Sony Bravia 9 (XR90) vs Samsung The Frame Pro

The results of brightness measurements on the Sony Bravia 9 are phenomenal. Each scene reaches well over 1500 nits, and when watching films, the television 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. Thanks to the high coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, the image is full of colours and, combined with such high luminance, it practically breathes. With high peak brightness, viewers can enjoy the full range of colours even in the most challenging scenes, such as those based on dynamic lighting changes. The Bravia 9 offers support for Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats, which further enhances the viewing experience.

Samsung The Frame Pro is one of the relatively bright televisions. In synthetic tests, we managed to achieve values around 900 nits, which is quite a respectable result for a lifestyle model. In full-screen scenes, such as the board from the film The Meg or the initial sequence in Life of Pi, brightness maintained a level of 700–800 nits. These values allow you to fully enjoy the HDR effects and convey their cinematic magic. However, the situation becomes complicated when smaller, point light sources appear on the screen. The edge lighting used here, equipped with the ability to locally dim entire strips, does not manage these well. Sometimes, small elements are overly dimmed, which weakens the effect, or conversely – they are significantly brightened, but at the cost of losing the depth of black in that part of the image. This can be compared to light beams reminiscent of a laser beam spreading in dense fog – the effect is noticeable and bright, yet at the same time, it is quite unnatural and distracting. Fortunately, the colour aspect performs better. Thanks to the use of a quantum dot filter (QLED), colours are saturated, and the reproduction of the DCI-P3 palette exceeds 92%. Generally, films or series watched in HDR on The Frame Pro showcase a rich colour palette, even if contrast and the functioning of the dimming algorithms can sometimes distract us.

The best factory mode in Sony televisions has consistently remained "IMAX Enhanced" for years. It was this mode that we used throughout the entire testing procedure. Although it is indeed the most similar to the standard 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 will be associated with image contrast. It is worth noting that the very beginning of the graph has an even greater rise compared to the reference, leading to a blending of details in the blacks, creating a uniform blot. The EOTF curve in HDR content looked quite correct and exhibited only minor deviations from the reference. However, a common feature for both was: a green colour dominance in white balance, issues with greys and overall colour misalignment. The aspect that stood out the most was related to the uneven distribution of hues in white balance. Due to the excess of the aforementioned colour, the image was covered with an unpleasant greenish tint.

We achieved the best results, of course, in Filmmaker mode, which immediately showed that Samsung had put effort into the factory settings. In SDR content – the type most commonly viewed – The Frame Pro performed really well. The white balance and gamma were almost perfectly matched, giving the image a natural and cohesive appearance. Admittedly, there were some noticeable errors, particularly in skin tones and reds, which could be overly saturated, giving everything a slightly "warmed-up" character, but this didn’t significantly detract from the viewing experience in everyday use. For HDR content, the situation was similar regarding the white balance. This was at a good level; however, the biggest issue turned out to be brightness management. The EOTF curve was set in such a way that in many scenes, the image appeared blown out, with the brightest areas losing detail and turning into uniform patches of light. This severely undermined realism and caused the colours to appear overly sharpened. Fortunately, Samsung provides the option for manual adjustment of the curve in their televisions, so we opted for calibration, and its results can be seen below.

The colour reproduction after the calibration process should be regarded as excellent. Regardless of the signal, whether SDR or HDR, we can expect an image that is remarkably close to what the film director saw. Virtually every flaw in the image has been modelled and maximally corrected. This was made possible thanks to the advanced tools used for the calibration process, which Sony has been providing in its televisions for years, including 2- and 20-point grey scale adjustment as well as a very comprehensive CMS.

After calibration, the SDR mode looks absolutely perfect. We managed to eliminate the overly strong red saturation, which previously gave the image a somewhat excessively warm character. Colours have become more balanced, which resulted in a natural and pleasant reception of everyday content – from television to films and series from streaming or materials on YouTube. In HDR mode, the most work was required on the EOTF curve, which factory settings caused excessive brightening of the entire image. Calibration allowed us to largely "tame" this problem – the image stopped being overexposed, and details in bright areas became more visible. Of course, the limitations are set by the design of the television itself, as edge lighting reveals its constraints, and the smallest elements of light can still be overblown or blend into the background. However, this is a matter of technology, not just calibration. After the correction, The Frame Pro is significantly more enjoyable to watch, and it is certainly worth considering if you want to maximise the television's capabilities.

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 significantly important when watching lower quality materials. For starters, we will take a look at the function responsible for the quality of tonal transitions. And while by default they are quite average, after activating the option, even at the lowest level, we can confidently say that these are among the best we have seen. You can confidently enable this feature, as it does not cause any negative phenomenon, such as film grain blurring.

Sony has been boasting for several years now that its "XR" processor is unmatched when it comes to image scaling. And we find it quite easy to believe, because in fact the image is extremely sharp, yet very natural.

Although the fluidity of tonal transitions in 4K HDR materials on The Frame Pro is not a problem at all, naturally, with a weaker signal - television, HD materials, or older Full HD films - imperfections may arise. Therefore, it is crucial how the television copes with these limitations thanks to its image processor. The noise reduction function works really effectively here. At the medium setting, it eliminates unwanted bands or artefacts, smoothing the image in a noticeable yet not excessive way. However, it's worth noting that Samsung tends to be aggressive in its approach - even at the lowest level of this function, it can "consume" film grain. So it's advisable to use it judiciously and adjust the settings to the material being viewed.

The upscaling itself is at a high level. The Frame Pro can effectively enhance older materials to a native 4K resolution while maintaining good sharpness and readability. Films and series in lower quality simply look better here. However, it should be mentioned that there is a minor drawback - typical for many Samsung televisions. With very old sources of poor quality, you may notice clipping of the image edges on the left side of the screen. It's not a problem that will ruin the viewing experience, but it's worth knowing that it might occur.

The maximum refresh rate of the Sony Bravia 9 is 120 Hz. This is the essential minimum for watching primarily sports or materials with significant motion dynamics while maintaining a sharp and smooth image. For demanding users, the manufacturer has implemented a very comprehensive smoothing system, which has been divided into three segments: Smoothness (Film), Smoothness (Camera), and Clarity. The first two correspond to the degree of blurring and the degree of smoothing, respectively. The third option will be described in more detail below. Moreover, we can adjust all settings to various degrees, each of which will produce an effect, ensuring that we can find our own golden mean. In the picture, we present a setting with slight smoothing, without the soap opera effect.

The smoothness of motion in The Frame Pro is not only due to the matrix, which operates with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, but also the image processor and the smoothing system. It is thanks to this that we can adjust the way films or sports broadcasts are displayed to our own preferences. There are sliders for reducing blurring and reducing judder – the first function improves the sharpness of fast movements, while the second helps to soften the effect of a "jumping" image during camera pans. So, everyone can choose between a cinematic motion character and a smoother, more "television" style.

The Sony Bravia 9 television is equipped with four HDMI ports. However, somewhat inexplicably for a device of this class, only two of them operate in the 2.1 standard. That said, it should not be overlooked that almost all functions perform excellently and do not cause any negative feelings when being activated. Games running either in HDR10 or Dolby Vision have very low input lag, allowing for a very comfortable session with the title. A consolation remains in the form of a good implementation of the HGIG mode, which, after proper adjustment, does not differ significantly from Dolby Vision.

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

The Sony Bravia 9 will undoubtedly find its fan base, most likely among PlayStation enthusiasts. Here, we must admit that it will be the most sensible choice, as in practice both the console and the television possess exactly the same capabilities. Looking at the bigger picture, while overlooking the issues with Dolby Vision in games, one cannot detract from the fact that the Bravia 9 is a very good television in the context of gaming.

Samsung The Frame Pro does not pretend to be just a “living room” television; here, gamers will also find something for themselves. The manufacturer has ensured a full range of gaming features: we have support for variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic low latency mode (ALLM), refresh rates up to 144 Hz, and compatibility with both G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro. Additionally, there is the well-known Game Bar panel, which is a quick menu where key parameters can be checked on the fly—from refresh rates to enabled image processing modes. Are there any downsides? Indeed, The Frame Pro does not support Dolby Vision in game mode, but this is hard to consider a serious issue—most gamers use HDR10 anyway... which means HGIG mode. Exactly. The biggest surprise turned out to be the latest software update. Samsung… completely removed this option from The Frame PRO. In practice, this means that the television independently interprets HDR tone mapping in games, and the user has no way to enable settings developed for consoles. This is a step backwards that may disappoint more knowledgeable gamers hoping for full compliance with HGiG guidelines. We can only hope that this issue will be resolved quickly.

An interesting feature of The Frame Pro is also the unusual arrangement of HDMI 2.1 ports. There are as many as five available—four are located in the One Connect box, and the fifth, in micro HDMI version, is directly on the television. This is quite an unusual solution, but rather practical. Samsung clearly suggests that this is the port to which you should connect your console or computer. Why? Because it minimises potential delays associated with communication through the wireless One Connect, and in the case of gaming, every millisecond matters. We have written separately about input lag, but it can already be revealed here that by connecting equipment directly to the television, we achieve the absolute maximum in response speed.