Official Sony XBR2 (60" & 70") Owner's Thread - Page 328

So the Tech came out today and fixed the OB, picture quality back to brand new, looking great. The problem now is that the TV will not stay on, it turns off with the 4 blinking red light after 2 mins, and even faster if I turn the tv back on right away.

The tech was here, and said he may have blown dust and clog up the fan. The fan has been working all this time, suddenly won't keep the system cool enough.

So, he has to come back or say get Sony to send another fan.

Now I have no TV to watch....waiting on hearing from them tomorrow on what they plan to do to get my TV back to working condition.

FYI, I'm just back from CES. I don't have problems with me 70" yet, but starting to get ready. The only 60+ inch backlight LEDs were Toshiba and Vizio (the Vizio is 72", but they were showing an engineering prototype.)

Everyone else was trying to go super-thin, so their big screens were all edge lit.

eric

Well I went by the repair center yesterday to get the sticker off my KDF-42WE655 and spoke with a tech there. He said that it's the OB that I need replacing on my 60XBR2 and to call Sony as soon as I can. I called them today and they gave me my Event I.D. so now I just have to schedule someone to come out to replace the OB. Also I asked him about the new lamp that I just replaced and he said if it didn't make a difference I could just go ahead and put in the old lamp. So I did that yesterday considering the brightness of my tv with the original lamp doesn't bother me just the colors which are no where near accurate as I thought. Still trying to see what Sony is going to do about the whack offers on new tv's for my WE655 that they can't fix.

Hey guys,

I found another useful tidbit in the service menu. There's a set of data that controls the amount you move or resize the picture with each step in the user-mode Screen menu:

• WEM SERVICE
  • 67 scancon inp_ofst.spf
    • HPOFST - Step size for horizontal picture centering
    • HSOFST - Step size for horizontal picture scaling (never used, far as I can tell)
    • VPOFST - Step size for vertical picture centering
    • VSOFST - Step size for vertical picture scaling

There's a PackID (group of settings) for each of the following: Normal/Full, Zoom, Wide Zoom. Yes, Normal and Full share one, which is probably because you can't diddle with the screen position when in Normal mode, so it's really just for Full. The input resolution also changes the PackID, so there are quite a few of them, in all. Make sure you're in the mode you mean to be in.

If you happened to use my previous tidbit about modifying Wide Zoom to be a more useful mode, with uniform scaling, you may also want to use this one. The default vertical center/scale steps for Wide Zoom are crappy and don't give you enough wiggle room. The defaults are 0,0, and the ones from regular Zoom are much better, at 14,14.

Unfortunately, I have yet to find a setting that will enable the adjustments which are grayed out for certain screen modes. For instance, Wide Zoom does not allow changing the vertical center, only the vertical size, which sucks. That's actually what I was looking for when I found these. I think it may be set up in the software, though, not the data. I was hoping zero meant unadjustable, but even nonzero values didn't make the ghosted ones adjustable. Bummer.

Find me something useful, like how to make the fan run longer during shutdown, while you are poking around.
Please?

If there are any other losers out there like me, I apparently hit the aspect button (# on my cable remote) causing my pic to zoom. I just received a new dvr and did not even realize that I had this button. Thanks to those that responded to my original post above.

Feeling foolish,

TEETEE

Replaced my bulb on my 70" last summer. OB failed soon after. I had the OB replaced a few months ago and it still seems fine. But I am really getting sick of the fact that the display is so dim during the day. I tried watching an old DVD (not avaliable on Blu) through my HD-AX2 and there was no color. Really there is color, but it is so dark and dim that it might as well have no color. The display is so dim in the daytime, blinds closed, that it is hard to watch anything during certain hours. This is on a bulb with less than a 1,000 hours and was still dim when the bulb was brand new. The problem is that if I turn up my brightness or picture controls any higher then not only is the pic too dark to see properly, but it has a washed out white haze as well. At night the pic seems fine and the color well represented. I know that the light makes a difference, but I can't make things out in the picture sometimes during the day. Literally, I can't see things that I know are there in the picture.

I have a WD-65737 in my bedroom and the picture is quite good. I am starting to get fed up with the Sony and was contemplating replacing it with either a 73" or 82" Mitsubishi. My question is, at these sizes, will they appear too dim? The 65" I have seems much brighter than the Sony, but the size difference could change that.

Have a 60", original bulb. Seems fine, day or night. I keep the curtains drawn, so it's usually not quite as bright as daylight. Seems bright enough at night, and usually pretty watchable during the day (of course it looks better at night). (Reminds me again to check the bulb hours...)

Just had the OB replaced today and popped in a new bulb for good measure since I had quite a few miles on my old one.

Some here did not have the blobs but complained of "off color" scenes during certain shots (some looked okay, some look color casted). Or in my case, I would describe it as some scenes looked "thin" and my blacks were bluish at all times. I can say that my initial take - is that the bluish blacks are gone and I definitely have a more "punchy" picture for lack of a better term at the same settings and the thin-ness is gone.

However, the color balance is totally different! Now again, I am not talking blobs..... but my old set was ISF calibrated and even looked great when new pre-calibration. The calibration cranked down the blue even on "warm1".

THIS OB on warm1 has a definite greenish color balance! (of course color temps should just go from blue to red but this is what I am seeing). The same on the other color temperatures. I dialed it in by looking at some grey scales (clearly just seat-of-the-pants to get it close) and it looks much better. But if I would have gotten this set new with that OB with all color settings at defaults...I would not have been happy.

But is a color balance change on a new OB normal? It is obvious if I crank the brightness way up. I mean why would these OB's not be put to the same starting specs. as the ones they are replacing? I might expect a minor difference between units, but this is night and day. This set does NOT look anything like it looked as shipped at defaults.

I guess the bottom line I am trying to figure out is if there is something "wrong" with the OB or if it is fine and that big of a variance is normal. All the installer did is pop it in. I checked the geometry which was fine and we took a quick look at the picture and that was it. I would not have had him mess with any picture settings anyway. If it needs tweaking, my ISF guy can do that.

Hmmmm...wonder if Sony is going to pay for another ISF calibration!!!! <<

BJBBJB

Since I do not see a big difference in brightness can I assume that there is no way just a new bulb could have:

1) Gotten rid of my bluish blacks
2) Gotten rid of my "certain scenes/shots" thin-ness
3) Caused the green color shift???

And that 1 through 3 are the result of the new OB?

I am wondering if I should pop the old bulb back in and see and then re-install the new one. But not sure if that is a good idea. I had not yet gotten a warning on the old bulb but at 3+ years sure it was close.

BJBBJB

If the new bulb you believe did not make much of a difference. I would if I were you put in the old bulb to see what you come up with. I went to a Sony authorized repair facility and asked a tech there about my 60XBR2. I told him that I just replaced my lamp though the old lamp was still working. I have a yellowish hue all across my whole screen, meaning nothing is it's proper color at all, everything looks yellowish. And he told me that it was the OB going bad, if the new bulb did not make a difference, just go ahead and put the old one back in. So I did, because though the new bulb made things a little bit brighter it wasn't significant to the point that I felt I needed it. I just needed a new OB period, which should be replace this coming up week. Maybe you got a bad OB from Sony. From what I've been reading, it happens alot after the first one is replaced. Also though your first OB last a good time the second, third, etc... might be a bad replacement from when it's put in, it happens. I would call the tech back and tell him about it. Hopefully Sony will replace it again for free or they might offer you a discounted price on another TV, I'm not quite sure when they offer the discounts when people have this issue.

Blazian,

Will be interested to hear how your colors look after your swap out!

I am a little less concerned about getting every last hour out of my old bulb than I am making sure that what I am seeing is due to the OB and not the bulb swap. Especially since it is so hard for me to access the back of the set when installed.

But you are right...what I need to figure out is if this OB is truly "bad" or if I just get the set calibrated, everything will be okay. If the color balance should look exactly the same with this OB as it did with the old one at the same settings, then it needs to go back.

I am sure some of those that have swapped more than a few out can comment on that.

Regardless, it seems like only a matter of time before the original OB goes so I guess you want to get on the replacement train before the deadline passes....

As far as a replacement, not many options in the 70 inch category other than the Mits or Samsung DLP's unfortunately.

BJBBJB

Had my second OB replacement this weekend, and this one resulted on the picture being off centered, and crooked. The tech played around, came back a day later, and decided I need another new OB.

Ok so when you spoke to the tech on the issue is Sony going to cover another OB for you TV?

I'm covered by an extended warranty purchased when I bought the tv.

Same thing happened to me today except it was my first OB replacement. Picture is now slightly crooked and off center.

From what I've read the service menu contains horizontal and vertical tilt controls. Do you think those would work to straighten it or should I call back the tech? Didn't notice it until I went to program guide after he was gone.

Oh and hello.

Welcome!

I would call the tech back. No point in taking any chances...

Right, my impression is that there is a way to get these things in just right so there should be no need to go into the service menu. (Info is back many pages in this thread, no I don't recall where; may point to or describe something the installer should have done to get it right.)

The tech tried those controls, but it did not fix the problem.

So I'm assuming the tech did something wrong. Is he going to fix it or is he blaming it on the OB?

He is blaming the OB, and will replace it. Given the track record of these OB's, why are you so certain the tech did something wrong?

Actually I'm sorry that I came off like that. I was actually thinking it was the OB itself. I was saying "surely Sony isn't sending out bad OB's". I'm being sarcarstic.

Hi everyone,

a few days ago my set went yellow. I noticed it when i was watching a hockey game in hd.
Bought the set in march 2007 for $2700 USD and it had a green blob in July of that year which was covered by Sony under the 1 yr warranty.

Now this.

Sony gave me a ticket # and I called precision tv which repairs them. They said the problem is so common and that I answered all her questions without her having to ask and so when the part comes and Sony agrees to pay the tech will just come and swap the old OB for a new one.

HOWEVER

I've read Sony doesn't make the OB anymore and are just shipping refurbished parts off to the service techs.

Is this true?
If that is the case I also read (maybe in this thread) Sony has offered to buy back defective sets for the original price.

with the extended warranty ending June or July of this year I want a permanent fix not a refurbished fix

Question:

is there a corelation between replacing the lamp and the ob going?
I've replaced the lame twice, once 2summers sgo and once last fall but the last time I did not replace the housing just the bulb itself (this costs less) and a few months later the yellow comes

Regretfully, I don't think there is permanent fix. If there was, Sony would have already applied it. I believe we are all faced with replacing the OB every 1-2 years until Sony stops making available the OB, or we decide to buy another unit instead of investing over $1000 to temporarily fix a tv.

That is the most outlandish thing I have ever heard.
Then after July of this year I can just whip out 10 $100 bills for a new ob?

This is sersiously influencing my decision to buy into the playstation 3. We hav had Sony products forever and I am not happy.

I'm with you- already, if I'm reading Home Theatre or some such, I skip over any articles or ads about Sony.
No longer welcome here.

I won't be investing $1000 in a monitor that's worth much less than that. I'm going (soon) for one more free OB; once that fails if there are no more free replacements it's out to the road with this P.O.S.

Well what does sony offer for a REPLACEMENT... do thy ever do it for free? Do they offer a 60 inch replacement? And if they do are they the same type of ob installed on the new sets?

I want sony to buy back my set (i've heard rumors of this happening) and let me get an LCD or plasma
we have one of th worlds nicest Sony style stores here in las Vegas in Caesars palace... I can go see all the TVs for an idea of pq.

Well, here we are, it's 2010, and our extended warranty on our OBs runs out this summer. Anybody know the status of the class action suit against Sony on these sets? I'm one of the lucky ones so far - - my set is 2 years old, and no sign of OB problems, but with my luck, the day the warranty runs out, I will start seeing a stain!