Many problems Sony 46W4500

[Anonymous]

If anybody with a correctly calibrated set that have no backlight bleed issues could post their settings it would be appreciated.

I have used the THX Optimiser and changed settings more times in the past few days that my Wife thinks I'm a nut job lol!

 

[Clare Newsome]

Villain2100:
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.

Here's the post in question, to save people having to go back to p19.

 

[Anonymous]

Voyager,

I have the same as you. Bleeding in the top corners in a dark room. You cant see it under normal lighting conditions my set is properly calibrated - as a comparison its similar to the cinema default. I dont think its a faulty set. The bleeding appears to occur after the set has been on for a while - one possibility is that it may be heat related.

My first set suffered from it - assembled in August. My replacement - assembled in October, also suffers from it. I can only think that this affects most of the sets and that the vast majority of people that buy one dont notice it and importantly are probably not looking for it - I bet only a small percentage of Sonys customer base want to watch "cinema style" movies in a dark room.

What HiFi seem to have been lucky with the set they reviewed (and I mean that without any cynicism - I think their review was spot on and laud them for their feedback with this thread) but they also appear to be in the minority for professional reviewers that have had a set without backlight bleed. One site which reviewed the 46 and 50" models found bleeding in the top corners and new review for the 40W4500 from another respected site was posted yesterday. They too had backlight bleeding and minor clouding which they reduced to "unobtrusive levels" after calibration. For what its worth despite this they came to the same conclusion as What HiFi and praised it as a fantastic screen.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I've just heard, by the way, that we should be getting the Sony KDL-46Z4500 in to test later this week. Will be very interesting to see how that performs....

 

[Anonymous]

Called my retailer today to ask about an exchange. No such luck. They are backed up by the Sony statement, so i will have to live with it.

On the (slightest of) good sides, its not too bad, but will leave a sour sony taste in my mouth.

 

[Anonymous]

Mine has backlight bleeding both upper corners and goes diagonally towards the center of the tv. I tried very hard to live with it as you said but i can't. If retailers refuse to exchange the set what is the next step? Where can i make a complaint? I dont think Sony can release that statement when not all the tv's suffers from those issues.

 

[Anonymous]

OMG nearly had my tv two weeks now, and guess what, i think the clouding has vanished!

 

[Anonymous]

Houston we have a [new?] problem

Apologies if this is well known but it's new to me and I haven't seen it mentioned on this or other forums. I'm referring to a 'pillaring' problem on my 40W4710 [same as 40W4500], made in Spain 10/08, since taking delivery last week. I came across this shortcoming when searching the web for info on a problem that I thought was clouding.

Apparently pillaring consists of uneven backlighting when the screen is brighter down both sides as compared to the rest of the screen. On my set it is not visible during daylight, can only be seen during black or very dark scenes in the evening and appears as a gray or lighter patch instead of black. It's only noticeable in the bottom corners of the screen, mostly the right side, when viewed from our seated position to the left of the TV. Like clouding, reducing the backlight and sensor on helps but does not cure the problem. When viewed straight-on it's practically non existent, but this is not an option.

Sony are allegedly refusing to swap sets due to clouding and I'm sure they would view this problem exactly the same. So, I ask myself, do I try to swap for another set but risk dead pixels, bleed, clouding and buzzing, of which my set has none, or accept the devil I know? Assuming my on-line retailer will no longer allow a swap, I could have a refund or even try a plasma. My family either cannot see the problem or are not bothered by it. As my better half says, pillar problem, no we don't have a pillar problem but we do have a pill**k problem!

I would still recommend this TV, if you are lucky enough to receive a fault free one, because feed it a first-class quality signal and its display will be exceptional, and the sound surprisingly good. I will say, though, it's pretty merciless in exposing poor signals, as occurs in my case sometimes with Sky SD [no alternative without huge pole+aerial] from my maximum viewing distance of eight feet [ten feet looks just about acceptable]. Having Sky HD fitted tomorrow so will make my decision after that.

I presume pillar effect is a lost cause or is it classed as an unacceptable fault.

Grateful for any suggestions or cures on this issue.

­

 

[Anonymous]

Here we go again <finds comfy chair and reaches for popcorn>

Just watch the thing and stop looking to "find" new faults.

Besides, manufacturers published viewing angle figures are optimistic to say the least and you really only get the best from an LCD when viewed head on. Are you're not just losing picture quality from viewing at an angle?

 

[cmf]

searcher:

Houston we have a [new?] problem

Apologies if this is well known but it's new to me and I haven't seen it mentioned on this or other forums. I'm referring to a 'pillaring' problem on my 40W4710 [same as 40W4500], made in Spain 10/08, since taking delivery last week. I came across this shortcoming when searching the web for info on a problem that I thought was clouding.

Apparently pillaring consists of uneven backlighting when the screen is brighter down both sides as compared to the rest of the screen. On my set it is not visible during daylight, can only be seen during black or very dark scenes in the evening and appears as a gray or lighter patch instead of black. It's only noticeable in the bottom corners of the screen, mostly the right side, when viewed from our seated position to the left of the TV. Like clouding, reducing the backlight and sensor on helps but does not cure the problem. When viewed straight-on it's practically non existent, but this is not an option.

Sony are allegedly refusing to swap sets due to clouding and I'm sure they would view this problem exactly the same. So, I ask myself, do I try to swap for another set but risk dead pixels, bleed, clouding and buzzing, of which my set has none, or accept the devil I know? Assuming my on-line retailer will no longer allow a swap, I could have a refund or even try a plasma. My family either cannot see the problem or are not bothered by it. As my better half says, pillar problem, no we don't have a pillar problem but we do have a pill**k problem!

I would still recommend this TV, if you are lucky enough to receive a fault free one, because feed it a first-class quality signal and its display will be exceptional, and the sound surprisingly good. I will say, though, it's pretty merciless in exposing poor signals, as occurs in my case sometimes with Sky SD [no alternative without huge pole+aerial] from my maximum viewing distance of eight feet [ten feet looks just about acceptable]. Having Sky HD fitted tomorrow so will make my decision after that.

I presume pillar effect is a lost cause or is it classed as an unacceptable fault.

Grateful for any suggestions or cures on this issue.

­

any chance you could post a picture ?

 

[Anonymous]

EHonda

I'm not looking to find new faults, the fault found me. I have watched a smaller LCD for the last three years from the same position without any problem from viewing angles, which are only a few degrees off centre. If this set cannot handle that then there is something seriously wrong. Anyway, an extreme viewing angle would cause picture deterioration more than just in the screen corners. It's an uneven backlight problem which does not occur on my smaller set. I'm trying to find out if this is normal for large LCDs or faulty.

cmf

No picture but I have a link though not sure if I can post it here. Search for lcd pillaring and select web not uk, it's the first link. The final picture is exactly what I'm experiencing but there not much info in the article.

 

[Anonymous]

Can i be really unhelpfull? Ive just changed my 40w2000 for a panasonic TH-46pz85 plasma no backlight issues no viewing angle problems, detail in dark scenes! I demo'd the sony and the picture was fantastic but imo of course the panna was better and has fewer drawbacks!

Edit: the sony did have slightly better freeview SD

 

[Anonymous]

Yesterday I took delivery of my KDL 40W4500 (Assembled in Spain 10/2008) and played a little with the settings. So far I cannot see any ghosting or backlight bleed. This is my first LCD TV and perhaps I do not have the same eye for detail as most of you here but first impressions are good. If there are ways you would suggest I check for the above problems let me know and I'll have a go.

 

[Clare Newsome]

That's the same date/details as my Dad's set, which is also showing no problems. If you can't see any imperfections out of the box, you're more than likely fine - just enjoy your set!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

garethwd:Can i be really unhelpfull? Ive just changed my 40w2000 for a panasonic TH-46pz85 plasma no backlight issues no viewing angle problems, detail in dark scenes! I demo'd the sony and the picture was fantastic but imo of course the panna was better and has fewer drawbacks!

Edit: the sony did have slightly better freeview SD

gareth, what did you do with the W2000?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi gerrard! sold it over on another forum and got a good price! after looking at new tv's i thought id advertise my W if i got what i wanted id change sets and if i didnt id stick with the W as it was a great tv! I just hankerd after something bigger

 

[matthewpiano]

Yordan5:
Yesterday I took delivery of my KDL 40W4500 (Assembled in Spain 10/2008) and played a little with the settings. So far I cannot see any ghosting or backlight bleed. This is my first LCD TV and perhaps I do not have the same eye for detail as most of you here but first impressions are good. If there are ways you would suggest I check for the above problems let me know and I'll have a go.

I really don't subscribe to this idea of checking for problems. Its a path to misery and nothing you ever buy will ever satisfy you. If you can't see any problems with the set then just get on with watching it and enjoying it. If a problem raises its head later, deal with it then.

 

[Anonymous]

Quite right. As I said my first impressions were good and so far I am very happy with the TV. Before buying the 40W4500 I compared it a few times side by side with Z4500 (200Hz) in a Sony shop and I must say the difference was obvious. The picture of the Z4500 was more stable, cleaner and motion scenes were close to CRT TV reproduction level. Only price stopped me opting for the 200Hz model but that is now going off topic.

 

[Anonymous]

searcher:
Houston we have a [new?] problem

Apologies if this is well known but it's new to me and I haven't seen it mentioned on this or other forums. I'm referring to a 'pillaring' problem on my 40W4710 [same as 40W4500], made in Spain 10/08, since taking delivery last week. I came across this shortcoming when searching the web for info on a problem that I thought was clouding.

Apparently pillaring consists of uneven backlighting when the screen is brighter down both sides as compared to the rest of the screen. On my set it is not visible during daylight, can only be seen during black or very dark scenes in the evening and appears as a gray or lighter patch instead of black. It's only noticeable in the bottom corners of the screen, mostly the right side, when viewed from our seated position to the left of the TV. Like clouding, reducing the backlight and sensor on helps but does not cure the problem. When viewed straight-on it's practically non existent, but this is not an option.

Sony are allegedly refusing to swap sets due to clouding and I'm sure they would view this problem exactly the same. So, I ask myself, do I try to swap for another set but risk dead pixels, bleed, clouding and buzzing, of which my set has none, or accept the devil I know? Assuming my on-line retailer will no longer allow a swap, I could have a refund or even try a plasma. My family either cannot see the problem or are not bothered by it. As my better half says, pillar problem, no we don't have a pillar problem but we do have a pill**k problem!

I would still recommend this TV, if you are lucky enough to receive a fault free one, because feed it a first-class quality signal and its display will be exceptional, and the sound surprisingly good. I will say, though, it's pretty merciless in exposing poor signals, as occurs in my case sometimes with Sky SD [no alternative without huge pole+aerial] from my maximum viewing distance of eight feet [ten feet looks just about acceptable]. Having Sky HD fitted tomorrow so will make my decision after that.

I presume pillar effect is a lost cause or is it classed as an unacceptable fault.

Grateful for any suggestions or cures on this issue.

­

My 40" W4000 is quite sensitive to viewing angle when watching Movies in a darkened room, sitting directly in front the picture is perfect, but sitting a few degrees to either side results in the pillaring effect you describe at the furthest edge of the screen. Its very slight, my wife doesn't even notice it. But i do find it a bit irritating. I believe its just a shortcoming of the large screen LCD technology rather than the Sony in particular though (correct me if I'm wrong!). I can live with it as its easy enough for me to position myself so I don't see the effect, but I imagine if your tv was fixed to the wall and you couldn't change position it would be quite an irritation. In fact if I was in that situation I'd probably be looking at getting a plasma screen instead.

 

[ElectroMan]

Has anyone tried this, found on another forum about the W4500?
"This too has the clouding problems but after gently wiping over the effected areas I have managed to cut it down to a minimum."

Is this a similar techinque to 'pixel massaging' for dead pixels? ÿÿAnd does that actually work?

 

[PJPro]

This thread must have the most views ever. Just shows how popular Sony is with the punters.

 

[Clare Newsome]

ElectroMan:Has anyone tried this, found on another forum about the W4500?
"This too has the clouding problems but after gently wiping over the effected areas I have managed to cut it down to a minimum."

Is this a similar techinque to 'pixel massaging' for dead pixels? And does that actually work?

Are you sure the 'clouding' wasn't in fact 'dust' in this case?

But seriously - approach any cleaning/touching of screens with care. Use a light touch, and keep any abrasive materials/cleaning solutions WELL away.

 

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth, I was going to buy a KDL46W4500 based partly on the WHF review but this thread, and others I've read elsewhere, including a German forum, have resulted in me buying a plasma instead. In a way I'm glad this happened with the Sony because I ended up going into a few shops to compare LCD and plasma units, having previously believed that a modern LCD was the best option. As it turns out, in my personal opinion, LCD just isn't up to the job of displaying SD content compared to plasma.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey all,

I can reports that I received my 46W4500 three days ago from JL price match £1254.99.

What can I say about the set? Just lovely. Brilliant!

As I said before I am done with looking for trouble on the set. Unless I notice banding, clouding, flashes, white lines, pillaring, smudges I am not gonna try to emulate the problems which I read here and on the other site.

I waited for a long time for a really good TV that I like and came with 5 year warranty and this is it.

Opened the box lifted it out set it up.

Let me give you the my first impressions

It started its setup

English, UK, digital, analogue, channel order, control HDMI device, power saving setting, Guide + (postcode needed) setup takes 5 mins, home/shop mode. All set within 15-20 mins.

Sit down and watch. OMG what a pleasure in comparison to Sharp. Colours are lovely, footy smooth, people are visible during panning, HD excellent etc. etc.

Other things impressed me.

I have a HDMI-link surround sound system (Samsung). It started to control it for me. You are watching a movie you push Theatre button surround system switched on and digital optical input selected, TV sound stopped and external audio system enabled flashed on the screen. No more turn tv, turn dvd surround sound, select digital input, cut tv audio turn to movie mode, no sir no more.

Conversely, turn dvd surround on tv comes on and switches to that input, turn either off the other ones goes off.

Man that's what I call technology.

Set PS3 audio out to optical out and TV sound is cut off and same for SKY+HD.

Remote control is very easy to use and learn, and very responsive. Only thing I would want is backlight for it.

What sets this TV apart is looking glass feel of the picture. Sometimes it feels almost 3d, it is that impressive. Fluidity of the picture is outstanding.

So far I didn't feel the need to change any of the settings (even though I know I will soon) and all I did is to watch and enjoy.

I know some may think 3 days of use and you are so impressed, yes I am that impressed. I would throughly recommend it. Try not to look for trouble and enjoy it. Obviously a lot tech. had gone into it and the things it does brilliantly are far more than the bits it doesn't do so well (can't give you an example of bad apart from some freeview pictures looked a little pixelated ITV1 X Factor Same Difference and lots of confetti). I can live that. I watch mostly already upscaled (1080i SKY) pictures anyway.

I hope this helps people who are trying to make their minds up. I went for it thought after all it is Sony, it has to be good.

Thanks

Trained_Killa

 

[Anonymous]

Just an update to say I took my 46w4500 back to the Sony centre (Wolverhampton branch) yesterday for exchange and the other unit had exactly the same problems with backlight bleed/clouding, and without hesitation they offered me a full refund, so I couldn't ask for much better service from the shop actually.

The guy who dealt with me throughout mentioned he'd seen the Sony rep since I emailed him with pics of the problem and the Sony rep said he couldn't see a problem, but fair play to the guy at the shop who backed me up and said it was a problem and wasn't good enough, he went on to say they had this sort of problem with the w2000 series a few years ago and eventually that got sorted out but until the w4500 they hadn't had any of these problems.

It's a shame really because on a whole the TV was fantastic but these issues were a deal breaker for me and I don't think I could have lived with it in the long term.