Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV Review: High Performer!
In 2022, the company has launched Sony X75K in the TV segment in which TVs are available in sizes ranging from 43 inches to 65 inches. Today I am going to review the 43 inch variant of this series which is Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD LED Smart TV. Its price is Rs 53,190, which is listed on Sony’s own online store. Companies like Xiaomi and Realme provide 43 inch 4K TVs in the range of up to Rs 30,000, compared to them, the price of this Sony TV seems quite high.
However, this new Sony TV promises better performance for its price and is positioned as a premium option for customers who want to move up a bit from the budget TV range. Is the Sony KD-43X75K as premium as it sounds? Let’s find out in this review.
Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV design and specifications
Sony X75K is the most affordable TV in the company’s Ultra HD TV series. But the 43X75K is not as affordable as it is made out to be. Priced at Rs 53,910, it is quite expensive compared to other companies and the price goes up to Rs 1 lakh for its 65-inch size. All the TVs in the company’s X75K range come with Ultra-HD (3840×2160 pixels) LED LCD displays that support high dynamic range, HLG and HDR10 formats.
When it comes to design, the Sony KD-43X75K TV looks a little better than the typical 43-inch TV. This is thanks to the beautiful finish of the thin border around the screen. There is a Sony logo on the front. The TV is as thick as you would expect from an LED TV of this size. The TV has a slight slope at the bottom which makes the bottom firing speakers stick out a little.
The TV can be table mounted or wall mounted, although only a table mount stand is provided in the box. You can use any VESA compatible wall mount to mount it on the wall. Sony provides free technician service for installation, if you want a wall mount then it is provided by the company through technicians.
One set of ports and sockets is located at the back of the TV while the other is located on the left side of the screen. The ports at the back include an HDMI port (with ARC), video-in socket, Ethernet port for wired connectivity, digital audio out (TOSLINK) port, and power socket.
Wall mounting the TV makes it very difficult to access all these ports, as this can cause the cables and plugs to bend to the point of damage. You will need to make sure that all these connections are properly made before mounting it on the wall.
Side-facing connectivity includes two HDMI ports, two USB Type-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an antenna socket. All of these are easy to access, but I was disappointed that none of these HDMI ports support Audio Return Channel (ARC). However, all HDMI ports support the latest HDCP 2.3 standard.
Talking about its other main specifications, it has a 50Hz refresh rate, Sony Motionflow XR 200 interpolation algorithm, and 16GB inbuilt storage for apps and app data. The TV has a 20W bottom firing, open baffle speaker system with support for Dolby Audio. Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth 5 and dual band Wi-Fi connectivity and wired Ethernet connectivity.
Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV remote and features
The company provides a large, fully functional remote with the TV. It has an infrared emitter and Bluetooth connectivity. When connected via Bluetooth, its infrared emitter is used only to turn the TV on or off. Apart from that, all other functions such as voice commands from the microphone on the remote also use Bluetooth connectivity. For that, you do not have to point the remote towards the TV.
The remote has a number pad, direction pad, back and home buttons for navigation. Apart from this, playback controls, and hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and YouTube Music are provided. A dedicated button is also provided to activate Google Assistant. Apart from this, an information button is also provided in it which gives information about the resolution of streaming content, connection speed and many other things. The remote looks good, works well.
The Sony KD-43X75K features built-in Google Chromecast, the Sony X1 4K processor, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and AirPlay 2, and comes equipped with HDMI CEC support to control connected devices. You can also use the TV’s Bluetooth connectivity for wireless headphones and speakers.
All these features work as expected, but do note that for Apple devices you will need a separate app to enable wireless connectivity to the TV. I used AirScreen for Android TV available on the Google Play store and it worked well.
Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV software and interface
The Google TV user interface was launched in 2020 with Google TV with Chromecast. But most TV manufacturers are preferring to go with the tried and tested Android TV interface. Sony adopted the new user interface long ago and the KD-43X75K runs on Android TV 11 with Google TV UI on top. It has Google Play Store for Android TV which has more than 5000 apps designed and optimized for use on TV. Apart from this, easy access to Google Assistant and Chromecast is also available.
However, the Google TV UI looks much nicer than stock Android, and has some useful features. For example, Google Play Movies is no longer available on the app but is built into the user interface. This means you can search for movies and TV shows, rent or buy them, and make purchases directly from the UI.
It also features Rotten Tomatoes’ approved rating for search and recommendation for several titles. The system recommends movies and TV shows from several streaming services such as Disney+ Hotstar, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and Voot. Overall, the Google TV UI is a fresh and necessary change for Android TV and Sony’s rapid adoption of it gives it a leg up on its competitors, especially if you prefer watching streaming content. Everything worked fine for me, and I didn’t find any software issues while using the TV.
Sony KD-43X75K Ultra-HD Android TV performance
Many well-known brands in India offer 43-inch Ultra HD TVs for less than Rs 30,000. In such a situation, Sony KD-43X75K has to offer something different from the rest, which it does. The TV has a good design, useful and premium features and an excellent software experience that takes it a notch above the rest. The most important parameter among these is performance … in which this Sony TV does not miss even a bit.
Support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ in an affordable TV doesn’t seem too extraordinary anymore, but this Sony TV only comes with support for HLG and HDR10, which might disappoint you. Still, it makes up for this shortcoming to a great extent with the help of picture calibration and superior HDR.
The brightness doesn’t increase too much with HDR content on the TV, but the format does make the colours of the content more intense. For example, Our Great National Parks and Bullsh*t The Game Show on Netflix looked great in a dark or dimly lit room. Even in ambient light, there wasn’t much distraction from the TV.
Colours of nature and bright lights from game shows were well displayed on the TV. Skin tones were very well-defined. Similarly, shades of blue and green in the jungle were brought out with accuracy. Sony KD-43X75K delivers sharp pictures with good colours and clean motion. Compared to other budget TVs of the same size and similar specifications, this Sony TV was able to deliver sharper and more detailed pictures.
This feature was well seen in the dark scenes of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Motion also looks great on the TV, which is possible due to its motion interpolation. The action scenes of the Venom sequel were playing very smoothly. There was no significant effect on the TV screen even in bright daylight. But, when direct sunlight comes into the room, the screen does not look so reflective. Its black levels were quite good as per the LED TV. Apart from this, the contrast level was also being set well.
A 43-inch TV is best suited for up close viewing, but the smaller size also has the advantage of making lower resolution content look as sharp and detailed as 4K. The sharpness, clean motion and good colour levels of this Sony TV make full HD content look great. Scenes from Kim’s Convenience and Pacific Rim looked great despite the low resolution.
The sound quality of Sony KD-43X75K is average, but even if you do not use a sound bar or speaker system, it will still be enough. The sound is good at high volume, dialogues are clear and the background score is also good. But even at high volume, the TV does not sound that loud. Overall, its sound is enough to enjoy watching TV in the bedroom late at night.
I did face some issues with 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity. At times, the TV was unable to connect to my home router’s 5GHz band even when it was just a few metres away from the TV. This resulted in interruptions in streaming high-resolution content. After switching to the 2.4GHz band, it showed stable connectivity.
Verdict
There are many mainstream Ultra HD 43 inch TVs available today. This Sony TV stands out for its performance. The TV’s functional design, good specifications and software, HDR performance and general ability to play all kinds of content make it one of the TVs I enjoyed reviewing. If we look at some of the shortcomings of the TV, then it becomes difficult to justify its price.
Above Rs 50,000, the Sony KD-43X75K TV is about Rs 20,000 more expensive than others. If you want to buy it as a secondary TV, then spending so much money does not seem wise. If you want to use it as a primary TV, and you only want a TV of this size, then you can definitely buy it.
There are 55-inch TVs available for less than that, such as the Mi TV 5X, so the Sony is only for those who want good performance and can afford to pay a premium price for 43 inches. It is way ahead of its market competitors of the same size and will not disappoint the buyer, if the buyer has no issues with the price.
