I'm pissed, problems with my Sony!

[beam3]

Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you had or have heard of the problem I am having with my TV. I have the 34HS420 from Sony, their HD tube. A few weeks ago I noticed that on HD channels I have a scrolling vertical bar that goes from right to left on the screen. I looked into this and to no surprise a lot of other folks are complaing of the same issue. My understanding is that is only happens on 1080i sources because of a bad board.

Ok, problem 1 diagnosed...onto #2. Yesterday while dusting off the TV I noticed what looked like some grease on the tv so I asked my fiance what she cleaned the tv with the week before....and she says, "Just a damp washcloth, like you said to." SO I hop onto the net to search for this problem. Low and behold, I see others complaining of the same issue. This time the anti-glare coating is starting to wear off. SON-OF-A!

So I just get off the phone with Sony CS and luckily, my TV will be a yr old next week so I made the call just in time for warranty, but labor is not covered. The independent repair shop that Sony authorizes said it's 85 bucks for them just to take the trip out here plus labor to install the parts. So I can be looking at a $200 bill to fix a tv that's less then a yr old. I explained to the CSR that even though the labor warranty is up I still expect them to cover the expense, is there any way to improve my chances of this happening? I don't even think they can fix the anti glare problem. This is likely that last Sony product I buy....they admit to having problems with these models but don't want to pay to fix it!

Sorry for the long rant, I'm just angry.

 

[Hi Ho]

You should be angry. I would be angry if an expensive piece of electronic equipment lasted less than a year. Your experience corelates with those of a friend of mine, a TV repairman of 30+ years. Sony's CRT quality plumeted in the 90's and hasn't gone back up.

 

[RLA]

Sony's CRT quality plumeted in the 90's and hasn't gone back up.

Why is it that every time I mention this on the forum I am accused of being biased? For what its worth its just not Sony's CRT's

 

[Hi Ho]

Why is it that every time I mention this on the forum I am accused of being biased? For what its worth its just not Sony's CRT's

I'm guessing it's because many people have a bias for Sony. I have an admitted bias against Sony but they do make some decent high end stuff. I have never been a fan of the majority of their products.

 

[jcsprankle]

I used to be biased toward Sony, as you can see from my sig. But, I've grown since then and realized that there is better audio/video out there than what Sony can provide.

 

[gmichael]

I am no longer a Sony fan either. Two years after I bought my TV it started to blink. Whenever there was a lot of white or bright colors it would blink off for a second and then come back on. Turning down the contrast & brightness helped, but come on. Eventually it got worse. I called Sony. They said that they never heard of this problem. They could have an ASP come out but I was facing minimums, plus parts, plus labor. When I called CC the tech said, "oh, we get that call a lot." The guy knew just what was wrong. He came out a few days later and fixed it in 20 minutes.

Thanks Sony. I won't be back.

 

[jcsprankle]

It's a shame, really. Back in the day, Sony produced some pretty decent gear. But, you won't hear me complaining when I finally am able to upgrade to a different TV, receiver and DVD player!

 

[beam3]

And I thought I was taking the safe route going with a Sony HD tube. Picture quality is great...but these other problems ensure this is my last purchase from them. When I was on the phone with the second level of Sony CS I told her this would likely be the last Sony product I buy if these issues don't get resolved at no cost to me. I told her a was a long time customer etc., and only at that momnet did she offer to open up some kind of claim to look into paying for the labor charges. The repair guy comes Friday, well see what happens. (I don't know how they plan of fixing or reapplying the anti glare coating to the TV without replacing it though)

My fiance will kill me if I tell her I want to buy a new TV, I told her this tv would last us 10 yrs. (And she thought this $1300 tv was expensive. )

 

[Hi Ho]

I have found Sanyo CRT's to be the extremely reliable. I have several Sanyo CRT's ranging in age from 1977 to 2001 and they all work as good as new with excellent picture quality rivaling that of Sony and Panasonic. Plus, they're cheap. Yes, they're sold at Wal-Mart but that doesn't keep me from buying them. My TV repairman friend says Panasonic and Sanyo CRT's are, by far, the most reliable.

On a side note, I see Wal-Mart is now carying Sony TV's...

 

[gmichael]

I have a 25" Sanyo that I bought before TV's came in stereo. I needed an RF moduel to hook it up to my DVD, but it still works great.
Next up is an HD projector. Guess who's I'll be buying. That Z4 looks like my cup of tea.