[RodeBeemers]

Last October, when my Sony HDTV was 19 months old, it started switching the video to another channel. e.g., I'm watching channel 3 and suddenly the video is displaying the picture from channel 13, but the sound is still coming from channel three. I have taken it to a Sony-recommended repair shop twice (it weighs 200 pounds). They have kept it for a week each time and they say that they never see anything unusual. At home, sometimes I can watch it all evening without a problem, but most times it freaks out within 15 minutes of turning it on. I suspect that they leave the TV on with the sound turned down and never realize that the picture is not coming from the selected channel. Here's what I have found out by playing with it over the past few months.


1. The problem is not with the cable connection or any of my other components in the system. All have been disconnected and reconnected one-at-a-time to eliminate the other components as a cause.


2. If I disconnect the cable and watch a DVD, the video will suddenly switch to another source (TV) where the screen just gets snowy because there is no signal.


3. If I'm watching channel 3, then bring up the side-by-side video frames, and tune the second frame to channel 57, then switch back to full screen watching channel 3, the next time it switches video, it will switch to channel 57. It will switch to whatever the last video source was in the alternate window.


4. After it switches to the alternate video source, the picture may look normal; it mat freeze in full screen mode; it may split horizontally with the bottom half frozen and the top half moving.


In short, it can do tricks that I've never seen a TV do before. Any information that would help determine the problem would be greatly appreciated. This sucker is heavy and I'm running out of neighbors willing to help carry it back and forth between the house and my truck.

 

[miimura]

Quote:

Originally posted by RodeBeemers Last October, when my Sony HDTV was 19 months old, it started switching the video to another channel. e.g., I'm watching channel 3 and suddenly the video is displaying the picture from channel 13, but the sound is still coming from channel three. I have taken it to a Sony-recommended repair shop twice (it weighs 200 pounds). They have kept it for a week each time and they say that they never see anything unusual. At home, sometimes I can watch it all evening without a problem, but most times it freaks out within 15 minutes of turning it on. I suspect that they leave the TV on with the sound turned down and never realize that the picture is not coming from the selected channel. Here's what I have found out by playing with it over the past few months. [snip]

I had a similar problem with my 36XBR400 except that only half of the image was changing - usually the bottom half. About a month before the warranty ran out I called Sony and they referred me to some local shops that were authorized for warranty service. I chose one and they came out to my house. They looked at the TV and ended up taking out all the electronics and taking it with them back to the shop. About 10 days later they called to make an appointment to put it back together. I never saw the problem again and I'm still using the set, now with a HD signal too. In the end they replaced the "digital board". I don't know exactly what that means or what the actual failure was, but I'm glad they got it taken care of under warranty.


- Mike

 

[RodeBeemers]

Thanks for the info., Mike. My biggest problem is that the set never acts up when they have it in the shop even though they've had it for a total of 2 weeks. The warranty has expired, so they will charge $50 to come to the house, which would be no problem if I could guarantee that the set will go nuts while they're here. They say they will only stay 20 minutes and if they don't see the problem in that time, they're outta here! Do you have any idea what the cost of your "digital board" would have been if no for the warranty? If it's not TOO bad, I might just have them replace it on the chance that it might put an end to the hassle.


Thanks,

Gary