We all the time sit up for Sony’s annual refresh of its X940 TV vary. Nicely, we are saying vary, however truly there’s solely ever a single X940 mannequin. What a mannequin it’s, although, invariably delivering an enormous 75-inch display powered by a few of Sony’s most high-level image applied sciences.
The newest X940, the XBR-75X940E, is probably Sony’s most enjoyable but. It nonetheless makes use of the identical direct LED lighting with native dimming expertise used to such nice impact by its predecessors, whereby separate clusters of lights positioned proper behind the display (relatively than round its edges, as we extra generally see) can produce completely different ranges of sunshine to their neighbors. Nonetheless, the XBR-75X940E vastly will increase the variety of individually managed gentle zones, serving to it to spice up distinction whereas lowering ‘blooming’ (an LCD phenomenon the place you’ll be able to see halos of undesirable gentle air pollution seem round stand-out brilliant objects).
The XBR-75X940E additionally advantages from Sony’s new X1 Excessive processing engine. In addition to hopefully bettering image high quality, this processor is highly effective sufficient to assist the superior Dolby Imaginative and prescient format of Excessive Dynamic Vary through an imminent firmware replace.
Design
Lengthy gone are the times when Sony used to position its TV screens between big, black, speaker-bearing ‘wings’. Now the model is all about maintaining seen bodywork to a naked minimal.
The truth is, the 75X940E ’s black body is so skinny and blends so nicely into the TV’s contrast-rich photos that you just usually don’t really feel conscious of it in any respect. (And belief us, seeing 75 inches of images showing as if from skinny air is a trick that by no means grows previous.)
Impressively, contemplating how little seen bodywork it sports activities, the 75X940E displays a strong and premium really feel when you’re setting it up. It additionally manages a touch of fashion regardless of its ultra-minimalist method by sandwiching its black fascia onto a silvery rear plate, giving its outer sides a fetching two-tone impact.
The 75X40E doesn’t go fairly as far in its pursuit of a ‘display solely’ design as Sony’s A1E OLED TV, because it makes use of a reasonably standard desktop stand relatively than leaning again on a photograph frame-style leg. However this stand’s heavy responsibility brushed steel end ensures it feels extra like an enhancement than a detriment to the display’s design. The stand additionally incorporates some nifty cable administration provisions, that means you don’t have to fret about spools of cable hanging out in all places.
It’s value noting, lastly, that the desktop stand is mounted underneath the display’s mid part, that means you’ll be able to probably place this TV behemoth onto a comparatively small piece of furnishings.
Design TL;DR: Whereas the 75X940E won’t be probably the most glamorous TV on the town, it’s about as subtly elegant as any 75-inch TV could possibly be.
Sensible TV (Android TV)
As with all of Sony’s current mid-range and better TVs, the 75X940E makes use of Google’s Android TV platform for many of its sensible TV options. Which isn’t completely a great factor…
As you would possibly anticipate given the excessive profile it enjoys with builders, Android TV supplies an enormous array of apps for obtain to your TV. Nonetheless, I’m fairly assured that most individuals will discover the overwhelming majority of those apps a whole waste of time in a TV (relatively than smartphone) surroundings.
Happily, tucked away amid all of the dross is a few truly helpful stuff, akin to Netflix, Amazon and YouTube apps, all able to streaming in 4K and HDR.
Regardless of years of updates and tweaks, although, we’re nonetheless not followers of the Android interface. It’s cumbersome, in need of customisation choices, likes pushing content material at you that as a rule you don’t need, painfully keen on usually sizeable updates, and liable to bugs and crashes.
The silver lining right here is that its interface doesn’t run as sluggishly as earlier generations, and Sony just lately added assist for the Google Assistant voice management system to its 4K HDR Android TVs. This actually is useful, because it usually provides you a approach of sidestepping the unhelpful graphical interface.
Sensible TV TL;DR: Android TV continues to frustrate greater than please. Google Assistant now supplies some aid from the heavy-duty menu programs although.
HD/SDR Efficiency
The 75X940E is nothing in need of attractive with excessive definition and commonplace dynamic vary content material.
On the coronary heart of its prowess is the 4K upscaling a part of Sony’s new X1 Excessive processing engine. This makes use of a built-in twin database system to analyse, recognise after which extra precisely and speedily determine how greatest so as to add hundreds of thousands of additional pixels to HD sources with out exaggerating any noise these sources could comprise.
Whereas the outcomes of upscaling won’t ever look nearly as good as a real 4K supply, the 75X940E’s upscaled photos look nearly as good as any I’ve seen. Which is especially spectacular on condition that we’re speaking a couple of 75-inch display, the place there’s no hiding place for any upscaling flaws or glitches.
The X1 Excessive engine additionally supplies the TV world’s best choice for changing commonplace dynamic vary photos into HDR. The conversion system is extra refined than rivals on the subject of increasing SDR photos’ brightness and coloration response, leading to pseudo-HDR photos that look far more persistently pure and balanced.
So good is the HDR up-conversion, the truth is, that we’d think about everybody however probably the most die-hard of AV purists feeling pleased to make use of it.
Should you actually do wish to watch SDR content material in its authentic SDR kind, although, then concern not: the 75X940E’s native SDR photos nonetheless look lovely. Sony’s excellent processing brings out seemingly as a lot coloration and distinction subtlety because it’s potential to get from an SDR supply.
Its wonderful decision upscaling joins with class-leading movement dealing with, too, to make sure that commonplace definition SDR sources look superbly detailed, crisp and clear, even whenever you’re watching motion scenes or sporting occasions.
Lastly, the 75X940E’s mixture of a direct backlight system with greater than 250 individually managed dimming zones delivers the comparatively slender distinction vary of SDR photos just about immaculately, presenting impressively deep black ranges with out compromising shadow particulars or producing distracting backlight clouds or halos round brilliant objects.
HD/SDR efficiency TL;DR: Sony’s excellent image processing and backlight administration be certain that HD SDR photos look just about nearly as good as they’re ever prone to look on a 75-inch 4K TV.
4K/HDR Efficiency
Nice although the XBR-75X940E is with SD/SDR content material, it actually comes into its personal with 4K HDR sources.
It does a surprising job of getting each final pixel of image high quality from 4K sources by combining its uncooked UHD pixel rely with actually distinctive coloration, gentle and movement finesse.
Sony’s Triluminos processing is ready to produce an unlimited array of coloration tones, and works with Sony’s wonderful Tremendous Bitmapping system to make sure that even probably the most refined of coloration blends seems freed from striping or blocking interference. Even when there is perhaps a hint of such noise in an HDR supply.
The mixture of direct LED lighting, native dimming and Sony’s backlight administration processing additionally does a largely sensible job of delivering HDR’s vastly expanded gentle vary. Peak whites and colours look way more intense than they’ve on any earlier X940 mannequin, making it no shock to search out the 75X940E delivering a putting excessive measured brightness on a 10% white HDR window of 1240 nits. This represents a rise of virtually 50% over 2016’s X940 mannequin.
Even higher, although, is the way in which the far more intense HDR brightness peaks are in a position to share the display with deep black colours with out producing very intense or outlined gentle ‘blooming’ round them.
The power of the X1 Excessive processor, in the meantime, to interpolate additional frames of image on the fly with out producing many undesirable negative effects allows the 75X940E to retain just about all of its 4K readability regardless of how a lot movement the image comprises. Although truly, even with out the processing in play its photos look cleaner and fewer juddery than most.
The spectacular quantity of localized brightness and distinction within the 75X940E’s photos make it a largely sensible HDR show. It provides a a lot wider sense of HDR’s gentle vary than any of its X940 predecessors, and the additional brightness additionally unlocks far more of the expanded coloration quantity you get with HDR sources. Particularly these that are partnered with extensive coloration gamut expertise (which just about all of them are).
The additional brightness and X1 Excessive processor additionally work collectively to ship spectacular quantities of refined detailing within the brightest components of HDR photos, avoiding the ‘clipped’ look many HDR TVs endure with.
All in all, we might say that the 75X940E delivers probably the most all-round impactful and immersive HDR image we’ve seen from any LCD TV launched this 12 months.
That’s to not say it’s good. For example, there’s nonetheless a bit backlight clouding across the very brightest HDR objects at instances. You solely discover this, although, if the image round brilliant objects may be very darkish, and even when such clouds seem they’re usually restricted sufficient when it comes to each their depth and the space they journey to not rely as a lot of a distraction in any respect. Particularly given how a lot intense image data there’s to carry your consideration elsewhere.
The ‘blooming’ results do grow to be far more noticeable, although, if it’s a must to watch from an angle of greater than 30 levels or so.
One ultimate difficulty finds darkish objects that seem in opposition to a brilliant HDR backdrop generally trying a contact low on element, in order that they appear extra like silhouettes than detailed, built-in components of the image.
Sadly we may solely take a look at HDR10 content material on the 75X940E, as its Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR replace hasn’t but been launched. Our suspicion based mostly on its common HDR efficiency, although, is that after Dolby Imaginative and prescient arrives, with its layer of additional scene by scene data to assist TVs render HDR photos higher, it should look very good certainly on the 75X940E.
4K/HDR TL;DR: Regardless of the occasional shadowy darkish space and a relatively restricted viewing angle, the 75X940E is actually a sight to behold with any 4K HDR supply.
Sound high quality
The 75X940E doesn’t characteristic any forward-facing audio system, and doesn’t have sufficient depth to supply a lot ‘air-shifting’ room for the audio system it does have. In consequence its sound lacks a bit directness and impression throughout huge film motion scenes.
It’s removed from disastrous, although: It’s highly effective and loud sufficient to supply a soundstage that virtually matches the epic scale of its photos. Voices sound clear and nicely rounded. Particulars and results nonetheless sound clear and clear regardless of the dearth of uncooked, forward-facing assault. And the sound doesn’t grow to be cramped, overloaded or ‘phutty’ when there’s quite a lot of bass to deal with.
Sound high quality TL;DR: Though it lacks a bit aggression and directness, the 75X940E nonetheless delivers a big and immersive wall of sound that matches properly with its epic photos.
Different panels to ponder
Not surprisingly, rival 75-inch TVs are fairly skinny on the bottom. The Samsung equal can be the 75-inch Q7F QLED, with its excessive 1500 nits brightness and Samsung’s newest Quantum Dot expertise. Nevertheless it doesn’t use direct lighting with native dimming just like the Sony, so once more, whereas it will get brighter it might’t ship the identical form of black stage depth and uniformity. However, when you’re in search of extra of a discount, the Q7F prices $1,000 lower than the X940E.
Your different choice can be to maneuver right down to a 65-inch TV. LG’s OLED65E7 delivers attractive contrast-rich OLED image high quality for round $three,499, as does Sony’s $three,500 65A1E OLED TV. Each these units additionally boast sturdy sound high quality – particularly within the Sony’s case.
One final set to think about can be Sony’s personal 75-inch 75Z9D. The Z9D fashions with their 600-plus dimming zones are the best LCD TVs made up to now – however the 75-inch mannequin prices $6,900. The 65-inch Z9D is at the moment out there for simply $three,499, although, when you do not thoughts shaving round 10 inches from the display.
Verdict
Whereas this monstrous 75-inch dimension TV will doubtless be an excessive amount of for a lot of households to deal with, the Sony 75X940E is arms down one of the best new LCD TV of the 12 months. Its mixture of excellent distinction, gorgeously wealthy but additionally refined colours and impeccable sharpness and movement dealing with works wonders with HDR and SDR alike. It’s surprisingly elegant for such a big TV, too.
Maybe better of all, although, its sub-$four,500 value appears to be like like one thing of a steal when you think about that you just’re actually shopping for a top quality house cinema show relatively than a mere TV. It comes extremely advisable with our seal of approval.