Sony Televisions Junk?

**mbshan** · July-16-10, 04:37 PM

Hi all, please bare with me since this is all so confusing. In 2005 I purchased a Sony 50" Wega HD TV. Recently, I began to notice that these blue dots and a blue ribbon have showed up. They are best seen on the black screen but, if you look hard enough you can see them while watching a program. So, thinking that maybe there was a simple fix I googled this problem and OMG! The stuff that came up was amazing. This is obviously a big problem for all of us Sony owners and Sony themselves. I started reading some of the stuff and became overwhelmed with what's out there. I finally came across a page on facebook titled "I own a defective Sony tv". Seems that Sony has known from the beginning that their optical block is defective! So, even if you pay to repair the optical block they never fixed the initial problem. So, you are paying for a defective piece. Currently there are over 1,900 people on this page with the same problem. Sony is offering depending on the model different deals on replacement tv's. I just have a problem giving Sony more money for a tv that may just crap out after five years again. Not to mention I have already given them $3,000.00. I'm sure that I've left out information here but, I guess what I'm looking to do by posting this is twofold first to make people aware of this problem. Secondly, wondering if anyone already has this problem and what if anything you did? Sorry, about being so long winded. It's just frustrating!

**65memories** · July-16-10, 04:51 PM

And this is related to Detroit how?

**RickBeall** · July-16-10, 05:05 PM

Actually, don't worry, it does not really matter because you need to replace your High Def TV with a 3D TV. You are already obsolete. [[This is the next standards war.)

DetroitDad · July-16-10, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by RickBeall

Actually, don't worry, it does not really matter because you need to replace your High Def TV with a 3D TV. You are already obsolete. [[This is the next standards war.)

My wife keeps bugging me to upgrade our old thirty inch box to HD. Now I can tell her we should wait for a 3D TV. Thanks for the tip RickBeall!

**ja!mz** · July-16-10, 05:21 PM

uhhhh.......try eopions, or cnet to vent your tech bleck....Japan is a long way from Detroit....I love going to this board to get away from that tech stuff.....

**Ray1936** · July-16-10, 05:27 PM

Bummer, mbshan. I've had a Sharp 34" and Panasonic 43" for three years now without a day of problems. Love 'em.

**jiminnm** · July-16-10, 05:30 PM

About 6 months ago, we finally got rid of our 19 year old Sony 27", and replaced it with a Visio 37". Wow, what a difference. The colors jump off the screen and who knew that hockey ice was white and not yellow.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-16-10, 05:49 PM

Who the hell cares? What does this have to do with Detroit?

**Det_ard** · July-16-10, 06:39 PM

Since the DDOT bus beatdown thread was banished to "Non-Detroit", its only fair that a clearly "Non-Detroit" thread stay in "Detroit".

**Ray1936** · July-16-10, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by jiminnm

About 6 months ago, we finally got rid of our 19 year old Sony 27", and replaced it with a Visio 37". Wow, what a difference. The colors jump off the screen and who knew that hockey ice was white and not yellow.

Jim, Visio is made in the good ol' USA, also!!!

**fryar** · July-16-10, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by RickBeall

Actually, don't worry, it does not really matter because you need to replace your High Def TV with a 3D TV. You are already obsolete. [[This is the next standards war.)

You could be joking for all I know, but I wonder about that.

Chuck_MI · July-16-10, 06:46 PM

I've got an old 19" Sony Trinitron that still works well, though it only works with cable television, or converter box and antenna. Maybe it's a case of they don't make 'em like they used to. A lot of brands that stood at the top in terms of quality and worksmanship way back in the day have since devolved into mediocrity. Just because a well-known brand name is stamped on a product, doesn't necessarily mean much, in a lot of cases. It sure helps in selling those products, though.

**Ragtoplover59** · July-16-10, 08:16 PM

Replaced all our big set RCA's with wall mounted Olevia's, we have a 50in, 43in, and a 27in. and with the HD cable service, I have really enjoyed watching things on TV again. the last one was bought more than a year ago, and I still find myself standing in front of it in amazement when the right show is on! Sports Stadium shots of the crowd look as if you are there! wii is also fun on these

I'm not certain, but I think they are made here too!

**fryar** · July-16-10, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by Ragtoplover59

I'm not certain, but I think they are made here too!

That would be amazing. I tend to think electronics are all manufactured by the same Taiwanese OEM's who then slap whatever label on the front.

**Ragtoplover59** · July-16-10, 09:49 PM

"Olevia LCD TVs are assembled at Syntax-Brillian's Ontario, Calif. factory"
"Not since Zenith was bought by a Korean company in 1995 had a U.S.-based television manufacturer tried to compete with the Asian giants. That changed in 2006, when Arizona-based Syntax-Brillian elbowed its way into the market with hi-def televisions assembled at a factory in Ontario, Calif. Sold under the Olevia brand name, the TVs are midprice LCDs with a growing--though still small--share of the market. "

From this site
http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...s/news/4249332

**East Detroit** · July-16-10, 10:24 PM

Excellent!

Buy American · July-16-10, 10:26 PM

Lowell, why isn't this thread moved to the "non-Detroit" section?

**Zacha341** · July-16-10, 10:49 PM

Is this not the Non-Detroit section?

Originally Posted by Buy American

Lowell, why isn't this thread moved to the "non-Detroit" section?

**Mikeg** · July-16-10, 10:50 PM

I purchased 3 Sony TVs and 2 Sony portable "boom boxes" during the 1990s. Four of the five experienced some kind of feature failure within the first two years of use. Since then I have bought nothing but Phillips and Panasonic consumer electronics products and have been pleased with their quality and performance.

**fanniemae** · July-16-10, 11:18 PM

I like hearing about this stuff. In the market for a tv.

**Gannon** · July-17-10, 11:16 AM

Mbshan,

You didn't say what TYPE of Sony television you have, but since you describe the optic block I know it is a rear projection L-COS [[or Sony's term SXRD to JVC's D-ILA).

These have other periodic maintenance issues which you probably weren't told when you purchased the set...they require a bulb and a filter in the air cooling path roughly every two years. Some bulbs are rated for longer, and most don't just fail...they get progressively dimmer and off-colored.

Most dealers didn't talk about this, because it would've cost them sales...or their salesforce wasn't even informed they were necessary to the design of the sets.

If the air filter gets clogged, the bulbs super-heat...and actually toast the imager, or in this case the optic block. I'm not sure why, but with Sonys it shows up most often in the blue...Sala Thai's Sony Front Projector had a similar problem...all bars and restaurants that had heavy cigarette smoke do, too. This will be one positive outcome of the no-smoking laws, but I digress.

All fixed-pixel video displays have trouble in some ways as they approach black...but since most televisions are not adjusted properly for residential use out-of-the-box, the blacks are usually only dark gray, enough to mask the issues sometimes.

Any set that uses bulbs for their source illumination will cost anywhere from $200 to $500 every other year, to keep them in peak performance and color accuracy. Plasmas and LCD flatscreens don't suffer this, and LCDs benefit from a MUCH lower cost of operation.

Leaders in that format include Sharp, Sony, and Samsung. I'm most fond of Sharp. Panasonic still markets plasmas in the 50" range, and makes the absolute best ones, they won that market when it collapsed...a combination of increasingly-quality LCDs and the world-wide real estate market collapse [[because each successive-generation of screens seemed to require a new factory, oddly enough). Even Pioneer stopped making them, and resells a rebadged Panasonic, as far as I know.

Cheers, I'm still watching CRTs...the old-school television technology...because it is the best on the way to absolute black, and is easier on the eyes for longterm viewing. Shame you can't get them any longer...except on the used market, unless you are in the government.

**Zacha341** · July-17-10, 12:08 PM

I have a 15+ yo Sony Trinitron 17" computer CRT that works like a charm. Yet, I heard about the problems you describe.....

And I have one of the last on earth [[LOL!) stereo speaker 27 flat screened 'heavy' CRT Toshiba TV - purchased at ABC Warehouse about 5 years ago. You cannot find a tubed tv anywhere now. It has the special filter and what not and gives a great sized picture. It doesn't have the "fish eyed" look associated with tubed TVs. They made a few flat profile screen CRTs before they went out all together...

Originally Posted by Gannon

Mbshan,

You didn't say what TYPE of Sony television you have, but since you describe the optic block I know it is a rear projection L-COS [[or Sony's term SXRD to JVC's D-ILA).

These have other periodic maintenance issues which you probably weren't told when you purchased the set...they require a bulb and a filter in the air cooling path roughly every two years. Some bulbs are rated for longer, and most don't just fail...they get progressively dimmer and off-colored.

Most dealers didn't talk about this, because it would've cost them sales...or their salesforce wasn't even informed they were necessary to the design of the sets.

If the air filter gets clogged, the bulbs super-heat...and actually toast the imager, or in this case the optic block. I'm not sure why, but with Sonys it shows up most often in the blue...Sala Thai's Sony Front Projector had a similar problem...all bars and restaurants that had heavy cigarette smoke do, too. This will be one positive outcome of the no-smoking laws, but I digress.

All fixed-pixel video displays have trouble in some ways as they approach black...but since most televisions are not adjusted properly for residential use out-of-the-box, the blacks are usually only dark gray, enough to mask the issues sometimes.

Any set that uses bulbs for their source illumination will cost anywhere from $200 to $500 every other year, to keep them in peak performance and color accuracy. Plasmas and LCD flatscreens don't suffer this, and LCDs benefit from a MUCH lower cost of operation.

Leaders in that format include Sharp, Sony, and Samsung. I'm most fond of Sharp. Panasonic still markets plasmas in the 50" range, and makes the absolute best ones, they won that market when it collapsed...a combination of increasingly-quality LCDs and the world-wide real estate market collapse [[because each successive-generation of screens seemed to require a new factory, oddly enough). Even Pioneer stopped making them, and resells a rebadged Panasonic, as far as I know.

Cheers, I'm still watching CRTs...the old-school television technology...because it is the best on the way to absolute black, and is easier on the eyes for longterm viewing. Shame you can't get them any longer...except on the used market, unless you are in the government.