Sony X80K KD-65X80K (65")

Good TV very general all-round viewing – This is an “entry” level TV from Sony at a price that is higher than what you would expect from an entry level TV, the field on “Entry level” is wide with varying quality at this price point but it seems to punch a little bit above its price in many respects and is a quality TV with many good features. The X80K is a traditional LCD set with… Read more

direct LED backlighting, as opposed to the edge-lit TVs you often found in the budget TV’s. This has resulted in a generally better picture quality than I would have expected for this price. It does not, however, quite compare with what you will see on more advanced (and thus more expensive) sets from Sony and other manufacturers.

This was a replacement TV for a family member – it started out as a Panasonic TH65GX600A (failed) replaced with a Samsung UA65TU8000WXXY (failed 18 MThs) and now the Sony – these are all comparable “budget” TV’s (entry level)

This is an IPS panel, not VA panel like the Samsung, but offers wider viewing angles if a tad short on the contrast because of the IPS panel. You do not have to sit front and centre to get the best picture angle and quality, and it does not wash out significantly if you sit wide from centre and retains a very good amount of its picture quality. The Brightness is adequate but not over the top and is good for most rooms, though brightly lit rooms may not suit, but it seems to handle reflections ok. To appreciate its full 4K quality you need to sit close to the TV (up to max. 3 metres). HDR format is HDR10, Dolby vision. Refresh rate is 50HZ with 100hz Smooth motion rate.

Out of the box it has clean lines, is not overly bulky and has thin bezels which makes it look a bit larger than it is. The stand is minimalist, the two-foot style lifts it about 70mm from a cabinet but is it also has 300mm x 300mm Vesa mounting holes on the back for wall mounting. It is very easy to set up – The TV interface is powerful and is the "user friendly" Google TV, very intuitive, navigation menus are clean and effective giving the full range of Google’s capabilities.

Connections: power cable on right hand side of tv, ports on opposite side in a vertical line, all facing out towards the left: 2 USB ports (1 with power max 500ma, the other 900ma) S/PDIF digital audio, yellow video in jack, ethernet port, 2 remote inputs (RS-232C and IR input), coaxial connector and 4 HDMI ports (1 with ARC and eARC) which adhere to 60HZ DHDMI 2.0 spec (no HDMI 2.1)

The remote is minimalist, has no Numerics (no number pad buttons) and the simplified layout puts the controls where you need them – it's easy to use, very responsive and we had no trouble tuning to control additional connected items like set top box, so you can use multiple connected appliances with the one remote. From top to bottom, the button collection comprises: Power, TV, Settings, Inputs, a five-way directional pad, Back, Home, Google Assistant, volume and channel controls, Mute, Play, Pause, and Guide. Below that are four dedicated shortcut buttons for YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

Despite some notes in a some reviews about how good the sound is on this TV, whilst it is better than the previous Pana and Samsung equivalent TV’s we had, it can best be described as acceptable or OK sound and distortion starts at around 50% volume – it will get loud but no great quality to go with the volume – for mine I would install a low-cost sound bar to enhance the TV – you will get a lot more bass than what the TV is capable of.

Games play well on this TV which was a bit of a surprise – input lag is around 11MS which is inside the boundary for smooth results – it does not have HDMI 2.1, 120HZ refresh rate and VRR functionality to add more grunt but otherwise it performs very well for the games that have been played on it.

Very happy with this TV for good all-round results with general TV watching, movies and playing games all very acceptable and the TV could be described as very good picture and quality at this price point – if your budget does not extend beyond this TV then you could do a lot worse in this bracket.

Pros: • Well-built and designed remote control • Easy to set up out of the box – very intuitive • Google TV operating system is a Plus • Very good value TV • Mostly very good picture quality – nothing really to complain about • Low input lag (11ms) for gaming • Good number of connections, HDMI, usb etc. • Minimalist foot design for sitting on cabinet • Thin bezels make the TV look a bit larger than it is Cons: • Contrast and brightness not over the top (not a deal breaker though, still good) • Sound is not as good as it could be / should be (distorts over 50%, no great bass) • No HDMI 2.1 or VRR (is a 50hz panel)

Decent LED tv – Picture quality is decent. If you want to dark blacks go for minimum x90k. This tv is good in general however when we watch in dark blacks are not dark enough other than that, colours are very rich and 4K content looks amazing. Overall happy with the quality. Sound: using Sonos sound system but when I tested the tv sound it was not bad but don’t… Read more

expect Dolby atmos sorround in tv speakers. External Sound system is recommended. Features: Google tv so all standard apps comes with tv. No calibration needed out of the box comes with great set up. Integrates well with blu ray player and play station.

For the same budget other manufacturers offer qled panel, however they can’t match Sony’s Color contrast or just looks so rich.

Never had any problems like hang or restart or any of that sort which is common in smart tvs.

Overall very happy with the purchase.