Is my TV fubar??

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kiwifidget

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#248136 11-Mar-2019 20:48

Hello.

I have a Sony Bravia KDL-46X4500 TV.

Its probably 10 years old, maybe a bit more.

Its been rock solid until today, but now it has started misbehaving.

Intermittent but frequent vertical pin-stripe style lines are appearing on the screen.

They seem to be right across the screen, from top to bottom.

The picture is still discernible but its terribly annoying.

The lines appear whether I am watching Sky (via HDMI) or the built-in Freeview tuner.

So I think this points to the issue being with the TV.

Is it worth getting this repaired or is a new telly the best option??

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Batman

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#2196100 11-Mar-2019 21:02

When that happened to my laptop it was the lcd connection ribbon (cable) that was dodgy.

But always a good excuse to update to 4k

kiwifidget

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#2196109 11-Mar-2019 21:12

i can understand how a laptop lcd connection could go dodgy on a screen that is open and closed multiple times a day.

But my TV sits on a cabinet and hasnt moved in about 4 years.

My current plan is to give it a thorough talking to before bedtime, and turn it off.

Hopefully overnight it will have a long hard think about its behavior.

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Rikkitic

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#2196130 11-Mar-2019 21:36

I am sorry to have to inform you that what you are seeing is almost certainly a hardware failure, which could also just be a progressive bad connection. It is impossible to say for certain without opening it up and diagnosing it, but it certainly sounds like a hardware fault. How can a connection go bad even if the device is never moved? I had an ageing receiver, which I couldn't afford to replace, die on me. Fixing it was beyond my skills but a good local technician did it for not too much money. He replaced some capacitors, which are a notorious weak spot, but also resoldered a number of connections. Apparently connections can come loose on their own over time because the Europeans banned leaded solder some years ago and the unleaded replacement isn't very good, so now stuff falls apart instead of lasting forever. I guess somehow that is better for the environment.

I can't say that is what you are experiencing, just that it is a possibility. If your TV works again tomorrow, but then develops the fault later, that may be due to heat either affecting a failing component or causing an expanding connection to fail. My guess is that it will probably cost at least a couple hundred dollars to get something like this fixed and you are probably better off replacing the TV. If cost is an issue there are some pretty good Veons available from the Warehouse, sometimes on special for really good deals. Veons seem to be noted for the decent quality of thier picture and the terrible quality of their sound. If you get one you will really want an external audio device for it.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

bigalow

566 posts

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#2196170 11-Mar-2019 23:07

kiwifidget:

Hello.

I have a Sony Bravia KDL-46X4500 TV.

Its probably 10 years old, maybe a bit more.

Its been rock solid until today, but now it has started misbehaving.

Intermittent but frequent vertical pin-stripe style lines are appearing on the screen.

They seem to be right across the screen, from top to bottom.

The picture is still discernible but its terribly annoying.

The lines appear whether I am watching Sky (via HDMI) or the built-in Freeview tuner.

So I think this points to the issue being with the TV.

Is it worth getting this repaired or is a new telly the best option??

i have the 32 inch model of that TV

had the same thing a 3rd of the way on the left hand side

i have notice a few times mine has starting to do that too ounce every few months or so

i just turn of the TV at the wall and wait 5 min then turn it back on

linw

2849 posts

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#2196779 12-Mar-2019 20:55

Got a monitor here like that. In my case it will undoubtedly be a bad connection to a couple of LCD columns on the top edge. Tried wiggling/squeezing along the edge with no luck.

Being a monitor it wasn't open/shut so it can just happen.

kiwifidget

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#2196811 12-Mar-2019 21:54

Hmmm, so I thought my stern talk had made some sort of impact.

It's been ok watching TV during the afternoon, but after dinner it has started doing it again.

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linw

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#2197160 13-Mar-2019 11:22

It that is repeatable, suggests a heat expansion trigger?

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Radiotron

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#2197544 13-Mar-2019 20:42

Does the fault only appear when the TV is viewing a source, or is it present when menu displayed? If it only appears when the TV has to watch an input, the processor/scaler board is dying. If the symptom is present all of the time, it's probably a panel failure. The 46X4500 was brilliant bit of kit in the day, but it's getting older for a panel TV. Prob time for replacement.

kiwifidget

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#2197902 14-Mar-2019 12:06

@radiotron thank you for suggesting that trouble-shooting tip.

I can confirm that the stripes do not appear when the menu is onscreen.

Even when the picture is viewable behind the menu, the picture has stripes but the menu does not.

The stripes also appear once the TV has been running for a while, like 4+ hours.

Given the age of the TV, is it worth replacing/repairing the processor/scaler board?

If so, who does that sort of work these days?

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Radiotron

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#2198205 14-Mar-2019 20:06

OK, so it's the scaler board. And thermal related, that fits. As of some time ago, those boards are no longer available from Sony. You might able to locate one pulled from a wreck on the interwebs. From memory (no warranty expressed or implied) it's A-1568-321-A FBA COMPL.

Alternatively, you could try the Sony 0800 766969 and see where that takes you, Sony no longer provide direct links to their repairers. Once again, probably time for a new TV.

kiwifidget

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#2198224 14-Mar-2019 20:36

thank you @radiotron , most appreciated.

Time to hit the "recommend me a TV" threads :)

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Radiotron

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#2198226 14-Mar-2019 20:39

Good luck, I like my Sony, but if it dies, would look to Panasonic first. Happy to help :)