2015 Bravia Android TV Issues

[NickCo1979]

I thought I'd create a generic thread to cover off the issues being encountered on the 2015 Bravia Android TVs. I've listed my issues below with fixes / workarounds and responses from support. All comments and solutions welcome!

1) Hot Swap HDMI doesn't work - manifested by no input on HDMI channels 2, 3 and 4 on the KD-49X8305C. Workaround - reset the TV, either by holding down the remote power button for 5 seconds or by switching the TV off at the wall and then back on again. Further details on this thread: https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/kd-49x8305c-hdmi-2-3-4-inputs-not-working/td-p/1944435

2) HDD Recording doesn't work - error message states a system update is required but none is available when checking. Hopefully this will be fixed soon by a firmware update.

3) Netflix App doesn't work - this seems like the app has been deliberately disabled. So far a support case has only recommended that a factory reset be performed (took two days to get to that cracking piece of advice.....), with no improvement as a result. A temporary (albeit for advanced users only) workaround is provided by MikeLothian on this thread - https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/netflix-support-for-kd55x8509c-android-tv/td-p/1945360 

4) Sound lag and performance issues after the TV (KD-49X8305C) has been on standby for a while - manifested for me as stuttering and sound / picture sync issues in all apps (youtube, amazon instant video etc) and HDMI sources (PS4, seperate YouView box etc). Hopefully this will be fixed in a firmware update, at the moment workarounds involve either changing channels to get the sync to work or in my case having to turn the TV off and then on again at the socket.

As stated previously, all comments welcome. Personally I'm willing to give Sony a couple of weeks to fix this, but if it's not done soon I'll be sending my new TV back for a refund as it's not really fit for purpose.

[mk1.golf.1983]

Could someone give me some advice please. I have been on the phone to Sony today in regards to the led light flashing 6 times on my kdl43w755c. The guy on the phone tried telling me that I need to do a factory reset,  I said to him that the tv has already had a reset when I updated the firmware last and the fault was present before then and after so a reset would not solve the problem, I also said that it was a fault code and that would indicate what the fault was. On my previous call to Sony the support guy told me the code related to the panel being faulty but he said it couldn't be as the screen was working. Anyway the support guy said that they wouldn't be able to send an engineer round unless the fault is present (the tv works fine again after you press the power button) I then stated they have the fault code I have given them so they need to sort it out. Support guy put me on hold for a bit and came back to me stating that they are going to exchange my unit.

Now the bit I need some advice on is where do I stand with my retailer as I didn't buy the tv direct off Sony and if the hdd recording is not around at the time stated by Sony or if it gets pushed back again then I will return the tv to my retailer on the grounds of Not as advertised. So will my retailer have to take the tv back even though it is not the exact same one they sold me? 

[rsebre]

Glad to see the forums here are still full of life. Thanks everyone for the really good, constructive criticism, hints and tip and valid questions.

I can get Android 6 running on my set if necessary.:smileylaugh: It's nice to see they are demoing it to people now at CES and such. The X1 can pretty much the latest Android for some time at least.:smileyarrow:

The problems for me aren't another implementation of the OS but the firmware. My display has been crashing regularly. And resetting itself, which then takes a good half an hour to get right again.

I'm, and have been trying for sometime, to get the firmware unpacked correctly and the hex editor out.

If I write a better firmware, the things I will have to get are the correct Unicodes

I'm sure modifying the firmware will allow me to finally connect my headphones via bluetooth/wifi.

I really want this feature.:smileyhappy:

The other features I 'm hoping that I could activate are the HDD Recording and the Picture in Picture as promised.:smileyballoon:

My set's 5 months old? and its constantly crashing, so I couldn't take it back could I?:smileyalert:

Getting frustrated, but at least its got HDMI 2.0

Kind regards

Richard

[WoodyReely]

Bought on January 1st 2016. Initialy 'Screen Cast' facility from Android phone worked great, though some devices only cast from specific apps due to their own restrictions.

Temporary Hiccup:

Did software update on 2nd January 2016 and casting facility stopped working. Spent days looking for solutions. Got very frustrated and planned to return the TV until I found the solution below. If you have a similar issue you can try everything else like I did but this will work - believe me, I tried everything else - App updates, system restore, system updates, turn off and on again, remove and re-install apps on mobile devices.

Solution to restore 'screen cast' (after software update):

(i) Make sure you're connected to the same internet network (wired or WiFi) and avoid changing from one type of connection to the other on the TV. Pick one that works well and stick to it. I chose wired as digital box is beside TV. Swapping between the two can affect the function.

(ii) Reset the TV. This is the crucial step! This is NOT the same as turning the TV off and on again. To reset the TV make sure the TV is turned ON. Then hold the green 'power' button on the remote control for 5 seconds (pointing at TV). The TV will shut down and restart. Once this has been done the 'cast' option works again.

To be honest, over the next few days the system was a little unstable but stabilised after a few resets.

[andrewsoong]

Calling that a solution is a bit of a stretch. 

"turning it off and on again" isn't a solution it's a workaround. A solution would be a patch to fix all these horrendous bugs. 

[WoodyReely]

NOT the solution: 

"I tried everything else - App updates, system restore, system updates, turn off and on again, remove and re-install apps on mobile devices."

The Solution: (skipping to part 2)

(ii) Reset the TV. This is the crucial step! This is NOT the same as turning the TV off and on again. 

[stuhall11]

Thought I'd chuck in my experiences here after a couple of days with my new TV (55X8005C):

1. Picture quality is excellent. No, perhaps not quite OLED good, but it wasn't quite OLED money either, so not unhappy at all
2. Really nice to be able to run Kodi directly on the TV and not need my old Revo any more - so far, it works well and 5.1 passthrough is nice
3. Plex, Amazon Prime and iPlayer also work well and are excellent quality, although none offers 5.1 passthrough like Kodi, which is a shame, but I can live with this for now
4. DVB-T HD upscaling is excellent and a pleasure to watch. Obviously SD content looks a bit naff, but *any* SD content on a large TV will not flatter it 😉
5. Amazingly, my 8+ year old Sony receiver and BluRay player actually work properly with the TV using "Bravia Theatre Sync" (dunno if this is CEC or not). This makes a huge, huge difference for the wife-approval-factor! I've gone from needing to turn on three boxes (TV, amp, Kodi box), set the TV to the right input and set the amp to the right input) to "Turn on the TV"! This turns on the amp and switches it to "TV" - it also allows the TV volume control to adjust the amp, which is really cool as the amp is at the far end of the room, so having to remember to point the right remote at the right box was always a challenge for the family. It's also cool that when I select "BD" on the input menu, it switches the amp to "DVD" and turns on the BluRay player - the TV remote controls it through the TV screen so again, no pointing at the other end of the room. And when you turn the TV off, it turns the lot off. OK, so I know this isn't new stuff, but for me, I'm well chuffed!
6. "Casting" youtube content from the phone to the telly is cool - I like this

OK, so anything not so good?

1. The channel browser ("YouView") is pretty laggy - not a great experience
2. The home page is a bit cluttered and doesn't seem to be too customisable - I think I need to look into this further
3. Only getting 5.1 passthrough for Kodi and not Amazon, Plex etc. is a bit crummy, but I will hope this will appear in time. Plex is a much nicer experience on Android TV, being better integrated, so I'll keep an eye on this and hope to see it fixed later this year

That's about it really - no stability issues, no gitches. It's early days, but Android TV seems to be doing what I hoped it would! I think this post might be out of alignment with the rest of this thread, but unless things become dramatically worse, I think I'll be content.

Details of setup:

TV: KD55X8005C (2015)

Amp: STRDG910 (2007!)

BluRay: DVPNS78 (2007!)

OpenElec Box: Acer Revo One (hopefully retired now!)

Connectivity:

OpenElec - HDMI to Amp

BluRay - HDMI to Amp

Reciver  - HDMI from receiver to TV, optical cable from TV to amp (no ARC on this amp)

TV - DVB-T antenna + wired ethernet

[andrewsoong]

I don't want to be that guy but technically when you restart the TV by holding down the power button that is turning it off and on again.

Using the power button normally is just putting it into standby.

[royabrown]

---

@andrewsoong wrote:

I don't want to be that guy but technically when you restart the TV by holding down the power button that is turning it off and on again.

Using the power button normally is just putting it into standby.

---

You are being that guy 😞

The TV responds differently to a long press on the remote, by stopping and starting certain services in a controlled way, which doesn't happen at all if you just put it into standby and take it out again, and doesn't happen in a controlled way if you blip the mains to the set,

Even when completely powered off, the set retains state information. Otherwise a power-off would be identical to a factory reset, which it isn't.

And even when the set is powered off and on, it simply continues with that state information; some of which only gets revisited when you do the recommended controlled reset.

[TheVoice]

My TV (KDL-50W805C) has recently started emitting a click/tick every 10 seconds from the rear-right (with it facing towards you). It's definitely not thermal expansion, it's every 10 seconds regularly and it sounds like it's coming from a component inside.

Anyone else suffered this? It's not particularly loud but it's noticeable and it's driving me nuts. A firm 'tap' with my hand sometimes makes it stop for a while but it inevitably comes back.

This is my second TV, the first went back due to horrendous backlight clouding, so if this goes back too I won't be replacing it with another Sony.

[Anonymous]

Hi @TheVoice

Have a look a reply posts 1,3 and 4 in this thread.

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/kd-55x8509c/td-p/2006861

Is this similar to your issue?

Cheers