Sony A90J (BRAVIA XR-65A90J) OLED TV Review & Comments

Phil Hinton

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Wonderful thanks. 83A90J is £6999 but most places have it at £6499.
 
Ok @Phil Hinton . I have to say this before I read the review...Jeez you took your time ! Thought the review was lost in the matrix 😀
 
Ok @Phil Hinton . I have to say this before I read the review...Jeez you took your time ! Thought the review was lost in the matrix 😀
Wanted to make sure I could compare with the main screens this year, to give a more balanced review.
 
compared to the C1 but not the 80J. mmm
 
compared to the C1 but not the 80J. mmm
Because I didn't have the A80J in at the same time, I'm actually still waiting on a sample. I have however seen a 55 and 65 G1 and 48, 55 and 65 C1. LG are quicker at getting the samples out it seems.
 
Guess I am keeping my HZ2000, truly a beast of a TV, glad it's holding up.
 
Wanted to make sure I could compare with the main screens this year, to give a more balanced review.
This is the first time I have a tv before the review so I can compare the review. So im looking forward to reading in my lunch hour thanks Phil
 
Thanks of the great review. Did you test what audio is provided with Bravia Core over EARC?
 
"A big step up from the AG9". It's sentences like this that draw me more towards Rtings to be honest. They rate the AG9 8.7 overall and the A90J an 8.8. Seems a little more grounded.

I didn't think we actually ever see 'big steps up' in OLED technology. If that's not the case then why on earth are so many blu ray reviews on this site still tested on a 2017 screen...(?) One would assume the difference between a 3-4 year old LG screen and the A90J would therefore be colossal. Yet that's evidently not the case...

Point is, i think hearing that a new screen is a 'big step up' is going to disappoint certain people looking to upgrade. Personally, with language like that I'd be expecting a night and day difference. Where as I'm sure it's simply 'incrementally better', like these screens invariably are year after year.
 
Wanted to make sure I could compare with the main screens this year, to give a more balanced review.
This was the best move you could make.
 
Thanks Phil. Great in depth review…
I thought you had gone through your wardrobe to Narnia looking for your review. 🤣
The wait was excruciating😉

Now drop the JZ1500 next please 😊 Have the 65” on order…
 
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Wanted to make sure I could compare with the main screens this year, to give a more balanced review.
Great review I suspected the reason for the delay in the review was you wanted to get it right very contentious subject all great tvs but for me personally if you don't used the tv speakers I'd go for the Panasonic all catch up service's all HDR formats and £500 cheaper
 
I was considering Panasoniz jzw2004,Sony A90J and LG1 and now when i see how close are in picture department all this top end oleds i m sooo hapy i choose G1 because of gaming features and 4x hdmi 2.1
 
Finally my purchase validated :) Seriously though - thank for the review. Purchased back in May and still enjoying considerably. Hoping to get calibrated in next few months.
 
I think once the UK Catchup apps are available on this set it pretty much becomes a 9.5 as GoogleTV itself offers so much more flexibility in terms of Apps and what you can run from the TV compared with LG's/Panasonics/Samsung's OS offerings.

Can't remember if there was a mention within the review of this being an IMAX Enhanced set also.

Another thing to mention is that some of us early adopters were given some very nice treats as part of some of the retailer's pre-order promotions in conjunction with Sony's own offerings.

  • Free Sony Headphones
  • 10x Bravia Core Movies to keep
  • £100 Google TV Credit
  • Offered a free Amazon FireStick to make up for the lack of onboard UK Catchup Apps, due to misleading marketing by the retailers.
Some of these may still be available as part of purchases made today or in the near future?
 
I suspect that if the 83” drops to around half-price next year prior to 2022 range, like the 2020 dropped this year, it will be my next TV replacing the Panny 65ez952 I have. I don’t think I can wait longer for Panasonic to do a larger size.
 
"A big step up from the AG9". It's sentences like this that draw me more towards Rtings to be honest. They rate the AG9 8.7 overall and the A90J an 8.8. Seems a little more grounded.

I didn't think we actually ever see 'big steps up' in OLED technology. If that's not the case then why on earth are so many blu ray reviews on this site still tested on a 2017 screen...(?) One would assume the difference between a 3-4 year old LG screen and the A90J would therefore be colossal. Yet that's evidently not the case...

Point is, i think hearing that a new screen is a 'big step up' is going to disappoint certain people looking to upgrade. Personally, with language like that I'd be expecting a night and day difference. Where as I'm sure it's simply 'incrementally better', like these screens invariably are year after year.
I hear you, but reading it’s an incremental step up isn’t very persuasive either.
My C7>C9 is only incremental (as each year is) but it actually was a big step up in PQ and features.
The blu Ray reviews is an interesting one, it’s the reviewers own TVs (I’m assuming, so unless someone starts to fund an annual replacement that’s not going to change), but if the blu looks amazing on this tv and it’s not as good looking on my C9 it’s not the Blu’s fault…so in theory if it looks great on a 2017 tv, it’s only going to look even better on a 2021 tv :)
 
Oooh the JZ1500 is sounds like it's being teased as an A90J beater then. Curious to read that review as I'm strongly leaning towards picking one up at some point.
 
Maybe I’ve got the wrong end of the stick but from the review it sounds like there’s not much point in getting the A90J over other OLEDs. Save a big chunk of change and get the A80J if you want the XR processor benefits.
I was willing to go all out on an A90J but starting to doubt myself anyone care to convince me ?
 
Thank you for the great review Phil. Really in depth and we appreciate it.
I wonder how the Panasonic JZ2000 holds up to the Sony A90J ???
 
Maybe I’ve got the wrong end of the stick but from the review it sounds like there’s not much point in getting the A90J over other OLEDs. Save a big chunk of change and get the A80J if you want the XR processor benefits.
I was willing to go all out on an A90J but starting to doubt myself anyone care to convince me ?

I have been looking at replacing my 65” C9 with something bigger, and bought a 83” A90J.

Honestly, other than the obviously bigger size, couldn’t see a difference at all in terms of PQ.

Unfortunately the A90J had to go back as Google TV would randomly crash when I was was doing nothing more arduous than watching a programme on a Sky box connected to an external input. I accept I most likely had a faulty set, as I have it running on a smaller LED Sony in the sitting room and on a couple of Shield’s without issue, but am back with the C9 now (which is still a mighty fine TV).

I can’t speak for the 2020 Sony’s as I never tried one, but LG’s 2020 CX was actually dimmer that the previous years C9, and has gone brighter again in this years C1 - so is back to 2019’s levels!

Think I’m just going to wait for Panasonic or Philips to finally do something bigger than 65” (or scouring classifieds for a 77” C9)
 
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