Sony LCD KDL-46W4100 - intermittent picture distortion / interference

timstl · Post by **timstl** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:43 am

Hello,

I have a Sony KDL-46W4100 that is having a few issues. First, a little backstory:

I purchased this TV in late 2008. I started having problems with my TV in late 2009 just after the 1 year warranty expired. The problems were very brief and sporadic, though, and soon stopped entirely. Then in June/July of 2010 they returned. I contacted Sony customer support and was told, basically, "sorry you're out of warranty." Understandable.

The problems continued to worsen, and one day I posted a random tweet out of frustration. Sony saw my complaint, and contacted me. We went back and forth with several emails, phone calls, and faxes. Eventually Sony offered me a new TV... for $950. Obviously not much help there -- the TV they were offering me was available for just slightly more than that on Amazon.

So now I'm stuck with this TV that I'm still paying off for a few a bit longer (it was financed at 0% for 3 years). I am having what appear to be 3 separate problems, although I'm sure they could be related. I have tried the simple things: switching outlets, switching surge protectors, switching HDMI cables, etc. No luck.

My hope is that someone can give me an idea of what the problem(s) may be, so I can figure out what my options are. Here are 3 pictures showing the different problems. All problems come and go. I don't recall more than 1 of them happening at the same time. And sometimes none of the problems occur... it seems like after the TV has been one for a while it works better.

[img]http://timgweb.com/stuff/tv/solid_blue_line.jpg[/img]

[img]http://timgweb.com/stuff/tv/skinny_blue_lines.jpg[/img]

[img]http://timgweb.com/stuff/tv/green.jpg[/img]

Thanks,

Tim

Dave3putt · Post by **Dave3putt** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:30 am

Greetings Tim,

The first thing I would try is to see if it is a HDMI problem. Your TV has 4 HDMI input ports. Have you tried using a different one? It is not unheard of for some Sony models to have a "leaky" HDMI input. Also, you can try a component connection and see if that stops the problem.

timstl · Post by **timstl** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:33 am

Actually, no, I haven't tried that. I've tried different HDMI cables, but always Port 1. I will definitely try this today. Thanks for the idea. That would be amazing (and make me feel kind of dumb) if that's all it is!

timstl · Post by **timstl** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:19 pm

Unfortunately switching ports didn't help. It's only been about 6 hours since trying, so I'm not sure if the other 2 problems will return, but the "green" problem still occurred.

I did notice that even after unplugging the HDMI cable the green remained. The screen goes black for a few seconds (which showed all green instead of black), then the "cable unplugged" screen pops up. I can still see the green color around the edge of that screen with the cable unplugged.

Dave3putt · Post by **Dave3putt** » Sun Nov 07, 2010 3:57 pm

Too bad about the different input not working. Maybe the problem is deeper down in the circuitry. Try all four. That color of green seems to almost always mean a HDMI problem. Try using a component connection and take HDMI completely out.

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 11:22 am

Dave had you check some things which is the first place to start.

This TV needs to be repaired. The intermittent nature of your problem could make things difficult for coming to a conclusion as to what is at fault. The erosion in retail prices may very well make replacement the better option but you won't know for sure until you have it looked at.

The ProSquad
http://www.theprosquad.com/index2.aspx

NESDA
http://www.tvrepairpros.com/