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.

[Shodney]

Android TV already has an EPG built-in (Live Channels - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv&hl=en_GB ), which looks pretty nice, and oh look - it has Picture-in-Picture. It also has HDD recording built in, but not yet enabled by the looks of things - http://androidtv.news/2016/01/live-channels-hints-support-for-pausing-time-shifting/

I'm not entirely sure what Sony are trying to achieve by shoe-horning their own EPG in, because it looks terrible, and barely works. I've been told that Sony's EPG and some menus (e.g. the 'action button' menu) have the same look and feel of Sony's previous (non-Android) sets from past years, so maybe they're trying to keep some kind of consistency there?

Could this shoe-horning of old Sony code into Android also be where the masses of problems stem from?

It's possible that they're waiting until the upgrade to Android 6 (Marshmallow) until these features are enabled, as the Android TV News article above says the time shifting was only added in that version.

[Shodney]

As for the latest update - well, I installed it yesterday lunch and had a play around with it last night. There seems to be a decent increase in responsiveness all round (although I didn't dive into the apps too much) - still a bit of lag here and there, but generally when I press a button, something happens. This is in contrast to the entirity of the last year, where I would press a button and something may or may not happen a few seconds later.

HOWEVER... I'm holding full judgement until later on this week. We've seen from past updates (which were supposed to have fixed the same exact things) that the TV behaves reasonably well for a day or two after the update, before quickly going back to normal (i.e. a broken mess). I'd say going by Sony's history there is a decent chance it will be the same this time around.

I'll keep an eye on it over the next week and see if things go downhill again.

[elraouk]

I updated a 49X8305C last night with no issues (yet), might be helpful if those who have had issues updating (and have unresponsive sets) post their model numbers too, so people with the same model know to take care as it could be model specific. 
I haven't done a reset, but did notice wifi and Bravia sync were both re-enabled by the update and I had to disable again. Worth checking all your settings even if you haven't done a reset. 

[alanxce]

I updated the firmware on my 55X8509C yesterday afternoon. I think it took about 45 minutes and I can imagine some might get a little anxious watching the little blue arrow make circles for such a long time. It concluded eventually and optimised my 200 applications (what are they??) and I have to say I haven't noticed any real difference.

I havent had any problems for a while now. I have stayed clear of YouView because I have no need for it. I had some occasional blank screens which turned out to be a poorly plugged HDMI cable. I use both Netflix and Amazon Prime video without issue. I have been scrutinising both of these for any indication of lipsync issues but have been struggling to confirm they exist.    

Just thought I would post this to show it is possible to have a functioning set albeit in a limited set of the features promised.  

[DarrellM]

Well, I left mine (KDL-43W807C) powered off last night after it bricked itself after the firmware update. Still same issue, the Sony logo appears, 2 seconds later it disappears then the Andoid OS swirly animation appears. 15-20 seconds into that the TV reboots and does the same thing over and over again.

The actual update process appeared fine however, it downloaded the update, I restarted it from the menu as directed to install the update, it rebooted, the firmware install graphic came up, stayed on that for about 15 minutes and then rebooted automatically. Now I have this boot/crash loop. I can't even do I reset since it crash-reboots  whilst Android OS is loading.

[psp888]

updated my tv last night, all went through fine and does feel a lot more responsive.   But the TV turned on in the middle of the night by itself, this has never happened before.  wakeup BUG?

[angelacr]

Playing with the 'editor' in YouView I delisted a lot of dross (shopping channels etc). While doing so the TV became more and more unresponsive; maybe taking 10 - 30 seconds before acting on a remote key press. I was beginning to plan my expletives for Sony when I realised the batteries on the remote probably needed changing. 

The only negative thing I have noticed, so far, is this. I normally use a GigaBlue satellite tuner and this was active on HDMI input 2. But I was watching the TV's own terrestrial digital channels - just checking out the 'upgrade'. Twice I got an unwanted, unexpected and unexplained switch back to the HDMI 2 input from my satellite box.

[Tarzion]

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@angelacr wrote:

Playing with the 'editor' in YouView I delisted a lot of dross (shopping channels etc). While doing so the TV became more and more unresponsive; maybe taking 10 - 30 seconds before acting on a remote key press. I was beginning to plan my expletives for Sony when I realised the batteries on the remote probably needed changing. 

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This problem is not linked to YouView but with the underlying tuner software module.

This problem was not there in the previous version of the firmware.

[royabrown]

@alanxce

At least one of those apps is a print spooler. It is not recorded why the TV should need a print spooler, 

[royabrown]

No longer needed - cheers @Tarzion