Sony's flagship A90J/AJ90 4K OLED TV gets release window and pricing.

[Darknight]

Is it still on the way to becoming the future? Oled killer? I have one oled..hopefully it'll last until a microled if they really are better

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Possibly. Right now it has the strength of OLED, higher brightness but won't burn in. So it should be the best display tech. It currently has two problems right now that will hopefully be overcome with time. The first is it's expensive to make and the process to manufacture them isn't trivial which is why they're really expensive right now. Getting that cost down and streamlining the process to manufacture is going to be a big barrier. The second issue is currently the size which also should come in time. The smallest size they can make right now is 76" and that is aiming to be out sometime in the next 12 months. A few different screen sizes will be available throughout this year and I believe the first should hit the market in the next few months but we're still a bit off from getting 55" and 65" sized TVs at somewhat reasonable prices.

 

[Darknight]

Ugh, this set has the same issues with the X900H and given the price of this set, it's pretty annoying to see these issues.

 

[Palette Swap]

Ugh, this set has the same issues with the X900H and given the price of this set, it's pretty annoying to see these issues.

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Well, I'll be keeping a close eye on the G1, the Panny being a bit too rich for my blood.

 

[Darknight]

Well, I'll be keeping a close eye on the G1, the Panny being a bit too rich for my blood.

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I just saw someone post this which now I need to look into:

LGs has me very nervous about the G1 (chrominance overshoot, flashing VRR, weird uniformity crap.)

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[Jokerman]

Ugh, this set has the same issues with the X900H and given the price of this set, it's pretty annoying to see these issues.

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This isn't true. The 120Hz blurring issue is fixed. That alone makes it an improved situation over the x900h.

 

[Darknight]

This isn't true. The 120Hz blurring issue is fixed. That alone makes it an improved situation over the x900h.

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Not according to a post over at AVS Forum where someone is reporting image quality issues when running at 4K120 which goes away when not running at 120hz.

To the point, the TV does not handle 4k/120fps gaming very good at all. When you have your System (PS5 or Series X) set to 4k/120 out put, when you load a game and let's say you have a daytime skyline, you get what looks like gradient issues/color banding. Some have also described this as if someone smeared vasoline in the skyline. When you turn off the 120fps option and reboot the same game and looking at the same scene it is crystal clear.

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2021 Sony Master Series A90J OLED Owner's Thread...

I was able to get the A90J today. My plan was to get it through another means, but luck was on my side and was able to get earlier today. I only been messing with it for a few hours and as mentioned above am having some odd audio issues with the Xbox Series X and trying to use the eArc port...

www.avsforum.com

 

[Palette Swap]

I just saw someone post this which now I need to look into:

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Ah crap.
I feel it's gonna be a fun couple of months of doom scrolling Era, AVS or Reddit before I purchase a TV. Fingers crossed.

Then again, I'm in for the long haul for doom scrolling on AV Receivers anyway lol.

 

[Jokerman]

Not according to a post over at AVS Forum where someone is reporting image quality issues when running at 4K120 which goes away when not running at 120hz.

2021 Sony Master Series A90J OLED Owner's Thread...

I was able to get the A90J today. My plan was to get it through another means, but luck was on my side and was able to get earlier today. I only been messing with it for a few hours and as mentioned above am having some odd audio issues with the Xbox Series X and trying to use the eArc port...

www.avsforum.com

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I didn't see that post. I stand corrected. The whole HDMI2.1 spec is a mess right now. No single manufacturer has nailed it yet, although LG are admittedly closer than Sony. I wonder if what is being reported there is a bandwidth issue?

 

[Lkr]

Ah crap.
I feel it's gonna be a fun couple of months of doom scrolling Era, AVS or Reddit before I purchase a TV. Fingers crossed.

Then again, I'm in for the long haul for doom scrolling on AV Receivers anyway lol.

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i'm kinda relieved I pulled the trigger on the CX when I did, otherwise I would be obsessing over these releases.

the hdmi 2.1 AVR refresh will probably be the next party

 

[dallow_bg]

Not according to a post over at AVS Forum where someone is reporting image quality issues when running at 4K120 which goes away when not running at 120hz.

2021 Sony Master Series A90J OLED Owner's Thread...

I was able to get the A90J today. My plan was to get it through another means, but luck was on my side and was able to get earlier today. I only been messing with it for a few hours and as mentioned above am having some odd audio issues with the Xbox Series X and trying to use the eArc port...

www.avsforum.com

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Oh jeeze.

 

[Darknight]

Ah crap.
I feel it's gonna be a fun couple of months of doom scrolling Era, AVS or Reddit before I purchase a TV. Fingers crossed.

Then again, I'm in for the long haul for doom scrolling on AV Receivers anyway lol.

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My bottleneck is still going to be an AV receiver so maybe I should be thankful that nothing is lining up currently. I really thought this would be the year for the full upgrade, but man it's not looking like it. Even on the AV receiver front it's not looking great. It's sounding better than last year, but not great. From what I've seen, the issues that plagued last year's receivers won't be a problem because other companies are using a different chip but that chip is still limited. It's looking like only three HDMI 2.1 ports and all of those ports are only 40gbps. Functionally, I could probably get away with that but it's certainly not ideal since I want to get an HDMI 2.1 receiver and be set rather than getting some transition receiver.

I didn't see that post. I stand corrected. The whole HDMI2.1 spec is a mess right now. No single manufacturer has nailed it yet, although LG are admittedly closer than Sony. I wonder if what is being reported there is a bandwidth issue?

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Ya, for the price that Sony is charging, and the fact that they took extra time to implement, I was hoping they would have nailed it. The TV sounds great from the early impressions so it was super disappointing to see last night that pretty much all the major X900H problems are present here too. I'm trying to avoid buying an LG for two reasons right now.. The first is that they really annoyed me with dropping DTS support on their sets which impacts the fact that you can't send DTS over eARC now. I know there are ways around it, but it still bugs me that they don't support it. The second is kind of a silly one, but I really hate how they design the location of their HDMI inputs being on the side in the C series because it messes with how I'm going to wire my setup. I guess there's always the G1 which routes them downward instead of to the side, but I figured I could avoid LG all together and go with Sony and get the gains of the better picture quality on top of it. So ya, I'm super disappointed that Sony dropped the ball here.

Oh jeeze.

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Yep, I'm surprised and disappointed from early impressions on this front.

 

[Razgriz417]

I didn't see that post. I stand corrected. The whole HDMI2.1 spec is a mess right now. No single manufacturer has nailed it yet, although LG are admittedly closer than Sony. I wonder if what is being reported there is a bandwidth issue?

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im new to high end tvs, whats wrong with lg's implementation?

 

[Jokerman]

im new to high end tvs, whats wrong with lg's implementation?

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Currently, I believe that the gamma shift issue still exists, but I've been wrong in this thread once already today so I could be again.

Interestingly another owner in the AVS thread has posted saying he has no problems with his A90J so it might be worth waiting for a more technically sided reviewer to have a look e.g Vincent Teoh.

 

[Darknight]

It's been awhile since I've paid attention to TV discussions at AVS, but it's pretty annoying how almost everyone is so dismissive of any issues relating to how TVs handle games. It concerns me how it's not something that is even focused on so you might not see as many issues get pointed out.

 

[Palette Swap]

The second is kind of a silly one, but I really hate how they design the location of their HDMI inputs being on the side in the C series because it messes with how I'm going to wire my setup. I guess there's always the G1 which routes them downward instead of to the side,

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Okay, confession time. One reason I'm eyeing the G1 is that on the GX, the optional feet let you pass cables through them. I don't even want to wall mount a TV right now, but I'd rather do that.

 

[Valcrist]

Very pleased with this TV so far. PS5 looks great on it. I played Black Ops Cold War in 120hz and it ran smoothly.

 

[platocplx]

Very pleased with this TV so far. PS5 looks great on it. I played Black Ops Cold War in 120hz and it ran smoothly.

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Damn that looks good

 

[Valcrist]

Damn that looks good

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and let me tell you... the Resident Evil Village demo? Yeah. I'm gonna have to have that game and experience it with this TV. The HDR looks incredible and pictures can't do it justice.

 

[Jokerman]

Very pleased with this TV so far. PS5 looks great on it. I played Black Ops Cold War in 120hz and it ran smoothly.

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Which picture mode is most accurate out of the box?

 

[ShotyMcFat]

Why doesn't Sony just stick a ps5 in with the tv, then double down on the psn store, literally no other tv manufacturers will be able to compete.

 

[Jokerman]

Why doesn't Sony just stick a ps5 in with the tv, then double down on the psn store, literally no other tv manufacturers will be able to compete.

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Do you mean actually in-in? The TV would be massive!

 

[Palette Swap]

And piling up complex hardware functions in a single device is a recipe for discovering RMA processes.

 

[ShotyMcFat]

Do you mean actually in-in? The TV would be massive!

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yeah inside the tv, how many tv manufacturers would be able to say that their tv plays modern games out of the box.

 

[Jokerman]

yeah inside the tv, how many tv manufacturers would be able to say that their tv plays modern games out of the box.

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You couldn't do it. It would have to be some kind of option built into a base or something. Kept totally separate from the TV as the heat generated would be nuts.

 

[Valcrist]

Which picture mode is most accurate out of the box?

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I'm probably not the best person to ask since I'm the filthy bastard who uses neutral color temp. :D

 

[Palette Swap]

I'm going to shamelessly use this thread, because it coincides with my specific interests, but LG G1 reviews have been popping up and they generally sound very positive

LG OLED65G1 OLED Evo TV review

Is LG’s new 'OLED Evo' panel all it’s cracked up to be?

www.whathifi.com

LG G1 Gallery Series OLED TV Review (OLED65G1PUA) | Digital Trends

LG's G1 Gallery Series OLED isn't just a lifestyle upgrade over the more affordable C1 series. It offers significant benefits for those who want to go premium.

www.digitaltrends.com

LG's top 2021 OLED has been (subtly) improved in almost every way

LG's subtle "2nd evolution" of OLED manages to justify the prices of these excellent TVs.

www.reviewed.com

It's still too early to parse how it will compare to the Sony set or even the C1, but consider me cautiously optimistic.

 

[Valcrist]

Anyone using Sharc with their A90J? Am I the only one who got an A90J in here? Lol.

 

[Jokerman]

Anyone using Sharc with their A90J? Am I the only one who got an A90J in here? Lol.

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It has been delayed here till mid/late April.

 

[Darknight]

Man, it really pains me about the concessions that I have to make with going with this TV if I get it. Everything I read about it from a picture quality level just sounds absolutely fantastic and it just bugs me that they've botched the functionality level of making it not easy to deal with on a day to day basis. I think I may have a solution but I'm not happy about it. I was so ready to jump on this TV if everything panned out right and now I'm wondering if I should just wait.

 

[Jokerman]

What day to day functionality are you referring to?

 

[Darknight]

What day to day functionality are you referring to?

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Going back and forth between Dolby Vision content and games while running everything through a receiver. As it stands now, I would have to change the setting to which mode the HDMI port is set to depending on what content I'm currently displaying.

 

[badcrumble]

I'm going to shamelessly use this thread, because it coincides with my specific interests, but LG G1 reviews have been popping up and they generally sound very positive

LG OLED65G1 OLED Evo TV review

Is LG’s new 'OLED Evo' panel all it’s cracked up to be?

www.whathifi.com

LG G1 Gallery Series OLED TV Review (OLED65G1PUA) | Digital Trends

LG's G1 Gallery Series OLED isn't just a lifestyle upgrade over the more affordable C1 series. It offers significant benefits for those who want to go premium.

www.digitaltrends.com

LG's top 2021 OLED has been (subtly) improved in almost every way

LG's subtle "2nd evolution" of OLED manages to justify the prices of these excellent TVs.

www.reviewed.com

It's still too early to parse how it will compare to the Sony set or even the C1, but consider me cautiously optimistic.

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It sounds great, but it's (presumably) soooo much cheaper to get a GX than to get a launch G1. I'm feeling pretty indecisive about which one to get.

 

[Jokerman]

Going back and forth between Dolby Vision content and games while running everything through a receiver. As it stands now, I would have to change the setting to which mode the HDMI port is set to depending on what content I'm currently displaying.

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I'm not sure what you mean. How would that be any different with another HDMI2.1 TV?

 

[Darknight]

I'm not sure what you mean. How would that be any different with another HDMI2.1 TV?

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This isn't a problem with at least LG OLEDs. Having to set in the settings what the HDMI port is going to be used for rather than it auto detecting really hinders using an AV receiver and plugging everything in to that. It really shouldn't be something that I have to constantly change in the settings for it to function. Think of it this way, what if you had to define in the settings if the HDMI input was going to be used for 1080p content or 4K content and any time you switched, you would have to go change that setting? That would be annoying right?

 

[Jokerman]

This isn't a problem with at least LG OLEDs. Having to set in the settings what the HDMI port is going to be used for rather than it auto detecting really hinders using an AV receiver and plugging everything in to that. It really shouldn't be something that I have to constantly change in the settings for it to function. Think of it this way, what if you had to define in the settings if the HDMI input was going to be used for 1080p content or 4K content and any time you switched, you would have to go change that setting? That would be annoying right?

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They must have massively changed the UI on this set then as I don't have to do any of that with my AF9.

 

[Darknight]

They must have massively changed the UI on this set then as I don't have to do any of that with my AF9.

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The Sony AF9 isn't a HDMI 2.1 set so it can't do 4K120 which is why you don't have this problem. This is something that so far all Sony HDMI 2.1 sets have to deal with such as the X900H and now the A90J. Here is what it looks like when with what you have to set on the HDMI input for the TV. This is problematic when you're using an AV receiver and some sources can support 4K120 while others support Dolby Vision which means depending on the source, you'll have to change this setting every time it differs. My guess is that you'll need to be in the 4K120 setting in order to use VRR even on 60 fps games too.

 

[dallow_bg]

Yeah, I saw Vincent's video about the Dolby Video issue.
I had already taken this model off my probable list, and that is even more reason to do so.

 

[Darknight]

Yeah, I saw Vincent's video about the Dolby Video issue.
I had already taken this model off my probable list, and that is even more reason to do so.

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Right now I'm mulling over if I want to gamble over and mess with dual HDMI output from the receiver. The last time I tried that I got burned a bit by it because I didn't understand the limitations at the time, but I have to assume things are better than they were before. I'm also worried about what issues I might not be thinking of by going this route. Certainly, it's less than ideal to have to route two HDMI cables from the receiver to the TV too. Ideally, I'd avoid having to figure out a work around solution and it would just work.

 

[ascii42]

Which picture mode is most accurate out of the box?

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If it's like other Sony TVs, Custom is the most accurate.

 

[Syntsui]

I'm lost at those prices, why would anyone in their right mind buy this instead of LG's CX.

 

[Darknight]

I'm lost at those prices, why would anyone in their right mind buy this instead of LG's CX.

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Because there's a decent increase in image quality and brightness over the CX.

 

[Syntsui]

Because there's a decent increase in image quality and brightness over the CX.

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Decent is not enough to justify the doubled price, I'm still not understanding what the hell they are thinking.

 

[Darknight]

Decent is not enough to justify the doubled price, I'm still not understanding what the hell they are thinking.

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First, image quality doesn't scale linearly in price and the image quality that this set is offering is exciting a lot of people right now with the early results in image quality. Second, they're not double the price. The LG GX 55" started at $2500 and the 65" was $3500. You're comparing two different tiers. The Sony A08J will be more in line with the CX and C1 pricing. This is their premium top of the line OLED set and keep in mind, that's MSRP, not what street price will look like over time. Sony's OLEDs have typically had better image quality over LG's OLEDs too which is part of the reason they tend to be more expensive than LGs.

 

[Jokerman]

The Sony AF9 isn't a HDMI 2.1 set so it can't do 4K120 which is why you don't have this problem. This is something that so far all Sony HDMI 2.1 sets have to deal with such as the X900H and now the A90J. Here is what it looks like when with what you have to set on the HDMI input for the TV. This is problematic when you're using an AV receiver and some sources can support 4K120 while others support Dolby Vision which means depending on the source, you'll have to change this setting every time it differs. My guess is that you'll need to be in the 4K120 setting in order to use VRR even on 60 fps games too.

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Blimey that is...interesting an approach. Surely though you would just set every input to Enhanced format (Dolby Vision) and only the devices you intend to operate at 4K/120Hz mode to the second option? Given how few games there are at 120Hz and Dolby Vision, that doesn't sound like a big deal to me. You would hardly need to swap.

 

[Darknight]

Blimey that is...interesting an approach. Surely though you would just set every input to Enhanced format (Dolby Vision) and only the devices you intend to operate at 4K/120Hz mode to the second option? Given how few games there are at 120Hz and Dolby Vision, that doesn't sound like a big deal to me. You would hardly need to swap.

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The problem is you need to change the setting constantly if you're going through a receiver since all devices are then fed to a single HDMI port. You likely also need to be in 4K120 mode in order for VRR to work even for 60 fps games so it's not really about games that are 4K120 and have DV. If it was simply not supporting a 4K120 with DV signal then it wouldn't be much of a problem.

 

[VanDoughnut]

So what are the best next gen ready TVs right now anyway? I guess what has nailed VRR and 4K 120fps all the future proof features?

I'm gonna wait until everything seems in order. But I don't wanna wait too long before Ratchet/Horizon and all the visual showpiece games drop.

 

[Jokerman]

The problem is you need to change the setting constantly if you're going through a receiver since all devices are then fed to a single HDMI port. You likely also need to be in 4K120 mode in order for VRR to work even for 60 fps games so it's not really about games that are 4K120 and have DV. If it was simply not supporting a 4K120 with DV signal then it wouldn't be much of a problem.

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So all of your devices are connected to your amp rather than the TV? You don't make use of eArc?

 

[Gitaroo]

So what are the best next gen ready TVs right now anyway? I guess what has nailed VRR and 4K 120fps all the future proof features?

I'm gonna wait until everything seems in order. But I don't wanna wait too long before Ratchet/Horizon and all the visual showpiece games drop.

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LG c9 and cx.

 

[Darknight]

So all of your devices are connected to your amp rather than the TV? You don't make use of eArc?

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Nope, I prefer removing eARC out of the equation as I've seen enough issues surrounding it that I see little reason to add that variable and risk problems occuring in this TV or my next one. Heck, even over at AVS in one of the threads about the A90J, someone was reporting an audio problem while routing through eARC. It's just one of many stories I hear around eARC problems. eARC is great on paper, and great when it works, but it's also a huge pain when it doesn't. I also have a complicated wire setup which means I need to plan ahead on what direction the cables flow and it makes it very inflexible to change it down the line without being a headache.