At best, December is an expensive month, I could have done without the old TV moving from a state of very intermittent psychedelia to permanent inability to stay on for more than 15 minutes. Shortly to be followed by a dishwasher losing the ability to heat water! Fault investigations could be better discussed elsewhere, but with both at over 7 years old really the only sensible solution was for replacements. The JLS account is in the name of the wife, so it seemed a solution could be readily achieved.
Having previously discovered the limitations of the proprietary Samsung version of 'smartness', and the fact that traditionally the UK residence is a Sony house, I decided to bite the bullet and go down the Android route. The 49XG8196 seemed a reasonable choice when ordered at the JLS sale price, despite the well documented restrictions of YouView vs satellite tuner restrictions.
I initially decided to wait until it self upgraded firmware and Android,V7 to V8 before playing with it. Self upgrading did not happen in 4 weeks so I downloaded the software from the Sony site, plugged in the USB stick, and it performed the upgrade quickly and without problems. The UI is now much cleaner and feels more responsive, even after adding various 'extras'.
With a VPN app installed, 'safe downloading' disabled, it is possible to get app versions of the ITV Hub, Channel 4, and Channel 5 players installed. Also HD display of other geo restricted content seems faultless. I guess it would also be suitable for use abroad in Europe.
The display and sound are perfectly acceptable, and using in 4k mode (from a raspberry Pi4) shows remarkable detail in photographic display.
The only problem I can foresee is if the apps stop working when I iam not around, and the Mrs is left with a less than functional large flat box on the wall.
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