This is a different review, in that the whole setup was different than usual. Normally I would receive a device to review at home but this time Sony wanted media to have some time with company representatives to discuss the product, see the highlights of the offering and spend some time with the Sony X90J 4K LED TV being launched - all this bypassing the shipping, installation and collection of these TVs.
With this in mind, Sony invited a group to travel to Sydney and attend a short presentation where different specialists guided us through different scenarios and features, with both the new Sony X90J 4K LED TV and the Sony Master Series A90J OLED TV (which is coming a bit later to New Zealand).
After the presentation we checked in to our rooms to spend the night and try the new Sony X90J 4K LED TV, installed on each room for this experience only (hence the Australian programs on the photo).
First impressions are very good. The X90J has a minimalist design with a very thin bezel, reducing distractions and focusing your attention on the picture. The TV was wall-mounted but it can also have inverted V stands to sit the TV on a surface such as a TV cabinet/table.
The Sony X90J runs on the new Google TV platform - which is just a bit different from the previous Android TV - but not much. The user interface is friendlier, with suggestions tailored to your viewing habits, as well as with the most accessed apps listed below. For this review we had the TV setup with Australian TV streaming services as well with Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video accounts ready to use.
That night I played a bit of the menu structure, watched an episode of Star Wars The Bad Batch, re-visited Independence Day and John Wick. Those are great content that showcases sound, picture and action on the screen. With those types of content you can easily see where TVs lack - and there were no problems here.
The TV performed extremely well - the interface was responsive, the apps would start fast and the picture plus sound combination was impressive - regardless of the source being an animation, an older movie or an action flick with lots of fast fights and movement on-screen.
On-screen colours and black were definitely bright, making watching these programs really easy and enjoyable. The Sony X90J supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision for great content viewing.
The Sony X90J includes the company's latest Cognitive Processor XR, working all the time and analysing picture and sound to adapt the picture` to how our brain processes the scene - according to the specialists this means the TV can identify areas on each picture that should be brighter or focus the sound on certain positions to make it more realistic. The TV also supports HDR+, Dolby Vision and Netflix Calibrated Mode which can be used to watch Netflix originals as they were intended.
Unlike the Master Series with its A90J OLED TV (and the previous A1 series) that use the whole screen as a "speaker", the Sony X90J uses actual speakers in a full range (bass reflex) x 2 and tweeter x 2 configuration in an Acoustic Multi-Audio setup. This is quite effective, with support for Dolby Audio and Dolby Atmos technologies, resulting in a nice surround sound that moves around you. The TV also has a feature called Acoustic Auto Calibration, quite similar to the one found in some smart speakers like the Amazon Echo Studio, that allows it to automatically detect room configuration and adapt the sound for best performance in that environment.
Looking on the side of the TV I found Digital Audio (optical) out, two USB ports, a 3.5" audio out, four HDMI ports and an ethernet port. While the specifications say those ports support the HDMI 2.1 standard, including Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) I noticed the HDMI ports are labelled and it looks like only ports 3 and 4 fully support 4K 120 Hz inputs while only port 3 supports ARC/e-ARC.
The TVs come with a voice remote control so that you can activate hands-free voice functionality integrated with Google Assistant. This means you can search programs by clicking the mic button on the remote and asking Google to search for programs or execute some actions.
I also noticed there was an Android update already, even though the model wasn't on the streets back then. Good to see an update available right out of the box, and I hope Sony keeps them coming, something I felt the company was a bit slow with the A1 models.
