Sony Bravia 2015 Range...

oHUTCHYo

oHUTCHYo

oHUTCHYo

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Been patiently waiting for this new range with a view to upgrade from my aging 50" Panasonic G20 to a 65" of either of these two...

X85C
http://www.sony.co.uk/buy/x8500c-series?sku=KD65X8507CSU

X93C
http://www.sony.co.uk/buy/x9405c-x9305c-series?sku=KD55X9305CBU

Both are now available to pre-order, expect availability April.

The Sony range are more attractive to me than the Samsung range, mostly down to the intangible brand lust but also that Sony always have the better sound chipsets, one of the few remaining manufacturers that allows full 5.1 passthrough on SPDIF optical as well as other perks of how they handle audio in general compared to other TV manufacturers.

The whole smart aspect looks very well implemented too, with Android etc.

I'm a huge TV/Movie buff and typically stream MKV Bluray rips with DTS from my NAS. Also enjoy the odd PS4 gaming session. Very much looking forward to buying one. Still trying to figure out the core differences between the two which I need or can sacrifice.

Discuss :)
 
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Steampunk said:
You might want to check that. My W905 reads DTS over the network but converts it to DD. You can't get DTS to pass through to the amp. It's a known limitation, because Sony didn't want to pay for a licence for a sound format that is never broadcast on TV shows.

However, my Sony Bluray player will read the same file across the network and can output DTS to the amp, because that expressly has a DTS decoder for Blurays.
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I'll read more before I can say for certain, but a Sony rep gave me a demo of the current (now old) flagship model in store (the model with the silly built in LEDs in the bezel) and it truly did playback DTS rather than downsample to 2.0 - unless I was led awry and it was perhaps putting out DD5.1 as you say.

Either way, thanks for the heads up and will check that out.

Steampunk said:
Sony does have a bit of a history of not willing to spend pennies on specifications it considers unimportant, even though customers would spend pounds to get the extra features. For instance, the ethernet ports on their TVs are fast ethernet, not gigabit, and just various little niggles that won't matter to you until you really want them (like DTS pass-through across the network).
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Just spotted your added comments in your post. Your comments truly ring home with me, this is exactly what I want in a TV, those little things either now or a year down the line, those little bits of clever functionality you may suddenly want. However my perception was I'd find this in a Sony set more so than a Samsung? Interesting! My G20 always leads to disappointment in this matter, I usually find its capped at X or limited to Y. Them again it was only a £1200 mid range set when I bought it.
 
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HEADRAT said:
"The world of 4K: a huge choice of 4K content today

Really, what content is that then?
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Hehe, yeah, I struggled to even find some free true 4K content to download on a USB stick to use as testing material when checking out TV choices.

Still, personally, it's about the right time for me now to invest £2K-4K on a new set, so I damn sure want 4K capability. 3D on the other hand, meh, I'd happily pass on if I had the option.
 
HEADRAT said:
I'd rather have an 1080p OLED than a 4K LCD.
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Can you expand on that pal? Is the image quality truly that different? Understandably like for like 1080p it would, but 1080p OLED versus 4K LCD?

My greatest concern is generally moving from plasma to LCD and being disappointed in the blacks/dark scenes?
 
Steampunk said:
Go and look at OLED in John Lewis, and consider the availability of 4K content, and what 1080P content looks like on a 4K TV.
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Yeah you guys already have me sold on the idea, I'll have a run to Newcastle at the weekend to look in John Lewis. I've never seen an OLED in the flesh. I'd quite happily consider staying with 1080p if it blows me away enough.
 
For those still interested. the new Bravia models are about due in stock throughout the UK between now and mid-May.

Still excited to check out the X85C before making a decision.
 
Mal X said:
the 4k 75'' is unavailable in the X85 format, yes it'll blow you away it'll look awesome, but it'll have 2 problems

1.......1080p content will be upscaled to 4K with loads of detailing missing, so it wont look as crisp and beautiful as a full 1080p only tv...it'll look even worst from a 1080i source (BBC HD)......i've seen this problem quite a lot recently......enough said

2..... any one of these tvs might have a backlight issue, just keep your fingers crossed that it's not yours

i need to see last years version so it looks like another trip to Currys :(
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Went in to Currys last weekend. I appreciate the store conditions don't reflect what they would be like at home, but I took in a USB stick with a 1080p MKV movie on to try on;

  • a ~50" LG 1080p OLED
  • a 65" 4K Sony (outgoing gen)

Honestly, the upscaling on the Sony was fantastic, to my eyes, the resolution and clarity was actually better than the 1080p LG OLED.

Duly noted on back lighting, I guess its the luck of the draw unfortunately.
 
Mal, you are a very emotional fellow aren't you? :D Nice to see someone so passionate at least :p

The way I see it, personally, I adopted 1080p early on, I plan to do the same with 4K.

Fact is, from what I've seen with my own eyes, I think upscaled 1080p->4K looks damn good and wouldn't even consider buying a 1080p TV. 4K will be along in time, until then on a 65" screen I expect sub-HD to look terrible, 720p adequate to good and 1080p very good. 4K will soon come along and be terrific.

It really depends on your most watched sources? I'd say mine are 10% sub-HD TV, 30% HDTV, 20% 1080p gaming, 40% 1080p web/Bluray MKV.
 
Mal X said:
the guys in Currys are miles better than they were 3 years ago, they'll actually help you quite a lot....their 4K LEDs i've seen recently are fantastic, but they dont display anything over 60'' which is a real bummer
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Still not so sure with the purple shirt brigade, however most of the bigger stores have in-house Samsung and Sony reps working there full time. Those are the guys to speak to, I was pleasantly surprised at how much they know off the cuff, with regards to supported audio/video codecs.
 
Anyone know if Currys or Richer Sounds have the 2015 Bravia range yet? If nobody knows, I'll call tomorrow to enquire. Certainly about due now.
 
Called in to Richer Sounds on Friday.

It was quite funny when I asked if they knew when the new Sony Bravia range was landing, all Richer Sounds personnel in the immediate area began to chuckle. The guys went on to say that Sony are repeatedly pushing back and they themselves don't know when to expect stock. Their latest guess is mid-late June :eek:

The chap I was speaking with did say they've had a phenomenal amount of people interested, with names and numbers in their diary they have to ring once stock arrives.

I'm focusing my attention on a new home cinema system in the interim now :cool:
 
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