Sony A90J OLED TV Owners and Discussion Thread

I'm really struggling with this TV. I don't understand the excitement about it.

I'm all about watching content as the creator intended. Settings like peak luminance, reality creation, smooth gradation and motionflow, these should all be disabled as they are detrimental to the picture and yet they are all enabled by default.

When these are all disabled, the PQ is lifeless and dull, even with the OLED light setting at its maximum and there's still image blur in action scenes despite the fact motion handling is allegedly one of the Sony's forté.

And with the OLED light at maximum, you've no where higher to go, should you want to.

This is my third OLED, I've had two LGs previously. The preset to head to on LGs is isf Expert Dark Room as this is the most colour accurate OOTB. With the exception of Trumotion, every option is disabled by default under this preset, which means you see the content the way it is intended and even then, I disabled Trumotion too.

I feel like I'm selling my soul if I leave all of these artificial settings on the A90J just to make it look acceptable. Disable them all, and this TV is not even average and definitely not worth the premium.

And I can't live with that because I'm not by any means a rich or wealthy person and had to save hard for this TV. I am full of remorse and guilt for spending the money on it as I see zero improvement over my C9. In fact, I see a worse picture.

What am I missing? Because I just don't get it, I don't.

@BRAKKUS1 am I right in thinking you've a G1? If so, would you please confirm the preset you're using for SDR? If it it's isf Expert Dark Room, is it as I have described above and are you happy with the G1? I seem to remember you had a C9 too.

Edit; just to add, for all of you owners that are enjoying your TV, my concerns are all my own and I do not want to dampen your enthusiasm for it. More power to you in fact and I'm sorry for such a negative post but, I personally do not think I can live with the A90J long term.

If anyone asks that I don't post further, that's fine - I'll retreat from the thread.
 
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Seems you just prefer the more vibrant picture of the lg. It's a preference thing. I would just play avond with the settings if I were you
 
I'm really struggling with this TV. I don't understand the excitement about it.

I'm all about watching content as the creator intended. Settings like peak luminance, reality creation, smooth gradation and motionflow, these should all be disabled as they are detrimental to the picture and yet they are all enabled by default.

When these are all disabled, the PQ is lifeless and dull, even with the OLED light setting at its maximum and there's still image blur in action scenes despite the fact motion handling is allegedly one of the Sony's forté.

And with the OLED light at maximum, you've no where higher to go, should you want to.

This is my third OLED, I've had two LGs previously. The preset to head to on LGs is isf Expert Dark Room as this is the most colour accurate OOTB. With the exception of Trumotion, every option is disabled by default under this preset, which means you see the content the way it is intended and even then, I disabled Trumotion too.

I feel like I'm selling my soul if I leave all of these artificial settings on the A90J just to make it look acceptable. Disable them all, and this TV is not even average and definitely not worth the premium.

And I can't live with that because I'm not by any means a rich or wealthy person and had to save hard for this TV. I am full of remorse and guilt for spending the money on it as I see zero improvement over my C9. In fact, I see a worse picture.

What am I missing? Because I just don't get it, I don't.

@BRAKKUS1 am I right in thinking you've a G1? If so, would you please confirm the preset you're using for SDR? If it it's isf Expert Dark Room, is it as I have described above and are you happy with the G1? I seem to remember you had a C9 too.

Edit; just to add, for all of you owners that are enjoying your TV, my concerns are all my own and I do not want to dampen your enthusiasm for it. More power to you in fact and I'm sorry for such a negative post but, I personally do not think I can live with the A90J long term.

If anyone asks that I don't post further, that's fine - I'll retreat from the thread.
Are you using custom?
I do find it odd that every reviewer has preferred the picture on the A90J compared to LG.
Although maybe it is what you are used to? If you are used to how a picture looks on an LG it might take some time to adjust.
I’m going to be coming from a Panasonic oled which I love the picture of and it’s moving to the bedroom and I just wanted something with a better OS for the lounge. I’m thinking I might have to set them up side by side for a while so I can tweak the setting to get it close to what I’m used to and like! - is there any way you can do that?
 
I'm really struggling with this TV. I don't understand the excitement about it.

I'm all about watching content as the creator intended. Settings like peak luminance, reality creation, smooth gradation and motionflow, these should all be disabled as they are detrimental to the picture and yet they are all enabled by default.

When these are all disabled, the PQ is lifeless and dull, even with the OLED light setting at its maximum and there's still image blur in action scenes despite the fact motion handling is allegedly one of the Sony's forté.

And with the OLED light at maximum, you've no where higher to go, should you want to.

This is my third OLED, I've had two LGs previously. The preset to head to on LGs is isf Expert Dark Room as this is the most colour accurate OOTB. With the exception of Trumotion, every option is disabled by default under this preset, which means you see the content the way it is intended and even then, I disabled Trumotion too.

I feel like I'm selling my soul if I leave all of these artificial settings on the A90J just to make it look acceptable. Disable them all, and this TV is not even average and definitely not worth the premium.

And I can't live with that because I'm not by any means a rich or wealthy person and had to save hard for this TV. I am full of remorse and guilt for spending the money on it as I see zero improvement over my C9. In fact, I see a worse picture.

What am I missing? Because I just don't get it, I don't.

@BRAKKUS1 am I right in thinking you've a G1? If so, would you please confirm the preset you're using for SDR? If it it's isf Expert Dark Room, is it as I have described above and are you happy with the G1? I seem to remember you had a C9 too.

Edit; just to add, for all of you owners that are enjoying your TV, my concerns are all my own and I do not want to dampen your enthusiasm for it. More power to you in fact and I'm sorry for such a negative post but, I personally do not think I can live with the A90J long term.

If anyone asks that I don't post further, that's fine - I'll retreat from the thread.
Interesting post and points. I came from an LG B7 and also used the ISF Dark Preset almost exclusively and was happy with the results. On the A90J I am flicking between Cinema and Custom at the moment. I know Custom is the most accurate OOTB setting but am questioning if I am actually that bothered, or want to take advantage of some the technology in the TV to give a 'good enough' picture for varied lighting conditions, family members etc.

After years of calibrating my own TVs, having pro calibrations and so on I think I have mellowed and am less bothered right now as the differences are much more nuanced when compared to the performance of TVs a few years ago. I can see the subtle differences between Cinema and Custom but it's not dramatic, and maybe I'll prefer the slightly less accurate Cinema image and use the default dynamic contrast to get a bit more out of the image in varied room conditions - I don't always have a dark room.

Hopefully your comments will spark a good discussion and tips to get the best from the TV!
 
Seems you just prefer the more vibrant picture of the lg. It's a preference thing. I would just play avond with the settings if I were you
It isn't that.

You don't have to enable any gimmicks or settings for the picture to look good on the LG as it is all disabled by default..
Are you using custom?
I do find it odd that every reviewer has preferred the picture on the A90J compared to LG.
Although maybe it is what you are used to? If you are used to how a picture looks on an LG it might take some time to adjust.
I’m going to be coming from a Panasonic oled which I love the picture of and it’s moving to the bedroom and I just wanted something with a better OS for the lounge. I’m thinking I might have to set them up side by side for a while so I can tweak the setting to get it close to what I’m used to and like! - is there any way you can do that?
'Yes' custom. Tried with all the options enabled, some enabled, all disabled. Not happy to enable any of it as it isn't natural.
 
Interesting post and points. I came from an LG B7 and also used the ISF Dark Preset almost exclusively and was happy with the results. On the A90J I am flicking between Cinema and Custom at the moment. I know Custom is the most accurate OOTB setting but am questioning if I am actually that bothered, or want to take advantage of some the technology in the TV to give a 'good enough' picture for varied lighting conditions, family members etc.

After years of calibrating my own TVs, having pro calibrations and so on I think I have mellowed and am less bothered right now as the differences are much more nuanced when compared to the performance of TVs a few years ago. I can see the subtle differences between Cinema and Custom but it's not dramatic, and maybe I'll prefer the slightly less accurate Cinema image and use the default dynamic contrast to get a bit more out of the image in varied room conditions - I don't always have a dark room.

Hopefully your comments will spark a good discussion and tips to get the best from the TV!
The picture is good, if you either leave the settings as they are or just disable some but, none of them give the picture as is intended.
 
I guess if you are not happy you could always try the DNice settings that others have had some luck with? Especially if you are considering sending it back anyway!
 
I guess if you are not happy you could always try the DNice settings that others have had some luck with? Especially if you are considering sending it back anyway!
Thank you for the suggestion but, that is counter-productive.

Calibration corrects errors on your particular panel. To use somebody else's could do more harm than good as they are particular to that TV and not your own.
 
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On the note of that. Does anybody know the differrnce between expert 1 and expert 2 color temperature?

Custom, expert 1 and 2 are all the same with their default settings, and can be manually changed independently of each other.

So you can setup 3 different settings (Cutom as default, EXP 1 for daytime, EXP 2 for night time).
 
Seems you just prefer the more vibrant picture of the lg. It's a preference thing. I would just play avond with the settings if I were you
It won't be more vibrant, filmmaker mode is available from the 9 lg's onwards I believe and that's the go to mode imo.
These tellies are hyped beyond belief, hardly any brighter than the 835 nits my C8 calibrated out at. However, they will be better in quite a few other areas.
I truly believe unless you have anything below the C8 era then you'd be much better off saving your money.
And did anyone else see the grid on the A90J screen on VT's video?
 
Thank you for the suggestion but, that is counter-intuitive.

Calibration corrects errors on your particular panel. To use somebody else's could do more harm than good as they are particular to that TV and not your own.
I guess my thinking was if this improves anything somewhat then it may be worth getting your set calibrated if it will make you happier. But you don't want to spend money on that if you still won't be happy!

What is it particularly about the image that you don't like? Is it the brightness? Saturation? Colour temperature?

These are things which could be fixed by playing with the numbers rather than turning settings on and off
 
I guess my thinking was if this improves anything somewhat then it may be worth getting your set calibrated if it will make you happier. But you don't want to spend money on that if you still won't be happy!

What is it particularly about the image that you don't like? Is it the brightness? Saturation? Colour temperature?

These are things which could be fixed by playing with the numbers rather than turning settings on and off
The thing I'm struggling with is the distinct lack of difference in PQ when compared to my previous TV.

I've paid two and a half grand for like for like preformance or worse, depending on the source. It is a ridiculous economic decision on my part, should I stick with the A90J.
 
Custom, expert 1 and 2 are all the same with their default settings, and can be manually changed independently of each other.

So you can setup 3 different settings (Cutom as default, EXP 1 for daytime, EXP 2 for night time).

I think you are talking about the picture presets. I'm wondering more about the color tempature itself. When I switch from expert 1 to 2 I notice more blue.
 
I'm really struggling with this TV. I don't understand the excitement about it.

I'm all about watching content as the creator intended. Settings like peak luminance, reality creation, smooth gradation and motionflow, these should all be disabled as they are detrimental to the picture and yet they are all enabled by default.

When these are all disabled, the PQ is lifeless and dull, even with the OLED light setting at its maximum and there's still image blur in action scenes despite the fact motion handling is allegedly one of the Sony's forté.

And with the OLED light at maximum, you've no where higher to go, should you want to.

This is my third OLED, I've had two LGs previously. The preset to head to on LGs is isf Expert Dark Room as this is the most colour accurate OOTB. With the exception of Trumotion, every option is disabled by default under this preset, which means you see the content the way it is intended and even then, I disabled Trumotion too.

I feel like I'm selling my soul if I leave all of these artificial settings on the A90J just to make it look acceptable. Disable them all, and this TV is not even average and definitely not worth the premium.

And I can't live with that because I'm not by any means a rich or wealthy person and had to save hard for this TV. I am full of remorse and guilt for spending the money on it as I see zero improvement over my C9. In fact, I see a worse picture.

What am I missing? Because I just don't get it, I don't.

@BRAKKUS1 am I right in thinking you've a G1? If so, would you please confirm the preset you're using for SDR? If it it's isf Expert Dark Room, is it as I have described above and are you happy with the G1? I seem to remember you had a C9 too.

Edit; just to add, for all of you owners that are enjoying your TV, my concerns are all my own and I do not want to dampen your enthusiasm for it. More power to you in fact and I'm sorry for such a negative post but, I personally do not think I can live with the A90J long term.

If anyone asks that I don't post further, that's fine - I'll retreat from the thread.

Get off the thread, we'll have no trouble here 🧐 🤣


Seriously, have you tried punching in D-Nice's settings posted in post 1 of this thread, why not give them a try and re-assess!
 
I think you are talking about the picture presets. I'm wondering more about the color tempature itself. When I switch from expert 1 to 2 I notice more blue.

Yeah, they should be exactly the same :confused:

Exp 1 & 2 are just default copies of the custom preset.
 
I think @Barney Gumble 's case is quite often inherent from being a previous multiple OLED owner.
I can't offer anything here because I don't know any better having come from LCD/LED land previously and this being my 1st OLED. PQ to me is light & day superior to what I've been used to. It's as dramatic to me as when we went from CRT 480i/576i to HD Panels @ 1080p.

I've been round mates houses, watched various content on their panels and to me their 100 colour x 100 brightness x 100 contrast settings, while enjoyable & mind-blowing to them, just isn't natural to me, so it's different courses for different horses.

It's all about finding the sweet spot/s for 'your' eyes and sometimes that can often take time, and also, without us actually realising it, we may even need a little help in achieving that goal whether it be via forums like these or even getting our sets pro calibrated to get the most out of them and getting them looking more presentable to our eyes.

I'm still an OOTB user of the TV (and still loving what I'm seeing) however, as I have said on more than one occasion, I know I still haven't touched the sides of its capabilities. That will come in time and eventually when I get round to having it properly calibrated.
 
Been followin this thread for a while. Some good info i must say.

Had this tv for a week now. Coming from a 5yo LG 4k lcd. The picture is superb!!

Found the interface to be a bit of a faff at times. Annoyed at the energy pop up everytime i wanna fiddle with the settings, but can live with that.

I’m by no means an expert. But with very little adjustment to settings i’m blown away. Am picky bout quality of image and was never satisfied with LG. This TV looks insane to my eyes, cant keep brightness at max, burns my retinas. The detail on everything of a decent quality is crazy.

Have kept some of the settings like motionflow for normal tv, found it stuttered. But with it on custon 1 solved issue.
Also found image to be a bit dim, but went and changed peak luminace to high n everything now pops nicely.
Bumped up contrast enhance for ps5 and like the result.
Dont wanna turn alot of them off, as dont see any detrimental impact to what i’m viewing, everything looks great.
For the price, am i not payin for the Sony tech that makes the TV look so good?

The price is a bit steep, but I can’t see me getting rid of it for a long time! Partner wasnt convinced it would be that impressive, but as soon as i put on Our Planet netflix. He had to admit it was quite something 🤣🤣

Bit of a read, but thats my thoughts. Very impressed!!

Would any1 have any advice on bias lighting? Lookin at medialight mk2. Does it really help eye strain?
 
Get off the thread, we'll have no trouble here 🧐 🤣


Seriously, have you tried punching in D-Nice's settings posted in post 1 of this thread, why not give them a try and re-assess!
Against my better judgement, I may give them a go as my wife is despairing with me and the thought of trying to return the A90J.

It's this business of all the settings being enabled by default, which does make the PQ look good, granted but, they are detrimental to the way you are supposed to watch film for example.

I mean, what does the impact of 'peak luminance' have of on original content? Disable this setting and the PQ is not bright, that doesn't bother me but you've nowhere to go, should you want the TV brighter.

I'm obviously talking about SDR material, which we watch most of the time. I do have a UB820 and all the usual streaming services and DV and HDR is acceptable but, not special.
 
Would any1 have any advice on bias lighting? Lookin at medialight mk2. Does it really help eye strain?
Looking at MediaLight Mk2 also as a potential bias lighting option... Although I have never been too keen on sticking things to the TV itself which is why the Philips Hue Play option appealed to me, until I saw in reviews that you have to keep buying add ons to get certain functionality out of it, like Ambilight! Bit naughty from Philips that!
 
I think @Barney Gumble 's case is quite often inherent from being a previous multiple OLED owner.
I can't offer anything here because I don't know any better having come from LCD/LED land previously and this being my 1st OLED. PQ to me is light & day superior to what I've been used to. It's as dramatic to me as when we went from CRT 480i/576i to HD Panels @ 1080p.

I've been round mates houses, watched various content on their panels and to me their 100 colour x 100 brightness x 100 contrast settings, while enjoyable & mind-blowing to them, just isn't natural to me, so it's different courses for different horses.

It's all about finding the sweet spot/s for 'your' eyes and sometimes that can often take time, and also, without us actually realising it, we may even need a little help in achieving that goal whether it be via forums like these or even getting our sets pro calibrated to get the most out of them and getting them looking more presentable to our eyes.

I'm still an OOTB user of the TV (and still loving what I'm seeing) however, as I have said on more than one occasion, I know I still haven't touched the sides of its capabilities. That will come in time and eventually when I get round to having it properly calibrated.
This is a reasonable assumption. I was hoping to see improvement over my previous TVs, I don't and not two and half grands worth.

And that doesn't sit right with me and my conscience.

For anyone that hasn't had an OLED before or is upgrading from an early model, I can see why you're excited and enjoying the A90J and long my you continue to do so:thumbsup:.
 
This is a reasonable assumption. I was hoping to see improvement over my previous TVs, I don't and not two and half grands worth.

And that doesn't sit right with me and my conscience.

For anyone that hasn't had an OLED before or is upgrading from an early model, I can see why you're excited and enjoying the A90J and long my you continue to do so:thumbsup:.
Thanks mate, and I hope you eventually find what you're looking for with the A90J. I suspect, like a lot of the complex options that bestow these premium TV's, that it might just be around the corner.
:)
 

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