Many problems Sony 46W4500

[pete321]

cmf:

Matt_C:I've been a silent watcher of the forum for the last week, prior to which I was ready to buy the 46W4500.

I've almost certainly decided against buying this set as a result of people's experiences, but I think it's only fair all those with the problems try out ALL 3 settings Sony have suggested and then post back with the results.

My gut feeling is probably the same as everyone else - the setting's won't miraculously solve the problem and probably won't even help it! There is however a chance, however slim, it may reduce the problem to a level which does not interfere with regular viewing, in which case, it may warrant the purchase. All the same - the proof is in the pudding as they say.

think all i can do is keep looking and waiting for a decent lcd tv.

can all user experiencing the problem please let us know how they get on with the suggested fix.

As the Sony reply said, I only noticed clouding at faint levels with no video source, still shouldn't be there, but I can't say it was an issue whilst watching TV etc. I never felt the need to have the backlight setting above 3 on my Sony.

Sony for sharpness, Panny for better black and marginally better colour, Pioneer for both!

 

[Anonymous]

Whoever thought Sony would come up with a proper solution must have been dreaming. I already said Sony have lost their bottle. Its not a matter of quality any more, once the electronics giant but now just interested in a quick buck.

Everyone ripped into Microsoft with the Xbox360, atleast they issued replacements and repairs for the red light problem and extended the warranty to over a year for that problem.

Sony does nto care about the ppl that buy their products, just recently they released the new PSP3000 which also has screen problems. Sony also gave a comment on that saying in a way that the screen if fine (when its not) and all the reviewers are wrong.

Recalling a product would cost too much and for SOny to admit that there is fault in these sets would be like shooting themselves in the foot, especially in the current financial climate.

They also make a loss on every PS3 they sell and considering they are so far behind in the consoles race so cnt afford to recall products. Thing is they can only make money on the PS3 if ppl buy games as then they get some kind of loyalty from each game tht is sold. Since many ppl just buy it as a bluray player and have at most 3-4 games then thats not possible.

I was gonna buy a PS3 but with Sony's attitude towards the customer i dont think il be forkin out on another Sony product again.

I just hope the little patch of cloud i had on my tv the other day doesnt get worse. I tend to switch off my tv now whenver im not in the room just so that it stays cool. Dont knw if it helps but i didnt notice any cloud at all yesterday...

 

[Anonymous]

Short but powerful: No more Sony for me.
Such a big company as Sony, with such responses, I can not understand. There is indeed a problem but they just don't want to recognize. This message is not what I expected from Sony. This time they have lost me as a customer of Sony. Next time I go for Samsung, philips or another brand. Sony =

 

[professorhat]

Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

 

[rob_981]

I feel I have to stand up for Sony here (and before you say it, I'm not a massive Sony fan or anything - I have usually stayed away from Sony because I always felt you were paying a premium for the name).

From reading this thread, I've found myself getting increasingly paranoid about my 40W4500 being affected with this clouding problem, and I keep finding myself sitting looking at any blacks on the screen for evidence of clouding, rather than just enjoying the actual programme.

Then last night I sat down in a completely dark room, changed by V+ box to a radio channel (to give a completely black screen), and sat there trying to find evidence of this clouding. Even looking specifically for it, I couldn't see any. Perhaps at certain unnatural viewing angles, I might see some backlight bleeding in the corners, but nothing like the pictures being posted here. I have found my tv to be absolutely stunning in every respect, and I think WHF's review was spot on. Obviously I'm not trying to say that other people's problems aren't there (because the pictures speak for themselves) but I don't think every TV can be affected by this (or at least, not every 40" TV), because mine's definitely not. However, I do have the backlight set to 0, and I have the light sensor on, but even turning the backlight up didn't have any real effect on the blank screen. And the TV had been on non stop for about 4 hours when I tested it.

As I said though, clearly some people's screens are affected by bad clouding, but not everyone's, so people might think it a risk to buy this TV, but I would say, don't totally discount it on the basis of this - if you get a good one, it is a great TV.

(I will test it tonight with the light sensor off etc, and see if it makes a difference).

 

[Anonymous]

Ginder:Whoever thought Sony would come up with a proper solution must have been dreaming. I already said Sony have lost their bottle. Its not a matter of quality any more, once the electronics giant but now just interested in a quick buck. Everyone ripped into Microsoft with the Xbox360, atleast they issued replacements and repairs for the red light problem and extended the warranty to over a year for that problem. Sony does nto care about the ppl that buy their products, just recently they released the new PSP3000 which also has screen problems. Sony also gave a comment on that saying in a way that the screen if fine (when its not) and all the reviewers are wrong. Recalling a product would cost too much and for SOny to admit that there is fault in these sets would be like shooting themselves in the foot, especially in the current financial climate. They also make a loss on every PS3 they sell and considering they are so far behind in the consoles race so cnt afford to recall products. Thing is they can only make money on the PS3 if ppl buy games as then they get some kind of loyalty from each game tht is sold. Since many ppl just buy it as a bluray player and have at most 3-4 games then thats not possible. I was gonna buy a PS3 but with Sony's attitude towards the customer i dont think il be forkin out on another Sony product again. I just hope the little patch of cloud i had on my tv the other day doesnt get worse. I tend to switch off my tv now whenver im not in the room just so that it stays cool. Dont knw if it helps but i didnt notice any cloud at all yesterday...

What a complete load of tosh this post is! How do you know any other Manufacturer offers service that is any better?

If you dont get the PS3 - you're settling for a 2nd rate machine. Are they behind in the console race? - everyone I know has one.

I think all Manufacturers produce the odd duff model every now and again and unfortunately it appears to be the W4500 but Ive never had any problems with any of their products.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

Well he failed on the trading standards/6 yr warranty legislation so it had to go somewhere.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 40W4500, it is switched on for my disabled mother at 08:30 and turned off at 23:00 every day. It has none of the faults that others are experiencing. I have the power saving on and the back light set to 3, and the picture is fantastic. BETTER than my mates Panasonic TH42PX80B. It seem to me a few bias, Plasma loving people are trying to put others off of LCD's Sony must have sold thousands of these TV's by now and If the faults are so bad and wide spred then I would have thought the papers and other media would have gotten hold of the story. This thread is disproportionate to the world wide sales of the 4500 series.

 

[michael.seigal]

I have this TV as explained earlier and Grinder suggested I set it to a dark screen to try and see clouding, I cant. He then suggested I turned my backlight up and looked again. I havent done this yet (I forgot) however I dont watch it with the backlight very high at all so dont see the point of trying to force something to produce a fault on a setting that in reality I am never going to use. After messing around a bit more with calibration the picture is stunning on any HD source and great with SD. I am very pleased with the sony and while watching a movie with the black bars at the top and bottom and only see blackness no bleed or anything!

I would recommend this tv without any problems.

Michael

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, i posted yesterday to say i have similar problems to the ones experianced on here with my 46w4500 brought from my local sony shop, they say they will replace but they haven't got any more in stock and i have to wait until the 20th when there restocked.

I am looking for some advice, mine whilst it has a problem with backlight bleeding in places its not as bad as some and wondering if a replacement will be any better or what i have is realistacally as good as i'm going to get (see pics below), any input or advice is well come.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

I have done no such thing, i was merely pointing out the strategies of two leading companies in regards to how they deal with their consumers. One which has attempted to help its consumers and another which has plain n simply said u have brought it so ur stuck with it. Everyone knows that those settings they have stated arent going to work. If they are claiming that clouding and bleeding happens on all LCDs then how come their W4000 never had it. I dont hear anyone complaining about other LCD manufacturers.

My arguement is not PS3 vs XBOX, it one electronics giant vs other electronics companies. Sony are letting down a significant number of loyal customers who are sick and tired of Sony's attitude of like it or lump it becuase we are the best so we can do whatever we want, even if it means selling dodgy products.

 

[Anonymous]

Ravey Gravey Davy:

professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

Well he failed on the trading standards/6 yr warranty legislation so it had to go somewhere.

No he did no get it wrong on the warranty issue. Goods have to be 'fit for purpose' and conking out in the first 5 years is not seen as fit for purpose. The shop will not accept it, and fight you all the way, but if you take it to court you will likely win.

Which means you don't really need an extended warranty costing hundreds of pounds.. Which is what he was saying.

 

[Anonymous]

Ravey Gravey Davy:
professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

Well he failed on the trading standards/6 yr warranty legislation so it had to go somewhere.

Failed hey? I put the relevant legislature up, i guess ignorance is bliss for some ppl haha

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Ginder:Ravey Gravey Davy:

professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

Well he failed on the trading standards/6 yr warranty legislation so it had to go somewhere.

Failed hey? I put the relevant legislature up, i guess ignorance is bliss for some ppl haha

You have obviously missed my reply post on the subject.See page 18.,so yes ignorance is bliss eh.

 

[Anonymous]

marineman:I have a 40W4500, and the picture is fantastic. BETTER than my mates Panasonic TH42PX80B.And so it should be. The W4500 is towards the top of the Sony range (second only to the Z range) and costs around £900, whereas the the PX80 is bottom of the Panny range, HD Ready only, and costs around £600 .

 

[professorhat]

Ginder:professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

I have done no such thing, i was merely pointing out the strategies of two leading companies in regards to how they deal with their consumers.
Fair enough, may not have been your intention in this instance, but it certainly reads that way. Given this and your other posts which generally praise the Xbox and slate the PS3, you can see why I made the link.
It's also a strange concept to me to not buy one item from a company because a few people you don't even know have had issues with another product made by the same company. With this strategy in mind and, since I'm sure just about every manufacturer has at some point given bad service to a number of their customers, surely this means you can now no longer buy anything from the major brands?
Ginder:I dont hear anyone complaining about other LCD manufacturers.
There were quite a number of posts not too long ago with people complaining about the exact same issue on Panasonic LCD TVs. Panasonic's reply was the same because this is just one of those issues it seems which can crop up with LCD technology.

 

[Anonymous]

King of Kings:
Ginder:Whoever thought Sony would come up with a proper solution must have been dreaming. I already said Sony have lost their bottle. Its not a matter of quality any more, once the electronics giant but now just interested in a quick buck. Everyone ripped into Microsoft with the Xbox360, atleast they issued replacements and repairs for the red light problem and extended the warranty to over a year for that problem. Sony does nto care about the ppl that buy their products, just recently they released the new PSP3000 which also has screen problems. Sony also gave a comment on that saying in a way that the screen if fine (when its not) and all the reviewers are wrong. Recalling a product would cost too much and for SOny to admit that there is fault in these sets would be like shooting themselves in the foot, especially in the current financial climate. They also make a loss on every PS3 they sell and considering they are so far behind in the consoles race so cnt afford to recall products. Thing is they can only make money on the PS3 if ppl buy games as then they get some kind of loyalty from each game tht is sold. Since many ppl just buy it as a bluray player and have at most 3-4 games then thats not possible. I was gonna buy a PS3 but with Sony's attitude towards the customer i dont think il be forkin out on another Sony product again. I just hope the little patch of cloud i had on my tv the other day doesnt get worse. I tend to switch off my tv now whenver im not in the room just so that it stays cool. Dont knw if it helps but i didnt notice any cloud at all yesterday...

What a complete load of tosh this post is! How do you know any other Manufacturer offers service that is any better?

If you dont get the PS3 - you're settling for a 2nd rate machine. Are they behind in the console race? - everyone I know has one.

I think all Manufacturers produce the odd duff model every now and again and unfortunately it appears to be the W4500 but Ive never had any problems with any of their products.

The odd duff model? You just have to look at the pictures on this thread to decide whether or not the problem is duff. As for other manufacturers providing a better service, im just telling you from personal experience, and not only that but Sony's responce to the problem alot of ppl are having, including other websites who have reviewed the tv as a 6/10.

Im not bias towards plasma at all, i myself have the W4500 and have minor clouding and thats on backlight set to 3. Bumping up the backlight is not producing the fault, its just making a present fault more evident.

As for this being the second time Sony has very recently left its customers in the lurch here u go read this:

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/21/scei-psp-brites-scanlines-caused-by-hardware-no-plans-to-fix/

Funny how its again related to a screen issue.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Ginder:professorhat:Gotta say congrats to Ginder for turning a thread about LCD TVs into an XBox vs PS3 contest!!

I have done no such thing, i was merely pointing out the strategies of two leading companies in regards to how they deal with their consumers.
Fair enough, may not have been your intention in this instance, but it certainly reads that way. Given this and your other posts which generally praise the Xbox and slate the PS3, you can see why I made the link.
It's also a strange concept to me to not buy one item from a company because a few people you don't even know have had issues with another product made by the same company. With this strategy in mind and, since I'm sure just about every manufacturer has at some point given bad service to a number of their customers, surely this means you can now no longer buy anything from the major brands?

No i dont hate Sony products otherwise i wouldnt have purchased the 40W4500, i thought SOny would have realised their mistake after the Sony PSP 3000 issue. But no they insist on their stubborn attitude of if its faulty its not our problem its part n parcel of what u purchased. How is that right?

I dont slate the PS3, iv always said MGS4 looks amazing as does LBP, and yes the PS3 is the best media hub way waaaaaaaaaay better than the Xbox. The Xbox isnt a media hub, its a games console, and it does that better than the PS3. I loved my Playstation Two, with all those great titles, hundreds of em. The Playstation was all about intense and exciting gaming, now the brand has just gone off on a tangent, all they need to do is bring that aspect of it back on track and then no one would slate it.

Ravey Gravey your posts have nothing to do with the problems ppl are experiencing on there W4500's, so i really think ur posting on the wrong thread you stick with your 1 year gaurantee and dont come crying complaining on this forum when whatever you buy breaks after 13 months lol

 

[Anonymous]

rewerb:marineman:I have a 40W4500, and the picture is fantastic. BETTER than my mates Panasonic TH42PX80B.And so it should be. The W4500 is towards the top of the Sony range (second only to the Z range) and costs around £900, whereas the the PX80 is bottom of the Panny range, HD Ready only, and costs around £600 .

I bet the PX80 is better for SD pictures playing fast motion action.

 

[Highway]

D.J.Krime. - I was the one who said that your comments were not helpful. Just advocating a plasma on each of your posts does nothing to help the people who have already purchased one of these TV's which is exhibiting clouding problems.

I do not want to enter into a forum battle with you, I just wish you could place yourself in the position of having spent a lot of money on a product you feel is defective or not performing as you would expect, only to hear that Sony say that it is a characteristic of LCD's and that you now stand less of a chance of getting a resolution or having to work hard to get your retailer to exchange or refund.

Personally, I am somewhat saddened by the Sony statement as I would love to have purchased one of these TV's, but now will hold off and look in another direction.

If this was a characteristic of LCD's, has this been a big problem for other manufacturers over recent years ?

 

[Anonymous]

In my opinion the only time Sony were market leaders on TVs was when they were making the old CRT televisions. Their Trinitron , 1 gun tube blew spots off the competition and was worth every extra penny. My old 28" blew up last year after 14 years trouble free service, and my 22" lasted 18 years before it packed up.

I still have an old 14" Sony Trinitron, and the picture is fantastic. I would love to take it down to Comet and set it up, and see how it compares with all the new flat screen Tvs. I bet I would have people wanting to buy it.

 

[professorhat]

Highway:If this was a characteristic of LCD's, has this been a big problem for other manufacturers over recent years ?
Indeed it has, hence articles like this one and the numerous posts concerning the exact same problem with Panasonic LCDs earlier this year.
Don't get me wrong, I personally think some of these clouding issues are unacceptable, but unfortunately, the manufacturers seem to disagree. My point is, it isn't just this model which has the issues, or even just Sony. It just seems that this is the model everyone is talking about at the moment, presumably because on the back of various awards, it's one of the most popular. I agree with you though, the clouding issue is pretty serious when you enjoy watching films in the dark, and is one of the reasons I went for a plasma screen.
I think someone else said it best on another post when they had an issue which the manufacturer didn't class as faulty as they had a few dead pixels. In the end, their retailer swapped it out for a new model even though they didn't have to because they knew the value of good service to the customer. This just enforces getting a good relationship with your dealer and buying from them rather than going for the lowest cost, worst service option.

 

[Anonymous]

Very Annoyed:

In my opinion the only time Sony were market leaders on TVs was when they were making the old CRT televisions. Their Trinitron , 1 gun tube blew spots off the competition and was worth every extra penny. My old 28" blew up last year after 14 years trouble free service, and my 22" lasted 18 years before it packed up.

I still have an old 14" Sony Trinitron, and the picture is fantastic. I would love to take it down to Comet and set it up, and see how it compares with all the new flat screen Tvs. I bet I would have people wanting to buy it.

They dont make em like they used to, cheap parts> ensure breakdown> which ensures further sales. Sad isnt it?

Also sad to see how ppl such as Ravey are trying to misinform ppl of their statutory rights, sounds like a retailer to me lol. The test of reasonable period is layed out in section 48B part 5:
http://www.johnantell.co.uk/SOGA1979.htm

The test of reasonalbe time is a test of fact, dependent on price and product, it is reasonable to expect a tv to out last an electrical kettle that was purchased for a tenner. However both have a warranty of one year? That would not be seen as reasonable. Anyway I cant be done with reiterating the law, its up to the person to persue it if they so wish as the retailer will always try and fight it and argue against it.

 

[Anonymous]

I've taken down the backlight from 8 (which I personally felt was buring my retina.) to 2/3.

Picture is still awesome but the bit of clouding in the corner has almost gone. TV has been on about an hour and a half. Somewhat happier.

Anyone else had chance to try these advised setting.

 

[Anonymous]

michael_walkden:

I've taken down the backlight from 8 (which I personally felt was buring my retina.) to 2/3.

Picture is still awesome but the bit of clouding in the corner has almost gone. TV has been on about an hour and a half. Somewhat happier.

Anyone else had chance to try these advised setting.

Hi, hows yours compared to mine (pics at top of last page), i turn my backlight down straight away to 4 and below, i always had the light sensor on and as for the power saving the options on mine are: standard (using), reduced, and picture off, not sure what difference that would make.