HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was Excellent. While reproduction of fine HD image detail was Excellent, the image detail was very exaggerated and made images appear less natural, despite our attempts to minimize this with the sharpness control. Color accuracy was Excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, look very natural and lifelike. Excellent contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—gave images great depth and dimension. Black levels were Excellent, and delivered very deep blacks that enhanced contrast in dark scenes. This was among the brightest models we've tested (with the control turned up), so the picture was well suited for a very sunny room—a lower setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. Its reproduction of smooth edges on image content for "up-converted" HD-to-UHD images was Very Good with minimal "jaggies" (jagged edges) deinterlacing of 1080i video, and film mode detection from 1080i content were both Excellent.
4K UHD PICTURE QUALITY. Overall 4K UHD picture quality was Excellent. In our UHD testing, we played native-4K movies and test videos (non HDR) thru the TV's HDMI input, and found their image detail was all there. For color, contrast and black level, the TV performed similarly to its HD picture quality.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. HDR performance had very limited effectiveness. In our tests, the display showed Good peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) and did a fine job displaying the benefits of our HDR 4K content. But it revealed only a little contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, were preserved. In HDR mode this TV only allowed us to optimize the Brightness, Gamma, and Peak Luminance picture settings. All other settings were as they were for the standard-dynamic range (SDR) HD picture. It did a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail, from black to white, with no obvious banding within the gradually shaded areas, but we noted some loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brightly colored objects remained nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE. This display has very wide viewing angle, better than most TVs we've tested. This helps make the TV a good choice for large group viewing. Our examination at various viewing angles indicated Excellent consistency. Contrast and depth of black level were largely unchanging from any viewing position. When we viewed the TV from the sides the picture showed a slight shift in color tone, but overall color remained consistent with no degradation in overall image quality. We viewed the image from above and below center screen, and saw Excellent vertical viewing angle performance, with no significant changes in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR. In our motion tests, this Sony TV had Very Good motion performance, with minimal blurring, thanks to Sony's "Motionflow." This feature is designed to reduce motion blur, a shortcoming of most displays. Although this TV also includes a "Clearness" setting that we found was slightly effective at reducing motion blur, it limited the brightness of the image added some flicker to the picture so we left the feature off.
SOUND QUALITY. We got Excellent sound quality, among the best we've tested. Whether you're watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it can deliver a top quality listening experience. In our listening evaluations, we found the bass (low frequencies) was very deep and provided a strong sense of fullness, but lacking in definition. Treble (high frequencies) was satisfactory. The overall sound was a bit closed in. This TV should be OK in rooms large or small, noisy or quiet—we found the speakers could play at a fairly loud volume level and without obvious distortion. Though less than perfect, most people would find this sound quality acceptable. You can get better quality from a high performing soundbar or separate home theater system but you should give this model a good listen before making that choice.
EASE OF USE. Consider the TV's stand is 28 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on. On first power up, an on-screen guide appeared—which you could choose to follow when setting up the TV. The remote controls the TV via an RF signal and doesn't need to be pointed at the TV. It has a full number keypad for entering channel numbers. It includes all the buttons we typically expect: power, channel up/down, volume control, mute, source input, menu, and exit buttons. The remote and TV both have a microphone for accessing a built-in voice assistant feature. It also has dedicated buttons for streaming YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV provides internet functionality via its "Google TV" portal, with access to a library of applications from the Google Play Store. Movie streaming services that can be downloaded to this TV, or are built-in, include Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney, Apple TV and HBO Max. More so, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney, Apple TV and HBO Max can be streamed in 4K UHD. It includes a built-in Google Assistant virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming by talking to the remote or to the TV. Sony claims this TV will support the use of an external Apple Siri HomeKit voice assistant.
CONNECTIONS. This model has four HDMI inputs (one supports ARC, enhanced audio return channel). It also has three USB ports, an optical digital audio out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking DLNA, to access files within your home network and AirPlay, for sharing videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to the TV. It has an ATSC 3. 0 tuner for receiving "Next-Gen TV" signals, a feature many other sets lack.
WHAT'S INCLUDED. You get with this TV: a printed user manual, a quick start guide, an electronic user guide via the TV's menu, a remote control with batteries, and a detachable power cord.
ABOUT UHD TESTING. Ultra-high definition "UHD" can refer to both the TV and program content. While the UHD industry standard includes 4K and 8K, most UHD TVs and UHD content at this time are 4K. A 4K UHD image is presented as 3840 x 2160 pixels—four times the pixel-count of HD. We test UHD TV picture quality using 4K UHD movies, videos, photos, and test patterns to confirm these displays deliver performance to this format's full potential. We examine the TV's ability to reproduce 4K UHD image detail, as well as high dynamic range (HDR)—for TVs that support this capability. Image quality is tested using a UHD movie player connected to the TV's HDMI input, and from files stored on USB flash drive. We also check how well the TV can upscale HD movies to the display's higher UHD resolution while keeping artifacts such as "jaggies" along the edges of image content to a minimum. The best UHD TVs, and HDTVs, present high fidelity images that reveal the full quality of the best source content without degradation.
