In June 2021, one of the televisions Sony has released is their X85J upper mid-range 4K Ultra HD LED Smart Google TV.
The new Sony X85J offers a 4K HDR Processor X1 for crisp colors and also reducing digital noise, Motionflow XR with native 120HZ refresh rate which allows on screen motion to be smoother and clear, TRILUMINOS PRO which reproduces more colors than a conventional TV and 4K X-REALITY PRO which upscales all HD content to near 4K resolution.
Because the Sony X85J 4K Ultra HD LED Smart Google TV utilizes Google TV (you can do this all via your phone, as you can take a picture of the QR code to get into settings) and enable SMART TV. But also, Sony offers you a gift of accessing a service with free movies/TV programming as well.
And the TV works with Alexa (which I have to say works amazingly well compared to previous TV’s which you had to repeat yourself). Also, implementing Google Assistant.
The TV also has Apple Airplay capability, so if you use AirPlay 2, no problem!
And you also get HDR & Dolby Vision for immersive and engaging cinematic content
I have to say that Sony makes sure that nothing gets damaged with the amount of styrofoam and cardboard used to protect the TV during delivery.
I. SETUP
Setup was easy, install the legs and because the legs are a bit wider vertically, you’ll need an appropriate desk to set the TV on. After you are done with that, your TV is good to go.
I like the fact that the HDMI cables are to the left (if looking from the front, if looking on the back, its to the right). I was able to connect an ethernet cable and HDMI devices to it with no problems whatsoever.
Setting up the TV is easy. I used my Google account to get Google TV setup and you can add apps such as Netflix, YouTube TV, Apple TV, Prime Video, Disney+, Vudu and many more.
II. VIDEO
The first thing I did was to test some of my Ultra HD films on this TV and then to play 4K content from YouTube to see how things look, as well as UHD streaming through Vudu, followed by testing the TV with numerous PlayStation and XBOX video games and for the most part, everything looked crisp and colorful, wonderful contrast as I expected.
I do like how the TV detects the PlayStation and switches to game mode automatically. Please note that when you want 4K 120Hz, you must use HDMI 3 for Enhanced Audio (which uses eARC/ARC) or HDMI 4.
I love how black levels are nice and deep, colors are vibrant. But the biggest knock that the X85J has is the lack of local dimming.
The Sony X85J remote is easy to use, with YouTube, Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video buttons on the remote, easy to access Google Assistant and quite simple to get to settings and also cycle through HDMI inputs (you get a total of 4).
It’s important to note that the TV supports the following video formats, for those who connect a USB to X85J: 3GPP, ASF, AVC, AVCHD, AVI, HDV, HEVC, MKV, MOV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Motion-JPEG, PS, TS, VC-1, VP8, VP9, WMV, WebM, XAVCS, Xvid
Also, supporting the following audio: AAC, ASF, FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), LPCM, MP3, MP4, OGG, WAV, WMA
And supports JPG for images.
The TV features a tuner that supports 1 analog and 1 digital.
While there is an Ethernet port, the TV also supports Bluetooth, LAN and WiFi.
III. AUDIO
I like the fact that it utilizes an equalizer to adjust the audio. While the TV comes with a 2.0CH 20 watt speaker, I had to connect this to my home theater receiver as I’m more into immersive, rumbleshaking audio. But for the most part, audio is good for what speakers are included with the TV.
JUDGMENT CALL:
The Sony X85J is a 4K HDTV that is fantastic when it comes to overall picture quality and the convenience of Google TV/Alexa/Google Assistant and ease of using the remote and the ease of setting it up. It keeps things simple!
But for hardcore videophiles that want the local dimming feature, The Sony X85J does not come with that. And if it’s a deal breaker, then go with the Sony X90J Bravia XR (which costs about $200+ more).
But overall, I do like this Sony X85J 4K Ultra HD LED Smart Google TV 50-inch a lot and if the $850 pricepoint for a HDTV is what you are willing to spend, you won’t be disappointed. This TV delivers awesome picture quality with vibrant colors and wonderful contrast, the X85J is recommended!
