This year the portfolio of Sony televisions incorporates essential novelties. There is no doubt that the most suggestive of all is the arrival of its A95K MASTER Series because it is the first television of this brand equipped with a QD-OLED panel. Still, the model about to star in this analysis also claims its dose of protagonism. And it does so because it is the most advanced 4K UHD television with an LCD panel that this firm offers us this year.
However, its main hallmark is that this brand’s first proposal incorporates a mini LED backlight matrix, not a conventional LED scheme. Sony has taken longer to bet on this technology than some of its competitors, such as Samsung or LG. Still, this decision is in line with the conservative strategy that the Japanese firm usually opts for, which sometimes takes adopting some innovations with some calm.
In any case, the mini LED backlight is not the only attractive feature of this TV. Like last year’s models, it incorporates a Cognitive Processor XR image processor and a VA-type LCD panel backed by a remarkable native contrast ratio that borders on the special thanks to the support of the mini LED backlight.
The brushstrokes we’ve explored so far outline a promising device, but we’ve only scratched the surface of this TV. And it is that, as we are about to verify, this X95K gives us strong emotions. It arrives determined to raise a battle in a segment of the market, the high-end, which this year is more crowded than ever and to which, in addition, the new Samsung and Sony televisions equipped with a QD-OLED panel have been added.
It comes very well calibrated, but its connectivity has room for improvement.
Like last year’s Sony models, this TV incorporates Google TV, and I think it’s a success. For several years I was very critical of Google’s platform for TVs because I felt that it did not offer us an experience on a par with what Tizen OS and webOS offered us at that time, but the landscape has changed radically. Google TV no longer has anything to envy its competitors.
I haven’t been able to confirm which MediaTek SOC is responsible for, among other things, dealing with this OS, but I suspect it’s the same one built into last year’s A90J MASTER Series. In any case, the interface of this television moves very smoothly, and the time it takes to launch and close applications is minimal. Also, I like the design of the interface, so in this area, I have nothing to object to.
Sony TVs usually leave the factory reasonably well calibrated, and this model is no exception. Out of the box, it’s delightful, so the only parameter I decided to tweak slightly is the color temperature.
Sony X95K Mini LED Review
Right out of the box, it’s delightful. The ideal is to resort to a probe and professional calibration software to go further.
The ideal is to resort to a probe and professional calibration software to go further. Otherwise, we run the risk of messing up the factory calibration. Of course, using the appropriate adjustment tools makes it possible to get it close to perfection and solve the colorimetry with outstanding precision.
Before we go any further, I think it’s essential that we take a moment to look at the HDMI connectivity on this TV. And it is that only two of the four connectors that it incorporates, those labeled as 3 and 4, implement the 2.1 standards. The other two inputs are HDMI 2.0. And it seems to me a mistake.
Only two of the four connectors it incorporates, labeled 3 and 4, implement the 2.1 standards. The other two inputs are HDMI 2.0
A high-end TV with the ambition that this X95K has should give us four HDMI 2.1 inputs, not just two. To a large extent, this limitation is imposed by the MediaTek chip, but it is something that, in my opinion, Sony should solve.
In the following photograph, we can see what the two remote controls that Sony gives us and this television look like. The one on the right has a traditional button layout, but the one on the left is more stylized and incorporates a motion sensor that activates the keys’ backlighting when we grab it. The finish of this latest remote control is a little more careful than that of the other, and, in addition, it incorporates four buttons for direct access to Netflix, Disney +, Prime Video, and Bravia Core.
The flexibility offered by the feet of this television is fabulous.
If we stick to its design, in recent years, televisions have followed the same path smartphones have followed: the panel accounts for most of the device’s front surface, and the frames have become very stylized.
Sony X95K Mini LED
For this reason, to find its hallmark, we have no choice but to look at the feet of the television or its back. Here goes a small advance: the supports of this X95K are a joy. We will investigate them later.
I do not put any fault with the design of this television. It does not have the thinnest frames that the latest models offer (Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K and its almost non-existent structures are intractable in this area), but they are stylish. And when it comes to its construction, it is one of the most solid TVs that we can find on the market today.
It is enough to remove this television from its packaging to realize that it transmits an unusual solidity. And it is appreciated. The polycarbonate used by Sony in manufacturing the back cover is of excellent quality, and the profile that finishes off the panel edges is impeccably machined from aluminum. Of course, this X95K, as expected, is not as thin as OLED televisions because the latter do without the LED backlight matrix.
Sony X95K Mini LED
Installing the feet of this TV is a piece of cake. Each of them is firmly fixed using only two screws, and, in addition, their complete metal construction gives them a very high rigidity. However, its most attractive feature is that we can install them in three different locations.
The position of the feet that gives the panel maximum stability is the one in which they are farthest away and hold it closest to the table.
The position you can see in the following photograph is the central one, and the feet are relatively close. Still, it is also possible to install them next to the ends of the television in two more positions: with the panel raised a few centimeters or very close to the surface on which we have placed the TV.
This is not the only Sony television that puts this flexibility in our hands. It seems a great idea that users have this room for maneuver because it can help us adapt the tv to the surface on which we want to install it. The position of the feet that gives the panel maximum stability is the one in which they are further away and hold it closer to the table. Still, its strength is excellent, even in the central position that you can see in the following photograph.
