Hello everyone, Vincent Teoh from HDTVTest here...
I'm a TV reviewer and professional calibrator.
Today, I'm going to do an indepth comparison review between the Sony XF90... also known
as the Bravia X900F in the USA which I reviewed recently... and two other Sony TVs from last
year.
At the far end is the Sony XE90 or X900E, the direct predecessor to the XF90 from last
year, in the middle is the Sony XF90...
I've reversed the feet so that the TV can fit on this small stand... and this... is
the Sony XE93 or X930E which has the same X1 Extreme video processor as the XF90.
Before we start the comparison, let me explain my setup here...
I know some of you just want me to get straight to the point, but I think it's important for
you to understand how the comparisons are made, so you can draw your own conclusions
within the limitations of this Youtube video.
One, all three televisions - the Sony XE90, the Sony XF90 and also the XE93 have been calibrated using reference-grade
equipment to the standards used within the film and broadcast industry for both SDR and
HDR, and then fed the same content from a single video source distributed using a HDMI
splitter...
I go to extra lengths to make sure it's a level playing field.
If you're seeing some differences in colours, it's partially because of the viewing angle...
these are VA-type LCD panels whose contrast and colours desaturate off-axis, and I have to
angle the XE90 and XE93 slightly to fit them into this video.
Two, the camera I'm using to film this video has a limited dynamic range, but these are
HDR televisions, so sometimes I have to lower the camera exposure to show all the specular highlight
detail, causing the picture to look too dark and shadow detail to disappear.
Also, to illustrate blooming or haloing artefacts, sometimes I have to increase the camera ISO which introduces
noise to the video.
In such cases, I will try to caption the footage explaining what I've done, but more importantly,
please remember that these video clips do not fully represent what I'm actually seeing
in real life, so please please please... listen to my commentary... and don't judge the picture
quality solely from these video clips.
Three, although it may not be apparent from the camera because of how these TVs are arranged,
they are all 55-inch models, which is important when it comes to assessing the quality of upscaling.
TV manufacturers generally do not like me doing these head-to-head comparisons, so it's
almost impossible for me to get review samples from them for this purpose, especially not
of the same screen size.
And on this note, I'd like to thank Richer Sounds Manchester for loaning us these three
TVs... the Sony XE90..... the Sony XF90..... and also the Sony XE93 to make this shootout a reality.
They deserve your support for doing this, so if you're thinking about buying a television, even
if it's not one of these TVs here, give them a call on 0333 900 0086, namedrop HDTVTest,
and they'll take care of you with great price and service.
Ok, enough with the pleasantries... let's jump right into the comparison.
Both the Sony XE90 and XF90 are full-array local dimming or FALD direct-lit LED TVs,
while the XE93 is edge-lit, but because of how the LED modules are dual-stacked on the
top and bottom of the screen, the XE93 actually performs like an FALD TV.
I ran our custom-authored test pattern consisting a small white box crawling horizontally and
then vertically against the borders of a black background... note that I've intentionally
cranked up the backlight and contrast to maximum for the purpose of zone count, so the blooming that you
see in the video is significantly less in real-life viewing.
The XE90 and XF90 have a similar number of independently dimmable zones, whereas the
XE93 has slightly more.
As you can see, the XE93 has the best zonal control with the least amount of blooming
or haloing artefacts, whereas between the XE90 and the XF90, blooming on the XE90 is spread
across a larger area, but on the XF90 the blooming can be brighter especially in HDR
because the display is capable of a higher peak brightness.
These findings largely transferred to real-life content too.
As Sandra Bullock is hurling through space in this scene from Gravity, the letterbox
bars on the XE90 lit up the most from the rotating flashlights, with the XE93 being
able to hang impressively with the XF90 even though the XE93 is only edge-lit.
In The Dark Knight Rises as Batman emerges from the shadows to meet Catwoman, the
XE90's top letterbox bar look greyest.
Again, I stress that I've increased the camera ISO to exaggerate the blooming on all three
sets for the purpose of this demonstration.... in real life it is not as obvious, especially
if there's some ambient lighting around.
Continuing our assessment, we played some 4K Blu-rays which kicked the TVs into HDR
mode with maximum backlight.
During the opening credits for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, the XE90's black
level was the shallowest with the biggest area of blooming, while the XE93 looked very
impressive considering it's edge-lit.
In this challenging scene from The Revenant where the subtitles fade in and out, the blooming
on the Sony XE90 extended further horizontally beyond the words than the other two sets...
perhaps as a result of the local dimming algorithm delivered by the less advanced X1 processor.
However, blooming on the XF90 and also the Sony XE93 is brighter, because their peak brightness is higher.
Overall, in terms of local dimming effectiveness, balancing between deep blacks and keeping
blooming under control, the Sony XE93 is top, closely followed by the XF90, with the XE90
last.
Once calibrated, colours on all three TVs look very similar in SDR with some minute
differences caused by panel gamma variation, as you can see from these scenes here from Skyfall , first in the National Gallery, then in the Scottish Highlands.
For HDR, different peak brightness will result in different colour volume...
I'll cover that in the HDR section.
The Sony XF90 and XE93 use the Japanese brand's currently most advanced X1 Extreme video processor,
whereas the XE90 uses the step-down X1 chip.
In reality, scaling quality is excellent on all three TVs, and the clearest difference
when we saw the X1 Extreme pulled ahead is in standard-definition content...
I'm playing a DVD of Paw Patrol in 480i...
I would've bought the 4K Blu-ray version if it has been released, but I doubt my daughter
will appreciate the increase in resolution and dynamic range.
Anyway, on Paw Patrol... 480i... both the XF90 and XE93 looked slightly sharper and
suppressed the MPEG compression noise a touch better than the XE90, but it's very, very
close.
No question here, the Bravia XF90 is the winner by a mile, thanks to Sony's X-Motion Clarity
system which locally boosts the brightness of areas where backlight scanning is applied...
I call this technology black zonal insertion.
In this clip where the girl is rocking back and forth with a smile on her face, the Sony
XF90 - with X-Motion Clarity enabled - looked the clearest and brightest, even though I've
also engaged backlight scanning on the XE90 and XE93 to achieve the highest motion resolution
for them respectively.
The Sony XE93 uses a VA LCD panel whose response time is slower than those implemented on the
XE90 and XF90, so dark objects moving across a lighter background may exhibit more smearing.
Another thing to note is that the XE90 can be prone to frame repeat errors
in 50Hz content.
It's so quick that many people including owners may miss it, so I filmed the following footage
in slow motion to make it easier for you to see.
First up is tennis, you can see the frame repeat error manifesting as a slight pause
here.
Next is Masterchef on BBC, there are multiple frame repeat errors visible on the XE90 but
not on the XF90 and XE93, as the camera cuts quickly from one shot to the next.
To stop the frames from repeating, you can switch to the [Game], [Graphics] or [Photo]
picture presets which probably disables the offending motion processing bug, but it's
only a temporary fix, and we hope that Sony is working on a permanent solution.
On a 10% window, HDR peak brightness on the XE90, XF90 and the XE93 measured 740 nits, 1000
nits and 1400 nits respectively.
On full-field white, the XE90 measured 515 nits, the XF90 was 685 nits, and the XE93
was 740 nits.
So the XE90 is the dimmest among these three, while the XE93 is the brightest, and generally
speaking, the brighter the TV, the more impactful the HDR experience.
In the opening scene of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children... a disc that has been mastered
to 1000 nits, the Florida beach just looked sunnier and more realistic on the XF90 and
particularly the XE93.
Same with the sun and clouds in Pan which is mastered to 4000 nits.
Although DCI-P3 colour gamut is similar between all three TVs at around 94 or 95%, colour volume
is affected by peak brightness too.... in another 4000-nit film, Mad Max: Fury Road,
the flames and reflections came across more vibrant and mesmerising on the XE93, with
the XF90 coming in second.
On the whole, HDR games are even more demanding than HDR movies in terms of the TV's light
output, since most games fill up the entire screen, and can be mastered up to 10,000 nits.
I'm using this shot from Horizon Zero Dawn on the PS4 Pro here... the sun peeking through
the clouds looked the brightest and most realistic on the Sony XE93 among these three displays.
To clarify, the reason why the image you are seeing looked so dark with almost no shadow detail is because
I had to lower my camera exposure to capture the bright specular highlights... in real
life, the overall APL or Average Picture Level is brighter, with both the highlight and shadow
detail intact.
Also, note that on the Sony XE90, you're starting to lose highlight detail as the sun and the
cloud details start merging together... this is probably due to how the X1 processor need
to balance the overall brightness and specular highlight detail within the XE90's lower peak brightness
compared with the XF90 and also the XE93.
From a gaming responsiveness standpoint, input lag on the XE90 measured 31ms consistently
in [Game] mode, but on the Sony XF90 and XE93 with X1 Extreme chipset, lag time was lower
in 4K at 25ms, but higher at 42ms in 1080p owing to the upscaling required.
So the XF90 and XE93 will be quicker for playing games from consoles that send out 4K video
signal, such as the Sony PS4 Pro and Microsoft Xbox One X, but the XE90 will be slightly
more responsive for playing Nintendo Switch which is 1080p only.
By now, you may have made up your mind, but let me give you my thoughts.
First, all three are fantastic displays, but in this three-way shootout, the Sony XE90
loses out on almost every aspect of picture quality to the XF90 and the XE93... it's got the
shallowest blacks, the biggest area of blooming, lowest peak brightness and colour volume,
as well as occasional frame repeat errors in 50Hz content which mainly affects viewers
who watch broadcast TV in the UK and Europe.
And of course, the XE90 will never get Dolby Vision support because it's not equipped with
the X1 Extreme chipset.
What's better about the XE90 is that it's the most affordable among these three, and has
the lowest 1080p lag.
If you have the budget, the more sensible choice is between the XF90 and XE93.
Although in theory the XE93 is edge-lit, it's got better local dimming and higher peak brightness
than the XF90, but the XF90 wins on the motion front...
X-Motion Clarity black zonal insertion technology produces stunning results, and the panel response
time is faster so there's less dark smearing than the XE93.
If watching fast-action sports and playing games with the highest motion clarity is important
to you, get the Sony XF90, but otherwise, the XE93 delivers slightly more impactful
HDR.
Or... you can just buy whichever is cheaper between these two.
And that's a wrap... this video took a lot of time and effort to put together, so if
you've found it useful, I would appreciate it if you can hit the like button, share it
on forums, and subscribe to the HDTVTest Youtube channel if you're not already a subscriber yet.
Thanks for watching, and also, thanks to Richer Sounds for providing these TVs for this comparison,
and I'll see you in the next video.