The Sony Bravia KD65X9005B Reviewed

The Sony Bravia KD65X9005B is bulky, but offers a good picture. Instead of just one TV remote, it comes with two. The TV does have top of the line picture quality, but the overall design is questionable. It comes with a Smart TV suite, but it lacks a lot of apps. Aside from the missing apps, the Smart TV menu offers an easy to use interface. It also has 3D, but the performance of this system is iffy at best. It does offer 4K or UltraHD video and has very good sound quality, but, for this, Sony sacrificed design.

Let's face it: this TV has some design flaws. Most people either love it or hate it. The TV is extremely wide for a 65-inch model. So wide, in fact, that it will not fit on most stands suited for 65-inch TVs. However, it does offer additional slots to place the stand to accommodate it. It has several speakers on the sides, which have shiny black housing that is very distracting. The wedge design makes the TV look odd and, again, some people will either love it or hate it. The remotes are excellent, and they are almost as good as Samsung's similar models. The TV offers a basic wand remote and a smart clicker that has a touchpad and motion control.

Pros:

• Excellent picture quality


• Deep black levels


• Great sound quality due to massive speakers


• Excellent remotes

Cons:

• Design is too bulky


• Smart TV system lacks apps


• 3D performance could be much better

Bottom Line:

This is a decent TV, but some of its features could stand to be better. For the money, you're better off with a HDTV that offers better features and a less-bulky design.

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The High-End Samsung UNHU8550 Series

As with only high-end Samsung TVs, the UNHU8550 series comes with two remotes for better viewing pleasure. This 4K TV model is of the high-end price range, from $6,000 to $9,000. For the price, this HDTV has an excellent picture. Surprisingly, the price for this TV is much less than some other brands' offerings on the 4K market. It has a flat screen, versus the strange, curved screens that several other brands have introduced. This Samsung TV also features the OneConnect upgrade path, which means that it is somewhat future-proof.

The HU8550 is very minimalistic in nature. It has a low-profile stand that makes it look like it is hovering over the entertainment console. The base is brushed metal, and the TV features a barely-there thin black bezel. With the bezel being so thin, the TV appears to be all screen, which is a very good feature. It comes with Samsung's standard wand-style remote, but it also includes the updated motion control pod remote. This little clicker fits in the palm of the hand and allows fluid use of the motion control.

Pros:

• Excellent picture quality


• Deep black levels


• Accurate color


• Offers the best connectivity yet for 2014 TVs


• Excellent remote


• Many extras, including Smart TV

Cons:

• Very expensive TV


• Advantages of 4K resolution is unknown

Bottom Line:

If you have to have a 4K TV and cannot wait until next year, this is a solid model, and it offers a lower price than some. It has a great picture quality, but, with little 4K content on the market, whether or not it is worth the money is questionable.

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The Samsung F5500 Series

Those who appreciate a good clicker will love the TV remote that comes with this Samsung plasma. The best quality of this HDTV involves the features that come with it. It offers a Smart TV suite, Web browser, upgraded remote, and more to consumers. However, for the $2,800 MSRP, you could get a lot more TV. It does offer active 3D, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Another excellent feature of this TV is that it is energy efficient.

The bezel of this plasma set is black with a clear plastic trim around the edges. The stand is something to see. It has a four-pronged appearance and looks rather cheap. You can grab the feet and turn them in your hands. This seems like it would pose a problem, but gravity holds it down on the stand quite well. However, the TV does swivel. The standard remote is the Smart Touch Remote Control. It features a touchpad that is responsive. It also offers a microphone, so you can do a voice search through the menu.

Pros:

• Excellent features for the price


• Excellent performance


• Very good black levels


• Smart TV


• Web browser


• Active 3D


• Energy efficient

Cons:

• Horrible bright room picture


• Inaccurate color


• Poor sound

Bottom Line:

This is a decent plasma TV, but it has a lot of issues. The horrible bright room performance is enough for many consumers to not use the TV. Since most people would rather not watch TV in the dark, this TV is not a good value with the features.

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The Panasonic TC-L65WT600: Ultra HDTV

This ultra HDTV comes with 4K resolution, two remotes (a standard remote and a magic remote with touch control and voice control), and a large price tag of $5,000. This is a lot of money to spend on just one TV. It is one of the few 4K TVs that is compliant with the new HDMI 2.0. The input it accepts is 60 frames a second, which is super-fast. Its picture quality is pretty decent, as well as other attributes of the picture and color. The TV does come with many extras, too.

The TV's design is a mishmash of glass on metal. The sides of the TV are brushed silver and plastic, which is supposed to mimic glass. The stand is a barely-there silver band that looks like it can barely hold the weight of the TV. However, it does so gracefully, but still leaves more to be desired -- such as the ability to swivel. The remotes that come with this TV are similar to others that come in only high-end designs. One is a touchpad that has Bluetooth and a microphone for voice searches. The second remote is a standard remote with backlighting and all the buttons you could ever ask for.

Pros:

• HDMI 2.0 compliant


• Good picture quality


• Accurate color and deep black levels


• Great bright room image


• Interesting design and stand


• Excellent remotes


• 3D and 3D glasses (2 pairs)


• Voice interaction and camera


• Smart TV suite

Cons:

• Poor value for price


• Local dimming causes washout

Bottom Line:

This is a great TV, but, for the price, it is not worth it. For $5,000, you can find a much better TV at 1080p resolution that works much better and which has a great picture.

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The LG LA6200 Series: Budget Large HDTV with Performance Problems

Armed with the standard LG TV remote control, the LA6200 series is a large, budget-friendly TV with a few performance issues. The picture quality is the not greatest, and it makes this TV not such a great value, especially with its $1,000 price tag. The smart TV suite is one of the best qualities of this HDTV. Consumers can customize it, which is something that all TVs do not offer.

Aside of the picture issues, this TV looks smart and sophisticated. It comes with a thin, dark bezel and has a wide profile due to its direct-lit LED screen. The stand makes the TV look as if it is floating, and it swivels -- an extra feature that many HDTVs do not offer. Many consumers prefer the motion control remote that LG offers, but this TV does not come with it. Instead, it comes with the standard LG remote, which is a good remote, but it has few features. Though the remote works well, it does not work well with the Smart TV menu, which takes many clicks to get to many apps and features.

Pros:

• Great looking design


• Smart TV suite


• Accurate color


• 3D compatible with 4 pairs of glasses

Cons:

• Poor picture quality


• Not as good video processing


• Poor 3D image


• Smart interface not easily navigable


• Poor bright-room image

Bottom Line:

This HDTV is somewhat of a budget model, compared to many of the big-ticket TVs that are out in the market. Its features are okay, but there are many other TVs that are a much better value. Much of the competition has a better picture and better features for around the same price or less.

For more information about TVs and their remote controls, contact us at Replacement Remotes.

The Vizio P2ui-B Series: A Budget 4K HDTV

The Vizio P2ui-B series is one of the few budget 4K resolution TVs available, and it shows in some ways, such as the lackluster TV remote and design. However, the picture quality looks far from cheap. For gamers, it offers very low input lag, even compared to plasma screens. Its picture quality is also pretty good for a $2,000 4K TV. The included features are also decent, which include Smart TV suite, HDMI inputs, 4K streaming capabilities, and the usual connections (USB, Component, and Composite).

The TV offers a minimalistic design that is definitely not top of the line, but it also does not look as cheap as a $200 budget TV. This series is much thicker than many other HDTVs, due to the direct backlighting, which is a drawback to its design. The outside bezel is also thicker, and it is a dark, featureless gray. The remote that comes with this HDTV is mostly featureless. It does not offer backlighting, the keys are close together, and the keys around the cursor make using it difficult. It does offer a QWERTY keyboard that works quite well, which makes navigating the smart TV suite easy.

Pros:

• 4K resolution at a cheap price


• Deep black levels and good contrast


• Color accuracy is good and video processing is okay


• Very low input lag


• Excellent features

Cons:

• Video processing makes picture worse at times


• Picture too sharp


• Screen artifacts

Bottom Line:

This 4K TV is a good one, especially for those who are budget conscious. Many of the video processing issues will hopefully be addressed in a future software update.

For more information about TVs and remotes, contact us at Replacement Remotes.

Vizio and Their Excellent TVs: The M1d-A2R

The Vizio M1d-A2R and the TV remote for it seem to have little in common, which is odd for this TV brand. The TV itself is an exceptional value for just under $2,000 for a 55-inch screen. The brand was once considered a budget one, in line with TCL and other similar brands. This first TV in the M series is one of the models that are making strides towards a more high-end style. For the price, this Vizio HDTV offers an excellent picture and a nice set of features.

Prior to this model, most Vizio TVs looked cheap. This one does not at all. It has a barely-there bezel that resembles the bezel of a smartphone. The ends are brushed aluminum, rivaling many of LG's HDTV designs. Even the Vizio logo is subtle at the bottom right corner of the TV. Its stand is simple, yet effective, and leaves the TV looking similar to a computer monitor. However, the remote that comes with the M1d-A2R is less than stunning. It looks promising, with it being a good size and having all the buttons in the right places, but its performance underwhelms. It has backlighting, but no dedicated button, so you have to press blindly for it to work. It is also sluggish, and it freezes.

Pros:

• Great value


• Excellent picture quality


• Good shadow detail


• Deep black levels


• Great processing


• Smart TV suite


• Nice design

Cons:

• Some apps are sluggish


• Remote is not great


• Has a slight red push


• Screen is very reflective

Bottom Line:

This is a great TV to own. The design and the features included, with the generally low price tag, are a win.

For more information about this, and other TVs and their remotes, contact us at Replacement Remotes.