Sony KD-65S8505C review

There are some aspects of the 65S8505C's operating system that work well. The OneFlick remote is quite intuitive, for instance, and I also like Sony's home-grown 'Discover' interface.

Unfortunately, though, the simplicity and focus of this interface just highlights the numerous issues that affect the main Android TV menu system.

The layout of the Android 'shelves' seems almost random, showing no real understanding of the sort of services and features TV (rather than phone) users most want to get to easily. The top 'recommendations' shelf seems too random in its recommendations too, making it feel more like it's suggesting things it wants you to like rather than things you might actually like.

The sheer volume of apps feels overwhelming at times too, as Android currently seems more focused on quantity over quality.

And perhaps worst of all, the implementation of Android on show here seems to cause the TV to run quite sluggishly at times as well as causing a handful of full-on, reboot-the-TV crashes during my testing period.

I'm not saying Android TV doesn't have potential, but it certainly needs to learn how to streamline and focus its approach.

Sound

First the bad news: inevitably the 65S8505 doesn't sound anywhere near as potent as Sony's 93/94 TVs with their large, forward facing speaker arrays.

On the upside, it does manage to overcome the svelte-ness of its frame to deliver a respectably loud, clean, open and detailed sound.

There's not all that much bass to provide a foundation to action scenes, and there's nowhere near as much width to the soundstage as you got with Sony's debut curved TV, 2014's 65S9005C, which used an innovative multi-angle speaker system.

But at least the 65S8505 never tries to push past its speakers limitations to a point where things might start to sound distorted or harsh.

Value

The 65S8505 is £400 cheaper than the rival curved UHD Panasonic 65CR852 - as well as performing better.

And it's a cool £800 cheaper than Samsung's HDR/SUHD UE65JS9000 TV - though Samsung's model is a strong performer with a proven HDR track record.

Overall, while it's not a perfect performer, the 65S8505 still feels like you're getting a lot for your money.