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Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8442
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Author:  roger [ 25 May 2019, 18:25 ]
Post subject:  Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Just before Christmas I purchased a Sony KD-55AF8 OLED to enjoy my 4k discs and blu-ray but also to hook up my X9 laserdisc player to enjoy playback via the AV port.
So I purchased a few leads but no matter what i did i couldn't get any non HDMI devices to play back though the Sony. I contacted Sony and about a month I had an ongoing
conversation about what to do and they were adamant I was doing something wrong. Anyway I contacted an engineer mate of mine who looked into it and it turns out the Sony
OLED is wired differently so that conventional yellow AV leads just don't work with this TV. He had to built me a special adapter to work with the TV.
And work it does and superb playback from the laserdisc player. In fact it made the video processor I had been using look rubbish.
So I contacted Sony and they admitted there clearly was a problem there and they'd look into it. I suspect they'll just warn people trying to use the port that a special lead is required.
SO BE WARNED, if you purchase this TV or it's dearer cousin YOU NEED TO GET A SPECIAL LEAD MADE.
The good news is that playback on laserdisc is breathtaking and I have never seen the format so good on a big screen.
The Sony manual gives you a diagram of what lead you should be using. Get any engineer to make a lead using those specifications as no commercial lead exists available to buy.

Author:  invenio [ 25 May 2019, 19:23 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Can you elaborate on what kind of "adapter" was made? What outputs/inputs are using (composite, component, s-video...)?

Author:  signofzeta [ 25 May 2019, 20:01 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Yeah, we’re going to need some kind of technical info or this story isn’t of much use. Your friend clearly knew exactly what the issue is, perhaps you can quote him. You’re saying that the TV has a composite video input yet it’s non-functional from the factory. Did your friend build a sync device or an NTSC/PAL converter or flip the pins or what?

I’m sort of surprised Sony didn’t just replace the thing instantly. There’s no reason they should disbelieve your claim and even if they did you guys still have warranty laws over there.

I don’t have any trouble believing that the picture eventually was great. I have a 4K Bravia from 2017 and it is just amazing with LD. People really need to be looking at what new TVs can do before they blow thou$sand$ on boutique boxes. I’m not saying I’ve ever seen those high end scalers in action but I am a total nit picky snob and my main setup is still HD CRT so I’m pretty sure for %90 of LD owners new Sony’s (and probably other makes) will satisfy completely. If I’m not miserable watching any LD setup its probably a good one. :)

Author:  rein-o [ 25 May 2019, 21:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

This sounds kinda quirky but it is Sony.

Would love to see what was done too.
Are the ground and hot switched????

Author:  substance [ 25 May 2019, 21:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

signofzeta wrote:
Yeah, we’re going to need some kind of technical info or this story isn’t of much use. Your friend clearly knew exactly what the issue is, perhaps you can quote him. You’re saying that the TV has a composite video input yet it’s non-functional from the factory. Did your friend build a sync device or an NTSC/PAL converter or flip the pins or what?

I’m sort of surprised Sony didn’t just replace the thing instantly. There’s no reason they should disbelieve your claim and even if they did you guys still have warranty laws over there.

I don’t have any trouble believing that the picture eventually was great. I have a 4K Bravia from 2017 and it is just amazing with LD. People really need to be looking at what new TVs can do before they blow thou$sand$ on boutique boxes. I’m not saying I’ve ever seen those high end scalers in action but I am a total nit picky snob and my main setup is still HD CRT so I’m pretty sure for %90 of LD owners new Sony’s (and probably other makes) will satisfy completely. If I’m not miserable watching any LD setup its probably a good one. :)


Keep telling people current TVs way surpassed almost all of those now obsolete video processors but see many people blow hundreds on them anyway. Expecially those old Faroudja, DVDO and no name boxes are literally door stops now. Unless you have the funds and fortune to find a working Crystalio II or Lumagen Radiance 2144, there is no reason for video processors. They actually degrade video, they are antiquated technology.

Author:  substance [ 25 May 2019, 21:57 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

It's a 4 pole 3.5mm headphone phone jack on the TV. Pole 2 has video and Pole 3 has common ground. Pole 1 and 4 have L and R audio respectively. It's a breakout cable not supplied with Sony TVs. it's a composite input and stereo audio on one jack. You don't need an engineer for this.

Author:  signofzeta [ 25 May 2019, 23:40 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Ok, yeah, mine is like that but mine came with the cable. For some reason I thought he had plugged it in but it wasn’t working.

Author:  invenio [ 25 May 2019, 23:42 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

substance wrote:
It's a 4 pole 3.5mm headphone phone jack on the TV. Pole 2 has video and Pole 3 has common ground. Pole 1 and 4 have L and R audio respectively. It's a breakout cable not supplied with Sony TVs. it's a composite input and stereo audio on one jack. You don't need an engineer for this.


So what leads are being changed/swapped? You would figure it's a standard.

Author:  substance [ 25 May 2019, 23:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

invenio wrote:
substance wrote:
It's a 4 pole 3.5mm headphone phone jack on the TV. Pole 2 has video and Pole 3 has common ground. Pole 1 and 4 have L and R audio respectively. It's a breakout cable not supplied with Sony TVs. it's a composite input and stereo audio on one jack. You don't need an engineer for this.


So what leads are being changed/swapped? You would figure it's a standard.


Typically the bottom (4th) pole is ground.

Author:  krbahr [ 26 May 2019, 00:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

I can tell you that back in the SVHS, Hi8 days Sony did not always AC couple their inputs and if the output from your player had a DC offset it would mess up the video levels in the Sony unit. Maybe this has re-surfaced where the ground level between the two units are different. AC coupling on an input bring the DC level of the input signal in sync with the electronics inside the unit.

Author:  signofzeta [ 26 May 2019, 03:01 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

substance wrote:
invenio wrote:
substance wrote:
It's a 4 pole 3.5mm headphone phone jack on the TV. Pole 2 has video and Pole 3 has common ground. Pole 1 and 4 have L and R audio respectively. It's a breakout cable not supplied with Sony TVs. it's a composite input and stereo audio on one jack. You don't need an engineer for this.


So what leads are being changed/swapped? You would figure it's a standard.


Typically the bottom (4th) pole is ground.


Sony has been selling 1/8” TRS combo video stuff since the Watchman days. The most recent thing that I had that used it was the PSOne mobile LCD screen until I got this TV of course.

I can’t say for certain if they ever changed the pins but they may have. This is the company that still uses proprietary charging cables on its Walkmans in 2019 after all. The company that manufactured an insane number of models of portable players in the 90s and a unique DC supply for (as far as I can tell) every single dang one of them so you actually feel like a single NW port is at least nicer than a new one with every Walkman you buy.

Author:  forper [ 27 May 2019, 06:12 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

substance wrote:

Keep telling people current TVs way surpassed almost all of those now obsolete video processors but see many people blow hundreds on them anyway. Expecially those old Faroudja, DVDO and no name boxes are literally door stops now. Unless you have the funds and fortune to find a working Crystalio II or Lumagen Radiance 2144, there is no reason for video processors. They actually degrade video, they are antiquated technology.


So do these current TVs provide scaling and allow fine adjustments to aspect ratios of different films like my DVDO does?

Author:  rein-o [ 27 May 2019, 14:05 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

My set does but its a Panasonic and its from around 2012

Author:  signofzeta [ 28 May 2019, 16:50 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

forper wrote:
substance wrote:

Keep telling people current TVs way surpassed almost all of those now obsolete video processors but see many people blow hundreds on them anyway. Expecially those old Faroudja, DVDO and no name boxes are literally door stops now. Unless you have the funds and fortune to find a working Crystalio II or Lumagen Radiance 2144, there is no reason for video processors. They actually degrade video, they are antiquated technology.


So do these current TVs provide scaling and allow fine adjustments to aspect ratios of different films like my DVDO does?


I’ve never in my life seen a TV that doesn’t scale. What’s the alternative? A small 480i image in the middle of the screen with scanlines?

Fine adjustments to aspect radio are very rare in normal TVs. That part you’ll be without. I’ve never needed this though personally. Those people who come here confused because their off brand POS won’t zoom properly to display 4:3...you won’t have that problem with a Sony. Any Sony ever, pretty much. You’ll have four modes, two of which are funhouse stretch crap and two you actually use, Normal and Zoom. I have three Bravia, one HDCRT, one HDLCD, and one 4KLCD, they are all like this.

I give Sony a hard time a lot. I do this because they deserve it. Their massive size and management structure make them almost Soviet at times in their decision making. However at the same time I give them a lot of credit because they also deserve that. Their TVs are still my favorite after all the commotion of the switch to HD and 4K. Also that thing where their Walkman stuff is “for music lovers by music lovers” is no BS. They are one of the only companies making portable music players that are in fact portable music players and not hyperconnected wireless multimedia cloud machines you don’t even really own. If you want to play games while wanking and listening to day old music, get an Android. When you want something that actually play classical music properly, in sequence with no gaps, and from local storage...you want something more like a Walkman.

Author:  sonicboom [ 28 May 2019, 18:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Welcome to the Sony 4K club ;)

I'm glad people are realizing that modern TVs can present a nice image for LD out of the box. It may even rival magic boxes costing thousands of dollars. Maybe.

The fact that you may need a breakout cable moving forward is not ideal but as long as it works - it works. Glad you figured it out and thanks for sharing your experience.

With regard to AR settings on a Sony, as mentioned, you only really need "Normal" (4:3) and "Zoom" (1.78:1 Letterbox = Full Screen). A 2.35 movie would be correct on the Zoom setting. 1.66 movies are hard to get right however. I'll usually use the Normal 4:3 setting and know the top and bottom are slightly cropped. If you need to matte out burned in subtitles (Japanese movies) then you are SOL on that front.

Scaling is fine nothing to mention, like ringing.

I highly recommend looking up your TV or one you're looking to buy and seeing if it has the features you want/need at this website: https://www.rtings.com/

They do pretty deep testing and have good explanations of their findings and methods. Of note were the motion settings and Color Temperature settings.

Motion Settings for Sony's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuEZIJDEQyo

According to these guys the Sony's are able to do inverse telecine on 60i signals then they do a 5:5 of the 24p for the 120Hz panel so you get smooth accurate motion. Not sure how they do on animation with odd cadences but the Looney Tunes stuff looks good to me. Comb filtering is about as good as it gets IMO. Colors are nice but don't "pop" as much as on my Faroudja.

Author:  forper [ 28 May 2019, 22:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

signofzeta wrote:
You’ll have four modes, two of which are funhouse stretch crap and two you actually use, Normal and Zoom. I have three Bravia, one HDCRT, one HDLCD, and one 4KLCD, they are all like this.


It's the same on my 2003 HDCRT from them. Their generic, "close enough/best guess" wide settings are a massive compromise to me. I can't stand the idea of not utilising the maximum amount of screen or even worse, missing the edges of the picture. My DVDO is invaluable to me for this.

I guess you mainly watch 4:3 stuff and I do too actually but I watch a fair bit of film as well at times.

Author:  signofzeta [ 29 May 2019, 17:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Well, it will be a little different than your HDCRT because the image will be geometrically perfect to the last pixel whereas most CRTs, especially wide ones, are wobbly and warped and missing info everywhere.

Author:  forper [ 30 May 2019, 21:12 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Ok

Author:  roger [ 12 Jun 2019, 00:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Basically what happened was this. I got the Sony OLED and had been using it for 4k and blu-ray. I was using my plasma downstairs for non HDMI devices like my S9 or X9 laserdisc player. Anyway the plasma bit the dust. It was 15 years old. So I decided to use the AV port on the Sony OLED. That's when the fun begin. No matter what adapter I got I could not get any playback. It was an engineer mate of mine who told me Sony are wired differently so what should be the video lead is the right audio lead etc but sadly it's not as simple as that. My mate had to made a lead for playback and it works. The Sony manual actually gives you the right diagram for the lead in it's manual on the AV port. What it doesn't tell you is that the lead is not commercially available. Trust me on this. You can't buy one. You have to get an engineer to make one up. I took Sony to task on that port and they admitted via email they would correct the problem. Sorry for the slow reply but my hotmail wasn't working and I've only got it working again. Anyway the important bit is that laserdisc playback on my 55 inch OLED is Wow and I'm suddenly started watching laserdiscs again despite having 4k and blu-ray. The biggest shock for me was The Terminator 2 box set CAV laserdisc. Way better than either the blu-ray or 4k. It's obvious both the blu-ray and 4k have been noise reduced to death. The upscaling on my Sony OLED (UK model) for both NTSC and PAL is wow. I would never use a video processor like a DVEDGE ever again. They are not worth the money and a poor substitute for direct connection to your TV.
Anyway here's an attachment to the lead I got made. Hope it makes sense.
The various widescreen modes on my Sony OLED cover all the aspect ratios from 4/3 to 2:20:1 so I can watch my laserdiscs in their proper aspect ratio.

Attachments:
NEW-SONY-LEAD.jpg
NEW-SONY-LEAD.jpg [ 97.35 KiB | Viewed 4651 times ]

Author:  signofzeta [ 12 Jun 2019, 02:54 ]
Post subject:  Re: Sony KD-55AF8 OLED and Laserdisc playback

Yep, that’s exactly what came with my TV but mass produced by Sony. You for sure don’t need an engineer to make one because I can totally make one and I’m assured by my employer that I am not an engineer. I even get overtime so...for sure not an engineer. :)

These kind of adaptors are not standard. I mean, they sort of are...but they sure sure don’t just sell them at stores. Most people probably just throw them in a drawer since they didn’t buy a huge TV to watch VHS on.

Anyway, it’s probably the same as this thing: https://supershop.store/products/sony-o ... 2pEALw_wcB

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