5O inch Sony Bravia Problem any advice ?

Sugerraysarah

Hi Guys , and Girls

first time poster on this forum , my poor dad bought a 50inch Sony bravia TV , last year he bought it for over 2 grand and saved like mad to get it , over the last 3 months we have noticed his (Pride and Joy) Sony bravia getting really dark , as in picture quality he has tried to fix this by using the setting etc but it has not done anything at all

we have been told lately by a friend that it might need some kind of built in lamp but to be honest Dad and myself are completely clueless about what is needed and its getting him really down , nobody seems to know what to do any there does not seem anybody fixing tv anymore .

We rang up the Sony shop in Dublin and the assistant was speaking jargon about ordering it on Ebay ? and he didnt really have any solutions bar buying a new Sony television and telling my dad he would have to fit a lamp himself in the television ( I checked the back this TV seems to have thousand screws)

If anbody has any advice I would be very very grateful , Sorry if this is very long , but my dad is now considering just letting it go dark graceful and getting rid of it , the warranty is now up also

maybe somebody has had a similar problem and found a solution , otherwise its a great tv and has had great picture quality well it did up to 3 months ago

The model is Sony Bravia KDF50E2010 , for what its worth and 2.7 pix I think well whatever that means

thanks

Sarah

The Ritz

Sarah,

Hi and welcome to the HE Forum.

The TV you mention in your query is different to the older type TVs with the glass screen (CRT TVs) or the usual flat screens you see now (LCD or Plasma screens) - your TV is what's known as a Rear Projection TV - it;s effectively like having the internals of a projector (like the ones used in offices for Powerpoint etc) inside the TV, projecting on the the inside of the screen that you look at.

The dimness could be down to the lamp losing its brightness - this happens over time and the solution is to fit a new lamp. I suspect that this is what the person in the shop was trying to tell you. older mini LCD panels used in projectors are also prone to deteriorate (I won't go into the whys and wherefores) and become discoloured, which can badly affect the picture but I couldn't say if this is a problem without seeing it.

Your Dad has a choice, he can buy a replacement lamp and fit it, this should restore the TV's brighthness provided there's no other problems, or let it pass away peacefully and replace it with a new TV - the newer LCD or Plasma TVs are highly unlikely to suffer the same fate, they work in a different way, if that's any consolation to him. If he does want to replace the lamp, you can buy one here: http://www.aandcaudio.co.uk/sony-kdf-50e2010-projector-lamp-p105297 or from an eBay seller specialsing in these lamps here: http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-Sony-XL-2400-Rear-Projection-TV-Lamp-KDF50E2010_W0QQitemZ270435046156QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item3ef72f530c&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

I have no experience of dealing with either of these, I just found it using Google, but the prices are not bad for a projector lamp.

You should note that the lamp only lasts for about 2000 hours - this is not a lot if a TV is used in the normal way from day to day, so you'd need another replacement lamp in about the same length of time again.

The instructions for replacing the lamp should be in the user manual that came with the TV. If you've lost the manual, you can find an online copy here: http://www.manualsmania.com/download.php?link=b785491c22ab607277fb295df6d16b5e5d628ef4, instructions for replacing the lamp are on page 33.

I just want to mention one other thing - is the TV used in a smokey atmosphere ? These types of TVs usually have filters etc which need to be changed from time to time but cigarette smoke really makes an awful mess of the inside of projection devices and can make the picture seem very dim as well as damaging the tecnical bits permanently.

Good luck,

Ritz.

byte

I think The Ritz has pretty well covered it - good post.

The bulb shouldn't be too hard to change, there's an access panel on one side of the TV.

Sugerraysarah

Thank you guys very much especially for your reply , especially Ritz I didnt think anybody would reply and I am very grateful , I will show this to my dad and take some action

this is a great site and I always check it out for all kinds of help now i know why thanks again Ritz

hugs and kisses

sarah

The Ritz

No prob, that's a fairly unusual TV so it's not a issue which would crop up very often. Let us know how you get on, oe way or the other.

All the best,

Ritz.