In my years of reviewing I’ve discovered that one of the best TVs made by manufacturers like Vizio and TCL can carry out in addition to better-known nameplates like Samsung and the TV granddaddy of all of them, Sony. The query TV consumers face is whether or not to pay a pair hundred {dollars} extra for the sleeker design and superior cachet of an “S” model. The midpriced X90J is Sony’s strongest try but to persuade you to pony up — only a bit.
LikeExcellent picture qualityCapable Google TV good systemSolid connectivitySubtle, understated design
Don’t LikeMore costly than competing TVs with related image high quality.
The X90J has a greater image than final yr’s commendable X900H, and whereas the X90J did not carry out fairly in addition to the TCL 6-Series, the 2 have been very shut in my side-by-side comparisons. The Sony is shiny with nice distinction for each customary and HDR content material, and whereas it does not match the punch of the TCL or the Hisense 65U8G — each of which price much less — it is nonetheless a wonderful performer. Sony’s modern appears to be like and the Google TV working system rating extra factors in its favor, as does its next-gen console help (it has 4K/120fps inputs and Sony guarantees VRR… someday) and built-in NextGen TV tuner. But whether or not you purchase this TV actually comes all the way down to how a lot you worth Sony’s model. The X90J might be one of the best worth in Sony’s TV line this yr, however if you need one of the best worth total, it is nonetheless the TCL.
Sizes in Sony X90J collection
Model quantity
Screen dimension
XR50X90J
50-inch
XR55X90J
55-inch
XR65X90J
65-inch
XR75X90J
75-inch
In addition to the fashions above, Sony can be promoting the 100-inch X92J with related specs. It will get its personal mannequin line, nevertheless, due to a special bezel configuration and, you realize, its humongous dimension. It ships later this summer season for $20,000.
Lean again in blackThe X90J does not deign to make use of silver or off-gray to distinguish itself — it merely wears all black, on a regular basis. From a distance it appears to be like like each different black slab of TV, however nearer inspection reveals touches just like the beveled body edge and a slim slit underneath the refined Sony emblem. The stand’s legs angle the panel again barely from plumb, an impact seen in profile however not straight-on.
David Katzmaier/CNET
The distant is old-school Sony: Way too many buttons, most of which you will by no means use. I desire the sleeker, easier clickers of Samsung and Roku, in addition to the motion-infused wands of LG.
Google TV, no Chromecast requiredUntil TCL’s Google TVs arrive later this yr, Sony is the one TV maker to construct in Google’s newest big-screen working system. Google TV, additionally obtainable on the brand new Chromecast, has just a few upgrades and enhancements in comparison with the older Android TV system discovered on TVs from Hisense and others. Both techniques provide the identical collection of hundreds of apps — greater than Samsung and LG, and on par with Roku and Fire TV — however Google TV is extra polished to make use of.
David Katzmaier/CNET
The For You part enables you to select which providers seem in Google TV’s listing of advisable reveals. Choices embody main names like from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, HBO Max and Sling TV, however as common Netflix is not included. Search leans closely into Google Assistant voice instructions, with steered phrases like “Show me free movies” front-and-center, and I recognize the power to dive deeper into sections like Comedy TV Shows or New Movies. All instructed, I nonetheless desire the straightforward, app-based menus of Roku, partially as a result of Google TV nonetheless appears cluttered with stuff I do not need, but it surely’s a extra succesful system than Samsung, LG or Vizio.New for this yr is Sony’s BRAVIA Core streaming service, which delivers Sony Pictures and a few Imax motion pictures in “UHD BD equivalent quality with streaming up to 80Mbps.” If you are a stickler for picture high quality and like the choice, it could be price shopping for the movies there as an alternative of a competing service like Vudu, Apple or Amazon, however personally I’d select the better compatibility of one other service. I did recognize that my X90J pattern unlocked 5 free motion pictures, nevertheless.Local dimming, meet game-friendly connectionsKey TV options
Display expertise
LED LCD
LED backlight
Full array with native dimming
Resolution
4K
HDR appropriate
HDR10 and Dolby Vision
Smart TV
Google TV
Remote
Standard voice
The X90J is Sony’s most inexpensive 2021 TV with full-array native dimming, a characteristic that illuminates completely different areas of the display screen independently for higher distinction — and a vital image enhancement for any critical LCD-based TV. Unlike Vizio, Hisense or TCL, Sony does not disclose the variety of dimming zones on its TVs, and whereas extra zones usually equate to raised efficiency, that is not all the time the case.Other picture-centric extras embody a local 120Hz refresh price, a notable enchancment on paper over the faux 120Hz refresh charges (they’re really 60Hz native) discovered on cheaper TVs. The X90J helps all the key HDR codecs, together with Dolby Vision. Unlike Samsung, TCL and Vizio, Sony does not use quantum dots, so its HDR colour gamut is not as extensive.
David Katzmaier/CNET
4x HDMI inputs2x USB portsComposite AV inputEthernet (LAN) portOptical digital audio output1x headphone/subwoofer audio output1x RF (antenna) inputRS-232 port (minijack)The X90J’s enter choice is superb, if not but as succesful as some opponents. The first two HDMI inputs are primary HDMI 2.0 whereas Input 3 and 4 work with some HDMI 2.1 options, particularly 4K decision at as much as 120 frames per second — nice for players who wish to make the most of excessive body charges from an Xbox Series X or Sony PlayStation 5. Input 3 additionally helps enhanced audio return channel. No enter handles VRR (variable refresh price) nevertheless, an additional most opponents provide. Sony says VRR will arrive with a future firmware replace, however did not specify when. It stated the identical factor concerning the X900H from final yr, and that TV nonetheless does not help VRR. Neither does Sony’s personal PS5 console, but.The X90J’s antenna enter includes a built-in ATSC 3.0 over-the-air tuner, which permits it to obtain NextGen TV broadcasts. Those are nonetheless solely obtainable in a small variety of markets so I did not get the possibility to take a look at this characteristic, but it surely’s good to know that when the broadcasts grow to be extra widespread, X90J homeowners will not have to attach an exterior tuner field to observe. The X90J is the most cost effective 2021 TV with a NextGen tuner.Unlike a lot of Samsung’s and LG’s units, the Sony really has an analog video enter, albeit composite-only, and I additionally recognize having a headphone jack.
David Katzmaier/CNET
Picture high quality comparisonsSony’s baseline native dimming mannequin has excellent picture high quality, with deep black ranges, shiny highlights and glorious accuracy. It cannot get fairly as shiny as both the TCL or Hisense I used for this comparability, a distinction that confirmed up in shiny rooms and with shiny HDR photos particularly, however its distinction and black ranges in combined content material have been on par and in lots of areas it was extra correct than both one.
Dim lighting: The X90J carried out properly in house theater conditions, as I noticed throughout the darkish Dol Guldur part of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies on customary Blu-ray (Chapter 3). With brightness calibrated for a dim room, the Sony, TCL and Hisense all seemed very related when it comes to black degree in areas just like the letterbox bars and shadows of Gandalf’s cage, for instance. Details in near-black areas just like the stone stairs and ruined crags of the fortress appeared pure and well-defined on all the TVs, and whereas the Sony had a slight edge it was shut sufficient to require a side-by-side comparability to discern.Bright lighting: The X90J is a shiny TV, with related luminance to the X900H final yr. It did not outshine the competing TCL or Hisense fashions in my side-by-side comparability, nevertheless.Light output in nits
TV
Brightest (SDR)
Accurate colour (SDR)
Brightest (HDR)
Accurate colour (HDR)
Samsung QN65QN90A
1,622
1,283
2,596
1,597
Hisense 65U8G
1,569
1,500
2,214
2,214
TCL 65R635 (2020)
1,114
792
1,292
1,102
Sony XR65X90J
951
815
945
847
Sony XBR-65X900H (2020)
841
673
989
795
Vizio P65Q9-H1 (2020)
768
629
1,305
1,084
Samsung QN65Q80T (2020)
664
503
1,243
672
LG OLED65G1
377
334
769
763
Vivid is Sony’s brightest customary dynamic vary (SDR) setting and as common it has extremely inaccurate colour. For an correct image with SDR I used the Custom setting with brightness at Max and Peak Brightness turned as much as High — it labored, however I’d desire Sony to have a separate, correct image mode for shiny rooms, like Vizio with its Calibrated mode.Unlike earlier years the brightest excessive dynamic vary (HDR) mode wasn’t Vivid, as an alternative it was the more-accurate Standard. Since Standard is about 100 nits (roughly 10%) brighter than Custom, it is a first rate alternative if you need most brightness for HDR however do not demand the accuracy of Custom.The Sony’s display screen end was superior to the TCL and Hisense at dimming shiny reflections and preserving distinction and black ranges, though the distinction wasn’t main. I most well-liked the Sony’s bright-room picture to that of the opposite two in most scenes, though it wasn’t pretty much as good total as Samsung fashions I’ve examined beforehand.Color accuracy: The Sony was strong earlier than calibration, apart from a slight bluish tinge, and afterward was glorious. The Battle of the Five Armies has a muted palette till the very finish when Bilbo returns house, and the sensible greens of the Shire hillside, the blue of the sky and even the colourful yellow, pink and blue doorways got here by way of superbly on the X90J. As common nevertheless it did not outpace the opposite units considerably after adjustment, both with the film or take a look at patterns.Video processing: The X90J had no points delivering correct 1080p/24 cadence with its Motionflow controls within the Off place, which might be one of the best for movie purists. Meanwhile the Auto setting launched the buttery smoothness of the cleaning soap opera impact. Then there’s the Custom setting, which has adjustable Smoothness and Clearness.A Smoothness setting above 1 introduces important SOE, whereas 0 turns it off. I really did not thoughts the slight smoothing that the 1 setting introduces (some purists may), however its impact on movement decision was actually slight, so I’d in all probability persist with 0. The Clearness setting ramps up black body insertion to enhance movement decision, but it surely does not have any impact (apart from dimming the picture) except you’ve got bought Smoothness at 2 or increased. In different phrases, there is not any solution to get one of the best of each worlds — excessive movement decision and no SOE — with one setting.Sony talks up its cognitive processing however with The Hobbit I discovered it robust to select any benefit the X90J had over the opposite two TVs. Details seemed related and except I performed with the Reality Creation settings, which added further processing I did not actually like, any variations have been refined at finest.Uniformity: Each of the screens was roughly related at delivering a good picture throughout your entire floor, with no main shiny or darkish spots, banding or different main points. From off-angle the X90J was barely higher at sustaining colour constancy than the TCL and about the identical because the Hisense, whereas the Sony’s black degree constancy from off-angle was much like the others, though it did present much less blooming than both one.
David Katzmaier/CNET
Gaming: Although it lacks the flamboyant recreation extras like devoted modes and standing shows discovered on 2021 fashions from LG and Samsung, the X90J continues to be an excellent gaming TV. Playing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla on Xbox One X, its default 4K HDR picture was glorious, with higher shadow element than Hisense and about the identical because the TCL — essential for making out hidden enemies. Highlights and total brightness have been dimmer than the opposite two however the Sony nonetheless had loads of HDR punch.With each the PS5 and Xbox Series X, the X90J dealt with 4K/120 fps enter on HDMI 3 and 4. At first that did not appear to be the case, nevertheless — each consoles indicated that they’d maxed out at 4K/60 once I initially linked them. I surfaced the difficulty with Sony and was instructed to ensure the HDMI setting (discovered at Settings > Channels & Inputs > External Inputs > HDMI sign format) was right. Changing it from Enhanced format (Dolby Vision) — which limits enter to 4K/60 — to Enhanced format did the trick; solely within the latter setting will the X90J deal with 120fps enter at 4K. Playing Ori and the Will O Wisps on Series X seemed suitably clean. It’s price noting that non-Sony TVs delivered 4K/120 mechanically in my exams, with out me having to regulate these sorts of settings.The X90J served up low enter lag in recreation mode at round 17 milliseconds for each 1080p and 4K HDR. That’s a pair milliseconds extra (worse) than the X900H final yr and a pair extra off the tempo of the least-laggy TVs, when you’re counting, however I doubt even the twitchiest of players would discover.
HDR and 4K video: The Sony X90J delivered a wonderful HDR picture. While it did not match the influence of the opposite two, each of which seemed persistently brighter, the Sony was extra pleasing with combined theatrical content material and in addition confirmed much less blooming. Between the three I most well-liked the TCL in most scenes total, however the Sony is an in depth second.Watching the montage from the Spears and Munsil 4K Blu-ray, for instance, shiny pure scenes seemed excellent on all three TVs, however the TCL and particularly the Hisense have been markedly brighter, an impression confirmed by spot measurements. The setting solar above the lake, for instance (2:10) measured 391, 560 and 621 nits on the Sony, TCL and Hisense respectively, a distinction that was simply seen. Another apparent distinction got here with the objects on largely black backgrounds, such because the peacock feather (2:59), the place the Sony’s “black” appeared as extra of a darkish grey across the edges of the feather and the corners of the display screen, in comparison with the deeper black of the opposite two, particularly the TCL. To its credit score the Sony hewed nearer to the goal EOTF than the Hisense, which confirmed some brighter shadows among the many buildings and a flatter, less-natural look on the crocodile, for instance, however the distinction wasn’t drastic. The Sony’s HDR colour additionally seemed excellent, regardless of its smaller gamut measurements. The flowers and butterflies appeared lush and well-saturated, higher than the TCL and about the identical because the Hisense. When I switched again to the 4K HDR Blu-ray of Five Armies, the Sony got here into its personal. Highlights and brighter scenes have been nonetheless dimmer than the others however in combined darkish scenes, like Dol Guldur in Chapter 9, the X90J maintained darker letterbox bars than the opposite two, particularly the Hisense, for a extra theatrical look. Between the three the TCL seemed finest, putting essentially the most pleasing stability between brightness and black degree for essentially the most constant distinction, however the Sony was very shut.The Sony’s letterbox bars additionally betrayed much less blooming, or stray illumination, then both of the others, with the ultrabright Hisense once more the worst offender. Comparing colours within the movie, from the raging pink of Sauron’s flames to the light hillside of the Shire, the Sony and Hisense seemed essentially the most pleasing as soon as once more, with the TCL only a step less-saturated.
David Katzmaier/CNET
Sony X90J image settings, HDR notes and chartsCNET is not publishing superior image settings for any TVs we evaluation. Instead, we’ll give extra common suggestions to get one of the best image with out itemizing the detailed white stability or colour administration system (CMS) settings we could have used to calibrate the TV. As all the time, the settings offered are a guidepost, and if you need essentially the most correct image you need to get knowledgeable calibration.Prior to calibration, the Cinema, IMAX Enhanced and Custom settings have been essentially the most correct on the X90J, with the slight edge to Custom for its extra linear gamma. All three modes confirmed considerably bluish colour temperature and better brightness than my dim-room goal. After adjusting brightness to hit my 137-nit goal, the essential two-point colour temperature controls labored fantastically to calibrate the blue solid away, to the extent that I did not want to the touch the obtainable 10-point system in any respect. Primary and secondary colour accuracy was the same story: correct sufficient that I did not even miss the Sony’s lack of a CMS.Dark room settingsDisplay & Sound, Picture menu– Basic sub-menuPicture mode: CustomAuto image mode: OffLight sensor: Off– Brightness sub-menuBrightness: 5Contrast: 90Gamma: -1HDR tone mapping: Off [grayed out for SDR]Black degree: 50Black regulate: OffAdv. distinction enhancer: OffAuto native dimming: MediumPeak luminance: Off– Color sub-menuColor: 50Hue: 0Color temperature: Expert 1Live Color: Off– Clarity sub-menuSharpness: 20Reality Creation: OffRandom noise discount: OffDigital noise discount: OffEasy gradation: Low– Motion sub-menuMotionflow: OffCineMotion: High– Video sign sub-menuHDR mode: AutoHDMI video vary: AutoColor house: Auto– Adv. colour adjustment sub-menuHDR mode: AutoHDMI video vary: AutoColor house: AutoBright room settings– Brightness sub-menu:Brightness: Max [or to taste]Peak luminance: High[no other changes from above]HDR notes: Custom delivered essentially the most correct picture for HDR, monitoring the goal EOTF barely higher than Cinema or IMAX Enhanced and a lot better than any of the opposite modes. Among the three HDR Tone Mapping settings (Off, Gradation Preferred and Brightness Preferred), Off adopted the EOTF closest however the Cinema default, Gradation, was additionally fairly shut. Color gamut measured comparatively low at 87% of P3 whereas secondary colour measurements have been each excellent.Geek Box
Test
Result
Score
Black luminance (0%)
0.004
Good
Peak white luminance (SDR)
951
Good
Avg. gamma (10-100%)
2.25
Good
Avg. grayscale error (10-100%)
0.76
Good
Dark grey error (30%)
0.78
Good
Bright grey error (80%)
0.34
Good
Avg. colour checker error
2.00
Good
Avg. saturation sweeps error
1.54
Good
Avg. colour error
1.72
Good
Red error
1.17
Good
Green error
1.89
Good
Blue error
2.87
Good
Cyan error
1.52
Good
Magenta error
1.09
Good
Yellow error
1.76
Good
1080p/24 Cadence (IAL)
Pass
Good
Motion decision (max)
1200
Good
Motion decision (dejudder off)
400
Poor
Input lag (Game mode)
13.8
Good
HDR10
Black luminance (0%)
0.004
Good
Peak white luminance (10% win)
945
Average
Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976)
86.71
Poor
ColorMatch HDR error
2.72
Good
Avg. colour checker error
1.67
Good
Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR)
13.5
Good
Sony X90J CNET evaluation calibration outcomes by David Katzmaier on ScribdPortrait Displays Calman calibration software program was used on this evaluation.