HDTV Shoot-Out

[djwhog]

UltraHD - The Future of TV

Trends around picture formatting and 4K consumer electronics are stimulating the broadcasting industry to provide 4K program material and develop suitable broadcast infrastructures. Learn how broadcasters are enabling entire UHD signal chains, from camera output and distribution network to coverage measurements and quality monitoring



http://www.rohde-schwarz-usa.com/rs/...ages/UHDTV.pdf

[prepress]

Another interesting thing at this year's shootout was that during the technical tests, both OLEDs were crushing whites, the Sony XD9 LCD actually showed more detail in this test. During a scene from what I think is a cable (or online) TV show, a period detective affair, there was a window behind one of the characters with venetian blinds. The Sony XD9 actually did a better job of resolving detail in that window than the OLEDs.

My main criteria for a TV are video processing, onboard sound quality and color. And if you can give me more picture detail, I'll take it. Same with audio.

[prepress]

An interesting tidbit: In the latest issue of Sound and Vision there's a review of Sony's 65" A1E OLED, and it says there's no CMS onboard. Yet, the color is excellent. And while on full-field color patterns there were differences between the AE1 and an LG E7, with real-world material the reviewer (Thomas J. Norton) had no preference for one over the other. The review's not online yet, but you can check it out when it is.

Also in comparison: on 1080p material the Sony was "subtly but visibly crisper looking," while the LG had a slightly better black level on some scenes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, but on most scenes they did equally well. This also applied to the movie Allied in 4K. And in rare instances, when the LG faded to black between scenes the Sony went to only dark gray; it's not clear, however, which set was correct. Was the LG pulling something that was mastered as dark gray down to black, or was the Sony not reading the metadata properly? Except you had a side-by-side comparison, you'd not notice, probably.

[damacman]

My trusty Samsung 1080p plasma died this last week - during the fourth inning of game 3 between the dbacks and Dodgers ... After a bunch of research, I decided to replace it with a 75" Sony XBR75X900E. Unfortunately, my Oppo BDP-103 can't play UHD 4k discs so I don't have a true 4k source yet. I did set it to output 4k from standard Blurays and that does look pretty spectacular.

I spent several hours calibrating the Samsung for the best picture and it delivered the goods. The Sony has the factory settings and looks just stunning. I am now getting my eyes used to the softness of the Sony's picture as compared to the sharpness of the Samsung - a function of doubling resolution.