The Official Sony 2006 KDS-(XX)A2000 [NO PRICE TALK] SXRD Owner's Thread - Page 414

My 60A2000 has an August 2006 build date, bought it in Oct 2006.
Original bulb with no problems.
Don't know the hours, went into the replace bulb menu but it didn't show hours.

I wonder if the fact I run it in power saving mode has anything to do with it. The bulb will last longer and maybe the reduction in heat on the OB affects the blob issue?

Maybe, maybe not. I've always run mine in power savings + high altitude modes and no problems yet after 8,000 hours (recently replaced bulb).

Those of you who have had one or more OB replacements on your A2000s should seriously consider writing to the court as per splinke's web page. In their response to complaints that the proposed settlement is inequitable, Sony is saying:

"Like the letters sent to the Court by individuals who do not own televisions covered by the Settlement,15 the Meserole Plaintiffs argue that the relief provided is illusory and that the new optical blocks do not represent a permanent fix. Although the stories of a handful of consumers who have experienced repeated failures are unfortunate, they are anomalies, and are not representative of the class as a whole."

From what I've seen here, there are quite a few "anomalies" among A2000 users. Please take the time to write the judge in the Cardenas case. His contact information is on splinke's site. Don't forget to send copies to all Attorneys, including at least one each in the Meserole case, the Cardenas case and the Sony attorneys. Remember, the Cardenas case is the Texas one that gives us practically nothing.

I asked Counselor Koncious why they couldn't just subpoena Sony's service records and he said they do not have that power. He reiterated that the best way to counter Sony's argument that A2000 OB failures are rare "anomalies" is for people who have experienced failures to write the judge and attorneys.

Thanks!

Hey, has anyone had experience with Abt Electronics as far as repair/replacement of optical block issues goes? i.e. what their strategy is, whether or not they offer a replacement set after a certain number of tries, etc. I live in Chicago, so I receive their local service.

I am just now noticing a yellowish patch on a DVE 20% gray field (bottom center of the screen, probably a good 40% of the overall screen area). It is not yet noticeable on regular images, but I get the impression from this discussion that it will be eventually.

I am so bummed. :-(

I love my A2000, and I still think, minus optical block issues, this thing is competitive in PQ with 2010 model sets even 4 years later. It's such a shame (though not surprising) that Sony screwed the pooch on this one.

Basic stats: I am at about 8,000 hours of use. I am on my 2nd lamp, purchased from RVE on ebay. I replaced the first one at about 3,200 hours because it was noticeably dimmer. This 2nd lamp has lasted much longer at a nice, punchy brightness.

I had one previous reason for a service call on the TV very early on - the cooling fan was weakening (the tech said the ball bearings were cheap FWIW) and I was getting a heat warning. Abt came out and replaced the fan lickety split. No problems since.

My plan of attack is this: I'll place a call on the extended warranty I purchased (Whew!) and say:

-My understanding is that these OB replacements are very costly.
-I don't want to diddle around with repeated service calls.
-I'd happily accept a current, less expensive, but comparably sized TV as a replacement. This should be cheaper for you and more convenient for me.
-I'll even buy the EW on the new set!

Getting ready to call to have my 2nd block replaced. Second is failing the same as the first. Green haze in the middle with a green bullseye looking stripe on the right hand side. Plus blacks are turning dark blue again. I need a new bulb too.
I have an extended warranty with PC Richards till 2012.

Is there anything I need to do in order to receive this fair settlement money?

I believe I entered my name on an online form well over a year ago. Don't remember where though.

Will people who know nothing of this court case still receive their share of the settlement? How will the court, or sony know who purchased this set, and who to give the money too?

What a horrible run company. They poorly engineer this set (probably to get it out as quick as possible), sell it to all of us, and basically say f-you, to bad, we got your money.

Guess I learned my lesson about ever buying anything sony again.

Keep your eyes and ears open and check splinke's website. Sony or the courts may or may not notify purchasers. Probably not, if history is any lesson. I personally know two people who bought XBR1s who wouldn't have known about that settlement if I hadn't clued them in.

Thanks.

Browsed the site quick. So basically, you get one fix with a (new) optical block that will not fix the problem, call them back, and then get $200 and a broken TV?????

Still a bum deal.

I have an extended warranty outside of sony. So I guess none of this applies to anyone who doesn't go through sony.

All I can hope is that the warranty company will offer my a replacement set when they can no longer fix it.

55a2000. My original went a yr after purchase. The repaired one went a yr after repair. That was last march.

I purchased another set and left it in my garage till the 2 yr warranty on the block was almost up.

I go the set repaired this week heh. Probably the best set I ever owned that never works.

I fought and fought and fought with them for replacement but they are only replaacing xbr1's.

So I guess Ill just keep having them replace the block.

I think my original bulb just failed. I heard a slight pop like a light bulb sounds when you turn it on and the bulb burns out. My TV was on and it just happened. Where can I get a replacement bulb for a reasonable price? I'm on my 3rd optical block now but it is still tolerable with a verly slight green discoloration along the left side. I still really like the set and would like to continue using it. Can I change out the bulb by myself? If so, are there instructions and/or diagrams available? Finally, I just had the set calibrated by Chad B. 4 months ago and he did an excellent job in optimizing the set. Will replacing the bulb ruin the calibration?

Try MCM Electronics (XL5200 Lamp Assembly) or (Philips Lamp for XL5200). They have both the lamp and the complete lamp assembly. Instructions for changing it and resetting the lamp hours are in your Owners Manual.

Update on Cardenas class action lawsuit

Attorneys for Ms. Cardenas and Sony filed a proposed settlement on 3/1/2010. I filed an opposition letter on 3/25/2010, and the attorneys from the original XBR1 settlement filed an opposition brief on 3/26/2010.

Cardenas and Sony have now filed replies to the opposition (on 4/2/2010). I also filed an additional opposition letter in response to these replies (4/7/2010). I have posted all three of these new documents to the Class Action Lawsuits page of my Sony LCD Rear Projection TV Problems web site.

There is apparently a final hearing for preliminary approval on April 12th, so if you want to comment on this stage, you must do it now. If the judge signs the preliminary approval, you can still object to, or opt out of, the settlement (although not both) after you receive the notice, but once this gets rolling, it may be hard to stop.

Again, the warranty extensions proposed in the Cardenas action are generally only 1-2 months longer than the current extensions, and the cash settlements are only a few hundred dollars. However, it is further interesting to note that, when you calculate the warranty extension lengths for all Sony models from the initial release dates, they are generally shorter for the models that have been the subject of class action lawsuits (including the current Cardenas action) relative to those that have not. I detail this on my web page and new letter.

Well, I sold my working Sony KDS-60A2000 (which was still on it's original bulb from 2006) on Craigslist for $600 cash. How do you think I did?

Well, if it was going to die, then you have $600 in your pocket. If your TV wasn't going to die, then you have $600 in your pocket, and you need to fork out $1400-1800 to get something equivalent.

I'm looking at it like it's a car that has widely reported issues and is about to go out of warranty. It's either keep it, pay the bills to keep it running after it goes out of warranty and drive it into the ground, OR sell it for what you can get and upgrade to something bigger, better, and in warranty. Either way I'm going to be spending $$$.

50A2000, built Sept 2006, purchased Dec 2006 from Tweeter with 5 year service contract.

I have a completely green screen. Started like everyone else in one corner and over time took over the whole screen.

I called Service Net (Tweeter went under they are handling claims) and they directed me to Sony due to extended warranty. I confirmed that Service Net will honor the warranty for the full 5 years.

Called Sony, they confirmed it was the optical block and gave me the number of a local service center. I asked about replacement tv, since there was class action suits and merry go rounds with OB engines. Told "not for my model" and that Sony may extend the warranty after June. Knowing I was going no where with the lady, I told her that I knew of the cost for replacing the OB, and if they wanted to play this game...go ahead.

Called the local service guy, he is ordering the block and should be out here in 3-4 days when it comes in. I asked him how many he has replaced, he said "I stopped counting at 1,000". I asked how many he has replaced more than once, he said 2-3 tops. I was shocked and questioned him, but he said that when a person calls Sony for the second time a replacement TV is usually offered.

Wait and see.

I do understand that position. I was looking to get bigger, but right now, there is only the Sharp 65". Samsung had one at the CES I believe (65") but I've never seen it.

I am in the same situation and optical block has been replaced today. My tv is KDS60A2000 manufactured in June 2006, bought in December 2006.
I tried to negotiate with Sony regarding the replcement since the service people took their sweet time setting up the repair, and after a lot of run-around was given an offer for KDL52EX700 for $1600 + tax. How generous - this TV is $1900 retail last time I looked (and yes, I am being sarcastic).
So, wait and see if this OB holds - if not, spend money on something not Sony I guess...

Things only break when I'm out of town on business. Last week the ice maker flooded the kitchen. This week it's the KDS-50A2000. I searched and can't find a decent table of diagnostic codes. My wife says that when she tries to turn on the set, it blinks 3X green, 4X green, then 4X red repeating. Any idea what this is?

The set is 3 or 4 years old. First bulb lasted until last November, and I replaced it myself with a genuine Sony cage. I vacuumed everything out at that time.

Any ideas what this is?

From the XBR service manual they don't mention any red or green blinks, but:

3 blinks = lamp cover
4 blinks = fan error - fan power is not supplied or fan connector is not attached securely.

I'd assume the actual error would be the 4 red flashes.

I know this is a dumb question, BUT, I have to ask it !

My KDS-60A2000 has been flawless since day one and still is. I just started getting the 'end of bulb life' message at start up and, while the pic is still fine, want to be ready when the day comes.

So, to my question. About 2 months after I bought my display, Sony came out with the KDS-R60XBR2 which uses the XL5300 bulb. My set uses the XL5200 bulb as you know.

Can the brighter XL5300 bulb (with housing or without) be put in my display??

Common sense tells me, don't mess with a good thing, but I want some opinions or find out if anyone has done this. Assuming it fits and doesn't blow an internal fuse, the extra heat may do some damage.

Feel free to flame away. lol

TIA,

Michael

I believe the "end of bulb life" comes on once it hits 8000 hours.

Since it's head killing the SXRD panels, I'd be sticking with the same bulb. I ran my SXRD at 30-50% brightness, so I wasn't even using 1/2 the bulb brightness.

This is just a little off topic, but I replaced my bulb for the first time last night. WOW! what a difference. It's like going from standard def back to high def again. I didn't realize how dim my set had gotten. maybe 5000 to 6000 hours when i checked late last year.

The only down side is the artifacts in HDTV are much more pronounced than they used to be. Before I only noticed them occasionaly. Now I notice them usually. Oh well. Blu-rays look amazing! Now I remember why I bought this set in the first place.

Thanks for that !! After reading much more of the problems in this thread, it really looks like more heat would be a deal breaker.

Just ordered the Phillips XL 5200 lamp with housing.

The TV's Brightness (and Contrast) control do not change the brightness of the bulb. Neither does the Iris, it just controls the amount of light getting through. AFAIK, the only thing that changes the brightness of the actual bulb is the power savings setting.

Glad I'm not an SXRD.

Hmmm.. seems to be a typo. I'd hate to be an SXRD as well! Meant to say HEAT kills the panels.

Sorry, what I was meaning to say is how I had my TV setup (with the iris, etc), it wasn't letting the full bulb light through, so I wouldn't see any reason to go bigger on the bulb. If I had the iris full open, and it wasn't bright enough, then that would be different.

me understood !!!

Well, it finally happened to me. I replaced the lamp in January only to develop the dreaded yellow-green discoloration shortly thereafter. It got progressively worse since then so I finally called Sony and told them the problem. No resistance at all - after I gave them the serial number and build date (Nov. 2006) they gave me the names of a couple of local TV repair shops. The shop I went with had to order the optical block from Mexico and it arrived in time to do the replacement last Saturday. WOW, what an improvement. I had forgotten how incredible the picture could be. I'll let it burn in for a month or two before calling the ISF calibrator but right now I'm very happy. We'll see how long it lasts...

I wonder what the drop out rate is on these panels.

Typically, a million people are super happy, and don't say a thing. Then 10 people have an issue and crap about it on the net making it look bad. (So I typically hit threads like this with a grain of salt).

It seems that there tends to be quite a trend to those panels failing. If it wasn't for my buddy, I didn't realize they extended the warranty to 06/10. I thought it was dead in 06/09. I guess I owe him a beer.

Still eagerly waiting for my refurbished OB to come home....

Hello together,

could you please do me a favour and tell me what is the diameter of the objective of the optic block? I like to put a ND2 filter on it.

Thanks in advanced for your help.

Greets
Dr. Dirt