Compare: Sony Bravia 9 (XR90) vs TCL A300W NXTVision

Sony BRAVIA 9 is undoubtedly a top-tier product, and there’s no "but" about it, as this is a fact, not a thesis. It’s evident everywhere you look how much effort the manufacturer has put into perfecting the dimming algorithms, which undoubtedly perform their role to every possible degree. Thanks to this, we can enjoy an incredibly deep black and an amazingly vivid image. And since we’re talking about the picture and backlighting, one cannot help but mention the quality of HDR effects, which will brighten the room, enveloping us in over 2000 nits of peak brightness. Such a result certainly looks impressive on paper, but you have to trust us that it’s even better in person. The manufacturer, known for its meticulous approach to image quality, has once again endeavoured to ensure that its television faithfully reproduces what the film director intended to convey, and it has succeeded brilliantly. The Sony Bravia 9 also offers an excellent user experience thanks to the Google TV system. The interface is intuitive, and with a rich library of apps, we have access to countless contents that we can tailor to our own preferences. The integration with Google Assistant allows for quick and convenient searching of favourite movies, shows, or music, as well as controlling other smart devices in the home. It’s these kinds of solutions that make using the television not just a pleasure but also simplifies daily life. Unfortunately, not everything is perfect. The Sony Bravia 9 still has room for improvement, particularly regarding the HDMI port configuration. Sony BRAVIA 9 has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is eARC, that is a port for a soundbar or home theatre system. For such an expensive piece of equipment, one might expect four full HDMI 2.1 ports, and the lack of Picture-in-Picture (PiP) functionality is also a drawback that can be annoying. Despite these shortcomings, it’s hard not to notice just how exceptional this equipment is. It’s the first LCD television that can truly compete with OLEDs. Infinite contrast, fantastic picture quality, zero compromises — Sony BRAVIA 9 is nearly perfect. Excellent picture, modern technologies, attention to detail make every viewing experience one you won’t forget.

At first glance, it’s clear that the TCL A300 NXTVision aims to be more than just an ordinary television. It offers a picture display mode that – unlike competitors from Korea, Samsung The Frame – is completely free. Additionally, just like its rivals, extras are included at no charge. In the packaging, alongside the television, we find extra frames that mimic light wood and a flat wall mount, allowing the television to truly resemble a gallery piece. When it comes to everyday use, the standout feature is the Google TV system – comprehensive, fast and offering access to a massive number of apps. And if we feel like stepping out of the digital museum and jumping straight into the gaming world, the A300 can surprise us. With two HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz, VRR, ALLM, and a very low input lag, even demanding gamers can feel at home here. Well... perhaps except for those sensitive to motion blur – as this remains one of the bigger issues with this model. There are also downsides. While the picture mode is free – which is commendable – the actual quality of the available graphics falls noticeably short compared to what Samsung offers in its paid ART Store. The displayed images resemble photos rather than realistic reproductions of artworks. Unfortunately, the A300 – much like the competing Hisense S7NQ – performs poorly here and additionally has some software issues. The brightness of the television itself also leaves much to be desired – it’s the dimmest of the “framed trio,” which translates to average daytime viewing and limited HDR effect. Nevertheless, the TCL A300 NXTVision is a reasonably sensible alternative to Samsung The Frame or S7NQ – especially if we are looking for a cheaper solution without additional charges for access to the “gallery” mode and with an operating system that doesn’t limit us in any way regarding the number of apps. However, it’s important to remember that this is a proposal with a lot of compromises. If we want to save a bit and don’t expect top-notch picture quality, the A300 can hit the visual bullseye. Otherwise, it’s worth looking at its competition.

Similarly, the Sony Bravia 9 utilises a high-contrast VA panel, supported by a backlight made up of Mini LED diodes. The total number of zones for the 75" size we tested was 1920. Combining such a number with advanced, and one might boldly say — the best zone dimming algorithms delivers excellent results in contrast and black levels. Practically every scene can display an incredibly deep and immersive image. Of course, the last two won't give us blacks akin to OLED televisions, however, it's fair to say that the results are not weak, as a significant portion of competing TVs will not provide such a faithful representation of the director's vision. Looking below at two test scenes from the Sony Bravia 9 from the film Oblivion and Sicario 2, we can observe very mature behaviour of the backlight algorithms, which ensure that blacks are maintained without sacrificing the original image. Of course, the blooming effect still occurs here due to the operation of the TV's zones (it can be observed on the small lights on the helicopter), but it is definitely one of the best LCD TVs we have had the opportunity to test in terms of black levels and contrast.

TCL A300, also known as NXTVision, uses a VA panel, so from the outset, decent contrast could be expected. On our test screens, the television indeed showed typical results for this type of panel – in the best case, the contrast reached around 5000:1, which is not a bad result for this segment.

However, it should be noted that the model is not equipped with any local dimming technology, which unfortunately is evident in practice. Black, although at times quite deep, often turns into navy blue or grey – especially in darker scenes. In short: for a television without local dimming, it’s not bad, but it shouldn't be compared to models that already have such a feature on board.

The brightness measurement results on the Sony Bravia 9 are phenomenal. Each scene achieves well over 1500 nits, and while watching movies, the TV can sometimes shine even brighter. It goes without saying that such brightness allows for unprecedented experiences and engagement with video material at the highest possible quality. With a high coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, the image is full of colours and, combined with such high luminance, it practically breathes. Thanks to the high peak brightness, viewers can enjoy the full spectrum of colours even in the most difficult scenes, such as those based on dynamic lighting changes. The Bravia 9 supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats, which further enhances the viewing experience.

When it comes to brightness, the TCL A300W is definitely the dimmest TV among all frame-style models, such as Samsung The Frame or Hisense CanvasTV – and unfortunately, you can see that right away. In our measurements, peak luminance reached only around 400 nits, and on test movie screens, this value dropped to 350 nits. That’s definitely too little to feel the real "magic" of bright HDR effects. As a consolation – the TV is equipped with a PFS LED coating (which is something like QLED), which provides very good coverage of a wide colour gamut, both DCI-P3 and BT.2020. In addition, there is full support for all popular HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision – which somewhat compensates for the shortcomings in brightness and helps improve the overall experience of materials in this quality.

The best factory mode on Sony televisions has remained "IMAX Enhanced" for years. This is what we used throughout the entire testing procedure. Despite being the closest to the reference compared to other predefined options, it has a number of aspects that can be improved to make viewing even more enjoyable. When we look at the gamma in SDR materials, we notice quite a significant boost that is related to over-contrasting the image. It is worth noting that the very beginning of the graph has an even greater spike compared to the reference, which leads to the merging of details in the blacks, creating a uniform blob. The EOTF curve in HDR content looked quite accurate and only showed slight deviations from the reference. However, a common characteristic for both was: a greenish tint in the white balance, issues with greys, and general colour misalignment. The most noticeable issue was related to the uneven distribution of colours in the white balance. Due to the excess of the aforementioned colour, the image was covered with an unpleasant greenish tint.

TCL A300 offers several picture modes, but without a doubt, the movie mode performs the best. Unfortunately, even though it is the best option available, it is not free from errors. Both in HD and HDR content, the image has a noticeably too warm hue – it has a slight pink tint, which is particularly noticeable in snowy scenes. Instead of pure white, we get a pinkish coating that spoils the natural perception of colours.

The management of brightness is also lacking. In the case of older HD materials, the image often seems too dark – confirmed by an elevated gamma value. Conversely, with HDR content, the effect is the opposite – the image is overly bright, as we observed in scenes from the film Pan. Such a lack of consistency also affects colour accuracy – a test with a ColorChecker showed that many samples clearly deviate from reference values.

Fortunately, TCL allows for manual adjustment of settings, so we decided to check how the television would perform after our professional calibration. The effects of this adjustment are described below.

The colour reproduction after the calibration process should be regarded as excellent. Regardless of the signal, whether it's SDR or HDR, we can expect an image incredibly close to what the film director saw. Practically every image flaw has been modelled and maximally improved. This was made possible by the advanced tools used for the calibration process, which Sony has provided in its televisions for years, including 2- and 20-point grey scale adjustment and a very elaborate CMS.

After our professional calibration, the TCL A300 has literally been given a new lease on life. The image has stopped being too warm, and the colours finally look as they should – as confirmed by the ColorChecker test, where the colour samples finally started hitting their marks, at least to some reasonable degree. It was also possible to partially correct the brightness management – the image is now more balanced and less "wobbly" between different types of content. Of course, certain limitations can't be bypassed – a slightly visible blooming effect still occurs, but that's a characteristic of the technology, not something that can be eliminated even after professional settings.

Generally: after calibration, the A300 looks significantly better and gains a whole new quality.

The default quality of gentle gradation, i.e. without the enhancement feature activated, is fairly average, considering the price range and class of the device. The issue isn't noticeable with very bright backgrounds, but it's quite prominent on dark ones. This is perfectly illustrated by the last two test scenes, where tonal transitions are apparent and may cause discomfort to image purists.

TCL A300 NXTVision is another frame-style television that really manages well with the smoothness of tonal transitions. It's hard to find distinct bands or sharp transitions between shades of one colour – it all looks natural and smooth.

However, it's fair to say that among the three tested models (The Frame and S7NQ), TCL performs the weakest in this category. In darker and lighter scenes, you can notice slight imperfections. Nevertheless, looking at it as a whole, for a television in this range – it really presents itself solidly. It might not be the best of the bunch, but it holds a very good standard.

Let's take another look at the quality of tonal transitions, but this time we will analyse the quality of image scaling, which will be crucial when watching lower quality materials. We'll start with the function responsible for the quality of tonal transitions. While they are quite average by default, after activating the option, even at the smallest degree, we can confidently say that these are some of the better ones we've seen. You can confidently enable this function, as it does not cause any negative phenomena, such as grain blur.

Sony has been boasting for several years that its "XR" processor is unmatched when it comes to image scaling. And it's not hard for us to believe that, because the image is indeed incredibly sharp, yet very natural.

TCL A300 handles tonal transitions in high-quality films very well, but the question arises – how does it perform with weaker materials? The TV is equipped with a tonal smoothing feature; however, its effectiveness can be described in one word: “random”. In one scene, it may work and improve the gradation, but when turned off… the effect remains the same. There is a lack of consistency and predictability here.

Image scaling is also not one of A300's strong points. On the test pattern, the main character actually looked better than on the raw signal, but with thin lines – like fonts or background details – there was noticeable jaggedness and aliasing. On the plus side, the TV does not cut off the image and has no issues with overscan, but the overall quality of scaling is rather average.

The maximum refresh rate of the Sony Bravia 9 is 120 Hz. This is the essential minimum for watching primarily sports or content that has a lot of movement dynamics while maintaining a sharp and smooth image. For demanding users, the manufacturer has implemented a very advanced smoothing system, which is divided into three segments: Smoothness (Film), Smoothness (Camera), and Clarity. The first two correspond to: blur degree and smoothing degree, respectively. The third option will be described in more detail below. Additionally, we can adjust all settings to various levels, each of which will have an effect, ensuring that we can find our very own sweet spot. In the photo, we present a setting with slight smoothing, without the soap opera effect.

TCL A300 is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, which should instantly satisfy virtually everyone - both gamers and sports fans. Motion is fluid and the image is clear even during fast scenes. Additionally, the television offers a motion enhancement feature called "Motion," where we find two sliders on a 10-point scale. These allow you to adjust the effect to your own preferences - from a classic, filmic look with visible frames to a very smooth (though already unnatural) image reminiscent of a soap opera effect. This way, everyone can find a setting that suits them.

The Sony Bravia 9 television is equipped with four HDMI ports. However, somewhat incomprehensibly for this class of device, only two of them operate in the 2.1 standard. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be taken away that almost all features work excellently and do not cause any negative feelings upon being activated. Games operating in either HDR10 or Dolby Vision have a very short input lag, allowing for a very comfortable session with the title. A consolation remains in the good implementation of the HGIG mode, which after proper tuning does not deviate significantly from Dolby Vision.

A year ago, Sony added to its televisions what has been standard for some manufacturers for years. This is, of course, the GameBar, allowing for quick adjustment of settings without the need to exit the game. The implementation of this feature was successful and works very smoothly. We have been provided with conveniences such as: crosshair grid, black level correction, and the ability to reduce the screen to the proportions of gaming monitors.

Sony Bravia 9 will certainly find its group of fans, most likely among PlayStation enthusiasts. Here, we must admit that this will be the most sensible choice, as in practice both the console and the television have exactly the same capabilities. However, looking more broadly, aside from issues with Dolby Vision in games, one cannot deny that the Bravia 9 is a very good television in the context of gaming.

The TCL A300 is a television designed not only to transport us to a digital art museum but also into the full-fledged world of gaming. It offers practically everything you can expect from gaming hardware: two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz refresh rate, support for VRR and ALLM.

It also deserves credit for the proper implementation of the HGIG mode – something that competing Hisense sometimes struggles with. The television handles lower resolutions (e.g., Full HD) with ease while maintaining high refresh rates, which will be appreciated by owners of older consoles or PCs.

Additionally, there's an attractive and clear GameBar that facilitates quick access to settings for gamers. The A300 is indeed well-prepared for gaming at the highest level – it’s just a shame that issues with ghosting somewhat detract from its overall appeal as a gaming device.

Input lag for Bravia 9 is low in every scenario. Even the most dedicated gamers will certainly appreciate the very low input lag of 10 ms at demanding 4K 120 Hz with HDR settings.

In terms of input lag, the TCL A300 performs really well. Values below 10 ms at a refresh rate of 120 Hz are something many gamers dream of – such low lag is practically unnoticeable, both during everyday gaming and in more demanding esports titles. One could nitpick about the result of 23 ms in Dolby Vision mode at 60 frames, but it's still low enough that serious objections are hard to come by. In this category, the A300 truly excels.

Sony Bravia 9 coupled with a PC performs excellently, thanks to its very low latency of just 9 ms, providing immediate response between the mouse, eye, and screen. An extremely important aspect while working on the screen is the readability of text, which in the case of the tested television is very good. However, it is essential to remember to switch the television to "Game" mode, as this provides the best text readability, while in other scenarios, the font may become unreadable.

The subpixel arrangement is BGR, which does not negatively impact using the television as a monitor. However, since operating systems are not adjusted for such a subpixel format, this may result in slightly less sharp contours. This is practically negligible, and only a handful of people may notice it.

If we plan to use the TCL A300 as a computer monitor, we may be pleasantly surprised. The television performs really well in this role. It is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, supports G-Sync, and, as we mentioned, offers very low input lag, so gaming on it with a connected PC is pure enjoyment.

Working with text is also possible, although with some limitations. The TCL A300 has slight issues displaying dark fonts and thin lines – this is due to the construction of the subpixels, which in everyday use can be a bit annoying, even though it looks better in photos than in reality.

The television supports chroma 4:4:4, but only up to 120 Hz. Therefore, we noted that this feature is available, but with a limitation – if we care about perfectly readable fonts, it's worth sticking with the refresh rate of 120 Hz. At 144 Hz, the clarity of the text may suffer somewhat.

Thanks to the use of an angular coating, colour degradation and contrast loss at an angle are not as drastic as in the vast majority of VA matrix televisions. Only after a significant shift off-axis does greater image destabilisation become apparent; however, the overall experience can be rated very positively.

The viewing angles on the TCL A300 NXTVision are, let’s be honest, average. The TV is equipped with a VA panel, which inherently has quite limited angles, and unfortunately, this is evident here. The video below speaks for itself – even a slight deviation from the centre results in a noticeable drop in contrast and colour saturation. It’s a shame that this is yet another frame-style TV that has done absolutely nothing about it. After all, we don't always have the option to sit perfectly straight on – especially if the device is also meant to serve a decorative function in the living room.

When watching during the day, we can count on an incredibly high brightness of 1600 nits, which allows for very comfortable viewing even when harsh angled light hits the TV. Even reflections that spill across the screen do not detract from the enjoyment of watching on a sunny day. For this reason, the Sony Bravia receives nearly the highest rating from us in this regard.

The TCL A300 NXTVision is equipped with a matte panel very similar to the one found in one of its Chinese competitors – the Hisense S7NQ. This type of surface does quite well in reducing reflections, although it must be admitted that it performs worse than Samsung's The Frame, which offers a significantly higher level in this regard. As is usually the case with matte displays, blacks during the day lose depth and appear more grey than black – and this is no different here. Unfortunately, the fact that the A300 is the darkest TV of the three tested doesn’t help either. This gives it a real problem in breaking through in heavily sunlit rooms.

Bravia 9 runs on the Google TV system, which is a significant advantage compared to TVs equipped with proprietary systems from manufacturers, where installing applications from a USB drive can be difficult, and often downright impossible. With Google TV, we have the ability to install virtually any application, both from the official store and directly from online repositories via an APK file.

This system also offers many conveniences in terms of control. We can connect a keyboard with a touchpad, which significantly makes entering queries much easier. Additionally, thanks to integration with Google, we can use voice control features via the remote, which works very well, although there are occasional minor issues with understanding functions and options. It's worth noting that Google TV receives regular updates that enhance functionality and introduce new options. We can also confirm that, according to reports from users of older models, the software has its off days and sometimes has a “bad day.”

In summary: Google TV is currently one of the most popular systems on the market. Thanks to its efficient CPU, it operates very smoothly, doesn’t freeze and has no issues with lagging for a significant portion of usage. It is definitely the best option for those who want to fully utilise the potential of their TV and value system openness.

TCL A300 is a television styled as a painting, which in everyday use can successfully pretend to be a work of art hanging on the wall. It is equipped with a special image display mode, additional frames in a light wood tone, and a flat wall mount that allows you to hang the television like a real painting – without any gap from the wall.

A significant advantage of the image mode is that it is completely free. We have access to several dozen works from which we can choose one to be displayed while in standby – instead of a black screen, the image we selected remains on the wall. The quality of graphic reproduction is okay, but it must be admitted that it clearly falls short of that from Samsung's ART Store. Although access to images there is paid, the quality of the scans is significantly better – you can see the texture of the paint, canvas, and details. In the TCL A300, it resembles high-quality photos rather than realistic reproductions of artworks. Additionally, the implementation of the image mode in the system leaves a lot to be desired. For example – if we set the brightness to 10% in image mode, that same value automatically transfers to the regular viewing mode, where we could easily set the brightness to 50% or even 100%. It also works the other way around – when we set the brightness to 100% in regular mode, after switching to gallery mode, the images are displayed with the same maximum brightness, shining too intensely and losing the whole effect of a “picture on the wall.” These are minor but irritating errors that can spoil the experience of what was supposed to be visually subtle and elegant.

Moving on to more classic functions – the A300 runs on the Google TV system, which currently offers by far the largest selection of applications (full list available below). The responsive voice assistant with support for the Polish language also deserves a big plus. As standard – as with most TCL televisions – the USB recording function or picture-in-picture (PiP) mode was missing.

The built-in player in Sony Bravia 9 is quite good. While it’s not without its flaws, it must be said that it plays a significant portion of files without a hitch. However, among the missing features, the lack of support for subtitles in .sub, .txt formats or selectively working image formats can be bothersome, with only JPEG and HEIC available. This isn’t really a problem considering the ease of installing applications like VLC or KODI.

The built-in player on the TCL A300 works as it should – most popular video and photo files play without any problems. It lacks support for Apple's HEIC format (which is quite common in many TVs), but most users still use AirPlay, so it shouldn't be a major issue. If someone isn't satisfied with the default player, the Google TV system offers plenty of options – you can easily install an alternative app that better suits your tastes. Nevertheless, it's worth noting that the factory solution is completely sufficient for everyday use.

We must admit that the sound coming from the Sony Bravia 9 left us quite astonished. Of course, we knew it was a top-of-the-line product, but we didn’t expect such sound quality. You can easily hear each instrument individually, and the bass adds the right depth to the whole experience. With a clear conscience, we can say that this is the best sounding television we have had the chance to test. Of course, we realise that people opting for such a television already have their own home theatre setup. And here there won't be any major obstacle, as the Bravia 9 supports DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Atmos.

When it comes to sound, the TCL A300W – like its competitors – sounds quite... flat, after all, we are talking about a super slim television. For everyday watching of news or series, this level is more than sufficient, but during movie screenings, we might noticeably miss depth and space. On a positive note, it’s worth mentioning that the television supports both Dolby Atmos and the increasingly rare DTS:X – which provides more options when connecting an external audio system. It’s also worth noting that the A300 PRO model is equipped with a dedicated, flat soundbar. And it’s no ordinary soundbar – it sounds better than most of the televisions we’ve tested.

Sony Bravia 9 (XR90) vs TCL A300W NXTVision

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

TV efficiency during daytime

Details about the matrix

TV features

Playing files from USB

Apps

Sound