Sony A90J OLED TV Owners and Discussion Thread

As I get older I seem to become increasingly bewildered.

When I bought my 42” (I think) Pio several centuries ago unseen and based on reputation, I thought “how could this EVER be improved”.

Then I bought the AF9 and I was blown away. And that died. But I knew that nothing could be better. So I was resigned to simply matching it.

A few days ago the A90J. it’s cheaper. It’s unbelievable.

But of course …. how could any tv ever be better.
 
So not sure if anyone else notices this but I seem to have an odd anomaly within Bravia Core..??

I have watched about 4 films now via the service since owning my A90J

2 x HD & 2 x 4K

For some reason when I play HD movies through Bravia Core the PQ drops like a lead balloon periodically.
When looking at the stream analysis it jumps up and down from like 156 Mbps and then down to 3 Mbps and does this relatively frequently throughout the movie. The codec it uses for these HD streams appear to be avc1's. It should be noted that I have the same result whether PureStream is Enabled or Not..?? This behaviour results in the PQ dropping from 1080p to 480i SD and then back again. Rinse and Repeat.

Then we move onto the 4k Streams (incl HDR) which use the HVEC codec and the PQ doesn't flinch and neither does the stream quality?? It's always hovering around 200Mbps with the PQ remaining constant at 2160p.

I'm using WiFi and do not experience this kind of behaviour with any of the other streaming services via the A90J but this one??

Gotta be a CORE issue surely, cause it just doesn't make sense why a lesser PQ stream (HD) would struggle and a superior one (4k/HDR) requiring more bandwidth wouldn't?

Very very odd?
 
So not sure if anyone else notices this but I seem to have an odd anomaly within Bravia Core..??

I have watched about 4 films now via the service since owning my A90J

2 x HD & 2 x 4K

For some reason when I play HD movies through Bravia Core the PQ drops like a lead balloon periodically.
When looking at the stream analysis it jumps up and down from like 156 Mbps and then down to 3 Mbps and does this relatively frequently throughout the movie. The codec it uses for these HD streams appear to be avc1's. It should be noted that I have the same result whether PureStream is Enabled or Not..?? This behaviour results in the PQ dropping from 1080p to 480i SD and then back again. Rinse and Repeat.

Then we move onto the 4k Streams (incl HDR) which use the HVEC codec and the PQ doesn't flinch and neither does the stream quality?? It's always hovering around 200Mbps with the PQ remaining constant at 2160p.

I'm using WiFi and do not experience this kind of behaviour with any of the other streaming services via the A90J but this one??

Gotta be a CORE issue surely, cause it just doesn't make sense why a lesser PQ stream (HD) would struggle and a superior one (4k/HDR) requiring more bandwidth wouldn't?

Very very odd?
It sounds like they are prioritising bandwidth for the 4K streams but doing a poor job of allocating it to HD.
 
I shared this thread about improving home cinema system / sound quality to complement my A90J. If anyone has any input I'd be grateful - 'What will make the biggest difference?' What will make the biggest difference?

I have ordered a new subwoofer (Monolith 10) and am going to get a new centre speaker B&W HTM6 to match the other B&W speakers I have (which are now at the front of media unit).

Could anyone recommend a wall mount? Happy to have a fixed one but would want it to sit flush to wall. Issue is it is a stud wall so slightly apprehensive about having the tv on the wall - though you can see in the past the previous occupant did this.

Current set up is below. Ignore the cage (child defence) and the mess please.

1642165346225.png
 
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Anyone noticed some blurring around the edge of the screen?

I thought it was the Chucky TV series at first, but have noticed it on other things as well.
 
Anyone noticed some blurring around the edge of the screen?

I thought it was the Chucky TV series at first, but have noticed it on other things as well.
Tricky one this... If it's not permanent across all feeds then I would say it's the varying content that's being thrown at the TV.

i.e I sometimes notice a commercial or two has darkened edges to it, while others don't.
Some movies have similar and even a kind of fish eye edge to them in the style they've been filmed.

Also, these TV's tend to focus more on foreground objects and people to give it a more 3D feel and thus the far background can often be blurred out more than usual.

If you always go back to something like watching Football on SkySports (where everything is far from the camera) for example, and the blurring is not present at the edges, you know it's not the TV.
 
Also, these TV's tend to focus more on foreground objects and people to give it a more 3D feel and thus the far background can often be blurred out more than usual.
If you’re referring to the blurred out backgrounds in movies and TV that is characteristics of the lenses used to film and part of the source material - no TV adds a blur/bokeh through processing (though perhaps they will in time, given how even modern phones can now fake this effect in real-time 😅).
 
Anyone got the HT-A9 system? Just wondering how good it is. How well do the speakers stay connected considering it’s all wireless?

I’ve currently got a Denon 2700h receiver with Canton Speakers and then two Yamaha speakers in my ceiling for 5.1.2.

Might be moving to a new house in a few months though, and my wife doesn’t want me to be drilling holes in the ceiling and chasing the cables into the walls again.

The house is going to be a newly built one, so I’ve even contemplated just asking the builders if they’d run the speaker cables for me and go for 4 in the ceiling.

If the Sony system is actually decent though, I’ll just get that.
 
How well do the speakers stay connected considering it’s all wireless?
Not well even if you have perfect line of site, many people are reporting drop outs.
 
Not well even if you have perfect line of site, many people are reporting drop outs.
Ah okay, that’s a shame. Looks like I’ll be trying to get the wires fed around behind the plasterboards then before they skim it all. Either that or locate the battens and figure out a way to do it myself with the least amount of disruption.
 
Ah okay, that’s a shame. Looks like I’ll be trying to get the wires fed around behind the plasterboards then before they skim it all. Either that or locate the battens and figure out a way to do it myself with the least amount of disruption.
I would wait for next years model, Sony would have hopefully figured the issues out. Odds are they will never be able to fix the issues.
 
I shared this thread about improving home cinema system / sound quality to complement my A90J. If anyone has any input I'd be grateful - 'What will make the biggest difference?' What will make the biggest difference?

I have ordered a new subwoofer (Monolith 10) and am going to get a new centre speaker B&W HTM6 to match the other B&W speakers I have (which are now at the front of media unit).

Could anyone recommend a wall mount? Happy to have a fixed one but would want it to sit flush to wall. Issue is it is a stud wall so slightly apprehensive about having the tv on the wall - though you can see in the past the previous occupant did this.

Current set up is below. Ignore the cage (child defence) and the mess please.

View attachment 1636362
Id definitely recommend something like Isoacoustics ISO 130 or Aperta stands under your speakers
 
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Id definitely recommend something like Isoacoustics ISO 130 or Aperta stands under your speakers
Thanks for recommendation. I'll prob reduce size of media unit to accommodate the subwoofer and will get the speakers back on stands.
 
So not sure if anyone else notices this but I seem to have an odd anomaly within Bravia Core..??

I have watched about 4 films now via the service since owning my A90J

2 x HD & 2 x 4K

For some reason when I play HD movies through Bravia Core the PQ drops like a lead balloon periodically.
When looking at the stream analysis it jumps up and down from like 156 Mbps and then down to 3 Mbps and does this relatively frequently throughout the movie. The codec it uses for these HD streams appear to be avc1's. It should be noted that I have the same result whether PureStream is Enabled or Not..?? This behaviour results in the PQ dropping from 1080p to 480i SD and then back again. Rinse and Repeat.

Then we move onto the 4k Streams (incl HDR) which use the HVEC codec and the PQ doesn't flinch and neither does the stream quality?? It's always hovering around 200Mbps with the PQ remaining constant at 2160p.

I'm using WiFi and do not experience this kind of behaviour with any of the other streaming services via the A90J but this one??

Gotta be a CORE issue surely, cause it just doesn't make sense why a lesser PQ stream (HD) would struggle and a superior one (4k/HDR) requiring more bandwidth wouldn't?

Very very odd?
This is off topic, but what sort of system do you have for transmitting high speed wi-fi around your house? We just had gigabit broadband installed but getting it to some of the more distant rooms is proving troublesome. Mesh? Powerlines? Any advice appreciated.
 
Actually, the dropouts have all but disappeared for most after the FW update a few weeks ago. Users over on AVS are now reporting that they have no issues after the update.
Ah thanks. Definitely giving me something to think about.

Looking at some deals, I’ve found Peter Tyson do one for the Denon 3700h with a decent enough speaker package, cables and I could then add 4 ceiling speakers for the same price as the Sony system and a sub.

And I could trade in my 2700h.

Just depends if I can persuade the builder to run the speaker cables for me, or the wife to let me do it when we move in.
 
This is off topic, but what sort of system do you have for transmitting high speed wi-fi around your house? We just had gigabit broadband installed but getting it to some of the more distant rooms is proving troublesome. Mesh? Powerlines? Any advice appreciated.
Go for a mesh system. I have a Linksys Velop Tri band 3 pack purchased in 2019. It's fallen behind the standards now given WiFi 6 has released since then but still does a grand job. When I was in a 4 person, 3 floor house share at that point in time, all 3 nodes were used and I was using powerline adapters to connect the mesh nodes so that I could make use of ethernet backhaul. Currently in my 1 bed flat with the Mrs in central London, I'm just using 2 nodes and have then connected wirelessly. The child node is in the bedroom though which allows me to ethernet by PS5 and desktop tower.

If you want the best speeds, I would look into a mesh system which supports being able to do backhaul via ethernet for the fastest and most stable connection and speeds throughout your property. There are some, like the TP Link Deco P9 system where the mesh nodes actually have powerline tech built into them for dedicated powerline ethernet backhaul. Otherwise you could always use standalone powerline adapters to connect mesh nodes from a different mesh package.

What ISP have you gone with out of interest?
 
This is off topic, but what sort of system do you have for transmitting high speed wi-fi around your house? We just had gigabit broadband installed but getting it to some of the more distant rooms is proving troublesome. Mesh? Powerlines? Any advice appreciated.
In my sig mate... But here is my setup in more granular detail. (With Pics further below)

  • VirginMedia M350 Fibre Broadband (Router in 'Modem Mode' - Wifi Disabled)
  • The 350 MBps is distributed around the house (3 floor-5bed), with no deadspots whatsoever, by Ubiquiti UniFi NanoHD Access Points (AP's) x3 at each end of the house (North / South) on the middle floor and one on the garage wall in the garden.
  • UniFi NanoHD Access Points are PoE connected (Power over Ethernet) Connected via an 8 Port-Switch which has a Secure Gateway sitting between it and the VirginHub Router.
  • 3 x Wifi SSID's. Private (DualBand), Guest (DualBand) & Office (5Ghz) - One AP is located in the office in clear sight of my AV equipment (A90J, Gen2 FireTV Cube etc...)
  • Private & Office SSID's utilize the same Network vLan/Subnet. Guest SSID is on a segregated vLan/Subnet and has its bandwidth maxed to 10Mbps. No bandwidth restrictions on either Private or Office SSID's, they can use the max 350Mbps.
  • All SSID's with the exception of 'Office' utilize both AP's via a Mesh. The Office SSID just broadcasts from the AP located in my Office.
  • A90J & FireTVCube are connected to only the Office-5Ghz SSID
  • A90J & FireTVCube produce wireless speeds of 280+Mbps

And here is my prefered 'Stable' setup for SkyQ (Non-SKY isp customer)

SKYQ Main - Hardwired (If nowhere near the isp Router then utilize HomePlug Adapters)
SKYQ Mini - Wireless to the SKYQ Main (Using the Main's 5GHz broadcast between the two)

[My QMain is directly above the QMini, within prob less than 2 meters between each other with only a ceiling/floorboards/carpet in between]

Now, If your QMini is struggling to retain a good wireless connection to the QMain then I would hardwire that also, into the back of the isp Router or via a HomePlug Adaptor, cause then both will be on the same network subnet and be able to talk to each other over a connection which is much more stable and consistent.

Below is what the hardware aspect of my setup looks like ( From left to right - Phone, UniFi Secure Gateway (SG), Unifi 8 Port-Switch (With SkyQ Mini sat on top), VirginMedia Hub. The 3 black Ethernet cables coming from the Switch service the 3 x Access Points described earlier. (Cat 6 cabling routed externally outside the house and to the garden) - Below the shelf (to the right) is a 1Gbps HomePlug Adaptor which services the SkyQ box directly upstairs. All this equipment sits in the lounge behind the TV out of sight.

1642238619827.png


This is what one of the internal Access Points looks like on the wall. (This one in my office)
1642238720962.png


So in summary, you can't beat Enterprise grade WiFi Access Points for wireless distribution around your home and always, if you can, ensure they're PoE via a switch instead of the daisy chaining the broadcast signals from each other like wireless extenders do. Nowhere near as good or powerful.

Hope this helps...
 
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Go for a mesh system. I have a Linksys Velop Tri band 3 pack purchased in 2019. It's fallen behind the standards now given WiFi 6 has released since then but still does a grand job. When I was in a 4 person, 3 floor house share at that point in time, all 3 nodes were used and I was using powerline adapters to connect the mesh nodes so that I could make use of ethernet backhaul. Currently in my 1 bed flat with the Mrs in central London, I'm just using 2 nodes and have then connected wirelessly. The child node is in the bedroom though which allows me to ethernet by PS5 and desktop tower.

If you want the best speeds, I would look into a mesh system which supports being able to do backhaul via ethernet for the fastest and most stable connection and speeds throughout your property. There are some, like the TP Link Deco P9 system where the mesh nodes actually have powerline tech built into them for dedicated powerline ethernet backhaul. Otherwise you could always use standalone powerline adapters to connect mesh nodes from a different mesh package.

What ISP have you gone with out of interest?

In my sig mate... But here is my setup in more granular detail. (With Pics further below)

  • VirginMedia M350 Fibre Broadband (Router in 'Modem Mode' - Wifi Disabled)
  • The 350 MBps is distributed around the house (3 floor-5bed), with no hotspots whatsoever, by Ubiquiti UniFi NanoHD Access Points (AP's) x3 at each end of the house (North / South) on the middle floor and one on the garage wall in the garden.
  • UniFi NanoHD Access Points are PoE connected (Power over Ethernet) Connected via an 8 Port-Switch which has a Secure Gateway sitting between it and the VirginHub Router.
  • 3 x Wifi SSID's. Private (DualBand), Guest (DualBand) & Office (5Ghz) - One AP is located in the office in clear sight of my AV equipment (A90J, Gen2 FireTV Cube etc...)
  • Private & Office SSID's utilize the same Network vLan/Subnet. Guest SSID is on a segregated vLan/Subnet and has its bandwidth maxed to 10Mbps. No bandwidth restrictions on either Private or Office SSID's, they can use the max 350Mbps.
  • All SSID's with the exception of 'Office' utilize both AP's via a Mesh. The Office SSID just broadcasts from the AP located in my Office.
  • A90J & FireTVCube are connected to only the Office-5Ghz SSID
  • A90J & FireTVCube produce wireless speeds of 280+Mbps

And here is my prefered 'Stable' setup for SkyQ (Non-SKY isp customer)

SKYQ Main - Hardwired (If nowhere near the isp Router then utilize HomePlug Adapters)
SKYQ Mini - Wireless to the SKYQ Main (Using the Main's 5GHz broadcast between the two)

[My QMain is directly above the QMini, within prob less than 2 meters between each other with only a ceiling/floorboards/carpet in between]

Now, If your QMini is struggling to retain a good wireless connection to the QMain then I would hardwire that also, into the back of the isp Router or via a HomePlug Adaptor, cause then both will be on the same network subnet and be able to talk to each other over a connection which is much more stable and consistent.

Below is what the hardware aspect of my setup looks like ( From left to right - Phone, UniFi Secure Gateway (SG), Unifi 8 Port-Switch (With SkyQ Mini sat on top), VirginMedia Hub. The 3 black Ethernet cables coming from the Switch service the 3 x Access Points described earlier. (Cat 6 cabling routed externally outside the house and to the garden) - Below the shelf (to the right) is a 1Gbps HomePlug Adaptor which services the SkyQ box directly upstairs. All this equipment sits in the lounge behind the TV out of sight.

View attachment 1636791

This is what one of the internal Access Points looks like on the wall. (This one in my office)
View attachment 1636802

So in summary, you can't beat Enterprise grade WiFi Access Points for wireless distribution around your home and always, if you can, ensure they're PoE via a switch instead of the daisy chaining the broadcast signals from each other like wireless extenders do. Nowhere near as good or powerful.

Hope this helps...
I can’t thank you both enough for taking the time to post so comprehensively. Really helpful stuff. I’m at work at the moment but will digest this all and get back to you. My money up till now has been on the Wi-Fi 6 version of the Linksys mentioned above.

Went with Lightspeed who have just installed round here. Getting maximum speed out of the router but it is terrible for coverage. Just going upstairs through one wall sees a 600Mb connection drop to 150. Getting the full 950+ out of the box and 600Mb Wi-Fi when right next to it, which is the maximum out of an iPhone so am happy overall. Just need to sort out the coverage.

Thanks again chaps. I’ll update when I’ve read through properly.
 
What gamma settings do u guys use for watching 4K blu ray in DV? -2 seems to crushed the blacks and 0 washed out the color a lot….
 
Gotta say, that I was pleasantly surprised watching the likes of 'The Tragedy Of MacBeth' last night in how my A90J displayed the movie in B&W (DV). Blacks were black and whites were whites. None of the charcoal contrast between the two that can often be present with B&W movies, old and new.
 
Good day all,

Quick question if I may. Has anyone managed to get Netflix ‘Recommendations’ showing on their Google TV Home Screen?

I’ve linked my account, gone into settings to manage subscriptions, but Netflix isn’t even in the list, neither is Now for that matter.

The list only shows Apple TV, Disney+, Prime Video and something called Viki.

I’m also still having issue with my All4 app via the Sony. Audio Description is stuck on and cannot be disabled. Not an issue with an old Roku box, or even older youview box.
 
Good day all,

Quick question if I may. Has anyone managed to get Netflix ‘Recommendations’ showing on their Google TV Home Screen?

I’ve linked my account, gone into settings to manage subscriptions, but Netflix isn’t even in the list, neither is Now for that matter.

The list only shows Apple TV, Disney+, Prime Video and something called Viki.

I’m also still having issue with my All4 app via the Sony. Audio Description is stuck on and cannot be disabled. Not an issue with an old Roku box, or even older youview box.
It isn't fully integrated but there's talk of it coming soon. https://www.androidheadlines.com/2022/01/google-tv-exec-hope-netflix-integration.html?amp
 
Thanks, that’ll explain it then. Be good if they sort it out. But given it’s be going on so long, I won’t hold my breath.

Anyone have any tips on stopping random motion stuttering. Seemed worse when using the All4 app (again), but I have seen it on other Apps. I’ve switched off all Motion and Film Mode processing as I assumed this might be the culprit, but it’s still happening.
 
Can anyone get teletex on their A90J ? When i press the teletex button on the remote nothing happens. I'm sure it worked on my previous A1.
 

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