I'm trying to get a sense of the reliability of this set. If you have had problems, try to specifically identify them. Thanks.

Feel free to post comments (this will keep the thread and the poll going!). Thanks.

To the top

I want to keep this going

My first XBR960N came out of the box with a couple flaws , the contrast would bloom much earlier than it should (for example white text would start looking blury with the Picture setting at 30),it also had a noticable 'flicker' effect when viewing 720 or 1080i sources which was confirmed not normal by a sony tech visit, instead of having it worked on I returned it for another XBR960N.

The replacement looks much better in fact I can crank up the contrast to near max without any blooming (I dont leave it turned up that high tho) ,also this one doesnt have any flicker issues. The only downside is the replacement has worse geometry in the corners, especially in the bottom right corner but it hasnt been a big issue, also Ive experienced the infamous wont power on symptom which was fixed simply by unplugging it for a minute,this has only happened once in the 6 months ive had it.

My TV blinked/flashed every 5 min when I got my tv. Repair man had to come out and fix it. Then theres the ghosting which is really annoying, dark side of the screen (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=674957) , non-uniform brightness across the screen (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=670700) , and my tv could go for some convergence and geometry touchups. Oh and I almost forgot, the new light blue tints appearing on the corners of my screen.

nurfed

No problems whatsoever. Or, if I've had any problems, I haven't seen them.

One or two minor geometry things that aren't worth calling a "problem", as they could easily be fixed by an ISF calibration, which I have neither the time nor money for.

Not two years yet, but so far...all good.

a sony tech visit



Is a Sony tech visit covered as part of the warranty. Will they come out and calibrate your display if you are not happy with it as part of the warranty?

Flashing like Mortaldivide after the TV warmed up. whcih developed after maybe 6 months o ownership. Involved the repairman replacing the insulation with RTV 106 silicon sealer/insulation around the pins at the back of the tube. He said its a relatively common problem and basically a manufaturing problem with the insulation that causes arcing after the TV warms up enoug. Sony is very aware of this as there is a technmical service bulletin that addresses this exact symptom very specifically. Sort of annoying to have to get my neighbor to help lift the TV up/down from/to a high armoire where the TV is placed on different days.

But its fixed now and looks beautiful

My's a 910...close to 3 yrs old w/o any problems...

...as I look towards the ceiling with fingers crossed...

Cheers

After owning my unit three weeks, I had one vertical black line that appeared one morning, disappeared after an hour, and never came back. Other than that, it's been terrific.

Let's keep this going.

and going....

Mine lasted a few weeks before it wouldn't turn on anymore. Furthermore, having gotten used to geometry and conformity conveniences of digital display devices, my '960 was chock full of geometry issues and non-uniform color. I definitely got the sense of "pushing the technology a little too far" from my experience. I also surveyed at least a dozen floor models before purchase and was surprised that every one of them had bowing, color spots, or some other malady--problems pretty much absent from all other displays I'd seen, even other, cheaper CRTs. I'd bought it anyway in spite of this, and learned my lesson...

Very confusing. I was expecting an ownership experience a little closer to the 24" computer CRTs I used to have.

Mine lasted a few weeks before it wouldn't turn on anymore. Furthermore, having gotten used to geometry and conformity conveniences of digital display devices, my '960 was chock full of geometry issues and non-uniform color. I definitely got the sense of "pushing the technology a little too far" from my experience. I also surveyed at least a dozen floor models before purchase and was surprised that every one of them had bowing, color spots, or some other malady--problems pretty much absent from all other displays I'd seen, even other, cheaper CRTs. I'd bought it anyway in spite of this, and learned my lesson...

Very confusing. I was expecting an ownership experience a little closer to the 24" computer CRTs I used to have.

I still use a 24" Sony PC CRT (GDM-FW900) and would have to agree ..If only the XBR960 could have the same near perfect geometry and convergence as one of these units ..in fact ive never seen a CRT with such straight geometry / corner to corner focus / convergence , But Im still very happy with my XBR960 and at least it doesnt suffer from any color blotch issues.. I do wish it wasnt so dark when viewing HDTV channels ..I have to really crank up the brightness to eliminate black crush on mine but this seems like a common complaint with XBR960 users, but I notice some channels are brighter than others so maybe I shouldnt blame the TV.

I still use a 24" Sony PC CRT (GDM-FW900) and would have to agree ..If only the XBR960 could have the same near perfect geometry and convergence as one of these units ..in fact ive never seen a CRT with such straight geometry / corner to corner focus / convergence , But Im still very happy with my XBR960 and at least it doesnt suffer from any color blotch issues.. I do wish it wasnt so dark when viewing HDTV channels ..I have to really crank up the brightness to eliminate black crush on mine but this seems like a common complaint with XBR960 users, but I notice some channels are brighter than others so maybe I shouldnt blame the TV.

The best way I have found to eliminate the black crush is to find an accurate greyscale with the highest _DRV and _CUT settings possible. Start by putting RDRV and RCUT all the way up to 63, then just adjust BDRV, BCUT, GDRV, and GCUT keeping RDRV and RCUT at 63. The _CUT and SBRT (brightness) adjustments on my set definately have a non-linear relationship to one another (in fact virtually no relationship at all according to my test patterns) With high _DRV and _CUT values, you can achieve better shadow detail without washout.

The best way I have found to eliminate the black crush is to find an accurate greyscale with the highest _DRV and _CUT settings possible. Start by putting RDRV and RCUT all the way up to 63, then just adjust BDRV, BCUT, GDRV, and GCUT keeping RDRV and RCUT at 63. The _CUT and SBRT (brightness) adjustments on my set definately have a non-linear relationship to one another (in fact virtually no relationship at all according to my test patterns) With high _DRV and _CUT values, you can achieve better shadow detail without washout.

Thanks for the tip Ill give that a try.

I just got my XBR960 about a week or so ago. No problems whatsoever.

9 months of pure pleasureable TV viewing and not a single problem. Love the look on friend's faces when they see the beautiful picture quality.

To the top...

keep it going baby!

I'm looking to get the '970 as the 960's are no where to be found in some warehouse

to the top again...

I've had an infrequent problem with my xbr960, ussually every few months I'll turn it on and no picture will display even though theres sound, etc.

I unplug it from power, wait 10seconds, plug back in, and works.

It happens so infrequently that its not much of a concern, though its happened total of 4 times now over the almost 2yrs I've had it.

sony superfine pitch technology is known to be prone to reliability issues. Thats why sony decided to get rid of it. sorry guys if the supefine pitch was such a great technology why did sony left it out in 970 xbr. To many complaints of picture failures.

^^Dude stop trolling. Your statement is NOT consistent with this poll at all. This poll was created for XBR960 owners to state specific problems/no problems related to this model. It is NOT intended for people to come in and give their 'opinions' on why they think SFP is no longer included in newer models. :rolleyes:

dude the truth hurts. sony super fine pitch was a failure. scraped by sony because of reliability issues. can you answer one simple question? where is the superfine pitch tube today? if sony had such a great technology, unique "superfine pitch" why would they leave it out on 970xbr. Truth the technology was not mature enough to be ready for prime time. sony rush it to the market because they was losing market share to lcd and plasma. remember 910xbr then 960 xbr sony revised the technology because of technical issues. new phosphors , new electron gun, grill, etc. but there were still reliability issues. the cost to manufacture the technology , to bring it to the market was not there. sony panic to stop the bleeding of there crt division by rushing a tecnology that was simply "not ready for my close up". the truth is out there.

dude the truth hurts. sony super fine pitch was a failure. scraped by sony because of reliability issues. can you answer one simple question? where is the superfine pitch tube today? if sony had such a great technology, unique "superfine pitch" why would they leave it out on 970xbr. Truth the technology was not mature enough to be ready for prime time. sony rush it to the market because they was losing market share to lcd and plasma. remember 910xbr then 960 xbr sony revised the technology because of technical issues. new phosphors , new electron gun, grill, etc. but there were still reliability issues. the cost to manufacture the technology , to bring it to the market was not there. sony panic to stop the bleeding of there crt division by rushing a tecnology that was simply "not ready for my close up". the truth is out there.

Man...chill out. There are a whole number of possible reasons why Sony may have decided not to include the SFP in the 970. The most obvious is likely due to the simple cost/competition ratio of the current landscape. With many display technologies coming down in price significantly, the SFP tube is no longer a cheaper alternative for similar size LCD sets, and thus Sony may have concluded it wouldn't sell well. The 970 is a significantly cheaper alternative than similar sized LCD sets; the SFP is not (in many cases it would be more expensive). In the end, I suspect Sony pulled the SFP simply because there wasn't a big enough market for it, and it wasn't profitable, especially with CRT going extinct soon anyway.

Man...chill out. There are a whole number of possible reasons why Sony may have decided not to include the SFP in the 970. The most obvious is likely due to the simple cost/competition ratio of the current landscape. With many display technologies coming down in price significantly, the SFP tube is no longer a cheaper alternative for similar size LCD sets, and thus Sony may have concluded it wouldn't sell well. The 970 is a significantly cheaper alternative than similar sized LCD sets; the SFP is not (in many cases it would be more expensive). In the end, I suspect Sony pulled the SFP simply because there wasn't a big enough market for it, and it wasn't profitable, especially with CRT going extinct soon anyway.

I agree 100% , Im just glad I got my hands on an XBR960 just before it was discontinued, despite minor geometry issues it has a truely amazing picture,Im still in awe when watching HDTV channels :)

you have been warn, sooner or later you will start to have problems. unreliable. The truth is out there.

you have been warn, sooner or later you will start to have problems. unreliable. The truth is out there.

Yea ..you just go ahead and keep telling yourself that.

"An "Internet troll" or "Forum Troll" is a person who posts outrageous message to bait people to answer. Forum Troll delights in sowing discord on the forums. A troll is someone who inspires flaming rhetoric, someone who is purposely provoking and pulling people into flaming discussion. Flaming discussions usually end with name calling and a flame war."

^^ "Truth hurts".

you have been warn, sooner or later you will start to have problems. unreliable. The truth is out there.

What are you claiming to warn about, and what should owners do with your "Warn'. You already posted that you knew that the SFP was no longer on the market, so you can not be warning potential buyers.

Why don't you let those that own the set conduct the product owners satisfaction poll that the fellow started the thread for. If you own one of the sets, just describe your experience with it. That is all is required on the thread.

I purchased a 34XBR960N in January 2006 and had been wowed by the picture up until 2 weeks ago when the screen went black. Sound was available, but no picture. Authorized service dealer diagnosed problem by continuously blinking timer light ( blink 5 times... pause). He attempted to fix with a new CX video board w/o success and now says the CRT is bad and needs replacing.

You have been WARN. More proof as to superfine pitch tube being unreliable. Here is another victim of sony great technology. . Like I said before history repeats its self, like fouls that troll the wind of fire. sucks.

My unit has worked perfectly until last weekend. When started to clean the screen the anti-reflective coating began to come off. I've had sony tv's for over 30 years and never had any issues but this one. :confused:
I called for sony warranty claim and the tv was picked up today and I pray that since it carries two years parts and labor, it will be covered fully. They will advise me on Tuesday next week. I will in turn let you know what happens.

only trouble i have had since it was new was 2 times it wouldnt turn on But following the troubleshooting instructions and unplugging it for a few seconds fixes it

Still a great set I was sceptical about buying another Sony after my last Sony of which I still have needed a Chip in the Turn on cuircut replaced every 2 years.

The superfine is what sold me on this set I had viewed the 950 at a local store sitting right next to a toshiba and by far the picture was better than the Toshiba at 4 feet I could see the Grill apetures not so with the XBR it was a smooth image.

Beware of Sony's technical support and "authorized" service people.

I definitely think Sony's quality and quality control has taken a significant nose dive. I will NEVER buy another Sony TV until they improve their service and products back to previous form.

I purchased a 34XBR960N in January 2006 and had been wowed by the picture up until 2 weeks ago when the screen went black. Sound was available, but no picture. Authorized service dealer diagnosed problem by continuously blinking timer light ( blink 5 times... pause). He attempted to fix with a new CX video board w/o success and now says the CRT is bad and needs replacing.


Try to get a second opinion on this one

This morning my XBR960 wouldn't turn on , unplugging it for a minute fixed it (its plugged into a surge protector / power strip) , This makes it the second time this has happened since buying it 7-8 months ago. Seems like a common symptom with this model.

Try to get a second opinion on this one

Yes, I did attempt to get further information from a 2nd Sony authorized service. Based on the 5-blink code, they could not verify that a CX PC board was at fault, but were unable to intervene as the first servicer dealer had started the repair process. Let me tell you how this played out...

Servicer ordered new CX PC board for home installation and two weeks later arrived to replace same.

During installation, Servicer heard "load pop" and declared picture tube to be bad and causing short of CX board.

Servicer ordered new CRT and CX PC board.

Two weeks later two large men arrived at home to collect television for in-shop
repair to be completed in 3-4 days.

Five days later Servicer determines new replacement CRT to also be bad...orders another CRT.

Some weeks later...

Servicer after MUCH adjustment to magnets to resolve picture purity issues delivers television to customer.

Does it work? Yes, but there is a sense that the picture is not quite what it once was. Can anyone suggest any menu updates that can be done to enhance picture clarity/sharpness/handling white color which now seems to wash a bit?

One thing I did notice relevant to the repair: The parts numbers listed on the repair invoice for the CX PC board A8282726D is listed as compatible w/ Sony models other than the KD-34XBR960. An online search of PARTSTORE shows a different CX PC board part A1400562A for the KD-34XBR960. Similarly, the CRT part was not the original listed for 960, but compatible with 910-955-960.
Does anyone know if all these parts are actually interchangeable?

jadecust, this thread is for the question of reliability, not to answers questions to your symptoms. questions should be asked in the official 34xbr960 thread or in a new thread. However, being a 960 owner that had a similiar experience I will leave some feedback even though my response shouldn't be in this thread either.

I had some repair work done. It was for the no picture, no sound thing. After the work was completed the picture didn't seem as sharp and vibrant. I learned they reset the setttings to initial build settings. From what I've read service menu adjustments are needed to correct these issues. You have 3 options. The techs can adjust the set if you explain what you would like. You can have an ISF calibration done. If you're willing to take the initiative you can go into the service menu yourself and alter the settings you wish to change. Search the service menu threads and proceed carefully if that is what you decide.

My 960N has a color purity issue in the top right side of the screen. At first reducing the RT (right top) landing setting fixed the problem but now the problem is so bad landing does not help. I called a local Sony authorized service center in my area. They came out and need to forward the issue to the Sony area rep. I am awaiting response.

Also there is serious mis-convergence in the horizontal lines especially near the lower right corner. The vertical convergence was fixed by me and it's good except for the lower right side. Geometry was also off but I adjusted to an acceptable level.

If Sony does not fix these issues and get this TV back to factory tuned shape, it will be the last Sony for me.

I would like to get an update and see if anyone has gotten these color purity problems corrected. I am at the point where a tech has been called to come to my house, but I have little faith in their ability to address this issue. So if anyone has had any success in fixing this, please let me know. By the way, my color blotches have gotten to the point where LANDING settings can no longer solve the problem. Thanks, CK

One simple answer to see about reliability of your sony is by where it's made..Mexico or the U.S.A?

The latter is the more reliable better built sonys.Mine was one of the ones manufactured in the Pennsylvania plant and had it for over 3 1/2 years now with not a single issue.

The reason the U.S.A sonys's are more better built is because of the QC (quality control) that they pass through is more better, and i think they are calibrated from the factory a little better too. They don't have a smuch issues with convergance and geometry as the ones built in Mexico.

Normally I would think the same way. I got one of the first XBRs built in Mexico back around 1994. It was the XBR100 (separate tuner) and I was very nervous when I found out that it was built in Mexico. I was proved wrong because I have had no problems with it and it has the best picture on any TV I have ever seen except for HDTV.

So I bought the 960N almost a year ago and it was made in Mexico. I have had no problems with it and the picture is beautiful. None of the issues that others have mentioned on this board.

Now I have just bought a used 36XS955 off of CraigsList that was made in PA.
So far the picture is outstanding on that TV too and right now I just have it hooked up to an antenna. The HDTV is beautiful without cable!!!
So time will tell on the reliability of these TVs. Doesnt seem to matter where they were made.

And to the person who thinks that Sony discontinued the Super Fine Pitch screen because of reliability............nothing could be further from the truth!!!
The fact is that Sony wants to sell LCDs and eventually phase out CRTs completely. Anyone seeing a SFP TV next to a LCD would think twice about buying an LCD TV. Sony took this option away........they really dont want to compete against themselves!!!

How can I tell where my set was manufactured?

It is on the back of the TV. Should have where manufactured and the date manufactured.

look on the back of the set.

Have had a 960N since Winter Olympics 2006 (so about a year now), and it still doesn't stop looking awesome. About a month ago I finally got around to going into the service menus to adjust some simple geometry stuff (the right side of the screen was getting cut off a little bit). After exiting the service menu, it wouldn't turn back on, but just the unplugging trick brought it right back. Has been great since then.
Only complaint would be that you can only have one Component source for the TwinView thing.
I was amazed though that with this TV there is no high-frequency whine that I hear from every other CRT, although I think it has to do with the fact that it's HD, as recently I noticed a Samsung HDTV that also didn't have that noise.
Such a shame that everybody feels the need to switch to LCD, Plasma, and Rear-projection. They don't even know what they are missing.

I'm trying to get a sense of the reliability of this set. If you have had problems, try to specifically identify them. Thanks.
Bought my set 10/2004. First occurrence began about 8 months later: very infrequently, when I powered on the set, the red LED on the front would flash for a longer period than usual and the set would fail to come on. Once this happened, the only way I could get the set to come on would be to unplug it for 30 seconds or more, plug it back in, wait about a minute, then try again to power up. Since this happened very infrequently and could not be reliably reproduced, I felt it was useless to get a repairman in under warranty. The problem got progressively worse over the next 4 months, then expanded into picture quality problems which were pronounced and repeatable. By 12/05, I got a warranty repairman and, once the parts arrived, the set was fixed. Little did I know that the repair parts were no more reliable than the original parts! Just about when the 2 year warranty was ready to expire (10 months after the repair), the same problem re-occurred. As of this date, it is becoming too frequent to tolerate, but I doubt I'll get much cooperation from Sony if I request another warranty repair. Too bad for Sony! Though I have many thousands of $$ of Sony electronics (2 HDTVs, one of the short-lived HD-DVRs, a DVD recorder, 2 DVD players, etc, etc) I will think twice before buying another expensive Sony product. BTW, the second Sony HDTV, a KD-30XS955, is starting to show the same symptoms!) A wordy response, but I hope helpful.

Let's keep this going. All owners please cast your vote!

I bought mine new in the box in Sept or Oct of 2006. No problems whatsoever here. I can see the sticker saying the tube was made in Pennsylvania when looking through the vents. The manufactor date is May 2005.

Flashing like Mortaldivide after the TV warmed up. whcih developed after maybe 6 months o ownership. Involved the repairman replacing the insulation with RTV 106 silicon sealer/insulation around the pins at the back of the tube. He said its a relatively common problem and basically a manufaturing problem with the insulation that causes arcing after the TV warms up enoug. Sony is very aware of this as there is a technmical service bulletin that addresses this exact symptom very specifically. Sort of annoying to have to get my neighbor to help lift the TV up/down from/to a high armoire where the TV is placed on different days.

But its fixed now and looks beautiful

I had this exact problem and was fixed under warranty and since I've had zero problems. Great picture!!

Anybody been able to get the color blotching taken care of under warranty? I have a tech coming to pick up my tv today, so I will let you know if they are able to fix it. Again, I tried the LANDING settings in the service menu, but my blotches were so severe that this couldn't fix the problem completely. -CK

My 960 is by far the best HD panel I own (3). Being the perfect host that I am ( :p ) , I"ll have my friends look at all 3 sets fed via OTA, everyone hands down will pick the sony!

Granted the screen is smaller than my plasma and my rpt, but oh that PQ knocks there socks off.

I know my plasma will upscale and the 960 does one hell of a job with a sd signal also. Too bad there some damn heavy and bulky, but what the hey, you got to pay to play!

I know this isn't the correct forum for this, but I'm building my dedicated HT room as we speak, do they make a projector that matches the 960 pic.? If they do, I'm all in :D

BTW, no problems with my 18 month old set whatsoever

Had mine for right at a year, and no problems at all to report, except maybe that it only has 1 HDMI and 2 component inputs :) . Had to get a video switch to take up the slack! And mine was a display model at Sound Advice so you know it ran for 12 hours a day for god only knows how long before I got it. The gave me a good deal on it, full factory warranty, plus their 5 year warranty for nothing. Works great with my Harmony 880 remote, all discretes for power and inputs. Blacks are perfect, even looks good when watching dark movies like Sleepy Hollow and Batman Begins!

My 960 is getting its tube replaced due to the color blotching issue. They told me the "shadow mask" was bent, and there was nothing else that could be done. I know for a fact that my tv doesn't even have a shadow mask. It has an aperture grill.

I am now afraid that the new tube will not be calibrated correctly, so who knows what condition set I will get back in a few weeks. I will let you know the results when I get my tv back. -CK

My 960 was an open box special from cc. No info regarding it's history, whether it was a display model or a customer return. Mine has a NOV '05 build date and was bought in early JAN of this year and so far so good, been revealing in it's brilliance since. This set is soooo good I routinely check craigslist in my area for other SFP sets that could potentially fill in as back up if the 960 goes titsup. The large SFP tubes will probably never see the light of day again, what a shame. The light that burns brightest burns only half as long. Sigh.

My 960 was an open box special from cc. No info regarding it's history, whether it was a display model or a customer return. Mine has a NOV '05 build date and was bought in early JAN of this year and so far so good, been revealing in it's brilliance since. This set is soooo good I routinely check craigslist in my area for other SFP sets that could potentially fill in as back up if the 960 goes titsup. The large SFP tubes will probably never see the light of day again, what a shame. The light that burns brightest burns only half as long. Sigh.

Yea sad isnt it .. I recently watched Crank via Bluray on my XBR960 and it was the best picture quality ive experianced on this TV. I didnt think it could get much better than OTA HD but Bluray is definately a step up.

Yea sad isnt it .. I recently watched Crank via Bluray on my XBR960 and it was the best picture quality ive experianced on this TV. I didnt think it could get much better than OTA HD but Bluray is definately a step up.
You ain't kidden'. Watching Crank on my PS3 is an absolutely mind blowing, hullucinatory, cornia shredding, mouth agape, experience. :D If there is a better way to view this movie, I wanna know what it is.