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Official Sony XBR8 Series Owner's Thread - Page 179

post #5341 of 5404
3/15/12 at 4:46pm
Anybody know of any place to get a XBR8? I have a 46 now,with no warranty, and need a new one.Nothing out there is as nice to me as the XBR8.would love a 55''! Any suggestions besides craigslist and ebay?thanks
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post #5342 of 5404
3/16/12 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by epfranklin View Post

Anybody know of any place to get a XBR8? I have a 46 now,with no warranty, and need a new one.Nothing out there is as nice to me as the XBR8.would love a 55''! Any suggestions besides craigslist and ebay?thanks

What's wrong with what you've got?
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post #5343 of 5404
3/19/12 at 6:44am
I think it was a power surge, or maybe lightning.. either way, the tv, computer and microwave all shorted out and weren't working when I came home one night.I'm hoping to find a 55xbr8 to replace the 46xbr8 tv I had but there doesn't seem to be anymore out there.thoughts?ideas?
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post #5344 of 5404
3/31/12 at 12:42pm
I have an XBR8 and I cannot get the PC input to work. I have rebooted the computer but I cannot get a signal or get the light to light up. Any suggestions?
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post #5345 of 5404
3/31/12 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaby View Post

I have an XBR8 and I cannot get the PC input to work. I have rebooted the computer but I cannot get a signal or get the light to light up. Any suggestions?

I've never had any issues getting my computer to hook up with my XBR8, but I've been using a DVI to HDMI cable. Windows recognizes it as a monitor and displays flawless 1080p.
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post #5346 of 5404
3/31/12 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deviation View Post

I've never had any issues getting my computer to hook up with my XBR8, but I've been using a DVI to HDMI cable. Windows recognizes it as a monitor and displays flawless 1080p.

I'm using a RGB to RGB cable from bettercables.com and cannot get the xbr8 to recognize my Thinkpad. Again, any suggestions?
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post #5347 of 5404
3/31/12 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaby View Post

I'm using a RGB to RGB cable from bettercables.com and cannot get the xbr8 to recognize my Thinkpad. Again, any suggestions?

I think that with RGB there is no negotiation of resolution, so if you are not sending a resolution that your tv like, it not display anything. Try to manually set the resolution to something low like: 1280x720 and connect.
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post #5348 of 5404
4/5/12 at 6:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by epfranklin View Post

Anybody know of any place to get a XBR8? I have a 46 now,with no warranty, and need a new one.Nothing out there is as nice to me as the XBR8.would love a 55''! Any suggestions besides craigslist and ebay?thanks

I have a mint condition 55" XBR8 that I bought brand new right before they became obsolete and have barely used- it has been in my bedroom with a sheet over it unplugged for over a year. I guess I've been saving it for later but I would be willing to sell it for $4k-
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post #5349 of 5404
8/20/12 at 5:47pm
A sad day: my 55XBR8 has developed the thin black horizontal lines problem on the right 3/4ths of the screen, gradually getting worse from left to right. It happens on every input, and even the default screen when there is no signal. For the others who have had this problem, is there any hope in fixing it, or is it a problem with the panel itself? I took off the back cover, blew out the dust, and made sure all the wire connections were secure, and they were. Nothing obvious as to what went wrong. For now, I moved my old XBR4 from the bedroom to the living room, but it sure as heck isn't an XBR8.
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post #5350 of 5404
8/20/12 at 6:14pm
I am convinced that Sony's FBU boards are defective ... or at the very least unreasonably susceptible to shorting ...

Not one of these panels is bad ...IMO ... 2 XBR 8's (46 and 55 inch) with the exact same problem ..... hmmmmmmmm

Sony would never admit it ... but I am convinced.
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post #5351 of 5404
8/20/12 at 6:43pm
Its a pity the U.S. doesn't have what we have in Australia.
Our XBR series have an extended warrantee on the panel to October 2012, for the very reason described above.
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/announcement/369089/productcategory/tvp+lcd+tv
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post #5352 of 5404
8/20/12 at 10:42pm
Quote:
A sad day: my 55XBR8 has developed the thin black horizontal lines problem on the right 3/4ths of the screen, gradually getting worse from left to right. It happens on every input, and even the default screen when there is no signal. For the others who have had this problem, is there any hope in fixing it, or is it a problem with the panel itself? I took off the back cover, blew out the dust, and made sure all the wire connections were secure, and they were. Nothing obvious as to what went wrong. For now, I moved my old XBR4 from the bedroom to the living room, but it sure as heck isn't an XBR8.

Mine also did the same just 3 months ago. I couldn't believe that my beloved XBR8's panel was dying. Best Buy Geek Squad came and said it was the panel, then took it away a week later and trashed the TV. There is no way to fix it afaik. I lucked out and got a replacement Sony HX Series, but nothing beats the XBR8 for pic quality, sound, and looks. The real benefits are that this new tv is half the weight and a quarter of the thickness.

Good luck!
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post #5353 of 5404
10/30/12 at 3:08pm
Which HX model did you get. As I'm out of warranty, I'm being offered the 46HX750 for $725 (which is a $375 discount on it's current price). I've been searching for 10 months for the FBU Board without success.
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post #5354 of 5404
11/6/12 at 1:20pm
Anyone have any updated calibration they'd like to share with everyone? I've been messing with mine but I can't seem to hit the "sweet" spot... Now I know I know, that "sweet" spot will defer from one person to the other but I'd really like to try everyone else's calibration if you did them yourself or if you had it professionally done.
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post #5355 of 5404
11/6/12 at 3:45pm
My TV is pro-calibration, darkroom calibration. I have some bias lighting (behind the TV). In the link - page 162 - you will find a calibration post and a settings post.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1071392/official-sony-xbr8-series-owners-thread/4830#post_18862003
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post #5356 of 5404
11/6/12 at 5:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8mile13 View Post

My TV is pro-calibration, darkroom calibration. I have some bias lighting (behind the TV). In the link - page 162 - you will find a calibration post and a settings post.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1071392/official-sony-xbr8-series-owners-thread/4830#post_18862003

Thanks for that 8mile13! But do you have the rest of the calibration?

Picture Adjustments
Picture Mode:
Backlight -
Picture -
Brightness -
Color -
Hue -
Color Temperature -
Sharpness -
Noise Reduction -
MPEG Noise Reduction -
DRC Mode -

Advanced Settings
Black Corrector -
Advanced C.E. -
Gamma -
LED Dynamic Control -
Auto Light Limiter -
Clear White -
Color Space -
Live Color -
White Balance:
**R-Gain:
**G-Gain:
**B-Gain:
**R-Bias:
**G-Bias:
**B-Bias:
Detail Enhancer -
Edge Enhancer -

Picture Settings
Motion Enhancer -
CineMotion -
Game/Text Mode -
Video/Photo Optimizer -
Video Color Space -
Photo Color Space -
Color Matrix -
RGB Dynamic Range -

Screen Menu
Wide Mode - Full
Auto Wide - Off
4:3 Default - Off
Display Area - Full Pixel

General Setup Menu
Power Save Mode -
Light Sensor -
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post #5357 of 5404
11/7/12 at 6:25am
You will find all of that on page 162.
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post #5358 of 5404
12/6/12 at 2:10pm
I have an xbr8 that hdmi inputs went bad, I get vertical lines all across the screen, I know it's not the LCD, because, I use the menu to change settings and its flawless... I had contacted sony and they were going to repair it, I had talk to the sony technician that was going to come over and asked me over the phone and he said he knew what was wrong and he will order the parts and when he gets them he will call me for an appt to open the tv and replace them. Couple of days later sony contacted me and the stated that the parts he ordered are not available anymore and they would not be able to fix my tv... This is half of the story... I still have the TV and I still want to get it fix, unfortunately, I couldn't talk to the technician back and asking him what parts should I get, any ideas anyone?...


All started one day when I was watching a bluray movie, paused it for a couple of minutes, when I got back those lines were on the screen... I tried everything, bypassed all my home theater and connected the Xbox directly and those lines were still there, I tried all the inputs and all have those vertical lines, except when you hit the menus and want to change settings, LCD panel is fine with no issues or dead pixels.
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post #5359 of 5404
12/6/12 at 5:49pm
This was a known problem with this model. It was so prevalent, that in Australia (Asia) they extended the warrantee on the PANEL only, to cover it.
Maybe you have something similar in the US, although I notice the extended warrantee, was until October 2012.
Check here http://www.sony-asia.com/support/announcement/369089/productcategory/tvp+lcd+tv
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post #5360 of 5404
12/6/12 at 5:51pm
noticed the black Horizontal lines on my 55" XBR8..... on the left side running about 3/4" across the screen. just started this week. it's happening on all inputs and even when you pull up the menu's.

turned DRC off and on but the lines are still there. this is our primary TV, had it 4 years, daily use 3 - 5 hours a day.

I have Geek squad protection. so based on others post, my LCD panel is possibly dying and time for Geek Squad to verify.... Great.....

i have a 46" XBR8 in the bedroom.... hopefully it won't suffer the same fate as my 55".
Edited by XBR23 - 12/7/12 at 12:36pm
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post #5361 of 5404
12/7/12 at 6:39am
^^ Would be nice if you're guys with problems also mention size of xbr8, years of ownership an hours of watching.
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post #5362 of 5404
12/12/12 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by XBR23 View Post

noticed the black Horizontal lines on my 55" XBR8..... on the left side running about 3/4" across the screen. just started this week. it's happening on all inputs and even when you pull up the menu's.
turned DRC off and on but the lines are still there. this is our primary TV, had it 4 years, daily use 3 - 5 hours a day.
I have Geek squad protection. so based on others post, my LCD panel is possibly dying and time for Geek Squad to verify.... Great.....
i have a 46" XBR8 in the bedroom.... hopefully it won't suffer the same fate as my 55".

Geek squad said they were ordering a new panel for my 55" XBR8. he even said that he doubts a panel will be available. if not, and there are no refurbs available, they will give me credit towards a new set. i should know in a few more days what will happen.

he also mentioned that it can sometimes be one of the boards inside the TV but it's usually the Panel. said he has not seen this happen to an XBR8 before.

fyi.
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post #5363 of 5404
12/26/12 at 2:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by XBR23 View Post

Geek squad said they were ordering a new panel for my 55" XBR8. he even said that he doubts a panel will be available. if not, and there are no refurbs available, they will give me credit towards a new set. i should know in a few more days what will happen.
he also mentioned that it can sometimes be one of the boards inside the TV but it's usually the Panel. said he has not seen this happen to an XBR8 before.
fyi.

Ugh. I find myself in the same boat both as to the problem and Best Buy coverage. Please post updates as to what ultimately develops with your situation.
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post #5364 of 5404
12/26/12 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GShock71 View Post

Ugh. I find myself in the same boat both as to the problem and Best Buy coverage. Please post updates as to what ultimately develops with your situation.

So here we are witnessing our 4 yr old, top of the line Sony TV's failing at a similar rate..... this just points the finger at Sony but Sony will not acknowledge the problem. Geek Squad admitted the panel had failed and after 2 weeks of searching for a replacement panel, decided to give me credit towards a new TV. Thankfully, i made friends with a local BB manager when i originally bought the XBR8, i have stayed in touch with this person over the past few years by visiting the stores he/she manages. i am a BB Premier Silver member. during the exchange i was unsure what GS would offer me. much to my dismay the first offer was $2000 for my 55" XBR8..... thankfully my BB manager decided that 4 yrs ago my XBR8 was top of the line Sony. the current top of the Sony is the HX950 which BB is selling for $ 3200. the local manager gave me $ 3200 towards the TV of my choice. i picked the Sharp Elite Pro-60X5FD for my new TV. i still had to come out of pocket for the new TV but at least i wasn't out the full retail price..... the Elite was delivered today, so far, it still needs tweaking...
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post #5365 of 5404
12/28/12 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by XBR23 View Post

So here we are witnessing our 4 yr old, top of the line Sony TV's failing at a similar rate..... this just points the finger at Sony but Sony will not acknowledge the problem. Geek Squad admitted the panel had failed and after 2 weeks of searching for a replacement panel, decided to give me credit towards a new TV. Thankfully, i made friends with a local BB manager when i originally bought the XBR8, i have stayed in touch with this person over the past few years by visiting the stores he/she manages. i am a BB Premier Silver member. during the exchange i was unsure what GS would offer me. much to my dismay the first offer was $2000 for my 55" XBR8..... thankfully my BB manager decided that 4 yrs ago my XBR8 was top of the line Sony. the current top of the Sony is the HX950 which BB is selling for $ 3200. the local manager gave me $ 3200 towards the TV of my choice. i picked the Sharp Elite Pro-60X5FD for my new TV. i still had to come out of pocket for the new TV but at least i wasn't out the full retail price..... the Elite was delivered today, so far, it still needs tweaking...

Thanks. I must admit that I don't have that kind of relationship with my BB manager, so I imagine I will start out at the low end without much soft leverage to move up. I am disappointed at having to select a new tv. I was so happy with the 8; to have to find a comparable replacement set so soon is just exhausting. A portion of the fatigue comes from the fact that if the best of the best Sonys are designed to fail after 4 years, odds are that I will again find myself shelling out in 4 years (or less) for yet another replacement. I never figured tvs as a recurring multi-thousand dollar cost.

I'll post what develops.
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post #5366 of 5404
12/28/12 at 5:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GShock71 View Post

Thanks. I must admit that I don't have that kind of relationship with my BB manager, so I imagine I will start out at the low end without much soft leverage to move up. I am disappointed at having to select a new tv. I was so happy with the 8; to have to find a comparable replacement set so soon is just exhausting. A portion of the fatigue comes from the fact that if the best of the best Sonys are designed to fail after 4 years, odds are that I will again find myself shelling out in 4 years (or less) for yet another replacement. I never figured tvs as a recurring multi-thousand dollar cost.
I'll post what develops.

i totally agree with you, i was very happy with my XBR8. i hated to have to buy a new TV after just 4 years, especially after paying a premium for the 8. a $7K TV should last more than 4 years.... i have had other XBR models and the past 2 have lasted less than 5 yrs.... something is wrong Sony. this is why i jumped ship and am willing to risk a ride on the Sharp Elite train.

good luck to you and push the "top of the line" argument as hard as you can with BB. they have to admit that our 8's were the top of the line at the time.
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post #5367 of 5404
12/30/12 at 5:23pm
I have the 46" version of the XBR8 and so far after 3 years this October it's still going strong. But if it's destined to die at the 4 year mark then this coming year will be sad indeed. I am hoping to get several more years out of it but it is looking doubtful. I am beginning to think that all tv manufacturers just crank out junk nowadays. Just look at some reviews for the latest Sony's, Samsungs,etc.... They all have their share of quality control issues. Sad days indeed.frown.gif
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post #5368 of 5404
1/13/13 at 4:37am
I also have a 46" that is working perfectly. I know that most failures in electronics are caused by heat and that the xbr8 has a few small cooling fans. I also have observed that my PC is always full of dust when I open it after a period of time. It is possble these 4 year failures are caused by an accumulation of dust the fans bring in while in use? Should I remove the xbr8 from the wall, open it up, and clean out the dust? Has anyone done that? Will I find enough dust to cause a lack of cooling for certain circuit boards or isn't dust a problem for this TV? (Note: My house is not especially dusty, but like I said, mt PC gets dusty on the inside).

Pat
Edited by greenpjs - 1/15/13 at 5:09am
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post #5369 of 5404
1/22/13 at 10:15am
There were no replies to my previous post so I went ahead and opened the TV to clean out any accumulated dust. The fan blades themselves were quite dusty, but none of the visible heat sinks had any appreciable dust. Visible components on boards were the same - little or no dust. If I had known it was going to be that clean, I wouldn't have bothered opening it.
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post #5370 of 5404
1/29/13 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by g_funk View Post

Hi guys, total n00b here looking for some guidance, I dug around and figured posting here would at least point me in the right direction.


So about 3 months ago my 46XBR8 started showing wavy vertical lines, so with my Best Buy warranty in hand I took it back to the store (well I had a guy come out and look at it, then I took it back to the store) long story short they would only give me what I paid for it (I got a good deal) and I wanted it fixed so I left the store with my broken TV.....


So I hooked it back up and when I bi-passed my junky receiver (Harmon Kardon POS) and ran the PS3 or DirecTV straight in via HDMI, the picture was perfect. So I bought a new Onkyo Reciever and all was well with the world. The a few days ago the lines came back, and this time bi-passing the reciever didnt work. I tried different HDMI cables and then started digging through here. I took the set apart and tried Bonky's clean the cables with a pencil eraser, that didnt work. I am not sure what component is failing but with nothing plugged in the picture looks perfect, so I am assuming it is not the LCD panel that is faulty.


Any help is greatly appreciated, I love this set and want it back



Here are some pics of the cables I cleaned, and the set with the lines and with nothing plugged in.









Hey!, I had the same exact issue. The FBU board (which holds the hdmi ports) and the AU board ( which holds the component, coax TV input and) are bad. I was lucky I had a 5 year warranty on it, sony was not able to replace the parts as they were discontinued, instead the offered me hx929 as a replacement. I asked about what should with the xbr8? And they said I could whatever I want. So I went online and found the boards on eBay and also shopjimmy.com. Replaced the boards and voila! I got a free brand new tv and a flawless again! Xbr8
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