2021 Sony X90J (50", 55", 65", 75" and 100") [Owners' & Discussion Thread]

[Robert Zohn]

Yes, TV prices go up exponentially as the scree size goes up. This is true on all screen sizes, but has a larger impact as the screen sizes go up.

Samsung will soon launch their 98" Q90A for $15k.

[unberechenbar]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Yes, TV prices go up exponentially as the scree size goes up. This is true on all screen sizes, but has a larger impact as the screen sizes go up.

Samsung will soon launch their 98" Q90A for $15k.

Interesting that Samsung's model will be cheaper than Sony's at the largest size, considering that the Q90 is about 1k more expensive than the X90J at smaller screen sizes.

[Robert Zohn]

Sony's 100" X92 is not like the X90J or X90K series. The X92 is a very nice upgrade form the X90J.

Check out this YouTube video on the X92:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF8d...ature=youtu.be

[ctujackbauer]

The Sony X85J line went on sale pretty much everywhere. The 50 inch model is looking mighty tempting ($649.99), but I think I'm going to see if the X90J 50 inch drops a bit more...

[happydood]

Well... I was planning on upgrading my set later this year, but my TCL 55" died on my after 4 years, RIP. It was good for what it was. I'm having the 65" x90j delivered on Tuesday, but won't get a look until the weekend since I also had to upgrade my tv stand with a tabletop stand to raise the tv to accommodate my center channel. Will report back with my findings....

[happydood]

So... first impressions. Because my previous and first 4K set was such a low-nit affair, I had no idea what good dynamic contrast really was. This new set 1) seems huge, 2) shows me all kinds of things I couldn't see in the shadows before, and 3) offers ridiculous detail. I'm totally thrilled. I used to think that UHD was marginally better than blu-ray due to my old set's limited capabilities and now I realize I was wrong, BUT.. blu-ray looks legit amazing on this Sony set. I'm totally sold on 4K UHD at this point, but I'm a lot less inclined to fret if something on blu-ray doesn't come to UHD than I might have been otherwise.

I went with the 'custom' settings I saw advocated on rtings.com to start and I'm pretty thrilled so far. I'll get this set calibrated of course, but what does everybody recommend? Does anyone use the Spears and Munsil disc and do it themselves? Inquiring minds wanna know, and thanks in advance for any insights.

[happydood]

Ok. Having spent some more time with it... and I'm still finessing my settings... I don't love the white bloom which is particularly noticeable on white titles over a complete black background. I broke the set in with Road To Perdition and the Criterion Pan's Labyrinth both on blu-ray. The pictures is outstanding throughout with the exception of the bloom on the titles on Road and the subtitles on Pan's. I raised the auto local dimming to high and that put a considerable dent in the issue- enough that I think I can live with it due to how good everything else is. I've sampled a little bit of the Star Wars UHD's since I know them intimately and they all look great, but I'll have to settle on a happy medium between UHD and blu-ray since the majority of my collection is blu with an overwhelming number of titles that are just not going to be upgraded to a new format. I have a feeling I'll continue to play with settings, but I'm still largely enamored with this set.

[happydood]

Now that I've sat with it for a week and a half, I've finally had a chance to sample a lot of different content. I've done my research as to my settings and I'm pretty happy with them so far, but do have a couple of questions that I surprisingly couldn't find answers for searching the forum. Apologies if these have been asked to death and I'm just not finding the answers, but:

1) Do I leave Dolby Vision dark enabled in my picture settings at all times? Is it affecting playback in my standard blu's and HDR10 only discs in ways that I'm not detecting?

2) Anyone have specific thoughts on Auto Local Dimming set to 'high' vs 'medium?' I watched Vincent Teoh's super-informative take on it and know that he says 'high' is incorrect in general, but find I'm getting better blacks with it at 'high' across all content and it's an acceptable compromise for some of the blooming I mentioned earlier...

Thanks for any and all insights!

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

1) The Dolby Vision modes only apply when watching something in DV. You don’t have to worry about it other times.

2) I leave my dimming on high all the time. You can also lower the “black level” a few notches to help, though I’m aware this isn’t “correct” and some would scoff at doing this.

I love most everything about this tv and for most content it looks great. But it’s not as much of a “set it and forget it” tv as I’d like; I have to make slight adjustments occasionally depending on the content. I also have some “jail bar”-like dirty screen effect that’s distracting sometimes, though much less so than my last set (Vizio).

But my biggest issue with mine (also a 65”) is watching black & white content. To me, the blooming is much more noticeable when watching a b&w movie and it casts kind of a dark-bluish tint to some areas of the picture. Not a deal breaker as my color-to-b&w ratio is probably 20:1, but I’m not as excited to watch some content because of it. Convinced me that my next TV set will be an OLED, though.

[happydood]

Originally Posted by SuperFlyHighGuy

1) The Dolby Vision modes only apply when watching something in DV. You don’t have to worry about it other times.

2) I leave my dimming on high all the time. You can also lower the “black level” a few notches to help, though I’m aware this isn’t “correct” and some would scoff at doing this.

I love most everything about this tv and for most content it looks great. But it’s not as much of a “set it and forget it” tv as I’d like; I have to make slight adjustments occasionally depending on the content. I also have some “jail bar”-like dirty screen effect that’s distracting sometimes, though much less so than my last set (Vizio).

But my biggest issue with mine (also a 65”) is watching black & white content. To me, the blooming is much more noticeable when watching a b&w movie and it casts kind of a dark-bluish tint to some areas of the picture. Not a deal breaker as my color-to-b&w ratio is probably 20:1, but I’m not as excited to watch some content because of it. Convinced me that my next TV set will be an OLED, though.

Thanks so much for your insight- good to know re: Dolby Vision. I've watched a couple of black and whites thus far- City Lights and Outside the law and I didn't notice any blooming- granted they both already have flicker from print damage, but I'll look at something in better shape to see if I notice anything. The bars- I hear you- I lived with something similar on my old TCL for four years and could never unsee them- does this happen from damage in shipping or something? I'm noticing that I do go back and adjust/fiddle quite a bit like you said, but I think I'm finally in a place where I can leave it for a bit. This is definitely the best set I've owned so I'm pretty satisfied with it.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Originally Posted by happydood

Thanks so much for your insight- good to know re: Dolby Vision. I've watched a couple of black and whites thus far- City Lights and Outside the law and I didn't notice any blooming- granted they both already have flicker from print damage, but I'll look at something in better shape to see if I notice anything. The bars- I hear you- I lived with something similar on my old TCL for four years and could never unsee them- does this happen from damage in shipping or something? I'm noticing that I do go back and adjust/fiddle quite a bit like you said, but I think I'm finally in a place where I can leave it for a bit. This is definitely the best set I've owned so I'm pretty satisfied with it.

The blueish-purple in my picture was actually the precursor to my tv going bad lol. It’s gotten worse and I’ve had to initiate the warranty process with Sony. Kind of a bummer since it’s only 4 months old but hopefully they’ll get me a replacement quickly and painlessly. Glad to hear you’re enjoying yours and I’ll be back in the bliss soon.

[happydood]

I looked at Criterion's Bringing Up Baby- which is a pretty outstanding disc imo and I had no blooming issues on it. I've managed to lesson the blooming on white titles enough that I think I'm good going forward- after watching pretty much all of the usual suspects' takes on this set and its settings and finessing it just a touch. It really is pretty substantial right out of the box with a couple of tweaks in the custom setting. Good luck with your issue. Four months in- what a pain!

[Bboxerman]

I just got the XJ91 and have updated it and downloaded apps. There is a bonus app where I can redeem moves like Venom carnage. When I click redeem nothing happens. When I click “Launch Bravia Core”. Nothing happens. What am I missing?

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Originally Posted by happydood

I looked at Criterion's Bringing Up Baby- which is a pretty outstanding disc imo and I had no blooming issues on it. I've managed to lesson the blooming on white titles enough that I think I'm good going forward- after watching pretty much all of the usual suspects' takes on this set and its settings and finessing it just a touch. It really is pretty substantial right out of the box with a couple of tweaks in the custom setting. Good luck with your issue. Four months in- what a pain!

Yeah I felt mine was pretty dialed in and the blooming was rarely noticeable, just showed up on stuff like Alien or 2001 with distinctly-bright objects against stark blackness. Tough for many LED sets to handle that.

Sony is sending me a new set though, should be here in a week or two. Mine still works well enough to watch basketball in the meantime, thankfully, but not wasting any more movie-watching on it, though. I tried to watch A Quiet Place on UHD the other night - it was more like “A Purple Place” lol. Thank heavens for warranties.

[Bboxerman]

How do I check resolution on the xj91 while watching Disney or Netflix? Pressing display only gives the time

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by Bboxerman

How do I check resolution on the xj91 while watching Disney or Netflix? Pressing display only gives the time

both those apps show the resolution they are at inside the app.

[Bboxerman]

Originally Posted by R3P0

both those apps show the resolution they are at inside the app.

Ok so there isn’t a way to check it? All I see is language and close captions

[Kwebbotaurus]

Originally Posted by xxBachelor1981xx

I got tired of waiting on Sony to release the 65inch X95J. So I went with the X90J which doesn't get the best reviews online. I am not expert but this TV blows my 950G out of the water when it comes to HDR and Dolby Vision content. Black is black and I don't see any blooming at all. I have only had it for a day so far but watching Passengers and Prometheus in 4K was just beautiful with this TV. Don't understand why it gets so much hate. PS5 gaming also looks great on X90J. So if anyone is done holding out don't pass up on the bad reviews of the X90J. The colors are vibrant and not washed out like many reviewers have said.

Do you still feel the 90J blows the 950G out of the water? The screen of my 55" 950G was accidentally damaged, so I need a new TV with comparable performance at that screen size.

[Kwebbotaurus]

What are the best settings to use for an Arc (not eArc) enabled soundbar?

[MechaGodzilla]

Good news, everyone! Sony has started rolling out a new firmware update which, among other things, enables local dimming in VRR mode on the Z9K, X95K, X90K, Z9J, X95J and X90J XR televisions.