Hey guys,
Thinking of buying Sony KD-49X8305C and Sony RMF-TX100 remote.
Do you recommend it? Does it lag too much or does the OS crash as much as reported previously? Is it too soon to migrate to Android TVs?
Any and every feedback is useful.
FYI - I'm planning to use it for UK Freeview TV, International Freesat TV and self-hosted NAS media through Kodi. Not much other things.
Thanks.
Forgetting the smart TV features for just a second, unless you're getting a REALLY good deal on it, I would recommend going for the x810c. The picture quality is much much better. Yes, I know there's not a 49-inch version of it. But the x810c was released late last year as a "budget" option, but somehow has better picture quality than the x830c (and is even better in some areas than the x850c, such as contrast). Check rtings.com for all of that in their reviews for each model.
From what I gathered online, the x830c was Sony's previous budget offering earlier in the year. It's usually cheaper than the x810c, but not by a whole lot. When I was shopping around, the x830c was either $799 or $899, while the 55x810c was $999. The extra one or two hundred dollars steps you up to a much better TV in general.
That being said, the Android TV stuff on these Bravia sets from 2015 is adequate enough for most streaming services/apps, and can even do light gaming (I had no problem running Square's Android port of Final Fantasy VI, for instance). The interface does move about a little clunky, yes. And sometimes you will get little hiccups that will require a reboot, yes. The software has gotten a lot better with updates. My 55x810c has received 3 updates since I purchased mine in November, and the random crashes I've experienced have dropped significantly.
Also, no matter which TV you get, don't bother buying the additional smart remote. I've heard it kind of sucks, and if you have a modern Android/iOS smartphone, Sony has a remote control app that does the same exact stuff and more.
I have the KD-49X8305C
I do not recommend it. The Android interface is clunky. The apps are buggy, and it's just unpolished. The TV quality is fine.
I'd recommend getting a cheaper 4k tv, and for all the "smart" stuff, get a cheap laptop and hook up the hdmi.
So just for those people who might come back and look at this thread at some point in the future. This is my experience of the TV so far:
Overall, quite pleased. I set out to combine 4 devices that I used for entertainment into one device and it has worked just fine. I now get Freeview, Freesat and Kodi all in one place.
Android TV experience is quite good. Hardly any lags for me. Animations are smooth and input lag is quite minimal. Kodi works really really well as well with the Sony remote. TV came with Android 5.0.2 and was upgraded to 5.1.2.
Freeview/Freesat integration is +1. Channels are reasonable fast to switch. It worked outa box for me. However, running the Tuner application (which may not be Android-based(?) ) was a pain in the arse (really really really slow) but it's hopefully one-time only. It became slow after I updated to 5.1.2.
DO NOT ENABLE YOUVIEW. You'll regret it and will have to reset the TV. It will disable your channel favourites, it will disable Freesat (yes, you heard it right). And makes the channel changing experience so slow. Whoever thought releasing this unfinished beta product would be good need to be shot-to-shits.
Android TV apps are 'meh' at best, even the ones on Play Store. (apart from Kodi, Youtube, Vevo which are phenomenal).
Sony TV apps are just abomination. Literally don't use them, disable them outright. Disable the annoying Sony Shelf and Sony Select apps as well to get rid of "app advertisement" as well.
I would recommend this TV for those who have the same intentions as I did and are somewhat savvy with Android.
I never really understood 'smart TVs'. The 'smart' part of them will be outdated long before the screen/TV is. So you'll just end up using an external box of some kind anyway.
I have a Shield TV, Nexus Player and the 49X830C.
The Sony is slower than all of them. There are some buffering issues for HDHomeRun which means I have to use Kodi to watch TV. The UI is a little slow and the standard remote is infrared.
If you just want to watch videos like Amazon, YouTube, Netflix, Plex, and Kodi, it's fine. You don't have to worry about sticking any external stuff and you can control your phone with Sony's really good TV SideView app. This includes launching a an app and powering your TV. It's great for wall mounting because you need nothing else.
If you want it for games, it's probably not a smart purchase unless you want to stream games (PlayStation/Moonlight), then I don't see a problem.