Sony KD-32W800: 32-inch BRAVIA 2K HD Android TV Sony - Review 🏆

The Sony KD-32W800 is a 32-inch Android smart TV that was released in 2021. It has a sleek, minimalist design and provides a high-quality viewing experience. This mid-range model from Sony's BRAVIA line offers a good balance of features and performance at an affordable price point.

With a 32-inch LED display, the KD-32W800 is well-suited for smaller rooms like bedrooms, kitchens, and offices. The HD resolution and HDR support ensure sharp, vibrant images. It uses Sony's X1 processor to upscale content to near 4K quality. The TV runs on Android TV, providing access to popular apps and streaming services. Key features also include built-in Chromecast, Google Assistant voice control, and support for Apple AirPlay and HomeKit.

Overall, the Sony KD-32W800 provides solid performance and smart connectivity in a compact, budget-friendly package. This review will take an in-depth look at the display quality, features, design, audio, remote, pros, cons, and overall value offered by this 2021 BRAVIA model.

Display Quality

The Sony KD-32W800 features a 32-inch LCD display with 2K HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), which provides sharp, detailed images. The TV supports High Dynamic Range (HDR), including HDR10 and HLG formats.

HDR allows for greater brightness levels and more vibrant colors. It expands the range of light levels displayed on the screen, creating more realistic contrast between bright and dark areas. This results in an image that looks closer to real life, with intricate details in both bright highlights and dark shadows.

The TV can recognize and process HDR content to optimize viewing. It analyzes each scene and adjusts brightness for an enhanced, lifelike HDR experience. This allows you to see sparkling highlights, beautiful textures, and subtle gradations of color.

Overall, the display quality is excellent for the price range. The HDR support and 2K HD resolution provide a crisp, vivid viewing experience ideal for both movies and gaming.

If you're looking for an upgrade, consider the Sony KD-55X75WL: 55-inch 4K HDR LED BRAVIA TV. This model offers a larger 55-inch display with stunning 4K resolution and HDR support. The advanced LED technology enhances picture quality, providing deeper blacks and brighter highlights. Perfect for an immersive viewing experience, the KD-55X75WL is a great choice for movie enthusiasts and gamers alike.

Smart TV Features

The Sony KD-32W800 runs on Android TV, providing access to a wide variety of apps and streaming services through the Google Play store. It has built-in Google Assistant, allowing you to control the TV and smart home devices using just your voice. With Google Assistant you can launch apps, search for content, get recommendations, and more.

The TV also works with Amazon Alexa, so you can control it via an Alexa-enabled device. This gives you hands-free voice control and expanded smart home capabilities when linking the TV with other Alexa devices.

Overall the Android TV platform and built-in Google Assistant provide an excellent smart TV experience with robust app support and advanced voice control features. The addition of Amazon Alexa compatibility makes the voice control options even more versatile.

Another great option is the Sony BRAVIA KD-50X80K: a 50-inch 4K Ultra HD LCD TV. This model offers stunning picture quality with 4K resolution and HDR support. It also operates on Android TV, featuring the same extensive app library and smart capabilities as the smaller KD-32W800. For more details, visit Sony BRAVIA KD-50X80K: 50-inch 4K Ultra HD LCD TV.

Connectivity

The Sony KD-32W800 comes with a decent selection of connectivity options. For inputs, it has:

• 3 HDMI ports to connect devices like a Blu-ray player, gaming console, or set-top box. The HDMI ports support HDCP 2.2 and HDMI ARC on HDMI 2.

• 2 USB ports that allow you to connect USB drives to play media files or record live TV to a USB hard drive. 1 USB port is USB 2.0 while the other is USB 3.0 for faster transfer speeds.

• Composite video input in case you need to connect older devices that use analog video cables.

For wireless connectivity, the TV has built-in WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2. The WiFi allows you to connect to your home network and access smart TV features and apps. Bluetooth enables you to pair wireless headphones, speakers, or other audio devices to the TV.

Overall, the connectivity options on the Sony KD-32W800 cover everything most people would need without being overkill. The only thing missing is an ethernet port, but the WiFi should provide a stable enough internet connection for streaming and smart TV features for most homes.

Audio Quality

The Sony KD-32W800 comes equipped with two 10W bass reflex speakers that deliver decent audio quality for a 32-inch TV. While the speakers don't get incredibly loud, they provide sufficient volume for an average-sized room. The sound profile is nicely balanced, with clear dialogue and a modest amount of bass.

For sound formats, the TV supports Dolby Audio and DTS Digital Surround to provide an immersive listening experience. The built-in speakers can decode Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks from Blu-ray discs and streaming sources. There's no support for more advanced formats like Dolby Atmos, but that's not expected for TVs in this price range.

Overall, the audio performance is solid for everyday TV watching and should satisfy most users. But to get truly powerful and immersive sound, connecting the TV to a soundbar or speaker system is recommended. The audio jack and HDMI ARC connectivity provide easy options for upgrading the sound.

Design

The Sony KD-32W800 has an attractive, minimalist design that will look great in any living room. It has thin bezels around the display, maximizing the screen size while keeping the overall footprint compact.

The stand has a unique two-legged design that provides stability while taking up less space on your TV stand. It has a small circular base with two widely spaced feet. This stand design has a light, airy aesthetic.

For mounting flexibility, the TV is VESA compatible using 200 x 200mm holes. So you have the option to wall mount it or use an alternative stand. The TV is fairly slim in depth, making it a good candidate for wall mounting.

Overall, the design focuses on subtlety rather than flashy embellishments. The thin bezels, two-legged stand, and wall mount capability give you some nice options for integrating this TV into your living space.

Remote Control

The Sony KD-32W800 comes with a minimalist remote that is easy and intuitive to use. The remote has a simple layout with large, clearly labeled buttons for main functions like power, volume, channel changing, input selection, and quick access to apps like Netflix and YouTube.

There are also four dedicated shortcut buttons that provide one-touch access to Google Play, Sony's content platform, settings, and help menus. The remote fits nicely in the hand and has a textured back so it doesn't slip. The buttons have a soft rubbery feel and give a satisfying click when pressed.

For entering text, there is an onscreen keyboard that can be navigated using the directional arrow keys on the remote. There is also a built-in mic for voice control with Google Assistant. Pressing the mic button allows you to speak voice commands to launch apps, search for content, control smart home devices, and more, all hands-free. The voice recognition works quite well, even in noisy environments.

Overall, the remote is intuitive and responsive, making it easy to control the TV's various features and smart capabilities. The minimalist design reduces button clutter while still providing quick access to the most used functions.

Pros

Sony's KD-32W800 32-inch Android TV has several strong advantages that make it a great option for many users:

• Excellent picture quality: The TV features a 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution LED display with HDR support. Reviewers praise the vibrant colors, deep blacks, and overall crisp image quality. The TV upscales lower resolution content well.

• User-friendly smart TV platform: It runs the latest version of Android TV, giving you access to Google Play Store apps, built-in Chromecast, and Google Assistant voice controls. The interface is smooth and intuitive to navigate.

• Solid sound for a slim TV: Despite its slim design, the two 10W speakers deliver decent audio quality. It can get reasonably loud without distortion. Good enough for everyday TV watching.

Cons

• Viewing angles are limited. The TV uses a VA panel so colors start to shift when viewing from the side. This can be an issue for wide seating arrangements.

• Sound quality is just average. The built-in speakers lack bass and can sound thin at high volumes. An external soundbar would be needed for an immersive audio experience.

• There's no support for Dolby Vision HDR. While the TV handles standard HDR10 content, it misses out on Dolby Vision which can provide better picture quality in some cases. Other TVs in this price range offer both HDR formats.

Conclusion

Overall, the Sony KD-32W800 is a solid mid-range 32-inch smart TV that provides good value for money. The picture quality is very good for the price, with a bright and vibrant 2K HDR display that handles both HD and 4K content well. The Android TV interface is smooth and intuitive, with access to all the popular streaming apps.

The sound quality is decent but lacking in bass, so you may want to pair it with a soundbar. Connectivity options like HDMI ARC, Bluetooth, and Chromecast built-in provide plenty of ways to connect external devices. The minimalist design looks great in any living room.

If you're looking for a small to mid-sized TV with smart capabilities and good picture quality without breaking the bank, the Sony KD-32W800 is easy to recommend. It hits all the right notes for a modern smart TV experience. Just be aware of the lackluster sound and make sure 32-inches is a suitable size for your room viewing distance and needs.