4K HDR Is The Future And Sony’s BRAVIA X8000D Is Your Express Ticket

March 27 22:01 2017 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

There are no if’s or but’s about it, 4K and HDR are here to stay. The same amount of awe and bewilderment you found yourself in when you first saw your first Full HD movie, is back again in what is essentially the biggest leap in visual quality we’ve ever seen in a decade. 4K images are essentially 4 times the amount of pixels as Full HD, and believe us you will easily see the difference when you eyeball one of these displays. And which display are we talking about today? Well its Sony’s own BRAVIA X8000D (known as X800D elsewhere) – the best model of 4K HDR TV you can get right now that brings you to the forefront of this technology at a very low price. (The 43″ model is around PHP 32k street price / 43k SRP) In fact, we’ve been keeping a very close eye to this particular model ever since it was announced because it has been and still is the best choice for enjoying 4K HDR content – whether you’re just jumping into it now, or upgrading from an older 4K-capable TV. We’ll explain why.

The best 40-42-43 inch 4k LED smart TV we’ve reviewed this year is the Sony XBR43X800D. It has a good picture quality and great handling of motion, so it’s especially good for sports. It’s one of the best at displaying lower resolution content and also does pretty well with HDR. Since it fits most people’s needs, this is our top pick for a 43 inch TV. – Rtings.com

The quote above is from one of the most refutable, detailed reviewers of TV’s around. And they award the 43″ model of the X8000D / X800D the best choice for this size bracket. Why? Because it provides excellent visual quality, amazing sharpness even with low resolution content, and supports HDR with a great color gamut – something that competing brands may support but doesn’t have the color gamut and contrast ratios to back it up. Sony’s panel is superior to a lot because of it’s Triluminous display, contrast enhancements, and LiveColor technologies.

Let’s talk a little about what HDR means, because it is the biggest change that is happening to displays ever since we added color to them. Which also means it is impossible to show the difference of an HDR display versus one without unless you see it with your own eyes. And that’s the hint here: our eyes are capable of seeing deeper, richer, more powerful, vibrant colors than our current TV’s and monitors can output. Which means you can’t see what HDR content looks like unless you’re using a proper HDR TV. They express colors and extreme lighting differences like never before and brings the experience to a whole new level of realism – akin to looking outside a window, instead of a flat panel TV. Sony’s X8000D line is fully compatible with this technology, and will bring worlds closer to you and your family’s living room.

Mind you, HDR for TV is not the same as your phone camera’s HDR function, because it actually does the opposite: attempt to tame the extreme contrasts between light and dark and show it in what is essentially the Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) display you’re using today. That’s how it can darken the bright areas and brighten the dark in photos, because it removes all that detail. HDR TV’s will show all of the detail that would have been lost, without needing to darken the bright areas, or brightening the dark enabling you to see the scene completely without artificial limits.

But do you need a 4K HDR TV today? We think its an absolute yes for today’s modern family needs. Content no longer just comes from local or cable TV. In fact, we’re consuming more and more content that don’t come from traditional sources. We watch YouTube all the time, catch up on a great TV series on Netflix, play games on consoles, shoot high resolution videos of friends and family, and all of that comes to your TV. YouTube and Netflix are some of the biggest sources for streaming 4K content out there (4K HDR Netflix is available too), but video games are very close behind. And let’s not forget our own phones – as 4K recording has been around for a while now and catching traction fast. Rest assured, you won’t be found wanting for content in a modern family’s living room – that and Sony’s capability of upscaling old content to 4K with its XReality Pro engine will even make your non-4K content look better.

And since we mentioned YouTube and Netflix, we should also talk about the interface on the BRAVIA X8000D which is powered by none other than Google’s Android TV platform. This guarantees amazing compatibility with a lot of content sources including Google’s own Play Movies, games from the Google Play Store, content from YouTube as mentioned before, and of course the Netflix app straight from the app store with regular updates. The interface of Android TV should be familiar to any user of a recent phone these days, and Google guarantees that it always runs smooth and lag free with required processing power under the hood. This guarantees also that your TV will never be out of date – as you can download more apps to keep it fresh and update the firmware if necessary.

So what have we learned about the Sony BRAVIA X8000D? Well, that it’s basically the perfect centerpiece to the Home Entertainment setup of a modern family. Dads can enjoy amazing movies with 4K HDR content from Netflix and other sources, Moms can watch YouTube’s large 4K library of content for just about anything they want to, kids can play video games in consoles that run them in up to 4K HDR resolutions, and just about everybody can sit down and enjoy the thin design and contemporary looks of something that only a brand like Sony can produce. So yes, at PHP 32k (street price), you cannot get anything better. Forget 1080p, jump into the future now and it will blow your mind.