Sony 50 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV X80K Series: LED Smart Google TV with Dolby Vision HDR KD50X80K- Latest Model, Black

Over the years I have purchased a number of different flat screen TVs. Hands down, I have been most satisfied with Sony Brand for flat screen TVs, so I always seek the Sony brand first when looking for a new flat screen TV.I needed a 43-44" unit to replace an older Vizio in my master bedroom. Anything bigger and I have problems with where to mount it to the wall, and I really did not need a bigger screen to have to engineer a solution for. It can be hard to find good smart TVs in this size class, so I was pleased to see Sony offered 43" units in both the 80K and 85K models. I elected to purchase the 80K 43" as it had the best value for my needs.Package actually arrived a day early, which is always nice. I promptly did a temporary setup of the TV (not mounting to the wall just yet) to insure everything setup correctly and all the features work. It was truly a breeze to setup, but of course this is not my first rodeo with Sony smart TVs so that helps.This is the first flat screen TV with the newly implemented GoogleTV. My last one, a Sony 65" was still an Android branded TV, so there are some differences in how this new one interacts with the user compared to my earlier one. 30 minutes of playing with it after it was all set up though.. and I actually like the new GoogleTV format. Sure.. it's designed to compete with FireTVs and similar smart TVs... pushing a lot of content from a lot of different sources on the Home screen, but I simply ignore most of those and focus on using specific apps installed.My one disappointment is with GoogleTV, the Google Play Movies&TV app from Google is now buried. You can call it up easy enough with the Google Assistant and the voice command feature on the remote, but I prefer to have easy push button access from the Home screen. I found an easy way to do this, as the button on the remote right below the TV button is the input button and when you push it, you don't just get push button selection of the various input sources to the TV, you can also use it for push button access to a wide range of "system apps" that come native installed as part of Google TV. So I simply moved the GPM&T app icon over to the left hand side of the input displays, and success! Now a simple push of the input button and then a simple click on the app and up it comes. It is actually easier than finding and seeking apps on the Home Screen.Video Quality:In reading online reviews of this model, reviewers (who are typically nerds in this department) seemed kind of worked up about the video quality not being up to the competition Thing is, I find this claim to be nerdishly petty, at least for the smaller 43 and 50 inch screen versions. They may be correct on the larger screen units, as that is where video quality issues are most noticeable. Maybe the 43 uses a different flat panel technology than the bigger units (reviewers usually go straight to reviewing the 65 inch formats), but personally I find the image quality is better than my 2 year old higher end Bravia from Sony. So I am very pleased with the color, brightness, contrast, and black levels.... at least for a bedroom location.Audio Quality:Though I run all my audio through a TosLink digital decoder, then through a pre-amp and on to speakers and headphone set ups, I did test the native speakers and honestly they are pretty good for the stock sound system in this price range and class. All the classic adjustments like equalizer, surround sound, level offset to balance different audio sources, etc are all there and are easy to access and adjust to personal taste. It also have a stock feature that allows you to adjust the voice band of the sound system to emphasize voices, which is a good feature to have with so many modern movies over saturating the sound channel with music and sound effects.Performance:This TV is faster than my high end 2 year old Bravia. Super crisp response to user commands and selections, and the video performance is outstanding. Response to the remote is solid and fast too, which is also important now days since literally every request to the TV is through the remote. I found Google Assistant Voice to be crisp and responsive as well.I cannot comment on reliability specifically for this unit, but honestly Sony TVs have always been rock solid in that department for me. I have a 10 year old Sony Bravia in our Den that still works as good as the first day I fired it up, and never any issues. Same with my large screen Bravia that is two almost 3 years old now. So my expectation is this too will be a solid unit in terms of reliability.Things to be aware of, and cautious about:The screen literally goes to the edge of the sides of the TV chassis. Which means you need to be very careful when handling this unit so you do not stress fracture the screen glass. Sony puts a nice cardboard cover (with a foam package surface on the screen side, which is blue-taped on all four sides to the chassis. This protects the screen from hand contact, and Sony recommends you not remove it until you have installed the TV. It does the job, but keep in mind, you could still crack the glass if you put undo hand stresses on the screen even with the protective cover in place. I'm sure this is more of a concern on the bigger and much heavier larger screen units, so be extra careful and avoid any accidents.Overall a great TV at a great price. Yes, you can find others for less money, but they have other issues to contend with. For me... Sony GoogleTV all the way now days.

Well, Sony is my favorite TV brand and has been for years. I bought this for my parents and hooked it up yesterday. I was VERY hesitant to buy a large TV online but took the plunge anyhow.(I actually paid for this TV, by the way...)The only problem I had was using hooking this up to a wall mounted bracket. For reference, I used this one:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SFWDXBW?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_detailsI used this one because I was installing this in a recessed cabinet and needed it to reach out far.The main problem was screwing the brackets onto the back of this TV AND placing it up on the bracket itself. For some unknown reason, this large TV has 4 tiny RECESSED 10-32 screws in there. Why on earth would such a large TV come with tiny RECESSED screws is beyond me. The bracket I bought above came with various screws to use on various TVs, but none that fit this one, a Sony, a well-known brand. I had to run to the hardware store and buy different length 10-32 screws to get the brackets onto the back of this TV.Then, when placing this TV onto the bracket - it BARELY fit. Meaning, the tight horizontal spacing of the holes in the back of this TV made this a very tight fit. In the end I got it on there, but it was not easy.-Now, the TV itself, after peeling off the tape and the numerous warnings to NEVER TOUCH THE SCREEN - it worked. The picture is great, the menus are great, the apps are great. Everything works quickly and flawlessly. No weird errors, no weird issues. You can get tons of apps - the ones I have lined up are Amazon (w/Paramount in it), Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and Peacock. OH AND this TV supports the Spotify app! Excellent! So yes - all those major apps you use will work seamlessly on here. And you can move the icons around to put them in the order you like.The remote is small and it's the kind that don't need to be pointed at some optical sensor on the TV. Meaning, your old cable box remotes won't control this TV. I think you'd need to buy a little gadget that plugs into the back of the TV to work it like that but I haven't explored it yet. The remote doesn't have a lot of tactile feel so it's hard to control in the dark/dim light.Oh and you can set this so that when you turn it on it will default to a particular input or the App screen. This is key because I have this hooked up for senior citizens and they need to see the cable box when this turns on. Works great.The TV menus itself are easy to use and extensive. I have this hooked up to a receiver so we use those speakers for sound but this TV has great sound quality and has a nice program where it uses the remote to optimize the sound based on where you usually sit to watch TV. Pretty neat.There is some stuff you have to get through to set it up - you'll need a gmail address and have to agree/not agree to a bunch of stuff. Remember when you just used to turn a TV on and it worked? Sigh.-Overall I do like this TV so far. Nice size and everything works. Thumbs up.