Sony Bravia X8500C Series
Verified87 reviews
Update stopped and firmware not available – Sony has stopped software update for lot of models including KD65X8500C last month. Disappointed that we are not able to find firmfare for a TV purchased seven years ago. Show details
Poor performance – Had TV for a few years and to date I have had the following issues: TV turns itself of (technically its just a black screen and still on) Won't connect to Wifi (other devices connect no problems) Screen mirroring inconsistent Lengthy delays for turning TV on and selecting channels Screen tearing ( this 'may' be digital signal) So considering the… Read more
ongoing issues, particularly the constant having to turn the tv on and off to get the tv to reconnect to wifi, I would NOT recommend this tv or brand
Reviews with attachments
Absolutely brilliant – Despite being a TV from 2015, it received a software update to Android 8.0 last week. If you're after a feature rich TV with basically unlimited features due to having a stable and fast Android build, this is a good option for you. Can even do more complicated tasks, such as plug in a game controller and gamestream from your PC without any issues… Read more
at all (the controller is natively supported by the TV) and there is basically zero lag.
Great image. Sound sucks, but it always does on TV's.
Anyone who complains about this TV lagging should attempt a firmware update.
In-depth reviews
Rubbish Software, Android TV needs to be fixed drastically or replaced entirely on Sony TV's – Any Android device can stream content on this Sony television even though they are not registered to connect on the TV. Imagine sleeping and waking up to loud Youtube content being played from your TV when you haven't pressed or initiated this intrusion. Later I find out my mum was trying to cast content from her mobile although she has never… Read more
connected to me TV. Only way to stop this is by turning off screen casting/mirroring from the TV Settings which than doesn't allow me to cast content from my phone.
To add, the TV would randomly restart and when it did reboot, it would take 1-2 minutes to reload the android software again. Sometimes it would just go on standby and after pressing the power on button several times, it wouldn't turn on. It would freeze and the only way to get it back up and running again would be disconnecting the TV from the power.
Than I decided to try to watch some movies on my USB which I have done without any issues with several other televisions. I have a 2TB HDD so I have several 100 movies which are all categorized by folder (Movie Folder, Series Folder, etc) . With the Android TV, it displays every single folder in the USB including Sub folders so there are 100s of separate files to go through till you find what you are looking for. To make matters worse, it would take up to 10 minutes to load the files on the USB.
I will never be purchasing a Sony/ Android TV ever again
Great TV, up for another 10 years – I had my previous Bravia 40 inch LCD since 2007 and it's still running, which you can't say about many of its competitors. However it is a dumb TV and the picture is not full HD, so we decided to look at something better. Bought this one at The Good Guys for $1770 + a $330 soundbar and received $330 back because of 30 day price guarantee ($1495… Read more
at Harvey). Score!
This one is great. I like the way it looks. Especially the shiny thin rim surrounding the screen has a lot of cachet for a mid range TV and it's relatively light, which is good for hanging on the wall. And overall performance is great for the money.
Good:
-Design
-4000k UHD, HDR is the best, may not seem as sharp as LG's OLED, but comes across as much more natural.
-User interface, once you get the hang of it
-Google voice works almost perfect, better than Siri ever has
-Netflix 4000k
-YouTube HD
-All the various apps, like Spotify, Pandora, Tunein, SBS Ondemand, iView. They all work a treat.
Not so good:
-Remote control design, although looks and feels like a high quality piece of kit, it doesn't feel natural and buttons are hard to find without looking. I find myself having it the wrong way around. Form doesn't follow function here. Luckily voice command covers a lot of this.
-Sometimes the TV gets confused and it may take longer to respond, which may be due to internet connection, but even switching TV channels just takes unusually long sometimes, my PS3 PlayTV does that better.
-Native sound system is average at best, get a good soundbar. I've got a Sony HTCT390 and it is okay, works well with the TV and looks like a unit. There are better one, but probably won't work as seamless.
All in all, I'm a fan for the money it gets an Excellent rating, because nothing else beats it. $3000 for an OLED is just too much. The Sony X9300C which is slightly better should come down in price early next year (2017) and that one will blow LG out of the water. It is just a better package.
Fantastic TV for the price – Bought this TV a couple of months ago and I was surprised at the picture quality given it cost me 1.4k. I was watching a Bluray the other day and the colours and contrast really blew me away. Previous to this, I had a Samsung 6-series FHD TV. The Sony is far superior even though it cost the same price as the Samsung did and is bigger. The black… Read more
levels are way better, richer colours and far better upscaling of lower resolution video content.
There is some crosstalk when playing 3D movies, but that may be because I am using some cheapo third party active 3D glasses. I will buy a pair of Sony 3D glasses soon to see if the crosstalk goes away. Otherwise the 3D works fine.
Built-in speakers aren't great, but typical of most TVs -- disabling ClearAudio seemed to improve things a lot, but I have a soundbar anyway, so I didn't care and just installed that and use that for my sound source.
Plenty of ports, both USB and HDMI for my use, so really happy with those.
It seems that there were a lot of problems experienced with the software of this TV when it first came out, but I bought it after several software updates have already been released and I've suffered no major issues. The only issue I have is that the interface freezes occasionally when I use the remote control, but it comes right again after a few seconds. I have not experienced the problems that other owners have reported of the TV restarting inexplicably or the entire television freezing. No problems with the responsiveness -- yes, it is a bit slow but that is typical of Smart TVs. They are all like that. I think it's a great TV providing the software is up to date!
Apps and software are good enough for me -- I use mostly Youtube, VLC, ABC iView, SBS OnDemand and Google Search which works great with the voice search and microphone on the one-flick remote. Will install Kodi for Android and see how that goes. You can also use the Video and TV SideView app for iPhone or Android to control the TV from your phone. Seems to be plenty of Adnroid games you can download and play on the TV as well, but haven't tried them and I expect the framerates will be pretty poor anyway.
I haven't yet tried connecting third party devices up to the TV yet, like an airmouse or wireless keyboard like the Logitech K400, but will try them once I have some time.
Overall, an outstanding TV for the price. This model is now discontinued, so it will be difficult to get hold of one now.
Positive reviews
Besides the mood swings, it's excellent – Love the tv it's got great picture and good features. The only thing I can't stand is where it will turn itself off and restart. Or it will exit or open apps on it's own like it's alive and is now making the decisions around here. But it's been 3 years now and it still works at least, so I'm happy. Show details
Amazing TV – Amazing TV and have had no issues with quality, sound, picture and playback. Intuitive smart display and plays channel 7, 9, 10 and many more that other TVs don't. Sometimes there is a lag with online video streaming through YouTube but this is rare and hasn't happened since the last update Show details
Aesthetically pleasing tv – At first i fell in love the resolution and the HD quality I got it on sale boxing day so it was an investment. But there were a lot of problems connecting to electronic devices via wifi which was so frustrating and annoying when trying to watch something on YouTube. Show details
Negative reviews
Rubbish TV – Bought it 1.5 years ago. After 6 months of working fabulously we are constantly having to factory reset it cos it won't connect to the wifi. To be correct It says its connected to wifi but has no internet. All our other "different" brand TVs have no problems with the wifi. Its not as user friendly as the salesman advised. When watching movies… Read more
the sound effects and music is too loud and the talking is too low. And yes everyone has had a go at changing the sound settings. This problem just occurred a year after we bought it. The picture is decent and if I didn't have to factory reset it and then download all the apps again and then log into all of them every week id be happy enough with it. But it's a pain and now I think its rubbish and am saving up for another TV.
Just a medium quality tv – Brought this tv during Xmas sale 3 years back. Cannot say I am totally satisfied with it. The picture quality is not so great. I had to stop automatic update of the firmware because it once became a brick after the upgrade. I needed 3 days of extensive investigation to find a way to resolve this which 99.9% of other people would not have been able… Read more
to resolve and cost a fortune to get it fixed by a technician. Only good think about it was the mid range price which also gave an indication of the mid range quality.
Great – This tv was on sale when we bought it and we got the 75”. Am happy cause I didn’t pay full price but isn’t all the best. I keep having to reload the chanels. The ten play app and the others are always 5 seconds behind in the voice over when watching something. It always loses the internet connection which means you are alway having to reconnect it. We have 3 other tv’s in the house , all smart TVs, and we don’t need to do this to them. Show details
Recent reviews
Excellent reliable TV – I had been eyeing this TV from the day they released the specs and purchased it when it was on sale. Android OS is excellent and have been receiving updates regularly since purchased. Screen mirroring casting videos etc is a breeze. Picture quality is top notch. Only thing I do from time to time is a restart the TV through the settings menu to… Read more
clear memory. This optimises performance.
I find Sony TVs extremely reliable. I am yet to see one that failed amongst friends.
Find out how Sony Bravia X8500C Series compares to other 4K Ultra HD TVs
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Sony Bravia lcd – Sony Bravia lcd tv great tv, great colors, great sound, easy to use, easy to hook up universal remote, easy to set up, easy to set up surround sound (entertainment system). Good to play movies on, easy to set PlayStation and Xbox to. Good size for the whole family. Thanks Sony for a great item for the family. Show details
WORST TV I'VE EVER PURCHASED DO NOT BUY!!! – No blutooth!?!?!?! Internet ALWAYS drops out and then there's always issues reconnecting. For the price I paid this tv is absolute rubbish. Barely any apps except for netflix and youtube. just really rubbish. I highly reccomend looking at what a tv has to offer before buying. And to also buy a tv thats bothered to input bluetooth into it. Because no chromecasting if you want this one Show details
Great TV which has the google play store built in – This TV has been fantastic for us. It has the google play store built in, which is great as new apps get released more often then not. Furthermore Sony have updated this TV 3 times since I have purchased it. One of the earlier upgrades was to enable the ability to record TV. Which is a greta feature and can be done by simply plugging in a USB… Read more
drive into the TV.
The picture quality is great and sound is not too bad too and travels well in our large open plan living space.
Excellent, love this television – This tv produces a very sharp and crisp picture. The speakers are quite good but would be much better with a surround system. It’s got a good amount of ports. The smart tv is perfect for anyone to use. So simple and straightforward. The remote control is a bit sticky or maybe it’s a little hard to use at times, that’s the only negative thing I have to say. A good purchase. Show details
I loved it. Until the last "update" – I bought this around 20 months ago on special at David jones (display model) and I was REALLY pleased with it. I love the picture quality and I downloaded a heap of Youtube 4k video to watch on it. I've adjusted all the colour levels,along with contrast and black levels and it's looking great.There are plenty of ports,both usb and HDMI but the… Read more
speakers are absolutely useless. I use a soundbar.
This Bravia replaced my old 46" LED backlit SONY which still works but it kept disconnecting from the PS3/bluray player. The reason I say this,is because this TV does exactly the same thing.
So, I thought, it must be the PS3. It's getting old, so I'll buy a 4k bluray player,ready for the new discs when they arrive. As Sony hadn't yet release one,I purchased a Samsung 4k player for a discount price,again on special and I've been really happy with it...until the TV started disconnecting from it all the time. It happens regularly,just about every single time I use it. As this TV and my last Sony TV did the same thing with the PS3,I'm guessing it's NOT the fault of the player. Yes,it's plugged in to the correct HDMI port - I've checked every possible scenario and I always have to reset everything.
Now, as for SONY themselves, they can go...whatever. As Sony suggested when I called them, I have emailed them and contacted them on the forum and received absolutely NO support. Just totally absolutely IGNORED. I've had the same with my SONY phone.
This is not the ONLY problem I've faced. Recently an automatic update occurred on the TV. Now, EVERY TIME I turn it on, I get green lines all over the screen for a few minutes and until that stops,it's unwatchable. Google services constantly stop ALL THE TIME and I have reported all of them to no avail. SONY is a very dishonourable Company who I will NEVER deal with again.
The TV itself, is great as it WAS and I must compliment its ability to UPSCALE to 4k. I bought one 4k bluray to try it out. I didn't need to. Anything that goes through HDMI is up-converted and that includes Netflix running from the bluray player! So no need to upgrade that OR the bluray discs. Another feature I like, is the little bluetooth remote. Brilliant. I must say though, the browser is absolutely useless unless you have a decent keyboard/mouse and even then, everything directs you to something on youtube. Using the browser on the Samsung bluray is much more user friendly and there are way more features available.
I've mounted the telly on the wall as it's light and easily manoeverable as compared to the 30Kg monster I had before.
I just wish SONY would pull their finger out and be a good company once more.
Great TV – Had our sony Bravia now for a year or so. Brilliant reception and features. Love the quality. Smart TV. Great picture and sound quality. Great value for money Cant be without this super TV. Plenty of ports. Sound quality really good. Great connectivity features. Would recommend this television to anyone. Show details
Excellent Picture - Very Good TV – Had this TV now for well over a year now and we still go wow over the quality of the picture quality. Images and clear and crisp and blacks look satisfactory. There are plenty of Ports for todays many different type of connectivity. Sound could be a little more clearer but satisfactory. My only grip would be the TV Guide which is slow (often… Read more
has to reload twice) and using the remote to chose a different channel. For example I press 1 and I get channel 10!. Pres 32 and get channel 3.
But these are minor compared to the excellent picture quality.
Amazing!! – Amazing tv. The picture is so clear and sharp. All the features that come with the tv is great. You can move from screen to screen, app to app very easy. Also when you attach PS4 this just in hances all the features of the Sony TV. I would highly recommend this TV. Show details
A magnificent Ultra HD 65 inch TV – A magnificent Ultra HD 65 inch TV. Love the quality of the picture and many built in Apps that add great value to the TV's practical use. Have combined it with a HEOS speaker a bar and sub woofer to complete thepackage. I would recommend this product to anyone wanting a good value quality product. Show details
Find out how Sony Bravia X8500C Series compares to other 4K Ultra HD TVs
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Perfect for family – The picture quality is really nice as required. The built in speakers are really nice and sound system is clear and can be increased high and low volume easily . It has extra ports for USB and HDMI cables. This is a smart TV and can be used via internet and phone. Easier to connect with different devices.Has a Bluetooth and can be used via… Read more
keyboards as well.
I used key boards to look up youtubes and search different movie.
Operating system and various app is also available and can be updated anytime when the updates is recommended.
I never have any problem so far. I love my choice .
Great TV should have fought one earlier – This is a great TV with all the uses that I need out of a TV I love the way you can talk to it and it finds what you are looking for The picture is excellent and sound quality great , I haven't found a thing that I dislike about this unit Thanks Sony Show details
So far so good – Picture is great, not sure about built-in speakers because we use external ones. The android tv interface is great if a bit locked down compared to normal android. No problems yet except the bluetooth remote which drains batteries in a few days, currently going through replacement process with Sony. Sony are very slow to push android tv updates. Show details
Love it! – I've had this TV 11 Months now, its absolutely gorgeous, picture quality is absolutely outstanding, also love the android operating system I've got Kodi and heaps of other useful apps installed, could not fault this tv at all, actually looking at purchasing another Sony android TV for my bedroom soon Show details
good working order – great picture quality compared to other televisions i have had and very clear. also sound no problems so far. well priced for what you get. easy to set up even for me which is unusual but pleasantly surprising. all in all a great buy, so far so good. would recommend Show details
Great – Excellent picture quality. I have not used the 3d as I would prefer to watch 2d. When you compare this tv to others in the store you can clearly see that the picture quality is superior. The set up is easy but I suppose you would expect tis from all tvs now, The sound system is good although I have plugged the tv though my sound system for a better surround sound. Show details
Perfect – Clear picture,I satisfied with its operating system and apps.theplayer soft ware is good and I like the sound come out of the tv as well.i am able connect to the my iPad to read my photoessays .the tv can has multifunction to do its jobs I feel happy about it. Show details
Great features – Picture quality is perfect it could have more ports and the price is great and has such great features screen quality is great and so is the sound is 3d and has great built in speakers and has the TV is a smart tv so I can access the internet Show details
quality image, reliable tv, froma trusted brand. Definitely recommend – Great picture quality, speakers still work great, All the HDMI/USB ports you could ever need. Decent smart style tv from trusted sony brand. Recommend for everyone, it is a little pricey but worth it. unique operating system that is great once you get the hang of it. Got from good guys, Show details
Can't fault it – Have always eyeing for Bravia and managed to get it with great price. Easy setup, stylish and fit our theatre room well. Kids enjoy watching movies here now and much prefer this TV then the overcrowded and noisy pop corn in the cinema Enough USB and HDMi ports to hook up gadgets and add ons Show details
This is perfect!!! – I have been very satisfied with all aspects of my Sony Bravia TV. The picture quality has been near perfect, the sound has been absorbing and there are enough ports for all my TV viewing needs. It is a Smart TV and it does everything I need it to do. Show details
Fantastic viewing and perfect image – Enjoy every viewing of the TV and clear, sharp pictures. Great sound and clear hearing giving good effect to watch the movies or any other programmes Adequate ports which is necessary for USB's, computers viewing for movies. Took time to learn the operating system and apps, but now am an expert Show details
A Great tv love it – I am very satisfied with the screen & the color of the tv, love it. the sound is great, l am nearly deaf but l can hear the sound of the tv no problems. it fits into the decor of my place very nice love watching my new tv. Wonderful love it. Show details
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