Review: Sony Bravia KDX9300D 4K HDR TV

Introduction and features

As the war for your 4K TV allegiance rages on, TV manufacturers have turned their sights away from providing more pixels, to providing better ones. Often touted as the next evolution in television technology, High Dynamic Range (HDR) boasts improved brightness and colour, promising vibrant, high-quality images that come close to bridging the gap between TV and what the human eye sees in real life.

When it comes to delivering show-stopping HDR images, backlighting is key – usually, a Full-Array backlight is needed to achieve the level of brightness necessary for HDR content. As impressive as Full-Array backlighting is, it will often add to the thickness (and cost) of a TV set.

Sony has sidestepped these issues by opting for a new Slim Full-Array Direct LED backlighting system – this is an improved edge-mounted LED backlighting system that uses two layers of light. When used together, the two edge lights are able to specifically target areas of the screen with precision while minimising light in the areas surrounded them. This allows the Sony's new flagship to maintain its impressive brightness and black levels, delivering a true HDR experience while keeping screen depth to a minimum and the price of the unit down.

Though we're focusing our attention on the 55-inch X9300D, we also spent time with The 65-inch model. The KD55X9300D is already available and has a launch price of $3,999, while the KD65X9300D is also on sale now, selling for $5,999.

Features

When we mentioned earlier that this TV was thin, we weren't kidding. At just 35mm at its thickest point, it's obvious that this television is designed to be mounted on your wall (especially when you consider that it comes with a simple hang-on-the-wall bracket inside the box). Combined with its extremely thin bezel, the X9300D has an unobtrusive design that allows it to seamlessly slip into any living room and instantly feel like it's always been there. And, if you're not interested in wall-mounting, you can sit the set on a refreshingly practical central pedestal, eschewing the (rather annoying) modern trend of separated feet at either end of the screen.

This is one truly fine-looking flatscreen. To signify its high-end credentials, there's a gold vein running through the edge of the frame. This apes the gold design affectation seen on Sony's High Res Audio speakers.

Connections include four HDMIs, component/composite AV inputs, plus three USBs including one fast 3.0 port. There's also Ethernet and an optical digital audio output.

All the HDMI inputs are HDCP 2.2-enabled, which means you can use them with external 4K sources, like an Nvidia Shield or, eventually, a 4K Blu-ray player. It should be noted though that Sony's HDMI inputs need to be manually assigned to support HDR by switching on the Enhanced HDMI setting for the input you're using in the TV's menus.

Onboard is a dual-band Wi-Fi antenna that runs on both the 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz frequencies. There's also Wi-Fi Direct and, it being an Android TV, built-in Google Cast functionality.

On the back side, Sony has introduced a neat cable management system to keep things tidy. Cables run from the HDMI board, through plastic gullies, until they flow from the back of the pedestal. This works fine as long as you don't use overly chunky cabling. Once everything connected, simply place an included plastic cover over the whole section.

If you're not planning to wall mount, you'll be happy to know that the X9300D has also got a fairly solid (and rather industrial) stand, which we recommend building first on a nearby table. Once all the necessary screws are in place, you (and a friend) can then carefully slot the television on to the base for its final screws. Unlike many of the 4K televisions on the market, the X9300D's stand is situated right in the middle of the set, so you won't need an extra wade cabinet to sit it on.

Usability

The remote control supplied with the X9300D is at once an improvement and a step backwards from the one that came with last year's models. This time around, Sony has chosen to combine the voice functionality that came as a secondary remote with the 2015 range, with the primary remote. Simply press the microphone button and start talking. While the voice functionality works as well as you would expect given Google's search pedigree, the controller itself doesn't feel as nice to use. Sony has jettisoned traditional buttons in favour of rubberised bumps and ridges. The result is a little awkward and quite clicky. It's not a deal-breaker, but we wish Sony had kept regular buttons for its remote.

The smart OS is, of course, Android-based. It's home to a large range of apps, including Netflix and Ultraflix, as well as other favourites, like YouTube, Crackle, Presto, AnimeLab, SBS On Demand and many more.

If you're already comfortable with Android as a platform due to familiarity with it running on smartphones and tablets, this TV's home screen will feel like second nature to you. That said, if you aren't, you may find the amount of content thrown your way a little overwhelming – there are just so many apps and things to navigate at the touch of your remote's home button. You can download Android games to your television and play them using any Bluetooth game controller, however, this being a Sony TV, a Dual Shock 4 controller is certainly encouraged.

The main Home page is stacked with shelves, from tutorials to a plethora of featured apps, then inputs and then more apps. The Settings menu sits at the bottom of the home screen stack.

Performance

Though processors in televisions are not often thought about when making the decision to purchase a new set, as we move into the 4K age, the ability to smoothly process high bit rates has become more important than ever.

A powerful processor makes all the difference when watching high resolution content, especially within apps like YouTube and from external USB drives. Thankfully, Sony's powerful 4K Processor X1 is more than up to the task.

When placed alongside the LG's superb EG960T 4K television, the X9300D effortlessly played back 4K HDR content from a connected USB stick, while the LG's OLED set occasionally stuttered under the pressure while playing back the exact same videos.

The X1 can also be thanked the X9300D's impressive upscaling performance, which provides noise-free images from regular Blu-rays and other 1080p content. We tested the recently released Blu-ray of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the set and came away very pleased at the level of detail achieved from the 1080p source material. While this Blu-ray disc is obviously not HDR material, Sony's Triluminos 'quantum dot' display technology resulted in some sensational images nonetheless, with vibrant colours and high contrast levels, particularly during the film's climactic lightsaber battle. Though a filmic grain was present (and intended by the filmmakers), digital noise was practically non-existent.

Sony's self-titled Triluminos picture technology has enabled its high-end TVs to maintain an advantage over its TV rivals in colour terms for the last two or three TV generations, and the richness and stellar refinement of the X9300D's colour management not only continues this trend but arguably enhances it.

We also streamed a number of 4K shows on Netflix, including Marvel's Daredevil, Marco Polo, Narcos and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Sword of Destiny. Unfortunately, Though Netflix has now added HDR support for Marco Polo, it had not yet been added at the time of our hands-on session. That said, colours still looked fantastic on each show and film tested, particularly The Sword of Destiny, which opens with some breathtaking shots of lush green fields and only gets better from there. Colours, particularly red, green and blue, were deep and vivid, leading me to believe that Sony's Triluminos technology is the ace up its sleeve.

In terms of backlighting and contrast, the new Slim Backlight Drive design utilises two LED light modules, paired with dual light guides which split screen coverage 50/50. The technique allows the set to effectively switch off illumination to one half of the screen, while backlighting objects in the other, thereby maxing out contrast. Sony suggests its Slim Backlight Drive is comparable to a Full Array LED backlight, but without the bulk or cost.

While the set doesn't deliver the consistent blacks you'd expect from OLED, it at least does a good job of being largely benign. There's a slightly hazy consistency to the blacks, but this doesn't diminish the explosive vibrancy of images on screen.

As for the X9300D's sound capability, we were unable to test its speakers due to a multi-screen setup that had audio coming through an as-yet-unreleased soundbar. We will bring you updated details on sound quality when we publish our full review.

Admittedly, there are some elements of the X9300D's performance that frustrate. Sony's Motion Flow smoothing tech does not perform particularly well, often leaving a noticeable trail of ultraviolet ghosting behind objects moving quickly on screen. This was particularly observable during gaming sessions.

If you're a purist, you'll want to completely turn Motion Flow off as soon as you set the TV up, however, it's worth nothing that the option is tied to some of the X9300D's various picture settings, so if you do decide to try out Cinema mode and then switch back to Vivid, you'll need to go into the set's advanced settings and switch it off again.

Sound and Verdict

Sony's pronounced emphasis on slimness with the X9300D's design means that you won't find any trace of the incredibly powerful, large magnetic fluid speakers that have been such a feature of Sony's high-end TVs for the past couple of years.

When it comes to the television's built-in audio output, the X9300D provides a decent aural experience, though hardly one that will push you into the back of your chair like Steven Steigman's Blown-Away Man.

A general lack of bass in the mix can leave loud moments sounding brittle and thin, while a lack of power and directness means the soundstage will come off sounding slightly vague and wispy rather than full of attack and directness.

Voices sound generally convincing though, and the mid-range space available is large enough to enable the TV to sound reasonably immersive with relatively untaxing soundtrack moments.

But really, if you're going to shell out for a high-end 4K television, you'll likely want a proper audio system or decent soundbar to accompany it.

Verdict

Sony has taken a bit of a gamble with the X9300D, opting for an ultra thin design that doesn't really lend itself to real HDR dynamics. But thanks to some ingenious engineering, it pretty much pulls it off.

There are caveats, but images (both HD and 4K) are nuanced and colour-rich with poppy dynamics. Factor in a competitive price and we think the set could be a great way to enter the HDR 4K scene without breaking the bank.

We liked
The X9300D's svelte form is absolutely astonishing, Quite frankly, it's one of the most aesthetically pleasing television sets on the market, with a clean shape, thin bezel, attractive industrial stand, and a nice gold vein running down the edges.

There are times, too, when its 4K HD picture quality sets new standards, and it looks lovely with standard dynamic range pictures too. Sony's impressive X1 video processing chip also dazzles, especially when it comes to upscaling content.

We disliked
The TV's audio is unfortunately rather average. We also prefer last year's remote, despite the addition of voice control built directly into this one.

Motion Flow is also unpleasant, leaving behind a trail of ultraviolet ghosting during most moments of movement. We're glad it can be turned off, though we don't like that it's tied to many of the X9300D's picture modes.

Final verdict
Minor niggles aside, Sony's X9300D is a fantastic television, providing splendid and vibrant HDR images with a crisp 4K sheen. At times, you just can help but look at the images it displays with a sense of awe. The combination of contrast, colour and detail adds up to pictures of almost magical cinematic beauty.

Its form factor is also ahead of the game, with a impressively thin design that will blend into any room with ease. The addition of a mounting bracket in the box is also a nice touch.

If you can live without OLED technology and you're looking for a new 4K TV with HDR capability, you'll be hard pressed to find a better option that Sony's X9300D. It really is quite stunning.