I picked up one of the new ps3 slims - I just couldn't stand the fan sound from my original 60gb. I know I lose SACD but I believe it may have some better audio output options - the old one had to use bitstream output. Should I be doing my settings any differently with the new PS3 or just stick with bitstream?

So now I have 2 PS3s one a "collectable backward compatible" who knows maybe I will actually sell it - other than the fan noise being too loud for my home theatre it really doesn't have any problems and if the world of gamers thinks its worth paying a premium for shrug at least I can get back some of the insane price I paid at launch (remember what you had to pay to get a PS3 on ebay... my pocketbook still winces at the thought).

I picked up one of the new ps3 slims - I just couldn't stand the fan sound from my original 60gb. I know I lose SACD but I believe it may have some better audio output options - the old one had to use bitstream output. Should I be doing my settings any differently with the new PS3 or just stick with bitstream?



Depends on how you handle the audio output.
If going to a processor that cannot decode/handle HD Lossless formats you should output PCM to the processor.
This lets the PS3 do the decoding.
If your processor cannot do HD Lossless and you output Bitscreen the processor will only play the default compressed Dolby Digital or DTS stream.

Depends on how you handle the audio output.
If going to a processor that cannot decode/handle HD Lossless formats you should output PCM to the processor.
This lets the PS3 do the decoding.
If your processor cannot do HD Lossless and you output Bitscreen the processor will only play the default compressed Dolby Digital or DTS stream.

Thanks for the advice - my processor can handle doing the HD Lossless but it appears if I want to use HDMI audio out PCM is the only option. So your advice is to use optical out instead on the ps3? Or am I missing a setting for HDMI? The PS3 has everything selected except AAC as available formats for my receiver.

Thanks for the advice - my processor can handle doing the HD Lossless but it appears if I want to use HDMI audio out PCM is the only option. So your advice is to use optical out instead on the ps3? Or am I missing a setting for HDMI? The PS3 has everything selected except AAC as available formats for my receiver.

You have to use HDMI for HD Audio. Digital coax and optical do not have the bandwith and will not carry a HD audio signal.

When you say your processor can handle HD lossless do you mean it has the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio ?

If yes, then you can bitstream the audio to your processor from the PS3 via a HDMI cable.

IF no, then use PCM via a HDMI cable from the PS3 and have the PS3 decode the HD audio before sending it to the processor via PCM.

You have to use HDMI for HD Audio. Digital coax and optical do not have the bandwith and will not carry a HD audio signal.

When you say your processor can handle HD lossless do you mean it has the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio ?

If yes, then you can bitstream the audio to your processor from the PS3 via a HDMI cable.

IF no, then use PCM via a HDMI cable from the PS3 and have the PS3 decode the HD audio before sending it to the processor via PCM.

My processor can handle HD lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio so I will comb through the PS3 HDMI output settings and set it to bitstream (oddly I didn't notice it in my first look through and it seems like a number of settings are set to true without any option for me to change them to false).

I take it there is an advantage of going bitstream versus letting the PS3 handle it? I have a 7.1 setup in case that has any impact.

Update: found a good thread on it here on AVS that even references my receiver (Onkyo 606) so I think I have it perfect now (the video settings to bitstream was key not just in audio settings). I am seeing True HD and enjoying it (although a part of me wishes my receiver would upmix it to 7 channels but I think that is just not available for the Lossless on my receiver). Thanks again this thread feels like its very own home - although I must say I miss the cool cars and other new toys posts we used to have all the time - either the recession is getting to us or the Q thing is just getting us a bit down I think.

Well, any word yet on how this went?

It went OK, guys. We have transcribed the interview and it should be posted within a few days. Thanks for your patience. Feel free to leave your feed back after reading it either here or on the site. I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

It went OK, guys. We have transcribed the interview and it should be posted within a few days. Thanks for your patience. Feel free to leave your feed back after reading it either here or on the site. I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

Great. I can't wait to see it here. The site seems cluttered.

You have to use HDMI for HD Audio. Digital coax and optical do not have the bandwith and will not carry a HD audio signal.

When you say your processor can handle HD lossless do you mean it has the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio ?

If yes, then you can bitstream the audio to your processor from the PS3 via a HDMI cable.

IF no, then use PCM via a HDMI cable from the PS3 and have the PS3 decode the HD audio before sending it to the processor via PCM.

in the spirit of being technically accurate ;), both optical and coax CAN handle the bandwidth (they've got plenty when you think about it; your cable/broadband is delivered over coax :)), the ce industry simply decided they would create yet another connection, HDMI :eek:

It went OK, guys. We have transcribed the interview and it should be posted within a few days. Thanks for your patience. Feel free to leave your feed back after reading it either here or on the site. I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

Any chance you could post just the highlights (specific to Q006, SXRD, and/or optical block failures) here in advance of the transcript? Thanks.

I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

But the important question is will they even care about what they've read? From my experiences (and hopefully this will be the last) with Sony, they really don't give a toss either way. Most of us customers are left holding the bag with defective products, and their "solution" so far has been to extend the warranty on their defective OBs. A few people have received "buyout" offers and offered exchanges for other Sony sets (which I will pass on), but for the most part, just offered a recycled OB and that's it. After the 2010 deadline, we're all left with very expensive and defective televisions.

SPLINKE--Thank you very much for your post on your small claims court success. Would you please PM me so that we can discuss a way to get the transcript of your proceeding. The XBR issues are identical to those of the Q owners--there is simply more money at stake. I want this for two purposes:
1) There are a pair of lawyers that are trying to arrange for investors in a Q Class action suit (the great recession caused their initial investors to back away) and this information may be helpful to their efforts.
2) If Sony has not taken meaningful action to deal with our problem after the extended warranty tolls and my next OB failure, I will be filing a suit in Small Claims Court. Texas has a very owner-friendly process. The limit is $10K and it's a very cheap thing to do. I won a previous case against a builder who left drywall nails in the road, causing me to get more than four punctures in each of the two side tires and rendering them unrepairable. I sued for the prorated cost of replacement, adjusting for tread depth; and costs. I needed no lawyer. All I have to do is send a certified mail claim to Sony, wait 10 days, and the Court initiates the process compelling Sony to appear and defend the claim. If Sony doesn't show, I get a default judgement. At lawyers' prices, defending the claim will cost more than my claim.

If I am forced to follow this process because Sony doesn't step up to it's responsibilities, I'll put together a package which will help anyone else taking this path. Actually, I suspect this will have better outcome for we owners since Class Action suits generally result in big lawyer fees and "certificates" for the owners. The Corporation loses lots of $ to the lawyers, but the consumers get screwed.

SPLINKE--Thank you very much for your post on your small claims court success. Would you please PM me so that we can discuss a way to get the transcript of your proceeding.

It may be different in other jurisdictions, but in CA small claims cases are only audio recorded -- there is no court reporter. Therefore, no transcript, unless you obtain a copy of the recording and have it transcribed.

in the spirit of being technically accurate ;), both optical and coax CAN handle the bandwidth (they've got plenty when you think about it; your cable/broadband is delivered over coax :)), the ce industry simply decided they would create yet another connection, HDMI :eek:

I do not agree with you on this one.
I was unable to find the technical paper that lays out the S/PDIF specs for Coax and Toslink optical. So from memory I know the physical cables are supposed to have bandwidth limitations exactly how much I am not sure. The specs for S/PDIF over coax and optical limit the data rate to 1.5m and to 16 bit resolution in stereo. Neither can handle 6 or 7 channels at date rates approaching 2 to 6 MB.
Additionally no movie company wants to allow you to make a bit perfect copy using digital outputs.

Here is a great article on how to set up a PS3

Setup Your PS3 (http://hd.engadget.com/2009/04/21/hd-101-how-to-use-dolby-truehd-limit the cables to a 1.5 data rate and 16and-dts-hd-with-your-ps3/)

Here is an expalanation for ALL the current HD Lowloss formats

Lowloss HD Formats Explained (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/1064)

It may be different in other jurisdictions, but in CA small claims cases are only audio recorded -- there is no court reporter. Therefore, no transcript, unless you obtain a copy of the recording and have it transcribed.

Yes--same thing in Texas. The really useful part of this is the Judge's comments on useful life. That's the crux of the case. Showing damages is easy. Showing design failure is easy. The key is how much damage and expected life is key to that. Another Judge's opinion is very helpful in this process. Even the Judge's decision showing how loss was calculated is useful.

It went OK, guys. We have transcribed the interview and it should be posted within a few days. Thanks for your patience. Feel free to leave your feed back after reading it either here or on the site. I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

Also, does anyone know which blog this will be on at Sonyinsider?

I do not agree with you on this one.
I was unable to find the technical paper that lays out the S/PDIF specs for Coax and Toslink optical. So from memory I know the physical cables are supposed to have bandwidth limitations exactly how much I am not sure. The specs for S/PDIF over coax and optical limit the data rate to 1.5m and to 16 bit resolution in stereo. Neither can handle 6 or 7 channels at date rates approaching 2 to 6 MB.
Additionally no movie company wants to allow you to make a bit perfect copy using digital outputs.

...

stew, physically the CABLES can handle the bandwidth and then some (fiber optic and coax are the physical mediums which hundreds of HD channels are broadcast over SIMULTANEOUSLY), but the specs/standards/protocols don't exist for such to be the case.

i was only trying to point out that the physical medium has plenty of bandwidth; the s/pdif standard/protocol doesn't provide for it but a new standard/protocol could be written to utilize the physical optical/coax wire.

stew, physically the CABLES can handle the bandwidth and then some (fiber optic and coax are the physical mediums which hundreds of HD channels are broadcast over SIMULTANEOUSLY), but the specs/standards/protocols don't exist for such to be the case.

i was only trying to point out that the physical medium has plenty of bandwidth; the s/pdif standard/protocol doesn't provide for it but a new standard/protocol could be written to utilize the physical optical/coax wire.

Yes. I agree. You are correct about both types of the cable's physical bandwidth.

My Q has been looking kind of dim the past 48 hours. Tonight while changing inputs I heard an electrical ZZZZTT! sound accompanied by an acrid electrical burning smell. The screen is dark but the SONY logo under the screen is still illuminated (isn't it lit by the projection lamp too?) I also have a blinking green light.

Is it my lamp or did something else fry? I am hoping/thinking the lamp because of the big PQ drop lately, but the illuminated SONY gives me pause. Does it still light up even after the lamp goes?

Just found the manual... no red lamp light lit. :-( Anyone know what may have happened?

Lamp light is blinking now- looks like it is just the lamp! (I hope...)

Just last week I too enjoyed the sweet smell of a burnt lamp in the morning! The wonderful zzzzt sound (sometimes a loud pop) is the lamping frying/exploding. This is good news -simply change the lamp and the new screen brightness will light up your neighborhood!

Yep - it sounds just like the rest of our lamps. I try and keep an extra lamp around although lately with the warranty running low I just keep my very first lamp (it is dim but works) in a closet and swap it out until the new one arrives. The price has been pretty steady at 239ish + shipping I think from tv lamps for less - check the links on the first page.

I am still under warranty so the lamp will be fixed gratis. Made appointment already.

The loudness of the zzzzzzttt-POP and electrical smell were a bit of a surprise, especially the smell! If those are the special effects for just a lamp, what do we get when the OB goes? Screams of horror and the stench of hellfire and brimstone?

Interesting they have you make an appointment for a lamp replacement? A bit of a waste on their part - the replacement is a bit of a pain but not too much. I take it you have a Sears warranty? Also try and make sure that they clean the glass inside the Q that is near the bulb - when they blow it can get quite dirty. I think there are a few guides hidden in here about how we clean the glass.

Gabguy,

I speak with some authority on both lamps (on my 5th one now) and OB (on my second). Your drama on the lamp going out is normal. Sometimes it pops loudly and others it snaps and stinks and sometimes it just dims and then nuttin but a blinking red light. Almost always you know its coming because the last couple of days it is noticeably dimmer.

There will be few theatrics however with the OB dying. Just a progressive and drawn out greenish piss yellow blobby hue to one part of the screen. At first you really don't notice it until one day you go hey....... the right side sky is green or white shirts appear yellowish on one side and bright white on the other....WTF......$13,000........Damn Sony!!!

Now I live in fear of July 1, 2010 and beyond...... WTF.........$13,000........Damn Sony!!!

There will be few theatrics however with the OB dying. Just a progressive and drawn out greenish piss yellow blobby hue to one part of the screen. At first you really don't notice it until one day you go hey....... the right side sky is green or white shirts appear yellowish on one side and bright white on the other....WTF......$13,000........Damn Sony!!!

Now I live in fear of July 1, 2010 and beyond...... WTF.........$13,000........Damn Sony!!!

I know... Damn Sony! Not only this, but when I look at their TVs compared to Samsung and Panasonic models, there is nothing special about Sony anymore. With the lack of quality and customer support too they have really gone downhill. Morita-san must be spinning in his grave.

Gabguy,

There will be few theatrics however with the OB dying. Just a progressive and drawn out greenish piss yellow blobby hue to one part of the screen.!

I was afraid the dimmer look was in fact the OB going as the colors did not look quite right. I am looking forward to a bright beautiful Qualia image again.

Interesting they have you make an appointment for a lamp replacement? A bit of a waste on their part - the replacement is a bit of a pain but not too much.

I bought a new leftover Qualia from a high-end shop two years ago so I have a year left. I am friends with the owner of the store and they have factory authorized Sony service.

I bought a new leftover Qualia from a high-end shop two years ago so I have a year left. I am friends with the owner of the store and they have factory authorized Sony service.

Your friendship with the owner may get cold if your OB fails and you ask him to replace it for you.
Many $$$$.

GabGuy,

The test for OB failure I used is to go to the memory stick gray screen. Any yellow/green haze or cloud uniformity that shows up is trouble.

Your friendship with the owner may get cold if your OB fails and you ask him to replace it for you.
Many $$$$.

He said he would do it for the cost of the part if I ever needed it done out of warranty. We even looked into ordering an extra OB for if/when mine fails and if you do not have a core exchange it is $10,000! At least they want them back to rebuild them.

I read somewhere that it is degradation of the blue filter that causes the problem and it would be a simple matter for Sony to use one that will not degrade so quickly- has anyone else heard of that? And why do the SXRD and D-ILA front projectors work fine but all the RP units like our Qs fail?

Which leads to my plan for when the Q dies for good... if I can't get a 70"+plasma with comparable image quality I will get the top JVC D-ILA projector and a Black Diamond II screen. Still, I wish Sony cared enough to effect a permanent fix, especially if all that is needed is a more durable filter.

There is a company called Tri-state Module that has been refurbishing SXRD optical blocks. I enquired about our set, and they indicated they'd be interested if there was enough demand, otherwise, not. Given there probably weren't many more than 2500 of these produced, we might not be able to generate the kind of demand necessary once these are no longer covered under the extended warranty.

Dan

What qualifies as "enough demand?" Sure, not many Qs were sold at around 2,500, but it is like a limited production Ferrari... anyone who spent the money for one will want to keep their exotic "on the road" so to speak.

If Tri-State could refurbish and improve the OBs so they do not fail as they have in the past, I'd pay another 10K to get a Q that would definitely last another 10-15 years. They would have to state that they found the problem and what they did to correct it, though. They could potentially do 1,500-2,000 OB's, and if they charge only $5,000 a pop for a long-lasting block, that would work out to 7.5 to 10 million dollars. Tri-state, take note!

I have to think the problem is not insurmountable, especially since the front projectors seem to be OK. If it is just a blue filter they should be able to work that out.

Soundsmith saved Bang & Olufsen tuntables from extinction by making new and improved cartridges after B&O lost interest. Maybe a competent third party could be the Qualia's salvation.

If we voted I'd guess very, very few Q owners would pay several thousands of dollars for a reliable OB, for several reasons.

What qualifies as "enough demand?" Sure, not many Qs were sold at around 2,500, but it is like a limited production Ferrari... anyone who spent the money for one will want to keep their exotic "on the road" so to speak.

If Tri-State could refurbish and improve the OBs so they do not fail as they have in the past, I'd pay another 10K to get a Q that would definitely last another 10-15 years. They would have to state that they found the problem and what they did to correct it, though. They could potentially do 1,500-2,000 OB's, and if they charge only $5,000 a pop for a long-lasting block, that would work out to 7.5 to 10 million dollars. Tri-state, take note!

I have to think the problem is not insurmountable, especially since the front projectors seem to be OK. If it is just a blue filter they should be able to work that out.

Soundsmith saved Bang & Olufsen tuntables from extinction by making new and improved cartridges after B&O lost interest. Maybe a competent third party could be the Qualia's salvation.

1. Limited production Ferraris run hundreds of thousands of dollars.

2. I would not pay another $10,000.00 in hopes of having my Q006 last another 10-15 years. First, it should last that long considering I paid $13,000.00 for it just 5 years ago, and Sony/Qualia sold me on promises that it was built with the finest components and technology available, and that I would receive the best customer service from Sony/Qualia as a Concierge member. Additionally, I'd be happy if my Q006 lasted another 5 years. At that time, I'll probably be ready for a new main set.

If we voted I'd guess very, very few Q owners would pay several thousands of dollars for a reliable OB, for several reasons.

Well, I would definitely be one of the few. Until I can get better picture quality in a 70+ inch screen I want to keep mine going as long as I can. Perhaps since I have yet to be burned with a bad OB I am more open to the idea than people who have gotten a lot of grief from their set.

I had always hoped they would come out with a 80 inch or larger Qualia so I could give Sony even more money but alas........ the bean counters have apparently decided that 65 inches is enough screen size for the ignorant peasants and unwashed masses.

I had always hoped they would come out with a 80 inch or larger Qualia so I could give Sony even more money but alas........ the bean counters have apparently decided that 65 inches is enough screen size for the ignorant peasants and unwashed masses.

Well, B&O has a 103" set for $112,000!

I'm holding out for an LCD panel with LED backlighting at least 70-80 inches. I have an edge-lit Samsung and the picture is really good, even though I can spot some uneven lighting issues in just a few instances. The Samsung 8500 looked great at BB, but it was showing a typical Blu-ray animated loop, so it's hard to judge just on that source. I saw a Panasonic plasma at 80 and 103 inches at InfoComm '09, but I didn't think they looked better than the Q. and they were expensive. I won't go for another fledgling technology like LaserVue, unless it matures and is reliably in its next couple of generations. I've got a year and a half left on my extended warranty, so I'll wait this OB thing out. Before then we should know what Sony's position is in the summer.

Hi:
I enjoy my Q. Still the best picture for a large screen.
I will be needing a 40" TV in the next couple of months; it needs to fit in a
39.75" width.
Any information on preferred brands, etc will be greatly appreciated.
Merry Christmas and or Happy Holidays to all on the forum.
Dave

I'm happy with my Samsungs, both CCFL and LED backlit. There are several models at various feature/price points and frame sizes. At 40" you could get a lower tiered LCD and still get a pretty decent picture. I think the week of Christmas is the best bargain time, even better than Black Friday, across the board.

Of course I have several Sonys around the house, but I think I'll wait on the Q outcome before I make any Sony recommendations. I'm not that impressed with my Sharp, but it is an earlier generation and not a fair comparison to today's TVs.

It went OK, guys. We have transcribed the interview and it should be posted within a few days. Thanks for your patience. Feel free to leave your feed back after reading it either here or on the site. I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

Any update?

I don't think hearing feedback will be lacking from the Q thread.

I'm happy with my Samsungs, both CCFL and LED backlit. There are several models at various feature/price points and frame sizes. At 40" you could get a lower tiered LCD and still get a pretty decent picture. I think the week of Christmas is the best bargain time, even better than Black Friday, across the board.

Of course I have several Sonys around the house, but I think I'll wait on the Q outcome before I make any Sony recommendations. I'm not that impressed with my Sharp, but it is an earlier generation and not a fair comparison to today's TVs.
Sofer:
Thanks for your comments regarding a 40" TV.
Merry Christmas.
Dave

One month with new OB and picture still is awesome. Lets hope Sony got our OB fixes right this time and we won't be serially disappointed.

I'm still looking for another big TV for upstairs but I can't find anything even close that has the clarity, size and overall performance of a properly operating Q.

How crazy would it be to sink another few thousand dollars for a second used Q that has had the OB replaced recently for the bedroom? Would any of you trust the most recent OB fix to last?

Would that make me a bad person by sucking up all that extra electricity, melting African glaciers, intensifying hurricanes, increasing disease, and drowning pacific islands through an increase of carbon emissions. For shame! What would the inconvenient Nobel winner Al Goreleoni say? I'm probably covered anyway because until just recently I could honestly say that I had the greenest TV of anyone. (I knew Sony gave us those green blobs for a reason)................. LMAO

I don't think there is any verifiable evidence that Sony has done any re-design of their optical blocks. To the contrary, the replacement optical block in my KDF-55WF655 looks the same as the original (inside and out), and it failed in less time than the original. In fact, Hank LeClaire of Sony Support confirmed that the replacements are the original parts "remanufactured to original specifications". I subpoenaed documents from Sony showing any evidence of redesign as part of my small claims lawsuit, but they did not honor the request with a response, which was probably considered by the judge as a tacit acknowledgment that no redesign was done.

I suppose things could be different for the Qulia's, but that seems unlikely.

Any update?

+1

I was getting hopeful.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/12/hdis-100-inch-laser-driven-3d-hdtv-gets-10k-to-15k-price-tag/

10-15K Hmmm.

Laser? Well, about three years ago I bought a TV that was a new technology only offered by one other company and touted as the best there is in the industry. Sound familiar?

I would not buy a Q OB, new or refurbished, and expect it to not fail. I think the consensus is now not if, but WHEN our Qs fail . . .

Heh was just heading here to post about it - I can't wait until I hear some reviews from a fellow Qualian. I notice they mention greater than HD - it only makes sense if they have that level of speed (1080hz is mentioned) why not increase it to handle higher resolution.

The reviews seemed pretty impressed by it
http://hd.engadget.com/2009/09/17/hdi-concocts-100-inch-laser-based-3d-hdtv-calls-rivaling-techno/
and hey if the Woz says its the best to date that certainly sounds like its a frontrunner. Also the technology sounds like its pretty cheap which means that if it catches on 5k sets may not be far off and size is pretty irrelevant so we can get as big as we want for only minor price hits rather than the huge price increase associated with the other methods.

This looks promising, so I'll keep tuned. I checked out several 3D applications at this year's Infocomm show. Maybe it's because I wear glasses, but none of the displays worked well enough for me to consider buying. Samsung had one that didn't require glasses, but you had to be in a narrow sweet-spot and kind of concentrate more than I could maintain for any period of time. Many of the factory reps said 3D programs were in development, but that the Holy Grail mass market technology was elusive and current offerings were not ready for the market.

This looks promising, so I'll keep tuned. I checked out several 3D applications at this year's Infocomm show. Maybe it's because I wear glasses, but none of the displays worked well enough for me to consider buying. Samsung had one that didn't require glasses, but you had to be in a narrow sweet-spot and kind of concentrate more than I could maintain for any period of time. Many of the factory reps said 3D programs were in development, but that the Holy Grail mass market technology was elusive and current offerings were not ready for the market.



See this HDI 100" LaserTV (http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7013481)

1000 frames a second,1080 HZ, 3 watts of power and NO HEAT destroying bulb
Sounds incredible.
It would be nice to see a good tv made by a US company.

That's the one I and thesirjay were checking out. I agree it would be nice to see this come to pass, and by a US company at that. Unfortunately, it has a long row to hoe to actually make it to my home theater. I remember when Intel announced it was in the display arena with an LCoS TV and I got all excited. Then it wised up. I've also noticed in the FP SXRDs, some people are starting to report that the units might be prematurely "aging." I hope that LED really starts ramping up and we get something big again.

It went OK, guys. We have transcribed the interview and it should be posted within a few days. Thanks for your patience. Feel free to leave your feed back after reading it either here or on the site. I am pretty sure Sony will be reading your reactions.

A few days have turned into almost 2 weeks. I hope this doesn't mean Sony's powers that be have supressed this interview. So far, it's the only glimmer that we have had to finding out what Sony believes the problem to be, and whether it has been fixed. In one of the XBR threads a while back, Sony was reported to have said that the problem had been identified as an impurity in the blue polarizer filter, and that new stock had been manufactured to eliminate the problem. However, owners of the XBR's continued to report OB failures even after a replacement OB.

I sent an e-mail to Sony support as follows: " My original OB was replaced under warranty on 11/13/07. My second OB has failed and is being repaired under the extended warranty. Is this next replacement OB an improved design, or is it "remanufactured to original specifications"? If it is to original specifications, can I expect a repeat of my experience of the last 2 OB's of about a 2-year life? Will the warranty be extended beyond 6/30/2010?"

The answer: "We are sorry that your Sony TV required service again. It is difficult for Sony or any other manufacturer to quote a life expectancy for a product....However, please note that components manufactured for Sony Televisions are only used after passing strict quality supervision. We wish to assure you that Sony products do enjoy an excellent reputation for reliability."

In other words, are you going to believe your lying eyes, or Sony?

I note on the class action result on the PC input issue, the only people that got monetary damages were those that had communicated their concerns regarding a PC input issue to Sony. I suggest that everyone send an e-mail to Sony Support expressing their concern with the OB failures, and keep a copy.

That's the one I and thesirjay were checking out. I agree it would be nice to see this come to pass, and by a US company at that. Unfortunately, it has a long row to hoe to actually make it to my home theater. I remember when Intel announced it was in the display arena with an LCoS TV and I got all excited. Then it wised up. I've also noticed in the FP SXRDs, some people are starting to report that the units might be prematurely "aging." I hope that LED really starts ramping up and we get something big again.

California has made the voluntary Energy Star standards mandatory. Nationwide application is inevitable. Large Plasmas can't make the standard. Anything other than LED backlighting for a large LCD can't make the standard. At present, the standard is based on watts per square inch of screen size and large 200W lamp-based sets can make the standard. But, in the long run, it will be Flat screen OLED and LED or laser-based RPTV's for really large TV's. It remains to be seen if there is anything other than a very small(and expensive) market for over-65" RPTV's. The chatter I hear around these mega-sets is "It won't fit", and any of us having to live with the WAF know that this could be the kiss of death. I suspect that a very large flat screen will pass the WAF, provided it doesn't weigh a ton; but if it has anything over 3-4" in depth, it will be "too big".

All I have for Qualia support is the toll free phone number. An email address would be much appreciated if anyone has it!

Thanks in advance!

Randy

...In one of the XBR threads a while back, Sony was reported to have said that the problem had been identified as an impurity in the blue polarizer filter, and that new stock had been manufactured to eliminate the problem...

Until Sony provides written proof of this, I would consider these types of statements to be rumors. The blue filter definitely seems to be a weak spot in all of Sony's rear projection LCD TVs. Blue light is very high-energy, and, apparently, the organic dyes used in such filters is subject to degradation.

I have heard that newer inorganic dyes may be more resistant to degradation. However, the blue filter in my Grand WEGA exhibited visible degradation in both my original optical block and in my replacement optical block (after the warranty extension) after about the same amount of usage. Thus, it seems that Sony made no changes.

In addition, the liquid crystal panels themselves are also subject to degradation, and this is the part that is probably responsible for most of the optical block failures. Again, there is no evidence that Sony has done anything to change them. I would love to hear from them, though.

All I have for Qualia support is the toll free phone number. An email address would be much appreciated if anyone has it!

Thanks in advance!

Randy

Look at Splinke's post immediately preceeding this one and click on his link to "Sony LCD RP TV Problems". Apart from being very informative, it has a link to Sony Consumer Support, to which you can send a question. Their reply comes back as an e-mail, with your question attached; so it's a good record. Plus, your question will generate a support ticket number. Very well organized. One only wishes that their "Customer Support" actually did some customer support, instead of "Customer Excuse".

See this HDI 100" LaserTV (http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7013481)

1000 frames a second,1080 HZ, 3 watts of power and NO HEAT destroying bulb
Sounds incredible.
It would be nice to see a good tv made by a US company. Thats amazing. Do you need to wear the glasses if you dont use the 3D view? RPTV? Looks like it sort of. Similar to the Sony 3 LCD technology but with " LASER " and thinner.

Thats amazing. Do you need to wear the glasses if you dont use the 3D view? RPTV? Looks like it sort of. Similar to the Sony 3 LCD technology but with " LASER " and thinner.
And remember -- two out of three Qualians prefer friggin' lasers to LCOS...

;)

California has made the voluntary Energy Star standards mandatory. Nationwide application is inevitable. Large Plasmas can't make the standard. Anything other than LED backlighting for a large LCD can't make the standard. At present, the standard is based on watts per square inch of screen size and large 200W lamp-based sets can make the standard. But, in the long run, it will be Flat screen OLED and LED or laser-based RPTV's for really large TV's. It remains to be seen if there is anything other than a very small(and expensive) market for over-65" RPTV's. The chatter I hear around these mega-sets is "It won't fit", and any of us having to live with the WAF know that this could be the kiss of death. I suspect that a very large flat screen will pass the WAF, provided it doesn't weigh a ton; but if it has anything over 3-4" in depth, it will be "too big".

Whoa, Ted, you lost me here man. I would never say that my 70 inch Qualia is "too big", nor would my lovely wife, who enjoys the fruits of it every day of her life. Don't believe the hype - these manufacturers who are ignoring 70 inch and up are ignoring a real market. This new 3D stuff is all geared at least originally for upwards of 100 inch sets, never mind 70. I disagree with your premise kind sir, and room depending of course, 70 inches is not at all "too big". Flat panel or not, there are plenty of people with rooms large enough to demand a 70 inch set or larger.

-Brian

I don't think it's too big. In fact, I'd like to replace it when the time comes with an 80", or so set. But those of us that purchased Q's self selected ourselves as big TV fanciers. I don't know if the "too big" comments I hear are simply envy, or a real objection. There is no rational reason for flat screens to have almost completely displaced RPTV's (my Costco is devoid of RPTV's). Few of them are wall-mounted. Most sit on 20" deep cabinets. I simply observe that a set which is 16" deep looks much bigger than one that is only 3" deep, for the same screen size. I venture the opinion (not shared by me) that when a set "looks" big, it comes to dominate a room, and the fiction that "we don't watch much TV" becomes much harder to sustain.

I disagree with your premise kind sir, and room depending of course, 70 inches is not at all "too big". Flat panel or not, there are plenty of people with rooms large enough to demand a 70 inch set or larger.

-Brian

I ditto Brian. My Qualia is mounted into a wall so that the front edge is flush with the wall so it reads thinner than a plasma or LCD. The wall backs up to a garage along which I have two closets with doors. From the garage side, one door accesses the Qualia; the other door accesses the back of my Middle Atlantic rack located in the wall to the left of my Qualia.

7 ceiling mounted Thiel 1.2's and 2 Velodyne DD-15 subs flush-mounted in the walls, keep the room WAF acceptable and uncluttered. I could go with ceiling projector and retractable screen except for the fact that I have a wall of windows extending 22' on the left (with comb shades when desired). < Why I like rear projection and don't care a hoot about thin.

Same Anthem Statement D2 pre/pro as Brian.

Give me 100" and I'll just enlarge the hole in the wall <grin>!

Chris

cargen:
you set the standard!
you are now head of the "hole in the wall" gang.:D
dave

I ditto Brian. My Qualia is mounted into a wall so that the front edge is flush with the wall so it reads thinner than a plasma or LCD. The wall backs up to a garage along which I have two closets with doors. From the garage side, one door accesses the Qualia; the other door accesses the back of my Middle Atlantic rack located in the wall to the left of my Qualia.

7 ceiling mounted Thiel 1.2's and 2 Velodyne DD-15 subs flush-mounted in the walls, keep the room WAF acceptable and uncluttered. I could go with ceiling projector and retractable screen except for the fact that I have a wall of windows extending 22' on the left (with comb shades when desired). < Why I like rear projection and don't care a hoot about thin.

Same Anthem Statement D2 pre/pro as Brian.

Give me 100" and I'll just enlarge the hole in the wall <grin>!

Chris

Ahhh, a great man indeed! Nice setup, I love it! A D2 feeding a hole in the wall, what could be better! Nahh, seriously, impressive move, I might have to re-think The Master Plan...hehehehehe....

Cheers guys!
-Brian

I sent in a question to Sony support, saying my OB had already failed once, I was wondering if the new, replacement OBs were re-engineered, and I was concerned that the extended warranty was up in a few months. I got a quick, but typical reply that it was impossible to say when, or if, any component will fail due to varying conditions, blah, blah, blah. No meaningful response.

My OB was replaced yesterday--picture great again. In service: 04/05. First replacement: 11/13/07. Second replacement 12/18/09. Approx 2600 hrs/year use. There are 2 major servicers used by Sony in Houston area for the Q's. E-tec and Qualix.
The same E-tec techs did my first and second OB. They don't know if there were any changes. E-tec has done "about 20" Q OB replacements in Houston, and mine was the first redo. But, mine was also among the first they did the first time around. If E-tec and Qualix share the business, it would indicate there could be an many as 50 Q's in Houston--a number I find hard to believe. However, we just had the largest gathering of Nissan GT-R owners in one place last month (13), and there are 48 known to be in the greater Houston area. So, who knows if there are 50 Q's here.

So Ted, it looks like you are getting a new TV for Christmas in 2011.

Looks that way, doesn't it. The 80" Mits are selling for around $2K with lamps. Two more years will give 4 years on Lasers, so if Mits is still selling them, that should be enough to avoid the Sony Qualia trap--and $2K is not $12K. I keep asking myself how I could have been so stupid.

On that subject, I guess the SXRD "interview" on Sony Insider is toast. There is an archive of two interviews with Sony's "Communications" director and if that's any indication, the SXRD piece would be a content-free puff piece. I had hopes that we would finally learn something. I guess Sony just considers us to be suckers--and I feel like one. NEVER AGAIN!

I keep reading pieces trying to "label" the last decade--like the "Roaring Twenties". My candidate is "The Scam Decade". Enron, Televangelists, Iraq, Housing, Family Values politicians, AIG, Greenspan, Sony Qualia--you get the drift.

I also checked out the Mits this weekend. I'm not saying the picture was soft, but I had to ask the salesman if the source was HD, but the one at Best Buy looked better. I was hoping Samsung would keep developing its LED backed RPTV, but that's not happening. Unless I get a new OB in before my extended warranty expires in mid-2011, I'll be looking for another TV before you are.

I saw the 82" Mits with lamp illumination next to the 65" Laser set. Both looked great to me. Very sharp picture at least as good as my Q and the colors were excellent, even in torch mode. The off-axis on the laser was the best of any other TV there (all brands except Samsung). The Sony 70" LCD was there and it was not anything special, particularly considering it's 20K price and it looked small compared to the 82" Mits sitting next to it. As I looked at all the sets, ranging from LCD, Lamp RPTV, Laser RPTV, and Plasma; it was clear to me that my choice in 2 years will be Mits Laser RPTV if they are still making them.

I sent in a question to Sony support, saying my OB had already failed once, I was wondering if the new, replacement OBs were re-engineered, and I was concerned that the extended warranty was up in a few months. I got a quick, but typical reply that it was impossible to say when, or if, any component will fail due to varying conditions, blah, blah, blah. No meaningful response.

Same exact thing with me.
Ron

I saw the 82" Mits with lamp illumination next to the 65" Laser set. Both looked great to me. Very sharp picture at least as good as my Q and the colors were excellent, even in torch mode. The off-axis on the laser was the best of any other TV there (all brands except Samsung). The Sony 70" LCD was there and it was not anything special, particularly considering it's 20K price and it looked small compared to the 82" Mits sitting next to it. As I looked at all the sets, ranging from LCD, Lamp RPTV, Laser RPTV, and Plasma; it was clear to me that my choice in 2 years will be Mits Laser RPTV if they are still making them.

Not exactly what I saw when I went looking.

The Mits 65" Laser picture was grainy and there was a shimmering effect to larger areas.

Not exactly what I saw when I went looking.

The Mits 65" Laser picture was grainy and there was a shimmering effect to larger areas.

I suspect there is a great variability among retailers, how they have set up their displays, and the vintage of their display sets. I know the owner of the place where I saw all the sets and he is an absolute tyrant for quality salesmanship. If it was there, it was as good as it's going to be. His laservue is a recent addition and Mits may have made running improvements. I have seen many less than favorable comments on the laservue, early on; so your experience is shared by others. All I can say is the one I saw looked as good as my Q--of course, my Q may not be what it was and I don't remember.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30231

So that he wouldn't offend his aunt and uncle by simply telling them about fullscreen vs widescreen, he posts the story on the Internet so the entire world can find out that his present was a miserable failure. Nice. Assuming the story is true in the first place.

good grief charlie brown!
i thought this kid was twelve, not nineteen.
my advise: get a job, grow up and quit complaining, and buy what you want.
dave

Are you kidding me?????!!!!!. Give me a break!. Sounds and acts like a candy*** little baby who happens to be nineteen. Have the huevos to ask dear auntie and uncle for the receipt and get what you want or better yet get a part time job while your at school and buy it yourself!!.

Ummm. The Onion is a satirical fake news/opinion site. The people and stories are all made up.

I suspect there is a great variability among retailers, how they have set up their displays, and the vintage of their display sets. I know the owner of the place where I saw all the sets and he is an absolute tyrant for quality salesmanship. If it was there, it was as good as it's going to be. His laservue is a recent addition and Mits may have made running improvements. I have seen many less than favorable comments on the laservue, early on; so your experience is shared by others. All I can say is the one I saw looked as good as my Q--of course, my Q may not be what it was and I don't remember.

I hope you are correct. Then the 83" LaserVue might be a winner.
That is if it ever is produced, and shows up before the HDI 100" model

If you go to splinke's link to "Sony lcd Rear Projection TV Problems" on his post, then click on his link on the upper left on his small claims court case, you will find a complete tutorial on the process.

It appears to me that once June 30, 2010 has passed and with the next OB failure on our sets, we will have grounds for a claim. The California Judge allocated 12.5 years for the "life" of an XBR Sony, and I can live with that. I would think that a Judge in another State may give Judicial Recognition to this finding. It will also be a very powerful argument in any Court (even small claims) to cite a Judicial Decision that is directly applicable to a new claim.

I believe we owe a great thanks to splinke, as he has laid the groundwork for a series of successful small claims suits. A small claims court suit is better than a class action suit, as the winning plaintiff gets actual money, rather than a useless certificate.

If you go to splinke's link to "Sony lcd Rear Projection TV Problems" on his post, then click on his link on the upper left on his small claims court case, you will find a complete tutorial on the process.

It appears to me that once June 30, 2010 has passed and with the next OB failure on our sets, we will have grounds for a claim. The California Judge allocated 12.5 years for the "life" of an XBR Sony, and I can live with that. I would think that a Judge in another State may give Judicial Recognition to this finding. It will also be a very powerful argument in any Court (even small claims) to cite a Judicial Decision that is directly applicable to a new claim.

I believe we owe a great thanks to splinke, as he has laid the groundwork for a series of successful small claims suits. A small claims court suit is better than a class action suit, as the winning plaintiff gets actual money, rather than a useless certificate.

Yes, I guess that before June 30, 2010, we can not say that Sony has not taken care of us. OTOH, once we are beyond that date we are out of luck. I wonder what Sony will say to us after that date? I wonder if they will take care of us on a one to one basis?

Ummm. The Onion is a satirical fake news/opinion site. The people and stories are all made up.

Sorry guys -thought the site was better known. Check it out sometime- it is really funny (above link not withstanding).

Yes, I guess that before June 30, 2010, we can not say that Sony has not taken care of us. OTH, once we are beyond that date we are out of luck. I wonder what Sony will say to us after that date? I wonder if they will take care of us on a one to one basis?

I'm guessing one-to-one. Splinke implied that Sony made a counteroffer after receiving his demand letter, and he rejected it as inadequate. Given the inertia of most people, it's probably the cheapest thing for Sony to wait and see who actually takes the legal steps. They are tedious and very prescriptive. If another Court accepts the 12.5 years life, we are in good shape after 2010 if Sony continues to stonewall. The caveat is state-by-state limits on the small claims amounts. I'm OK in Texas, but someone else may not be if some state has a $1K limit. We're SOL after 2010in any event, except for legal remedies.

Yes, the offers kept getting better the longer I pursued it. I think Sony tries to use customer exhaustion to minimize their damages. At first, I was offered nothing by Customer Service (I was just told that the TV was out-of-warranty). Off-shore first-level support is either ignorant or trained to lie that there are no known issues with these TVs, and they frequently claim that there are no supervisors to escalate the problem, in order to throw lesser-informed customers off the trail.

After appealing to Customer Relations, I was offered $400 off a repair. Then, after appealing at the executive level, I was offered $600 off a repair. Then, after filing my small claims lawsuit, I was offered a free repair. I thought I had a strong case, though, and I was extremely frustrated that Sony was being so stubborn (and, frankly, rude), so I told them that I would rather let a judge decide at that point. I am glad I went through with the trial.

Sony also offered increasing discounts off new direct-view LCD TVs as I took my case further, but I was not willing to spend any more money for a TV from a company that apparently does little or no testing on their technologies before dumping them on consumers. Combine that with horrible customer service, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

As I state on the small claims page of my web site, though, things like the date of purchase, model number, extended warranty status, time to the reporting of the first problem, number of problem occurrences, length of trouble-free operation, applicable consumer protection laws in the state of residence, individual judge, etc. will probably affect the likelihood and magnitude of success in small claims court, if one chooses to take it that far.

Long time reader - still lots of problems. Has anyone ever experienced the 5 blinking lights?

Sorry guys -thought the site was better known. Check it out sometime- it is really funny (above link not withstanding).

Thanks. I thought that was very funny.

Long time reader - still lots of problems. Has anyone ever experienced the 5 blinking lights?

did you recently swap out your lamp? i seem to recall that it might be associated with either the lamp being bad or that you swapped it out and didn't seat the lamp properly, OR you didn't reassamble the door(s) correctly after inserting the lamp.

our fellow Q owner, brt3, used to have a site that he maintained which has some helpful information in this regard if i recall correctly.

Long time reader - still lots of problems. Has anyone ever experienced the 5 blinking lights?

Lamp Driver Error: http://web.me.com/raythompson/Sony_Qualia_006/Info_files/Diagnostics_1.pdf

It's been a long time since I tried to post pictures, but here goes

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo304/joedud/DSC00342.jpg

Here are the surrounds. The sub is out of frame.

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo304/joedud/DSC00346.jpg[/IMG]

Here are the surrounds. The sub is out of frame.

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo304/joedud/DSC00346.jpg[/IMG]
sofer,
Good set up .. What kinda Speakers & Sub. Front look like Klipsch ? The back surrounds look like Norman Lab from Years ago... On Your amp & BD or DVD do You have all at full range with sub ?

It's been a long time since I tried to post pictures, but here goes

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo304/joedud/DSC00342.jpg

I wonder how many of us can say our speakers dwarf the Q006? :p

Very nice setup - those are massive speakers - I couldn't justify taking up that much floor space on top of the Q's footprint to the wife :). I did manage to sneak in a 4 foot subwoofer but that was as far as she would let me push it (that and the 7.1 speakers all around the room).

A belated Merry Christmas and a pre-emptive Happy New Year (and shortly after, Happy Qualia Day) to one and all from your Humble, if mostly absent, Historian.

I wish I could say that I've been lurking, but I won't.
Had I been lurking all this time, I would not be tearfully typing this now:

Right now I would give almost anything for 8 fewer months and 33 more posts so that I could have written "Get Well Soon, DiveDude" in post #600 while there was still time.
Because he always did. :( :( :(

Goodbye, my friend, and please accept my apologies for not saying it until now. We will all miss you.


--


So I'm still on my original OB, and on Lamp #4 since March.

As I posted back in March, (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16009271#post16009271) I had UMR in for a repeat visit to get a professional, unbiased evaluation of my Q006's condition. He immediately saw that I have the telltale "yellow stain" (though not very bad) that is an indication of Optical Block aging. He also noted that I have some purple-ish tint to the blacks (worse than the yellowing) that hadn't been there before--and we managed to, quite by accident, capture some footage that demonstrates the purple-tint problem so that even *I* can see it on the TiVo. He said my problems weren't as bad as he had seen on many other Qualia's, but that it still would be a good idea to get the OB replaced while it's still under warranty. He thought that the newer OB's he'd seen were a definite improvement over the the 2005 edition.

We discussed the whole situation and he was of the opinion that it's both heat and age related, meaning that it gets worse the hotter the set runs.

I got off easy, we both speculate, because my set is in a full open area (no cabinet enclosing it--just a shelf over it for the center speaker) and--more importantly--my fan has been set to "High Altitude" (meaning "full speed no matter what") since day one.

So sometime next spring before the warranty extension runs out, I'll make the call, and get it done. Then I'll cross my fingers, and keep using "High Altitude". Afterward I'll call upon UMR one more time, and hopefully I'll get another 5 years or so out of this set. I know the day will eventually come, but it'll still be a sad, sad day when I retire this television . . . and the "special light control" in the window. :eek:

Sofer: Very nice.

--Dwayne

P.S. Divedude, if you were still here, I know you would have totally followed this message by posting a certain picture. So your Humble Historian has got you covered. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15364009#post15364009);)

G.B

Those are Legacy Audio speakers. I auditioned dozens of high-end brands and have worked my way up the Legacy chain. I highly recommend them.

My other components are Lexicon electronics and Mark Levinson amps. I use the Lexicon player for SACD and redbook CD. A Sony (yes, Sony) Blu-ray player is used for BD and lossless audio codecs like Dolby TrueHD, DTS Master, and 5.1 uncompressed tracks. I have all settings at full-range and "large" speaker, as all five main speakers go below 20hz. Also, some of my audio settings are completely pass-through, so there's no bass management there anyway.

WARNING: STUPID TRIVIA FACT: My system was featured in an ad campaign with a couple of Foghat members, who live locally and are buddies. When they engineered the final mix of their last studio album, "Family Joules" the guys used my system for final tweaking and I'm in the CD credits.

thesirjay,

I hear you on the WAF, and don't blame any wife on this one. At least my space is a dedicated room, and I married way, way over my head on this one. I'm an old-school audio listener (will not say "audiophile" as I don't have a smoking jacket and have never sampled cognac), and I actually will sit for dedicated listening sessions.

Zechman,

Hello Dwayne. Yes, it was really sad about DiveDude. What a good guy and he really is missed by all who knew him. I would like to think that we played a little part in his life that maybe gave him some comfort and diversion from the burden of his illness. What a prince.

If you haven't reviewed all of the posts on the failed OBs, shoot me a PM and I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version. We have had some Q owners investigate the problem and take it as far as it probably can go at this time. Given my legal background, I'm reluctant to publicly post much more than this, but would be pleased to elaborate for anyone contacting me directly.

Fellow Qualians,

It was 5 years ago today that I placed my order for the Q006. I have enjoyed many viewing hours over the years, and unfortunately, recent anxiety and disdain for Sony over the OB issue. I just wish they'd come clean and admit the design defect and give their (formerly?) best customers some piece of mind by insuring us they will do the right thing. Sony could replace our OB's with newly designed and corrected versions; continue replacing OB's for the next 5 years; or offer us a legitimate, reasonable and appropriate exchange or money back.

However, one of the other separate and great joys of Q006 ownership has been this thread. You are all a wonderful group of people that have provided keen insight on everything Q and everything else :) We have laughed together (Zechman) and cried together (RIP DiveDude).

Happy 2010!

jb007

I was the person who posted about DiveDude. Funny, Gary and I often swapped emails and I had been uneasy that he stopped sending a reply. I was going to post a few days ago that I/we miss him but others posted first.

I must be the last person on this forum to see "Into The Blue" but when we watched it a few weeks ago I thought of Gary "DiveDude"!

Anyway, I sure hope 2010 will be good for all of us!

A Happy New Year greeting to all!

After family health and world peace, I hope for a global settlement for all Q owners and we end up with the same great display so we can continue our thread.

So while I'm recovering from knee surgery, I've been a little more active posting, which I realize may be a little obvious.

Anyway, I just saw a Mits ad from a big box retailer that offered a 65" DLP RPTV for under $1300 and the 73" model for under $1600. While I realize these are no Qs or high-end flat panels, I think it's a great value buy for someone with the room. Put on an HD ballgame or Blu-ray and that's a pretty good display, especially when you consider some of the things we used to own before HD. I could easily live with something close to this as an interim solution if the Q fails, until Laser or LED panels get viable and cheaper.

OK, I've had enough coffee.

I had UMR in for a repeat visit to get a professional, unbiased evaluation of my Q006's condition. He immediately saw that I have the telltale "yellow stain" (though not very bad) that is an indication of Optical Block aging. He also noted that I have some purple-ish tint to the blacks (worse than the yellowing) that hadn't been there before--and we managed to, quite by accident, capture some footage that demonstrates the purple-tint problem so that even *I* can see it on the TiVo. He said my problems weren't as bad as he had seen on many other Qualia's, but that it still would be a good idea to get the OB replaced while it's still under warranty. He thought that the newer OB's he'd seen were a definite improvement over the the 2005 edition.

We discussed the whole situation and he was of the opinion that it's both heat and age related, meaning that it gets worse the hotter the set runs.

I got off easy, we both speculate, because my set is in a full open area (no cabinet enclosing it--just a shelf over it for the center speaker) and--more importantly--my fan has been set to "High Altitude" (meaning "full speed no matter what") since day one.


My optical block has also been gradually deteriorating, though not quite as badly as others have experienced. The worst part is that blacks have gotten noticeably brighter and are quite blue. I get a greenish-yellow stain that is very apparent for a few minutes after startup, but only noticeable on gray screens thereafter. For quite awhile, I've noticed a bluish haze around the edges on white screens. This has only slowly gotten worse and isn't usually noticeable on regular programming. I calibrate mine via an external video processor (Lumagen RadianceXD) and what I've measured over the course of the past year is that the green primary has become increasingly more oversaturated, while the red primary has become increasingly more undersaturated. I had a repairman out and have a new optical block on order.

I know Sony managed to improve the black levels on SXRD chips that were developed subsequent to the 006. I wonder if any of those improvements have made it into the refurbished optical blocks? If Jeff/UMR made any observations about the black levels being improved? I know there was a post awhile back where he commented on the gamma being improved on the later sets sold...don't know if this is all he was referring to with respect to the refurbished optical blocks being better?

With respect to whether the optical block problem can be slowed or stopped, I'm of the opinion it can be slowed, but very dubious whether it can be stopped, unless it has been redesigned. My set is in a corner, so it has pretty good airflow. My house tends to be colder than most, so that's also a plus. As well as little dust. Inside the lamp compartment, with the lamp removed, I can shine a light into the back of the compartment and see a fan blade for the cooling fan, and there's only very light dust on it, so dust isn't the only factor, although I suspect it leads to the more catastrophic green blob failure. The high altitude setting probably helps (I don't use this), but can be a two-edged sword, as it would lead to quicker dust build-up on the fans, and would require more frequent cleaning. Since the first year or so, I tend to use the reduced power bulb setting, which should also help. I also usually have the iris closed (Cinema Black Pro = ON), but don't know if it's a positive or a negative or neutral. So even with mostly favorable conditions for optical block preservation, I've still experienced noticeable degradation after about 6500 hours.

Back before these sets were built, I read a white paper published by JVC, where they subjected their D-ILA (their variation of SXRD/LCOS) panels to 100,000 hours (simulated) of usage and saw very little degradation to the panels. Since both Sony and JVC were both using an inorganic alignment layer, I figured Sony's SXRD panels would perform similarly, though have not seen any documentation to support that. This would probably suggest the problem is indeed with the filters, and not the SXRD panels.

What I don't understand is why the front projectors don't appear to be suffering from the same malady? With the Qualia 004 using an 800 watt lamp, it surely would be generating far more heat than the Qualia 006.

Dan

I suspect that the front projectors have a different light/air path which results in cooler temps on the filters, OR the different price points of the FP units allowed a more expensive filter material with better temp performance. I consider the latter unlikely. I would be curious to know how the Q OB differs from the 70" XBR OB. Has anyone looked on the Sony parts website to check P/N and price for the two? I also saw a report that the FP units are beginning to degrade. The delay in this, compared to the RP sets could be attributed to two things: 1) the temp window in which the problem occurs is very small and so a very small decrease in temp makes a big difference in the speed at which the problem occurs. This is supported by the relatively long OB life reported by some of our Q owners, compared to others. 2) The usage patterns of FP's. They tend to be turned on for a 2 hour movie, and then turned off. Our Q's, on the other hand, tend to be turned on and left on for longer periods resulting in a greater chance of elevated temps for a sustained time.

The part is now in, but they can't get out until Tuesday to install.

Parrish, sad to hear that your replacement didn't go well. Is that the norm? Seems like others have been very happy after having the optical block replaced.

Hard to give up on a TV that I spent over $10,000 on.... Should be able to get more than 20 years out of it, let alone 4 years.

If you get 6 out of the set you will be very lucky

Zechman great to see you back in the thread. DD was a big blow to all of us - I will always remember the special mini-Dive photos and the camaraderie he helped bring here. My OB hasn't gone bad a second time and I am crossing my fingers maybe they did find some kind of fix - your report of UMR saying the new OBs seemed better gave me a shot of hope, I think most of us suspected strongly they were simply taking our old OBs and tossing in a new piece of the exact same deteriorate with age/heat material.

Zechman great to see you back in the thread. DD was a big blow to all of us - I will always remember the special mini-Dive photos and the camaraderie he helped bring here. My OB hasn't gone bad a second time and I am crossing my fingers maybe they did find some kind of fix - your report of UMR saying the new OBs seemed better gave me a shot of hope, I think most of us suspected strongly they were simply taking our old OBs and tossing in a new piece of the exact same deteriorate with age/heat material.

Similar thoughts here. I'm still on my replacement OB from 11/08 and hoping it stays brilliant. Recently swapped to a new lamp and the picture is nothing short of BEAUTIFUL! How long it stays that way is a sucker's bet, but we'll see...here's to hopin!

As for the comments on Divedude, I couldn't agree more...he will be remembered here for his remarkably positive outlook and simple enjoyment of life. As someone who makes a living off of the crazy, fast-paced world of technology and tends to be a digital geek in his personal life as well, I think what impacted me most about Divedude was that he was always reminding us of the pure enjoyment of all this fancy technology. Sometimes I think we get lost in the geekiness of things, the nerd knobs as I call them, and forget to just sit back, grab a glass of your favorited beverage, and just enjoy the Q, or whatever else it is. He reminded us all the time that having fun with technology can be a great goal by itself, not sweating the small stuff and the digital minutia. I still get a goofy smile on my face when I think of mini-dive sitting in some strange pose with some strange situation and a simple funny Divedude caption...ahh yes, the simple pleasures of life!

Thanks for letting me remember once again tonight...I hope I never ever forget.

-Brian

Similar thoughts here. I'm still on my replacement OB from 11/08 and hoping it stays brilliant. Recently swapped to a new lamp and the picture is nothing short of BEAUTIFUL! How long it stays that way is a sucker's bet, but we'll see...here's to hopin!

-Brian

The recent replacement of your bulb might be a good time to record the date you replaced the bulb. This would help prove or disprove the theory that the additional heat generated by the cleaning of the internal mirror and the new bulb contribute to the degradation of the Sony OB.

I will soon be replacing the bulb on my Qualia and will be watching for any ill effects it might cause the OB to exhibit.
I urge other Qualia owners to record and take notice of their bulb replacements. Then, regularly check blank memory
stick screens for EARLY discoloration.

I am not a Vizio fan but, for 3500 clams, I can make due for a while to see what else comes out (improved Laservue...). Hope I won't need one for a while.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/vizios-2010-xvt-lcds-go-up-to-72-inches-with-3d-led-wifi-and-wi/

Guys, how do you check the hours in service on the Q006? Thanks.

Guys, how do you check the hours in service on the Q006? Thanks.

Lot of information on the first page of this forum

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6779958&postcount=9010

Wow, now that's what I'm talking about. I've never been a Vizio fan either, but is Sony's 70" LCD worth $15,000 more? Until now, I had some reliability concerns about Vizio, but someone in my family has had a 42" panel for awhile now, with no issues.

So, if Vizio has this 72 incher, with this feature set, then certainly other manufacturers are capable of similar models. This could get interesting.

Wow, now that's what I'm talking about. I've never been a Vizio fan either, but is Sony's 70" LCD worth $15,000 more? Until now, I had some reliability concerns about Vizio, but someone in my family has had a 42" panel for awhile now, with no issues.

So, if Vizio has this 72 incher, with this feature set, then certainly other manufacturers are capable of similar models. This could get interesting.

Whoever is producing the 72 inch panels is sure to want to supply them to other manufacturers. If they do that should drive the costs down even more.

I have an admission to my fellow Qualians. I have been unfaithful to the altar of Sony......................

I think I found a picture dare I say is more compelling and real than my beloved Q. Picked up a new-in-box Pioneer Kuro 151 for the bedroom and man is this picture sweet.........at least on HD. SD on it blows but I rarely watch that noise simply out of principle. Colors are soooo real and the image is sharp and detail is awesome. Very much like looking through a clean window. The blacks are just inky. Even though its 10 inches smaller the bed is closer than the couch in front of the Q so the perception of the size is the same. Wife thinks I'm insane but much like the rest of you, that ship sailed long ago.

Did I mention this picture is awesome.

Many are in your camp stating the Kuro is the best display ever made. On some brighter material a high-end LED LCD is really good. I could easily live with my Samsung LED as a Q replacement, if it only was about 20 inches bigger.

Here is another. They are getting closer.
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10426897-269.html?tag=mncol;title

Lot of information on the first page of this forum

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6779958&postcount=9010

Thanks very much.

Looks like Samsung is bringing a 65 incher to the game.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/06/samsungs-2010-lcds-and-plasmas-include-the-skinny-touchscreen-re/

It's mentioned in the "Show Press Release."

I guess I could get a 65" panel if the Q dies and just sit a foot or two closer to it.

My Q006 is 5 years old today...limping along. I need a second OB replacement. Green blob in center of screen...very noticeable on black background.

What will the next 5 years bring...3D, OLED, . . .

The eternal optimist in me hopes that Sony is waiting for their new 3D sets to release and then they will offer a tradeout to we Q owners: Their most loyal customers (formerly) and best ambassadors they could have. We were on the cutting edge with them in 2005. Will it happen again? As things presently stand, my next TV(s) will be anything other than a Sony. Win your best ambassadors back, Sony!

So far it seems nothing can come close to the picture of OLED - Sony is now doing 3D OLED at 24.5 inches so there isn't a problem with refresh rate being fast enough. I haven't gotten to take a real look at one of the screens (I think I saw a 8 inch once and wow but... 8 friggin inches just isn't enough to make an impression on me). So unless some breakthrough happens the best is going to be OLED in 7+ years at reasonable sizes and prices (I just can't see it hitting 50+ inches for 4 more years).

the eternal optimist in me hopes that sony is waiting for their new 3d sets to release and then they will offer a tradeout to we q owners: Their most loyal customers (formerly) and best ambassadors they could have. We were on the cutting edge with them in 2005. Will it happen again? As things presently stand, my next tv(s) will be anything other than a sony. Win your best ambassadors back, sony!


+1

So far it seems nothing can come close to the picture of OLED - Sony is now doing 3D OLED at 24.5 inches so there isn't a problem with refresh rate being fast enough. I haven't gotten to take a real look at one of the screens (I think I saw a 8 inch once and wow but... 8 friggin inches just isn't enough to make an impression on me). So unless some breakthrough happens the best is going to be OLED in 7+ years at reasonable sizes and prices (I just can't see it hitting 50+ inches for 4 more years).

What a step backwards. Our first TV...when TV was new and there was 1 station on for only 6 hours a day (in Hartford) was a Motorola ROUND 7" picture! :D

I, too, saw the 8" OLED and it was a great picture!

LG now has an LED 72"er that at least it is showing.

http://blog.hometheatermag.com/ces2010/010910LGlarge/

http://media.digitaltrends.com/digital-trends/ces-2010---lg-72-inch-3dtv-prototype/

LED light sources are now being used in Front Projectors--Sim 2 in particular. This indicates that LED illumination is not going to be a problem for very large RPTV's. The Sim 2 uses RGB Led's with no color wheel. The drawback is that it requires a low voltage 30 amp power supply, which is necessarily heavier than those for our lamp-based sets. This is not a disqualifier, just an indication that the power supply will cost more than lamp-based ones. First users of the Sim 2 report that it is tremendously liberating. I'ts almost instant on/off and has no worries about lamp life. Users report having no qualms just turning the FP on for almost anything.

LED light sources are now being used in Front Projectors--Sim 2 in particular. This indicates that LED illumination is not going to be a problem for very large RPTV's. The Sim 2 uses RGB Led's with no color wheel. The drawback is that it requires a low voltage 30 amp power supply, which is necessarily heavier than those for our lamp-based sets. This is not a disqualifier, just an indication that the power supply will cost more than lamp-based ones. First users of the Sim 2 report that it is tremendously liberating. I'ts almost instant on/off and has no worries about lamp life. Users report having no qualms just turning the FP on for almost anything.

I saw an LED FP at a show; I think it was a Vivitek. The only drawback (besides price) was the brightness. It was a completely dark venue and the screen was relatively small, but the picture was really good. I have no doubt that eventually LED will take over, but for now the picture people are getting out of lamp-based FPs for under $3K is remarkable.

I've been lurking on some FP sites just in case I switch over after the death of the Q. Of course Sony still has time to save this valued customer and the untold thousands of dollars of future purchase and referral sales.

I have a Sim 2 3-chip FP, with a 12' screen in a dedicated room. Still requires good light control, which means it's not suitable for living area. Even the Q, at 70", is still a TV, albeit a big one. The FP is a movie theater. I think it would take 100", or larger, to get the theater effect. I watched the recent 1080i DirecTV broadcast of the 25th Rock and Roll anniversary on both. It was like being in the front row of Madison Square Garden with the 12' screen. On the Q, it was television.

Reports on the Sim 2 FP LED are not flagging a lack of brightness, but still needs a light controlled environment.

Ted,

That's a really nice FP set-up. All performance aside, I've always thought the Sims units themselves were the best looking FPs made. Some of these giant boxes don't exactly enhance the decor, if that's important to the homeowner. Of course the Sony units have some nice curves, but they are out of the question until the Q issue gets resolved. From the CES reports it sure looks like LEDs will have widespread adoption a lot quicker than I had thought.

One wonders if Mits is rethinking laser and going to go for LED, given that progress. I saw a picture in the paper with the Mits 82" doing 3-D. I haven't followed CES to see what Mits is featuring. However, it would appear that Mits has the RPTV market to itself, so far as large manufacturers are concerned. I still think that RPTV is the sweet spot for 70" and above.

A few months ago I read that Mits had no plans for LEDs. That could change if the LaserVue doesn't produce and the DLP RPTVs don't exploit that big screen niche. I wonder why Samsung's DLP LED RPTVs didn't succeed. I would have thought that a generation or two of improvement would yield some impressive results. My guess is that within 2-3 years we'll see that 70-80" LED LCD in the $3-5K range.

I have owned a Q 006 since 2007. Have had to replace the lamp twice. First I used an original lamp. I now purchased a replacement and received the Osram unit. Has anyone here used this lamp? When replacing the lamp in the original housing, did you also replace the stainless steel parts? How does this lamp compare to the philips as far as life and quality?

Also, what is the OB I keep reading about? this seems to be a huge problem if the replacement is $5400. I absolutely love the set, but this would change my mind about any future Sony purchases.

I have only replaced the Q lamp with the Sony XL-5000. It's an easy job but when you do it use some lens cleaner and clean out the cavity. You'll be amazed at how dirty it gets. Check out the first page of this thread for more information.

If you read the thread going back a few months you'll learn all you need to know about the OB problem. Sony has extended the warranty until June 30, 2010 for failed Q OBs. A good test is to go to the blank memory stick screen that's all grey and look for any green or yellow hazy, cloudy colorations. If you see anything immediately call for a service call under the extended warranty.

I installed the Osram lamp. I do not see any difference (with naked eye) as compared to the philips. On note though, the Philips lamp comes with some stainless steel plates on the sides to cover some openings on the lamp. I did not replace those. I installed the Osram lamp without them.
The only problem I had was with the connections. The connector on the Osram lamp would not fit the connector on the TV. So instead of risking damage, I replaced it with the one from the bad philips lamp. It worked great.
Hope this helps some.

And if Sony goes bunkrupt in '11 then what?

I just joined the forum, but have been lurking for years. I have enjoyed my Q since November 2005. PQ is still great, but I'm worried about the OB problems I've been reading about.

Looking at next steps, should the unit fail, I was wondering if anyone thought about - or had any experience with - Panasonic's new 85 inch plasma. I love the PQ on my 42 inch Panasonic professional display. The 85 incher is expensive, but without bulbs to worry about, could provide trouble-free operation for a very long time. Probably has great black levels as well...

Regarding the PQ on the Q, it is still on of the best out there. I am happy with the osram lamp so far. I was looking for the Philips lamp, but Philips could not help locating them.
In the event sony goes out of business (highly unlikely), I am stocking enough lamps for about 10 yrs, which by than there will be new technology anyway. As far as the OB, Sony is replacing defective ones thru June '11. Mine seams fine, but I might try for a new one just in case.
I am also looking at a new set for a dedicated theater room. I like the LED sets, but the size is too small. Regarding the Panasonic plasma, it looks great new, and yes no lamps. However, I have a friend who went with a plasma when I bought the Q, and now regrets it. The problem is they lose picture quality with use and there is no way of fixing them. With a new lamp, as in the Q, the picture looks as good as new.
As far as the new room I'm doing, I'm leaning towards the Runco led projectors. These seem very good without lamp issues. I would also love a LED in the 82" range, but they don't exist yet.

anyway. As far as the OB, Sony is replacing defective ones thru June '11.

It's June 30th 2010.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?news_id=277

My 006 (with the Sony stand) has been over carpet since 2005 but we are now placing hardwood floor (3/4" Kempas solid, not engineered, wood). When my contractor was moving the set he stated he thought the TV would break the hardwood floor if we place it on top of hardwood, the pressure of the wheels on the planks would damage/break the floor.

Anyone with experience that can validate whether hardwood handles the 006 on top of its stand? Is there anything that can/should be placed between the wheels and the floor?

Thanks

Mine is on an engineered hardwood floor (mahogany veneer), glued to a concrete subfloor. I have the Sony stand. It has been rolled in and out countless times with no damage. I suspect it depends on the substrate, whether floating, nailed or glued, and the wood species.

June 30, 2010

Five months and counting . . .

Is the optical block changed from the front or the back and how long does it take? Thanks

Arnie

Is the optical block changed from the front or the back and how long does it take? Thanks

Arnie

The OB is removed from the back.

The time required depends on:
1. How thorough the tech cleans all the filters,fans and bulb housing.
2. If the tech uses a color bar generator to readjust the settings
3. The prior experience of the tech
Usually about 2 -3 hours with an experienced tech.

When I have the grey screen on the right side is very slightly green. Will it get worse because right now it is not a big deal? I have read that some people who have had it done get a refurbished OB and the problem comes back again. Once the OB is replaced how long is the warrantly on the new OB? SHould I get it repaired now or should I wait till it gets worse?

Thanks

Arnie

It gets worse, and the part usually needs to be placed on order. All warrantys expire this Jun 30. So, best to have it done now to see if you are going to have an infant mortality. Mine have been lasting about 2 years, each.

Check your Menu settings.
Picture Mode should be Pro not Vivid

The following should be close for everyone for the best Qualia blacks and a natural looking picture

Picture 58
Brightness 31
Color 33
Hue 0
Sharpness 33
Color Temp Warm
Noise Reduction OFF
Direct Mode ON
Cinema Black Pro ON
Color Space Wide
Color Corrector OFF
DTE OFF
Clear White OFF
Detail Enhancer OFF
Gamma Corrector OFF

I know it has been way too long since this was posted, but since we only have about 4 months left for the OB issue I want to ask again.....

I will be trying these settings again, but I still have the same issue and feel that the Q was just too expensive to keep putting up with the issue I have.

Namely, we use this set for BR DVD's and HD Sports. I feel I have the fewest hours of anyone on here. I am still on the same lamp and so far see no OB issues.

HOWEVER, I must admit that for the last 1 year + I do not like the picture! It is plenty sharp, and bright, but the Blacks are all but gone...and kind of a lousy grey scale as well. However, the worst thing is that the colors seem VERY weak! A forest scene can show green grass and leaves, but not very intense! I am not looking for it to look like a cartoon, and I have the setting on Pro, but a forest and water should show nice shades of Green and Blue. It just does not look right! If I am not carefull, the pic can get noisy as well. Vivid sure shows that.

I have not changed any settings...as I try suggestions and when it does little good, I return to what I had. So, I guess what I am asking is if any of you have had an OB changed on these kinds of issues without an actual "green or yellow blob"? If so, will Sony fix this without an actual blob? Do they admit that the OB can cause other issues as I have?

TIA all and as I said I love this set and just want my original pic back! Right now, when I watch a BR DVD I keep thinking that the pic ought to be FAR better and I just get mad! I do finally need to get off my A** and get this dealt with already!

I know it has been way too long since this was posted, but since we only have about 4 months left for the OB issue I want to ask again.....

I will be trying these settings again, but I still have the same issue and feel that the Q was just too expensive to keep putting up with the issue I have.

Namely, we use this set for BR DVD's and HD Sports. I feel I have the fewest hours of anyone on here. I am still on the same lamp and so far see no OB issues.

HOWEVER, I must admit that for the last 1 year + I do not like the picture! It is plenty sharp, and bright, but the Blacks are all but gone...and kind of a lousy grey scale as well. However, the worst thing is that the colors seem VERY weak! A forest scene can show green grass and leaves, but not very intense! I am not looking for it to look like a cartoon, and I have the setting on Pro, but a forest and water should show nice shades of Green and Blue. It just does not look right! If I am not carefull, the pic can get noisy as well. Vivid sure shows that.

I have not changed any settings...as I try suggestions and when it does little good, I return to what I had. So, I guess what I am asking is if any of you have had an OB changed on these kinds of issues without an actual "green or yellow blob"? If so, will Sony fix this without an actual blob? Do they admit that the OB can cause other issues as I have?

TIA all and as I said I love this set and just want my original pic back! Right now, when I watch a BR DVD I keep thinking that the pic ought to be FAR better and I just get mad! I do finally need to get off my A** and get this dealt with already!

The settings I quoted still work good for me. A very natural and realistic picture like looking out a window.
Some items you might check.
Check your BD player settings. Are you getting 1080i as your input from the BD player.
Check your TV source also and confirm you are getting 1080i as the input.

The other item which probably is your problem is the bulb.
A weak bulb will give you dim colors and weak blacks. Even cranking on Vivid which is terrible to watch, will not alleviate a weakening bulb. You should not be waiting for the bulb to die or the Q to indicate a bad bulb.

I know it has been way too long since this was posted, but since we only have about 4 months left for the OB issue I want to ask again.....

I will be trying these settings again, but I still have the same issue and feel that the Q was just too expensive to keep putting up with the issue I have.

Namely, we use this set for BR DVD's and HD Sports. I feel I have the fewest hours of anyone on here. I am still on the same lamp and so far see no OB issues.

HOWEVER, I must admit that for the last 1 year + I do not like the picture! It is plenty sharp, and bright, but the Blacks are all but gone...and kind of a lousy grey scale as well. However, the worst thing is that the colors seem VERY weak! A forest scene can show green grass and leaves, but not very intense! I am not looking for it to look like a cartoon, and I have the setting on Pro, but a forest and water should show nice shades of Green and Blue. It just does not look right! If I am not carefull, the pic can get noisy as well. Vivid sure shows that.

I have not changed any settings...as I try suggestions and when it does little good, I return to what I had. So, I guess what I am asking is if any of you have had an OB changed on these kinds of issues without an actual "green or yellow blob"? If so, will Sony fix this without an actual blob? Do they admit that the OB can cause other issues as I have?

TIA all and as I said I love this set and just want my original pic back! Right now, when I watch a BR DVD I keep thinking that the pic ought to be FAR better and I just get mad! I do finally need to get off my A** and get this dealt with already!

mpsan,

why not just schedule a service call; if it is bad as you say SOMETHING is wrong...i'm sure there are multiple failure modes.

mine didn't have a terrible green blob but they replaced the OB anyhow.

i sure wouldn't wait any longer if i were you...

Thank you both. The bad pic is on both the BR DVD and the TiVo HD, and they are at 1080i. Also, if anything, the picture is too bright. I do not think that I even have 1000 hours on the Q so I did not suspect the lamp. This has been going on since I had a little over 700 hours on the lamp.

I will use your settings again and see what happens. I could hit VIVID to see if it still cranks up the color, although the last time I did that the pic had a very noisy background.

Perhaps a call to Sony would not hurt. OH, if the OB is changed how much room do they need in back of the Q. Mine is about 10" from the back of the Q to the wall.

You need to have full access to the back of the TV, such as turning it around or moving it to the middle of the floor.

You need to have full access to the back of the TV, such as turning it around or moving it to the middle of the floor.


Well...that is doable but hard. The stand is on wheels...will have to see. I hope, if this does happen, that the service guy will at least clean everything when it is open!

Well...that is doable but hard. The stand is on wheels...will have to see. I hope, if this does happen, that the service guy will at least clean everything when it is open!

definitely need full access as it is akin to open heart surgery!

if the tech is good and friendly, chat him/her up and i'm sure they'll do the right thing and clean everything out.

i supplied my guy with some cans of compressed air i had lying around for items which he pulled out and then took them outside to give them a healthy dose of compressed air; also set up my vacuum for the guy so that he could vacuum the cavity/accessible areas.

of course i also tipped the guy afterwards :)

Notice a similarity with the way Toyota is responding to their problems and the way Sony has been responding.

Is it Japanese corporate policy or the way the Japanese respond personally to their customers. ?

Notice a similarity with the way Toyota is responding to their problems and the way Sony has been responding.

Is it Japanese corporate policy or the way the Japanese respond personally to their customers. ?

That is an interesting comment. Here is a paraphrased excerpt from a February 5, 2010 Wall Street Journal article entitled "Toyota's Influence Looms Widely Over Japan (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703357104575044761211965140.html)":

"The once-impregnable car maker is facing questions over its reputation, quality-control and trustworthiness in the American market, where it has long been seen as a pillar—if not the pillar—of Japan Inc...The world's biggest auto maker's tentacles and its sprawling subsidiaries stretch from cars to real estate to the upper echelons of government...Former Toyota executives are scattered like seeds: in the government, in Japan's leading business lobby group, on company boards such as Sony Corp..."

One issue with Sony is that they are not considered a big company in Japan. Also it is very hard for any company there to understand that we have little brand loyalty here.

Whenever I was there (more than 45 trips) they could not understand that in other areas of the world (read USA) a person would drop a vendor like a hot rock. For example, in Japan a shop would buy its computers (large main frame) from Company A. They would buy the main frame, OS, Printers, Disks, and Tape, from Company A as well. So what if the tape or printer was not the best...they still kept everything. In the USA the Tape or Printer would be out on the street and a new Tape or Printer vendor would move right in. That is how Companies like Storage Tech got started. They had a better Tape Idea and sold it!

So, in that regard, people there who always bought Toyota will still always buy Toyota...unless something VERY unfixable happens for a long time!

Anyway, I did not want to go OT as much as I did.

Well, I checked and my settings were as suggested. I tried setting the color level up to 50 and it did help, but doesn't that seem high? Still have issues with black level. Picture seems very bright. Will play again on Monday...need to take Sunday off. :D

MPSAN,
I had picture quality issues as well. You mentioned you have not changed the lamp. This could be the problem. In my experience, when the lamp started to get weak, the picture quality deteriorated greatly. As soon as I replaced the lamp, it was back to normal. Try replacing the lamp. Also, how many hours on your set? a lamp should get around 2500 to 3000 hours. However, this greatly depends on your habits (i.e. turning the set on and off frequently). Try never to turn the set on before the lamp cools down (min 20 min). This will extend lamp life.

MPSAN,
I had picture quality issues as well. You mentioned you have not changed the lamp. This could be the problem. In my experience, when the lamp started to get weak, the picture quality deteriorated greatly. As soon as I replaced the lamp, it was back to normal. Try replacing the lamp. Also, how many hours on your set? a lamp should get around 2500 to 3000 hours. However, this greatly depends on your habits (i.e. turning the set on and off frequently). Try never to turn the set on before the lamp cools down (min 20 min). This will extend lamp life.

+1

MPSAN

I would also suggest because you have so few hours on your current bulb, you might first just remove the current bulb. Then clean the reflector and lens inside on the left, the bulb, housing, etc, with the proper recommended cleaning materials.

Thank you both. I will try this. I NEVER turn the Q on/off without several days in between, as we only use this for BR DVD's and sports! That is why I only have about 1,000 hours on it and it is in a very clean room. Our house has an air cleaner and the HVAC fan is always on. Still I can try cleaning the inside. I have NEVER removed the lamp so will need to see what is involved.

Does this sound like something that would make the color setting go to 50 before I see OK color?

P.S. I read the cleaning post(s). Can I use the cloth that came with the Q or is that for the screen?

Also, can I just use the liquid cleaner I use for my glasses and cleaning cloth or are tissues better?

Thank you both. I will try this. I NEVER turn the Q on/off without several days in between, as we only use this for BR DVD's and sports! That is why I only have about 1,000 hours on it and it is in a very clean room. Our house has an air cleaner and the HVAC fan is always on. Still I can try cleaning the inside. I have NEVER removed the lamp so will need to see what is involved.

Does this sound like something that would make the color setting go to 50 before I see OK color?

P.S. I read the cleaning post(s). Can I use the cloth that came with the Q or is that for the screen?

Also, can I just use the liquid cleaner I use for my glasses and cleaning cloth or are tissues better?

Do not use the cloth that came with the Q. Use lens tissues and liquid for cleaning expensive cameras or telescopes that does not leave any deposits.
The cleanliness of your room which apparently is sterile or near sterile has nothing to do with the dirt that accumulates on the mirror and inside the housing. The heat burns the inside into a carbon like deposit that needs some chemical help with removal. The camera tissues will prevent scratching anything.

Do not use the cloth that came with the Q. Use lens tissues and liquid for cleaning expensive cameras or telescopes that does not leave any deposits.
The cleanliness of your room which apparently is sterile or near sterile has nothing to do with the dirt that accumulates on the mirror and inside the housing. The heat burns the inside into a carbon like deposit that needs some chemical help with removal. The camera tissues will prevent scratching anything.

OK, I believe I still have some tissue from when I used a 35mm Pentax! Can't I use the liquid I use on my glasses as it sure does not leave a film.

Here is the company where I purchased new bulbs.
They are Sony original equipment and the complete assembly.
TV Lamps For Less (http://www.tvlampsforless.com/XL_5000_p/xl5000.htm)

Remember DO Not Touch the bulb lens.

Here are the cleaning chemicals I have been using.
They do not leave any residue to be baked on the mirror. I am sure other lens cleaners for cameras etc will work.
Purosol Plasma Cleaner and Purosol Optical Cleaner (http://www.purosol.com/)

Here are cleaning instructions from the first page (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8034900&&#post8034900)


Stew

Here is the company where I purchased new bulbs.
They are Sony original equipment and the complete assembly.
TV Lamps For Less (http://www.tvlampsforless.com/XL_5000_p/xl5000.htm)

Remember DO Not Touch the bulb lens.

Here are the cleaning chemicals I have been using.
They do not leave any residue to be baked on the mirror. I am sure other lens cleaners for cameras etc will work.
Purosol Plasma Cleaner and Purosol Optical Cleaner (http://www.purosol.com/)
Here are cleaning instructions from the first page (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8034900&&#post8034900)


Stew

Thank you. I do have the new spare lamp Sony sent me. I think I will see if the "old" one is any better after cleaning. I am used to lamps that can not be touched so that is not an issue. It will be interesting to see how much "dirt" is in there! I hope there is a lot!

MPSAN,

While you may be a Q owner with the fewest viewing hours, I'm at the other end of the scale. I'm on my third (or fourth?) lamp and the swap out is easy. When I clean the cavity I'll use up to ten cloths until there is no more residue at all. It must make a huge difference, because every time I do it the picture is amazing all over again.

This past weekend I was shopping for another flat panel for a different room. I was going to get a mid-level LCD and then I saw the Samsung LED 8500, non-edge back lighting model. Even with the setting cranked up, it was an incredible picture and now I can't settle for anything less. In the coming years when LED is pretty standard all of our next sets will be a step up in PQ.

Great. I may try to find my lense tissues. I keep wondering what the next set will be. I do not want less than 70" but I sure do not want to get one so big that it will not fit on our semi-custom stand with the B&W Center speaker above it!

Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking their next big video display will have to be 3D?

And the Q hopefully will last until I get one.

Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking their next big video display will have to be 3D?

And the Q hopefully will last until I get one.

I think it IS just you! :D

my Q's serial number... 2002414 manuf. 12/05... I use the hell out of it, have changed lamps three times and the OB just started acting up... replacement next thursday.

Butch

I think it IS just you! :D

Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking their next big video display will have to be 3D?

And the Q hopefully will last until I get one.

Well, for those of us who can't see 3D (myself included), and the countless others who are bothered by it - umm, no :D I just hope they don't spend ALL thier money perfecting 3D and I never get my Q replacement (don't see one out there right now). I do however hope you get and enjoy your 3D set :).

I could live without 3D, but my daughter and her friends really get into it. They're only third graders, so they don't realize how lousy the anaglyph glasses are with picture quality. I'll only buy into 3D if the active shutter LCD glasses work, and work for people like me that wear prescription glasses.

Sofer, I like you, really sock on the hours. I am now on my 6th bulb and second OB and currently the picture is day 1 perfect. My wife turns it on first thing in the AM and it is on till 11 to midnight most every day. If we are leaving the house for more than a couple hours we turn it off but otherwise it is like the engergiizer bunny. My kids use it as their gaming center and it sits many hours on Input 6 and a dark screen with no game input after they have moved on to emptying my refrigerator and downloading crap on their MAC's but I assume the lamp is still on in there burning away. Sometimes all night. Our cable is on input 7 but they forget to put it back on this inupt. My wife uses it to listen to music on those music channels when not imaging Oprah, Doctor OZ or some other mindless drivel.............she wont use the stereo for the music cause she likes the screen images they push through. What do they care as I apparently have an endless bank account and keep providing new lamps. Not sure if anyone else here is up to 6 or beyond and I believe I may be the definitive authority on changing lamps.

MPSAN, when my bulb gets near death you can see it about 3 - 4 days early as the picture gets dimmer and washed out........... then all of a sudden....POP, time for a new bulb and the picture is back to awesome. The only good news is if the OB does not puke out I am living proof that this thing will deliver an awesome picture for years if you simply keep feeding the insatiable beast $300 dollar lamps every 9-10 months or so. (Lately they have been lasting longer as I now use the high altitude setting and power saver with no apparent picture degredation ..current bulb is at a year)

In April will be 5 years and counting. Im figuring a normal service life should be 10 years. I am not a museum curator so I am going to use this thing as it was designed to do. And if my second OB dies after the warrenty runs out either Sony will figure out how to do something for us to remain SONY customers or I will put the POS out on the curb with the weekly garbage and never buy a SONY anything again. How about this...maybe then I will just mount this 60 inch KURO I recently picked up new from BB for the bedroom inside the Qualia and squint at the smallish picture....LMAO

Question, if you don't mind my asking. What is the temperature inside the room the Q is in? This would be all year (looking for worst case highest temperature). Being in Florida and not wanting to spend $$$ on cooling mine is "set" to 77 in the summer, but I bet it gets over 80 in the room with the Q when the surround is on :). I don't have near the hours you do (only fourth lamp so less than 8000 hours, but on third OB and this one is toast), but it is suspected that the OB is sensitive to higher temps. This might support that if you have lower temps than mine... Just curious... Thanks

Wife accuses me of being like Mr. Freeze. Keep the house about 65-66 (day) in the winter and no more than 68-70 (day) in the summer and sleep with windows open if below those temperatures. The Q has plenty of space around it so any hot air exiting the TV is free to dissipate. I do try and vacuum out the TV when I change bulbs. I have noticed a significant extension in the last two lamps by going to the high altitude and power saver settings.


Interesting question is what impacts bulb life more.... total hours ignited or the cumulative number of heat/cool cycles. I have heard stories of incandescent lights lasting for decades if they are not disturbed and simply run continuously. Now those are not 200 Watt heat monsters like the XL-5000. Not being a lamp expert I would defer that question to those with real engineering degrees.

Ah, thanks - VERY interesting information. I was actually more interested in the OB life. I have gone through 2 (on my third wich went bad very quickly) in a much shorter time than you have (my TV only sees that kind of use on the weekend). It has been mentioned several times in this thread I believe that heat might play a part. The data you provided could support that theory. It makes me want to invest some time and research into fans before I get the next OB :). Thanks again. Note I have been running in High Altitude, power saver mode for quite some time, and get abbout 2000 hours out of each lamp (so if you are getting more, that would indicate lamps as well as OB's like the cold).

Hello,

I have been a long time reader of AVSFORUM and have a thread created called SXRD Past and Present Owner's Poll. Please consider answering the 7 questions so we can all consolidate the issues with Sony's SXRD defects.

I am unable to post the link as of yet.

Thank you,
Jim

My OB is starting to go again which will make the 3rd one for me. Our usage is heavy with a little girl at home so it is on in the morning and stays on usually all day until midnight to 2 am. I got the set in 10/05 ,the first lasted until early 08 and now that one is going. Anyone gotten an authroization from Sony with in the last week or two? I'm going through ABT and they told me to call Sony and then call them to schedule service once I had a number. steve

Below I have posted a forum address where a bunch of irate SXRD RPTV owners are commenting on the offers Sony is making regarding their OB troubled sets. Interesting read. I can't imagine what some of these folks would be doing if they paid three or four times more for their sets like we did.

http://hdguru.com/sony-addresses-its-sxrd-hdtv-reliablity-issue/99/comment-page-6/#comment-47759

I know all you pros know this, but finally decided to change bulbs after four years even with low hours. Also took the time to clean the lens.

On my second OB, but WOW! It’s sure nice to have the picture back that I remember!

Now I can only hope the OB lasts a while...

Thought I would pass this information along to other fellow Qualia 006 owners.
This is the second time this occurred and it took me a while to sort and check out the problem with the many units I have attached via HDMI to my Qualia.

Here is what happened, what I experienced and the remedy.

I turned on my system which includes the Qualia, an AVR Video processor, 2 cable boxes, Popcorn Hour A100 AND C-200, Oppo BDP-83SE and DV983H all connected by HDMI with the exception that one cable box is connected by HDMI and component cables to input #5.
All the components mentioned above are connected to the Qualia thru HDMI input #7 . One cable box used for recording when the other box is near full is connected directly to HDMI input #6 bypassing the AVR.

After the Qualia was turned on there was no video on HDMI input #6 or #7. There was a blank black screen with the Qualia displaying the input etc and audio.
I could get a video picture via the component connection on input #5 and an outside antenna on input #1.
I started the long process of checking every HDMI connection and found no problems. My AVR indicated it had a video signal and it was passing both video and audio but there was no picture on the Qualia on any of the HDMI inputs.

THE SOLUTION.

Turn off and UNPLUG the Qualia.
You must unplug the Qualia. Only turning it off does not reboot the processor.

So, if you turn on the Qualia and see a Black screen with no video with audio and not the usual bright Blue screen and no video follow the above for the solution.

I am not sure if you were are informed of Divedude's final resting place but for those interested I can let you know the details. My husband took care of seeing that he got to Papua New Guinea to two favorite reefs where his cremains were scattered in mid October. I can find out the reefs names if need be.

I am not sure if you were are informed of Divedude's final resting place but for those interested I can let you know the details. My husband took care of seeing that he got to Papua New Guinea to two favorite reefs where his cremains were scattered in mid October. I can find out the reefs names if need be.

that is touching to hear as a long-time web-based friend of divedude...

i can't think of a more fitting eternal resting place for our dear friend.

I will get the details from my husband. We got the DVD mailed to us a few weeks ago of the distribution. The two locations are beautiful and he so wanted to become part of the reef. The dive captain and other divers who he had sailed with on several occasions took him out and did a beautiful, reverent job of bringing him to a place he loved. He claimed to have no family and was an only child. So his family was a few co workers/systems users with ATT, one neighbor, the dive community and you all here. Mini dive will be moving this weekend to our house. I imagine my husband may log on here in the future to talk about the Q.

I will get the details from my husband. We got the DVD mailed to us a few weeks ago of the distribution. The two locations are beautiful and he so wanted to become part of the reef. The dive captain and other divers who he had sailed with on several occasions took him out and did a beautiful, reverent job of bringing him to a place he loved. He claimed to have no family and was an only child. So his family was a few co workers/systems users with ATT, one neighbor, the dive community and you all here. Mini dive will be moving this weekend to our house. I imagine my husband may log on here in the future to talk about the Q.

look forward to the details.

i'm sure i can speak for all when we say that we welcome you and your husband to our online community.

glad to also hear that mini-dive has found a new home!

Same here and then some.

Did you know that Mini-dive is our mascot?

no, but read references to him. There are actually two of them....in the cedar scuba closet so not sure which one he was using, pictures wise. Along with the grey shark (Jaws music playing) cookie jar. and all the Jack in the Box plastic scuba dudes. He definately loved to dive.
Had lots of photo albums and slides that we hope to view. Sorry off Q topic but glad to know he was so well regarded here. He was a character.

Any postings re divedude are always on-topic in this thread :)

any postings re divedude are always on-topic in this thread :)

+1

Hey guys,
I am from Sonyinsider.com site and tomorrow we will be interviewing the senior vice president of the service platform in regards to the issues you have been discussing here and also other affected SXRD models. I am sorry for the late notice but I was wondering if any of you have any questions that you would like to be asked as we interview tomorrow. We have researched the optical block issue and we know this is a really huge problem you have all been dealing with. Sony has come through and done some things already however we can still see a number of unsatisfied customers. So if you have any input please post here, if you do not mind. Interview will start at 12:30 EST on Dec. 2. Thanks!

Did anything ever happen with this? Seems vaiofreak was banging on about how Sony cared about their customer and so on, but then poof, nothing since -- or did I miss it somewhere? :confused:

You didn't miss it. It was vaporware. I would guess that the Sony lawyers put the kabosh on the piece. One would think they would learn from how Toyota is currently screwing up and step in to fix the consequences of a bad design. As an electrical engineer and car buff, I have always believed that Toyota had a electronics control module problem. The descriptions I read of the incidents were obviously ECM malfunctions. When this shoe drops, Toyota will be in even deeper mud. Sony isn't killing anyone, but the stonewalling in the face of a lousy product looks just like Toyota. Is it a Japanese corporate cultural thing? I watched the Congressional hearings and the Japanese head of Toyota in the US (not the american figurehead) seemed to be totally tone deaf to our culture. Toyota will never be the same. Sony seems destined for the same dungheap of history. We should all be prepared to make Sony's lawyer's dreams come true and file small claims suits with each OB failure after June 30, 2010. Remember, the only people that always win in a lawsuit are the lawyers--is this what Sony's lawyers have in mind?

Yeah, I communicated with Christopher MacManus (AVSForum user "vaiofreak" and Founder of Sony Insider). He sent me a long list of proposed questions that he was going to ask, many of which he derived from my informational optical block web site. Perhaps the interview never happened, or perhaps the Sony rep cut it off when he started asking about the optical blocks.

I'm also not sure what Christopher's true motivations were at the time, given his profile on Sony Insider (http://www.sonyinsider.com/author/admin/), which states in part:

Christopher MacManus is...pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Business Marketing...Hoping to work for Sony or some other large company as a professional blogger or Internet press relations...wishes to enable others the ability to see the company isn't as bad as people put it out to be.

I'm also not sure what Christopher's true motivations were at the time, given his profile on Sony Insider (http://www.sonyinsider.com/author/admin/), which states in part:

Christopher MacManus is...pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Business Marketing...Hoping to work for Sony or some other large company as a professional blogger or Internet press relations...wishes to enable others the ability to see the company isn't as bad as people put it out to be.

So pretty much all fur coat and no knickers I take it.

I thought my job sucked, but "hoping to work for Sony" seems just as bad. :p

Thanks splinke.

Thank you so much for sharing details about Divedude. He made a huge impression on many of us and my wife and I still miss his wonderful humor. It is great to know that minidive has a home as he is also a very popular fellow here.

just wondering if anyone have had premature lamp faiure on their qualia 70"
mine seems to last only 11-12 months . and daily usage is only few hours.

just wondering if anyone have had premature lamp faiure on their qualia 70"
mine seems to last only 11-12 months . and daily usage is only few hours.

Here are some ideas and service hints

Are you using genuine Sony lamp replacements ?
Some users have reported they found the non-genuine
replacements do not have a long service life.

Do you have the Qualia set at low power and high altitude ?
You also should NOT have the Qualia set on Vivid ?
This is important to extend the life of your bulb and possibly the optical block too.

There is a possibility your AC is over voltage.
You might want to monitor it for a day or 2.

Is your Qualia mounted inside a cabinet or wall opening ?
You need to have sufficient air space around and behind your Qualia ?

You should refrain from cycling the Qualia back on after turning it off.
This definitely will shorten the bulb life.

You might want to check with a flashlight in the rear of the unit and ensure the fans are working.
When you replace the bulb and it is out you should clean the dust and crud out of the bulb compartment and possibly blow some compressed air from the front to the rear of the unit, behind the bulb

I had over 5000 hours on my first bulb and now have over 9000 hours on my Qualia and I am still on the second bulb.

Here are some ideas and service hints

Are you using genuine Sony lamp replacements ?
Some users have reported they found the non-genuine
replacements do not have a long service life.

Do you have the Qualia set at low power and high altitude ?
You also should NOT have the Qualia set on Vivid ?
This is important to extend the life of your bulb and possibly the optical block too.

There is a possibility your AC is over voltage.
You might want to monitor it for a day or 2.

Is your Qualia mounted inside a cabinet or wall opening ?
You need to have sufficient air space around and behind your Qualia ?

You should refrain from cycling the Qualia back on after turning it off.
This definitely will shorten the bulb life.

You might want to check with a flashlight in the rear of the unit and ensure the fans are working.
When you replace the bulb and it is out you should clean the dust and crud out of the bulb compartment and possibly blow some compressed air from the front to the rear of the unit, behind the bulb

I had over 5000 hours on my first bulb and now have over 9000 hours on my Qualia and I am still on the second bulb.

Hmm, Another interesting data point. I don't suppose you are on your first or second OB? I get about 2000 hours on a bulb (and I have always run low power, high altitude and not vivid). I also get about the same on OB's <ouch>. I see you are in a cooler climate, so I suspect your temperature in the room with a Q (pun intended) is normally much less than 79 deg F. I'm seeing a trend here (and yes bulb life is affected by temperature, so if someone is seeing less than 2000 hours on a Sony bulb - ouch).

I am on my second OB. I am delaying replacing the current bulb as there may be a correlation between a new bulbs higher temperature and the lower temperature of a dimming bulb. This is an attempt to time the replacement so if the correlation is true I can get a new OB closer to the Sony extended warranty expiration.
Average room temperature is 72 -75 deg F year round.

I am on my second OB. I am delaying replacing the current bulb as there may be a correlation between a new bulbs higher temperature and the lower temperature of a dimming bulb. This is an attempt to time the replacement so if the correlation is true I can get a new OB closer to the Sony extended warranty expiration.
Average room temperature is 72 -75 deg F year round.I wouldn't rule out UV from the bulbs too.....

I am on my first ob. I do most of the things you sugested except it does run on vivid mode. How ever my bulbs seem to last only 1200 hrs or so. There must be something wrong but the sony tech keeps telling me that is normal.

I had over 5000 hours on my first bulb and now have over 9000 hours on my Qualia and I am still on the second bulb.


I've never had any bulb out right fail or burn out. But I've seen a need to change bulbs at intervals of about 2,000 hours only in order to restore optimum picture quality/brightness.

My last bulb change resulted from my college student son home for vacation commenting how dark the screen was while playing his xBox through the Qualia. I hadn't noticed the gradual dimming. As soon as I put a new bulb in, it was a big Wow! I got all excited again like the day I first took delivery.

My Qualia IS mounted inside a wall cavity but with plenty of venting. Never set on Vivid, always set on low power. So far, no OB failure at over 6,000 total hours.

My Qualia was manufactured Nov 2005 and my extended warranty purchased from Sony runs out Jan 2012. It is weird having to "keep your fingers crossed" every time it is turned on, hoping not to encounter the dreaded OB failure.

Chris

I am on my second OB. I am delaying replacing the current bulb as there may be a correlation between a new bulbs higher temperature and the lower temperature of a dimming bulb. This is an attempt to time the replacement so if the correlation is true I can get a new OB closer to the Sony extended warranty expiration.
Average room temperature is 72 -75 deg F year round.

There have been some early failures of replacement OB's, so don't leave this to too late for another go-around. I've seen nothing that says any of my replacement OB's have a 30/60/90 day warranty.

just wondering if anyone have had premature lamp faiure on their qualia 70"
mine seems to last only 11-12 months . and daily usage is only few hours.

As thestewman mentioned, Over voltage is a huge problem. See this site for a solution. The U.S. distributor is outside Cincinnati.

http://www.electrocleantech.ca
just click on English.

Yeah, I communicated with Christopher MacManus (AVSForum user "vaiofreak" and Founder of Sony Insider). He sent me a long list of proposed questions that he was going to ask, many of which he derived from my informational optical block web site. Perhaps the interview never happened, or perhaps the Sony rep cut it off when he started asking about the optical blocks.

I'm also not sure what Christopher's true motivations were at the time, given his profile on Sony Insider (http://www.sonyinsider.com/author/admin/), which states in part:


Hey guys, actually I am not Chris, I am a co-author from SI. I am sorry we have not posted anything about this issue, as after the interview we did not see it necessary to be blogged about. As a Qualian myself (though not affected by that OB problem; Q005 here), I do understand your pain here, and I truly hope Sony will continue accommodating and replacing OB. Have you been offered a replacement, as I read others have been getting similar offers?

Hey guys, actually I am not Chris, I am a co-author from SI. I am sorry we have not posted anything about this issue, as after the interview we did not see it necessary to be blogged about. As a Qualian myself (though not affected by that OB problem; Q005 here), I do understand your pain here, and I truly hope Sony will continue accommodating and replacing OB. Have you been offered a replacement, as I read others have been getting similar offers?

Vaiofreak...Of the replacement offers you have read about, which ones do you think even come close to a Q? What would you accept?:(

There have been some early failures of replacement OB's, so don't leave this to too late for another go-around. I've seen nothing that says any of my replacement OB's have a 30/60/90 day warranty.

Sony's replacement parts should all have a 90-day warranty, if I am not mistaken.

Hey guys, actually I am not Chris, I am a co-author from SI. I am sorry we have not posted anything about this issue, as after the interview we did not see it necessary to be blogged about. As a Qualian myself (though not affected by that OB problem; Q005 here), I do understand your pain here, and I truly hope Sony will continue accommodating and replacing OB. Have you been offered a replacement, as I read others have been getting similar offers?

Sorry that I mixed you up with Chris. I assumed you were Chris, because you were both asking for lists of questions for the Sony interview at the same time. So, whatever happened to that interview?

Hey guys, actually I am not Chris, I am a co-author from SI. I am sorry we have not posted anything about this issue, as after the interview we did not see it necessary to be blogged about. As a Qualian myself (though not affected by that OB problem; Q005 here), I do understand your pain here, and I truly hope Sony will continue accommodating and replacing OB. Have you been offered a replacement, as I read others have been getting similar offers?


Blogged about is not the same as providing information. I really thought we would learn some official Sony information about our OB failures from your interview. Your reluctance to provide it makes me very suspicious of the whole exercise.

Blogged about is not the same as providing information. I really thought we would learn some official Sony information about our OB failures from your interview. Your reluctance to provide it makes me very suspicious of the whole exercise.

Chris (Sony Insider) and I discussed a long list of questions that Sony Insider could ask, including several surrounding alleged re-designs of optical blocks for replacements of defective ones and for new model years. Other questions involved the number of TVs sold, the number of affected TVs, why all owners were not being informed of the problems and extended coverage, the fairness of Sony offers, etc.

Chris expressed to me that he wanted to help get the word out about the problems and hoped that his story would be picked up by Engadget. Sony Insider posted publicly on AVS Forum and other sites stating their intention to get to the bottom of the issue and requesting potential questions, so I feel comfortable discussing this, as it was no secret.

Based on what vaiofreak just posted, it sounds like the interview actually happened, but it is interesting that nothing in the interview was apparently worthy of putting in print. In the end, I think Sony Insider is more of a fan site than one that breaks news. So, they either got cold feet about even asking these types of questions, or, when they started to ask them, the Sony Vice President balked and threatened to end the current interview and any other future access to Sony.

Does anyone really think Sony will go on the record discussing the Qualia OB problem, other than to say the warranty has been extended to June 30, 2010?

I have removed "Sony Insider" from my favorites list. I don't need to read another Corporate Puff Piece.

The tragedy of this is that an OB that would last and a new lamp as needed would keep the Qualia as one damn fine TV even with the “state of the art“ five years past their introduction...

I Know what I am getting to replace the Qualia and its not ever going to be a SONY (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/hdi-headquarters-walkthrough-details-galore-on-the-new-face-of/)

Can not wait

I Know what I am getting to replace the Qualia and its not ever going to be a SONY (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/hdi-headquarters-walkthrough-details-galore-on-the-new-face-of/)

Can not wait

$100,000.00 :o

$100,000.00 :o

NOT!

"we were able to confirm that the final 103-inch set -- complete with a soundbar and possibly with a 3D camcorder -- would cost between $10,000 and $15,000":) :D :D

NOT!

"we were able to confirm that the final 103-inch set -- complete with a soundbar and possibly with a 3D camcorder -- would cost between $10,000 and $15,000":) :D :D

Well, that's not so bad. Amazing that they believe the price of the beta will drop 85-90% though.

The article you cited concluded:

"Oh, and one last thing -- if you've got your heart set on owning one of these monsters, and you're in no position to wait until the fall of next year to take delivery, you can purchase a fully functional beta build right now. All that's required is two months worth of patience, a valid shipping address and around $100,000. Think we're kidding? Give 'em a ring, and have that Centurion Card number ready to rattle off."

Well, that's not so bad. Amazing that they believe the price of the beta will drop 85-90% though.

The article you cited concluded:

"Oh, and one last thing -- if you've got your heart set on owning one of these monsters, and you're in no position to wait until the fall of next year to take delivery, you can purchase a fully functional beta build right now. All that's required is two months worth of patience, a valid shipping address and around $100,000. Think we're kidding? Give 'em a ring, and have that Centurion Card number ready to rattle off."

They also stated " We can't help but think back to the first time we witnessed Mitsubishi's LaserVue HDTV -- to this day, that remains the most visually stunning 2D television that we've seen " which I totally disagree with. The 5 year old Qualia 006 blows the Mitsubishi LaserVue away for overall picture quality. Hopefully the HDI is better than the Mitsubishi LaserVue.

Hi
I purchased a new center channel speaker and it is slightly to big to fit under the Qualia inside the Sony stand.
I am looking for ideas to mount my center channel speaker above my Qualia.
On the wall or supported from behind the Qualia.
Please let me know what you may have done.

Stew

Stew,

My center channel is also way too big (has two 15" woofers) to fit inside the Q stand. I elevated it on stands about 4-5 inches off the floor, which put it about an inch below the bottom of the picture. I thought this was a better solution than mounting it over the top, which also put it way above my ears when sitting in front of the Q. Let me know if you want to see pictures. Good luck.

My B&W is on a shelf we had made from the place we bought the stand (DiamondCase). There is a photo on this forum somewhere. The shelf brackets are above the Q and aimed down a little. It is mounted into the studs so it is solid. My Center is big, and heavy.

It is post 6694 from 8/1/05 page 224.
The link should work...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5946322#post5946322

Here's the post for my center channel photos. Page 529, post #15841

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17812689&highlight=legacy+speakers#post17812689

I wanted to let everybody here know that the QUALIA006 is part of an outrageous proposed class action settlement due for preliminary approval by a judge in New York. Even though this lawsuit was filed after several others, Sony seems to have negotiated rapidly with the law firm, and this settlement seeks to supersede the others. I have updated the Class Action Lawsuits (http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits) page of my web site with some information on this turn of events.

After scanning the proposed settlement documents, the short version is:

The proposed class action settlement will extend Sony's warranty by TWO MONTHS (from 6/30/2010 to 8/31/2010) for optical block replacement on the Q006s.
If Sony chooses not to replace your optical block under the extended warranty period, they will offer you a $700 cash settlement, which is based on the original retail price.
It is a bit fishy that these 2004 SXRDs were lumped in with the 2006-2007 XBR2, A2000, A2020, and A3000 SXRDs as "second-generation SXRD" TVs. I think Sony wants to absolve themselves of all liability associated with all of their SXRDs by agreeing to a lame settlement (the 2005 XBR1s have already had a settlement).

WOW! OUTRAGEOUSLY BAD (IMHO)! The attorney gets $625,000 for fees and expenses for his trouble in negotiating this deal.

I plan to formulate a letter to the judge overseeing the case, urging him not to approve the settlement (time permitting). I urge others to do the same. I will post the letter and the place to send it on my web site when complete.

WOW! OUTRAGEOUSLY BAD (IMHO)! The attorney gets $625,000 for fees and expenses for his trouble in negotiating this deal.

I plan to formulate a letter to the judge overseeing the case, urging him not to approve the settlement (time permitting). I urge others to do the same. I will post the letter and the place to send it on my web site when complete.

WOW- you think the judge could have at least extended it by 65-70 days instead of a lousy 2 months!:confused:

just kick me

I'm more skeptical.

This sure looks like sony set this up to relieve themselves of
liability and avoid the class action suit that was legitimately filed
by the New York attorney.

People it is time to get active or take it up the ..................

For crying out loud - the ability of companies to abuse the court system like this really gets my blood pressure up. Why didn't they settle for two free packages of instant popcorn... after all that is worth more than the 2 month extension for OB which is USELESS to most of us who paid for an extended warranty. Thanks for letting them avoid admitting they did something wrong and ensuring they don't have to pay for their mistake... Considering how unlikely they ever were to take care of us anyway this is just added insult to injury that they can now "wash their hands" of us without it costing them a dime.

How nice of them to take something that was brought up for Texas purchasers only as the suit was filed as:
"Plaintiff purports to represent a class of "all purchasers in the State of Texas of second generation Sony Grand WEGA SXRD rear projection HDTV televisions bearing the model designations KDS-R6OXBR2, KDS-R7OXBR2, KDS-50A2000, KDS-55A2000, KDS-60A2000 and KDS-60A2020." BUT they added us and extended it to the entire country!

Simply unbelievable (and a good way to sneak past the awareness of the majority). I had hope for a second that the scope of this had been limited but it clearly states:

"For purposes of this settlement and Agreement only, and for no other purpose, "Settlement Class" shall mean all end user consumers in the United States who purchased or received as gifts the Televisions."

I am definitely annoyed after the majority of us had to go out and purchase extended warranties that they snuck the Q006 in with no benefit to us in this settlement. Their original extension also was worthless to warranty purchasers (at least in theory getting your warranty to actually pay might be problematic).

Their clause for amount to pay out if they choose not to service it is even more problematic as it may even allow them to stop servicing all of our OBs immediately as a simple check would be cheaper.

Get us the details on who to write - even though it seems quite Don Quixote like to try and fight this injustice I think there are a number of us who may give the windmill a battle.

We (you) are not a member of the "class" if you don't want to be. Just because the class settles does not mean you give up your rights. I never received any class notice. If you did, then you have the ability to opt out and not agree to the proposed settlement.

Qualia 006 owners may still have legal recourse against Sony. I believe some owners have consulted with legal counsel. My opinion is that we likely won't suffer any damages until 7/1/10. Depending upon what Sony does from that date out, (a) lawsuit(s) may be warranted.

Boy this really smells.

Sony is going to have to advice all owners of their rights and then you have this option.
.
8. NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT, OPT-OUTS AND OBJECTIONS

8.1 SEL (Sony) will bear 100% of the cost of notice to the Settlement Class. Within 45 days of the date of preliminary approval of this Agreement by the Court, SEL will send direct written notice to all consumers who purchased the Televisions or received them as gifts and for whom it has obtained contact information from its registered database or contact information from plaintiffs' counsel. The class notice will, inter alia, provide Settlement Class members 30 days within which to opt out of or object to the settlement.
8.2

Reading through some of the statements etc it appears their lawyers have not disclosed all the necessary information about the 70Q006.

1. The initial cost of the 70Q006
2. Most important, the 70Q006 is not the second type SXRD produced after 2006-2007
3. They are stating the warranty extension is 4 years so if you purchased
a unit in 2005 then you have at least 4 years of coverage.
4. They are asking the court to settle quickly as a prior lawsuit which
was to reveal confidential sources who were going to say Sony covered
up and knew about the defects turned out to be untrue.
5. Who gave them permission to represent 70Q006 owners ?

Please keep everyone informed

I wonder if TED has seen this?
Anyway, I thought that until our OB coverage ENDS, we can not claim any damage as Sony still covers us (as of today).

I agree that as long as the OB is under warranty, no one has suffered harm. Beyond 6/30/10, that's a different story for OB failures with no extended warranty. Just my thoughts, nothing official.

Ted, are you reading?

Currently, Q006 owners are covered through 6/2010 for repair, and if you have a problem after that, you can take your own legal action.

If the class action lawsuit is approved, you will be covered through 8/2010 (either repair or $700, depending on whether Sony chooses to stock the parts). However, if you have a problem after 8/2010, your legal rights will have been taken away, unless you opt out of the class action.

Of course, under the 2005 (XBR1) class action, Sony was supposedly unable to notify about half of the alleged ~175,000 customers. And, in this current class action, they are claiming that there are only about 47,000 customers who purchased 2004, 2006, and 2007 models, and who knows how many of them they will be capable of notifying for the opt-out.

The bigger issue, though, is that individual customers will be hard-pressed to prove their own individual cases in court to any meaningful degree, and few will want to invest the time to do it. There is only one chance at a class action, and if a more consumer-friendly agreement can be reached, it should be done now.

Currently, Q006 owners are covered through 6/2010 for repair, and if you have a problem after that, you can take your own legal action.

If the class action lawsuit is approved, you will be covered through 8/2010 (either repair or $700, depending on whether Sony chooses to stock the parts). However, if you have a problem after 8/2010, your legal rights will have been taken away, unless you opt out of the class action.

Of course, under the 2005 (XBR1) class action, Sony was supposedly unable to notify about half of the alleged ~175,000 customers. And, in this current class action, they are claiming that there are only about 47,000 customers who purchased 2004, 2006, and 2007 models, and who knows how many of them they will be capable of notifying for the opt-out.

The bigger issue, though, is that individual customers will be hard-pressed to prove their own individual cases in court to any meaningful degree, and few will want to invest the time to do it. There is only one chance at a class action, and if a more consumer-friendly agreement can be reached, it should be done now.

I'm sure all the forum members and visitors are looking for advice.

I agree that as long as the OB is under warranty, no one has suffered harm. Beyond 6/30/10, that's a different story for OB failures with no extended warranty. Just my thoughts, nothing official.

Ted, are you reading?

Just saw it. Know nothing about it. The lawyer group I was working with were aiming at the Q exclusively, but they disbanded in the big bust, and no one else stepped up.

I was planning on using the Small Claims process, as described by Splinke, with my next failure after 6/30/10.

I am going to take the following courses of action:

File a letter with the Court BEFORE the decision asking that the Q 006 be severed from the action. I suggest the following reasons: 1) The Q006 cost considerably more than the XBR models. 2) Q 006 owners were not notified of their addition to the class and their late addition significantly impairs owners ability to receive just recompense for Sony's flawed product. 3) The dates and SXRD "models" cited do not appear to include the Q006.

If the judge does not sever the Q006, file a motion to "Opt Out" of the "Class" if you intend to file a small claims court case. I will argue in that claim that: 1) Sony has undervalued the Q 006 by lumping it in with the standard XBR sets. 2) Sony has admitted liability in the class action suit and the only matter to be adjudicated is the amount of compensation. and 3) Include the letter to the Judge objecting to inclusion of the Q006 in the Class and your "opt-out" letter.

It appears to me that I can file the Small Claims case immediately after the Judge approves the settlement and I have opted out, so long as it is after 6/30/2010. Sony will have admitted liability for loss of value and the issue is amount of compensation. I won't have to wait for another failure.

In my case, I have nothing to lose. I have the GE extended warranty which will buy me out for more than the $700 Sony is offering at the next failure. Also, Texas is a very plaintiff-friendly forum for small claims, especially when a Corporation has already admitted liability.

I'm not a lawyer, so none of this constitutes legal advice; just a description of what I am going to do.

I look forward to Splinke's info on the judge and court where the case has been filed, so that I can immediately fire off the letter objecting to the settlement.

Just saw it. Know nothing about it. The lawyer group I was working with were aiming at the Q exclusively, but they disbanded in the big bust, and no one else stepped up.

I was planning on using the Small Claims process, as described by Splinke, with my next failure after 6/30/10.

I am going to take the following courses of action:

File a letter with the Court BEFORE the decision asking that the Q 006 be severed from the action. I suggest the following reasons: 1) The Q006 cost considerably more than the XBR models. 2) Q 006 owners were not notified of their addition to the class and their late addition significantly impairs owners ability to receive just recompense for Sony's flawed product. 3) The dates and SXRD "models" cited do not appear to include the Q006.

If the judge does not sever the Q006, file a motion to "Opt Out" of the "Class" if you intend to file a small claims court case. I will argue in that claim that: 1) Sony has undervalued the Q 006 by lumping it in with the standard XBR sets. 2) Sony has admitted liability in the class action suit and the only matter to be adjudicated is the amount of compensation. and 3) Include the letter to the Judge objecting to inclusion of the Q006 in the Class and your "opt-out" letter.

It appears to me that I can file the Small Claims case immediately after the Judge approves the settlement and I have opted out, so long as it is after 6/30/2010. Sony will have admitted liability for loss of value and the issue is amount of compensation. I won't have to wait for another failure.

In my case, I have nothing to lose. I have the GE extended warranty which will buy me out for more than the $700 Sony is offering at the next failure. Also, Texas is a very plaintiff-friendly forum for small claims, especially when a Corporation has already admitted liability.

I'm not a lawyer, so none of this constitutes legal advice; just a description of what I am going to do.

I look forward to Splinke's info on the judge and court where the case has been filed, so that I can immediately fire off the letter objecting to the settlement.

You make some cogent points. However, while I am in agreement with your arguments, my opinion differs on two key points:

1. I don't think Sony is going to be admitting any liability in the class-action suit. Typical boiler-plate language in those settlements expressly state the company is not admitting any liability whatsoever.

2. I am also of the opinion that any potential lawsuit is not ripe until you have suffered a loss and Sony has refused to adequately replace/repair.

This is not intended to be legal advice and you should consult an attorney in your jurisdiction, as Ted did. This is just my opinion FWIW.

Good luck to us all :)

I've now had some time to some research, mostly from Splinke's site. MSRP of 70XBR2 was $7000, released on 10/2006. MSRP of 70Q006 was $13,000, released on 1/2005. Settlement is $400 vs. $700. No issue with the porportion, but there is an issue with the amounts. Splinke's small claims court settlement (Superior Court of California, County of San Diego Small Claims Case # 37-2009-00014241-SC-SC-NC) delt with the "useful life" of the set. Splinke argued for 15 years. Sony countered with 7-10 years. Court split the difference at 12.5 years. If we take Sony's proffer of 10 years, the residual value of our Q006, from 1/05, should be 40% of $13K, or $ 5200. I am going to submit an "Objection to the Fairness of the Proposed Settlement" in the case of class action suit case # 1:09-md-02102-RPP Document 33-2 filed 03/01/2010. to: The Clerk of the Court, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007. I will identify myself as the owner of 70Q006 ser#xxxxxxx and submit that I object to the settlement amount that plaintiff attorneys have agreed to on my behalf, having never notified me of the addition of the Q006 to the suit. I will cite the Californis court decision and Sony's proffer of the useful life being 10 years and argue that the settlement amount for the Q 006 should be $5200.

The more the merrier--such objection does nothing to affect your later inclusion in the "class". If the judge removes us from the class, we surely can convince another lawfirm to follow up.

I've now had some time to some research, mostly from Splinke's site. MSRP of 70XBR2 was $7000, released on 10/2006. MSRP of 70Q006 was $13,000, released on 1/2005. Settlement is $400 vs. $700. No issue with the porportion, but there is an issue with the amounts. Splinke's small claims court settlement (Superior Court of California, County of San Diego Small Claims Case # 37-2009-00014241-SC-SC-NC) delt with the "useful life" of the set. Splinke argued for 15 years. Sony countered with 7-10 years. Court split the difference at 12.5 years. If we take Sony's proffer of 10 years, the residual value of our Q006, from 1/05, should be 40% of $13K, or $ 5200. I am going to submit an "Objection to the Fairness of the Proposed Settlement" in the case of class action suit case # 1:09-md-02102-RPP Document 33-2 filed 03/01/2010. to: The Clerk of the Court, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007. I will identify myself as the owner of 70Q006 ser#xxxxxxx and submit that I object to the settlement amount that plaintiff attorneys have agreed to on my behalf, having never notified me of the addition of the Q006 to the suit. I will cite the Californis court decision and Sony's proffer of the useful life being 10 years and argue that the settlement amount for the Q 006 should be $5200.

The more the merrier--such objection does nothing to affect your later inclusion in the "class". If the judge removes us from the class, we surely can convince another lawfirm to follow up.

Oregon has an active AG department and I wonder what they would say to this. They ALWAYS encourage consumers to send them information in cases like these!

I updated my web site with additional information and my objection letter:
http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits

No time right now, but very quickly:
1. Sony does not acknowledge any defects as is typical of settlements, so you can't really use that very strongly.
2. I believe state attorney generals have some say in whether federal class actions will apply to their states, and they may have some influence on the judge...not sure about that, but it is an avenue to explore.

So it sounds like it behooves us to follow the same course of action as Ted - and immediately fire off a letter. Do we have any additional documentation to go with the case number on the small claims court case? I think this definitely is a fire under all of us if we don't want to "accidentally" be roped into this and lose any hope of getting our own class action suit based on the Q006 merits which I think are quite strong.

I wanted to give a big THANK YOU to splinke - his letter was very well done and reflects his strong belief in consumer advocacy. It brings up a large number of points which apply to the Q006 and I am going to have to find the time to come up with a great letter incorporating many of them. I will try and post a link or the text of whatever I send in and I hope others of you will do the same so we can look for inspiration amongst each other in order to try and make our letters have the greatest degree of impact.

Ok! So by your logic I should be posting the same thing in all other posting even though they are already posting this information in those posts. I do thank splinke for his work and I will post this in the others since its what we all should do!


Quote:
Originally Posted by estoniankid
Yeah, angry enough that you think members shouldn't share info
with other sxrd owners who may not follow the xbr2 owners thread?

Just thank splinke for doing all this hard work, making a website,
and by the way, posting his formidable knowledge on ALL the
sxrd threads.

Remember, this phony class action involves not only xbr2s,
but qualias, a2000s, a2020s and a3000s. They need to know too.


Many thanks splinke!!!!!

I wanted to give a big THANK YOU to splinke - his letter was very well done and reflects his strong belief in consumer advocacy. It brings up a large number of points which apply to the Q006 and I am going to have to find the time to come up with a great letter incorporating many of them. I will try and post a link or the text of whatever I send in and I hope others of you will do the same so we can look for inspiration amongst each other in order to try and make our letters have the greatest degree of impact.

I guess I am still not clear on just where to send any letter we compose.

I guess I am still not clear on just where to send any letter we compose.

I included the contact info for the judge, plaintiff's attorney, and Sony's attorney on my Class Action Lawsuits (http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits) web page beneath the heading:
"To the best of my knowledge, this is the contact information for the three places to send your letters"

I included the contact info for the judge, plaintiff's attorney, and Sony's attorney on my Class Action Lawsuits (http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits) web page beneath the heading:
"To the best of my knowledge, this is the contact information for the three places to send your letters"

Thank you. I hope they care about input from Oregon.

I wanted to give a big THANK YOU to splinke - his letter was very well done and reflects his strong belief in consumer advocacy. It brings up a large number of points which apply to the Q006 and I am going to have to find the time to come up with a great letter incorporating many of them. I will try and post a link or the text of whatever I send in and I hope others of you will do the same so we can look for inspiration amongst each other in order to try and make our letters have the greatest degree of impact.

Although I do not advocate just doing a copy/paste of the letter, the facts are the facts, and I do not know what else to add...except for a few lines about my own issues with perhaps a copy for reference...and then sent on to the three who are handling this case. Perhaps evn add my own AG's office.

Thank you. I hope they care about input from Oregon.

The result would apply nation-wide, so it should not matter where you are from. Whether they care about input from any individual consumers is another matter. I think the court received a few dozen objections to the XBR1 settlement, and they were largely dismissed as not relevant and only representing a fraction of a percent of the ~175,000-member class.

I'm not sure how many objections would be considered substantial. 500, 1000, 10,000? Obviously, none of those numbers will ever happen. The other compelling way to do it would be to cite case law supporting your objection, but who is going to be able to do that effectively?

I am not sure, but it may also be possible to contact your state's Attorney General to lodge a complaint against the class action.

The result would apply nation-wide, so it should not matter where you are from. Whether they care about input from any individual consumers is another matter. I think the court received a few dozen objections to the XBR1 settlement, and they were largely dismissed as not relevant and only representing a fraction of a percent of the ~175,000-member class.

I'm not sure how many objections would be considered substantial. 500, 1000, 10,000? Obviously, none of those numbers will ever happen. The other compelling way to do it would be to cite case law supporting your objection, but who is going to be able to do that effectively?

I am not sure, but it may also be possible to contact your state's Attorney General to lodge a complaint against the class action.

Thank you again. I am also going to ask my dealer if they have heard anything about this. They are very mad at Sony about this whole Qualia issue as they were told that the price would stay at $13, 000 and that only a few dealers would be allowed to sell them. Soon after they started selling them Sony then released the set to even Magnolia!

Sorry for the delay in getting back. I was at the Texas Mile--a standing start to one mile top speed event. I set the fastest time for a showroom stock auto: 167.2 MPH with a 15 MPH crosswind in my Nissan GT-R. There were highly modified Corvettes, Ford GT, one Lambo, one Porsche Turbo that ran 200-206 MPH.

I mailed my letter to the Court last Thur. I used the 12.5 years in Splinke's decision (a copy of the decision is on his website) to assert that the correct residual value should be 7.5 years of remaining life over 12.5 years for $7800. I neglected to do it, but I suggest that others writing cite the small number of Q006 models produced (2500), so as to give added weight to the number of owners writing. It would also empthasize the "Limited Edition" nature of the Qualia line. The number of 2500 is an estimate based on serial numbers and anecdotal comments from the Qualia service line. Let Sony dispute it with a better number--it'll still be a small number. Try to keep letters to one page.

Sorry for the delay in getting back. I was at the Texas Mile--a standing start to one mile top speed event. I set the fastest time for a showroom stock auto: 167.2 MPH with a 15 MPH crosswind in my Nissan GT-R. There were highly modified Corvettes, Ford GT, one Lambo, one Porsche Turbo that ran 200-206 MPH.

I mailed my letter to the Court last Thur. I used the 12.5 years in Splinke's decision (a copy of the decision is on his website) to assert that the correct residual value should be 7.5 years of remaining life over 12.5 years for $7800. I neglected to do it, but I suggest that others writing cite the small number of Q006 models produced (2500), so as to give added weight to the number of owners writing. It would also empthasize the "Limited Edition" nature of the Qualia line. The number of 2500 is an estimate based on serial numbers and anecdotal comments from the Qualia service line. Let Sony dispute it with a better number--it'll still be a small number. Try to keep letters to one page.

Great, Ted. Did you send a copy of Splinke's letter as well?

Great, Ted. Did you send a copy of Splinke's letter as well?

I submitted my letter to the court, as well as Ms. Cardenas' attorney and Sony, last Thursday.

I have now added to my Class Action Lawsuits web page (http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits) a document in opposition to the Cardenas settlement from the alternative class action attorneys, as well.

I submitted my letter to the court, as well as Ms. Cardenas' attorney and Sony, last Thursday.

I have now added to my Class Action Lawsuits web page (http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits) a document in opposition to the Cardenas settlement from the alternative class action attorneys, as well.

Steve

Is there any reason we cannot make the state and federal AGs and the national and local news media aware of this possible collusion between Sony and Attorney Feldman ?

I urge everyone to read the response from the attorneys that were handling the Calif class action that Steve has on his web page.

Read Response (http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sony-class-action-lawsuits/MemoOpposingCardenasSettlement.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1)


Stew

...Is there any reason we cannot make the state and federal AGs and the national and local news media aware of this possible collusion between Sony and Attorney Feldman ?...

I am not an attorney, so this is just my speculation. As far as the federal Attorney General's office is considered, I think they would argue that a federal judge is currently reviewing the matter. As far as individual state attorney generals are concerned, I think they have the right to submit their objections, if they have any, to class action settlements that will affect consumers in their state.

Incidentally, in addition to the judge and parties, I also sent my objection letter to California's Attorney General's office. I have no idea whether the judge or Attorney General will even consider it, but I figured it was worth a try.

As far as the media is concerned, it is up to them whether they think it is an important enough story to report on--probably not at this stage, but possible. I haven't really done much to approach them.

Great, Ted. Did you send a copy of Splinke's letter as well?

No--didn't have it when I mailed mine.

Here is my letter, as amended after Splinke's latest additions. I still haven't added anything about the limited number. The objection filed by Milberg, LLP really sums it all up. I think the more letters from us supporting the Milberg objection, the better.