Sony Bravia XR A90K 42 4K HDR OLED Smart TV 2022 w/ 4 Year Extended Warranty. Sony 42 inch TV

30.05.2023 Buris Article

Sony Bravia Cam Smart TV Camera with Gesture Control. CMU-BC1

Sony UBP-X700M HDR 4K UHD Network Blu-ray Disc Player with Hi-Res Audio

Bundles

Sony Bravia XR A90K 42″ 4K HDR OLED Smart TV 2022 Model Movies Streaming Pack

Overview

Experience the pure black and natural colors of OLED in a more compact size, powered by the intelligent Cognitive Processor XR. With XR OLED Contrast Pro, contrast is boosted to create exceptionally realistic picture for movies and gaming. Enjoy OLED picture quality and cinematic audio packed into a beautifully compact form with Sony’s Bravia XR A90K Series.

Key Features:

Next generation picture and sound with Cognitive Intelligence

See how real your entertainment becomes and experience immersive depth and lifelike picture quality, powered by Sony’s intelligent Cognitive Processor XR Revolutionary TV processing technology delivers enhanced contrast with detailed blacks and natural colors. Hundreds of thousands of individual on-screen elements are processed and remastered in the blink of an eye, boosting color, contrast, and clarity, bringing astounding realism to your content.

depth and texture with pure blacks and stunning highlights

Feel the beauty of OLED contrast with pure blacks and lifelike brightness. XR OLED Contrast Pro technology, powered by the Cognitive Processor XR analyzes and enhances the picture in the same way the human eye focuses for immersive depth and realism resulting in ultra-detailed shadows and crisp, clean peak highlights. No more details overwhelmed by shadow or lost in blown-out highlights.

A wide color spectrum for real-world shades and hues

See colors that are natural and beautiful to the human eye. The Cognitive Processor XR enables Sony Bravia XR TVs to access billions of accurate colors and reproduce each shade with the subtle differences seen in the real world. XR Triluminos Pro further enhances the range of hues and saturation allowing for extremely precise deta. Show

Key Features:

Next generation picture and sound with Cognitive Intelligence

depth and texture with pure blacks and stunning highlights

Feel the beauty of OLED contrast with pure blacks and lifelike brightness. XR OLED Contrast Pro technology, powered by the Cognitive Processor XR analyzes and enhances the picture in the same way the human eye focuses for immersive depth and realism resulting in ultra-detailed shadows and crisp, clean peak highlights. No more details overwhelmed by shadow or lost in blown-out highlights.

A wide color spectrum for real-world shades and hues

See colors that are natural and beautiful to the human eye. The Cognitive Processor XR enables Sony Bravia XR TVs to access billions of accurate colors and reproduce each shade with the subtle differences seen in the real world. XR Triluminos Pro further enhances the range of hues and saturation allowing for extremely precise details within textures and ensuring skin tones look completely natural – with the same accuracy as the human eye.

The entertainment you love. With help from Google

See 700,000 movies and TV episodes, plus live TV, all in one place. Google TV brings your favorite content from across your apps and subscriptions and organizes them just for you. Searching is easy – just ask Google. Try saying, “Hey Google, find action movies” to search across your favorite apps.1

Bring the cinematic experience home, enjoy included movies with Bravia CORE /strong>

With the Bravia CORE app, enjoy the latest Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) titles and the largest IMAX Enhanced collection. Use the included credits to choose from hundreds of the latest release movies to redeem. In addition, you’re subscribed to an amazing selection of movies to stream anytime and as many times as you like.2 Bravia CORE is the first in the industry to feature Pure Stream technology, achieving near lossless 4K UHD Blu-ray equivalent quality with streaming up to 80 Mbps delivering stunning visuals and expressive sound quality.3

Enjoy immersive and engaging cinematic content as the creator intended

See your favorite content the way it was always meant to be watched with a range of technologies that preserve the creator’s intent. Dolby Vision brings scenes to life with striking highlights, deeper blacks, and vibrant colors.4 IMAX Enhanced content brings the immersion into the home with digitally remastered movies that provide full screen picture and more powerful sound – just as the creator intended.5 Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode allow you to enjoy Netflix original content in original studio picture quality by working together with the ambient light optimization feature of Bravia XR TVs to immerse you in your favourite shows by optimizing the picture brightness based on your room lighting conditions.6 Bravia CORE Calibrated Mode automatically adjusts to the optimal picture settings to create a truly exceptional at-home movie viewing experience.2

Perfect for Playstation

Take your gaming to the next level with Bravia XR TVs and feel the action all around you with detailed, responsive gameplay. See the advantage in high-performance games and near-instant on-screen action with dedicated Game Mode featuring input lag as low as 8.5ms. Only Sony TVs have exclusive features for the PS5 console. With Auto HDR Tone Mapping HDR settings of the PS5 console are automatically adjusted to your TV for detailed, high-contrast scenes.8 And with Auto Genre Picture Mode picture quality modes automatically switch between Game Mode when gaming and Standard Mode when watching movies for optimal picture settings.

Level-up your gaming with features specified in HDMI 2.1

With features such as 4K/120, VRR, and ALLM as specified in HDMI 2.1, Bravia XR TVs deliver a thrilling gaming experience. With 4K/120 you get up to 120fps on compatible games10 and input lag as low as 8.5ms, giving you the advantage in high-intensity gaming. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) allows the TV to dynamically adjust the displays refresh rate to match the variable frame rates of the gaming device to avoid stuttering delays and screen tearing enabling smoother gameplay.11 And Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) allows your TV to recognize when a gaming console is connected and can automatically switch to low latency mode ensuring smoother, more responsive gameplay.

The screen is the speaker with sound and picture in perfect harmony

Hear an audio experience that matches how we sense the world. With Acoustic Surface Audio dual actuators behind the TV vibrate to produce sound from the entire screen and elevate the soundstage enabling sound to follow the action on screen. A center subwoofer delivers powerful bass and rounds out the sound for a truly immersive cinematic feel. And with Dolby Atmos support and 3D Surround Upscaling, everything you watch gets the true surround sound treatment. With sound and picture in perfect harmony, you’ll hear more realistic sound and exceptionally clear dialogue.

Pairs perfectly with Sony soundbars

Paired with select Sony soundbars, our latest Bravia XR TVs go even further to bring you an unmatched audio-visual experience. Acoustic Center Sync synchronizes the TVs speakers with the soundbar to reinforce the center speaker channel for clearer, fuller vocals. This enables sound to precisely match on-screen action for a truly immersive experience. When connected, soundbar settings automatically appear on the TV’s Quick Settings menu for easy control of volume and soundbar features such as sound field, rear speaker volume, and voice amplification.

Intelligent motion processing for fast-moving, blur-free scenes

Watching sports and action-packed movies just got a whole lot better. Powered by the Cognitive Processor XR XR OLED Motion combats blur by detecting and cross analyzing key visual elements in every frame. It intelligently creates and inserts extra frames between the original ones so you can enjoy smooth and clear action, even in fast-moving sequences.

Bring back lost texture and detail, the intelligent way

Whatever the content or source, you’ll enjoy entertainment close to 4K resolution with XR 4K Upscaling. Powered by the Cognitive Processor XR XR 4K Upscaling accesses a vast database, intelligently recreating lost textures and detail for a real-world picture. See the authentic features of people’s faces, identify every blade of grass, and marvel at the precise texture of buildings and scenery.12

Hands-free entertainment with help from Google

Your TV is more helpful than ever. Use your voice to find movies, stream apps, play music, and control the TV. Ask Google to find a specific title, search by genre, or get personalized recommendations by saying, “what should I watch?” Even get answers like sports scores, control Smart home devices, and more. Just say “Hey Google” to get started.1

All your favorite streaming apps in one place

Sony TVs with Google TV give you access to all your favorite streaming apps in one place, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney, YouTube, the Apple TV app, HBO Max, Peacock, and many more. Get access to all your favorite movies and TV shows in a simple, easy-to-navigate interface and use Google Assistant to quickly find new content to watch.1

Family-friendly Smart TV

Discover a fun collection of movies and shows for the whole family. Create a Kids Profile that helps you guide children to age-appropriate content on streaming apps so they’re not watching something they shouldn’t be. Pick from a selection of playful avatars and themes, set parental controls to restrict what streaming services are shown, limit watching time, and even set bedtimes.

Works with AirPlay 2

With Apple AirPlay 2, you can share pictures, video, or audio to your television right from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Watch movies and shows from your favorite apps and the Apple TV app, or even Safari. Share your photos with everyone in the room.14

Beautifully designed to complement your unique viewing experience

Our minimalist One Slate design with premium flush surface metal bezel elegantly embraces the screen in a single pane of glass that keeps you focused on the big picture. The versatile 2-way multi-position stand gives you the flexibility of a low-profile immersive setting that focuses your attention on the picture or a raised setting for ideal positioning of your soundbar.15

Discover new ways to enjoy TV with Bravia CAM

Connect Bravia CAM, sold separately, for an even more dynamic viewing experience. Ambient Optimization Pro recognizes where you’re sitting in the room and automatically optimizes the picture and sound accordingly. This means picture brightness is tailored to your viewing environment and audio comes through clearer and more immersive. Also, Bravia CAM can enable Auto Power Saving Mode when it doesn’t detect anybody in front of the TV – automatically darkening the screen and saving power consumption. Have fun with your TV and enjoy video chat with friends and family on the big screen. And gesture control enables you to change channels, adjust volume, and more using simple gestures, no remote required.16

Simple, premium backlit remote

Our all-new premium remote with metallic finish has been completely redesigned for effortless control of your TV. The compact size and simplified button layout ensure you have access to the most used buttons while being comfortable to hold in the hand, and the backlit keys means the remote is clearly visible, day or night. Easily find your lost remote with the finder function – simply ask your TV “Hey Google, find my remote” or press the button on the side of the TV. The remote will ring, allowing you to quickly locate it. And the special polyurethane coating allows you to easily wipe your remote and keep it clean.17

Sony TVs are designed with the environment in mind

Sony TVs are engineered to deliver stunning designs with the environment in mind. Select Bravia XR TVs use Sony-developed SORPLAS recycled plastics with a recycle rate of up to 85% in the rear covers, the largest TV part by surface area.19 We’ve optimized our packaging to achieve approximately 35% reduction of plastic volume, and decreased packaging size by about 15% and weight by about 10%, increasing the number of units that can be shipped at a time.20 And we’ve carefully considered the information printed on the packaging to reduce ink usage by up to 90%.

Product Highlights:

Intelligent TV processing technology with Cognitive Processor XR that delivers natural and realistic picture quality.
Take your gaming to the next level with input lag as low as 8.5ms and Bravia XR exclusive features for the Playstation
Get the advantage in high-performance gaming with 4K/120,10 VRR,11 ALLM as specified in HDMI 2.1.
Immersive depth and realism with lifelike brightness enhanced by XR OLED Contrast Pro.
Billions of accurate colors deliver natural and beautiful picture quality, enhanced by XR Triluminos Pro.
Google TV with Google Assistant organizes your content all in one place.1 Stream from your Apple device with AirPlay 2 support.
Enjoy streaming high-quality 4K UHD quality movies included with the Bravia CORE app.
Experience immersive cinematic content with support for Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced, and Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode.
Hear true immersive audio with dual actuators that vibrate to produce sound from the entire screen and a built-in subwoofer for powerful bass, plus support for Dolby Atmos.
Acoustic Center Sync synchronizes Bravia XR TVs speakers with select Sony soundbars to reinforce the center speaker channel for fuller, more immersive sound.
See blur-free picture quality in fast-moving sports and movies powered by XR OLED Motion technology.
Bring back lost texture and detail and see your content upscaled to near-4K resolution with XR 4K Upscaling.
Multi-position stand offering two variations – low-profile setting for immersive viewing or raised to accommodate a soundbar.
With the optional Bravia CAM, video chat on the big screen and allow Ambient Optimization Pro to automatically adjust picture and sound according to your room environment.
Redesigned premium, compact backlit remote with metallic finish and finder function to easily find if misplaced.

Box Includes

INCLUDED IN THE BOX: Sony Bravia XR A90K 42″ 4K HDR OLED Smart TV XR42A90K (2022 Model) Remote Control Stand Power Cord Manual and Documentation Sony Warranty

BUNDLE INCLUDES: Sony Bravia XR A90K 42″ 4K HDR OLED Smart TV XR42A90K (2022 Model) 4 Year Premium Extended Service Protection Plan

Sony QD-OLED TV Starts at 3,000, Available for Preorder in June

The company announced pricing on the rest of its 2022 TV lineup as well, and some are available now.

David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.

Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.

Sony unveiled its new TVs in January and on Monday we found out how much they’ll cost. They skew huge and high-end, with 85-inch behemoths as expensive as 10,000, and promise better picture quality than ever. Sony will sell its first mini-LED models, including a version with 8K resolution. beef up its gaming chops with the Playstation 5 and even roll out a remote finder. And in a first for any TV-maker, Sony has two kinds of OLED TV.

TVs that use OLED screens have the best picture quality available, and Sony’s lineup includes three series of OLED. The most intriguing is the A95K series QD-OLED, which Sony says is its best OLED TV yet. I got the chance to check out the A95K in person earlier this year and from what I saw, that claim holds water. It’s one of just two QD-OLED TVs announced this year, after the Samsung S95B.

I won’t know which QD-OLED performs better until I can review them.- or whether they’re worth the extra money compared to conventional OLED TVs like the LG C2.- but one thing I now know for sure: the Sony is really expensive. The A95K will cost 3,000 for the 55-inch and 4,000 for the 65-inch when they go on sale in June. The Samsung costs 2,200 and 3,000 respectively for the same sizes. That’s not a misprint: You can get a 65-inch Samsung QD-OLED for the same price as a 55-inch Sony.

Sony also announced pricing on its other OLED TVs. Here’s how they stack up.

Remote finders, webcams and VRR enabled (finally)

Meanwhile, Sony‘s best LED-based, non-OLED TVs are the Z9K with 8K resolution and the X95K with 4K, both of which use mini-LED technology and Sony’s “backlight master drive” for precise control of the full-array local dimming backlight. Sony is also packing in its latest version of the “cognitive” processor it introduced last year, promising improved color and depth mapping.

Beyond picture quality, the company is introducing a couple of interesting conveniences. Its highest-end TVs come with a remote finder function, similar to a feature we love on the Roku Ultra for example, that causes the clicker to emit a tone when you lose it (and it’s a remote, so you will lose it).

There’s also a new camera dubbed the Bravia Cam, included with the two most expensive models and optional on the others. In addition to video chat from apps like Google Duo, the cam can help adjust the picture and sound according to room conditions and seating distance, spawn a pop-up or block the screen if someone (like a kid) approaches too close, engage power saving if you leave the room and (wait for it) even respond to rudimentary gesture controls. People who don’t like the idea of a TV with a camera can engage the built-in privacy shutter or simply remote the camera completely.

All 2022 Sony TVs will ship with variable refresh rate enabled, rather than relying on software updates to add the feature later. A new extra called Auto HDR Tone Mapping allows a PS5 console to automatically detect the model of the Sony TV it’s connected to and select the best HDR settings. Another new addition, called auto genre picture mode, lets the PS5 tell the TV whether it’s playing a game or other content, such as a streaming TV show or movie, and toggle the TV’s game mode on or off accordingly.

Here’s how pricing for the rest of Sony’s 2022 TVs shakes out, followed by a comparison of features across the line. We look forward to testing Sony’s new TVs soon.

Sony 2022 LED LCD TV pricing and availability

SizeSeriesLED backlightResolutionAvailablePriceZ9KZ9KX95KX95KX95KX90KX90KX90KX90K

Mini-LED	8K	Summer	10,000
Mini-LED	8K	Summer	7,000
Mini-LED	4K	Now	5,500
Mini-LED	4K	Now	3,800
Mini-LED	4K	Now	2,800
Full-array LED	4K	May	4,000
Full-array LED	4K	June	2,600
Full-array LED	4K	May	2,000
Full-array LED	4K	May	1,700

Sony’s 2022 TV lineup feature comparison

SeriesDisplay technologySizes (inches)ResolutionRefresh rateRemote finderBravia camMini-LEDQD-OLEDOLEDOLEDMini-LEDFull-array LEDDirect LEDDirect LED

75, 85	8K	120Hz	Y	Bundled
55, 65	4K	120Hz	Y	Bundled
48, 42	4K	120Hz	Y	Optional
55, 65, 77	4K	120Hz	N	Optional
65, 75, 85	4K	120Hz	N	Optional
55, 65, 75, 85	4K	120Hz	N	Optional
43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85	4K	120Hz	N	Optional
43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85	4K	60Hz	N	Optional

Sony XR42A90K review: not quite a no-brainer

Finally there are some decent small OLED TVs available. but does smaller (but still rather expensive) mean compromise in other areas?

As long as we’re not talking about portion sizes or something, then we all know that small is beautiful. And finally, there are some small OLED TVs available. This makes the technology available to people with smaller spaces (or people who just don’t want that big a television). Here’s our full Sony XR42A90K review.

It seems Sony doesn’t think the whole ‘small is beautiful’ thing extends to asking prices, though. We’ve reviewed plenty of very acceptable 42in televisions that cost half of what Sony’s asking for its XR42A90K OLED TV. None of them were OLED TVs, admittedly, and none of them had the unusual audio system of this television either. But – and it’s hard to overemphasise this – none of them were anything like this expensive.

So how can a screen this small justify a price this big?

Design and build: (partially) hidden depths

A small TV only remains small if the bezels surrounding its screen are compact too – and so from the dead-ahead, the XR42A90K looks neat and tidy. Three-quarters of its bezels are very narrow indeed, and even the bigger stripe across the bottom of the screen isn’t that much bigger.

In profile, though, the Sony’s a little disappointing. One of the major pulls of OLED technology is (or at least should be) how very slim they can be. But apart from a brief little area at the top, the Sony’s an unsexy 5.7mm deep. That’s a measurement that harks back a decade or more. ‘Flush’ is not the word to describe the way this TV will look if you decide to hang it on the wall.

Happily, it looks much better on its little stand. It’s small, for a start, so the A90K doesn’t need a big surface to stand on. And the screen sits very low indeed, which helps the whole arrangement look unified. But if you need to find space for a soundbar, the Sony is supplied with little ‘stilts’ for its stand. These raise the bottom of the screen far enough to position a soundbar underneath.

At the rear of the chassis, the Sony features a lot of high-quality plastic arranged in a gridded design. There’s a small woofer visible behind a section, while the majority of the physical inputs are hidden behind a ‘pop on/pop off’ panel that’s a match for the rest of the surface.

It’s all very neat and, as has long been the case with Sony TVs, it’s all put together really well. It’s not like we all go around touching our TVs all the time, but the quality of materials and construction here should make even the biggest worriers rest easy about the longevity of their television.

Features: two-point-one for the win

As far as the headlines go here, well, they’re obvious. This is a 4K OLED TV, compatible with HLG, HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR standards. It has a stack of physical connectivity and quite a few wireless alternatives. And it’s fitted with the fancy ‘invisible’ audio system Sony has been perfecting on its OLED TV ranges for well over half a decade now.

Half of the XR42A90K’s HDMI inputs are at a 2.1 standard, which means 48Gbps bandwidth and compatibility with [email protected], VRR and ALLM – so it’s ready to make (almost) the best of your next-gen games console. There’s no HGiG, admittedly although PS5 owners can deploy their Auto HDR Tone Mapping feature. There’s also no Dolby Vision game mode (which Xbox Series X will dislike but will be unable to do anything to mitigate). One of these HDMI sockets is also eARC-enabled, so any worthwhile soundbar can be utilised.

There are also a couple of USB inputs, a digital optical output, aerial posts for a pair of integrated TV tuners, and an Ethernet socket. Wireless alternatives run to Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi and Chromecast Built-In, with Apple’s AirPlay and HomeKit also available.

Sony’s put its ‘Cognitive Processor XR’ in charge of operations here. It’s the same engine as the one that runs the show in the XR55A95K we reviewed recently. Its job is the same here: to make native 4K content look its best, to use its AI capability to offer class-leading upscaling, and to make the gaming experience as unruffled and enveloping as possible. It’s a big ask, but if our experience is anything to go by it’s got every chance.

Also like the A95K (and like a lot of Sony OLED TVs that have gone before), the A90K is fitted with a variation on the actuator-based audio system Sony is so keen on. The actuator ‘excites’ the screen to the point it behaves like a speaker. Here it gets a bit of low-end support from the woofer that’s peeking out from behind the covering of the rear of the cabinet.

Interface: choose your weapon

As is becoming completely common these days, the XR42A90K ships with a couple of remote control handsets. And as is usual in these instances, one is a nice-feeling, minimal affair with just the essential controls, while the other covers every function on a handset filled with vague-feeling buttons that are mostly too small.

Either of these remotes will put you in charge of some nicely judged set-up menus. There are enough options and sufficient adjustability to keep those who think setting up a new TV is supposed to take hours satisfied. The rest of us can get perfectly acceptable image quality in next-to-no time. Unusually, the Sony looks quite dull straight out of the box, while most TVs tend to look madly overdriven and aggressive. There’s a reason for that, as we’ll soon find out…

This is also the easiest way to navigate the Sony’s Google TV Smart interface. It’s a full-screen job, sadly, but it is at least quite logical to pilot and doesn’t push too many inexplicable recommendations your way. The XR42A90K is also compatible with Google Assistant voice control – there’s a little switch on the side of the cabinet to switch the mic on or off – and it’s easy to integrate into your wider Google Home set-up.

Performance: turn your lights down low

If you’ve got a 4K TV that’s compatible with Dolby Vision HDR, it’s hardly cheating to give it some 4K Dolby Vision content to handle, is it? And with one (admittedly quite significant) caveat, the Sony XR42A90K looks – how best to put this? – bloody lovely when given this sort of stuff to deal with.

A Netflix stream of The Gray Man illustrates the point. The Sony’s overall presentation is so natural and life-like, correct on an almost instinctive level, that for a short while it doesn’t even seem necessary to try and work out why it should be so – it’s just enough to sit down and enjoy it. But eventually, the nuts and bolts of the A90K’s picture-making prowess seem worth discussing.

The colour palette it draws from, for example, is extraordinarily wide-ranging and convincing. There’s apparently no limit to the degrees of shade and tone it can describe, and while it’s a vibrant and assertive watch there’s nothing garish or shouty about the way the Sony delivers colours. ‘Life-like’ is a word we’ll be returning to here, but it’s the best way to describe the way the A90K colours in its images.

It’s similarly accomplished where motion-control is concerned – from Rapid and unpredictable multi-directional movement to those aching slow pans that can catch out so many televisions, the Sony’s in absolute control. It grips on-screen motion with complete confidence and seems unshakeable in any and every circumstance.

Edge-definition is equally persuasive, and the suppression of picture noise is getting on for ruthless. Skin-tones and skin-textures, which even quite competent TVs can render as uniform and characterless, are alive with fine detail – and consequently as characterful as they come.

Problems, such as they are, concern the outright brightness of the panel. A relative lack of brightness has long been OLED technology’s Achilles heel, and given the pixel density of a 42in screen, there’s even less chance of wringing LED levels of brightness from the XR42A90K’s panel. The white tones it can generate are clean and just as detailed as everything else on the screen, but they just don’t have impact. When they’re alongside the Sony’s black tones (and if OLED has whatever the opposite of an Achilles heel is, black tones are it), the detail they carry allows them to create quite convincing contrasts – and the A90K’s black tones are deep, lustrous and packed with detail. As far as watching this TV in a brightly lit room goes, though, there’s every chance you’ll feel the need to lower the lights or draw the curtains.

(This is exacerbated by the A90K’s light sensor, which wants to adjust brightness levels on the fly relative to the content you’re watching and the environment in which you’re watching it. In practice, though, the Sony tends to hunt between different levels of brightness to nobody’s satisfaction.)

Where sound is concerned, there are definite pros and cons. The specifics of the audio system allow the A90K to sound very direct and detailed, and the sensation of sound emanating from exactly the same place as the pictures has a big bearing on the overall unity of the Sony’s performance. Dialogue is particularly well controlled, with a stack of tonal and textural detail revealed. But there’s next-to-nothing by way of low-frequency presence, and at volumes only slightly higher than ‘modest’ the A90K can get slightly edgy in the treble area too.

Verdict

There’s more to consider here than is usual when discussing a new TV. There’s definitely novelty value to seeing all the stuff OLED does so well crammed into such a small frame – and if you take the relative lack of brightness out of the equation then the Sony XR42A90K is a very strong performer. But there is that lack of brightness to be considered, and – even more importantly – there’s the deeply optimistic price. So bagging a compact OLED TV isn’t quite the no-brainer we’d hoped it would be.

Stuff Says…

Are your s deep and is your living room dimly lit? Let’s hope so…

The Best OLED TV

We’re currently testing new OLED TVs and have updated this guide with our first impressions of the Samsung S95C. We’ve also added info about Sony’s new A80L to What to look forward to.

If you want the best-looking TV image that money can buy, choose an OLED TV. Thanks to a panel design that’s fundamentally different from LCD TVs, OLED TVs naturally produce perfectly inky black levels, highly saturated colors, smooth motion, and superior viewing angles. In short, OLED TVs provide the best picture quality around—but they’re priced accordingly. We recommend the Samsung S95B because it delivers stellar picture quality at a price that’s very reasonable for a premium TV.

What you need to know

Buy an OLED TV if you’re willing to spend more to ensure that movies, sports, TV shows, and video games look their absolute best.

There are fewer OLED TVs on the market than LCD TVs. We looked for the best combination of performance, features, and value.

We use measurement equipment and Portrait Displays’s Calman software to evaluate crucial TV metrics like contrast and color accuracy.

OLED TVs are getting brighter, but they still fall short of the best LCD TVs. Consider LCD if you have a very bright or sunny room.

The best OLED performance for any room

The Samsung S95B combines OLED technology with quantum dot color to produce the brightest, most color-rich, and most room-flexible OLED TV we’ve ever tested.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 1,798.

The Samsung S95B uses a new type of OLED panel, called QD-OLED, that combines the perfect black levels, high contrast, and huge viewing angles of OLED technology with the vivid color saturation and high brightness of quantum dots (see our TV buying guide for definitions of these tech terms). The result is the biggest leap forward in OLED TV performance we’ve seen in several years. The S95B has the best bright-room performance we’ve found from an OLED, which makes this TV viable to use in almost any viewing environment, not just a darkened room. The quantum dot color can make games and sports look deliciously vivid, while the Filmmaker Mode delivers a satisfyingly accurate, filmlike picture for movies. Both SDR video and HDR video look superb, and this 4K 120 Hz TV has full support for HDMI 2.1 features to deliver better performance with video games. We’re also big fans of the included Eco Remote Control, which eschews batteries for solar/light charging. But the S95B also has some downsides. It does not support Dolby Vision HDR, and the redesigned Tizen Smart TV platform is sluggish at times, though we liked the new full-screen interface that shows more video streaming and gaming services at once. Arguably the biggest drawback is that the S95B is only available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes, so it’s not ideal for those who want a smaller or larger screen. But if you want the best 55- or 65-inch OLED TV you can get, the S95B delivers heretofore unachievable brightness and color saturation and an overall gorgeous image—for a price that’s only modestly higher than LG’s most competitive OLED (see below) and more than 1,000 less than Sony’s rival QD-OLED model.

If you want a larger or smaller screen size

LG’s C2 Series boasts stellar performance for the price and is available in a lot of screen sizes, but it lacks the high brightness and color saturation of our top pick.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 1,600.

For the first time in years, LG’s C Series is not our top pick for best OLED TV, but the new C2 still delivers top-tier OLED picture quality at more reasonable and across a wider range of sizes than essentially any other 2022 OLED line. The C2 is available in screen sizes from 42 to 83 inches, and most of those sizes offer improved brightness over previous-generation LG OLEDs—though buyers interested in the 42- and 48-inch options will have to settle for a slightly dimmer picture. From lower-resolution SDR content through essentially all forms of HDR (including Dolby Vision), the C2 looks excellent. It also natively supports Dolby Atmos audio and, like last year’s C1, has a full suite of HDMI 2.1 inputs and advanced gaming functions. The C2’s main limitation is that it doesn’t match the high brightness and color volume of Samsung’s QD-OLED TV, and thus won’t flourish to the same degree in brighter rooms, especially with HDR video. The C2 only marginally improves upon last year’s C1: Its brightness is a little better, and LG has made small improvements in the user experience—but there aren’t pressing reasons for C1 owners to upgrade. Still, LG’s C2 Series is unquestionably one of the year’s very best TVs for the money, especially if you’re shopping below 55 or above 65 inches in screen size.

The best OLED performance for any room

The Samsung S95B combines OLED technology with quantum dot color to produce the brightest, most color-rich, and most room-flexible OLED TV we’ve ever tested.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 1,798.

If you want a larger or smaller screen size

LG’s C2 Series boasts stellar performance for the price and is available in a lot of screen sizes, but it lacks the high brightness and color saturation of our top pick.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 1,600.

Why you should trust us

I’ve been reviewing TVs, computer monitors, and other displays and home theater products for over a decade. I have ISF Level III training, and over the past decade I’ve tested and calibrated hundreds of TVs—from premium 8,000 flat panels to 100 doorbusters—using hardware such as light and color meters, pattern generators, and input lag testers. I’m equally comfortable testing displays in pitch-black labs and in real-world home environments. All that to say, I’m confident in my ability to recommend the right TV for every kind of buyer, and I have the necessary equipment to back up those recommendations with test results.

Why you might want an OLED TV

If you’re the kind of person who is picky or passionate about picture quality—if you find yourself wishing shadows or letterbox bars were truly black (rather than a kind of charcoal gray) when watching movies or playing games in the dark, or if you feel frustrated by your TV’s lack of vivid yet realistic colors—you might consider building your living room or home theater around an OLED TV.

The organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that make up this type of display panel tout a panoply of major advantages over the much more common liquid crystal display (LCD) TV. OLED TVs are inherently capable of creating an image that’s vastly superior to all but the very best LCD options. The only time this doesn’t apply is in very bright viewing environments, where many OLED TVs may not be bright enough to properly combat ambient lighting, and you’ll be better off getting a premium LCD TV. Then again, our current top pick is changing that narrative. You can read more about the difference between OLED and LCD in this article.

Buying a New TV This Year? Here’s What You Need to Know About OLED.

OLED TVs have long been considered the highest-quality displays by hardcore videophiles. New developments may make one a good choice for your home.

The major downside of OLED TVs is that they don’t come cheap: Even the smallest, most humbly appointed models will still run you at least 1,000 (if not more) at the time of this writing. Typically, you’ll pay around 10% to 20% more than you would for an LCD TV with otherwise similar specifications. At screen sizes bigger than 65 inches, the price disparity is even larger.

Finally, OLED TVs are not immune to some of the common pain points that plague all TVs. Just because you’re paying more for better picture quality doesn’t mean you’re necessarily getting a smooth, user-friendly Smart-TV experience or high-quality onboard speakers. Even pricey OLED TVs can benefit from being paired with a good streaming device, high-quality soundbar, or surround-sound system.

How we picked and tested

The year 2022 has proved to be an exciting time in the OLED TV space. This is the first year OLED manufacturers have offered sizes as small as 42 inches, and it also marks Samsung’s return to the OLED market after a 10-year absence. Perhaps most important is the arrival of “QD-OLED” TVs, which combine OLED panels with quantum dot color technology and promise considerable picture-quality upgrades.

On the other hand, we haven’t seen any movement or progress with budget-conscious OLED TVs this year. Models from Vizio and Skyworth have yet to be refreshed for the US market, which puts the ball squarely in the court of LG, Sony, and Samsung for now. With only a few manufacturers offering a limited number of new OLED TVs, our process for picking which TVs to test involved deciding which model from each company’s line offered the most compelling combination of performance specs and features for the price.

LG’s OLED lineup for 2022 follows the same general patterns as in previous years, with new A2, B2, C2, G2, and Z2 offerings. As with last year’s C1 (our former top pick), the C2 shaves off the potentially extraneous features of LG’s pricier OLEDs (like the on-wall Gallery design of the G2 or the 8K resolution of the Z2) while still delivering picture quality and features on a par with those more expensive models. The C2 is equipped with LG’s brighter “OLED evo” panel that was first introduced in 2021 (but only on the G1 Series) and is available in more sizes than any of LG’s other OLED lines. The more affordable A2 and B2 Series aren’t on the C2’s performance level. The A2 has a 60 Hz refresh rate and lacks HDMI 2.1 features, limiting its appeal for videophiles and gamers. And according to Rtings, the B2 offers worse processing and limited brightness (since it lacks the OLED evo panel) compared with the C2. So while we may test the A2 or B2 as a possible budget pick, our initial FOCUS was on the C2.

The biggest potential wrench in LG’s continued dominance of the OLED space is the onset of QD-OLED TVs—specifically, the Samsung S95B and Sony A95K. QD-OLED is a new combination of OLED panel and quantum dot nanocrystals, a technology that vastly improves color saturation for red and green. The S95B is Samsung’s only OLED TV line for 2022, and Sony’s A95K is priced quite a bit higher: Right now, the 65-inch Sony A95K retails for 4,000, making it significantly more expensive than the 65-inch Samsung S95B. We still hope to test the A95K as a possible upgrade pick, but we’re curious how Sony will justify the price difference.

As for other, non-QD-OLED models from Sony, the company added a more affordable A80K Series this year that looks promising on paper: It’s right in line with LG’s C2 in price, though it’s available in fewer screen sizes. According to reviews, however, the A80K boasts similar brightness to 2021’s LG C1, giving it slightly worse price-to-performance prospects than the C2. Videophiles should also be aware that the A80K lacks the Filmmaker Mode for movie accuracy, though those who prefer the Google TV Smart platform over LG’s WebOS may happily make the trade anyway. That said, we may still test the A80K at a later date.

To evaluate each OLED TV, I used Portrait Displays’s Calman Ultimate software; a C6 HDR meter; and a VideoForge Pro signal generator. I ran a litany of SDR- and HDR-related tests, including measuring peak/sustained brightness, ANSI contrast, color temperature and color gamut accuracy, gamma/EOTF tracking, and Lab color volume analysis. Additionally, I watched real-world content, including streamed SDTV and HDTV shows, movies on 4K Blu-ray in HDR, and a wide array of video games via the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5. When possible I conducted side-by-side comparisons of different TVs using benchmark content like the Spears Munsil HDR pattern disc and tested each TV’s input lag using the Leo Bodnar 4K video lag tester.

Our pick: Samsung S95B Series

The best OLED performance for any room

The Samsung S95B combines OLED technology with quantum dot color to produce the brightest, most color-rich, and most room-flexible OLED TV we’ve ever tested.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 1,798.

The Samsung S95B Series includes the following models:

The Samsung S95B is our favorite OLED TV for 2022 because its QD-OLED design, which combines quantum dots with an OLED panel, makes it the brightest, most flexible OLED TV we’ve ever tested. Most OLED TVs excel in perfect darkness and struggle as more ambient light is introduced. While the S95B looks best in total darkness, it maintains its excellence in brighter rooms and really excels with HDR content that takes advantage of its unparalleled brightness and color production. The S95B supports the HDR10, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats (but not Dolby Vision) and has Filmmaker Mode to automatically show movies as the director intended. It’s also a very gaming-friendly TV, with a 120 Hz refresh rate and four HDMI 2.1 inputs. The S95B is only available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes, but if one of those sizes works for you, this TV is an easy recommendation for any viewing environment.

When OLED hit the market a decade ago, it revolutionized our collective idea of what a top-tier TV could look like, due primarily to its deep black levels and high contrast. Its main performance weakness compared with LCD TVs has been its lower light output: For years, we’ve seen improvements in luminance only by inches, with 2021’s best models doing their best to hit 800 nits of brightness. Meanwhile, the best LCD TVs have soared to well beyond 1,000 nits.

The S95B’s ability to overcome that hurdle is one of the primary reasons it’s our new top pick. The QD-OLED panel keeps everything that’s great about OLED and closes the brightness gap with quantum-dot LCDs, cresting to over 1,000 nits of brightness without any of the potential downsides we see from LED backlights in LCD TVs—like blooming or glow around bright objects in a dark scene.

My living room is often awash with an amount of sunlight that most OLED TVs struggle to overcome, so the S95B’s improved brightness was immediately appreciable. OLED TVs generally limit their full-screen brightness when most of the on-screen content is bright (such as during daytime sporting events)—but the S95B’s high brightness means it has more overall luminance to work with, so this limitation is much less noticeable. Especially if you’re watching HDR content with Samsung’s Intelligent Mode enabled (which is not at all color accurate, but makes for a very punchy image), the S95B tends to go at full power, raising luminance uniformly across the spectrum so that everything looks brighter—and very bright objects look brilliantly intense. At times I found myself marveling at details like the glow of a computer monitor on a character’s face, or wincing as the camera shifted to show a sunny window over someone’s shoulder. It’s not a treatment videophiles may wholly relish, but most folks will love how it looks in their living room at midday.

The S95B’s unique panel design also improves color brightness and saturation. Because it uses quantum dots, the QD-OLED panel is similar to an RGB (red/green/blue) OLED panel. Almost any other OLED TV you buy today uses an LG Displays WRGB panel, meaning there’s a white subpixel included with the usual trio of red, green, and blue subpixels. A WRGB panel is cheaper to produce and induces less wear and tear on the primary subpixels over time, but it comes at a cost to color saturation at higher brightness levels. For example, to achieve a very bright green, WRGB OLEDs (like the LG C2) use the white subpixel and the green subpixel together, combining them to make a brighter green. However, as the picture gets brighter overall, the white subpixel gets driven more, and there is an inherent reduction in color purity.

After almost a decade of seeing a WRGB panel’s handling of colors, there is a noticeable improvement with Samsung’s quantum-dot-equipped OLED. This TV can drive its red, green, and blue primaries into unpolluted luminance ranges beyond most OLED TVs from the past decade, and the end result is downright grin-inducing, though it’s occasionally a touch fanciful in the less accurate picture modes.

In direct comparisons with the runner-up LG C2, the S95B’s higher peak brightness (around 750 to 800 nits for the C2, and 950 to 1,000 nits for the S95B) makes only a small yet still an appreciable difference, but the improvement in high-brightness color saturation is quite significant. With both TVs set to the most accurate Filmmaker Mode, darker and dimmer content looks similar enough, but you can see the difference between the WRGB and RGB OLED panels when brighter, more saturated colors are on display, regardless of whether content is SDR or HDR. I noticed it while watching Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney, where the red telltales on the villains’ armor had a more vivid pop on the S95B.

Measuring the S95B confirmed most of what I was seeing while watching real-world content: The TV is bright enough for sunlit rooms. Even in the HDR Filmmaker Mode, it hits 1,000-plus nits, but the SDR Filmmaker Mode is much more subdued, topping out closer to 150 nits. In other picture modes, you’ll get a range of average brightness levels closer to 400 or 500 nits. It’s also worth noting that Samsung’s recent firmware updates have caused the S95B’s overall light output to fluctuate: It originally hit closer to 1,500 nits but has been reined in by the updates. While this dampens some of the initial excitement about the S95B’s capabilities, we think 1,000 nits (a benchmark for HDR formats) is still an achievement for OLED TVs. The decrease in brightness should also extend the panel life to a certain degree.

Whether you’re watching SDR or HDR video, the Filmmaker Mode is the most accurate picture mode for dark-room viewing. (This wasn’t true when the S95B was first introduced, but firmware updates have fixed some early accuracy issues.) Staunch videophiles may want to do a bit of calibrating, but the average viewer will be nothing but impressed. While watching Dune on Ultra HD Blu-ray in 4K/HDR, shadow details were preserved well during dark-room viewing, and the HDR Filmmaker Mode showed HDR video at the correct brightness level across most of the signal range. Occasionally, near-black details looked a little too bright, but overall the nighttime sequences on Arrakis looked invitingly balanced and subtle. There is one unusual black-level-related behavior that we’ll discuss in Flaws but not dealbreakers, but it doesn’t crop up during dark-room use.

The S95B is also great for high-brightness HDR gaming. Whether you’re playing on an Xbox Series X or Playstation 5, the S95B’s powerful color production delivers a fantastic experience. In fact, I might argue that HDR gaming benefits more from this TV’s particular abilities than any other content format. As an example, the brilliant forests and intense sunsets of Ghost of Tsushima on the PS5 were an absolute joy on the S95B, thanks to the improved saturation in greens, yellows, red, and oranges. A high-contrast game like Stray (which features bright neon lights nestled in stretches of yawning gray and black) looked spectacular, as well. The S95B features an improved version of Samsung’s Game Bar and is equipped with four HDMI 2.1 inputs, allowing for crisp 4K 120 Hz gaming with very minimal input lag (we tested around 9.1 to 9.2 milliseconds).

Samsung’s Tizen Smart TV platform has had a big change this year. In 2021, the interface primarily existed as a row of apps along the bottom of the screen, though you could set it to full-screen mode if you wanted. In 2022, it’s mostly a full-screen experience, and that has made it a little more sluggish than it used to be (more on this below). While the new design has a bit more of a learning curve to get used to, it’s easy enough to find all the usual streaming suspects (Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video) in the Media menu, but you may have to install your favorites.

Where the new Smart platform really differentiates itself is the Game menu, which collects all of the HDMI inputs associated with game consoles and provides ready access to Cloud gaming services like Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass. It also guides you through syncing controllers and headsets over Bluetooth. I was able to sync a controller with ease and jump back into a game I’d been playing on Game Pass, Far: Changing Tides. While the game was artifact- and buffer-free, it looked soft and unsharp, though still very playable. There’s also an Ambient menu for displaying images while the TV is off, something we saw on Samsung’s QLED TV lineup last year.

The S95B has an extremely thin profile from the side (imagine a stack of three or four credit cards) and is equipped with a handsome, weighted center stand that takes up minimal tabletop space. You’ll find its four HDMI inputs (and other ports) around the right side of the TV. Assembly is easy, but the plastic pieces meant to pop into place on the rear of the panel and stand (to cover the ports/cables and provide a form of cable management) are finicky, and I ended up leaving the cable cover off more often than not because it was so hard to get it to sit flush. The stand is very stable, however, and holds the panel at ample height to easily fit a soundbar underneath. The stand’s cable management is good overall and makes for a clean-looking TV on your tabletop, something Samsung typically excels at.

While the UK version of the S95B allegedly includes two remote controls, our 65-inch sample only included Samsung’s Eco Remote, a thin clicker that charges via sunlight or room lighting rather than using batteries (you can also charge over USB-C, if necessary). We found the Eco Remote to be easy to use. The channel input and menu buttons have been combined into a single button, and having to push a button and scroll up to access the quick settings menu was irritating at first but easy enough to get used to.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s a shame that the S95B is only available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes. Many gamers may be angling for a smaller size (42 or 48 inches) for desktop gaming, while folks with home theaters may be acclimated to a 77-inch OLED screen and don’t want to downsize. If you’re in that camp, we’d direct you to the LG C2 Series.

The biggest picture-quality difference between the S95B and most other OLEDs is in its black-level integrity in a room that isn’t pitch black. The quantum-dot layer behind the glass is reactive to ambient light, which can cause the TV’s nominally perfect blacks to take on a slightly brightened appearance in certain room conditions. This isn’t ideal, but after using the TV for several weeks, I feel that this problem has been greatly exaggerated in other reviews. Rtings has stated that “to enjoy this TV to the fullest, you really need to be in a perfectly dark room,” but I strongly disagree. In fact, I think the S95B fares better in normally or brightly lit rooms than any OLED I’ve tested before. Still, to get the best contrast with darker films and TV shows, a completely dark room is always best.

Initially, my wife and I struggled mightily with getting the Tizen Smart TV platform to cooperate. The platform was notably slower and more ponderous than it was last year, but recent firmware updates have eliminated the most egregious problems. At time of writing, Tizen could still stand to be a bit more responsive, but Samsung is clearly working to improve it, and it’s very palatable in its current form. This won’t matter if you plan to plug in a different media player anyway.

Every OLED TV uses a process called ABL (auto brightness limiting) to stave off issues with panel damage and burn-in, and to extend the life of the panel. This is a sudden on-screen adjustment where viewers might see the whole screen get a little brighter or darker. It can be distracting; fortunately, it’s a minor problem with the S95B. I only saw it occur occasionally, and the TV’s high brightness actually made the effect less noticeable most of the time—so most folks probably won’t see it happening.

Speaking of burn-in, we’ve seen questions and concerns about the Samsung’s potential for burn-in—which is a form of permanent image retention that can afflict any display, but OLED displays in particular. We can’t make any definitive statements about the S95B’s burn-in vulnerability without longer-term use and testing, but it’s been postulated that burn-in is less of a risk for QD-OLED models. We continue to believe that burn-in is not a major concern if you’re using your OLED TV with varied types of entertainment content. But if you’re someone who plays the same video game for hours per day, weeks on end, or you plan to use the TV as a more static computer monitor, LCD might be the safer choice. The S95B does include tools to mitigate burn-in, including a pixel refresher, a cell-cleaning process, and a screensaver that turns on very quickly when content is paused—but it’s still a fact of the technology that prospective buyers and current owners should be aware of.

Another reason to be wary of using the S95B as a computer monitor is that this TV has an unusual subpixel layout that can make high-density text (such as what you’ll see on websites) exhibit trace elements of “color fringing,” when pixels seem to bleed color into one another. It’s a minor problem but worth reporting if that’s your intended use case.

I noticed that my 65-inch S95B seemed prone to a small amount of panel warp. Our sample TV clearly wasn’t new and probably made the rounds through reviewers before getting to me, but there does appear to be a very slight curve through the metal of the uppermost bezel, so be careful when you’re first assembling it.

The fact that the S95B is a new panel design may give some shoppers pause. This TV had some performance issues when it first launched, but the amount of firmware updates Samsung has rolled out over the past few months proves that the company is listening attentively to buyer feedback and addressing issues. While most of these updates focused on fixing initial accuracy errors in Filmmaker Mode and adjusting the TV’s brightness numbers, we’re hoping that future updates remove some of the Smart platform’s sluggishness. But overall, the S95B is an excellent performer, and we’d gladly deal with some minor flaws on a daily basis just to keep experiencing its gorgeous picture quality.

Sources:

https://www.beachcamera.com/products/Sony-Bravia-XR-a90k-42-4k-HDR-oled-Smart-TV-2022-w-4-year-extended-warranty
https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/Sony-qd-oled-TV-starts-at-3000-available-for-preorder-in-june/
https://www.stuff.TV/review/Sony-xr42a90k-review/
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-oled-TV/