Tag Archives: HDR

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 Review: Improved, And Still Reasonably Priced

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Although Xiaomi and its Redmi sub-brand have much of the budget and mid-range television segments in India covered, its focus will always be on value for money, and that applies to the high end as well. Big screens, plenty of features, thoughtful software, and discrete design have largely defined the Mi TV range. The company’s latest television series, the Mi TV 5X, hopes to carry that forward without compromising on the one thing that has attracted buyers to the brand – competitive and reasonable pricing.

Priced at Rs. 45,999 in India, the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55-inch Ultra-HD LED Smart TV is very impressive on paper and promises capable performance, without forcing you to spend too much. Some of its key features include support for Dolby Vision, hands-free Google Assistant voice controls, and the combination of Android TV 10 and the company’s popular PatchWall UI. Is this the best 55-inch television you can now buy under Rs. 50,000? Find out in this review.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 design and specifications

Televisions from Xiaomi’s Mi brand have sported the Mi logo thus far, but with the Mi TV 5X, there’s a big change. The company announced that it is switching to ‘Xiaomi’ as its brand name on future products, and the Mi TV 5X shows that, even if it’s still called a ‘Mi TV’.

Displayed prominently right below the screen is the new Xiaomi logo on a silver strip, just above the module that has a few indicator lights and the power button. The rest of the borders around the screen are considerably slimmer and similarly silver in colour, giving the Mi TV 5X a distinct look that stands out among the competition as well as other televisions from Xiaomi such as the Redmi TV X Series and Mi TV 4X range.

The Mi TV 5X isn’t quite as slim as some of the flagship TVs I’ve reviewed recently, but it’s reasonably well built and not too thick even at the bottom, which bulges a bit. It looks good for a TV in its price range, whether placed on a wall or on stand mounts. The lower part of the back of the TV has a carbon-fibre-like texture, with one set of inputs and ports facing downwards, and a second set facing to the left of the screen.

The less frequently used ports, including the Ethernet, optical audio out, composite AV input, and antenna port all face downwards, while the two USB ports, three HDMI 2.1 ports, and 3.5mm audio out socket face to the left. The television can be stand-mounted using the metal stands included in the box, or wall-mounted using any aftermarket VESA-compatible kit. Xiaomi can provide a wall-mount kit at an extra cost at the time of installation.

The Mi TV 5X sports the company’s new ‘Xiaomi’ brand logo, instead of ‘Mi’ 

 

While I’m reviewing the 55-inch model in the Mi TV 5X series which is priced at Rs. 45,999, you could also choose the 50-inch and 43-inch models, priced at Rs. 41,999 and Rs. 31,999 respectively in India. All three are Ultra-HD TVs with support for up to the Dolby Vision format for HDR.

The Mi TV 5X 55 has a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED-backlit screen, with support for the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats.

This television has a rated sound output of 40W, and support for Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD through its two-speaker system. HDMI ARC is supported on one of the HDMI ports, and there’s also dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity. The TV has a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage for apps and app data.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 remote and features

While the general design and branding of Xiaomi’s televisions have changed over the months and years, the company’s approach to the remote has been largely the same. The Mi TV 5X has Xiaomi’s familiar, minimalist remote, and expectedly yet still disappointingly, the needed AAA batteries are not included in the sales package.

The remote itself is one that I’m very used to, and the company’s software tweaks such as Quick Mute and Quick Settings access have long since made up for its physical shortcomings. It’s suitably equipped to get you anywhere within the TV’s software quickly, and you can navigate around both the Stock Android TV UI and Xiaomi’s own PatchWall UI easily enough.

Other key features of the Mi TV 5X include hands-free Google Assistant access, Google Chromecast built-in with support for Ultra-HD and HDR casting from supported apps and services, an auto low-latency mode for use with gaming consoles, and the ability to use Alexa as your default voice assistant if you prefer.

The remote of the Mi TV 5X is a familiar one, with a minimalist, compact design

 

The television has a microphone that can be set to always-on mode to listen for the ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ wake words, just as you’d have it on a smart speaker such as the Google Nest Audio. It’s possible to turn off the microphone if you have privacy concerns or just don’t want to use voice commands; there’s a physical sliding switch to control this at the bottom of the TV, just below the Xiaomi logo.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 software and interface

Just like the remote, the software experience on the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X remains familiar for anyone who has used a Xiaomi television before. The television runs on Android TV 10, with both the stock Android TV user interface, as well as Xiaomi’s own PatchWall 4 launcher. All major apps are supported, and users have full access to the Google Play Store for Android TV to download any of over 5,000 apps available.

The stock Android TV UI will be familiar for users of other Android TV devices as well, since it works without any real manufacturer-enforced limitations here. The settings are accessible from anywhere in the interface, including if content is playing, by long-pressing the Mi button on the remote. A short-press of the button will switch to the PatchWall launcher, which shows a wide selection of curated content from various streaming services.

PatchWall 4 is slightly improved over previous versions, with IMDB ratings integrated into most titles, a new look for the information pages for titles with additional details, and more. PatchWall allows for easy access to the TV’s settings and other source inputs, as well as different apps that you might have installed on the TV.

Users who like a lot of recommendations and content curation will enjoy what PatchWall has to offer, thanks to its content-centric approach. Also worth mentioning is that the Mi TV 5X supports the Mi Home app through the PatchWall launcher, allowing you to control IoT devices in your home through your TV or through voice commands, if you have the Mi Home app linked to your Google account. This could be convenient if you own and use devices such as the Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P and Mi LED Wi-Fi Smart Bulb.

Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 performance

Good looks and features aside, the Xiaomi Mi TV 5X 55 is also well equipped to deliver a pleasant viewing experience, driven by its focus on value. Picture and sound performance are very good for a 55-inch television priced under Rs. 50,000, delivering the sheer impact of a big screen TV, while also doing a good job across resolutions and content types. That said, I did face occasional lag and UI performance issues, which I’ll elaborate on in this section.

Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content brings out the best in the Mi TV 5X 55

 

The Mi TV 5X 55 is a high dynamic range (HDR) television with support for the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats. Naturally, the 55-inch screen means that this TV is best considered for top-quality content, such as Dolby Vision movies and TV shows on Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar which looked considerably better than anything else I watched.

Watching Korean hit TV show Squid Game in Ultra-HD and Dolby Vision on Netflix, the Mi TV 5X made for an enjoyable experience. The picture had a gentle, easy-going tone to it, with colours that didn’t quite pop as much as on more premium TVs, but were refined and impactful nonetheless. The bright pinks and greens of the uniforms worn by the guards and contestants in the show were subtly, yet strongly brought out by the TV.

The picture is sharp and detailed, without appearing too jarring and edgy. There was a sense of smoothness to Ultra-HD content, with Dolby Vision content looking even better through brightness and contrast. Visually striking shows such as Our Planet looked impressive on the Mi TV 5X, as did gentler and less impactful viewing such as Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime Video.

While there is a definite boost in brightness, and the ability to have varying levels of contrast and impact in the same frame with HDR content, the biggest benefit of Dolby Vision on the Mi TV 5X was in the tone. This television usually captured the feel and essence of TV shows well, providing a sombre, dark feel to shows such as Squid Game and movies such as Greyhound on Apple TV+, while the light-hearted Somebody Feed Phil looked bright and fun as Phil Rosenthal explored cities and their unique eateries.

The television retains the tone of shows and movies with Dolby Vision; Squid Game looked sombre and haunting, even while the colours looked good

 

Many LED-backlit TVs, particularly those priced at under Rs. 50,000, tend to choke a bit when it comes to black levels. The Mi TV 5X, while not quite as impressive as televisions such as the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro (which has local dimming), does a reasonably good job with darker scenes and black tones. Although there was a mild grey wash on the screen, it wasn’t as intense or distracting as on the Redmi TV X55, which costs about Rs. 5,000 less than the Mi TV 5X. Dark scenes looked decent in dully lit rooms as a result, while bright scenes were watchable even with sunlight striking the TV.

Standard dynamic range and standard definition content, while naturally not as attractive to watch as HDR, was decent on the Mi TV 5X 55 nonetheless. The Last Dance on Netflix, as well as assorted full-HD content such as The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, and Schumacher were good to watch, with the TV handling the older, upscaled footage of the Bulls’ historic championship runs and Michael Schumacher’s F1 dominance in the 1990s particularly well. In general, this TV made for a consistently bright, sharp, and clean viewing experience across resolutions and content.

Sound on the Mi TV 5X is comfortable and acceptable in ordinary viewing situations; the TV can get quite loud thanks to its 40W speakers. The sound is well-tuned and uniform, without too many jarring volume spikes. Interestingly, while Dolby Atmos is supported on the TV and was activated with a slider switch in the sound settings menu, the Mi TV 5X doesn’t support Dolby Atmos detection by content platforms – Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar both showed support for 5.1-channel audio at best.

Instead, enabling Dolby Atmos on this TV seems to upscale the sound signal at the hardware stage. This still made a slight difference in sound quality with most content. Some virtualised surround effects could be heard while watching Squid Game, and the sound felt a bit more refined and detailed overall. Even with this switched off, or with content that doesn’t really benefit from the format, sound was decent enough. That said, a good speaker system such as the Sony HT-S40R, which I reviewed alongside this TV, might help improve the listening experience.

PatchWall shows a growing collection of curated content from across various streaming services and content providers

 

Although the picture and sound were generally good, and the software experience was satisfactory for the most part, I did experience some performance glitches with the Mi TV 5X. These included occasional lag and stutter in the picture when streaming Ultra-HD content, delayed responses to button-press commands from the remote, and a few Wi-Fi connection drops.

I also experienced delays in subtitle timing on some occasions, with the words appearing on screen about a second or two late but clearing on time, making it hard to read along when watching foreign-language content. While these issues weren’t very bothersome and were often fixable by turning the TV off and on again, they did come up every once in a while, so they are worth pointing out.

Verdict

Xiaomi’s focus on value for money and competitive pricing continues to pay off for the company, and the Mi TV 5X is a good example of why affordable TVs are worth considering. Priced at Rs. 45,999, this is quite easily my top pick among 55-inch televisions priced at under Rs. 50,000 right now. It delivers a good blend of design, features, and…

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Thomson Oath Pro Max 55 pulgadas Ultra-HD LED Android TV (55OPMAX9055) Revisión: ¿Oferta de valor por dinero?

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En los últimos meses se han visto correcciones de precios importantes y muy atrasadas en el segmento de televisores en India, y la mayoría de los modelos ahora cuestan un poco más que en 2020. Podría esperar comprar un televisor Ultra-HD de 55 pulgadas con buenas especificaciones. por debajo de Rs. 40,000 no hace mucho tiempo, pero ya es difícil encontrar tales ofertas ya que muchas marcas populares, incluidas Xiaomi, Hisense y Vu, ahora tienen precios que comienzan en alrededor de Rs. 45.000 marcos para un televisor LED de 55 pulgadas. Naturalmente, este nuevo televisor Ultra-HD de 55 pulgadas de Thomson tiene un precio de menos de Rs. 40.000 me llamó la atención.

Aunque se vende con la marca Thomson, el Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055) es fabricado y comercializado en India por Super Plastronics Private Ltd., con sede en Noida, un fabricante de equipos originales que también vende televisores con las marcas Kodak, Blaupunkt y Westinghouse. . Con un precio de Rs. 36,999 en Flipkart, el Thomson 55OPMAX9055 tiene una pantalla Ultra-HD y soporte HDR, y se ejecuta en el sistema operativo Android TV. ¿Es este el televisor de pantalla grande con la mejor relación calidad-precio que puede comprar en este momento? Descúbrelo en esta revisión.

El televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas cumple todos los requisitos cuando se trata de especificaciones, con una pantalla LED Ultra-HD y compatibilidad con HDR10+

Diseño y especificaciones del televisor LED Ultra HD Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055)

Prácticamente todos los televisores de 55 pulgadas de la actualidad comparten un conjunto básico de especificaciones, que incluyen una pantalla Ultra-HD (3840×2160 píxeles) de 60 Hz, soporte para contenido HDR y conectividad inteligente. El televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max ofrece exactamente esto, con soporte para hasta el formato HDR10+ en su panel IPS. Se pierde el formato Dolby Vision, que es popular en otras opciones asequibles de marcas como Redmi, Xiaomi y Vu.

En muchos sentidos, este televisor Thomson es como cualquier otro televisor de su tamaño en la categoría de bajo costo que puedes comprar ahora mismo. Tiene bordes delgados alrededor de la pantalla, un grosor razonable y la capacidad de montarse en soportes o en una pared. Lo que sí se destaca del diseño es una tira prominente de oro rosa debajo de la pantalla que tiene una textura similar a una rejilla, el logotipo de Thomson, el receptor de infrarrojos y un indicador de estado. Los altavoces son de disparo inferior, con una salida nominal de 40W.

En la caja se incluyen dos soportes para montaje en mesa, así como un kit de montaje en pared, y Flipkart ofrece la entrega e instalación gratuitas de este televisor. Mientras reviso la variante de 55 pulgadas, este televisor está disponible en otros tamaños: las variantes de 43 y 50 pulgadas tienen un precio de Rs. 27.999 y rupias. 34.999, respectivamente.

El enchufe de entrada de energía mira hacia la derecha, mientras que los puertos miran hacia la izquierda del televisor y me resultaron un poco difíciles de alcanzar después de montarlo en la pared. La conectividad en el televisor Thomson incluye tres puertos HDMI (uno es compatible con eARC), dos puertos USB, un puerto Ethernet, una salida de audio óptica, un conector de antena y una entrada AV compuesta que está diseñada para usarse con un conector de tres a tres incluido. un adaptador

El televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas se ejecuta en Android TV 10, con la nueva interfaz de usuario de contenido primero

En particular, no hay un conector de 3,5 mm para la salida de audio con cable (a pesar de que se menciona en las especificaciones), pero puede conectar auriculares o altavoces Bluetooth a este televisor. Extrañamente, el diseño del puerto en mi unidad de revisión era completamente diferente de lo que se mostraba en las imágenes de la lista oficial de este televisor en Flipkart.

La alimentación del televisor es un procesador Mediatek de cuatro núcleos, con 2 GB de RAM y 8 GB de almacenamiento interno para aplicaciones y datos de aplicaciones. Está clasificado para 500 nits de brillo máximo y es compatible con los formatos de audio Dolby Audio y DTS TruSurround. Lamentablemente, solo admite conectividad Wi-Fi de 2,4 GHz.

Thomson Oath Pro Max TV LED Ultra HD de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055) control remoto y funciones

Aunque el diseño del televisor en sí es un poco aventurero, el televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas viene con un excelente control remoto. Está bien equipado en términos de botones y controles, se siente bien al sostenerlo y también se ve bien. Los botones importantes, como el D-pad y la tecla de inicio, son blancos para ayudarlo a detectarlos incluso en una habitación oscura, y hay botones de acceso directo dedicados para Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube y Google Play.

Como suele ser el caso con los televisores con Android TV, Thomson TV es compatible con el Asistente de Google, con un botón para invocarlo y un micrófono para recibir comandos de voz en el control remoto. Esto funcionó como se esperaba, ya que el Asistente de Google pudo obtener contenido en el televisor y responder preguntas generales, entre otras cosas.

El control remoto de este televisor Thomson está bien diseñado y tiene controles útiles para la mayoría de las funciones, incluido un botón ‘i’ que muestra la resolución y la información de conexión.

Se espera que el Thomson Oath Pro Max TV también tenga Chromecast incorporado, así como la funcionalidad Apple AirPlay bastante útil. El primero funciona a través de aplicaciones y puede reflejar la pantalla de su dispositivo directamente a través de su interfaz, mientras que el segundo necesitaba una aplicación para funcionar. Usé AirScreen, que funcionó bien con dispositivos iOS y macOS. AirPlay necesita una conexión a Internet rápida para funcionar bien, pero la falta de Wi-Fi de 5 GHz puede causar problemas de estabilidad para algunos.

Interfaz y software Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas Ultra-HD LED TV (55OPMAX9055)

Como muchos televisores en este segmento de precios, el televisor LED Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas funciona con el sistema operativo Android TV. Android TV 10, la versión de software actual en el televisor, funcionó bien para mí y tuve acceso inmediato a la nueva interfaz de usuario de Android TV gracias a una actualización de firmware que estuvo disponible tan pronto como lo configuré.

Como se describe en mi reseña del televisor Hisense 55U6G, la nueva interfaz se esfuerza más en el descubrimiento de contenido y las recomendaciones, pero aún conserva la sensación central y la familiaridad del sistema operativo y las aplicaciones creadas para él.

Para cualquiera que esté acostumbrado a Android TV, la experiencia le resultará familiar en el televisor Thomson. Todas las principales aplicaciones y servicios de transmisión están disponibles, con algunos como Netflix, Amazon Prime Video y YouTube preinstalados, mientras que otros se pueden descargar desde Google Play Store para Android TV.

Se puede acceder a la configuración básica de imagen y sonido desde cualquier parte de la interfaz de usuario, incluso durante la transmisión de contenido, y también me impresionó la disponibilidad nativa de información en tiempo real sobre la resolución y la conexión de la transmisión al presionar el botón ‘i’ en el control remoto. El software funcionó bien y no tuve problemas notables con la funcionalidad durante mi tiempo con Thomson TV.

Rendimiento del televisor LED Ultra HD Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas (55OPMAX9055)

Cuando se trata de especificaciones y características, el televisor Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas es impresionante por el precio; la mayoría de los televisores con retroiluminación LED con un conjunto de características similares cuestan más cerca de Rs. 50,000, mientras que Thomson ofrece todo esto por menos de Rs. 40.000. Sin embargo, su rendimiento ofrece una explicación de por qué existe esta diferencia de precio.

En mi experiencia, el televisor Thomson se quedó corto en algunas áreas clave. La experiencia principal es sencilla, pero a diferencia de otros televisores similares que he usado, el Thomson TV no parecía hacer mucho con su soporte HDR. El contenido HDR, incluida la primera temporada de The Book of Boba Fett y el último especial de The Grand Tour, se veía aburrido y extrañamente sombrío.

Los colores aparecían atenuados y este televisor no parecía tan brillante como sugeriría el brillo nominal de 500 nits. Curiosamente, el contenido SDR full-HD parecía un poco más brillante y menos aburrido que el contenido HDR. Los niveles de negro en el televisor tampoco eran buenos, y los tonos más oscuros tendían a parecer grises. Las escenas nocturnas a menudo eran difíciles de ver excepto en una habitación completamente oscura.

Aunque la imagen era nítida, el contenido Ultra-HD HDR como The Book of Boba Fett parecía un poco aburrido y sombrío.

Incluso los programas de televisión vibrantes y coloridos como Formula 1: Drive to Survive se sintieron considerablemente más aburridos en este televisor en comparación con el Mi TV 5X de 55 pulgadas. Si bien es posible modificar la imagen para que las cosas sean un poco más brillantes, los niveles de negro nunca mejoraron realmente. La imagen se veía mejor con niveles de brillo más bajos, y apagar las luces o correr las cortinas en la habitación mejoró la experiencia visual.

Aunque el brillo fue un problema, el Thomson Oath Pro Max es un televisor Ultra-HD de pantalla grande, y es difícil discutir con la nitidez y el nivel de detalle que ofrece esta resolución. La imagen fue nítida y detallada en su mayor parte, y el movimiento se manejó de manera adecuada, sin artefactos significativos o fallas visibles incluso en las escenas de acción de ritmo rápido en El libro de Boba Fett.

Curiosamente, la falta o la insuficiencia de la tecnología en el televisor Thomson en realidad resultó en un desenfoque de movimiento mucho más agradable en comparación con algunos de los intentos a medias que he visto en este segmento. Esto incluso parecía aplicarse al contenido SDR, ya que no tener que invocar HDR significaba que el televisor parecía estar más cómodo simplemente brindando una imagen nítida, detallada y fluida.

El contenido Full-HD era aceptable en Thomson TV, con programas como Kim’s Convenience y Schitt’s Creek en Netflix que se veían decentes, a pesar de los colores apagados y los tonos grisáceos. La televisión en vivo, como el contenido deportivo transmitido a través de Disney+ Hotstar, fue decente, pero la calidad de señal más débil de Hotstar en comparación con Netflix y Amazon Prime Video fue mucho más evidente en este televisor, al menos en términos de nitidez.

La calidad del sonido en el televisor LED Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas fue bastante buena para el precio. El sistema de altavoces de 40W es capaz de sonar bastante fuerte. Experimenté algunos aumentos bruscos de volumen con las bandas sonoras y ciertas escenas de acción en las películas, y necesitaba bajar el volumen rápidamente, pero el diálogo era claro y audible incluso a bajo volumen y las partituras de fondo sonaban decentes.

Dado que este televisor está dirigido a compradores que buscan una buena relación calidad-precio, el sonido de los altavoces del televisor es lo suficientemente bueno para un uso básico. Si bien una barra de sonido o un sistema de altavoces obviamente ayudaría, no sentí la necesidad de mirar más allá de las capacidades de audio del televisor para la mayoría de las cosas.

Veredicto

Muchos televisores asequibles de 55 pulgadas de grandes marcas cuestan más de Rs. 40,000 ahora, por lo que el televisor LED Thomson Oath Pro Max de 55 pulgadas parece ser una oferta bastante convincente en Rs. 36,999. Sobre el papel, es una excelente opción gracias a una pantalla Ultra-HD, compatibilidad con HDR, un buen control remoto y funciones útiles como AirPlay y compatibilidad con el Asistente de Google, además de Android TV 10. Sin embargo, en la práctica, la diferencia de precio considerable entre este televisor y la mayor parte de su competencia se muestra en el desempeño.

El video opaco, los colores atenuados, el HDR ineficaz y el brillo y los niveles de negro deficientes frenan a este televisor Thomson, aunque la nitidez de la pantalla y la falta de interferencia del procesamiento del televisor parecen ayudar hasta cierto punto.

Vale la pena considerar este televisor si no desea gastar más de Rs. 40,000 pero todavía quiere un televisor Ultra-HD de 55 pulgadas. Sin embargo, tenga en cuenta que vale la pena considerar opciones como Mi TV 5X si puede aumentar un poco su presupuesto.

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Vea lo último de Consumer Electronics Show en Gadgets 360, en nuestro centro CES 2023.

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Philips 55-Inch 8100 Series (55PUT8115/94) Ultra-HD 4K LED Smart Android TV Review: Worth the Price?

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Although you don’t have to spend more than Rs. 40,000 to get a 55-inch Ultra-HD TV these days, increasing your budget does usually get you better features and performance. This also means being able to choose from more brands, including well-known and established options that offer somewhat more assurance of quality and performance. One such brand is Philips, which has positioned itself a step above the entry-level segment.

Officially priced at Rs. 89,990 (but usually available at Rs. 69,990), the Philips 55PUT8115/94 TV is in roughly the same segment as the now-discontinued Philips 8200-series TV range. On paper, its support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, smart connectivity through Android TV, and 20W sound output seem impressive. Is this the best television you can buy for around Rs. 70,000 right now? Find out in this review.

Philips positions itself a bit higher than competing brands such as Xiaomi and Hisense, and aims to take on the likes of Samsung and Sony

 

Philips 55PUT8115/94 Ultra-HD LED Android TV design and specifications

The Philips 55PUT8115/94 Ultra-HD TV is positioned against more premium players such as Samsung, LG, and Sony. However, Philips will also have to take on the technically superior quantum dot LED TVs that value-focused brands have launched, such as the Hisense 55U6G which retails for under Rs. 60,000.

The Philips 55PUT8115/94 television is fairly straightforward and efficient in its design. The point of a television is to put the screen at the centre of the viewer’s attention, and this Philips TV does that well with discreet, slim black borders all around the LCD panel and a simple Philips logo in the bottom left corner.

The television isn’t slim but it isn’t very thick either, and maintains a reasonable aesthetic profile regardless of whether it’s wall-mounted or table-mounted. To the left of the screen, facing outward are one HDMI port (with ARC support), a USB Type-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the antenna socket. The rest of the ports are bottom-facing, and these include three HDMI ports, one USB Type-A port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, and the Optical Audio Out (Toslink) port.

Disappointingly, the power socket faces backward, which can cause a plug to bend a bit when the TV is wall-mounted with a low-profile mounting kit, and that doesn’t feel very reassuring. The bottom-facing ports were very difficult to access once the TV was wall-mounted, and even the side-facing ones were a bit tricky to reach. A wall-mount kit isn’t included in the box, so you’ll need to confirm with your retailer whether wall mounting will be provided for free or as a chargeable extra as part of the installation of the TV.

You’ll want to ensure you have all of your connections attached before putting the TV up on a wall, but this won’t be much of a problem if you’re table-mounting the TV, since it weighs a reasonable 11.5kg (11.8kg with the stands attached) and can be moved around a bit if necessary. The TV stands for the Philips 55PUT8115/94 TV are included in the box and attach to the TV near the corners, so you’ll need a wide enough table to place the TV on.

The television sent to me for review is the 55-inch model, and it has an Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) LED panel. The TV supports HDR up to the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats, and has a refresh rate of up to 60Hz. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Ethernet. Audio return channel (ARC) for HDMI is supported. For sound, the television has a bottom-firing box speaker system with a total rated output of 20W, and support for Dolby Atmos. There is 4GB of storage for apps and app data.

Philips 55PUT8115/94 Ultra-HD LED Android TV remote and features

Although minimalist remotes with fewer buttons and smaller dimensions are trendy for televisions these days, I always appreciate a traditional remote for the flexibility and control it offers. The remote of the Philips 55PUT8115/94 is large, with a number pad, playback controls, hotkeys for some streaming services, and a large and tactile D-pad which makes navigation easy even in the dark. It also has useful options for invoking Google Assistant, source selection, and more.

The full-sized remote of the Philips 55PUT8115/94 TV has hotkeys for Netflix, Google Play, and YouTube

 

The remote is powered by two AAA batteries (included in the sales package), and is light and easy to handle. It uses both infrared and Bluetooth for connectivity, although the latter only works for Google Assistant voice commands. Although infrared requires a line of sight to work, the remote was able to work well for me even if not pointed directly at the TV. This will also ensure more conservative battery use, since Bluetooth drains batteries a lot quicker.

Like other televisions running the Android TV platform, the Philips 55PUT8115/94 has full-fledged Google Assistant capabilities and built-in Chromecast. Apart from this, there is also support for HDMI ARC and HDMI CEC.

Philips 55PUT8115/94 Ultra-HD LED Android TV software and interface

Android TV is the operating system of choice for many TV manufacturers because of its quality and ease of use, and the Philips 55PUT8115/94 runs Android TV 10 with the refreshed Google-TV-like user interface. This is a well-established and very reliable software experience, and it’s likely that many buyers will have seen or used it in some form or the other already. Over 5,000 apps are available for Android TV through the Google Play store.

For the most part, my experience with the TV’s software was good. Apps and content were usually quick to load, and there were no buffering issues with content on a fast Internet connection. Navigating the interface was smooth, and basic functions such as switching source devices or invoking Google Assistant yielded the desired results with no trouble at all.

However, I did begin experiencing a recurring issue around two days after a reboot of the TV. Subtitles were slow to load, the sound would cut out at odd times, and eventually, whatever app was running (usually Netflix, but occasionally also Disney+ Hotstar) would crash and take me back to the Android TV home screen.

The Philips 55PUT8115/94 TV runs on Android TV 10, with the stock Android TV user interface and access to the Google Play Store for apps and games

 

A full reboot of the TV – that is, powering it down and turning it back on – would fix this issue, until it resurfaced again after a couple of days. I faced this with the Philips TV throughout the entire review period, and while the fix was easy, it was still time-consuming and bothersome to have to go through the drill every couple of days. No software updates were pushed during my time with the TV, but I’m hoping Philips releases a software patch for this soon.

Philips 55PUT8115/94 Ultra-HD LED Android TV performance

Philips occupies a niche in the big-screen TV segment when it comes to pricing; it’s more expensive than competing products from brands such as Xiaomi and Hisense, but a bit more affordable than similarly-specced TVs from brands such as Sony and Samsung, such as the Samsung 55AU8000 TV.

On paper and in the real world, the Philips 55PUT8115/94 does offer a lot for its street price of around Rs. 70,000. However, it’s not quite as impressive as the now-discontinued Philips 55PUT8215/94, and falls short when compared to decent QLED TVs on some parameters such as brightness. While this TV is undeniably good when it comes to picture and sound quality, the feeling I got was that performance didn’t quite match up to its price.

I watched varied content across resolutions and HDR formats, including The Bubble, No Time To Die, Community, Kim’s Convenience, and Severance. Apart from this, I also streamed live sports content (Formula One) and played some standard definition videos from YouTube, to cover a wide range of genres and viewing habits.

Although the picture is sharp, brightness on the Philips 55PUT8115/94 isn’t very good

 

Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content looked visibly better than anything else on the Philips 55PUT8115/94 television, but certain types of content seemed to suit the TV’s picture signature and muted approach a bit better. This TV doesn’t get as bright as some of its competitors, but it does manage to deliver plenty of detail despite this, particularly in content with a muted colour tone and palette such as Severance and The Bubble.

I did need to darken my room as much as possible to get the best results with such shows, as bright indoor lighting or sunlight hampered the viewing experience. Even with the enhanced brightness on offer with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ content, the Philips TV didn’t quite match up to what a decent quantum-dot LED TV in this price range can offer.

On the other hand, I liked how sharp and detailed the picture was, as well as the smooth, clean motion handling of the Philips 55PUT8115/94 TV with Ultra-HD content. The snow-filled outdoor landscape and the windowless office spaces in Severance looked sharp and on-point, achieving the mood that the show aims to set. Fine details in the facial expressions and moods of the characters were brought out capably and reliably by the television. Motion was definitely easy on the eyes, and made it possible to watch content for long stretches with little discomfort.

Sitcoms, including Community and Kim’s Convenience, felt lively because of the brightness of the content and gentler camera work, but still seemed a bit dull in comparison to what the competition can reproduce. That said, I seldom encountered any motion artefacts or picture flaws; the television pretty much did its job in a straightforward and simple manner. It eliminated distractions and let me focus on what I was watching.

I watched a full-HD stream of No Time To Die on Amazon Prime Video, and only detected minor differences in sharpness between that and other Ultra-HD content I had recently streamed across platforms. Although Dolby Vision and HDR10+ content was visibly a bit brighter, SDR content didn’t feel like too much of a step down, given the toned-down brightness of the Philips 55PUT8115/94 TV.

SDR and lower-resolution content didn’t feel like too much of step down, given the muted brightness levels of the TV with HDR content

 

Formula One live-streamed with Disney+ Hotstar, as well as standard definition content showcased some issues with sharpness and ability to upscale and process lower-resolution content. In some cases, particularly with the Australian Grand Prix, this wasn’t bad at all, and about as good as can be expected when watching this kind of content on a 55-inch television.

Sound quality on the Philips 55PUT8115/94 was acceptable, but it did not get quite as loud and wasn’t as refined as I’ve heard on similarly priced competition such as the Mi QLED TV 4K. While the sound was clean, I often felt a need to bump the volume up in dialogue-heavy scenes when watching The Bubble, only to have to quickly decrease it when the soundtrack took over or when action scenes played out.

Although these volume spikes and drops were never too drastic, this did affect the sound experience a bit, and you might want to invest in a basic soundbar to overcome the weaknesses of the TV’s speakers. Dolby Atmos did seem to provide a bit more width and depth to the sound with supported content, but this could only really be heard at high volume levels.

Verdict

Competition in the mid-range television segment is fierce, and the price of the Philips 55PUT8115/94 ends up holding it back, compared to its peers. Although the picture is sharp, detailed, and often gets the mood of content right, its inability to get bright enough and its below-average sound quality hold this TV back. I also experienced some software issues that could simply be a bug or a result of poor implementation.

This TV costs perhaps Rs. 10,000 too much, in my opinion, and better value-for-money options can be found from competing brands. Both Xiaomi and Hisense sell quantum-dot LED TVs at around the same price or less. That said, if you want picture quality that delivers on most counts, this Philips TV could work well for you. It might also be worth looking at the Philips 55PUT8215/94 TV, which although officially discontinued, might still be available at some retailers, as it offers better overall performance.

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Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV Review: High Performer

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Although good large-screen televisions are considerably more affordable now than they were a few years ago, many might still want a more compact size such as a 43-inch television for a smaller room in their home. There are plenty of options available in this screen size ranging from full-HD to Ultra-HD resolution, but a lot of these are from smaller television brands such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Realme. The performance of such TVs are also usually in line with the budget pricing, so those with a higher budget might be inclined to look at more established brands, such as Sony.

Among the company’s first major releases in 2022 in the TV segment is the Sony X75K series, with sizes ranging from 43 inches to 65 inches. Today, I’m reviewing the 43-inch variant in this series, the Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD LED Smart TV, which is priced at Rs. 53,190 on Sony’s own online store. This puts it at a considerably higher cost compared to most other 43-inch 4K TVs from brands such as Xiaomi and Realme that are usually priced under Rs. 30,000.

However, Sony’s new TV comes with the promise of better performance to match its price, and is positioned as a premium option for buyers who want to look beyond the budget variety. Is the Sony KD-43X75K worth the premium? Find out in this review.

The Google TV UI on the Sony KD-43X75K adopts a more content and recommendation-focused approach

 

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV design and specifications

The Sony X75K series is the most affordable in the company’s range of Ultra-HD TVs, and is also one of the handful of series that has a 43-inch screen size available. That said, the 43X75K isn’t really ‘affordable’, so to speak. At Rs. 53,190, it’s considerably more expensive than options from many competing brands, and prices go up steeply to over Rs. 1,00,000 for the 65-inch option. All televisions in the X75K range, including the 43-inch one on review here, have an Ultra-HD (3840×2160 pixel) LED-LCD display with high dynamic range support of up to HLG and HDR10 formats.

When it comes to design, the Sony KD-43X75K television is just a hint nicer to look at than the typical 43-inch television. This is mainly thanks to a pleasing finish around the fairly narrow borders of the screen, and the simple and discreet Sony logo on the front. The TV is about as thick as you would expect from an LED TV of this size. The bottom of the TV is interestingly slanted a bit, giving the bottom-firing speaker system a bit of visibility and directionality.

It’s possible to table mount or wall mount the television, although the sales package includes only the stands for table mounting. You can use any VESA-compatible wall-mount of your own, and Sony also offers free professional installation where the technician will provide a suitable wall-mounting kit, if you choose to have it put on a wall.

One set of ports and sockets on the Sony KD-43X75K television faces the back of the TV, while the second faces the left of the screen. The back-facing ports include one HDMI-in port (with ARC), Video-in sockets, Ethernet port for wired Internet connectivity, Digital Audio-out (Toslink) port, and the power socket.

All of these are quite hard to access if you have the TV wall-mounted with a low-profile bracket, and this might even cause some of the cables and plugs to bend and twist dangerously to the point of getting damaged. You’ll also want to ensure all of these connections are in place before you hook the TV onto the wall bracket.

There is high dynamic range support for the HLG and HDR10 formats on the Sony KD-43X75K TV

 

The side-facing connectivity options include two HDMI ports (version unspecified), two USB Type-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an antenna socket. These are considerably easier to access, but I was disappointed that neither of the side-facing HDMI ports support Audio Return Channel (ARC). However, all the HDMI ports do support the latest HDCP 2.3 standard.

Other key specifications of the Sony KD-43X75K TV include a native refresh rate of 50Hz, Sony’s Motionflow XR 200 interpolation algorithm, and 16GB of in-built storage for apps and app data. The television has a 20W bottom-firing, open baffle speaker system with support for Dolby Audio. Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth 5 and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, apart from wired Ethernet connectivity.

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV remote and features

Sony still ships a big, full-function remote with the KD-43X75K TV. The remote has an infrared emitter and Bluetooth connectivity, and once paired with the TV using Bluetooth, the infrared emitter is only used to turn the TV on or off. The rest of the functionality, including issuing voice commands via the microphone on the remote, uses Bluetooth connectivity, and therefore doesn’t need you to point the remote at the TV in order to work.

The remote has a number pad, direction pad, back, and home buttons for navigation, playback controls, and hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music. There is also a dedicated button to invoke Google Assistant, buttons to change the source or pull up the TV settings from anywhere within the interface, and a useful information button which displays the resolution of streaming content, connection speed, and more. It looks good, works well, and gets the job done properly.

The Sony KD-43X75K TV has a large, fully-equipped remote with buttons to control practically every function on the TV

 

The Sony KD-43X75K also has Google Chromecast built in, the Sony X1 4K processor, support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, AirPlay 2, and HDMI CEC for controlling connected devices using a single remote. You can also use the TV’s Bluetooth connectivity with wireless headphones and speakers.

All of these features worked as expected, but it’s important to note that you’ll need a separate app to mirror your Apple devices wirelessly onto the TV; I used AirScreen ,which is available on the Google Play store for Android TV and it did the job well.

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV software and interface

The Google TV user interface launched with the Chromecast with Google TV in 2020, but uptake for the platform has been slow with many TV manufacturers choosing to stick with the tried-and-tested stock Android TV interface. Sony is an early adopter of the new user interface, and the KD-43X75K runs Android TV 11 with the Google TV UI on top.

Google TV is, of course, just a different interface or skin on top of Android TV, which still runs the core operation of the smart functionality on the Sony KD-43X75K TV. This includes the Google Play store for Android TV with its 5,000+ apps designed and optimised for use on televisions, easy access to Google Assistant and Chromecast, and more.

However, the Google TV UI is considerably nicer to look at than stock Android TV, and has some useful features as well. For one, Google Play Movies is no longer an app, but is integrated into the user interface. This means that you can search for movies and TV shows to rent or buy, and perform purchases directly from the UI itself. Usefully, the search tab provides you with various ways to watch the title you searched for, prioritising any streaming services which you’re already subscribed and signed-in to for ease of access.

The Google Play store for Android TV provides access to over 5,000 apps that are optimised for use on TVs

 

The search and recommendations tabs also have Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings baked in for many titles, and the system is able to recommend movies and TV shows from various streaming services, including Disney+ Hotstar, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Voot, among others. While the search tab can scan through all apps on the TV, including Netflix, the recommendations engine oddly does not support Netflix yet.

On the whole, the Google TV UI is a refreshing and much needed change to Android TV, and Sony’s quick adoption of it gives the TV a decent advantage over the competition, particularly if you’re heavily invested in the content streaming ecosystem. Everything worked well for me, and I had no software issues during my time with the Sony KD-43X75K TV.

Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV performance

Given that there are plenty of 43-inch Ultra-HD TVs from reputed brands available for less than Rs. 30,000 in India, the Sony KD-43X75K needs to offer a lot more than just the basics to justify its price of Rs. 53,190. A lot of that comes by way of good design, useful and premium features, and an excellent software experience that is a step above what most brands are currently offering. However, the most important parameter is always performance, and the Sony does deliver a better experience than every other 43-inch 4K TV I’ve reviewed thus far.

Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support on affordable televisions isn’t uncommon, so the Sony KD-43X75K’s support for just HLG and HDR10 formats does seem a bit disappointing. However, this Sony television does a great job even with the limited HDR format support compared to what many affordable televisions do even with the superior Dolby Vision format. This is largely thanks to better picture calibration and superior HDR implementation by Sony.

The brightness bump with HDR content on the Sony KD-43X75K TV is subtle, but the format benefits colours considerably more, making for stronger, more vibrant colours across content. Shows such as Our Great National Parks and Bullsh*t The Game Show on Netflix looked great in a dark or dimly lit room, and even bright ambient lighting didn’t take too much away from the TV’s ability to perform well.

The colours of nature, as well as the bright lights of the game show set, all looked good on the TV. Skin tones in particular looked very good, as did the varying shades of green and blue visible in forests and water bodies on the nature documentary that came through with a strong sense of accuracy.

Even full-HD content such as Formula 1 races, looked good because of the smaller size of the TV

 

The Sony KD-43X75K also delivered a sharp picture, aided by good colours and clean motion. Although the extra detail in Ultra-HD picture was arguably less visible on the smaller 43-inch size, the Sony KD-43X75K did seem to produce a picture that was visibly sharper and more detailed than similarly-specced, lower-priced options of this size.

This was particularly visible during the dark and busy scenes of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but also showed in the facial expressions and details of the contestants in Bullsh*t The Game Show. Motion was also excellent thanks to very good motion interpolation on the TV. Action scenes in the Venom sequel played through smoothly, with intuitive motion blur where needed and very few visible artefacts.

Bright daylight didn’t really cause any significant issues with glare on the screen, but the Sony KD-43X75K simply isn’t bright enough on its own to counter the effects of direct sunlight in a room. Black levels were decent for an LED television, and this also led to decent contrast levels that properly set apart bright and dark scenes and allowed good colours and detail to come through, as it should for a TV of this size.

The 43-inch size of the TV is best suited for short viewing distances, but the smaller size also has a unique advantage of making lower-resolution content appear nearly as sharp and detailed as 4K content. The Sony KD-43X75K’s unique combination of sharpness, clean motion, and good colour levels translated well for full-HD content, with Kim’s Convenience and scenes from Pacific Rim looking impressive despite the obviously lower resolution.

Sound quality on the Sony KD-43X75K TV is acceptable in terms of quality, but it doesn’t get very loud

 

Sound quality on the Sony KD-43X75K television was ordinary, but entirely usable even if you don’t intend to add a soundbar or speaker system into the mix. Sound was decent at high volumes, with clear dialogue and reasonable performance with background scores, but even at high volume levels, it didn’t get very loud. That said, volume variation and spikes weren’t really an issue for me, and the sound levels were appropriate for late-night, bedroom TV watching.

I did experience some inadequacies with 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity on the Sony KD-43X75K television during my review. On a couple of occasions, the TV was unable to connect to the 5GHz band of my home router, despite it being just a few metres away. This made stable streaming of high-resolution content a problem on those…

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Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV Review: Effortlessly Good

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Only a handful of brands sell OLED televisions in India, with Xiaomi, LG, and Sony being notable names in the segment. Widely considered among the best TV display technologies for mainstream televisions, OLED is usually seen on premium, big-screen televisions, often priced at over Rs. 2,00,000 for the popular 55-inch size. The latest television I’m reviewing is not quite from Sony’s flagship lineup for OLED TVs, but is firmly positioned as a premium option as part of the Japanese company’s XR series.

Priced at Rs. 2,49,900 officially (but can be bought from official retailers for around Rs. 1,85,000), the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K is the smallest and least expensive in the company’s 2022 OLED lineup in India. With an Ultra-HD HDR display with support for Dolby Vision HDR, Google TV UI on top of Android TV, and Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR powering it, is this the best TV under Rs. 2,00,000 you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

The Sony XR-A80K television series is available in three sizes, starting at 55 inches

 

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV design and specifications

The Sony XR-A80K series is available in three sizes in India — 55 inches (on review here) priced at Rs. 2,49,900, 65 inches priced at Rs. 3,49,900, and 77 inches priced at 6,99,900. The 77-inch variant has a rated sound output of 60W as compared to 50W on the 55-inch and 65-inch options, which is the only difference in the variants apart from the screen size.

The Sony Bravia XR-55A80K looks a lot like the Sony XR-55X90K quantum-dot LED TV which I recently reviewed, with thin black borders along the edges of the screen, resulting in an impressive screen-to-body ratio. It’s a straightforward, distraction-free look that ensures your attention is on what’s playing on the screen.

There is a small Sony logo in the bottom-left corner, and a switch on the underside that controls the always-on microphone for voice controls. The microphones themselves are just below the screen facing forward, with a dull indicator light just between them. The television is reasonably slim, but there is a fair bit of space between the edges of the TV and the wall behind, with the middle of the TV being a bit thicker.

The 55-inch A80K TV weighs about 18kg, and comes with the table stands in the box. The stands can be fitted at the corners of the TV, so you’ll need a large table or entertainment unit to place it on. Wall mounting is an option as well, although the kit for this is not included in the box. Sony does provide free installation with the TV, so you can have the technician install a suitable wall mount for this at the time of installation.

There is hands-free voice assistant support on the 55A80K, and you can even turn off the microphone for more privacy

 

All of the ports and sockets on the Sony XR-55A80K TV face to the left of the screen, with only the power socket for the detachable cable near the right side of the screen, at the back. The ports aren’t too difficult to reach even with the TV wall mounted on a low-profile mount kit. Connectivity options include two USB Type-A ports, Digital Audio-Out (Optical Toslink), a 3.5mm headphone jack, a single Video-In socket, an Ethernet port, an antenna socket, and four HDMI ports. Among the HDMI ports, two support 4K at 120Hz, while one supports HDMI ARC and eARC.

As mentioned, the Sony XR-55A80K is a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) OLED television, with support for the Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats. For sound, the television has a five-driver setup with a total output of 50W, and uses Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology which gives the impression of sound coming from the screen itself. Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital Surround are also supported on the TV.

Like the Sony Bravia X90K series, the A80K is powered by Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR, and comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The TV has 16GB of storage for apps and app data.

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV remote and features

The Sony Bravia XR-55A80K, like the X90K, has Sony’s newer and somewhat minimalistic remote. This isn’t to say that it’s barebones; there are plenty of buttons and controls on it, including a D-pad and Android TV navigation keys, source and settings buttons, playback controls, a Google Assistant button, and volume controls. There are also hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music.

This kind of remote is a lot easier to handle as it does away with many of the buttons that modern streaming-focused users don’t often need, such as the full number pad. The remote has a microphone for voice commands, and has Bluetooth connectivity for ease of use. It’s powered by two AAA batteries (included in the box), and covers practically everything you’ll need to control on the TV.

Other features on the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K include support for Apple AirPlay and HomeKit, built-in Google Chromecast, and hands-free Google Assistant, apart from remote-based voice commands. When the slider switch below the TV is set to ‘On’ and the TV itself is on, you can invoke the voice assistant with the ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ voice command and speak directly to the TV.

The remote of the Sony XR-55A80K TV has hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music

 

You can also set up Amazon Alexa on the TV, if you prefer. For gaming, the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K supports 4K at 120Hz through two HDMI ports, auto low-latency mode, and variable refresh rate (VRR).

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV software and interface

Sony is among the few brands that has adopted the Google TV user interface across its product range, and the XR-55A80K is no different. At its base, the television runs Android TV 10, with the Google TV UI on top. This is practically the same user experience as on the Chromecast with Google TV, and is one that I consider to be among the best software and user interface packages for televisions right now.

Some of its key features include the much improved content curation and recommendation system, banner view showing major new releases, multi-app ‘Continue Watching’ row, and the rather quirky themes for the kind of movies and TV shows you can watch.

Google’s own purchases and rentals are integrated into the UI, and a search for any content will show you the best and most affordable available method to watch it, prioritising any streaming services you’re already subscribed to. Netflix is integrated into the search for titles, but unfortunately not into the recommendation engine, unlike on the Chromecast with Google TV. Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+ Hotstar, Voot, and Zee5 are among the services that work with the recommendation system.

Also worth mentioning is Sony’s Bravia Core streaming service, which is available on XR series TVs like the 55A80K. Sony states that Bravia Core can stream at up to 80Mbps (considerably higher than other services) to provide better picture quality for Ultra-HD HDR content, tagged as ‘Pure Stream’. The content library isn’t as vast as on other services, but it’s worth exploring for the technically better stream and picture quality on offer.

Sony bundles a one-year complimentary subscription of Bravia Core with the 55A80K, with many titles available to stream for free and without any need to redeem a credit. Apart from those, I had five credits to redeem on ‘premium’ titles, which included much of the ‘Pure Stream’ and IMAX Enhanced catalogues.

As of now, it isn’t clear how much the service will cost after the free trial, but users should be able to continue viewing titles redeemed with credits for some time beyond the subscription period. Picture quality on titles on Bravia Core was indeed better than even Netflix and Apple TV for Ultra-HD content.

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV performance

The premium segment for televisions isn’t quite as diverse and populous as the more affordable price points, and Sony’s reputation does give it a bit of an edge here. However, there is strong competition to the XR-55A80K even at this price, particularly from the excellent LG 55C2 OLED TV and Samsung 55QN95B. While the LG television delivered slightly better contrast and blending, and the Samsung TV was undeniably brighter and more vibrant, the Sony XR-55A80K tended to offer better realism and picture accuracy on the whole.

High-quality Ultra-HD HDR content is sharp, detailed, and great to watch on the Sony XR-55A80K TV

 

The HDR format support for Dolby Vision on the Sony TV tended to favour content on Netflix, Apple TV+, and Disney+ Hotstar a bit more than Amazon Prime Video, although the objective quality of content on the Bravia Core streaming service seemed to outperform just about everything else. What stood out about the Sony XR-55A80K though, was its ability to adapt to the quality of content, fluidly and effortlessly; while good content looked the part, even lower-resolution content was suitably upscaled to look decent on the 55-inch screen.

Additionally, the Sony XR-55A80K was able to use its light sensor very well, to adapt the brightness and impact levels for the content and ambient light settings in the room. As a result, the picture always felt natural and easy on the eyes. It was never too bright, and I also didn’t find myself needing to adjust the brightness to make up for daylight or bright room lights. The Sony TV seemed to do all of this on its own, making for an easy viewing experience that let me focus on what was playing.

Watching Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney+ Hotstar in Ultra-HD Dolby Vision was a treat on the Sony XR-55A80K, with the television adapting well to the numerous bright, colourful scenes of New Asgard, as well as the dark, creepy scenes in the Shadow Realm. The ability to capture detail and add a sense of realism was noteworthy, with the glistening of Thor’s gold chest plate looking absolutely on point, even while Gorr’s lurking in the shadows retained all of the detail and watchability that you’d expect from a high-end OLED TV.

As expected for an OLED television, the Sony XR-55A80K wasn’t exceptionally bright. Unlike the Samsung QN95B which delivers a consistently watchable picture regardless of lighting conditions, the Sony benefited from at least some darkening of the viewing room, even in the form of simply drawing the curtains closed. There was also a fair amount of glare on the screen from slivers of light from the windows or ceiling lights, so you’ll definitely need to set the room up for the TV when watching.

The Sony XR-55A80K is among the best of the premium OLED TVs available in India right now

 

Colourful animation such as Pacific Rim: The Black in Ultra-HD looked sharp and detailed on the Sony XR-55A80K, as did football documentary Welcome To Wrexham in full-HD resolution. The Sony television delivered impressive consistency in the picture, often making it hard to distinguish between Ultra-HD and ftull-HD content.

The black levels were similarly impressive across resolutions and dynamic range, particularly during the dark scenes of Thor: Love and Thunder where faint details were visible clearly and beautifully even during the dark Shadow Realm scenes. Watching dark content at night was a surprisingly good experience, thanks to the sheer detail and naturalness in the picture that the Sony XR-55A80K is capable of.

However, there was a notable difference between good Dolby Vision HDR content and SDR content, with the TV providing impressive colours, a visible bump in brightness, and impressive contrast between bright and dark zones. Dolby Vision content such as Home on Apple TV+ was an impressive showcase of what the TV is capable of, getting the bright cityscapes of Hong Kong, as well as the grey interiors of Gary Chang’s converted home on point quite capably.

Standard definition content naturally looked a bit awkward on the 55-inch screen of the Sony A80K TV, but it didn’t look quite as awkward as I’ve seen on many televisions of this size and resolution. Ideally, you’ll want to stick to full-HD resolution and above to put the TV to good use.

Sound quality was impressive on the TV as well, particularly with Dolby Atmos content. The TV was loud, detailed, and had a rather impressive soundstage thanks to the company’s interesting speaker layout and positioning. With standard audio content, I found the sound entirely acceptable for most purposes, but you might want to consider a good soundbar for a more…

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Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV Review: Effortlessly Good

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Only a handful of brands sell OLED televisions in India, with Xiaomi, LG, and Sony being notable names in the segment. Widely considered among the best TV display technologies for mainstream televisions, OLED is usually seen on premium, big-screen televisions, often priced at over Rs. 2,00,000 for the popular 55-inch size. The latest television I’m reviewing is not quite from Sony’s flagship lineup for OLED TVs, but is firmly positioned as a premium option as part of the Japanese company’s XR series.

Priced at Rs. 2,49,900 officially (but can be bought from official retailers for around Rs. 1,85,000), the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K is the smallest and least expensive in the company’s 2022 OLED lineup in India. With an Ultra-HD HDR display with support for Dolby Vision HDR, Google TV UI on top of Android TV, and Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR powering it, is this the best TV under Rs. 2,00,000 you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

The Sony XR-A80K television series is available in three sizes, starting at 55 inches

 

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV design and specifications

The Sony XR-A80K series is available in three sizes in India — 55 inches (on review here) priced at Rs. 2,49,900, 65 inches priced at Rs. 3,49,900, and 77 inches priced at 6,99,900. The 77-inch variant has a rated sound output of 60W as compared to 50W on the 55-inch and 65-inch options, which is the only difference in the variants apart from the screen size.

The Sony Bravia XR-55A80K looks a lot like the Sony XR-55X90K quantum-dot LED TV which I recently reviewed, with thin black borders along the edges of the screen, resulting in an impressive screen-to-body ratio. It’s a straightforward, distraction-free look that ensures your attention is on what’s playing on the screen.

There is a small Sony logo in the bottom-left corner, and a switch on the underside that controls the always-on microphone for voice controls. The microphones themselves are just below the screen facing forward, with a dull indicator light just between them. The television is reasonably slim, but there is a fair bit of space between the edges of the TV and the wall behind, with the middle of the TV being a bit thicker.

The 55-inch A80K TV weighs about 18kg, and comes with the table stands in the box. The stands can be fitted at the corners of the TV, so you’ll need a large table or entertainment unit to place it on. Wall mounting is an option as well, although the kit for this is not included in the box. Sony does provide free installation with the TV, so you can have the technician install a suitable wall mount for this at the time of installation.

There is hands-free voice assistant support on the 55A80K, and you can even turn off the microphone for more privacy

 

All of the ports and sockets on the Sony XR-55A80K TV face to the left of the screen, with only the power socket for the detachable cable near the right side of the screen, at the back. The ports aren’t too difficult to reach even with the TV wall mounted on a low-profile mount kit. Connectivity options include two USB Type-A ports, Digital Audio-Out (Optical Toslink), a 3.5mm headphone jack, a single Video-In socket, an Ethernet port, an antenna socket, and four HDMI ports. Among the HDMI ports, two support 4K at 120Hz, while one supports HDMI ARC and eARC.

As mentioned, the Sony XR-55A80K is a 55-inch Ultra-HD (3840×2160-pixel) OLED television, with support for the Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats. For sound, the television has a five-driver setup with a total output of 50W, and uses Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology which gives the impression of sound coming from the screen itself. Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital Surround are also supported on the TV.

Like the Sony Bravia X90K series, the A80K is powered by Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR, and comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The TV has 16GB of storage for apps and app data.

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV remote and features

The Sony Bravia XR-55A80K, like the X90K, has Sony’s newer and somewhat minimalistic remote. This isn’t to say that it’s barebones; there are plenty of buttons and controls on it, including a D-pad and Android TV navigation keys, source and settings buttons, playback controls, a Google Assistant button, and volume controls. There are also hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music.

This kind of remote is a lot easier to handle as it does away with many of the buttons that modern streaming-focused users don’t often need, such as the full number pad. The remote has a microphone for voice commands, and has Bluetooth connectivity for ease of use. It’s powered by two AAA batteries (included in the box), and covers practically everything you’ll need to control on the TV.

Other features on the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K include support for Apple AirPlay and HomeKit, built-in Google Chromecast, and hands-free Google Assistant, apart from remote-based voice commands. When the slider switch below the TV is set to ‘On’ and the TV itself is on, you can invoke the voice assistant with the ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ voice command and speak directly to the TV.

The remote of the Sony XR-55A80K TV has hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music

 

You can also set up Amazon Alexa on the TV, if you prefer. For gaming, the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K supports 4K at 120Hz through two HDMI ports, auto low-latency mode, and variable refresh rate (VRR).

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV software and interface

Sony is among the few brands that has adopted the Google TV user interface across its product range, and the XR-55A80K is no different. At its base, the television runs Android TV 10, with the Google TV UI on top. This is practically the same user experience as on the Chromecast with Google TV, and is one that I consider to be among the best software and user interface packages for televisions right now.

Some of its key features include the much improved content curation and recommendation system, banner view showing major new releases, multi-app ‘Continue Watching’ row, and the rather quirky themes for the kind of movies and TV shows you can watch.

Google’s own purchases and rentals are integrated into the UI, and a search for any content will show you the best and most affordable available method to watch it, prioritising any streaming services you’re already subscribed to. Netflix is integrated into the search for titles, but unfortunately not into the recommendation engine, unlike on the Chromecast with Google TV. Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+ Hotstar, Voot, and Zee5 are among the services that work with the recommendation system.

Also worth mentioning is Sony’s Bravia Core streaming service, which is available on XR series TVs like the 55A80K. Sony states that Bravia Core can stream at up to 80Mbps (considerably higher than other services) to provide better picture quality for Ultra-HD HDR content, tagged as ‘Pure Stream’. The content library isn’t as vast as on other services, but it’s worth exploring for the technically better stream and picture quality on offer.

Sony bundles a one-year complimentary subscription of Bravia Core with the 55A80K, with many titles available to stream for free and without any need to redeem a credit. Apart from those, I had five credits to redeem on ‘premium’ titles, which included much of the ‘Pure Stream’ and IMAX Enhanced catalogues.

As of now, it isn’t clear how much the service will cost after the free trial, but users should be able to continue viewing titles redeemed with credits for some time beyond the subscription period. Picture quality on titles on Bravia Core was indeed better than even Netflix and Apple TV for Ultra-HD content.

Sony Bravia XR-55A80K Ultra-HD OLED Android TV performance

The premium segment for televisions isn’t quite as diverse and populous as the more affordable price points, and Sony’s reputation does give it a bit of an edge here. However, there is strong competition to the XR-55A80K even at this price, particularly from the excellent LG 55C2 OLED TV and Samsung 55QN95B. While the LG television delivered slightly better contrast and blending, and the Samsung TV was undeniably brighter and more vibrant, the Sony XR-55A80K tended to offer better realism and picture accuracy on the whole.

High-quality Ultra-HD HDR content is sharp, detailed, and great to watch on the Sony XR-55A80K TV

 

The HDR format support for Dolby Vision on the Sony TV tended to favour content on Netflix, Apple TV+, and Disney+ Hotstar a bit more than Amazon Prime Video, although the objective quality of content on the Bravia Core streaming service seemed to outperform just about everything else. What stood out about the Sony XR-55A80K though, was its ability to adapt to the quality of content, fluidly and effortlessly; while good content looked the part, even lower-resolution content was suitably upscaled to look decent on the 55-inch screen.

Additionally, the Sony XR-55A80K was able to use its light sensor very well, to adapt the brightness and impact levels for the content and ambient light settings in the room. As a result, the picture always felt natural and easy on the eyes. It was never too bright, and I also didn’t find myself needing to adjust the brightness to make up for daylight or bright room lights. The Sony TV seemed to do all of this on its own, making for an easy viewing experience that let me focus on what was playing.

Watching Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney+ Hotstar in Ultra-HD Dolby Vision was a treat on the Sony XR-55A80K, with the television adapting well to the numerous bright, colourful scenes of New Asgard, as well as the dark, creepy scenes in the Shadow Realm. The ability to capture detail and add a sense of realism was noteworthy, with the glistening of Thor’s gold chest plate looking absolutely on point, even while Gorr’s lurking in the shadows retained all of the detail and watchability that you’d expect from a high-end OLED TV.

As expected for an OLED television, the Sony XR-55A80K wasn’t exceptionally bright. Unlike the Samsung QN95B which delivers a consistently watchable picture regardless of lighting conditions, the Sony benefited from at least some darkening of the viewing room, even in the form of simply drawing the curtains closed. There was also a fair amount of glare on the screen from slivers of light from the windows or ceiling lights, so you’ll definitely need to set the room up for the TV when watching.

The Sony XR-55A80K is among the best of the premium OLED TVs available in India right now

 

Colourful animation such as Pacific Rim: The Black in Ultra-HD looked sharp and detailed on the Sony XR-55A80K, as did football documentary Welcome To Wrexham in full-HD resolution. The Sony television delivered impressive consistency in the picture, often making it hard to distinguish between Ultra-HD and ftull-HD content.

The black levels were similarly impressive across resolutions and dynamic range, particularly during the dark scenes of Thor: Love and Thunder where faint details were visible clearly and beautifully even during the dark Shadow Realm scenes. Watching dark content at night was a surprisingly good experience, thanks to the sheer detail and naturalness in the picture that the Sony XR-55A80K is capable of.

However, there was a notable difference between good Dolby Vision HDR content and SDR content, with the TV providing impressive colours, a visible bump in brightness, and impressive contrast between bright and dark zones. Dolby Vision content such as Home on Apple TV+ was an impressive showcase of what the TV is capable of, getting the bright cityscapes of Hong Kong, as well as the grey interiors of Gary Chang’s converted home on point quite capably.

Standard definition content naturally looked a bit awkward on the 55-inch screen of the Sony A80K TV, but it didn’t look quite as awkward as I’ve seen on many televisions of this size and resolution. Ideally, you’ll want to stick to full-HD resolution and above to put the TV to good use.

Sound quality was impressive on the TV as well, particularly with Dolby Atmos content. The TV was loud, detailed, and had a rather impressive soundstage thanks to the company’s interesting speaker layout and positioning. With standard audio content, I found the sound entirely acceptable for most purposes, but you might want to consider a good soundbar for a more…

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