TechRadar Verdict

It may not offer the same peak brightness as Sony’s flagship UHD sets, the X930E and X940E, but this 4K direct LED backlit screen is still a brilliant buy.

Pros

+
Direct LED with local dimming
+
Excellent motion handling
+
Unfussy but elegant design
+
Surprisingly good audio

Cons

-
HDR is a bit dim
-
Rubbery remote
-
Power brick is inconvenient
-
No 3D support

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Getting 4K HDR right is no easy task. TV manufacturers have tried a variety of technologies and techniques to solve the challenge of high peak brightness, often making image quality worse rather than better.

The ultimate LCD solution is widely thought to be full array backlighting with local dimming. So-called FALD LED screens give better results with HDR than edge-lit LED, but have typically been limited to super-large screen sizes. No longer is that the case.

With its X900E series, Sony is offering the technology on the full range of the X900E’s screen sizes, from the massive 75-inch screen down to the petite 49-incher, effectively making FALD available to all enthusiasts. That said, the X900E model we have here, a 55-incher, comes in at $1,700, but the series is also available in 49-, 65- and 75-inch sizes if you need something a bit larger.

Design

When it comes to design, Sony continues to knock the ball out of the park on its TV line-up.

The X900E has a premium-looking thin matt black bezel, offset with aluminum trim, while the silver-slate pedestal stand provides crafty cable management. This central support marks a refreshing alternative to screen-wide feet which almost never fit on non-Ikea TV furniture. The set is moderately slim, given the provision of a direct backlight, but it still comes with a sizable power brick which you'll need to accommodate and could complicate wall mounting somewhat.

The set has four HDMI inputs (one back facing, the others side-mounted), all of which are 4K HDCP 2.2 compliant. This means you’ve plenty of room for 4K Blu-ray, games consoles and set top boxes. There’s also a component AV input, three USBs (one of which is a fast blue 3.0 variant), and an optical digital audio output for outboard sound systems. Ethernet and Wi-Fi are standard.

The set ships with the same rubber-keyed remote we saw on Sony’s 2016 TVs, much to our chagrin. With barely raised buttons, it doesn’t offer a great user experience. That rubbery surface also picks up fluff non-stop, making your new investment look rather unkempt. There’s an IR blaster in the box, so you can control other devices using the Sony remote.

Screen sizes available: 49, 55, 65 and 75 inches |external/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YLx9BLyFHxdqixBEtHNDh7-320-80.jpg.webp 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YLx9BLyFHxdqixBEtHNDh7-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YLx9BLyFHxdqixBEtHNDh7-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YLx9BLyFHxdqixBEtHNDh7-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YLx9BLyFHxdqixBEtHNDh7-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YLx9BLyFHxdqixBEtHNDh7-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w" sizes="(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)">

Smart TV: Android TV

In terms of connectivity options, the screen runs the Android TV OS, now a familiar sight on Sony sets.

If you've never used it before, Android TV is organized into tiers, of which the upper-most is tutorials and ads (the sort of stuff you really don’t need to see that often). This is followed by rows of apps, games, inputs and settings. It's a cluttered user interface that is generally more obstacle than gateway.