‘Fashionably late’ would be the best way to describe the latest edition to Sony’s ever growing 4K HDR 55 inch smart television army. The Xd8005 is their mid-range offering and it is jam packed with plenty of the bells and whistles which feature on some of their flagship models.
One noticeable change is the re-designed stand, which Sony have really hit the nail on the head with. This set is absolutely beautiful – to be quite honest Sony haven’t made a bad looking television for years – the bezel is a beautiful gun metal and the unobtrusive slim shape is just as much a treat to look at off as it is on.
Behind that sleek exterior is an LED Triluminos UHD 4K display with 200HZ motion flow to handle any action packed movies or sports you might put thought it. As far as the motion is concerned the “200hz” does appear to be a small number but don’t let that fool you, Sony have a very strong heritage with gaming and this trickles down to their television model, which results in an incredible ability to handle movement.
I didn’t mess around when I tested this television; I wanted to put it through its paces and popped on a full HD copy of Fast and the Furious and I was really quite impressed with how well it handled the action sequences, even with a full HD source put thought it. I play a lot of games myself so I’m quite pedantic when it comes to motion judder and the Sony was nothing but a treat. My only qualm was that I noticed a little noise in skin tones but I wouldn’t exactly say it was off putting. I followed this up with a copy of San Andreas in UHD and thought perhaps there was a slight lack of brightness in the picture – after having a good fiddle with the settings I made a marginal improvement, but I was still missing a little something, maybe I’m simply expecting too much from the XD8005.
Now to address the elephant in the room. Android. Well the good news is it works and they have finally ironed out some of the creases. The bad news is it still isn’t straightforward to use – for someone who deals with these televisions every day I still have difficulty fighting my way though the overly complex maze that is Android TV. However at the end of the day it does still feature everything that you need and more, including Netflix, Amazon, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and more. Sony have also added YouView, which is a nice little addition. Now I’m not one to make a decision about a television based on its smart services, and as far as I’m concerned this one does everything that I need, how it goes about getting there doesn’t bother me too much, as long as the end result is an enjoyable viewing pleasure.
In conclusion Sony have delivered a competitively priced 55inch screen that ticks all the right boxes, and if you’re willing to put the time in to learn your way thought the Android smart system, or you’re looking for a television that can really hold its own during the football, then the Sony 55Xd8005 could well be the television for you.
If you’d like to put it through its paces, why not come on in to any one of our stores and we will gladly give you a demonstration.
To find out more about the Sony KD55XD8005BU, click here.
Author: Garrett, Plymouth store
