Chances are, the next TV you’ll buy will be a 4K set if you plan on spending anything over a $1,000. Compared to just a few years ago, prices have dramatically fallen, making the new format far more affordable for the average consumer that doesn’t need the mos high-end features out there. For it’s part, Sony is offering 3 distinct 4K TV lines – the entry level X830C/850C, ultra-thin X900C/X910C, and the high-end X930C/X940C with HDR and Magnetic Fluid Speakers.

While the entire line is worthy of your consideration, perhaps the most interesting of them is the X900C which is

 1.5 inches at its thickest point and just 0.2 inches at its thinnest 

As Andrew Tarantola writes

 Even with the tabletop stand, the 55-inch version that I reviewed weighs less than 40 pounds, making it light enough to set up by myself. (The 65- and 75-inch versions come in at 51 and 74 pounds, respectively.) Installing the stand is straightforward as well: Just slap the pre-assembled feet onto the rear of the set and tighten on a pair of screws for each side. In all, I spent more time trying to fit all the foam packing bits back into the box than I did assembling the set. 

So we know getting it out of the box and setting it up is easy but what about the TV itself?

Is this the future of television?

 If you are already heavy into the Google ecosystem like I am — with an existing Play account and fully populated Movie and Music libraries — this set makes all sorts of sense. Simply logging onto your existing Google account grants you access to all of these services through the TV. Plus, since it’s a Sony, users can also pair the set with their Playstation Network and access their PS3/4 content directly through the TV. If, however, you’re big on iTunes and already have a majority of your streamable content over there, this set won’t do a whole heck of a lot for you — best to stick with Apple TV. 

Maybe not

 The Android TV OS performed admirably but wasn’t without its hiccups. For one, casting content from my second-gen Nexus 7 directly to the set was a hit-or-miss experience. Netflix and Hulu content played without a hitch but for apps that didn’t come pre-installed on the set, like Crunchyroll, playback would often fail to start or randomly skip ahead. I’d have to switch over to a separate input channel to use a physical Chromecast, which totally defeats the point. 

Finally

 the X900C is a solid, future-proofed set — especially if you already use Android in your mobile devices. And if you own a PlayStation, this set should be a lock. 

I’m still not convinced that the future of television is a ‘smart TV’ with lots of apps. While that sounds good in theory and eliminates the need for another device, it does so only on paper. If you want to watch a Blu-ray, you still need another input. Want 4K content, you might need a 4K streamer box, aka another input. Have a lot of content on iTunes, that’s another input for your Apple TV.

All that aside, assuming you were locked into an ecosystem that’s purely Google and you could pull nearly everything you want from the Play Store, the problem still lies in that you’re running an outdated TV the minute you purchase one. That’s because all Android TV (see our video preview of it) sets we by the time they’re unveiled at CES are locked in chip which is likely from the year prior or at best, chips that shipped in the Fall. By the time they hit streets which is always a few months later, the processors powering the TV and it’s apps are 6-12 months old and in two years, completely obsolete.

This is even a bigger hurdle when you consider how app developers continue to push out new games and UI that require more processing power and new architectures. I’m guessing unlike your phone, you won’t be upgrading your TV set every two years. So while Android TV sounds good on paper, I think it works better in places like the bedroom and kitchen and less in your main den where each year for $100, you can get the latest box that’s running a far more powerful chipset than your TV.

That aside, the X900C though not reference quality, seems like a good deal, especially if you’re looking for a TV that’s more like a piece of glass that can simply disappear.

Discuss:

Does the X900C interest you?

[Via Engadget]