Sony KD-**X830*C owners thread

[hazeyb]

So I've purchased the 43X8305C and there is no owners thread. Guess I get to create one.
Not had too much chance to play around with it yet. Its obviously a little better than the
Samsung LE37R87 its replacing. Netflix 4k looks stunning, haven't figured out how to get Amazon Prime in 4k. Will load Kodi onto it at some point over the next couple of days.
Inbuilt satellite works, but I've not had too much time to set it up. One annoyance is that the 'TV' button used to take me to HDMI 1, until I tuned the satellite, now it takes me to satellite, and I cannot reset this behaviour (I'm intending to drop Sky next month, so will be less of a concern then).
Oh and another one, the free sound bar blocks the infrared signal when it is in front of the TV stand (stupid Sony).

Android TV seems nice and responsive, navigation should prove wife friendly.

 

[psp888]

I've had the 49" version for about a week. Enjoying it so far, especially the built in chrome cast, works so well.
Only disappointing thing at the moment is all the advertised services and functionality is not yet available, Youview, HDD recording, iplayer etc. Hope they come soon.

 

[psp888]

Anyone managed to get the 4K Astra satellite channel to work on 2015 4K models yet?

 

[drcaius]

Thanks for starting the thread. I got the 43" a week ago. Was initially happy and the upscaling works well but I've since discovered a few issues that may force a return. For example when hooked up to a 60hz source (a PC) there's periodic judder / flicker that make for an unpleasant experience. Anyone else had that? That 60hz source is going to be my default so it's probably a deal breaker. It doesn't happen at other refresh rates and occurs on all video whether it's 720p, 1080p, Blu-Ray etc.
The TV has also crashed a couple of times (red flashing LED) requiring it to be restarted. For £1000 that doesn't instil me with confidence. Makes me really value my 8 year old 42" Hitachi plasma that's been 100% awesomeness.
Sorry to be negative, I'm sure it excels with broadcast content and the X830C looks great with bias lighting behind it at least!

 

[drcaius]

To update my last post: Done some routing around and the Sony online help section (the TV doesn't come with a manual) says that at 3840x2160 it only supports 30hz! So it must be reporting to the graphics card that it supports 60hz then processing it.
Going to call the shop tomorrow and ask if I can exchange it for a 40" Samsung JU7000. Their website recommends input sources are 60hz so hopefully a safer bet. Fingers crossed.

 

[hazeyb]

Do you have a link to the part about 30hz only at 3840x2160? That would be a bit of a concern. I've not had the TV crash at all, but its only been used for a couple of hours.

 

[hyeongseong]

To update my last post: Done some routing around and the Sony online help section (the TV doesn't come with a manual) says that at 3840x2160 it only supports 30hz! So it must be reporting to the graphics card that it supports 60hz then processing it.
Going to call the shop tomorrow and ask if I can exchange it for a 40" Samsung JU7000. Their website recommends input sources are 60hz so hopefully a safer bet. Fingers crossed.

It is most likely your graphic card don't support 60hz. Does your pc have hdmi 1.4 or 2.0 port ?

 

[drcaius]

Do you have a link to the part about 30hz only at 3840x2160? That would be a bit of a concern. I've not had the TV crash at all, but its only been used for a couple of hours.

Here's the link from the Sony Help section, the closest thing there is to a manual:
Help Guide | Connecting a PC, digital still camera, or camcorder
In fairness it doesn't say the X830C can't display 4k at 60Hz, it just advises sticking to 30Hz which is a bit vague. This Help section is also covers their entire range so isn't specific to the X830C. That's making solving this much harder. I've done more testing today and the monitor is indeed displaying at 60Hz, I just wonder whether it is struggling to do so. It's smooth at 30Hz.

I've run the TV for about 60 hours now. Had 4 crashes and the menu inferface occassionally freezes for up up to a minute while changing picture settings.

It is most likely your graphic card don't support 60hz. Does your pc have hdmi 1.4 or 2.0 port ?

My PC should have more than enough power. As well as a fast CPU and RAM it's running an Nvidia GTX 970 with HDMI 2.0 and the card supports output upto 4096x2160 at 60Hz. Am using a High Speed HDMI cable too of course.

I wish I had another 60hz 4k source to compare against.

Edit: Done more testing on my GPU and even on 1080p video with a 84366kps bitrate (I work in film production) the graphics card is never stressed above 20% load. So most likely the television. Am sad about that.


Update: I exchanged the X830C for a Samsung 40" JU7000 and there's no issues at 60hz now. Also worth noting, the JU7000 reports to my graphics card a native resolution of 3840x2160 whereas the X830C reported a native resolution of 1920x1080.

 

[psp888]

Anyone got any calibrated picture settings?

 

[cpetzny]

Mine developed a couple of dark spots on the right edge of the display. I've reported to Sony and am awaiting their feedback. Anyone else seen this? Mine's just over two weeks old.

Also, I'm told by Sony (after over a week of badgering them) that Netflix and a bunch of other apps will be available from Jun 15th. A firmware update is due shortly before then, so any day now.

 

[cpetzny]

Anyone got their image settings perfect yet? Mine still looks very contrasty on bright sunshine exterior scenes...

Thanks,
Chris.

 

[Ryko1000]

Which panel does it use, IPS?

 

[cpetzny]

I believe it is IPS, but I'm not 100% certain...

 

[drcaius]

It is indeed an IPS panel.

Chris, unless you've already tried them I'd recommend the settings on the rtings website. I've not got this TV anymore but from a PC source I found their settings got the best balance. Afterwards I calibrated using the Spears and Munsil disc but couldn't improve much on the rtings settings.

 

[se1boy]

i have had this TV for 2 days now, something that i dont understand is i have my sky plugged into hdmi 1 and my ps4 into hdmi 2, however it only allows me to watch sky, if i change it to hdmi 2 the ps4 screen wont be on, it will stay on sky even though ive selected a different hdmi channel, has anyone else had this problem? or can anyone help?

 

[hazeyb]

I've not personally experienced that issue, but I've seen it mentioned over on the sony forums. Suggested solution is to completely power off the TV at the wall socket, after that the ports should behave themselves.

 

[se1boy]

Cheers hazeyb I'll give that a go.
Also anyone watch sky on their TV? I've noticed the audio is slightly delayed, anyone else noticed this?

 

[rusty mechanic]

Well I've decided to pull the trigger on a 43 x8307 next weekend and Can I ask your views on the picture quality alone. Im not too interested in the Android stuff as I have a seperate box for all that, I just want to see a good improvement from from the 4k upscaling. Cheers russ

 

[hazeyb]

Picture quality, particularly upscaling is very good.

 

[hazeyb]

New firmware version, 2.243, is now available. No release notes yet.

 

[cpetzny]

Very very impressed with the picture quality and upscaling. Still need to watch some Bluray material though, but BBC HD via TiVo is lovely.

If only I could say the same for Sony customer service. Set delivered on the 1st, two black spots appeared on the 7th, fault reported on the 9th, today, the 23rd I was told it must have been knocked and will therefore not be covered under warranty. I explained to them that under the Sale of Goods Act it is their responsibility to prove I damaged it (which obviously I didn't). Case has now been escalated.

 

[novahob]

Just got one of the 43" version and so far impressed. Very good picture and like the Google integration, while still in early days I like the UI.

Just one question, I like to turn my TV but it looks like on the remote and back of TV it puts it into standby. So I guess the only way to truly turn it off would be at the plug?

 

[green9206]

I'm not quite sure what the point is in getting a 43 inch 4K TV. From all that I've read from the experts including on this site, 4K is moot below 60-70 inches.

 

[kendo_001]

Very tempted to go for this TV as its the perfect size for a bedroom - 4k being better if you're sitting closer to the set!

To owners:
What are the viewing angles like? Is there a noticeable shift in colour when viewing at an angle? How good is the upscaling?
Are there any reviews out there yet?
What would be the competitors to this TV?

I had a bad experience with a Panasonic 4K, so very wary?
Cheers

 

[ZenmasteR]

PC HDMI port does not support 4K @ 60hz according to specifications.
anyone try the the normal ports for [email protected] 60hz from a capable GPU?
I have seen various reports of flaky Nvidia hdmi 2.0 output