I'd call it a good deal not really that great. How much better is this TV than the 55" Samsung H6400 that can be had for £649 with 6 years warranty?
first of all a lot of people see the 40" review on HDTV test then think wow the H6400 is amazing.
what you need to realise is. the 40" uses a different panel so it's not the same tv as the 55".
which is proven by the fact avforums reviewed the H6400 3 times.
https://www.avforums.com/review/samsung-h6400-ue32h6400-full-hd-led-lcd-3d-tv-review.10564
https://www.avforums.com/review/samsung-h6400-ue40h6400-tv-review.10825
https://www.avforums.com/review/samsung-h6400-ue55h6400-3d-led-lcd-tv-review.10295
so this tv
http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/ue40h6400-201405023756.htm
isn't the same as the 55" H6400
so now we have that out of the way. this sony i believe uses the same panel as the W805C and W807C. But it's the W809C which has superior electronics and therefore better PQ than those two. I don't know all the specifics but motion flow is increased by 100hz from 900 to 1000 iirc. that's just what i can remember off the top of my head but there will likely be more than just that which is the difference.
so here are the w805 reviews (same panel slightly inferior electronics to the one i bought)
http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl55w805c-201508034145.htm
https://www.avforums.com/review/sony-kdl-55w805c-w805c-full-hd-1080p-android-tv-review.11817
black levels for one are far superior on the sony which is quite a big thing
sony Calibrated black level (4×4 ANSI) 0.025 cd/m2
samsung black level of 0.042 cd/m2
input lag again is also better
sony Input lag (high-speed camera) 21ms compared to lag-free CRT in [Game] mode
Leo Bodnar input lag tester 37ms in [Game] mode
samsung As it was, the H64000 has a lag to controller input of 40.6 milliseconds, which will be a fraction high for demanding online competitive gamers but will be fine for the average single player title.
"The Sony KDL-55W805C is largely a sideways move from last year’s W829 Bravia, but that’s no criticism of the former, because the latter has set quite a high bar as far as large-screen HDTVs go. Images on the W805C looked positively absorbing owing to deep blacks and wonderfully realistic colour palette (that’s able to saturate reds fully, unlike its predecessor), although 3D remained half-res (just like its predecessor).
The Sony W80C’s input lag was roughly one frame higher than the 2013 and 2014 Sony 1080p TVs, but for most owners this should still feel addictively fluid. Available at a street price of below £900 at time of publication, the KDL55W805 represents tremendous value for money when it comes to picture quality."
that is talking about the inferior model the W805 and that it being £900 representing tremendous value for money when it comes to PQ. so it's safe to assume the superior model the W809 for £449 represents ridiculous value for money.
at avforums they say the W805 is so good out of the box it's probably not worth paying for a pro calibrator.
"With only a 2- and 10-point white balance control available and no Colour Management System (CMS) it is a good job that the W805C is as accurate out-of-the-box, especially with a colour gamut that is only slightly out and can be massaged to produce a slightly more accurate result with the greyscale corrected and tracking better. We would have to question the need given the lack of adjustment available and the out-of-the-box image results for a full professional calibration. With only the greyscale controllable and assuming all W805C sets have similar gamut results, we would have to say that given the price point and end results likely with the Sony, a paid for calibration would probably be overkill and not really achieve massive before and after differences; provided the out-of-the-box settings are corrected for the room and lighting by the end user."
the 55" H6400 on the other hand
"Pre-calibration
In the out-of-the-box Movie settings there was a slight, but unmistakable, green tinge to the greyscale which resulted in white (and shades near white) having a mildly sickly look to them. Delta Errors averaged between 7 and 8 so we’ve definitely seen better unadjusted performance from a Samsung TV but, as expected, colours were generally very good at full saturation levels, especially in terms of the most important element - luminance."
you really need to spend £200-£300 on a pro calibration to get the best out of it. so add that onto the price and then you realise what a ridiculous deal this was.
the W805 really excels in bright rooms
"It is in the normal living room during day light or with good ambient lighting where the Sony KDL-W805C excels and produces some very nicely balanced and colourful images. Here we were impressed with the detail on offer and some decent motion with content such as football and HD documentaries on BBC4. You could apply Motionflow to sports or fast moving video content to improve the motion, but we would recommend avoiding its use with film or drama content. Black levels were strong and mixed contrast scenes held up well in the brighter viewing environment. Colours looked natural and skin tones were accurate throughout with the settings used out of the box and overall it was hard to find fault with the W805C when used in this manner. The downsides are more apparent in darker viewing situations."
Calibrated Performance
We have covered all the major picture points above and even after fixing the greyscale tracking to reference levels and slightly tweaking the gamut in the process, the differences between calibrated and out-of-the-box (given that the front panel controls for contrast etc. are set correctly for the environment) are negligible at best for the majority of users. This is certainly a case of the product probably achieving the best it can without the need for calibration; as it is best suited to being an everyday living room workhorse and not a cinematic critical viewing device. As such we don’t think it would be cost effective given the results and purchase price to go with a full professional paid for calibration on this model.
basically the sony excels in a bright room. the samsung more so in a darkened cinema style room (lights off, curtains closed) after being pro calibrated of course which the sony doesn't need.
also the 55" H6400 for £649 is store specific depending on stock you cannot buy online. i'm guessing there is probably zero stock anywhere or maybe they had some in 1 or 2 stores but probably sold out by now. elsewhere it's selling for a lot more and without anywhere near 6 years warranty.
it's £699 at argos with 3 year cover for an additional £120 as an example. then another £200-£300 for calibration. that's pushing 3 times what I paid
so yeah it was a great deal, imo better than the 1 or 2 that got the 55" H6400 for £649 with 6 year warranty.
this for me is a stop gap tv until i buy a 4k OLED.
bare in mind everything wrote above is for the inferior sony model the W809 is slightly better.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and...5w809cbu-smart-3d-55-led-tv-10132103-pdt.html
vs
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and...5w807csu-smart-3d-55-led-tv-10132136-pdt.html
