Guest blog by Matt.
Choosing a 4K HDR TV is getting harder and harder every year, perhaps because there are so many to choose from. Let me help you narrow your search, by telling you about one of my personal favourites – the Sony XE90 range. Available in a host of sizes (and therefore scope to choose the right size for your room), the Sony XE90 range is definitely a serious contender, for a host of reasons.
Before it’s even switched on, the slick design is sure to turn heads yet will fit effortlessly with your décor. Design wise, the set has a slim matte black bezel with an aluminium strip. The silver-slate pedestal stand provides super neat cable management so you can hide away those unwanted long cables, giving you the feel of extra space and tidiness.
The centralised design of the pedestal gives a balanced aesthetic, particularly considering earlier sets had a screen wide look. The set is very slim, especially surprising since it accommodates the provision of a direct back light. The set comes with a power brick that can easily be hidden away. As stated above, the set comes in four different sizes (49″ then 55″, 65″ and finally the 75″ option) meaning that you’re sure to find the right size for your room – no matter how big or small!
If you’re looking for a slim well designed set then, on looks alone, the Sony XE90 range is going to have the set for you – but let’s get onto the real reason people love this TV range: the picture.
The range offers 4K HDR sets, accommodating Sony’s way of thinking and design, giving the ultimate LCD display and whopping full array backlighting and local dimming. From the moment I turned the set on, I knew I was in for a treat! I thought I would start with demo content and I have to say that I was very impressed. The detail was amazing, I guess that’s not too surprising, given that this set is HDR (high dynamic range). I suppose I hadn’t expected such incredible detail and colour of the images. Of course, I knew it would be great, yet I hadn’t truly appreciated that a year on from Sony’s last launch that they would so impressively surpass the image resolution and picture. On turning on the demo the TV displayed someone snowboarding down a slope and I could see the detail in every flake of snow, every fibre in the chap’s clothes; I could even see the sweat on his brow! I was very impressed after watching but I wanted to explore what else you get – aside from an utterly amazing picture.
First off, this is an android smart TV range: one of a kind which Sony have adopted for quite a few sets now, so it was about time I got exploring.
After pressing the home button – hurrah for one button to everything – you are met by a very nice looking home screen. It’s so much quicker than any of its predecessors and I found it incredibly intuitive and so easy to use; you can even speak to it! First of all you are met by a search bar, then the real reason I love Sony begins…
You press down once on the remote and you are met by so many functions, the first being a news feed which tells you about the most recent things android offer (from funny YouTube videos to what’s happening right now around the world). I thought, if I’m honest, that this was more than enough to warrant the smart television moniker, then I pressed down again. I was met by so many apps, everything from BBC iPlayer, the ITV hub, 4OD, YouTube and so many more. I was further gobsmacked when I discovered that you even get the Play store so you can download your favourite games.
The connectivity between other smart products are amazing, too. I pulled out my smart phone and connected it up by connecting both devices to the Wi-Fi I was able to see all my pictures and videos which I again found very impressive.
I also loved the fact that there are so many settings to play with, from picture quality settings to sound settings, it’s all adaptable. You can even turn on HDR for gaming which means if you’re playing the PS4 you can truly have an amazing picture.
If I was to sum up the range in a few words I would say intuitive smart apps in a beautifully slick design and incredible reliability. If you’re looking for one of the top contenders on the market then this Sony range is definitely where to start.
Pop along to your local store, buy online, use our Click & Collect service to collect in as little as one hour* or why not rent from this range from £17.31*? You can view our Sony range online.
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