Podcast #807: Sony XBR75X940 TV Review

Sony XBR75X940 TV Review   We were poking around the other day at RTINGS.COM trying to decide what TV was the right one to share with the podcast. What we stumbled upon was no ordinary TV. It currently sits at number one on the leaderboard for TVs measuring in between 70 and 75 inches. It's the Sony XBR75X940. Read the full detailed review at RTINGS.COM Full Review: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x940e Best 70-75 inch TV: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/by-size/70-75-inch Price at Amazon: $4298 Highlights below: The best 75 inch 4k TV that we've reviewed is the Sony XBR75X940E 4k Android TV. It's one of the brightest TVs we've tested, and it features a highly advanced local dimming feature that greatly enhances the blacks. It doesn't have quite as many dimming zones as the more expensive Sony Z9D, but we've found the performance to be very similar in practice. This gives it the best picture quality found on an LED TV at quite a competitive price compared to similarly sized OLEDs. The X940E is a great large 4k HDR smart TV. It produces some of the best blacks found on LED TVs, and it can get quite bright. The excellent local dimming and ability to display a wide range of colors results in a great HDR experience. The X940E has some motion blur though, which makes it less of a good choice for sports or video games but doesn't impact the excellent movie performance. TEST RESULTS Design 8.5 Picture Quality 8.3 Motion 6.0 Inputs 8.6 Sound Quality 7.2 Smart Features 7.8 Pros Very deep and uniform blacks Very bright Exceptional local dimming Cons Image degrades when viewed at an angle Fast moving objects often have visible trails 8.3 Picture Quality The Sony XBR75X940E LED TV has an impressive picture quality. Dark scenes look amazing due to the high contrast ratio and the excellent black uniformity, especially when the TV is in a dark room. When set in a bright room, the picture quality remains good, since the TV can get very bright to fight any glare from a bright lamp or window and it can also deal very well with reflections. The overall gray uniformity is average, but luckily not too much dirty screen effect is visible. The viewing angle is disappointing though, so the X940E is better suited for people who have a living room with a narrow seating arrangement, as the picture quality is best only when sitting in front of the TV. The X940E has excellent local dimming and a high HDR peak brightness, so highlights really stand out when compared to normal SDR content. The Sony X940E is really a top performer when it comes to HDR. 6.0 Motion The X940E has a mediocre handling of motion. It has a long response time, so motion blur may be seen depending on the content. For movies this isn't an issue, but for PC use or some games a long trail can be seen. The TV uses PWM to dim the backlight, but the frequency is high enough to not be noticeable. It is possible to reduce the frequency to clear up motion significantly. Some minor judder is present when watching movies from a PC or cable, but most people won't notice this. Fans of motion interpolation can introduce a strong soap opera effect on the 120Hz panel. 8.6 Inputs The Sony X940E supports all the common input signals, including HDR, and should be able to properly display any content. It has good 4k input lag, but its 1080p input lag may disappoint competitive gamers. 7.2 Sound Quality The X940E produces a slightly better than average sound, but like almost any TV, it will greatly benefit from being combined to an external sound system such as a soundbar. 7.8 Smart Features The Sony X940E ships with Android TV 6.0 Marshmallow, but received an update to Android TV 7.0 Nougat prior to testing. Nougat brings a few new features to Android TV, such as a picture in picture mode and multitasking menu, but it fails to address the main problems with the Android TV platform, namely ease of navigation, lag and frame drops, and a lack of smart features in the remote. Other smart features of Android TV remain unchanged. The Google Play Store still has a larger selection of apps than many other smart platforms. Content can be cast to the TV from a smartphone or tablet using the TV's "Chromecast built-in" functionality, or played from a USB drive connected to one of the TV's three USB ports. The remote has a built in microphone for voice search, which works well. 8.1 Mixed Usage Great TV for mixed usage, the X940E has excellent picture quality in most environments. It has some motion blur that might bother people more sensitive to it though. 8.7 Movies Excellent TV for watching movies. The X940E has some of the best local dimming available, bringing it close to OLED for most scenes. It's also able to turn off black bars found in movies completely which is great. 8.3 TV Shows Very good TV for TV shows. The X940E's upscaling of lower resolution content is as good as it gets, and it gets more than bright enough to be enjoyed in most environments. 7.4 Sports Good TV for watching sports, the screen is uniform and bright, leading to no major issues with clarity, but the X940E does have some issues with motion which can cause fast moving objects to have long trails following them. 8.0 Video Games Good TV for playing video games. Input lag is low in 4k, which is great for keeping the TV responsive. The size and picture quality helps keep the experience very immersive. Some motion blur is present though, which can cause issues with clarity, but it can somewhat be circumvented by using a flickering feature. 8.7 HDR Movies The X940E does exceptionally well with HDR movies. It's one of the brightest TVs currently available, and the great local dimming and handling of gradients produce great dynamic range. It doesn't have the widest color gamut available, but it's wide enough to give a strong visual impact. 8.2 HDR Gaming Very good TV for HDR gaming. Little lag is present with a 4k HDR input which is essential, and the overall HDR performance is some of the best we've seen. 7.4 PC Monitor Good TV for use as a PC monitor. Supports all the relevant resolutions, even 120hz for better PC gaming. The input lag is also low, which makes navigating the desktop great. Unfortunately though, it does have a fairly narrow viewing angle, and long trails can be seen following moving elements such as scrolling text or the mouse cursor.