Experience of SONY BRAVIA KDL55W829BBU - any banding or DSE?

[seabiscuit37]

Hi All

New to the forums so apologies for the essay-  just wanted to ask anyone who has the SONY BRAVIA KDL55W829BBU if they have experienced any banding (dirty screen effect issues especially when camera pans against a solid background).

I'll be the first to admit i am a little OCD when it comes to picture quality- however I believe if you pay what for most of us is a lot of money for something it should work as you would expect.

I have just returned an LG 700V due to the fact that every time the camera panned against a bright or green background (think football/ golf or a TV programme like million dollar listings) we would get fairly severe banding/dse effects that ruined the TV picture for me.

I was going to replace the above with the Samsung H600 series- but then found out about their sound issues (just Google Samsung lip sync/sound issues) and couldn't do with the hassle of buying a TV - that in Samsung's kind words ' may or may not have the sound issue and it may or may not affect your STB and Blu ray audio if played through the TV) - No thanks.

So that brought me to the SONY BRAVIA KDL55W829BBU. The sales rep assured me it is every bit as good as the 600 series Samsung for motion and I shouldn't get any DSE/banding. Looking over the stats I was confident (800hz motion that doesn’t drop down to 200hz like the lg). However I have found a review of the model that states the TV has ‘mild banding/dse’ on camera pans http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl50w829b-201403023650.htm

This seems at odds with everything else I’ve seen on line so wanted to check.

PS please can someone confirm that this model‘s auto brightness can be completely turned off, unlike a plasma?

[hcr_hassen]

Someone's report on his W829: http://www.avforums.com/threads/sony-2014-w7-w8-1080p-edge-led-tv-owners-thread.1858674/page-167#pos...

Some uniformity photos of a W800: http://www.rtings.com/reviews/tv/lcd-led/sony/w800b

I don't have a W8xxB, but I do a W654A, which is a 2013 model without 3D. There's vertical banding, visible on dark colors. A few of the bands are quite annoying. With bright colors the bands are okay; not invisible, but very slight.

I'm pretty sure you can disable auto-brightness. On my 2013 model it's possible, and I see no reason to assume a more expensive 2014 model wouldn't have it. You can also check the manual online.

Marketing numbers such as "800Hz" are meaningless. It has nothing to do with the refresh rate, just marketing fluff with the general idea of "higher is better". If you want to know what motion smoothening options there are, how effective, what problems they introduce, you'll have to read reviews.

[seabiscuit37]

Thanks for the response

I had seen the forum you mentioned but after 50 pages or so gave up as you will always find the post that someone has found a dead pixel that is only visible on a blue screen from 10 inched away etc.

I was aware of banding issues with last years model so hopefully someone will be able to post on this years.

Given that the reason i'm returniing the LG is due to banding (mainly the DSE as i can't stand the shadow effect) I'd be really dissapointed if I have a similar issue with the Bravia when watching sport/any camera pan against a bright background.

[hcr_hassen]

You mean what the guy said there is not the kind of info you're looking for?

My impression, I could be wrong, is that visible banding on bright colors is an issue of IPS panels such as the LG LB700. The W8xxB are VA rather than IPS (at least most of them). If my screen is any indication, banding on dark colors is the problem.

[Anonymous]

I knew you would have seen this thread @hcr_hassen   

[hcr_hassen]

I was here, how could I not?

(BTW, mine was taken for service/replacement. Still don't know what outcome to expect.)

[seabiscuit37 · Accepted solution]

Hi all. Just in case anyone is thinking of the w8 I thought id post a small follow up.

The 55w829 is the best tv I've owned to date. Slight issue with the first set as it had a dead pixel so was sent back without any difficulty (thanks currys). So if you order from a shop with a harsh returns policy ask to check the screen beforehand (most decent retailers should accept a dead pixel as a reason for return if brand new but always check). That's why I get a home installation as the retailers engineers can either spot or verify screen or technical issues.

Anyway I was almost reluctant to return the original as there was hardly any dse/banding and the blacks are great.

Turns out I needn't have worried. The replacement set arrived, no dead pixels and I have now stopped looking for issues as I simply can't find any and want to enjoy the tv. There is no visible banding, extremely minimal dse (and that's being mega picky as I can't see how it could be any better)

The black levels are the best I've seen and watching sport is a pleasure.

Really happy and won't be going near samsung or lg in the future (samsung 600 series had known lip syncing issues and the lg 700v had horrific dse and banding)

[Anonymous]

Hey thats good news !  Thanks for posting back - love hearing good news.

Happy viewing

[hcr_hassen]

That's good to hear!

Can you check these images on fullscreen: http://imgur.com/a/zZPQi ?

I'm still fighting the local Sony importer on replacing my W654A. If 2014 models really are better, maybe I have less to be worried about if I manage to get it replaced with the 2014 equivalent model: W706B.