New sony tv opinions

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Susie2017

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Hi all. Im thinking of buying a new sony KD49XE8396BU tv. Its a 4k smart tv. Although it has a satellite tuner I already have a humax box which I intend to connect to it. Any opinions on this tv ? Im not sure about the benefits of android tv I dont own a smartphone - have an old fashioned work phone which works fine for me. I intend to mainly watch satellite tv and to record the odd programme on the humax. So far have not ventured into broadband tv or netflix although I may try it out. Anyone any experience/opinions of these tvs ?
 
If it is a good price get it as it is a good television. It is probably overkill for your needs but many find the inclusion of Android on a TV a real bonus. (Google Kodi).
 
I see there is a 6-8 week lead time on this TV in Harvey Normans, PowerCity still have a few in stock
 
You probably don't need 4k. A HD one will do fine, which will probably be cheaper.
What content do you have or receive that is in HD or 4K?

I have a Sony Bravia smart TV HD only and its been working well for the last year or so.
 
Thanks for replies. I googled kodi. Looks impressive but I cant for the life of me figure out what I would use it for. I should probably do an evening course on it all (am clearly out of my depth) but I will certainly read up on kodi and any other platforms people suggest on here as I would like to be more tech aware as my kids grow up. I generally am happy enough with my satellite tv and I use broadband at home very little its turned off mostly as I dont like the idea of leaving it on all day (no long term data on safety to my knowledge) . I dont have any 4 k content - not sure what sort of content comes in 4 k as yet !- I thought it might be available in future ? I presume I will need another cable running to the dish to be able to use the record function on the humax - I havent used it yet. I thought if i was buying a new tv to get the best one I can afford as its something I would only consider buying every 10 years or so.
 
Hi Susie,
I have a different model of Sony 4k android TV about a year now & am very pleased overall.

Re Kodi etc, bear in mind this is a Sony android TV which is different from a generic android box. So the official apps and uses are more limited and if you want to get into Kodi (primarily used for streaming free content which can be a grey area at best) it will take research & workarounds etc.
I have no interest in getting into that myself but have found the android TV very useful.

It gives you apps for Netflix, Amazon prime & YouTube etc built in, so you have them all at the touch of a button. Netflix would be our only source of 4k content at the moment (dearer subscription price for 4k) but more streaming services will support it in the future.

You also get Google Chromecast built in so you can cast content from your phone/tablet to your TV from various sources (e.g. channel 4 all4 catch up app) which is very handy.

Finally, a few things to be prepared for when buying any new TV:
1) you will likely need a separate sound bar with typical cost of 100-300 euro. New TVs are so thin they have rubbish sound. Even if it sounds ok in the shop etc, you will probably need one in reality.
2) many modern TVs are very reflective, so you may find lights etc reflecting in the TV when they didn't before.
3) many TVs are best viewed straight on & may not look as well from different angles, which is a concern if the TV will be in a corner. In that case research the optimal viewing angle range before you buy.
Hope this helps!
 
Ok. Thank you for info. I had not realised I would need a sound bar. I have a 9 year old surround sound system under my old Sony TVs. I assume I could connect this to the new tv ? The old Sony TV I have has ok sound so mostly I don't bother with the surround sound system unless watching a good movie. I had recently cancelled sky subscriptions and don't want to get into more subscription based services as I don't have the time to really get value from them. Just watch tv for an hour or two at most at night so rarely even get a chance to watch a movie unless it's holiday time.
 
Yes your current surround sound should be good. Sorry, I never needed any sound equipment with prior TVs so did not realise you would already have that.
My knowledge is basic & I'm not familiar with humax, but if you won't be paying any subscriptions, you may be able to save money with just a hd rather than 4k TV alright. 4k content is limited to Netflix etc at the moment & generally comes with a premium charge & I would be surprised if 4k quality was to become freely available generally down the line.
The android aspect may not be of much use to you either as there are not many apps available on the Sony version & the more valuable ones tend to need a subscription. For free stuff like YouTube, it would be cheaper to buy a separate Chromecast & plug it in.
So you may be as well just getting a more basic model & maybe even end up perhaps even leaving the smart TV aspect disabled. I found to get decent specs in Samsung or Sony, you were forced to get a smart TV, but there is no necessity to enable the internet functionality & you can just use it as a standard TV.
 
Look up the audio spec of the TV, and reviews on AV Forums, there really should be no need for a sound bar on anything other than a budget TV model.
 
well i took the plunge and made the purchase. I havent had much time with it yet but you are correct in what you said. The old surround sound system is just fine - just plugged in the hdmi and optical cables perfect sound. Not bad on tv alone either. So far have had limited use of the apps and as you said many want your details before you can use them, there is one month free on netflix and a month free on another movie app i liked the look of - didnt bother with either yet as i would want to be on a week off to use them. Youtube and youtube kids may be useful. Its a slightly larger tv and much much lighter than my old 46 inch. Hope it lasts as long. I dont want subscription based stuff. Need to keep bills down. Am I limited to the apps on screen. Anyone any suggestions on free apps. The voice remote is good and works well. Question - if I find a movie or programme on youtube for the kids can i download it and save it somewhere and watch it later with wifi turned off ? Do i need an external hard drive ? If so what type - want one I can plug in and just use - easy to set up for someone like me.
 
Leo said:
Look up the audio spec of the TV, and reviews on AV Forums, there really should be no need for a sound bar on anything other than a budget TV model.
Click to expand...
This may improve for larger screen sizes, but my own experience with a high end 40 inch samsung and high end 43 inch sony 2016 models was that the native sound didn't cut it, certainly at lower volumes watching standard TV (as against films).
The sony TV had good sound specs & reviews, but that's relative to the general poor sound of the really thin modern TVs.

It's subjective though & will bother some people more than others. I know 2 casual TV watchers with more basic Samsung smart TVs without sound bars who think it is OK. I myself would not instantly notice if the sound bar was off on our Sony TV, but my partner would.

We had no intention of buying a sound bar initially but after having the new TV 2 weeks, ended up needing to get one. When my mother got a fancy Samsung TV, she switched to watching through headphones instead to improve her sound. Neither of us had ever had separate sound equipment with prior TVs - they were just always fine out of the box & you didn't even think about sound issues...

Susie2017 said:
well i took the plunge and made the purchase. I havent had much time with it yet but you are correct in what you said. The old surround sound system is just fine - just plugged in the hdmi and optical cables perfect sound. Not bad on tv alone either. So far have had limited use of the apps and as you said many want your details before you can use them, there is one month free on netflix and a month free on another movie app i liked the look of - didnt bother with either yet as i would want to be on a week off to use them. Youtube and youtube kids may be useful. Its a slightly larger tv and much much lighter than my old 46 inch. Hope it lasts as long. I dont want subscription based stuff. Need to keep bills down. Am I limited to the apps on screen. Anyone any suggestions on free apps. The voice remote is good and works well. Question - if I find a movie or programme on youtube for the kids can i download it and save it somewhere and watch it later with wifi turned off ? Do i need an external hard drive ? If so what type - want one I can plug in and just use - easy to set up for someone like me.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the new TV Susie. There should be an icon in the smart TV menu for apps or an app store which will bring you through to the limited android app store to see the full selection available rather than just the few that are pre installed. I also found the help within the TV very useful at first for finding out the ins and outs of all the smart TV stuff.

I'm afraid I don't know about downloading and storing for offline use as I only ever watch on wifi. I think Netflix supports download & offline viewing now alright.
 
fizzy said:
This may improve for larger screen sizes, but my own experience with a high end 40 inch samsung and high end 43 inch sony 2016 models was that the native sound didn't cut it, certainly at lower volumes watching standard TV (as against films).
The sony TV had good sound specs & reviews, but that's relative to the general poor sound of the really thin modern TVs.
Click to expand...

I generally only watch movies on a full surround system, sound bars just can't come close to doing a decent job there. Speaker technology has moved on quite a bit since the CRT days with mobile technology really driving improvements in reproduction in slim profile packages. The Sony above with 20W output including bass reflex speakers has no need for a sound bar for regular TV viewing.
 
Hi Susie - I was able to check my TV and the app store is accessed via pressing the home button on the remote and then clicking the Google play store icon under the apps heading. Your model may differ slightly.
 
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