Sony KD-49XE9005

Since most people watch 4.3 hours of video per day, you really don’t want to waste all that time watching things on a sub-standard television. The Sony KD49XE9005 is not a sub-standard television. Although it might take a while to set up, once it’s ready the picture is well worth writing about.

We start it off with Deadpool through our Oppo UDP203 Blu-ray player. Immediately the depth of the image strikes us. When the titular hero is sitting on the side of the overpass, the XE9005’S handling of subtle detailing and colours distinctly, but not jarringly, separates the foreground from the background to render a layered picture.

Furious sound

These characteristics stay with it whether you’re playing DVDS or watching an upscaled standarddefinition broadcast; it’s a surprisingly sophisticated image.

Happily the speakers built into the XE9005, powered by 20W of amplification, do their job well. With big booms come across with scale and dynamism, and the midrange has a good amount of body. For casual listening, you won’t be disappointed.

There’s the staple range of catch-up apps such as BBC iplayer, ITV, All 4 and Demand 5, as well as streaming services from Netflix and Amazon Video. Having the Google Play store means you can also get access to all the other Android apps, including Spotify and Tidal.

While the television’s form might be universally liked, the same can’t be said of the rubbery remote. Also, while there is a microphone for Google’s voice control, it’s not user-friendly.

There’s little more the Sony XE9005 could offer us at its price. We’ll have this round for our next Netflix binge anytime.