It’s seems like its been ages since Sony announced that they’d be bringing out a new range of Bravia LED TVs at CES2013. But we’ve finally got our hands on some of the new Sony W8 LED TVs and got one up and running in our Norwich store. And it’s been causing quite a stir. (#StoreStir)
The precise model we’ve been playing with is the KDL-47W805. The 47 means its got a 47 inch screen.
We’ve already given you a sneak preview of the W9, which, when its released will be Sony’s flagship LED. They are only currently only available to pre-order and are likely to be quite pricey. The 55 inch model will set you back well over £2,000 and the W8 has many of it’s features and gadgets anyway.
Obviously the picture quality is brilliant. We had the IPL cricket on yesterday afternoon and the colours were amazing, there was no blurring even when Chris Gayle was flaying the ball out of the ground. Sony are using X-Reality PRO technology to deliver a really sharp and crystal clear picture and Motionflow XR 400Hz makes the fastest of sports appear beautifully smooth.
Sound wise, the W8 TV is good. Here Sony are using Bass Reflex Box speakers that project sound right at you. You can always enhance the sound with a TV sound bar like the Sonos PLAYBAR or Bose SOLO. They’ll take the sound quality to another level altogether.
Sony have been bigging up the design of the W8. They call it a “Sense of Quartz”. What that actually means is that there are a lot of cut glass edges and beveling going on . Which is very nice indeed.
The other design feature you might like is the round stand that emits a soft gentle light of differing colours depending on where the content you’re watching is coming from.
But if you use one word to describe these 2013 TVs from Sony then that word would be “connected“. Connected because it uses NFC (Near Field Communication). So for example, bump your smart phone onto the remote and all your content, apps etc etc appear on the screen. When you enlarge something on your phone, it enlarges on the screen. When you open an app on your phone, it opens on the screen. And the picture quality is brilliant due to some clever rendering.
You’ve also got the ability to use Sony’s TV SideView Android app or Apple app which lets you use your phone as a remote and also gives you more information about the programme you’re watching and also what people are saying about the programme in real time on Twitter.
Plus you’ve got access to the Sony Entertainment Network which means access to more music than you can wave a stick at, exclusive channels and all the latest movies.
And you’ve obviously got the internet on there too – so this really is a TV that integrates and connects you to the rest of the world and your other devices.
The 2013 Sony W8 TV is sure to be extremely popular and we’ve already had a lot of enquiries about it. But there really is nothing like seeing it in action for yourself, so pop along to our store and you can have a go for yourself.