We have been a personal user of Sony since I can remember my childhood, my dad used to buy the old CRT type TVs and still trust the brand until now when it comes to entertainment appliances. Last 2011, my dad wanted to upgrade to a Smart TV and finally switch to a LED TV as well. Considering the time period, it was the time when Smart TVs where a bit of a luxury and still new in the Philippines.
After much research back then and going through countless appliance stores, I recommended to my dad the Sony Bravia 46EX520 Smart TV. It’s a 46″ Full HD 1920×1080 with Smart TV functionality that lets you connect to Skype, Youtube, Neflix, and even browse the internet.
As with any Bravia TV, it’s X-Reality Engine was its star feature against other TVs. I can honestly say that back then, Sony TVs have the clarity it promotes. The only downside I can see before was the lack of colors as compared to other brands, but my dad prefers natural color than saturated ones.
We bought the TV back then for around Php79,999. Quite steep I know, but that’s a price you pay if you want to have the latest features in your living room. But it was a steal as we only added 7K for another 32″ Sony Bravia KDL-32EX420 TV. Since then, my Mom was more frequent to skype with our relatives in London and we enjoyed watching on a much bigger screen to our previous TV of just 29″.
Not to mention that it’s awesome to take a photo of a large TV and share it to facebook instantly. Not really the best way before to share your excitement, but it kinda worked.
As with any technological device today, unfortunately, time has caught up on the TV and it became less “Smart”. Over the years, we encountered several notifications of some features will be removed in the Smart TV due to the expired license of Sony with the partner. These features were Youtube, Skype, Facebook and Netflix, so it was kinda a bummer where we could only do internet browsing or Twitter with the unit.
As out TV turns 6 years soon, it’s nice to see that our remote is still alive and kicking. Come on, it’s hard to maintain your remote alive after this time. Most in our experience, we would be eventually looking for a universal remote as a replacement.
Not to mention before that you need a separate Wi-Fi dongle in order to connect the TV via a wireless connection. Yes, embedded Wi-Fi wasn’t possible before on TV due to limitations. But nevertheless, we still enjoyed our TV until today as we just used a Chromecast dongle to compensate for the loss of programs and even enjoy new ones like Netflix, iFlix, HOOQ, FB and more.
Just remember that before, streaming was virtually non-existent in the Philippines and Youtube was the most dominant video app even against cable services. Now, the Philippines has a lot of options for content and streaming services now have exclusive shows over cable channels. That’s how important it is to have a TV that is compatible with today’s generation of content.
So enough with the disappointments and let’s see what more than 5 years innovation Sony have done for the Bravia series. For this, we will focus on the new Sony Bravia X8000D which is not only near the price point of our current TV but also a considerable upgrade in class.
The X800D series is available in 43″ and 49″ models, so that’s pretty close to our 46EX520 series that has a 46″ screen. Looking into Sony’s screen size profile it seems that they also phased out the certain size and focused on 43″, 48″ in 49″ sizes.
So first things first, we’re glad that 4K is now a standard this 2017. Back then the 1080p or Full HD resolution was still new and TVs will have confusion between HD ready and Full HD.
4K HDR is the highlight to be specific. Aside from better resolution, Sony enhances each pixel to be responsive so shades and black vs white tones are more recognizeable. This is not only good in watching movies but also playing games like via PS4.
The X-Reality engine is now X-Reality Pro, this technology focuses on clarity for the TV. It makes images fit for the 4K screen by upscaling images, sharpening details and even smoothing out motions.
One thing I mentioned earlier is now solved, Sony introduced their Triluminos display technology to their TVs to address the lack of colors vibrancy of their displays. This technology just doesn’t pump up the saturation of the display but detects color rich areas to enhance, giving you a more reality-like picture every time. Plus, it has a wide color gamut as compared to old TVs which results to more than alive photos, especially in 4K resolution.
Back then, any TV with 60Hz and above will cost more than 100k already. I can’t believe Sony is able to deliver Motionflow XR or around 50Hz – 60Hz flow of videos to give the liquid-like movement we see in high end setups.
My dad actually had to put a special base for our TV as it tends to wobble when shaken. But with the new Sony X800D series, it seems that problem is now solved with a more elegant and functional base. Plus the bezels are significantly thinner as compared before, seems there isn’t a need for fat bottom chins now.
Even the side is well thought off having a chrome plating, it represents the TV can be hung on a wall like a masterpiece. Plus, there are cable management clips included so you don’t have to worry about messy wires. This is much appreciated as to our previous experience, we had to use cable ties just to make the wires look neat.
Not like before where every TV manufacturer will have their own menu, it seems the unification of mobile phones is now also on our TV. This specific Bravia TV is also Android TV certified, meaning not only you can enjoy the freedom of connecting to the internet but it’s also compatible with the latest apps and even future trend apps via Google Play Store for entertainment. This completely removes the need of using other devices just to enhance your TV experience.
Not to mention that the remote is now more functional that just throwing signals. It’s now capable of throwing voice commands with its embedded microphone for Google assistant voice. So you’ll definitely be more careful about your TV remove this time.
The remote even features Google Play and Netflix as standard which is two important platforms today from any internet connected person or family. Plus, the X800D series is Netflix recommended as it has the features fit for watching Netflix, not to mention 4K HDR will enhance all those hit series and movies.
One feature we definitely love is the built-in Chromecast dongle, this completely enables the X800D to become wireless. You can now just cast any program you like videos, facebook, photos and even let others cast with their own mobile phone. Imagine that we had to buy our Chromecast unit for Php2,500 and it’s free with the Bravia X800D TV already.
It seems sound is now also a department Sony focuses on their TV. We always pump the volume of our TV to around 60+ just to reach optimal levels and sometimes when we change channels we would suddenly lower it down due to the volume is too loud.
Sony now adjusts the audio digitally and enhances your experience by cleaning the audio for clarity and even creating a cinematic-like experience for better immersion.
The X800D series goes for Php43,749 for the 43″ and Php54,499 for the 49″ model. Again, it’s significantly lower as compared to our 46EX520 at Php79,999. It’s really nice that a better TV is now available at a more affordable price point and even a bigger screen size.
Should we upgrade to the X800D series? The answer is yes, right now our 46EX520 still works well but it lacks the features we need to have a group activity. Yes, we might be watching TV in our living room but all of us are doing our own business with our phones.
Perhaps a more immersive TV will solve our family’s hunger for a proper movie night, or even a simple night to share over old photo memories to cast over the TV. Whatever it might be, I’m sure everyone in the room can join the fun if you have a new TV fit for the modern internet home.
