Sony not what they were

[peterfranklin]

I have used Sony products for over 30 years, willing to pay a bit more to get the quality and reliability I wanted for my cameras, TV, audio and video equipment. They always proved my buying decisions and gave me years of great service.

Unfortunately over the last year or so, my recent Sony products have proved to be unreliable and have poor compatibility, with Sony seemingly unwilling to support them effectively. In particular, since upgrading my TV, AV receiver and BD player to 4k, all of these products have had issues. 

Some examples:

• Satellite box had no video when connected via the AV receiver after switching from another source
• TV loses internet connection when connected to router via WiFi
• 4K BD player locks up when playing discs or streaming (on my 2nd BD player which has same problem)
• Sony support advises connecting BD player direct to TV rather than via AV receiver - which rather defeats purpose of having the receiver to switch between sources
• Software updates via the internet are not up to date (even though device states it is using latest software). Sony support advised that the server does not always have up to date version and to update via USB stick. But...
• Downloadable software updates are not compatible with latest MAC OS which uses APFS file format.
• Withdrawal of support of Imaging software for MAC OS
• DSC RX100M4 camera battery discharges very quickly even when switched off.

When the products work, they are good quality, but the compatibility and reliability issues are testing my loyalty. I will seriously consider whether to stick with Sony for my next purchases.

Anyone else experienced similar issues?

Peter

[Win_88]

Hi Peter

It would be great if you let us know the model numbers of each of the devices you listed.

It's worth mentioning that sometimes, as a part of troubleshooting an issue, simplifying the connection is required. So for the BD player issue, testing a direct connection to the TV is definitely expected.

Win_88

[peterfranklin]

The model numbers I have experienced problems with are:-

• BD player - UBP-X800M2 (1st model was UBP-X800)
• TV - KD55AF8
• AV receiver - STR-DN1080
• DSC-RX100M4

re the point on direct connection from BD player to TV, I accept that makes sense as a troubleshooting step, but the Support advisor told me to make it permanent  - something to do with video levels (sounded bull to me).

[OneMoreOne]

I think you are right. I've just had to retire a CMT-X7CDB CD/Dab unit because the CD bit won't play (simply rejects) any CD I put in it ( DAB reception is also a bit pants but that might be a more general reception problem). I've tried all the remedies suggested by Sony Support (which I knew wouldn't work) and the unit is about four years old, beyond warranty and not worth repairing.

I've just ordered a Panasonic unit instead as every Pana device I've bought has soldiered on until well obsolete. 

I'm also having increasing trouble with my Android TV (KD -49x8005C) which regularly grinds to a halt. It looses connectivity (both wired, wireless and BT) with tedious regularity and takes over a minute to switch between inputs (e.g. from TV to HDMI or back again). It can't apparently remember which sound output I've chosen switching randomly back to external audio when I've selected TV (mostly because I have some headphones attached). 

You used to be able to rely on Sony as a superior product for which you were willing to pay a premium. I don't think this is true any longer and I'm now avoiding them.

Shame

Paul

[Joe_Dohn]

Hey Peter,

An update was released for both the TV and the receiver very recently, if you're still facing these issues, why not give that a try and let us know if that solved it for you?

Hi Paul,

Clearing the cached data (Settings - Storage & Reset - Internal Shared Storage - Cached data) would be your best option as this usually improves the overall performance, especially if you use streaming apps extensively and updating the TV to 5.435, but it's unlikely you don't have it up to date. As for the CD player, if you've already tried making sure the discs are not scratched, dirty and reset it. You should probably have it inspected, though as you mentioned, might not be worth your time and/or money.

Hope this helps!

- J.D.

[peterfranklin]

Hi Joe,

both TV and receiver are up to date. At least the auto update function is working on those devices! 

The woeful saga of the BD player has got worse since my post. As the auto update for the player does not update to latest software, Sony support advised updating via USB memory stick. I have tried a handful of sticks, using both file formats, from a Mac and PC and in each case the player does not recognise the update files. So, they now advise sending to a service centre; the local one not being very close to me (and we're currently in lockdown anyway). Sony will not cover pick up or postage - even under warranty. Not impressed.