Sony introduces high-end ZD9 TV series with HDR

[Geoff D]

Same here. It is not a perfick TV and never was (now that it's gotten colder the black smearing on the 65" panel is back with a vengeance) but I'm still staggered by how good it is.

[Synchg]

that viewing angle tho

[Geoff D]

Which is why I sit directly in front of it, I know that's a weird thing to do with TV but still

[RalphoR]

I always sit in the captain's chair right in front so I never give viewing angle any thought.

The Sony engineers need to get drunk again and build us another over-engineered masterpiece.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by pbz06

I don't have any data nor inside information, but my guess is that TVs this good are more niche and experimental and don't bring in any profit margin to make it worth it for Sony.

It's clear the average consumer does not see much value beyond the typical lower end model Samsung or Vizio at Costco or the TCL 4 series at Target. I also post in a couple of "home theater" groups, and even those guys lean more towards Joe 6pack that don't want to spend more than $1,200 on a 75" TV.

With that said, while I appreciate resources like Rtings and detailed reviews from Vincent at HDTVtest, it's also made thousands of people think they are experts without seeing or buying TVs or seeing them beyond the exact same static test pattern or exact same scenes from Vincent.

As bad of a "blooming reputation" that newer Sony Tvs get, in practical terms for 99.9% of scenarios they look every bit as good as any other TV, if not better. I'd take the 950H over any Samsung and even TCL/Hisense even though those TVs show better contrast ratio and black levels on test benchmarks. Their backlight algorithm is better and they also still are more accurate and handle motion, gradients, and accurate EOTF better

I think you might have somewhat of a Sony bias here. The x950H being about twice the price of the Hisense H9G and the TCL 635 isn't twice as good, those TV's are very close and might have a better overall picture.

For example, the TCL and Hisense both have deeper blacks than Sony and get just as bright.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by Synchg

that viewing angle tho

Viewing angles as some blurring. That is why I said they could have improved in those areas with a 2020 or 2021 version of the Z9D. In my opinion, Sony LED TVs today, when it comes to picture quality, took a step backward.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Auditor55

Viewing angles as some blurring. That is why I said they could have improved in those areas with a 2020 or 2021 version of the Z9D. In my opinion, Sony LED TVs today, when it comes to picture quality, took a step backward.

Eh, if they did a new ZD9 with that X Wide Angle shite then that can **** right off too

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by Auditor55

I think you might have somewhat of a Sony bias here. The x950H being about twice the price of the Hisense H9G and the TCL 635 isn't twice as good, those TV's are very close and might have a better overall picture.

For example, the TCL and Hisense both have deeper blacks than Sony and get just as bright.

No bias. I have the TCL in my spare bedroom, and my local Best Buy Magnolia store has the Sony 950H, A8H, and A9G on display in a dark room and they let you mess with settings if you ask (I have owned the Z9D and currently have A9G).

Twice as good is subjective and to me it's more than a checkerboard test for a contrast measurement to come to a 9.1 vs 8.1 rating or whatever to difinitively say one is better. The local dimming and algorithm is much more important and that's where Sony has an advantage, and it's not like TCL has perfect black anyway. You are comparing "weakness" vs "slightly less weakness". Like I said, to the average consumer it's not important the overall package and the picture quality.

To me, screen uniformity (black and grey/white), build quality, local dimming, gradients, processing, upscaling, motion, color and greyscale accuracy, reliability all play into it. The Sony likely comes on top in all those categories (except the checkerboard?). If I was buying the "best" TV in my budget and the 950 was in it, I'd easily pick the 950 over TCL/Hisense because of those reasons. Side by side, they show their differences.

If I had budget constraints, then the TCL/Hisense would be an easy choice because of their value. There's a level of diminishing returns, yes that's true....I think I'm rambling, but my point was with rtings and a single benchmark doesn't quite give the full picture. I guess it's fair point that people value their money differently, and that's basically what I said in my previous post anyway.

p.s.- I'm still holding out and hoping there will be a true Z9D successor at some point, which I'll jump on. I got the A9G for size upgrade to hold me over until the next great LCD.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Eh, if they did a new ZD9 with that X Wide Angle shite then that can **** right off too

The X-wide angle is a no go. On my x950h, when light hits it it produces a kind of rainbow effect. The Samsung does better with viewing angles without hurting contrast.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by pbz06

No bias. I have the TCL in my spare bedroom, and my local Best Buy Magnolia store has the Sony 950H, A8H, and A9G on display in a dark room and they let you mess with settings if you ask (I have owned the Z9D and currently have A9G).

Twice as good is subjective and to me it's more than a checkerboard test for a contrast measurement to come to a 9.1 vs 8.1 rating or whatever to difinitively say one is better. The local dimming and algorithm is much more important and that's where Sony has an advantate, and it's not like TCL has perfect black anyway. You are comparing "weakness" vs "slightly less weakness". Like I said, to the average consumer it's not important the overall package and the picture quality.

To me, screen uniformity (black and grey/white), build quality, local dimming, gradients, processing, upscaling, motion, color and greyscale accuracy, reliability all play into it. The Sony likely comes on top in all those categories (except the checkerboard?). If I was buying the "best" TV in my budget and the 950 was in it, I'd easily pick the 950 over TCL/Hisense because of those reasons. Side by side, they show their differences.

If I had budget constraints, then the TCL/Hisense would be an easy choice because of their value. There's a level of diminishing returns, yes that's true....I think I'm rambling, but my point was with rtings and a single benchmark doesn't quite give the full picture. I guess it's fair point that people value their money differently, and that's basically what I said in my previous post anyway.

p.s.- I'm still holding out and hoping there will be a true Z9D successor at some point, which I'll jump on. I got the A9G for size upgrade to hold me over until the next great LCD.

The "diminishing returns" thing has been true of Sony's products in general for many, many years. They charge a premium, always have, and while that might only gain you a few extra percent of performance on paper sometimes it's those extra increments that can make all the difference to nerds like us. To Joe and Jane Sixpack who'll buy a big-ass TV but still watch DVDs and SD streams on it then of coursh those extra percentage points mean nothing which is why the Chinese and Korean brands have seemingly cornered the low to mid LCD market in the US, but we ain't Joe and Jane.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Eh, if they did a new ZD9 with that X Wide Angle shite then that can **** right off too

It's one of the reasons I did not opt for the 85Z9G. Another reason is that it does not have the "full" BMD tech.

So many missed opportunities on the Sony LCD front since the release of the Z9D...

[RalphoR]

New firmware released. My TV just is updating. Not sure what the update is as usual

Edit: Software version: PKG6.7140.0358NAA

[goldenarm84]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The "diminishing returns" thing has been true of Sony's products in general for many, many years. They charge a premium, always have, and while that might only gain you a few extra percent of performance on paper sometimes it's those extra increments that can make all the difference to nerds like us. To Joe and Jane Sixpack who'll buy a big-ass TV but still watch DVDs and SD streams on it then of coursh those extra percentage points mean nothing which is why the Chinese and Korean brands have seemingly cornered the low to mid LCD market in the US, but we ain't Joe and Jane.

You are spot on here! People will run out to their local Walmart/Costco/BJ's and get the biggest TV at the cheapest possible price and say it's the greatest thing more power to them...

[BLMN]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

New firmware released. My TV just is updating. Not sure what the update is as usual

Edit: Software version: PKG6.7140.0358NAA

After the update, we finally got atmos on netflix internal app.

[RalphoR]

I saw a little blurb in the notes about Android 9.0. Maybe a precursor update getting ready for Pie?

[Member-425016]

I remember the last batch of these sold for $2K for the 65".

Wishing I would have bought a backup set at the bargain basement price. After all Its not like they make this type of display every day....or decade!

[recS-12]

Originally Posted by Filmfan73

I remember the last batch of these sold for $2K for the 65".

Wishing I would have bought a backup set at the bargain basement price. After all Its not like they make this type of display every day....or decade!

Yup, I had bought my 1st 65” in the price match window when they dropped to that price. I was so happy I bought my 2nd set at the 2K price point. I was hoping for a big price drop on the 75” to buy that one too, but it never happened. They just quietly went oos.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by goldenarm84

You are spot on here! People will run out to their local Walmart/Costco/BJ's and get the biggest TV at the cheapest possible price and say it's the greatest thing more power to them...

Well, some people simply can't afford 2-4 thousand dollar TVs. Some of you have so much disposable income you can upgrade those 2k-4k TVs every 1-2 years. Not everyone can do that.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by Filmfan73

I remember the last batch of these sold for $2K for the 65".

Wishing I would have bought a backup set at the bargain basement price. After all Its not like they make this type of display every day....or decade!

2K is bargain basement pricing! It's must be great to say that.

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by Auditor55

Well, some people simply can't afford 2-4 thousand dollar TVs. Some of you have so much disposable income you can upgrade those 2k-4k TVs every 1-2 years. Not everyone can do that.

Without question these are expensive sets and are an extravagant purchase. For me, I think they're a great investment if you decide to keep them a while. I'm not one to constantly upgrade. I have a 9 year old JVC 1080p projector that is still rockin' it. I probably will upgrade it next year. My Z though might be hanging around for a few years more. I really don't have any need to get something else right now....a testament to how damn good it still is.