Sony X77L 4K HDR Smart LED Google TV

There is malware pre-installed onto the TV which will knock off your internet connection on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter if you switch connections/Wi-Fi sources. This has been an ongoing problem and the TV isn’t even a year old. The apps will eventually slow down and the upscaling “MotionFlow” is inconsistent and choppy. Don’t even bother.

Revised 09/19/2023
I bought:
Gvirtue Universal Remote Control for Sony TV Remote, Replacement for All Sony LED OLED LCD Bravia 3D HDTV 4K 8K UHD HDR Android Google Smart TV, with Netflix, You Tube Button and Learning Function

WOW! No lag. Way more buttons to get where you want quickly. Did I say no lag?

Throw away your Sony remote that came with this TV. It’ll kill you!
And you don’t need to point it at the TV. It’s IR but a cleverly placed LED lets you look straight at the remote and still get the button’s press received by the TV. Did I mention no lag?
The IR LED is so power-full that the signal bounces off ceilings and walls.
This remote makes a cheap Sony TV very acceptable.

/End Revision

I’ve owned Sony TVs all my life (76yrs).
They are more expensive but worth it.
This is the first cheap Sony I’ve owned.

And cheap it is (Stupid of me as this is like bottom of their line).
Setup was excruciating. FÏinding the AC plugin was well not easy.
Very poor instructions.

It says much when you need to read the instructions (no manual)
one page that folds out and out and… And I needed a magnifying
glass to read it. I think the AC port was shown but the quality of
the diagram/print was poor.

Google TV. A joke. No instructions.
I wanted to add Sling to my Home page.
No way I could figure it out.
Google TV was supposed to limit the amount of steps/scrolling to
see/find what you want.
Not so. A mess. Not intuitive. Irritating lag.

Picture quality good. Adjusting screen parameters just fairly easy.
I believe I’ve found 3 to 4 places where settings are made. Really?
Changing inputs is not clear. As I write this I do not know how to do this.
I did it once but don’t remember how I got there.
I’ll stumbled accross it again I suppose. Instructions please!

All in all very disappointed in Sony even for a cheap set.
If I ever buy another cheap TV it won’t be a Sony.

Sony: How hard would it be to have navigation on a cheap set the same as your
more expensive ones?
Cheap Sony TVs have bad navigation.
Spend another $1K with Sony to get a slick interface.

Thanks… Ken

Update 11/03/2023: 2 stars — 1 star
Bluetooth paired devices volume control via remote gets stuck on one volume.
Only way to recover is to reset the TV.
All settings lost.
Google TV interface freezes ~twice a day.
Sling app crashes regularly.

Thanks… Ken

This tv replaced a slightly smaller, wall mounted 2014 Sony Bravia, which gave us an opportunity to compare picture quality, sound, ease of remote use, etc. It was a real eye opener.
It might be odd to start with the remote, but honestly, my husband can’t stop talking about it. Easy to use and logical placement of the buttons made it a hands down winner.
As for the tv, the new screen (which, to be fair, has a higher resolution than a 2014 model) has a sharp, crystal clear image. The speakers are strategically placed to direct sound beautifully, so much so that the new tv’s sound set at 26 was louder (using same video for comparison) than the older model set at 42. Instructions were clear; tv mounted quickly on the wall by one person. Google walked us through the installation in about 10 minutes. Spent the most time trying to decide which screen lighting we liked the best. Opted for the brighter at this time.
Between the price and the quality, I don’t feel you can go wrong with this model. It’s a great tv for a smaller family room/kitchen area. FWIW, we have a 65 inch OLED Sony in the living room. Surprisingly, the picture quality isn’t that different.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this tv. I haven’t read the other reviews, but in my humble opinion, what’s not to love?

I wanted a 32″ 4K TV, but they are rare and SONY had a model at $500+, so I had to go with this model which is a bit larger than what I needed. I had to make my own stand with wood blocks so that it could sit on my desk.

I’ve only tried PS2 & PC output, and the PS2 had impressive picture & sound quality (improved by 50% if not more). 4K movies also were noticeably better. Before I bought this, I was using TOSHIBA’s non-4K HDTV that I bought in 2014, so I thought it was time to upgrade. The remote is surprisingly simple, as compared to the majority of today’s home appliances loaded with functions you never use. The sound has equalizer functions, which makes the sound a lot more lively. External speakers with can be connected as well.

The only issue is that since this TV was larger than my previous 32″ TOSHIBA, it sits high on my desk so I have to sit further away from it.

Now, I’m not sure if this is a genuine SONY product. It could have been designed & built in China or Taiwan as an OEM product. ALL Japanese electronics & home appliance companies went south, as their management have seriously failed to keep up with today’s fast-paced trend, added by the dysfunctional government that seems to want to destroy Japan.

Picture quality is great, sound is pretty good too for being integrated. Love the price for the TV overall.

HOWEVER, I assumed a Google interface would be remotely acceptable to use and BOY was I wrong. The lag is a complete catastrophe – main menu, in YouTube, in Disney+, in Hulu, doesn’t matter. It seems like the TV does not have the operating power to load half the features it has, let alone the ads.

I know that my “continue watching” is 4 down-button-clicks, and once I power on the TV I click it 4 times. It can be up to 30 or more FULL SECONDS (not an exaggeration. Literally. I have time to scroll social media) before it makes the noise indicating it knows I made an input and attempts to scroll – and often it won’t respond 4 times. And by the time I make it down to that option, sometimes it’s now loaded some other show in that spot and I end up clicking on something random. This happens all over the main menu – see a recommended YouTube video you want to watch? Good luck scrolling over to it before something else loads.

To add to this, Disney+ and YouTube regularly crash in the middle of what I’m watching (especially Disney+), or act like I don’t have internet. No other device in my home has this issue and we have great internet.

Each update it seems to get slower, too. I’m not sure if it’s just placebo and my frustration, but there have been at least 2 or 3 updates since I bought it and I think it’s going more downhill.

If I could give it 0 stars I would. I am beyond annoyed with this TV but now I can’t get rid of it just to try a different one with a potentially worse user interface. I’m better off watching stuff on my laptop or phone where it’s easier to install adblockers and uninstall bloatware. Oh well.

Update 3/15/2024

Six months later, everyone in the family basically hates this TV (for all of the reasons I listed below in my initial review. Then it had 2 stars). The TV’s operating system has gotten worse over time. We’re donating this to charity and going to find something different this weekend. This was a total waste of money.

I’m actually shocked that other actually gave this TV a positive review. Steer clear of this TV.

Initial Review
I rarely do Amazon Reviews, but I hope I can save someone a headache. I also (admittedly) purchased this TV based on the Sony brand (lot of positive past experience) without considering the “Google” brand too. Here’s a summary:

• Speed (Sony) – The processor in this TV is likely attempting to do too much (buggy software?) or is undersized. Once you start using the remote, system response is slow and laggy or freezes…and when you finally select something to watch on TV the first 5 to 20 seconds the TV picture and sound are not in synch. Embarrassing. This is not an internet issue….I have good high-speed internet

• Home Screen (Google) – This TV replaced an old (and cheap) Roku TV. The Roku TV user interface was easy and simple. The Google home screen/user interface is excessively busy. Entirely too many content suggestions and ads. There is no way I have found to minimize unwanted clutter or reorder the home screen. The slow remote makes everything worse.

I just want to turn on the TV and go to an app. Sony/Google….if you end up reading this review, allow home screen configuration to be done on a PC and re-do the software so it can be processed (quickly) with the hardware

• YouTube Problem – It’s possible this a problem with other new TVs with apps…but here’s a problem. On this TV, things you recently watched on YouTube (on your PC or phone) show up as a suggestion on the home page. I recently watched a product review for a potential Christmas gift for a family member on my iPhone. It was really sucky to find out that the surprise gift was spoiled when she turned on the TV to watch football and could clearly see the product review I had watched on YouTube

• Regrets – I really don’t like this TV and I should have returned it when I had the chance. Furthermore, I should have got off my butt and purchased a TV in a store after trying it out in person

I paid $418 for a 43-inch Sony TV, 2023 model, and for this price, it’s a 5-star TV.

The feet are 28 inches apart, and I am using this a table-top TV, and my table isn’t that wide, so I simply bought legs here at Amazon that attach to the screw holes you’d utilize if you were hanging the TV on the wall. I went with Amazon ASIN B07MZ7M13M … and it works perfectly.

The TV picture is great after you customize the Picture settings to your liking. The speakers are at the bottom, unlike the over-$1,000 OLED Sony models where the sound comes from all over the screen itself. Thus, the small speakers shooting out of the bottom of the TV are not all that impressive. One can fix this by buying a soundbar, of course. For just regular TV programming, like the news or network shows, the sound is fine. There is a setting where you can have the TV try to simulate Surround Sound, so give that a try and see if you hear an improvement to a movie or show you’re watching.

The remote control is okay. It does not illuminate. You have the option to buy an ungraded Sony remote that does illuminate, of course. The factory remote does have the Google microphone button, so you can hold it down and activate the Google Assistant.

If you are looking for a 43-inch TV at a low price, this is the TV to consider.

Let me preface my comments by saying that I am a devoted Sony customer and have several Sony home theater and audio components in my home.

I purchased this 43 inch Sony Bravia TV so my son could watch it occasionally instead of commandeering my living room 65 inch Sony when I’m trying to watch something like a live sporting event. For the purposes of providing a decent picture, the Sony 43 inch is adequate but doesn’t come close to the stunning picture quality of the older Sony X950H in the living room, which unlike the 43 inch Bravia supports Dolby Vision.

The processor on the 43 inch Bravia also seems to lag significantly when using the Google interface sometimes taking up to a minute or more to actually appear on screen. Luckily, I have an Apple TV 4k connected to the TV, so I don’t have to deal with the frustrating lag of Google interface on the Bravia. It should be noted that the older 65 inch Bravia doesn’t have this lag problem and both TVs are getting more than adequate network throughput speed from my EERO mesh routers.

Finally, unlike other manufacturers, Sony never divulges the firmware update version that has (if it ever is) downloaded to the TV and never indicates whether any firmware (software) has been installed on a specific date. As a result the user simply has no idea if Sony is ever offering a firmware update to the TV or not…and sadly must assume that Sony never really updates the TV’s firmware after the set has been purchased. For a company that prides itself on its engineering prowess and making impressive televisions, especially for picture quality, this is a glaring omission and a signal to its customers that they just don’t need to know these petty details. One must also assume that the Sony engineers will never provide a firmware update to the 43 inch X77L to support Dolby Vision or any other enhancements or improvements (lag fixing the lag issue on the Google interface…which should concern the folks at Google).

So, if you want a pleasant viewing experience, connect an Apple TV 4k to the Sony X77L and also connect some external speakers (I’ve connected a pair of NOTABRICK Bluetooth speakers that are recognized by the Apple TV 4k set top box) and provide much better sound than what the 43 Bravia can do on its own. Just don’t expect a phenomenal picture or Dolby Vision support or any firmware updates from the Sony team. Do better, Sony.

I like this television set. I don’t feel it is perfect though.

Has a few cool things going for it. I have a PS5, so so was excited for the PS5 features. Took a lot of digging in the menus of both the TV and PS5 to get everything working correctly with the 4K HDR, 120hz, and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). Once I enabled those, it really looked great in games like Spider-Man Remastered and Hogwarts Legacy. The 120hz for gaming is really the reason for this, at least for me.

I also tested the movie Avengers: End Game on the Assemble scene both from the 4K Disc and Disney+‘s IMAX Enhanced edition. The IMAX edition was surprisingly better but both looked good. I’m not sure the picture quality looked better than the tv it replaced from a few years ago. But I have not tested this with content that would upscale yet.

The Google TV is a change from my normal Roku. Had a lot of issues getting the Disney+ account to login using the phone app. Every other service worked fine with their mobile device login methods. Still getting used to this, but one thing I liked, was that Google seems to collect tv and movie options from all the services you subscribe to, and offers them to you in one menu.

The only issue I see with this panel, is that it is highly reflective. The room we watch TV in, has a big window with a lot of light. With our old TV that wasn’t an issue, as the screen was a bit more matte. I think turning up the brightness helps a bit though. I also noticed that at night, I had to turn off lights in the house, that previously didn’t need turned off.

Overall I am still early in using this set, but after a 2 days I like it. I will update my review as I test different media and perhaps attempt a better calibration for the room it is in.

Update: the Google TV interface on this TV has gotten slow and sluggish after a few software updates. I have restarted, power cycled, gave it priority on my gig internet, cleared the cache of every app, cleared off unused apps, and everything is still slow to load. Video randomly freezes, and the TV reboots. The software felt a lot more stable early on. Perhaps a factory reset is in order, but I really don’t want to sign into all of my apps again. if I get just a bit more frustrated I will restore to factory settings.

The resolution on this screen is out this world