Sony Bravia KD-65X9005A review

Good -4K pictures make you drool
Sound quality is outstanding
Groundbreaking 4K price

Bad-Some minor black level flaws
4K sources currently rare

Key Features: 65-inch 4K native resolution screen; Triluminos colour system; passive 3D playback with 4 pairs of glasses included; SEN online platform; multimedia playback via USB and DLNA
Manufacturer: Sony

Sony Bravia KD-65X9005A review
Editorial Note:
Since this review was first published, Sony has issued an updated response to the critical issue of whether the X9005A series will be capable of working with future 4k formats. That response goes as follows:

"Sony always puts the customer as its number one priority, and Sony will provide all the necessary solutions to 4K TV owners to access future 4K content/services once they start in respective markets."

Sony hasn't yet backed this statement up with technical information on how potential hardware updates to the X9005A TVs might be introduced, but still - a promise is a promise! And since the lack of certainty over the 65X9005A's compatibility with future 4K content was the main reason we only awarded the set an overall score of 9 with our initial review, following Sony's statement of intent we do now feel it is appropriate to upgrade the 65X9005A's overall score to a well-deserved 10.

We've made a couple of minor alterations to the original text below, but for the most part we've left it untouched aside from adding this note.

What is the Sony KD-65X9005A?
The Sony KD-65X9005A is basically the point where 4K resolution (aka Ultra HD) gets serious. Not because the other 4K TVs we’ve seen to date haven’t already dazzled us with their 4K capabilities, but because with its 65-inch screen, living room friendly design and £6,000 price tag indicate we're getting a lot closer to 4K TVs inching towards the mainstream than before.

Does this mean you'll walking down to your local store and walking way with a 4K TV soon? At £6,000, obviously not, but the Sony 65X9005A goes out of its way to deliver a full-on premium living room experience, rather than just being a drab rectangle that happens to have more pixels in it than usual. It is, in other words, indicative of the kind of TV that will be affordable for most people in a two years or so, and which some brave souls might consider even now, not least as the 55-inch version (Sony Bravia KD-55X9005A) costs an oh so tempting £4,000.



Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A - Design
Its design is spectacular. The jet-black frame around the screen is beautifully polished, while the open-frame, chrome-like circular desktop stand is remarkably small, deflecting practically none of your attention from the mighty 65-inch screen.

Also eye-catching is the silver Intelligence Centre box hanging from the TV’s bottom, which contains the TV’s uber-powerful processing chips and also changes the colour of the light it emits in line with which source you’re watching.

By far the most striking thing about the Sony 65X9005A’s design, though, is the array of open speakers that sit flush with the glass screen in two glinting black extension ‘wings’.

The way these speakers have been sculpted onto the TV’s glassy finish is visually spectacular. But more important is their potential to deliver an audio experience miles beyond anything we’d customarily expect from a flat TV.
Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A - Speakers
For starters, they’re front mounted, meaning their sound will project straight out toward you rather than having to be fired down as happens with most flat panel TVs. Also there are three separate drivers on each side, including dedicated tweeters. Separating the speakers out in this way should help the TV deliver far greater power without disrupting clarity than any conventional TV speaker array ever could.

Last but not least where the speakers are concerned, they use Sony’s brilliant new Magnetic Fluid design, created to enable slim speaker enclosures to deliver the sort of audio range and dynamics only previously possible with large ‘box’ speakers.

Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A - Connections

The Sony Bracvia 65X9005A’s rear contains an interesting roster of connections, including highlights of four v1.4 HDMIs, three USBs, a LAN and built-in Wi-Fi. Why is any of this especially interesting? Because the HDMIs aren’t built to the still unratified HDMI 2.0 standard, and so can’t be absolutely guaranteed to be able to deliver every 4K / Ultra HD format that might emerge in the coming years. All we can say with absolute certainty is that the HDMI v1.4 standard should deliver 4K images up to 30fps, as it does now.

It should thus be able to cope with the 24fps movie transfers currently employed with the 2K HD Blu-ray format. But there could potentially be issues with future 4K Ultra HD broadcasts if they happen and opt for a 50/60Hz format, or 4K Blu-rays if directors want to use faster frame rates, or even potentially 4K gaming if somehow next-gen gaming platforms start being able to deliver 4K experiences at 60Hz. 

Pretty much everything we’ve just discussed above is pure speculation, of course. But that’s the point - right now nobody really knows how things are going to turn out. It could be that the HDMIs on the Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A don’t prove to be a serious limitation at all. 

However, we can’t just ignore the fact that, unlike the current Samsung S9 85-inch 4K TV and upcoming smaller 4K TVs, which could be upgraded using future Samsung Evolution Kits, there doesn’t appear to be any way of upgrading the hardware of the X9005A series to meet potential future connection standards.

For the record, we asked Sony for an official response to the HDMI situation, and this is initially what it said:

“The specs for the next version of HDMI have not yet been finalised nor are they official, but we expect there to be differences like there have been in previous versions. Our product development teams are always looking into ways to keep up with the ever-changing specs in technology that is used in our devices.”

This didn't do much to clear up doubts about future 4K compatibility, and left us with a major concern about the 65X9005A's future-proofness that affected our initial review. However, hopefully you've read the Editorial Note at the top of this page, and so know that since our review first appeared, Sony has  pledged to support the X9005A series make sure it keeps up with future developments.

Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A - Smart TV

The Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A benefits from Sony’s latest much-improved interface - complete with control via iOS/Android apps and an included second streamlined remote with NFC support so you can sync NFC-enabled products to the TV just by tapping them to the remote’s rear.

The Sony 65X9005A also plays a huge range of video, music and photo files from networked PCs or inserted USB drives, and provides access to Sony’s latest SEN online platform. 

This is a good platform in content terms, thanks to a focus on video apps that includes the BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, BBC News, Sky News, LoveFilm, Netflix, BBC Sport and the Sony Entertainment Television ‘channel’. 

Its interface feels rather primitive in navigational terms, though. For an in-depth look at the SEN platform/interface, check out our Sony Smart TV 2013 review.

Sony Bravia KDL-65X9005A - 4K Options

Trawling the Sony 65X9005A’s onscreen menus for features related to those all-important 4K capabilities uncovers a few interesting titbits. For instance, there’s a 4K Photo Playback option. Though we’re not sure why you’d want to turn this off given that leaving it on delivers jaw-dropping effects with your digital photos - unlike the LG 84LM960V 4K TV, which bizarrely downscales them to HD and then upscales them again!. 

In the Picture menu, meanwhile, the key 4K-related stuff is found in a section called ‘Reality Creation’. It’s here where you get your mitts on controllable aspects of Sony’s 4K X-Reality Pro upscaling technology. The default setting is Auto, but switching to manual enables you to adjust the output resolution of the upscaled image (we found nudging this down a bit delivered more palatable results with standard def sources), and the amount of noise filtering applied to it. 

There’s also a Video Area Detection option for use with video streamed from the net, and a 4K Remaster mode which can adapt the TV’s processing to get the best results with Blu-ray titles that have been derived from 4K masters. 

(While we’re on the subject of Blu-rays derived from 4K masters, Sony has confirmed that people who buy an X9005A will be entitled to eight of the upcoming new ‘4K Remaster’ Blu-rays free.)

While we appreciated all the fine tuning Sony has provided for its upscaling system, though, we're not sure it's necessary.  We actually found that the Auto default mode was slightly more effective than the auto mode used its previous 4K TV, the Sony 84X9005A, as it doesn't over-sharpen images to the point where they started to look too noisy.

Other picture fine tuners not directly related to 4k include a system for smoothing colour gradations, a separate detail enhancer, an (eminently avoidable) edge enhancer, dynamic contrast controls, controls for the dot and noise reduction systems, multiple settings for Sony’s mostly impressive MotionFlow system, and a full suite of colour calibration tools.

4k Vs. OLED

On one side, there's 4K: four times the resolution of your current TV. LG, Sony, JVC, and others have all announced or shown upcoming 4K displays.

On the other, there's OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Diode. Significantly better picture quality than your current TV, plus lower energy consumption, and even thinner cabinets.

So what's more exciting?

With 4K, there are many potential benefits. You can sit closer to your TV, for one, without ever seeing pixels. Or you can get a much larger TV for the same reason. If you sit close enough/have a big enough TV, you'll see incredible levels of detail. Both the LG and Sony are also passive 3D. With 1080p TVs, this means you get half-HD resolution per eye (1,920x540 pixels). With 4K, you get 3,840x1,080 pixels per eye.

On the other hand, all upcoming 4K flat-panels are LCD. LG and Sony, both coming out next month, are edge-lit LED LCDs. As in, they're not even local dimming . So all the negatives inherent in LCDs, like poor off-axis response, mediocre contrast ratio, and so on, are all going to be present. Essentially, these are current-generation TVs, just with 4x the resolution.

OLED , on the other hand, is a completely new TV technology. The contrast ratio potential is significantly higher than any modern technology: deep blacks that disappear in a dark room, whites that pop off the screen. It will be more realistic, with a better appearance of depth (even with 2D) than anything you've seen. Energy consumption should be lower than even LED LCDs. LG's 55-inch OLED , still claimed to be on track for this year, is 4mm thick. That's the width of a pencil. Essentially, OLED is the next-generation of TVs, but with the current TV's resolution.

The downsides of OLED? It's new, so there's likely to be teething problems. Longevity, historically an OLED issue, is still largely unknown (though every company involved has said the new models will last as long as current TVs). And, of course, price.

Not that price should really enter into our dream comparison here, but current estimated prices on 55-inch OLEDs is somewhere close to $10k. It's no better for 4K. LG's 84-inch 4K is $19,999 , whereas Sony's is $24,999 . Sony also has a 4K projector that costs roughly the same.

And, while I'm bringing this back down to reality, this is a false comparison on another level. Inevitably there will be 4K OLEDs, but they're an even longer way off.

My pick? Without question OLED. A 1080p resolution is plenty for current TV screen sizes, and all the current content is 1080p. The image will be so much better than what's available now, it will put even the best 4K to shame. I'll even go one step further. I'll argue that even at the same size, OLED at 1080p will look better and possibly even more detailed than a 4K LCD. How could I say such a thing? Several years ago I did a face-off among seven HDTVs with different technologies: plasma, LCD, DLP, and LCOS. The clear winner was a Pioneer Kuro plasma, which, when viewed from a normal viewing distance, received high praise about how detailed it looked. Here's the thing, at 1,365x768 pixels, it was half the resolution of the other TVs in the face off (all the rest were 1080p). It did it by having more than twice the contrast ratio.

So sure, with 4K you can sit closer or get an even larger TV, but like I argued in my "4K TVs are stupid" and "Why 4K TVs are stupid (still)" posts, I don't think most people are going to sit less than 6 feet from their TVs, or get a 100-inch projector. So for most people, including myself, I think OLED will be far more interesting.


"OLED by a country mile, it's not even close. By my guess the only 2D picture quality improvement 4K will bring is a slight increase in sharpness, and then it'll only be visible with the very best program material (native 4K content being ideal) at a screen size/seating distance ratio that's basically theatrical in scale. OLED should improve picture quality across the board, offering absolute blacks for effectively infinite contrast. I expect more consistent light output in bright scenes than plasma is capable of, without the viewing angle or uniformity issues of LED/LCD."

"I'd want 4k. It's astounding what that kind of resolution does for the details on larger screens. Like on hair and textures. We've already seen this jump at work on tablets and smartphones, too. It's a real change, albeit one that I don't think needs to come any time soon for most people. Myself? I'd be happy with one sometime in 10 years." Brian Lam, Editor in Chief, TheWirecutter.

"The sole advantage of 4K is increased resolution, which we don't have content for now, and other aspects of the display could be worse than 1080p LCD displays. OLED offers potentially perfect black levels and expanded dynamic range, superior viewing angles, near-instant response times, and even thinner displays than LCD can do, all of which current and future content can take full advantage of." -- Chris Heinonen, Senior Editor, hometheaterhifi.com.

"I'm more interested in OLED mainly because of its picture quality and form-factor implications. I expect OLED TVs to deliver a true high-contrast picture, and to more seamlessly integrate with room environments than current "flat" TVs. 4K at this point seems more like a solution in search of a problem." -- Al Griffin, Technical Editor, Sound+Vision magazine.

"While 4K will certainly have its benefits primarily in the front-projection realm, I'm more interested in seeing how OLED affects the TV business. Will OLED live up to its performance potential in real-world products? How much will it cost? Will the addition of a new high-end TV category help to stabilize an industry in which a lot of major players are hemorrhaging cash? We'll see." -- Adrienne Maxwell, Video Editor, HomeTheaterReview.com.

"OLED. Why? I look at 4K the same way I look at full electric cars: You can buy one today, but the infrastructure is lacking. With 4K, there's no full standard for transmission, and no serious sources. OLED will make all current material look better, with the potential of 4K resolutions later." -- Gary Merson, Editor, HDGuru.com.

"For me, the answer is pretty easy: OLED. It is, quite simply, the finest, most gorgeously rendered 1080p image I've seen to date, with ridiculous black levels and sumptuous contrasts, both of which are more important to my eyes than pure pixel count. The 4K sets we've seen so far are also LCD-based, and thus exhibit all of the motion issues that make my eyes feel floopy." -- Dennis Burger, Editor in Chief of HomeTechTell.

So what do you think? Which technology has you readying your virtual wallet?

WHY MAC PRO NEED 4K MONITOR OR TVs explained by APPLE

Apple explains enhanced 4K monitor support built into OS X 10.9.3
In an update to a support document on Friday, Apple offers details on the changes and improvements — including expanded display compatibility — made to 4K monitor support under the company's latest OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 release.




According to Apple's "Using 4K displays and Ultra HD TVs with Mac computers" support page, the latest OS X 10.9.3 version can pump out a 30 Hz picture over single-stream transport (SST) to Dell's UP2414Q and UP3214Q displays, as well as Panasonic's TC-L65WT600. This function was previously limited to Sharp's PN-K321 and the ASUS PQ321Q.

Further, the late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display and late 2013 Mac Pro now support the above displays at 60 Hz refresh rates using multi-stream transport (MST). The support document offers instruction on how to get the 4K screens to function accordingly, since most ship with MST turned off by default to enhance compatibility with older computers.

In addition to the expanded display support, Apple also offers instruction on adjusting attached screens to best fit content to available real estate. As seen in the graphic above, which is a screenshot of OS X 10.9.3's Display Settings, Apple now uses an icon-based scaling selection user interface instead of just showing screen resolution numbers.

With the latest OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 release, Apple is quickly bringing its Mac operating system up to date with its latest hardware like the Retina MacBook Pro and redesigned Mac Pro.

should you buy curved tv YES or NO?

Curved: Should You Buy Into this TV Trend?
Is curved what's next when it comes to TVs? It certainly looks that way. But, curved, it seems, is not enough. The TVs being shown off at IFA Berlin were not only curved, they were also monstrous. LG has officially launched the biggest curved TV at a whopping 78-inches. That's a big TV.

From early reports, LG's TV isn't just big either. It actually looks great, has a sharp and crisp image, and is something that some people (those with deeply padded pockets) may just want to own. LG didn't release any really technical specs about the new TV, but the company isn't alone in its quest to build a TV larger than the Coliseum (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get the point!).

The Benefits of Curved TVs

Since you'll soon be seeing a ton of new curved TVs, you may start to wonder why curved is better than flat. Or, if curved is better than flat. According to various sources around the web, the reason why companies are going the curved route is that these OLED TVs are unique.

Companies that are putting out curved OLED TVs at the moment are also creating some of the most expensive televisions to hit the market in many years. In most cases, these TVs will only be sold to people that can spend more than $9k on a TV. That said, some tech journalists argue that this is the main reason why these companies are creating the curvy shapes - because a curved TV will become something that only wealthy people can have. But, that might not be the only reason.

Another Argument

LG (one of the biggest companies to create a curved TV at present) has told press that the curved shape of the new TVs exists in order to provide viewers with a better overall image. Flat TVs offer on perspective while curved TVs offer something entirely different.

The curved TV experience is supposed to resemble what you'd get in a movie theater or better theater, though those that have tested the TVs (most, anyway) do not agree with this point of view. So, should you buy a curved TV?

The Curved OLED TV Buy

As mentioned, you'll have to shell out a lot of cash in order to get one of the curved TVs currently on the market. If you do fall into that elite group, you may want to buy this type of TV simply because it stands out, and (let's be honest), you'll probably be one of the few that has the new curved shape.

If companies like LG do come out with a curved option that's not so expensive, you may want to check out this new screen shape just to see what it's all about. Are curved TVs better? Right now, the answer is a tentative 'no.' Will they be better in the future? Maybe. Should you buy one? As novelty at first, but there may be merit to purchasing a curved TV as they become more perfect. Got questions about these TVs? Comment below.

4k TV gaming......

despite a heavy focus on 3D during the PlayStation 3's life cycle, the same focus will not apply to the PlayStation 4. 3D Blu-rays aren't currently compatible with the PS4, but 3D Blu-ray functionality may be added in the future.

That's not to say the technology won't be included; it is. 3D support for games remains included in the system's capabilities. However in the words of Sony's own Shuhei Yoshida, "it just won't be as much of a focus as it once was."

Speaking to IGN after the official PlayStation 4 reveal, Yoshida stated:

"It's not a focus. But it does do it better. The basic capability is higher so more games will run at 1080p at 60 frames so it's an easier and better experience when you watch on 3D TV."

"3D was a big thing a couple of years ago — we made it a big thing because it was lead by the consumer electronics side of Sony and we liked what we could do on PS3 using 3D stereoscopic," Yoshida said. "But now the consumer electronics side of Sony, or all of the companies have shifted focus from 3D TV to something else, so if they're not talking about it, why would we?" The PS4 was rumoured to have an Oculus Rift like product in production specifically designed for the PS4, but nothing has been comfirmed.

4K Resolution

The PS4 will be enabled for 4K resolution for videos, the interface, and movies through Hulu or Netflix, but it will not have the capability to display games in 4K.

In the same interview where Yoshida revealed more about the PS4's 3D capabilities he also stated:

"The PS4 supports 4K output, but only for photos and videos; not games. PS4 games do not work on 4K."

Using 4K displays and Ultra HD TVs with Mac computers

You can use 4K displays and Ultra HD TVs with your MacBook Pro (Retina, Late 2013) or Mac Pro (Late 2013) computer. You can use these displays at the following resolutions and refresh rates with the built-in HDMI port.

3840 x 2160 at 30 Hz refresh rate
4096 x 2160 at 24 Hz refresh rate (mirroring is not supported at this resolution)
With OS X Mavericks v10.9.3 or later, the following DisplayPort displays are supported at their default 30 Hz using single-stream transport (SST).

Sharp PN-K321
ASUS PQ321Q
Dell UP2414Q
Dell UP3214Q
Panasonic TC-L65WT600
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) or Mac Pro (Late 2013) also support 60 Hz displays using multi-stream transport (MST). These displays need to be manually configured to use MST. Follow the steps below to use the display's built-in controls to enable this feature.

Sharp PN-K321: Choose Menu > Setup > DisplayPort STREAM > MST > SET
ASUS PQ321Q: Choose OSD menu > Setup > DisplayPort Stream
Dell UP2414Q and UP3214Q: Choose Menu > Display Setting > DisplayPort 1.2 > Enable
Panasonic TC-L65WT600: Choose Menu > Display Port Settings > Stream Setting > Auto
Your Mac will automatically detect an MST-enabled display. However, your display may require a firmware update to support 60Hz operation. Please contact your display vendor for details. If your specific DisplayPort display is not listed above, check with the display’s manufacturer for compatibility information.

Adjusting your display

Use System Preferences > Displays to adjust or scale the resolution on your display. This can make text and objects appear larger or give you more space on your screen.



Hovering your mouse over one of the resolution options will show more detail on that option. To get a Detect Displays button to appear, press the Option key. To see all the available resolutions, hold down the Option key while clicking the Scaled button.

4K TV misses its World Cup goal

The World Cup is the biggest single sporting event in the world, and that means one thing for the TV industry — it’s the biggest opportunity to sell new sets. There’s no better way to show off your 85-inch panel than calling your friends over to shout for the USA against Germany, or England versus Italy. "We expect the demand for TVs to increase considerably due to the upcoming World Cup matches," said Samsung VP Simon Sung on the company’s last earnings call.

SAMSUNG BELIEVES THAT "THE UHD TV ERA WILL UNFOLD THIS YEAR"

And this is a year in which TV makers have been pushing upgrades harder than ever. Ultra High Definition (UHD), or 4K, sets dominated CES 2014, and are now becoming available at reasonably affordable prices. "We believe that the UHD TV era will unfold this year," Samsung tells The Verge. Sony agrees: it "finds opportunity in the World Cup as a vehicle to introduce our new technologies." A new TV format on the market in time for this year's World Cup in Brazil sounds like perfect timing.

There’s just one problem — you can’t actually watch the World Cup in 4K.

At least, not in the way you would want and expect. Only three matches will actually be filmed in the format, with Sony handling the production; these will form part of the official World Cup documentary movie, which you’ll be able to download at some point after the tournament is over. Brazilian network Globo will also screen these games on outdoor 4K displays in Rio de Janeiro. But there won’t be any live streaming or broadcasts to the home, meaning anyone planning to watch the tournament on their new 4K set will have to make do with regular 720p channels. Sony declined to comment on the specifics of its 4K broadcasting technology and World Cup plans, except to say that UHD sports production is an "important strategic area" for the company.

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"Sport, and the major events like the World Cup and Olympics, is a huge driver for take up of new technology," says Dave Gordon, a sports broadcasting consultant who led the BBC’s coverage of major events for over a decade. "However it has to be live and you need a huge amount of capacity to distribute it." That’s the main issue — broadcasters just don’t have the bandwidth right now. Even 1080p, the native resolution of most TVs sold today, is seen as too much of a strain to send over the air for regular programming.

It’s an altogether different situation from two years ago, where TV makers and stations alike were pushing 3D for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The BBC’s efforts in this space were "not a real success, with limited viewing," says Gordon. "We only did so because we had to be seen to be at the cutting edge of all technologies for a home Games and we would have been criticized by the industry if we hadn’t." This time around the BBC is conducting experimental 4K broadcasts to closed locations, but decided against public screenings because of "logistical issues."

SAMSUNG IS TOUTING A "SOCCER MODE" ON ITS 2014 TV LINEUP

It’s understandable that those in the market for a new TV would want to future-proof themselves with a 4K panel, so companies aren’t letting the lack of native 4K content dissuade them from pushing UHD TVs alongside the World Cup. Sony tells The Verge that it expects the tournament to boost sales of 1080p sets as well as 4K models. Samsung, meanwhile, is touting the "Soccer Mode" on its 2014 lineup, which it says "delivers crisper picture quality to ensure the viewer experiences a greener shade of grass, more lifelike details of the players, and vivid sound that makes people at home feel as if they are actually at the stadium."

That may not be the most convincing pitch, but 4K TVs can still deliver better-than-HD results by upscaling the content to fit the higher resolution — at least in theory. Unlike Sony, Samsung has no solution for providing native 4K content, but instead is claiming its upscaling technology as a selling point. "In the short term, due to the shortage of available UHD content in the market, the need for upscaling content is quite high," says a representative. "This is where Samsung has excelled, with our upscaling technology receiving high praise."

20130320-625a3740verge

Still, none of this is likely to excite many people into buying a UHD set, and broadcasters have been slow to announce solid plans for upgrading their infrastructure. The best bet may be streaming over the internet — Netflix made waves at CES 2014 with its push into 4K content, letting those with the right hardware watch shows like House of Cards and Breaking Bad in the higher resolution. But the company is unlikely to expand into live TV any time soon, says chief product officer Neil Hunt, who believes Netflix’s advantage is in on-demand content with a long shelf life.

"Once you've broadcast it once, a second or a third showing falls increasingly on starving ground," he says. "You've used up the audience who were prepared to tune in, the audience gets more and more scattered and dispersed, so it's hard to reach them. So the long-shelf-life content is where we think we have an advantage." The rights for live sports events are also hugely expensive to acquire, so it may not make sense for the likes of Netflix to get involved just yet. Instead, the company is representing sports with content like This Is Not A Ball, a documentary about the history of the soccer ball that will premiere on June 13th.

LIVE 4K BECOMES POSSIBLE "ONCE SUPER-FAST, HIGH-CAPACITY BROADBAND IS ROLLED OUT TO EVERY HOME"

That’s not to say the internet won’t play a role in getting 4K content into the home. The BBC and Japan’s NHK collaborated on 8K broadcast experiments for the 2012 Olympics, using university network Janet to beam "Super Hi-Vision" live images into theaters around the UK, with NBC taking a feed to the US. "Once super-fast, high-capacity broadband is rolled out to every home, then live 4K and 8K coverage of sport in living rooms becomes a real possibility," says Gordon, though he doesn’t have an estimate of what kind of speeds would be needed. But he believes the experimentation was "truly sensational… [it] set the standards for the future and could very well be the ‘big idea’ for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo."

Six years is a long time to wait to get the most out of a TV, though, and 4K remains very much in the realm of the early adopter. The documentary film may be the highest-profile UHD content to date, and Samsung believes that World Cup footage will "accelerate the UHD content standardization process." But it’s far from a curtain-raiser for the new technology, and if anything highlights just how far we have to go until 4K reaches the mainstream. If you’re happy enough with your regular TV, rest assured that when the World Cup kicks off next week, you’re not going to miss out on much.

This Shape-Shifting 4K TV Adjusts Itself for Ideal Viewing

The latest 4K TVs now come in a variety of shapes and sizes. One thing they don’t generally come with is the ability to seamlessly pivot and rotate into one of three pre-defined viewing positions. Leave it to the Danes to remedy this glaring oversight.

At first glance, the edge-lit LED panel on Bang & Olufsen’s new 55-inch 4K set may seem fairly pedestrian. But once you turn your attention to the BeoVision Avant’s industrial design, automated stand options, and transforming speaker system, you forget all about that.

Among the options for the anodized-aluminum Avant is a floor stand with two rotating components that borrow heavily from Tilt-a-Whirl physics. The stand lets you pivot the TV towards you or anyone else in the room by pushing buttons on its unibody extruded-aluminum remote. There are also a few more stand options for the set: a motorized wall mount, a motorized table stand, and a plain-old wall mount without any motorized components.

While it won’t replace a surround-sound system, the set does come with built-in speakers that should give many soundbars a run for their money. Specifically, the sound system packs in three ¾-inch tweeters, three 2-inch mids, and a 4-inch woofer; one of each is positioned in a center channel that’s dedicated to onscreen dialogue.

The coolest thing about that speaker system is how it moves. The speaker unit expands from the bottom of the panel with a click of the remote: First it slides out vertically, then the left- and right-channel speakers slide out laterally from there. When it’s not in use, the system retracts back up out of sight. The fluid action makes the TV look like a living thing. Or maybe you ate some peyote.

You might have to be on heavy drugs to rationalize buying this TV, too. Beautiful moving components and design aside, 55 inches is mighty small for an Ultra HD TV. And for the price, you should at least get a full-array LED panel with local-dimming, not a lower-end edge-lit panel. The BeoVision Avant costs a whopping $8,000, so OLED would even be a valid option. Plus, that eight-grand asking price is just for the set without any stand options, which start at $900 for the non-motorized wall mount