HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was excellent. It did an excellent job displaying the finest detail of HD content. Color accuracy was excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, looked very natural and lifelike. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--was good, so images had depth and dimension. Black level was generally good, though a clear step down from the best performers on the darkest scenes (quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). Image brightness was very good (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture is well suited for a brighter 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 did a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. There was slight display non-uniformity that created 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 were excellent on HD content; there was little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Sony has a moderate viewing angle overall, decent, but not quite as good as the better-performing TVs we've tested. The optimal seating position for best picture quality is directly in front of this model. When we viewed the TV from the sides, image quality got worse. The picture showed a moderate loss of color, so flesh tones looked a bit washed out. Black levels visibly brightened, reducing contrast especially on dark scenes. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle was very good. The picture showed minimal change in color, contrast, and black level.
ULTRA HD PERFORMANCE. Overall UHD performance is very good while HD-to-UHD upconversion fell short. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model, including movies and test videos, was presented in full 4K detail with excellent fidelity when played back via the TV's HDMI input. Via the USB port, high-resolution photos were displayed in full 4K detail. With regular HD content, the TV's HD-to-UHD up-conversion processing fell short, revealing some visible jaggies along the edges of diagonals when playing HD content.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. HDR performance is very limited. The display's lack of high peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) limited its ability to show the benefits of HDR to full effect on our test videos, while revealing little contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene. In HDR mode this TV only allows the optimization of the Brightness, Gamma picture settings. All other settings are carried over from the HD picture settings. It did 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 was no visible loss of near-white shadow detail in the brightest areas. Brighter colored objects remained nicely saturated.
MOTION BLUR. This Sony TV has very good motion performance, with minimal blurring on our motion tests, thanks to Sony's "Motionflow". This feature is designed to reduce motion blur, a shortcoming of most displays. Although this TV includes a "Clearness" setting that was slightly effective at reducing motion blur it limited the brightness of the image, so we left the feature off.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. Though not as mirror-like as on some models, this screen surface is glossy and therefore susceptible to reflections from a nearby lamp or window. It does a good job reducing glare from ambient light and maintains contrast in a brighter room environment.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has very good sound quality, better than most models we've tested. Whether you're watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it is able to deliver a satisfying listening experience. Bass was adequate, which added some fullness to the sound but was lacking in definition a bit, and treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was closed in. The speakers could play at a fairly loud volume level, but quality does degrade at the highest settings. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be a bit distracting on some audio content. Unlike most of our tested models, its sound should satisfy the more discerning listeners, so an external sound bar is optional.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. Sony's advanced remote offers a traditional button keypad with high contrast labeling that remains fairly readable in a dimly lit environment. It has a dedicated button to access Google Assistant via the remote's built-in microphone. It also provides direct button access to Netflix and Google Play streaming services. Consider the TV's stand is 44 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV provides advanced Internet functionality with a selection of applications via its "Android TV" portal with access to a library of applications. Movie streaming services include Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Go 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. Also provides support for Amazon Alexa.
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 manual in the TV's menu. A remote control with batteries. One IR Extender.
ABOUT ULTRA HD TESTING: We test UHD picture quality using 4K movies, videos, photos, and test patterns to confirm these displays deliver performance to this format's full potential. We check the TV's ability to reproduce 4K image detail, as well as high dynamic range (HDR) for TVs that support this capability. Image quality is tested using a 4K movie player connected to the TV's HDMI input, as well as from files stored on flash drive plugged into the TV's USB port. 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.
