We might have our issues with the X8500G's somewhat lacking audio chops, the host of settings that need correcting from the word go, and the hamster-powered internals, but Skyworth makes up for the issues with a reasonable price tag and decent visuals we didn't mind hooking up our PS5 to.
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Design
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Display
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Performance
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Features
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Value
Skyworth has been a go-to for budget and mid-range screens, and it’s played its role for the niche remarkably well. That’s no less evident in the just-OK X8500G, of which Stuff has spent the past few weeks with the 65in model. It’s a TV that’ll get the job done, focussing heavily on gimmicks to distract you from the decidedly mid-range display on offer here.
Skyworth does at least manage to excel when it comes to the price. It knows exactly what it is – and plays to its strengths well. You’re getting a whole lot of screen with the 65X8500G, going for a reasonable R15,000 that’ll stretch to R20,000 if you’re looking to add ten inches. Sure, you’re sacrificing picture quality, but if there’s Cocomelon on a loop while you huddle around your smartphone, what’s the problem, really?
Going it alone
You were never going to feel the smooth, cold touch of metal beneath your skin at this price range, but the X8500G is all the better for it. Assembling a 65in TV is never something we look forward to, especially alone. But here, we found the TV to be rather manageable thanks to the lightweight plastic frame. A couple of screws, a pair of hands, and a few minutes was all it took to get the X8500G upright.
After that, it’s a simple process of putting all the cables in the right spots. That shouldn’t be too difficult – Skyworth’s thrown in three HDMI ports to get familiar with, on top of a LAN hole if that’s how you swing, and two USB-A ports. By other standards, that might be considered a fairly bare-bones affair, but for the price tag, it’s about average. It’s not like most folks need more than three, anyway.
Not-so-fresh out-of-the-box
We only wish we could say the same for the X8500G’s, well, everything. After you’ve suffered through the unnecessarily long Google TV setup (which can be skipped at the risk of missing out on apps, nearly essential to survival in this streaming wasteland), it came time to hunker down and begin the seemingly endless fiddling with the TV’s settings to get the picture just right – nearly all of which were “wrong”.
True, a TV’s settings can be subjective, but we also don’t want to hear that. Start by finding the “right” picture mode, as we found the default setting to be far too dark to be enjoyed correctly. Next, find and eliminate any setting with the word “motion,” and finally, nix the power-saving settings to free up a couple of lumens right off the bat. You can continue fiddling with the rest to customise the X8500G to your liking, but those are the essentials.
Fortunately, the X8500G emerged from its (thorough) settings cleansing as a better TV. You’ll want to keep an eye on those settings, however. We had trouble getting them to stick, often turning the TV on to squint vaguely at the panel to determine whether it was just our eyes or if the TV should be that dim. We experienced this “glitch” on two separate occasions, requiring a fresh bath.
Up to scratch
It’s a shame, really. Skyworth is ultimately shooting itself in the foot with such onerous settings, alienating a large portion of its mid-range demographic with a picture that doesn’t look particularly great at first glance. We’re not saying that a quick visit to the settings will fix all of the X8500G’s problems but it did at least become something we didn’t mind plugging our PlayStation into.
The X8500G has all the makings of a decent mid-range TV, and even some – like the 120Hz refresh rate – that take it that step further. It employs Mini-LED tech to light up the 4K panel used here, managing to hit a lot of the right notes. It’ll never live up to the deep blacks of an OLED panel, but it gets by just fine, even in the daylight. It’ll require some tweaking to the local dimming settings first, we found.
Skyworth’s choice of 4K panel, coupled with a matte coating, makes the X8500G more than bright enough, no matter the time of day or your room lighting. Sure, you’ll always get better results from a typical movie night but a sneaky viewing of Highlander while on the clock? It’ll manage it, and more. Images remain sharp, and it handles the colours well, even if they do appear a bit muted at times.
OK, Karaoke. Jeez…
Unfortunately, Skyworth couldn’t quite afford more than a singular hamster running on a wheel to power the TV’s internals, so navigation suffers tremendously as a result. There’s always some lag to fend off in the first couple of minutes of powering the TV up, but that fades away as you settle down to the latest episode of Severance.
Skyworth bills the X8500G as an “AI Karaoke TV” which is technically true. It does manage to create a karaoke experience from scratch, even if it’s a feature we didn’t get all that much use out of. That might have something to do with our tone-deaf rendition of Radiohead’s Creep. What we’re trying to say in a roundabout way is that, while AI karaoke isn’t for us, it works well enough to entice the real singers out there.
For an “AI Karaoke” TV, our ears walked away from the X8500G’s sound a little disappointed. It’s not that it doesn’t have enough “boom” to fill the average lounge – it does – but it’s missing the subtle nuances necessary to recognise Everything Everywhere All At Once’s superb audio detailing. Even a middling soundbar proved to be an effective fix, however.
Fortunately, Skyworth has at least opted to go down the Google TV route. The wholly Android affair makes finding and downloading apps a breeze for the old hands (if you can handle the stutters along the journey), and the dedicated Google Assistant button offers up voice searches. Again, it’s not something we’re all that fond of using, but it’s nice to have the option.
Skyworth 65X8500G verdict
For the R15,000 price, Skyworth makes a compelling case for why the X8500G should be your new mid-range TV of choice. It’s packing a 4K Mini-LED panel we’ll admit was never more than just “OK”, delivering decent visuals and brighter-than-expected content fit for a daytime soapie. It’s unfortunately bogged down by poor processing power, weaker-than-most sound, and far too many settings that’ll bamboozle the average Joe. Put your head (and settings) on straight and an adequate experience can be had for a few bucks less than the competition.
