Official Sony Bravia LCD Uneven Backlight/Cloudy Thread - Page 291

Hello All...
I have'nt posted since several months ago while I was trying to get my mitts on an acceptable 46xbr2 After trying four of them, three I brought home and the last one I checked out in the store. I gave up, with the thought of waiting for the XBR4's to come out and seeing what kind of user reviews they were getting.
Which is what I did. After checking periodically here at AVS, I saw that the new sets were out and people were bringing them home. And the reports on them were mixed, and not all that great. Some XBR4's are still having clouding issues and flash lights in corners.
Well I guess I thought I'd take another chance, I ordered one on Labor day, on line at CC. I picked it up Tuesday afternoon, brought it home and waited till evening when my friend could help me set the TV in place. Through out the day I was not exited, anxious or any thing like that because of all the dissapointments from before.
So that evening, my friend finally came around and like all the previous times came the moment of truth. I could usually tell within a minute or so if I got lucky or screwed. Well to my surprise... I got lucky. No clouds at all, No flashlights. The screen is very uniform from corner to corner when displaying no input or when the programing goes blank for a second or so. I'm so happy with this set, it's truly incredible... and what a relief too.
It's what one would expect from a TV of this calibure. It did take five tries to land a good one, wich is bull-s!!!t to begin with. And now I know for myself they do exist. I had my doubts about that... believe me. I'm not posting here to brag, but to let others know to do what ever you can to get a good set. When you do... these TV's are amazing...
Good Luck and Thank You... to all on this thread.
Wheely king

Greetings all,

I have a 52XBR4 that exhibits some moderate flashlighting and Mura. I've given it a week or so to get it calibrated and see if I could live with it... I don't think I can.

So I have a question for all the veterans of panel-replacement on here: I got my set for a great price by negotiating at CC with the protection plan included. Has anyone gone through the replacement process with CC's protection plan? I'm the guy that usually just swallows the loss on a bad product... I've probably returned three things total in my life, but that's not an option for something of this magnitude. So I'm wondering what I can expect from CC. Should I call the number for the protection plan, or try to go back to the store where I purchased? Do I need to continue to hold onto the box, or can I expect them to come and and do the swap without it? Are there any "magic words" I should use (or not use) when trying to get the replacement set?

In short... a little moral support, guys

Thanks in advance for any help....
-alex.

If it's still within 30 days (or whatever it is for CC) return policy, you just take the tv to them and exchange it. Should be no problem. You can put it back to the box if you can, or bring it separately.

what's the difference between ghosting and clouding?

so far.. I have been lucky... this is day 4 and still no clouding at the corners .. it arrive last week and finally had a chance to set it up on Sat...

and yet.. no cloudy pic during source switch or no signal..

whew.. I was worry too. from reading this thread.


btw.. I have the 46XBR2

Here are some photos of my 40XBR4. It is cloud and flashlight free (yea).

The slight lighting you see on the sides is subtle glare from curtained doorwalls (sliding glass doors, 4 of them) that are on the walls to the right, and curtained windows on the wall to the left behind the camera. It was cloudy outside a while ago when I took these so the light is subdued. You can see that light reflected in the metal border.

These were taken with a Nikon D200 on a tripod at f7.1 and 2sec and 2.5sec shutter speeds. These are not editted other then reducing them in size.

The 4th one (blank screen) was taken seconds before the LOTR title comes up (as seen in the 5th picture).

I should also add that the tv had only been on perhaps 1/2 hour or maybe 45 minutes before these were taken. I am going to look again for anomalies after the set has been on for a couple hours next time I watch something long enough.

-Tom

ps: I guess I should add that this is a standard dvd playing (not HD or BR).

isn't that clouds on the left and ride side on the pic DSC4769.jpg?

when they say flashlights or clouds, does that affect the picture quality in anyway? isn't it when the picture is displayed it will be on top of the backlight. so basically if you can live with the uneven backlight in certain areas, it is something that doesn't affect the performance of the tv?

i am within my 30 days, but kind of reluctant to take it back and get a set that is worse...i only notice a slight cloud/flashlight on the middle left side and near bottom right. but its only when switching channels or the first few seconds of switching inputs.

thoughts? looks like majority of the people with XBRs, have this bright uneven backlight. Sony said it is normal and will not cause any disturbance with picture quality and it won't get any worse. Something not to worry about.

Just hesistant because im still within 30 days, but don't want to get a set thats worse.

No it doesn't. It will only affect it during really dark scenes where the clouds are slightly noticeable.

during the dark scenes, isn't there a signal displaying black color instead of just the backlight?

Yes, but the unevenness comes through. Very distracting.

It is glare from the doors/windows that flank the set. You can't see that when the room is completely dark. I will post again when I get a chance to take some in the dark.

-Tom

Sure looks that way to me.

Bad news: you got clouds. Good news: No flashlights.

You got pillaring. No clouding or flashlights.

I am trying to contact everyone who is involved in the class action lawsuit represented by SHALOV STONE BONNER & ROCCO LLP.
I am curious to see how satisfied you are with offer. As I am a little disappointed. Please P.M
Aaron Adkins

Just registered and noticed the last post mentioned something of a class action suit by Shredboy. I have issues with my 46 xbr2 and will appreciate any additional suit info....

Hank

I just talked to Tweeter, and they told me that my 40 inch XBR5 is coming in on Friday. They told me that if they are any clouds I can return it. Will it be noticeable if there are clouds? Is there an easy way to check for clouds and flashlights? Also, if people are having this problem with clouds, why don't they return them?

thankfully no clouds

but lots of judder

As I said, the light you saw in the last set of photos was glare on the screen. This panel has a slightly higher gloss coating then past lcds. It does allow for mild glare. It is not anywhere near as distracting as high gloss panels but it is still there.

Here are the photos taken after setting up curtains to block the light from the sides.

1st photo: taken a few seconds before LOTR title
2nd photo: LOTR title
3rd photo: blank input
4th photo: blank input immediately before input label appears at the top

-Tom

ps: Oh, and before someone says the set has a dead/stuck pixel....it doesn't. There are two specks in these pictures that do not appear on the screen itself. I suspect it is dust on the lens or sensor that is creating this effect.

pps: After using some of the settings posted in the calibration thread and watching several HD movies recorded on Tivo (1080i) I am really really loving this TV!

oops, here are the photos....

Reading the posts about fans in the new XBR4/5s it sounds like Sony took my idea for putting fans in the top corners of the back of the XBRs. Wonder if they reduce flashlights like mine did.

do you a pic of this fan?

I posted my 52XBR3 fan usage experimentation results with pictures in this thread a few months ago, probably around May.

I "was" ready to purchase a KDL-46XBR4 or KDL-52XBR4 but after reading about ALL these flashlights, clouds, etc. I think I'll reconsider.

I saw (what appeared to be) a really nice KDL-52W3000 for a reasonable price. Does anyone know if it has these "clouding" issues? (Or perhaps any other major issues I should be aware of)? I'm going TODAY to make "some" purchase. TIA for your help.

The Sammy panels come from the same factory. I believe clouding issues were also reported here by some from the Sammy's also, but if I recall, it didn't seem to be as prominent a problem as with the SONYs.

Can anybody tell me where the panel screws are inside the W2000 or v2500(as its called in the us)?
I opended it upp since I was going to try the viper fix, but I found no screws to turn, atleast not in the clouded corner. The only screws I loosened were the ones for the back cover ( and that didnt help).

Thanks

I'm trying to choose between the 52XBR4 and the 5271F, and the clouding was what got me on the 71F instead of the XBR 4. The Sony had much better picture quality, and the extra contrast with the Samsung wasn't that much noticeable, but it's these clouds that worry me.

I've had my 46XBR2 since April 2007, and I am still seeing both clouds, and flashlights on my screen. I've called Sony several times and they say that there are no software upgrades available for my set. Does anybody know how to tell what software version is on my TV?

Sony gave me the number of a local technician who is supposed to pick up my set next Monday. Guy mentions that I will take a couple of weeks to get parts in from Sony depending on the diagnosis. I am really frustrated by this matter, as most likely they will not be able to fix the issue based on this thread, and I will probably be out of a TV for a few weeks. Any suggestions?

I'm wondering if anyone here has contacted Sony regarding a purchase price remuneration for a defective set & had Sony argue less than full value is warranted because of depreciation?

I'm going through this now & interested to see how others have handled this issue.