See The Sony XEL-1 OLED TV Unpacked And In Action

Yet another example that contrast ratios from manufacturers don't mean spit. I can still see gray banding on this so-called 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio display. What were the tools used to arrive at such a figure (measuring equipment, test patterns and sequence, ambient lighting conditions, etc.)? We'll never know.

MrSatyre, unless you have a 1,000,000:1 contrast monitor in front of your eyes you will always see gray banding in pictures posted on the internet with your screen.

Whats the point of it being so thin when you have a great big walloping base sat underneath! If it cant hang on the wall and the footprint is such that it takes up more room than a traditional plasma or LCD ... what the heck is the point?

You can't actually see 1,000,000:1 here. Your computer screen isn't 1,000,000:1 so it can't replicate the picture. You are going to see gray banding. Go look at one in person. If you listen to dolby digitl THX through 15$ head phones of course it is going to sound the same.

quote alex
You can't actually see 1,000,000:1 here. Your computer screen isn't 1,000,000:1 so it can't replicate the picture. You are going to see gray banding. Go look at one in person. If you listen to dolby digitl THX through 15$ head phones of course it is going to sound the same.

haha, i was like, thats gray, then i read your post and felt like a retard lol, i well want to see one i nperson now, but i think everyone thinking "i can see gray" lol

Well one can see your point, when talking windows most often the computer display is 24/32bit, but the graphics cards CAN actually do more I understand, just not on the windows display.
Perhaps a player that plays fullscreen can access the graphicscard to make it display more bits per pixel though.
Plus this is a TV, with its own tuner, so the question is what are the capabilities of the broadcast and tuner in that regard, or the standalone blu-ray/HD-DVD player.

You know, even with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, that screen is still displaying images that probably only have 8 bits per component.

So, even when you see it in person, that dark grey will be darker, but the banding will still be there and will probably be even more noticeable than on a stardard screen.

Actually, thats a pretty silly comment saying you should see grey on your home monitor if its looking at something that can display a much higher contrast. A more correct statement would be to observer the blackest black you can see, then see if the screen looks as dark. If it does, then its obviously got a better range than your monitor and you can't make a judgement. BUT, since the frame of the monitor OBVIOUSLY looks darker than anything being displayed on the screen, then it has to do with the source.

Either its not even close to 1000000:1 or something else is wrong. Possibilities include, bad photography, maybe the exposure of the screen was somehow effected by the camera OR possibly the source material data did not include true black.

My bet is its the obvious, its not really as black as it should be.

I'm using a crt so my contrast is by far superior to any lcd/plasma out there.

crts are not any longer superior in their contrast ratios. the lcd/plasmas are nearly as good, and in some cases, as good as CRTs.

One of the first things I noticed when looking at the picture of the XEL-1 was the gray banding. I'm not sure what to make of it, but definitely don't count on your computer screen to do it justice. The squaring of the gray makes me wonder if it's a still image on the screen. One thing that is a for sure from the computer pictures is the contrast between the deep black and bright white on the XEL-1 is HUGE!

Do I care how thin it needs to be---lets just say 1'' is fine, what a waste of time. Great contrast, so what. How much extra does this cost? Oh I'm sorry Isn't Sony complaining about margins- Visio. This great company is so lost its becoming amusing.

This, obviously, isnt marketed towards the average consumer. They probably could have gone with a 1" OLED display, but why would they when they could go the same size for the same price (with the new technology) or probably cheaper. This is marketed to be the first of its kind, its obviously going to be outrageously high priced. When OLED are about the same price as LCDs or DLPs now i imagine youll consider buying know. The reason i havent considered LCD/Plasma is because they arent thin enough to be a deciding factor. Have you seen one of these in person? Something that thin is impressive, something with that much contrast ratio, in person, is impressive. Go start fud elsewhere.

Alex, I have seen it in person. It's very, very impressive, but it still shows banding. And FYI, I'm a PDP and OLED display manufacturer, so I know all about what my computer screen can reproduce. ;-)

MrSatyre, your comment makes a bit more sense knowing you saw the display in person, but I don't understand why you would expect to see less banding on a high-ratio display.

No matter what your contrast range is, you're still displaying the same number of discrete shades of grey, given a standard graphics card with a fixed bit depth. A higher contrast will just make those shades more distinct from each other and increase the perceived banding.

well i can sort of see black, but my monitor only has a 5000:1 contrast. i would need to c it in person.

Jesus Christ.

Don't you people know a damn thing about JPEG compression?!

FFS

@jason: Really EXPENSIVE plasmas and LCDs (such as those with LCD backlighting) have contrast ratios approaching those of CRT displays. Most people do not have anything that even comes close.

CRT also doesn't need any help (like darkening certain areas of the screen or crunching levels) to get its pure blacks... it's the nature of the technology, just like OLED.

What a waste of web bandwidth. A few pics and no review

I'm sure this tv is nice and all but for the price that it is at the size that it is... In my opinion not worth buying. I do however have the Sony 56" Bravia that I purchased for a little more then $1200.00 which i think is way better then this tv. Who cares if it's 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio? Like big deal the screen is that thin. It's no different then it being like my tv, except that the components on this one are not attached to the actual screen.