Sony KD-65AG9 TV: High-end Oled returns to basics

Presentation

The Oled Sony AG9 television takes on the characteristics of its predecessor, the Sony Bravia KD-65AF9: a 65-inch Oled panel displaying an Ultra HD resolution of 3 840 x 2 160 px, the Sony X1 Ultimate processor and the Acoustic Surface audio system which evolves slightly. The latter goes from a system with three tweeters and two woofers on the AF9 to just two tweeters and two woofers on the AG9. The new Oled loses a tweeter, but retains two subwoofers; we will come back to this in the audio section. The novelty lies in the more classic design which now allows the TV to be hung on the wall. This model can always replace a central channel in a home cinema system (it becomes a passive speaker). Finally, it embeds the latest version of Android TV 8.0 (Oreo) with its batch of applications (Netflix 4K, YouTube, VLC, etc.), Google Cast functionality and Google Voice Assistant which can be, as on the 'AF9, ZF9 and XG9505, used without the remote control thanks to the microphones built into the TV.

The Sony KD-65AG9 is sold for around € 4,000. It is also available in a 55 inch (KD-55AG9) and 77 inch (KD-77AG9) version at the respective prices of € 3,000 and € 8,000. The 77 inch model is displayed at a very aggressive price compared to its direct competitors (the LG 77C9 is sold at the same price and the wallpaper version, the LG 77W9, is displayed at € 15,000).

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Image quality

The operation of the Oled panel remains the same: each pixel is made up of four sub-pixels (one green, one red, one blue and one white), but their size has changed slightly compared to last year's models. The white and red sub-pixels are larger in order to improve the maximum brightness of the screen while maintaining a color temperature close to 6,500 K. As always with Oled technology, the viewing angles are excellent. We have measured a loss of brightness of only 20% at 45 ° and there is no variation on black - which is absolute. In comparison, the Sony 65XG9505 displays an average loss of brightness of 45% on the 45 ° sides and the variation even reaches 70% on the Samsung Qled 65Q9F 2018.

As always with Oled TVs, the contrast ratio is excellent. It can be considered infinite since each pixel can be completely extinguished independently. Black can thus be total, regardless of the brightness of the white of the other pixels. Blacks are measured at less than 0.0049 cd / m² (our probe cannot measure a lower value). This contrast is still as impressive and you can enjoy all the nuances of the image, even in complete darkness.

In Expert mode and without additional settings, we measured the average Delta E at only 2.6; a value less than 3, threshold below which the eye no longer perceives a difference between the color displayed on the screen and the ideal color. Only cyan sees its Delta E climb above 3, without however exceeding 4. The colors displayed by this television in Expert mode can be considered as faithful to those sent by the source and are in accordance with the director's vision.

If the curve is less stable than that measured on last year's model, it keeps an average of 2.36, very close to the target value (2.4). There are no major imperfections and it is fairly faithful overall.

As is always the case on Sony TVs, the average temperature is closer to 7,000 K than the 6,500 K reference. This is why blue is a little more present. The most important thing is the stability of the curve over the whole spectrum, which is the case on this television.

The Sony 65AG9 embeds the Sony X1 Ultimate processor already at work on the Sony Oled AF9 television and on its cousins LCD ZF9 and XG9505. This processor manages the scaling of SD, HD and Full HD content on the Ultra HD panel as well as all the motion compensation part. As on the previous models, the scaling in cinema mode is very soft, with a smoothing effect on the solid areas, but it does not distort the original source. Intense mode, meanwhile, is much more aggressive in processing Full HD sources and does not hesitate to add details at the risk of revealing artifacts. In some cases, the scaled version will display more details than the native version. The MotionFlow motion compensation engine is still just as good and helps keep sharp images in motion.

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HDR

The Bravia 65AG9 is compatible with HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. However, Sony ignores the HDR10 + promoted by Samsung and Panasonic. Small size precision, the HDMI ports of televisions are configured by default in 8 bits. To unlock them, you have to go to Settings> Television viewing> External inputs> HDMI signal format> Improved format.

EOTF curve in HDR10, 10% window.

With a maximum HDR signal at 10,000 cd / m², the Display Tone Mapping used by Sony perfectly follows the EOTF reference curve, and even a little too much, which can result in a clipping phenomenon from 80% luminance. Objects with a brightness greater than 600 cd / m² cannot necessarily be distinguished from one another. Sony is very conservative on the peak of brightness. If it can reach 750 cd / m² in standard mode, it is limited to 583 cd / m² in Expert mode. We are far from the 859 cd / m² of the Philips 55OLED803. Obviously, we are far behind the LCD models: Sony 65ZF9 (1,940 cd / m²) Samsung 65Q9F (1,600 cd / m²) and Samsung 75Q900R (2,280 cd / m²). Fortunately, Oled technology retains some advantages, including the many details in the dark areas, a really black black and a total absence of blooming.

This Sony TV displays perfect colors in HDR mode. We measured an average Delta E in HDR Expert mode at only 2.3 and no hue exceeds a Delta E of 4. Colors in HDR mode can therefore be considered to be perfectly faithful to the source.

As with all Oled TVs, the KD-65AG9 covers 70% of the Rec. 2020 color space and 94% of the DCI-P3 standard. It is the latter that is currently used in cinema and on Ultra HD Blu-ray.

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Video games

If Sony has still slightly improved the delay in the display of its Oled TV compared to last year, the Japanese manufacturer is still lagging behind the Koreans. The Sony AG9 displays a delay in displaying 26.5 ms, slightly less than two images behind the source, while Samsung (QE65Q85R) and LG (55C9) have gone under the psychological bar of a single delay image (less than 16 ms, at 60 Hz ).

In terms of afterglow, Oled technology is still unequaled on the market, with a time less than a millisecond.

The atmosphere designed by the creators of the game must be respected by the television and from now on we will evaluate the quality of color reproduction in game mode, or at least with an option which allows to reduce the delay in the display. The Sony KD-65AG9 simply does a flawless by offering faithful colors (a Delta E less than 3). The temperature is also in the nails, just like the gamma.

Small flat all the same, we could see strong drops in brightness while playing (in FIFA 19 in particular). Sony explains that the TV uses an algorithm that detects fixed areas of the image (areas that display information such as remaining life or score) to reduce their brightness and reduce the risk of scarring.

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Clouding

Oled technology is not affected by the clouding phenomenon since this defect only affects LCD TVs using a light diffuser. We did not find a banding problem. The homogeneity of the brightness on the screen is good and the average difference is measured at only 6% on the 65 inches of the TV. This excellent result is again explained by the use of Oled technology.

Remember, however, that some television users encounter marking problems. Extensive tests have shown that the marking of modern Oled tiles is limited during everyday use. We have never seen this problem on the models we are testing, but we are focusing our tests on cinema, TV series and video game use. Continuous news channels displaying banners with saturated colors (red, blue or green) seem to be a problem, especially when the brightness is pushed to the maximum. The risk of marking exists and cannot be totally ignored. Remember that you must switch off the television using the remote control and that it is not recommended to disconnect it completely from the power. The television performs maintenance operations on the screen when it is in standby in order to preserve uniformity and precisely to avoid marking problems.

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Ergonomics

Exit the crutch and the easel type shape, place a central foot, corresponding much more to current standards. Like last year's AF8, the TV is placed very close to the ground and this outright prohibits the use of a sound bar, except by fixing the TV to the wall.

This new design makes it easier to install the Sony Oled TV on the wall. The Sony SU-WL850 support (optional at 250 €) allows you to bring the TV closer to the wall while enjoying a few degrees of rotation on the sides.

The aluminum foot is as simple as possible. It stabilizes the 24 kg of the 65-inch TV. The two microphones placed on each side of the status LED allow you to use Google's voice assistant in hands-free mode, without the remote control.

The identical anti-glare filter on all Oled TV models is very good and only the most high-end Samsung Qled models manage to do better.

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As always, Oled technology allows you to appreciate the thinness of the slab on the upper part. Sony has particularly worked on the compactness of its television, since even the lower part carrying the electronics does not exceed 4 cm thick.

The back of the TV is particularly neat. All the connections are hidden behind two covers. The cable passage system allows them to run to the back of the foot while hiding them.

The connection of the Sony 65AG9 consists of four HDMI 2.0b inputs, one of which is placed on the side, three USB ports, two of which are also on the side, an Ethernet port, an optical digital audio output, a headphone output, a composite input (in yellow), a PCMCIA port (CI + common interface), a rake antenna connector and a satellite connector. It has a dual DVB-T / T2 (TNT), DVB-S / S2 (satellite) and DVB-C (cable) tuner. It also has 802.11a / b / g / n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 for connection with a wireless audio device (headphones or speaker).

This television has Android TV 8.0 which is one of the most complete embedded systems on the market, and especially the one which offers the most applications. Not all of them are optimized for use on a TV, but overall, the experience is very pleasant. The system is finally fluid and crashes are much rarer than in previous years. In addition, the integrated Chromecast allows you to receive and display a video stream sent from a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Inside, there is still the Mediatek MT5893 processor (4 ARM Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 1.5 GHz) associated with 2.5 GB of RAM, but Sony seems to have worked well on the optimization since the release of the ZF9 since the system is much more reactive. The manufacturer also has added a quick access bar to the settings which avoids going through the Android settings.

Like the AF9 and ZF9, the Sony 65AF9 incorporates two microphones at the base of the TV, located on each side of the white LED. They allow you to use the Google Assistant without a remote control. Just say "OK Google" to wake up the assistant and ask him questions like "What are the weather forecasts?", "Play dev.rankuzz.com video on YouTube", etc. With the arrival of Android 8.0, the "Ok Google" function can be used even when the TV is off and it is therefore possible to turn it on without hands, simply by saying the phrase "Ok Google, turn on the TV". You can also ask the Google Assistant questions without turning on the screen and use the turned off TV as a smart speaker. This function still has an impact on standby consumption, which stagnates at 27 W as long as the TV is tuned in.

As with all Android TVs, the first boot takes longer. It takes 38 seconds here. This start-up begins when connected to the mains. The TV displays the Sony logo for 20 to 25 seconds, then the Android logo appears. The startup is much longer than the Tizen systems from Samsung or WebOS from LG, which start up in less than 5 seconds. Fortunately, the TV comes out of standby in less than 4 seconds, while consuming less than one watt in standby (if the hands-free function is deactivated). As often, the standby is instantaneous.

The Sony 65AF9 adopts a new infrared and Bluetooth remote control equipped with a built-in microphone. This microphone complements or replaces those that are built into the TV. The novelty is the brushed aluminum finish which gives a premium side to the remote control. Sony also has slightly changed the button feel and layout. In general, this remote control is more pleasant to use than the previous one. The buttons do not make any noise and the most used fall naturally under the thumb. As always, Sony ignores the backlighting of the keys.

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Audio

Unlike the Bravia AF9's 3.2 system, the Sony 65AG9 is content with an Acoustic Surface 2.2 audio system composed of two tweeters and two midrange placed at the back of the TV. Sony has reworked the tweeters whose shape is now oval and they are now integrated into a metal chassis - previously plastic - for more rigidity. Like the AF9, this TV can still be used as a central voice in a home theater system. Note that the new, thinner design makes it easier to hang the TV on the wall and thus make the central speaker disappear.

The KD-65AG9 keeps its promises and delivers a simply excellent sound, in line with that of the A1 and AF9. If it can't match a home cinema system, it can easily replace an entry / mid-range sound bar. The bass is audible from 55 Hz and it covers the entire spectrum up to 20,000 Hz. On this point, the Sony TV is a real benchmark on the market.

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Consumption

With a white calibrated at 150 cd / m², the Sony 65AG9 consumes 110 W on our test pattern, that is a relative consumption of 94 W / m²; the equivalent of the Sony 65AF9 (92 W / m²). This TV always consumes more than the LCD models. The Sony KD-65XE8505 equipped with an Edge-Led backlighting system is the category recorder with a consumption of only 56 W / m². The Samsung QE65Q9FNAT - although equipped with 480 backlight zones - is also a very good student since it is content with 61 W / m².

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Conclusion

Sony listened to its customers and that's good. Exit the stand of previous Oled TVs and move to a more classic design suitable for wall mounting. The Sony 65AG9 retains the qualities of its predecessors, with excellent image quality and very high level sound. It probably offers the very best in terms of television for cinema lovers.

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