Sony - 50" Class BRAVIA XR X90J Series LED 4K UHD Smart Google TV (2021)
Model: XR50X90J
SKU: 6453206
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Customers are pleased with the picture quality, color, and sound of the 50" Class BRAVIA XR X90J Series LED 4K UHD Smart Google TV. They find the TV easy to set up and are happy with the price. However, some customers have concerns about the viewing angle and screen issues, while others find the smart TV features limiting.
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Review of the 50 inch Sony Bravia XR-50X90J Background Info: In 2004 I purchased a Sony - KV-32FV310 32-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA Television from The GoodGuys. It was one of those huge square heavy televisions. It had a great picture being a Trinitron. In 2009 I purchased a Sony KDL-46XBR9 from Best Buy. It was a 46 inch LCD "XBR" model which signifies top of the line. It was a close-out so I was able to afford it ... about $1,200 which was almost half off the normal price. It was a great TV with excellent color. It finally died this spring in April 2021. I hate shopping for TV's because I am extremely picky about the picture and color quality and features. And now that there are several companies that make excellent TV's, it is very hard to choose. Also I figure I will have the TV for many years so I want to make sure I will be happy with it. After spending several days at BestBuy and many hours on Youtube I realized that Sony was not the dominant manufacturer anymore. However it did seem that Sony had maintained it's reputation for excellent true color. But it also had gained a reputation for being a bit more expensive than the competitors. My first decision was between OLED and 4K LED. After watching hours of YouTube reviews I decided there was not a enough picture quality difference to justify the extra money and having to worry about the screen "burning in" on the OLED after a few years. Next I had to pick the size. My last TV was a 46 inch. A 50 inch was a nice upgrade and still fit perfectly with my existing setup. Several people said "no, go bigger", but I am totally happy with this size. I sit about six feet away from it. Also the feet on the Sony 50 inch are closer together and not spread way out near the edges of the TV, so that fit on my existing TV stand very well. And there is a Composite video input which allows for older equipment to connect to the TV via the Red/White/Yellow cable. The operating system of this TV is very good and the remote is very good. It has a powerful CPU processor. The thing I like the most about this TV is the absolutely gorgeous picture. I have always had a good picture with my older Sony's but this truly is incredible. I waited two months before writing this review to really see what I thought about it. And I have on quite a few occasions literally said out-loud ... "Wow, that is a beautiful picture" ... the color is perfect and strong while looking extremely natural and realistic. And blacks are black. I also like the price. Sony had just dropped the price from $1,299 to $1,099 when I was shopping which made it competitive and removed the "Sony is more expensive concern". If you are like me and stress out about which TV to buy let me tell you what worked for me. Take your time. I started by spending a few nights online browsing what was available. There are three main companies that seem to make the best TV's. Samsung, Sony, and LG. The feet on the LG 4K LCD's were too wide apart for my furniture. The Samsung 4K LCD's looked good but did not have the composite video input and also had some complaints about glare. Next I picked a weekday afternoon to spend in the store. The store was not crowded and I took my time looking at the TV's and occasionally chatting with a couple sales guys. I had told myself I was not going to make a decision on that first visit which allowed me to relax. I brought a notepad so I could take notes. When I finally got maxed out looking at so many TV's I left the store and took a break for a couple days from thinking about it. Finally after some more online researching and another store visit I decided on the size and then on the Sony. I ordered it online and picked it up at the store. The 50 inch TV box actually fit in my car which was great, although the salesmen at the store had said he could give me free delivery. All that time and effort was worth it. The color and picture are truly stunning, and the operation of the TV is very good. I went with an extended warranty for five years. I do that with TV's and Dell computers. Over the two months there have been two firmware updates which are easy to do and I think one of them actually improved the picture quality. Two settings were important to get the picture just right: CineMotion - set this to high to remove any "judder" Brightness - I dropped this down to 15 I hope this review will help others. Many folks can make a quick decision and get on with it. Not me. If you are considering the X90J series I can tell you it is an outstanding television, especially the picture quality and the color realism. Good Luck, Richard B
Posted by RichardB
Very happy with it. Picture looks great. Screen looks very black (in black scenes) even in the dark. Get very bright when needed too. Legs are very wide on the TV, but i knew that going in and bought a VESA stand. The OS is very fluid and is good at surfacing things I want to watch. The voice remote is very handy. The audio was good for a TV, but I didn't listen to it much. Only during setup before I plugged in my existing soundbar. I do wish the ARC/eARC port was not the second HDMI 2.1 port, but I suppose the only thing that really will need it is a game console, and I am unlikely to ever have more than one. Only real downside I have found is the ethernet port is limited to 100mbit. I didn't know you could still buy chips that weren't gigabit! The Bravia Core service even mentions (deep in the fine print) that to get the full bandwidth the service can deliver you have to use Wi-Fi ac. Oh well. Very happy with the $200 price drop. That sealed the deal for me. Tried to take pics of TV, but on camera they all looked bad, so you'll just have to trust me it looks very good in person.
Posted by PatrickFB
Looks great sound ok am having issues with arc hdmi though not sure if it’s tv or sound bar , sometimes restarting sound bar gets it to work but other times I have to restart tv. I might just end up using optical option instead. Sound bar is a Samsung & I had problems Samsung tvs I hate them & their famous vertical shadows lines which appear 1 to 2 years after purchase. Maybe I’ll buy Sony sound bar in future tough to isolate hdmi issue at this time.
Posted by Teddyss101