Official Sony KDS-XXA3000 OWNERS THREAD! - Page 485

I do know the color primaries are closer to being accurate on the A3000 and it will display a 1080p/24 signal at 96hz. However, from what I've heard, everything else is extremely similar.

I agree the A3000 still provides a great image and I do not expect to pay $1800 for my next 60"+ display. Some of the LCDs have really improved and are right up there with the better plasmas.

Hello All,

I searched a several pages before posting this, so I apologize if this has already been posted somewhere on the this thread already. My bulb went out on Sunday as I was getting ready for some football (thankfully we have another TV, unfortunately my team lost anyway).

Anyway, I didn't get any warnings (as mentioned in previous posts) or anything before the bulb went out. I hit the power button, the fan starts up and the green led flashes, I hear a quiet whining sound. I just looked at the back of the set and noticed that a small white light, lights up when the whining sound is made, it lights up twice and makes the sound at the same time. After about 3 or 4 cycles the red "lamp" LED starts to blink. Is this just my bulb?

The TV was fine the last time I used it, which was on Thursday night for some Halo Reach. I didn't notice anything then. I doubt I was anywhere near the 8000 hours you guys talk about on here, as the TV goes without being turned on for a couple days at a time some weeks. I never checked the hours, but it just bums me out that it went out all of the sudden. We have a Mitsu WD-65732 or 33 in the family room that we got around the same time that my wife has on daily, from 6pm to 11pm and it's still going strong. I on the other hand use my Sony much less and it goes out faster??

Has this happened to any of you guys, where the bulb goes out all of the sudden, without warning?

Thanks in advance,

Very true. There are (and will be) quite a lot of quality, competitively priced displays for us to chose from when the time comes. Some of us, however, may need to broaden our subjective horizons beyond that of the A3000 in order to make an honest and successful go of it.

As Chazz alluded to, research is the key. And so long as we don't allow ourselves to slip into that "...But it's not an SXRD so it can't possibly be better than my A3000" mentality, I'm sure when the time comes (hopefully later for most of us rather than sooner) each of us will be able to take solace in our respective purchasing choices. To piggy back on David's statement, LCDs (and plasmas too, for that matter) have indeed come a very long way, and pricing will remain extremely competitive. We just have to be willing to step out of our familiar zones, so to speak. (For some of us who have had OB issues, it'll be less a case of being "willing" and more along the lines of "necessity".)

Yes. Helps to have a spare on hand.

Agreed....especially the last sentence.

Hi, same here. Lamp died suddenly after 2.5 years. Ordered new on amazon.From what I see through the grill - lamp Philips, made in China.

PS. Old fashioned 6 year old KDF-42WE655 still works.

Replaced. Pic to follow.

Pic to follow.

Left - old one.

Yeah, bulb + housing included is best way to go, as it's one module you just plug in and replace easily.

Anyone have any luck with Sony regarding trading their 60A300 for a different set via the warranty?

I purchased mine in December of 2007 (along with an extended warranty until 2011). It had a beautiful picture until January of 2010 when green tinting began showing up on the left side of the screen that also ran along the bottom of the picture. The problem shows up most often with peoples faces (flesh tones). September of this year I had enough and I called Sony and a tech came out to swap out the optical block. After the install I ended up having a green spot in the far upper right corner (where the channel number shows up) and another greenish round spot in the right/center area of the picture. Also the program guide info on the upper left is now pink. The tech said to wait about two weeks to allow it to settle in (????). After two weeks it still look the same (maybe worse) and I called Sony back, they arranged to swap out the optical block again. Just had another "new" one put in and it still has the exact same issue as the one they just replaced.
I'm beginning to think a third unit may end up doing the same thing (or worse). Typically at what point does Sony end up trading out the whole tv. And what am I likely to end up getting (besides the shaft).

Thanks.

Just over 5100 hours on my 55" and it is still looking pretty good. Maybe the blacks aren't as good as they used to be and its lost some detail. I guess that is how these SXRD optical blocks start to go. Gonna throw a new bulb in it and pull the front off to clean the mirror and lens. Might help, can't hurt.

Well, I'm closing in on 15000 hrs and still no visible deterioration, so it's not guaranteed that you will see any for a while

Hey All,
Been a little while since my last visit....
Purchased my A3000 on 2/11/08 and decided to finally check my lamp hours
It is sitting at 5473 with no degradation.
According to Sony I have about 1.5yrs left on this bulb at my current rate...
Should I buy an extra lamp just to have on the shelf?? or will they be readily available come 18 months..(assuming it does not go beforehand...)?

thanks
bama

I would have one on hand. Mine showed absolutely no degradation when it failed. The TV was on and working fine just minute and then the screen just went blank and the red light blinked. I was glad I had my backup lamp waiting as 10 minutes later I was up and running again.

I agree with Mikeynavy1. If the bulb pops without notice you could be without a TV until a new bulb is ordered and shipped to you. That may not matter if this is not your primary TV for viewing, but it would to my family.

My new bulb came on Saturday. I have mixed feelings about this right now. The service was very prompt. I was told the bulb would be an OEM bulb and when it came, it was a 3rd party replacement bulb. It seems to be of high quality, but when looked inside, I saw an OSRAM bulb instead of a Philips bulb. I know OSRAM is of equal quality, but I am worried about the colors being off compared to my original Philips bulb. I guess I can't complain too much since the price was substantially less than the OEM Sony.

Haven't some of you used the OSRAM replacement? If so, how much did you have to tweak the color settings?

You haven't seen a Panny plasma then....

I'd have to agree. A panny or Pio plasma are the only sets I'd trade for.

I am in exactly the same boat as you, I'm waiting for them to install the 3rd replacement OB. Hopefully this one will be good.

I have the Sony Extended Warranty. I wonder if that matters since the class action lawsuit was decided. I understand I could get my money back for the warranty, but I am thinking hat maybe the fact that I purchased protection will put me in better standing if they get tired of replacing my OB's.

Good luck on your next OB.

billbillw, I'm also going to use my Mack warranty to request a replacement bulb. I was wondering...did they request that you send back the old one?

Thanks!

From what I've read, Mack asks you send back the defective bulb.

3rd OB replacement was installed today.

More like purple with green spots this time around. The overall uniformity was better, so maybe I can tweek it into reasonable range.

The tech said that once the Sony Class action warranty expires, I may be able to get a better deal under the Sony Warranty I paid for. Any thoughts on this?

Only the VT series is better, and only for 6 months. After that, the blacks will rise and eventually be worse than the A3000. The picture also has PWM noise typical of plasma, but Panny is much 'quieter' than the Kuro 9g. If I could get a Pio 9g level blacks (that never rise) with excellent 3D of the VT series, and reduction in PWM, it would be my next purchase.

I purchased my 60A3000 on October 29, 2007. I just replaced the lamp and I am amazed how much of a difference this makes compared to the old one. Needless to say, I have fallen back in love with my TV again. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems and I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade this TV for anything out there.

However, I would like to share my experience with Warrantech. When I initially called them on November 1, they informed me that my warranty had just expired past the three year period. Funny, I told them that I purchased a 5 year warranty with up to two lamp replacements. I had to fax them the original purchase info so they could update it in their system before they could process the claim. After calling them three times and waiting on average 15-30 minutes each time, they sent me the lamp. Of course, if you don't send the old lamp back within 7 days, they will void the remainder of your warranty. They didn't provide me with a return packing slip so I called three more times trying to get them to email me the info to no avail. Finally, I sent them the old lamp at my own expense ($9). After going through this experience, I can't help but feel that all of these obstacles are in place on purpose to reduce the number of claims that they have to pay out.

They sure make you jump through hoops don't they!

Out of curiousity, what lamp did you end up getting, Osram or Philips?

Phillips

The reviews have been mixed for the VT series. I have talked to two different ISF calibrators who've worked with the sets and they tell me there is inherent noise in the image that is not seen on the Samsung plasmas, for example. This in addition to the rising blacks would make the VT a no-go for me especially at 4K for the 65".

Has anyone ever seen the red lights blink indefinitely? I've read a lot about the red light blinking a certain amount of times but nothing like what is going on with my TV.

When I turn my TV on, I get a series of green blinking lights (60 seconds), then minutes of red blinking lights, I stopped counting after two minutes. There also is a higher pitched grinding noise which coincides with a white sparkling light coming from the back of the TV.

I called Sony and they want to send someone out to repair it free of charge, but they need proof of purchase which I don't have. I bought this TV from someone that bought it at Best Buy. I have no way of getting in contact with the original owner.

Does anyone have and idea if this is just a bulb that needs replacing? If it is, why would Sony want to replace it for free? Any suggestions to what is causing this problem as well as any solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom