Sony Rear Projection Problems

[Flash23]

I am new to the site and really impressed, so here is my problem.
Yeah, I know rear projection problems. Sony KP-57WV600 has been diagnosed with a bad red tube or I guess sometimes called red gun. I was told Sony doesn't make these tubes anymore, and you should replace all of them when one goes bad. I was also told that a place refurbishes them and that avenue is also sketchy. The TV does the 7 blink thing from the Standby Light. I have been to the stores and got the indepth information on the LCD's which I would love to have but my tv is 6 years old and really don't want to put my girl out to the curb for what I paid for it in 2002. If I would of known these tubes or guns burn out I would have never bought it back in 02. Some info and 2 cents would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Flash

 

[Gov]

All the info you were told is correct. This is unfortunate, but true. The CRT tubes are no longer made I think its time to look for something else. Sorry! It will be a sad day when this happens to my Sony KDP-57WS655.

 

[bandphan]

for the cost of the gun and installation, you should have a good chunk of change to get started on a nice shinny new toy

 

[TLS Guy]

I am new to the site and really impressed, so here is my problem.
Yeah, I know rear projection problems. Sony KP-57WV600 has been diagnosed with a bad red tube or I guess sometimes called red gun. I was told Sony doesn't make these tubes anymore, and you should replace all of them when one goes bad. I was also told that a place refurbishes them and that avenue is also sketchy. The TV does the 7 blink thing from the Standby Light. I have been to the stores and got the indepth information on the LCD's which I would love to have but my tv is 6 years old and really don't want to put my girl out to the curb for what I paid for it in 2002. If I would of known these tubes or guns burn out I would have never bought it back in 02. Some info and 2 cents would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Flash

I don't see you have any other choice but to recycle it. You can't get the tubes and if you bought a parts set, it likely would have the same problem as this is the failure they are apparently known for.

By the way manufacturers are obligated to have spares available for seven years from the date of last manufacture for major purchase items. This seems another law that has not been enforced lately. You might want to see what Sony say about it, and see if they will give you credit towards a Bravia. I agree six years use is a bad showing for Sony.

 

[cwall99]

A different KP-57WV600 problem

I also have a Sony KP-57WV600, and it's had a few problems, but I was fortunate in that I recognized the potential for problems with an RPTV so I bought an extended warranty. I bought a 3-year warranty and then re-newed it twice. In that time, I had the red gun replaced. The blue gun replaced (these were between years two and four of ownership, and a circuit board that handled the digital signals somehow.

Anyhow, I'm now beginning to experience a random problem with the guns getting out of alignment. The image onscreen gets distorted and looks like a bow-tie, and there are three clearly different colored images (R, G, and B, of course).

I leave it for a minute or two, and it corrects itself. I'm concerned, though, as it's starting to happen with greater and greater frequency. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. It can happen when we're just watching one channel, or when we change channels, or when we select a different input (though, technically, all the inputs are fed to the set via its DVI input via my receiver's HDMI output).

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[skers_54]

I also have a Sony KP-57WV600, and it's had a few problems, but I was fortunate in that I recognized the potential for problems with an RPTV so I bought an extended warranty. I bought a 3-year warranty and then re-newed it twice. In that time, I had the red gun replaced. The blue gun replaced (these were between years two and four of ownership, and a circuit board that handled the digital signals somehow.

Anyhow, I'm now beginning to experience a random problem with the guns getting out of alignment. The image onscreen gets distorted and looks like a bow-tie, and there are three clearly different colored images (R, G, and B, of course).

I leave it for a minute or two, and it corrects itself. I'm concerned, though, as it's starting to happen with greater and greater frequency. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. It can happen when we're just watching one channel, or when we change channels, or when we select a different input (though, technically, all the inputs are fed to the set via its DVI input via my receiver's HDMI output).

Any ideas? Thanks.

My dad had a Mitsubishi RP CRT that started doing that several months ago. The image would seperate into R, G and B at random, though his issue was mostly green. We could fix it my changing the channel, power cycling it or letting it sit for a bit. It went like that for a month, progressively becoming more difficult to get it to autocorrect. Eventually, the green gun went totally out of wack and would only display a shifted, distorted image. I think it took about two months from the onset of trouble for it to completely break.

If you still have the warranty, I'd get it serviced ASAP. Otherwise, I'd start looking for good deals on TVs. It sounds like the clock on your TV's life is running out.

 

[Hi Ho]

The image would seperate into R, G and B at random, though his issue was mostly green.

That is a convergence issue. It has nothing to do with the tubes. The convergence chips that align the colors went bad. This is the most common problem on rear projection CRT sets. It is generally a 300-400 dollar repair.

A bad CRT is a much more expensive problem and at this point it is probably not worth fixing.

Rear projection sets simply don't last as long as direct view CRTs or flat panels. They are quite complex and most manufacturers didn't properly cool certain components (like convergence ICs) which really contributed to their relatively short life span. Panasonic and Pioneer were the only manufacturers of rear projection CRT sets that I can think of that didn't have habitual issues.

 

[skers_54]

That is a convergence issue. It has nothing to do with the tubes. The convergence chips that align the colors went bad. This is the most common problem on rear projection CRT sets. It is generally a 300-400 dollar repair.

A bad CRT is a much more expensive problem and at this point it is probably not worth fixing.

Rear projection sets simply don't last as long as direct view CRTs or flat panels. They are quite complex and most manufacturers didn't properly cool certain components (like convergence ICs) which really contributed to their relatively short life span. Panasonic and Pioneer were the only manufacturers of rear projection CRT sets that I can think of that didn't have habitual issues.

I don't think it was a convergence problem, at least in the end. We redid it probably a half dozen times. Then the green started arcing and slanting across the screen while only displaying the top half of the picture. That's what makes me think the green tube failed. There were probably several things that were going on and it really isn't worth getting fixed. Gave him an excuse to get a nice 58" S1

 

[Hi Ho]

Bad convergence IC's can cause the picture to be very distorted and curved. It can also affect just one color.

 

[cwall99]

Convergence seems to be the issue echoed here and elsewhere most often. I've had two of the guns fail on me in the past (blue and red), but they were both repaired under an extended warranty (RPTVs would be one of the few times I'd recommend getting an extended warranty). The set is 7 years old, and I let the extended warranty lapse a year ago. It paid for itself, though, with the two failed guns and a board that failed (my analog inputs worked, but not my digital inputs).

I called a local shop to have a guy come out and look at it, but the day he was going to come out, the set decided to behave. Since it would have cost me $115 had he come out and done nothing (the $115 would also be applied to the cost of the repairs) - they told me over the phone that if the set isn't doing anything wrong when he gets here, there's not a lot their technician can do - I cancelled the service call.

I'd like to be able to pick up a new 55 or 58-inch flatscreen (they're going for around $1700 at my local CostCo), it's not in the budget. $300 or $400 is though, and if I can spend that and get a few more years out of the set, then I'll be happy.

BTW, your price range on the repair, is right in line with what I've heard elsewhere.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts.