Dimming issue after PKG6.2858.0082 software update.

[jirober52]

Since the PKG6.2858 update I have a dimming issue with my Sony A1. The picture pre update was stunning, however since the update I am experiencing varying levels of brightness which has completely ruined ths set for me. Colours are lacklustre and mostly dim, a factory reset has failed to rectify the problem. It seems that a number of owners on the AVSForums are experiencing similar problems. Only hope that Sony bring out a fix but not holding my breath.

[Barcabod]

I have today phoned John Lewis where I bought the tv from.

They said that they have had a few complaints regarding this very problem.

An engineer has been booked for next Saturday the customer services said he can try and reset the firmware. 

I hope this is the case if not I will be pushing for a replacement from another manufacturer because as is this TV is not fit for purpose.

I will update as and when anything happens.

I am really surprised that after spending £3000 on a TV that a firmeare update can ruin things in such a bitg way4

[Kyletto]

I'm very disappointed to say that I too have been affected by this auto-dimming problem on my 65" A1.

I refuse to believe Sony can go on for much longer without acknowledging this as a serious issue or flaw with the firmware update.

I'll be getting in touch with Sony / the retailer tomorrow to enquire about a replacement/refund as it is not presently fit for purpose.

Has anybody had any success resolving this?

[jirober52]

Presently I am waiting for a response from Sony that they now accept in view of the many owners reporting this issue, that in fact it has resulted from the PKG6.2858.0082 update. Until now they seem to be in denial as I have numerous emails from them and although I have requested their acceptance of the issue, there is no confirmation forthcomming. I have also requested for a Firmware reversal with again no response.

Others have been told that the dimming is within the tv's specification. Sony have offered me a engineers' visit and this is why I am requesting confirmation that they now recognise that the tv after the FW update has rendered it not fit for purpose. Otherwise the engineer could confirm that it is within specifcation and Sony will bill me for the visit.

If I receive further information that will be of benefit I will let you know but I am so frustrated that Sony seem to be in denial of the issue to this their self confessed flagship model and care little for the customers.

[jirober52]

Kindly keep us informed regarding any communication you have with Sony/ Retailer. I have been in discussion with them for 3 weeks and it is now at a point were I honestly feel that a company of this magnitude is treating its' customers with complete contempt.

Post FW update has rendered the tv not fit for purpose and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 can no longer be as descibed. The FW has trashed the tv  and Sony are compelled to repair or replace the goods or digital content which are of unsatisfactory quality.

If Sony is unwilling to act then it is my intention seek legal advice on the matter. 

[Kyletto]

Hi again all,

I sent the following to Sony earlier this afternoon. I will keep you up to speed on their response:

Dear team at Sony,

I am emailing as my A1, which is a stunning set which I am otherwise so incredibly happy with, has been hit by the errant autodimming bug that has been affecting a number of sets since the release of the latest firmware update.

I would appreciate first and foremost not being brushed off with vague responses along the lines of 'this is a standard feature of the set' as I know from speaking with and showing the utmost experts in the field that this is not how it should be operating. Yes, I am fully aware that the a1 has an autodim feature to diminish image retention and fight any potential burn-in issues, but the problem here is that it is being activated, and being far too aggressive, at the wrong times.

It has made gaming on my PS4 Pro - another Sony product that I was previously very pleased with - almost impossible, as mid game it will spontaneously go prohibitively dark.

I know this is an issue that a number of people have reported to yourselves, and again very tech savvy experts have acknowledged that it is a fault that has crept in since the latest firmware update.

At a base, legal level - if Sony are taking the stance that this was a feature introduced in the latest firmware, then I counter that by saying having trawled extensively through the firmware details and notes, there was no mention of it to the consumer. You have therefore introduced a feature that is very seriously impeding my use of the set, making it unfit for advertised purpose, and you did not give consumers the knowledge or warning of this so that we could choose NOT to download it onto our sets.

It is encouraging to see major retailers such as John Lewis acknowledge that this is an issue, and that numerous customers have been in touch with them regarding it, so again I would beseech Sony to do the same.

I do not want to return or replace my set, but if this cannot be satisfactorily resolved then I will be forced to do so, and take my custom to a rival brand. The a1's hdmi port limitations (only offering 'full fat' 4K on ports 2 and 3) and its at-the-time lack of Dolby Vision support were major hesitations I had with opting for the set, but its quality won out in the end. It is a shame indeed that said quality has now been heavily and unpredictably impeded by this update issue.

I would also kindly ask that you do not simply respond with the de facto suggestions of resetting, factory resetting, hard resetting, checking for a firmware update etc. etc. as I can assure you I have tried every such recommendation that you have set out to my fellow a1 owners afflicted with this problem.

I look forward to hopefully hearing from you soon and sincerely hope that this can be resolved swiftly. As an entertainment journalist with a significant demographic and audience reach, I have been raving about and recommending this set, and if this issue cannot be resolved then as a matter of journalistic integrity and transparency I will be forced to redact my recommendations and report on the issue at hand.

Kindest regards,

Kyle Pedley

[dutchice]

Hi Kyle,

Nice written letter. I thought of chipping my 2 cents here to support you with the case you are making. As you surely must know from your journalistic background, a claim can only be undeniable with facts as strong proof. So why don’t you grab your best video camera in house, mount it on a tripod in front of the TV. And turn off auto focus and auto exposure on the camera. Pop in your favorite PS4 title and make a video of the issue exhibiting itself while you are playing.

The reason why I say this is because the videos that so far claim to be exhibiting the issue are practically useless as rock solid proof. Looking at what AVS members have posted so far (2 videos) it is utterly unbelievable that they expect themselves to be taken serious. Pausing a basketball match or entering a game menu and let it still for over 2 minutes and not expect the screen to dim is probably a sign of misunderstanding on how the display is designed to work.

Lets hope that solid proof of the condition can soon be posted as it works much more effective that endless words.

Cheers,

Dutchice

[Kyletto]

Hi Dutchice,

Many thanks for the comments and support - I will indeed be recording video evidence when I get home this evening (I am working and out and about at present!), and having a 4K Panasonic DSLR with manual focus it should hopefully be more evidentiary than mobile footage etc. like the ones you mentioned.

I intend to record some general gameplay and footage that will hopefully highlight the issue irrefutably. 

I'll post it up on here once it is filmed.

[Barcabod]

Heres an email I recieved today

1st part sent from Sony support

Thank you for contacting Sony support regarding your Sony KD-55A1.

We are sorry to learn of the issue you are encountering with the TV in which the brightness goes up and down at random times after the software update.

Please accept our apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience that this issue has caused.

We would like to help remedy this for you. Below are some troubleshooting steps which will either fix the issues or help us identify the source. If you follow them, it would be most appreciated:

Note: before proceeding with the steps below, please ensure that the issue occurs on all sources (USB, External HDMI devices, Applications,..).

1. Unplug TV from mains and plug it back in after 1 minutes

2. Disconnect all the external devices connected to your TV.
3. Please follow the steps listed in the link below:
http://helpguide.sony.net/tv/eaep1/v1/en/08-02_04.html
4. Please ensure that you follow the steps listed in the below link to adjust the picture settings:
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00190409 
If none of the above resolved the matter, as it is unfortunately not possible to roll back to the previous firmware version, we are seeking your kind patience to provide us with the information below so we can investigate the matter further:
1. Please provide us with further elaboration on the exact issue that takes place after two minutes of watching the TV? (Does the brightness remain on one level or does it change more than once without changing the input?)
2. Does this issue happen when there are no connected devices to the TV?
3. What are the connected devices to the TV and the map of connection?
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reply to this email.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

Asmaa

SONY SUPPORT TEAM

Spoiler

[Barcabod]

Spoiler

Here is my reply

Thank you for your response

I have carried out all the suggestions from 1 to 4 in the first part of your email.

Prior to this and as I stated in my previous email i did a factory restore of the tv

On carrying out the above processes the problem was still present.

As per the second part of your email

1: The dimming happens after a couple of minutes of watching a screen with say football or a talk show where the main bulk of the picture does not change for a couple of minutes. The dimming does not change once the picture flicks to another scene i.e an advertisement. 

However if I change channel then  go back to the channel i was watching then the picture is bright again for a couple of minutes.

2:  Sorry I dont understand the question do you mean without the aerial or sky q connected

3: I have a sky Q box connected straight to hdmi2 I have also swapped the hdmi leads ( they are all 4k compatible leads) to see if this solves the problem

I have also swapped to hdmi 1,2 and 3 but the problem persists

Just for added information and so you know what happens in the real world of watching the TV,when watching sky sports news the picture dims after 2 minutes and looks dull and washed out. The only solution is to change channel and then go back to sky sports news ,the picture then has brightness but then dims again after 2 minutes.

Also when watching a talkshow where the main picture does not change for a couple of minutes even though the people on screen may be moving the screen dims and looks washed out.

As you can appreciate after spending £3000.00on a flagship TV this situation is not one I had envisaged or I am happy with.

I must at this point reiterate that before this new firmware update the TV had no such problems with any sort of picture dimming and I was in fact happy with the TV. I feel that this now renders the TV impracticable for normal usage when you have to change channel to get back the picture Sony advertised I would get when I purchased the TV.

Thanks for your reply. I look forward to your continued help.

Regards 

Bill

[Barcabod]

Sorry I dont know why the spoiler thing is coming up on my post above , but if you click on spoiler my reply to Sony is in there.

Kyletto very nice email and well put . I hope you do get a video done of the problem cos its driving me nuts and I feel like I have been mugged for £3000.

Why can Sony not make another update to take things back to where they were surely updates should be backward compatable.( not that I would or should know.I just want a proper working TV.