It also struck us as pretty daft that the Sony installation menus don’t include a section where you’re asked to pair up the NFC-capable second remote control shipped with some of Sony’s new TVs. It’s a poor example compared to the setup menus of the Panasonic My Home Screen smart TV system, which impressively guide you through every last element, right down to telling you about the iOS/Android app you can download to enhance the way you use system. The rest, it seems, you’re expected to figure out for yourself.

And to be honest, it’s not a particularly auspicious early meeting as you’re only given a rudimentary introduction to just a very small selection of the features the TV supports. Your next run in with Sony’s latest Smart TV system begins when you first install the TV. But after forcing ourselves to pay attention to it for a while, it did start to become a reasonably handy aid in instantly knowing exactly where we were in the network of content sources that now makes up our full home entertainment system. Initially we have to say we didn’t really use this feature much, on account of just not noticing it enough. Dubbed the ‘Intelligence Centre’, it produces light from its bottom edge that changes colour depending on what input you’re using. Your introduction to Sony’s latest Smart interface actually begins with the interesting little mirrored silver box that sits in the centre of the bottom edge of Sony’s latest Smart TVs. So we can’t help but wonder if Sony is keeping up – especially as it seems to have been pouring so many of its resources into improving picture quality over the past couple of years. Since then, though, rival brands – especially Samsung and LG – have claimed the smart TV high ground. Sony was one of the pioneers of smart TV. Samsung, Philips and Panasonic have already come under our microscope, and now, on the back of our review of the outstanding Sony Bravia 55W905A TV, it’s Sony’s turn. With smart TV features playing an increasingly important role in which TV you choose these days, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to provide you with in-depth reviews of brand’s smart TV system in 2013.

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