Matt_Stevens
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2000
- Messages
- 747
At this point, we all know about the SONY WEGA line and how they have a certain UNEVEN BRIGHTNESS problem, where the left side of the picture is darker than the middle and the right side is much lighter than the middle (kind of a 3 tear lighting structure).
This became quite noticeable on my set (36" KV line with manual 16x9) once I got component inputs for DVD and calibrated using Video Essentials. The color was terrific and detail was high, but now the picture’s uneven brightness went from mildly annoying, to downright unacceptable.
I called Sony and they went back and forth with me for a while and finally had me go into the service menu and drop the SBRT setting to 6. The problem was 90% gone. However, I quickly realized that this just darkened the entire screen. DVDs and cable looked very dark and some scenes were impossible to view in daylight. So I recalibrated with VE and presto, right back where I started.
Meanwhile, another problem has reared its ugly head, but more on that later.
Since then the 90 day warranty expired, but I bought a 3 yr with SEARS and they finally sent someone to me today, after numerous cancels (where they simply don’t show up and do not call to tell you they won’t show).
They sent me a tech with very bad BO, who explained he couldn’t help me, once he saw I was “one of the brightness complainers.” To make a long story short, this friendly fellow said that the well documented “Coil replacement” is a joke and won’t work and tried to change my SBRT. I explained that was done already and only masks the problem. He then got angry and said, “All these TV’s are this way. It is a design flaw and you can’t do anything about it.” I explained how I have seen some sets with the replaced coil and it did make a huge difference. Well, he told me that they were only fooling themselves and I was too. He even lied to me, saying that coil is not for this set!
I then tried to show him another problem with my set that was happening when connected to my HTPC and Panasonic VCR. Explanation is here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/007681.html
Once again, the guy got rude and said it wasn’t the TV, but the DVD drive. When I tried to show him the problem on the VCR, he walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone to call his boss. He said his boss told him that they could do nothing because the set is not broken and therefore he must leave. I asked him to allow me to hook up the HTPC and the VCR to my bedroom TV to show him they were not the problem. That the Wega was the problem.
This jackass actually grabbed his stuff and left!
Needless to say, I called SEARS and reamed some assholes. I talked to the guy’s boss, who said the guy never called him at all and most likely just called another tech instead because he wanted to leave. I have been told a “Head technician” will come over tomorrow to look at the set, but that they might not be able to do anything about the uneven brightness, because according to their documentation on the set I have, there is no coil fix.
So, I must say, I am angry that Sony BS’d me with the SBRT setting for so long and that it took MONTHS for Sears to get out to my house, only to have some psycho Russian with BO scream at me. So angry, that I want a new TV if BOTH of the sets problems cannot be fixed. I paid 2 grand for the set & warranty, plus $175 for the damn stand! When you pay that much for something, you expect them to perform.
Has anyone ever had experience getting a new TV from Sears or another such retailer past 90 days when there is a 3 yr warranty in effect? I would not be interested in another Wega because the brightness problem will not go away by a simple replacement with the same model. Apparently, my model is highly susceptible to this.
I am so frustrated right now. I love my TV, but these problems make enjoying it a nightmare. A complete impossibility.
------------------
www.deceptions.net/superman
[Edited last by Matt_Stevens on July 25, 2001 at 07:27 PM]
This became quite noticeable on my set (36" KV line with manual 16x9) once I got component inputs for DVD and calibrated using Video Essentials. The color was terrific and detail was high, but now the picture’s uneven brightness went from mildly annoying, to downright unacceptable.
I called Sony and they went back and forth with me for a while and finally had me go into the service menu and drop the SBRT setting to 6. The problem was 90% gone. However, I quickly realized that this just darkened the entire screen. DVDs and cable looked very dark and some scenes were impossible to view in daylight. So I recalibrated with VE and presto, right back where I started.
Meanwhile, another problem has reared its ugly head, but more on that later.
Since then the 90 day warranty expired, but I bought a 3 yr with SEARS and they finally sent someone to me today, after numerous cancels (where they simply don’t show up and do not call to tell you they won’t show).
They sent me a tech with very bad BO, who explained he couldn’t help me, once he saw I was “one of the brightness complainers.” To make a long story short, this friendly fellow said that the well documented “Coil replacement” is a joke and won’t work and tried to change my SBRT. I explained that was done already and only masks the problem. He then got angry and said, “All these TV’s are this way. It is a design flaw and you can’t do anything about it.” I explained how I have seen some sets with the replaced coil and it did make a huge difference. Well, he told me that they were only fooling themselves and I was too. He even lied to me, saying that coil is not for this set!
I then tried to show him another problem with my set that was happening when connected to my HTPC and Panasonic VCR. Explanation is here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/007681.html
Once again, the guy got rude and said it wasn’t the TV, but the DVD drive. When I tried to show him the problem on the VCR, he walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone to call his boss. He said his boss told him that they could do nothing because the set is not broken and therefore he must leave. I asked him to allow me to hook up the HTPC and the VCR to my bedroom TV to show him they were not the problem. That the Wega was the problem.
This jackass actually grabbed his stuff and left!
Needless to say, I called SEARS and reamed some assholes. I talked to the guy’s boss, who said the guy never called him at all and most likely just called another tech instead because he wanted to leave. I have been told a “Head technician” will come over tomorrow to look at the set, but that they might not be able to do anything about the uneven brightness, because according to their documentation on the set I have, there is no coil fix.
So, I must say, I am angry that Sony BS’d me with the SBRT setting for so long and that it took MONTHS for Sears to get out to my house, only to have some psycho Russian with BO scream at me. So angry, that I want a new TV if BOTH of the sets problems cannot be fixed. I paid 2 grand for the set & warranty, plus $175 for the damn stand! When you pay that much for something, you expect them to perform.
Has anyone ever had experience getting a new TV from Sears or another such retailer past 90 days when there is a 3 yr warranty in effect? I would not be interested in another Wega because the brightness problem will not go away by a simple replacement with the same model. Apparently, my model is highly susceptible to this.
I am so frustrated right now. I love my TV, but these problems make enjoying it a nightmare. A complete impossibility.
------------------
www.deceptions.net/superman
[Edited last by Matt_Stevens on July 25, 2001 at 07:27 PM]
