Sony BRAVIA 5 (XR5) vs TCL C6KS / C69KS / Q6CS

Looking at similar results in terms of blackness and contrast, we expected equally stable performance as last year's model when it came to HDR content. Unfortunately – and this needs to be said outright – there has been a regression here that is hard to overlook. The paradox is that the peak brightness of the Bravia 5 is impressive: in our synthetic tests, the television achieved around 1000 nits in HDR. Sounds great, right? The problem is that this power does not always translate effectively to all film scenes. When small, point-like elements appear on the screen, something that had usually been polished with surgical precision in Sony's case is this time noticeably lacking. The algorithms attempt to maintain deep black around small objects, but the side effect is that details can be dimmed to such an extent that they become barely visible. Just consider the example of the film Sicario 2 – in some scenes there, small light sources practically disappeared, as if someone had covered them with dark film.

Of course, not everything looks so dramatic. In simpler, brighter scenes, where the image is filled with more light, the Bravia 5 shows that it can shine: literally and figuratively. Then the television achieves values in the range of 600–800 nits, which we saw both in synthetic tests and during film screenings. The impression is really positive; the brightness adds dynamism, and the colours appear vibrant and fresh. However, there remains a certain dissonance. We feel a slight confusion because evidently something has gone in a direction it shouldn’t have. Technological progress – more zones, greater backlighting power – has not been supported by the well-crafted image management that we usually associate with Sony. Fortunately, there are elements that have not been worsened and are, in fact, at a very high level. We are talking about colour reproduction. Thanks to the application of the PFS filter, the colour palette coverage is excellent – around 97% DCI-P3 and 75% BT.2020. These are values that allow for truly broad colour reproduction, giving films a sense of naturalness and cinematic quality.

And what about HDR? Here, the C6KS performs quite well and – as has become a recurring theme of this review – identically to the C6K model. The maximum brightness generated by this television is around 600 nits. In bright scenes, this translates to a really solid, cinematic effect, and generally, the video materials look good here. However, one must keep in mind the specifics of the dimming algorithm in this model. When very small, bright points (e.g., stars) appear against a dark background, the television can dim them quite significantly. The goal is simple: to eliminate blooming and maintain the best possible blacks. This is quite a reasonable compromise. Most viewers will definitely appreciate deep, "true black" more than additional micro-details, the display of which could cause the screen to appear greyed out. This is the nature of local dimming technology in this price range, and one must be aware of it. It is also worth noting that the TCL C69KS (C6KS) has an additional PFS coating, which is marketed under the slogan of QLED technology. Thanks to this, the colours are saturated and vibrant – our measurements showed that the coverage of a wide colour gamut reaches as much as 92% here.

Sony Bravia 5 was of course tested in the best possible mode, which is the Cinema mode. Right out of the box, it provides the most natural colours, definitely better than anything offered by the "eco" or "dynamic" modes, which are more suited for a showroom display than for a living room. However, the Cinema mode alone does not mean we can always expect cinematic picture quality. With SDR content, we had virtually no major complaints – the slightly warmed white balance gave the scenes a somewhat golden tone, but it was nothing that was visually jarring. However, the problem arose with HDR material. Here, the colour reproduction simply looked poor. The white balance was heavily skewed – with an excess of blue and a clear lack of red. At times, it resembled the store's "super vibrant image" mode, where everything is overexposed and artificially boosted.

This situation also made brightness management seem overly aggressive. The EOTF graph clearly showed that the television had problems with overexposing many scenes right out of the box. And while we know what Sony televisions are usually capable of, it was difficult to remain indifferent here – thus we quickly decided to go for calibration.

Unlike the more expensive C6K model, the tested C6KS does not have an option in the menu labelled as Filmmaker Mode. Is this a reason to cry? Absolutely not. Our tests have shown that in practice, in terms of colour reproduction, the lack of this specific label makes virtually no difference. The best available Film/Cinema mode here offers an almost identical picture characteristic to the aforementioned Filmmaker in the more expensive model. So we get a very similar image, just under a different name. Therefore, if you were wondering whether paying extra for the C6K gives you better colours – the answer is no, in both cases the base is the same and requires slight adjustments.

After calibration, the situation changed dramatically. We managed to adjust the white balance so that entire scenes began to look more natural, and the image gained cohesion and elegance. In HDR, we finally got rid of that unwanted clipping effect that had previously marred some shots. Suddenly, it turned out that the Bravia 5 can extract significantly more from films than the “out of the box” impression suggested. Indeed, if we look at the graphs and compare them with the patterns, we can see that the beginning of the EOTF curve slightly deviates from the reference line. However, this is not so much a calibration error as it is a natural limitation of Mini-LED technology, which cannot be bypassed. Sony, instead of clinging to perfect black, prefers to prioritise the visibility of details – and in practice, it's hard to disagree with that. We would rather see the texture of the material on the screen than a pitch-black blob where all nuances are lost.

The calibration itself was truly beneficial. After about an hour spent on the settings, we felt that the image resembled that from the best cinema halls – of course on a home scale, but with the same sense of quality and refinement. And in such moments, we remember why we like Sony televisions: because when we fine-tune them, they can reward us with an image that captivates for long hours.

Thanks to the white balance adjustment, the C69KS's tendency to distort colours has been effectively limited, resulting in a very good final effect. After calibration, we will no longer see excessive warming of scenes in SDR or overly cool tones in HDR. However, it is worth noting the brightness characteristics. In SDR content, it is hard to have any objections – the image looks very good, especially in older films, television programmes, or materials from YouTube. It is significantly more challenging to evaluate the television's performance in HDR. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests correct behaviour, but its practical variant reveals certain limitations. The C69KS can overly brighten the smallest elements of the frame, while at other times, it can dim the entire scene. Thus, calibration brought clear benefits in terms of colour quality, but certain limitations resulting from the local dimming operation and the way it is controlled by the C69KS cannot be overlooked, as we also saw in the C6K test.

Bravia 5 carries within it the genes of Sony, which have remained untouched – and thank goodness for that, because we are talking about absolutely remarkable digital image processing. It is no coincidence that for years it has been believed that it is televisions of this brand that set the standard for how a screen should handle lower quality materials. If someone still watches classic television, old films or YouTube in lower resolutions, here they get equipment that can transform such content into an unexpectedly pleasant experience. On board, we find several tools worth activating. The first of these is "digital noise reduction". Set to a medium level, it works perfectly – smoothing tonal transitions, which usually cause the most trouble in low-quality materials, while not introducing any artificial artifacts. Importantly, it also does not remove the filmic character, meaning the natural grain that is intentionally present in many productions. Another advantage of the Bravia 5 is the upscaling capabilities of the XR processor. The image displayed after scaling is soft, yet at the same time sharp and clear. The contours of characters are clearly visible, while backgrounds retain their structure without excessive artificial sharpening. It’s hard to find a better television for watching lower quality materials – Bravia 5 only confirms why Sony is regarded as a benchmark in this field.

The C69KS handles upscaling quite well. The tested 576p material looks surprisingly decent – a considerable amount of detail is retained, and the algorithm adds a slight "rounding" effect to sharp edges, making the image appear more cohesive. The performance in smoothing tonal transitions is less impressive. The television practically cannot improve them, leaving the image in a rather raw state. With older material, this can be quite tiring, as the lack of additional processing highlights any imperfections.

Bravia 5 received a 120 Hz panel, which in itself sounds like an invitation to watch sports, fast matches, or spectacular action films. However, the real magic begins when MotionFlow – Sony's proprietary smoothness technology – comes into play. Thanks to it, we can adjust the character of the image to our own preferences. The "smoothness" slider allows you to transition from a cinematic feel with a slight "jitter" of the film frame to a nearly theatrical fluidity, where every ball in the match glides across the screen as if on a string. The higher the value, the smoother and more fluid it is; the lower it is, the more cinematic and natural it feels. In the options, we will also find an additional setting that Sony has called "clarity". This is nothing more than the BFI function (i.e., inserting black frames), which is meant to improve motion sharpness. It sounds great in theory, but in practice, one must use it with great caution. Why? Because all higher settings cause brightness drops of up to half, and in some cases, contour doubling also appears. Therefore, if we wish to use it, we recommend the lowest possible level – "1" out of the available ten. This way, we gain a bit better motion clarity without risking a loss of half the image brightness.

C69KS offers a simplified motion enhancement panel in films, allowing the adjustment of effect intensity with a slider. This makes it easy to match fluidity to personal preferences. The ability to use higher refresh rates is also a plus – although the panel operates natively at 4K at 60 Hz, lowering the resolution to 1440p enables 120 and 144 Hz modes, both on consoles and PC. This sounds like great news, however, in practice, the image at these settings exhibits significant motion blur. The effect is so pronounced that the overall presentation appears merely average and loses its appeal for everyday use.

In the Bravia 5, there is a significant improvement compared to the X90L model from two years ago. The television offers literally everything its predecessor had, but this time the issues that could frustrate gamers have been fixed. The problems with setting variable refresh rate (VRR) have disappeared, and there are no longer any issues with configuring HDR content in HGiG mode. In short: we get hardware that simply works as it should, without any fuss. Therefore, the Bravia 5 has everything you could expect from a modern gaming television – and it can be reasonably advertised with the slogan “ready for PS5.” This is a statement we couldn't make about the X90L model. Well done, Sony!

It’s just a shame that this relatively high-priced model lacks a full set of four HDMI 2.1 ports. In everyday use, this won’t be a problem for most people, but if someone has a console, soundbar, and additional equipment hooked up via HDMI, at some point there will be a need to choose or juggle the cables.

If we overlook the smudging and lack of native 4K at 120 Hz, the C69KS impresses with how well it performs during gaming. We get everything one can expect from a gaming television: variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic switching to game mode (ALLM), Dolby Vision Gaming mode, and a well-functioning HGiG. The television can also operate at 120 and even 144 Hz at lower resolutions, allowing for smoother gameplay on a console or PC. Additionally, there is a clear Game Bar that lets you quickly glance at key settings while gaming. As a result — despite a few limitations — the C69KS can be a really successful screen for gamers.