HDCP Stripper 

 

 

Today has a little look back at the previous 100 episodes, then we talk about 50 feet of HDMI and review the new 60" Sony SXRD.

 

 

We get a lot of emails about cables. Recently we have been getting emails asking us about long HDMI cables and what is too long. So we thought we'd take a look at a 50 foot HDMI cable from monoprice.com. The nice thing about a digital cable is it either works or it doesn't. And this cable worked! It costs about $95 US which is about the price of a high end 6 foot cable at a retail store. The build quality of this cable is very high.

We also looked at a HDMI extender ($28 US). The device is supposed to be able to extend the HDMI signal for up to 100 feet. We did not have more than two more meters of cable to extend so we couldn't verify the 100 foot claim. But we can say that between the 50 foot cable, the extender, and our two meter cable we were able to send a HDMI signal 56 feet!

We'll run the test again when we get the 100 foot cable.

 

 

We finally had a chance to spend some quality time with the new SONY 60 inch SXRD (KDS-60A2000) $2799 US. We really liked the previous model (see our review) and this one picks up where the previous model leaves off. But unlike the earlier SXRDs this TV accepts a 1080p signal via its two HDMI inputs. The TV has also improved the looks of its cabinet. We didn't like how the speakers looked liked ears on the side of TV. With this model SONY fixed the problem and moved the speakers below the screen. The sound produced was adequate for watching news or any other talking head program. Their SRS TruSurround XT audio enhancement technology didn't impress us at all.

This TV is a good follow on to the previous model. Blacks are very black and colors are good. We found the color of the previous model to be better than this one. It does quite well with dark scenes and sporting events looked very good. This TV is the best we have seen when it comes to fast action. There was no motion blur and the picture was very smooth in the US Open Tennis we watched. We did notice that the detail was a little less than say the JVC HD-ILA but this may be due to the Digital MPEG Noise Reduction Circuit which is supposed to reduce mpeg compression artifacts like "block noise" and "mosquito noise". Standard Definition was a nice surprise. This TV displayed SD better than its predecessor. But why would you watch SD on this set?

Its not all great for this TV though. If you want to connect a PC to it via the PC connection you won't be able to get the full 1920 x 1080 resolution. The most you can get is 1,366x768. And to make matters worse SONY claims you can not connect a PC through the HDMI inputs without damaging the TV. We don't know why SONY would make such a statement. There is no way you can damage your TV by connecting a PC to it. It must be that SONY does not want to deal with supporting this type of connection. Anyway, you can get the full 1920 X 1080 resolution from your PC by connecting it to through the HDMI port.

The cabinet Dimensions are (WxHxD): 55.6" x 38.9" x 20.2" (1413 x 988 x 514mm) and Weight almost 95lbs.

Features:

• LCoS display technology
• Advanced Iris is a special Sony function designed to improve brightness and contrast expression especially in darker scenes.
• WEGA Engine Video Processor
• Digital Contrast Enhancer circuit processes every field automatically selecting out details and optimizing contrast for each scene.
• HDMI that supports 1080p

What we liked:

• True 1080p via HDMI inputs
• Smooth picture even with fast action sports
• True Blacks and great detail in dark scenes
• Loads of video inputs
• Speakers mounted on the bottom
• Very fast response time (2.5 ms)
  

What we disliked:

• PC input does not support 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Color not as good as previous model
• Remote control/TV does not have dedicated input buttons
• Sound OK for talking head programs only

Conclusion:
Overall we really like this TV. High definition looks spectacular and Standard Definition looks good. The SXRD uses LCoS technology so there is no chance of seeing a rainbow with this TV.