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So, a few years ago, in the distant reaches of 2006, I got lucky. I could afford a big screen tv, and where I worked gave me a fantastic deal. Basically, I could pick any tv we sold (over 100 models, covering Sharp, Sony, JVC, HP, Panasonic, and a few others), and I could buy it at cost (basically, I'd just saved them in the vicinity of $10K and in a very visible way, so this was the thank you). My SO and I selected a Sony 50" rear projecting LCD, bought it, took it home, and have enjoyed it since then.
Recently, we started noticing a greenish tint. And I mean a heavy green tint, to the point that blue is difficult to see (for instance, when watching Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan was green, not blue). Also, every so often, the screen goes to black and comes back 10 to 30 seconds later, and is acting like it was just turned on (showing which input is on, etc).
So, I called up a service tech who actually repairs Sony tvs. According to him, it's looking like we have two separate problems: The lamp is going out (about $400 to replace under best conditions, but this was expected to happen sooner or later), and the light engine (A.K.A. optical block) is going, too (about $850 for the part alone, and $350 for labor). Shopping around, we can get the cost for that light engine down to $400 as well (refurbished, we do the labor).
So, our best case scenario is $800 for repair. If we actually pay someone to do this, a realistic estimate is about $1800. On a TV that (new) cost $2300. And can be replaced with something even better/nicer for a cost of $2000.
So, I'm sure people are asking "Why do I hate Sony?" Seems that Sony has major issues with their LCD tvs, to the point that they've extended warranties on them as part of class action suit settlements. Unfortunately, my model's extended warranty ended over a month ago. See here for all the gory details (my model is the KDS-R50XBR1).
Sony shipped product that they knew was defective, gave inadequate warranty support, and my problems didn't appear until after that extended warranty expired. If they don't find a way to fix the worst of the issues at a decent cost, I'm going to be forced to get a new TV thanks to this.
And to get the same capabilities will take a large chunk of change I can't really afford. This sucks.
Recently, we started noticing a greenish tint. And I mean a heavy green tint, to the point that blue is difficult to see (for instance, when watching Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan was green, not blue). Also, every so often, the screen goes to black and comes back 10 to 30 seconds later, and is acting like it was just turned on (showing which input is on, etc).
So, I called up a service tech who actually repairs Sony tvs. According to him, it's looking like we have two separate problems: The lamp is going out (about $400 to replace under best conditions, but this was expected to happen sooner or later), and the light engine (A.K.A. optical block) is going, too (about $850 for the part alone, and $350 for labor). Shopping around, we can get the cost for that light engine down to $400 as well (refurbished, we do the labor).
So, our best case scenario is $800 for repair. If we actually pay someone to do this, a realistic estimate is about $1800. On a TV that (new) cost $2300. And can be replaced with something even better/nicer for a cost of $2000.
So, I'm sure people are asking "Why do I hate Sony?" Seems that Sony has major issues with their LCD tvs, to the point that they've extended warranties on them as part of class action suit settlements. Unfortunately, my model's extended warranty ended over a month ago. See here for all the gory details (my model is the KDS-R50XBR1).
Sony shipped product that they knew was defective, gave inadequate warranty support, and my problems didn't appear until after that extended warranty expired. If they don't find a way to fix the worst of the issues at a decent cost, I'm going to be forced to get a new TV thanks to this.
And to get the same capabilities will take a large chunk of change I can't really afford. This sucks.
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