Many problems Sony 46W4500

[Anonymous]

Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000Clare's right i think, dont be totally put of by the w4500 just yet it's still to early i feel. But on the otherhand the more regular we read about problems the more we obviously get a bit worried. Even if it's just a perception to some extent you can understand why some people are a bit reluctant about spending there money at the moment.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000

Now that's fair enough - seeing is believing! But why retailers are showing faulty sets is beyond me - but then it also boggles belief when Sony send out faulty review samples.....

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:Not in our experience - but I really wouldn't be put off the W4500 range just from reading Forum threads. As ever, go and see a set with your own eyes before making any snap judgements. (for or against!)
Clare i understand that all lcd's from all manufacturer's have some clouding or/and backlight bleed to some extent is this correct in your opinion. If correct i guess it's just a matter of personal opinion to what is and isnt acceptable on any given set then.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000

At that size i'd go for a 50in Pioneer or Panasonic plasma, personally.

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:

Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000

At that size i'd go for a 50in Pioneer or Panasonic plasma, personally.

Yeah quite a few people say plasma at that size so what really is the difference between plasma and lcd with a big screen?

 

[Clare Newsome]

techno:Clare Newsome:Not in our experience - but I really wouldn't be put off the W4500 range just from reading Forum threads. As ever, go and see a set with your own eyes before making any snap judgements. (for or against!)
Clare i understand that all lcd's from all manufacturer's have some clouding or/and backlight bleed to some extent is this correct in your opinion. If correct i guess it's just a matter of personal opinion to what is and isnt acceptable on any given set then.

Well all LCDs have backlights, certainly - that's how they work! There's also the issue of said backlights being set to maximum, eye-blistering brightness as standard - I can understand some people thinking 'whoa!' out of the box. But the best LCDs, properly calibrated (in a matter of minutes) certainly shouldn't show clouding or bleeding that affects TV or movie viewing.ÿ

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Clare Newsome:

Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000

At that size i'd go for a 50in Pioneer or Panasonic plasma, personally.

I personally can not understand why people opt for LCD over a good Plasma when getting screens in this size bracket. Every LCD I have ever seen no matter what the size has issues with backlighting due to the way a LCD set works, so to a certain extent these issues are expected on LCD but IMHO it is even more apparent on the larger screens.

 

[Anonymous]

Do Plasma screens suffer from screen burn?

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Philip1976:Do Plasma screens suffer from screen burn?

Only if you are a complete numb-skull who leaves High Contrast static images on screen for hours upon end. In normal home usuage the chance of any perminant image retension is minimal.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been following this thread with some interest over the last 48 hours or so, and I'll tell you why.

I recently bought a 46W4000 form a respected dealer in Glasgow some 2 months ago. It had awful clouding and backlight bleed. I opted at that point to stump up a few more quid to get the 46W4500. Good choice I thought given the hype and speculation as to how good it was going to be...

The TV arrived and I noted the exact same problem. Horrendous backlight bleeding and clouding, all over the screen, very similar to the images that Alper posted at the start of this thread. I took photos and mailed them to the store. They agreed with me that "the set's faulty" and they forwarded them to Sony. I got a replacement 46W4500 two weeks later.

The fall back on this is that Sony has not got back to the store as to the reason why this panel was faulty. The replacement also has the so-called puddles of grey in the top corners and some clouding on the top, left of center. In normal daytime viewing, you don't notice a thing, however in viewing the set "cinema style" with dark scenes it is noticeable especially if the image is letterboxed on screen.

I am surprised that Sony have said they have not found issue with their 52 and 46s. I called Sony when I got my first W4500, and the somewhat unhelpful chap at the other end said "give it a week and see if there is a problem then." I have contacted the store about this second W4500 (my third Bravia screen in as many months) and they have resorted to contacting Sony and will be in touch with me once they hear word.

Admittedly the problem I have now is no where near the problems the earlier screens had. It's just a pity that a lot of folk it seems are ploughing their hard earned cash into a massive multinational company looking for a TV with no issues and end up with, well, porkers, and said company are dragging heels at the moment with regards to getting the issue sorted.

I have to thank Clare and the WHF team in trying to get to the bottom of this. I hope we get a satisfacory resolution to this nasty problem...

 

[Clare Newsome]

Philip1976:Clare Newsome:
Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000

At that size i'd go for a 50in Pioneer or Panasonic plasma, personally.

ÿYeah quite a few people say plasma at that size so what really is the difference between plasma and lcd with a big screen?

LCD is still a relatively young technology at 50in+ screen sizes, and although we've seen some impressive examples, I'd still take a Pioneer Kuro any day - followed swiftly by a nice Panasonic or Samsung plasma if the Pioneer's a tad pricey.

As ever, it's more about the quality of a particular screen than the technology/specs involved - i've seen dreadful LCDs and woeful plasmas at many different screen sizes...

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Clare Newsome:Philip1976:Clare Newsome:

Philip1976:I am really been put off the w4500 range because of the 2 i have seen have had bad clouding on them,i currently have the 40" V2000 model which i bought 2 years ago i havent had any problems with clouding or pixels on this set,my brother bought the 32w4000 a few weeks ago and has no clouding/dead pixels on his set thats why im thinking of getting the 52W4000

At that size i'd go for a 50in Pioneer or Panasonic plasma, personally.

Yeah quite a few people say plasma at that size so what really is the difference between plasma and lcd with a big screen?

LCD is still a relatively young technology at 50in+ screen sizes, and although we've seen some impressive examples, I'd still take a Pioneer Kuro any day - followed swiftly by a nice Panasonic or Samsung plasma if the Pioneer's a tad pricey.

As ever, it's more about the quality of a particular screen than the technology/specs involved - i've seen dreadful LCDs and woeful plasmas at many different screen sizes...

With Clare on this one with these large screens PLASMA is the way to go but you can get excellent results without busting the bank for the Pioneer's. I have the Samsung PS-50P96FDX which I payed slightly over a Rio for inc 5 Year warranty and of the LCDsets I saw in this size none came close to my Samsung Plasma.

 

[Anonymous]

I was actually going to purchase the 40W4500 tonight from the local Sony store. I viewed this at comet this afternoon and they had Bond demo playing and it looked great except when the screen went dark etc it looked grainy - is this what you are calling cloudyness?

I was going to ask if it was something to do with the HDMI cables before i saw this post?

I'm new to this and only just subcribed so apologies for my ignorance.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Shimminator:
I was actually going to purchase the 40W4500 tonight from the local Sony store. I viewed this at comet this afternoon and they had Bond demo playing and it looked great except when the screen went dark etc it looked grainy - is this what you are calling cloudyness?

I was going to ask if it was something to do with the HDMI cables before i saw this post?

I'm new to this and only just subcribed so apologies for my ignorance.

Thanks in advance.

You have nothing to apologise for - unlike retailers who make no effort whatsoever to do realistic demos of TVs... Sigh.

Hard to know what the issue was, sadly - to me, it sounds more like a ropey set-up, as (again!) there's no reason this set should look grainy. Ask to see it in the Sony centre, too - and ideally take some of your favourite discs with you.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the Quick reply!

I'll check it out tonight - hopefully it was just comet being comet!

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:
OK, we have an interim statement from Sony:

The product team has advised the following:

"While the Trusted Reviews commentary on the KDL52W4500 was very
positive, we were disappointed to read about some experience of what is
described as
"'puddles' of greyish light in the TV's corners".

We have also become aware of some subsequent online forum comments on a
similar subject.

We have not detected any faults with the KDL52W4500 or KDL46W4500.

As a precautionary measure we are checking screen settings on these
models. "

I'll get back to them re the 40W4500 as well.

They managed to say very little in 8 or so lines and I'm not sure how they haven't detected faults when I thought some people had sent back sets... I can't say I understood the last sentence and what would come out of it. Did they give any indication as to when they'd get back with a proper response? I think its fair if people choose to stop buying this set until its clear what the issues is, what causes it and the resolution, the scope i.e. numbers of units with the issue, what will happen to those who have bought, and what will happen in the future for people that buy this set and have the issue. So have they given an ETA for a response?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Not yet, i'm afraid - I did reply to the above interim statement with a clear request for more information.

I'll continue to pursue them via phone and email tomorrow and keep you all updated. There may also be a chance to talk in person to Sony at our Show on Friday, but then the TV people may not be there....

All very frustrating, I know.

 

[Anonymous]

I know i'm slighty off subject here. But i did pop down to the Sony store tonight and there set's were all working fine.

They did have that grainy look that i mentioned earlier but "apparently" it's because they have all TV's running of 1 sky HD box and it weakens the quality!? not sure if i buy that but the picture looked better when he hooked directly up to a blu ray and i stood back to the appropriate viewing distance.

I must admit i'm dissapointed with how curry's and sony store have it all set-up. At sony he seemed put out when i asked to see it connected to a blu ray.

anyways, i'm going to be brave it and make the purchase tommorrow on the 40W4500 as it's a 10% discount from tommorrow and till sunday.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok,

ÿ

Picked my KDL40W4500 up last night.. unpacked and installed and seems fine ->

Looks like I may have been lucky.

I'll note my product number when I get in 2night to see if this is occuring within a specific batch 🙂

 

[Clare Newsome]

Thanks for that - it'd be useful: i'll see if we can do the same with ours later today( they're all packed up on the way to our Show right now!)

And it's interesting that you're the second person with a perfect Sony to say you're 'lucky' - i'd say the people that obviously have sets from a bad batch have been unlucky....(Not that luck should have anything to do with it!)

 

[Anonymous]

My replacementset arrived at 8.15am this morning via City Link - continue to be exceptionaly pleased with 1stAudiovisual.

After carefull unpacking, set up and calibration I can report a perfect defect free set. Interestingly the serial number pre-dates my first unit by almost 8000 (units) which for me proves this is very much a QC / batch issue.

I have also tried the set on 'vivid' with brightness set at max and the bright grey picture is completely uniform from the centre out to the edge and into the corners - my last set would, if set in this way, display a noticeably darker grey in the centre of the screen scaling up to almost white at the edges (in a very blotchy fashion)

Now I have a defect free set I can confirm that the PQ as reported is stunning.

I would recommend that any prospective buyer goes for a reputable on-line retailer so they are covered by distance selling regulations and keep plugging away until you get a defect free set.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Northernpunk,

I was wondering what the serial number was of your faulty tv, as mine is also showing clouding/bleeding issues and was manufactured in spain 08/2008 and is #4005189? is this along the same lines as your faulty one?

cheers

Ben

 

[Anonymous]

......my faulty set was 4007909 (also manfactured in spain 08/2008), my new one is 4000012 (also Spain and made in 08/2008)

 

[Anonymous]

I notice that you say when you get to 50" probably wise to look at a Plasma, well I'm about to purchase a 46".

I was about to buy a Sony 46W4500 but have also considered a Panasonic TH46PZ81B or TH46PZ85B. I know in the grand scheme of things it maybe only represents a small percentage of faulty sets that have gone out but it obviously puts some doubt in your mind when spending your hard earned cash.

I guess my question is would you suggest a Plasma over an LCD at 46"? I already have a 46W Samsung LCD so it's not required for gaming, purely SD & Sky HD. If the Sony is a step up from the Panasonics I'll take the chance but if not I guess I won't take the risk and simply opt for a Panny.

Cheers for your help!

 

[pete321]

Clare Newsome:

Not yet, i'm afraid - I did reply to the above interim statement with a clear request for more information.

I'll continue to pursue them via phone and email tomorrow and keep you all updated. There may also be a chance to talk in person to Sony at our Show on Friday, but then the TV people may not be there....

All very frustrating, I know.

Claire, what makes it worse is that this is not a new issue, it was a well documented fault over 18 mothns ago with the 40W2000. The sort of replies that were coming back from Sony then were just as unhelpful then as they are now!

The annoying thing is that I was all set to upgrade to a 24fps set in the new year and had more or less made my mind up on the 46W4500. But you can't help but think should I look elsewhere, trouble is I'm a bit of plasmaphobic after my first flat screen telly, a Hitachi 42 plasma, What Hifi 5 star winner, gave up after 14months, and no, I didn't have an extended warranty!