Sony X90L vs Hisense E7Q PRO / E79Q PRO

HDR on the Sony X90L TV looks promising. The luminance chart showed that the television has a solid power reserve, reaching a maximum of 1000 nits in synthetic tests. However, 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 able to deliver this power on HDR content, reaching about 800 nits. Unfortunately, displaying small light elements on a black background, as seen in the scene from Sicario 2, poses greater challenges for the X90L – here the results drop to around 600 nits. Despite this, when compared to competing models with mini-LED technology, the effect looks very good and can shine just enough to impress us. Notably, the colour gamut coverage is commendable, with a score of 96% for DCI-P3 and 76% for BT.2020, indicating good colour reproduction in HDR content.

When it comes to the quality of the HDR effect, the E7Q PRO is unfortunately not a television that can impress with brightness alone. In real film materials, we measured around 250–300 nits, which is simply too little for HDR to look spectacular. There is a lack of that "spark" in bright details, highlights, and light effects, and in many HDR scenes, it can resemble good SDR more than true cinematic HDR. The consolation in all this is the colours. We managed to confirm that the E7Q PRO is a PFS-type television, meaning it has an additional filter that improves colour gamut coverage. As a result, even if the brightness does not deliver, the colours in HDR content can be appropriately saturated and pleasing to the eye, without the feeling of a "washed-out" image.

The best mode in Sony televisions is the IMAX Enhanced mode. Although IMAX is mainly associated with the cinematic experience, here the colour reproduction out of the box is average. In the case of lower quality content, such as HD – regular television or YouTube – it is worth paying attention to the white balance. It is characterised by a deficiency in red and an excessive dominance of blue, which gives the image a pinkish hue. The brightness characteristic, or gamma, for HD content is quite decent, but a slight boost could make the image appear washed out and look as if it is behind a light fog.

In 4K HDR content, the situation looks somewhat different. The white balance shows a significant boost in blue, which causes the image to become unnaturally sharp and seem artificial. Such an exaggeration in colour reproduction may not appeal to everyone, especially if one prefers more realistic shades. Additionally, the EOTF curve in Sony X90L appears quite correct at first glance. However, at the end of the graph, some fluctuations can be seen, suggesting that the television is trying to maintain appropriate brightness to avoid overexposing larger elements.

In terms of colour reproduction, we tested the Hisense E7Q Pro in Movie mode, which turned out to be the best built-in preset without a doubt. This mode, unlike the Eco, Standard or Dynamic settings, offers the most natural colours straight out of the box. Although no factory mode is completely free of flaws, the E7Q Pro deserves high praise for its colour rendering in standard SDR content. The colour palette is very well tuned here, and the errors in the Color Checker tests often did not exceed a value of 3, which is an outstanding result rarely seen in such affordable televisions. The only drawback we noted in SDR is the tendency to darken some elements of the image, as indicated by the slightly raised gamma graph. The television performs slightly worse with colours in HDR mode. Here, colour errors become noticeable to the naked eye, mainly due to a lack of blue in the white balance. This causes the colours on the screen to be too warm, and for some viewers, they may even seem “too cinematic.” Of course, to improve these parameters, we proceeded with professional calibration.

Sony offers a range of tools for improving image quality, including two additional picture modes that we decided to utilise during testing and to apply calibration to. This solution significantly facilitates the calibration process and is very effective, provided the appropriate tools are available. In the case of HD content, the white balance was almost perfectly aligned – only one shade of grey exceeds the error value of "1", which is an excellent result. The same can be said for the brightness characteristic (gamma), which presents itself nearly perfectly, with microscopic deviations on the order of 0.01.

In the case of 4K HDR content, the situation is not quite so ideal. Although the white balance has been greatly improved, it has not been possible to completely eliminate the dominance of blue colour. Nevertheless, the errors on the Colour Checker test only occasionally exceed the value of "2", which means that image distortions are practically imperceptible. As for the EOTF curve, it is worth activating the filter in the top right corner "EOTF in Films" – the graph looks correct, but the television encounters difficulties when illuminating very small elements, which is due to the limited number of dimming zones. Despite these minor errors, it is thanks to the calibration that the IMAX Enhanced mode on the Sony X90L makes watching films feel like a true cinema experience.

In the case of materials with a standard dynamic range (SDR), our actions in Filmmaker mode turned out to be largely cosmetic 😉. We mainly focused on a subtle adjustment of the white balance and equalising the gamma curve, which allowed us to recover details in the darker areas of the image that previously tended to get lost. However, it is worth noting that the E7Q Pro unit we tested was exceptionally well-made at the factory. We remind you that these parameters depend on the specific unit – with mass production, factory calibration can be random, so your unit may require slightly different intervention. The biggest beneficiary of professional calibration was undoubtedly HDR mode. This is where we did the most work, which brought spectacular results. We managed to effectively tame the excessive warmth of the image, caused by a factory deficiency in blue colour. After calibration, the colour errors were reduced to a significantly lower level, which will certainly please those who watch a lot of streaming content in HDR format, expecting faithful reproduction.

The Sony X90L television features a tone transition smoothing function known as Soft Gradation, which is extremely effective. Even at the "low" option, 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 provides a natural effect and ensures that everything looks cohesive. It's clear that the engineers really focused on this aspect, creating a solution that is impressive and performs well in daily use. Because of this, even when watching content such as regular television or YouTube, where the image is not inherently stunning, one can enjoy a smooth, cohesive, and visually pleasing experience.

When it comes to upscaling and digital image processing, the E7Q PRO deserves praise. The scaling performs really well and does not dramatically fall behind much more expensive, advanced televisions. Lower-quality materials can look clean and sensible, without the impression that the image is artificially "enhanced." However, the smoothing function presents a bit worse. Indeed, it can be effective and improve tonal transitions in poor quality materials, but at the same time, it can introduce undesirable effects. It sometimes removes grain or adds unwanted artefacts, giving the image a more "digital" character. Therefore, we mainly recommend it to those who prefer a smoother, less cinematic style of image.

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

In the category of smearing and motion fluidity, the E7Q PRO has one very strong argument. At this price, Hisense has included a 120 Hz panel, and in PC mode, it can even operate at 144 Hz. This immediately provides greater possibilities in motion settings, as the menu offers more options for smoothing the image. Among other things, we have frame interpolation options, which allow us to adjust the fluidity for sports or films, depending on whether we prefer a more cinematic character or a "theatrical" smoothness.

Sony X90L is a television 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 a high frame rate. Gamers can also take advantage of the ALLM feature, which automatically switches the television to low latency mode, and VRR, which ensures smooth gameplay without image stuttering. The Game Bar is an additional advantage – an intuitive tool that provides quick access to the most important gaming settings and features, facilitating control over gameplay.

Unfortunately, when it comes to HDR in games, the Sony X90L has its limitations. There is a lack of support for HGiG, a standard that many gamers consider crucial for precise HDR reproduction in games. While the television supports Dolby Vision, which could theoretically improve image quality in games, the practical application of this feature is problematic. Dolby Vision in game mode is associated with very high input lag, making gameplay less comfortable and precise movements more difficult. Additionally, it is not possible to enable Dolby Vision alongside VRR. This means that despite its numerous advantages, gamers seeking the ideal HDR in games may feel a sense of disappointment.

The E7Q PRO is a phenomenal screen for gamers. Aside from the typical "ache" of Hisense, which is the lack of support for the HGiG format due to permanently active tone mapping, we get practically everything one can expect from a television that is to have a gaming label. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, along with a full set of key features. We have variable refresh rates, automatic switching to game mode, and support for 4K at 120 Hz. Additionally, all the most important settings are at hand in a clear Game Bar. This tool not only looks modern but also has a typically "gaming" edge and truly makes life easier while gaming.