Support NeoGAF

[Deleted member 126221]

Yesterday night, I played some Splatoon on my Sony Bravia HDTV and everything was fine. I turned the TV off and came back to play a while later, only to find an ugly blue-ish bar of discoloration at the bottom of the screen...

It appears on every input, and also appears of top of the TV's settings menus. I tried unplugging the TV, reinitializing the settings... nothing works.

I haven't called Sony yet, but my TV is out of warranty (it's about 3 years old) and from what I found on the internet, I might be looking at $1000+ for the repair, which is ridiculous considering I could buy another 40 inches TV for $450... I also found after some search that I MIGHT fix it by changing something called the "TCON board" but I'm not sure I want to experiment with a tricky and potentially costly repair if it's not assured to fix the problem...

I'm particularly pissed off because I thought Sony Bravia was supposed to be "premium" quality, and 3 years is a fuckin' short lifespan... I'm also out of a job in 3 weeks, so buying a new expensive TV is not something I planned in my tight budget... I'm not exactly sure why I posted this other than to vent, and I guess hope that someone here has a miraculous solution (lol)...

 

[MultiCore]

Sorry comrade, you won't find any good news here. Just some sympathy.

My kids cracked my tv by throwing a Wiimote at it. Since it's a DLP, it's irreplaceable, so I've just dealt with it.

I think your damage will be harder to deal with though.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Manmademan]

There are different levels of Sony television that run from "cheap entry level" on up to "videophile". What's the model number? You may want to stay away from the low end if you're a heavy user.

 

[SymbiantXenos]

At this stage I'd just buy a new one.

 

[Hex]

I have had my XBR 4 52" for going on 7 or 8 or so years (maybe longer) now and it is still perfect.
I can't say for certain that I will go with a Sony for my next TV, but this one has survived multiple moves, years at a terrible living situation with bad electrical and dog hair everywhere and then two more moves.
That definitely sucks , whatever happened.

 

[davepoobond]

Eep. Looks like the same model I have.

Mine is going about 4 years now.

Just get a new one. Smart TVs are standard now, so it might be worth the convenience in some aspects.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

There are different levels of Sony television that run from "cheap entry level" on up to "videophile". What's the model number? You may want to stay away from the low end if you're a heavy user.

KDL-40BX420. I thought it was supposed to be relatively high-end when I bought it. :/

Is a smartTV really worth it if I already have a ton of consoles and a PC plugged to the TV via HDMI?

 

[JustinBB7]

That sucks, I have a Sony Bravia too, forgot the number but something like KDL-400 range. One of my DVI ports died so I can't have my computer and Wii U working at the same time lol. But for the rest it works fine and I barely touch my Wii U anyway so it's not a big deal. I've had it for a long time at least.

 

[XGRaViSmOrSX]

KDL-40BX420. I thought it was supposed to be relatively high-end when I bought it. :/

Is a smartTV really worth it if I already have a ton of consoles and a PC plugged to the TV via HDMI?

The BX series was sonys entry level back in like 2010/11. Was one of the last sets they made with LCD back lighting too. Wasn't a very good set from my memory, usually sold to college kids for dorms or people who just needed a TV without spending more than a few hundred bucks.

A smart TV with already having a PC hooked up would be overkill.

 

[Junior Mint]

I had a 55" Sony back at my parents house which had the same problem. This was a high end 120hz model when they first came out. Had to get the entire panel replaced by Sony technicians.

 

[soundscream]

The good news is that large TVs are cheap now.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

So I left the TV open for an hour or so on "standby mode" (when the lighting lowers)... and the discoloration is gone! There's still a faint green line where it started, but the colors are okay at the bottom of the screen. Is there hope of saving it, or is it its last breath before dying for good?

 

[johnnyfive]

I'm particularly pissed off because I thought Sony Bravia was supposed to be "premium" quality, and 3 years is a fuckin' short lifespan...

Sony markets itself as premium and often lists the features to back it up, but Panasonic is where it's really at for price/performance TVs. Just don't expect great built-in sound.

 

[Mr-Joker]

My family's Sony Bravia TV has a line of dead pixels across the screen and my dad got it in 2008.

Our old Toshiba CRT TV lasted a lot longer than that piece of shit.

 

[njean777]

May want to look into a computer monitor for now, or q cheap Vizio TV. Input lag though is what you want to look at before buying another display.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Well, you did better than my Samsung that lasted 14 months before it broke.

I have an 8 year old Bravia going strong though, with only minor discoloration.

 

[Fitts]

I also found after some search that I MIGHT fix it by changing something called the "TCON board" but I'm not sure I want to experiment with a tricky and potentially costly repair if it's not assured to fix the problem...

Way to put the work in! Yes, this appears to be a secondary board failure and, fortunately, not a fault of the panel proper. (that's when the price to repair often exceeds the price of purchasing a new television) Unfortunately, it appears as though this particular model Sony you have doesn't give you error codes via LED flashes or otherwise so diagnosing the exact board that requires replacement can be a hassle. I'm unfamiliar with your exact model and, therefore, do not know how many different secondary boards it has that could cause such a failure, but if it is a defective T-Con board the good news is that they are typically relatively cheap and incredibly easy to replace. ~$50 and a few screws/wiring harnesses and you're good to go. Based on the symptom (horizontal/sectional failure) and the fact that it's not an uncommon LCD issue chances are that's exactly what it is.

Good luck with the repair! I know you stated that it's out of warranty, but give Sony a call anyway. You never know... maybe they'll send a tech out at a courtesy to confirm the issue and you can order the part/make the repair yourself. Also, unless you're extremely inept with electronics, I would advise that you do purchase parts/perform repairs yourself as technicians will often overcharge for the former and will always overcharge for the latter.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

Way to put the work in! Yes, this appears to be a secondary board failure and, fortunately, not a fault of the panel proper. (that's when the price to repair often exceeds the price of purchasing a new television) Unfortunately, it appears as though this particular model Sony you have doesn't give you error codes via LED flashes or otherwise so diagnosing the exact board that requires replacement can be a hassle. I'm unfamiliar with your exact model and, therefore, do not know how many different secondary boards it has that could cause such a failure, but if it is a defective T-Con board the good news is that they are typically relatively cheap and incredibly easy to replace. ~$50 and a few screws/wiring harnesses and you're good to go. Based on the symptom (horizontal/sectional failure) and the fact that it's not an uncommon LCD issue chances are that's exactly what it is.

Good luck with the repair! I know you stated that it's out of warranty, but give Sony a call anyway. You never know... maybe they'll send a tech out at a courtesy to confirm the issue and you can order the part/make the repair yourself. Also, unless you're extremely inept with electronics, I would advise that you do purchase parts/perform repairs yourself as technicians will often overcharge for the former and will always overcharge for the latter.

Thanks! I'm pretty sure I'd be able to swap the part IF I knew which one is defective exactly... But I'm really not sure I want to order $50+ parts and spend the time to do it if I have no way to know if that's really what's defective...

Now that the discoloration is gone and i only have 1 row of green pixels, I think I'll cross my fingers and hope it lasts like that until Black Friday / Boxing Day, then try to find a decent 40' TV fitting my almost non-existent budget.

By the way, any chance that green row could be "stuck" pixels that can be "unstuck" with one of those color flashing programs...?


EDIT: Found this on a TV parts site while looking for a replacement tcon board:

IMPORTANT: Horizontal lines on the screen are virtually NEVER caused by a bad T-con board. Horizontal lines indicate a defective LCD panel (screen).

Eh... fuck it, I guess I'm due for a new TV.