Sony Android TV Interface Lag

david25

david25

david25

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15 Mar 2005
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Hello, I tried a 2015 Sony TV with Android in a shop and found the EPG very laggy compared to my 2012 Bravia without Android e.g. moving up and down the EPG.

Have things improved with 2016 sets or firmware updates?
 
I've owned a Sony Bravia 2015 set (AndroidTV) since August '15 and no, the firmware improvements have not improved anything in my opinion.

Very disappointed with this TV, so much in fact that Sony is a brand I will no longer consider purchasing with the exception of games consoles.

Everything about the software implementation is just awful. As you say, the user interface is slow and I often find the thumbnails on the home screen are pixelated for at least 10 seconds before becoming full resolution. The HDD recording is as basic as it can get and is also disabled if you choose to activate YouView and the YouView app becomes unresponsive after awhile.

You'll have a far better experience buying another TV that gives the picture quality you want and paring it up with a separate Android box or stick. Aside for the 4K, my Sony TV purchase has been a complete step backwards versus my Samsung D8000 set and Chromecast combo that I had previously.

To rub salt into the wounds, Sony just don't even seem to give a toss that they've released an unfinished product to the market. Despite the TV being released without promised and advertised features (PIP/USB HDD recording), the awful performance and poor stability, Sony have not even offered a free movie rental. PlayStation network goes down for a little while and those users received free a subscription extension.
 
They're crap, I had two of them which both went back mainly due physical defects but the software played a large part in that also. The mish-mash of Android interface and Sony's own TV firmware interface makes the entire thing feel very unintuitive and unpolished because you end up with all sorts of different menus that look different. Performance was poor, stability was poor, and the available features were poor.

The internals specs are equivalent to a low-end tablet from years ago, they'll never get it running smoothly regardless of how much they might promise otherwise, especially with the dozens and dozens of background processes running to tie all the TV features into the OS.
 
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Any TV with android based OS needs a top tier soc inside from the get go. These TV manufacturers continue to put poor crippled soc inside their tvs and it destroys the operation of menu's and features regardless of how good the Screen & PQ is.
 
RIGHT!

Thanks everyone, I may have to dump Sony then.

1. Are all Sony TVs now Android enabled, well all the ones between £700 and £1500?

2. What does Panasonic use? I would like a nice snappy EPG just like the "old days" of my 2012 Bravia.
 
I tried pretty-much all of them out a few months back, and my favourite of the 'smart TV' systems was LG's webOS. It was very fluid, very snappy, looked great and had some really well thought-out features. Panasonic's use Firefox OS, it was fairly good too but felt a bit basic.

I'd have definitely gone for an LG if they'd had a decent Full HD TV in their line-up, but in the end I went with a Samsung.
 
We recently purchased the KD55X9305 HDR 4K set. Excellent picture but the Android co-joined firmware is pants. Several instances of the TV "re-booting" itself while viewing which is a PITA. The input selection is sluggish to come up but when it does respond you get about 3 secs to scroll the list before it blanks or goes to the Android screen. Not exactly what you expect paying £2k for a top of the range set. Can only assume Google/Android have got some sort of deal with Sony, which of course the manufacturer will argue keeps the price down!
 
I have the KDL 55W829 and it has the worst lag and picture processing from any TV I've owned. I literally hate the TV and I'm considering contacting John Lewis about the issue and see if I can get it exchanged for a Panasonic under warranty.
 
Have the 805c 50" i use sky so couldn't really care about android on mine.. my PC is right next to to my TV :D

amazing IQ when set up correctly!
 
Vern1961 said:
We recently purchased the KD55X9305 HDR 4K set. Excellent picture but the Android co-joined firmware is pants. Several instances of the TV "re-booting" itself while viewing which is a PITA. The input selection is sluggish to come up but when it does respond you get about 3 secs to scroll the list before it blanks or goes to the Android screen. Not exactly what you expect paying £2k for a top of the range set. Can only assume Google/Android have got some sort of deal with Sony, which of course the manufacturer will argue keeps the price down!
Click to expand...

Just looked at the £1500(!) KD55X9305 set, I am attracted to the quality sound of the fluid speakers, but even the first professional review in Google criticised the user interface.


Can anyone with a recent Panasonic (in the £700 to £1500) range comment on their EPG speed?
 
david25 said:
Just looked at the £1500(!) KD55X9305 set, I am attracted to the quality sound of the fluid speakers, but even the first professional review in Google criticised the user interface.


Can anyone with a recent Panasonic (in the £700 to £1500) range comment on their EPG speed?
Click to expand...

i don't understand why you can't use a cheap 3rd party device like a firestick or fire tv.

if you want decent in built stuff then samsung seem to be the experts at it.

i've never used the in built on either my panasonic, sony or samsung.
 
We have the new Sony KD-55XD9305 and it flies along. The interface is intuitive and we not experienced any problems with it. Nice to able to ditch Chromecast.
 
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