Sony Grand WEGA KDS-50A2000 50 in. HDTV SXRD TV
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- Digital TV Standard: HDTV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 14:9
- Broadcast Format Displayed: 1080p (HDTV) 1080i (HDTV) 720p (HDTV) 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
- Weight: 75 lb.
- Projector Technology: SXRD
- Built-in Tuner: ATSC NTSC
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Great Picture Initially, Horrible Customer Service
Pros
Excellent picture, sharp design
Cons
Worst customer service ever. Picture quality deteriorated badly after nine months.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Technology is great, so if you want to take a chance on it lasting, get it. But be absolutely sure to get the extended warranty.
My family resisted buying Sony products for years, because while the technology was great, the products never lasted. We finally decided to go with Sony when buying a new TV, because the reviews were great for the KDS-50A2000. We got the TV in April 2006.
Initially, the TV did not disappoint. While I generally don't like the "hit the input button 8 times to get to the video option you want" feature many TVs have, there were no other complaints, and the picture was fantastic. Until now.
Around Thanksgiving, the screen started showing an ugly green vertical streak on the right side. It wasn't even a nice green, almost a Shrek-like green. It basically splotched all lighter images, so if a person's face appeared on the right side of the screen, he would look like an alien. It wasn't real noticeable until we watched football in HD; at that point, the blotches and streaks were obvious. It was the same no matter what input we used: DVD, VCR, DirecTV, same splotch. Since that time, the ugly green splotches and streaks have spread to the middle of the screen now, effectively covering half the screen.
We called Sony in early December. To say the customer service representative was less than sympathetic would be a horrible understatement. She was rude, uncaring, and frankly wanted to do nothing to help. Because there wasn't an official Sony repair center within 15 miles, she said there was nothing she could do. She even asked why we were even calling, since she did not consider a green splotch a very big deal. Even after explaining that we did not expect a $2,500 TV to have any flaws after 9 months, no less a fairly major picture flaw, she had no intention of servicing the product.
So we asked to speak to her supervisor, and she straightened out a little. I stress "a little." She finally took down our contact information and indicated that someone would call us back with service information. It has been 3 weeks since that call, and no response.
Fortunately, we invested in Best Buy's extended warranty, and they were far more helpful. Even when their normal service company told them they were swamped with service requests, Best Buy at least tried to find other service companies, and when they couldn't fulfill the request, they went back to the original company and told them about our predicament. So finally, a month after noticing the problem, a service rep is supposed to come in today and fix it.
Moral of the story-- great-looking product, but there is a reason that Sony is in big trouble.
***UPDATE***
So the repair tech came in. A major component blew out. However, he cannot get the part from Sony for at least a month. Best Buy has promised to see if they can get the part sooner, but I am not getting my hopes up. Unfortunately, this means that the college football games will not be a good experience.
Also, I have done a little research into the problem, and the issue is not unique to me:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=636342
http://www.breakitdownblog.com/2006/08/19/class-action-lawsuit-against-sony-for-green-haze-or-green-blob-sxrd-problem/
Initially, the TV did not disappoint. While I generally don't like the "hit the input button 8 times to get to the video option you want" feature many TVs have, there were no other complaints, and the picture was fantastic. Until now.
Around Thanksgiving, the screen started showing an ugly green vertical streak on the right side. It wasn't even a nice green, almost a Shrek-like green. It basically splotched all lighter images, so if a person's face appeared on the right side of the screen, he would look like an alien. It wasn't real noticeable until we watched football in HD; at that point, the blotches and streaks were obvious. It was the same no matter what input we used: DVD, VCR, DirecTV, same splotch. Since that time, the ugly green splotches and streaks have spread to the middle of the screen now, effectively covering half the screen.
We called Sony in early December. To say the customer service representative was less than sympathetic would be a horrible understatement. She was rude, uncaring, and frankly wanted to do nothing to help. Because there wasn't an official Sony repair center within 15 miles, she said there was nothing she could do. She even asked why we were even calling, since she did not consider a green splotch a very big deal. Even after explaining that we did not expect a $2,500 TV to have any flaws after 9 months, no less a fairly major picture flaw, she had no intention of servicing the product.
So we asked to speak to her supervisor, and she straightened out a little. I stress "a little." She finally took down our contact information and indicated that someone would call us back with service information. It has been 3 weeks since that call, and no response.
Fortunately, we invested in Best Buy's extended warranty, and they were far more helpful. Even when their normal service company told them they were swamped with service requests, Best Buy at least tried to find other service companies, and when they couldn't fulfill the request, they went back to the original company and told them about our predicament. So finally, a month after noticing the problem, a service rep is supposed to come in today and fix it.
Moral of the story-- great-looking product, but there is a reason that Sony is in big trouble.
***UPDATE***
So the repair tech came in. A major component blew out. However, he cannot get the part from Sony for at least a month. Best Buy has promised to see if they can get the part sooner, but I am not getting my hopes up. Unfortunately, this means that the college football games will not be a good experience.
Also, I have done a little research into the problem, and the issue is not unique to me:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=636342
http://www.breakitdownblog.com/2006/08/19/class-action-lawsuit-against-sony-for-green-haze-or-green-blob-sxrd-problem/
