Help! - Is Sony back lighting a lottery?

[admin_exported]

Hi guys, been reading the forums with great interest for ages but this is my first post, so please be kind! I'm about to get a great deal on the Sony 37" W5810 before the new range arrives early March. I am concerned about the now widely acknowledged (apart from Sony dealers that is!) backlighting issues, as there seems to be no range be it V, W, Z etc that does not appear suffer with at least one of its models.

The 40" W5810 gets an outstanding review, but from long time reading of What Hi-Fi I gather this is no indication of the performance regarding the 37" W5810, especially concerning the backlighting issues.

Please could anyone advise me? Has anybody heard of any problems with the 37" TV? If Mr Clough is reading I would be especially grateful for any input!

Thanks for your help guys, its a big purchase for me!

 

[Anonymous]

go to a bricks and mortar dealer , tell them your concerns , and ask them for a money back guarantee , you can check for clouding , if its ok , job done ..

the clouding only affected some of the bigger screens anyway , ive not heard of many (if any) 32-37in sonys with the problem ...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice maxflinn, kind of you to take the time. Will probably go to one of the bigger bigger independants and try it out. It is somewhat reassuring that you've not heard of any problems.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Anonymous]

ive just checked the whfi reviews for the sony 37in screens , and one of them had clouding , although 2 or 3 others did not , i cant recall reading many complaints on here from owners of 37in screens though , so perhaps its more of a rarity ...

 

[Anonymous]

That's the impression I got maxflinn, but really wanted to check it out on the forums because there is a vast pool of experience and knowledge here that you rarely find. I think i will probably end up buying the W5810 once I have followed your lead and given it proper scrutiny with the agreement of a dealer. If its ok in various conditions, then as you said, job done...

Thanks for all your kind help

 

[Tonya]

I bought my Sony 52W4500 from a retail shop and examined each of the various models on display.
None of them exhibited any trace of clouding whatsoever.
Many of my friends have bought Sony on my recommendation and they too have yet to see any problems whatsoever.
In saying that, because of the nature of backlighting technology, I'm sure that if someone purposely or inadvertantly adjusted the controls on any LCD screen way out of range, anomolies will appear in any set.
As MaxFlinn quite rightly suggested, a major purchase such as a TV set is best made at a local dealer where you can both audition before you buy and then have someone to help you should you not be satisfied further down the line.

 

[jc.com]

Double J:

Hi guys, been reading the forums with great interest for ages but this is my first post, so please be kind!

I'm about to get a great deal on the Sony 37" W5810 before the new range arrives early March. I am concerned about the now widely acknowledged (apart from Sony dealers that is!) backlighting issues, as there seems to be no range be it V, W, Z etc that does not appear suffer with at least one of its models.

The 40" W5810 gets an outstanding review, but from long time reading of What Hi-Fi I gather this is no indication of the performance regarding the 37" W5810, especially concerning the backlighting issues.

Please could anyone advise me? Has anybody heard of any problems with the 37" TV? If Mr Clough is reading I would be especially grateful for any input!

Thanks for your help guys, its a big purchase for me!

It seems to be specific TVs, not models that suffer: http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/306895.aspx

 

[Joe Cox]

maxflinn:
go to a bricks and mortar dealer , tell them your concerns , and ask them for a money back guarantee , you can check for clouding , if its ok , job done ..

the clouding only affected some of the bigger screens anyway , ive not heard of many (if any) 32-37in sonys with the problem ...

Solid advice. It was certainly more prevalent on the larger screens from our experiences but it's a problem unique to individual screens.

 

[Andrew Everard]

And it's been the sample variation that's been so frustrating: we give a good review to a model, and others find they've bought one of that model with a problem; we mention backlight problems on the review sample of another model, and buyers say they have one that's fine.

There seems little rhyme or reason to it...