Great picture...when it turns on
Written: Jan 13 '04 (Updated May 11 '04)
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Pros: Picture, features, size, weight & number of inputs
Cons: Product defects - I was burned with the too common startup defect.
The Bottom Line: Though the set is otherwise great, the common defect with powering on prevents me from recommending it. "Ease of Use" is terrible when the set fails to turn on!
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| scs0's Full Review: Sony Grand WEGA KF-60WE610 60 in. HDTV-Ready LCD T... |
This is an incredible, yet unacceptable, TV. It has a great picture, huge screen, rich features, surprisingly excellent speakers, a thin profile, and abundant input jacks. It's much cheaper than a plasma of the same size and LCD panels don't even come close to this size. This TV doesn't create a cloud of heat like a plasma set does. Many complain about black levels, but I do not notice this when real video is playing. The only time I notice is when the entire screen is black and the room is dark.
If you are used to standard CRT TV technology, the features on this set will blow you away. This set features the best picture-in-picture functionality I've ever seen; you can display 2 sources and even mix progressive & interlaced sources. You can adjust the sizes of the pictures so that both are approximately 34" or size them so that one is very small. You can easily toggle the audio from one pip to the other, but the only flaw is that you can only change the channel of the pip that's producing the audio. This TV also allows you to take snapshots of the screen which is very cool - you can finally read the fine print in those commercials!
Unfortunately none of these benefits matter if the set fails to turn on! My 1 month old TV fails to turn on much of the time and from what I read all of Sony's 3rd generation rear projection LCD models suffer this problem. What happens is after pressing the power button the set will produce a buzz noise, do nothing, make a few more buzz noises then blink an error LED on the front panel. I am currently in the beginning steps of the slow process of having my $3600 set repaired. I've been trying to get the set to turn on for 2 hours, eventually it will give in and work.
If you are considering buying this model I highly suggest that you wait at least 6 months so that Sony has plenty of time to fix this design flaw. Better yet, wait until the 4th generation of Grand Wegas are released (my guess 10/2004). If you must buy a rear projection immediately, buy the Grand Wega at your own risk. At least research the problems with this set on various audio / video newsgroups (Such as avsforum.com) and message boards so that you know what to expect. This start up problem is not rare by any means.
UPDATE:
It has been 10 days since my TV became largely operational and I still don't have a working set. After calling the authorized Sony repair center as suggested by Sony's customer support line, I had to wait a few days for pickup. Today it's been a week since that pickup and I receive a call from the service center stating that they are no longer an authorized Sony Repair Center and therefore cannot repair my set! They said they'd return my set unrepaired in another 2 days with documentation that I can give to my next repair center on the nature of the problem and what fix they should implement. I was furious. In an experiment I called the Sony customer service line with a bogus service question to see what repair center they'd recommend for me and they suggested the same one! I was even madder and I then spoke to a supervisor who was basically useless and only gave me the number of another service center and nothing more. He didn't even offer to save me time and grief by arranging to get the set transported from the current service center to the next.
I was really mad at this point so I obtained the number for Sony's corporate headquarters (ain't the Internet great?) and managed to get directed to the department that handles customer relations. I spoke to a person who seemed to appreciate my problem and actually got some action taken. She managed to find a real service center (different from the one suggested by tech support) and arranged for that new facility to pick up the set from the previous center. In other words, she was the first Sony representative to give a da*m. Not only did she direct me to the next step in the resolution, but she found a way to do it in the most convienent way for me and my fragile and massive TV set!
UPDATE 2:
Monday, February 2, 2004
Today is day 20 of my repair process. A week and a half passed after sending my set to the other center and I got a call (last Friday) saying that my TV was repaired and that it could be delivered. They setup an appointment between 2-4pm on Monday. Naturally all weekend I was looking forward to the big day (not that other "big day") and 2pm came today and I waited and waited. Finally it was 4:15 and no TV! I called up the service center and she suggested I call the driver. The driver did not have my TV on his schedule! He remembered the set and even said he saw it working in the morning. We arrange to have it delivered tomorrow, but he said "Can I put you on hold for a minute?" I said OK and the minute pass and no one comes back! I called their office again and she had no clue but forwarded me to another guy. This guy said that after they called on Friday the set started showing the same problem again and that they fixed it like Sony said to but it didn't work. They were going to have to order more modules which would arrive tomorrow or Wednesday. He didn't know why I wasn't called today about the delay but said that I should call back Wednesday or Thursday to get the status. By then I will have waited over 3 weeks to repair a set that I had only owned for little more than a month.
I now hate Sony with a burning passion.
UPDATE 3:
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
It's been 28 days since my set was taken for repair and I still don't have my TV. What is going on Sony?
UPDATE 4:
Friday, February 13, 2004
After 12 days, Sony finally managed to send my repair center the part required to fix my TV. (Ever hear of FedEx Sony? Rumor has it they have this thing called overnight delivery) I was told that after the repair that they'll need a few more days to verify that the fix actually works.
UPDATE 5:
Friday, March 5, 2005
My set returned about 2 weeks ago and I think that was largely due to my being so vocal with Sony about getting this situation resolved. It took a total of 35 days and 4 hours but it came back and has turned on every single time without the failure. The set does sometimes make that buzz noise when starting, but the set has always started. I was told by Sony that I was going to get an extension to my warrenty but I haven't yet received those papers. The lesson I've learned from all of this is that Sony is willing to release a product with a widely known major defect and they care little about resolving issues in a timely manner. I'm sure I'll think of this whenever I consider buying another piece of electronic equipment. I doubt I will ever feel confident enough with Sony to ever buy another one of their products, especially a high-end product.
UPDATE 6:
Friday, April 30, 2004
The set is still working but I have had another minor issue appear. One night it just turned on for no reason, and another night it turned on again immedately after turning it off. These were minor issues.
I still haven't received my warrenty extension. Gee, thanks for the "wonderful" Customer Service Sony.
UPDATE 7:
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
The warrenty extension finally arrived after I called up to remind them that they had promised it to me.
The set is still starting to show signs of failure. It's begun failing to startup again! I know the set has read the request from the remote because it begins turning on then fails. This is exactly like how the problem began last time. The set sometimes refuses to turn off - I pressed the power button to turn off and the set went black then a few seconds later the video popped back up. I turned it off again and again the video turned off only for it to turn back on after a few seconds. It took 3 attempts for this nearly $4000 set to turn off. Since I'm complaining, let me mention the annoyance of the set's power button because it generally gets stuck when pressed since the last repair.
I called Sony support and was quickly told that I was supposed to go through Sears (the place I bought it) for repair! THAT'S NEWS TO ME! You'd think SOMEONE would have told that to me the last time! I really hate Sony. What a piece of s*^%&^ company it is.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 3600
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Epinions.com ID:
scs0
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
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