Sony's Bravia 9 II: A TV That's Worth the Extra Dollar?
Sony's Bravia 9 II is a TV that's been highly anticipated by tech enthusiasts and home entertainment aficionados alike. It's an RGB LED TV that promises to deliver an immersive viewing experience, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. But is it worth the extra $1,000 over its predecessor, the Bravia 7 II? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding yes, but with some caveats. Personally, I think the Bravia 9 II is a significant step forward in TV technology, but it's not without its flaws.
What makes this TV particularly fascinating is its RGB LED backlight technology. Unlike traditional LED TVs that use a blue backlight, the Bravia 9 II has clusters of individual red, green, and blue LEDs that blend their light to create a wider range of colors. This results in more vibrant and accurate colors, which is especially noticeable in HDR mode. The TV's excellent color accuracy and high light output make it the best bright-room TV available, in my view.
One thing that immediately stands out is the anti-reflective screen. It's the best I've ever seen, reducing bright lamps or windows to a dim glow that's incredibly difficult to see when anything is playing on the TV. Even when the TV is off, light reflections on the screen don't draw my attention. However, the effect degrades the more off-angle you get, which is a minor drawback.
The Bravia 9 II also has more dimming zones than the 7 II, which allows for finer control of backlight transition from light to dark parts of the screen. This results in less blooming, where bright light bleeds into a dark section next to it. However, I did notice some off-angle issues, with white and color bleeding into neighboring colors. This isn't something I remember seeing on the Bravia 7 II, and I wonder if it's related to the anti-reflective coating on the screen.
In terms of performance, the Bravia 9 II is as good as or better than the 7 II in grayscale and color performance. Its great color accuracy, high light output, and anti-reflective screen make it the best bright-room TV available. However, the 65-inch sample I had in for review, which is the smallest available size, is $3,600, while the Bravia 7 II is $2,600 at 65 inches. Even the 65-inch Sony Bravia 8 II OLED is $3,000.
In my opinion, the Bravia 9 II is a great achievement in LED TV performance, but it's not without its flaws. If you're looking for the best possible picture quality, an OLED TV like the Bravia 8 II would be my first choice. However, if you're specifically looking for an RGB LED TV and don't want to splurge on the 9 II, the Bravia 7 II gets you most of the way there (without the anti-reflective screen).
In conclusion, the Bravia 9 II is a TV that's worth the extra dollar, but it's not for everyone. It's a significant step forward in TV technology, but it's not without its flaws. If you're looking for the best possible picture quality, an OLED TV would be a better choice. But if you're specifically looking for an RGB LED TV and don't mind the extra cost, the Bravia 9 II is a great achievement in LED TV performance.
