Some information:

Sony XBR970 HDTV

-Had the TV for about 2-3 months bought it brand new from Best Buy
-It sees everyday useage for about 5-6 hours a day.
-I've calibrated it using Avia so I've been into the service menu, although nobody else knows how to get into it.

Anyhow I came home from work and my brother gives me the news. He says the TV has some weird tint coming from the corners of the display area. I looked at it and the four corners of the TV is somehow tinted. The center of the image is normal but when you look at the corners the image is tinted very noticably. The tint starts from the corners and covers 2-3 inches on each side. It's like when you move a magnet close to the TV the image will distort. There are no magnets close by at all, the only thing I can think of are the built in speakers, but they are sopposed to be there. I have changed through all of the display inputs: cable box, xbox, bank flashy screen, Wii, and they all show the problem.

I'll try and get some pictures so you guys can get a better picture of how it looks, but for now that's that best I can describe it. Has anyone experienced this before? Is there a way to fix it? I'm completely sad right now because the spectacular image and colors is now obsolete. I love this TV it's the best thing I've purchased as of yet and I want it to last but now I'm not sure anymore. :(

my tv has the same problem. I don't know how to get rid of either.

Do you have any speakers near the sides of the set? If so you might have to deguass the set.

Do you have any speakers near the sides of the set? If so you might have to deguass the set.

He made it pretty clear that there were no magnets of any kind near the set.


I'd say the little brother did it... :D

I had the same problem. I called Sony, they replaced the tube, no problem since.

I had a similar problem when my 40XBR700 was about that age. It went away on it's own. Occasionally it comes back, but powercycling the set a few times takes care of it. I do have speakers on the side that does it occasionally, but they are 6 feet away. Since you're still in warranty, call Sony on it. As for long term, my TV is 5 years old and still doing fine.

My 34XBR970 is exhibiting the same symptoms. My set is between four and five months old. I hadn't noticed any problems like this until about a week ago when I noticed the corners of the screen were noticeably darker on an all-white screen. Last night I had the DVR paused on an all-red screen and my wife mentioned the dark corners -- you know it's noticeable if my wife can see it without me pointing it out first.

The problem seems to have come on suddenly - I hadn't noticed it at all until a week or so ago. Does anyone know what might actually be causing the problem? like.no.other -- did the tech (or Sony) say anything about the problem and what might cause it, or did they just replace the tube and call it a day?

I figure I might be able to correct the problem myself with the landing settings, since it seems like a beam landing issue. But from the sound of what yakkosmurf wrote, that sounds more like a magnetic interference / degaussing issue.

Anyway, I'll post back with anything I can figure out. If anyone else has any ideas or experience with this, please share whatever knowledge you have. Personally I'd rather fix the problem myself then have Sony replace the tube, because I've invested so much time and energy in setting it up like I like it, and the thought of having to do everything all over again isn't too appealing.

I had the same issue with my 34HS420, it was a color purity problem. Was fixed by a sony tech.

I had the same issue with my 34HS420, it was a color purity problem. Was fixed by a sony tech.
Do you recall, did they replace any parts, or did they fix the problem with only the service menu settings?

EDIT: Also, how long ago was it repaired, and did the problem ever come back or was the repair permanent? Please excuse the barrage of questions. Thank you for your help and for posting your experience.

Since there are so many phone numbers to contact Sony. Would you guys happen to know what Sony's tech number is for this particular TV? :) I'm a complete newbie when it comes to tech support.

How is their warranty service? How long does Sony warranty this TV for? Do they come out and open up the TV? Do I have to ship the TV out to them? If you guys have had the same problem how did they fix it? Thanks

Ok somehow the TV has fixed itself! It's been working fine ever since today. Very interesting though.

This doesn't surprise me. These CRTs are very sensitive to magnetic fluctuations especially ones that eminate from the Earth itself!
In the SM under the LANDING settings there are settings that reverse it's sensitivities to N/S and E/W orientation. Maybe these could be of some help to those that haven't self-corrected yet.
Being an amatuer astronomer, I have become aware of how often out planet is slammed with magnetic flux from our own Sun. They are responsible for long lasting auroras and cause disruptions in all manner of satillite communications.
Just a theory....

Ok somehow the TV has fixed itself! It's been working fine ever since today. Very interesting though.
That's what mine does from time to time too.

This has happened to my 970 which is only two weeks old. Bought it at BB and they are sending someone out Monday. I have a purple stripe down the left side and the other two corners are purple. TV had a great pic for two weeks. Boy am I tired of buying shoddy stuff as an American consumer.

Update. Tv fixed itself after 3 days of purple/green screen. Weird.

It happens^^

Mine had a similar issue that only appeared once since i've had my sony for the past 4 years and after that it never returned wierd eh??

Well, it stayed purple for 3 days, went fine for a day, purple for a day, and fine again now for it's second day. I registered everything with BB in case of a similar purple haze event and actually spoke to a very knowledgeable and helpful repair tech who gave me a few options and his e-mail (and cell #) asking me to snap a pic should it happen again. I still have a week to go for 30 days and bought an ew (4 years total-two extra-for $99), so we'll see how she holds up. I hauled it home myself with a friend so can't just have them swap it out. Also, these things are getting hard to find around here. I got the last one at my local store and others are out of inventory as well.

I'm guessing this is a common problem with these XBR970 sets.