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.

[Danny.Nilsson]

I think Android TV is the most great thing happening to media centers, but they need a lot more performance than sony estimated, and maybe the synergy for having both a TV and Media center in the same box is not a good idea, after i bought Nvidia Shield i have been so happy, and think its a shame that sony didnt have the same experience, i could be affraid that sony can´t fix all the issues over time, because they just work poor together.

[bunkum100]

OTA doesn't work for me either, always fails at the same percentage every time, the same it gets to when copying the file from a usb. Coincidence? I think not, going to ring Sony tomorrow morning, I've had enough.

[Caledonian_TV]

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@Danny.Nilsson wrote:

I think Android TV is the most great thing happening to media centers, but they need a lot more performance than sony estimated, and maybe the synergy for having both a TV and Media center in the same box is not a good idea, after i bought Nvidia Shield i have been so happy, and think its a shame that sony didnt have the same experience, i could be affraid that sony can´t fix all the issues over time, because they just work poor together.

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Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't... Personally I can offer no criticism or endorsement of Android; it seems to work well enough on the 'phones and tablets we have kicking around.  It's a grave and foolish mistake though to have built these sets so that their basic tuning and display functions are so interwoven with it that it a) cannot simply be switched off and b) inflicts its ill-function and bad implementation on virtually everything.

The argument for not building multiple units into the same box is one whch has existed since at least the 60s; when the clever money was normally on separate HiFi components - which could be carefully selected to the user's needs, generally (though not always) offered better value and performance and meant that the system had longevity (even if only on the 'Murphy's Broom principle) and was upgradeable.  Given that computers tend to have quite short lives - whereas television sets can often live for decades in a household, the two do seem grossly incompatable. 

However (and for instance) Alan Sugar - back in the day - sold an awful lot of low grade rubbish though flogging the illusion of a convenient bargain.  Others have done similarly.  Apparently Sony imagine this to be 'progress'...

How difficult would it have been for Sony to built a stable chassis that, for those that require or desire it, could have been versioned with the 'computer' part in the form of a plug-in daughterboard or even separately-cased (and upgradeable) module? 

- Back in the days when very few television sets had 'baseband' video inputs; just exactly this approach was taken by Thorn with their TX10 chassis; an add-on board could be fitted to the set to add that facility...  These things became legend, let down only by the fact they weren't Sony Trinitrons!   Similarly, Sony themselves produced a series of large-screen monitors that could be rigged in various ways with a range of plug-in decoder boards...   Rocket science it aint!

[scoopy6]

Hi again Sony.

Update Re.Channel Selection Problems - these were due to Instability

With apologies that after all our reported difficulties with channel selection had also been due to the Tv being stuck in a  'semi-crashed' condition. As many people have pointed out, a restart can still cure many different problems so we should really have tried that again straight away.

After turning off mains power in standby, followed by a restart, channel selection is working fairly well again. A conventional Channel List would still be very useful though.

YouView is not enabled and we are mainly just using Freeview, with most other apps and settings disabled where feasible, but even so the software updates have apparently not yet helped much to settle the Tvs' instability.

[Publiclyavailable]

Hi,

I returned my Android "TV set" 10 days or so ago but did keep a note of the settings for twin sat reception which I did achieve - except that my cheeky little Sony kept losing channels, of course, in that funny little way that these Andoids excell at!  Can't recall the full detail but I do recall:

I started from a full factory reset and went through the normal twin sat input DiSeqC setup menu. The full reset is very important otherwise it plays mind games on you.  I used the same settings as I use on my Humax PVR - some don't appear on the Sony or have different nomenclature. I used those that did as follows, giving them as wide a range as I could for the searches (I recall that on the Sony you can edit the default ones):

Sat 1 (Main) Freesat 28.8E, Universal LNB,  DiseqC Input A, LNB Power standard, Transponder 10714H 22000 

Sat 2 (Sub) Astra 19.2E, Universal, DiSeqC Input B, LNB Power standard, Transponder 10743H 22000

I searched for "All" transponders, Disabled Network Search, went for "Free Channels" / "Unscrambled" only and "All" types.

I then saved the channels it found to a HDD for ease of resetting which, in my case, was every few days.  Oh what fun we had with those old 2015 Sonys.....!  Something to amuse the grandkids when I tell them what life was like way back then....  😕

I still advise most strongly that everyone who can, and has even a germ of an inclination, ditches their set ASAP.

Best of luck

PA

[Tarzion]

With the latest EU fimware I don't seem to have the  "DiseqC Input A" option at all. Where can I find it?

With the latest UK firmware I did have that option.

Did anybody have any crosstalk issues with this set? I get a lot of crosstalk on all the 3D movies.

[Caledonian_TV]

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@Publiclyavailable wrote:

Hi,

I returned my Android "TV set" 10 days or so ago but did keep a note of the settings for twin sat reception which I did achieve - except that my cheeky little Sony kept losing channels, of course, in that funny little way that these Andoids excell at!  Can't recall the full detail but I do recall:

I started from a full factory reset and went through the normal twin sat input DiSeqC setup menu. The full reset is very important otherwise it plays mind games on you...

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A full factory reset is a fairly drastic step...   Particularly six months or a year down the line where the user has perhaps 'fine tuned' the set to their preferences then has to re-visit that world of pain all over again.  - Much much worse for those that had actualy used the 'computer' side of the set and filled it with apps and passwords and things I should imagine.

Just for the record; with my set being days old at the time I did at one point do just exactly that to try and get my relatively simple dual-dish setup working...  No luck!

On a very rare occasion we'll have to do this to maybe a camera or some similar piece of kit. But they at least (generally) have some way of transferring the full set-up via a memory card or similar.  Even so, it's the last thing you really want to be doing as it costs you time and you might not be quite back to where you need to be.  

...Even the need to power-cycle the set to get the remote to work as the thing grinds to a near-halt.  Can you imagine some elderly person who's baffled by the microwave trying to live with this or work out what's going on?  

As you say...  It's got to go.

[rsebre]

Hello everybody here again. I'm enjoying reading all the posts here on the forums. Thanks again all for using them and sharing any knowledge you have gained with us all.

I have had the SONY KD49X83C for several months now. I purchased it for the HDMI 2.0 port that it has basically. I have a 4K capable PC to use it with and its great for that one thing alone.

I do not watch TV as here in the UK, it's nothing but propaganda now anyway, so I have no interest in the Freeview Tuners. I used to make satellite dishs with motors, so the Satellite Disceq set might come in use one day. But the feature I'm after and thought this Display had when I purchased it was the Screen Record to USB.

When will this ever be released?

I have been looking into Android since I first posted here months ago, and can say that I'm still not impressed. Would it be illegal for me to root this device and install Linux or a CyanogenMod?

Is it illegal to unpack the firmware and reinstall it with my strings enabled or will that also be illegal?

I'm used to making custom firmwares so I don't mind doing this, but just wanted to check the legality of it first.

I know this display is actually rather adept and if coded for correctly would excel at most things that say the Z4 can do, if not do them better...

Any advice would be appreciated.

I just want to be able to record my screen to the USB like it was advertised. Do I have to really deengineer it all just to get it too work as originally advertised?

Plus, I'm not taking it back. I like it. And if I root it and get any of the UNICODE wrong well that's my fault. I wont be bitching about SONY, but from now on I think I will stay out of the Android Eco System.

Have a good one all

Kind regards

Richard

[xx4L0Mxx]

Android is open source, it's not illegal to root it or make a custom Rom to flash onto your TV,  Sony are actually normally very good at allowing their devices to be unlocked and rooted, they even have a dedicated website to supply unlock codes for bootladers on their Tablets and Smartphones, something that a lot of other companies could learn from.

Ironically, Sony are usually also very good at releasing relatively speedy Android updates when a new version is released for tablets and mobile and also bring this software to a lot of older devices in their range, something companies like Samsung could seriously learn a lot from as their device support is attrocious.

If you root your TV, you will instantly lose the ability to receive ANY ota updates.  I haven't checked either, but do you know if the Bootloader is unlocked or not? I'm guessing it is, but I haven't really had the time to look into it.

Also, if anyone is going to make a custom rom, please just use STOCK android, not cyanogen mod, I think cyanogen would create too many problems.

[Caledonian_TV]

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rsebre wrote:

But the feature I'm after and thought this Display had when I purchased it was the Screen Record to USB.

When will this ever be released?

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Not 100% sure that screen record was ever on the books...  AFAIK it's HDD recording from the tuners; I can't see any reason to expect it to work as a dubbing switcher or HDMI recorder????

Still... If you're prepared to hack into this giant tablet you're braver than most!  Sincerely; I wish you well with it!