The Sony A95k OLED TV is one of the most popular TVs. It has a QD-OLED screen with increased brightness and impressive colors, plus the usual 4K 120 hertz VR and Dolby Vision support. But is it perfect? Let’s in the review.
Design and Build
Sony A95K stands apart from other TV stands by having the TV elevated two or three inches above your unit, a feature that no other manufacturer offers. Depending on your taste, you may position the stand in front of or behind the TV once it lies flush with your unit and requires no raise at all. From a design perspective, I believe this looks fantastic; it’s simple and lacks a large support beneath.
But there are two drawbacks to this arrangement. One is that when the stand is placed behind it, it leans back quite a little. Secondly, you are unable to position a soundbar or speaker directly in front of the screen due to its proximity to your unit. Naturally, installing the stand in front of the TV would solve the leaning problem, but it would still prevent you from placing a sound bar in front of it.
It’s also important to note that it’s not a major deal if the bottom piece has a piano finish instead of a matte surface when the plastic film is removed. However, when you’re watching it, it’s actually more reflecting on the screen itself, so you might notice reflections based on your room’s lighting or windows.
Picture Quality
First of all, in terms of visual quality, it appears fantastic. It is without a doubt the nicest OLED screen I have ever used; it is sharp, vivid, bright, and almost perfectly balanced. For everybody who desires the most attractive TV, I can state that. Sony A95K screen is not only a 4K OLED but also a QD-OLED, which combines the advantages of quantum dots with the benefits of an OLED, such as deep blacks and unparalleled contrast, making an incredibly beautiful image.
Therefore, an OLED TV that generates some of the best natural colors on a screen is achieved by combining some of Sony’s processor innovations, such as the cognitive processor XR and XR trilumus Max, with a brighter display and more vibrant colors, which are kind of the perfect combination of the two. When combined with the BT 2020 color space, it looks amazing. You’ll be amazed at how good it appears no matter what you watching at it.
Brightness and Contrast
I’m now a huge admirer of OLED TVs because of how well the dark levels contrast with clarity, but as we all know, there are a few cons: the brightness levels and the possibility of burning. Sony A95K isn’t your typical OLED; it’s far brighter than anything I’ve ever seen. In addition, the entire screen seems brighter, not just the highlights or the white portions. And the reason for this is that QD-OLED produces a brighter image since it employs blue light instead of white. It also greatly keeps the colors from seeming washed out in both video games and movies.
The black levels are flawless, but it’s important to note that if you leave the ambient sensor on—which I did right away—it could cause the black levels to appear somewhat gray rather than jet black. Therefore, make sure to check the settings and turn off the ambient mode on your TV if you do encounter this.
Also Read: Hisense E7H The Best 4k Budget Gaming QLED TV
Movies and 4K Content
It seemed reasonable to watch roughly five different movies over the course of the last week, both during the day and at night, to truly test and see what kind of capabilities Sony A95K TV has. and I haven’t encountered any difficulties at all. This has been seen in animated films, where the colors truly stand out; everything is vivid and colorful without being overly saturated. Even though there is a ton of natural light in the room throughout the day, the image on the screen still appears amazing. Of course, showing you an animated film is simple; they always look fantastic, but the regular films that support Dolby Vision or HDR really impress me, and for that reason I wanted to watch Top Gun again.
The balance of the skin tones, contrast, and overall brightness of the picture is excellent, and I never felt that the picture was lacking anything, a sense I have definitely experienced with some other TVs. While the brightness, colors, and contrast of the screen are great on their own, the real magic happens when you mix them all to create amazing image, even if the screen is 4K. Sony has a device known as the XR 4K upscaler, which is capable of upscale non-4K footage to almost 4K resolution. This implies that viewing past Netflix series or even live TV will appear slightly more appealing than it did previously.
Aside from those few adjustments, A95K OLED TV looks fantastic right out of the box in my opinion. I did reduce the color saturation by a few points and, of course, switch off the ambient mode. For any TV, this is a major selling point. To be really honest, instead of spending hours reading through and fine-tuning the settings for every input, the majority of us just want to open the box, turn it on, and get started.
Motion
Currently, motion is turned on by default, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a TV handle motion flawlessly right out of the box, it usually needs to be reduced or turned off entirely. Reducing the motion settings seems to be the ideal balance for me, while I am aware that this is just subjective.
Therefore, what works for me could not be smooth enough or too smooth for you, but Sony A95K is really excellent in terms of motion handling. In addition, I haven’t seen any banding, which is a problem with TVs but is attributed to Sony’s XR smoothing, which improves the tones and hues of the image. Thus, it provides us with a really clear and pleasant image.
Gaming on Sony A95K QD-OLED
There are gaming options, and you’ll want to connect in a PC or game console. Sony A95K is equipped with nearly every function you could want in a gaming television. First, we have HDMI 2.1, which support both 4K and 120 Hz. You really only have one usable HDMI 2.1 port after you’ve plugged in your AVR or Soundbar because the other two only provide HDMI 2.0 and one of these ports is designated for E-ARC. This won’t bother most people, but others may be surprised to learn that certain TVs contain four functional ports. From a technical perspective, however, games will automatically look and play much smoother because of VRR (Variable Refresh rate) which is supported on the Xbox and PlayStation 5.
The auto low latency mode is another option, however playing games at 4K or 120 hertz looks fantastic. It is amazing with every game I’ve tried, especially when you take into account the brighter screen, VR, and HDR support. Additionally, because the Sony A95k supports Auto HDR tone mapping, the HDR settings are automatically optimized when your PS5 is turned on. This eliminates the need for you to fiddle with the brightness settings because both the PS5 and the TV will choose the optimal HDR settings for you. All of the gaming features you would want are supported.
It lacks the specialized gaming hub or menu like LG and Samsung TVs offer, but this won’t affect its functionality in any way. However, having an overlay to easily adjust settings, see the frame-rate indicator, and check if VR was enabled would have been nice.
But what about motion?
After testing out a few various games over the past week, such as Spider-Man, God of War, and Gran Turismo, I can confidently state that the motion is flawless and that any VR-enabled games function incredibly well. It’s an excellent TV all around, and it has a very low input of less than 10 milliseconds.
The Sony A95K supports both 1080p and 4K, but sadly, it is not designed to support 1440p. You can still push the resolution to 1440p if you use a PC, but if you plug in a PlayStation 5 and try to choose 1440p from the menu, you’ll receive an error message stating that the TV is not compatible with this format.
Viewing Angles and Reflections
You won’t be shocked to hear that the viewing angles are fantastic. As I’ve mentioned previously, having an OLED TV is always advantageous if you sit off to the side, as I do, because of the excellent viewing angles. This implies that while you move around your room, the image on the screen maintains its contrast and clarity, and that relates to the reflections. Since I have windows on both sides of the TV, viewing it straight on won’t ever be an issue. But if you have Windows on the other side, the reflections will make it difficult for you to see what’s on the screen.
You will still get the amazing contrast and clarity of an OLED, and particular QD-OLED has one of the best anti-glare or anti-reflective coatings I’ve ever seen. It also has a very glossy finish. However, because of its extremely dark color, it lessens reflections in your space.
Burn-in
As with every OLED TV, there’s always a chance of burning if an image like taskbars or heads-up displays is left on the screen for a protracted amount of time, this could lead to issues with prolonged use. However, as burn-in avoidance software is already incorporated into all new OLED and the likelihood of you suffering it is quite low and I would never be concerned about it.
Speakers
The Sony A95k OLED speakers are now genuinely good for a TV, with two speakers and two subwoofers, it produces a well-balanced sound for us. You can adjust the audio settings, including regular cinema, Sport, and Dolby audio, under the settings. They support DTS surround, Dolby audio, and Dolby Atmos.
Additionally, you need to do is connect your AVR’s speaker output directly to the TV, if you are using a surround sound system with an AVR that allows you to configure the TV’s internal speakers to function as the TV’s speakers. This implies that placing a speaker directly in front of the TV stand is not a concern.
UI and Remote
The Sony A95k’ OLED operating system is Google TV, so if you’ve ever used TV support in this, you’ll be comfortable using it. All of the installed apps and the most recent films and TV series you’ve watched are shown in a sizable tile layout on the home screen. I think this is one of the best home screens and user interfaces from 2022.
It’s also quick and simple to operate, which may seem like a given, but a slow-to-use TV can negatively impact your entire viewing experience, so it’s important to note. Together with the TV, there is a camera that plugs into the top port, however I will never utilize it. but depending on where you’re seated in the room, it should optimize the sound and picture.
Along with a few additional capabilities, gesture controls are also supported for video chat. Afterwards, we have the remote control, which is a pleasant improvement over previous models as it features a metal casing. and has fewer buttons than usual, feeling much more luxurious than plastic. It turned out that I had two remote controls.
Issue and Improvement
In terms of problems or enhancements for the Sony A95K TV, the list isn’t very long, but these could undoubtedly influence a buyer’s choice to make a purchase. The first is that there are only two HDMI 2.1 ports, which is sufficient for most users; however, after connecting your AVR or sound bar to the e-arc port, there is only one port remaining. For that reason, you should be aware of this if you are simultaneously utilizing an Xbox and a PlayStation 5.
Though I think the stand looks amazing, many users may find it a touch too low if they want to play something in front of the screen or are using a sound bar. Additionally, the fact that this TV is only available in 55- or 65-inch versions may turn many off right away.
Sony A95K is the most attractive TV, and if you don't mind the small tweaks or problems, it's almost flawless. You will be astounded by how fantastic looks for both gaming and movies, making it the one to buy.
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Design7.5
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Ports7.5
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Picture Quality8
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Brightness and Contrast8
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4K Content8
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Viewing Angles7.5
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Burn-In8
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Speakers7
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Ui and Software8
