My attempt to break into the BV6-23 & HD discussion was a bit heavy handed but reflected my shock at what was being said. One contributor states that I need an upgrade kit. Before I go into a complete sense of betrayal I thought I would be more specific and ask if BV6-26 Software type 5 type 9252 is capable of receiving HD television signals via DVI socket.

 

As I said in the other thread I had no intention of rushing to HD as the picture on the 6-26 is pretty good anyway but I always had the re-assurance that I could when I wanted too. I checked on this point specifically and read all the B&O literature in this respect. If it is a negative answer then I would consider myself to have been totally deceived.

 

 

Before you get into a lather over this you should consider just what improvement you would expect to see on a screen as small as 23 or 26 inches?

If you're sweet spot is on <1.5 mtr's distance from the telly I would go for the full HD on a 26". Otherwise it's a waist of money. If you would buy a 40" it's a totally different story.

Joeyboygolf and beobird,

I hear what you are saying and to some great extent it  conforms to my own views. However to some extent it beside the point. When I bought the set I wanted a re-assurance that it could operate on HD if I wanted it to. It was explained to me that DVI was the picture element of HDMI and the sound could come in by another route. There would have been no need to confuse with PC because I am not interested in any PC being linked to my TV - nor games units either.

Since I bought it I have been telling people that I could get HD through the DVI socket . Can I say that I would not have bought the set if I thought otherwise. Not to have an HDMI socket was one thing but not being able to get HD at all was another. I try to deal with everyone in this world in a straight fashion, in the main, and accept what I am told as being true. If I find out it isn't true then I do not deal with them again. As such its important for me to know whether its correct or not beyond the relevance of HD on a 26 inch set.

 

 

 

Let me start by making sure we are both talking about the same product, you talked about breaking into The Beovision 6-23 & HD discussion, but in fact it was the Beocentre 6-23 & HD which was being discussed, whilst similar products, they are different.

Whilst I understand Joeyboygolf and beobird point about HD on a Beovision 6-23, your point is that you were told something which was not correct or not as you understood it, so you feel that you were not told the truth. To be honest, in the dealers defence, at that time everyone appear to be somewhat unsure of the situation with what products were HD ready and when they would be, but what are the facts as I see them:-

First your Beovision 6-26 Type 9252 is a Mark I Beovision 6-26 and I find it difficult to believe that it was HD ready because even by the time the Beocentre 6-26 was introduced the HD ready kit was apparently not available. Whatever the case you can check the status by going into the Customer Service Menu which I outlined in the other thread HERE

I purchased a Beocentre 6-23 in March 2007 which was NOT HD ready, as it was for my gym, it did not concern me. However my supplying dealer told me it would be HD ready, because that's what they had been assured by B&O.

Anyway, assuming when you check the Customer Service Menu it is not HD ready, which I expect to be the case, then to make your Beovision 6-26 HD ready you will need a Type 4371 upgrade kit which will have to be fitted by the dealer, clearly it is up to you if you wish to take this action, but at least you have the facts to come to your decision.

Keith,

 

Many thanks for your comprehensive information here. Zwets was giving the same picture in the other thread and I am sorry that the Beocentre and Beovision got mixed up in my response akthough it appears not to have made a difference to the outcome. My (over?) emotional state on this matter is twofold. One is personal - My wife died in November and it would have been our 40th wedding anniversary soon. As a result my emotions are all over the shop anyway. Secondly there was an element of shock involved in what I was reading on the other thread. Because I had believed in what I was told and made my purchasing decision on it I would be shocked if I was later to understand otherwise.

 

my investigations of the customer service menu supports your view and I see no mention of anything that would indicate HD anywhere on it.  At the time of purchase I was getting frustrated about the fact that it didn't have a built in digital tuner (reflected somewhere on this and the main B&O site). I was given a sensible answer that having the box provided more flexibility than an inbuilt tuner. So I had a separate tuner but was concerned with an upward compatibility path to HD. As I said before I wasn't necessarily going to take the path but wanted reassurance that it was there. I am 60 years old now and do not intend to operate many TV buying rounds on this earth and wasn't intending to when I bought the set. Zwets was of a similiar mind to me when he bought his according to his response and was surprised to find otherwise. As you say the dealer may have been giving the best information available but really B&O shpould have known better. They must have known that this question was going to be asked by customers. was it "rip them off again time?" 

 

I paid £3800 for my 6-26 with Dolby and wall bracket and I certainly do not intend to spend a penny more. As others have observed the 26inch screen is probably OK anyway. If it breaks down it will go on the skip and a panasonic will replace it. It will cost a fraction of the cost and the built in digital tuner/hdmi will probably account for any marginal picture loss. Many thanks for your help & yours Zwets.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry to hear about your loss BarryAndrew, it must be difficult emotionally as you mentioned. I lost my father to cancer (two brain tumours) recently so I can empathise a little with what you might be going through. I hope you have a good support network through friends and family. Bereavment counselling can also be a great source of support and understanding. http://www.bacp.co.uk 

I think you have been given some sound advice in all the comments previously posted. Indeed I have a great interest in current television/broadcast technologies which I follow passionately. It does seem that on such a screen size HD really is not noticeable. Every article I have read on the subject suggests this; it seems widely accepted that unless you are going above 32 inches (or thereabouts) then HD is not really a concern. However, I understand it is a matter of principle regardless. The set that you have produces an incredible picture that would be heard to beat so I think you can feel quite assured and confident that you have the best of the best, which is what you would expect from B&O.

Technology does move at such a rapid pace now that even something a few months old is considered outdated. We are all up against that and it isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't know the dealer you bought your equipment from but I do know that most, if not all, go out of their way when it comes to customer satisfaction. So, if for any reason you want to return your set, change it or complain further, then do of course get in touch with them to discuss it. This is one thing I like very much about B&O and why I shop with them. I will always make a purchase from a company that holds and values customer service as an absolute priority and so far, B&O have never given me reason to think otherwise. If you do come accross a 'bad egg' then go elsewhere. Come to think of it there is one dealer who I really didn't like at all. I won't use this forum for deformation of character purposes but suffice to say his unprofessional and rude attitutude lost him a signifcant sale. Aside from that one experience, I have always found every other B&O dealer I visited to be fantastic.

Best wishes.

Simon. 

Hi, I too have a BV6 -26 (I think Mark I?) It has a DVI port on it and works with a PC attached at 1268 x 768. Does this mean i have the HD kit installed or does the HD kit come with an HDMI port?

Also it there anyway of linking the DVI port to the Digital sound input for 5.1 surround sound?? (PS3 gaming)

Cheers TC 

TC,

If you have a Mark I Beovision 6-26 then it will NOT be HD ready. You can check the status by going into the Customer Service Menu which I outlined in the other thread HERE If there is no HD menu, you do not have an HD ready Beovision 6-26

The HD kit does NOT provide a HDMI port.

 Hi Keith

Thanks for that, I'll check tonight after work.

Cheers

TC

Could not get the menu working with the red button, but did work with 0,0,GO...No sign of HDTV though. TV type is 9252.

All I'm wanting is to make th TV HDCP compatible, so I can use the PS3 for digital sound?

Cheers TC

I am not sure that anyone should say that you do not need an HD picture on a 26". Beobirds comments coincide with my experience here. If its <1.5 metres then it may be worth having and in consequence should be provided.

My dealer had a BV6-26 next to a 7-32?(could have been a 40) and dared me to guess which was operating on HD and which on SD. To me it was bloody obvious and it was the 7 that was HD. The detail was much better but I was quite close at the time - the size of the shop prevented a distance comparison.

To those who say just find another dealer then I say its easier said than done. I am in Truro, Cornwall and the nearest B&O dealer to Truro is Exeter which means its great if you want to collect but no good for installation and back up. I have recently abandoned my dealer and have been buying from Lee, whose customer service far exceeds the standards of my formal dealer. There are many that could learn from his approach.

Why should Keith, Zwets and myself believe that what they bought could handle HD reception only to find that they couldn't? Is it because we were misled? (either by the dealer or by B&O's advice to the dealer). Do they think so little of us as customers that they feel they are strong enough to do this?

 

 

 

 

Zwets has sent me a copy of a document which makes the situation clearer. According to what I see you cannot guarantee having an HD ready 6-26 until January 2006. There are a few months before that when you have an increasing chance of getting one as stock changes over.

As I have said before I feel very aggrieved at this because I did ask and let me assure you that nobody said that if you defer your purchase till Jan 2006 then you will get an HD ready set. We live in a world were it is not what is said that is important but what is unsaid. It also makes the 2006 model that I missed on Lee's site more significant than I thought. I never at any stage believed that my 2005 model was not HD although it was through DVI not HDMI.

If I am going to be so dissappointed after paying so much my only conclusion  is that I had might as well pay a lot less. It may be the very best 26inch lcd TV around but its an analogue non HD TV which wont be the best around soon.  

 

 

Does the current model feature HDMI? or is it still DVI? is there any difference with a Pre-Jan-06 upgraded model and a new one bought today?

Ian 

The current model does NOT have HDMI

Hello!

I'm new to this forum, and I have a question...

Most of you are not conserned that the BV6 is not HD ready, but from what I understand you cannot watch this TV when the broadcasts will be HD in the future..? And when the the futore living room TV's have Blue ray DVDs you cannot watch it on your BV6 in the bedroom.

I too have a BV6-26 (a few years old), and the picture is great, and it sounds and look very good indeed. However it would be nice if is possible to upgrade it to work also in the future.

But maybe I have misunderstood something?

Best regards, Torbjorn

BarryAndrew:

I am not sure that anyone should say that you do not need an HD picture on a 26". Beobirds comments coincide with my experience here. If its <1.5 metres then it may be worth having and in consequence should be provided.

My dealer had a BV6-26 next to a 7-32?(could have been a 40) and dared me to guess which was operating on HD and which on SD. To me it was bloody obvious and it was the 7 that was HD. The detail was much better but I was quite close at the time - the size of the shop prevented a distance comparison.

To those who say just find another dealer then I say its easier said than done. I am in Truro, Cornwall and the nearest B&O dealer to Truro is Exeter which means its great if you want to collect but no good for installation and back up. I have recently abandoned my dealer and have been buying from Lee, whose customer service far exceeds the standards of my formal dealer. There are many that could learn from his approach.

Why should Keith, Zwets and myself believe that what they bought could handle HD reception only to find that they couldn't? Is it because we were misled? (either by the dealer or by B&O's advice to the dealer). Do they think so little of us as customers that they feel they are strong enough to do this?

Unfortunately you are in a poor position as far as dealers go and your frustration should be directed at your dealer and not B&O.  Dealers were fully aware of the HD possibilities of all TV's and knew the various roll out dates of when TV's could be upgraded or would come as factory standard.  It does sound from your posts that you were misled, this of course is only one side of the story and I would imagine your dealer would have a different take on it.  B&O would certainly not want to give poor customer service and I suspect you probably had an over zealous salesman who was going to tell you what ever you wanted to hear.  In my experience this is not the norm, there are some fantastic dealers out there who are always helpful it is just a shame that you do not have another dealer to choose from.  If you do feel that you have been misled then you should take it up with Truro, if you do not get a satisfactory result perhaps you should consider writing to B&O UK.

Yes I can truly understand the spirit of your e-mail. I am sure that my dealer would have a different view and am open minded enough to freely acknowledge that. However I came away (mistaken--misunderstood or otherwise) really believing that I had an HD capability through the limited means of a DVI. This belief was so burnt within me that I have been telling everyone who has asked that it could receive HD pictures through the DVI and was the reason for the shock on my part when I found out otherwise.

My dealer is B&O in this area. There is NO alternative with the exception of using secondhand which is what I have been doing recently. I cannot go down the road and go to an alternative dealer. There is one for the whole of Cornwall with only one shop. Thats it!

 

 

 

 

thavn:

Hello!

I'm new to this forum, and I have a question...

Most of you are not conserned that the BV6 is not HD ready, but from what I understand you cannot watch this TV when the broadcasts will be HD in the future..? And when the the futore living room TV's have Blue ray DVDs you cannot watch it on your BV6 in the bedroom.

I too have a BV6-26 (a few years old), and the picture is great, and it sounds and look very good indeed. However it would be nice if is possible to upgrade it to work also in the future.

But maybe I have misunderstood something?

Best regards, Torbjorn

You will still be able to watch the TV. The STB you use will downscale to the definition you have. Don't confuse Digital with HD. There are lots of Digital channels and a few HD ones. You can watch HD on a non HD set - but as the HD comes at a premium, there isn't much point!  Equally Blu-ray will play through any set you want as long as the connections are available. To be honest, on sets less than 32", the benefits of HD are distinctly debatable and in fact normal SD pictures could easily be better. As screen technology improves, the last point will become less true but at present, don't get too hung up about things!

I too bought my set from the dealer in Truro, Cornwall, who provided a great service. No-one at the time knew what the HD world was going to do at the time. The biggest problem is HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) it stops HD from being played back via blue ray disc etc. What is needed for the BV6's is a HDCP adaptor to plug in, to bring the set up to date. That way we could still use the DVI port for HD content.

The other thing is I wish there was a way to link the DVI port to the Digital line input for 5.1 sound??? I would be very happy if anyone knows how to do this? At the moment i can only link the digital inputs to the scart inputs!

Thanks

I have dealt with them for eight years or so and have been content with their service until recently. I was even content when I bought this lcd.

The point you make is a very good one but concerning when you spend your money on high value products. If the rate of technological change is so fast that a tv purchased in May 2005 is technologically obsolete by 2009 then its an irrational economic decision to buy B&O. Longevity is what we all buy into in addition to design, performance etc. Without the stb my set would be useless by 2009 without me spending more money on it.