Introduction

The Sony Bravia KDL-55HX850 is Sony's flagship TV for 2012, throwing in all the bells and whistles Sony has to offer. What that amounts to, though, seems largely academic. Most of the features are either minor upgrades to online and streaming content services or advances in picture quality that would probably escape the notice of the average TV owner. That's not to say that the HX850 isn't impressive, but last year's high-end Sonys are probably being sold at deep discount while we write this, and it would be worth your while to shop around with the knowledge that you're not missing that much by skipping the new 2012 series.