Sony KV-36XBR450 third times the charm...hopefully. (1 Viewer)

[Michael Banks]

At the beginning of September I decided to get a new set, the 36XBR450. Well the first set had uneven black level from the left to right side. This should have been fixed in the 450 from what I have read. I played with the SBRT in the service menu and could not fix the problem. Hifi Buys decided to just replace the set.

Well the second set was delivered in the beginning of October and it had problems as well. At first the only thing that I saw was a mild purity problem in the lower left corner. The black level was ok on this one. After about three weeks, the set developed a horizontal hum bar the rose through the picture. First thing I thought was that another piece of equipment or ground loop was the problem. I spent my free time over the next couple of weeks checking my home wiring and possible equipment interference. Everything pointed back to the set.

I finally had time to call for a service appointment. The technician came out yesterday to take a look. We took loose all connections to the set and hooked up a self powered signal generator. He saw the problem and commented that this was a first for him. He got in touch with my salesman and they have decided to send another set. It will be delivered Saturday. Please say this will be the last.

I have to give props to Hifi Buys for their service and understanding. This is why I buy from an Audio Video specialty store. Overall, I love this set. It fits my needs perfectly. Everything looks beatiful that I feed it, except Dish. Wish me luck on the third.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I do wish you luck. But that you've had to go through this is disturbing. Sony should pay closer attention to quality control.

 

[James Fucich]

Michael,

A year and a half ago, I had the same uneven black level problem with my 36XBR250! Before that, I had a geometery problem with a 36XBR200 (which was replaced by the 250). I loved the TV, the picture quality was awesome. However, I couldn't stand the fact that I spent all this money for a design flaw. After dealing with Circuit City's tech manager and SONY (for over 1 year I might add), they could NOT fix the problem and said it was part of the design. What a cop out! I insisted on a refund and I'm been holding out for a 16:9 RPTV. Maybe this was all for a reason. I will never buy a 4:3 TV again. IMHO, this is not the future of TV. I believe you should reconsider your choice of the WEGA line. If they sold a 16:9, I would consider it. Why not take a look at the Panasonic Tau series 16:9 direct views. I've been told they are very well built TV's and hold very tight specs with regard to geometry and color/convergence. I know the WEGA looks great but I feel for most of my viewing (DVDs) this is 1/3 wasted screen space.

GOOD LUCK for your TV. Happy viewing!

James

 

[James Fucich]

WOW! SORRY about that one. I've got to remove the font & size setting. That's what I get for messing around!!

 

[James Fucich]

Let's give that another try. This one you can read!

Michael,

A year and a half ago, I had the same uneven black level problem with my 36XBR250! Before that, I had a geometery problem with a 36XBR200 (which was replaced by the 250). I loved the TV, the picture quality was awesome. However, I couldn't stand the fact that I spent all this money for a design flaw. After dealing with Circuit City's tech manager and SONY (for over 1 year I might add), they could NOT fix the problem and said it was part of the design. What a cop out! I insisted on a refund and I'm been holding out for a 16:9 RPTV. Maybe this was all for a reason. I will never buy a 4:3 TV again. IMHO, this is not the future of TV. I believe you should reconsider your choice of the WEGA line. If they sold a 16:9, I would consider it. Why not take a look at the Panasonic Tau series 16:9 direct views. I've been told they are very well built TV's and hold very tight specs with regard to geometry and color/convergence. I know the WEGA looks great but I feel for most of my viewing (DVDs) this is 1/3 wasted screen space.

GOOD LUCK for your TV. Happy viewing!

James

 

[dpippel]

At the beginning of September I decided to get a new set, the 36XBR450. Well the first set had uneven black level from the left to right side. This should have been fixed in the 450 from what I have read. I played with the SBRT in the service menu and could not fix the problem. Hifi Buys decided to just replace the set.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the SONY WEGA. My 1.5 year old KV-32FS12 has:

* Uneven brightness from lower left corner to upper right.

* A horizontal 4-inch high bar that's lighter than the rest of the screen running across it from left to right. Particularly visible on monochromatic scenes such as sky, sand, water or fog.

* Pink discoloration on the right side of the screen.

* Bad convergence on the right side of the screen.

/ranton

This set has been serviced once for the uneven brightness problem, and the "repair" did not affect the problem in any way. I've done all of the service mode tweaks as well. I purchased the WEGA for one reason - the 16x9 mode. For viewing anamorphic DVDs it's acceptable, but every time I notice these defects it angers me. SONY's quality control simply sucks. The WEGA issues have been around long enough for the company to correct them if they actually had any interest in doing so. Apparently they do not.

I'm sorry to hear about your problems and I feel your pain. Based on my experience with this television, I will never buy another SONY product. They should consider shifting their business model to focus on quality instead of marketing in my opinion.

/rantoff

DP

 

[Michael Banks]

James,

The problem that I have is that most of my viewing is 4:3 material. I own alot of anime, which is 4:3 for the most part. That really limited my choices on sets, because I didn't want to have to stretch or have black bars on the sides. The Pany does have a beautiful picture. I figured the XBR would fit the bill for me and be the best of both worlds, little did I know. Thanks for the suggestion.

Doug,

I feel for ya man. I can't believe that a service tech couldn't cure the purity problem and convergence on your set at least. Hell, after buying the service manual I fixed my lower left corner within a couple of hours. I'm really glad that my store has been so easy to deal with on the swap outs. One more try and then I am going to give up on this set.

I'll let you know how this one looks, it's due here tomorrow.