Electronics giant LG is red in the face following the revelation that it launched its high-end LCD Scarlet television sets in SA with an embedded software fault.
This morning, LG marketing director Michelle Potgieter said: "In the launch phase of Scarlet, in May 2008, LG Electronics found that some of the units had a software problem. The problem was with the high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), which is an all-digital audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streams."
She would not disclose how many of the television sets had the fault, but did confirm the sets had already reached various stores.
The television sets had to have software updates at those outlets.
According to Potgieter: "The problem is the upgrade of HDMI software. HDMI switches provide an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as video game system (Sony PS3), set-top box, HD/Blu-ray DVD player, or PC into a HDTV or digital audio and/or video monitor."
Approximately 3 000 units have been sold in SA since Scarlet's launch on 8 May. According to Potgieter, the sets were sold only after the software had been updated.
However, at least one retailer told ITWeb that units have indeed been sold with the faulty software and that the store had to send out technicians to upgrade the sets.
"I work six days a week and to this day, I have not yet seen an LG person update the sets on site," says one salesman who prefers not to be named. "We've just stopped selling them [Scarlets], because you could be selling a dud."
Several other retailers confirmed that problems with Scarlet had been encountered, but noted that LG had addressed most of these.
Share