BBC: Sony Playstation to feature on Watchdog Program Next Week

Sony are to feature on the BBC Watchdog program next Thursday with rumours on their official forums saying it is concerning the YLOD issues effecting some of it's machines. I myself (enjoy76) have watched the Watchdog program myself tonight and it is at the end that Anne Robinson the show presenter says "If you own a Sony Playstation don't miss next weeks show".

[-x.Red.x-]

doesn't work for US people.

unless I did something wrong...

[Time Lord]

Watchdog is TV program where they complain about anything and everything

[Chubear]

lol, here we go. The FUD machine is going to be kicking it in high gear for the Christmas season. This Christmas looks like it's going to be monstrous for the PS3 sales and everything is going to be thrown at it to slow it down.

It's done for it's exclusives and it's going to be more focused on the system it's self this Christmas and here I thought the PS3 FUD had slowed down since the past 2yrs. lol

If a consumer watch dog group does indeed do a segment about PS3 failure rate then I'm not sure why they wouldn't do one, on a consistent bases, with the well known insanely high failure rate of the 360.

[Real Gambler]

Typical accepted failure rate is 3% per year!!!. Since you get YLOD for basically any faults except a dead power supply or bad BluRay, you can assume that even with a very low failure rate, they have to prove that there has been almost 600000 YLOD since launch. (Based on 1/3 of 3% per year, the other 2/3 beeing power supply and BR, and 20000000 PS3s in the field now).

Basically YLOD is like the check engine on your car. When you get it, it could be pretty much anything. So surely, it's common on the PS3, but proving that more than 600 thousands people got hit by it may be difficult.

Since proving that YLOD is a big problem, I suspect they will just spin the whole thing around the cost of repair for a PS3. Sony has not adjusted their standard repair cost yet, which were based on the high cost of a PS3. But now that the new PS3 is selling for only $299, if you have to send one for repair after warranty, the cost for repair looks pretty bad. I suspect that they will lower that fixed price in the next few weeks, so sure enough, they have to rush that show before Sony does. Buying a $299 item, and having to pay $150 to get it fixed out of warranty, if you're one of the unlucky 3%, is definitively newsworthy for them : )

[Ju]

Well, my second 60G just YLOD last week on me (well the first I had gotten replaced under warranty (with some weird pixel errors and random crashes), second only has 90 days of warranty).

I would just say, bad luck (I have 2 more, and they have no problem what so ever. I'm not complaining, I just think the first series models is more vulnerable to defects, as usual). But, true, I have just taken it apart and will try to fix it myself. I'm not sure if its this "solder" problem, the board looks just fine. I had noticed some BDs reported read errors before, while the same disks worked fine in my other machines. So, maybe I can just replace the BD drive (but don't want to spend the money before I know for sure).

The $150 turn me off somehow. I am thinking of getting a Slim instead (less power, silent and comes with warranty again). Would it be <=$100 I wouldn't hesitate to send it in, though.

[PLAYINB3YOND]

I watched watchdog yesterday and I thought the way show was made was shocking. The whole show was a mess of bad reports and unfunny quips between ann (the never ageing) robinson and the rogue traders guy

[silvacrest]

i liked the previous theme more to be honest and like it or not watchdog is useful some times, some one elses misfortune can save you future troubles

[ProperFunked]

i just sent out my PS3 for service yesterday. happened while i was playing COD4 online. sux because it happened like 2 weeks before the uncharted 2 demo comes out and i was planning on winning the limited edition. ive been desperately looking for someone to loan me theirs to no avail. =(

[Karum]

The BBC iPlayer will only work for people in the UK so you're not doing anything wrong.

[Marquis_de_Sade]

Calm down Chubear, no need to get your knickers in a twist because they have already had the 360 and RROD on the show.

[ravinash]

I did get a yellow light on my PS3 Fat, but it is 2 1/2 years old now (got it on day one).
With no warranty I looked up on the internet and figured out how to fix it my self.
So I got it working again with a heat gun, Heat Sink Compound all in the same day it stopped.
After clearing all the dust that had built up inside it, its as good as new.
My only recommendation would be to keep the PS3 flat as after I moved house I started keeping it on its side and that's when the problem started. as well as keeping it away from dust of course.
I'm still happy with my purchase, and I paid full price for the thing.

You do have to remember that this is the nature of electronics, and games consoles probably get more use out of them than most electronic items. But you can get extended warranty and insurance as well. that's if you don't fell comfortable to open it up your self.

[mastiffchild]

I'm tired of saying this now but Sony DO have a problem with launch 60gigs in the UK and at a guess Watchdog will, rightly, say that this is an inherent problem with this series and Sony should be held more responsible.

I'm more for Sony than I am against and much of what they do with their devs and the more diverse things they push is admirable BUT their CS is hopeless. I joined CP but good as it has been(replaced my 60gig within 24 hours) not everyone will feel they should have to pay a fiver per month when MS give a three year warranty. That said their CS is as bad if not worse and the warranty is a long, long way from watertight as I've found to my cost(twice!).

Fact is when the YLOD started becoming more prevalent in these models Sony changed their general policy of free replacements(I say general as even now it depends how lucky you fall with your phone calls and who you get-that's how unreliable the sysytem is)to one of charging for fixes with long waits(often) between shipping and return.

The fact you CAN sometimes get a free fix and not others is like a beacon for Watchdog and their ilk and Sony should at least have a unified policy for all-preferaably one where they look after their vast customers and I'm interested to see what Sony say to Watchdog myself as there is a case to answer-and it doesn't matter that MS are worse if Sony are just less right they're still in the wrong. Nintendo, on the other hand, have cleaned my Wii's lens TWICE for nothing and even paid the postage-shame on Sony AND more on MS.

I know RROD and MS are a million times worse but it doesn't change the fact that the more complex launch models have an inguilt fail risk that becomes more and more apparent over time-Sony seemed ton know this and reduced their support and considering these machines were bought by early, loyal adopters the support is now a joke.

[Nitrowolf2]

well i don't live in UK so i can't watch this.

[BLuKhaos]

Lol apparently someone disagrees with your comment and you do live in the UK.

[Cajun Chicken]

Fair enough, they've covered the 360 a good few times.

[Shadow Flare]

I think 360 has been on watchdog twice actually. Sony will be fine with this, because these faults aren't widespread. It'll give sony a chance to advertise the newer and better designed slim model aswell. And watchdog will most likely mention the competition [read: 360] and compare the 2 lol. Free advertisement for sony

[mastiffchild]

Yes, hopefully they'll take this chance to say they'll also do something more for those of us who paid top dollar at launch for our PS3 as well as being able to point out the facts about the new Slim being more quiet and eco friendly.

Maybe a 20/60gig programme where they'll swap out a busted one for either refurbs or a slim-the number of 60's with either BR read issues or solder/heatsink problems and as they're mostly the same it can easily be called a "known fault" which could effect lawsuits should they arise.

Sony might be able to calm this down AND placate an increasinly growing, if still fairly small, number of early purchasers who've experienced the same problems with their consoles but they'll have to play it carefully. As I recall MS have been on a couple of times and once did pretty well, imo, to come off looking fairly reasonable so Sony should manage the same with a smaller issue.

[RATSCOUSER]

The 360 has appeared 3 times on the Watchdog program now, the first regarding the RROD errors, the second for the EXX (number) errors and most recently they did a test on games like guitar hero and rock band being responsible for disk scratching. I just hope Sony's appearance could spell better news for an extended warranty for the 60gb owners.

[Wiitactics]

Half of N4G can't even watch the damn thing so why are people taking the time to approve?

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

Iain Lee the guy on the 'Watchdog' Program next week is a XBOT!!!
LOOK -

http://tech.uk.msn.com/gami...

MAN!!! The BBC web site will get KILLED by me next week if he takes the P!SS!!! ;-D

[corywebb93]

REally needs to fix the ylod i got the ylod like 5 times already and sony is charging me 500 dollars to fix it

[Narutone66]

You should learn not to put your PS3 beside a microwave called the 360. Don't you know putting any electronic equipment beside the 360 will destroy it.

[gambare]

"corywebb93 - 1 hour ago
PM
Track
Ignore
2 - Sony
REally needs to fix the ylod i got the ylod like 5 times already and sony is charging me 500 dollars to fix it"

This is why blood related brothers shouldn't marry

[AssassinHD]

Well to start off I don't believe you even own a PS3, let alone have had 5 break on you. I would also like to point out that Sony charges a flat $150 repair fee for any work that is performed outside of warranty, and 5 repairs at $150 would be $750, not $500.

I suppose your defense could be that 2 of those repairs were performed within a warranty period, but then the figure would be $450 and not $500.

[Berserk1]

REally needs to fix the RROD i got the RROD like 5000 times already and Microsoft is charging me 1000 dollars to fix it

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Well I'm sure the fact that the 360 has been featured on here a few times will be of great comfort to those who are facing the YLOD!

Or maybe it just makes the fanboys feel better to say it.. Deflect much?

If this is getting to be a big enough problem they are going to start having segments on TV about it that is lame. I threw Sony out the door after 2 PS2 failures(and they refused to fix it for free) and will throw MS out as well if my 360 rings more than once(and don't fix it for free). So far my PS3 is working great.

[MURKERR]

you from 2007/2008 you should never be calling anyone a fanboy,dont make me go into my archives

i hope they do bring up YLOD because its happened to me its horrible

[silvacrest]

LOL @ "archives"

@ crab, hypocrite much?

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Fanboy Fanboy Fanboy!

Get your archives out! pft. LOL I've let my fanboy ways go yes I'm talking to the ones still going at it after 4 years on both sides.

Are you telling me that the RROD comments in this article are not deflecting? What do they have to do with the YLOD and it being featured on this program?

[n4gn4gn4gn4g]

website they have the summary for next weeks show:

Quote:

Anne Robinson and the team right consumer wrongs, tackling the big names and businesses letting viewers down.
Matt Allwright is on the trail of more rogue traders, investigating a man who claims he can cure cancer with his bare hands. Among the other reports, Anita Rani looks into how much salt is in our food, finding products that should not be on the shelves, and Iain Lee solves a problem with one of the best known gadgets in the world - which the manufacturers refuse to fix.

[The Meerkat]

That could be good news.

[RATSCOUSER]

I'm hoping it is good news, from what I have been reading it is mainly concerning the UK backwards compatible PS3 so hopefully Sony will announce an extended warranty.

[beeeffess]

Refuse to fix?

Sony were happy enough to exchange my broken one with a new identical model for free.

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

http://tech.uk.msn.com/gami...

He doesn't like the PS3 anyway :-/ (if it's the same guy)

[nizza]

"Iain Lee is employed on a freelance basis by Microsoft"

Yay, looking forward to that un-biased bit of journalism then :/

Iain Lee is a nob anyway.
He's been all sour since the Big Breakfast got cancellled ;p

[Karum]

Yeah Sony replaced my out of warranty PS3 free of charge, other than the machine breaking down (blu-ray drive wouldn't read any discs) it's hard to find anything to complain about for that one. I've had the replacement almost a year now and it's seen even more use than my original launch PS3...it's running beautifully.

[Marty8370]

As they never said what it was about in the program, they even said 'PlayStation' not PS3 or PlayStation 3.

Anyhow even if it is about YLOD, this problem is anywhere near as bad as Crapbox RROD/e74/ disc scratching, Crapbox burning down gamers houses etc.

[Ninjamonkey]

Lol this will be fun.

I do know a couple people who had problems with their ps3's, not where near as many people as RROD, but its there.

[Karum]

I know a few people that have had their PS3 break down, even my own launch console broke down and was replaced but the PS3 stories from people I know are nothing in comparison to the 360 stories I hear from friends and family members.

PS3 isn't unbreakable, it's going to have problems and it's gonna have breakdowns but there's no way it's gotten to the stage the 360 did.

[Ninjamonkey]

wait why wasnt this approved???

Its perfectly fine, and its news. There have been so many news articles here which i couldnt get to as they only worked in the US but I dont remember anyone whining and now that something wont work in the US it doesnt get through???

[topgeareasy]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[HypnoticMonkey]

Typical BBC bullshit..they picked the person with the saddest sob story ever "oooh I have to clean poop just to buy a game".

[LukaX23]

Sony's on a roll! Kick-ass!

[TROLL EATER]

wats the cause of the YLOD?

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

As she once said on the 'Weakest Link' -

'xBox 360...You Are The Weakest Link...GOODBYE'!!! ;-D

[Droid Control]

is it the ps3 slim they are talking about?

Maybe i should hold off from buying one...

[timmyrulz]

Oh thats funny i could have sworn the article was about the ps3 and not the xbox, good diversion tactics lads
BTW anything that is on watchdog is not good news, sorry to disapoint you all

[RATSCOUSER]

If they announce an extended warranty for sufferers of the YLOD on the PS3 then surely it is good news. Afterall the 360 fans have been waving their 3 year warranty's around as if they are something great for some time now, and anything that better protects the consumer - is good news.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Agreed with you #11 but hey what do we know we are just fanboys.. LOL

@11.1: Correct, if this prompts Sony to do a warranty similar to MS that is great news. It makes me feel better about owning the product and means Sony will continue to stay in my home. They certainly weren't very warranty friendly when my 2 PS2's died for a very common problem.

[Meryl]

Noo the YLOD must have grown somewhat for this to happen oh well it might get sony to do a better warranty so it's good for all i guess

[iceman06]

If I am CORRECT...Watchdog is like a sensationalist TV show for the BBC. I guess most of the topics have SOME merit...but just like local news at 10 pm in the US...they have these SENSATIONAL titles that boil down to a bit LESS than what is thought in the beginning...you know like "Do You Know What Your Kids Are Eating At School? Find out at 10!!!"*LOL*

[timmyrulz]

Your right an extended warrenty would be good news, i just personally associate watchdog with bad news and complaints, my bad

[DiLeCtioN]

well it will probably be like 5mins story and sony replaced it...

[Meus Renaissance]

For those who don't know it, they also did a special on the Xbox 360 about a year ago

[RATSCOUSER]

The 360 has made 3 'special' appearances on watchdog now, one for the RROD, one for the E74 error and then the best one was when they had people playing rock band and showing how the 360 draws crop circles on your disks if it suffers from 'atmospheric' vibrations, they put the 360 on a machine that shook it like an earthquake.

[table]

you know what was sad about those Microsoft xbox360 specials, the fact that on each occasion microsoft openly blamed the consumer for all the problems associated with the 360. I was seriously shocked when I heard they were passing it off as consumers not looking after the console properly.

[VaddixBell]

That's what it's going to be about... The Bluray players break with the slightest provocation and I'm gonna be watching this because I've had 3 break down because of this fault and the final I had to pay 145 pound to get it fixed.

[Karum]

Continuous Play is pretty good peace of mind if you're in the UK mate. I had my launch PS3 replaced for the same reason you've had replacements, once the warranty of my replacement expired I took out Continuous Play...it's five pounds per month.

I hope I never need to use it but at least I know it's there and a fiver a month isn't much for that guaranteed peace of mind.

[TROLL EATER]

I guess u can watch this on the BBCi PLAYER

[ustayclassyn4g]

make a show about ylod like it's a bad thing for consumers and not for rrod?? lolololololololololol..re-tard s

[Karum]

they've already done the 360, like 2 or 3 times actually

[Ray186]

Time someone made a fuss about this.

[stuntman_mike]

watchdog doesnt solve anything they are just fear mongerers. its good they air the problems of consumers but never give people the help to solve it, all you get is two big fingers and a F'you.

plus ian lee is one of the biggest fan boys around so expect a load of overblown twaddle.

[QuackPot]

...objectively and fairly.

As the YLOD is -mainly- due to a soldering/cooling issue, it needs to be addressed.

I've had the YLOD on my older 60G unit and did fix it by reflowing/refluxing.

But IMHO there's serious questions on Sony's behaviour relating to known cooling issues(maybe not enough) WITH RESPECT TO the quality of solder/flux used on early Ps3s.

The major question is:

Did Sony know of the problem but because of such a low failure rate, continue to release the consoles without adequate coverage(warranty or not)?

If so then this Sony fanboy is pi55ed off.

Plus the another major issue is the interrupted update errors that can brick your ps3. Sony wipes their hands clean of it if you have no warranty and it's no fault of yours as you need to update to play online. Tards!

[Meryl]

chance are that sony did not know about this problem i mean it's not very big unlike rrod, they tend to strive for quality so i can't imagine them selling a faulty product, besides all the newer versions don't have this problem.
Oh and as for the update problem, i agree this can be a bad thing but thats why it tells you not to disrupt the ps3 while it is updating, i mean there are lots of warnings, if you get a power cut while updating i can undertand you being mad, but really most of it is down to the user to ensure they look after the console properly, if they break it because of their ignorance then of course sony is no going to pay up, after all they are a business not a charity, although with selling every ps3 a a loss i am beginning to think they are a charity lol

[Saaking]

Start Damage control.

[Horny]

i hope they lower the repair costs soon. I need a new blu ray drive for mine.

[RATSCOUSER]

Apologies to those outside of the UK who can't see the I Player video, next week when the show is actually on I will rip it onto You Tube so those of you interested outside of the UK get a chance to see it, I'll throw the link in my profile next thursday.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Ive never had a Playstation Fail on me and touch wood it never happens i have two of them atm a fat and skinny. I had a previous 60gb aswell :/. I put it down to mishandling the damage that is being reported from these people.