Recently, we had an opportunity to test one of the most-anticipated TVs of the year — Sony Bravia XR 65X90L. This is Sony’s premium Full Array LED model and sits just below Sony’s Mini LED X95L model. The X90L is premium stuff. There are three models available — 55X90L, 65X90L and 75X90L, meaning you have quite a few options to choose from. Personally, I would select 75X90L because I watch a lot of sports content but if you are inclined towards movies and gaming, 65X90L works just as well.

The TV sits on the more premium end of the market when compared with other TV manufacturers but here’s the deal. Over the last few years I have used TVs from a number of brands but only three have offered me long-term viewing comfort — Sony, LG and Samsung. Sony in particular because of its picture depth, display quality and sound.

In a competitive market with TV manufacturers battling it out to create better brighter more impressive models plus with the advancements in this premium end, I wanted to know if X90L offers value for money.

Premium design and enough ports

Let’s kick off with the design. It looks considerably more premium than last year’s model. The TV levels things up with a slim aluminium design. Overall it’s a sleek-looking TV with Sony’s one-slate minimalist design. It has got next to no bezel. The stand has also had a nice upgrade to a slim aluminum wedge design which can be positioned narrow, standard or in soundbar mode to raise it up. Overall, it’s slimmer than the previous generation and is also slightly lighter too. It feels like a premium, sturdy design and I like how it sits on the stand.

The TV comes with a standard Sony remote with no brushed aluminium or backlight design, like with models higher up in the range but it’s still a decent remote, plus, you get the standard numbered remote too if you prefer that.

At the back, all the connections you need are there — two USB ports, optical out, headphone, centre speaker in, four HDMI ports (two of which are HDMI 2.1 4K 120Hz), LAN connection and cable/antenna.

The setup process is simple. Most premium bands are getting better at the unboxing process and assembly. It’s become a case of getting it out of the box, choosing the stand height that you want and then slotting them in. Also, Sony is always looking at ways to be eco-friendly. The company has cut down on packaging size quite a bit and they’ve also reduced the overall use of virgin plastics on these TVs quite a lot.

The remote control is simple and a metal body would have been welcome

Sony Bravia TVs use Google TV as their OS which is my favourite operating system. It’s quick and easy to set up and personalise. It’s intuitive to use and all of your apps are there and the recommended content is normally spot on and it’s not overrun with ads like some of the other operating systems are now.

Once you’ve got your TV up and running you will notice an app called Eco Dashboard. This dashboard makes it easy to stay on top of how much energy you’re using and how to reduce it. It’s a helpful feature to have.

Performance test

To the star of the show — picture quality. The X90L has undergone a big upgrade compared to some of the other TVs. The TV has Full Array LED, meaning individually controlled zones of LEDs for enhanced contrast and reduced blooming. The power and intensity of the LEDs can be adjusted, so you can get light where it’s needed and dark where it’s needed. The backlight itself has been upgraded this year and Sony is suggesting we should see an increase of peak brightness over last year’s model. It is an important feature when you are watching films or playing games.

With XR Contrast Booster 10, it combines local dimming with backlight boosting to enhance black levels, brightness, as well as natural contrast. It helps balance light across the screen and adjust brightness levels for a more accurate picture.

Among the many apps on the Sony Bravia XR 65X90L is Eco Dashboard which reduces power consumption

The brain behind the TV is the XR Cognitive Processor. Sony TVs are renowned for its processing and the XR processor has been designed to push the levels of realism that you can achieve from your Sony TV and it’s responsible for controlling a lot of the important things going on with the TV. The upgrade to the processor with XR Clear Image helps keep things simple — improves noise reduction and the clarity of motion by reducing blur, so that means things like text should be clearer with less blooming and the action that you see on screen should be smoother.

Also included is XR 4K Upscaling to upscale content more effectively and XR Triluminos Pro to focus on the colours and produce more natural and vivid visuals.

Everything comes down to real-world tests. What you need to know is how much of a genuine impact can we see in these TVs using them from day to day.

The first thing one needs to point out is the level of brightness — it’s way higher than last year. The X90L offers a picture quality that feels a lot more lifelike in comparison to last year’s TV. Things that are quite noticeable include skin tone, which is far more realistic. Everything is noticeably warmer and more pleasant to the eye. Stream a film like Avatar, which will highlight some key differences. The X90L is definitely brighter with the teal tones and it offers an overall richer, more vibrant colour and there’s definitely more luminance and vibrancy in the green.

Blacks feel really black and the details hiding in the shadows come through. Worth mentioning is the great contrast level.

Be it action scenes or sports, these perform well on this model. To enhance content and remove a jarring sensation, dive into Motionflow. You can remove the smoothness.

It's easy to install the television and the stand accommodates varying heights to make room for a soundbar

One problem that was there earlier was viewing angles. Sitting off-center meant that you didn’t get the optimum viewing experience. This model retains a better performance than most rival TVs.

Should you buy it?

We didn’t hook up a soundbar because we wanted to see what the TV could deliver in the sound department. There are two full-range bass-relfex speakers and two tweeters. They deliver what Sony calls Acoustic Multi Audio, which essentially helps match up the audio with what’s happening on screen more accurately and positions the audio more precisely too. There’s support for Dolby Atmos digital surround sound and Sony’s Acoustic Centre Sync, which means the TV is designed to work in tandem with a compatible Sony soundbar.
There is sheer value for money and a solid performance. If you care about picture quality, Sony Bravia XR 65X90L wins hands down.

At a glance

Device: Sony Bravia XR 65X90L

Price: Best buy pricing — 55X90L comes at Rs 139,990, 65X90L at Rs 179,990 and 75X90L at Rs 289,990

High notes

Excellent HDR performance

Very good colour and greyscale accuracy

Can handle motion very well

Muffled note

Viewing angles are good but can be improved