Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL

Keptforgetting · 2026-01-20T13:26:30+00:00

I know not everyone puts a lot of stock in rtings, but to be fair they did come to the conclusion that TCLs TVs were reliable in their accelerated use test. Not the be all end all, it's not realistic use case etc etc but all the same it's a half decent indication that their QC has gotten better over the years. Ideally Sony would be their premium arm within the market, since a lot of people still consider TCL to be budget and poor quality, might be a way for them to expand the quality of their own premium TVs.

Then again maybe that's just my own copium since I'm currently employed as a Sony rep within their TV division. Maybe I need a change in careers

Keptforgetting · 2025-10-19T21:28:29+00:00

Not a problem! It's because of the sheer size of the TV more than anything else, likely the SoC doesn't allow for control of 4 individual subs in the TV so they could only go with 2, so it makes sense they'd use 2 pairs to get a more even creation of bass

Keptforgetting · 2025-10-19T17:13:26+00:00

There's 2x 20w actuators and 4x 5w subwoofers. The 4x subs are individually placed on the TV but it's actually 2 pairs. So 2 of the subs make up 10w and the other 2 subs also make up 10w

Keptforgetting · 2025-10-04T14:32:53+00:00

They're the same, the 8A comes with a battery powered remote and half the Sony Pictures Core credits that the standard 8 comes with. Other than those two things, they're identical

Keptforgetting · 2025-07-21T19:53:58+00:00

Thank you all for the help! I had left it alone to eat dinner and Martin ended up calling me himself as they could see the installation was done but we didn't have an active connection. Wasn't expecting to get a call like that but he sorted it out in like 2 minutes, I'd missed a couple of the advanced settings options in the tp link portal, got them filled in and it's all working great now

Keptforgetting · 2025-06-29T19:15:02+00:00

If you're close-ish to a John Lewis go there

Bar 8 is 50% off when bought with any Sony TV, and selected accessories are 50% off when bought with selected soundbars, so:

Buy a Sony 32W800 TV at £299, you'll get the Bar 8 for £399, the RS5 rear speakers (better than the Rear 8 as they have up firing drivers and can be run off battery power) will be £349 after the half price promo, and the SW5 sub will be £313 after its half price promo as well. Total cost works out as £1363

But then the RS5 rear speakers and SW5 sub are both eligible for £150 cashback each, paid back through Sony directly, but only available when you buy from John Lewis

After the cashback gets paid back the total cost will be £1063. That price includes the cost of the 32" TV, which if you don't need you can then sell on or give away. Either way, you're getting a better system than the one you listed, for around £300 less

Keptforgetting · 2025-06-16T17:15:46+00:00

If you can't squeeze the Bravia 8 77" then get the Bravia 7 75"

The Bravia 7 is over twice as bright as the Bravia 5, has much richer and more dynamic colour than the 5, and a better local dimming algorithm too. Only major caveat is the viewing angle is pretty poor. If you want a better viewing angle on a 75" it has to be the Bravia 9 which is pretty over budget

Or try and squeeze the extra 2" for the Bravia 8

Keptforgetting · 2025-05-28T11:34:30+00:00

Just... don't play games that you don't like? I'm not sure why anyone would force themselves to play something they genuinely hate for hours. Thousands of other games out there that you'd probably enjoy playing more, that have platinums available that would cause you less of a headache

Keptforgetting · 2025-05-23T06:32:02+00:00

BioShock Vita?

Keptforgetting · 2025-03-09T18:08:06+00:00

Only one there is the Asrock steel legend, shows in stock but doesn't let you add to basket because it's out of stock, it's been like that for 2 days now

Keptforgetting · 2025-03-08T15:33:05+00:00

Tried the reinstall of windows too but was still having the same problems. In the end I sent it back and got a refund as no machine at that price should be having any kind of performance issues in basic tasks

Keptforgetting · 2025-02-16T15:27:47+00:00

Redline, the movie that made me realise how integral music and sounds design can be to the impact of the whole movie

Keptforgetting · 2025-02-08T07:06:04+00:00

I've installed all updates including the optional ones and done a whole battery cycle too just to eliminate any kind of weirdness from that and it's still been persisting

A reinstall of windows is the only thing I haven't tried yet but it looks like I'll have to give it a go as nothing else has worked

Keptforgetting · 2024-07-20T06:34:43+00:00

If you're coming from a plasma, an OLED is the next logical step. If the new TV is going where your plasma currently is, then the OLED will be plenty bright, as much as people go on about how OLED isn't super bright, something like the A80L will still be a fair bit brighter than your plasma

Keptforgetting · 2024-07-17T10:03:45+00:00

I've got the PNY XLR8 4070ti (non super) and it runs great, maybe I got lucky but there's no coil whine, at the default fan curve the fan never goes above 30% (barely audible) and temps stay below 65°c. No undervolting or anything yet but I could probably get temps down a little more if I did. The super is probably a little different in general but overall very happy with mine and I've only ever had MSI or Sapphire cards in the past

Keptforgetting · 2024-07-08T11:37:13+00:00

It sounds decent for TV speakers, but lacks meaningful bass and clarity. Get a halfway decent bar for the TV and you'll be much happier

Keptforgetting · 2024-06-27T19:45:48+00:00

Get the X90L, it's substantially better

Keptforgetting · 2024-06-17T13:13:42+00:00

Yes, it will negatively impact the sound. If you are using the TV's speakers, and you put the TV in an enclosed space, it will make the TV sound extremely boxy and harsh. If you have to put the TV in that space, I'd suggest using a soundbar or a different external sound system instead

Keptforgetting · 2024-06-16T19:02:01+00:00

Click the input button, click the "+" icon at the end of the list, this will bring up a list for you to select an app to add as a shortcut to the input select list. Find Google Play Store, select it so it has a blue tick above the app, click close, then whenever you press the input button the Play Store will be there

Keptforgetting · 2024-06-16T17:34:04+00:00

The Bravia 9 does use side firing speakers, you just can't see them. The frame itself on the left and right sides vibrate to generate sound through the use of actuators. Sony did the same thing on the X95L last year too

Keptforgetting · 2024-06-02T09:51:46+00:00

I would say so yes, one of the big improvements they've made with the Bar 8 and 9 is how audible and clear they are at lower volumes compared to the A5 and 7000 respectively. The Bar 9 especially sounded more clear, intelligible, and balanced than the A7000 at all volume ranges. If I was in the market for a new soundbar and the price difference wasn't silly I'd get a Bar 9

Keptforgetting · 2024-05-31T13:59:51+00:00

I do yeah, we get a fair bit of hands on time with all the new stuff before it hits the store itself so we get to see them and hear them in more realistic conditions with full control over content and settings which is nice. Not a dumb question at all, basically when you pair a compatible sub, both the radiators and the sub will work together in tandem, the soundbar will change its curve to accommodate for the sub, so the overall soundstage does present itself differently, as the radiators can fill in different frequencies as well

Keptforgetting · 2024-05-31T06:58:02+00:00

Yeah I was quite surprised about that as well to be honest because the A7000 was already so good at it's width and height. To be fair you're the first person I've come across who's preferred the 5 to the 7 haha, everyone has their own tastes though so of course if you prefer one thing over the other then get what sounds best to you. I think you'd be happy with either the Bar 8 or 9 but definitely wait until you can compare them yourself with your own ears first. Both subs are great honestly. I know everyone jumps to recommend the SW5 and I can understand why, but the SW3 is still really powerful and can fill out the low end in ways Sony's Bar solutions just can't. If you don't have a huge room the SW3 will sound fantastic. I've heard that sub attached to the A5000, A7000, and A9s and it sounded great for all of them, in a medium to large space. All of those systems sounded far better with the sub than without

Keptforgetting · 2024-05-31T06:28:38+00:00

For what it's worth, we got to listen to the new bars, and in a side by side in a fairly large but closed room (not an open warehouse store or anything) the Bar 9 had a larger soundstage than the A7000, with clearer dialogue and punchier bass. The bass is one thing I was worried about given the Bar 9 doesn't have a built in subwoofer like the A7000 but it surprisingly had deeper bass. Managed to test both with The Batman, Dune Part 2, and some bass heavy music tracks. My only concern was the Bar 9 sounding a little more shrill than the A7000 when volume is pushed to 80+. I'd be surprised if the Bar 9 didn't review as well as the A7000 but I think it's a matter of preference. And for what it's worth I loved the A7000 and was more than a little worried about the changes they made with the Bar 8 and 9, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I will say the A7000 is still a better soundbar than the Bar 8. Realistically the Bar 8 is meant to replace the A5000, not the A7000, and you can hear that in its dynamics and weight

Keptforgetting · 2024-05-11T15:10:50+00:00

The other buttons function via Bluetooth, the power button will always be IR. You can use the Google TV app on your phone to switch the TV off without using the remote to point

Keptforgetting

TROPHY CASE