HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality is very good. Reproduction of fine HD image detail is excellent. Color accuracy is excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, look very natural and lifelike. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--is good, so images have depth and dimension. Depth of black level is below average, with darker scenes in particular looking hazy, with little contrast. This is among the brightest models we've tested (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture is well suited for a very sunny room. A lower backlight setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model does a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. There is slight display non-uniformity that creates brighter cloudy areas most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie). We routinely see this issue with LCDs and severity can vary from model to model. The deinterlacing and film mode operations are excellent on HD content; there is little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
UHD PICTURE QUALITY. 4K UHD picture quality is very good but HD-to-UHD upconversion falls short. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model, including movies and test videos, is presented in full 4K detail with excellent fidelity when played back via the TV's HDMI input. Via the USB port, high-resolution photos are displayed in full 4K detail. With regular HD content, the TV's HD-to-UHD up-conversion processing falls short, revealing some visible jaggies along the edges of diagonals when playing HD content.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. HDR performance has limited effectiveness. The display has decent peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) showing slight contrast improvement over basic 4K performance on content mastered with HDR. There is little contrast revealed between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, are preserved. In darker scenes the lack of black level depth gives the image a hazy appearance and compromises contrast. In HDR mode this TV only allows the optimization of the Brightness (Backlight), Gamma, picture settings. All other settings are carried over from the HD picture settings. It does a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail from black to white, with no obvious banding on areas of the image that have subtle shade variations. There is no visible loss of near-white shadow detail in the brightest areas. Brighter colored objects remain nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Sony has a wide viewing angle overall, better than that of most TVs. It will provide the same picture quality, with fewer problems than most TVs, for typical viewing conditions -- say, if your family is seated across a long sectional or in chairs off to the sides. The picture does show some dimming from the sides but not to any point we find distracting. With dark scenes this model doesn't fare quite as well. When viewed from the sides, the depth of black levels vary depending on the vertical position of the viewer's head. As we moved closer to the screen this limitation became even more apparent, especially if seated on the floor looking upward where black levels brighten significantly.
MOTION BLUR. This Sony TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. Though this model includes Sony's "Motionflow," a feature designed to reduce motion blur, it also activates the so-called "soap opera" effect that removes film judder (the slightly jerky motion visible during camera pans on film-based content). This gives movies a less film-like appearance that some may not prefer. We turned the "Motionflow" feature off. Although this TV includes a "Clearness" setting that is slightly effective at reducing motion blur it limited the brightness of the image, so we left the feature off.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has good sound quality; about average among the models we've tested. When watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it delivers decent performance but falls short of the better performers. Bass is adequate, which adds some fullness to the sound but is lacking in definition a bit, and treble is nicely detailed, while the overall sound is closed in. The speakers can play at a fairly loud volume level, but quality does degrade at the highest settings. Most people would find this sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. The remote has a traditional design with a full number key pad. It includes a built-in microphone to access the voice assistant feature. It also provides convenient direct button access to streaming services including Google Play Movies and TV, and Netflix. Consider the TV's stand is 40 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on.
INTERNET FEATURES. This Smart TV provides Internet functionality via its "Android TV" portal with access to a library of applications. Movie streaming services that can be downloaded to this TV, or are built-in, include Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and HBO Now. Includes built-in Google Assistant, a virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming via the remote's built-in microphone. Support for external voice assistants (not built in to the TV) include: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant.
CONNECTIONS. This model has four HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one "component/composite shared" input (which means you can only use one type or the other at a time). It also has three USB ports, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; DLNA, to access files within your home network; Casting, which allows you to send streaming content from your mobile device to the TV via your home network; Screen mirroring, where the image on your smartphone or other compatible device can also appear on the TV.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A printed user manual. A quick start guide. An electronic user guide via the TV's menu. A remote control with batteries
