Sony X90L vs SHARP JP7765E

HDR on the Sony X90L television looks promising. The luminance chart indicated that the TV has a solid power reserve, achieving a maximum of 1000 nits in synthetic tests. But how does this perform in real-world scenarios? In scenes such as the opening of Life of Pi or the final sequence from The Meg, the TV is capable of delivering that power on HDR content, reaching around 800 nits. Unfortunately, displaying small light elements on a black background, like in the scene from Sicario 2, presents greater challenges for the X90L – here the results reach around 600 nits. Nevertheless, when looking at competitive models with mini-LED technology, the effect looks very good and can shine enough to impress us. The colour gamut coverage is also noteworthy, with a result of 96% for DCI-P3 and 76% for BT.2020, which indicates good colour reproduction in HDR content.

So how does the brightness of the Sharp JP7 perform in the most demanding titles? Honestly, we were quite surprised at first. The TV is able to achieve over 1000 nits of brightness, which is an outstanding and rare result for a device costing just under 2000 zł (for 55 inches). Watching bright, full-screen scenes, you can get the impression that you are dealing with really good equipment. But unfortunately, we have to return to the issue we mentioned earlier, which is local dimming management. When small, bright spots appear on a dark background (like in test scenes from the films Life of Pi or Sicario 2), it’s clear how poorly the JP7 handles these zones. The TV dims them almost to the maximum, crushing the whole HDR effect, which at such moments resembles a flat SDR image (less than 200 nits). This instability means that in demanding, contrast-rich films, the image on the JP7 unfortunately loses its appeal.

As a consolation, it's worth noting that the panel has the potential to display colours well. A PFS (phosphor) filter has been employed here, which allows the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut to reach a solid 94%. The manufacturer calls its product a “QLED,” even though it technologically relies mainly on the aforementioned PFS filter. Considering the recent market battles between manufacturers over what can and cannot be called QLED, we leave the issue of the correctness of this terminology to your judgement. However, it remains a fact that the potential for reproducing saturated colours in this panel is simply good.

The best mode on Sony televisions is the IMAX Enhanced mode. Although IMAX is mainly associated with the cinema experience, the colour reproduction out of the box is average here. In the case of lower quality materials, such as HD – regular television or YouTube – it's worth paying attention to the white balance. It suffers from a shortfall in red and excessive dominance of blue, which gives the image a pinkish hue. The brightness characteristic, or gamma, for HD content is quite acceptable, but a slight boost can cause the image to appear washed out and look as if it’s behind a light fog.

For 4K HDR content, the situation is somewhat different. The white balance shows a significant boost in blue, which makes the image unnaturally sharp and gives it an artificial feel. Such an exaggeration in colour reproduction may not appeal to everyone, especially if one prefers more realistic tones. Additionally, the EOTF curve in Sony X90L looks quite acceptable at first glance. However, at the end of the graph, there are certain fluctuations that suggest the television is trying to maintain the correct brightness to avoid overexposing larger elements.

When it comes to colours straight out of the box, the Sharp JP7 was tested in the Film mode, which traditionally offers the most cohesive image compared to the yellowed “Eco” mode or the glaring blue of the “Dynamic” mode. Although this is the best choice among the available settings, the results still fall short of ideal. The white balance clearly lacked red and blue components, causing many scenes to take on an unnatural, greenish hue. Another issue was the gamma – in full-screen scenes, the TV produced excessively bright images, completely robbing it of its cinematic character. All of this resulted in colour reproduction errors, especially in shades of grey, which exceeded the Delta E 10 value. To remind you: errors above 2-3 are already noticeable to the human eye, so here we are dealing with a significant distortion of reality.

In HDR mode, the situation is reversed, but not in a better way. Here, the white balance is dominated by blue, giving the image an unnatural, almost “store-like” sharpness, reminiscent of aggressive demonstration modes. Moreover, the measurements of the EOTF curve emphasise the store-like nature of the image. The graph clearly shows that the TV generates images that are significantly brighter than the standards predict, resulting in an artificially boosted and unrealistic final effect. The Sharp JP7 is evidently trying to appear stronger than it actually is, but it does so at the expense of fidelity to the original content.

Sony offers many tools for improving picture quality, including two extra picture modes that we decided to use during testing and apply calibration to. This solution greatly simplifies the calibration process and is very effective, provided you have the right tools. In the case of HD content, white balance was almost perfectly aligned – only one shade of grey exceeds an error value of "1", which is a great result. The same can be said for the brightness characteristic (gamma), which presents almost perfectly, with microscopic deviations of around 0.01.

For 4K HDR content, the situation is not as ideal. Although white balance has been significantly improved, it was not possible to completely eliminate the dominance of blue. Nevertheless, errors in the Colour Checker test only occasionally exceed the value of "2", which means that picture distortions are practically unnoticeable. When it comes to the EOTF curve, it's worth activating the filter in the top right corner "EOTF in Films" – the graph looks correct, but the TV struggles with illuminating very small elements, which is due to the limited number of backlight zones. Despite these minor errors, it's thanks to the calibration that the IMAX Enhanced mode in the Sony X90L makes watching movies feel like a true cinema experience.

We subjected the JP7 to our standard calibration procedure and honestly... the television gained a second life thanks to it, especially with SDR content (YouTube, traditional television, series, or older films). With our precise adjustments to the white balance and stabilisation of the gamma, colour errors dropped to a value of below 3. This is a level at which the human eye struggles to perceive discrepancies. In this scenario, the Sharp JP7 delivers an image with truly excellent colour accuracy, which is a significant advantage in this price range. However, the HDR content turned out to be much more problematic. Here, despite our efforts and interventions in the settings, the television simply refused to cooperate. In the JP7 menu, we won’t find any option to effectively control how brightness is managed (EOTF). Although a significant portion of the colour errors has been reduced, the image still remained unnaturally oversaturated. It’s a bit disappointing because the potential of the mini-LED backlit panel is great, but the software presents a clear barrier.

The conclusion is simple: when watching less demanding content (SDR) on the JP7, you can expect an image that is more than satisfactory, but in HDR you will have to accept a certain degree of "artificiality" that cannot be bypassed even with professional equipment.

The Sony X90L television features a smooth tonal transition function known as Gentle Gradation, which is incredibly effective. Even at the "low" setting, the effects are satisfactory, but at the "medium" setting, it works like a dream – we recommend using this option for the best results. The image scaling on the Sony X90L is simply excellent. The image is not overly sharpened, which gives a natural effect and makes everything look cohesive. It's clear that the engineers have really put effort into this aspect, creating a solution that impresses and performs well in everyday use. This means that even when watching content like regular television or YouTube, where the image is by nature not stunning, you can enjoy a smooth, coherent, and visually pleasing experience.

When it comes to lower quality materials and how Sharp JP7 handles them, the situation is ambiguous. Let's start with the upscaling itself – here we have no major objections. The process of scaling the image to a higher resolution is correct; the picture remains readable and clear, without the overscan effect, which means no cropped edges. Of course, it's not at the level of top models and at times you can notice slight tearing on the edges, but in this price range, the effect is fully acceptable.

However, the actual digital image processing performs much worse, as aside from the scaling, it practically doesn’t exist. In the JP7 menu, we won’t find any options that would effectively smooth out unwanted tonal transitions or reduce noise in the image. As a result, the signal hits the panel in a very raw form, which with heavily compressed materials (e.g., from YouTube) results in noticeable posterisation. Either this is a programming error or a very strange design decision, because in earlier Sharp models this function was available and, more importantly, worked with noticeable effect. Here, we are stuck with what the source delivers, without any digital support from the image processor.

Sony X90L with a 120 Hz display is an excellent choice for both gamers and film enthusiasts. The television is equipped with the Motion Flow smoothing feature, which allows for adjusting motion smoothness using two sliders: "smoothness" and "clarity". The "smoothness" slider controls the level of motion fluidity, which affects the reduction of image stuttering, while "clarity" is used to reduce blurriness and enhance motion sharpness, which is especially useful in dynamic scenes.

The motion fluidity on the Sharp JP7 is quite average, and the reason is simple: the TV uses a 60Hz panel. This immediately makes it hard to recommend for watching sports or serious gaming, where higher refresh rates are already the standard. The only real plus is the presence of a motion smoother, which we can control in films with a slider called De-judder. Lower settings give a more raw, “cinematic” (framey) image, while higher ones add artificial fluidity. We suggest setting it somewhere in the middle of the scale, around 3-5 – this is the best compromise to avoid the soap opera effect while also getting rid of the annoying image skipping. Interestingly, in the menu, we also find a slider for "motion blur reduction," which usually indicates the presence of a 120Hz panel. However, in the case of the JP7, it doesn’t actually enhance the image and serves more as a dummy – it looks good in the settings, but technically it shouldn’t work on this panel.

Sony X90L is a TV that performs well in terms of compatibility with consoles and features for gamers. Its 120 Hz panel and two HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s allow for smooth playback of high-resolution games at high frame rates. Gamers can also take advantage of the ALLM feature, which automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, and VRR, which ensures smooth gameplay without frame tearing. The Game Bar is an added bonus – an intuitive tool that provides quick access to essential settings and gaming features, making it easier to control the gameplay.

Unfortunately, when it comes to HDR in games, the Sony X90L has its limitations. It lacks support for HGiG, a standard that many gamers consider crucial for accurate HDR representation in games. While the TV supports Dolby Vision, which theoretically could enhance image quality in games, the practical implementation of this feature is problematic. Dolby Vision in game mode comes with very high input lag, making gameplay less comfortable and precise movements more difficult. Additionally, Dolby Vision cannot be enabled alongside VRR. This means that despite numerous advantages, gamers seeking the perfect HDR in games may feel unsatisfied.

As we mentioned earlier, the 60Hz panel is not a feature that will attract gamers to the Sharp JP7. Perhaps for the casual gamer, whose console still generates most titles at 60 frames per second, there might be something interesting? When it comes to specific additions, we find here:

• ALLM mode: Automatically switches the TV to low latency game mode (input lag).

• Player menu: Which is hard to call a fully-fledged “Game Bar,” as the functionality is minimal. Aside from enabling ALLM, there’s only a dedicator for gaming which we advise against as it introduces very noticeable artifacts and spoils responsiveness.

• Dolby Vision Gaming: For Microsoft's consoles.

Unfortunately, the list of shortcomings is much longer and more painful than the positives. The biggest disappointment is the lack of support for 120Hz, even when reducing the resolution to Full HD. The presence of 120Hz would allow for performance modes to be activated in many games on the PS5 or Xbox Series X. Another shortcoming is the VRR, which means that during frame drops, we are susceptible to screen tearing. Very problematic is also the lack of proper implementation of the HGiG standard. This results in the fact that during HDR calibration in the console menu, it is very easy to "overshoot" the brightness settings. As a result, instead of clear details in the highlights, we end up with an unnaturally oversaturated image with cut-off details. The Sharp JP7 is a proposal only for those who game very occasionally.