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[IbizaPocholo]

Sony’s 2020 TV range is ready for PS5

Sony’s lineup is all about sound, cinema, and PS5

www.techradar.com

What does Sony have in store for 2020? We got a good look at the year ahead in Sony TVs at the CES 2020 expo this week, with a range of 8K, 4K, OLED and LCD sets focusing on a full home cinema experience – including premium audio features and the latest Android 9.0 smart platform.

While not everyone will be buying a new Sony set with gaming in mind, it’s impossible to talk about Sony in 2020 without mentioning the PS5 – the next-gen console and rival to the incoming Xbox Series X.

It’s hard to tell how closely Sony’s TV and gaming arms have worked together, but we’re told that the new fleet of televisions have been made specifically with “upcoming next-generation gaming consoles” in mind, with sets offering HDR in 8K resolution, 4K resolution at 120fps high frame rate, and “fast response time via HDMI inputs” (using the latest HDMI 2.1 standard) to maximize the performance of the PS5 and its competitor.

While these aren’t new features per se, they’re still not widespread – and it’s telling that only two of the new sets named (out of a total five) will support 4K play at 120Hz. The flagship 8K model, the Z8H, will be able to play in both 8K (at 60Hz) and 4K (at 120Hz), while the X900H 4K LED will be able to support the latter through a software update possible some time after launch.

The former set will feature Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor, with a Full Array LED, backlit remote, and audio drivers that coordinate sound with the location of images onscreen – available in 85-inch and 75-inch sizes. The X900H, meanwhile, is a more mid-range LCD model in four different sizes from 85 inches to just 55 inches.

The remaining sets will still feature high-end panels and 4K resolution, but aren’t quite so closely engineered to the needs of the next-gen PS5 console.

They include the A9S Master Series, an OLED set in the new 48-inch size (we imagine the ‘S’ is for ‘small’) with Dolby Vision and Atmos support, as well as the A8H OLED available in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes.

 

[Spukc]

Full Array LED

eww

A9S Master Series, an OLED set

yay

 

[thelastword]

It will be hard to go between a 8k 60Hz vs 4k 120Hzm but I think I'll go 8K 60, such a TV should do 4K at 120Hz also I'm thinking...…..Bring on that 8k Goodness in all it's glory....

 

[JohnnyFootball]

It appears that the OLED models don't have HDMI 2.1, which is an epic level of stupid.

 

[joe_zazen]

I know vrr is part of 2.1 spec, but why do people think tvs that support 2.1 must support vrr. I mean 2.1 supports 10k, but there are 8 and 4k hdmi 2.1 tvs, no?

 

[iamvin22]

Do any of these sets support hdmi 2.1?

 

[IbizaPocholo]

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/tvs-made-for-gaming?cpint=3:HOMEPAGE_THELATEST4SPAN_TVBRAVIAGAMING_0619

 

[Lone Wolf]

8k is such a waste. resolution is moving too fast on tvs.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Very happy with the X900H 65" though its not near as nice as my C9 its nice enough and I dont have to worry about burn in.

 

[GamerEDM]

what's the damn price , better not be overpriced


edit: Nvm this is from January lol

 

[Darklor01]

I read the high end versions don’t have VRR.

 

[thelastword]

8k 60Hz TV that does 4K 120Hz for $2000 please....

 

[noise36]

The best LCD is Samsung and the best TV is LG OLED.

Sony make some good TV's but their only real selling point is price over the above.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I'm looking to buy a new TV in preparation for the PlayStation 5; I intend to give my TCL 55R617 to my mom after I get one.

 

[Rbk_3]

I'm looking to buy a new TV in preparation for the PlayStation 5; I intend to give my TCL 55R617 to my mom after I get one.

So you’re taking at least part of my suggestion

 

[BluRayHiDef]

So you’re taking at least part of my suggestion

My mother told me not to buy the Sony X900F, because she doesn't want me to spend so much money on a TV. And she told me not to get the TCL R615 | 617 because she read the comment section of a YouTube-video review of it and learned about its high rate of Dirty Screen Effect.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

I currently have the Sony 43" X800D 4K HDR TV and it's a good mid-tier 4K HDR TV but it will be gone come November as I will be buying the LG 48" CX OLED for next gen for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

No interest in 8K whatsoever as developers/publishers should be getting to 4K/60FPS as a standard this upcoming generation and save 8K for the next generation in 2027-2028.

 

[NewYork214]

Do any of these sets support hdmi 2.1?

The x900h series will get a firmware upgrade in the fall for 2.1. Why I went with that one. Love the tv so much.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

The x900h series will get a firmware upgrade in the fall for 2.1. Why I went with that one. Love the tv so much.

So, the hardware for HDMI 2.1 is already there. I wonder why it didn't ship with the functionality already enabled?

 

[Dave_at_Home]

Sony's got a great local dimming algorithm, but it's just too bad they include far too few dimming zones. Personally, I'd wait for TCL's Vidrian lineup, or Vizio top-end when it comes to full-array.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Sony's got a great local dimming algorithm, but it's just too bad they include far too few dimming zones. Personally, I'd wait for TCL's Vidrian lineup, or Vizio top-end when it comes to full-array.

When is TCL's Vidrian lineup coming?

 

[Dave_at_Home]

When is TCL's Vidrian lineup coming?

Been waiting on that info myself. The combination of mini-LED and their unique way of "sandwiching" traditional parts of an LCD stack certainly make It seem like it could be the best performing LCD on the market this year. Just gotta wait for the reviews. Could be later this summer?

 

[Hawking Radiation]

8k is such a waste. resolution is moving too fast on tvs.

This.

We don't even have enough 4K content but 8K is already here. Makes no sense.

I wish manufacturers would just focus on 4K and higher refresh rates on these panels.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Been waiting on that info myself. The combination of mini-LED and their unique way of "sandwiching" traditional parts of an LCD stack certainly make It seem like it could be the best performing LCD on the market this year. Just gotta wait for the reviews. Could be later this summer?

I want one NOW!

 

[NewYork214]

So, the hardware for HDMI 2.1 is already there. I wonder why it didn't ship with the functionality already enabled?

That I do not know. And it makes me a little weary, but that's what they are saying for now.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

I know what I'll be getting for Christmas in 2029

 

[j0hnnix]

I was interested in jumping on the 900h but reading how low the peak brightness is and comparing to my x930e, which has more features for an older model, the only benefit would be for HDMI 2.1 but at this point 120hz gaming on a console is not entirely set in stone , besides seeing Ori, Forza, and I believe another racing game. I am waiting to see Vizio's 2021 lineup which supports HDMI 2.1 up to 720 zones (for the 85"), higher peak brightness and HDR, HDR+, DV across two HDMI ports. The 900h is definitely a great deal for those upgrading from a lower tier TV.

 

[Investor9872]

Vizios are affordable, but the problem is their panel lottery. I have a 65C7 OLED, and an 82" Samsung LED. I originally purchased the OLED for gaming with my PS4 Pro. But after watching a few 4K movies on the OLED, they looked so good that I didn't want to ruin the TV by gaming on it, so I picked up the 82" Samsung for the PS4 Pro. Currently I'm debating on whether I should get the 48CX, 55CX or 65CX next.

 

[j0hnnix]

Vizios are affordable, but the problem is their panel lottery.

Yup. I agree and that's my worry.

 

[Thicc Enigma]

So if the X900H is getting updated to support HDMI 2.1 that means that the X950H should be receiving an update as well no?

 

[Rikkori]

So if the X900H is getting updated to support HDMI 2.1 that means that the X950H should be receiving an update as well no?

Nope, different chipsets & socs.

 

[Thicc Enigma]

Nope, different chipsets & socs.

Damn fucking RIP.

The X950H has better peak brightness too. Wtf SONY

 

[partime]

Have the X900H 85", things a beast right out of the package.

 

[Classicrockfan]

So what 48/49in will have hdmi 2.1?

 

[JeloSWE]

The best LCD is Samsung and the best TV is LG OLED.

Sony make some good TV's but their only real selling point is price over the above.

Simply not true. I've owned two Samsungs, I works with graphics and I would never use a Samsung as a monitor and that translates to gaming to a certain degree as well. They are just good at marketing.

• Samsung in game mode flickers the backlight at 120hz regardless of frame rate of the game, this means that a game running at 60 fps will have the backlight flash 2 times during one frame. As your eyes are tracking motion on screen the image will get exposed at two different location on your retina, this will create a double image. At 30 fps you get 4. This is not necessarily super obvious to untrained or non critical eyes and is lessened by motion blur in games. But thin lines, like cables hanging will show a clear double following them when the view is panning. Most reviewers don't notice this as they only review based on Movie mode which does flicker at 480 or 960hz, this creates so many duplicates that they instead blend together.
• Over saturated colors and Chroma sub sampling 422 (half resolution of the color information). It's impossible to both display Sub Chroma 444 and sRGB/Rec.709 at the same time on any Samsung. With input set to PC you get 444 but NOT sRGB which is completely retarded when 99% of all content uses this color space, and is the most common color space used on PC, instead everything is locked to the displays Native color space which severely over saturates colors. With input set to any other input you get correct color saturation when using Color Space set to Auto but then only Chroma sub sampling 422 is available. This is bad for text and general sharpness of small details. It's not the end of the world if you are just watching movies/tv/youtube which is encoded with 422 any way and it's not super noticeable in games either but still soften the image a tiny bit.
• Black crush and dim small highlights on black backgrounds. This is a matter of taste, Samsung mitigates much of the problems with LCD Blooming by an over aggressive local dimming system. Crushing some dark colors in dark scenes and will dim small highlights on dark backgrounds. You are never sure if what you are seeing is the Creators Intent.
• Grey blacks in game mode. This has been a problem for a couple of years now, but it's much better now with their this years models but be aware. The local dimming algorithm has been much worse in Game mode than what people are lead to believe from reviewers that only measure contrast ratios and black levels in Movie modes.

All of these things are true and I've seen them with my own eyes on the sets I've owned (Q9FN and Q900) and in review. Sony on the other hand doesn't black crush, maintains it's excellent dimming algorithm and keeps chroma sub sampling at 444 in game mode while correctly displaying colors at their proper saturation levels. And the backlight flicker rate PWM (Pulse With Modulation) flickers at 720hz in ALL modes, virtually removing any image duplication.

To the untrained eye Samsung will be fine but if you know your stuff they are selling lipstick on a pig type of TV's. Sony is much better when it comes to image quality and motion handling.

 

[noise36]

Simply not true

It's the best kind of true, factual, not an opinion.

Plenty of impartial technical analysis over at rtings.com

Or are they an untrained eye?

 

[Airbus Jr]

Dont think we need 8K TV

I have my 4K 2017 LG TV since 2017 and it still works

 

[Rikkori]

It's the best kind of true, factual, not an opinion.

Plenty of impartial technical analysis over at rtings.com

Or are they an untrained eye?

Basic measurements don't tell you the whole story (and even that can be faked; none other than Samsung themselves were cheating on test patterns measurements but showed different results for normal content - can't remember if they got caught in '17 or '18). Pay attention to what he's saying if you want to learn something useful that won't appear in any review outside of other private users. Don't throw "facts" around so readily when you can't validate the data - and don't even understand what it's saying in the first place.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Simply not true. I've owned two Samsungs, I works with graphics and I would never use a Samsung as a monitor and that translates to gaming to a certain degree as well. They are just good at marketing.

All of these things are true and I've seen them with my own eyes on the sets I've owned (Q9FN and Q900) and in review. Sony on the other hand doesn't black crush, maintains it's excellent dimming algorithm and keeps chroma sub sampling at 444 in game mode while correctly displaying colors at their proper saturation levels. And the backlight flicker rate PWM (Pulse With Modulation) flickers at 720hz in ALL modes, virtually removing any image duplication.

To the untrained eye Samsung will be fine but if you know your stuff they are selling lipstick on a pig type of TV's. Sony is much better when it comes to image quality and motion handling.

Do you have experience / opinions on LG’s OLEDs?

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

When is TCL's Vidrian lineup coming?

That and the X900H are the only two I recommend.

 

[JeloSWE]

It's the best kind of true, factual, not an opinion.

Plenty of impartial technical analysis over at rtings.com

Or are they an untrained eye?

They are very good at what they do and I reference them quite a lot when I need details. But things I mentioned in my post are huge issues for me and often, even Rtings, focus more on the Movie Mode and viewing experience. They have measurements and some times notes that points to Samsung shitty PWM implementation and they do mention chroma subsampling and other problems but it's often not a huge issue for them and doesn't get mentioned in their videos enough.

I current use my Sony ZF9 75" as a monitor for work and it's great, Samsung was a complete shit fest for me. Colors were just slightly off, especially Yellow, and the 422 chroma subsampling was not good when using Clear Type in windows and the PWM of 120hz creates Image Duplication when scrolling text on web pages. And the local dimming algorithm truly sucked for accurate work. Sony's Game and especially Graphics mode is really good on the other hand for work.

Dont think we need 8K TV

I have my 4K 2017 LG TV since 2017 and it still works

8K is going to be beneficial in the future but it's way to early, no PC or console will push any kind of meningsfull 8K in the foreseeable future and I think it's even detrimental for pixel sharpness when everything is just upscaled to that resolution. It's just a marketing for now.

 

[JeloSWE]

Do you have experience / opinions on LG’s OLEDs?

Not from actual experience, only from reading up on it and watching lots of reviews as it has been on my radar. If you have a question I can see if I can answer it truth fully or give point you some where.

 

[JeloSWE]

That and the X900H are the only two I recommend.

If you have the money I would take a look at Sony's Z8H as it will support HMDI 2.1 120hz (VRR is not confirmed) with an upcoming firmware. I'm considering it for my next upgrade. Vincent of HDTVTest is going to have a review of it in a couple of weeks.

 

[Rick Dangerous]

It's the best kind of true, factual, not an opinion.

Plenty of impartial technical analysis over at rtings.com

Or are they an untrained eye?

You are misinformed. Motion handling is key and sony is so far ahead in this field.

But, sony completely dropped the ball with xh950 : no hdmi 2.1 ???!! Wtf is this . This panel was nearly perfect for gaming but they screw it. Arggg.
Xh900 is fine but not for me due to no x-wide and reflexions handling is poorer.

 

[JerryinSoCal]

I'll wait until next year for a new tv, I want to make sure they are 120hz for real and not "effective rate" etc plus I want a wider range of choices with HDMI 2.1. I've always had great luck with Sony tv's, best tv I ever had was a 36 inch HD CRT, the thing weight nearly 250lbs if I remember correctly but damn what an amazing picture.

 

[JeloSWE]

I'll wait until next year for a new tv, I want to make sure they are 120hz for real and not "effective rate" etc plus I want a wider range of choices with HDMI 2.1. I've always had great luck with Sony tv's, best tv I ever had was a 36 inch HD CRT, the thing weight nearly 250lbs if I remember correctly but damn what an amazing picture.

X900H and Z8H both support both true 4K/120hz due to HDMI 2.1

 

[Kerotan]

I have a 49" x900f and it's majestic.

My next TV I'll buy in 2022 or 23. I'll be looking for a 65" OLED hopefully from Sony for around €1000-1500. Obviously it will have 2.1 but burn in will be my biggest concern. Hopefully by then it's less of an issue or they've shifted to high emission panels. If 8k is the standard by then I'll buy it because why not, I'm sure 4k native content upscaled to 8k on a 65" will look slightly better.

I know many are pissed that they're moving to 8k but they probably see it as the end goal for TV's under 100". After 8k becomes standard they'll likely put all future efforts into improving the TV's in other aspects.

With high emission panels down the line and 8k panel probably won't be too much more costly to produce then a 4k one. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Very happy with the X900H 65" though its not near as nice as my C9 its nice enough and I dont have to worry about burn in.

Those seem to be the ideal TVs for next gen: HDR, decent screen at 4K, 120fps, VRR and low latency. But those prices...

The 5 years extented warranty is more expensive than my current TV.

 

[b0uncyfr0]

Can they do 4K @ 120hz + HDR.

That's all I want for Christmas. Or do I have to wait till next Christmas?

 

[dotnotbot]

Those seem to be the ideal TVs for next gen: HDR, decent screen at 4K, 120fps, VRR and low latency. But those prices...

The 5 years extented warranty is more expensive than my current TV.

Prices will drop 30-40% for Black Friday, like they always do. Just wait™. XH90 is not worth it now, it's more expensive than XG95 and LG B9.