This review is for the 49" 8004 model. I choose a set that was described as being in good condition but would have slight cosmetic damage to the rear of the set and the box would be damaged. The set was cheaper due to this. Personally I don't care about a scratch at the back of my TV and its hardly noticeable when I'm looking for it and not at all when the TV is in place and I'm viewing the screen.
Delivery was faster than stated, almost a week faster. A very pleasant surprise on a rainy and cold Irish day when I was stuck at home with a cold esp as I was expecting stuff sent by work instead of my lovely new TV :-)
REVIEW..
I've been a Samsung fan for a long time and so always went for Samsung TV's, my most recent being a 2016 55" 4k model that I was happy with but neither myself nor anyone else was overly excited about the picture. It was good just nothing that special.
I took a chance before purchasing that particular Samsung TV and actually went for a Panasonic which was returned the next day as it wasn't nearly as good as the older model I was replacing.
So going for a Sony, a company I've little experience dealing with, made me nervous esp as the reviews seemed a little mixed. The main things I noticed people give negative feedback over are the interface being a little slow and the sound not being great. Samba TV and you view being two more but I'm in Ireland so these aren't a problem as they don't install if setting the TV up outside the UK thankfully.
The only issue with that is I can't use the Alexa voice integration which is only supported in the UK. I will set it to UK later as I want to use Alexa with it.
I don't find the interface slow nor is there a delay when using the remote control. I use a flagship phone and wouldn't say the TV is as fast but it isn't noticeably slow so as to annoy me either. I'm the type of person who would get frustrated and annoyed if it was as slow as some have said in their reviews. I'm very content with this.
That reminds me to mention one issue I've been having which is the TV won't update over the air. This means the built in updater doesn't work for me so I have to download the update to a USB stick, which I have to buy due to needing a thin one due to the angle of the slot on the TV. This doesn't bother me though may really annoy some people.
One thing you may want to take note of is that this model doesn't have Alexa support out of the box, not for me anyway. It needs an update from October 2017 which mine won't download itself (it's now March 2018) as stated above. Its Easter weekend now so I can't get to a store to get a USB stick until Monday to see how good or bad the Alexa integration is.
The picture on this thing is stunning. I'm used to good screens as I use a Samsung Note 8 phone and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, both of which have stunning displays and brightness. I did notice the Tab S3 is brighter than the TV and the image is noticeably better, very noticeably so to me and friends I've shown. It's still a stunning display and I was impressed when I got it up and running. Make sure to search YouTube for "HDR" to see just how good it actually is. There is a stunning video of Peru that really shows the screen quality off.
This is my first Android tv and I'm impressed. It's far better than Samsung TV software that I'm used to.
Kodi is available from the play store which is a lot of fun to play with. I highly recommend you check it out I'm new to it so am still learning but it's pretty cool once you get it going properly. YouTube gave me a good start. Search for "Samsung Bravia and Kodi" to learn how to set it up to view your entire media library on your TV and more.
The sound isn't amazing but it isn't bad either.
I'm used to using a soundbar with my TV's. I haven't picked one for this set yet as I like to match the soundbar to the TV brand as they communicate way better. After reading other people's reviews I wasn't expecting much from this model. I have an average sized living room and the sound is fine. There isn't a lot of bass, it won't annoy my neighbours and I'm sure to notice a considerable difference when I choose a soundbar but, for now, this is more than acceptable. Room size will massively influence the sound so anyone with a larger living room will most likely feel different.
The TV looks great. The bezel is tiny and the actual width of the TV at the top is less than the width of my thumbnail, it's impressively and attractively thin. The bottom is wider, far wider but doesn't bother me as I'm not wall mounting mine. I did see a review where the guy said it was a good thing as he could easily hide cables in the space created by this when wall mounting his, it does mean the TV isn't flush with the wall.
I've had the TV less than a week now and it's frozen once, it fixed itself after less than a minute, I have reset it 3 times which was by choice rather than necessity. I'm a bit of a tech nut who likes to totally understand my gadgets so I'll play with them until I'm totally fluent in their options and features.
I've seen some complain about the lack of apps in the play store for this TV, others complained about the browser and some other little bits and pieces like that. Personally I use my tablet and phone for most things and have no intention of using my TV for stuff like browsing the net so won't comment on these things.
This has Netflix, Spotify, Kodi, Chromecast and YouTube which I'm happy with for now. I really don't need much more. I haven't done it yet but I've read that it's possible to install apps yourself via a USB stick which I'm definately going to play with once I get a USB key that fits.
Overall I'm really happy with my new TV so far. In fact I'm having way more fun with it than any TV I've ever purchased. This is mainly because of the Android and Chromecast integration but is definately helped by the fantastic picture quality and more than acceptable sound.
I would recommend this TV to anyone but please remember I've only had it a week so that may change at some stage. I'll update this if it does.
I forgot to mention the remote and Chromecast.
The remote had me a little confused at first as I couldn't find a settings key. It turns out there isn't one. You have to press the Home key then scroll to the very bottom and you'll find settings on the very bottom left.
Voice control on the remote understands me better than anything else I own including my phone and Alexa which seems to have problems with my Irish accent. It's understands me first time everytime and is handy for searching YouTube which is all I've really used it for so far.
It's got dedicated Play store and Netflix buttons which I don't like personally but I'm sure many will. I do use both but not enough to have an entire button dedicated to each. I wonder if I can remap them, I will update this if I can at some stage.
Chromecast is pretty cool, it's my first time using it and it's pretty seamless though Samsung users will notice it does similar to what many Samsung devices have done for a long time if using a Samsung phone or tablet alongside it. Casting is a great way of sending stuff from your android (I don't know a thing about apple) device to your TV. In layman's terms you can make whatever is on your phones screen appear on your TV screen with the press of an easy to find button on your phones screen or by choosing to screen mirror which is a little more complicated but also very easy to do.
This is one reason why I don't have a use for the TV's built in browser. I simply browse on my phone while screen mirroring to the TV and so have an interface and browser I am completely familiar with that has all my tabs, preferances and passwords already securely saved. This way you don't have to deal with all the hassle of inputting new passwords etc for sites if browsing on your new TV. Have a look on YouTube if you need to know how to use the screen mirrow feature on your phone, it's pretty easy even if you aren't tech savy and has a lot of uses, it's particularly handy to view photos with family and friends.
Style Name:
TV and Echo bundle
WORKS WITH ALEXA
Control this product with your voice through selected Alexa devices.
Amazon Gaming Store
Upgrade your setup at the Gaming Store. Shop now.
This bundle contains 2 items (may ship separately)
(268)
- Immerse yourself in the brilliance of 4K HDR. Incredible contrast, real-life colours and exceptional 4K detail. Get closer to reality, even with regular broadcasts and movies, thanks to unique technologies from Sony.
- Sound processing : ClearAudio+. 4K X-Reality PRO. Every detail re-imagined. Every scene is analysed and improved thanks to an image database that addresses contrast, colour and detail, for a beautifully enhanced picture.
- Triluminos Display - Life's vibrance, revealed through extra colours
- Slim Aluminium Bezel - Gun-Metallic Stand - The slim body and thin aluminium bezel draw your focus into the picture, whilst a gun-metallic stand adds to the stylish design
- With the Google Assistant built-in, you can use your voice to find your favourite programmes, apps, videos or music, as well as search for information and more
(52,677)
- Amazon Echo connects to Alexa—a cloud-based voice service—to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your calendar, weather, traffic and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control compatible smart home devices, and more.
- Just ask for a song, artist or genre from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, TuneIn and more. With multi-room music, you can play music on Echo devices in different rooms, available for Amazon Music, TuneIn and Spotify; Bluetooth not supported. Echo can also play audiobooks, radio stations, news briefings and more.
- Call almost anyone hands-free including UK mobile and residential numbers (from UK only), other Echo devices, Alexa app and Skype. Link your Vodafone account to make and receive mobile calls. Instantly drop in on other rooms in your home or make an announcement to every room with a compatible Echo device.
- New speaker with Dolby processing that fills the room with immersive, 360° omnidirectional audio, and delivers crisp vocals, deep bass, and clear highs at louder volumes.
- With seven microphones, beam-forming technology and noise cancellation, Echo hears you from any direction—even while music is playing.
- Just ask Alexa to control your compatible smart lights, switches, TVs, thermostats and more
- Alexa is always getting smarter and adding new features and skills. Just ask Alexa to request an Uber, order a pizza, get train times, and more.
From the manufacturer
True to life with colours perfected
Life’s brilliance, revealed with extra colours
See vivid real world colours all around you. A Triluminous Display maps colours from a wider palette, faithfully reproducing every shade and hue in the umbrellas.
Uncover the detail with 4K HDR
For the ultimate in picture quality, this TV pairs the brilliance of 4K clarity with the brightness, colour and detail of High Dynamic Range (HDR). Previously hidden areas of dark shadow and sunlight are full of clarity and detail.
Designed to keep your focus on the picture
Maximise your space, minimise your cables. This slimline TV is edged in a narrow aluminium frame for beautiful looks, allowing it to seamlessly blend into your living space. Clever cable management keeps wires hidden at the front and rear.
Rediscover every detail in 4K
4K X-Reality PRO picture processing upscales every pixel for remarkable clarity. Pixels across multiple frames are analysed and images sharpened and refined in real time. See the detail appear in buildings and trees.
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| Screen Size Options | Available in 108 cm (43”) & 123 cm (49'') | Available in 102 cm (40"), 123 cm (49'') | Available in 80 cm (32") | Available in 102 cm (40") | Available in 80 cm (32") | Available in 43"/49" |
| Resolution | 4K High Dynamic Range | Full HD Resolution (1920 x 1080) - High Dynamic Range | High Dynamic Range | Full HD Resolution (1920 x 1080) - High Dynamic Range | High Dynamic Range | Full HD Resolution (1920 x 1080) - High Dynamic Range |
| Picture Engine | 4K-X Reality Pro | X-Reality Pro | X-Reality Pro | X-Reality Pro | X-Reality Pro | X-Reality Pro |
| Colour | Triluminos Display | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Triluminos Display |
| Motion Flow | no data | 400Hz | 400Hz | 400Hz | 400Hz | 400Hz |
| Design | Slim Aluminium Bezel | Slim Aluminium Bezel | Slim Bezel | Slim Bezel | Slim Bezel | Slim Aluminium Bezel |
| Smart TV | Android TV | Smart TV with browser | Smart TV with browser | Smart TV with browser | Smart TV with browser | Smart TV with browser |
| Voice Remote Control | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Brilliant TV, though is there really much improvement from last years model?
At the time of review, Amazon's product page mixes reviews with different TV combo's; my review is just for the 43-inch 4K HDR TV. *¨*:·.·:*¨*:·.·:*¨*:·.·:*¨* As someone who also currently owns a 4K HDR TV from Sony's 2016 range, I was very intrigued to what they have done to persuade fellow customers to purchase the 2017 range, than the much cheaper 2016 (if you're still able to purchase them of course). The only improvements I have personally notice are the following: 1) The remotes buttons feel more like buttons than a flat surface that push inwards. I really prefer this feel compared to the old remote. As for layout, it's exactly the same but with an extra touch of colour on a couple of buttons. 2) The interface runs more smoothly. When it doesn't crash (it happens, but is very rare), navigating through the home interface feels a lot smoother than the previous year model. For those who are not aware; HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a feature that is only compatible with consoles/devices that are support HDR and you are running HDR content (same goes for 4K resolution). ♦ Box Contents & Unboxing Process ♦ ∙ TV Unit. ∙ TV Stand.*1 ∙ Remote Control. ∙ AC Power Adaptor.*2 ∙ AC Power Cord.*2 ∙ 2x AAA Batteries. ∙ IR Blaster. ∙ Operating Instructions. ∙ Quick Setup Guide. *1: The stand itself has a very plastic feel and does flex a bit, though is reinforced with metal. Another feature of the stand lay within the rear legs which has a cable tidy, a very neat feature if you don't want wires hanging out everywhere. *2: The mains cable comes in two parts; the power cable is to be frank, tiny, measuring in at 45cm, whereas the AC adaptor which is like a big brick is longer; together you get a total cable length of 2m, though if you're feeding it through the stands cable tidy, the length from the stand is approximately 1.35m. Unlike my 55" Sony TV which had an amazing box design where there were two clips on both sides of the box that allowed the box to slide up leaving the TV easily accessible on the base of the box; this one does not offer this feature. Whilst it was probably due to the sheer size of the TV that made them incorporate this feature, it would have been very handy for these smaller TV's also, especially when you're setting it up by yourself. Basically, I struggled sliding this TV out from it's box, but got there eventually. I would also recommend gently laying the TV down, screen side down and with the wrapping still on (to protect from scratches); this will make it easier to mount the stand or attach a wall mount (not included). ♦ Set-Up ♦ NOTE: You will need a Phillips screwdriver. The first thing you want to do is attach the stand onto the TV. As stated above it's easier to do so when the TV is placed on the box face down. It takes barely a couple of minutes to fix the stand onto the TV, it really is a doddle. With my set-up, I personally found it easier to insert the cables first so I could run them through the stand; if you're doing it this way, be aware of any hanging cables, so try to grab them or get another person to help. The TV has five locations for buttons and ports (following is looking from behind the TV, so reverse the location when looking at the screen): - Left Side: Power & Volume buttons. (Awkwardly place, but rarely used). - Rear Lower-Left: Power port. - Rear Mid-Right: Component | AV In 1 | AV In 2 | LAN | IR Blaster port. - Rear Far-Right: Optical Out | Headphone Port | HDMI 1 | HDMI 4. - Right Side: USB 1 | USB 2 | USB 3 (HDD Recording) | HDMI 2* | HDMI 3 (ARC)* | RF Input | IF Input. *IMPORTANT: For 4K HDR use such as the PS4 Pro, you will need to slot the device into HDMI 2 or 3 inputs. You will also need to go through the following options, once the TV is up and running: HOME - Settings - External inputs - HDMI signal format - Enhanced format. If you have the PSVR connected to the PS4 or PS4 Pro, you will need to disconnect it to use HDR (PSVR issue, not the TV). HDMI ports 1 & 4 support 4K or up to 2K in HDR. Once you have everything plugged in, turn on the TV via the remote and follow each step to get your TV fully running. If you have WiFi, I would highly recommend connecting the TV to it, so it can update and enables you to watch online content. There is a LAN port for those who don't have WiFi. ♦ In-Use ♦ The interface is identical to the 2016 range of Sony's Android Smart TV's, so if you've already used this interface, you will not struggle navigating. If you're new to this interface, like anything, just have a little play around and you will realise how easy it is to navigate. At the time of writing this, the delay when navigating the menu system is slim to none. ♦ Picture/Audio Quality ♦ - Picture Quality: You may find that depending on the device you're using and what content you're watching on it, that toggling between picture modes will further enhance your experience, for example: I will select cinematic mode when watching a film, but when playing on the PS4 Pro, I will switch it to Game mode (important when playing first person shooters), there is an advanced setting to slightly adjust the colour also (default is 'Expert 1' however I prefer 'Neutral'). Once you've tweaked the settings to your liking, the picture output of this TV is absolutely beautiful, even more when viewing or playing in 4K, not to mention a further eye-popping improvement when playing in HDR which Final Fantasy XV supports. Once you've seen HDR, it's very hard to go back. - YouView: We currently don't have a spare connection to hook this TV up to use YouView, so am unable to comment at this moment of time. I will update the review if I am able to get such connection. This TV is primarily used with the Amazon Fire TV Stick and have hooked up the PS4 Pro to it also. That said, YouView works well on my previous 2016 model, so I'd be shocked if it didn't work the same, if better. - Audio Quality: Audio quality is decent for the most part but can sound tinny at times, it seems to be the problem with most TV's these days as they're getting thinner and thinner. So if you're wanting better sound quality, get a sound bar or additional speaker system such as the Bose Companion 50. ♦ Final Thoughts ♦ Although there are some improvements on this 2017 model, I'm debating whether the huge price gap from the previous year makes it worth it. Sure, I'd much prefer this model, but if I were to have the choice, I'd rather save a couple of hundred pounds. If you can get the previous year model for a decent price, I'd say go for that; otherwise, if you want the most up to date TV, then you can't go wrong with this model, it is a very good TV.
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2018
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2018
