Sony KV-27EXR25

[jstout66]

Picked up a Sony 27" Trinitron with side mounted speakers at the Goodwill today. Manufactured 3/91.
Picture is pretty good, altho I notice it has a small impurity spot which I hope will go away. But here's my problem... Charles (or if anyone else knows) help me out. How the hell do you get into the menu to adjust picture quality? Of course the remote wasn't with the set ( and wtf does Goodwill do with the remotes anyway... ) I NEVER see a factory remote with any of the sets, Ever.... I have a handfull of Sony remotes, but I can't access the control settings on any of them. When I hit menu I do get a menu prompt to set the clock,channel block, or auto on, but can't get into anything else. I see it uses a RM-Y104 remote. Do I need to get that one in order to adjust the color? Of course there in NO menu button on the set itself. Also, what is everyones opinion of Sony's of that era? Thanks!

[radiotvnut]

I've ran into that problem with many brands of TV's from that era and I hate the fact that there's no menu button on the set. Anyway, I've got a few Sony remotes. I'll check them and see if one will work for you.

On that purity issue, resolder the degaussing thermistor. I've seen loose connections on the thermistor in many '80's and '90's era Sony's and it will cause erratic degaussing or no degaussing, which could be causing your purity problem.

[kx250rider]

PM sent...

I believe any Sony remote with Menu, Return, up & down arrow (separate from the vol & ch up & down), and separate picture + & - buttons should do what you need.

I forgot to mention in the PM about the degaussing thermistor. Sometimes those internally fail, and either buzz loudly, stop working, or blow the AC line fuse. It should be hot to the touch while the TV is on. If cold, it may be bad, or have bad solder connections below.

Charles

[Jeffhs]

It is strange that your Sony TV does not have a menu button on the front panel. Most TVs made in the last ten-fifteen years or so should have such a button; both of my sets, my RCA CTC185 in the living room and my Zenith Sentry 2 in the bedroom, have menu buttons that will bring up on-screen menus for brightness, contrast, color, tint, even auto-color.

Sony was an excellent brand of color TV 20-25 years ago; one of my great-aunts had a Sony 12" color portable that lasted at least twenty years, and was replaced by another Sony that worked very well until she went into a nursing home several years later. However, I don't know why Sony left the menu button off your set. You said yours was made in early 1991; hmmm. I would think a set that recent (built nineteen years ago) would have had a front-panel menu button. How did they expect anyone to adjust color, tint, etc. on a set like this without the remote?

It's a mystery to me. This set was built just about the time universal remotes were becoming popular, as most universals made then (and now, for that matter) were programmed to operate any brand of IR-controlled television, VCR, cable box, etc. made since the '90s. (Every universal remote I have ever used with any late model TV I've owned, including the two sets I have today, has had control codes to activate most functions, including the menus, on most sets.) Perhaps Sony's R&D folks figured that if the user needed access to the video menus via a remote, they could get a universal and gain access to them that way; thus, no need for a front-panel button to activate them. Maybe they thought that the color on these TVs was so stable that viewers would not need access to the color controls at the set (they may have been well hidden on the original remote as well). It is also entirely possible that the R&D people may have designed your Sony without a menu button to prevent children from fiddling with the video and other controls behind their parents' backs, but these are all just wild guesses. Without seeing your set, I couldn't begin to explain the reasoning behind Sony's decision to omit the front-panel menu button.

Sometimes a universal remote will give you access to fewer features on your TV than the original did. The GE remote I use with my RCA CTC185 TV, VCR and DVD player is a perfect example, as it will operate every function of my TV except commercial skip, which I never used much anyway so I don't miss it. This remote also does not have a button for setting favorite channels. On the other hand, I have an All For One universal remote that does have a favorite channel button. I'd use it instead of the GE remote except that the All For One universal does not allow for use of both a VCR and a DVD player--the remote has a function button marked "VCR/DVD", but it can only be programmed for one or the other, not both. (The manual does not have control codes for my late-model Memorex DVD player, either.) There is an AUX function button on this remote, but I have never been able to program this button for either my DVD or VCR, when the DVD/VCR function button has been set for one or the other.

Since VHS is almost a dinosaur in today's HDTV world, I would expect that the newest All For One remotes are being designed with only three function buttons--TV, DVD and AUX. The VCR function will have been omitted. This kind of remote would be perfect for today's twenty-something generation of viewers who grew up (or are growing up) with DVDs, and do not remember (or have a very hazy memory at best of) VHS VCRs. I don't think very many home theater installations have VCRs anyway, as these machines are analog NTSC and probably will not work (or they will operate poorly if they work at all) with today's digital high-definition TVs; a three-function remote will operate these modern systems just fine as well.

For home theaters with a flat-panel HDTV, a DVD and a TiVo or other type of DVR (digital video recorder), to say nothing of a high-power 5.1+-channel sound system, ordinary universal remotes usually cannot be used to operate all devices; these systems require fancy (and expensive as the dickens) home theater remotes such as Logitech's Harmony series to fully unlock their potential. These remotes will operate all functions of fancy home theater systems and often have LED or LCD screens to show the selected functions; some of the very advanced (to say nothing of the most expensive) HT remotes even have touch-screen controls.

There was an article in US News and World Report magazine a few years ago (several years before HD and digital television swept the country) that talked about how technology is all but driving people crazy. One person interviewed for this article said that his fancy new TV had 23 video input modes and a blue million buttons on the remote; more often than not, it took him forever just to change channels. "Half the time I can't even get the stations (I want to watch)," the person said. He went on to say that when he complained to his wife about this, she countered, "Hey, (don't come crying to me). I didn't design the (darn) thing!"

[radiotvnut]

I've had several brands of '90's and early 2000's era TV's with no way to access the menu from the set. And, many of these sets would not function correctly with a universal remote. About 10 years ago, I came into possession of a couple of nice Hitachi 20" sets from the early '90's. There was no menu botton on the set and a remote was required to program the channels. It wouldn't have been a big deal had they already been programmed to the local cable channels; but, they were set to the 3 local OTA stations. I tried every kind of universal remote that I could find with no luck. And, an original Hitachi remote cost an arm and a leg. I ended up selling the TV's for cheap just to get them out of here.

So, why did they not put a menu button on the set? They want you to have to buy an expensive remote from them when you lose or break the original one. The American branded sets like RCA, GE, Zenith, Magnavox, Sylvania (NAP era, not Funai), and Philco all seemed to have menu buttons. The ones without menu buttons were often made by Sony, Sharp, Hitachi, Emerson, Orion, Funai, Daewoo, etc. In fact, we have a coupld of mid '90's 13" Sharps with no menu button. Fortunately, a "one for all" remote w/ menu button will program these sets.

A few years ago, I obtained two 36" Magnavox commercial sets with no menu and no remote would bring up the menu. I did some research and discovered that the only remotes that would bring up the menu were special remotes that were available only to commercial interest. Someone I knew worked for Motel 6, who had one of these remotes. I arranged to take each set to the motel and let them program it for cable as they would not let me borrow the remote. So, I know first hand that not having a menu button on the set can be a PITA.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

So, why did they not put a menu button on the set? They want you to have to buy an expensive remote from them when you lose or break the original one...

Amazingly a new remote for my 2008 model Sony Bravia 40V4100 LCD set costs less than $20 direct from Sony Style. I have a couple of other Sony TVs, a little KV-9PT60 9" AC-DC set that dates to 1995, and a 1994 KV-27V10 27" set in the bedroom. All the functions on the 2 year old Bravia's remote operate both 9" and 27" sets and vice versa.

[Duane]

Originally Posted by jstout66

Picked up a Sony 27" Trinitron with side mounted speakers at the Goodwill today. Manufactured 3/91.
Picture is pretty good, altho I notice it has a small impurity spot which I hope will go away. But here's my problem... Charles (or if anyone else knows) help me out. How the hell do you get into the menu to adjust picture quality? Of course the remote wasn't with the set ( and wtf does Goodwill do with the remotes anyway... ) I NEVER see a factory remote with any of the sets, Ever.... I have a handfull of Sony remotes, but I can't access the control settings on any of them. When I hit menu I do get a menu prompt to set the clock,channel block, or auto on, but can't get into anything else. I see it uses a RM-Y104 remote. Do I need to get that one in order to adjust the color? Of course there in NO menu button on the set itself. Also, what is everyones opinion of Sony's of that era? Thanks!

The remote for these EXR sets have specific buttons for adjustment parameters for audio and video,if memory serves. The video adjustments are not accessed via the MENU button alone. We have one of these sets that was used for business (it's been awhile since I've actually seen it) and a standard Sony remote won't work.

[Ed in Tx]

There are a couple of RM-Y104 remotes or the Sony equivalent on ebay right now starting less than $20. They are discontinued from Sony.

[jstout66]

I did get one of those off eBay. However, I'll probably have to get a "real" Sony remote, used of course. I got the generic replacement. I can adjust more stuff now like TriniTone, and the surround sound. But go figure.. I can only adjust the hue.
The generic wont let me select any of the other functions, and what I need to do is turn down the color a bit. Not sure if I'll spend more money on it tho, as it still has that impurity spot. The degausing circuit is working as I can hear it on start up. Am hoping the shodow mask didn't get damaged when moved around by the Goodwill peeps. I also discovered there is a scratch on the CRT.
This set is built like a tank. I bet it was pricey when new.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by jstout66

I did get one of those off eBay. However, I'll probably have to get a "real" Sony remote, used of course..

Yes that is what I was suggesting. There are-were several when I looked, after checking Sony for status (discontinued).

[holmesuser01]

This model Trinitron is my daily watcher in my living room. Mine has a new kine installed last summer. The only service it has had was 2 times replacing the power supply IC on the "K" board. I've got an original paper service manual for mine.

[rpm1200]

You need a remote with "Video", "Audio" and "Guide" buttons to adjust the color. Many XBR, HSR and EXR series Sony TV remotes from about '89-91 have that layout. I have a KV-20EXR10 with that arrangement, and I used to have a KV-32HSR10 that was the same.
One option is to get into One For All/JP1 remotes and programming. If you can get your hands on a genuine One For All remote with the UEI code set (for example, the "Explorer" cable box remote) you can program it for TV code 0000 (Sony), then press "select" and enter a three-digit code to send a specific code. See this code list: http://www.hifi-remote.com/cgi-bin2/ueic.cgi?TV_0000
So to send the "Video" code you would press Setup, 2, 5, 4 (or Setup, 0, 0, 2, 5, 4 on some remotes). If your remote has built-in memory, you can map the keys you want using the 9-9-4 key mover function. If you get a remote with a JP1/JP1.2/JP1.3 connector you can get an adaptor, hook the remote to your PC and remap the keys at will using free software. There is really a lot of possibility and it can become addicting.
I suggest you check out hifi-remote.com for more information...