Sony KD-65XH9005 Test – Powerful TV for gaming consoles

Sony’s KD-65XH9005 is a stylish, overall good mid-range TV. Its picture quality is on a high level, but it is not spectacular. Gamers will appreciate the short latency and HDMI 2.1 support. At the time of the test, the latter was not yet activated, Sony wants to roll it out with a firmware update. In the ranks of 65 inch LCD televisions, the KD-65XH9005 is one of the cheaper models.

Sony KD-65XH9005 Review: A solid average

The Sony KD-65XH9005 is an upper mid-range LCD television. As always, the Japanese manufacturer has given him some technical innovations that were reserved for the premium models last year.

The XH90 series now also has a backlight that can be controlled zone by zone (full array local dimming) and that should provide better contrast dynamics. At least our test candidate doesn’t get the most out of it. At 975cd/m², the LCD screen is a bit brighter than its OLED competition, but it only ranks midfield among its peers.

Even the checkerboard contrast is not bad at 220: 1, but not outstanding either. This is also evident beyond the test images in real scenes: details are almost completely resolved in dark image passages, In the light, however, like to swallow something. Homogeneous dark areas appear more dark gray than black.

The not quite as powerful X1-4K HDR processor is responsible for the image calculations. He too has mastered object-based HDR remastering. This function analyzes the individual objects on the screen and aims to give them more color depth, contrast and more realistic textures.

The image processor still lives up to this requirement for still images. In the case of moving objects, such as a flying soccer ball in front of a restless stadium audience and there was once something like this, we see clear double contours.

Sony has omitted the X-Wide-Angle function, which improves the viewing angle, in the XH90 series. The results of our viewing angle measurements are correspondingly small. The comfort sector, up to the limits of which the contrast drops only moderately, is 31 degrees horizontally and 28 degrees vertically. A decent value, but nothing more.

Sony KD-65XH9005 – Acoustic object tracking

If the loudspeakers are only mounted on the lower edge of large screens, the viewer can easily create a discrepancy between the position at which he sees an object and the point at which his ears locate it.

Sony counteracts this effect with its acoustic multi-audio positioning. With the KD-65XH9005, two rear-mounted tweeters ensure that objects and their noises move synchronously across the screen.

The sound is clear and free from distortion up to almost full deflection. Despite the integrated subwoofer, we missed more volume, especially in the lower part of the sound spectrum. You can find suggestions on how you can raise the sound with a soundbar to home cinema level in our soundbar buying guide.

 

Sony KD-65XH9005: Strong gaming features

The Sony KD-65XH9005 is currently one of the best TVs for game consoles and PCs, and not just because of its short latency. Two of its four HDMI interfaces should soon fully support the 2.1 standard.

According to the manufacturer, the VRR and ALLM functions, which are interesting for gamers, will be activated via firmware update in 2020.

The variable frame rate (VRR) then ensures smoother moving images, the “Auto Low Latency Mode” (ALLM) switches off all time-consuming image improvements on the TV. There is still no rush, games consoles and graphics cards that can do something with these features will not come onto the market until autumn.

With Android as the operating system, the user has the widest range of apps available. In addition to all common streaming offers, access to Sony Pictures is of course already set up.

Netflix content can be viewed in the special Netflix calibrated mode. When it comes to HDR, Sony is completely committed to Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. On the other hand, the screen cannot do anything with HDR10+.

The energy efficiency of the KD-65XH9005 is good overall. Its energy consumption is in the midfield in standard mode with 132 watts. Only when it is ready does it draw a little more energy from the socket than necessary with a measured 0.4 watt.

Sony KD-65XH9005 Pros:

• Short latency
• Two HDMI 2.1 ports
• Netflix Calibrated Mode

Sony KD-65XH9005 Cons:

• Partly artifacts on moving objects
• Narrow viewing angle sectors
• No support for HDR10+