KDL55 A1 screen patch

[lgcebr]

I have had this OLED  TV about 3 years and am always careful about screen burn, not leaving it on the same screen for long.  I also do the screen refresh procedure when the TV requests it.  The TV has been superb.

In recent months I have spotted that some faces showing in a particular part of the screen have a green tinge to them.  When there is a completely red screen you can clearly see that a patch maybe 5cm by 8cm does not have all of the red firing.  The red on that patch is not so intense.  This is in the midway across the screen about one third down so nowhere where on-screen graphics would show and possibly cause a problem over time.  It is also a roughly oval patch bearing no relation to anything that appears on the screen images.

A screen refresh didn’t solve it and, although I have a 5 year guarantee, I am not keen to send it off for screen repair or replacement.  In everyday use it just means that any faces which appear in that zone have a green shade.  It seems to mainly affect skin tones because  other images don’t have such a noticeable,shading.

Does anyone know what causes this?  We bought the OLED TV after 2 previous Sony LED TVs completely failed electronically (not screen related) and it was their “premium” screen at the time.

Any advice gratefully received as we are getting less and less impressed by Sony’s TVs!

[lgcebr]

[lgcebr]

The red screen in the image shows a patch where the OLED screen colour is not even.  This is not of a shape or in a position where on-screen graphics could have caused damage.  When viewing TV from any source - external, TV tuner or apps - the green colour shade shows.  This shows it is a fault in the panel.   This is especially noticeable in faces in the faulty zone.  When a face moves across the screen it goes from normal skin tones to greenish then back again to normal.

[rooobb]

The image shows a panel that was burnt seen often associated with news presenter always in the centre of the screen. Don't know if this is what you normally watch and for how long but since you have a warranty I do not know what you are waiting for. Just as a possible cause you didn't specify it the tv was always plugged to power when not in use.

[lgcebr]

Thanks.  I didn’t know that a newsreader’s face could cause burn in.  I thought it was just static things like tickers, logos etc.   Your comment is helpful.  We don’t watch news channels for prolonged periods and leave the screen off in standby when not watched.
You mention leaving the TV plugged in to a power source - when not watched it is on standby with the screen off.  Does this have an effect too?

I have contacted Sony and sent screenshots at their request.  As the TV is just under 3 years old I’m hoping it will be covered by the 5 year guarantee!

I am really grateful for your reply

[rooobb]

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@lgcebr  ha scritto:

You mention leaving the TV plugged in to a power source - when not watched it is on standby with the screen off.  Does this have an effect too?

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Yes, every 4 hours of use the TV cleans automatically the OLED screen to prevent retention and burn in. Let us know what they say since I have the very same tv bought on October 2017 . Never heard till now any burn in effect apart few faulty panels that developed a regular square in the middle after the first panel refresh (and that could be fixed without even changing the panel)

[lgcebr]

OK progress report - and it’s not good!

Spoke to a Level 1 Sony customer support agent who took 90 seconds to tell me that I was to blame for the damage (!) and that my warranty was void (!).  It turns out that she was not entitled as a level 1 agent to make that judgment. A judgement she could not justify or explain by the way given that the patch isn’t where static images usually show.

Spoke to a manager who was aggressive  and rude but did admit that the level 1 agent should not have told us what she did.  Unfortunately he failed to understand that it looked like Sony  was trying to block us pursuing a warranty claim by making an unauthorised judgment within 90 seconds.

The manager told me there is no complaints process - unusual for any company - and so I have tried to put a complaint in to the listed European CEO.  We’ll see if I get a reply.

In the meantime two separate specialist U.K. retailers have told us this is a known issue and that it should be covered by warranty in their experience.

To be honest I am disgusted by the Sony Support Centre - they didn’t need to get aggressive when I questioned a warranty refusal they had already admitted was unauthorised!

Will report back if the European operation responds - if not it’s an independent assessment of the panel fault and an independent review of some sort.

[lgcebr]

An update:  I was told yesterday a Manager would phone me today from the Cairo Customer Support team.  I waited 8 hours all day and ...... no call.  I think that really sums up the Sony call centre.  Unreliable.

What has happened to Sony?  It used to be a reputable, reliable, quality company.

Apparently the Customer Support team have a separate team which you can contact with a complaint if things go wrong.... but customers can’t contact it!

I’m not giving up.  We pushed  the boat out to get the A1 TV and deserve something that works properly.

Have just sent a Special Delivery letter to Rick Londema at the registered Sony address.

Will keep you posted on developments.

[rooobb]

@lgcebr I've escalated this thread to Sony, let's see if they can help

[lgcebr]

Thanks rooob.  I appreciate you doing this.

Before the call centre closed for the day I called to ask why the promised manager call hadn’t taken place Within the promised 24 hours and suddenly the Level 1 agent said Sony would replace my A1 with an equivalent ‘factory refurbished” current model.

This was a sudden unexpected turnaround!

Two Sony agents in the past two days have stated that there is a known issue with their OLED panels and this defect Developing over time.  Two independent, experienced TV engineers have also said they have seen it too.

So the only thing stopping me accepting this replacement is how old a “factory refurbished” TV might be.  If,as Sony agents have now said, thus problem appears over time we would rather have a new replacement or one which hasn’t gone too far down the time to faults appearing.  I certainly don’t want to be dealing with Sony Support in 18 months or so - or in fact ever again if I can help it. 

I have emailed the agent asking him to clarify the age of the refurbished replacement he suggested but I have had no reply as yet.

If I can get reassurances I will accept the offer which Sony’s Level 1 agent has just put in writing in an email.

We’ll see what the reply is but several things concern me about Sony as a result of my experience.

1). There is zero consistency - with an agent yesterday saying I had caused the defect but today another offering a replacement.  It all depends on who you speak to.

3). Managers don’t listen to customer experiences so the service can not improve over time.

3) They, unlike most reputable companies, don’t have a complaints procedure available to customers if things go wrong or staff behave unacceptably.  This leaves some staff (2 out of the 5 I have dealt with) able to act unprofessionally safe in the knowledge they are totally  unaccountable.  I don’t accept being shouted at over the phone!  That’s abusing customers Sony has already failed.

4). Managers failing to make promised callbacks just increases the feel that the call centre had no standards and is unmonitored and unsupervised by senior managers.
It simply damages Sony’s reputation by not being fit for purpose.

So if Sony honours its replacement offer with an acceptable TV this might yet have a happy ending.  I just don’t want a refurbished TV with its OLED half way through its life and already on the way to developing defects.

Ideally I would prefer a new TV - and I know that’s a stretch - but it would give us a decent reasonable lifespan  of trouble free viewing for the several grand we paid just under three years ago.

Fingers crossed!