UPDATE: Sony got back to me. They paid for a repair man to come out and replace the power board - apparently they are now called static converters.
Sony have moved their call centre to New Zealand. A few of the guys I spoke to were very, very helpful. I guess it pays to be patient.
One important lesson though: Don't be lazy.
You have 21 days with Sony to return the item.
The one-year manufacturer's guarantee covers repairs not replacements.
I should have packed the TV back up immediately and taken it back to the store for a replacement on the first day.
Original post:
When I bought a Sony Bravia widescreen 62cm TV for about $1000 in January I extended the warranty (FIVE YEARS).
I didn't realise that the warranty doesn't mean that they will replace it if it is faulty - what exactly is a warranty worth to a customer?
Do I have to be an alchemist to turn a warranty into a warranty?
I didn't realise that the initial one-year warranty offered by Sony itself doesn't even cover the cost of getting someone out to fix the fault which it appears they actually knew about when they were selling the X5500 model to dopes like me. By the way it also affects the Z5500 model. Wonder how many dopes there are suffering it out like me?
I should've taken it straight back the moment it switched itself off without warning on the first day 30 minutes after I installed it - I just couldn't hack repacking it and then reinstalling it.
Apparently Sony released the Firmware Update Version PKG1.428AA patch in January - the month I purchased it.
The download stops the TV from launching into self diagnosis i.e. going dark.
On Friday afternoon my TV switched itself off and went dead. I went to bed disgusted. It still didn't work on Saturday morning.
And at 9am today, Monday morning, a Sony representative informed me that the only option I had to fix the TV which was still under a 1 year warranty was to download this patch, put it (the patch not the Tv) on a USB stick and then stick the USB into the back of the dead TV. Self service. The new Sony warranty.
If I wanted to get a repair man out to do it then I would need to pay for it myself.
So just for fun I asked for the number of the closest Sony repair guy - at this stage I believed I could download the patch myself but I wanted to know how much it would cost to fix a TV under warranty.
Call me troublesome.
The repair guy told me he needed paperwork from Sony to come through normally before he could come out otherwise it would cost me.
He thought it was weird too.
So I went to the website to download the patch - however the download is not Mac compatible so all I got was a page of crap. So I rang Sony again.
They wanted a reference number from my initial call and I told them that the generous guy who took my call didn't give me a reference number or take down any details.
No he "offered" me this download and website directions only - EVEN THOUGH THE ... TV... is still under WARRANTY!
They have promised to get back to me tomorrow. My 10-month-old TV is having a little lie down.
Shall keep you posted.
