KD-75XG9505: the new high-end LCD TV from Sony

Presentation

We are opening the test for new 2019 TV series with the Sony Bravia KD-75XG9505, cousin of the Sony 65ZF9. It retains almost the same display quality with the integration of a 10-bit, 100 Hz VA LCD panel displaying an Ultra HD definition of 3,840 x 2,160 px, a Full Led backlight system and of the Sony X1 Ultimate processor introduced the year by the Oled Sony 65AF9 television. It also includes the Google Assistant which, like the AF9 and ZF9, can be used without the remote control. It still has the X-Wide Angle system supposed to improve viewing angles and X-Motion Clarity which improves the sharpness of moving objects without impacting the brightness of the image. It differs from the Sony ZF9 by the arrival of a new audio system called Acoustic Multi-Audio composed of four speakers: two at the base of the panel and two others in the upper part at the back of the TV.

Finally, another notable difference, the Sony Bravia KD-75XG9505 is more affordable than the ZF9 when it was released. Indeed, the Sony KD-75XG9505 is sold for around € 4,300, compared to € 5,000 for the ZF9 when it is released. The XG9505 is also available in 55-inch (KD-55XG9505) and 65-inch (KD-65XG9505) versions at prices of € 2,000 and 2,600 respectively. This 75-inch TV is much cheaper than the most affordable Oled model, the LG 77C8, displayed at € 6,000. Note also that the Sony 55XF9005 and 65XF9005 remain in the catalog in 2019 and that they should offer a very good value for money.

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Image quality

Unsurprisingly, the Sony 75XG9505 operates a VA (Vertical Alignment) type LCD panel. The structure of the sub-pixels is identical to that found on the ZF9. This screen has an optical filter which improves viewing angles at the expense of declining native contrast. Indeed, we measured an average loss of brightness of only 45% on the sides at 45 ° while it reaches for example 70% on the Samsung Qled 65Q9F 2018. However, we had measured a loss of only 38% on the ZF9. This television is thus similar to Oled televisions. As a reminder, we had measured a loss of brightness of only 26% at 45 ° on the Sony 65AF9. In practice, blooming (a luminous halo that appears around luminous objects on a dark background) is very visible at 45 ° while it is almost invisible from the front.

We have measured a dynamic contrast ratio of 4,961: 1, but this ratio drops to 3,120: 1 when the dynamic backlight system is turned off. Fortunately, this system works very well at Sony and does not cause variation in the gamma curve, which is often the weak point of dynamic backlight systems. This contrast ratio is very good for an LCD TV and allows you to enjoy a good level of black in the axis. Compared to an Oled model, it will still be a little more difficult to reveal the details of very very dark objects.

In Expert mode, we measured the Delta E at only 2, a value well below 3, a threshold below which the eye no longer perceives differences between the colors displayed on the screen and the ideal colors. None of the shades verified displays a Delta E greater than 3 and the colors can therefore be considered as faithful to those sent by the source.

By raising the gamma to -1, the television displays a curve very close to the reference curve. The small imperfection seen at the end of the curve is almost imperceptible. The average measured at 2.36 is very close to the reference value and above all the curve is stable over the entire spectrum.

As often, Sony televisions display a temperature closer to 7,000 K than the reference 6,500 K. The Sony 75XG9505 is no exception to the rule since the average temperature is measured at 6,910 K, but it is perfectly stable across the spectrum.

The Sony 75XG9505 embeds the Sony X1 Ultimate processor already at work on the Sony Oled AF9 television and on its cousin LCD ZF9. 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 motion compensation engine is still just as good. The X-Motion Clarity technology is activated using the MotionFlow with the Brightness setting of 1. Thus, we benefit from a sweeping of the backlighting by zone which has little impact on the overall brightness of the screen. With Clarity 2 and 3, scanning takes place over the entire screen and the drop in brightness is too visible, in addition to causing the image to flicker.

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HDR

The Sony Bravia 75XG9505 is compatible with HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. However, it ignores the HDR10 + promoted by Samsung and Panasonic. Small size precision, the HDMI ports of televisions are configured by default in 8 bit. To unlock them, go to Settings> TV 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 1000 cd / m² cannot necessarily be distinguished from one another; in return, the television fully exploits its capacities. The small disappointment comes from the peak of brightness measured at only 1110 cd / m². It is always above the Oled models whose peak brightness is around 750 cd / m² (except for the Philips 55OLED803 flashed at 859 cd / m²). The light peak is thus much lower than that measured on the Sony 65ZF9 (1,940 cd / m²), on the Samsung 65Q9F (1,600 cd / m²) and very far from the Samsung 75Q900R (2,280 cd / m²). It must be said that Sony has reduced the number of zones of the Full Led backlight system. If there were about 100 zones on the ZF9 in its 65 inch version, they fall to only 60 zones on the 75XG9505 and its 75 inch panel. This limited number translates into a clearly visible blooming effect around light objects on a dark background. The amateurs of films with original subtitled VO will be the most affected by this phenomenon, even more visible in HDR around the texts.

Fortunately, Sony is making up for it with perfect colors. We measured an average Delta E in Expert HDR mode at only 1.7 and no shade - except white at maximum brightness - exceeds a Delta E of 3. Colors in HDR mode can therefore be considered as perfectly true to the source.

Compared to the Oled models, the coverage of the Rec.2020 and DCI-P3 color spaces is lower and comparable to that which was measured on the Sony ZF9. Indeed, the Sony 75XG9505 is content with 66% coverage of Rec.2020 when an Oled TV reaches 70%. It is even limited to 89% of DCI-P3 when Oled models often display 95% of P3 space.

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Video games

The Sony 75XG9505 has one of the best afterimages on the market (11 ms). It is still very far from the Oled models whose retention time is zero, but it is the best on the side of LCD TVs. As for the delay in display, Sony has caught up with LG and Panasonic by posting a delay of only 21 ms, a little more than one frame per second compared to the source. Only Samsung can do better with a display delay of 15 ms, less than one frame per second at 60 Hz.

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 TV simply does a flawless by offering faithful colors whose average Delta E is equal to 3. The temperature is also in the nails, just like the gamma. This is a very good point when the competitors allow themselves some madness in game mode.

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Clouding

The use of a Full Led backlight system limits the risks of clouding, but this defect can still occur if the light distribution filter is damaged during transport. We also didn't see any banding issues. The homogeneity of the brightness on the screen is good and the average difference is measured at only 10% on this 75 inch screen. This result is good especially for a model of this diagonal. Be careful though, we were able to observe a slight lack of light in the corners.

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Audio

The Sony 75XG9505 introduces a new audio system called Acoustic Multi-Audio which consists of two speakers at the base of the television and two tweeters placed at the rear on the upper part of the television. These two additional tweeters can enhance the sound position, but without improving the overall sound quality. The voices seem to come out of the middle of the screen, while on a classic system the sound comes from the bottom. For the rest, the quality is average, nothing more, and we would have liked Sony to do a little better on this point.

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Consumption

With a white calibrated at 150 cd / m², the Sony 75XG9505 consumes 130 W on our test pattern, a relative consumption of 84 W / m², a little less than the Sony 65AF9 and its Oled panel which reaches 92 W / m². This TV always consumes a little more than the LCD Edge Led models - the Sony KD-65XE8505, record holder in the category, consumes only 56 W / m². The Sony 75XG9505 also consumes more than the Samsung QE65Q9FNAT - yet equipped with 480 backlight zones - which is content with 61 W / m².

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Conclusion

The Sony 75XG9505 television is a very good LCD television, but the limited number of backlight zones does not allow it to compete with the big names in the category like its big brother the Sony 65ZF9 or even the Samsung 75Q900R which display a light peak greater than 1,500 cd / m². This is now what is expected of a high-end LCD TV, a high brightness peak allowing it to stand out from the Oled TVs which dominate in all the other compartments of the display. The rest is excellent, with perfect calibration, good display delay, an finally smooth Android TV system and a practical hands-free voice control system.

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