Documenting Sony HX703 or EX503 with banding issues

cdb2

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I have noticed banding issues with my HX703, specifically a dark vertical band just off centre very noticebale when watching footie panning from left to right or even the helicopter flying on Seaside Rescue! This particular model is meant to be "the definition of picture and sound performance" from Sony so I am indeed sorely disappointed and will seek a replacement.

As there seems to be a number of us with banding issues on the HX703 and EX503, I thought it would be helpful to us all if we help each other out by documenting:

1) What model you have and what banding you experience- vertical or horizontal.

2) When it is most apparent, footie, tennis, other?

3) Have you returned it, to whom and was it problematic to get it swapped?

4) Is your replacement fine?

5) As it may need demonstrating, any recommendations re film clips or (better still) Bravia Internet Video online content that shows the banding off well?

Thanks people. :smashin:
 
I have the 40ex503 and have verticle banding in 3 places plus a little horizontal banding. Mainly shows up on football or dark backgrounds on quick pans and upward camera moves. So far had 1 replacement that was even worse but still have original as they forgot to take it when they replaced it. Not decided if I am going to try another or just cut my losses and get a Panny S20 and pay the extra as I am doubtfull I will get one that is ok. Yet again Sony manage to fob off substandard kit at premium prices. After all the pretty good reviews this set got and absolutely no mention of this backlight issue I thought that Sony finally had something to rival the w4000. Sadly it doesn't. How did they get away with this again?
 
I've a 46ex503. At first I thought I could live with the banding, but it's become more and more noticeable, so getting a replacement from Amazon next week - if that has any issues it's going back too and I'll probably go for a Samsung c650. Anyways this is what I see on the screen, the thicker the band the more visible the vertical band (the worst one is alway there, the others with panning shots):
 

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I have the 55EX503.


1) What model you have and what banding you experience- vertical or horizontal.
55EX503 - Vertical Banding, just right of centre.

2) When it is most apparent, footie, tennis, other?
Footie, Fast panning shots. Windows Default blank wallpaper on Win7 (blue) - Not massively noticable in all circumstances, but it IS there.

3) Have you returned it, to whom and was it problematic to get it swapped?
No - Bought from Argos. Sorting out other issues with Amp 1st then tackle it.

4) Is your replacement fine?
N/A

5) As it may need demonstrating, any recommendations re film clips or (better still) Bravia Internet Video online content that shows the banding off well?

Only football. BUT here is a slightly freakish one for you guys to try.
Get a copy of the Green Mile with Tom Hanks. Go to the scene where they are executing the French guy del la quoire
The lighting in this scene (a good few mins) freaks my TV out. When lighting strikes, you see ghosting, "slow mo" images, and other weird artifacts. Try it and see if yours does the same. You will know when you see it! Very cool actually but mighty odd.
 
I think it is probably also worth people noting which screen size they have. Because from what i've read its the larger screens which have these banding issues.

I have a 32" 503 without issues, and i've read a few others too which are fine. So is it just the 40"+ (considering 37 is diff panel)?
 
46HX703 Here.

Banding: Lots of banding, hard to work out if it's vertical/horizontal as it seems to be in lots of places, apparent on all moving images.

Backlight: The 2 right hand corners have big white blobs on there, noticable when watching dark scenes in films and when viewing a 4:3 image in native format, store seems to think thats acceptable for a £1,500 TV!

Colour purity/uniformity: All 4 corners look dark and dirty when viewing a solid white image.

HDMI: Picture was flickering quite a lot and sound going out of sync when watching a film last night, then it went black and now I can't get a picture on any HDMI with any device I try, the TV does pick up something is plugged in though as in the inputs menu it shows those devices when plugged in, reset didn't work.

Stand: Here's one for you all, my TV leans to the right, the stand is level but the TV is higher by a few CM on the left hand side.

Hassle with the store, lots!. I won't mention who they are yet if they sort this out, if not i'll name and shame.

P.S. looking at the pixel structure on the display it looks like a typical Sony/Samsung S-LCD >>> P-MVA arrangement. So i'd hazzard a guess these are older displays used from a previous series and the tinted black glass was just put there to hide the clouds not for asthetic reasons lol!, I really don't think they are Sharp panels at all, why would they make a ccfl version of the edge LED, it makes no sense, I bet there are loads of panels left over from the S-LCD venture and this is one way of using them up.

Apologies if i've gone off on a bit of a tangent here.
 
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Hi

Now this may not be related but just recently I've noticed that every so often, a horizontal green line flashes across the screen. When it happens, it's gone as soon as it appears and looks to be about 2mm thick.

I've now seen it about three to four times, though it may have happened more than that but I'm not always looking at the screen and it's gone in less than a second.

Anyone else noticed this on th HX series (46")?
 
I have noticed it on verticle camera movement on 40ex503 not all the time more on Sky HD than anything else.
 
I'm going to contact Sony Support re the banding and see what they say. Not acceptable on a TV billed as being "the definition of picture and sound performance".
 
hello all

sorry to hear about your issues with this T.V, i was about to get it till i seen this which is disappointing from sony.

anyway i feel like i,m going back a step on what t.v to get, so i think the panasonic V20 is back on the race or maybe something else or sony if they got their act together.

thanks
 
Hi guys I know what its like when parting hard earned cash for a t.v with faults ( I had a bad 40w5500 last year- backlight bleed:mad: ) But my 40hx703 has no problems you have listed- and I have been staring like an hungry hawk for any issues, don't want to come across as big headed- maybe i've just been lucky :rolleyes:. It sounds like a case of a lottery with sony t.v's these days as I read these forums re. 40w5500 last year.
 
Brian,

Your post is reasurring - I've got an HX703 on order - so fingers crossed I get lucky in the Sony pannel lotterry......

It's strange most retailers seem to be out of stock of the 46HX. Mine's been on order for weeks. Wonder if Sony realised they cocked up the pannel and have spent time changing it or something....
 
no no thats a way different thing...the HX700 was anyway to be discontinued this month so its logical
 
no no thats a way different thing...the HX700 was anyway to be discontinued this month so its logical

Eh?? Discontinued?? What's this all about? HX700 was only released a few months ago!! Why's it discontinued? Is there a superseeding model?
 
Well I have arranged for mine to go back and get a refund. It does appear to be a lottery to see if you get one that is ok and after 2 goes and still no better set it has to go. Also I have noticed the input lag the more I play games. Playing Metro 2033 which is sluggish any way is almost impossible on the set. Trouble is I have no idea as to what I am going to get. I am toying with either the Sammy C650 but worried about input lag and uniformity or Panny S20 plasma (don't want THX) again have concerns over black levels during the day, floating blacks, IR and buzzing that has plagued Panny Plasmas recently.
 
I was on my second 40" EX503 until yesterday - both had vertical and horizontal banding issues. In particular on the second set a 2" wide vertical band going down the centre of the screen which was clear as day when watching the footy.

Coupled with the dreadful input lag for gaming, I make the decision to replace it with a Panasonic G20 yesterday. A shame, because banding and lag issues aside, I loved the TV.

Also I found out that PixelJunk Shooter is the best game to test your Sony TV's banding issues out with. It's use of grey and horizontal/vertical panning makes the banding stand out more than anything.

EDIT:

1) What model you have and what banding you experience- vertical or horizontal.

40" EX503. Both types of banding. One major 2" wide vertical band - completely intolerable. Several other far more subtle vertical/horizontal bands.

2) When it is most apparent, footie, tennis, other?

Football - both broadcast and gaming, pans in TV programmes - mainly those in 50/60fps (saw it constantly the other day on Location Location Location), occasionally in films.

3) Have you returned it, to whom and was it problematic to get it swapped?

Returned it, House of Fraser. They wouldn't give me a refund when I first went in, wanted me to wait for a (third) replacement. 2 weeks later, still no stock - so managed to finally get them to refund me yesterday (but it wasn't easy!).

4) Is your replacement fine?

The second replacement EX503 wasn't fine. But my new Panasonic G20 has no banding at all :)

5) As it may need demonstrating, any recommendations re film clips or (better still) Bravia Internet Video online content that shows the banding off well?

Really difficult to find perfect content to show off the banding. Best bet is do what I did - ensure you go in to the store when a world cup match is on. Initially they blamed it on the broadcast, but eventually they agreed it was a problem with the TV.
 
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Also, would just like to say that I find this completely unacceptable in this day and age. The TV manufacturers are taking advantage of most people's naivety. There should be automatic uniformity checks done on the panels before they leave the factory - unfortunately this would lower the yield dramatically and will never happen.
 
Eh?? Discontinued?? What's this all about? HX700 was only released a few months ago!! Why's it discontinued? Is there a superseeding model?

You serious? :eek:

This TV is new out???

Do tell.

its CCFL squeezed into the LED line up so its not propably a great thing...it wasnt as series to be for long.as for the closest series,its the HX8 series with led and 3d
 
its CCFL squeezed into the LED line up so its not propably a great thing...it wasnt as series to be for long.as for the closest series,its the HX8 series with led and 3d

So is it "official news" then that the HX703 will be discontinued or just rumour? Any links?

Or does it only apply to the HX700 which is the European model as far as I know without the HD tuner???
 
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Ah, I see there is a thread dedicated to banding issues with these TV's now :(

I purchased a 40EX503 from JL and it had this issue, a static central vertical band (a bit like a ripple) and one side lighter compared to the other. It was only really noticable on fast moving horizontal scrolling with solid backgrounds such as football pitches but quite distracting. JL changed it without question when I described the problem to them.

My replacement 40EX503 has a couple of vertical bands as well, but wider and not central and not as pronounced as the first set. Originally I thought it was not enough to worry me but I regularly notice them with football in the world cup.

Last night I was watching a program about a couple renovating a barn in the Brecon Beacons and the light colours in the painted rooms showed both horizontal and vertical banding when the camera was panned sideways and up and down.

The reason for it? I am guessing that the physical surfaces are not perfectly flat. Maybe a distortion due to uneven heat or a manufacturing imperfection. Probably a few microns but enough to affect the light path and the human eye/brain is incredibly good at picking up this sort of thing. The less reflective diffuse screen may not be helping here and the monolith design in the more expensive models may help mask this with all the clear reflections they introduce.

Although it is quite important not to train yourself to see this sort of thing; if you notice it without particularly looking for it it is not acceptable in my humble opinion.

I think Sony need to be taken to task over both this banding problem and the "cones" problem with some LED TV's. I'm reading reviews, especially the 40EX503 and 40EX703,with interest to see if these issues are being addressed by the reviewers.
 
Agree with you Eastereel, Sony do need taking to task re putting out potentially poor quality like this.

I can confirm that the the monolith design in the more expensive models doesn't help to mask the banding as it is very irrittating on my HX703!

I've searched all over for HX703 and EX503 reviews and not found any yet that criticise uniformity.
 
It is probably me not knowing what to look for, but I cant see anything "wrong" with my 46EX503. Football plays just fine, so does normal SD/HD content.

And just for the record, I dont really want to start looking for a particular fault either, because if I do I might imagine seeing it/something and be annoyed about it.. lol.
 
I too have a 46EX503, and have watched nearly all the world cup games so far. I can't see anything other than a fantastic HD picture!

Can someone explain what is meant by "banding"? A photograph perhaps?
 

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