middle-end market) and Toshiba having the high-end market.. But Sony is still there having in the middle of those..

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  18. Congrats on getting a new TV! It looks like that you can watch DVDs and play games in HD without any major problems~

    On the other hand, my TV in my room back home is the only TV that cannot play HD, but that's ok for me since I am not always at home, and I don't use it very often other than to play my PS2 or... To watch TV (but I only watch news and that's pretty much it), and I am not good with TVs in general anyway -_-

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  19. @LEon: Thanks for the assurance :)

    @shikinami: Haha I guess I'm always helping the Japanese economy, don't I? XD

    @radiantdreamer: I slightly complained about the reflection on this Sony, but it's not as bad as the last time XD Ah I figured that's what they meant by LED, eh? I think the reason why I wanted the plasma in the first place was because it had 600Hz refresh rate, but it's unfortunate I picked the wrong one -.-

    @MaftyNavue: LoL that is kinda the opposite, but whatever works for you :) It was pricy, but had a good price at the time. I thought about getting Toshiba, but worried about the quality after hearing some stories online =/

    @Q: Honestly I wasn't even looking for HD, just anything to play it with, lol. But good to upgrade anyway XD I do tend to watch TV only a little, but I do play and watch anime a lot on it ^^

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  20. Happy new Year!!! ...belated, that is ^^U

    Personally I don't see much difference between the before-after photos ^^U while writing this I'm contemplating the sorry state of my own room... gah, a lady (if I can be called that) shouldn't be this messy. I'll put some anime and start cleaning, I guess.

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  21. @yakuri: Ah well... There's only so much you can do with cleaning XD I need more space! Ah no worries... it's all stereotypes now, so doesn't matter how messy it is :P

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  22. O_o for some weird reason the new year comment ended up in the it's a sony post and the it's a sony comment disappeared... o_O

    Anyway let's try to write it again... It must have been a pain in the arse to change the TV; sometimes with gadgets being cheap can be counterproductive, so it's best to look at specs along with price (not that I'd know when it comes to tvs... I'd probably do the same you did).

    Personally I want an LED screen, I saw some in korean stores and they are GORGEOUS, I can't imagine how awesome blu-ray anime would be on them, but yeah they're expensive. I'll get one when they get cheap though, in a couple of years (and when I get an apartment for myself ^^)

    I'm glad you got a nice TV in the end (it's a sony after all! XD btw awesome Kannagi ep.), the animes look so nice! and oh god UP in blu-ray?? Pixar movies must look spectacular.

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  23. @yakuri: Ah I thought your initial comment was weird on this post ^^;

    Yeah, I've had problems with being cheap before for electronic products and I paid the price... It's quite a hassle! Haha I wonder if those LEDs are much cheaper in Korea. I guess I'll see how long this TV will last before I upgrade to LED, lol.

    So far I'm liking all the anime I've watched on this. They all look so good! Even the low-rez ones. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to watch Up yet, especially with the Olympics going on ^^;

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