A few weeks ago, Sony launched the company's first Google TV-based BRAVIA X80J 4K Ultra HD TV series in India.
It is available in multiple sizes-- 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch--with prices ranging between Rs 82,900 and Rs 2,99,900. Our review unit is 65-inch model and it costs Rs 1,79,999.
The aforementioned details are MRP (Maximum Retail Price) rates and TVs can be purchased for less at authorised Sony centres and partner chains in India.
I used the Sony BRAVIA X80J 4K Ultra HD TV for close to a month and here are my thoughts.
Design and durability
Sony's new X80J Google TV sports a sleek design language with a slim bezel around the edge. It features a sturdy polycarbonate enclosure around the edge with aluminium brushed finish.
At the base, the TV comes with two slots for heavy but slim metallic stands. They fit into it easily with less hassle and stay put with stability on the stand. At the bottom, it houses two ( 10W + 10W) X-Balanced speakers (type: Bass Reflex) tuned by Dolby Atmos (more on sound quality later).
At the back, it houses Ethernet (1), Bluetooth 4.2, HDMI (x 4 ports, HMDMi 2.1 eARC), digital audio output (1), composite video input x 1 (mini jack), RS-232C input (1), headphone output (1), and USB x 2 ports (supports FAT 16/32/exFAT/NFTS formats).
The rear-side of the TV is well protected and it boasts proprietary Sony X-Protection PRO safety technology. It promises to safeguard the TV from unanticipated power surge (up to 15kV) during multiple lightning strikes. Even during electricity fluctuation, which is a common occurrence in India, TV is protected against sudden power surge up to 2kV.
The new Sony TV also comes with an anti-humidity coating, which prevents the internal components from corrosion when moisture-saturated air reacts with oxygen and electrons on the surface of the metal.
Also, X-Protection PRO tech offers a shield against dust (as small as 0.25mm) from entering inside the TV.
Performance and user-experience
Setting up the Sony TV is akin to getting started with a new smartphone. It has few simple steps including signing in to a Google account and also, it offers the option to check out the room's layout to adjust the sound output. The new BRAVIA TV boasts an Acoustic Auto Calibration feature where-in based on the location of the TV in the room, will fine-tune the sound coming from the dual X-balanced speakers one each placed on the right and left side at the bottom.
It comes with an ultra-slim LCD panel with a Direct LED backlight and Frame Dimming technology. These make the TV offer higher brightness, as well as better backlight and black uniformity. You can see the sample to know how the dark colours look natural on the TV.
Sony BRAVIA X80J 4K Ultra (3,840x2,160p) HD TV works like a charm in terms of enhancing the picture quality of non-HD channels. During the testing period, I could notice a discernible improvement in terms colour and sharpness compared to affordable 4K TVs in the market. The latter can only play high-resolution content, but lack video quality upscaling tech.
The new X80J TV model features Dolby Vision system, Sony's proprietary Live Colour TRILUMINOS PRO technology, and X1 4K HDR picture processor, which performs object-based HDR remaster, Super bit mapping 4K HDR, and dynamic contrast enhancer to make the viewing a pleasurable experience.
For instance, if you are watching a cooking show on YouTube, the TV is capable of identifying individual items such as leafy vegetables from utensils and the background and add a few punchy colours thus enhancing content quality. It works the same while streaming wildlife documentaries, it takes a notch up in terms of the immersive viewing experience.
Furthermore, the X80J model supports Motionflow XR 200 feature, which comes particularly handy while viewing sports. This feature increases the number of frames seen every second, which enables the TV to produce a smoother and more natural motion picture.
Also, it supports Ambient Optimisation, where-in the TV can sense the light condition of the living room and automatically adjust the brightness.
As far as the Google TV user interface is concerned, it is really simple and easy to understand. It lines all the popular apps and top trending TV shows, movies in visually appealing title cards along with cast members. This is much better than the previous generation Android TV version. It offers better personalisation in terms of tab structure (Search, For You, Live TV, Movies, Shows, Apps, and Library). Also, as the user watches more content on Google TV, the recommendation feature gets better over time.
Also, there is Kids mode, where contents are well-curated with age-appropriate content for safe viewing for the children.
There is also the Living Decor feature. Whenever it senses the user stops watching the television show, offers brilliant fullscreen wallpapers along with a clock on the TV screen.
Usually, when the user stops using the remote for too long, it displays a message on the screen asking if the owner is watching and if it does not get any response, it will switch live wallpaper mode.
And, as for stable video streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other Over-The-Top (OTT) apps, users should have a good internet connection with speeds anywhere between 20Mbps and 100Mbps. It supports Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi (802.11 /b/g/n/ac; dual-band: 2.5Ghz/5GHz) in addition to Ethernet.
In addition to built-in Chromecast, it can play Apple TV content and support Amazon Alexa, Apple Home Kit to control smart IoT (Internet-of-Things) gadgets at home.
The TV remote, which comes with the retail box is a feature-rich handy tool. It offers four short-cuts to YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube Music. The navigation controls are at the centre and there are dedicated buttons for switching between TV cable networks, trigger Google Assistant, and open OTT apps, scene forward, backward, adjust volume, channels, and more.
Sony's TV remote is a bit longer than usual compared to rival brands. But, the convenience of having several dedicated functional keys makes the user experience simple. My mother, who just started using a touch-screen phone, felt more at ease using this remote than the former. Within a couple of days of usage, she got the full hang of it.
She loved the Google Assistant feature, as most of the time, it was spot on in bringing the requested content onto the screen.
Also, she was able to easily switch between YouTube and TV set-top-box, skip videos scenes on OTT streaming apps, and by the end of the review period, she had become too accustomed to the new Sony TV remote and felt disappointed for returning back to the old 'smart tv', which has been with us for almost a year and still she struggles to navigate through it.
In the garb of offering minimalistic design, some brands offer small remotes with a handful of controls and each button having multiple functional capabilities. This actually complicates especially for the senior citizens, who consume most of the content through of the day.
Final thoughts
Sony has left no stone unturned to make the BRAVIA X80J a true premium TV. It has everything-- a beautiful bright display, impressive slim-bezel design, glitch-free user interface, amazingly feature-rich remote control, support screencast for both iPhone and Android mobiles.
Also, the X-Protection Pro features are a big bonus particularly in tropical regions like India, where a thunderstorm is a common occurrence in the Monsoon season (June-September) and they're always a chance of lightning-induced power surge/outages at homes. During these uncertain times, it offers a second layer of protection in addition to the voltage stabiliser. Thus, enhancing the lifespan of Sony TV.
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