Sony X90J 75 Inch TV: BRAVIA XR Full Array LED 4K Ultra HD Smart Google TV with Dolby Vision HDR and Alexa Compatibility XR75X90J- 2021 Model

[Was able to resolve a lot of the problems – see 06/15/2021 update]

One saving grace is Amazon. Since I bought this from Amazon I was able to easily return this first unit after Sony TV engineering declared it defective. Sony support was terrible.
First the good news:
1. Picture quality is excellent.
2. TV supports Google TV. This is an interface on top of Android TV. Really nice.
3. Sony remote controls TV, streaming and Cable Box/DVR (for the most part when CEC is working)

Now for the less good news.
I purchased the TV on April 10th. Had problems right away with HDMI/eARC interface to soundbar. Symptoms:
1. CEC not working properly with with Arris DCX3600M (cable box/DVR). When going to cable box if the cable box is powered off, it should power it on. Most times this does not work.
2. When TV is turned on, it should power on soundbar (Vizio M51a-H61). Most times it does not.
3. If I use Vizio soundbar remote and turn on soundbar before powering on TV, soundbar may be recognized.
4. If soundbar is recognized (sometimes having to use settings to indicate sound from Audio System rather than speakers), I may get correct behaviour (soundbar works and on screen display indicates Audio and volume) or soundbar working but no onscreen display of volume or finally no sound at all.
5. After many hours on the phone with Sony support and delays getting back to me from Sony TV engineering, the TV was declared defective. This was April 28th. In order to “validate” my problem I was sent an email indicating the I need to send pictures of the defect (sound problems–don’t know what picture of no sound looks like) and pictures of the model number and serial number (which I already gave them via phone). Once I sent that, they would “validate” my problem within 24 hours and then send me a new replacement TV within 5-7 business days. I chose to work with Amazon (this is the good news). Amazon took care of the return right away, and I ordered a new set that same day (price had decreased $200 in two weeks since I purchased). My new TV arrived the next day. That is why I love Amazon!

With all the troubleshooting on the defective model, I tried a more conservative approach with the replacement. I had figured out that if I turned off eARC on the TV and only used ARC, I had less problems with the soundbar.
I also did research on my own regarding the cable box CEC interfering with othe CEC devices. Sony said that they don’t have any way to see if there were know issues with any equipment other than their own, regardless if it had been reported by customers.
My research showed that the way to stop the CEC from the cable box interfering you could use a CEC Less HDMI adapter. This turns off HDMI pin 13. If you are brave you can disable it yourself with your cable. I chose to try 2 CEC Less HDMI adapters from Amazon. I am testing now, but it seems to help. I bought:
BlueRigger 4K HDMI CEC Less Adapter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BFL8TM8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and Lindy HDMI CEC Less Adapter, Female to Male (41232) (https://www.amazon.com/Lindy-HDMI-Adapter-Female-41232/dp/B00DL48KVI/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B00DL48KVI&psc=1). When my testing is complete, I will report in reviews for each of those products.

Current Status:
Better than before. Still have CEC issues with powering on soundbar at TV power on. Soundbar sound more reliable, but only with ARC. Still have problem with CEC stability and eARC.
Sony support is looking at it again. I hope to hear back by Monday May 10th.

Update (5/7/2021)
I heard back from Sony on 5/6. My problem was passed to Sony TV engineering, but only with the indication of “no sound”. Spent 1.5hrs on phone with continued troubleshooting. Now I have worse problems after the call. I was told that I will hear back next on Tuesday May 11th!

Update (5/11/2021)
I heard back from Sony. No progress at all. I summarized again the symptoms. I asked if I could purchase a new soundbar, have it shipped to Sony and have Sony TV Engineering test with my soundbar to isolate and fix the problem.

Update (5/14/2021)
It has been 3 business days (the prescribed amount of time to wait for response). I had not heard back, so I called Sony. They said that they would not be able to test with my model soundbar even if I purchased one for them. They determined that the TV is not compatible with the soundbar and considered the problem closed. They did not give me any options. They said if I tested with another soundbar and still had problems, I could re-open case. In fact, with the previous (deemed defective model) I had tried with another soundbar and had problem, so I have asked them to re-open case. Not happy…

05/17/2021
Some good news. I now have TV working with a soundbar. Most all problems have gone away. I purchased a Vizio Elevate , model P514a-H6 soundbar. This has eliminated all the CEC issues. Still have a small delay sound start delay on TV when switching channels. With eARC the sound start delay is too much to bear. Each change of channel or DVR start has a 3-4 second delay.
I no longer need the CEC Less HDMI adapter.
Due to this latest update, I am changing my review from 2 stars to 3 stars.

06/15/2021
After much more testing adding back the CEC Less HDMI adapter and the first firmware update to TV (6.3770.0471NAA available 6/8/2021) I have stabilized. The CEC Less adapter that worked for me was the Lindy HDMI CEC Less Adapter.
I still have some minor CEC related problems and I still am not able to reliably use eARC. I hope that Sony is working on improvements in that area.

I went back and forth between this and the LG C1 before settling on this due to the price difference. I’ve had it for a few weeks now and could not be happier with it. My previous set did not have HDMI 2.1 or HDR, so this is a significant upgrade for me. I read a few calibration recommendations and set this up in a matter of minutes with the most commonly suggest tweaks. I used to view most of my streaming content through my PS5 but the built in apps are just as snappy, so I’ve switched over to using those. The HDR calibration was easy and there’s been some “wow” moments where I realized the color and HDR were really popping in certain movies or games (Blade Runner 2049/Gran Tourism tracks at sunset). I don’t use the built in speaker so I can’t give any feedback on that aspect. I found the HDMI ports still accessible even with a pretty low profile mount, which I read was a common complain ahead of time. I couldn’t be happier with this purchase. Stop reading and buy one.

I did indicate in the headline that this is an excellent TV. Although, the price is higher than you’ll play for many 65″ 4K TV’s, which can go as low as 700 dollars. There are a number of special technologies in this Sony Model which sets it apart. That said, Sony actually details this as one of three “step-down” models for 2021, as their higher end, and more expensive OLED TV’s are being introduced. Now, first of all, it’s nice to know what makes a good picture on a large screen TV. Those inexpensive 65″ 4K TV’s while not bad, do not come close to the picture on this Sony. Honestly, from what I’ve seen you’d have to be really picky to agree with Sony, that this is the lowest of their 2021 “Step Down Models”.

Some history about me, and then more about how TV’s accomplish a good picture. In 2015 I had nearly no sight in my right eye, and my left just enough detail to be able to drive. Early onset cataracts, starting in my fifties instead of 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. I thought I would never see properly again, so I made a promise that if I got the cataract lens replacement operation, I would buy the best TV I could to celebrate. My “older” TV’s at the time were a Sharp 1080P edge lit TV bought in 2012, and a Sony Bravia 720P HD TV, bought for my late mother when she was in a nursing home in 2005, it was backlit with a long lasting florescent lamp of some sort. Anyway, I got the operation in 2016, and other than at my request (to read and do computer work without glasses), I got near perfect vision except for a little nearsightedness so I use glasses to drive, and for distance vision. Since the replacement surgery was a success, I bought an LG OLED TV, for nearly 3000 dollars, and an expensive warranty from a local seller. Because of some issues with the OLED, I got a replacement model of the same type, but upgraded to 2019 technology. Sometimes warranties can be good. This is the type of TV I’ve had in my living room now for the past 4-5 years. It’s pretty awesome, and somewhat more expensive by about a third than this new 2021 Sony. Since they are both 65″ I’ll be making some contrasting comparisons in my review.

Packaging, and setup, advantage to Sony. While considerably heavier than the wafer thin LG OLED TV, I had to struggle with the LG to put on the support base. It had a number of screws to attach, and someone had to support the screen carefully while those were attached. The Sony had more protective material to guard the screen, but when laid flat on a bed, I was easily able to slide, and snap-in the support leg pieces. Screwdriver not required, easy, in a pinch one person might be able to do it, although I had a friend to help. There were four screw in-barrel connectors if you want to attach to a wall mounted bracket over the support legs. Using one connector can double as a tipping hazard protector, but you have to purchase you’re own eye loop piece. The TV is nearly twice as heavy as the LG of the same size so make sure the platform you put it on will support 70 pounds of TV, and what other devices (DVD players, streamers and the like you might connect).

Directed setup when the TV is powered on also goes to Sony over LG although, to be fair to LG they had more features that needed setting up than this Sony, as their remote controlled a lot of special functions. Both TV’s have voice activated inputs, and although the Sony has a very clever use of it’s microphone by using it’s position to optimize the sound for where you sit. Actually the sound is kind of off the charts better on the Sony 2021 vs the LG 2019 model. Although, actually my LG sound experience is somewhat better, because I employ a 7.1 “Sony” sound bar, with subwoofer, and twin remote connected back speakers. This was a product I reviewed back about 4 years ago for Sony through the VINE as well. This Sony TV is not using any external speakers, but sounds pretty great on it’s own, as the speakers are much better than the Native LG speakers.

Apps, LG is actually the clear winner here, the set-up comes with many Apps, and you can add many more, plus it has a Web Browser. Thats nice, some services I had that allowed me to watch NFL games needed a web connection to use, and it was nice to put them no the big screen instead of watching on my laptop. LG has native Chromecast as well to project a computer or smartphone on the TV screen. I set up Google play on the Sony, but it was limited compared to the array of things I could do with the LG and it’s Magic Remote.

Picture, LG is the winner by a nose, the XR contrast booster on the Sony makes it look really good, but LG’s OLED pixels win the day. It took a while to figure out. I put some 4K YouTubes on both, watched them at the same distance from each TV, and watched each of three videos with different type of content (landscape bright tropical island, dark movie short, and ultra colorful Japan business district walk through). Each provided something to judge, I watched about five minutes of each, and repeated. Then moved to the other TV, and back again. Very difficult call, but the black levels on the LG still won out, although unlike cheaper older TV’s it’s hard for most people to tell any difference here.

An explanation might be in order here, the inexpensive TV’s are whats called edge lit. That basically means that the picture is a color liquid crystal, that emits no light of it’s own. While they may call them LED TV’s what they really mean is the back light, and edge lit means it’s shined from the perimeter inside the TV, and likely reflected on the entire screen. This is why you need a much thicker back, and a heavier TV. You can’t make it wafer thin like an OLED screen. OLED stand for Organic Light Emitting Diode, and it provides it’s own light at the pixel, it does not use a backlight. Now this Sony uses a back light system, but it’s much better, and much more sophisticated than edge lit LED TVs. It’s whats called full array LED lighting. Instead of just controlling an edge lights brightness to shine through a liquid crystal matrix, you have the entire back populated with LED’s behind the liquid crystal matrix, and a complicated algorithm (software program design) determines the incoming picture frames. It then adjusts the intensity of part of the LED lights to correspond to the pictures light and darker areas. It helps with the contrast, and black levels by keeping the light areas lit, and the dark areas dark. It is slightly less effective than OLED because there you get a true black level by controlling the intensity of individual pixels. Sony is actually going OLED on their higher end models, but unless you have money to burn, the difference in what I see here, and even the real world resolution seems negligible to me. I’m sure those high end models will have some marvelous features, but you can be sure you’re gonna pay for them. While expensive to an extent, you will not be unsatisfied with this fantastic new model, “Step Down” or not, it seems to be all relative.

Going away from the LG comparison for a bit, I liked the initial set up guide for this Sony. It had me select the language and connect to the Internet almost immediately. It then updated the software, and had me connect to some native apps. I went to my other computer, and activated Prime Video from Amazon, and I loved the fact that I could get the Crunchyroll Anime app on this in the All Apps section I just added it an logged it in. My only disappointment came with not finding a Web browser. I did a search and it made some suggestions to look for it in the extended all apps section, but I did not find a browser there. I connected Google TV up to see if that had something like a version of Chrome, but didn’t find anything new. I’m thinking since their help tells where to go, maybe the memory, and such required to support a Web browser is too limited, and they only put it on more expensive models. Not sure, I may still find a way to add one later.

Another nice feature is the USB input, Sony seems to be up to date on the latest video file formats, and has the codex for those in it’s native media player. It played some of my downloaded video files in a number of formats, and different resolutions quite well. I did have a little issue with having to set the subtitles on the remote each time for every file. Maybe I’ve not found it, but I’d like to leave subtitles or closed captions on when viewing non-English content. I did not like that there was only one coax input, I like to keep my LG (which has 2) connected to both the Cable box, and a powered antenna, for when the cable goes down, which is all too frequent. There are ample HDMI inputs (4) on the Sony. Although I’m not using a sound bar with this TV at present, I guess since it has the feature I should talk about eARC and ARC. ARC was the abbreviation for Audio Return Channel. On the Sony Sound bar I use for my LG, there is an ARC input, and an ARC output from the LG as I have connected. This allows me to connect high res sound without using a separate optical cable or analog set of RC jack connection cables to facilitate this. This new Sony 2021 model TV as something called eARC, it stands for Extended Audio Return Channel, and the difference is sound bandwidth and data transfer. It can transfer for instance to a sound bar or other audio system uncompressed 5.1 or 7.1 sound data. While the previous ARC was roughly 37 times slower, and it at best could work with compressed 5.1 data. For ARC you needed a decent high spec HDMI cable, and for eARC you need one that is HDMI, and Ethernet support spec’d. I’m not testing that for this TV unless I see Sony puts a newer high spec sound bar system on the VINE, I might test it if that happens in the future. For now, like I said the sound on this TV from the native speaker is exceptionally good.

Overall this is a really nice TV with a sound system good enough not to need an expensive outside sound system. A picture that exceeds most all of the medium to lower priced sets. Connections to Apps, and streaming services for same. Relatively easy to set up than some of the more complex, feature heavy TV’s from LG, and high end newly released Sony OLED versions. For most this is all you will need. Recommended.

UPDATE: 4-22-21 I mentioned in the review I’d keep looking to find out how to add a Web Browser. Some online videos showed how to add Chrome using an outside download. I was able to add a Browser that said it was made for Sony TV using the microphone. I found a lot of uses with that to quickly access features navigate between apps, connected USB drives, connected 4K DVD players, and Broadcast TV via an attached antenna. TV capable of one area search or several apps at a time to find movies and shows. Nice. As useful or more so than the Cable TV remote I use on my other TV. The addition of the Browser, I can now access news, and the websites of other services, online shopping etc. Only complaint I have over something like Chrome is if I didn’t spell out the entire URL, it wouldn’t append the “.com” or finish the URL, it just wouldn’t find the site.

I see plenty of 3 star or 2 star reviews saying ohh it’s a great tv but not for gaming. Let me try and explain,
This tv comes standard without auto HDR and a bunch of very important things. First you NEED to plug a ps5 or series x into the hdmi 3 and 4 slots. They are the only 2.1 slots that can support it, next make sure the plugs you are using either came with the console or say they can support up to 120 at 4K. You then go into the TVs settings and change HDMI signal format to enhanced format. Now you can take full effect of this awesome tv. Make sure the console has all the 4K features turned on there are plenty of videos explaining how. The Tv does need a lot of adjustment but that’s almost all products they can’t tell from the factory if you’re in a bright or dark room or that you have lights reflecting in the TVs screen. I know after using both consoles that the tvs 120 at 4K feature does work. Very happy with purchase!!!

What to say? It’s Sony. Pretty self explanatory.
Runs smooth (although I’m not fan of android tv), I have my Apple TV 4K hooked on it. I am able to get 4K HDR with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos no problem. I have my sound bar that’s plugged in via HDMI Arc and the sound is amazing.
Now, PlayStation 5 buyers, this has been rated the best television that’s non-OLED for gaming. It has 120hz refresh rate playing Cold War, 4K HDR active all the time and it’s simply amazing. My death/kill ratio has been doubled since I am on this TV. everything is so crisp, it’s scary!!
It uses full array LED, not as neat as OLED but for the price you certainly get a lot for your money.
It features 2x HDMI 2.1, so it is future proof for a while! You won’t regret it.