Sony BRAVIA KD-50X80K: 50-inch 4K Ultra HD LCD TV Sony - Review 🏆

The Sony KD-50X75WL is a 50-inch 4K LED TV that offers a compelling mix of features and performance. Part of Sony's 2022 lineup, this model provides excellent picture quality, smart connectivity, and a sleek design.

With its large 50-inch screen size, the KD-50X75WL is well-suited for medium to large living rooms. The 4K resolution and HDR support ensure sharp, detailed images, while Sony's X1 4K HDR processor delivers vibrant colors and excellent upscaling of lower resolution content.

Some key highlights of the KD-50X75WL include Google TV for smart features, built-in Google Assistant and Alexa support, Sony's Acoustic Multi-Audio for decent sound, and support for next-gen gaming features like 4K 120Hz, VRR, and ALLM.

Overall, the KD-50X75WL provides strong performance and features at an affordable price point. If you're looking for a mid-range 4K TV with Sony's trusted quality and smart capabilities, the KD-50X75WL is a great option to consider.

Design

The Sony KD-50X75WL has an attractive, minimalist design with thin bezels around the display for a more immersive viewing experience. The TV has a slim and lightweight profile, with a depth of just 7cm, that looks great mounted on a wall or placed on a TV stand.

The stand has an open, arched shape with wire management to keep cables organized and out of sight. It has a small footprint that fits well on most TV stands without taking up too much space. The stand can also be removed for wall-mounting, and Sony includes spacers and screws for a standard VESA mount.

Overall, the thin bezel and lightweight design give this TV a sleek, modern aesthetic that fits well in any living room. The open stand design adds to the visual appeal without demanding too much space. It's a well-designed TV that looks as good off as it does on.

In addition to the KD-50X75WL, Sony also offers the Sony KD-32W800: 32-inch BRAVIA 2K HD Android TV. This 32-inch model delivers a stunning 2K HD picture quality, ideal for smaller spaces or secondary rooms. Like its larger counterpart, it features smart capabilities with Android TV, offering access to a range of apps and streaming services. Its compact size and versatile functionality make it a great addition to any home entertainment setup.

Display Quality

The Sony KD-50X75WL has a 50-inch LED display with 4K Ultra HD 3840 x 2160 resolution and support for high dynamic range (HDR) content. The 4K resolution provides extra detail and sharpness compared to 1080p Full HD, with over 8 million pixels on the screen. This allows you to view 4K movies and shows with incredible clarity and realism.

For HDR, it supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision formats. This expands the color gamut and contrast range beyond standard dynamic range video. Bright highlights are retained better while blacks appear deeper. HDR content shows a wider spectrum of realistic colors that seem to pop from the screen.

Sony's powerful X1 4K HDR image processor analyzes and refines picture quality in real time. Advanced features like 4K X-Reality PRO upscale lower resolution content close to 4K quality. Motionflow XR inserts additional frames for smoother motion playback. You'll experience refined images full of texture and depth when watching your favorite shows.

For those looking for a smaller screen size with similar features, the Sony KD-43X75WL: 43-inch 4K HDR LED Smart TV is an excellent option. This 43-inch model also offers 4K Ultra HD resolution, HDR support, and advanced processing with the X1 4K HDR image processor. It's ideal for smaller rooms while still delivering incredible picture quality and smart TV functionality. With the same 4K X-Reality PRO and Motionflow XR technologies, you'll enjoy smooth and detailed viewing experiences.

Smart TV Features

The Sony KD-50X75WL runs on Google's latest smart TV platform, Google TV. This provides a smooth, responsive interface for accessing apps and streaming services.

The Google TV homepage displays personalized recommendations based on your viewing habits and subscriptions. It's easy to discover new content from across various apps and services. Voice search makes finding content quick and hands-free.

Google TV provides access to a wide selection of apps. All the major streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and YouTube are available. Other useful apps like Plex, Spotify, and web browsers ensure you have tons of entertainment options.

For controlling the TV, the Google Assistant voice assistant is built-in to the remote. You can search for movies and shows, adjust volume, switch inputs and more completely hands-free. The remote also has dedicated buttons for popular streaming services like Netflix and YouTube.

Overall, Google TV offers an excellent smart TV experience on the Sony X75WL. The intuitive interface, wide app selection, and hands-free voice control make it easy to find and enjoy content.

Sound Quality

The Sony KD-50X75WL comes equipped with decent built-in speakers. It has a 2.0 speaker setup with 2 x 10W speakers. While this is sufficient for everyday TV watching, it lacks a dedicated subwoofer so bass response isn't very impactful.

For audio technologies, it supports Dolby Audio and DTS Digital Surround to provide an immersive sound experience. There are sound modes like Standard, Dialogue, Cinema, Music, Sports, and Dolby Audio that allow you to optimize the audio based on what you're watching. Dialogue mode enhances voice clarity, Cinema widens the soundstage, and Music mode brings out more details.

The speakers can get sufficiently loud for a medium sized room but may struggle in larger spaces. The sound profile is tuned more towards clarity rather than powerful bass. Vocals in TV shows and movies are clear and distinguishable. However, the lack of bass impact is noticeable, especially for action sequences and soundtracks. Connecting a soundbar or speakers can help complement the TV's audio performance.

Overall, the built-in speakers deliver a balanced sound profile that's suitable for everyday TV viewing. But for a truly cinematic experience, we recommend pairing the TV with a dedicated sound system.

Connectivity

The Sony KD-50X75WL has ample connectivity options to hook up external devices and stream content. It has:

• 4 HDMI ports - The 4 HDMI ports are all HDMI 2.1 compliant, meaning they support advanced gaming features like 4K 120Hz, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). This makes the TV well suited for connecting the latest gaming consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

• 2 USB ports - There are 2 USB ports to connect external storage drives to play media files, or plug in USB devices like keyboards. One port is USB 2.0 and the other is USB 3.0 for faster data transfer.

• Ethernet port - For the most stable wired internet connection, there is a LAN ethernet port.

• WiFi - For connecting wirelessly, the TV has built-in WiFi supporting the latest high speed WiFi 6 standard. Setting up the wifi is quick and easy during initial setup.

• Bluetooth - Bluetooth 4.2 allows pairing wireless headphones or speakers directly with the TV.

With its plentiful, modern connectivity options, the Sony X75WL makes it simple to connect all your devices and access content from various sources. The HDMI 2.1 ports are particularly noteworthy for next-gen gaming performance.

Picture Settings & Calibration

The Sony X75WL comes with several advanced picture settings and calibration options to get the best picture quality. In the picture settings menu, you can adjust various settings like Picture Mode, Color, Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness and more.

Some key settings to take note of:

Picture Mode - This TV has different preset picture modes like Standard, Vivid, Cinema, Game, Graphics, Photo, etc. Each mode optimizes the picture for different types of content. Cinema or Custom mode provides the most accurate colors.

Color - Adjust the color saturation and hue to your liking. Lower settings appear more natural.

Brightness - Controls the overall luminance. Avoid maxing this out, as it can degrade contrast.

Contrast - Controls the white level to achieve deeper blacks. Too high can blow out highlights.

Sharpness - Adjust sharpness higher to make the picture look crisper, but too high can introduce artifacts.

Motionflow - Sony's motion interpolation feature which smoothens motion blur in fast scenes. Useful for sports, but can make movies look unnatural.

Reality Creation - Sony's upscaling engine which can help improve clarity of low resolution content.

Advanced Contrast Enhancer - Boosts shadow details in dark scenes but can crush blacks.

The TV also has advanced calibration controls under the 'Expert Settings' like Gamma, Black Level, Color Space, Live Color, etc which allows fine tuning of the picture as per your room lighting. Using calibration test patterns helps dial in the most accurate picture.

Overall, the X75WL provides extensive settings for both basic and advanced calibration to get top notch picture quality for different types of content.

Gaming Performance

The Sony KD-50X75WL offers a very responsive gaming experience thanks to its low input lag and VRR support.

Input lag measures how long it takes for a TV to respond to controller input. The lower the input lag, the more responsive gameplay will feel. The KD-50X75WL has an impressively low input lag of just 8.5ms when gaming in 4K/60Hz. This makes gameplay feel snappy and responsive.

The TV also supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), an important feature for console and PC gaming. VRR matches the TV's refresh rate to the game's frame rate in real time. This eliminates screen tearing and stuttering for a buttery smooth gaming experience.

In terms of gaming features, the KD-50X75WL has a dedicated Game mode which optimizes settings for low latency gaming. You can also take advantage of Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Switch to enhance HDR and picture quality when gaming.

Overall, the rapid response times, VRR support, and gaming enhancements make the Sony X75WL an excellent 4K TV for gaming. Whether you play on PS5, Xbox Series X or a high-end gaming PC, this TV delivers an immersive, lag-free gaming experience.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Excellent 4K picture quality with vibrant colors and deep blacks
• Google TV provides a smooth, intuitive smart TV experience
• Built-in Google Assistant for hands-free voice controls
• Supports most major HDR formats like Dolby Vision and HDR10
• Low input lag and Auto Game Mode for gaming
• Sleek, minimalist design with thin bezels
• Good built-in speakers with Dolby Atmos support

Cons

• Mediocre off-angle viewing due to VA panel
• Only 2 HDMI ports
• Lacks support for some advanced gaming features like VRR
• Android TV interface has ads and pushes content recommendations
• Remote lacks dedicated buttons for major streaming apps

Conclusion

Overall, the Sony KD-50X75WL is an excellent mid-range 4K TV that provides great picture quality, robust smart TV features, and sleek design. It utilizes Sony's X1 processor to deliver vibrant colors, deep blacks, and a more lifelike viewing experience.

The 50-inch screen size and 4K resolution ensure plenty of detail and immersive viewing from a normal seating distance. Motion handling is also superb thanks to Sony's Motionflow XR technology. Gaming performance is solid with low input lag and support for major features like 4K 120Hz and VRR.

For smart features, Google TV provides a robust platform with voice control, Chromecast built-in, and easy access to all major streaming apps. Connectivity options like four HDMI ports and two USB ports allow you to connect multiple devices. The 20W speaker system provides decent audio quality for a slim TV.

At around £500, the X75WL provides strong performance and features at a mid-range price point. It's a great option for buyers looking for a 50-inch Sony 4K LED TV with Google TV. The excellent picture quality, sleek design, and smart TV capabilities make the X75WL easy to recommend. It delivers great value for the price and is an all-around solid 4K LED TV for mixed usage.