Customer Ratings & Reviews

I entered the purchasing process with a lot of research as our most frequently watched television is situated in a family room with lots of natural light through abundant windows and skylights. For the past 3-4 years I've had my eyes on OLED technology for its deep, inky blacks, and was confident an OLED would be our next purchase to replace a Samsung 55". Both LG and Sony offer OLED technology, with LG making the panels for both, yet Sony having the edge in processing and sound quality. For sure, the Sony 65" OLED would be my next TV! Fast forward to decision time and a final thorough research phase that included the top options from LG and Sony, and I noticed recurring review mentions that OLED was not optimal for bright spaces. Sure, the blacks were there, but brightness was an issue. User reviews also highlighted the potential for burn in, and long term performance is important to me if I was going to spend this kind of money on a TV. Back to square one, Samsung was again an option and I was looking closely at the Q90 and Q80. yet something drew me to the Z9F as an alternative. All are good for bright rooms, and have relatively wide viewing angles for LED technology. The Sony had more realistic colors, yet was criticized for its contrast ratio and less-than-deep blacks. Upon further research, with a deep dive into a number of reviews plus a careful look within the leading consumer magazine, Sony's Z9F became a front-runner. Altering the settings solved the deep black issue. In addition, Sony makes the best processors, and the X1 Ultimate chip is their best. While the sound quality of this TV is not as good as its Sony OLED counterpart, I use a Sonos PlayBase with surrounds, so sound quality is no issue. Add a recent almost 50% price reduction, and this Master Series from Sony quickly became the no-brainer. What I love about this TV: - Sublime 4k picture quality - Most natural colors in the business, especially skin tones - Deep blacks (WAY better than the Samsung it replaced) - Quality construction (the frame is actually aluminum) - Highest reliability scores in the industry (as researched) - Great motion handling (at least on media I've watched so far) - Picture optimized for Netflix when watching Netflix content - Reasonably wide viewing angle (needed for this room)...happy viewers no matter where seated What I dislike, or could be better, with this TV: - Remote does not match the tech of the TV - There is some light reflection off of the screen that I think Samsung handles better due to their anti-reflective layer technology...this is offset by the Sony screen's brightness - A bit heavy (needs a solid wall mount, which I have, firmly screwed into the studs) - Early on I had two instances where the sound did not sync well with the video, although I think a firmware upgrade fixed that as it has not recurred This Master Series TV used to command twice its price, and at current pricing is wonderful and easily not just among the absolute best, but a best buy. LED alternatives to consider for bright rooms: - Sony X950G (same processor, lower overall quality) - Samsung Q90 or Q80 (both have anti-reflective layers, although IMO Sony has more realistic picture quality) Best options for darker rooms: - Probably would have bought an OLED despite the apparent long term burn in risks...Sony and LG are options, with Sony getting the edge in reviews (X1 Ultimate processor and unique sound tech likely the reasons) - Second tier Vizio is reportedly offering an OLED line-uo in 2020, using LG panels just like Sony does (worth a look, although reliability scores for the brand are behind the three leaders)

Was going to wait on buying a tv but this went on sale. The blacks are not quite as crisp as an OLED but what is. The picture is really amazing!! Went back and forth with the Samsung Q90 or Sony Z9F. I have a Samsung Q60 in my exercise room which is okay but the picture on the Q60 is not great and settings don’t help. The Q90 is a much better tv than the Q60 however so a worthy alternative. The processor on this tv works really well and had no lag or jumps on video games. I needed an LED vs OLED because my living room gets lots of natural light all day and this handles the glare well. Would give this a 4-4.5 rating. Others complained about washed out blacks. You need to make adjustments depending on what you are watching then it is amazing. Some picture stuff you can auto Set but found that streaming needed More adjustments. Especially for Netflix. Netflix uses Dolby bright or Dolby dark for many shows. It seems to want to initially always use Dolby bright which does really wash out the black. Changed it to Dolby dark and turned up the brightness a little and looks amazing. For some reason Netflix 4K streaming runs very deep darks so when it tries to lighten it up with Dolby bright it goes over board and washes them out. Easy fix but if you do not want to adjust settings periodically to what your viewing you may not like it. Only had for 3 weeks now but very very happy with purchase. Have not had any issue with blooming, bleed or bad panels. Looks great so far. I usually do not buy the extended warranty but did with this just in case a panel does go. Hopefully it won’t but made the decision to be safe just in case.

Had a plasma that I loved, but it finally died, so I looked at alternatives. Thinking OLED's would be the closest alternative, something bothered me about the motion and color. Everything looked like it had a slight blue cast, which I could deal with, but the motion gave me headaches after minutes, and the motion smoothing had the dreaded soap opera effect that I loathe. The Samsung Q90r was my main choice, but they sold out, and the Q90t wasn't worth the money. Finally, research led me to the Z9F. Reviews complained about blooming and less than stellar black performance, but no such reports came from long time owners. All of them praised the motion, upscaling, and accurate color. After much wrestling about missing features, like VRR or HDMI 2.1, I finally took the plunge, deciding if I didn't like it, I could always return it. Best Buy delivered it last Monday, I plugged it in, and cued up a movie... And my GOD this TV is absolutely stellar! No, it doesn't match my old plasma for blacks, but the picture really draws you in. It looks very natural, with all content. The dimming zones do a great job without being over aggressive. After dialing in settings to my liking, I can say that this is the best TV I ever owned. Dolby Vision content looks stunning, so does HDR content. The Netflix Calibration mode is a nice bonus, but it isn't my cup of tea. I'd say the Q90r has the edge in punch and richness, as well as it's ability to suppress blooming and room reflections, but the Sony wins on accuracy, motion handling, upscaling, and looks far more natural to my eyes. The best way I can sum up the differences, is with the Q90r, I always thought "Man, that's a beautiful TV!" With the Z9F, I find myself thinking "Man, this movie looks really good!" Video games look stunning as well. Horizon Zero Dawn, and God of War, look breathtaking in HDR. On my old TV, I'd play Horizon for 30 minutes at a time, but the first day I got this TV, I played for 5 hours straight...everything looked so beautiful, I wanted to keep playing, just to take it all in some more. Overall, this TV checks all my boxes. I just want to watch it all the time. For the first time since it died, I don't miss my plasma. The Z9F gets bright, too, but in a natural way that doesn't make my eyes uncomfortable. At the current prices this TV is going for, I'm hard pressed to think of a better alternative. Maybe LG's B9, if you can deal with LG's motion processing for those deep blacks, but it really becomes an apples to oranges thing at that point. And that is the point with TV's, I feel. It's finding something that has forgivable tradeoffs to gain features you can't do without. And for me, the accurate color of the Z9F, and the natural way it handles motion and changes in light, make this TV a winner. I can watch it for hours, without getting annoyed with it. Quite the opposite, really. I'm continually impressed by it, and always find myself enjoying what I'm watching on it, regardless of resolution or content. TL;DR The Z9F is a steal at it's current price. I bought it blind, and couldn't be happier with my choice.

I'm amazed with my purchase. greatest deal of the year. I highly recommend this tv!!! you can't beat the price, it's on special!!

Very happy with the set picture is great, meets all the advertised statements Great u it

I feel fortunate that I purchased this item as an open box sale. After further review, I believe it’s worth every penny I spent or could’ve spent if I bought it at list price. It’s an incredible television for the money.

Picture and sound is not as good as Samsung 800QT...

The Android OS is very ugly at best. Samsung is light years ahead of this OS in every area. FW/SW updates are difficult to impossible as there are conflicting inputs for updates. Turn off auto notification and do a manual check. And then be prepared to download twice, restart, and hope the magic menu appears to install. Wide button on the remote never works and turning off the auto wide functions is an Easter Egg hunt at best. Still unable to scroll through screen modes on this TV in any function. Maybe a Dolby Vision/HDR issue. TBD Picture is not bright enough out of the box. Suggest Cinema mode as a starting point and then try other modes as well as maybe turn off auto dimming. Sony has always had the best quality picture so that has not changed. This TV is every bit as good as an OLED but much brighter. After having Samsung's for years I need to relearn the OS as it is slightly different that my Sony 900E. The 140 page manual online is more generic and misses critical points for a user. Exact directions using the exact menus and settings to change picture sizes/fill. No dead pixels or stuck on pixels so far.

A little background on me, I also own a Sony x950g and Vizio Quantum X. This TV is much better in comparison. Let me tell you why. *Z9F Compared to the x950g* -The Android 9 system on Z9F is faster and more responsive. -Wi-Fi works flawlessly on Z9F, I often get disconnected on 950g. -The Z9F is brighter in SDR and HDR. -Better Viewing Angles -The Cable Management system is better. Looks very clean. *Z9F Compared to the Vizio Quantum X* -Z9F has better sound options, I can get Dolby Atmos and DTS: X. -Z9F is brighter than Vizio in SDR and HDR. Although the Vizio may get brighter for a few seconds, it cannot sustain it. The Z9F can sustain a high brightness. -Z9F has way better Color Gradient. The Vizio is distractedly bad, you could see the lines between different shades of a color during a movie. Z9F smoothly blends colors. -Z9F is more compatible with gaming systems. I often get weird visual glitches when using my Vizio with my Xbox One X. Sony has no issues. -Vizio has no cable management at all, it is a total mess with cables. I would say the only downside to Z9F is the contrast ratio. That can be fixed with bias lighting. 6500k white. After installing that, contrast is not an issue for me. There is a lot of talk of the dimming zones on this TV. You can see slight blooming if you have captions/sub-titles activated on movies. You can also see it a bit in menus, but once you are watching a movie or playing a game, it is gone.

I upgraded from a 65 XBR 750 HDR to the 65 Z9F. I was happy with the 750 for most viewing, but the black levels were not so great. I found a Z9F for a great price at the Winter Garden Best Buy and jumped on it. The difference in picture quality is immediately realized. The colors pop out more, the blacks are far superior, the local dimming array is much better than the edge lit LEDs. Then there is the viewing angle. It is fantastic to be able to sit anywhere in the room and have little to no loss of picture quality. I use external audio speakers so I cannot comment on audio quality, If you buy a tv of this caliber your not interested in the TVs native speakers. Dolby Atmos and Dolby vision both work automatically using my Apple TV 4K, as long as content is available. I had set my sights on OLED, but I feel this is the better all around tv. It gets so bright that even in the brightest room it looks fantastic. No burn in to worry about, and it doesn’t get hot like oled. The 950g looks to have similar specs in 2019, but the Z9F is still superior in HDR contrast. If you can find one on clearance get it. You will not be sorry.

This is my 4th Sony TV and my first Sony 4K TV. The journey started with a ton of research and review reading. I was extremely interested in OLED and had made up my mind is was going to buy the Sony A8F however, when I went to BB and saw the LG C8 I talked myself into buying it instead. Now I will say that the C8 was the thinnest most appealing in design TV of them all and the image was stunning. Ultimately I was not satisfied with the brightness or motion handling so after a month of using it to watch movies and DirecTV, I opted to return it. During my review reading I came over tons of excellent reviews on the Sony Z9D and I figured since I have never had a bad experience with Sony, I would go ahead and get that TV. It arrived and once setup and viewing, it was an amazing picture and as thought, the motion handling was better. A note in that, I firmly believe that everyone will feel differently about motion handling and what brand does it best but my assumption is that since I have lived with a Sony TV for the past 25yrs, I must just be used to their way of processing movement. So after watching a number of panning shots with mostly solid single tone colors like blue or green etc., I noticed a vertical line running up the middle left and middle right sides of screen almost exactly where the mounting holes were on the back of TV. So I got a bit concerned that perhaps when attaching the bracket, it somehow damaged the TV. So I quickly did some research on that parictular issue and low and behold there were reviews after reviews stating how this particular TV has banding/uniformity issues. Well dang it! How did I not see that before? Well now I had to make another decision, try and live with it because the TV and overall quality was exactly what I was looking for or do another swap out. I ended up doing the smart thing and swapped I out rather than settle for the issues. When I went in to BB to swap, I was ready to play the so called “panel lottery” again on the same model because I loved it so much. Turned out that the model was fully sold out since it was the previous years model. The next closest option I had to that TV was the new Sony Z9F which was $1,500 more and had some mixed reviews regarding a low native contrast ratio due to its wide X viewing angle. The Best Buy associate was kind and offered a discount on TV for my troubles. After sleeping on it a week, I opted to take him up on offer and get the TV. Sorry for the long rant to get to the point but I thought what led up to this TV purchase was important to know. The week arrived and my new Sony 65” Z9F arrived. Got it mounted and hooked up and have never looked back! Of course after reading the complaints about low native contrast ratio I instantly became a bit obsessed with it and got concerned that I wouldn’t be able to live with it either. One of the biggest complaints was regarding light bleed/blooming into the top and bottom cinima bars during bright scenes. Sure enough, it was there and I got fixated on it a bit. I immediately started reading some reviews and calibration recommendations on AV Forum that helped navigate the often confusing and very deep settings options. After playing with the settings for a few weeks I got to a few that looked and felt perfect. I now no longer notice any “alarming light bleed/blooming”. I have also been comparing to my previous TV a Sony HX929 55” and the blooming is not really different at all. So, if you were worried about this reported “issue” then I urge you to see for yourself and I believe you will be truly impressed by its picture. This TV is truly perfect! Oh and regarding vertical banding or uniformity issues, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA! Not a single imperfection period! Add in the wide viewing angle and very impressive brightness and proven Sony processing/motion handling expertise and you have one of the best Full Array Local Dimming LED LCD TV’s available today. In closing I have zero regrets and honestly wish I had went with this TV the first time I heard of it. The price was what kept me away. Do yourself a favor and don’t let the price keep you from the amazing quality this TV provides! Lesson learned for me, I won’t leave the Sony brand again as long as the quality remains. I hope this review was helpful to you and wish you the best on your final decision.

Before this purchase, I owned the XBR55-950D and the XBR65-900F, both very excellent sets. I got the thumbs up from the Mrs. to move forward with another TV of my choosing for our newly renovated Great Room. My research began with with the Sony 65A8G and the 77A9G since I was interested in what OLED was all about, both pros and cons. I read many mixed reviews about the "burn-in" potential. I didn't want to make a heavy investment on this potential so I decided to revert my search back towards Sony LEDs. I ultimately landed on the 65Z9F Master Series and at 50% reduced cost, it made it that much easier for me to click the purchase button. The picture quality is impeccable. This TV has the best level of details from all the sets I've ever owned, the contrast is amazing, no lag and the refresh rate is superb, the deep black is comparable to the best OLEDs out there. I noticed a handful of people mentioned the "blooming" being an issue. I haven't noticed that in the past 4 days since my purchase. Even if that was a minor factor, I think the benefits far outweigh it. I will continue to purchase Sony TVs as they are the top dog in the business for a reason. Yes the price tag is a bit steeper, but certainly worth the investment. Highly recommend this TV!

Very good TV....however out of the box picture wasn't very good had to call Sony Tech Support to Calibrate picture. Only after which pic was very good with the wow factor. Buyer Beware ...you will not get 4k resolution via cable TV provider. Meaning regular TV isn't pushing out 4k content. Maybe live sporting events etc . You must go to the apps like Netflix, Ruko and fire stick for that content. Another way to view would be a 4k BlueRay player an or Utube 4k movies (limited movies). In the Best Buy show room the 4k TV's were playing looped videos not TV or a cable channel. So I thought that's how the pic would be all the time.. My bad....Bottom line - The Z9F is a great TV for 4k content viewing hands down. If you can snag one at a good price pull the trigger

I really want to give this TV 5 stars but something weird just happened. My cable TV (fios) was displaying without any audio. Switched channels to PC, Xbox, PS4 and they all had audio just fine. I now figure i need a new cable TV box. After 2 days i notice some slight lag or stuttering going on and the input menu would stutter instead of moving smoothly through channel inputs. I also noticed an audio crackling sound like some static mixed in with the audio. I press HOME and scroll through the stuttering input options and now the stuttering is worse and it gets stuck on scrolling to input #4. Some panic sets in and i am disappointed that this TV that i have owned just for about 2 month is on its way to service repair processing. The TV auto shuts down and reboots. After the reboot everything is working great, signals and menu interface is moving smooth as warm butter. I never owned an android TV and am now aware that every now and then one must reboot their TV for optimal performance. You can find the reboot (restart) options on this TV here: Setting >> Device Preferences >> About Make sure to your TV is up to date with the latest firmware. Aside from the technical hurdles above, this TV is superior. Super bright and deep blacks with rich colors. Many fine turning display options and features. Love the x-wide angle technology. The only bad thing is the Android OS can freeze up and ruin your TV experience.

With the latest Sony Z9F firmware update (v6.3626), this TV will be very hard to beat! Stunning picture realism, colors that are not over-saturated (i.e. Samsung Q90R) and faithful to the movie creator's intent, no risk for burn-ins, excellent in both bright and dark rooms, all backed up by Sony's legendary reliability! On top of all that, this $3,499.00 Sony Master's Series TV is now being sold for $1,799.99 at Best Buy!

I thought the picture on my LG OLED was good, this thing blows it out of the water. The colors or more vibrant and the local dimming allows much deeper blacks than I was expecting from an LED. I only have two complaints, the lack of a sleep timer and the remote. LG has a pointer to allow a simplified user input for searches as well as entering user names and passwords. I believe this TV could benefit from something like that. Also the Sony remote is difficult to index which button you are on without looking at it. Minor issues for such a great picture experience.

Perfect For Any Bright Living Environment. Is There Blooming? Yes. Is It A Deal Breaker? I Don’t Think It Is, At Least For Me. Picture Quality Is Top Notch. X1 Ultimate Processor Is One Of If Not The Best In The Business. Darks Are Great, You Really Only Notice The Blooming When You’re Watching Content With Black Letter Boxes. Off Viewing Angle Is Great As Well With The X-Wide Angle. The Interface On This TV Is A Huge Improvement Over Last Sony Models Over Recent Years. That’s Really Sony’s Only Area Of Improvement To Me. Overall It’s A Stellar Panel. Especially At The Sale Price That It’s Going For Right Now. You Won’t Find A Better Overall Picture/ Features At This Price Point Of $1800.

I only had a little over a week with this TV before I was deployed to a navy ship. I was underwhelmed with the TV. I even requested to return the TV to best buy. Best buy requested I contact the geek squad before I made a final decision to return the TV. I did a geek squad TV calibration for $250 but only paid $50 after my whole house geek squad discount. The test equipment showed the blue and red way out of tolerance with the green right on. After calibration all three colors were in tolerance. There did seem to be more detail in the picture and the colors looked very natural after calibration but the picture was very soft or washed out. No deep blacks. Turned down the black level 7 clicks and the blacks got very nice. I played several 4K HDR movies but there was no pop in the movies. Right before I left I found the Cambridge HD player output was set to 4.222 by default which I think is blu ray quality. It should have been set to 4.444 for 4K output. I want to bypass the receiver with the video to see if that improves the picture and retry the 4K movies with the HD player with the proper settings. The 4K up conversion of over the air TV signals was good. Blu rays did look better. Korea DVD drams also looked good almost like blu ray. The OTA TV signals were received better than my old TV. So my final decision is still up in the air. I was expecting more pop in the picture. The improvement of the picture over my six year old TV was smaller than expected. I did try to calibrate this tv with a calibration disk before the geek squad calibration. The gray scale test pattern showed the black and whites were both being crushed. maybe due to the receiver. After making adjustments to make the gray scale test look better the picture did look better until the first TV commercial came on. The TV was calibrated in a darken room and the auto light sensor was turned off. The TV commercial was so bright it hurt my eyes. I set the TV to Cinema and let it go at that until the TV was calibrated.

I purchased this TV after we moved into a new house. It was just installed over the fireplace and I am very pleased with the picture quality. It has all the features I wanted and easy to use. I also thought it was an excellent value for the price.

This TV is so good! The negative reviews have not done it justice because to me, it's a better TV than the 950G. It does bloom, but that can be adjusted in the settings. With this the overall picture quality of this TV is truly breathtaking. Plus getting it for less than $1400 was the icing on the cake.