Can we all nail down this Sony backlight issue once and for all??!!!

[Nick_Shepherd]

Like many people I have been waiting for all the 2009 40'-42' TV too be released hoping for a winner to be selected at my budget of about 1k. And like many people I want to buy the best set I can form my money.

The Sony sets continue to get praise for having the best picture and motion handling. They also of course get hammered for backlight bleed.

However, different reviews complain about it more than others. Example, one review site quotes as a 'CON: LCD backlight bleed (negligible once calibrated)' for the W5500 after praisig the set as 'address's the probelms of the W4500' (award winner I belive) and then highly recomends the TV (and that was when it was over a grand)

If we ignore all the Sony sets on account of the bcaklight, we seem to be left with more expensive Philips sets (great if you have the best part of 2 grand) or what seems to be the best of the rest. This, for me anyway, is making it hard for me to choose.

My question is, will we ALL notice the backlight bleed (or just the ones watching in pitch black envioroments and looking for it) and there for its a total waste of money spending £1,300 on say a Z5500?

Or, is the W5500 at £750 (down from £1,100) a great buy if you may not see the bleed get a set that is not too bad, or are able to exchamge / refund if you have a problem (and can be bothered with the hassle)?

AND are the reviewers on the other site which say the bleed is negligable once the set is calibrated right?

Am I alone on this one?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Those reviewers may well be right about the particular sets they've got in front of them - thisi year, we've seen Sony sets with perfectly even backlights; ones with slight bleed that can be compensated for via menu tweaks; ones where the backlight bleed is obvious even in a well-lit room.

And it doesn't seem to matter which range they come from, either - we've seen both perfect and poor sets from every 2009 series so far.

In other ways -particularly motion, which Sony has nailed better than any of its LCD rivals - the 2009 Bravias are exceptional sets, so we share your frustration.

If you can find a retailer happy for you to try out sets until you find one you're happy to live with - and that could be your very first set! - go for it.

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Hi Claire,

Thanks for the reply. W5500 at £750 could be a real winner then rather than £1,300 on the Z5500 given that its only the best pictur I need.....

While your there, do you know if the Philips 42PFL7404 has the same picture as the test winning 42PFL9664 but with lesser sound and no Ambilight?Or maybe thats a new thred??

 

[Clare Newsome]

Sounds like a new thread to me!

 

[Anonymous]

Nick_Shepherd:
Hi Claire,

Thanks for the reply. W5500 at £750 could be a real winner then rather than £1,300 on the Z5500 given that its only the best pictur I need.....

While your there, do you know if the Philips 42PFL7404 has the same picture as the test winning 42PFL9664 but with lesser sound and no Ambilight?Or maybe thats a new thred??
£750 for a 40w5500 is a great price , why dont you do what clare sais , get a dealer to guarantee you a refund if your not happy , i doubt if this problem affects so many tvs that you cant find ONE good one ....

 

[Anonymous]

Nick_Shepherd:
Hi Claire,

Thanks for the reply. W5500 at £750 could be a real winner then rather than £1,300 on the Z5500 given that its only the best pictur I need.....

While your there, do you know if the Philips 42PFL7404 has the same picture as the test winning 42PFL9664 but with lesser sound and no Ambilight?Or maybe thats a new thred??
£750 for a 40w5500 is a great price , why dont you do what clare sais , get a dealer to guarantee you a refund if your not happy , i doubt if this problem affects so many tvs that you cant find ONE good one ....

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure what you mean by nail it down. Yes there are definitely backlight issues with some Sony sets. Samsungs also seem to have had a few sets with it (had one myself which I sent back for a refund). A guy in Richer sounds said Samsung & Sony use the same panels. Mind you I don't believe much of what he said- he insisted that the PS50Y850 which I'm getting tomorrow doesn't even exist!!

The Philips7404 is in no way the same beast as the 9664, by the way. You gets what you pays for, old chum.

 

[Anonymous]

Arepeebee:
Not sure what you mean by nail it down. Yes there are definitely backlight issues with some Sony sets. Samsungs also seem to have had a few sets with it (had one myself which I sent back for a refund). A guy in Richer sounds said Samsung & Sony use the same panels. Mind you I don't believe much of what he said- he insisted that the PS50Y850 which I'm getting tomorrow doesn't even exist!!

The Philips7404 is in no way the same beast as the 9664, by the way. You gets what you pays for, old chum.
hi arepeebee , do you mean the ps50b850 plasma ?? if you dont mind would you post your opinions on that tv when you have had a good look at it ?? i may get one , reviews are scarce .. ta..

 

[j4mm3r]

im also in the same situation, ive been looking at buying a tv for a while and im frustrated by sony, i spent about 25min in john lewis at the weekend and thought the picture quality of the new kdl40we5 looked stunning (it was playing bluray). Its just such a gamble spending all that money and then having the potential frustration/hassle of taking it back. I have managed to get john lewis to price check the 40z4500 for £999 and with the sony 'old tv' trade in scheme starting on friday i could purchase it for £899 with a free five year guarantee! bargain or is it? given the issues.

Personally i think if whathifi receive a sony tv with bad clouding issues which they wouldnt find acceptable in their own living room, i dont think they should review it, they should just put the sony model in the magazine and say build quaility not up to an acceptable standard therefore no review. its all well saying its got great depth of colours and handles motion the best out of any tv oh but by the way if you purchase one it may have severe clouding! If people already have a tv im sure they are interested in reading a review but for the rest of us looking to buy a tv, why would we be interested in buying faulty goods, we're not!

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Are people of the opinion (or what hi fi team) that if you manange to get a Sony set with NO or minimal clouding after calibration, these sets would be a better buy than the Philips given the price gap? which appears to be about £800! Say from a W5500 to the Philips test winner?

Do Sony recognise the cloding as a fault if the retailer tries to exchange it?

I know I osund like a broken record, and im only going on about it as the only sets (reviewed by What Hi Fi at least) which get a major thumbs up are £1,700

(I'll start a new thread re the 7404)

 

[Alec]

Is that really true? what counts as a major thumbs up?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well i'd dispute that - the top two sets here are superb contenders in the sub-£1000 category....

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Granted, but better sets than a the Sony's if ound with minimal bleed??

Its kinda my point, find a Sony with minimal bleed is a better buy than the two you list Claire?? or not??

 

[Tonya]

I've been following the infamous "Sony clouding" issue for some time, but that didn't stop me for buying the gorgeous 52W4500 set a while back.
I based my purchase purely on picture quality and trust me I auditioned loads of sets.
Several of my friends also went for Sony models, none of which exhibit clouding or bleeding (I'm talking about the sets, not my friends here!).

There's a local Sony Centre in town and I make a point of dropping in whenever I can just to see if my set can be bettreed by any new model and I have yet to see a better picture on any other set, or see any trace of the above phenomenon appearing on any of the other sets.

I can't impress enough the importance of spending several hours adjusting and tweaking any set you buy in your own home to suit your own preferences.
I've been in some houses and the colour has been set so high that on screen presenters look positively orange, and I'm not talking about Messrs. Winton & Dickinson here.

There are a few of the newer LCD sets I've seen that use LED backlighting that are incredibly thin and very bright indeed that give a very similar picture to my 52W4500 and as sson as they exceed that reference, the Sony gets to be hung in the bedroom to make way for the new leader of the pack.

My point is that not all Sonys have this problem and I have yet to see it appear in the dozens of sets I've seen here in Norway.

 

[Alec]

Clare Newsome:Well i'd dispute that - the top two sets here are superb contenders in the sub-£1000 category....

One of them is £1200...

But hey, its a panny, so bound to be better anyway

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

under a grand most places now...

back to the bleeding issue (see what i did there),

Who has actually had to take a bleeding Sony set back or knows someone who has? (did it again)

 

[Alec]

ha hehe hoho!

No really, tickled me so it did.

 

[j4mm3r]

Clare Newsome:Well i'd dispute that - the top two sets here are superb contenders in the sub-£1000 category....

Ive noticed the panasonic THP42V10B can be found from currys online for £1023 using a discount code....pound for pound how does that now compare to the two sets clare refers to.

Tv auditioning for me again this weekend........

 

[Anonymous]

: Can we all nail down this Sony backlight issue once and for all??!!! , love that question , i can picture the director of sony now , standing at a huge boardroom table , asking that very question , and all the other execs making their excuses , er , i have to use the loo , er , my wifes in labour , etc etc ...