29-08-2013, 09:34 AM
Our first Sony television was a 22" KV2204UB Trinitron set, and incidentally our first colour television. I was impressed by the quality of the picture and the set was built on a bomb proof (if live) metal chassis. Just out of warranty the set threw a wobbley and investigation revealed that the LOPT unit had gone futt, it being a UK sourced part. Fitted one made in Japan and the set performed right up until the day it went to the scrapyard as we had just worn it out.
My bedside clock radio is a 40+ year old Sony Blacklight unit with motor driven rotating numbers.
Now don't get me wrong, I like Sony kit, always had a soft spot for it because it just worked how I wanted it to, but recently even I have been somewhat despairing of the quality of build in the sets. The malaise started for me with my first DVD/HDD recorder unit, a RDR-HDX900 unit that performed for three years with no issues before spending three months at Sony whilst they tried to obtain and program a replacement hard drive that incidentally I could source off the shelf with no issues at PC World. The latest DVD/HDD unit, a Sony RDR-HDX970HD unit, has just had it's power supply unit rebuilt because of some key capacitors "doming off" (mind you, I just repaired the PSU on the Technomate sat box for the same reason so I can't really shout that loudly over it) whilst the 40" TV that is four years old is starting to show the same symptoms. Of more frustration, the display screen on the front of the HDD/DVD unit, a gas discharge unit, is dimming but is younger that the one fitted in the 900 which shows no sign of degradation so you have to be of the opinion that Sony have somehow cheapened the spec of the gas tubes over the years. Firmware updates are a bone of contention with me, at least one update that was supposed to correct issues cured them but introduced a totally unrelated issue in the process, don't they test stuff these days before they issue it?
But what has now really turned me away from Sony is that their current range no longer has a DVD/HDD model available. I can have a DVD player, I can have a HDD TiVo style recorder, but I can't have both. With the recent EPG debacle when I nearly went out and obtained a new unit no thanks to the lack of support from Sony UK, I discovered that Panasonic now produce, get this, a combination BD/DVD/CD/HDD recorder (yes, you can now record onto blue ray) for under £500 whilst having twin tuners and all the bells and whistles I used to get from Sony.
There's corporate suicide for you, and Sony are the world leaders.
My bedside clock radio is a 40+ year old Sony Blacklight unit with motor driven rotating numbers.
Now don't get me wrong, I like Sony kit, always had a soft spot for it because it just worked how I wanted it to, but recently even I have been somewhat despairing of the quality of build in the sets. The malaise started for me with my first DVD/HDD recorder unit, a RDR-HDX900 unit that performed for three years with no issues before spending three months at Sony whilst they tried to obtain and program a replacement hard drive that incidentally I could source off the shelf with no issues at PC World. The latest DVD/HDD unit, a Sony RDR-HDX970HD unit, has just had it's power supply unit rebuilt because of some key capacitors "doming off" (mind you, I just repaired the PSU on the Technomate sat box for the same reason so I can't really shout that loudly over it) whilst the 40" TV that is four years old is starting to show the same symptoms. Of more frustration, the display screen on the front of the HDD/DVD unit, a gas discharge unit, is dimming but is younger that the one fitted in the 900 which shows no sign of degradation so you have to be of the opinion that Sony have somehow cheapened the spec of the gas tubes over the years. Firmware updates are a bone of contention with me, at least one update that was supposed to correct issues cured them but introduced a totally unrelated issue in the process, don't they test stuff these days before they issue it?
But what has now really turned me away from Sony is that their current range no longer has a DVD/HDD model available. I can have a DVD player, I can have a HDD TiVo style recorder, but I can't have both. With the recent EPG debacle when I nearly went out and obtained a new unit no thanks to the lack of support from Sony UK, I discovered that Panasonic now produce, get this, a combination BD/DVD/CD/HDD recorder (yes, you can now record onto blue ray) for under £500 whilst having twin tuners and all the bells and whistles I used to get from Sony.
There's corporate suicide for you, and Sony are the world leaders.
