HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality is excellent. Reproduction of fine HD image detail is excellent. Color accuracy is excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, look very natural and lifelike. Excellent contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--gives images great depth and dimension. Black levels are very good, with help from Sony's full array "Auto local dimming" feature, delivering fairly deep blacks that help contrast in darker scenes. 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 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). 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 excellent 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 is generally effective. The display's very high peak brightness capability helps better reproduce the realism of 4K content mastered with HDR. The contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene is limited, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, are preserved. In HDR mode this TV only allows the optimization of the Brightness, Gamma, X-tended Dynamic Range, 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 detail within the highlights of 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 fairly consistent 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. When we view the TV from the sides the image quality shows some loss. Black levels brighten slightly. Halo effects around objects in darker scenes (a side effect of the local dimming feature) also become more prominent at off angles. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle is excellent. The picture shows no significant change in color, contrast, and black level.
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 effective at further 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, and treble is nicely detailed, while the overall sound is closed in. The speakers can play at a fairly loud volume level and without obvious distortion. 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 57 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. Claimed 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 composite input, and no component input. 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
