Posts Tagged ‘Sony’

Call of Duty: Black Ops in 3D

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

I finished CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS in 3D. I won’t review the overall game here (http://twitter.com/#!/yaoshiang/status/18857524308475904), but just discuss the 3D elements since video games will often be the best 3D experience for new consumers.

Installation was smooth. My Playstation3 knows it’s connected to a 3D TV, so the game automatically went into 3D mode and I had to dig around for my glasses.

3D really added to immerssiveness of the game play. No surprise, but my eyes (and brain) were able to process the 3D effect even at the very high scene change rate of a First Person Shooter. The immersiveness came from objects that were up close – certainly the gun itself, but also leaves, splashing water, walls, etc.

It didn’t add to the shooting itself – most targets are so far away that the 3D effect doesn’t affect how you target them. Where it did work is when an enemy got close to you. It was startling when a face if literally popping out of the TV at you.

I did get a head ache after about 3 hours, but that’s probably as much to do with the First Person Shooter as the 3D effect.

Overall, I think this is one of the best uses for 3D. It’s not gimmicky – not a trick – it just adds to the overall gameplay experience.

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Sony XBR-LX900 vs Sony XBR-HX909 vs Sony KDL-HX800

Monday, June 28th, 2010

I was confused as to the difference between these 3 Sonys I posted about a few weeks ago. Here’s what I have been able to figure out.

The lowest line is the KDL-HX800. It doesn’t have 3d integrated, and it doesn’t have full-array LED. You’ll need to buy a 3D transmitter separately for about $50.

The next up is the XBR-LX900. It looks to be a KDL-HX800 but with integrated 3d transmitter. (Think of the L in LX as “3d is Lumped in”).

The top of the line is the XBR-HX909. This is the one with truly unique technology: full-array LED backlighting. But, in a move probably to save cost, this one doesn’t have integrated 3D transmitter. Full-Array LED backlighting deserves another post, but basically, it lights up the tv the way a marquee sign is lit – lots of little lights arranged in a grid. This allows what’s usually calling precision dimming – in darker parts of the image, both the LCD turns dark and the LED backlight is dimmed down. This creates really high contrast ratios.

By comparison, edge lighting is more like a florescent light in an office building – the light comes from a single (or small number of) bulb along the edge, but there are screens and filters to spread it out. When the image is supposed to be dark, these LED backlights are still on full blast. Only the LCD pixels themselves are used to try to dim out the image.

The Samsung C8000 series attempted to do a hybrid – the LED lights are along the edge, but they try to dim regions of the image as necessary. The Samsung C7000 does not: the LED lights are on at maximum intensity no matter how dark the image is supposed to be.

If cash were no object, get the XBR-HX909 and add on the 3D kit.

3D Ready (requires additional transmitter) or 3D Integrated? LED positioning
XBR-HX909 Ready Full Array
XBR-LX900 Integrated Edge
KDL-HX800 Ready Edge

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