Sony Bravia KDL-32S2000 32-Inch Flat Panel LCD HDTV
Developed Picture Problems after 5 Months
This is the fourth Sony television that I have owned.  Currently, we have a 57 inch XBR CRT Rear Projector in the home theater room, a 36 Trinitron direct view CRT in the living room, and most recently the 32 inch Bravia (subject of this review) in the master bedroom.  We also recently purchased a brand new Sony T9 Cybershot camera.  I have also purchased three Sony camcorders over the years.  The point of the aforementioned is that Sony has always delivered quality electronics and I have stayed with their products in return.<br /><br />When I first purchased the 32 inch LCD Bravia everything worked very well and it appeared to be another fine product.  After approximately 5 months of operation the television developed - for lack of better technical description - a pixel problem. A permanent dark splotchy image appeared on the left hand side of the screen.  At first the image was hardly noticeable, but then intensified to the point that it could be readily seen in all video formats.<br /><br />To be fair to Sony, this is the first problem that I have experience with a new product.  When I called customer support, I was told to take the TV to an authorized service center, but since there are no service centers within 30 miles of my residence, Sony offered to replace the TV with a refurbished unit.  I was not pleased that my relatively new TV was going to be replaced with such a unit, but since it carried the same warranty and Sony assured me that it would appear and work like new, I agreed to the exchange.<br /><br />The first indication that something may be wrong is when the crew that delivered the refurbished unit told my wife that they have to come back many times to replace the units.  True to their observations, I quickly experienced problems with the video input switching function, and was back on the phone with customer support.  I was told to reset the TV by simply disconnecting the power and restarting it.  This quick fix eliminated the problem, but now I am just waiting for it to reappear.<br /><br />Not happy with the performance of the refurbished unit I requested Sony to go into their \\"A\\" stock (new versus refurbished) to replace my original Bravia.  This request was rejected as I was told that the model has been discontinued - keep this in mind if you are thinking about purchasing this television.<br /><br />I recently walked through Wal-Mart and looked at the new LCD's on display.  Many less expensive sets had as good, if not better, picture then my Bravia.  I am sure that Sony has also improved their LCD televisions, and will be lowering prices to hold their market share against the increasing competition.  They are a good electronics company with superb engineering capabilities, but I think they have considerable room for improvement when addressing a defective product and an unhappy customer.now I am just waiting for it to reappear.   <br /> <br />Not happy with the performance of the refurbished unit I requested Sony to go into their \\"A\\" stock (new versus refurbished) to replace my original Bravia.  This request was rejected as I was told that the model has been discontinued - keep this in mind if you are thinking about purchasing this television.  <br /> <br />I recently walked through Wal-Mart and looked at the new LCD's on display.  Many less expensive sets had as good, if not better, picture then my Bravia.  I am sure that Sony has also improved their LCD televisions, and will be lowering prices to hold their market share against the increasing competition.  They are a good electronics company with superb engineering capabilities, but I think they have considerable room for improvement when addressing a defective product and an unhappy customer.    <br />