kdf-42we655 lcd panel quotation

I had been shopping for a new television for the better part of three months, and had gone from plasma to LCD and back, before finally settling on the Sony 42" Grand WEGA™ HDTV projection LCD television. It is, hands down, the absolute best value for the money I could find.

LCD TVs still have some minor issues with either incredibly rapid movement and/or bright flashes of light. There is a small distortion; a pixilation that will briefly flash across the screen but it is at best a minor annoyance. Also, the blacks are not as black as they could/should be, so if you are watching a movie or program where the setting is very dark, there will be a slight glow around the black areas that can be a little annoying.

DVD: Good picture, though not quite as good as I expected. Animated/Digitally generated DVD (think Shrek) are nearly as good as HDTV. I suspect this has to do with the set being an LCD projector.

Elevate your entertainment with Sony"s KDF-42WE655 Grand WEGA™ Integrated LCD Rear Projection High Definition Television. Featuring a beautiful 16:9 aspect ratio and high definition integrated television display, the KDF-42WE655 produces stunning picture quality. A few of its bells and whistles include an ATSC Integrated Tuner, a CableCARD™ Slot, a 30 Watt S-Master Digital Amplifier and CineMotion™ Reverse 3-2 Pulldown Technology. Visually, the set is beautiful with its slim tabletop design that is sure to compliment any decor. You can even impress friends and family by viewing your family photos onscreen while listening to MP3 audio with its built-in Enhanced Memory Stick® Media slot.

Alrighty, so I"ve got a new Sony 42" Rear LCD Projection HDTV (KDF-42WE655) and have started to screw around with hooking it up to my 15" AlBook (9700Pro) and eventually to my SFF box w/ an XFX 6800GT Dual DVI. Right now I"ve only connected the AlBook up and the picture seems great, BUT at either 1080i or 720p I"m missing about the top and bottom 20-30 pixels, ie if my dock is on the bottom I can"t pick it up nor can I see the standard Apple menu across the top. I haven"t looked into any Driver specific issues as I think this is purely a display issue. I"m using an HDMI to DVI converter then going to a striaght DVI cable (stolen from a Sun LCD display). I spotted this Google answer , but its just someone having the same issue.

Anyone have any ideas?
-mwedward

In theory, blowing air over the LCD panels and other internal parts could move some dust. In addition, the glass on the projection lens can be cleaned with lens paper and solution. Aerosol (canned) air is not recommended, as it can come out very cold and/or spray moisture, so extreme care should be exercised when using it (do this at your own risk). More thorough cleaning can be accomplished by further disassembling the optical, as described below.

Optical block disassemblyThe method described below requires even more care and patience, particularly the points where the LCD ribbon cables and the light path filters are removed. However, it will allow much more thorough cleaning of the internal parts, as it enables direct access to the filters and LCD panels.Note that Paul Patience has created another web site (Sony LCD Projection TV Cleaning Instructions) that describes this process on a KF-42WE620. It includes instructions and photos on accessing and cleaning the individual LCD panels, prism faces, and filters inside the optical block. Also note that, on the KF-42WE620 (and perhaps all 2003 Grand WEGA or "WE" models), the locations of the blue and red LCD panels are swapped relative to the KDF-55WF655 (and perhaps all 2004 Grand WEGA or "WF" models).Remove the centrifugal lamp cooling fan. It is held by 3 silver-colored screws, as indicated in the photo below.

The following photos show the optical block with the lamp fan, lamp fan mounting plate, LCD panel cover, wedge-shaped piece, and projection lamp removed (note the that the blue and red LCD panel positions are reversed on some models):

Next, remove the portion of the optical block that contains the LCD panels, prism, and projection lens. It is held by four silver-colored and four black screws, as indicated in the photo below. Pull this unit off the rest of the optical block, while carefully monitoring the ribbon cables to make sure they do not get caught. Note that the clear dome on the projection lens appears to be made out of plastic.

The following photo shows the gaps between the LCD panels and the prism through which it is possible to clean the surfaces. DO NOT attempt to unscrew the LCD panels from the prism faces, or you will likely lose your convergence upon re-installation:

**The 2005 3LCD models are unique in that they are the only models between 2003 and 2007 that have not had a Sony warranty extension.***The expiration date of the extended warranty was originally 10/31/2008, but, based in part on the settlement of a class action lawsuit, on 11/12/2007, Sony extended the expiration date to 6/30/2009.

Most likely, all of the green discolorations occurred due to the presence of improperly polarized light in the green channel, arising from defective green polarizers and/or SXRD panels. There is more recent evidence from a subsequent SXRD class action lawsuit that green haze can be caused by skin oil or debris introduced during the manufacturing process (presumably, optical block assemblers touching the parts with their bare fingers). However, Sony claims that they cleaned such optical block parts in a clean room prior to releasing them.

Sony further claims that the yellow stains in the 2005 SXRDs, which tend to start in the upper or lower right corner, were caused by a "microscopic material" in the liquid crystal panels, disrupting their uniformity over time during prolonged exposure to UV light produced by the projection lamp. Sony claims that the extent of the discoloration depended on the amount of microscopic material present in the panel, which varied from TV to TV, and the frequency of usage by the consumer. They also claim that service records indicate that the issue always appeared within the first 3,000 hours of usage, if it was going to happen.

The blue discolorations seem to be the most common, particularly in the earlier (2003-2005) 3LCD models, although they are also observed in the more recent 3LCD models, as well as the SXRD models. These discolorations can take the form of blue blobs, haze, lines, bands, dots, star pattern, etc. In some cases, the discoloration is centered around an oval-shaped anomaly in the middle of the screen. In many cases, the discoloration (e.g., haze) is most visible on a gray background, but in other cases, the discoloration is visible on a black background (e.g., blobs). Once they become evident, the discolorations tend to accumulate and spread across the entire screen over the course of a few weeks to months.

The precise cause(s) of these discolorations have not been revealed by Sony, but the problem is well-known in the industry.Thediscolorations tend to be bluish in color,because the parts in the blue light path (particularly the blue polarizing filters and liquid crystalpanels) aresubject to the highest energy light (including UV) and heat. Photochemical and heat-based degradation of the blue polarizing filters can allow stray, improperly polarized blue light to pass through the blue LCD panel and onto the screen, leading to blue blobs on images that should be black. Photochemical and heat-based degradation of compounds in the blue LCD panel (e.g., the liquid crystal itself and/or alignment layers) can cause irregular distribution and/or alignment of the of the liquid crystal. This can lead to improper polarization of blue light as it passes through the damaged areas of the panel, resulting in the projection of stray blue light onto the screen.

images--typically called burn-in on older CRT and plasma displays. For example, this can occur in areas of black bars (e.g., letterboxes), in news ticker areas, or when pausing a program on a DVR.As the liquid crystal panels degrade over time, the

While the 2003-2004 3LCD models tend to have primarily blue discolorations, as described above, they can also suffer from stains in the yellow range, and this seems even more common in the newer 3LCD models (e.g., 2005-2006), particularly the A10s. These discolorations tend to start on the edges or appear within oval-shaped anomalies, and to spread over time. Similar to the yellow stains in the SXRDTM models, the yellow color arises due to light being completely blocked in the blue light pathdue to photochemical and heat-based damage (e.g., darkened areas on the orange-colored polarizing filter in the blue light path). The improper blockage of blue lightleaves the predominantly yellow light from the combined green and red light paths. TriState Module sells the orange-colored polarizing filter for the blue light path and reports that it can fix yellow discolorations.

On top of the high risk for blue discolorations described above, some2003-2004 3LCD modelsare also susceptible to developing an opaque, non-moving pattern on the screen, which is particularly evident on white or light backgrounds. This is referred to variously as stationary scribble, squiggly, random line, or road-mapping, and tends to be a solid color such as yellow, purple, or blue-green on a white background, but it varies somewhat depending on the specific color of the image on the screen.The problem tends to grow worse over time.

For the most part, this problem seems to have been caused by defective materials in a specific lot of LCD panels that were installed in the optical blocks, whichare particularly sensitive to damage arising from hot-cold (on-off) cycling. The color of the scribbles likely correlates with the light path with the damaged LCD panel. For example, damage to the blue panel may selectively block blue light in the damaged areas, leading to a yellow scribble (green plus red), damage to the green panel may lead to a purple scribble (blue plus red), or damage to the red panel may lead to a blue-green scribble. In some cases, different colored scribbles appear in different areas on the same TV, suggesting damage to multiple panels.

There is some evidence that leaving the TV on for an extended period (e.g., several days) can, at least temporarily, resolve or reduce this issue, perhaps by causing the defective panel to heat up, but this is not a complete or permanent fix.

For reference,in addition to liquid crystal projection technology (3LCD andLCoS/SXRDTM), othernewer technologies at the time included digital light processing (DLP) projection,plasma flat-panel,and LCD flat-panel. In the large screen market, DLP and plasma were in direct competition with liquid crystal projection in its heyday, and LCD flat-panels have overtaken the market as prices have come down on larger panels.

An industry group of LCD projection manufacturers called the "3LCD Group" was formed in 2004 to help market the 3LCD microdisplay technology. Sony is a member of this marketing group, and, along with Epson, accounted for most of the production of the LCD microdisplay panels used in the projection models. Although the current 3LCD Group web site refers only to front projectors, it included rear-projection TVs when they were in production. For example, see this version of the 3LCD Group web site archived in January of 2005. Here is an excerpt from a 1/7/2005 3LCD Group press release:

“As the U.S. market leader in microdisplay televisions, Sony has always been committed to providing consumers with video products that exceed their expectations,” said Mike Fidler, senior vice president in Sony Electronics’ Home Products Division. “3LCD technology fulfills this role by offering an ideal balance between superior performance, overall reliability and manufacturing efficiency.”

Liquid crystal projection TV sales and marketing efforts attempted to steer customers away from competing plasma TVs by citing a short 10,000-20,000-hour lifespanof the plasma tubes (less than 10 years at 3-6 hours per day).In addition, the longevity of competing DLP projection TVs was questioned based on the use of moving parts (DLP technology uses a spinning color wheel with millions of hinged micromirrors). Consistent with this, Sony and its 3LCD Group have released marketing statements such as the following:

It is generally accepted that liquid crystal flat-panel displays have an expected life span of about 60,000 hours(about 27 years at 6 hours per day)(e.g., site 1, site 2, site 3). The liquid crystal microdisplay panels in Sony"s 3LCD and SXRDTM TVs are a bit different than flat-panels. However, Sony and the 3LCD Group do not differentiate LCD flat panels and microdisplays when speaking about reliability. For example, the following statement can be found on the 3LCD Group web site:

Reliable, Road-Tested Tecnology: LCD technology surrounds us – HDTVs, PDAs, mobile phones, monitors and more...this powerful and road-tested technology is an optimal way to achieve sharp, beautiful images. 3LCD systems are reliable and use a simple optical design: 3 chips and 1 prism.

Furthermore, the estimated 60,000-hour lifespan of an LCD flat panel is actually based more on the longevity of the fluorescent back-lighting than the liquid crystal components themselves. So, if the lighting systems were replaceable on these units, the lifespan could, theoretically, be much longer.In liquid crystal projection systems, the lamps are, in fact, user-replaceable, and Sony has exploited this to further promote the longevity of the technology. They strongly promoted that their TVs only needed a lamp change every several years to restore the TV to a like-new condition. Here are some quotes from some of Sony"s marketing:

The Fountain of Youth - User-Replaceable UHP Lamp. In the past, the gradual loss of picture quality was just part of owning a TV. Once the picture got to a point where it was unwatchable, the TV was replaced and the process started over. Sony recognizes the investment in time and money that a TV represents. That is the reason that Grand WEGA comes with an ingenious user-replaceable UHP lamp. After countless hours of enjoyment, simply replace the lamp and your Grand WEGA is as good as the day you bought it. In fact, with Sony"s renowned quality, Grand WEGA may be the last TV you ever own.The implication from these quotes is that liquid crystal rear-projection TVs could have an even longer life than a liquid crystal flat-panel display, and even CRT-based TVs, due to the user-replaceable lamps. In fact, a "white paper" from Sony on their projection systems directly suggests that liquid crystal microdisplay (fixed-pixel) projection panels offer "far longer life" than CRT-based TVs (e.g., see page 23):

CRTs have phosphors that are subject to burn-in when an image stays on the screen too long...Fixed-pixel projector display panels are immune to burn-in, offering far longer life. And the SXRD panel is particularly robust.However, unlike flat-panel liquid crystal displays with non-damaging fluorescent back-lighting, the UHP lamps in Sony"s rear-projection TVs create substantial direct heat, direct light (e.g., ultraviolet), and indirect heat (produced by conversion of reflected light). This damaging energy is focused on the small filters and liquid crystal panels within the optical block, significantly reducing lifespan.

alaTest has collected and analyzed 154 user reviews of Sony Grand WEGA KDF-42WE655 42-Inch LCD Projection Television with Integrated HDTV Tuner from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 3.0/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.1/5 for other products in the same category on Amazon.com.

I"ve had my Sony Grand Wega KDF-42WE655 for just 27 months. It went on record as the most expensive television set I ever owned, I"m an avid TV viewer. Went it developed a strange, random "pattern" in the picture, I was heartbroken thinking that the ...

Despite its designation as an entry-level television, the 50WE655 is almost as feature packed as the other Sonys and equals most other microdisplays in spec-sheet bragging rights. The 1,386x788-pixel native resolution of its three LCD chips should qualify it to display every detail of 720p HDTV signals, but it doesn"t quite get there (see the Performance section for a full explanation). All other sources, such as DVD and standard TV, are converted to fit those pixels. Unlike many such displays, the 50WE655 does not come equipped to display computer video.

The 50WE655"s connectivity leaves little to be desired. On the rear panel is an HDMI input (with analog stereo inputs for use with DVI-to-HDMI converters), two broadband component-video inputs, three A/V inputs with S-Video, one VHF/UHF RF input with built-in ATSC tuner, one cable RF input, the CableCard slot, and an optical digital audio output. On the front panel, you"ll find another set of A/V inputs with S-Video, and a Memory Stick slot for viewing digital pictures from Sony digital cameras. As far as image quality goes, the 50WE655 appears almost identical to last year"s model--in short, pretty good, especially after some professional tweaking. Unfortunately, even the Warm color temperature was disappointingly blue before calibration, although afterward the grayscale was much better. See the geek box below for more technical information.

While Sony claims improved black-level performance, our tests did not bear that out. Last year we saw a leap forward from the previous year in black-level performance, but not this year. The deepest blacks appeared closer to very dark gray. In the Sony"s favor, low-level noise in the very dark opening scenes of the Alien DVD was minimal, which is not the case with earlier LCD RPTVs we"ve seen.

Despite the high resolution of the LCD chips, detail suffered in two areas. When we brought sharpness to 15 to eliminate edge enhancement, the picture was unacceptably soft. We also measured the set with a 720p resolution test from the Accupel HDG-3000 signal generator and found that it failed to display all of the resolution. (This is probably the result of two things: the set"s Fresnel/lenticular screen combination and the internal scalar"s rolling off the top of the video frequencies.) To be fair, most of the fixed-pixel sets we"ve tested at this resolution suffer from the same problem. Nonetheless, 1080i HD material from our DirecTV HD satellite feed looked pretty good. Detail was decent, with very good color saturation after calibration.