Sony X90L vs LG OLED B6

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.

The LG B6 is a moderately bright OLED. After calibration it reaches around 800 nits, roughly 200 nits more than last year’s B5. That’s down to the new, budget OLED SE panel from LG Display. In practice it simply gives a bit more headroom and makes HDR look fuller in many scenes than on last year’s lower‑end OLEDs. That does not mean the B6 has no limitations. In very bright shots, when a large part of the screen is strongly lit, brightness can fall below 400 nits. This behaviour is typical for OLED TVs, especially in this segment, and that’s where you see the biggest difference compared with more expensive models. Even so, we judge the B6’s results as genuinely solid. It’s still not a TV for breaking brightness records, but the HDR effect is strong enough that films truly feel like a step up from ordinary SDR. Colour gamut Using the OLED SE panel has had a slight impact on wide colour gamut coverage. Compared with last year’s model the results have fallen by a few percentage points. It covers roughly 96% of DCI‑P3 and about 71% of BT.2020. That doesn’t mean the colours on the LG B6 are weak. In most films and series they look lively, well saturated and simply pleasing to the eye. You only notice the difference in very bright, highly colourful scenes. Then colours lose some intensity compared with QD‑OLED panels. This stems from the WOLED panel structure. Besides red, green and blue subpixels it also uses a white subpixel, which helps to boost brightness. However, this comes at a price. At very high luminance some colour is effectively 'diluted' by the white light, so the saturation of certain colours can be slightly lower. In everyday use this isn’t a major issue, but in the most demanding scenes you can notice it.

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.

We tested the LG B6 in Filmmaker Mode, the best picture setting available straight out of the box. ISF modes produce very similar results, but in our tests we always stick to Filmmaker Mode for better comparison with other TVs. Each of them is, in any case, a much better starting point than Vivid or Eco mode, where the picture is heavily boosted and noticeably less natural. On SDR material the factory settings perform really well. Colour errors are small, the gamma response is correct, and the picture during normal viewing looks natural and does not feel overly "pumped up". It's a bit worse with HDR. When such content is played you quickly see that the white balance hasn't been set perfectly. Too much blue and red gives the image a slightly pink tint. This is also confirmed by colour gamut measurements and the ColorChecker, where samples clearly shift in that direction. It's not a flaw that completely spoils the picture, but it is noticeable with HDR films. Therefore anyone who wants the most faithful image should consider calibration, which we cover further on in the review.

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.

During calibration, we concentrated mainly on HDR content, because that's where the factory settings needed the most correction. We did not, however, neglect SDR mode, which after adjustment was brought almost to perfection. Colours are very accurate, and brightness is controlled as it should be. The biggest improvement in HDR came from fixing the white balance. Removing the excess red and blue eliminated the pinkish tint, and the image became much more natural. Skin tones, whites and all colours that had previously shifted towards pink improved. After calibration most errors fell below a Delta E of 2–3, the threshold at which the average viewer stops noticing differences with the naked eye. So the LG B6 can deliver a very accurate picture, particularly for the manufacturer's entry-level OLED model.

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.

The LG B6 handles lower-quality material very well. This is largely thanks to effective digital image processing, which can mask some of the source’s imperfections without overly smoothing the whole scene. The "Smooth Gradation" function proves particularly useful. It noticeably reduces posterisation, especially in dark parts of the image. The safest choice remains the Low or Medium setting. The function still effectively smooths out unsightly tonal banding, but does not yet interfere too much with fine details. Purists can of course leave it switched off. Upscaling to 4K also performs very well. Full HD and 720p material retain a good amount of detail, and the image is neither overly sharpened nor heavily blurred. Some limitations only become apparent with very poor sources below 720p, where the smallest text and fine elements are not always perfectly sharp, but this applies to almost every other TV on the market.

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.

One of the biggest advantages of OLED panels is the very fast pixel response time. This keeps the picture sharp and free of the visible smearing often seen on LCD TVs. However, there is a downside. During slow camera pans motion can look choppier than on LCD screens, where some of that effect is naturally masked by the slower panel. Fortunately, on the LG B6 this can be easily mitigated using the TruMotion system. With the motion smoothing set correctly you can achieve smoother motion without giving the picture an exaggerated soap opera effect.

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.

LG OLED B6 has plenty to offer gamers; it’s simply a complete base for PS5, Xbox Series X/S or a capable PC. It has four full-size HDMI 2.1 ports with 48 Gbps bandwidth, so you can avoid irritating cable swapping when connecting several newer devices at once. It offers a full suite of synchronization technologies, from standard VRR to G-Sync and FreeSync. The screen synchronises the refresh rate seamlessly with the frame output from the console or graphics card. Of course it includes ALLM: the B6 automatically recognises when a game is running and immediately reduces latency to a minimum. HDR support is also excellent. The TV supports Dolby Vision, and a correctly implemented HGiG standard means that, after initial calibration in the console settings, the image won’t suffer from blown-out highlights or lost detail in bright areas. The cherry on the cake is the Game Bar. Instead of digging through the full menu during gameplay, a single click is enough to adjust shadow visibility, tweak selected parameters or simply check the current display mode. All of this makes the LG B6 an excellent choice for gamers.