Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501


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Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501

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brp1022
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Mar 7, 2010, 9:59 AM

Post #1 of 6 (8374 views)
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Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501	Can't Post

I just bought the above 40" TV from Costco today. I played a widescreen DVD movie and get horizontal black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. I can reduce the width by "zooming" in but can't get rid of them completely.
Do other TV's of this size have a feature to "stretch" or zoom in further so you can get rid of the bars completely or is it common to be stuck with them? I've heard that's the case and don't understand why Sony wouldn't have included that as a feature.
I know that it's to present the entire frame as the director envisioned the picture, but the black bars drive me nuts. I feel as if I'm really getting just a 36" TV since I really just plan to watch movies on DVD and don't watch much regular TV.
Thanks!

techchris
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Mar 7, 2010, 3:26 PM

Post #2 of 6 (8367 views)
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Re: [brp1022] Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501 [In reply to]	Can't Post

you will only get films to fit if they are recorded in 16/9 format otherwise there will be a letterbox shape on screen. On the back of the film box you will see the format. ie 2.1:1 or similar. from memory, I think it's only 1.8:1 which fits a 16/9 tv screen.

brp1022
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Mar 7, 2010, 11:00 PM

Post #3 of 6 (8363 views)
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Re: [techchris] Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501 [In reply to]	Can't Post

I understand that and understand how it makes the black bars disappear. However, some TV's have a stretch or zoom feture that will ELIMINATE the black bars entirely (albeit at the cost of distroting the picture or clipping off a couple of inches on either side). I want to know how commone that feature is in other TV's or if I'm just stuck with it like this.

jts1957
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Mar 8, 2010, 2:57 AM

Post #4 of 6 (8359 views)
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Re: [brp1022] Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501 [In reply to]	Can't Post

If that particular feature was that important to you, why didn't you mention it to the salesperson or make sure it was in the specifications? Shocked

The technology of today, with the model number of the item in question, you can do research either from your home or your palm. Crazy

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Location: Far, Far Away

(This post was edited by jts1957 on Mar 8, 2010, 3:01 AM)

brp1022
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Mar 8, 2010, 6:43 AM

Post #5 of 6 (8353 views)
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Re: [jts1957] Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501 [In reply to]	Can't Post

As I mentioned, this was purchased at Costco so there are no salespeople to ask.
Secondly, Sony makes a different model specifically for Costco that is slightly different from the ones they sell to regular retailers so finding out about the differences between the Costco version and retail versions is difficult, even with a Google search. In any event, Sony's site said that there were picture modes for wide screen movies, etc. on the outside of the box and on their website for the EX500 series TV's. In theory that made sense to me, but when I bought it, that wasn't the case.
Today, I went to a local TV retailer to see what the retail version looked like. In appearances they are the same. When you turn it on and start flipping through the menu, there are small differences and the way it handles widesceen movies is also different. It even comes with a different remote. So, it's not quite as straight forward as just asking a salesperson or doing a quick google search.

techchris
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Mar 8, 2010, 6:48 PM

Post #6 of 6 (8350 views)
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Re: [brp1022] Sony Bravia KDL-40EX501 [In reply to]	Can't Post

find a local friendly sony dealer who can probably switch these extra features on in the service menu.Most features are switchable through the service menu, I doubt that the tv is any different circuit wise from any other sony with similar model number.

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