Sony Bravia 9 (XR90) vs Sony X90L

The brightness performance of the Sony Bravia 9 is exceptional. Each scene reaches over 1500 nits, and the television can shine even brighter during movie playback. This level of brightness provides an extraordinary viewing experience, allowing for immersive interaction with high-quality video content. Thanks to its extensive coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, the image is vibrant, and when combined with such high luminance, it almost feels alive. With its impressive peak brightness, viewers can fully appreciate the colour range, even in the most challenging scenes involving dynamic lighting changes. The Bravia 9 also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats, further elevating the viewing experience.

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

The "IMAX Enhanced" factory mode has remained the best option in Sony televisions for years, and it was used throughout the entire testing process. While it aligns closely with the reference compared to other predefined settings, improvements could be made for a better viewing experience.

In SDR materials, the gamma shows a noticeable boost, which leads to over-contrasting the image. Additionally, the beginning of the graph deviates significantly from the reference, resulting in merged details in the darker areas, creating an unpleasant uniform blotch. The EOTF curve in HDR content, on the other hand, appears mostly correct, with only minor deviations from the reference.

However, the most prominent issues affect the white balance. There is a persistent green colour dominance, leading to problems with grey tones and overall colour misalignment. This imbalance in the white balance gives the image an unwanted greenish tinge, negatively impacting the overall visual quality.

The best mode in Sony televisions is the IMAX Enhanced mode. Although IMAX is mainly associated with the cinematic experience, here the color reproduction right out of the box is average. In the case of lower quality materials, such as HD – regular TV or YouTube – it is worth paying attention to the white balance. It is characterized by a deficit 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 may cause the image to become washed out and appear as if it is behind a light fog.

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

The colour reproduction after the calibration process on the Sony Bravia 9 is nothing short of excellent. Regardless of the signal, whether SDR or HDR, the image comes remarkably close to the director's intended vision. Nearly every flaw in the image has been meticulously modelled and corrected to a high degree.

This impressive result can be attributed to the advanced tools available for calibration, which Sony has been offering in its televisions for years. Notable tools include the 2- and 20-point grayscale calibration and a very comprehensive CMS (Colour Management System). These features allow for precise adjustments, ensuring that the colours and overall image quality are as accurate and faithful to the source material as possible.

Sony offers many tools to improve image quality, including two additional image modes that we decided to use during testing and apply calibration to them. This solution significantly facilitates the calibration work and is very effective, provided that the right tools are available. In the case of HD content, the white balance has been almost perfectly aligned – only one shade of gray exceeds the error value of "1", which is an excellent result. The same can be said about the brightness characteristic (gamma), which looks nearly perfect, with microscopic deviations of around 0.01.

In the case of 4K HDR content, the situation is not as ideal. Although the white balance has been significantly improved, it has not been possible to completely eliminate the dominance of blue color. Nonetheless, errors in the Colour Checker test only occasionally exceed the value of "2", which means that image distortions are practically unnoticeable. As for the EOTF curve, it is worth activating the filter in the upper right corner "EOTF in Movies" – the graph looks correct, but the television encounters difficulties illuminating very small elements, which results from the limited number of backlight zones. Despite these minor flaws, it is thanks to the calibration carried out that the IMAX Enhanced mode in the Sony X90L makes watching movies resemble a true cinema experience.

When analysing the quality of tonal transitions and image scaling, especially for lower-quality materials, the improvement after activating the function for tonal transitions is clear. By default, the quality is quite average, but once the function is turned on, even at the lowest setting, the results are among the best we've seen. This feature can be enabled without worrying about negative side effects, such as film grain blur.

Sony's "XR" processor, which the brand has been touting for several years, lives up to its reputation for image scaling. The image quality is incredibly sharp while maintaining a very natural look. This reinforces that Sony's processing technology is one of the best available, particularly when handling lower-resolution content.

The Sony X90L TV features a tone transition smoothing function known as Smooth 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 is evident that the engineers really put effort into this aspect, creating a solution that impresses and works well in everyday use. Because of this, even when watching content like regular television or YouTube, where the image is not inherently stunning, one can enjoy a smooth, cohesive, and visually pleasing experience.

The maximum refresh rate of the Sony Bravia 9 is 120 Hz, the minimum for those primarily watching sports or other high-motion content. This refresh rate ensures the image remains sharp and smooth, even during fast-paced scenes. For more demanding users, Sony has implemented an advanced motion smoothing system, divided into three distinct segments: Smoothness (Film), Smoothness (Camera), and Clarity. These settings can be adjusted to various degrees, allowing users to fine-tune the picture to their preferences. For example, a setting with slight smoothing can be used to avoid the "soap opera effect," delivering a more natural and cinematic viewing experience. This level of customisation ensures that viewers can find their ideal balance between smoothness and clarity.

Sony X90L with a 120 Hz panel is a great choice for both gamers and movie enthusiasts. The TV is equipped with the Motion Flow smoothness feature, which allows you to adjust motion smoothness using two sliders: "smoothness" and "clarity." The "smoothness" slider controls the level of motion fluidity, which helps reduce image stuttering, while "clarity" is used to reduce blurring and improve motion sharpness, which is especially useful in dynamic scenes.

The Sony Bravia 9 television is equipped with four HDMI ports, but what is puzzling for a device of this class is that only two of them operate in the 2.1 standard. Despite this, it should not detract from the fact that nearly all features work excellently, providing a positive experience when using them. Games running in HDR10 or Dolby Vision benefit from low input lag, ensuring a comfortable gaming session. The solid implementation of the HGIG mode is a noteworthy feature, as, after proper calibration, it closely aligns with Dolby Vision.

Sony introduced the GameBar feature to its televisions last year, a standard for many manufacturers. This feature allows for quick adjustment of settings without exiting the game. Its implementation has been seamless, offering conveniences such as a crosshair grid, black level adjustment, and reducing the screen to gaming monitor proportions.

The Sony Bravia 9 will find its fans, particularly among PlayStation enthusiasts. It is a natural pairing since the console and the television share identical capabilities. However, more broadly speaking, despite the minor issues with Dolby Vision in games, the Bravia 9 remains a very good television for gaming overall.

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 play in high resolution and at a high frame rate. Gamers can also take advantage of the ALLM feature, which automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, and VRR, which provides smooth gameplay without screen tearing. Game Bar is an additional advantage – an intuitive tool that allows for quick access to the most important settings and gaming features, making it easier to control gameplay.

Unfortunately, in terms of HDR in games, the Sony X90L has its limitations. There is no support for HGiG, a standard that many gamers consider essential for precise HDR reproduction in games. Although the TV supports Dolby Vision, which theoretically could 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 along with VRR. This means that despite numerous advantages, gamers seeking perfect HDR in games may feel a sense of disappointment.