Review: Sony 65" X850C Bravia 4K TV (2015)

This review is probably coming a bit late for most early adopters - Sony's 2016 4K HDTVs are already in stores.

But for bargain shoppers like AAAD, the 65X830C 4K TV absolutely gets the job done. And it's a 4K TV set that can be found for under $2,000.

We recently purchased Sony's 65X900C 4K TV, and returned it due to light-bleed issues, and a foreign object stuck under the screen.

The 850C isn't as flashy as the ultra-thin 900C, but it has one major advantage

It works properly.


We knew that we had room for a 65" TV in our home theater cabinet - the 55" TV had quite a bit of room around the sides.

This TV, on the other hand, does not.

And the 65X850C fit nicely in the allotted space - about 5 inches of clearance to the left and right of the set.

Notes and Issues

Whiplash sure did yell at that drummer a lot. Stop yelling so much, Whiplash!

First off, the picture on this TV has been absolutely perfect. No light-bleed whatsoever.

I'll just echo what others have said about this 4K set - it's a workhorse, and it's a great value.

The "Smart" features are controlled by Android TV. While we use our AppleTV instead, Google seems to have a pretty solid product here, too.

Some issues that prospective buyers should be aware of:

1. It's THICK. I mean, relatively speaking.

This TV is thin for the most part, but has a "bulge" in its lower-body that makes the TV more than 3 inches deep.

Our existing TV mount (this Tilt Wall Mount Bracket, from Monoprice) added about another 3 inches of depth.

So all told, the 65X830C's screen winds up about 6 inches off of your wall.

Not that there's anything wrong with that! It can be a cool look. It's just different for us - we're used to TVs having a lower profile on the wall.

2. The attachments for the wall mount are VERY low on the TV set.

This actually presented a problem. Our prior TV (a 2011 Sony 55" "Gorilla Glass" HDTV) had its attachments near the top.

We wanted to re-use the same TV mount. But if we did that, the TV would wind up ridiculously high up on the wall.

So, we had to re-drill and re-mount our wall bracket. Not a huge problem, but still, something to be aware of.

3. Let's talk about that wall mount. 

Our wall mount is rated for use with TVs of up to 165 lbs.

No problem there - despite being 10" larger than our last TV, the 830C weighed about the same.

But... Monoprice also rates it for TVs of up to 63".

That's a weird cutoff. I figured 65" was within the margin of error, and used it anyway.

One day later, and I'm re-thinking that decision.

I'm going to have to buy another wall mount anyway - the 55" is going to be the primary TV in the basement living room.

I can solve 2 problems at once by getting a new mount for the 65X850C - we could get one rated for a 65"set - and we can get a mount that fits the TV more flush with the wall.

In that case, we can use the existing wall mount for the 55" in the basement. Seems like a win-win-win.

BUT.... the TV is already there on the wall.

And I'm not crazy about the idea of taking it down and re-mounting it. Oh well.

Bottom Line

This TV does what it's supposed to do. It has a beautiful 4K picture.

While it's a bit bulky, it marks a real step forward in terms of picture quality. And it does so at a sub-$2000 price.

FOUR STARS