Looks like it's time to replace my aging Vizio 55" 1080p. I'm looking at possibly picking up a Sony XBR-55X700D but was wondering if anyone on here has one and what the general opinion is? Looking for quality of the picture, AndroidTV performance, etc. Any bugs or known issues? Thanks!
It's a good implementation, imho. I prefer just having Android TV built right in as I hate switching inputs. It's great just having one remote to access apps etc. Google Cast receiver built right in makes it rather easy to use too.
That said Sony's lack of OS updates is frustrating especially with multi-user support vastly improved in Nougat and with most Sony Android TVs still on Lollipop builds it's getting worse. Sony did promise a Marshmallow update by the end of the year, but still not good enough.
Link to Sony on Android TV updates: https://www.google.com/amp/ausdroid.net/2016/09/21/sony-prepping-android-tv-update-bravia-tvs/amp/?client=ms-android-google
I've got a 900c and honestly I LOVE it. I seem to be one of the few though... I have everything on my TV and nothing else hooked up except for my sound system and the occasional HDMI cable. My OS rarely lags, I've got Kodi, Playstation emulators, plex, and a crap ton of other media apps on there that work beautifully. I've paired like 6 different Bluetooth controllers to it, no problem. Mine just works. I didn't want to mess with external boxes, and I thought the TV I was buying had a beautiful image for the price point, so android OS was just the cherry on top. Hell, my TV even has the Twilight app available so I can have the screen tinted and filtered at night just like all my other devices. 100% satisfied and 0 regrets. There is 0 reason for me, personally, to buy an external box like a Shield. Generally I'd agree that you should always buy based on the image performance of the TV, NOT the user interface or OS/Smart functions. But when you get down to two super close TVs in quality, and maybe the other is only a tiny better, but has a cruddy OS, Id still go for the Android OS.
It's a bit mind boggling how far behind they are in updates compared to other devices, but since mine runs so well anyways, and I'm not lacking any features that I personally need or want, I'm not exactly desperate for any updates. It'll just be a pleasant surprise when I get them. And I've had my TV for 3 months and have had 2 updates pushed already.
I too am interested. I was very close on pulling the trigger on the Sony XBR-X850D TV over Black Friday weekend (decided to save the money), but I was wondering the same. It seems Sony is a bit behind on updates as I think the MM update is just coming, as where my Nexus Players have been running Nougat for months. That said, AndroidTV doesn't really have a rapid development cycle, so I don't think any major features would be missing...
Owned a Sony Android TV for over a year now, and tbh, it's not been a pleasurable experience. Although the picture itself is superb, the android implementation is poor. Limited apps that can be run, glitchy in turning on and off. If I could go back in time, I'd have bought a decent TV for less and added a separate Android box (judging from what I've read here). Being ever the optimist I hope that Sony will spend more time developing this platform, but judging on how tardy they are in rolling out Android updates to their phones.....who knows...
I have an 800d latest model running marshmallow and I am happy with it. IMO you should spend the extra and get the 800 or 850 model. The 700d does not have the recommended wide gamut color range so it's not "true HDR". Getting a display with real HDR support makes a bigger difference than 1080p VS 4K, so it's worth paying for.
I've just picked up an XD80/X800D with Marshmallow. Performance is good and quick - I've only experienced a bit of lag in some menus so far. I couldn't fault the Grand Tour in 4K. The in built casting is quicker than using the 1st gen Chromecast dongle and frees up a HDMI port. Only disappointment is the lack of some apps like Google Photos. Was really surprised that doing a voice search "show me my photos from..." only brought up a standard google image search result.
As an Android user, I like how familiar it is. Picked up the 800D on black Friday, though the price is still pretty good (≈$650.) I calibrated it and never looked back.
It also has PlayStation Now or whatever it's called built in, which is pretty cool. It's like having Netflix for PlayStation 1 - 3 titles, which is a nice addition (for a fee.)
Finally, it works well with my set top box. The controller interacts well and setup is easy. No regrets so far.
I probably would have gotten something different if it was possible to get a decent quality screen that wasn't a smart TV, but honestly I appreciate it more than I thought I would. Switching between apps and casting and external inputs is a pretty seemless experience.
The update situation is annoying, and I wish it had more power so I could actually use it for games, but a year later I'm still pretty happy with mine.
If you want a great TV that runs Android TV well I would look at the new Le Ecos. The difference is they put a really good chipset in their TVs vs Sony.
The biggest issue with the sony lies in the chipset. Sony shipped underpowered hardware in these TVs that make Android TV run a little sluggish. I'm guessing 2017 will finally bring TVs to get away from this but who knows.
i love my XBR65-930D, the Android version is 5.1.1 but 6.x is coming (December 8th??!? ;) . Its much better experience then standalone android box connect via HDMI. Several dedicated Sony apps like Amazon makes a big difference. BTW; anyone can get BBC iPlayer apk for Sony TV? ;)
Exactly what I did. Went from vizio 55" 1080p to the xbr 700d. It's outstanding, Android TV is a nice interface.
Bug: Sony Android TV interface crashes which reboots TV. Happens a lot
Apostrophes indicate possession or a contraction, neither of which you're using here. Learn it!
I just picked up the 65" x750d over Black Friday. It has Android TV 6.something installed.
You can read a review of it here: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x750d They review the 55" 700d specifically too at http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x700d
Seems like a decent enough tv so far. Recent software update gave it better brightness and HDR.
The Android TV instance has all the normal sorts of features and apps you'd expect.
Biggest issue so far is the Android TV only supports 1 Google user at a time (and one Sony account, but I havent really found a reason to have one yet. Maybe for Playstation Vue?). To switch Google users, you have to completely sign out of one Google account, and sign in the other. That said, even switching Google accounts only impacts Google Apps such as Play Music/Movies and Youtube.
Amazon Video (which is available on Sony instances of Android TV, but not on standalone players like the Nvidia Sheild or the random chinese ones) uses its own internal login which doesnt switch when you change google accounts, same for HBO Go and Netflix. The Netflix app however has its own internal profile support to manage multiple household users. Both Amazon Video and Netflix do play in UltraHD. Episodes of The Grand Tour look beautiful!
I have not fully tested the playback of 4k video in youtube to verify its actually at 4k (the app built into my 4k Samsung TV will still only play at 1080). It looks good, I just havent pulled up the debug/tech details view yet.
My Google Home is able to cast to the TV using the built-in chromecast app.
I didn't buy it with the expectation of a upgrade to Android TV 7. If it comes, great, but many older Sony TVs are still waiting for version 6.
In my shopping I was comparing it against the 65" Samsung 6300. I decided to go with the Sony for the Android TV, the HDR (which is not available on the 6300), the wider viewing angles (IPS vs VA), and the better motion handling of the Sony (120 vs 60 hz native panel refresh).
Hope that helps.