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Loading ...Update #6: Leo called Sony demanding a replacement and Sony replied that they only thing they could offer is a repair. Upon further pushing Leo was told that he could write the Executive Review Committee with his concerns. Here is the contact information courtesy of Leo:
Executive Review Commitee
12451 Gateway Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33913.They asked me to include the following:
- Request to commitee
- Model and Serial number
- Copy of bill of sale (or note on letter that I cannot provide one)
- Reference number (i got this from CS) and
- Telephone, email and home address.
The hope being that if enough people write with their complaints of the settlement, Sony might rise to the occasion and do something more (offer replacements?)
Update #5: The pending terms of the settlement were posted by long time reader DOBI below:
I just read the pending Class Action settlement on Sony’s website; http://esupport.sony.com/sxrdsettlement
This is really good for us who have these problem TV’s… Did you realize that SONY has extended all in home warranty service until June of 2009? And, if you own or received one of these XBR50 or XBR60’s you are part of the Class Action. You needn’t do anything to join it. You can Opt out of the Class Action, but who in the world would want to do that?
OK..
Look at the benefits;
What benefits does the Settlement provide?
- A5. Currently the Settlement is still pending final approval by the Court presiding over the case. If approved, the Settlement provides for Sony to offer the following benefits, with proper documentation:
- An extension of the limited warranty to provide in-home service or replacement of the optical block in your Television until June 30, 2009, and special benefits in fulfilling this warranty extension.
- The refund of expenses incurred to replace the optical block in your Television.
- The refund of money paid after July 15, 2006 for an extended service plan for your Television from Sony or its extended service plan provider, Service Net Solutions, and cancellation of that extended service plan, if you so choose.
- The refund of money paid to Sony for the exchange of your Television for an XBR2, A2000, or A2020 SXRD model television, if you required more than one repair of the optical block in your Television.
I have read on this Blog that some of you had your sets exchanged for another model and you had to pay a cash differental… Guess what.. You get your money back if I’ve read the Settlement correctly.
The best thing to me is, that SONY has extended service on these stinkers until June of 2009. We had our first OB replacement just a couple of weeks ago with the new improved OB.. Lets hope?
IF things go sour again, we have more time to contact SONY about it..
Read the Settlement, I didn’t know it exsisted until last night!
Original Post:
More information on the green discoloration issue on the Sony SXRD sets, it seems there is a class action lawsuit against Sony for this! I feel this is a good move, it is too easy to find a set having this problem for it to be a fluke and so far the only word from Sony about the issue that is reported over and over and over again by users and warranty technicians is that “there is no issue” or the most they acknowledged is so far as is a “warm up issue”, sorry, no it’s not.
Anyway ’sourcery’ was given permission to post the lawyer’s contact information to the Sony A2000 thread that is handling the class action lawsuit, his information is as follows:
Robert I. Lax, Esq.
Robert I. Lax & Associates
535 Fifth Avenue
21st Floor
New York, New York 10017
Tel: (212) 818-9150
Fax: (212) 818-1266
rlax (at) lax-law (dot) com
According to ’sourcery’ Robert is most interested in speaking with Sony technicians or folks that have spoken to Sony representatives about the green blob issue to hear how it was described from Sony’s perspective to the person or technician.
If you suffer from this problem or have information for Robert, feel free to contact him. (Digg this)
Update #1: Sony have a QA process problem? Yes it seems so. Sony was the producer of all the batteries that Dell just recently had to recall because a few of them were blowing up. Keep up the good work Sony.
Update #2: Robert Lax, the lawyer handling the Class Action Lawsuit has sent notice that the website is now online: http://www.sonysxrdtvclassaction.com/
Update #3: John W. has posted a new Sony Support URL for their FAQ system that declares extended support for XBR1 sets as well as Sony reimbursing any out-of-pocket expenses owners may have spent fixing their XBR1 sets.
Update #4: Ken has updated the comments to say that his XBR2 is already showing a yellow stain. So it seems the verdict is in and the XBR2 did not completely correct the issue.
NOTE: Updates 5 & 6 are at the top of the post
Update #7: Greg Witham, in the process of writing his own script for a YouTube video of how best to destroy his Sony TV, provided a link to a YouTuber that has already done so… by taking it out into the desert and shooting it to death. While we wait for Greg’s video, here’s gwamba’s:
September 24th, 2006 at 9:47 am
I have a Sony XBR1 SXRD 60″. I would like to be included in the class action lawsuit if applicable.
September 24th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Raymond,
I’m sorry to hear that you are effected by this issue. Please contact Robert Lax (rlax@lax-law.com) at the contact information given above, he should be able to provide more information for you on how to add yourself to the class action lawsuit.
October 12th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
I would like to be included in this lawsuit as I to have a KDS-R60XBR1 with this issue.
November 13th, 2006 at 1:29 am
My sony SXRD has a screen mess up also
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/6349/dsc0023bz6.jpg
November 13th, 2006 at 11:01 am
I just called them today “sony” and they acted like nothing was going on and they could fix it overe the phone.
November 20th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
Sony said SXRD was better than DLP because DLP had a “fatal flaw” in its design. Now I am deeply wondering what Sony was really talking about. LCoS had this problem, so does Sony’s LCoS. They tried to get away with SXRD???
December 13th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
Ditto here on my SXRD!
December 17th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
I’ve owned mine since March and just notified Sony yesterday of the problem. They gave me two authorized repair shops to select from. Waiting to hear back from one. Mine still works great just has the green yellowish haze no matter what the source of programing. December 17.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:34 am
I have this problem and it did not show its ugly head untill 9 months after owning the tv. I had a technician look at it and sure enough it is the optical block/light engine. I’m very reluctant about having it fixed as I have heard the problem will return, given enough time. I would love to be involved in this lawsuit!
December 21st, 2006 at 8:49 pm
I just purchased a SXRD XBR1 and was buying a stand for it a a very reputable local highend AV store. The owner told me that another client who had purchased a SXRD XBR1 just bought a Blu-Ray DVD player and that even though Sony says the SXRD XBR1 is 1080p it is NOT compatible with Blu-Ray 1080p output via the HDMI connection!!! Has anyone else heard of this?? If this is the case, Wow, talk about another lawsuit…and count me in!!
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:45 am
The XBR1 is only compatible with input resolutions up to 1080i not 1080p. The newer version is capable of handling 1080p inputs.
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:59 am
This is my second set KDS-R50XBR1 in 1 year. the first one was loaded with problems a blue line on the bottom of the screen Now with new set less than 6 months old I have a diminishing color on the right side of the screen, but sony tells me I am not covered under the waranty, because the waranty goes back to the original sale date of my first set. So basicly on this set I ownly had a 6 month waranty. This set came from Sony they took my original set and replace it with this one serial.. I just want to know if there is a wide spread defect in this model . How could this happen twice to the same customer. I want to be loyal Sony customer but its up to Sony , for that answer.
December 26th, 2006 at 4:06 am
Wow! And to think that I had plans to purchase a Sony KDS-60A2000 Grand WEGA 60″ SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV. The 1080p HD and lack of “rainbow” or “screen door” effect is what attracted me to this TV set. Thank you everyone for your truthful and useful information.
December 26th, 2006 at 6:20 am
Vic,
The really frustrating part about these sets, is that if you get one, and never have a problem with it, they are truely excellent, but then again the chances you’ll never have a problem with it seem to be about 50/50… really horrible odds for such an expensive purchase.
December 26th, 2006 at 10:08 am
Merry Christmas…After 10 months the blob has shown its ugly self on my SXRD XBR50..Called Sony…Now waiting for a tech call back…
December 26th, 2006 at 10:39 am
Steve that sucks. Fingers crossed on this end, I hope they fix it for you.
December 26th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Just got the call back from sony on this Green blob issue. I tried to get a replacement tv and the lady would not do it. She said I had to wait for the part to come in and have it replaced. I read on other forums that this doesnt always fix the issue. I told her that she is going to lose a life long customer if she didnt replace the set. She basicly shrugged it off and didnt even care. I wont buy sony anything from this point on and will definitely get in this class action lawsuit.
December 26th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Frank that royally sucks. Let’s hope the new optic block takes care of the issue. If not, and I know this isn’t the greatest, it could be a ready to get a new TV in a few years.
December 27th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
I’ve had the same problem with the 60″ XBR-1 bought in Feb 2006 and noticed the Blob about a month ago. I’ve been trying to get it fixed but the part was on back order. I have been calling every day to ask for a RA# but have not been able to get one. Should it take 4-5 weeks to have my tv fixed? NO! I paid too much for this tv to put up with this crap! How do we get a RA # so i can take it back to best buy and get store credit. I just want a tv that works.
December 27th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
Having my second optical block in a week replaced on my 50″ SXRD. Sony repair told me confidentially that every optical block in the field will need to be replaced.
Sony has major issues with this set.
December 27th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Purchased my SXRD in Feb 06 and enjoyed a very nice picture until this month. My set not has developed a green blob but it also has a yellow stripe on the right hand side of the frame. $3500 for an 11 month disposable TV. I will definitely be in the lawsuit.
December 27th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Sorry. Was having some anger management issues when I wrote the previous post. I meant to say “My set has developed the green blob and it also has a yellow stripe on the right hand side of the frame.” And it looks from the other posts that Sony is refusing to stand by their product.
December 27th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Anger problems after $3500 and not having a company stand behind their product is totally understandable. I wish you luck.
December 27th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Sooo..Get a call from the Sony Tech today..Does not even want to come out to look at the set (50XBR1) Just tells my wife that they will order “the part” and replace it when it get’s in…Not even an idea when it will be in or what the problem is…..just when it get’s in…Anyone have an idea of the actual wait time and will the problem be solved or are we all being given the run around…
December 27th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
I personally think what is happening is Sony isn’t warrenty-ing these optical blocks, so these service shops are eating the cost of them, which means they are giving their customers (owners of faulty sets) the shaft, or just humoring them on the phone and giving them a general run around.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:04 am
I talked to upper level customer service at Sony Yesterday, (whatever that means, I have to hold a really really long time), and they gave me a tracking number and told me the ob shipped on the 26th. She also said the part was still backordered.?? I was told before Christmas from the repair service it would be 4-5 weeks. Only when I started asking for a RA # did my part somehow show up and get shipped. She gave me a tracking #, but I tried it at the UPS website and of course it did not work. And now the repair company is closed until after New Years. I paid 3700 to watch my Razorbacks in Green and yellow High Def! Freaking Ridiculous!
December 28th, 2006 at 9:09 am
Daniel,
Where did you happen to get the set from? Did you pickup an extended warrenty or is all this work being done through the 1-year Sony warrenty?
December 28th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Got it @ Best Buy, and i bought the 4 year extended warranty. The set is still under the 1 year sony warranty, but the service company is the same either way. Talked to best buy and they said this repair will count as one of the repairs covered under the extended warranty also. Two more to go.
December 28th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
When I talked to sony the woman told me that the only way to get the tv replaced would be if there was a recall on the set. I asked her what constitutes a recall because there are tons of people with this issue on the internet forums?? She had no answer for that and said that she never had an optical block that was replaced go bad again??? She emphaticly told me that there were no repeat complaints on this issue.
WE ALL NEED TO CALL AND HARASS SONY ON THIS ISSUE UNTIL IT COSTS THEM SO MUCH TO REPLACE ALL THESE LIGHT ENGINES THAT THEY WILL PUT OUT A RECALL. THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT THAT WE HAVE TO BE INCONVEINENCED AFTER SPENDING THIS MUCH ON A TV.
December 28th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
Frank,
Do you have a number for folks to call?
December 28th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
I would also quickly point out that this problem has been raving in the AVS Forums for over a year now, with tons of people calling. Sony has been told to act like there isn’t a problem… so I wouldn’t be surprised if they continue to ignore the issue. It would be too expensive to acknowledge especially after the battery recall.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
Gets even better. I spent several hours on the phone with Sony service reps and Sony.com service techs (this took about 1 1/2 hours on hold to get a Sony tech and he was useless) discussing my KDSR50XBR1. The independent service reps will not come to my home becasue I live over 25 miles away from the service shops and they say Sony will not pay the extra mileage (starting to paint a picture?) So much for in home warranty. The Sony people have essentially told me I would have to deliver it to the service reps and leave it. So when I called the service reps back, they informed me that the OB’s are back ordered and would likely not show up any time soon. Then one of the independent service reps from Memphis, TN informed me that the new OB’s that he has installed have about a 50/50 success rate. His suggestion was to beg CC for a replacement set. Dont really believe that’s going to happen but what the hey, it’s worth a shot. This is like a bad dream.
December 28th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
PS Soooie Pig!
December 29th, 2006 at 9:34 am
I purchased my KDS-R60XBR1 in May, 2006. I did extensive reviewing before making the purchase and thought I made a wise choice. However, I was unaware about the “Green Haze” until researching it last night (12-28-06) and found many people in my Titanic. I am waiting for tech support to call me back. I mentioned that I found a lot of people with the same problem and he gave me the quick answer, “he knows of a problem but apparently a firmware upgrade should fix it.” Will post anything I find out. I would like to be included in the class action lawsuit if I get the run around.
December 30th, 2006 at 11:02 am
OK..Talked to C/S again..They state that they are expecting a shipment of OB’s in next week..He said the number exceeds 100 and that is only a portion of the number back ordered..Get in line and wait your turn….Looks like this could be a long one!!!
December 30th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
No issues with my XBR1 yet, I do however see some green blob issue on start up and I have heard this is how it starts. No TV is perfect, but if Sony is smart they will replace the defective sets, and just replacing the “Optical Block” isn’t cutting it from what I have heard. Might not include myself just yet, but I will be keeping an eye on my TV. They had a great thing going the picture on this thing is stunning, they just need to fix this defect ASAP.
December 30th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
What frustrated me so much about the SXRD sets is that if they *do* work, and don’t have any problem, they are arguably the best looking RP sets on the market… so a lot of folks (almost me too) take the risk and then some get lucky and some end up with major problems where Sony just leaves them writing for months…
I hope all of you get the service you should get.
December 31st, 2006 at 8:52 am
Tech support called back and the problem was… I was not home and they spoke with the wife. I wanted to give them an ear full, but all they told her was they are coming out next Thursday. I wanted to tell them to save their trip because I already learned from you folks what was going on and to just bring the Optical Block if coming. Of course with it b/o’ed I’m sure it will be a wasted trip on their part. Long ride on this one, but I’m pretty damn persistent when it comes to my hard earned money. I will post after the tech visit. Keeping my fingers crossed he already knows the solution before the visit, but unlikely!
December 31st, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Rob W, and all: I don’t think we need a play by play on what is going on with your TV set. Go over to AVS forum and bitch there. This is for people who want to take legal action, not sure why people are posting there problems over and over. Looking at the very few post on here so far in comparison to the AVS, there are a small % of sets that have this issue, mine happens to be one of them, the more useful post as Sony is not holding up there bargin on the Warr, of if someone actually finds that all the Optical Blocks or whatever is causing the problem is we will all have to wait and see on this one. I hope your set gets fixed, if it doesn’t then please write in and tell us, as I will do the same but we don’t need redundant posts….
December 31st, 2006 at 7:36 pm
Didn’t realize you were so anal about this site sid…here is another link to more forums for all that want to be heard and not annoy sid anymore…
http://www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/cat_id_~13/id_~3530/forum_id_~361/pp_~2
December 31st, 2006 at 7:42 pm
I personally appreciate everyone’s contributions, both yours, Sid’s and everyone else’s.
Anyone that is hesitant about posting, just remember that there could be something in *your* post that helps someone else out. A link, a comment, some instruction or clue. You never know who you are helping out.
For everyone 1 person that posts on the net, I would say there are probably 1000 people that read the same bit of information. So if we have folks running across this post and going “oh wow I didn’t know that” and feeling more empowered, then we’ve all done a good job.
January 1st, 2007 at 1:01 pm
WELL SAID RIYAD! Will continue to post information and thanks for the link. I’m learning more and more about the “blob” out there and others suffering the same issues. Hopefully it will get resolved… we’ll soon see.
January 1st, 2007 at 9:55 pm
I am for one glad we have this site, just don’t need a play by play, and sure it is annoying when the person posts the same stuff over and over and over. AVS Forum is full of people like this, makes me wonder how widespread this problem is? All I know is my set looks fricking fantastic on HD and with my PS3, and I would have not noticed this blob at all if I didn’t put on a Black and White movie
DOH!!!!! If anyone get’s Sony to replace your set, I am all EARS!!! 
Whoever the lawyer is for this suit, should look for people on the AVS site also, seems to be a ton over there having issues…..
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:46 am
I’VE PURCHASED THE SONYXBR1 ALMOST A YEAR AGO, NO PROBLEMS OF YET. WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR WITH THIS GREEN HAZE PROBLEM.
January 2nd, 2007 at 7:29 am
Jesse S.,
You can click the “Memory card” button that takes you to the menu screen where you can read the contents of a memory card, it is a solid gray screen. If you see any discoloration (usually green) on the screen, that is probably the green haze/green blob problem folks are talking about.
Other ways to see it are to display other, light solid colors on the screen. Like a solid white picture.
Some folks have the green haze problem to a very small degree and in normal TV watching and image viewing they can barely see it and don’t care. Others however have it really bad and see it even under normal watching conditions.
That being said, even if you or others find it, I wouldn’t necessary give up the ghost. After finding it, decide if it really bothers you that much.
Also if you *do* find it, and the set is still under the return period from the vendor you purchased it from, you might want to try and return the set and get something else. I personally got the Mitsubishi WD-65831. It’s a brilliant set, but unfortunately I see rainbows (that is something the SXRD sets and other 3-chip solutions don’t suffer from). But the rainbows don’t bother me too much, so I kept the set (similar example to what I’m suggesting above).
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Hey everyone.
I’m getting a bit of a different response. My kds 50xbr1 showed signs of light engine failure about a month after purchase “July 2006″. I let it go for 3 months and it continued to grow. It seemed to be getting worse as the set got hotter (the longer it was on). It was especially noticable in the right hand side on the HD on ESPN HD (when they are showing a non hd program). Called repair shop and after 5 wk backorder part arrived and tv getting fixed. With this set burn in seems to be an issue as well. With the 360 and PS2 the burn in can take up to 5 hours to go away. Anyways they worked with me. I personally think the light engine is too close to a heat source and thus getting damaged.
January 4th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
ATTENTION SXRD OWNERS!!!!!!
If you have the optical block problem and contact Sony about it, they will flat out deny that the problem exists. DO NOT LET THEM FOOL YOU!!!! They know about the problem and I feel that the number of claims is growing every day as these sets are getting older. (My problem didn’t happen untill it was 9 months old) You can see just from this thread alone that it is a HUGE problem. I am in the process of ordering the second replacement light engine right now. The first replacement did not do the job but just manifested into a worse, but different pink blob problem. I feel they are very close to issuing a recall on this one. Please call Sony as many times as you can, as this is the only way you will be able to get anywhere with them. They have reports that say how many times you have called and once it reaches a certain number, your claim is elevated and you have a better chance of getting what you want.
January 4th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
After fighting with Sony and my Dealer, the dealer finally replaced my set with the upgraded model, the XBR2. Sony is trying to backcharge the service centers if they send in the light engine for replacement and they deem it to still be in specs. I don’t know of any problems with this model yet. Keep me informed.
January 4th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Service tech came out on my set, said it was the Optical Engine and had to place on order. From reading other comments after my last post and other links, I’m wondering if even replacing the OB/OE will even suffice. XBR2 would be nice, but I guess I would need to go through the steps for replacement. It was MFG in 02/06 and I purchased in May 06. Seems the life avg is around 8-9 months on the OB/OE. I’ve been dealing with the Dealer at this point. Should I call Sony direct even though the extended warranty is with the Dealer I purchased it from? Any advice among others would be appreciated of course. By the way, I’m still interested in more information on the class action lawsuit.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:48 am
I got very frustrated after my KDS-50A2000 (purchased March 2006) got the green blob around Thanksgiving. Same problems as most of you- called Sony, they didn’t care, didn’t even acknowledge a problem until I asked to speak to a supervisor. Supe took info, promised to call back, we haven’t heard from Sony since. Well, we sort of did- some repair center called us and said we live too far away for anyone to check our TV.
My family basically decided to harass Best Buy since we had an extended warranty (even though this TV’s still under Sony’s warranty). It took Best Buy 2 weeks to get a service tech out, b/c apparently they’re swamped with calls about Sonys. Service rep came, said he had handled several other problems like ours in the last few days, and assured us that Sony won’t ship a replacement part for a month. So we harassed Best Buy some more (I felt bad, b/c Best Buy really did make an effort), and finally Best Buy just told us to pick out a new TV because they can’t make any headway with Sony either. So finally we’re going to pick out a new TV this weekend, and dump the old one on BB. I hope BB will put some pressure on Sony.
January 5th, 2007 at 6:35 am
I am having a similar problrm with my kds-r60xbr1 tv but the problem wasn’t just a green haze but also a large area of purple discoloration. As the set was still under warranty Sony paid to have it fixed. A new optic block was put in yesterday (1/4/07). Unfortunately that did not resolve the problem and I am very frustrated. Perhaps I should join this suit as well
January 5th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Guys I really appreciate you all posting… this thread combined with the ones from AVS really makes it painfully obvious how much of a quality-control and customer-service problem Sony is having and refusing to acknowledge.
Also, Seth, the purple-haze issue was mentioned a few time on AVS, it’s fewer and farther between than the green blob problem but similar… in those cases optic block replacements seemed to fix the issue but as you said that didn’t do the trick.. I have no idea what it could be.
Does it change at all as the TV warms up?
Also Phil, NICE job on harassing BB. The only way Sony will do a recall is if the *retailers* turn on them… they don’t give a shit about their customers. So you did the right thing.
January 5th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Question. Sony has now given me an Event Id # for my KDS-50XBR1 Does this put me closer to a replacemnt set since they have no idea of when the O/B will be shipped and no idea of a repair time.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
my problem so far is a little green haze during warm up then it pretty much goes away. is it only going to get worst.i see the blob on the menu stick then it goes away not on hd channels yet i have the kdsxbr160”. anyone have ant sugestions on a new type of tv. maybe i should go with flat panel? or a samsung or mitsu rphdtv.has anyone purchased the sony from p.c richards i wonder how there handling the situation.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
My dealer is Tweeter - I have to put a plug out there. After filing a complaint with Sony, they gave me a bogus response on how to adjust the TV. What a JOKE! After the tech left and told me he was ordering part, I called to follow up. Ordered, but still not satisfied. My unit is less than a year old (May 2006 purchase). I took pictures and documented times/dates of everything that has happened and took everything up to Tweeter and sat down with the manager behind closed doors. He was shock of the class action lawsuit info and the green haze (said it looked like algae - LOL). He wasn’t aware of any of them, but mentioned they have sold a ton of them so he’ll probably start hearing about it. I flat out asked him if he could replace it with the XBR2 with my hassles. Getting it on Tuesday and they are picking up the Green Blob. I have pictures if anyone is interested in seeing it (email: robpkw@excite.com). Amazing. Tweeter came through on this one, I just hope the XBR2 is in better condition than the XBR1. It’s my understanding the XBR2 has two Optical Engines and should reduce the problem according to a recent CNET review in December.
Interesting fact the Tweeter manager told me that is NOT common knowledge: the XBR1 does not truly produce 1080i with the HDMI cable and it has been a hidden fact from the consumer. Only COAX will produce the true 1080i, but the XBR2 has corrected this with the HDMI cable to produce 1080p. As many have suggested - push, push, push (my added plug is keep your notes! I went into Tweeter expecting the run around, but they came through on this one!) The class action lawsuit I believe is only a matter of time with the amount of units purchased out there.
January 5th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Rob,
That is huge and great news! I’m really glad to hear that Tweeter came through for you and not only with a replacement old set, but a brand new XBR2. They can be sure they will have your business in the future (and possibly many more folks from this thread? Who knows).
Also, just to clarify, both the XBR1 and XBR2 sets were 1080p sets, but the XBR1 only accepts up to 1080i, it could not take a 1080p signal (but the XBR2 can).
Is the issue you are referring to, that when the XBR1 receives an 1080i signal over HDMI, it doesn’t resolve all 1080 lines? That rings a bell, but I’m not sure.
Thanks for the info Rob.
January 5th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Hey Riyad:
Well, I knew that the XBR1 said 1080i. From my understanding, even with the HDMI, the manager at Tweeter said it wasn’t truly 1080i from my understanding. And oddly, I thought I saw this because my keen eye on the 1080 overall was on target. So, from my understanding, I knew when I bought it that it was 1080i max and not 1080p. From my conversation, I gathered 1080i or 1080p wasn’t possible with the HDMI. Overall, they DO have my business. Impressive customer serivce! By the way… I chose them because of Consumer Reports listing as one of the top on the list for customer service….
January 6th, 2007 at 8:40 am
I have the same green problem! I live in canada can anyone help me out? Who should i contact?
tx,
Derek
January 6th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Victory!!! (I hope.) After I exhausted all avenues of satisfaction through CC (Circuit City’s argument was that this really was a Sony problem and not a CC problem and in some aspects I agree with them), I went after Sony one more time and finally got the right supervisor. I explained a third time to Sony my futile attempts to get a service rep to honor the in home diagnositc warranty. This Sony manager said that they would have to do their own service rep search and would get back to me in 72 hours. I really felt like I was getting another Sony run-around but I agreed . Within 24 hours I was contacted by a senior Sony supervisor who informed me that they also had no luck locating a service rep in my area and they then did the unbelievable, they offered to replace the set. Their first offer was the KDS60A2000. Having read some other posts on AV forums, I was prepared for this and informed the Sony supervisor that I did not consider that an equitable replacement. Unbelievably, she somewhat agreed and then offered me a refurbished KDS-R50XBR1. I told her that I also thought that was an unacceptable replacement since the set probably came in with the same problem that I already had. She then asked me how much I paid for the set and I told her $3500. She then said that I could upgrade for a new KDS-R60XBR2 for the difference in what I paid and the cost of the set on the Sonystyle.com website, $3800.00. The difference was $300.00 and I agreed to it. The KDS-R60XBR2 is scheduled to be shipped “white glove service” from a Sonystyle warehouse on Monday and should arrive by Thursday or Friday. The plus side to this is that since I paid an additional fee for the upgrade, the set comes with another 1 year full warranty. My nightmare is nearly over (knock on wood.)
My advice to all who are getting nowhere with their TV retailer is to go back after Sony and be nice to everyone you talk to but be adamant about making Sony live up to all of the hype that comes with one of these sets. Sony as well as most AV sites and Consumerreports.com report these sets to be the best of the best for the price range. If Sony is going to beneift from all of the talk, then they must walk the walk. 1st Sony will insist on sending a Service rep out to at least diagnose the problem and then most likely to replace the optical block. If there’s not a service rep in your area, you are homefree. If a service rep does the replacement, make them do it to your satisfaction. If they replace it in your home, make them stay and go through every channel and input with both of you looking at the set. If it is not to your satifsfaction, insist on them calling Sony right then. If they take your set away to install the OB, you may want to travel to the service shop to view the set before they return it to your home. If it is not to your satisfaction, then insist on them calling Sony right then and make “walk the walk.”
If your like me, you researched this set for a few weeks if not months and then relied heavily on the opinions of Cnet, Consumerreports, etc and then paid more for this set than your first car cost. Do not be hesitant to point any of this out to Sony and then tell them that you expect them to honor their end of the bargain and provide a product that lives up to the hype. The last bit of advice is that you have to get past the first two levels of customer service at Sony and speak to a supervisor with the authority to think. The first two levels of CS reps are not allowed to think and are only reading scripts. Let me assure you that the script does not have the words replace or exchange anywhere on it.
I will post one final follow up when the set arrives and let you know if Sony indeed makes good on their word.
Sorry for such a long post but hopefully it will benefit all. Good luck to everyone who is experiencing this nightmare.
January 6th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Kelly P, sounds like a victory to me!
Derek: how long have you had the set? Did you get an extended warranty? From reading other posts, keep your records - log - and calm, but remain persistent!
Riyad: many glasses of wine to celebrate victory after writing back the other day. I believe I asnwered the question, but just for clarification…. the XBR1 was to my understanding to produce 1080i with HDMI. Tweeter told me this was NOT the case with the HDMI on the XBR1 and he invited to tell me this information to my surprise. A “little hidden secret” is what he said to me. However the XBR2 has corrected this with the HDMI. Interesting!
I truly believe that most people will get what they need out of this and mainly from other experiences on this Blog and others! It has helped me tremendously!
January 6th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I have been fighting with Sony since November. I have called 4 times trying to get this green blob KDS-R50XBR1 fixed. Nothing but wasted time. My warranty is up in May and I cannot get Sony to budge. I cannot find my receipt and the retailer that I purchased it from gives me their corperate number and then I get nothing. Sony needs to be accountable. We need to speed this lawsuit up.
January 6th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
KellyP: That is a *huge* win and we are really happy for you. Paying the diff for a XBR2 set is totally reasonable, I would have done exactly the same.
Rob, you have a XBR2 set on the way too don’t you? Very nice you guys!
Jason, keep your head up high. A lot of these folks were in exactly the same boat, just keep trying!
January 6th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Riyad: yes, it’s coming in next week. Looking forward to it, but I just read on the High Def Forum the XBR2’s are having the same problem. Sigh. This is concerning to me now. Wondering if I really want to hassle with it. But the TV is awesome when it works!!! But is it worth going weeks/months with headaches??? Not quite sure…
Jason: Riyad is right. You are the customer/consumer! Keep pushing! I promise you one thing, dealing with customer support isn’t going to help! Got to keep pushing and raising the flag!
January 6th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
That is hotness Rob, I got my fingers crossed that nothing will go wrong… on the bright side, they sold so many XBR2s this holiday that if there IS something wrong with them, there are going to be a lot of voices yelling at them.
I did read some folks noticing problems with the XBR2, but it doesn’t seem anywhere as consistent as with the XBR1s.
I see two choices:
1) Get the replacement and immediately try and sell it as brand new and get some other TV.
2) Get the replacement, roll the dice, and just hope nothing goes wrong.
Given the level of headache you have already been through, I would probably do #2.
I don’t know if you saw my post on my blog, but 3 days after I got my first WD-65831 set, the color wheel destroyed itself inside the TV and the TV died… I went through this whole inner turmoil about starting my year-long hunt for the ultimate TV all over again or just replacing the set.
In the end, I replaced the set, and now instead of reading AVS every day, I’ve been enjoying HD. If it dies again, well there are worse things that could happen in life, so it’s not so bad.
Just kick back and enjoy the set. If it dies and they won’t replace it again, take it out to the desert, take some friends, and do and Office Space on it.
January 6th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
I recently got the green haze on my Sony SXRD. Worse for me, the warranty is just over in December. I hear that Sony doesnèt acknoledge this problem. How much is it if
I were to fix it myself
January 6th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Yet another Sony victum. I purchased what I thought was the latest and greatest, a 50″ Sony XBR50 from Best Buy in January 2006. I now have a virtually unviewable green-tinted screen. It looks as if I adjusted the “hue” all the way to the green side. It is so bad, even when adjusted all the way over to the red side, that you cannot identify an NFL team without looking at their helmet logo! First, I jumped on the internet. That’s when I realized I was the member of a very large club. I am very brand loyal, so decided not to pre-judge Sony. I simply called customer service. The rep pretended as if this was the first time they had heard of this type of problem. She then informed me that there was no “authorized” Sony service companies in our area (300,000 people in our county with a Best Buy AND a Circuit City). She waould have to find a “non-authorized” company to service my TV. I had to call DAILY for 8 days until they finally gave me the name of a company. I am still waiting for his call and will keep you posted. In the meantime, I called the Robert Lax, the attorney listed the top of this site. He is a VERY nice guy. He’s not looking for blood, he’s not trying to get rich, he just wants all of us to have our defective, EXPENSIVE televisions repaired correctly or replaced. My guess is the only reason anyone is being helped is because he is putting the heat on them. Do I want to “sue” Sony? No, at least not yet. But I’ve only been trying to remedy this problem for two weeks. A month from now, I won’t hesitate. I can’t believe a I have been so loyal to Sony for the last 25 years. TV’s, stereos, boom boxes, walkmen, DVDs, VCRs, etc. Then again, all those were disposable, but a $3,500. television?….
January 7th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Just a postscript to my last comment. If you are lucky enough to get your XBR1 repaced with the XBR2 and you had bought the matching Sony stand for the XBR1, the XBR2 will not fit in the stand. My retailer, Sherman’s in Peoria. was good enough to replace my stand also at no cost. Just something everyone should be aware of.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Keith T. Thanks for the information. My Dealer (Tweeter) said it should fit, but it’s their own brand (stand) and not made by Sony. I hope this is the case. Thanks for the heads up! Riyad, I will be calling all folks to help shoot this thing if the XBR2 goes out on me! I’m sticking with it to see…
January 7th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I’ve had my 60inch xbr1 since June 06 (it was manufactured in
May 06) and the only issue I’ve had with it is this: if I’m looking
at black & white material I notice a hint of yellow that looks
like burn in on the right side of the screen by the border. It may
be caused by my webtv. When I first turn the tv on in the
morning the picture is perfect, then after about 45 minutes I
begin to see that before mentioned yellow. I guess I should
consider myself lucky that I don’t see green and blue blobs like
the rest of you. But just in case I’m going to sign up for the
lawsuit.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I bought my Sony KDSR50XBR1 in December ‘05. About 6 months later, the green blob showed up in the lower right corner of the screen. I lived with it for a couple months, and as it got worse, I finally called Sony Customer Service. They referred me to an authorized service provider, and they promptly came over and replaced my light engine.
It did not take long to discover that the second light engine looked worse than the original one. Instead of a green blob in the corner, now I had a large purple blob covering the left half of the screen, and horizontal green stripes at the top and bottom. I called the service provider, and they promptly came over again with another light engine. The third one did not work properly at all. It made a picture that looked like an old TV with the vertical hold misadjusted… the top half of the picture was on the bottom, and the bottom half was on top, with a black bar separating the two halfs. And it still had purple discoloration.
I asked the tech to put the second light engine back in, and then I called Sony. I calmly explained to the phone rep what had happened, and that I was now officially asking for a replacement TV. She said that I would be called by a Tech Rep within two business days, and they will most likely refund me for the TV or replace it.
The two days is up on Tuesday. I’ll let you know what happens.
To this point, Sony has responded to my particular situation pretty well. They have paid for two service calls, and 3 light-engine replacements. The real test of their commitment will come now. I will only join the suit as a last resort… I’ll first give Sony the opportunity to do the right thing.
Meantime, I’d like to hear some assurance from Mr. Lax that if we join his suit, he won’t be spending the proceeds on a vacation home while we plaintiffs come away with a coupon for five dollars off our next Sony Pictures DVD purchase.
January 7th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
I have the same problem with a Sony SXRD 1 series.
January 7th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Phil,
You’ve obviously been a part to a class action lawsuit before. All those who consider joining the suit should also consider the outcome and find out the specifics first (it will not be a replacement television I promise you.) Most likely it will be a compromised (between Sony and plaintiffs) agreement. If you participate in the suit, you are bound by the agreement.
Riyad (old wise one in the ways of AV),
What is your input on the XBR2’s. I’ve browsed all of the forums and have not seen any issues involving the green glob yet. Do you know of any?
January 7th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
To Mike Macahan (January 7th post): Sorry Mike, that was my TV’s first symptom. Brace yourself, even if the yellow goes away for awhile.
January 7th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Kelly P.
Here is a link that I saw about the XBR2 issues and concerns.
http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=33867
Hopefully it’s not as bad as the 1 though. We’ll soon see. About 2-3000 hours of life is the estimate.
January 7th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Mike Macahan: You might have a convergence problem but if it’s just a little yellow along the right side that doesn’t sound too bad. Even on the most “perfect” (notice the quotes? No one is perfect) sets there are little things you can notice from time to time. For example, go have a look at the Pioneer Elite Plasmas ($8k) and look real close, from time to time you’ll notice some wonky things. So as long as the set looks acceptable to you, try and pretend it’s not there
Kelly P: Great question. When the A2000s came out, I saw people mention right away that some (less than XBR1s) had the green blob problem. After some good-mental-analysis the concensus was that the A2k sets were simply reboxed XBR1s. They had the same features, some new inputs, and the same limitations. Overall a big disappointment.
Then it seemed about 4 months went by and then the XBR2s started to come out, I saw 2 people at the beginning mention discoloration and then no one else for quite a while. Because of the inconsistency in the reports, I had to turn on my “fan-boy filter” and ignore the outliers… so in this case, the XBR2 sets *seem* to be a good improvement. However, a lot of the XBR1 folks didn’t have problems until about the 9month-1year mark, and the XBR2s just haven’t been out that long yet… so I can’t comment either way.
I suppose if you could find a 60″ XBR2 in the $3k price range, I’d probably say get it. If it’s still pushing $4k out the door, I’d say hold off, especially with CES occuring next week and *everyone* announcing their new TV technology for ‘07. Right now, until about March, is a great time to research, read and wait.
Just my 2 cents though, look at me, I bought months ago cause I was impatient and couldn’t take the waiting anymore. So totally depends on your needs.
January 9th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Kelly - do oyu have the name and number of the supervisor you spoke to? This might help all of us. I just found out about my green blob problem over xmas break when some family members said, they are all green. Not every channel, but most. I want a new TV
January 9th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Rich - Unfortunately I do not think that calling and asking to speak directly to Jackie, the last service rep that I spoke to, will get you anywhere. With every call that you make, they log your complaint and your efforts to resolve that complaint. My recommendation is that you start at the beginning and build your case log with Sony and be sure to express your dis-satisfaction, in a cordial manner, with each attempt to fix your set. I promise you that Sony will not send you a set until they have attempted to exhaust all other avenues. The way that it worked for me was that I asked to speak to a superior each time that I called back. After doing what the first rep asked me to do, I called back and asked to speak to a superior and so on and so on. The last person actually called me to negotiate the replacement. (She obviously had been trained to haggle:) At any rate, my travels through the Sony maze took a little over 3 weeks to get resolution and I still do not actually have the set. It is supposed to be on its way but we’ll see. I know it is not what you want to hear but you will have to start at the start. Just kill them with kindness and keep trying to move up a level until you are 100% satisfied.
January 9th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
After watching my 7 month old KDS-R50XBR1 begin to have a green haze about a foot wide on the right hand side of the screen, I thought I would check the web to see if anyone else is having trouble. Second site on Google was this blog. Looks like I am certainly not alone with this problem. Thanks for the site.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Randy, welcome… I’m sorry that you found this blog the way you did (so damn frustrating) but there is a lot of excellent information here.
KellyP has been giving folks some great advice. Expect to wait about a month, and just keep calling Sony and being really polite. Call them every other day for a few weeks and just keep asking to talk to a higher up. At some point they are either going to fix your set or replace it. In the worst case scenario they will do nothing… but loosing your temper won’t help, I think 15% of the sets they sold people are calling them on… you see this problem WAY to consistently in the XBR1s to assume it would be less than that. Even the A2000s had some pretty bad failure rates although the XBR2s are seeming clean…
Who knows, there are very few things in this world more frustrating then getting your dream TV and paying $4k for it, then having it crap out and the company act like they’ve never heard of it before.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I was having this same picture problem on the lower right corner of my screen. I purchased this set in May 06. I called Sony and I was refered to a Sony service center. One of the techs called me yesterday and told me that he already knew what the problem and that the optical block is on backorder!! He says, someone in 3-4 weeks would be calling me to schedule an appointment to come out and fix this problem. I warranty runs out in May and would like to problem. Am I just supposed to sit here and wait until someone calls me?? Should I call Sony? Scared that they are giving me the run around until my warranty is expired.
This really sucks…Paid way too much for this television to have a problem like this, this soon.
Please any suggetions would be helpful.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
David,
Yes you definitely need to be pro-active. There are so many folks calling in with this problem only the ones being the most persistent are likely going to get serviced.
If there weren’t so many sets effected by this I imagine everyone would get taken care of, but I have a feeling this is a “most loud users bubble to the top” type of situation.
If it’s not, then at least your support log on their computers from calling will show that you aren’t about to give up and sit at home and wait.
Good luck to you.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Post: Jan 11, 2007 XBR1 Set bought Feb 06. First optics block put in May 06. Lasted until Dec 06. Now waiting for in second optics block for the same green blob! While waiting for optics block lamp burned out. No TV period!
This plus what I read on web puts Sony in a terrible light.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I have the 50″ SXRD and my son has the 60 SXRD, both have the infamous “green blob” Mine was bought in March of “06 with the extended warranty. I called 1-888-BestBuy on Sunday to get a tech out to look at it. Finally, today I got a call from one of the service centers. They told me there was no need to send a technician to my house as they know exacly what is wrong. They have encountered the exact problem with many other SXRD sets. The service center told me they will try to order the part. I want BB to just take this back and trade for the new generation, but they claim to have never heard of the problem. I am very concerned that I will find out that the OB is back ordered, or that replacing the OB will result with the same” issue. My husband can’t understand why I am so upset over this!!!!!! He said just wait,,,,they will get it fixed….ha! If this were not such an insidious problem I probably wouldn’t be so concerned. BTW….my son CANNOT use the HDMI cable to hook up his PS3 that has a blue ray player in it. It will connect via the component cables…but nothing via the HDMI!! Husband won’t talk to me about this, so glad I can let off some steam….I
January 12th, 2007 at 12:27 am
Please include me in the class action lawsuit. I purchased my 60″ XBR1 in July, 06.
Over a week ago I noticed a green vertical line and haze on the right side of the screen. I called Sony and they provided me the number of a local service shop. Soly based on my description of the problem the service folks diagnosed the problem as being the optical light generator . The part was ordered and is already in… it will be installed tomorrow (Jan 12th)
Since I only have a few more months left in warranty…I too am concerned of a reoccurrence of this problem .
Like the other folks…I paid a lot of money and these types of issues
January 12th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I also have a 50″ sxrd xbr that was purhased in Mar 06. Developed a green stain in upper right hand corner. Started to spread. The BRICk (Canada) send tech out and three weeks later the OB was replaced. He did mention that if it would happen again, it would not be covered (YA RIGHT!!!)
New OB has been in for approx. 3 months with perfect picture. If it does happen again…..I will ask for my money back
January 12th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Same problem on my xbr1 60. Started getting yellowish tint in corner last week, bought the set in June, manuf. date of May. Waiting to hear back from Sony. Called and complained several times, now waiting to see if they will “escalate” it. Two repair companies here (San Antonio), that I was given to choose from, both seem like complete wastes of time. Hopefully I can get the set replaced, I have no condfidence in my repair options, nor the patience to wait the multiple times I’m sure it will take for the repair bafoons to fix it.
January 13th, 2007 at 10:29 am
KDS50XBR1 Purchased March 06 / Built Feb 06 Green Blob noticed in December 06 top right corner.. Had Optical Block replaced Jan 07 Went from Grenn Blob to Purple Blob…Waiting for Optical Block #2 to be installed… So is this lawsuit already in progress or can anyone with these problems jump aboard anytime?
January 13th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Tony,
I believe you can call and talk to Robert (the attorney handling the case). I think it would take a few years to put together a successful class action lawsuit.
Best of luck to you about getting the 2nd block replaced, sorry to hear that the fix didn’t “fix” anything. I have a feeling since Sony is making the service shops eat the cost of the optic blocks, that they are simply recycling them and not actually using new ones.
January 13th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I have SXRD1 50 and noticed the problem a few months back develop until the green blob finally grew to encompass the entire pricture field for all inputs. Called Sony and was referred to authorized service for my area (central FL). Talking to service rep on phone about two weeks ago, they knew instantly what the problem was. said they had to order part which arrived within 10 days.
Official Sony Authorized Service Tech just left today after replacing my first optical block. He stated that the “design” problem was most likely due to dust accumulation inside the sets causing the block to fail. He noted that the next generation sets will be flat and sealed (like LCD and Plasma). Suggested that I contact Sony as my 1 year warranty expires in 2 weeks and request an extended warranty to get their reaction. He suggested that I vacuum the inside every 90 days particularly around the fans where dust is likely to accumulate and then be blown on to the components.
It sounds to me from reading the blog that indeed something is being blown and it’s not dust. It appears that the beautiful picture will be short lived and will take some of the excellent advice posted here to push Sony hard to get this fixed permanently. As noted, class action will be time consuming and may not improve the picture quick enough, suggest that we all become personal nightmares to Sony until they get “the picture” (to us) that we paid for.
January 13th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Mike M: I think you are absolutely right about the “personal nightmare” statement… at some point, if the volume of calls for these fixes is high enough, Sony is going to need to implement a special service path just for the optical block problems… although preferably not the one t