My first (overwhelmingly positive) impressions of Android TV

by nyctalus

So I just got a new TV. A Sony 2016 smart TV (XD9305), running Android TV.

I bought it because I wanted a 4K panel with very good contrast and colors, which the Sony delivers. Luckily, it was also reduced in price due to being an exhibit piece in the store. So that's that.

Then I realized that the Sony is also an Android TV. I mean, I knew about it beforehand and I've read reviews, but it was not relevant for my buying decision.

Many reviews and buyer's opinions that I've read were mostly negative regarding Android TV.

But for me, it's just great! I love this thing! In retrospective, the fact that the Sony TV runs Android should have been a major influence for my decision... So I guess I'm lucky that I went for this model ;)

  • I just had to log into Google and Netflix and everything is right there, including Google Play Movies and my Youtube subscriptions etc.

  • Same with Amazon (not a Prime customer, but still I've sometimes rented movies on Amazon Video)

  • I installed VLC and now I can directly access all my locally stored MKV-packaged movies on my NAS. This is huge for me. No more codec troubles, VLC for Android will decode just about anything it seems. (In the past, I had my computer hooked up to the TV via HDMI, because that was the only way to play most of the content.)

  • 4K and HDR streaming works beautifully with Netflix

  • No need for a Chromecast, since the Cast functionality is built-in

  • Beautiful UI, fast, intuitive to use (for me at least, as a long-time Android user), with a few exceptions, but that was mostly concerning the initial setup, which is only needed once, so...

  • There even is a reddit app (HopWatch) that brings the best posts from /r/pics, /r/videos and more directly to the homescreen

  • Voice search works beautifully in English and German (I am the latter)

And all that with Android Lollipop.

Marshmallow is in the works (they'd already started the rollout but halted because of problems), and Nougat is announced for late 2017. So not really timely updates, but I don't care as long as everything works as great as it already does. After all, this is not a phone...

I'm not sure where I'm heading with this post... sorry for the rambling ;)

I get that there are valid complaints about the whole Android TV ecosystem and it's history...

Anyway, just thought I could try and bring some more positivity into this sub :)

- a thrilled first-time Android TV user

lixenstrand

I'm glad you like it, but if you want a truly good experience with Android TV than forget about vlc and download Kodi from Google play. If you have a NAS You'll wonder why you never used it before :)

JimboLodisC

You should setup Kodi/SPMC or Plex.

bushidomaster

I love mine. The biggest complaint about smart TV's is how locked down the os is and that they don't update on a regular basis. I don't have that issue. Plus I use kodi and don't need an extra device. Glad you like it.

danielcar

Didn't know about HopWatch, I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip!

ThickAndDirty

Just got a 900e, love the TV, hate the fucking remote. How is your remote?

WhoIsThisRoodyPoo

I just bought a Sony Android TV (W630/2) that hasn't arrived yet, I knew Android TV was a positive but this makes me even more pleased! Thanks for sharing

Pyjamasapan

Congrats on a nice piece of TV! I've had my Sony (x900c) for 4 months now and I love it. First off, it looks amazing on the wall, thanks to it being extremely thin. The color and contrast (especially in HDR-mode) is amazing, but the best part about it? I have a ps4. Turn on the console and the TV starts, turn off the TV and the console goes sleep mode, i can also turn the ps4 on via the input selection. Also I can use my TV remote to navigate through my Playstation and vice versa. I love this technology so much lol

cantwejustplaynice

If vlc is working well for you, great, but I seriously love Plex on Android TV. Very slick interface. I tried to get vlc running but it was too complicated for my family. My kids can just use the voice search via the remote. Too easy. That said, I run it from my PC. Not sure if it's as smooth from a NAS.