Sony Bravia 9 Review: Bright and Advanced Mini-LED TV

Sony’s latest Bravia 9 model stands out in the mini-LED TV market. It shines brighter than many premium TVs. Moreover, its local dimming rivals that of OLED TVs. The anti-reflective screen enhances viewing, especially for sports fans.

Transitioning from OLED to mini-LED, Sony’s Bravia 9 justifies its choice. It also comes with a more attractive price tag than other high-end TVs.

SONY BRAVIA 9: A QUICK OVERVIEW

Sony’s Bravia 9, the 2024 flagship TV, surprised many with its mini-LED technology. Previously, OLED held this top spot, like Sony’s A95L. Yet, Sony’s new XR Backlight Master Drive with High Peak Luminance tech, exclusive to the Bravia 9, showcased why the shift was made.

The Bravia 9 aims to mirror Sony’s BVM-HX3110 professional monitor. This monitor is essential in content creation, offering a peak brightness of 4,000 nits. This is a significant increase from the previous 1,000 nits model. The BVM-HX3110 allows for a broader dynamic range in movie and TV production. As studios adopt this monitor, Sony expects an increase in dynamic content creation. The Bravia 9, while not as bright as the professional monitor, supports HDR tone mapping tech for accurate display.

Regarding brightness, the Bravia 9 outperforms its competitors and improves upon last year’s X95L model. Its local dimming delivers deep blacks and strong HDR highlights without common mini-LED backlight blooming. This feature enhances movie experiences but also benefits sports viewing due to its anti-reflective coating and wide viewing angle.

For audio, the Bravia 9 stands out with its built-in 2.2.2-channel speaker system supporting Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. It also features tweeters for precise sound placement and spatial audio rendering. The Acoustic Center Sync allows it to function as a center channel speaker with compatible Sony audio products.

The design of the Bravia 9 is sleek yet robust, featuring four-way support feet for various setups. It includes Sony’s Eco Remote, which uses USB-C charging instead of batteries.

Its Google TV interface provides reliable streaming, customization, and smart home integration. It supports voice commands and wireless streaming through Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast.

Gamers will appreciate features like 4K 120Hz, VRR, and ALLM support. The “Perfect for PlayStation 5” feature ensures optimal settings when connected to a PS5 console. However, it has only two HDMI 2.1 ports.

At $2,999 for the 65-inch model tested, the Bravia 9 offers value against other high-end TVs considering its performance and features.

SONY BRAVIA 9: PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

In May 2024, Sony launched the Bravia 9 series. Available sizes are 65, 75, and 85 inches. As Sony’s premier mini-LED TV for the year, it leads the pack. The Bravia 7 series follows it, offering an additional 55-inch option.

In the UK and Australia, the Bravia 9 series comes in 75 and 85 inches only.

The pricing aligns with similar flagship mini-LED models. For instance, Samsung’s QN90D 65-inch is priced at $2,699. Comparatively, Samsung’s OLED S95D is tagged at $3,399.

SONY BRAVIA 9: FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

Sony’s Bravia 9, the crown jewel of their 2024 lineup, boasts cutting-edge features. Its XR Backlight Master Drive with High Peak Luminance employs a 22-bit driver. This innovation allows for more mini-LED modules and local dimming zones, enhancing backlight precision.

The Bravia 9’s top-tier XR processor powers features like XR Clear Image for upscaling and XR Motion Clarity to minimize blur. X-Wide Angle ensures consistent contrast and color from various angles. X-Anti Reflection diminishes glare, making it ideal for bright environments.

For audio, the Bravia 9 excels with Acoustic Multi Audio+. It positions sound naturally using strategically placed tweeters. Additional features like Acoustic Center Sync and 360 Spatial Sound Mapping enhance the auditory experience.

Google TV runs the smart interface, supporting Google Assistant and streaming options like AirPlay 2 and Chromecast. It includes all major streaming apps and Sony’s exclusive content streaming at high bit rates.

Gaming on the Bravia 9 is robust with features like 4K 120Hz, VRR, and ALLM on its HDMI 2.1 ports. It’s optimized for PlayStation 5 with Auto HDR Tone Mapping and an onscreen game menu for adjustments.

Sony Bravia 9 Review: Picture Quality

Sony boasts the Bravia 9 as its brightest TV to date. Measurements confirm this, showing 2,280 nits in Standard mode on a 10% white window with HDR. In Movie mode, it measures 1,871 nits. Full-screen brightness is also notable: 708 nits in Standard mode and 495 nits in Movie mode. Comparatively, the Samsung QN900D, a pricier 8K TV, reaches 1,979 nits on a 10% window and 528 nits on a full-screen pattern.

Although OLED TV brightness has improved, they still trail behind the Bravia 9. For instance, Samsung’s S95D OLED hits 1,868 nits in Standard mode and 327 nits on a full-screen pattern. These are impressive figures, but the Bravia 9 is still superior in brightness.

The Bravia 9 covers 95.8% of the UHDA-P3 color gamut, used for 4K HDR movie mastering, and 77.6% of the BT.2020 gamut. These results match the Samsung QN900D, while the S95D surpasses both with full P3 coverage and 87.9% BT.2020 coverage. Grayscale and color point accuracy in Movie mode averaged 4.7 and 3.6, respectively. However, using Sony’s 20-point adjustments, I refined these to 1.3 for grayscale and 2.6 for color.

Regarding real-world performance, the Bravia 9 excels in displaying movies and TV shows. Watching Ripley on Netflix, high peak brightness enhanced light play on the water, and black-and-white scenes showed rich gray tones. Black levels were deep, and shadow details were clear.

The Trinity test in Oppenheimer demonstrated the Bravia 9’s black depth and local dimming capabilities. Nighttime shots showed strong lamp illumination without blooming. The bomb detonation scene displayed vivid, bright flames with rich orange and red hues.

Further testing with the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray confirmed the Bravia 9’s local dimming strength. High-contrast images, like a nighttime Ferris wheel, had no light bleed. An aerial city shot showed excellent contrast and detailed architectural features.

The Bravia 9 includes a new Prime Video Calibrated picture mode, automatically activated when streaming from Amazon. Compared to my Movie mode calibration, this mode made The Rings of Power appear warmer and darker. However, a live baseball game looked cooler and brighter. Luckily, toggling this mode is simple, allowing easy comparison and preference adjustment.

Review of Sony Bravia 9: Sound Quality

The Bravia 9 features a 2.2.2-channel Dolby Atmos speaker system. Enhanced with Sony soundbars and speakers, it delivers impressive sound. Sony’s “Acoustic Multi-Audio+” system includes 70-watt speakers, “Frame” tweeters, and “Beam” tweeters.

Additionally, the TV offers 3D Surround Upscaling for non-Atmos soundtracks. Voice Zoom 3 uses AI to isolate and boost dialogue, enhancing voice clarity. This feature improves the viewing experience significantly.

When paired with a Sony soundbar or speaker system, the Bravia 9 unlocks more features. Acoustic Center Sync allows the TV to act as the center channel speaker. Also, 360 Spatial Sound Mapping creates “phantom” speakers for better immersion.

Voice Zoom 3 works with external audio systems too. The built-in speakers boost dialogue while the external system handles other sounds. This ensures clear and balanced audio.

The built-in speakers of the Bravia 9 perform well above average. Watching Top Gun: Maverick, dialogue was clear and full-bodied. The sound appeared to come directly from the characters on-screen.

Acoustic Multi-Audio+ adds a sense of spaciousness. Sound effects extend well beyond the TV’s top and sides. This enhances the overall viewing experience.

Although deep bass is rare in TVs, the Bravia 9 excels when paired with Sony’s Bravia Home Theater Quad wireless speaker system and SA-SW5 wireless subwoofer. The system’s integration is seamless, providing powerful Dolby Atmos effects. The TV works perfectly as part of a 5.1.4-channel system.

Review of Sony Bravia 9: Design

The Bravia 9 features an aluminum pedestal stand. It comes with a Magic Remote for point-and-click navigation. Additionally, there is a hands-free voice control option.

Its “One Slate” design offers a sleek, monolithic look. The dark aluminum frame blends seamlessly with any surface. Sony’s four-way support feet allow various installation configurations, accommodating both flat and elevated heights and narrow or wide positions for a soundbar.

Removable covers help conceal wires, maintaining a clutter-free appearance. This enhances the One Slate design concept. The Bravia 9 provides a range of connectivity options.

The TV includes four HDMI ports, with two supporting HDMI 2.1. It also has optical digital audio out, an RF antenna port, two USB type-A ports, and RS-232 and IR control ports.

The rechargeable Eco Remote is made from 79.7% recycled plastic. It features a slim design, a backlit keypad, and a premium feel. Charging is done via an included USB-C cable.

Review of Sony Bravia 9: Smart TV and Menus

The Bravia 9 uses Google TV, a robust smart TV platform. It supports hands-free voice assistance. AirPlay 2 and Chromecast are built-in.

Google TV offers access to all major streaming apps. The “For You” home screen allows app placement customization. Content recommendations appear based on viewing and Google search history when signed in with a Google account.

Other smart TV features include a Live TV grid. It displays free streaming and broadcast TV channels via the built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner. The TV supports Amazon Alexa and Apple Homekit.

A new Eco Dashboard feature in 2024 provides an overview of power savings settings. It shows a detailed graph of power consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

The Bravia 9 offers extensive picture and audio settings. A quick access screen is available via the wrench icon button on the remote. The detailed menu allows for configuring pictures, audio, smart TV, and system settings.

The picture menu includes options for contrast, black levels, and HDR handling. It features Gradation and Brightness Preferred options for HDR tone mapping. Adjusting Motionflow settings is necessary for watching movies in Dolby Vision.

The default settings apply motion smoothing in Dolby Vision Bright and Dark modes. Future models may include Dolby Vision Filmmaker mode, as seen in the LG C4 OLED.

Review of Sony Bravia 9: Gaming

The Bravia 9 supports 4K 120Hz, VRR, and ALLM. However, only two of the four HDMI ports offer this. This limits high-quality gaming if both an Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are connected along with a soundbar.

For PlayStation 5, it provides Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode. These features activate automatically when a PS5 is detected. The Game Menu lets users adjust gaming settings like picture mode and black equalizer.

Input lag measures at 17ms, which is higher than other premium TVs. This should be acceptable for most console gamers but is less competitive.

Review of Sony Bravia 9: Value

Priced at $2,999 for the 65-inch model, the Bravia 9 is an expensive option. The 75-inch model costs $3,499 globally. However, it is cheaper than the 8K Samsung QN900D and Samsung S95D OLED, which are priced at $4,999 and $3,399, respectively.

The Samsung QN900D offers excellent detail, brightness, and local dimming. The S95D OLED has a bright picture and an effective anti-glare screen. Both models are better for serious gaming.

Does the Bravia 9 justify its price? Considering its bright and refined picture, it is a high-end bargain. Cheaper alternatives exist, but seeing the Bravia 9 in action might sway your choice.