Sony Bravia KDL55W800B (55")

Ok as a TV, poor as a Smart TV – I bought one quite a few years ago and am still using it as a main TV, however it's only because I've got it connected to various set-top boxes that fulfil the Smart TV function better, namely I've got an Apple TV and an Xbox One. So I haven't been using the unit's Smart TV features for a while. Picture quality is fairly good, which is this… Read more

TV's only strong suit. Be sure to tune the picture properly by finding some recommended settings for this TV model via Google - I've done that and never had to touch the settings since.

Sound quality is poor as far as I'm concerned, and no amount of apparent software wizardry that it claims to have like "voice zoom" etc., seems to make it better. If you need to watch a movie in the evening that's at a sound level decent enough not to wake your kids, you'll find yourself constantly needing to adjust the volume because it's too quiet to hear the speech during a calm scene and then erupts loudly when there's an intense scene.

The Wi-Fi on my unit has also been dodgy, constantly disconnecting. But when I've had to use internet functionality like FreeviewPlus (yes, it's Freeview-certified) I've got it connected via ethernet so that didn't bother me personally.

The Smart TV software is very poor. Not only does it provide a bad experience, but it also slows down the startup of the TV almost every time. So even if you're not using smart functions, you're still worse off for it. A poor execution by Sony - this model would have been better off as a standard, "non-smart" HD TV, and they could have made it quicker and more responsive with basic software.

Given that it's a discontinued model, if you're reading this you're probably considering getting a used one. In this case, it may actually be a good value TV as long as the price is right, as you are indeed getting a good HD picture quality. I'd recommend getting a sound bar to go with it, and using a set-top box like Apple TV / Chromecast / Telstra TV, or a gaming console like a PS4 or Xbox One for the Smart TV apps and features.

Not a bad TV for price – Some reviews, like on a TV box that we stare at every day at some point, do come down to personal perspective. I went to this Sony from a small 15 year old Hitachi, which wasn't bad, but a new bright colourful 55inch screen was pretty cool. My 7 year old would just stand right in front of it, looking left, right, mesmerized. I can't fault… Read more

picture quality although some more expensive TV's at the store looked even better.

The remote is simple but works well. My kids have now dropped it 1000x and despite obvious damage it still works. Ports are accessible, the stand is sturdy and TV is reasonably easy to wipe and keep clean. Moving it is tricky as it's large and thin but ours lives in one spot.

We find some apps work better than others and there can be significant delays, regardless of Wi-Fi/modem strength, and some frequently fail. Rebooting or updating doesn't generally fix this. Straight internet access is even slower and poorly configured. Moving around with the standard remote is also not easy - I assume a laser pointer remote would be a solution to this.

The Sony is preset with apps so a model where you can delete what you don't want and add what you do (like a phone) would be ideal. We only use a handful of available apps, the others just clog the screen and (maybe) slow the TV down.

This TV for us came down to the quality/price acceptance. For what we paid we were very happy with what we got. We could have paid twice as much and maybe ended up with an improvement with apps and perhaps picture quality but justifying that wasn't possible - for us. If you can get this TV at a good price, get it. If you're looking at a new model, consider some of these comments as they tend to 'follow' the price point trend.

Sony Media player stop Copyright infringements – Having put my movies on a hard drive, my Sony TV stops my PC streaming to the Sony TV, due it detecting it as a non original movie disk. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought this TV. Sony own copyright to many movies and of course insists they are right to do this. Sorry, Sony you will loose it in sales of TV,and angry customers will bypass… Read more

that anyway. Otherwise, a bit laggy with memory but better than some smart TV's. Now if we could please have some smart Sony Execs to understand customers they could get in the black once again..........

Pretty good – I have been having a pretty good time with this tv. has the right colour range that i want, although i did have to change some settings in colour. I am now very satisied with the picture quality. Also the tv that i recieved has very low sound so i have to turn the volume right up.