Help! What's Wrong w/my TV?

[TheWorm]

Sony rear-projection high-def set (model 43HT20 I think). About 3 yrs old. Actually, 3 yrs and 1 month old...the warranty expired a month ago

Take a peek at the screenshots and let me know what's wrong. I tried the 'autofocus/autoconverge' to no avail.

The pic (any input -- 4:3, 16:9, high-def, cable, local/replay) are all the same: wide on the sides and skinny in the middle...like a sideways hourglass. Everything's blurry and stuff that should be white is RGB (and not even close to each other).

Pics follow.

Thanks!

[TheWorm]

'nother sample pic

[hobbes]

This happened on my Mits. It's a common problem (on the Mits, anyway). The solder joints on the convergence ICs failed due to heat stress, or something like that, and needed to be touched up. Do you find that the picture fixes itself after some amount of time (warms up), or if you give the cabinet a good whack?

[TheWorm]

It's been on for a couple of hours now and no difference. Haven't tried whacking the cabinet for fear of creating more problems.

[hobbes]

Just based on the picture, I'm pretty confident that it's the convergence ICs. Mine looked exactly the same. Mine would usually clear up after an hour or so, but the Sonys might act differently. I had a technician look at it, and he knew exactly what the probem was. Haven't had the problem since.

[labow]

Originally posted by TheWorm
Sony rear-projection high-def set (model 43HT20 I think). About 3 yrs old. Actually, 3 yrs and 1 month old...the warranty expired a month ago

Dont you know that there is a countdown timer in every TV that kills it exactly one month after the warranty expires? Time to call your local authorized Sony repair center and pony up some more $$$!

[krygny]

Oh, that's the 3-D mode. You just need the glasses.

(Sorry, I don't mean to make lite of someone else's misfortune. Sometimes I just can't resist. )

[TheWorm]

Originally posted by labow


Dont you know that there is a countdown timer in every TV that kills it exactly one month after the warranty expires? Time to call your local authorized Sony repair center and pony up some more $$$!

That extra programming the delivery guy did should've been a dead giveaway.

Delivery guy: "Sir, it indicates here you purchased a 3 yr extended warranty, correct?"

Me: "Yea"

Delivery guy: (click click click enter). "OK, all set up!"

Repair guy comes tomorrow.

[TheWorm]

$hit. 3 estimates, all the same. ~$500 to replace a bad convergence circuit. I've now tried the "whack" technique without success. It wasn't a solder/connection issue as the guy checked the board.

Gotta think about this one. A comparable model (half the depth) is barely 2x more. Though I must say I am a bit leery of Sony after this. It is the first problem I've ever had in 15 yrs of Sony ownership, but still...

[hobbes]

Well, that blows...

You might check out the forums at www.hometheaterspot.com . They have a lot of good info. You might find some suggestions/options.

[tim.s]

Originally posted by labow
Dont you know that there is a countdown timer in every TV that kills it exactly one month after the warranty expires? Time to call your local authorized Sony repair center and pony up some more $$$!

Ha!

My wife's Dell laptop was 12 months and 10 days old when the hard drive failed. But we showed them! She had an extended warranty!

[bcclements]

Originally posted by TheWorm
$hit. 3 estimates, all the same. ~$500 to replace a bad convergence circuit. I've now tried the "whack" technique without success. It wasn't a solder/connection issue as the guy checked the board.

Gotta think about this one. A comparable model (half the depth) is barely 2x more. Though I must say I am a bit leery of Sony after this. It is the first problem I've ever had in 15 yrs of Sony ownership, but still...

I used to think Sony was the best, but I have seen some unexpected Sony failures in the past few years. Like American cars, the other brands have caught up with better quality. (I believe Sony out sources now.)

If you model does is not a wide screen nor has an HDMI input for a digital source you are going to need to replace it anyway in a year or so. This is a tough decision as the current batch of digital sets are just starting to get good.

I would recommend Samsung if it were not for the non-user friendly remote. Perhaps look at Mitsubishi.

Good luck with your decision - I feel your pain.

[TheWorm]

Well, told TheWife about the repair estimates and the cost of a comparable Sony (or other) CRT-based RPTV replacement is in the $1299 neighborhood.

"Just get a new one. And you may as well get something better while you're at it." Wow. Little does she know that the $ will have to come out of her Nordstrom allowance

Anyway, I'm limited by wall space and an existing wall unit to something ~40" wide. Ideally, I'd like to get an LCD but the larger units are quite expensive and most >40" diagonal won't fit due to their case size. I don't think < 40" diagonal is a good idea as we're coming from a 4:3 43" display and I want comparable (or better) screen real estate.

I'm leaning toward a Samsung HLP4674W 46 Inch DLP-based rear projection set (description and specs here). 46" diagnonal and the case is 40" wide. It'd fit, and it seems the only downside of DLP vs an LCD rear projection is the possibility of a "rainbow effect" on whites, so I'll have to see if my (our) eyes pick that up. I think I'm done with CRT-based rear projections.

The unit looks great and has a lot of input jacks, but does lack a few nice features, including missing a CableCard slot (to get rid of a set top box), discrete selection of inputs (you have to cycle through them), and the latest 1080i/1080p LCD/DLP units (it's 720 or 788, but the 1080's are very expensive.

If anyone has any other suggestions of things to look for (DLP vs. LCD RPTV, flat LCD, plasma, key features, stretch-mode quality for 4:3 programs, or specific models) I'm all ears. I imagine I'll head to the stores this weekend and do some price-match surfing soon thereafter.

Thanks for all the advice...BTW, I use a Home Theater Master MX-500 universal remote and highly recommend it.

[labow]

Nice TV!

Curious though how you went from paying $500 for a repair to a new $3200 TV!!

How are you going to pass that one by TheWife?

[TheWorm]

Originally posted by labow
Nice TV!

Curious though how you went from paying $500 for a repair to a new $3200 TV!!

How are you going to pass that one by TheWife?

Like I said, sometimes she surprises me. She said to get a better one. But come to think of it, she's out of town and might've been doing some shopping of her own. Time to check her tracks at visa.com

I looked @ the TV this afternoon. Very nice unit. Unfortunately, I became enamoured with a Panasonic plasma and a Sharp LCD (45" I think). Too bad they're twice as much money. Wow.