If you have a Sony Bravia TV set, from time to time, it may be necessary to update the software (known as firmware).
The firmware controls what the TV does, and is occasionally updated, either to add new features, or to address certain fixes. As an example, in June 2011, a fix for a range of Sony Bravia HD models was released to address a problem with watching the BBC in HD.
Here are some instructions on how to check if your Bravia needs updating, and how to perform a firmware update. For this, we’ll be referring to our model, the Sony Bravia KDL-40HX803:
How to check the firmware version
- Press the Home button on the remote
- On the far left menu, select to “Product Support”
- Next, select “System Information”.
- Now, go to Sony’s European Support site, type in your model number, and see if there’s a newer version of software available for your model.
Updating the firmware
If there is a new version of firmware, you first need to download it onto your computer. It can be downloaded as a single ZIP file. The one we tried was around 37 MB.
- First, download the ZIP from from Sony’s site
- Once downloaded, you will need to unzip the file and copy it to a USB memory stick
- When you unzip the file, note that it needs to sit in a specific folder. A ZIP program should handle this automatically
- If you’ve done it right, you will have a single .BIN file in a Sony folder on a memory stick.When we did it, the file was called 00040100_01f80000.bin in a folder called sony_dtv0FA00A00A0A0_00040100. This was to upgrade us to PKG4.104EUT-0108
- Now, with the TV switched on, insert the USB into the USB slot on the TV set. The TV detects the new version of software and installs it. Follow the instructions on-screen
Inserting a USB Memory Stick into a Sony Bravia TV
Installing the patch for our TV set took less than 5 minutes, and went without a hitch.