Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K HDR OLED TV Review

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K HDR OLED

"The A90J offers the best picture and sound quality in a television today."

  • Brightest OLED TV

  • Exceptional HDR performance

  • Perfect black levels

  • Breathtaking detail

Since CES 2021, rumors have spread about the Sony A90J OLED TV. The promise of a strong increase in brightness and a bold new image processor made TV freaks like me drool. The $ 4,000 Question? Is the hype surrounding this television – for which I am partly responsible – true? We'll find out in a moment.

In this review, I'm going to discuss what makes the A90J OLED TV so high quality, how bright it really gets, and why you might or might not want all that brightness on tap, analyze the picture quality and go into it, and there's a little bit of gaming features to determine too on how great this TV really is, and whether it's worth saving a few cents – or really Benjamin's – so you can buy it.

Spoiler alert: this TV is superb.

Jump to: Out of the box | User experience | Sound quality | About this brightness | Picture settings / picture quality | Play | My attitude

Out of the box

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

As soon as you crack the box, it becomes immediately clear that the A90J is a premium luxury product – you can tell by that $ 4,000 price tag too. The good news is that the A90J looks and feels absolutely like an ultra-premium TV. From the frameless edges to the ultra-slim shape to the brushed metal remote control that came with it, you'll feel like you got what you paid for with this TV. I didn't experience any disappointments with unboxing.

One of the things I like the most about the design of this TV is the convertible stand. You have three options for leg placement. For one, the TV can sit a few inches above your media stand, leaving just the right amount of space for a soundbar, which hides any unruly cables left over due to a disappointing cable management system. The second option is to flip the feet so that the TV is flush with your media housing and doesn't leave a noticeable gap – the same ultra-smooth look as last year's Z8H 8K OLED TV. The third option places the legs in the center of the TV, allowing for much tighter space for smaller media stands.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED television "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/sony-a90j-review-ry-9 - 640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAARiley Young / Digital Trends

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Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED television "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/sony-a90j-review-ry-6 - 640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAARiley Young / Digital Trends

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For wall mounting, expect a very clean look with just a slight dent from the wall. Even with that bump, the TV's incredibly thin OLED panel continues to attract oohs and aahs.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K HDR OLED TV details

While we tested the 65-inch model XR65A90J, our test also applies to the 55-inch model.

Screen size Model number RRP
55 inches XR55A90J $ 3,000
65 inches XR65A90J $ 4,000

User experience

Setting up the A90J is a breeze, especially if you have a Google Account and the Google Home app – all thanks to the recently released Google TV platform, first seen in the new Chromecast with Google TV.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

I enjoyed Google TV when it came out, but I've grown since the new Chromecast became my favorite streaming device in my bedroom. The implementation as a smart TV platform in Sony televisions solidified my fandom. Not only did the A90J more or less do its initial setup itself, but since I previously entered usernames and passwords for the streaming apps I previously used through Google TV, there was no need to go through that tedious process again – Google TV remembered most of them and immediately signed me up by clicking "Yes". I know this is probably more of a pain point for a reviewer like me, but I still love it.

The bottom line is that the television is a pleasure to use.

Aside from being easy to set up, Google TV does a better and better job of mixing content that I watch regularly with relevant suggested content that somehow doesn't feel like an ad. With Google TV, you can easily pick up where you left off on a movie or show. This is a very familiar and accessible interface in general, even if you've never used it before. And of course, Chromecast is built in along with all of The Google Assistant's power for search, TV control, and general information.

The bottom line is that the television is a pleasure to use. Even the Settings menu has explanations of what each button and slider do when you adjust it.

Sound quality

Sound quality isn't something I normally think about in these reviews, but, sweet grace, this TV sounds amazing.

If you didn't already know, Sony places transducers on the back of the OLED panel that turn the screen into a speaker. That way, the sound comes straight from the screen itself, and this system does an incredible job of localizing sound to the screen source. For example, if someone is speaking on the right side of the screen, you will hear them speak from where their face appears – as if the actor's voice is actually coming out of the screen's mouth.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

The bass response of the A90J has been improved since Sony first used this type of audio solution and implemented an additional bass driver and maze of bass ports on the back of the TV. I love to hear TV sound that big. No, it's not the same as a dedicated sub, but you'll be amazed at how deep and loud the A90J can sound when called.

I can't think of any other TV that sounds this good.

Also, Sony used some acoustic tricks to vertically improve the sound field. So it seems that the sound is coming from outside the confines of the TV. Additionally, virtual surround effects, which I normally don't like, sound very convincing from the A90J. I can't think of any other TV that honestly sounds this good.

However, if you prefer a more sophisticated multispeaker surround system, you can use the TV as the center speaker. Many people – other reviewers, apparently – believe that the two speaker ports on the back of the TV are for powering a center channel speaker. It is not – these ports are actually inputs. The television is designed to receive a signal from an A / V receiver, downconvert the signal to speaker level, and then amplify it through its own speakers, effectively replacing a center channel speaker. And it works fantastically well.

About this brightness

I'm about to dig into picture quality, but first I want to talk about two of the reasons this TV is supposed to be such a big deal this year. One is brightness potential – possibly the brightest OLED TV ever made. The other is the processing that we always talk about with Sony TVs because the processing makes a huge difference in picture quality and that Sony’s has been the best in the past.

In terms of processing, Sony has moved from Extreme to Ultimate and has now taken a new direction. Sony calls this year's novelty the Cognitive Processor XR. The name is a bit mouthful, but what it means is that Sony – according to its own description – designed the image processor to work in a similar way to how our brains think and how we perceive things.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED television "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/sony-a90j-review-ry-14 - 640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAARiley Young / Digital Trends

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According to Sony, the processor is so advanced that it can pick up every element of image quality and the cross-reference at the same time, just like our brains. The result should be an extremely realistic picture. For example, one of its advantages is that the XR processor can detect that it needs to improve details in an animal's fur, but not necessarily the details of the blurry meadows and trees in the background. I know this sounds like a lot, and I'm sure there is more than a tablespoon of marketing out there, but Sony has lived up to its claims for superior workmanship in the past and I can tell you now that it actually delivers the new XR processor.

As for the A90J's newly discovered brightness boost, you may have heard that LG also has a new OLED TV that can get brighter than ever, and you may think Sony is getting the OLED panels from LG Display that they are possibly playing the same game to become the reigning king of brightness. BUT they are not.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

Sony's approach differs in that while it uses a similar new OLED panel from LG Display – which I haven't yet confirmed – it has also developed a new heat sink technology that allows the panel to be harder and run a little longer without the Damaging pixels or prematurely wearing them out. It was rumored that the TV can reach 1300 nits in Vivid mode – that's almost twice as bright as previous Sony OLEDs. I'll talk about whether this brightness is realistic or even desirable in a moment, but first let me talk about the picture settings and some measurements I took when I rated the TV.

Picture settings / picture quality

If you want the brightest picture on the A90J while maintaining some level of accuracy (adhering to Hollywood picture standards), avoid Standard or Vivid Picture modes. The TV's custom mode is used for playback. Once Custom is selected, you'll want to turn off the ambient light sensor. This setting is conveniently listed next to the brightness settings. Please note that switching off the sensor deactivates other functions with which the brightness curve can be adjusted depending on the room lighting, e.g. B. Dolby Vision IQ. Also under the brightness setting, I recommend setting the peak brightness to high. This will brighten the image in both SDR and HDR modes.

With these settings I have a peak value of 370 nits in the SDR. I measured the standard 150 nits with the low peak brightness setting. The color accuracy in this mode, after reducing the amount of blue that blends into white, was insanely spot on. Only the most extreme red crossed the threshold for noticeable inaccuracies, and even then only barely. I am seriously impressed.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

No further adjustments to the image settings were required for HDR. I checked the peak brightness and it stayed constant at around 760 nits (closer to 800 nits when the light meter accuracy is adjusted) which is very good for a custom mode or a cinema mode like this one.

The color was very accurate when the peak brightness was not set to high. Slight inaccuracies crept in when the peak brightness was increased, which is to be expected. But again hardly noticeable. We keep the television at the highest level and it comes closer than almost anything I've seen before. Save a reference monitor like Sony's own BVM X300, a ridiculously expensive true RGB OLED mastering monitor that Hollywood uses when mastering movies.

When I went into Vivid mode, I didn't have to make any adjustments to get 1,250 nits (closer to 1,300 to compensate for the inaccuracy of the light meter), although that number fell to around 950 once the A90J's automatic brightness limiter was activated. This is a good thing to do to prevent these pixels from overheating unnecessarily.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

So there you have it: confirmation that this TV can indeed get extraordinarily bright when you ask it, no doubt about it. And a clear indication that Sony is taking a different approach than LG.

But how can this strong brightness be transferred to real television? Do you need that much brightness on an OLED TV? I say yes, but with some caveats.

Everything I've ever loved about OLED TV picture quality is elevated.

I would never watch TV in Vivid mode. It looks tough and artificial. If you've had to go to Vivid during a big sports party and watch daylight shining straight into the TV, then this kind of brightness comes in handy. For normal playback, the user-defined mode or the cinema mode with activated peak brightness is more than just pleasant, it is dazzling. This extra brightness, used in the right places and in the right way, enhances the overall image, but has a particularly positive effect on HDR highlights.

The A90J is everything I have ever loved about OLED TV picture quality. The accuracy, level of detail and richness of this TV are intense. I absolutely love it. While I can freely admit that I've been a Sony fan for a while, this TV is objectively good. Best picture quality I've ever seen. That's it. I know there will be a lot of great TVs out there, but this TV is the benchmark now and will be hard to beat.

Play

Now let's talk about gaming. This TV has two HDMI 2.1 ports with the ability to support 4K 120 Hz, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and many other desirable features. Unfortunately, one of those ports is the TV's eARC port. So if you want to connect more than one HDMI 2.1 device – such as the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 – you'll have to give up the eARC capability. It is not possible to connect both consoles directly to the TV and connect a cable to a soundbar or receiver.

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TV games "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/sony-a90j-review-ry -17 -640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAARiley Young / Digital Trends

Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED TV games "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://img.dtcn.com/image/digitaltrends/sony-a90j-review-ry -16 -640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAARiley Young / Digital Trends

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However, if you're running the consoles through an HDMI 2.1 friendly A / V receiver that passes 4K 120Hz signals, this might be fine. All I know is that a lot of the receivers available this year are struggling a little with this.

Otherwise, as far as I've been able to determine, almost everything seems to work fine at startup except VRR – that's another story. It may be a while before we see a firmware update from Sony that enables VRR on 2021 and selects 2020 TVs.

That being said, the A90J's picture quality goes for gaming – they look incredible. This TV isn't as game-oriented as the LG G1, but that's a discussion for a Versus article coming out soon. Watch this room.

My attitude

To be honest, the A90J is a work of art and a feat of engineering. I absolutely love it. The challenge is the price, but luckily, prices go down over time. Price aside, the A90J is one of the best TVs you can buy in 2021 and maybe beyond.

Is there a better alternative?

In terms of picture and sound quality, no. However, the LG G1 OLED evo comes very close and has the advantage of advanced gaming features and a much cheaper price at launch.

How long it will take?

The Sony A90J is a remarkably advanced, well-built television. It should take a long time to come.

warranty

Sony provides a one-year parts and labor warranty on its televisions when purchased from an authorized dealer. Please refer to the Sony Manual and Warranty page for more information.

Should you buy it?

Yes. It may be expensive, but the A90J has the best picture and sound quality you can get in a TV today.

Editor's recommendations




Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV Review (P65Q9-H1)

Vizio 65 "Class P-Series (P65Q9-H1)

"One of the best values ​​in high-performance television."

  • Excellent HDR brightness for the price

  • Fixed black levels at an angle

  • Excellent color coverage

  • HDMI 2.1 connectors

  • Feature loaded

  • Possible local dimming error

  • Game console synchronization error

  • Bad contrast out of angle

After looking at the Vizio P-Series Quantum X (PQX for short), I wondered if people really needed all of the bells and whistles that Vizio's premium set had to offer. For a few hundred dollars less, I was hoping the rundown Quantum of the Vizio P-Series (PQ9 for short) would be "all killer, no filler." What do you lose if you lose the "X"? Let's find out.

Details on the Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV

While we tested the 65-inch model, our test also applies to the 75-inch model.

Screen size Model number RRP
65 inches P65Q9-H1 $ 1,200
75 in P75Q9-H1 $ 1,700

Out of the box

The box comes with the standard Vizio remote control (no voice), batteries and two easy-to-install metal feet and four screws. Similar to the Quantum X, the back of the PQ9 is fairly straightforward and includes a power connector and speakers, as well as inputs that are shaped in an “L” pattern on one side. Inputs include analog and optical audio, four HDMI ports (with eARC on port 1), composite video, and USB. While only the third and fourth HDMI inputs are labeled as 4K 120 Hz supportive, Vizio has assured us that all four HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.1.

Similar to the PQX, the PQ9 is an attractive television. There are practically no bezels at the top and the sides and just a thin metal strip at the bottom. The Vizio logo is on the right side of the lower edge and on the left is an inconspicuous power indicator. Because the PQ9 has a local full array dimming backlight system, the TV does not have a particularly deep profile.

The PQ9 sits just high enough above an entertainment stand that one of Vizio's soundbars (we used the M-Series 5.1 soundbar) can slide right underneath, making for one of the most understated soundbar arrangements I've ever seen.

When I have to complain about the design of the TV, there is no cable management to speak of. If there is a soundbar, you probably won't see any dangling cables, but with nothing blocking your view, the cables were clearly visible.

Basic settings

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Maintaining the picture settings is a little less annoying than with other TV brands. The picture settings for apps and HDMI inputs must be specified separately. In addition, there are individual settings for SDR, HDR and Dolby Vision content that must be processed for apps and HDMI inputs.

In my experience, the easiest way is to open the YouTube app on the TV, play SDR content, then navigate to the picture settings menu and select the preset for calibrated pictures. Further down the image settings menu, navigate to advanced settings and then to motion controls. If you don't want the “soap opera effect”, reduce the jerking and blurring from two to zero.

Next, go to a YouTube video in HDR (there are tons of them) and repeat the process if necessary by selecting “HDR Calibrated” and lowering those same motion settings if necessary. In my experience, however, selecting “Calibrated” for HDR causes the PQ9 to make a similar setting for HDR.

For Dolby Vision, I recommend going to a Dolby Vision title from Netflix or Disney +, then selecting Dolby Vision Bright, selecting Warm for the color temperature, and then turning off motion smoothing.

Repeat the above three processes for an HDMI input and you should be set.

Color performance

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After making the above settings, I measured the PQ9's white balance which gives a good indication of color accuracy at a glance. Since white is made up of red, green, and blue colors, I can tell if those colors are made in balance. In my tests, I noticed that the PQ9 leaned a little too much towards red – an attribute that I noted was present in the PQX. It took much less time and tweaking to match the PQ9, however, and the bright whites had less redshift than the PQX. Maybe that's because the PQ9 doesn't get that bright, but I still call it an advantage.

On the whole, the colors look rich, vibrant, and pleasant, and I haven't done anything repulsive that the average viewer would recognize. My tests have confirmed that the Vizio is not perfectly color accurate, but it is close enough for most people. In addition, the PQ9 generates a very large color palette with different brightness levels, which leads to a very satisfactory display of HDR content.

We measured around 1,100 nits in HDR mode.

brightness

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After some testing, I found that the PQ9 hit almost 550 nits in SDR mode – which gives a bright picture, but you won't get a lot of bright highlight detail in SDR. While for bright room scenarios you could get brighter by maximizing the backlighting, it could result in a washed out image in darker rooms.

In HDR mode, we measured around 1,100 nits and thus missed the promised 1,200 a bit – but the PQ9 easily achieved 1,200 nits in standard and vivid mode. For both HDR and SDR, this TV is more than bright enough for most viewing situations. Not as bright as the PQX and its bold 3,000 nit peak brightness, but we'll discuss whether I missed that extra punch later in this review .

Backlight

It's true that the PQ9 creates a halo or bloom effect when you have bright objects against a really dark, black background, and that black areas tend to be a little grayed out – we could see the screen lit up when subtitles There were bolts over the black mailbox. However, the fact is that almost all LED-backlit TVs do, and I think Vizio did an admirable job of solving the problem.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Looking at it head-on from direct center wasn't a big problem, but once off-center you could see things cloud over. Again, this is typical of VA type LCD panels, but here it seemed particularly severe compared to some of the other TVs we tested this year. To be fair, these competing TVs were more expensive and didn't get as bright. I think we're looking at a compromise situation where you'll have to spend a lot more to get similar brightness with better backlight control. (It's worth noting that we kept the backlighting on medium for Active Full Array for SDR, HDR, and Dolby Vision as this gave the best results.)

Now to a problem that both I and Vizio found rather annoying: On my test device, the backlight seemed to be slow to respond in some test clips that trace a small white box around a black screen. When I take out Netflix content and go back to the title screen, I can see it darken and then lighten again when I figure out what to do. I call it local dimming delay.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

While testing the actual content to see if the issues were just limited to logos and test screens or not, we found that the backlight was slow to respond, which is problematic in dark rooms where our eyes are more sensitive to displacement Brightness.

The screen evenness on my PQ9 example wasn't particularly good.

It is known that local dimming delays occur. I've seen it on a number of televisions. However, that delay seemed extreme by comparison, even with other TVs in Vizio's cast. It looks like a bug, but Vizio and I had a hard time tracking it down. Vizio has informed me that there are no widespread reports of this type of problem. As such, it is very likely that the problem is limited to the test pattern I have, but if I do, others could too.

uniformity

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The screen evenness on my PQ9 example wasn't particularly good. I could see vertical bands pretty clearly in images with wide areas of color, and there was some heavy vignetting in the corners where the brightness decreases a bit. Again, that dirty screen effect and vignetting will vary from panel to panel, so your mileage may vary.

Move

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The motion handling of the PQ9 for 24 fps movie content looks great. When the set's film mode is activated, there is no serious judder, although we could see a judder with 30 fps content. (This jerking can be removed by smoothing motion, but you get back the "soap opera effect" which in most cases makes things look generally worse.)

If there's an abundance of fine details to be tracked, you may see some glimmer in these objects, which we've seen on many televisions this year. There is something about high brightness coupled with fine details that seems difficult for current processors.

On the positive side, I didn't see any excessive moire patterns in tight geometric patterns on the PQ9, which suggests that the processor is indeed doing a pretty good job

Play

There were many problems enabling 4K 120Hz with HDR and variable refresh rate (VRR), all of which were suitable for next-gen gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. This has been a problem with many televisions this year.

The gameplay was excellent, with extremely low entry lag and great HDR graphics.

Connecting an Xbox Series X is designed to be an automated process in which the console detects the capabilities of the TV and automatically applies the correct video settings. Unfortunately, there is a bug that requires you to quickly adjust the settings so that everything communicates well with each other.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

To make the adjustment, go to Image Settings and scroll to the bottom of the menu where you will find "Input Settings". By default, the TV is set to Auto, but HDMI 2.1 must be turned on for Xbox Series X to function properly. After that, I also had to restart the TV so the Xbox Series X could get the correct information from the PQ9. It took some work, but we finally got there. Vizio is hoping to fix this bug soon and if it does then this review will be updated accordingly.

The gameplay highlighted the slowness of the backlighting issues mentioned above, especially with regards to the menus for the games. Other than that – which we know could be a bug with this example – the gameplay was excellent, with extremely low input lag and great HDR graphics that really brought the games to life.

Our opinion

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

I started by wondering if the PQ9, being a cheaper TV than the PQX, is the smarter buy. Based on my experience, I cannot make a definitive call.

To make sure the PQ9 has enough brightness for stunning HDR images and doesn't have the excessive redshift that I saw in the PQX. But the local dimming delay is distracting and I did everything I could to eliminate the problem – reset, restart, various settings – but the PQ9 was just an odd feat for us. However, if that lag is just a bug, the PQ9 is an excellent option and probably the smarter buy compared to the admittedly impressive PQX. It would also be one of the best values ​​in high end television that you can buy today.

Is there a better alternative?

No. With its superior brightness and black levels, the Vizio PQ9 is in a class of its own. The comparable Q70T from Samsung is nowhere near as well equipped or exciting to look at. TCL's 8 series is very well matched in terms of price and performance, but it's free and hard to buy right now. LG's Nano90 is very competitive to sell, but this TV is also on its way out as new 2021 models ship to retail stores. For a $ 1,200 65-inch TV with its specs and performance, the Vizio P-Series Quantum can't be touched.

How long it will take?

Given Vizio's track record of overall build quality and HDMI 2.1 features and the PQ9's advanced processor, the TV can last for several years before it may (want to) be replaced.

warranty

Vizio grants a one-year guarantee on its TV products. For more information, see the Vizio warranty page.

You should buy it

Yes, but only if you have the option to return it should you run into the local dimming problem that I experienced with my test device. At this point, I am encouraged by a low response rate on the PQ9, and the fact is that this TV is tremendous performance for the price.

Editor's recommendations




Sony XBR75Z8H 8K HDR TV review: 8K is the way

Sony Z8H 75 Inch 8K Ultra HD Smart LED TV

"The Sony Z8H offers an absolutely impressive picture quality."

  • Incredible HDR brightness

  • Deep black

  • Exact shadow details

  • Exceptional color

  • good sound

  • Some artifacts in very detailed patterns

Some may be reluctant to jump into an 8K TV due to the lack of 8K content right now and the question of whether you can even tell a difference between 8K and 4K. To investigate these concerns, we went for a 75-inch Sony Z8H 8K HDR TV, which we believe is the smallest screen you would need for an 8K TV. And as we found out, you get more than just a big picture from an 8K TV.

Sony Z8H 8K HDR TV details

While we tested the 75-inch model, our test also applies to the 85-inch model.

Screen size Model number RRP
75 in XBR75Z8H $ 4,998
85 in XBR85Z8H $ 8,999

First impressions

Sony Z8H TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

Sony Z8H TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

Sony Z8H TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

Sony Z8H TVRiley Young / Digital Trends

We immediately noticed the very sturdy feet that the Z8H is equipped with – which is good as the TV itself is quite heavy. The feet can be placed in the center of the TV or on the outer edge of the TV, although using the feet to the edge requires a very wide media stand. If you're handling such a large TV and screwing in the feet, more than one person is required. So keep that in mind.

The Z8H is a bold but attractive television made of high quality materials.

The box also contains six decorative rear cable management panels, a brushed aluminum remote control and a printed installation guide. Usually the setup guide is something we toss aside, but in the case of the ZH8, we eventually had to fish it out again. For more information on setting up the TV, check out our unboxing video.

The Z8H is a bold but attractive television made of high quality materials. Metal edges, slim bezels and sturdy feet ensure a first-class feeling. This metal edge isn't just for looks either. It acts as a tweeter to enhance sound effects and expand the soundstage so that the TV sound becomes as big as it looks.

Entrances

The back of the Z8H has four HDMI inputs, one on the side, two on the bottom, and one near the center back. The HDMI port near the back center is noteworthy as it is the only HDMI port that supports 8K at 60 Hz or 4K at 120 Hz. The connection is located next to two loudspeaker connections via which you can use the loudspeakers of the Z8H as center channels for a surround sound system.

When the Z8H is ready for operation, you must manually force a software update. The Android operating system makes you think that everything has been updated. In reality, however, the updates must be downloaded by yourself. So check the firmware updates section in the settings menu.

sound

Riley Young / Digital Trends

With a TV this big, you want sound that is just as big – and the Z8H absolutely delivers. As already mentioned, it is possible to make the television the center channel for your surround sound system. However, if you don't plan on using a surround sound connection, the Z8H still offers a premium experience – it has big, full, and rich sound through the built-in speakers and uses the frame as a tweeter so the sounds seem to come from many different locations , both inside and outside the confines of the TV.

ATSC 3.0 tuner

Another aspect that makes the Z8H a premium experience is the integrated ATSC 3.0 tuner, which is the new standard for wireless broadcasts. The promise of ATSC 3.0 is the potential for the transmission of 4K over the air. However, in our Portland, Oregon market, we found that broadcasters were simply using improved bandwidth to serve more channels with slightly better picture quality.

If we had to choose a word to describe the image quality of the Z8H it would be noticeable.

picture quality

Riley Young / Digital Trends

If we had to choose a word to describe the image quality of the Z8H it would be noticeable. The HDR highlights have an intense brightness, maintain very good black levels and reduce the blooming to a great extent. In our test with bright images on a purely black background, the backgrounds were a deep, deep black, while the bright objects remained extremely bright.

colour

Riley Young / Digital Trends

The Z8H has a brightness of 2,500 nits for HDR top lights. As we found out through our image quality tests, it creates the contrast that HDR really brings home. It also handles color space very well. The color of the Z8H is ready to use immediately and with almost no adjustments. There's always a chance colors will wash out when pushed into the higher brightness range of HDR, but the Z8H absolutely doesn't. You get a vibrancy along with a deep wealth of full color saturation.

In true Sony style, films at 24 frames per second look super smooth.

Move

Riley Young / Digital Trends

In real Sony style, films at 24 frames per second look super smooth, with almost no jerking. And while the Z8H had a tough time during some pretty intense test patterns, turning the Motion Flow to "Auto" really smooths out those tough spots. The Motion Flow option may add some “soap opera” effect to movies, but the Z8H is perfectly fine for almost all other types of content – and it makes a big difference in smoothing out time-lapse, especially in sports.

Problems with upscaling

The Z8H has some problems, however. In tests we ran, it showed a “shimmer” effect in very detailed areas on some images while they were moving. We also noticed a slight moirè effect in tight lattice patterns, for example in high-rise buildings in New York. While we can't be 100% sure, we believe this problem arises from trying to scale complex, highly detailed 4K images to 8K in real time.

Play

Riley Young / Digital Trends

Playing on the Z8H is a blast, and you can get 4K 60Hz reliably with HDR. There was a bit of a problem connecting the 8K / 4K 120 Hz HDMI port as the PlayStation 5 HDR we were using didn't want to turn on until we lowered the resolution to 1080p. We reached out to Sony to see if it could fix this issue. As promised at this point, the company has released a firmware update to address this issue. Playing high definition games on such a big screen TV and having that kind of HDR punch is not only fun, it's absolutely beautiful too.

Our opinion

You may have noticed that we had very little to say about 8K resolution, and there is a reason for that: you don't necessarily buy an 8K set just for its resolution, but to have all of the premium features you want. Premium design, premium sound, premium tuner, premium picture quality, premium gaming experience – if you want to offer the very best from Sony, you have to buy one of their 8K TVs to get it. And Sony is not alone. Other manufacturers do the same. But remember: it's the whole package; not just the resolution. Where the Z8H shines is evident in its premium performance at every turn. Sure, you have to buy an 8K TV to get it, but the Z8H is a wonderful TV and well worth the price for those who value premium performance.

Is there a better alternative?

We wouldn't say there is a better alternative, only alternatives. Since the Z8H is one of the best LED / LCD TVs you can buy, this is your must-see Samsung Q900TS than a competitor who is around $ 500 cheaper at the moment.

How long it will take?

Due to its 8K resolution, premium processing and the ATSC 3.0 tuner, the Z8H is designed to maintain its premium performance in the future.

warranty

Sony offers a one-year limited warranty on the Z8H. The full guarantee can be found here.

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you have the means, the Z8H is a remarkable TV with outstanding performance – and it happens to be an 8K model. We wouldn't necessarily buy this TV for its resolution, but certainly for its top-notch performance.

Editor's recommendations




Vizio OLED 4K HDR TV Review (OLED65-H1) | OLED for Everyone

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TV test (OLED65-H1): OLED for everyone

"Vizios H1 OLED is a great TV at a great price."

  • Perfect black levels

  • Excellent out-of-box color

  • Ideal for playing

  • Sleek, sleek design

  • Difficult cable management

  • Low risk of burn-in

It's been over a year since Vizio unveiled the OLED65-H1 TV at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show – and the longest we've ever waited for a TV to be checked. And while it took a long time, we still think it's a tough competitor that brought OLED TVs to the lowest prices we've ever seen. Was it worth the wait?

Details about the 4K HDR television from Vizio OLED (65-H1)

While we tested the 65-inch model OLED65-H1, our test also applies to the 55-inch model.

Screen size Model no RRP
55 inches OLED55-H1 1000 dollars
65 inches OLED65-H1 $ 1500

Out of the box

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The package contains a remote control (not a voice remote control), batteries for the remote control and several parts for the TV stand. While there was a product information brochure for the TV itself, we couldn't find any instructions on how to assemble the stand. Perhaps that was an oversight for our test device, but luckily we were able to sort the assembly without too much trouble.

Physically setting up the Vizio OLED65-H1 is a two-person job. And to be honest, this is a bit of a fearful proposition, as evidenced by the huge stickers on the front warning you of where to (and where not) to hold the H1 while handling it. It boils down to having a really expensive, somewhat flexible OLED screen that needs to be laid flat to assemble properly. That can be tricky to say the least. You can feel the screen flex a little in your hands when you hold it and move it. Hence, one has to be incredibly careful with assembly and placement. Ideally, as already mentioned, it would be a two-person job.

Ports and cable management

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

The Vizio OLED65-H1 has three downward facing HDMI ports (one is an eARC and the other two are labeled 4K 120 Hz). There are also some ports on the side (composite, HDMI and USB) for easier access. Vizio has gone to great lengths to keep the back of the H1 clean and tidy by using various access panels and channels to manage the cables, including the power connector. The channels route the cables to the center of the device and down through the stand to keep it looking neat and organized. This makes for a neat job, but it also cuts the cable length in half, which can make hooking up your components a problem.

A note about these HDMI connections: While only two are labeled as 4K 120Hz, Vizio assures that they are all HDMI 2.1 connections, which in addition to a 4K resolution of up to 120Hz also have a variable refresh rate (VRR) and support an automatic low latency mode (ALLM). At the time the television was evaluated, this did not appear to be the case. However, since then Vizio has released a firmware update that addressed the issues it encountered while testing the TV with a Sony PlayStation 5 (see below).

The curved stand on the OLED65-H1 looks great, although the idea of ​​putting most of the weight on the little foot sticking out from the center and back doesn't exactly instill confidence. And while the plastic access covers look great after being pressed in, they are difficult to snap into place and are used to shorten the cables, as mentioned above.

Black levels

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

The black levels of the Vizio OLED65-H1 are impressive – after all, it is an OLED television. So when you turn the pixels off, you get real black perfection. But that's not the whole story of a good image – you also need good gradients that result in dark grays, shadow detail, and dissolves. And here the H1 struggles a little. You may actually have trouble seeing dark pictures unless you have a very dark room. It doesn't go smoothly out of the black so there is a lack of shadow detail, which makes viewing really dark scenes in any location other than a completely dark room a challenge.

Other than that, the black uniformity is perfect and sets the TV for excellent contrast. The gray uniformity was also nearly perfect.

brightness

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The interesting thing about the H1 is that with the ready-to-use calibrated picture presetting, the television did not get very bright – only about 400 nits at its peak for HDR and about 300 for SDR. That's not much of a difference between HDR and SDR. However, after resetting the TV and changing some settings, the performance was significantly better and was as expected: closer to 400 nits in SDR and almost 650 in HDR with a 10 percent window for the measurement.

Color accuracy

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Adjustments in brightness can often have a negative impact on color accuracy. However, the OLED65-H1's ready-to-use color is fantastic in calibrated image mode.

Motion handling

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

While the OLED65-H1 handles colors well, it could do better when it comes to handling movement. It has a bit of an issue with motion blur, and we noticed a stutter in the content at 24 Franes per second (fps). Admittedly, this was with the motion and jerk compensation settings turned off. However, when these settings are enabled, even at the lowest level, they will introduce the “soap opera effect”. In our opinion, this is not worth compromising on.

Image processing

Image processing is an area where Vizio still has little room to grow. It's just not as pristine as LG or Sony OLED TVs are. Vizio's processing has come a long way this year, but the H1 hasn't cleaned up low-resolution, shallow bit-depth content as flawlessly as some competing OLEDs. The H1 looks amazing with high definition content, but you may notice a bit more streaks in wide color ranges when streaming content from Hulu, YouTube, or other sources that is limited to 720p or otherwise heavily compressed than you might do with other OLED TVs.

Burn-in potential

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

It wouldn't be an OLED TV review if we didn't talk about the burn-in potential. While burn-in is nowhere near as much of an issue as it has been in the past, there are risks involved in running an OLED TV really hard. So, if you're the type of person who plays the same video game eight hours a day, or watches the same cable news channel every day / all day, you may have an issue with graphic banners or chyrons burning into your screen. Even so, the OLED65-H1 does a lot to combat burn-in. If you rest on a static screen for more than 30 seconds, the H1 will go dark. It also features pixel shift technology and a brightness limiter to prevent burn-in.

Audio quality

We initially had a bad experience with the H1's sound quality, but restarting the TV improved the audio performance significantly. However, we believe that such a great TV deserves a soundbar for a sound experience that matches the picture quality. Thankfully, Vizio makes some of the most affordable, high-performance soundbars on the market. In our experience, the Vizio Elevate soundbar in particular is an excellent choice.

Play

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

When we plugged in our PlayStation 5, we expected a fairly automated experience. And while the H1 automatically recognized the console and labeled the entrance, the image quality didn't look too good. After looking at this, we realized we weren't getting HDR, which the PS5 does by default. After tinkering with the settings on the H1, we managed to brick the entire TV. Although we could go into the PS5 settings and manually toggle a few things to produce 4K HDR at up to 120Hz, the experience wasn't what we expected at all. It turned out that some bugs needed to be fixed. Since our initial testing, Vizio has released a firmware update that has resolved any issues we encountered. We can confirm that the H1 OLED is an excellent choice for a gaming TV.

Our opinion

The wait for the Vizio H1 OLED is definitely worth it. Kudos to Vizio for reducing the image quality of OLED to an affordable price. While Vizio has cheap competition later this year in the form of the expected LG A-Series OLED, Vizio cut OLED below $ 1,000 first, and we're grateful for that. It took a while to wait for some firmware patches, but in the end the Vizio H1 OLED turned out to be a fantastic TV.

Is there a better alternative?

The LG CX OLED is an inexpensive competitor of the H1 OLED from Vizio, but costs more. For the extra cash, you get a little bit more sophisticated image processing, but we think the image on the Vizio H1 OLED is so good that most people would love to save money while getting great image quality.

How long it will take?

Given Vizio's track record and the inclusion of HDMI 2.1 One inputs through the H1 OLED, this TV should last for many years.

warranty

Vizio grants a one-year guarantee on its TV products. Please refer to the Vizio warranty page for more information.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Vizio H1 OLED is an excellent value because of its premium OLED image quality and relatively easily accessible price.

Editor's recommendations




TCL 5-Series (S535) 4K HDR TV Review | The Price is Right

TCL 65 "5 series 4K UHD television

"The TCL 5 Series is well above its price"

  • Local dimming backlight with full array

  • Fixed black levels

  • Excellent backlight control

  • Extended color gamut

  • Low entry delay

  • Doesn't get particularly bright

  • HDR isn't impressive

  • Setup process involved

The TCL 6 series TVs get a lot of press, but what about the 5 series? Perhaps the reason it didn't get that much attention is because it was never really a remarkable television. Until now.

With the 5-series 4K HDR TV (S535) now packed with many of the 2019 6-series features, TCL offers similar performance to its 6-series predecessor at a much cheaper price. Let's see if it works.

TCL 5 Series 4K HDR TV Details (S535)

While we tested the 65-inch model S535, our test also applies to the 50-inch, 55-inch, and 75-inch models.

Screen size Model no RRP
50 inches 50S535 400 dollars
55 inches 55S535 $ 450
65 inches 65S535 $ 630
75 in 75S535 $ 1200

First impressions

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

This TV was much thinner than expected – especially for a TV with a local full array dimming backlight system. There are practically no bezels on the edge, just a thin aluminum strip on the bottom. While the TV's plastic feet feel a little light and cheap after unpacking, their slim appearance is quite nice, and the feet can be placed in two different positions: wider towards the edges of the TV or closer to the center for a smaller footprint. Additionally, the feet offer some cable management, although we found it difficult to get more than a few HDMI cables into each cable.

Entrances

TCM 5 Series HDMI Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The 5 series has four HDMI 2.0b inputs, ARC on the fourth input. The ports aren't HDMI 2.1 capable, so you won't get any next generation gaming features like variable refresh rate or 4K at 120Hz. But it can handle 4K up to 60Hz, which should be fine for most people. While this TV isn't a powerhouse for next-generation gaming, it is still a good TV for casual gaming, especially due to its low input delay of around 11 ms in game mode.

The remote control and the operating system

TCL 5 Series Roku remote controlDan Baker / Digital Trends

The biggest difference in remote control between the 6 and 5 series is that you lose voice control. In terms of user experience, the Roku operating system has a "slightly updated" feel and the system now includes AirPlay and HomeKit as well. Adjustments to the picture settings, sound and other settings must be selected and adjusted separately for each input. Hence, between these settings and other mandatory software and app updates, you'll need to be patient to get this Roku TV working.

picture quality

Let's get to the picture, which has some admirable properties. The 5 series has very good black levels for its price, partly because of its VA panel (which unfortunately means that viewing outside of the angle is not great), but also because of its local dimming backlighting system – you can't destroy the blacks, but still provide deep blacks and minimize all kinds of halo effects around light objects on a dark background that you may get from systems with lower backlighting.

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

Unfortunately, the backlight system of the 5 series does not offer a very high peak brightness. We hardly noticed any difference between SDR brightness and HDR peak brightness, regardless of whether we saw HDR 10 or Dolby Vision. In fact, it could be questioned whether this should actually be called an HDR TV, given that the brightness isn't enough to really give you the sparkling highlights of high-performance HDR. The contrast is there, but the peak brightness is not, so the HDR images don't pop as much as with other HDR TVs.

"It's an absolutely respectable television."

The color benefits from using quantum dots, so you get a wider gamut. However, due to the lower brightness potential, you will not get a significantly increased color volume.

Overall, I think the picture quality will be an improvement over what someone could get from a midsize TV about four years ago. It's a completely legitimate TV, and we'd even say it beats its price.

Move

The 5 Series is also good with movement. There's still a tiny bit of motion blur on fast-moving objects, but it's not very easy to spot, so it works well enough for sports content. The 5 series has a native 60 Hz panel, so that a more even movement can be achieved without avoiding the so-called “soap opera effect”.

For movie content, 24 fps content looks very smooth and there is no stuttering, which is fantastic for a TV at this price point.

Sound quality

As for sound quality, let's put it this way: get a soundbar. It lacks depth and not a lot of bass, resulting in thin sound quality. Dialogue clarity also suffers, so a soundbar would be a good idea for most people.

Play

TCL 5 Series GamingDan Baker / Digital Trends

As mentioned earlier, this TV does not have HDMI 2.1 ports and therefore does not support variable refresh rate or other high-end features such as automatic low latency mode. At 4K 60 Hz with a small input delay of 11 ms in game mode, however, casual gaming works great. The only problem – back to what we said about image quality – is that if you want to get something out of the HDR gaming experience, you'll need a slightly brighter TV.

Our opinion

TCL 5 Series Roku TvDan Baker / Digital Trends

The TCL 5-Series is a great all-purpose TV that caters to those who aren't very picky about HDR performance. The TV's use of quantum dots expands the gamut of color for a rich picture, while the solid full array backlight controls provide better black levels and better reduced halo effects than almost any other TV in its price range. While it won't get bright enough to do HDR impressively, most people who just want a solid TV at a reasonable price probably won't find this deal-breaker.

Is there a better alternative?

There is only one TV that competes with the TCL 5 series in its price range and that is the Hisense H8G Quantum, which sells for roughly the same price, runs Android TV instead of Roku TV, and can get significantly brighter. The TCL, while not as bright, has better color accuracy. Otherwise, competing LG and Samsung televisions will not offer quantum dots or full array backlights and will not be able to compete in terms of black levels and backlight control.

How long it will take?

So far, TCL's track record in terms of build quality looks pretty good. We expect the 5 Series to serve owners for many years to come.

guarantee

TCL offers a one year limited warranty. You can find more information about TCL's TV warranty here.

Should you buy it?

Yes. For those looking for a quality TV that performs better than what is usually expected for the price, the TCL 5 series is one of the best budget-friendly options out there.

If you want cheaper TV options, you can also consider the best 4K TV deals currently available.

Editor's recommendations




TCL 6-Series (R635) 4K HDR TV Review | Best Value in 2020?

"The 6 series from TCL offers the masses an amazingly good picture quality."

  • Very good brightness

  • Excellent black levels

  • Sharp mini LED backlight

  • Excellent HDR color

  • THX certified game mode

  • Complicated picture settings

  • Limited to 1440p for 120 Hz gaming

  • SDR color off somewhat

The 2020 6-series (R635) from TCL offers astonishingly good image quality and undercuts the price competition considerably. But you will have to work for it.

The 2020 TCL 6 series is the latest in three years, offering the best value for 4K HDR TVs. It features mini-LED backlight technology, player-friendly features, and Roku TVs that together deliver performance seen in an unprecedented 65-inch TV for $ 900 or a 55-inch model for $ 650 -Dollar. In fact, I'd say the new 6 Series is the best case yet because of its performance alone, that you don't have to spend a dime over $ 1,000 to get a great TV.

The only problem is that the 6 Series, just like the 2019 5 Series TV, requires skipping through enough picture adjustment frames so I'm afraid that many people may not experience the best it has to offer. Year after year, TV manufacturers point out research that suggests that most people don't change the picture settings of their TVs after they buy them. In the case of the 6 Series, many users could get a fraction of the power that TV is capable of.

However, if you're willing to invest some time and play around in the sandpit, so to speak, the TCL 6 series can be a remarkably rewarding TV.

TCL 6 Series 4K HDR TV Details (R635)

While we tested the 65-inch model 65R635, our test also applies to the 55-inch and 75-inch models.

Screen size Model number RRP
55 inches 55R635 $ 650
65 inches 65R635 $ 900
75 in 75R635 $ 1400

Out of the box

Nowadays I'm more of a surprise when a television isn't ready to use right away. It seems that virtually invisible frames and attractive building materials are now the default for everyone but the cheapest TVs. To be completely honest, I wasn't surprised that the 6 Series, despite the old wisdom that affordable TVs look a little cheap compared to their more expensive cousins.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Indeed, the 2020 6 Series is a smart-looking smart TV with near-invisible bezels on the top and sides and a modest edge of brushed metal on the bottom. Perhaps the smallest but most significant design change was that the typical circular power switch next to the Roku logo was banned and replaced by a less easily accessible power switch on the back. I'll make the trade off for the cleaner look.

The TV came with a few paper items, two AAA batteries, a Roku voice remote, two legs, four screws, and a composite video breakout cable.

configuration

If you want to stand on a bracket, installing the 6 Series legs is a breeze. Align the three small knobs on each leg with the ones on the bottom of the TV, screw in the included Phillips head screws, and you're done.

Before the final stand placement or wall mounting is complete, some clear protective plastic must be removed. Once that's done, you can start the long road to television readiness.

My memory may be failing me, but it seems to me that Roku TVs used to take less time to set up than they do today. I also feel like the Roku setup is generally ready for some improvement. Here you can find out what you're looking for and how I would like it to be improved.

When connected to Ethernet, it took a total of about 12 minutes for Roku to run the Roku Setup Wizard. You need a computer or mobile device with internet access and either an ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the internet to continue.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

After accessing a Roku setup link on your computer or mobile device, enter a code that will appear on the TV screen. The TV will then download and install the latest Roku operating system update. It is shut down and then backed up.

You will be taken through a series of setup questions, presumably aimed at getting the necessary apps installed on the TV. From there, you have the option to let Roku know what kind of content genres you like and presumably re-adjust which apps are installed on the TV. After entering all of this information, the TV will download and install. Don't be shocked if the screen says it is downloading and installing 92 apps like I experienced.

Here's the thing: I don't need to pre-install all of the apps, and I don't want to wait for them to be installed either. After you've answered all of these setup questions, it's like the TV just installs what it wants. It is confusing.

What's even more frustrating is that the apps aren't arranged in an order that makes sense to me. You should take some time to put the apps in the order you want. I would love if Roku could reference my existing account and app arrangement and implement it on every new Roku device I set up – or at least make an option out of it.

In addition to the time it takes to get set up, it takes a while to go through all of the apps I subscribe to and enter usernames and passwords. It would be okay for Roku to access this information from previous setups and implement it in every new Roku device I set up, saving me a lot of time and frustration.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

With the Roku operating system, you can label your entrances and call them "cable box", "game console", "Blu-Ray" etc. However, unlike many Samsung and LG TVs, it is not smart enough to identify and label them automatically.

Once Roku TV is up and running, it's very easy to use. It's just that it can be a nuisance to get started.

Picture settings

While these earlier complaints are directly the responsibility of Roku TV OS, the problem I have with the TCL 6 series picture settings appears to be a shared responsibility of both TCL and Roku.

I usually don't dig too deeply into picture settings in my TV reviews as the process is traditionally straightforward. On almost every other platform – for example Android TV, LG's WebOS, Samsung & # 39; s Tizen – the picture presetting for film, cinema, ISF or Technicolor is by far the most precise and therefore the most pleasant for me. Choosing one of these presets and then turning off motion smoothing features is usually all that is required.

Surprisingly, it turns out that this is not the case with the last TCL TVs I tested. In contrast, the movie preset for SDR content feels dull and overly warm – this includes cable, satellite, standard Blu-ray discs, and any non-HDR content available through streaming services. There is a lack of powerful contrast and the colors appear muted and excessively warm.

Instead of talking any further about how weird this is, I just want to explain what settings I chose to get the best results.

For SDR, enter the picture settings menu by pressing the asterisk button while viewing SDR content. Again, this is a cable / satellite channel, standard Blu-ray or DVD, or streaming content not marked as HDR or Dolby Vision on the title screen. Scroll down to the picture settings and note that the TV is in low power mode. Turn this off by selecting the Normal Image preset. From there, scroll down and select Warm for the color temperature. Then turn Action Smoothing and Action Clarity. The last two add the "soap opera effect" which I don't like.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The process is similar for HDR and Dolby Vision. Start an HDR content on YouTube or with an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc, then select the normal HDR picture mode, the color temperature to be heated and deactivate Action Smoothing and Action Clarity.

For Dolby Vision, go to Netflix and start a track with Dolby Vision that appears on the title screen. Select either Normal Dolby Vision or Bright Dolby Vision, Color Temperature for Warming, and Action Smoothing and Action Clarity. Remember that you'll need to repeat this for each input that is fed an HDR or Dolby Vision signal.

Since the menu navigation is difficult to describe here, I recommend watching the video at the top of this post. There I go through the whole process.

Note that you will need to do this process for every input, including apps, as well as for SDR, HDR and possibly Dolby Vision in every input. It's a complicated process that I don't think most people will have patience for.

That is the riddle. I'm sure that choosing a picture preset that looks good for a particular viewer will be enough for many people, but given that this TV is a favorite among TV enthusiasts and many buyers who research and find It's high on the radar It's high on many best-of lists. I worry that some will bring it home wondering why the image quality won't overwhelm them.

picture quality

With the correct image settings, the TCL 6 series works very well, although with a little more user control I think it could look even better. I've reached out to TCL to clarify what's happening in terms of the under-hood image settings and I'll update this section accordingly.

For now, I can only report on the results of what I believe to be the most achievable consumer's image settings, which I have described above.

First, some brief specs for those who enjoy them. With a SpectraCal C6 measuring device that was created by a Xrite i1 Pro 2 and CalMAN software, I measured the peak brightness of the 6 series of the TCL in SDR mode at 700 nits and in HDR10 at almost 1000 nits (using the Standard window of 10%). .

For me, this is enough brightness for most viewing scenarios. Only in the brightest rooms I might want more. If you want a brighter TV for roughly the same price, I'd point you straight to the Hisense H9G Quantum.

I think the black levels on this TV are excellent, preserving the shadow detail that the Hisense H9G struggled with in my tests. In addition, with the settings I chose, I got very little light around light objects on a dark background. This helps maintain impressive contrast, especially when there are mailbox bars.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The brightness, black levels and general backlight control are due to TCL's pioneering work in mini-LED technology, which will be used in the 6 series this year but was reserved for the 8K 8 series last year. For the stranger, the mini LED backlight is a much more precise version of the standard LED backlight technology that has been around for years. In short, while a standard LED-backlit TV might only contain hundreds of LEDs, mini-LED uses tens of thousands of much smaller LED lights.

It's not enough to just have a lot more little lights at work. They need to be well controlled to enhance the viewing experience and I've found that they are actually well controlled by the TCL 6 series processing. I didn't see sluggish response times as the scenes got lighter and darker. In some very challenging fade-in tests, the 6 Series even performed exceptionally well.

The ready-to-use color reproduction is a little different in SDR, a bit oversaturated with reds and oranges. A professional TV calibrator can correct this, but hiring someone to do color correction will degrade the value of the TV. Aside from the SDR color, I immediately found HDR10 and Dolby Vision colors to be outstanding. If you want a more accurate, out-of-the-box color experience, you'll have to pay $ 500 more for the Sony X900H and be willing to sacrifice some brightness.

The movement of the 6 series is excellent without any jerking or jerking being noticed in content with 24, 30 or 60 frames per second (fps). The 6 series also avoids moiré, screen door and other common image processing errors. Fortunately, I also got a very uniform panel, with no spots or dark areas that cause the so-called dirty screen effect. Overall, the picture was exceptionally clean.

For upscaling lower resolution 720p and 1080p content to 4K, the 6 series is fine. As I often say, this upscaling can't work miracles, but it neatly captures cable / satellite and DVD content and makes it look great on screen. However, native 4K content is rendered very well.

Overall, the TCL 6 series has remarkable image quality, especially for the price. I just wish it was easier to achieve without all of the hyper-specific image settings required.

Play

When it comes to the game potential of the 6 Series, I have good news and somewhat disappointing news. The good news is that the TV's THX certified game mode looks amazing. Aside from the Sony X900H and X900G, no other TV comes close in terms of color accuracy and color temperature regardless of the smooth movement and generally clean finish.

Another feather in the 6 Series gaming cap is the way the micro-LED backlight delivers deep blacks while preserving shadow detail in low-light areas, which is especially handy for competitive first-person shooter games.

Yooo, the official TV for #callofduty, is also the first TV with THX certified game mode. https://t.co/OZrKi0igYQ

– THX (@THX) August 26, 2020

The TV also supports AMD FreeSync's variable refresh rate, up to 120 Hz. However, the 6-series HDMI ports do not support enough bandwidth to achieve both a 120 Hz refresh rate and 4K resolution. So if you want to play with next generation game consoles at 120Hz, the resolution is limited to 1440p. With many competitors like the Samsung Q80T and all LG OLEDs offering 4K at 120Hz, this seems like a missed opportunity.

Our opinion

Honestly, it breaks my heart not to give this TV 4.5 or even 5 stars out of 5. It comes so close, and if TCL can address what I consider to be an extremely complex process of image adjustment, I'll adjust my score. Otherwise, the TCL 6 series is an exceptional television that seriously undercuts the competition and offers top-notch picture quality to those who otherwise might not be able to afford it.

Is there a better alternative?

The only TV that can touch the TCL 6 series in its price bracket is the Hisense H9G for just $ 50 more (at the time of writing this review). The Hisense is a much bolder TV with higher brightness and a slightly more punchy HDR experience. However, the H9G lacks the solid gaming features of the 6-series, so gamers will want to stick with TCL.

How long it will take?

If the 6 Series has 4K 120Hz gaming, I'd say it would last longer than you need it to be. Without full support for everything the upcoming Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 can do, I can't say it's perfectly future proof, but that's a very specific gripe. For the vast majority of users, the TCL 6 series should bring years of pleasure.

warranty

TCL warrants parts and labor for one year from the date of purchase for non-commercial use. More information can be found here.

You should buy it

Yes. The TCL 6-Series is an excellent television, especially considering its price. It takes a little work to get the best image quality, but with our guidance and a little time, great performance can be achieved.

Editor's recommendations




Hisense H9G Quantum 4K HDR TV Review | Blisteringly Bright

hisense h9g quantum tv review 4k hdr ott 00 02 33 01 still008

"The image quality of the H9G Quantum can compete with televisions that cost twice as much."

  • Incredibly bright

  • Very good black levels

  • Surprisingly good HDR image

  • Easy to use

  • Responsive Android TV OS

  • Color is a little off

  • Movement jerks sometimes

Hisense is on a tear.

After several years of chasing the same brand awareness enjoyed by competing manufacturers like LG, Samsung and Sony, Hisense sales have soared. And if its H9G Quantum TV is any indication, the company could be in a dominant position.

The H9G Quantum is the first time I can remember a television that's so heavily under-promised and handed down. It's not perfect, but it's going to be one of the best TV options for the vast majority of people this year.

Out of the box

Although I recently reviewed the Hisense H8G, I was pleasantly surprised at how elegant the H9G looked after setting it up. I have to say I was initially surprised by the TV's feet – they look like giant bottle openers when not attached to the TV – but once they were installed they started to grow on me.

When those huge feet are in place, they don't look so clumsy and big anymore. Half of them are not visible and the other half seem to make the TV look nice. Not that the H9G needs a lot of disguise. It has almost no existing bezels on the top and sides, which are slightly recessed behind the glass panel of the TV, which makes for a very modern and minimalist look. The brushed metal trim at the bottom seems out of place in comparison, but luckily it doesn't attract too much attention.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Inside the box with the TV was the aforementioned feet, four screws, a power cord, remote control, batteries, and a jumble of paper product literature.

As for the remote control, it's pretty simple, but it has a couple of keyboard shortcuts for popular streaming services and a button to bring up voice control, which the Google Assistant supports.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

properties

Connectivity is all the rage these days, and this is where the H9G quantum falls a little short. While competing TV manufacturers are promoting various game-friendly features such as automatic low latency mode (automatic game mode), variable refresh rate (VRR), 4K image performance of 120 Hz, and eARC, none of the H9G's four HDMI ports support any of the following these functions.

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For gamers, there is little input delay and HDR image quality, and those who connect soundbars will need to use standard ARC as Dolby Atmos passthrough is not supported.

These shortcomings can be easy to miss if you have no plans to play with your TV and just want a great picture. The H9G offers a local dimming LED backlight system with 132 zones in the 55-inch ($ 700) model and 180 zones in the 65-inch ($ 950) model.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Hisense also claims that a peak brightness of 1000 nits is not only bright enough to convince HDR images, but should also be enough to make the black levels look nice and dark when controlled over so many dimming zones.

I'll be referring to this TV as the H9G Quantum long enough to mention that the quantum in the name means quantum dots in the TV itself and that this should allow not only a very large color gamut, but also a higher color volume with more degrees of intensity for those colors.

All of this to say, if you are looking for image quality at a great price, then be sure to read on.

User experience

Before I get into image quality, I want to talk about what it's like to use the H9G. On the whole, it's a pleasant experience, but I've encountered a few quirks that could bother those looking to tweak their picture settings for the best possible performance.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The Hisense H9G runs on the Android TV platform and does this adequately – the experience is fast enough, with some lag in clicking through apps, and apps themselves load pretty quickly. Chromecast is built right in, so you can find your favorite videos, photos or music on your phone and watch them on your TV using a mobile device or computer.

When it comes to image settings, there is some very good news and some a little confusing. The good news is that when you select a picture mode for SDR (standard dynamic range – like cable / satellite TV, DVDs, most games), the system will automatically select the picture mode that makes the most sense for HDR.

Sit, click, watch and know you're getting the best image performance.

For example, if I selected Theater Day mode for the standard display, the TV would automatically switch to HDR Bright or Dolby Vision Bright when I watched HDR content on Netflix or Amazon. When I chose Theater Night, the TV would automatically go to HDR Dark or Dolby Vision Dark mode.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

I've never seen this type of automation and is extremely helpful for the average user who isn't interested in manual adjustments. Sit, click, watch and know you're getting the best image performance.

Hisense has also built in some automatic picture and sound adjustment functions with A.I.support that try to optimize the TV's picture and sound based on environmental factors. I didn't find them particularly useful, however. In general, I prefer to be in control.

And it's the control freak in me who got confused as to why I couldn't have independent white balance settings for SDR and HDR. I admit that this is an issue that most users don't. If you are amazed by what I am talking about, you know that this problem does not affect you. But for those who choose to have their TVs professionally tuned, it has been known that the H9G was unable to make white balance corrections (an adjustment that helps adjust color) for SDR and HDR independently. Ultimately, I went back to the factory setting for this setting.

Image performance

I already hinted at this, but now I want to be very clear: the Hisense H9G offers excellent image quality for the price. In fact, I suspect this might be the right TV choice for a very wide audience.

Hisense claims that this TV can achieve 1,000 nits of brightness right on the box. That seems like an odd thing as the vast majority of the people who would see this TV in its box while shopping are likely not that keen on what a sucker is, let alone how many of them your TV is supposed to produce. But I suppose it's a large number and people might assume it's good.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

That's a pretty good number. I think you need at least 750 nits of peak brightness for HDR images to look good. When the television delivers perfect black levels, like the Sony A8H OLED or the LG CX OLED. For a TV with LED backlighting like the H9G, 1,000 nits provide impressive contrast in my opinion. What I found exciting was that the H9G I received was able to achieve much higher brightness. My sample averaged 1,300 nits and peaked at 1,400 in some scenarios, which is better than advertised. When does this ever happen?

However, all of that brightness doesn't mean much if the TV can't effectively display even dark blacks. To my amazement, the H9G offers some of the most impressive black levels I've ever seen on an LED TV, let alone one that costs under $ 1,000.

The result of the impressive brightness and deep black levels of the H9G leads to a really exciting contrast. You don't have to be a TV aficionado to appreciate it – the H9G just dazzles.

Since I approach every TV with the same level of accuracy, I tested the H9G's color accuracy. It wasn't poor, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be. To make matters worse, I found it difficult to adjust due to a color matching issue mentioned above.

When using the Calman software together with a SpectraCal C6 colorimeter, I found that the white measurement contained far too much blue. Whenever one color is out of balance in white, all other colors are removed. This manifested itself in a magenta hue to white and cream colors, and I felt that shades of red were also significantly affected.

But I'm a TV nerd and I do this every day. I don't think most people will have an issue with the H9G's color accuracy.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

However, I think some people might have a problem handling the H9G. When I test a TV, I turn off the motion smoothing functions because I don't care about the soap opera effect they cause and I have to level the playing field for all of the TVs I have tested.

With motion smoothing turned off, I saw a lot of stuttered movements, and not just in fast-paced sports. Even faces on the screen seem to blink when they move slightly. The problem was more obvious in some scenes than others, but when I saw it I couldn't see it anymore, which I found a little frustrating.

With smooth movement, there was some stuttering to be seen. Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Other users have reported similar issues to me while others still stated that they did not experience the problem. This is likely because some people are simply more sensitive to small anomalies than others.

Overall, however, the H9G is a satisfactory TV, and I think most people will absolutely love it. Both SDR and HDR content appear vibrant and rich, and in some cases seem to disappear from the screen. This is top-notch picture quality that I expect from televisions that cost almost twice as much. The image of the H9G compares well with the Samsung Q80T for $ 1700 and the Sony X950H for $ 1700.

Our opinion

The Hisense H9G Quantum is one of the best values ​​on TV that we'll see in 2020 and well into 2021. Its picture quality will amaze most viewers, while its ease of use makes it a pleasure to experience every time you turn it on.

Is there a better alternative?

Possibly. The TCL R635 looks very promising, as does the Vizio P-series Quantum. At $ 900, the TCL R635 is a slightly better alternative in some ways and costs less. I'm also confident that Vizio's $ 1,000 P-Series Quantum will be very competitive in the brightness department for those who may need an even brighter TV, although that's hard to imagine after looking at the H9G. I will update this section as soon as these televisions have been thoroughly evaluated.

How long it will take?

The Hisense H9G is not well suited to taking advantage of the advanced gaming features offered with next generation gaming consoles. For television, however, it would be many more years.

warranty

Hisense warrants 1 year parts and labor.

You should buy it

Yes. If you don't need advanced gaming features but want a very bright TV with impressive black levels and overall great picture quality without breaking the bank, the Hisense H9G Quantum is an excellent choice.

Editor's recommendations




Sony X950H 4K HDR TV Review: Seriously Satisfying TV

"Excellent picture quality that is completely satisfactory."

  • Very bright

  • Impressive black levels

  • Movement handling of the highest quality

  • Excellent out-of-box color

  • No support for variable update rates

  • Unstable table stand

You might not need a TV as great as the Sony X950H, but if you see one in person, I'm willing to bet you'll want it.

To be honest, if you're interested in a Sony TV with great picture quality and player-friendly features, the Sony X900H, which sits right below the X950H we reviewed here, is a better choice. However, if you are one of those who only needs the best picture quality from an LED TV, the X950H is for you. If you want the best picture quality Sony is making this year – and indeed one of the best TVs to buy in 2020 – you should consider the Sony A8H OLED TV.

For perspective, the X950H is available in 49, 55, 65, 75, and 85-inch versions for $ 998, 1198, 1698, 2798, and $ 3,998, respectively (non-sale price). The X900H is available in 55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inch variants priced at $ 998, $ 1298, $ 2198, and $ 2798, respectively. That translates to a $ 400 premium for the 65-inch X950H over the X900H.

For those who don't know, I'm a non-apologetic fan of Sony's best TVs. The reason: image processing. Sony's stated goal of making the Creator's intention come true is certainly a line of marketing, but this is something the company has succeeded in doing through a vision chip that takes an LED TV panel off the shelf every business Can buy and convert into a work of art.

To be clear, I understand that this type of accuracy is not a priority for many buyers, and it is true that there are many cheaper TVs out there that would be a more practical choice for most people. The X950H is certainly a niche TV, and Sony makes no apologies for it. Is it right for you Let's find out.

Out of the box

Prepare for a rather complicated unboxing experience. A lot of plastic adheres to the X950H, presumably to protect its beautiful, shiny design accents. There's also a ton of paper in the form of product manuals and setup guides that I usually want to throw in the trash.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

In that case, you may want to stick with the installation instructions when you stand mount the TV – or just watch my X950H unboxing video – as installing the TVs … is less than intuitive. On the plus side, there are two ways to align your feet. One places feet on the far ends of the TV, the other points inward for a tighter footprint (but it looks goofy).

Once the TV is set up, you'll likely admire its form factor. The X950H doesn't have a particularly thin profile due to its local full array dimming backlight system, but its bezels are almost non-existent. Sure, there's still a black panel in your room, but it's a classy one.

Sure, there's still a black panel in your room, but it's a classy one.

Depending on the lighting in your room, you may find that the TV's screen creates a kind of rainbow effect when it is turned off or when dark content is displayed in a bright room. I believe this is due to a combination of anti-glare treatment and a panel layer that improves the image quality out of the angle. I've seen this on other TVs, and while I didn't find it a problem during most of my testing period, I was a little apprehensive while trying to watch Netflix's notoriously dark Ozark when sunlight fell into the room. I saw less of myself and the room, but I also saw a hazy rainbow.

configuration

Studies have shown that most people do not make any adjustments to picture settings when they bring their TVs home. If you don't, please know that the X950H's out-of-the-box “standard” image preset is one of the least disgusting I've seen from any manufacturer.

If you buy that particular TV, I'd bet you want the best picture quality possible. To do this, I would recommend starting with the "custom" mode, which has the best color accuracy in box. The custom mode may be a little dark. So you can adjust the backlight setting to get the brightness level you want. Otherwise you don't have to touch anything else.

sony x950h 4k hdr tv review sonyx950h 200807 9Dan Baker / Digital Trends

sony x950h 4k hdr tv review sonyx950h 200807 5thDan Baker / Digital Trends

sony x950h 4k hdr tv review sonyx950h 200807 8Dan Baker / Digital Trends

sony x950h 4k hdr tv review sonyx950h 200807 7Dan Baker / Digital Trends

This works for SDR content, but you also want to choose the HDR picture preset that you like best for both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content. I suggest going to the YouTube app, looking for 4K HDR content, and playing one of the clips shown. Go into the picture settings and choose the HDR picture mode that you like the most.

For Dolby Vision adjustments, I recommend playing a Dolby Vision-enabled clip from Netflix. Go back into the picture settings and choose the Dolby Vision preset (light or dark) that you like best.

An additional note for the setup: Sony offers a "light sensor" option, with which not only the brightness of the X950H, but also its gamma curve is automatically adjusted to the lighting situation in your room. I find the feature to work very well, but it will also darken the picture in dark rooms. So if you prefer the most punchy HDR experience you can get, this feature should be turned off.

sound

I don't often talk about the sound quality of a TV as it is almost always poor and in dire need of at least a soundbar for something other than watching the news. With the X950H, however, it's worth discussing.

Two additional speakers offer impressive tricks.

Sony's sound strategy with the X950H was to place small speakers on each side of the TV that sit just below the top to give the sound a sense of directionality and spaciousness. These two additional speakers work with the two downward facing speakers on the bottom of the TV and do some impressive tricks. While I wouldn't call the sound high-fidelity, I'll say that the sound is way better than most TVs and action-packed movies that add some immersion.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Still, I would suggest developing a better sound system for an experience that sounds as good as it looks.

picture quality

If you've spent a lot of time reading TV reviews lately, you've probably heard a lot about zones and nits. Zones refers to the number of local dimming zones a television's backlight system needs to control black levels and improve contrast. Usually more zones are better.

Nits refers to the measurement of the peak brightness a television is capable of, and as you can probably imagine, is more broadly considered to be better.

Sony breaks both rules. Please allow me to spit out for a moment. Skip the next two paragraphs if you want the end result.

Sony doesn't discuss how many zones its TVs have, nor does it like to talk about peak brightness measurements, claiming in either case that the numbers don't necessarily represent performance. I agree to some extent, but for a grin, I measured the X950H's peak brightness in custom picture mode at around 980 nits (with a 10 nits variance in either direction). For those who didn't know their nits from their gloves, that's a very respectable number.

I didn't count zones because I don't care and it's difficult to work with a Sony TV. Sony has some backlighting magic and is really the only TV manufacturer I know that manages to make the number of zones almost irrelevant. The fact that it is difficult to count the backlight zones in the X950H is evidence of this fact.

The bottom line is that the X950H is more than bright enough to provide a great HDR experience.

The bottom line is that the X950H is more than bright enough to deliver a great HDR experience while maintaining great black levels without suppressing details in low light. The backlight controls are very good, which means that the halos you may see around bright objects on a dark background are minimized quite well. This also results in very black mailbox bars that don't turn gray when the action on the screen turns bright, and doesn't overly brighten the screen when subtitles are used.

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The out-of-box color is very good in custom mode too and surprisingly good in game mode. Game mode normally throws color accuracy to the wind, but with the X950H I was pleasantly surprised that it assumed a warmer color temperature while the overall brightness was very high. More about playing in a moment.

The handling of movements is excellent with the X950H and offers smooth, stutter-free movie playback as well as stuttering movements of 60 Hz content on Netflix and YouTube. The processing of the X950H also eliminates any moiré effect that can occur with very narrow, uniform patterns such as the window grilles or the narrow patterns of high-rise buildings.

The processing of the X950H is really excellent when content with low bit depth is processed by streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube or Hulu (really all of them). With other televisions, it's not uncommon to see an effect called banding over large areas of color – think of a large picture of the sky with subtle changes in the color of blue – where there are semicircular bands of color. However, the Sony X950H's processor smooths things out quite successfully.

The X950H has an excellent cinematic picture.

My only complaint about image quality is the out of angle viewing. Contrast and color decrease significantly when you are not in the middle of the television. This is typical of LED TVs with VA panels, but Sony's X wide angle technology made me hope for a better one. Ultimately, I'm glad that no elements of the overall image quality were sacrificed for wide-angle viewing. It's best to just accept how VA LED TVs are and enjoy the superior contrast that they offer.

When all the picture quality components are put together, the X950H gives you an excellent film image. It's deep, rich, and punchy when called to sparkle. Simply put, it's one of the best images I've seen on an LED TV, especially at its price point.

Not for gamers

While the X950H's 18.3 millisecond input lag is good for most casual gaming scenarios, this model lacks the variable refresh rate (VRR) support we're seeing across a wide range of TVs this year. Sony told me that this TV primarily appeals to movie fans and decided not to give it some of the features it blessed its X900H with, including VRR (via future updates) and an ATSC 3.0 tuner.

Android TV experience

Until recently, Android TV was a frustratingly sluggish experience. Fortunately, the on-chip system that is currently used in most 2020 TVs handles Android TV with no significant delays or loading times. Fans of the Google experience will appreciate that previously signed-in apps can be easily updated automatically, eliminating the need to re-enter usernames and passwords. By signing in to Google, YouTube users can keep their viewing history and suggested videos consistent across devices.

Our opinion

The Sony X950H offers great picture quality, surprisingly good sound and a solid Smart TV experience. Image processing improves the visibility of all sources thanks to the excellent upscaling and the ability to clean up content with shallow bit depth. While it may not be the best choice for gamers, it is an ideal television for movie fans. While I am very confident in recommending this TV, I have to be close to the Editor's Choice Award as I think it serves a very niche audience.

Is there a better alternative?

I think the Sony X900H is a handy alternative for those who want great Sony picture quality with gamer-friendly features. The Samsung Q80T is a strong competitor in this price range too. We haven't seen what's coming from Vizio this year and will update this section as soon as we've had some hands-on time.

How long it will take

The lack of HDMI 2.1 compatibility, for which Sony needs a lot of heat, makes me take a break in terms of future security. However, given Sony's solid track record of build quality and the great picture quality of the X950H, I am confident that this TV will be relevant for many years to come.

warranty

Sony provides a one-year parts and labor warranty when purchased from an authorized dealer.

Should you buy it

Hardcore cinephiles will love the X950H, but most people in the market will likely be looking for better overall value or a TV with more updated features. I say if you are among those who want the best picture they can get from an LED TV right now, the X950H is a great choice. Those who are less enthusiastic may want to look elsewhere.

Editor's recommendations




TCL 5-Series (S525) 4K HDR TV Review | Lots Of Work

TCL 5-Series (S525) 4K HDR TV test: A lot of work

"A good basic TV that's just not great."

  • Ideal for playing

  • Decent contrast

  • Attractive design

  • Roku app access

  • The out-of-box image needs to be edited

  • Frustrating image presets

  • Not particularly bright

My relationship with TCL TVs started two years ago when I checked the company's 6-TV for 2018. This model put TCL on the map among TV enthusiasts who had never considered the brand before.

Today TCL is the affordable brand to beat. Several models are just as powerful, if not better than the much more expensive competition. I think TCL can be thanked for a shift in the TV industry towards more powerful televisions with lower prices.

Where does the 5 Series 2019 stand in the TCL product range, and is it worth buying one with the 2020 product range from TCL, which is expected to hit the shelves in August? After all, a 65-inch model only costs $ 600, while the 55-inch variant only costs $ 400. These prices are hard to beat. But what can you expect from a TV at this price? Let's dive in.

Out of the box

The TCL 5 Series is a much better looking TV than I expected for the price. The top and side bezels are extremely thin, the profile of the TV is also quite thin, and the "feet" of the TV are also attractive, if not a little light and cheap.

I'm not a fan of the round button next to the TV's Roku logo, and the bottom is a bit big, but overall, the TV looks like it should cost more than it does.

TCL 5-Series Roku remote controlDigital trends Caleb Denison

The TV comes with an increasingly elusive composite video breakout cable, a set of AAA batteries, and a Roku remote control. This special Roku remote control has neither an integrated headphone jack nor a voice remote control, although private listening and voice control are available via the Roku app for iOS and Android. We'll be talking quite a bit about this app review in this article.

properties

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

The 5 Series is not a high-end television, at least not in the price. This TV does not offer local dimming zones for direct backlighting. This means that the TV on the screen has a much more uniform brightness than an edge-lit TV. However, since none of these backlights can dim, it can be difficult to offer deep black, especially in scenes with bright objects on a dark background.

Other than omitting local dimming, it is not apparent that corners have been cut. TCL does not speak often with its video processing, so there is no clear indication that the 5 Series is less powerful than its 6 or 8 Series cousins.

Like all TCL TVs, the 5 Series is a Roku TV. This means that you not only get a Roku home screen with customizable input names and apps, but also the interface through which you can make settings. I'm usually a fan of the Roku TV interface, but not so much with this TV.

configuration

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

Before I go on, I want to make it clear that I am not blaming TCL or Roku for the issues I want to highlight. I think it's a question of partnership and I hope that a firmware update will fix these problems in the future. That's the beauty of smart TVs: you can update them.

It is difficult to get the best picture quality because there is so much work to do.

In the past, my praise for the Roku TV operating system was due to the simplicity and ease of use of Roku. It is an accessible experience, even for people who are not technically inclined. Unfortunately, I lack the simplicity to get the best picture quality that concerns me.

The first thing to tell people when they get a new TV is to go into the picture settings and switch the TV to film mode (cinema, custom, etc.) and then adjust the backlight setting to match the to achieve the desired brightness. By default, the film preset (or an equivalent image) reliably takes on a warmer, more accurate color temperature and often eliminates motion smoothing, which can create the dreaded “soap opera effect”.

With the 5 series, the TV assumes a warm color temperature, but motion smoothing must still be switched off. No big deal, it happens.

This movie preset is now active for every input you have just been set to. Let's say you saw cable or satellite at that point. The movie preset is now activated and probably set up correctly. Now the user has to go to every other input he uses, e.g. B. HDMI 2 for a game console, HDMI 3 for a Blu-ray player, and select the film mode for each of them.

This also applies to streaming apps, which are not easily recognizable for most users. In addition, just opening an app like Netflix and choosing film mode is not enough. You need to start streaming a show to adjust the image settings. A bit of trouble, but forgivable.

But what if you accidentally chose a show or film to be presented in HDR (in the case of Netflix, this would actually be Dolby Vision)? You would now choose one of three Dolby Vision image modes: Dolby Vision Dark, Normal or Bright. OK, well, we can choose the Dolby Vision mode we like, but what about SDR content – what most people see most – on other apps like Amazon or Hulu? To customize film mode for SDR apps, you need to play some SDR content on one of these apps.

Sounds frustrating? I'm just getting started. We haven't talked about the regular HDR10 mode that you get with lots of YouTube content and lots of Amazon shows. There are also three modes for HDR10. If we add them all up, there are a total of seven different options between SDR, HDR and Dolby Vision that other image modes like game or standard do not include.

This is far too much work to find the right image preset. In addition, the backlight settings between the dark, normal, and light HDR modes (including Dolby Vision) are maximum, and yet something is happening in the background to brighten the screen.

There's also the question of whether the color temperature and amount of motion smoothing change between Dolby Vision modes, which doesn't make sense to me, and the anomalous "micro-contrast" setting that has something to do with contrast, but is unreliable and is puzzling. It also looks like the TV is dimmed locally if it isn't.

For any of you who is just lost, that's my point. The person who buys this TV will set it up, turn it on and may not touch any of the settings. This is a shame because the ready-to-use image preset with low power consumption is nowhere near the full performance of this TV and frankly doesn't look good.

And if the buyer dares to venture into the picture settings, it is difficult to get the best picture quality because so much work has to be done. I just don't see that in most people.

I suppose we should talk about this image quality now.

picture quality

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

As I just explained, the ready-to-use picture quality of the TCL 5 series TV is not particularly good. It's not poor, but a little overwhelming. This is particularly troublesome when this television can deliver fairly impressive images to the inexperienced eye.

It is an ace for games because of its low latency automatic mode, low input delay, and high refresh rate.

If you jump through the tires and optimize the settings for a better picture, you will be rewarded with seemingly very rich colors and impressive contrast. The last bit surprised me. The contrast of this TV is remarkably good considering that there is no local dimming. Since there are no dimming zones to be controlled, there are no annoying fluctuations in the backlight that have to be managed when viewing in a darkened room.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the diminution of halos around bright objects on a black background. Although the screen never turns pitch black, it gets dark enough to provide adequate contrast.

What does it all add up? An above average TV. It's good. Not very good. Definitely not great. But a solid good. It is an ace for games because of its low latency automatic mode, low input delay, and high refresh rate. The variable update rate is not supported, but this is not to be expected here. It's okay for general television. However, higher content like 4K HDR material deserves better.

Here's the thing: you can do better for not much more money, and I think you should. I'm a fan of TCL, but I can't recommend this TV if the company's 6 Series is so much better for a little bit more money. In addition, the Hisense H8G is a more impressive TV for just $ 100 more at 65 inches.

Do not get me wrong. A lot of people will bring this TV home and get along with it. There is nothing wrong with that. I just don't want people to bring this TV home and learn later that there is something much more pleasant that can be watched for just $ 100 more. Regret is an ugly thing.

Our opinion

At $ 600, the TCL 5 series offers great value for money with good picture performance and a mostly friendly Roku TV experience. Immediately ready-to-use image performance leaves something to be desired and it can be difficult to optimize the image settings for all content. Once adjusted, however, it can offer slightly above-average picture quality that most viewers will enjoy.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. The TCL 6 series (R625) and Hisense H8G are both better televisions and cost only slightly more. In both cases, the upgrade is worthwhile. It is also worth noting that the Hisense is an Android TV. With this option, you lose Roku.

How long it will take?

So far I have had no problems with the longevity of TCL TVs. However, I only started testing it two years ago. Therefore, it is difficult to say that this TV should have a long lifespan in terms of hardware functionality. In terms of functions, it will lag behind very quickly.

warranty

TCL grants a one-year warranty on parts and labor when the TV is used for non-commercial purchases. More information about TCL's TV guarantees can be found here.

Should you buy it

It's okay to buy this TV if the value for money is appealing. Otherwise, you should spend a little more money to get a much better picture quality.

Editor's recommendations




Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR TV Review | Value verified

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR television

"Iridescent picture quality, especially for the price."

  • Very good black levels

  • High brightness

  • Impressive contrast

  • Solid HDR performance

  • No support for HDMI 2.1 functions

  • Requires moderate color correction

I'm still shocked at how great TVs under $ 1,000 can be these days. Time was, if you wanted premium picture quality from a 55- or 65-inch television, you'd spend at least $ 1,500 to $ 3,000.

The Hisense H8G Quantum is part of a new generation of TVs from China that are bursting the price models of competing brands. At $ 700, the 65-inch H8G Quantum looks like an almost ridiculously good value. But what about this picture quality?

To be honest, I've felt lukewarm about the last Hisense TVs I've checked. Recently the Hisense H8F worked well in bright rooms, but it lacked the deep black levels and vivid colors that I got from the TCL 6 series for the same price. The operating system was also sluggish and frustrating.

When I went into this H8G Quantum test, I hoped quantum dots, a more advanced backlight system, and Android TV could bring the H8G Quantum from good to great. Spoiler alert: I have not been disappointed.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR TV details

While we tested the 65-inch H8G model, our test also applies to the 55-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch models.

Screen size Model number RRP
50 inches 50H8G $ 400
55 inches 55H8G $ 600
65 inches 65H8G $ 800
75 inches 75H8G $ 1500

Out of the box

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

I am pleasantly surprised by the aesthetics of the H8G Quantum. It has remarkably slim bezels and a fairly thin profile.

Like most TVs today, the TV stand consists of two blade feet. Unlike many TVs that offer a range of foot positions at the other end of the TV, the H8G Quantum also has a narrow placement option. If you choose the narrower set, the space requirement is about 36 inches wide and 9.7 inches from front to back. The wider stance, which offers more stability and honestly looks better, is just under 44 inches wide.

I am pleasantly surprised by the aesthetics of the H8G Quantum.

There are limited options for cable management. A simple cable clip is attached to the back of each stand.

The included remote control is an old-fashioned wand-style model with more buttons than you probably need. I'd love to see an update for a more modern remote, but I won't complain for $ 700.

properties

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

The H8G Quantum offers four HDMI 2.0 inputs, one of which supports ARC, but there is no eARC support. There is also no support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) or ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). Players should consider both features later next year with next generation consoles.

If you have older video components, there is a composite video input next to two analog audio inputs. All three cinch connections are integrated on the back of the TV. There is no need for a breakout cable and no support for component video connections, although the need for them quickly subsides.

Under the hood, the H8G Quantum has a VA LCD panel with a FALD backlighting system (Full Array Local Dimming). The combination of these two should help the TV achieve deeper black levels and minimize the halo effect that rings of light creates around bright objects on a dark background.

Using the VA panel also means that viewing from outside the angle doesn't look very good. The colors are washed out, the contrast is badly affected and you can see the backlight in action more easily – all very typical.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

Hisense tried to solve these common problems with some kind of extended viewing angle, but I'm just telling you now that I don't think it works particularly well. Nevertheless, the H8G Quantum offers exactly the same performance as other televisions that have no additional layers to improve off-axis display.

Adding quantum dots should mean that the H8G Quantum not only offers a much wider range of colors, but also offers a richer HDR experience. Speaking of which, the H8G Quantum supports the HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG HDR formats. Hisense also claims the TV supports HDR10 +, but I could never use it for Amazon Prime Video, which is my only source for that particular format. I don't think this is a TV fault, but a strange mistake.

As previously mentioned, the H8G Quantum runs Android TV and it runs surprisingly well. Android TV has been notoriously difficult to operate in the past, but I had no significant delay or lethargy.

performance

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

Full disclosure: The first H8G Quantum test sample Hisense sent me was defective. I'm not sure if the problem is related to the image processor, the panel, or both, but it didn't look right to me. I recorded my experience with this TV in this video and requested a replacement that was broadcast immediately. The defective device has been returned to Hisense for analysis, and I will update this review when Hisense reports to me about the exact error.

Hisense assures me that the problems I have had are not common, and I can confirm that there are no widespread reports of problems.

I am very impressed with the image quality of the H8G Quantum.

Within seconds of turning on the replacement pattern, I was able to determine that I had a properly functioning television. However, as I dug deeper, I began to suspect that the TV I had received might work a little too well in some ways. More on that in a moment.

In general, I am very impressed with the image quality of the H8G Quantum. Sitting in front of the TV, I was surprised at how well the backlight system controlled the dark areas around bright objects, especially in HDR mode. A popular test in the real world is watching a dark film with letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the picture while subtitles are activated. The white text at the bottom of the screen often colors the surrounding black bars medium dark gray, and although I've seen part of this effect, it has been impressively minimized.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

The H8G Quantum I received is also able to achieve impressive brightness. Here I began to suspect that the TV I had received might perform better than expected for this model. According to Hisense, this television should output a maximum of 700 nits of peak brightness.

I measured the model I received using a SpectraCal C6 HDR colorimeter and Portrait Displays Calman 2020 color calibration software and got a peak brightness value of around 920 nits – significantly higher than Hisense's claimed and higher than that of values ​​measured by other experts.

Commentators on YouTube have indicated that I may have received some kind of “juiced” or “optimized” television from Hisense, but I don't think this is the case. Not only did Hisense assure me that I had received a standard sample, I was doing a factory reset on all the TVs I checked before I rated them, and supposedly deleted any changes that were made to me before the TV was shipped. In short, I think I was lucky.

It was clear that the color was slightly different.

The feeling of hitting the jackpot with this TV continues in the fact that the sample I received has a flawless screen uniformity. When using a full color gray pattern, I did not see any vignetting or other dark spots on the screen. This TV has an extremely clean panel.

Not everything was great. Without taking any measurements, it was clear that the color was a little different. Not bad, just not exactly. Yellow seemed to be particularly intense, and I felt that the orange colors were also a bit overboard. After taking more measurements, I noticed that the blue pixels on the TV were too pronounced. I made a little adjustment and everything clicked into place.

Hisense H8G Quantum 4K HDR televisionDan Baker / Digital Trends

The H8G Quantum is immediately very powerful in the modes Theater Day and Theater Night. Color could use some work, and if you're the type of person who values ​​accurate color, consider some of the money you save on buying this TV and pay a professional calibrator to make some adjustments .

Otherwise, I think people will be amazed by the picture quality of this TV. The black tones are deep, the colors vivid and the HDR material is extremely pleasant to look at. The television looks vivid in a room with daylight and even better in a dark room for a movie night.

As for processing, I feel Hisense is making some progress. When viewing Netflix and Hulu's low bit rate content, the H8G Quantum was unable to clear the image as well as the Sony X900H. This is hardly a fair comparison, but the fact that the H8G is even in the stadium with a TV that is twice as expensive really says something.

Our opinion

The Hisense H8G is an impressive television, especially for the price. With sizes from 50 to 75 inches and prices from $ 380 to 1300, the H8G Quantum line offers a model that meets the needs of a wide range of TV buyers, especially those who want premium picture quality in a budget-friendly set.

Is there a better alternative?

At $ 700, I'm having trouble making comparisons until the Vizio and TCL TV casts arrive. I can say the H8G is well above its price range, and I suspect the IT models will outperform competitors like Samsung's TU8000 and LG's UN7300.

How long it will take?

I don't have enough years of experience with Hisense TVs to make a qualified judgment about how long this TV will last. However, I will say that Hisense's television track record in the US seems to be going in a positive direction.

warranty

Hisense grants a one-year warranty on parts and labor on the Hisense H8G Quantum. The guarantee is full of provisions. Read them carefully here.

Should you buy it

Yes. Most people will love the picture quality of this TV for the price. I wouldn't recommend it to avid gamers who are excited about the arrival of next generation consoles, but it is an extremely practical purchase for most users.

Editor's recommendations