Following the firmware update that introduced Dolby Vision on Sony TVs, owners of Sony OLED TVs are complaining about an issue that causes the screen to sporadically and temporary dim light output. Sony is promising to fix the issue in a future update.

Sony OLED dimming issue
Firmware update v6.2858 had been eagerly awaited as it was meant to finally add Dolby Vision support on Sony TVs. Unfortunately, OLED TV owners soon after started reporting dimming issues.

Specifically, owners started experiencing sporadic instances of the OLED panel temporarily dimming its light output. It occurs whenever there are static elements such as a gameplay HUD or logo on the screen, regardless of whether the source is HDR or SDR video. It appears to be related to a too aggressive auto dimming function that is supposed to kick in only when the user has unintentionally left the display on while not using it.

Here is a YouTube video demonstrating the problem (jump to the 0:58 mark), uploaded by Sony A1 OLED owner K Ped.




Sony working on a fix
Sony is admitting that there is an ongoing issue. Shortly after the first firmware (v6.2858), the company issued another firmware (v6.5603) that was meant to fix it. However, the problem persisted. Sony is now promising to resolve the issue “via a future firmware update”. The company did not provide us with a timeline. The problem was first reported sometime in March.

- “We are aware of the issue and our engineering team is investigating the A1 dimming performance in order to improve it via a future firmware update. The AF8 is not affected by the issue,” Sony said in a statement to FlatpanelsHD.

Curiously, Sony claims that the AF8 is not affected. FlatpanelsHD has not examined the problem on the AF8 OLED model but there are user reports of the dimming issue affecting AF8, too. There are many reports (link) of it affecting the A1 OLED model but it has also been on sale for a longer a period of time. We will follow up with Sony regarding AF8.

Right now, there is no other option than to wait. Affected Sony OLED TV owners will have to wait for the company to fix the issue, while other owners must wait a little longer for Dolby Vision support to show up.