Sony A9 Master Series KE48A9 OLED winging its way to Marco Towers!

[Marco]

So... Upon switching on the TV on Sunday morning, I was met with no picture and a flashing red light under the Sony badge, and subsequently despite trying various advised 'online fixes', to no avail, it became apparent that it was fucked!

Or to be more precise, the screen was gone and it needed a new panel. Sadly TVs just don't last like they used to. In the old days, it wasn't uncommon for some CRTs to last 30-odd years! With today's TVs, there's no chance of that. You're lucky if you get 5 or 6 years from them. Turns out we got 5 (and a bit) from ours.

Annoying too, we bought it on 03/09/16, with a 5-year guarantee, and it popped on 19/9/21 - a mere 16 days after the warranty expired!

However, being a hater of just chucking things away (and the rather odious 'disposable society' we live in today), I still enquired about having it fixed, but was advised that it would be around £500 for a new screen, so as the TV only cost £800 new, it simply wasn't worth it, and of course, looking at things positively, it was an opportunity to upgrade!

So, upgrade we have to this (purchased from John Lewis with a free 5-year guarantee): https://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravi...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Superb review here: https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/son...8-inch-oled-tv

It's last year's model, but still amply up-to-date, and which was originally £1800, so a good buy I thought, especially as with this particular model, performance wise, Sony really hit the highs!

In any case, I've been wanting an OLED for some time, but it's only recently that manufacturers started making them in smaller screens than 55". That's just too big for our lounge and would dominate the room, which may be fine for those who consider what's ostensibly (with no image present) an ugly black piece of plastic stuck on their wall, or on top of their cabinet, as a 'centrepiece', or something to justifiably 'show off', but count us out.

Therefore, with this model being a relatively 'dinky' 48", it's perfect for our needs and still bigger than the 43" TV it replaced! Anyway, it's being delivered on Saturday, and I can't wait to see the results with 4K HDR Blu-Rays, on our Panasonic DP-UBB20 player, plus all UHD material broadcast on Netflix, Sky or Virgin movies...

Full review to follow!

Marco.

[struth]

should be nice.. all 3 of my tvs are still(touch wood) working as well as when bought. not sure how old they are but all over 10 yrs. i must have been lucky and they all on a lot too.
the 4k youve now got will be a bonus

[Marco]

Cheers, mate. Yeah it should defo be nice, and yes you've been lucky so far. Our last TV though was also 4K, but not an OLED

Marco.

[Barry]

A "dinky 48" "? Our LG TV in London is 43", and our Sony TV in Essex is only 37"! For general viewing I find 37" to be more than sufficient (compared to my old 18" CRT), whereas the larger screen is preferred when watching films.

[Marco]

A "dinky 48" "? Our LG TV in London is 43", and our Sony TV in Essex is only 37"! For general viewing I find 37" to be more than sufficient (compared to my old 18" CRT), whereas the larger screen is preferred when watching films.

Yup, but with the latter, the larger the better, if you want films to 'feel' convincing! However, as I've said, within reason. No way would a 55" TV (or bigger) look right in our old lodge house, surrounded by antiques of various description, not just us!

...especially as, due to our living arrangements, it has to go on the wall in a corner.

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Yup, but with the latter, the larger the better, if you want films to 'feel' convincing! However, as I've said, within reason. No way would a 55" TV (or bigger) look right in our old lodge house, surrounded by antiques of various description, not just us!

...especially as, due to our living arrangements, it has to go on the wall in a corner.

Marco.

Patrick Swayze said nobody puts Sony in a corner, but he probably has a bigger lounge.

We gave our then 9 year old Panasonic plasma to a friend 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. Luck of the draw really.

[Marco]

Patrick Swayze said nobody puts Sony in a corner, but he probably has a bigger lounge.

Marco.

[Barry]

Yup, but with the latter, the larger the better, if you want films to 'feel' convincing! However, as I've said, within reason. No way would a 55" TV (or bigger) look right in our old lodge house, surrounded by antiques of various description, not just us!

...especially as, due to our living arrangements, it has to go on the wall in a corner.

Marco.

No, I disagree. For me it is a matter of angle of view. Even at the cinema I prefer to sit as far away from the screen as possible for comfortable viewing.

Whilst we all have peripheral vision over an angle of nearly 180 degrees, we tend to concentrate on images that lay within about a 45 degree angle of view. Thus I don't feel the need or the desire for a large (wide) screen.

Apropos the look of a wide screen TV when not in use, well I have always had my TV upstairs and not in my living and/or listening room, so that doesn't worry me.

[Marco]

No, I disagree. For me it is a matter of angle of view. Even at the cinema I prefer to sit as far away from the screen as possible for comfortable viewing.

Whilst we all have peripheral vision over an angle of nearly 180 degrees, we tend to concentrate on images that lay within about a 45 degree angle of view. Thus I don't feel the need or the desire for a large (wide) screen.

Lol, fair enough, but in our case, as the TV acts as part of a home-cinema system (thereby we're actively seeking to create a cinematic-type experience at home, within due constraints, and therefore with the use of a dedicated AV amp, centre speaker, twin subs and surround speakers), then it follows that you'd want as big a screen as possible!

Great pleasure is derived from immersing oneself in as convincing a cinematic experience at home as possible, old chap.

In that respect, if I lived in, say a modern flat, with a large lounge that had a long wall down one side, and where a huge plastic screen didn't look rather vulgar, I'd have the *biggest* TV possible, or more likely, as big a screen as possible, in conjunction with a top-notch 4K projector, which would combine to make the image on *any* TV screen look like a fuzzy mush in comparison.

In fact, if I had the choice of owning, say, a luxury swimming pool or a 'real' indoor cinema, with seats and all, including the appropriate sized screen and a full Dolby Atmos set-up, it'd be the latter every time!!

Marco.

[rmcin626]

So... Upon switching on the TV on Sunday morning, I was met with no picture and a flashing red light under the Sony badge, and subsequently despite trying various 'fixes', to no avail, it became apparent that it was fucked!

Or to be more precise, the screen was gone and it needed a new panel. Sadly TVs just don't last like they used to. In the old days, it wasn't uncommon for some CRTs to last 30-odd years! With today's TVs, there's no chance of that. You're lucky if you get 5 or 6 years from them. Turns out we got 5 (and a bit) from ours.

Annoying too, we bought it on 03/09/16, with a 5-year guarantee, and it popped on 19/9/21 - a mere 16 days after the warranty expired!

However, being a hater of just chucking things away (and the rather odious 'disposable society' we live in today), I still enquired about having it fixed, but was advised that it would be around £500 for a new screen, so as the TV only cost £800 new, it simply wasn't worth it, and of course, looking at things positively, it was an opportunity to upgrade!

So, upgrade we have to this (purchased from John Lewis with a free 5-year guarantee): https://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravi...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Superb review here: https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/son...8-inch-oled-tv

It's last year's model, but still amply up-to-date, and which was originally £1800, so a good buy I thought, especially as with this particular model, performance wise, Sony really hit the highs!

In any case, I've been wanting an OLED for some time, but it's only recently that manufacturers started making them in smaller screens than 55". That's just too big for our lounge and would dominate the room, which may be fine for those who consider what's ostensibly (with no image present) an ugly black piece of plastic stuck on their wall, or on top of their cabinet, as a 'centrepiece', or something to justifiably 'show off', but count us out.

Therefore, with this model being a relatively 'dinky' 48", it's perfect for our needs and still bigger than the 43" TV it replaced! Anyway, it's being delivered on Saturday, and I can't wait to see the results with 4K HDR Blu-Rays, on our Panasonic DP-UBB20 player, plus all UHD material broadcast on Netflix, Sky or Virgin movies...

Full review to follow!

Marco.

Very nice , although a bit on the “dinky” size for me, enjoy it