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Sony’s 2021 TV lineup runs Google TV and fully embraces HDMI 2.1

So yeah long story short I got the qn90a and it’s crap. Samsung needs qned!

So BB refunded my A8h AND the warranty as a nice surprise so I’m just deciding between the A80J and 90. I don’t think I can go back after Sony oled lol.
 
VRR is held up by Sony waiting on the 2.1 council to certify the standard. This has been said from a Sony TV rep on a vidcast and posted in this thread.

This is how Sony has always gone about things due to their motion picture ties.
I don’t even care if they ever get vrr personally but Sony needs to fulfill their promise for once.

Me though I need BFI on so I don’t care too much.
 
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dotnotbot

Member
Mediatek strikes again. Here's what happens if you rely on new Mediatek chipset alone without companion chip like XR from 2021 Sonys: Sony has now significantly better gradient handling than both LG and Panasonic. Panasonic has more color banding* than Sony across entire range, near-black color banding even worse than LG (!). Factory calibration is still superior so some dark scenes appear to have a bit more depth and more details than on Sony, but some other dark scenes may look worse because of banding.

Summary of gaming capabilites:
- Dolby Vision capped to 60 Hz, DoVi + VRR doesn't work properly, same as TCL
- halved vertical resolution in 4k@120, will get a fix for 4k@120 without VRR, with VRR might stay the same
- flashing with VRR is there, same as on LGs

*don't mistake color banding with vertical banding

Sony might feel disappointing with gaming features, but at least they didn't downgrade overall picture quality.

 
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Shmunter

Member
Mediatek strikes again. Here's what happens if you rely on new Mediatek chipset alone without companion chip like XR from 2021 Sonys.
Sony has now significantly better gradient handling than both LG and Panasonic.

Summary:
- more color banding* than Sony across entire range, near-black color banding even worse than LG (!), still superior factory calibration
- Dolby Vision capped to 60 Hz, DoVi + VRR doesn't work properly, same as TCL
- halved vertical resolution in 4k@120, will get a fix for 4k@120 without VRR, with VRR might stay the same
- flashing with VRR is there, same as on LGs

*don't mistake color banding with vertical banding

Sony might feel disappointing with gaming features, but at least they didn't downgrade overall picture quality.


Sony motion in particular is a head above. I was horrified going to top end Samsung. Noped the hell out back to Sony.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Sony might feel disappointing with gaming features, but at least they didn't downgrade overall picture quality.
Sony motion in particular is a head above. I was horrified going to top end Samsung. Noped the hell out back to Sony.

Sony always had better gradient handling since they added their Smooth Gradation/Super Bit Mapping tech and now its even more of a gulf due to downgrades from other manufacturers but its pretty annoying that Sony are fucking up their own motion by forcing always on interpolation for certain modes though, whyyyyyyyy.

We're the best at this, lets ruin it! First they made the Film Mode setting less granular/verbose, then changed it back (Still not quite as good as it was in the past imo) and now they've done this. I still think its the best motion tech but no need to start copying the competition with forced processing. They always avoided that in the past.

The forced sharpening is disappointing for me as well, I don't get that, seems like a bandaid for them downgrading upscaling in some way (to get lower input maybe?)

So as much as I think the newer sets are great they aren't quite as impressive as some of the 2017-2019 sets were at the time for me. I still say XG95/X950G is king of mid-range image quality even without some of the newer tech and lower input lag.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Off-topic:

I just got my first ever modern mobile phone and it has an AMOLED display, but mannnn the near black handling is total garbage, I don't know if its exacerbated by mobile Netflix being so ass quality - I mean, 233mb for a 50 minute TV show in 1080p, what?! I don't give a fuck that its on a smaller screen it should be higher quality than that for sure - but even really high quality youtube demos have really terrible near blacks, it kinda defeats the purpose of an OLED since most pixels aren't actually 0-nits, ie black, they are near black.
 

dotnotbot

Member
Off-topic:

I just got my first ever modern mobile phone and it has an AMOLED display, but mannnn the near black handling is total garbage, I don't know if its exacerbated by mobile Netflix being so ass quality - I mean, 233mb for a 50 minute TV show in 1080p, what?! I don't give a fuck that its on a smaller screen it should be higher quality than that for sure - but even really high quality youtube demos have really terrible near blacks, it kinda defeats the purpose of an OLED since most pixels aren't actually 0-nits, ie black, they are near black.

I got Samsung M21 recently, it's a budget model with AMOLED. There's heavy black crush, gradation above black is awful and darkest shades have some weird tinting, it has heavy purple smearing in motion in the darkest colors, overall color gradation is also meh.
My friend has some older OnePlus flagship and while his screen seems to have much less black crush than mine, rest of the downsides remain.
Googling those issues it seems to be a problem on all mobile OLEDs. I came to the conclusion that I would prefer good IPS screen for movie watching. Colors won't be as vibrant but at least darker scenes won't look ass. Something like new miniled iPad is probably the best portable movie screen you can get right now.
 
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Sony always had better gradient handling since they added their Smooth Gradation/Super Bit Mapping tech and now its even more of a gulf due to downgrades from other manufacturers but its pretty annoying that Sony are fucking up their own motion by forcing always on interpolation for certain modes though, whyyyyyyyy.

We're the best at this, lets ruin it! First they made the Film Mode setting less granular/verbose, then changed it back (Still not quite as good as it was in the past imo) and now they've done this. I still think its the best motion tech but no need to start copying the competition with forced processing. They always avoided that in the past.

The forced sharpening is disappointing for me as well, I don't get that, seems like a bandaid for them downgrading upscaling in some way (to get lower input maybe?)

So as much as I think the newer sets are great they aren't quite as impressive as some of the 2017-2019 sets were at the time for me. I still say XG95/X950G is king of mid-range image quality even without some of the newer tech and lower input lag.
950g has pretty much the same lag as current sets i.e. 18 ms vs 16 which is practically no difference. If 950g had 2.1 it'd be a better set all round than x90j. Even better to me... if x900e had 2.1 :) 950g has more zones for sdr black level but it has way more bloom in hdr vs 900e in other words 950g is better spec'd but gets a bit too bright for the zone count.

In terms of upscaling it seems better on XR chips according to Vinny but i'll take a look at that on the A90j this fall. So glad my bb credit isn't running out in a month like I told you lol (called GS back to clarify and they said it won't expire) But yes, the AI processing being forced is a step back in some regards.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
950g has pretty much the same lag as current sets i.e. 18 ms vs 16 which is practically no difference. If 950g had 2.1 it'd be a better set all round than x90j. Even better to me... if x900e had 2.1 :) 950g has more zones for sdr black level but it has way more bloom in hdr vs 900e in other words 950g is better spec'd but gets a bit too bright for the zone count.

In terms of upscaling it seems better on XR chips according to Vinny but i'll take a look at that on the A90j this fall. So glad my bb credit isn't running out in a month like I told you lol (called GS back to clarify and they said it won't expire) But yes, the AI processing being forced is a step back in some regards.

Yeah its pretty mad because in 55" apparently 900E is 35 zones and the 950G is 60 zones (45 vs 60 in 65") but its 1.5x as bright on a 10% window in HDR, but 2.1x as bright in a "real scene" in HDR, which is a big difference. Which surely would lead to more blooming, I've never managed to see a side-by-side, but I'd like to.

There is a brand new 55" XG9505 on ebay right now for 900, and a 75" for 1700 which I think are both good prices for what you get. X950G is the true X930E successor I'd say, I've never seen a X950H in person though so not sure how that compares to them.

I'm super interested to see what the X95J is like compared, any day now.
 
Yeah its pretty mad because in 55" apparently 900E is 35 zones and the 950G is 60 zones (45 vs 60 in 65") but its 1.5x as bright on a 10% window in HDR, but 2.1x as bright in a "real scene" in HDR, which is a big difference. Which surely would lead to more blooming, I've never managed to see a side-by-side, but I'd like to.

There is a brand new 55" XG9505 on ebay right now for 900, and a 75" for 1700 which I think are both good prices for what you get. X950G is the true X930E successor I'd say, I've never seen a X950H in person though so not sure how that compares to them.

I'm super interested to see what the X95J is like compared, any day now.

IIRC the 950h has worse QC than 950g and maybe had a red push problem... I think 950g was the best x1 ultimate lcd they made as per ones I’ve tested. I only ended up taking it back because uniformity wasn’t great and hdr blooming was bad. But in sdr it definitely got blacker than 900e and the input lag was great.

The big “wtf” on the 950h was the lack of 2.1... but the step down has it? 😅

If I had an 950g today I would just turn hdr brightness down a bit.
 
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The next 12 months…..do you find this acceptable? More than a year after launch of the ps5? Absolutely ridiculous.
It definitely isn't, but the real problem was Sony promising it to begin with when the chipset clearly can't cope. We won't get an issue free 2.1 set with all the features until at least next year.

Even if they update their sets from 900h all the way to the A90J with VRR it won't be without issues. Best thing to do, just game at 60hz with bfi on, no worrying about VRR or sub resolution 120hz :p

Well, I would like to be proven wrong on the updates.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
My guess is Sony's TVs and the PS5 will get VRR around the same time. Sometime in the next 12 months.
In less than 12 months we will either get the update or a announcement that it's not happening.
I do think it's due to one of the two devices(Sony's TV's or PS5) that is causing the delay and as soon as both have it fixed we will(could) get the fix.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I'd like to see a technical breakdown of why VRR has these near black gamma issues, has anyone seen something like that? Is it a technical issue only with the chipsets in LG and Samsung sets that support it or is it a fundamental problem with VRR over HDMI that needs to be solved?

Also, I'm out of the loop a bit since I stopped paying attention to VRR, but is the issue only with 4K120 input or does it affect 4K60 as well?

I know it wouldn't work for consoles but can an nvidia GPU output 4K120 + VRR (G-sync in this case I guess) from Display Port 1.4 and then you convert that to HDMI 2.1 and into an LG/Samsung TV that supports VRR and avoid the gamma issue? Even if it doesn't have the gamma issues I'm guessing that might not work on every set because G-Sync needs to be supported on the TV itself.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
In less than 12 months we will either get the update or a announcement that it's not happening.
I do think it's due to one of the two devices(Sony's TV's or PS5) that is causing the delay and as soon as both have it fixed we will(could) get the fix.

They have promised it for both, so if they end up not delivering it for one or the other they're gonna have a lot of angry customers (and most likely some class-action lawsuits) on their hands. I personally only have a PS5 so far (still using my X930E while I wait for a Sony TV with all 2.1 features working correctly), but I would certainly be pissed if they announced that they can't deliver VRR for the current model. I would demand getting my console replaced with the updated revision that can handle it (assuming they would release one). And I think they would have no choice but to do so, at least here in the EU where consumer rights are strong and companies can't just screw you over as they please. I would feel the same way if I had bought a TV that was promised to be getting it and it didn't. They aren't saying these TVs MIGHT get it, they're saying they WILL get it, right?
 
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They have promised it for both, so if they end up not delivering it for one or the other they're gonna have a lot of angry customers (and most likely some class-action lawsuits) on their hands. I personally only have a PS5 so far (still using my X930E while I wait for a Sony TV with all 2.1 features working correctly), but I would certainly be pissed if they announced that they can't deliver VRR for the current model. I would demand getting my console replaced with the updated revision that can handle it (assuming they would release one). And I think they would have no choice but to do so, at least here in the EU where consumer rights are strong and companies can't just screw you over as they please. I would feel the same way if I had bought a TV that was promised to be getting it and it didn't. They aren't saying these TVs MIGHT get it, they're saying they WILL get it, right?
X930e is a great tv. What are you personally waiting for for an upgrade? Sony mini led? Better oled?
 

Kuranghi

Member
Maybe there will be secret sets in September! CES 2021 was so boring, but expected I guess given the world was on hold for a year.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
X930e is a great tv. What are you personally waiting for for an upgrade? Sony mini led? Better oled?

Like I said, I'm waiting for a Sony that supports 4K120 and VRR with no issues. I'm not gonna rush out and get one based on promises of future updates, the 930 will be just fine until this is all resolved. Then I will probably be looking into one of their OLEDs, as I'm starting to feel like it might be time to make that jump. A good LCD can be very nice indeed, but it will always have some limitations that just cannot be overcome. All the local dimming in the world can't make a starry black sky look quite right, for example.
 
Like I said, I'm waiting for a Sony that supports 4K120 and VRR with no issues. I'm not gonna rush out and get one based on promises of future updates, the 930 will be just fine until this is all resolved. Then I will probably be looking into one of their OLEDs, as I'm starting to feel like it might be time to make that jump. A good LCD can be very nice indeed, but it will always have some limitations that just cannot be overcome. All the local dimming in the world can't make a starry black sky look quite right, for example.
Oled is very superior overall, just have to baby it a bit. But a90j has a heatsink and I’m sure there will be more models with heat sinks from now.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Yes but also reduced image retention and hopefully better longevity due to heat dissipation.

Secondarily it has 60w speakers vs. 30w in a80j. A80j is better bang for the buck but i'm going with th a90j.

Speaker output wouldn't really be a factor for me, since I run an external speaker setup (which I'm about to upgrade) that's better than any TV speakers.
 

Shmunter

Member
Sony always had better gradient handling since they added their Smooth Gradation/Super Bit Mapping tech and now its even more of a gulf due to downgrades from other manufacturers but its pretty annoying that Sony are fucking up their own motion by forcing always on interpolation for certain modes though, whyyyyyyyy.

We're the best at this, lets ruin it! First they made the Film Mode setting less granular/verbose, then changed it back (Still not quite as good as it was in the past imo) and now they've done this. I still think its the best motion tech but no need to start copying the competition with forced processing. They always avoided that in the past.

The forced sharpening is disappointing for me as well, I don't get that, seems like a bandaid for them downgrading upscaling in some way (to get lower input maybe?)

So as much as I think the newer sets are great they aren't quite as impressive as some of the 2017-2019 sets were at the time for me. I still say XG95/X950G is king of mid-range image quality even without some of the newer tech and lower input lag.
I’m on 75” 900e so in the sweet spot it seems. Never realised the downgrades with newer models…
 
Speaker output wouldn't really be a factor for me, since I run an external speaker setup (which I'm about to upgrade) that's better than any TV speakers.
Yeah no doubt, but in terms of tv sound these sony oleds with their acoustic surface speakers are really good. You'd need a really nice soundbar and sub to beat it, so it just kinda eliminates the need for the lower price tier bars. But yeah full surround is ideal.

Maybe since you're not used to oled the a80j would be a big enough jump in picture. You may miss that brightness though
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Yeah no doubt, but in terms of tv sound these sony oleds with their acoustic surface speakers are really good. You'd need a really nice soundbar and sub to beat it, so it just kinda eliminates the need for the lower price tier bars. But yeah full surround is ideal.

Maybe since you're not used to oled the a80j would be a big enough jump in picture. You may miss that brightness though

I've read that the acoustic surface is indeed nice, but can it really generate any significant low end? Normally you need quite large drivers AND a decent size cabinet for that. The laws of physics wouldn't seem to allow that in something as thin as an OLED TV.

But yeah, I'm sure it beats a cheap soundbar. Which I would never buy either way. :)
 
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Kuranghi

Member
I've read that the acoustic surface is indeed nice, but can it really generate any significant low end? Normally you need quite large drivers AND a decent size cabinet for that. The laws of physics wouldn't seem to allow that in something as thin as an OLED TV.

But yeah, I'm sure it beats a cheap soundbar. Which I would never buy either way. :)

I'd say the best thing about it is the way it moves sounds on the screen with the imagery, and just generally how the dialogue comes right out of the screen. I've done lots of demos of different content on AS from the 2017 A1E initial implement to the 2020 version and even if the sound and bass quality changed throughout the models slightly it always had the brilliant locational sound.

I think the bass is surprisingly good for what it is, but its not gonna wow anyone who has a decent dedicated subwoofer no. You can just ignore the built in subs and use an external subwoofer with it though.

For example any stereo pan will become a lot more obvious and immersive with this over almost all soundbars and thats who its really aimed at, waifus/husbandos who don't want speakers around the room, so if its a soundbar vs. this it has some good advantages.

With the newer versions of it you can use "centre speaker mode" to use it as the centre channel with your receiver, and while you lose the locational sound (since its just the centre now and not left and right stereo and centre coming out of it) you still get that amazing connection of the voice with the actual people on screen.

I think if you are an audiophile it wont match up to good centre speakers really but if you just want "really good" sound with your basic 7.1.2 receiver setup then you won't be disappointed in the immersion it provides.

Even if you don't plan on getting it for the sound I encourage you to go and hear it in a shop sometimes, take a pendrive with videos that contain a lot of stereo panning moments like the first shot in this Valerian trailer:




Or just ask to see the "pinball demo", if they don't have it you can view it on youtube here:




Probably best to see/hear the official demo file in case the youtube version messes with the audio though. You can literally put your hand on the screen and feel the vibration/"ball" moving around its pretty neat.

Ultimately its a product invented to please wives who don't want anything except the TV in the room so sound quality is only 75% of the consideration.
 
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Was just going to say, yeah the bass isn’t great on the Sony oleds but the overall sound and precision of it is excellent.

Though I will say I’ve only used the A8h and a8g which don’t have as much juice as the a90j. Looking forward to hearing that one. Maybe TKOFromTokyo TKOFromTokyo can tell us what he thinks of the sound quality.
 

Kilau

Gold Member
Anyone here used or know of a USB ethernet adapter that works on Sony TVs? The ethernet port is only 100mb which isn't enough for a lot of my high bandwidth content on the Plex server and for some reason the wifi connects even slower than that. I've read comments elsewhere that you can use an adapter to get a 1gb on the TV through USB but I haven't seen any confirmation.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Yeah its pretty rubbish, could be a problem going forward for streaming services with higher bandwidth, although netflix seems to be going decreasing rather than increasing in Europe even though that was brought in during Covid on spurious information that the "internet would break" under the increased pressure caused by everyone being at home :rolleyes: they even had a scientist who was part of the team that was involved in the creation of the internet saying it was complete bollocks but I guess he wouldn't know much about the subject :messenger_tears_of_joy:

Had a search, found these:


Which is promising, but then there is this comment making it seem like it was snake oil:



edit: the first link does mention it might be limited to newer models.
 
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dotnotbot

Member
Anyone here used or know of a USB ethernet adapter that works on Sony TVs? The ethernet port is only 100mb which isn't enough for a lot of my high bandwidth content on the Plex server and for some reason the wifi connects even slower than that. I've read comments elsewhere that you can use an adapter to get a 1gb on the TV through USB but I haven't seen any confirmation.

Yeah its pretty rubbish, could be a problem going forward for streaming services with higher bandwidth, although netflix seems to be going decreasing rather than increasing in Europe even though that was brought in during Covid on spurious information that the "internet would break" under the increased pressure caused by everyone being at home :rolleyes: they even had a scientist who was part of the team that was involved in the creation of the internet saying it was complete bollocks but I guess he wouldn't know much about the subject :messenger_tears_of_joy:

Had a search, found these:


Which is promising, but then there is this comment making it seem like it was snake oil:



edit: the first link does mention it might be limited to newer models.



So i used an ethernet to usb adaptor, available on Amazon for $13 and the Sony see's it and i get almost 400 mbs with the Netflix test. I used this on my LG CX and it works perfectly on my A90J. Just plug it in, nothing else to do. It showed up as a wired connection. Problem solved.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BBD7NFU/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I think those network adapters didn't work well or at all with previous Sony TVs.
 
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Kilau

Gold Member
Such a strange choice by Sony and I know other TV manufactures do the same. Just seems very odd for a very streaming focused device to be limited in such a way.

I am going to try the TP-Link and see how it goes. One of the reviews mentioned they used it on their X80J and I'm using an X90J, 🤞
 

Kuranghi

Member
Such a strange choice by Sony and I know other TV manufactures do the same. Just seems very odd for a very streaming focused device to be limited in such a way.

I am going to try the TP-Link and see how it goes. One of the reviews mentioned they used it on their X80J and I'm using an X90J, 🤞

I'm sure it'll work on an X90J, if it works on the OLEDs I'd say its likely to work on the 9 series LCDs.

I'd guess its because most of the streaming platforms don't require close to 100mb/s, I'd say "people that use a NAS" are a very small percentage of users so its just a waste of money, imagine even a few pounds over literally millions of units.

Probably they don't want to bother upgrading it even with new units like yours because the android TV in them seemingly now supports this driver that enables a USB 3.0 Ethenet adapter to work so they know people like yourself will just buy that to solve the issue meaning they don't have to take on the cost, and when the next wireless protocol comes in thats in the same ballpark as 1 gigabit ethernet they can fire that in because that actually will affect almost all their customers and be worth it.
 
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Kilau

Gold Member
All good points, I don’t know how much it would cost but I hope they don’t rely solely on WiFi going forward.
 

Kuranghi

Member
All good points, I don’t know how much it would cost but I hope they don’t rely solely on WiFi going forward.

Yeah wireless congestion in the house is only likely to get worse in the future as well, I wish they would give better hardwired support but everyone just assumes everything is wireless now without considering whether its good or not. I used to always get people asking me about rear wireless speakers and they'd say "So no wires at all?", "Yeah, well except the power cord ofc" and they'd look kind of disappointed and I'm like:

Ice Cube Reaction GIF


...and then I go and buy another double espresso.
 

Kuranghi

Member
So I got the TP-Link USB/Ethernet adapter and it works!

before:
k4lPusy.jpg

after:
tJaOGJb.jpg

My high bitrate rips now stream without stutters.

Damn I wish I could do that on my ZD9, putting things on USBs is a pita. I usually just use a player on the PC but I have a feeling the HDR range & HDR tonemapping isn't as good as in the internal media app due to HDMI limiting output to 1000 nits and that the media app knows more about the display than VLC/mpv. Maybe its snake oil though.
 

Kilau

Gold Member
Damn I wish I could do that on my ZD9, putting things on USBs is a pita. I usually just use a player on the PC but I have a feeling the HDR range & HDR tonemapping isn't as good as in the internal media app due to HDMI limiting output to 1000 nits and that the media app knows more about the display than VLC/mpv. Maybe its snake oil though.
Heh it might be snake oil but I like having everything native through the TVs apps. My shield doesn't support Dolby Vision so that was an issue for me anyway.

If anyone else is interested in doing this, I got this adapter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YUU3KC6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

That's the UE300 version, the white model, not the newer version that comes in black. Only the UE300 specifically stated support for Chrome OS.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Heh it might be snake oil but I like having everything native through the TVs apps. My shield doesn't support Dolby Vision so that was an issue for me anyway.

If anyone else is interested in doing this, I got this adapter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YUU3KC6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

That's the UE300 version, the white model, not the newer version that comes in black. Only the UE300 specifically stated support for Chrome OS.

Does the internal video app support the DV layer if its in an mkv container or does it have to be an m2ts?

If mkv is supported I'll have to try that out, I have a DV mkv remux of my Apocalypse Now 4K disc sitting here and the HDR was fucking amazing in Windows with just the HDR10 base, one of the best HDR grades I've ever seen, so I'd love to see it in DV.

There was only like 2 shots in the whole film where it didnt look amazing and they both looked like post production oversights or the source shots were buggered, it looked like they forgot to grade those shots as one was blown out and the other was flat as hell. First wasn't a big deal but the 2nd was on a pretty iconic shot where there is a setting sun behind Williard so it annoyed me a bit. Nothing you can do if the source is buggered though really.

I guess I could just convert it if mkv isn't supported anyway.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I'll fire this here just in case it can help anyone, its got caveats - No HDR, have to disable HDCP and manually switch res - but if you have a TV that supports 1080p@120hz but doesn't have HDMI 2.1 it seems like you can use this to get 1080p 120hz output on PS5:




From what I gleaned about the TV from the video (it has a metal frame and supports 120hz) and what he says ("Its a 2018 model") then it pretty much has to be an X850F/XF85 and that doesnt have native 1080p@120hz support according to rtings so this could be great for people wanting to get 120hz in PS5 games without upgrading their TVs just yet.

I only watched the first 7 mins, about the Sony TV, I'm not sure how it works for monitors.
 
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Kilau

Gold Member
Does the internal video app support the DV layer if its in an mkv container or does it have to be an m2ts?

If mkv is supported I'll have to try that out, I have a DV mkv remux of my Apocalypse Now 4K disc sitting here and the HDR was fucking amazing in Windows with just the HDR10 base, one of the best HDR grades I've ever seen, so I'd love to see it in DV.

There was only like 2 shots in the whole film where it didnt look amazing and they both looked like post production oversights or the source shots were buggered, it looked like they forgot to grade those shots as one was blown out and the other was flat as hell. First wasn't a big deal but the 2nd was on a pretty iconic shot where there is a setting sun behind Williard so it annoyed me a bit. Nothing you can do if the source is buggered though really.

I guess I could just convert it if mkv isn't supported anyway.
I don’t have any familiarity with the built in media app if that’s what you are referring to. I use the shield as a plex server, but it’s a 2017 version so no DV in apps like Disney+. The TV native apps support DV so maybe the media player does.
 

jigglet

Banned
Is Samsung's The Frame considered a decent gaming TV?

I want the art feature first and foremost...I barely play games in my living room these days so while I want compatibility with next gen consoles (120hz, VRR etc) I don't need it to be up there with the LG's of the world.
 
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Bogroll

Likes moldy games
As anyone experienced this. I have a 2017 entry level Sony 4k tv which I bought to compliment my XB1X 4 years ago. Its a decent gaming tv for the money but obviously low spec.
I turn it on yesterday and in the top corner it says 1080p 120hrz. I go to my settings on my XSeries X and I can select 120 hrz. I start up Doom Eternal and I can select 120hrz. I played for 10 secs as my save is on a shitty puzzle platform part and I had to go out. I've not messed with it since but this is weird. I don't expect it to be magically turned into a 120 hrz tv over night. Anyone else had this ?
 

Kuranghi

Member
Is Samsung's The Frame considered a decent gaming TV?

I want the art feature first and foremost...I barely play games in my living room these days so while I want compatibility with next gen consoles (120hz, VRR etc) I don't need it to be up there with the LG's of the world.

Short answer: Definitely not

Long answer:

What size would you get and how much is it where you are?

I can't speak directly to the 2021 model but in the past (2018-2019) its been massively overpriced for what it is, its form over function so if you are buying it for the frame, one connect box, art and no-gap wall mount then its great at those things, but as a general TV you watch content on its similar to the model that sits below the Q60 model (I think its called AU8000 or AU9000 this year) in terms of spec.

Which makes it insanely overpriced if you aren't buying it for the "form" part. Like twice as expensive as the model I compared it to.

Essentially it has no counterpart in terms of form but its not a good value TV picture quality wise. I don't think it supports VRR but its probably 120hz this year as it was in the past. Its got an edge lit backlight and does 500 nit peaks - which means HDR will be disappointing on it and possibly look worse than SDR in some cases - and TVs with those specs are generally around what I wrote below in 55".

If you can get it for around 700 for 55" I'd say go for it but that would be on a clearance sale, as I think its RRP is double that. Maybe buying the 2020 model on clearance is a better option if you really need to get it due to its extremely high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor), but they did reduce the depth of the TV a lot in the 2021 model (nearly half what the 2020 model is) so if you are buying it for the form then I'd wait for clearance on the 2021 model.

Its hard to say its a "ripoff" when there aren't any competitor products that do what it does in terms of form, but as a general TV for watching its a ripoff at even 30-40% off RRP. At 50% off its decent-to-good value. Hope that helps.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
As anyone experienced this. I have a 2017 entry level Sony 4k tv which I bought to compliment my XB1X 4 years ago. Its a decent gaming tv for the money but obviously low spec.
I turn it on yesterday and in the top corner it says 1080p 120hrz. I go to my settings on my XSeries X and I can select 120 hrz. I start up Doom Eternal and I can select 120hrz. I played for 10 secs as my save is on a shitty puzzle platform part and I had to go out. I've not messed with it since but this is weird. I don't expect it to be magically turned into a 120 hrz tv over night. Anyone else had this ?

What exact model is it? Press help on the remote (bottom left hand button) and the model number is displayed in the corner.

The Sony models I would call "entry level TVs" from 2017 - XE70 and XE80/83 - definitely don't support 1080p@120hz officially, but if you have the XE90 then that can do 1080p@120hz if forced and 1440p@120hz natively. Not sure if the X1X can force resolutions though so its strange.

You sure its from 2017?
 

Kuranghi

Member
I don’t have any familiarity with the built in media app if that’s what you are referring to. I use the shield as a plex server, but it’s a 2017 version so no DV in apps like Disney+. The TV native apps support DV so maybe the media player does.

Ah okay I got you, should've figured that when you were mentioning the Shield.

Off-topic - I've been (re)watching the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions in 4K HDR via remuxes of the discs (~150GB for each film!) and its been glorious, I'm not a big fan of DNR and would prefer a version exactly the same as this but without that but thats not possible and also since a (the?) fantasy film the faces looking like they are touched up with CGI isn't really a big deal.

The HDR is really stunning in this transfer, he regraded the whole series again since the previous extended editions (and all the versions before) and removed the blue tint and I think it looks way better, its not really got that many blow your face off HDR highlight moments (its more fullscreen brightness or large bright areas when magic is used or transitions happen) but every scene is just perfectly enhanced over the SDR in a way that you don't go "oh this is HDR" but you switch back to the SDR and its just so flat in comparison, on my set at least.

Lovely stuff, going to watch Two Towers asap.
 
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