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Does your Sony 46" XBR LCD suffer from an uneven backlight or cloudy background?

  • YES, clouds can been seen when dark colors are displayed or when switching inputs

    Votes: 1,302 69.2%
  • NO, my screen has a perfect, fully even, backlight

    Votes: 580 30.8%
2M views 9K replies 1K participants last post by  jexter13 
#1 ·
Please vote if you own or did own (i.e. returned) a Sony 40/46/52" XBR2 or XBR3 OR V2500 LCD 1080p HDTV. Please post your TV's build date. Vote yes if you have experienced the uneven backlight or cloudly screen problem with your set. Do NOT vote if you did not or have not owned one these TV's.


Both Sony and Samsung are affected by this issue.


Thank you!


UPDATE:

The number of cloudy sets reported has gone up considerbly since more owners have been made aware of this thread.


UPDATE 2:
PLEASE REPORT YOUR DEFECTIVE TV TO SONY BY CALLING 1-800-222-7669 AND ASKING TO SPEAK WITH A PRODUCT SPECIALIST.


UPDATE 3:
**HELP SPREAD THE WORD!** PLEASE POST YOUR REVIEWS OF THIS TV ONLINE AT AMAZON.com, CIRCUIT CITY.com, CRUTCHFIELD.com AND CNET.com.


UPDATE 4:
Sony XBR (top) vs. Sharp Aquos (bottom)


Photo courtesy of ransome


UPDATE 5:
Sony admits that there is a problem:

Important Information About Your Sony® BRAVIA Television!


Posted: 01/12/2007


The Sony BRAVIA line of flat-panel LCD televisions reflects our commitment to the highest picture quality standards. The KDL-40XBR2/3 and KDL-46XBR2/3 series televisions have received exceptionally high ratings for picture performance from many well respected home theater sources, including the Editor's Choice Award from CNET and critics at Sound & Vision Magazine.


To achieve this high level of performance and picture clarity, Sony utilizes a very bright backlight setting. This helps deliver the brightest picture possible, as well as exceptional picture clarity even in the darkest image sources.


However, the setting, under certain dark viewing conditions, especially blank screens with no video source, may cause the screens on some of these televisions to exhibit slightly uneven uniformity. This condition is not usually visible under typical viewing conditions, such as watching movies or television programming, and generally should not affect your viewing experience.


Should you find that this condition does affect your viewing enjoyment; there are a few settings that you can make to minimize this condition:


Setup Menu --> Light Sensor: ON

Setup Menu --> Power Saving: Low or High

Picture Menu --> Reduce the Backlight Level (Factory Setting: 10)

A combination of the above changes may be applied as necessary.


If your television still does not meet with your approval after these setting adjustments, Sony Electronics will provide a Self Service Software Update that will further minimize the condition. Upon request, Sony will ship this update with directions directly to you when it becomes available in mid-February.


All terms of your Sony limited warranty continue to apply. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, and we continue to stand behind our product and our loyal customers.



You may read this directly at: http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-i...&mdl=KDL46XBR2
 
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#277 ·
I've had this TV for a week. I'm thinking that the backlight problem is now inherent to the design of these particular set of LCD panels. I have a 37" Westy 1080P panel at work and the backlighting system is different, thus no uneven backlighting. Whether this is a design flaw or not is undertermined, but, IMHO, I think the uneven backlighting is inherent to the panels design.


So, now the delemma, do I live with the inherent backlighting issue, or do I return it and wait. After experiencing 1080P, I don't think I can go back to a panel with less resolution. If the cost of this panel was 1/3 less....maybe I could live with it, but at current price levels, its really hard for me to keep the panel.


Maybe I'll go get a 40" to tie me over till the next gen of 1080P panels hit the shelves?
 
#279 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by FerretHunter /forum/post/0


I don't see how this can't bother you if you value picture quality. These are Sony XBR sets, not Vizios. These cloudy issues have a degrading effect on the picture being displayed. If you can't see it, or it doesn't affect you, then be glad for that. What kind of reaction did you expect by posting in a thread on avsforum that owners of an expensive top of the line set should ignore a non-even picture? Especially given the fact that most of the people posting in this thread have this problem?

The problem doesn't bother me, because I don't notice it unless I'm looking real hard on a blank dark screen. The picture of the Vizio earlier has me convinced that this problem does exist where it is noticeable. That Vizio was clearly having a problem.


But, not the Sony pictures published here in this thread! These people are obsessing over imperfection. It does not affect any picture unless you're watching a blank dark screen. Most, if not all, of the TV threads here in these forums clearly show a percentage of the obsessive people who stress over buying these types of high priced items. All the information available on the internet gives them more fuel for the fire. Burn the witch!
 
#280 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jktrading /forum/post/0


The problem doesn't bother me, because I don't notice it unless I'm looking real hard on a blank dark screen. The picture of the Vizio earlier has me convinced that this problem does exist where it is noticeable. That Vizio was clearly having a problem.

But, not the Sony pictures published here in this thread! These people are obsessing over imperfection. It does not affect any picture unless you're watching a blank dark screen.

Hmm. To my eyes, the pics below (taken from the other posts in this thread) show very visible "clouding" and they are certainly NOT of a "blank dark screen."





Your level of tolerance is certainly alot higher than most people.
 
#281 ·
My first TV had a very pronounced basketball size light area in the top left corner.

The replacement unit is better but still shows uneven back light regardless of source. The second unit was manufactured in Mexico in Oct 2006. Not sure about manufacturing date of the first one.
 
#282 ·
Since we've established that the Sonys and Samsungs have the same screen, it'd be nice if someone could rename the thread to include Sammys.


I've had my 4095 for less than 24 hours and I noticed the clouds immediately. Build date is October.


From what I've heard about Samsung customer service, you Sony guys should feel lucky that they are at least acknowledging the problem. I dread having to deal with Samsung.
 
#283 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jktrading /forum/post/0


Yep, that one is messed up, I concur. Every other photo I have seen (except yours) = nitpicking. You cannot be stuck with that Vizio? Say it isn't so? Exchango, facto.

Thats the problem.

I wanted to exchange it for the new 1080p Sony sets, but then I found out about this problem.

The new Sharp sets? I bought one & retunred it due to severe banding, which as hard to believe was worse then the clouds.


It's becoming EXTREMELY hard to find a quality set being made recently that doesn't have some crippling defect in it.


FYI on my testing on putting the panel face down, it seems it made the clouding become worse.

As I placed the TV face down with the stand still on the it & placed a book on the floor for the top of the frame so the screen wouldn't touch the floor.


From what I read I guess the clouds going away for some people is because they are puting even stress on the panel physically.


Just like rubbing portions of the screen physically with a cloth will move/get rid of some of the clouds, doing so by placing the screen down on something with it's own weight squeezing down on it & between the actual floor/couch/table etc.


The clouds go away/hides in the same way only it in a larger area & more evenly since it's sandwiched.


I had the screen suspended from the ground, not touching it, so that is what probably made the clouds move around/dispearse even more.
 
#284 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jktrading /forum/post/0


Yep, that one is messed up, I concur. Every other photo I have seen (except yours) = nitpicking. You cannot be stuck with that Vizio? Say it isn't so? Exchango, facto.

Well if you are ok with paying 3k plus for a **** screen, be my guest. I am sorry that I expect quality when buying one of the top of the line lcd's.
 
#285 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rare1 /forum/post/0


Well if you are ok with paying 3k plus for a **** screen, be my guest. I am sorry that I expect quality when buying one of the top of the line lcd's.

There is a thread about peoples jobs & there are some high rollers posting here.

First few post in the thread were a CEO, a head of a plane engineering facility etc..


I'm sure for those people it would not be a big problem, but yeah for your average joe who will buy on average maybe one TV in a decade, it's a problem.
 
#287 ·
i just bought a 40XBR2, with the same cloudiness issue, and I'm having a technician coming next week. One thing I noticed, is that the TV doesn't stand at 90 degrees (perfect perpendicular). I measure the bottom and the top against the wall, and from top to bottom there is an inclination of 2 centimeters tilted forward, which is not much, still noticeable, but easy to fix. Now, my question is, could it be that this inclination is what is causing the stress in the panels creating the clouds issue? Could anybody check as well if the TV is perfectly straight?
 
#288 ·
How would you guys fix this cloudy issue is whats important, especialy if you plan to keep your tv. I own a Jvc LT-46FH97, it uses the same Samsung/Sony LTA460HS panel as the LNS4695 and 46XBR2/3 BUT no backlight leakage "cloudines" whatsoever. It also uses a different backlight compared to the Sony/Samsung but same panel (i know this i opened it). I also know 100% that the panels on the LNS4695/96 and XBR2/3 were available only beginning 2Q2006 as opposed to the Jvc's panel being made prior to that. Could be a defect that is in the panel or other hardware that allows the backlight to have uneven light distribution ???? REMEMBER though, the cloudiness is only visible in dark scenes, and at that level the WideColorGamut-CCFL technology in the Samsung and Sony tvs automaticaly dimms the backlight to improve contrast and black levels. And what happens to CCFL when it is dimmed too low??? It shows uneven light distribution.
 
#289 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by diegoborgh /forum/post/0


i just bought a 40XBR2, with the same cloudiness issue, and I'm having a technician coming next week. One thing I noticed, is that the TV doesn't stand at 90 degrees (perfect perpendicular). I measure the bottom and the top against the wall, and from top to bottom there is an inclination of 2 centimeters tilted forward, which is not much, still noticeable, but easy to fix.

LOL....Before you hang the TV manufacturer, put a level on your wall and see if it is plumb. You may need to hang your carpenter instead.

Quote:
Originally Posted by diegoborgh /forum/post/0


Now, my question is, could it be that this inclination is what is causing the stress in the panels creating the clouds issue? Could anybody check as well if the TV is perfectly straight?

Don't think this has anything to do with it. It may (or may not) be caused by undue stress on the screens during transport but if a few mm here or there causes that problem then the TV should never have been shipped.


Really, these things are made to stand more abuse then people in the forum often give them credit for.


-Tom
 
#290 ·
Well after reading this thread I decided to post my pic of my 46 Xbr2. It was manufactured in Mexico and has a manufacturing date of Oct 2006. I think it looks good compared to the other pics I have seen. Here it is for comparison.


Took pic w/no flash, room dark and put to a blank input.
 
#291 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by maximo78 /forum/post/0


Well after reading this thread I decided to post my pic of my 46 Xbr2. It was manufactured in Mexico and has a manufacturing date of Oct 2006. I think it looks good compared to the other pics I have seen. Here it is for comparison.


Took pic w/no flash, room dark and put to a blank input.

That actually looks great. I wish mine looked like that one.
 
#292 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by maximo78 /forum/post/0


Well after reading this thread I decided to post my pic of my 46 Xbr2. It was manufactured in Mexico and has a manufacturing date of Oct 2006. I think it looks good compared to the other pics I have seen. Here it is for comparison.


Took pic w/no flash, room dark and put to a blank input.

That screen looks very black, which I've never seen to that extent with an LCD panel displaying signal.


I thought the Sonys shutdown the panel (thus no light is being emitted) when no signal is present, at least that was my experience in the past when booting a PC during the BIOS switching to windows drivers.
 
#294 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jktrading /forum/post/0


Burned down? When I let my customer exchange twice and just not a third time for the same exact problem, you would burn down my store? Doesn't quite seem right.

Just quoting you. "Lighten up!" Guess you don't quite get it that I'm joking when I use the
emoticon?


I take it from your tone that you do indeed own a store or at least work at one? I just want to understand where you're coming from.
 
#296 ·
I am having the same mura problem with 46XBR2 that others have reported. I have returned one unit, and am having the same problem with its replacement. Attached is a picture from my panel.


I am not sure what to do. I find the Mura annoying/distracting when watching darker material (e.g. Harry Potter night scenes, CSI night scenes), but I don't know of a picture I like better in almost all other visual circumstances. I wouldn't mind it if the whole panel were consistently brighter, it's the variation that disappoints.
 
#299 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jktrading /forum/post/0


Yes, burning down something is pretty insane, emoticon or not. I didn't appreciate the "joking" of burning down my store.

My apologies for my remark if it made you uncomfortable.


Though, back to the topic now that I know you're coming from the side of the retailer - I know all those returns are bad for the bottom line. However, I hope you're not letting that aspect cloud (no pun intended) your judgement on this matter of this screen defect on the Samsungs and Sonys.


I know the customer is only right to a point, but in this case, the cloudiness is a defect that Sony and Samsung need to acknowledge. The retailer shouldn't play as the vendor cheer leader to simply preserve profits. We sort of depend on you guys (the retailer) to tell Sony or Samsung the truth about the quality of their products. After all, you can't let them sit on their high horses thinking they can do no wrong. Why should the retailer and customer suffer for vendor arrogance?


They should be reimbursing you for the returned sets rather than you having to sell the item as an open box items.
 
#301 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by sauron256 /forum/post/0


They should be reimbursing you for the returned sets rather than you having to sell the item as an open box items.

If they aren't doing that, it would make sense for a retailer to stop carrying an item that has become unprofitable for them to carry due to high returns. That is just business 101.
 
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