Sony X900H 85-inch TV: 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV with HDR, Game Mode for Gaming, and Alexa Compatibility - 2020 Model

I was looking at the x950h based on the strong performance of the x950G (2019 model) and also at the x800h. I was replacing a 5 year old Samsung 4k that had a backlight issue and was too costly to repair.Although this is literally a brand new to the market, I decided that possibly going middle-of-the-road with the x900h was probably a good idea (mostly price-wise) and the step up from the x800h to local dimming was something I wanted.Was I right!I worked in the TV industry for over 20 years, so I got pretty obsessed with picture quality and this TV does not let me down. Deep blacks, vivid colors. Not OLED, but really good. Overall strong picture quality right out of the box before I even began playing with the settings. Also good viewing angles probably at 45 deg of center on each side from about 10 feet away. Picture contrast and colors were maintained at least at these angles.I've mounted the TV on a 1" deep wall-mount, so it's almost flush to the wall. With the exception of the power cord (which is a 90 Degree Figure 8 cable) all the inputs/outputs are on the left side. The Power cord is unfortunately on the right side in a recessed area, but for wall mounting it makes it a little tricky to get the plug in unless you have 2 people and someone does it before you place it on the mount. All the other connections can easily be made once mounted.Couple of interesting features -ATSC 3.0 tuner - will future proof you for 4k OTA signals and interactive content when available (larger markets will begin testing before end of 2020).HDMI 2.1 support - really suggest you replace any legacy HDMI cables you may have with 48Gbps capable cables. My apple TV box picked up on the new TV having Dolby Vision support and tried to test for it (which requires 48Gbps), but it said my cable was "not stable" and dropped me back to 4k SDR. It's an older, high quality, 18Gbps certified cable, but it obviously was not built for the needed tolerances. New HDMI cables are now on order, but consider that if you're wall mounting and will have limited access to re-work cabling after install.Android TV is good, i've configured it with my complement of OTT applications (youtube TV, Disney+, HBOMax, Prime, Netflix etc.) and works great. I personally prefer (as does the wife for consistency around the house) to use Apple TV's as my interface on all the home TV's. Fortunately, the TV does not force you into an Android experience - if you turn the TV on with the HDMI for your AppleTV as the selected input , you go straight into the external box's interface and don't have to fight your way out of Android TV first.If anything lets it down, the lack of a good paper manual during unboxing is annoying. Also, the port labeling is not readable easily once mounted on the wall - i had to guess which one was HDMI1 for example (and of course, I got it wrong). The supplied quick-start guide does not show the ports in a way that tells you a layout.In summary, strong TV. Good forward thinking features for you to grow into. I purchased the 55" for a smaller living room area of the house, but if the wife lets me, an 85" will end up in our media room before the year is out.... ;-)Recommend this TV. No reservations so far.

First, I want to say that I am not an audiophile. I have done research on what features I was looking for though. I am your average consumer and have not set any advanced picture or sound settings.Physical setupThe feet for the TV are at both ends of the TV and was too wide for the stand that I have. I bought a separate center stand that would support the 65-inch display (FITUEYES Universal TV Stand Base). That worked perfectly. Didn't realize how big the 85in would be, but we like it.OS - Android TVI rated this 5 stars but really wanted to give it 4.5. The ONLY thing I have an issue with is partially my fault and lack of research. I have AT&T TV NOW as my online TV service. Android TV does NOT support this app. I have read that you can sideload it multiple ways, but I figure that it is time for a change anyway. There are other options out there for live TV and I will look into those.The rest of the user interface is good. This is the first time I have used Android TV though I have always used an Android based phone. The apps are laid out well and very responsive. The Google Assistant works well, but I find that Alexa is better on Amazon Fire TV. It is a nice feature for this TV to be Alexa-enabled. It can be used to turn on the TV and more but requires a higher power consumption since it must remain in a standby state.There a plenty of settings to go through and sometimes get lost. This is day 3 for me and am getting used to the navigation.SoundI have not tested the sound using the TV speakers. I bought a Sony HT-X9000F Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer system (open-box) to utilize the eARC features of the TV. Again, I am not an audiophile, but I wanted great sound to compliment my viewing and I believe this has met my expectations. As soon as i plugged my 48Gbps HDMI cable to the HDMI port 3 on the TV, it was instantly recognized and prompted me to set it up.PictureI'm no expert on configuring the picture, but there are a few preset picture settings that can be used. I particularly interested in the Netflix picture mode where the settings are adjusted to fit the intended settings that the filmmakers wanted. I don't like it as it made everything dark, but I don't know if anything else needs to be done to make it look better. My favorite setting is Vivid as it brings out the bright colors. I watched Dolittle (2020) 4K using Google Play Movies. I enjoyed the visuals of this movie. The colors do pop, fast motion was very clear, and the dark scenes were just right for me. The TV handles reflections very well and it doesn't spread over the rest of the screen. The viewing angles are OK. I found it annoying to watch from the side, but I guess I’m not used to it since we repositioned everything in the living room for this TV.