Official Sony HX929 Owner's thread (46HX929, 55HX929, 65HX929) No Price Talk - Page 493

^ how many is that?

128

OK soooooooo, here's the update.

After calling SONY serveral times, they finally determined that there was indeed a problem with my panel, and updating the software was NOT the fix for the problem. After some discussion, apparently when the panel turns itself off, as mine was doing, the red light on the bottom of the panel which normally remains on when the panel is turned off, blinks. In fact, built into the 929 ( don't know if this is true on other panels) is a "self-diagnostic" program. In my case, the light would blink 5 times and then pause before repeating the 5 blinks. Sony by refering to their codes diagnosed this problem as a problem with the "HLT2" board. Go figure.

In any event, they contacted warranty repair and sent out a repairman (actually two people.....thank goodness) to come out and replace the board. They came out yesterday and pulled the panel down and replaced the VERY small board. Size was maybe 3/4" X 3" long board. I took the opportunity to watch as they openned the back up. I must admit it was not exactly what I pictured in my mind, but it is really nothing more than just a series of circuit boards. It seems to me that working on this set is as simple as finding out which circuit board needs to be replanced and replacing. I'm not even sure what training would be required if the set tells where the problem board is located. In this case it was behind the red blinking light (would you believe) at the bottom left side of the panel.

So far, all is well. I DO have my fingers crossed. It did seem to change my color settings slightly from before, and I did some minor tweaking to bring it back.

Sure hope this is ALL over at this point.

Best Regards,

GPHVIDEO

It was easy to determine the 929/950 was a step up from the 909, one quick glance showed this.
I plan to further review differences between the 929 & 950 when I have more time.

The HX950 is an updated HX929

Glad to hear it has been solved. I have Sony's training manual which has all these light codes. PM me for link
Edited by IMRIZZO - 11/28/12 at 4:31pm

Yup I still own a 52hx909 and also a 65hx929. The hx929 hands down looks better but I wouldn't say the 909 is that far behind. Still looks great with its local dimming combined with the sharp uv2a panel tech.

Which sizes did you compare the hx929 and 950?

That's what everyone says but nobody seems to say the pq looks any better on the 950, unlike the 909 that they both improve upon.

If anything, more people are saying the picture on the hx929 surprisingly looks better.

Sony makes me laugh. Alot.

I was in Best Buy the other day and they had the 950 on display. I purposely looked over the panel and the PQ as it compared to my 929 and could see very little difference physically or otherwise. The stand was different, but I wall mounted my 929 and don't use the stand. I'm quite sure the picture setup was not what I have worked with on my set, but I can tell you based on what I saw, I would not consider upgrading to the 950. This is NOT because the 950 could not be adjusted to have a better picture than what I saw at BB, but there is NO way it could represent enough of an upgrade over the 929 to make it worth while.

Just an opinion of course, and by no means a slight on the 950 panel as it does look very good...............(and rather familiar so to speak).

Best Regards,

GPHVIDEO

Hey guys,
FWIW I had a similar experience shopping at our local Magnolia store over this weekend. I've been lurking here while researching TVs, but now that we're pulling the trigger on the 929, thought I'd say hello. I'm active on the Audyssey and Denon 4311 threads mostly, and occasionally on the Darblet forum, not really in the Display forum.

I'd been planning on buying a Panasonic WT50, but when I did some BluRay material testing on a Star Trek BluRay, I found that the WT50's blacks were greyish and colors looked washed out. In comparison, the 950 looked better, but the 929 seemed to not only have the blacks of the 950, but slightly more natural color tones. Granted, a BB showroom, even with the hideous Vivid setting readjusted to Standard, is hardly an optimal viewing environment (and of course all the TVs were uncalibrated). but at least to my taste, the only LED that appeared to have a better picture than the 929 might have been the 75" Sharp Elite they had on display. And even in this setting, the blacks of the 929 stood out IMO.

So we have an open box (display only) 55" HX929 coming our way as soon as we get our current TV (a 42" G15) sold. And it was interesting to find that the CNET review that I read after I did my shopping pointed out a similar conclusion vs. the 950, as well as competitiveness vs. the Sharp.

Q for you: have any of you had any experience using a Lumagen VP (Radiance Mini, to be exact) with the Sony HX line? I know this set doesn't have the level of CMS controls that a Samsung or the WT50 line has, hence I'd picked up a Lumagen over Black Friday from AV Sale in lieu of the CMS/ISF that I'd planned to have with the WT50. I was going to start with the HX929 Calibration settings and the Spears & Muncil BluRay, but given the other features of the Lumagen along with the pin-point 125-scale CMS controls, I thought it would be a reasonable long-term investment regardless. Once the TV settles in, I'm either going to do a Pro Cal, or pick up the Calman kit + a meter and run AutoCal once I get my thinking wrapped around it.

Also, any particular HX929 foibles beyond blooming I should be aware of, short of reading 493 pages of this thread:)?

TIA

Maybe it's the set it and forget it with the Sony's. Once you get it where you like it there is no need to keep going back and tweaking?

I just picked up a floor model of the 65.
Just the TV set, remote, and sticker residue from the tape used for packing and attaching the remote.
oh yeah, some other residue on the back that the salesperson claimed was unwiped 'cleaner', but to me looked like drips of whiteout.
I had to scratch them off from the backpanel.

Scratches on the base, but I can live with it, since I don't watch the base.

I was able to talk them down to ~3785, but had to thrown in the 3 yr protection plan.
Either the salesperson doesn't realize I can return just the protection plan or else he hopes I don't know that.
I'll be returning it and getting either a Mack or SquareTrade warranty.

I found one bad pixel. It's 4 inches off the right edge and about 1/3 from the bottom.
Noticeable to me from about 5/6 feet away and still visible from my regular viewing position of about 12 feet.
I have to look for it, but during some commercials/video games, it's kind of noticeable still.

I know it's the norm, but my previous LCD sets (Westinghouse, Samsungx2) had bad pixels within half an inch from the edge, so it wasn't that bad.
I kind of expected better from Sony.
Called Sony about it and they want to send out a technician (after making it to the 3rd tier supoort), but I feel he'll just say it's within normal parameters.

Still dwelling on if I want to keep it or return and wait for an Elite 70x5 to come down a bit more in price.

I have a brand new 929 remote control if anyone needs one. They left one here when they did a swap. PM if interested

looks like a new firmware update today, anyone know what does it address?

Mine did update this morning too, tried googling for the recent update and I couldn't find anything

Mine updated yesterday, and I could have sworn that the black level improved, but its probably in my head.

does not surprise me that you could not find anything. sony normally waits like a month after it's released to post anything on their website

How is PC gaming with the 46HX929? I'm hoping IMRIZZO or someone can answer this. I would like to know if twitchy shooters are playable or not? Nothing competitive, just a solid single player experience. Having 4:4:4 would be nice but I guess not necessary.

Also is now the best time to buy the 46"? I'm not sure I want something bigger for my needs here and it looks like they no longer make high end sets this small anymore (I dont see 46HX950).

AVCHD 2.0 3D via USB Memory Stick (with proper AVCHD folder structure) on my XBR-65HX929, no go.

But if I plug in the USB port of my Sony BDP-S590 blue ray 3D player it plays my HD 3D 1080(60i) video just fine.

Seems weird that Sony is not updating it's firmware for I can play it directly from the TV USB Port...

A + point for the TV, when using the YouTube apps and playing 3D video, I can play the HD ones in HD but not when using the Youtube apps of the BDP-S590 player, it just plays the SD (no resolution selection meny available like available on the TV version). Both firmware always up to date, both connected to the Internet.

As for 3D HD, love the Sony HDR-TD10 HD 3D camera, 1080(60i) full res. on the TV. Also, I'm using Powerdirector 11 to produce my HD 3D AVCHD 2.0 format videos made from the camera, in case anyone is trying to do that... leading edge a bit... :-)

S.

Sorry I can't help here I'm not a gamer. If you can find a 46 929 jump on it there ain't many left out there.

55HX929 owner here with a slight issue I'm hoping to get some advice on. I just moved about 1,200 miles for a new job and had packed my set in the biggest flat panel box I could find (50" Panasonic Viera I had purchased recently for my parents; great PQ!). I had to do some cutting with the styrofoam to secure my tv in the box but it worked out fine. Mostly.

I just noticed tonight that even after placing protection around the screen before putting in the box, a piece of securing styrofoam looks to have rested against the screen for most of the trip. It's only about 4 inches long and wide, but it has left a rectangular mark on the screen. I've used a microfiber cloth to try and remove it to no avail. I also tried using water and mild soap and scrubbed as hard as I dared to. The mark will not come off.

While I don't notice the mark when the screen is on, it's driving me nuts. Any advice as to how I can get this off? Could there have been some kind of chemical reaction with the styrofoam that has permanently marked the screen?

Thanks in advance!

I would contact Corning corp. they pr0duce the gorilla glass for Sony and I don't believe the glass is coated, but if it is abrasively rubbed that may mar the finish I know glass can be polished with graphite powder. But call corning first they may have a polish that's available.

You've been a great help in this thread. So I ask for your honest opinion do you think they will make another high end local dimming 46-50" set or do you think this is last one? It's similar to what's going on in the plasma world where the 42ST30 and this year's 42UT50 will be the last small plasmas. Your choice lies in 55"+ if your after top quality. If I'm going to join the LCD camp then I want the best I can get without spending a small fortune. I don't mind paying for quality though so that's why I'm in this thread. I'm not hellbent on Sony either but edge lit is out of the question. I just wish someone could say whether or not PC gaming is tolerable on the 46HX929 as it would sit permanently on my desk for that purpose (among blu-rays, etc).

If it's less than ideal for PC gaming then I'd consider going with the 55" but then then I have to make the choice to go with 929 or 950. The price of the HX950 is well within my range atm but the only thing having me worried (like I mentioned in that thread) is the fact that some users report seeing less pop. So I ask is the new models sporting the same glossy gorilla glass? If it does I don't understand the lack of pop as it should be the same or better yes? I guess I need to re-read both of these threads again but any advise you can give is appreciated!

edit--> Another question I have is if the 46" is noticeably sharper than the 55" on these sets? It's been a while since I've had an LCD and current plasmas tend to look okay at 55" even within 6-8 ft (which is where I'll be). But the last LCD I had was the 46A950 local dimming Sammy and at that size it looked unreal.. with a seemingly better pixel pitch than anything on the market. Obviously it's 1080p like any other panel but for some reason that 46"er took my breath away every time. Wondering if going up to a 55" will leave me unimpressed if I like that tight pixel pitch feeling while watching blu-rays? More immersion is fine but not at the expense of losing that razor sharp picture. Do these LCDs hold up in that regard?

Fully loaded question I know.
Edited by PathofNeo - 12/7/12 at 9:13pm

Waiting for the notes too.

I don't understand why Sony dropped the 46" from their line up of products. I don't believe they will issue another 46", (unless they do an OLED) in the 46" mdl).It appears that due to Purchasers shying away from the larger panels, it maybe necessary for the manufacturers to rethink their moves. From some of the posting by gamers, the 929 is not a lag problem. I would suggest you look into the purchase of a 929 vs 950 which seems to be lacking somewhat in PQ, and appears to be plagued with anomaly's ( banding issues, pixel failures etc.) but most of these problems are showing up in the 65" panels. I've viewed 55" 929's in Sony STores and Magnolia shops are almost as sharp as the 46" set (but this comparison is not based on side by side viewing) only from specific scenes on a BR that I brought to their stores for just that purpose.
Edited by IMRIZZO - 12/8/12 at 7:27am

Glad it worked out. And yes, most electronics today are about boards - it's rare that anyone replaces anything on a circuit board anymore because everything is so tiny that it all has to be done by machine. My bet is that the only reason they sent two people was in case the set needed to be lifted. I've tried to repair some headphone cables recently and the wires are so fine that it's almost impossible to tin them. They just won't take the solder.

My analog set was a 1984 vintage Sony. It performed brilliantly. But some years ago, it started shutting itself off in the Summer. I thought it was a circuit breaker responding to the heat, but in reality, my apartment was probably cooler in the Summer with the AC on then it was on Spring and Fall. So then I decided that perhaps the electric utility was cutting back the voltage a bit in the summer and perhaps the set was sensitive to that. But the set would always come back to life in September, usually right before premiere week, so I never did anything about it.

One year it didn't come back in September, so I brought the set into a local repair shop who at first balked at fixing it because he said he couldn't get any parts. But I begged, and it turned out there was a hairline crack in the main circuit board, which probably happened when I moved. He re-soldered the connections and also, without my asking and at no charge, aligned the convergence. The set came back better than new. I finally got rid of the set about two years ago when it was about 25 years old and STILL working perfectly (only the original remote had died after dropping it about 500 times). SONY really made great sets in those days. It was an expensive set in its time, but 25 years of use proved it was well worth it.

Because the technology changes so quickly, my bet is that my HX929 doesn't even make five years.

PC Gaming is awesome. There are some slight trade-offs though. You don't get the top PQ in "Game Mode". You'll get slightly less backlight control that will show up more of the clouding if your set has any. However, I think this is truly a very very minor issue. You are only going to notice this on certain colours and it is nothing different than my experience with most LED-LCD TVs where certain colours tend to show up the screen defects. You can play PC games of course in another mode, but you'll introduce mouse/controller lag.

And the lack of lag is where this set really shines for me. I have the 55" 929, and I've never played on a smoother set for PC games. I play loads of first person shooter and other high speed game where controller response makes a difference and I am in heaven with the 929.

I am going direct from and NVIDIA 590 via DVI to HDMI 1 on the 929 via 50' of HDMI cable (to keep my PC in another room) and the experience has been amazing. I am generally played at 60fps and the control is excellent.

I'm very very happy with the 929 for gaming in general, but PC gaming is tops on this set.

Interesting mine also turns itself off every now and then. I never noticed about the red light blinking though. It doesnt happen often so I never did call Sony. I wonder if I should call them now. I'll def monitor my set now and see if the light blinks. This TV has 2 years manufactor's warranty, correct?

Actually it has an 18 month warranty

DIAGNOSTIC CODE DESCRIPTIONS:

2X Blink - Main Power Error
A loss of REG12V from the power supply triggers this protect event.
The usual cause is a failure of the main switching supply. In some
instances, excessive loading on the secondary supply lines can
cause the switching regulator to stop, or fail again, if a replacement
board is installed.

3X Blink- DC Regulator/Audio Error
The Audio error can occur due on of the following error conditions.
●● Defective DC Regulator on Main Board
●● Defective Audio Amplifier (Main Board)
●● Loss of AU12V (Open F4200 on Main Board)
●● Loss of AU12V (Open Fuse on Power Supply Board)
In most cases, replacement of the main board will remedy a 3X error.

4X Blink – Balancer Error
The 4X error code is only used on models incorporating local
dimming LED backlighting. If a failure occurs on the LD board or one
of the LED’s fails in the panel the TV will shut down and display this
diagnostic code. Models using conventional non-local dimming LED
backlighting do not utilize this error code.

5X Blink - TCON Error
The 5X blink protection mode indicates a communications error
between the TCON Board and the X-Reality microprocessor on the
Main Board. If the TCON is available for replacement, replace the
TCON. If the TCON is not available, the LCD panel must be replaced
since the TCON circuit is part of the LCD panel assembly. In rare
cases a loose or defective LVDS cable could also be the cause.

6X Blink - Converter System Failure
If the converter circuit (located on the power supply or separate
converter board) fails to start or shuts down due to an over-voltage
or over-current condition, the TV will shut down and generate a 6X
error code. The diagnostic page labels this as a “Backlight Failure”
even though the backlights are not the source of the problem.
Replacement of the G5 Board (46”) or G7 Board (55”) should rectify
this problem
.
7X Blink – Temperature Error
If the temperature inside the television becomes excessive, the
temperature sensor (located on the Main Board) notifies the unit
to shut down and display a 7X error. Excessive temperature errors
will always occur when the unit has been running a while and can
be caused by excessive ambient heat or improper ventilation of the
television.
If the television shuts down immediately, this can be caused by a
defective temperature sensing IC or failure of the communications
bus between the IC and the microprocessor. Replacement of the
main board is necessary.

10X Blink – IR Sync Transmitter Failure
A failure of the infrared sync transmitter circuits on the HEM2 board
will cause a 10X error and replacement of this board will usually
rectify the problem. In rare cases, the main board could be the
source of the failure.

This is from Sony's training guide it provides a svc man with probable malfunction causes and suggested resolutions.
Edited by IMRIZZO - 12/9/12 at 4:23pm