SONY TV KD55XH9296 - Anyone else disappointed?

[PenningtonTowers]

Hi there. Originally bought this TV after much research and have been really disappointed with what was an expensive purchase. Sound levels are all over the place, especially when moving from TV channel to Netflix and vice versa. Picture flickers when home button pressed. Blurring/rippling of some images against a solid background. Communication issues with smart home controls. Cumbersome and klunky feeling throughout. Remote is terrible. Anyone else disappointed? Or are there fixes out there to make the enjoyment better?

[ukmax1]

Hello Pennington Towers

I have a KD-65H8096 which I purchased three months ago after bad experiences with both Samsung and LG TV's. However the problems I had with those brands has been paled into insignificance by the problems I find with this Sony TV!

I don't know how long you have had your TV but as you only posted yesterday and by estimating that it should only take a couple of days to find problems, I guess it is a very recent acquisition.

If you are disappointed now, I regret to inform you that your level of disapointement will rise to new levels, the longer you own the TV. Wait until you start recording programs to USB attached drives or you have to get up from your chair, unplug the TV and wait 30 seconds!

Or even worse, wait until you have to deal with Sony support by email, they seem to speak English quite well on the phone but I doubt that they can read it. Below is and example of what to expect.  The following came in today  after nearly 4 weeks emailing back and forth. This was a reply to an email from support saying they would no longer help me because I had not given the software version they asked for. they also asked me to connect my TV to my personal hotspot, what that has to do with recording issues and software crashes, I didn't know but I tried it!

I have cut and paste part of the exchange below, to give you a taster (note in particular the wording of my second paragraph)

MY REPLY to SONY SUPPORT

The software version is PKG6.5042.0633EUA and  was clearly shown on the photograph that I sent you with my earlier email along with a photograph of the TV displaying a confirmation that the software was up to date.

When I connect the TV to my personal hotspot via my iPhone, it does work but it is very poor but this is probably due to my living in a very poor cellphone coverage area. Downloading content via iPlayer and internet was very slow and impossible to watch. However there is no change that I can observe, to any of the problems I have reported.

SONY SUPPORT REPLY to ME:-

With reference to your enquiry regarding your Sony KD-65XH8096, please note that if your TV is working fine on the hot spot connection, then the issue is related to your internet connection. You may contact your internet service provider to check with them.

I rest my case!

Regards, Max

[Joe_Dohn]

Looks like you've both had quite the terrible experience!

@PenningtonTowers

When it comes to the performance of the TV, you can make sure it's up to date (v6.0466), and clear the cached data (under Device Preferences - Storage - Internal Shared Storage - Cached data) then restart by holding power.

@ukmax1 I'd also try clearing the cached data if support hasn't already recommended that.

Not sure if this would drastically improve the situation, but I hope it helps!

- JD

[PenningtonTowers]

Max - thanks for your response. I bought the TV in Jan 2021, and have had these issues since install. Sony support have been very disappointing. They fail to get in touch when they say they will, and seem oblivious to these issues, yet we all know they do exist. For a premium (so called) product the TV is so klunky and anoying its untrue. 

[PenningtonTowers]

JD - thanks for your response. The software is up to date and on that version (originally I did have to wait 3 weeks for the update to be released, and when it was released I had to manually download it to a flash drive from my PC and then up load to TV). It's so klunky. This TV replaced a 15 year old Panasonic Plasma, which is now in the dining room - it is still far superior in its functionality than the Sony. I sometimes find myself watching that TV so as not to allow the Sony TV from winding me up.

[ukmax1]

Hello again PenningtonTowers,

Coincidentally, I also have old Panasonic TVs and a Panasonic HDD/DVD recorder but they do not have Freesat .  The TVs outperform the Sony TV (and also the previous Samsung and LG ) The functionality of the 15 year old Panasonic recorder is a phenomenal away ahead off the recording facility provided with the Sony "smart" TV.

To be honest, I found the Samsung "smart" TV quite frustrating at times but I used it for 5 years before the power supply failed so I upgraded (or at least thought I had upgraded!!) to an LG which was even worse, so bad in fact that it ended up in the skip at only 4 months old due to damage to the screen, the cause of which I shall not go in to!! However this Sony "smart" TV is far worse than either of these and unfortunately, it's too expensive to scrap.

Of course Sony know there are problems but they are rather like politicians and never acknowledge faults and never actually give a straight answer but instead obfuscate the issue by asking loads of dumb questions asking owners to engage endless tests/resets/reboots etc. When all these fail (as in most cases they will), Sony will then try to pass the problem on to your internet service provider, as if that will make a difference to the way the TV records off-air programs!

For the record - I have done all the tests, all the resets, cleared the caches (several times) and reset to factory settings twice. I've even connected to two neighbours' WiFi (with consent), both of whom use different ISPs and there is no improvements to the faults I have with this Sony TV which I can only describe as very expensive rubbish!

Frustrated? -  Yes I am

Annoyed?  - Yes I am

Feel ripped off? -  Yes I definitely do.

Max