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.

[ci7y2015]

@elraouk @royabrown 

Haha i was a bit slow there, I apologise 

good point 🙂

[royabrown]

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@ci7y2015 wrote:

@royabrown

i never once said Youview was poor... i said the app was, janky, a clearly bad implementation etc, due to comments i skipped over 🙂  

I dont use youview/freeview and never will

and i can 'parrot' anything id like to on a public forum 

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Of course you can - but you are then beholden to the accuracy, or inaccuracy, of what you parrot.

So I should not give any special credence to you deciding the app is 'poor', since this is based merely on the say-so of others, and you yourself haven't actually used it?

Fair enough then.

 I just hoped you perhaps had something new to say about YouView, based on your own experience, and your recent postings in which you did seem to have something new to say on other Android issues, was all 😞

[royabrown]

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@ci7y2015 wrote:

@royabrown

and your point is?  i was responding to a Comment about CES2016 if thats ok?

you can import anyting 🙂

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@elraouk had it right 🙂

Not all brand names travel well - being exhorted to 'Drink Bum' in the Canary Islands was about as strange to us as would be our looking for a Vauxhall Nova out there, where 'No va' means 'doesn't go' 🙂

[ci7y2015]

@royabrown

just from reading various people saying it was poor, yes you are correct i should have stated it clearer

i sadly dont have any experience with YouView,   but i want to try and dump the system firmware from the tv and have a look at the code, just need to get time...

i stream most things on the TV and had no problem so far...    Kodi, Sky GO, Mobdro, Showbox, Hulu, ShowTime etc etc

I feel that Sony's hands my be tied on various issues...  waiting on 3rd party's for updates, delaying rollouts for firmware updates? although issues like turning the channel up and down is poor.

The Marshmallow update for my nexus player (same firmware practically) made it much more smoother, wether Sony can impliment it is another thing... there is no usb screen recording on the nexus player, which may explain why this feature is absent?!

[ci7y2015]

@royabrown hahaha i was a bit slow there! was rather obvious

[mystiqu]

Any official statements from Sony regarding the issues and when the plan to have them solved?

I really love this TV and would gladly wait a few months if I knew there was a new firmware version around the corner which would fix everything.

I was in contact with my dealer today and they will come and pick up the TV (and give me a new one) if I want to or give me a refund

//Mike

[royabrown]

Hi @ci7y2015

I'm collecting reports of YouView issues - we know that it is not just incompatible with using satellite, but that having YouView actually deletes the satellite tunings, which is rather undesirable.

But as you say, the stack on this TV has layer upon layer, and each imposes limitations on the others. So we don't know if this is YouView issue, or a Sony issue, or what. Maybe to shoehorn YouView in, something had to give; though whether the YouView software is too big, or the Sony space allocation is too small. Could be a bit of both.

Apart from that, there is a problem that Demand 5 movies on the Sony Discover screen sometimes have only a year, and no title.

Everything else that has been laid at YouView's door - slowdowns, sluggishness, black screens, crashes/reboots and so on - has been reported on other applications and on the Freeview side. Not that YouView is necessarily entirely blameless, but equally it is not entirely culpable, and there is at least anything from a reasonable doubt to a strong suspicion that some or all of these issues originated in the underlying Android software.

I've had a very sluggish EPG on YouView, and seen it speed right up again after a soft reboot; speeding up so much, indeed, that it shows that when the software is healthy, the hardware is at least adequate.

Beyond that, there are a few things that the Freeview UI does more nicely than the YouView one; but the converse is also true.

My eyes and ears stay open for other YouView issues though.

[Caledonian_TV]

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@royabrown wrote:

Hi @ci7y2015

I'm collecting reports of YouView issues - we know that it is not just incompatible with using satellite, but that having YouView actually deletes the satellite tunings, which is rather undesirable.

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I'm not entirely sure YouView is responsible for deleting/scrambling the satellite tuning...  Remember; I had this issue but had never used or enabled YouView - though it DID persistantly appear in my running apps, despite being disabled etc... And I've a feeling there were people on the Euro firmware that had the same problem.

[MaxUHD]

What I don't understand is how different people are having a very different experience with these Sony Android TVs? Some report a raft of issues whilst others report very little? I'm sure both groups absolutely are reporting what they are actually experiencing and I am wondering if there is some factor that accounts for that? I have a KD49X8307CSU which seems to mostly behave itself. It occasionally exhibits a bit of sluggishness in the YouView guide which is cured by a soft reset by holding down the power button on the remote but not the issues described in this thread? Is it something to do with the model number or are all the Android TV models affected. Does anyone have the same model as me that is displaying a lot of issues?

[Caledonian_TV]

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@MaxUHD wrote:

What I don't understand is how different people are having a very different experience with these Sony Android TVs? Some report a raft of issues whilst others report very little? I'm sure both groups absolutely are reporting what they are actually experiencing and I am wondering if there is some factor that accounts for that? I have a KD49X8307CSU which seems to mostly behave itself. It occasionally exhibits a bit of sluggishness in the YouView guide which is cured by a soft reset by holding down the power button on the remote but not the issues described in this thread? Is it something to do with the model number or are all the Android TV models affected. Does anyone have the same model as me that is displaying a lot of issues?

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Mine was a KD49X8305C - Not quite the same model but possibly very close?  Yours has a slightly higher processing rate (900Hz) - it may also be rarer since the 800Hz models are £40 cheaper, and most people wouldn't appreciate the difference...   - That small tweak may well account for better stability.  

...The 1000Hz '09 model seems to account for a fair few complaints too; and is the same price as the '07.  - Possibly contributing further to the rarity of the '07...