Hey thank you for putting this info on your site. I have already had Best Buy to replace my KDSR50XBR1 hdtv once already and I am starting to have the same problem. Bottom right corner has Yellow stains all around the corner. I have already called Best Buy and all they are doing is sending me to the same TV repair outfit again. The first time I had no TV for four to five weeks until I went off on Best Buy and they replaced it. Know what do I do go off again and get the same tv back and have the same problem later on. Do you know where I can get more info on Lawsuit?

I bought one in june 07, the next week i returned it and bought pioneer elite. No comparission.

i just purchased a sony sxrd50…. . after reading your article about sony’s optical block issue and lawsuit, and that toshiba is pulling out of the dlp market, should i keep my set or return it. i still have two weeks to return it.
thanks,
larry

Up to you,  BTW Toshiba will be supplying parts and service on its rear projectors for years and its closeout have some outstanding low prices.

The HD Guru 

I bought the xbr50 1.5 years ago. I have always noticed the lower right has a noticeable yellow tinge when the screen is colored white. Is this the optical issue?
I’m searching the forums because today the TV won’t turn on. The green lamp blinks then goes steady green, a picture with sound appears then the TV switches off. The power lamp flashes red.
Very poor performance for a 18 month old TV costing $2,000

HEY CHUCK HERE IS THE SITE FOR MORE INFO ON SONY LAW SUIT http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/5135

Our 2 year old 60XBR1 recently experienced the same latent fault - right side yellow staining, eventual shut down w/ the red flash error code. Called problem in 10 days ago. The Optical Block (OB) will be replaced, under warranty, tomorrow. I’ll be curious to see if the new OB has the same part number. Can anyone confirm if the replacement OBs contain a redesign to correct the root cause or am I just buying time until the new OB begins to break down as well? Based on all the blogs I’ve read several folks are now on their third OB and now there are over 200K sets affected. I felt we did alot of research on this set a few years ago. First the undisclosed 1080 input limitation and now this fiasco.

My Sony KDS-R50XBR1 has a washed out image in the upper left side of the screen(almost the shape of a face). When direct sunlight is shining on the screen you can see it even when the tv is off. When the tv is on the colors appear washed out in this particular area, at night you don’t notice any defects.I feel that the light is being refracted causing this issue.It’s at a SONY dealer and they think this is normal.When I spent the big bucks they said a room with this type of sun should not effect the quality……….Ever hear of this one?

My Sony KDS-R50XBR1 has a washed out image in the upper left side of the screen(almost the shape of a face). When direct sunlight is shining on the screen you can see it even when the tv is off. When the tv is on the colors appear washed out in this particular area, at night you don’t notice any defects.I feel that the light is being refracted causing this issue.It’s at a SONY dealer and they think this is normal.When I spent the big bucks they said a room with this type of sun should not effect the quality……….Ever hear of this one?

I have a KDSR50XBR1 50″ bought 6/17/2006. I’ve getting this yellow tint,it discolor’s the flesh tones,when I bought this it was perfect I never had to adjust any thing. Calles Sony,they gave me a service center number,I called and it was over 200 miles away,they won’t travel that far.Called Sony back,gave a Sears number,I called them they want over 100.00 just to come out.I don’t think so.I do have a 5yr warranty from ABC Warehouse,guess I will use that.Sony sent me a customer survey,I told them I would never buy another Sony Product. Good luck to all that have this problem!

I purchased the first Sony SXRD 50A2000 in San Antonio, purchase date August 2006. This model in the past few weeks has developed the yellow/green staining in the bottom right corner. I have been unable to find any information as to whether Sony intends to cover this model series. If anyone has any information I would greatly appreciate it. This might be the next wave of issues. Looks like all their HD rear projection tv’s are failing.

I bought my Sony SXRD 50″ back in January 2006. I purchased the extended warrranty from Circuit City. After I started having the yellowing problem I called their repair people (1-800-firedog) & set up a date for them to come out & take a look at it. About 1/2 hr later one of their techs called me back & after telling him the trouble he said they know about this problem. I gave him the serial # of the set, they had someone out in just over a week to fix it. They said the have not had any trouble with this problem after installing the new improve part. The picture looks great. Time will tell.

Sony customer service need a new “optical” change. They seem not to worry about the customers anymore. I back the lawsuit 110% and hope Sony replaces my TV with Panasonic (yea right)

I HAVE A SONY SXRD SET PURCHASED APRIL 2006 AND THE GREEN YELLOW TINT HAS APPEARED,ACTUALLY IT APPEARED 1 MONTH AGO BUT TECH.HELP WOULD RUN ME THROUGH POWER RESETS AND HDMI RESETS AND THE PROBLEM WAS STILL THERE,NOW I AM WAITING FOR SERVICE WHICH HAS TOLD ME THEY DON’T SERVICE MY AREA,RURAL,SO SONY REP.WILL BE CONTACTING ME WITHIN 3 DAYS I WILL REPORT OUTCOME,I AM IN LAWSUIT
AND WILL BE PATIENT IF THIS ISSUE IS RESOLVED.

YOU NEED YOUR OPTICAL BLOCK REPLACED JUAN..IT IS DEFECTIVE AND SONY KNOWS IT.. THEY ARE BEING SUE IN A CLASS ACTION SUIT OVER THE GREEN TINT ISSUE..
THEY MUST REPLACE IT FREE AND THE WARRANTY EXTENDS TO OCT 2009…(FOR THAT PROBLEM) I THNK IT SHOULD BE LONGER…IF IT BREAKS DOWN TWICE THEY WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THE SET!!

I purchased my SXRD 50″ in Dec of 05. We thought
the problem was a bad lamp until we received
email fron Sony notifying of the class action
suit. Called Sony warranty and they verified that
it was optical block problem. Yellow and green
tint all across the picture. Sony gave us a local
video shop that immediately ordered the block and
will be out in just a few days. They said there would be “no charge”. It is approx. a $1000 fix
without warranty per this shop. Hope the new optical block is a long term fix. Have never had
problems with Sony products before. Pretty sad for
a high buck set like this!

I PURCHASED A SONY LCD HD TV MODEL#42-WE655 ON 2-10-05. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. DO NOT BUY THIS TV. THE LAMP BLOWS OUT TWICE A YEAR AND COST $200 EACH TIME TO REPLACE THE LAMP. WHEN I CALLED SONY TO SEE IF SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG WITH THE TV. CUSTOMER SERVICE REPLIED THAT YOU HAVE TO LIMIT THE TIME THE SET IS ON . THIS IS INSANE AND IF THIS IS SO WHY WAS’NT WE TOLD ABOUT THE TIME LIMIT AT PURCHASE? WHY WOULD ANYONE PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS NOT TO TV OR PAY AN EXTRA $400 A TO WATCH TV. SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR SOMETHING YOU CAN ENJOY NOT A SONY.

I purchased the kds 60″ in dec 2005. I have never been satisfied w/this tv. Most of the hd chanels (as few as there were at the time) were pretty good, however, the hue colors have always been off in my opinion no matter how I adusted it and believe me I spent a lot of time on it. I was trying to return it to Sears around christmas and after numerous time being put on hold. I decided to keep it thinking that it is because it is hd and eventually all others stations would be good. I have always had a green hue, no matter how it was adjusted, however it became really bad, not being able to see true black colors. I contacted sony last week who gave me a tv repair shop number. The tv was fixed free of charge and the black color has returned right. I still am not happy with all of the colors however and wished with all my heart I would have returned. One thing the people who set it up, took the box and there would have been a charge for not having it. Long story short (too late) I wished I would have returned it and bought something else. I paid $5000.00 for it.

my SXRD 50 sony is about 14 months old has total green picture people are green everything is. paid 2,999.00 at circut city optical block is out also tv was turning itself on and off by its self every 30 minutes bulb going out,called circut city have warranty with them, guy comes out after 10 days tells me what i have already read here 25 days later there going to be here tomorrow to repair using refurbished parts,circut city said that i should have read my fine print on contract when i bought tv well long story made short i told her i did and also it states that i have to be satified when service is over well i will never be with this tv not until they replace it with a lcd i will make there days a living nightmare until i die or someone at there service center does of a heart attack if every body on this page would stand up for there consumer rights and make them replace these tvs maybe sony and the rest of them would think twice about selling junk to us.Just like several retail stores are still selling these junk piles and telling me theres no problems with them ,i have been threw out of stores over this issue and do call sony everydayyyyyyyyyyyy.

I’ve had the Sony KDS-R50XBR1 for about a year,had lamp replaced 4months ago,optical block replaced 4 weeks ago,and now the picture is noticably less sharp and washed out in high def.the tech i called said block replacement should have resolved any picture issues and i should call my local service rep. I think i’ll have to wait for law suit to resolve if they just keep putting faulty parts in and not living up to their quality standards. VERY diapointed with sony and am probably never buying sony again.Wish i hadnt bought a playstation 3 and got a xbox 360 with highdef dvd if my blue rays arent going to look high def anyway!

I’ve had the Sony KDS-R60XBR1 for two years,had lamp and optical block replaced a week ago. The colors have been corrected but the picture is no where near what it was. HD is now fuzzy and SD looks even worse. I have a second call in to double check the OB. Has anyone else had the same problem? This was a $4500 TV two years ago. What a waste. I would never have thought this of Sony.

Bought my 60″ sxrd br1 dec of 2005 ($6000 cdn) - started getting a yellow/green tinge over the whoke screen about a month ago (about 6000 hrs of use). Figured it was the bulb. Had to order bulb from the states (canadian customer - Toronto) Bulb didn’t correct the problem. Guess it’s the OB. I hope Sony Canada will abide by the US class action suit findings.

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Yep, me too. I bought my TV about 2 years ago for about 4200 dollars. It started to change to a green tent in about 8 months, it wasn’t bad just noticeable. I started to notice when it got bad blocks of the screen where getting greener and yellow. Finally the light above the lamp marker near the power button was blinking and the screen went blank. So, i called Sony and Sound Advice/Tweeter(where I bought it) and they both said i need to order a lamp. So i did for 250 dollars. Well the lamp was installed and still no screen and the light continues to flash. Sony made no mention of this extended warrantee now that i see that everyone who bought this TV has the same exact PROBLEM. From the looks of it do not waste your time fixing it. They are sending the same old part that went bad in the first place and you will be right back where you left off in another year. Demand a new TV and if you still have the in store warrantee demand a new TV there. If there is a class action for our money back I am game.

Is there any news on a class action for this case?

I’ve had the KDSR60XBR1 for about 1.5 years now and unlike most here, I have LOVED it. A really great picture with sharp lines on DirectTV HD. …. However I had to replace the lamp 2 months ago and now I’ve got (ewww) >>…

I have had my 50″ xbr for since December of 2005. About 3 months ago it started showing a green hue from the center of the screen all the way to the right side. I had the lamp changed and there was no improvement. I can’t believe that so many people are having the same problem. I’m going to make Sony aware of the problem and see what they do about it! I will post the outcome.

I have had the KDS-R60BXR1 for almost 2 years and I have had nothing but problems (not to self…invest in the extended service plan). I have lost a total of about 4 months of viewing with this TV because of service problems (2 months when I first bought it and now). First, I had to deal with the dreaded optical block problem, which took 6 weeks to fix due to backorders. Secondly; the TV’s picture started degrading which resulted in the lamp blowing out, which i was told should have happened sooner since we use the TV roughly 16 hours per week. Now, the lamp light keeps blinking four times and the TV does not turn on. The recommendation on the internet and sony (power off, unplug, wait, plug in, yada yada) only works some of the time. Sony says this is a problem unrelated to the Optical issue and I will have to get someone to service the TV again. I called several authorized service centers. Each one informed me that this too is a known issue related either a fan malfunction or some type of electrical part issue. Either one would cost roughly $800-1,200 to fix. This is nuts. Another class-action lawsuit should be filed.

[…] Original post by unknown […]

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I have a KDS-R50XBR1 with a picture that has a green tint to it everywhere. Do you think this is a potential optical block problem. I called the repair person in my area to see if my set is covered in the extended warranty. He said it depends on the serial number. That is 9014247. He hasn’t called back yet but I would like to know your thoughts.

Thank you

Jeff,

It sounds like you are having the same problem with the optical block as many have. The green tint is a big sign. I don’t know when you purchased it, but Sony will replace without being under warranty due to the high volumn of tv’s with this problem. I suggest calling Sony as I did and telling them the problem, they gave me some Sony tv repair numbers and they checked it out and fixed it free as they should!

after 8 month they replaced the optical block on my xbr1 60 9 months later first colors washed out and tv went blank stand by bulb flashes 4 times

Does anyone know if the same company makes these Optical blocks for Sony and Hitachi since both seem to have the same yellow splotch problem?

I bought the KDS-R50XBR in January of 2006. In the past month, the color in the center started to go yellow. The service man came and took one look and said he would be back in a few days with a new part. He came yesterday and replaced the optical block and the set is back to its great picture.

Sony’s website shows the class action lawsuit has been settled and the warranty on the optical block has been extended to June 30, 2009.
Check esupport.sony.com for details.

this is the best part. i have the xbr2 this is the improved optical block that they are using to fix the xbr1’s with. and GUESS WHAT!!!!!! AFTER 18 MONTHS OF USAGE MY XBR2 HAS A GREEN AND YELLOWISH TINT ON THE SCREEN AND ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO GOT YOUR TV’S REPAIRED ARE GOING TO HAVE IT REPAIRED AGAIN BECAUSE THE XBR2 HAS THE SAME PROBLEM AS THE XBR1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is the best part. i have the xbr2 this is the improved optical block that they are using to fix the xbr1’s with. and GUESS WHAT!!!!!! AFTER 18 MONTHS OF USAGE MY XBR2 HAS A GREEN AND YELLOWISH TINT ON THE SCREEN AND ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO GOT YOUR TV’S REPAIRED ARE GOING TO HAVE IT REPAIRED AGAIN BECAUSE THE XBR2 HAS THE SAME PROBLEM AS THE XBR1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought my KDS-R60XBR1 back in Feb 2006. About 18months later my screen started having a green tint around the screen. Luckly they had that extended warranty on the optical block cause that’s exactly what it was. A tech came out within the week and changed it out. The picture looked great after the change out, but now my freaken TV doesn’t turn on. The green light will blink for about 100 times and then blinks red. Can someone tell me what the problem might be? Do I need to change out the lamp.

Been there done that….My OB & fans were replaced on my KDS-R50XBR1 after 24+ months running.Looks great now but WHAT IF? From what I’ve read I think I will keep my xtended warranty (ends 1/2010),even though Sony has xtended OB warranty to 06/09 and offered consumers cash reimbursement paid for any warranty plans.(If I cash in now, I’ll be going 6 months on my own!) I can’t say that there have been any product improvements on the OB to prevent failure reoccurance. (at least from what I read here)
Would appreciate any comments

I had my OB replaced about 9mo ago. The yellow had creeped to the entire screen.
Now I have a yellowish round blob in the upper left quadrant. Not too bad though.

My real issue is 1080P. I can’t seem to get 1080P from my PS3 with HDMI cable.
Is this possibly a related issue?
Or am I missing something somewhere?(I’d prefer this one as it’s quicker and easier to fix me! )

My Sony SXRD KDSX50-XBR1 was purchased in Jan 2006, I have yet to experience any of the yellow tint or other noted color issues, however, whenI turn on the TV 7 out of 10 times, the entire screen is bright green, to correct the problem and get the picture on I have to scroll thru the programmed channels (Video 1, Video 2, Aux, ect) back to the setting of my HD DVR box. Does this have anything to do with the Optical Block? Im getting curious because I see the extension on the warranty of this TV is nearing its end. If anyone can relate or knows what I am talking about Please let me know what you think. Thank You in advance for your help.

Jason,
Don’t hesitate to call Sony. Otherwise, it will be too late. I had the optical block replaced twice. It corrected the yellow tint across the bottom of the screen. But new ones had pink tint in the middle. I did’ny want a third optical block so Sony replaced my TV for a 52XBR5 for 1/3 the retail price. Now, I’m happy with the new XBR5. And, oh by the way, the old 50XBR1 Sony said I can keep it if I send them the model and serial number tag. So I did and after calibrating it and tweaking the old SXRD, the pink tint is barely noticeable. It now resides in the bedroom. So, Jason go for it call Sony and be persistent.

Is there a place to purchase the fan on the kds-r50xbr1 ?

ortsac, thanks for the advise. I have an appointment set up for next week for someone to come out and diagnose the TV. I was a little annoyed when the guy told me that there was a fee for the evaluation and he didnt know how much it was. Oh well, we will see what happens. Thanks again.

Just had full credit given by Best Buy for the replacement of my SXRD 60. Luckily I brought the extended warranty and Best Buy cough up the full amount that I paid for the TV towards purchase of new TV. I had the optic bloc replaced twice in 2 years of ownership and the bulb once. This TV is truly a piece of junk. What a great picture that only last a few months.

Ok, so for starters, I bought my 60xbr1 late 2006, from Best Buy in Fresno which I was sold on the idea that I get what I pay for, buy the best, most reliable and dependable, 1080P, perfect match for the new BluRay or PS3, SONY WEGA XBR!! Now, thinking that after I bought this TV, it would be a while before I could afford a PS3 or BluRay player but I had bigger plan in store and the TV was the first step. I already owned a Sony 7.1 digital receiver, DVD recorder, DVD Carousel player and VCR as my living room component system with all Sony speakers to top it off.
After a couple months of ownership, I noticed the green haze at the bottom right of my screen. I had gone into Best Buy where I bought the TV and inquired on the green haze and the tech support (geek squad, as they say) said to try maneuvering my A/V equipment and maybe that was interfering with my TV. SO, I did that and trying to run all my wiring around the TV as to try to stay as far away from any A/V cords and such. This of course didn’t have any effect. Thinking that this was somehow my doing, I lived with it until I called Sony and of course, we were just outside of our warranty for them to do anything and they said they could send someone out at my cost. Again, I called Best Buy and their response was that I should have bought the extended warranty and that they could send someone out at my cost. Also, I had a problem with the TV where it would shut off when it wanted to and that it would flash a red stand by light 4 times whenever it wanted. Some days the TV worked fine and once in a while the TV would not turn on at all. Now, after getting the bad news that Sony and Best Buy would not stand behind what they sold to me, I resorted to a local TV repairman who said, “Oh yea, I’ve worked on a few of these already, it’s gonna cost over a thousand dollars to fix it and I would recommend just replacing the TV. Oh, and by the way, the PS3 and the BluRay player will not work with this TV as it will only receive a 1080i signal”. After hearing this, I was appalled, I felt so duped into buying this $4000 piece of Sony, I just could not believe it. He also told me that the bulb for this TV will go out earlier than what Sony sold us on as well and it will cost $250 to replace so plan on it. After this, I went ahead and bought a Vizio that is built right here in the USA, in SoCal no less. I mounted this in our bedroom as a back up for when the Sony would fail. The TV getting worse day by day, the green blob popping up all over the TV. Myself and my wife also called Best Buy and Sony and pleaded our case in the first part of this year. And once again, we were told that we should have bought the extended warranty and that they were not liable for anything. SO we lived with it up ’til May of this year when we moved to Galt and after 3 weeks here, the bulb went out, (big surprise, the repairman was right). We let the TV sit in the living room, disconnected, until I got a wild hair and searched the internet to find the answer and see if anyone else had the same problem and what the fix was if I could perform it on my own (I am an RV Technician by trade, I have worked on similar systems before). Not only did I find a website with inexpensive service manuals for anything imaginable, but I found this website as well as the website for the class action lawsuit. My wife and I again called Sony and Best Buy and this time, BestBuy said to talk to Sony about the lawsuit and that they were not involved with the lawsuit, and Sony said that we would have to fix the TV, bulb and other problems before they could diagnose the Optical Block and repair that problem as that is the only item in the lawsuit. Now, my b-day was a few weeks ago and my mom, feeling pity for me and my wife and our poor investment, went ahead and bought a new bulb for us to install in the TV. After I did this, the TV was clear, no blob, no haze, but I found out, with the help of my xbox 360, there is no such thing as 1080P on this TV. And in viewing the TV in HD 1080i, there were still artifacts from not being as clear a picture as what “Full 1080P HD” really is. I have seen what it is like when viewing things on my computer or on my friend’s Samsung that is Full HD 1080P. I can’t believe, I had even bought an upconvert DVD player a few months after I had bought this TV thinking that it was going to give me a better picture because I was dissatisfied with the results. And for Sony’s website to say that the TV upconverts to the native resolution… What a load of crap. Now, a few days after I replaced the bulb, the TV started showing the green haze at the bottom right of the screen, and the TV started shutting off again, even after I had cleaned the inside of the back of the TV where the service manual said that the fan is the issue and the TV may be overheating. In talking with a few consumers online here, I have found that the optical block is the overheating issue, this is causing the problem and now the wear and tear of the TV causing it to come up with more problems that will be in effect even if Sony replaces the OB. Has anyone been here before? What was Sony willing to do? What are my rights? I am so frustrated as to not be a Best Buy customer and nor have I bought anything Sony since finding Sony ducking and covering the first call to them. I would like to have the confidence to buy Sony again, but I am not so sure at this point. The first TV I bought was a Sony Wega (first gen. flat CRT screen) 32″ almost 10 years ago. It is still going strong. How could Sony do this to so many people? Make a product that will only last through some BS maneuvers of telling consumers that “we” hooked up something wrong and buying time until the product is out of warranty so consumers will be forced into buying a new product. Not very good PR if you ask me. By the way, put a $10 fan in behind the TV and the 4 flashes of red will be seldom, but it does come back. This should be included in the lawsuit as well…

My SXRD 55″ has operated flawlessly for the last 2 years, however today the TV clicked and the screen went black. I had noticed earlier in the day it seemed a bit darker than usual. I tried on and off and then got green light flashing on console. Retried and then red flashing. I am assuming this is the lamp. I have not noticed the green tinges on the screen everyone is talking about. Am I right on my diagnosis.

bought the 60 incher in jan 2006

great until june 2008

green tint

optical block replaced 3 days ago and now the picture is soft,fuzzy on hd and worst on regulas tv.

what a piece of sony ……

another class action lawsuit ???

I have had the green/yellow blob and have had the OB replaced. Then the off/on blinking stand-by light. 100 dollars just to tell me that its over heating, couldn’t tell me that over the phone. I found this sight, and lost my cool and threw the tv off of my porch. In the morning I will pick up the pieces and pay to have them shipped to sony headquarters. I will not get any of my money back, but watching that set explode was the only joy I got out of owning it. Not recomending this to everyone, but it helped me.

Ok, the 4 blinks come back every so often. The blasted fan has a hard time starting even if I have another fan blowing with it as well. I tap the side of the set, just to the side of the fan and it kicks on when I push the on button first. When I opened the back of the set up, the fan was clean, and the connections were good. I assume the fan is either weak or the power supply ballast is going out. The Sony repairman is going to be here Thursday and he will take care of the OB and take a look at the fan situation. I hope this fixes this TV for a while. My Vizio is top notch though, every once in a while as the set heats up, it will start to hum, but I move the set on the cantilever wall mount that I have connected to it and the humming stops until the next time it decides to do it. My buddy bought a Bravia LCD flat panel with 1080P and it sucks. Not near as quality as my Vizio Plasma that simply displays in 1080I. I just don’t understand how Sony execs are thinking. When the quality slips and you are just selling a name, sooner than later, people get the idea and start buying other brands. I am sad to say that I probably will not buy another Sony product again, just on that basis. I have become a smarter consumer, researching on the internet and reading magazine consumer reports. Thanks for reading.

Does the class action cover other models? I have a SXRD KDS-60A2000 and the thing just crapped out on me. Bought this unit on August of ‘06.

my grandmother bought the 55A2000 in February 2007. About a week ago, the screen went black. nothing at all projected.

she called the store she bought it from & they told her she has to replace the lamp. the lamp costs $300+. She got a warranty from the store for “tv Repair”– but the store owners say the warranty doesn’t cover the lamp. she would have had to purchased a separate warranty for the lamp.

this is absurd!

the lamp is IN the tv. the lamp is HOW images are projected on the tv. so, why isn’t it included in the store’s warranty?

my grandmother can’t afford to spend $300 every year! and she shouldn’t have to. she wanted this to be her last tv (her other one lasted 15+ years & she did repair it every time it needed repair. she moved from one state to her current one with that tv. i say this to illustrate that she is not wasteful and would rather repair items than throw them away. however, investing repair money in an item that you’ve had for 15 years is one thing, but being forced to spend money on an item as expensive as Sony’s tv after only having it for A LITTLE OVER ONE YEAR is a crime!) she wanted to pass on the tv & her house to her children. is the idea of not living a throw-away lifestyle becoming antiquated? in america, apparently so.

by designing a tv like this, sony has guaranteed that they will continue making money by consumers having to constantly purchase lamps and other parts so that the tv continues to work. what a scam! even in the manual it says that the lamp is only good for approximately 8000 hours. say someone wanted to run their tv for 24 hours straight (and some people do); their lamp would crap out on them in less than a year!

Here’s what they have on page 51 of the manual, “The projection lamp, like all lamps, will eventually lose brightness and functionality, which affects the overall performance of your TV. How long the lamp maintains its brightness will vary depending upon your usage and environmental conditions. To maintain the quality of your viewing experience, Sony recommends that you replace the lamp (1) after approximately 8000 hours of use; (2) when the screen becomes dark or the color looks unusual; (3) when the LAMP LED on the front of the TV blinks; or (4) when the lamp replacement message appears on the TV screen.”

what sort of environmental conditions impact the longevity of the lamp????? so it’s not just actually turning on the tv that wears out the lamp, huh? why didn’t any of the sales reps talk about this lamp when they were selling this to my grandmother? the thieves. all they cared about was taking her money. and at the time she purchased this tv, they KNEW about the problems with the lamp, etc and that there was a class action lawsuit. why not just pull such an apparently defective product from the shelves and really improve it?

WHAT POOR DESIGN!! or a devishly smart design– to create a system that will keep customers spending money every year or so on a lamp that’s guaranteed to crap out on you in a year is devilishly brilliant.

what garbage.

total garbage.

which is the state of this country. money is the only concern. NOT QUALITY. and certainly, not integrity. making money by any means necessary should be the nation’s motto.

i’m disgusted by sony. i’m disgusted by america and the rampant abuse it has allowed companies to wage over its citizens.

oh, and i did call sony’s customer service number 800 222 7669 and spoke to someone in who knows what country who did their very best to sound american but didn’t work as hard to help me with my complaint.

what a shame.

*her tv is SXRD KDS-55A2000

I bought the 50″ SXRD 2-3 yrs ago. Same yellow optical block issue. Called Sony. They got a licensed tech to come out, replaced it and it’s been fine ever since. Tech said all of them will go out and the new optical block is fine. Just get it fixed before the warranty expires. NOW my TV won’t turn on… fan runs at time… different issue. This just started a year after my optical replacement. ugh!

I purchased a SXRD KDS55A2020 1080p in June of 2007 had to replace the bulb after 10 months and now after warranty has expired optical block has now gone bad. Tv has green globs and yellowish tint. Class Action Law suit needs to be extended to all Sony RPTV’s

My Sony KDSR50XBR1 was purchased on 6/06/2006.
A little over 2 years now and it still has a picture but everything has a green tint to it. Called Sony and they gave me a number to call to a tech dept. near me. They just called today and will be coming out to replace my OB. Hope it does not happen again. I read other posts about it happening again and picture quality not being the same. I hope not.

The Sony KDSR60XBR2 and KDSR70XBR Optical Blocks are now failing at an alarming rate. www.avsforum.com has many reports. It appears this problem was not solved in the XBR2 models either.

Well the guy came out today and replaced the OB. Cant tell a difference as the picture looks superb now. My TV was only two years old and let me tell you I could not believe the dust that came out of the fans and inside of the TV. I feel sorry for all those people who don’t know any better to blow out the dust. I took all of my parts outside and blew them out with my air compressor. The service guy told me they don’t do that. They just replace the optical block and move on. Well now I’m good but for how long ? Seems maybe it will last another two years by what everyone is saying. Then the warranty will definitely be over.

I have a Sony 55A 2200 SRXD. It was a great tv to start with but now has green tint everywhere. I have had it less than 2 years. $2500.00 for piece of junk.

Bought my set two years ago. Had the same problem as everyone else–everything went yellow and green. Spoke with my dealer who identified the problem and contacted Sony for me. It took Sony about two weeks to respond, but when did, they got right onto it, replaced the optical block in a procedure that took about one and a half hours, and now my set is better than when I first bought it. Sony is a great company and I like their products. They screwed up big time but if they fix the problem and they did in my case, I remain a loyal patron. I do worry if what happened once will happen again with this new optical block, and I also wonder if this is just the same part as the original or if it is a fix. I am told byt my dealer that a warranty covers the new part.

I bought my Sony KDS-R60XBR1 around May 2006. About a year ago I began seeing yellow tints around the upper right edges. I ignored it thinking it was screen burn-in. After almost a year now I lived with the entire screen covered with the yellow tint. After learning what the problem was through this site, I called Sony and they sent a tech over. He replaced the optical block which looks like a professional camera. My Sony now looks like I just bought it today! What a difference. I have the TV I fell in love back again and just in time for the football season.

Sony should send recalls to everyone with these sets. There are many people that don’t realize their picture is bad when the problem starts. I delt with it for months. At first I use to blame my mother as she stays at my home on the weekends often. Some Mondays when she left I would say dam it she messed with the remote again. Then I would try to adjust the color. Did this for 3 or 4 months until I finally got fed up and said there must be some thing else wrong its just to green looking. Blaming my poor mom. LOL

6 months ago my Aug 2006 50″ XBR1 started showing green tint that looked like persistence problems when switching modes (e.g., outlines of hockey rink remaining after no longer watching hockey). Two months ago, problem really spread out and everything took on cartoonish green tint (even double-checked all settings from when it had been professionally calibrated TV).

So, went and mail-ordered a discounted new XL-5100 lamp assembly, hoping for the off-colors being due to the lamp ending lifespan. All that did was make everything a bit brighter and more noticeably bad. Doing research, found out about the Sony lawsuit settlement.

Called Sony and supplied the set info. They in turn gave me names of three local firms to deal with.

Strolled into one of the shops on Tuesday morning when shop opened. The tech knew all about the problem and was in fact talking to somebody on the phone complaining about the same problem. He said he would order the part. It had been explained to me that as long as the problem turned out to be the optical block, it would be a totally free fix. If not, it would cost me $150 for them having gone to the bother to try and fix it, find it wasn’t the problem, and then uninstall the new OB and put in the old one again! Well, I knew it was the OB, so sure, come on over.

As luck would have it, the next day he called with the part and sent over another tech an hour later. The tech came in with a big box worth (as he said) $1500 under his arms.

Start to finish, since I had TV all set to go and away from wall - 30 minutes to take apart back of TV, remove the OB, reinstall the new OB and patch TV back together. Luckily I had removed the new lamp I had purchased that hadn’t fixed the problem, and put in the old one (from what I can tell, the optical assembly he installed included a new one). He turned on the TV proclaimed all fixed and sure enough, flesh tones looked correct.

Colors looked fine, but it sure didn’t look very crisp on the normal SD DirecTV (like it needed focusing). I mentioned it to him and he explained it away as the satellite signal SD compression. Heck, I wasn’t talking about blockiness, but just not very clear. Since I don’t watch ANY TV ever, I decided not to mention fuzziness to my wife and son (who live for the TV). Sure enough, after loving how not green/yellow anymore, both stated it looked fuzzy.

So, will first research this problem a bit more to decide if I should call Sony again or go directly back to shop. Seems logical to go back to shop, but will see. Almost “glad” to hear a few others encountered fuzziness after OB was replaced.

Derek F. That is a funny story. My wife invited my ex-wife over for a Canadian Thanksgiving a few weeks ago and my ex complained that she couldn’t watch the TV because it was too green. I knew something was wrong before that. I had tried to fix it but to no avail. I bought my 60″ SXRD BR1 in November of 05 and started noticing the green/yellow haze a few months ago. Called SONY CANADA and found the OB is under extened warranty until June of 2009 in Canada. I am waiting for the tech guy to repair it. Derek F. please tell us who replaced the OB? It would seem that some sets are fuzzy after replacement so I am wondering if it is the repair people doing something wrong. I too bought a bulb - two years ago - in case it blew during the Super Bowl! I replaced the bulb last week and it didn’t change anything. So I will replace the newer bulb with the older one.

All those who have the XBR2…listen UP..there is a warranty for you too. I will post below, but before I do that here is something that is very strange. It is said that the faulty XBR1 OBs that will be replaced or have been replaced will be done with the XBR2. However, there is a recall for that one too!!!! here it is:
2006 Model Year SXRD Television Extended Warranty Information – Optical Block
2006 Model Year SXRD Televisions:

Models: KDS-50A2000, KDS-55A2000, KDS-60A2000, KDS-R60XBR2, KDS-R70XBR2

As part of the Sony commitment to quality, Sony is announcing that it is extending the limited warranty (parts and labour) in Canada on the optical block of 2006 model SXRD televisions (models listed above) until June 30, 2010 , regardless of purchase date. This extended warranty does not apply to replaceable projection lamp and other parts that may be used in the televisions.

Sony is also announcing that for any owner of these model SXRD televisions who paid out-of-pocket expenses on or before November 30, 2008 for an estimate or repair service to replace the optical block, Sony will reimburse the customer by mail for the cost of the optical block and the labour expense to replace it, subject to certain conditions. To receive reimbursement, please follow completely the directions on the claim form for reimbursement attached HERE; all claims must be postmarked by January 31, 2009. See the claim form for complete terms and conditions.

In addition, for any customer who later experiences this issue on one of the affected models, Sony will cover the cost of the optical block repair (parts and labour) at no charge through June 30, 2010. All other terms of the Sony limited warranty continue to apply. For diagnosis or warranty service please contact Sony at 1-877-899-7669

So does that mean the XBR1 OB that is replaced with the XBR2 will be under another warranty.

I’ll have to call Sony and find out. BTW there was no lawsuit in Canada/ Sony decided to repl;ace the faulty part without going to court.

I bought my 50XBR1 in June of 06 in Houston, but have since moved to Mexico. Having the same OB problems but Sony refuses to help because the set is now in Mexico and the lawsuit only applies to the US. They won’t even send the part to a US address so that I can get it installed here in Mexico at my own expense. They want me to take the set to the US (a 900 mile round trip)to get it evaluated, then will replace the OB. Was referred to the Sony Executive Review Committee and they also refused to help.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.