Hi, I’m Carl with Abt, and in this video,
we’ll be giving you a closer look at the
X950H series from Sony. The model we have
here is the 49 inch version so to be fair
right off the bat, it is missing a couple
features you’ll find on the larger versions,
like x-wide angle technology, acoustic multi
audio and x-balanced speakers, but we will
be addressing those in another video once
we have one of the larger models in the store
to try out so don’t forget to subscribe
so you get notified when that video’s up.
But this is still gonna be a good preview
of what to expect on the bigger sizes too.
As far as the design goes, I like the materials
Sony uses here. It’s got a slim, brushed
metallic bezel around the screen and matching
blade-type pedestal feet which are 38 and
a half inches across but remember, that number
will get bigger as you go up in screen size.
I’m not a big fan of the wide set feet that
almost every TV has now, but it doesn’t
seem like that design element’s changing
any time soon. And it doesn’t have the shallowest
profile, but it’s a full array backlit TV
so that’s to be expected, and totally worth
that extra bit of depth.
Inputs are pretty standard. On the back you
get 3 HDMIs with number 3 having an enhanced
audio return channel, a USB, an optical audio
output, rs232c, ethernet, and an antenna hookup.
On the side you get another HDMI input, two
more USBs, a mini analog input, a headphone
jack and a port for an ir blaster. There’s
also bluetooth and wi-fi for wireless connections.
Now, touching back on those HDMIs for a moment,
I was a little surprised. Yes, you get eARC,
but the HDMI inputs aren’t 2.1. So for any
serious gamers out there, this isn’t gonna
be your best option because while it does
have a Game mode setting, it doesn’t support
variable refresh rates or have auto low latency
mode. This is their top of the line, 4k LED
model, I figured they’d include those, but,
it is what it is. The input lag times also
weren’t great when you compare them to other
TVs out there. With game mode turned on, lag
times were around 18 milliseconds. In contrast,
the 800H we tested was giving us sub 10 millisecond
lag times, but just like the 950H, no variable
refresh rates or auto low latency mode.
Sound was another area that surprised me,
but in a good way. Like I mentioned earlier,
the 49 inch model doesn’t have Sony’s
new x-balanced speakers in it, but the speakers
and amps they do use sound pretty good. It
even has a setting you can go into that uses
the microphone in the remote to calibrate
the built-in audio. I’m curious to hear
what the speakers sound like on the larger
versions that have acoustic multi-audio built-in.
That being said, a good soundbar or surround
system would complement the picture on the
950H really well which brings us to the best
part of this TV.
The picture on the 950H is incredible. It’s
full array with local dimming and uses Sony’s
X1 Ultimate chip and seems to be inching closer
to OLED with contrast and black levels, but
it’s not there yet. You definitely have
to sit directly in front of the screen to
get the best image. Again, this particular
model doesn’t have the x-wide angle technology
built-in so we’re just working with what
we’ve got, but once you start moving off
to the sides there’s some pretty pronounced
blooming in dark scenes. Off angle viewing
is not a strength of the 950H, at least at the 49 inch version. Looking at
the picture straight on, you do see some blooming,
but it was better than the 950G. And HDR,
along with black uniformity, looked fantastic.
I was picking up lots of detail in the dark
scenes and brights got extremely bright, again,
without that very pronounced light bloom.
Colors looked natural too. I tried all the
settings and personally preferred the standard
mode for most of what I was watching, but
when Dolby Vision was available, those presets
looked really good too. You have your choice
of Dolby Vision dark or light depending on
your room lighting. You also get the Netflix
calibrated option that’s available when
you’re watching shows on Netflix, which,
to me, looks a lot like the Dolby Vision Dark
mode. It honestly was really hard to find
any major flaws with the picture on this TV
aside from the off-angle viewing.
I was happy with the motion too. I personally
prefer watching all my content with any motion
flow processing turned off, but the auto mode
worked pretty well. It did a good job determining
how much enhancement to add while not giving
you that full-blown soap opera effect the
whole time. But everyone has their own opinion
on whether they like that feature or not.
Do you keep motion flow on or turn it off?
Let us know in the comments.
Lastly is the operating system. I didn’t
notice any major changes here, which isn’t
a bad thing. And it’s pretty snappy. There
wasn’t any noticeable delay between pressing
buttons on the remote and things happening
on the screen. It also comes with Android
O right out of the box which was good to see
too, and also part of the reason why the menus
run so smoothly.
Overall, this is a TV that is completely worth
considering if you’re looking for a great
picture and don’t do a lot of serious gaming.
For the serious gamers out there that also
want a very good picture, you may want to
check out the 900H when it becomes available
as it’s gonna give you variable refresh
rate and auto low latency mode, or the 800H
if you’re looking for a more reasonably
priced option with great input lag times.
So, is the 950H a TV you’d consider for
your home theater? Make sure you let us know
in the comments. As always, thanks for watching,
and we’ll see you in the next one.
