Sony KDL 40HX723 - backlight bleed issues?

[Puma937]

I've just returned an 10 week old EX723 that had a banding issue and managed to upgrade to the HX723 at no extra cost. John Lewis have been fantastic about the whole issue.

BUT after having the HX for only 5 days.......the backlight bleed is twice as bad on the HX, although no banding is visible. The production date of the TV is 11/2011 and I have updated the firmware.

When adjusting the settings I didn't notice any backlight bleed, but I decided to sample the online 3D content to compare performance against the EX. The improvement was great, but wearing the 3D glasses the bleed was really noticeable.

Off centre it really is quite bad on a black background - with corner and centre 'torchlights'.

I've tried tinkering with the settings as I've read that people who have it try to reduce the effect by lowering backlight level, but to me it's a fault that limits usability of backlight function and far as I know is not meant to be used as a screen fault corrector. Image shown below........

Should I return the set for a replacment OR is this somehing that SONY and most users accept as a trait of edge lit LED/LCD?

On a side note, what has happened to Sony's Quality Control - backlight bleed, banding issues, poor 3D, PSN hacking .........have they dropped the ball again? Get your act together Sony, before you lose another loyal customer.

[flogger12345]

Looks like a hardware issue to me. Have you contacted support and I hope this is still under warranty. Usually its 1 year I think.

[Gruntfuttocks]

Hi,

I have this TV but it doesn't seem to sufer from bleed. It does however have issues with slightly uneven LED backlighting. This is a feature od all LED lit serts to some degree and is fairly minimal on my set. I note that the 1st generation of LED TV's were fairly bad for this issue but this one is much better. I would rather they fix the issues with the Freeview HD tuner to be honest (1080i/p switching problem).

So yes, to answer your second question, Sony have lost the plot regarding QC. The technique now used seems to be 'let the customer reject the TV if he is not happy'. If they do not fix the 1080i/p switching issue soon I will be replacing mine with a non-Sony TV.

[Puma937]

I've only had the TV 5 days

[Bravia55HX]

Hi,

since you only had the set five days i wonder if your relying on the settings "out of the box", perhaps you could try calibrating the set first before you dismiss it as faulty, out of the box settings usually mean the set is dialled right up on contrast, brightness, etc. which is probably why you are experiencing high levels of backlight bleed.

[Puma937]

Im certainly not using the Vivid (shop floor, why on earth) settings

I started by using a combination of my previous EX723 settings and those posted on AV forums for the HX723, although there aren't many recommended settings listed. Im very happy with the picture, but the uniformity issues for what was a £1300 TV at release are unacceptable.

[Bravia55HX]

Hi,

If your still not happy i would suggest you return for a replacement or refund, perhaps even view the replacement in store to be sure your happy with it.

[65hx923_cust11]

My advice would be to return as soon as possible. Sony has an agreement with the sellers to take the TV back within seven days. Sony support will always tell you that the TV is within specifications, they lie to their customers and will try to fob you off just to get you outside whichever time frame they stipulate. I bought a 65HX923, top of the line flagship, and it is appalling that after 4500 pounds this TV is not up to scratch. The screen has a darker line in the very centre and a white band almost in the centre. If you delay a second you might stuck with a faulty TV and deaf ears from Sony. I bought my TV from a Sony Centre which is in administration and then only solution I have at the moment is disputing the problem with my credit card to try to get my money back. I have always bought Sony but no anymore, paying premium prices for faulty products.

[cruiser35]

i've had the 40HX723 for about 4 weeks now. bought from an independent sony center with 5year extended warranty. (dec 2011 panel)

i'm happy with the picture. my only small gripe is bit of 'spotlighting' in the bottom left corner of the screen, only on dark scenes or where there is black bars in the film

i've pretty much decided to live with it because i believe there is worse out there, ie spotlighting all round maybe.

is this the sort of thing that will be targeted with firmware updates?

does anyone have settings that elimited this or minimised it

this picture has actually been enhanced in iphoto because the lighting wouldnt show up. bleed or uniformity is not a problem (even though it may look it) only thing visible is the bottom left corner.

(sorry the blue channel was the only one i could get with an image and black screen :smileyblush::smileylaugh: i'll try get a better shot

Message was edited by: cruiser35

[tjlazer]

This light shining in the corner is EXACTLY what is wrong with my TV. I am currently on my second set and am about to return this one due to all four corners exhibiting this unacceptable defect! On top of this, the TV doesn't even sit level in its stand! I have always bought Sony products (it sits on g550 stand which can no longer produce anything but 2.0 thanks to this TV) but am really dissapointed with this effort. I am going to have one more go with a third delivery but don't hold out much hope for a successful outcome. Now i am reading about HD TV issues!! Raise your game Sony.