SONY Warning on Warranty

Especially with the newer electronics technologies employed, these devices are more sensitive to humidity damage. The components used are mainly high density surface mount technology. Your other sets are probably much older, and were not as effected.

I would take the set to an independent service centre, and see if they can fix it at a reasonable cost. Considering that if your environment is high in humidity, and or has a lot of salt spray, this may be a problem with any of the newer technologies that you purchase.

If you have a good air conditioning or dehumidification system, this would also be an asset to cut back the humidity in your home.

--

JANA _____

5 other smaller TV's (NOT SONY) which are much older than this one, but evidently made with quality parts. I have read the warranty repeated times, to find out why SONY chooses to make me feel like such a fool and an idiot for having purchased such a product, but I am unable to see where in the warranty this WARNING exists. Customer service declares that it is plainly written. See for yourself: "This warranty does not cover cosmetic damage or damage due to acts of GOD, accident, misuse, abuse, negligence, commercial use, or modification of, or to any part of the Product, including the antenna."

Because of the size of this TV, I certainly could not have dropped it into a bucket of water. I simply turned it on, enjoyed it, and then watched it die a very young death. I have a question for SONY: How can a company from an island nation (surrounded by water) build a product which cannot last through its own warranty? Is this what we have to look forward to with SONY's new Television Technology? It may sound as if I'm angry. You have no idea how angry I am. To pay as much money as I did for this product, and not only watch it die, but also learn that the "RESPECTED COMPANY SONY" has turned its back on their product and their own warranty, makes me ashamed and furious! May I warn anyone who is interested in making a SONY purchase that they are hiding things in their warranty. The warranty is not for your best interest, it's for SONY's, and they feel that they have a right to not express all of the hidden meanings. If you explore, you will find that other companies are far more honest. My warning is: If you live in California, Florida, or any of the states that are near the water....(just count them!) you are going to be treated like a fool by SONY if you chose to purchase their products. They do not have the decency to say that in their warranty, but they are eager to turn their backs on you if there is a problem---and there will be.

Nothing is 'hidden' in the warranty. They did not refuse warranty service for a manufacturing defect in the product. You might want to stop lying in your usenet rantings.

If you truely think that the corrosion was not caused by either liquid penetration or harsh environment, then pay for a second opinion, get pictures, seal the tv until it goes to court and sue Sony for breach of warranty.

What you need to do is get copies of all paperwork, receipt, date and place of purchase, date you either picked tv up or had it delivered. Condition of the box (hopefully you still have it). And get an independent evaluation of the corrosion found in the tv set. Corrosion caused by the environment will be visible on virtually all boards and metal structures inside the tv set. Corrosion caused by something being spilled in the tv, or the tv sitting in liquid will also be clearly visible and identifiable.

Actually do homework to get this resolved!?! Naw... easier just to whine and moan here.

I used to love Sony products, up until about 12 years ago. Nowadays, they make second rate products and rely on their previous good name to sucker people into buying their junk. I've seen several of their high-end CRT based TVs scrapped off due to failing tubes, after all of around 3-4 years use. People rightfully expect more when they spend 1000 UKP on a TV. Unfortunately, I was one of those unlucky customers!

I recently threw out a 30-odd year old Sony Trinitron TV, the first ever model made IIRC. The tube was still in good condition and the set worked fine, except for scratchy controls, but no-one wanted it. It was probably a collector's item! It demonstrated just how well built Sonys were, and how good their CRTs were.

I will never buy another Sony product again, nor will I recommend them to anyone.

Dave

It's important to remember that Sony makes two product lines: One that they sell in discount department stores like Wal-Mart and Tesco, and a higher end line that they sell through authorized distributors only. If you go the cheap route (and some of those aren't that cheap), you will get a set made in Korea or China or assembled in Mexico from Korean/Chinese sub-assemblies (shudder). They make these lines to compete with the elcheapo sets sold in these venues (I recently saw one such place selling a 20" color set for $97 USD ... bet that thing will last 2 years tops, and then you just throw it away, because no one would work on it!)

I still have a 25+ year old 19" Trinitron set in my bedroom .. picture is like the day I bought it (though over scanning a bit). I also just bought a KD-34XBR960, made Jul/2005. With prudent usage, I full expect that it will last a long time .. perhaps not 25 years, but 15+ anyway.

YMMV

Was there a plant hanging over the thing?

Mark Z.

I was thinking the same thing. I've seen lots of hanging plants, candle leakage, and rain blown through windows over the years. And has any customer ever admitted they spilled liquid into their remote controls??

OTOH, I just picked up a 36XBR400 that's shutting down on start, and the signal board has a small area around a flat pack IC that's corroded. There is no evidence inside the cabinet back that anything was spilled into the TV, and it doesn't appear to be from capacitor leakage, so I don't have a clue where it came from. I also don't know if it's causing the shutdown. I'll get to it when I feel like it.....

John

I repair a number of electronic devices and can tell just from a quick visual inspection if an circuit board lived nearf the ocean. The salt air creates a dull sheen on all the solder joints and can eventually etch through fine traces and contacts, especially flex connectors. This is a major problem with micro electronics re: the military's problem with helicopter electronics in hi humidity zones. Richard

All the military grade electronics I've seen are liberally sprayed with some form of lacquer. Even the Lucas EFI ECU on my ancient Rover car. ;-)

--
*Drugs may lead to nowhere, but at least it's the scenic route *

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

This is a foolish attitude. Sony has some products that are excellent vaues and some that are dogs, like most manufacturers. On average, they are likely better than most others. The service and customer support is also among the best. This will vary, depending on the quality of the local servicer and/or dealer, as well as with ones skill at negotiating the mind-numbing beaurocracy that Sony has become. In the area of consumer electronics, however, they are among the best choices. Consider the alternatives...

Leonard

Not at all. That was a bit unnecessary, Leonard. You're saying I'm foolish because I won't recommend a brand, just because you happen to like it?

I speak from personal experience in my country. Your country may be completely different. It is quite common for different countries to have completely different experiences of the same brand.

I know several people, including myself, who have bought expensive Sony TVs in the past. They have all, without exception, developed serious CRT problems within at most 4-5 years of normal use. This ranges from very soft focus requiring a focus tweak to make them watchable (not for long though) , to the dreaded picture on-off-on-off symptoms which afflicts Sonys and makes tired CRTs completely unusable before their time. Most also had picture geometry issues from new as well. Particularly N-S pincushion errors which can be very hard or expensive to correct, and rubbish convergence in the corners.

I disagree. Even in the shop Sonys look a little softer than competition like Toshiba IMO. If you mean they look better than no-name Chinese crap then you are probably right, but you can usually buy two or three of these for the overinflated price of a Sony.

Maybe in your country and in your experience. Here their reputation is of being awkward.

So you agree that Sony's after sales support can be awkward?

YMMV as they say.

Now that is excellent advice, Leonard. That is *exactlty* what I do, and exactly what I recommend others to do!

;-)

Dave

I live near the east coast, and don't see this kind of thing, except when...

Someone hangs a potted plant requiring watering over the TV, or places one on top, or...

Someone cleans the screen by spraying it, then wiping, allowing spray to run inside the set...

etc...

Tom

I don't put much stock in people who piss and moan over a particular brand of anything. There are people in this world, to whom you could give a Cadillac, a Mercedes, a Porsche ... and even a Sony ... and in short order they would have the thing so FUBAR that its beyond belief. These people need to go back to the days of stone knives and bear skins, and/or learn how to use modern conveniences.

I know all about Sonys ... I'm on my 4th one. The 3 previous ones have lasted 25+ years, 15+ years and 14+ years. I gave the 15+ year old 27" set away to a friend when I got my latest. I still use the

19" 25+ year old set every day, and it works great.

So, go get yourself a horse and cart, and a straight razor and strap to sharpen it with. Get rid of all your modern appliances and electronics, as it sounds as though you are in dire need of some consumer education. As for blaming it on your locale ... its *your* choice to live there .. just as it was the choice of certain people to live at the base of a "dormant volcano" (Mt. St. Helens), or the shore of a river that regularly floods (Mississippi), or in a city built on a flood plain, 16 feet below sea level, or on an active fault line (San Andreas) ... the list goes on.

Nice rant. Stop taking the meds, they aren't working.

Dave

There are people who have had nothing but rotten luck with one Sony product after another, others who wouldn't buy anything else.

Sony's better at some things than others, and different models or series may have more problems, others not. Their DVD players are a good example. Lot's of bad pickups on the 330-530-360-560 series, lots fewer bad pickups on subsequent models, though there have been a few more bad spindle motors.

I too have seen Sony picture tubes go bad after 4-5 years, but mainly because they are set up too "hot" at the factory. If the picture, brightness etc are set to realistic levels, the tubes have an excellent chance of lasting 15 years or more.

Customers with "flagship" products get better customer service, I have noticed.

Mark Z.

Good post Mark. If only everyone could express their opinion without childishness, Usenet would be a better place.

I loved Sony at one time, but my bad experiences started off with a 29" Sony with Dolby Pro Logic surround sound which I bought in 1996, I forget the exact model. It was being sold in one shop for 1600UKP, I managed to source one for half that, and I wish I hadn't bothered. It was impressive to look at- two of my neighbours bought nicam versions, my brother opted to rented one cheaply as he worked for the rental company, and my parents bought the next model when it came out.

Mine had various problems from almost new, like a soft but very audible hiss when the volume was low, and a tendency to switch off and back on with a loud thump through the speakers. It also had very disappointing picture geometry. The repair shop chosen by Sony couldn't reproduce the fault, and they said the geometry was 'reasonable' so they weren't interested.

I never operate TVs at high contrast and brightness levels, (my Toshiba RPTV is about 5 years old and the tubes are as good as new!) yet four years and a month into its life, one month after the extended warranty expired, the CRT failed rapidly. I opted to scrap the set and saved the chassis, which turned out to be riddled with dry joints.

My parent's set had continuous issues with magnetic fields, which corresponded exactly with the speaker magnets. The CRT failed rapidly after

5 years.

My brother's had, like mine, convergence issues I found unacceptable for a Trinitron tube. It was also a bit soft on the focus. He didn't keep it long.

Both my neighbour's TVs failed within 4-5 years. They called me round to ask why the picture was cycling on-off-on-off and had a strong tint. They didn't like the answer.

I can appreciate that each model comes with different designs and these TVs are going back some time now, but when you see every single example of the same model disappoint, it creates a lasting impression.

I could get started on the dozens of Sony CD players I've had to dump with weak lasers, but that's another subject ;-)

Dave

The cause : "From 1 st July 2006, lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated diphenyl ether will be banned from new electrical and electronic equipment."

3 of the 30 different solder compositions that semiconductiors now use corrode to air contact after some(3-6) years. If this solder is used on semiconductors, it might also be available separaltely. I guess that Sony uses corroding solder in their TVs.

What's hateful is that these corroding semiconductors have a "shelf life". They have to be soldered after a couple of time if you don't want them to corrode.(To Sony: With non-corroding solder please)

Could RoHS be a little more organized? 30 types of solder, isn't that too much?

Dave D a =E9crit :

hem

e=2E

ups

ony

ce

iss

PTV

d a

RT

ned

er

ng.

ask

n't

Vs

[snip] [snip]

Yep, hence the recent recall by Sony of some of their LCD monitors in Japan and in North American the recall notice (on TV) regarding Sony's playstations AC adapters which apparently overheated.

Really that has nothing* to do with rotten luck, only with poor engineering and/or does it fall under just plain capitalistic greed?

*Not quite as unlikely perhaps as an infinite load of monkeys writing a script for Hamlet, but still practically zero chance, in my view.