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.

[oodles2do]

I'm not too sure, I haven't used the mirroring much. I only used it yesterday for ITV Hub to see if I could, didn't actually watch a programme. But yeah I think it would, the sound automatically comes out of the TV for the ITV app, and considering that there's no control from ITV, it's just purely streaming the phone output to the TV.

[chbjerg]

Does anyboy know how to set up picture settings for Netflix. I have a 65X8509 and i can press action menu during netflix, and set a picture setting, but it only lasts for a few minutes. It was the same with tv, but on tv setting (or any HDMI) I can enter Picture settings through Home, and set it up for good... Not with Netflix (or Plex for that matter)

Also, in Home screen i no longer have any recommendations at the top. I disabled a few, but I still had Plex, Netflix and Youtube - until i changed from WiFi to Ethernet Cable)

[mattface]

One of the many flaws with the android TV design, is that you cant (well I couldnt work it out) edit the picture settings for when you are using android or any apps. I could only adjust the picture for the HDMI inputs.

[rooobb]

@mattface do you mean that you can't press ACTION MENU and edit picture setting while running an app? It seems strange to me.....

[Jimmyjamh]

I have to say I havent had any issues with setting the picture mode. I downloaded a calibration disc and used the 'custom' setting as the basis for my required settings.  When I first powered up Youview, Netflix, KODI and HDMI 4 (Arc),  which is plugged into my AV reciever for the first time I just selected 'custom'. That was a few weeks ago and whenever I have checked since that setting has remained. 

[mattface]

Ah, bear with me I haven't had a working TV for 2 weeks, but actually my problem was that I couldn't turn off the dimming settings in android apps, so on dark screens in Kodi it dimmed the screen too much

[Jimmyjamh]

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@mattface wrote:

Ah, bear with me I haven't had a working TV for 2 weeks, but actually my problem was that I couldn't turn off the dimming settings in android apps, so on dark screens in Kodi it dimmed the screen too much

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Ah I havent had that issue.  I cant think I have seen a dimming option but will have a dig through the settings and see whats there. 

I've got to say I have found the meus and settings to be reltaivly intuituve - I'm an IOS user and ditched Android years ago but I think the interface on the TV is pretty slick. I am pretty lucky though as I dont seem to have had any issues that anyone's reported........ Lets hope that remains the case! 

[chbjerg]

Dimming settings is whats bugging me. After a few minutes of having turned it off in Action Menu, it reverts, and in dark scenes the tv tries to turn up and down the light. 

[oodles2do]

Been doing some more research on the processor inside these TV's. I've posted the link to the info below. The debate over whether it's a dual core or quad core are both kinda right, the TV has a MediaTek MT5595 SoC, which contains four processors. It's got two Cortex-A17 and two Cortex-A7 cores, another interesting point is that it's only 32 bit architecture.

MediaTek have developed another SoC that has been shown running Android 6.0, has a 64 bit architecture and can support HDR amongst other things. The newer one also has a much better GPU.

I don't really consider it neccessary to have an extremely powerful processor in my TV for games or anything like that, I just want it to work smoothly!!

Here's the link:

http://www.fudzilla.com/news/graphics/39674-mediatek-showcases-world-s-first-android-tv-6-0

Oh, and here's a graph showing the relative performance, the A17 is the best of the 32 bit cores, the A7 is the second worst. So it's like the A17 wasn't quite enough, and they stuck a couple of A7's in there to help.

http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/04/09/relative-performance-of-arm-cortex-a-32-bit-and-64-bit-cores/

[theshamelessmanc]

The dimming isn't necessarily the dimming feature. Try Picture - Advanced Settings - Adv. Contrast enhancer to "off".
This also stops dimming in light and dark parts of films and shows. Do this for each input and app