[Himji]

A little thing I've been debating with myself. Are Sony better than most other brands or is it just the name??

I've heard friends in both camps but I'd really love to hear from somebody that's had both and can compare like for like.

Just a brand really.
you know the whole 'sony style' the TV's certainly look greaet.
but in general their no better and no worse than their competitiors.

[captaindobie]

Yeah, i would have to agree. It's amazing how much brand loyalty there is for someone like SONY. I think if you went back a decade or so then a lot of Sony kit probably was the best compared to others. Nowadays, i don't think that's the case. There really is so much choice out there now and ultimately Sony often charge a little bit extra (sometimes a lot!) just because their name is on the product. Not always worth it in my opinion...

I was always loyal to the Sony brand, until I bought a very expensive Sony wide-screen LCD projector. It had a stuck blue pixel moderately near the centre of the screen and Sony would not replace it. They said this was within the spec of their projectors.
In looking at it they managed to f--k up the projector by putting a green smear all down one side of the image.
Well they wont get my custom ever again and I warn anyone buying an LCD TV set to question the guarantees on stuck or dead pixels.
Cheers Chris

[MartinImber]

Sony are one of the better makes - some things they do they do best others other companies do best - but Sony are better than a lot.

I'd lump them roughly with Pioneer and Panasonic for build quality.

Tube TV Sony are among best, video cameras as well.

Main thing is cheap Sony can be rubbish whereas their more expensive stuff can be brilliant.

My next DVD player will not be Sony as I want a universal one!

sony is not a brand that I will consider buying again. i've got a sony tv and sony all-in-one dvd system. both have problems and the cost to repair is more than buying new (and the stuff is only a few years old). read all the reviews before buying sony!

[Battlestar]

I have had experince with bad geometric errors with all the sony wide screen tvs I have had. Quality controll seems to be an issue. MInd you that is probably not just sony

[Himji]

Thanks guys, I'll probably agree with the expensive Sony are great comment because I've found that all the reviews I've read where the Sony set is over £1k, they just couldn't find fault with the Sony (apart from the price) whereas I've been hard pushed to find reviews for cheaper Sony sets.. :?

[MartinImber]

Originally Posted by sony_tv

sony is not a brand that I will consider buying again. i've got a sony tv and sony all-in-one dvd system. both have problems and the cost to repair is more than buying new (and the stuff is only a few years old). read all the reviews before buying sony!

Make sure you avoid Samsung then - they make the all in ones - not Sony

Sony do not make Vhs Vcrs - they are bought in as well

[Nick_UK]

Go back 40 years, and Sony products were definitely a cut above many other brands, and many customers would pay extra for the Sony name to get the better quality. However, later on, Sony realised that they couldn't survive without a bigger market share, and they reduced their prices, and inevitably the quality went down.

Ask any engineer that works on Sony sets. These days they are no better (but probably no worse) than most other established brands.

[Himji]

Cool. Ok then so when it comes to pictre quality, which brands should I be looking out for and which ones should I avoid like a burberry cap? (of course, the ultra cheap, bush, daewoo etrc are a given)

[gfc]

I always thought that Sony were great especially their tv's until i bought the dreaded 32FQ75 . Had 3 sets, all with the same problems and the one which replaced it had similar problems!! So to me, Sony is def a naay.

[Nick_UK]

Originally Posted by Himji

Cool. Ok then so when it comes to pictre quality, which brands should I be looking out for and which ones should I avoid like a burberry cap? (of course, the ultra cheap, bush, daewoo etrc are a given)

Everyone will tell you different, but here's my list of major manufacturers :

Wouldn't touch with a barge pole

Philips - too many bad experiences
Samsung - poor build & component quality

Would think twice before buying again

Panasonic - poor customer service, poor manuals
Hitachi - poor customer service, poor manuals and publicity material
Sony - overpriced, not very helpful these days

[Himji]

Thanks nick. Tell me about everybody having different ideas. Hell, I might just pick and point cos the more I look into it the more confusing it gets (and I can't find any reviews for ones that I've seen and am interested in)

Anyway, have you not any reccomended picks Nick (or are you a half empty man )

[Nick_UK]

To be honest, I think you have to make a choice based on what's on offer at the time you have the money. I've spent all mine now I'm not entirely unhappy with my Hitachi TV - it does give very good pictures - I'm just a little disappointed with the product brochures and manuals which were a little misleading, and Hitachi Customer Service, who are not very helpful at all. I'm one of these people who doesn't like rewarding incompetence.

[red16v]

I've worked on a whole range of tv sets - professional and domestic. In my opinion Sony sets tend to over complicated and over engineered - they are a nightmare to work on when they go faulty. On the other hand they do give very good pictures and are very reliable which is good news considering the points I've just made with regards to complexity! Just my opinion, I know others will have different viewpoints. Regards, yt.

[gbmitie]

to get what u really want from a tv u have to decide
1. how much do i want to pay
2. what do i watch most of
3. what is the maximum size screen i need
4. can i be tolerant of artefacts
5. can i spot the flicker on 50hz

then u must read reviews and then go and see for urself. But when u view get the remote and see how much u can do with picture, take ur favourite dvd to play. try and see sets side by side, i did today in currys but had no remotes so could not set tv as i would like. the sony looked best, the dvd was harry potter, i looked at 4 sony, panasonic, philips, and a jvc. they all looked ok an in the end it will be price, then name, the sony is the 2nd cheapest at the moment. the pansonic has s video at the very front, i could not see s video on the philips, the jvc had 3 scarts but no s -video din socket, and on it goes all slight differences. The sony weighs about 12 lbs more than the others.
if the shop can repair my 29" panasonic for a reasonable fee i will probably keep it and wait for HD in 2006.

good luck

gbmitie