Sony WEGA television question. (1 Viewer)

I have heard that while the non-XBR WEGA sets are some of the very
finest non-HD sets available, they also have a visual flaw in that a
small vertical black bar will be visible under low-light conditions on
one side of the picture. This is said to be especially noticeable on
letterboxed movies and that it can't be made to go away. Is this true?
And if so, are all the FS and FV models affected? If there are any
that don't have this problem, which model numbers are they?
Also, are there any FS or FV WEGA models that have both a 3D comb filter
and auto 16:9 enhancement without the side mounted speakers?
Thank you very much for any help you can provide.
P.S. The set we are looking at now is the WEGA KV-36FV27. What is the
difference between this model and the KV-36FV26?
[Edited last by Lee-c on October 20, 2001 at 10:55 AM]

The FV27 is just an updated version of the FV26 with a better comb filter and a dark grey enclosure. I have the 32" FV27 and haven't experienced anything like a bar going down the sides. I watch anamorphic widescreen movies exclusively and in total darkness. I haven't experienced any problems at all with this set (and couldn't be happier!). Anamorphic DVDs look incredible with the 16x9 enhanced mode. No scanlines at all!
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- Brian
My DVD Collection
Want Sliders on DVD? Then please SIGN the petition!
[Edited last by Brian Harnish on October 20, 2001 at 12:47 PM]

Brian, may I ask you (as a fellow FV owner): Do you consider the set to be money well spent? Reason I ask: HD-capable, ATSC-based displays are now in the same price range. I look at my non-XBR WEGA and wonder if I spent wisely.
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Lee-c,
I also own the FV27, have had it for about 3 weeks now. I've noticed that vertical black bar in dark scenes, but I would characterize it as a darker bar, not a black bar. It's not like you can see a streak of black coming down the screen during bright scenes. In fact, you're right. I only notice it during very dark scenes, and it's only truly noticable when the scene is completely black, e.g. fade to black. I'm not bothered by it. This set still has an amazing picture with anamorphic DVDs and the squeeze trick.
Jack,
I'm not Brian, but as a fellow FV owner I can tell you that I consider this TV a very good purchase. I got it for $985 + tax (Sears pricematch), which is much cheaper than I could've gotten an HD-ready set. Plus, how good would HD really look on a 32" 4:3 set? If I were in the market for HD I'd go ahead and shell out the extra $200 or so on top of a Sony XBR and get a 40-some inch widescreen instead.
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This screen has been formatted to fit your movie.

Thanks for the information, guys.
We have ordered the FV27 (36 inch) and it should be here in a few days. I'm looking forward to
this fantastic picture everyone who owns one has commented on.
That slightly dark/darker bar doesn't sound like a big deal at all. But I do find it
odd that the finest non-HD direct view T.V. in the world has such a characteristic.
Brian has never seen it, so maybe it's only on some random sets and not others.
P.S. Yohan, you can just call me Lee.

I posted a question about this same issue back in August and got no replies. Oh well...
I had the same problem on my 32kv26. The black bar was on the left side of the screen. I couldn't find anyone that knew of this problem so I came up with my own "fix". I went into the service menu and adjusted the horizontal size until the bar was just off the edge of the screen. I only lose 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch, so I'm not really missing anything. I'm hiding it rather than fixing it, but once I noticed it, it drove me crazy so I had to do something.
Other than that, I've been very happy with it.

Lee,
I have yet to see a set that DOESN'T exhibit it. I even went through 2 of the new XBR-450's that sony claims does not exhibit the problem and it was very noticeable on both, though it wasn't as much of a bar on those as it is in the lesser models but more of a half and half screen brightness change. Sony even posted a fix on their web site for it so it is a design flaw and should be present to some degree in all sets.

It's a design flaw. They all have it, but the more expensive XBR line has it to a lesser extent, since they are higher quality tubes. The falt screens from other companies do NOT have this problem.
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"My wife actually prefers widescreen"

What's the code for accessing the service menu on a KV-36FV27 ? Is it the same on all recent
Wega's?
Thanks for any info.

Yes, it should be the same.

Thanks for the info., Jason. Do you happen to know what the code is for the Wega's? I have no idea...

Display
5
volume +
power
all in quick succesion
starting with power off, of course
be careful in the service menu and record all the default values before you change anything
what were you looking to adjust?

Hi, I am a long time reader of the HTF, but this is my first post. I am an avid OAR advocate with a very modest setup. This may sound strange, but I feel as if I know some of you already from reading posts here for over two years. It is a pleasure to finally 'join the fold.'
TV: Sony KV-32FV27
Receiver:Sony STR DE-575
Cheapo satellite speakers plus 50 watt sub, in a 10 x 12 room.
DVD: Still utilizing the ever-maligned PS2 for DVD playback.
I also own the Sony KV-32FV27 Wega Television, which I purchased two months ago. Overall I am pleased with the picture quality, but I have absolutely noticed the dark 'smudge,' or line, down the left hand side of the screen. It's very distracting, since my preferred brightness level on the television reveals the dark area very clearly. It's only noticeable when the screen is dark, but for a videophile like me, it mars the overall presentation. Many of my favorite films happen to include many dark scenes, and the distracting shadow has lessened my enjoyment of my HT setup considerably.
If I turn the brightness up on the (non-utility) menu, the dark smudge disappears. Same result if I bring the brightness all the way down.
From what I've read here and on other Wega related newsgroups, this is a common problem and not easily fixed without heavy-duty repair and replacement. Is this true?
I understand that entering the utility menu and lowering the overall brightness can lessen the impact of the dark line, but in light of such a prevalent problem, I am surprised Sony didn't, at first, willingly acknowledge this eyesore of a problem.
Cheers,
Joseph Young

Joseph,
Sony did acknowledge it. Somewhere on the Sony website there is a service bulletin that explains the uneven brightness problem. There is a fix for it, a new coil if I remember correctly, but some people have reported that this didn't completely fix the problem either. The other "fix" is to enter the service menu and decrease SBRT a few notches but this will only mask the problem somewhat and not fix it.

JasonRH,
Thanks for that information, I definitely agree with you. I have yet to find such news regarding uneven brightness on any of Sony's sites, but I will give it another try. I guess my point is, Sony has downplayed the problem and hasn't made that information obvious to the public or easy to find online. The dark band on my screen is hundreds of times easier to spot.
I suppose I am just frustrated that Sony continues to release televisions with such a glaring imperfection, and relies on the vigilance of customers to correct the problem, rather than its own quality control. Perhaps a disclaimer with every Wega Television over 32":
"Thank you for purchasing the exemplary line of Wega Televisions. This television has been quality tested, but requires a new coil to function properly."
I think that would clear up the problem.
Joseph

Just read this thread regarding the dark smudge on one side of the 32" XBR.
Is this problem similar to what I observed with Sony's 40" XBR Wega? It's something that I found disturbing for a pricey TV. I posted a comment on the HTF thread below.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum24/HTML/008806.html

Allan,
The reddish distortion you described doesn't sound like the same uneven brightness problem I've experienced on my 32FV27 Wega. My uneven brightness problem is not noticeable during full frame broadcasts or when images are taking up space on the left side of the screen.
The dark streak is very noticeable when there is a blank video signal or a black screen (ie. black 'now loading' screens in video games, dark nighttime scenes in movies. Unfortunately many of my favorite films are very dark, so I have to learn to live with the problem until I get the coil replaced.
When I turn the lights out and switch to a blank video signal ("Video 3" for example), the stripe is clearly there running from top to bottom, about 1.5 inches across from the left side of the screen. Bringing the brightness all the way up or down makes the streak disappear, but this is not a pleasing way to watch television.
During widescreen movies, I can sometimes see the darker stripe in the black bars, but the movies themselves are not darkened or distorted, thank goodness.
I keep telling myself it could be much worse, but unfortunately I'm a video purist; I like my blacks black. Makes me long for the days for the solid (albeit muddy) blacks on my old 27" Magnavox.
Joseph

Joseph,
You're absolutely right that it is irritating that this design flaw cannot be fixed, especially since it does not exist on ANY other flat screen tv by other manufacturers, to my knowledge. The fact that they replaced the old XBR400 with the new XBR450, in part to fix the uneven brightness, (yet I went through two of them that both exhibited the problem worse than on my old FS12) shows how well Sony's quality control and consumer information can be trusted.

I have the KV-27FS12 and I assume that it emits the same problems as other Wegas so I was wondering how do I get the coil replaced and how much does it cost? I have a Goodguys 5 year extended warranty... do you think that they would simply replace my tv with the newer model the KV-27FS13? Or does that model still have the same problems discussed in this thread?

Thanks for the info, Jason.
I'm not quite sure what might need adjusted, but if I ever need to get in there, I need the code.
I have adjusted the basic stuff with Avia and movies look great. I guess the one thing
I was hoping was that maybe the Wega's might have the blue only, green only and red only
display options that Avia mentions some t.v.'s have, so you can adjust the color properly.
I obviously don't have color filters, so it would be great if the t.v. could display just
that color while you adjust it.
But I'm not sure if Wega's even have that option. So I wouldn't really be changing
anything, just going into a single-color mode for a minute to adjust the RGB to match
the test patterns, as the Avia disk says they should.
By the way, if Sony is aware of this issue with the brightness, then why not just
put the corrected coil into all the new sets? By now they should have replaced all those
parts in the production lines. We have a warranty plan with the Wega, we could have them
come out and replace this coil you spoke of, I suppose. But would it really make it perfect?