KDL-40W5500 No Internet, Widgets etc

[gramsey438]

Recently purchased a ex display model Bravia. Despite lots of playing about when I go into applicast I cannot get any extra widgets, I am also not bieng given the choice to add them when selecting options on a widget, only remove widget is given as a choice

TV is hard wired to a BT HomeHub 2

Media that I have shared via Media Player on my main computer in the house is bieng seen by the tv ie pictures and music.

TV has picked up a valid ip address from the router and subnet mask and default gateway setting all ok.

I have reserved the ip on the router for the telly so that I can apply any firewall rules later should I require it.

DNS has been tried both on auto and manual, when on manual I entered the current primary & secondary dns server ip`s for my ISP provider "BT"

Curious that when on auto DNS the settings show the dns sever as bieng the gateway adddress ? pretty certain my router will not be acting like a full fledged dns server, I am assuming this can be ignored.

I am able to ping the tv from the main home computer and as mentioned before media can be seen on the internal LAN by the tv and I have also successfully played mp3`s and displayed images from the drives on the main computer.

I have selected network test from HOME menu on the tv and this comes back ok

I have tried disabling the router firewall to check for blocking but this also did not resolve the issue.

TV has been updated to the latest firmware from Sony site and has had full factory reset function used to default telly back to untouched settings.

I am at a loss as to what to try next. My main home computer which is also hard wired to the router is seeing the internet ok and so are all wireless laptops in the household so I am pretty certain that the router is behaving itself.

As this tv was a display model which came with no box or paperwork ( I have since downloaded pdf manual) am I missing a important bit of paper that says I must register the device with sony with it`s mac address to enable it to have access to their servers ?

Any assistance would be gratefully received....

[aisthima]

There is no need of registering the TV for internet access. In your case it seems only the local network connection is working OK. What I am suggesting – use fully automated settings for the connection to the router and also check with somebody else whether the widget server is working at this moment in your country. This model has only the world clock, RSS reader, calendar, timer and “about AppliCast” application. Your TV does not have Bravia Internet Widgets – only AppliCast capability.

BRAVIA Internet Widgets are small downloadable applications that provide easy access to interactive content when your TV is connected to the Internet ( for example news or weather forecast widgets).

AppliCast is used as the structure of delivery of additional and extended applications for TV functions.

[gramsey438]

Tried calling the Sony support desk today re this issue and it did not fill me with any confidence.....

The young lad who I spoke to told me to return tv to retailer ?

I am going to try a reload of the latest firmware tomorrow and see if this makes a difference, I may also pop into a local Sony dealer and have a chat with one of the salesmen, hopefully they will know the products their selling better than the lad at Sony Support....

In the meantime I am still open to any other suggestions or ideas as to the root of the problem.

Further Update :

------------------------

TV refusing to allow the reload the firmware update as it see`s the file on the usb stick being the same as the current version installed (:-<</p>

Following a suggestion from a work colleague I have also now moved the TV into the DMZ zone on my local router, I have done this via RDP connection from work so am unable to confirm if this has changed anything, the chances are that the Media Player files will not be seen any longer as the tv is now positioned outside of the local LAN however the good lady at home will be updating me when she gets the chance to test the box this evening.

Message was edited by: gramsey438

[gramsey438]

Placing the TV in the DMZ did not resolve the issue.

I have also noted that the default widgets, calender, rss feeds etc are not available to me if there is no network lead connected ? , does this mean the tv is seeing the internet or is it a internal checking function that will not make them available if there is no LAN connection seen ?

Getting to the stage where I may give up on this and take the tv back. Very annoying as I strongly suspect this is a s/ware issue or Sony servers are not talking or sending the extra widgets to my unit.

Message was edited by: gramsey438

[aisthima]

As I told you in my previous post - your TV has only Applicast - RSS, calendar and world time So... your internet connection and your TV are working just fine.

[aisthima]

RSS reader is not working without internet connection

[gramsey438]

Regarding the Applicast application is this where I should see the additional functionality of youtube, bbc iplayer etc etc ?

If so then I am begining to wonder whether the issue maybe with my ISP British Telecom, it may be the case that they are blocking the sony servers.

[Catmambo]

Gramsey - as aisthima mentions above, yoru particular TV only has certain IP features. Not iPlayer, Youtube etc, so it won;t make any difference putting yoru TV in the DMZ..

Maybe look at one of the SMP-N100 Netbox devices as an easy way of getting this functionality.

Thanks

[Khasta]

I have KDL-405500 and on the Applicast - RSS - shows following message:

Cannot display RSS contents, the reason is probably as below

     - XML format is not valid

     -The RSS feed is not enconded as UTF-8

Can some one please explain the reasons given above and how can I fix the problem so that the RSS contents work. Thanks.