Hey everyone! I hope this one was worth the wait! I can’t tell you how impressive the backlight demo was IRL. Looking forward to May, and not just for my birthday! What a wait for a new toy, though! So, think it’s worth it? Is Sony coming out with TVs just a couple months later worth the wait? Let me know!
Eeenh.... waiting six months only for them to release the exact same tv with different badging is a no for me..... I'll go for sharp/LG....matte finish and legs...heck no.....they need a design overhaul.... it's getting annoying now.....same A8 series oled since the H series🚮🚮🚮.... Samsung please release a new QDoled at the same price point.... laziness at its best....Sony tax and processing propaganda is long overused😂😂
Sony has always had better image quality than the competition. In the early days of HDTV competitors didn't handle reds very well and also analog content looked like crap. Now the issue is with 4k TVs not being able to handle non 4k content very well (particularly from cable and satellite). Streaming services seem to be fine. So non-native sources look better on Sony TVs.
❤YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEAR DEATH IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, AND TRUST IN HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, BECAUSE HE ATONED FOR YOU FOR ALL YOUR INSULTS, THAT YOU WOULD OBTAIN PEACE WITH ALMIGHTY GOD, AND GO TO HEAVEN BY HIS GRACE!!!❤❤❤
My Sony X95J still looks amazing and sometimes I can't believe how good it is. Obviously some blooming because it's an LED, but for 95% of viewing, it's awesome.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop. A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase. A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase. New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
I agree. I have the same tv and I don't take for granted how beautiful the picture looks. There is just something special about it being the last flagship 4k led before miniled.
I cannot believe Sony is going above and beyond the X95L and A95L, the only thing that's good about them coming out with new tvs this year is that the L series will drop in price faster than u can say dimming zones. Thats the time to get one!
I just watched this video a second time and the demonstration of Sony’s backlight system is even more impressive than I realized after my first viewing and Caleb’s explanation is stellar too!
Caleb, you are my go-to source for TV/tech news. Probably my most trusted source. Your review has swayed my decision many times and your A95L video was the final straw that made me decide to buy it. Thanks for the great content and keep up the great work. That part about how Sony's min-led actually works was very cool.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop. A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase. A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase. New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
Love it when companies like Sony focus on pushing advancements in innovation. I’m definitely more likely to be loyal to these companies than those focused on low prices.
I have no trouble with Sony's practices that allow them to stay in the game and to do a faster trickle down. We purchased the X90J because of the Cognitive Processor available at that price point. I expect Sony to build smarter TVs in the future by applying technology effectively as shown in their backlighting system. They are making advances in their products by addressing the engineering challenges by taking a 360 degree approach.
Nice that Sony FINALLY showed off their tech. There is no reason to hide it because it's awesome and fascinating! It's not like their competitors don't disassemble their TVs to see how they work anyway as that's common practice in most industries. And if the tech is patented the blueprint is public anyway so no reason not to flex their tech.
Now we just need to hope that one day the awesome tech and performance is in full force in every size of each of the models of their TV's, not just the largest sizes with the highest profit margins - for example the lower sized X95L's reportedly having noticeable performance decrease (blooming etc) in comparison to the godly 85inch version. the same premium models carrying the same premium price tags - just adjusted slightly for size, should also have the same premium performance and that's one of the few areas where Sony purposely falls short.
Showing this behind the scenes view (literally) of Sony’s backlight system is very cool!! Really fun video!! Not truly earth shaking for me only because I am more interested in OLED, but really interesting stuff. And it sounds like their new mini led tvs will be improved !
Well i was super hyped about this video...since yesterday but....the only news is that the flagship qd-led model will continue to 2024.... And we also been informed that the top world reviewers where invited to japan 🤪 sorry but i was expecting much more from this video....in fact i think this video has no right to exist since it does not provide much information about sony 2024 tvs besides a new fald system and the continuation of the qd oled model....we want more news 🤪😅 oled models? New 42 48 models? New sizes? New master series models?
I think we were all blown away by the X90L with 80 dimming zones and X95L with 480. If the X90L had more zones or more control over the light and better viewing angles, it'd be very tough to choose any TV over it... Plus many reviewers have bought the X95L which pretty much says it all.
Clarification and correction. X95L: 65" 480, 75" 720 and 85" 864 dimming zones. The 85" version is the most impressive not only because of dimming zones but because of the impressive native contrast panel of 5000:1 even with a wide viewing angle layer that reduces contrast by about 1000:1 which means this panel is really a 6000:1 panel. This LCD TV really is the closest thing to OLED.
@@LazyCrazyGuy Yeah, you're correct the 65 inch model had 480. Ironically the 75 inch has the most dimming zones per square inch, not the 85 inch. No one has seen the 65 or 75 inch A95L in the States but Vincent used one in his comparison and it looked pretty good against the reference monitor and even the G3. I know the 85 inch has a better panel but isn't 6,000 contrast ratio almost irrelevant when local dimming measures 200,000? It'd only come into play if local dimming was turned off which you would never want to do since the whole point of buying a X95L is for the outstanding local dimming. Have you seen a comparison of the 65 inch to the 85 inch X95L anywhere?
I agree. The X90L is a great TV but the viewing angles ruin it. No wide angle filter, so sitting even 15° off center makes the opposite side of the screen light up with blooming and lifted blacks. When two halves of the same TV look so different with the same image, something is wrong.
@@techsamurai11yep native contrast means much less nowadays. I have the U8K ADS at home with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and picked up the X90L to compare with its 5600:1. Turns out that really doesn't mean much when Hisense has over 10x the zones. After some tweaking, the difference in native contrast is basically unnoticeable. I'm sure the X95K/L are better though since they're MiniLED.
@@techsamurai11 I'm not sure where the reasoning for dimming zones per square inch became a discussion but it is backwards thinking and irrelevant. Let me give you an example. If you had a tv that was 10 inches and it had 25 zones each zone would be 1.74 width by .98 height. Compared to the 85X95L at 2.31 width by 1.54. Do you believe because the 10 inch screen has much smaller dimming zones it will have better blooming suppression and better local dimming control? It doesn't and that is because within that 10 screen it has to handle the same content which means if you took 864 boxes of a checkerboard pattern you would light up 6 boxes per every dimming zone on the 10 inch screen with 25 zones vs on the 864 85" set you would be able to turn off those zones for complete black level and keep white boxes completely lit with insane white bright. At the end of the day more zones means better control of light. Just like more pixels means a sharper picture regardless of size. Pixel density is another argument but no matter what an 8k pixel screen will always be better than a 2k pixel screen regardless of size. Moving on to the next point yes your argument would make sense about contrast but unfortunately you still have to remember that within each 2.5 inch square box (zone) there are a thousand plus pixels which means if you have a star in a black landscape a lower contrast panel will show the white light bleeding through black pixel because that area is illuminated. A higher contrast panel helps to hide the light that seeps through or actually containing it from seeping so it looks like a bright star next to a black space. On the AVS forums we have discussed and many owners aren't thrilled with the 65X95L because of low contrast it doesn't have the same punch and also it has gray blacks compared to deep inky blacks on the 85". The 75" is actually not bad though and a few owners who have both 75" and 85" have measured and found out that the 75" isn't that far off from the 85". The black levels are lower still but it's because of a lower contrast panel on 75". I think that one is 3500:1 or something like that. But they said it's a slight step down in terms of blacks. But other than that is very similar to the 85".
Sony releasing their tvs later in the year seems really dumb. By the fall when your competitors tvs are all on good sale prices, you’re now trying to compete with full price tvs. I want to buy a Sony tv right now, but it’s hard to justify it when they’re nearly at full price now, and the LG and Samsung are on big discounts. This is going to hurt Sony if they keep this up.
Seems like a bad business model as by the time Sony releases there TV'S (May-Oct) there is already deep discounts from it's competitors who released their 2024 TV products earlier in the year. For me it would be hard to justify buying a Sony TV based on the discounts the other manufactures are given when Sony releases there TV products much later during the calendar year.
I agree, they have got to change that business model. I don't get what they are thinking with that. Can't even begin to image how many sales they would lose for people that would have chose them but didn't want to wait and see. And as you said the prices would come down for the other models making the prospect of paying even more, worse.
I hope you realize that the new models of TVs roll out not all immediately. They have different models roll out every year between March-October. The holiday models come out near the end of the year for Black Friday which are (usually) going to be something with lower specs than their lowest model they usually make. People just always hear the, "Just bought this TV and a new one just came out after" comment and it's because they usually buy the TV at the discounted price around the Holidays or clearance time and see a new model come out not long after, but it's not always a newer BETTER model. At this point, on rare occasions do you see Sony roll out with a new Flagship model at the end of the year, and even then, it stays around for a few years. Like the Z9 model. Z9D came out at the end of 2016 and stayed for a few years to be replaced with the Z9F. Before that was the 950B which was still around through roughly 2016-2017 even though it was released in 2014.
❤YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEAR DEATH IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, AND TRUST IN HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, BECAUSE HE ATONED FOR YOU FOR ALL YOUR INSULTS, THAT YOU WOULD OBTAIN PEACE WITH ALMIGHTY GOD, AND GO TO HEAVEN BY HIS GRACE!!!❤❤❤
I own the 85-inch version of Sony X90K TV that Caleb didn't like. I had built my media room around an 82-inch Samsung Q70R that inexplicably died after three years (just beyond the warranty period) and needed a replacement. I took Samsung off the table having to replace their TV after a failure - so it was Sony or LG. I still love my Sony X90K - especially at the price I paid for it - which was only $2000. I seriously thought about getting the 83-inch C2 OLED from LG, but the price.... The blooming didn't bother me as much as the extra $2000 did. Even the mini-led Sony X95K was $1500 more at the time. The Sony X90 class is really a great value, especially in the 80+ size class.
That 12:08 and 12:11 is a massive improvement. Looks basically like twice the contrast and micro-contrast detail over X95L and same with brightness. I wouldn't be surprised that the "lead" the QDOLED and MLA have in the small specular highlights on a dark scene. Will be smaller or down right almost equal. That brightness difference was like looking at an X90L vs X95L. I am so stoked. Now lets just hope we get all the sizes this year.
I have a ZD9 and I'm desperately looking for something that I think I'd worthy to replace it. I'm tempted with A95L at the moment but I was watching Ozark through apple TV last night and the image quality was still blowing my socks off.
I definitely think the A95L will be a carryover to this year. They released it basically in October and it has the new Pentonic SoC and excellent processing. There isn't much they could to for this year. Minor processor upgrades, same brightness etc. What would be the point. The A95L is so good it can easily hang in 2024. I also think that is why they went all out on the A95L in 2023 and the MiniLED was a minor upgrade. They knew what they would going for in 2024. Which means higher focus on the MiniLED. So 2023 was the minor improvement skip/leap year for miniLED and this year will be the much higher improvements including Pentonic etc. I am really hoping they release 65/75/85" this year in X95M. I am worried I cannot fit an 85" down my stairs to my movie room.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop. A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase. A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase. New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
2024 is going to be the year for the mini LED TVs with improved backlighting technology and other advancement. Lovers of high and LCD TVs, rejoice! Huge screen sizes that OLED can’t compete in price.
Definitely. We can see how LG is trying to get in on that with their 83" MLA OLED. Since QDOLED is stuck at 77" they try to reach the market that like OLED but want bigger screens. But there is going to be a lot of big screens this year.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop. A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase. A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase. New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
I have owned Sony TV's for years and they last and work very well. the X900H is the last TV I bought and it looks great and works great for everything weather it's movies, games, sports ect and under $1,000 for 55" well worth it.
No matter how good the backlight would be on LCD, LCDs still have way more DSE than OLEDs, so the colours won't be as pure as OLEDs. Even if LCD can do 100 000:1 contrast ratio, it still has more DSE.
I would love to go back to Sony, but until they finally match LG and Samsung with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, they're not even in the running. Idk how they haven't fixed that yet. It's 2024. We should be at 6 HDMI 2.1 ports by now.
It's because more than 99% of those that buy new TV's today will never actually need more than one (usable) HDMI 2.1 port. They have done studies on this now and most of those that buy TVs with four HDMI 2.1 ports never even bother using more than one of them at a time anyways. What people SAY they want on a new TV and what they end up actually USING are often two entirely different things. But don't worry, I'm sure Sony will be moving to four HDMI 2.1 ports soon enough.
@@mhoroky true, but the gamer community that uses TVs for gaming grows substantially every year so I'm sure you will see Sony doing more things to accommodate them going forward. Their new Game Bar introduced this past year is a prime example of that. I'm sure that will continue to get updated with new features over time as it has been very well received so far and many felt that it was something that was LONG overdue. I think Sony finally got the message there on that (Hint: TV Gamers want in-game controls on the TV - and a LOT of them!) Hopefully Sony will be adding an FPS counter to their game bar here very soon as well.
@@mhoroky Clearly, but their competitors do. Both LG and Samsung advertise their TV's as being great for gaming because of their HDMI 2.1 Ports. It'd be nice if Sony followed suit.
Interesting video, although I have to say that I was hoping for the big news to be more around motion. It’s the last area to conquer to me. I want to see tvs have flawless film like 24fps playback when it comes to stutter. Certainly they can engineer this one day.
That backlight tech is fascinating! Very curious how it handles variable color brightness. Given how LCDs work by blocking certain wavelengths of the white backlight, that would typically make white highlights much brighter than colorful highlights. But if you can use color data to inform variable backlight levels, you could theoretically compensate for this by running the backlight higher for colored highlights than for white ones. If you have a backlight theoretically capable of like 4000 nit white highlights, that may give you the necessary headroom to hit 1000 nits of brightness for any color of highlight, in addition to hitting 1000 nits for white highlights w/o breaking a sweat. For HDR content mastered to 1000 nits, that could theoretically get you a perfect picture, no?
I think Sony uses their own kind of "quantum dots" so I don't think the colors would suffer. That said like we see on G3 with MLA. Most specular highlights are whiteish. So if they can reach that and still have deep color, it will be amazing.
@@loki76Sonys used Quantum Dot long before it was called that, that's why we never heard that marketing term by them because they've always called it something else, I've even had a Sony phone with their quantum tech(from a decade ago), it's practically in every LED TV they make, always has been But yeah TLDR; this is better for backlight isolation, but it'll still have some losses compared to completely self emissions solutions
@@ChroniclesofKToyoda They call it "Triluminous" and it's quantum dots. It's annoying when others say Sony doesn't have quantum dots because they don't use the name "quantum dots". They have their own solution using them. I have a Sony 900E and it has Triluminous and it's soon 7 years old. They had it before Samsung with their Qled or at least same time.
@@loki76 yup Sony had it first since forever for their reds & greens(they had additional tech for their blues IIRC), Hell my phone even had Mobile Bravia Engine from a decade ago, they were pushing tech on mobile that even other companies TVs didn't have But Sony's marketing being what it is, most folks won't really know half the tech' that's actually in them, whilst other brands flaunt these features heavy but that's also because for other brands things like this are new
Considering that the 2022 X95K is basically the same as 2023 X93L, there is a good chance that we will see the 2024 X90M with that kind of performance but with a much lower price, making it a great buy for a lot more people.
That would be nice wouldn't. IMO they can now make the X90 series MiniLED as well. In fact they could basically bring the X90 to the level of X95L. Because the difference there at 12:08 and the rest of that few second demo was massive. More than twice the contrast and brightness (at least sort of look like it). So it will still stand out far and above the X90 in that case.
@@loki76If they can control the backlight and push more brightness as it's more energy efficient, then they may not need MiniLed. If the X90M is better than the X93L and close to the X95L and has improved viewing angles, it's going to be the TV to beat in terms of value.
@@techsamurai11 I think they need the MiniLED to actually do that. Old LED tech means large LED lights and they can't do their "Sony thing" with it as well. It has limitations. Otherwise I think we would have seen 200-300 zone X90 models. Wouldn't it just be easier to transition X90 series to MiniLED as well. They can keep it cheaper and separate the flagship vs X90 series by keeping the older dimming panel on X90M (meaning the X95L backlight) and use the new for the X95M. Can see in the video it's basically twice as good. X90 is a bigger seller because more budget and if they offer something looking as good as X95L did last year. That would just be all around good for everyone. I just can't see an X90M with 80 Zones and old FALD when the X95M looks to be a big leap over X95L miniLED. The gap would be like going from X95 series and then X75 or something.
@@loki76 Yeah, I agree. It does depend on the cost of the new backlight panel vs the X95L or X93L's backlight. You're right, though. The X90 cannot remain unchanged especially as TCL and Hisense will certainly reveal new technologies as they also introduce higher-end models. Blooming is getting really, really old. We've been talking about it for 10+ years.
Thanks Caleb. I always watch your content. You always break it down and get me excited on what new is coming. Sony for the win. 😊 On a side note, do you remember the Sony XBR squared with the external side speakers. 😉. I was rockin that back in the day.
Thanks for the update Caleb, as always you keep me informed on the cutting edge of tv technology. I am looking forward to new TVs and the larger sizes. Really looking for an oled tv that will go over 83” and have qd tech or even the rumored pho led that LG is possibly developing. Looking forward to seeing your CES show. Thanks again! 👍🏻
Sony putting much more emphasis on mini-LED makes a lot of sense, OLED tech is kind of plateauing a bit right now whereas Mini-LED has a ton of room to improve, and is more widely appealing to people than OLED even though OLED is the superior technology in most respects. I wonder if this is the year where we finally see the X90 series (X90L in 2023, X90M? in 2024) switch from Full Array to Mini-LED
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop. A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase. A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase. New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
I agree but doubt they would do it. It would bring both the cost and performance too close to the A95L. Also the LG C4 won't have MLA so no competitive pressure to add it.
Caleb, can you please do a "deep dive" on both MediaTek and TSMC for us? Specifically on the Pentonic 700, 1000 and 2000 SoC's? Since these are the basis for SO many new TVs coming to market now this year we really do need to spend a LOT more time focusing in on the abilities and limitations of these chips. We also need to be talking about how some companies are making really good use of these platforms (with advanced software algorithms) while others really aren't. This is 2024 now and we all should be focusing far more attention now on the single most important component of ANY TV today: the processor!
Thank Caleb for that explanation. I’m running a LG CX OLED and will need to replace it as some point. I was going to go down the OLED route again, but what ruined that choice is when I saw the Hisense U8 on display, and that looked mighty fine to me. But even this was blown away by the Sony Mini-LED tele which looked so purposeful that it was unreal. It’s going to be a very hard choice when I do upgrade.
Loyality behind buyers is Sonys force. I have owned some Sony tvs through out the years. Currently the 55ag9 - love it.... But to some extended i feel other manufactures have engaging picture quality but lacks the overall quality that Sony provides. And I love Sonys approach to the menus compared to Philips, Samsung and LG.
I picked up a Bravia XBR65X900F in 2019 and it has been great. After owning LG (huge disappointment) , and Samsung in the past, i will buy a mini LED Sony when the time is right as my next tv.
Same here. I got the Hisense flagship 1 yr afer u. Then the Larger one another flagship. Like i cant go back to OLED. They are just nicer n more vibrant in my opinion. OLED just to dim pestle.
Sony not showing up in CES is the same as Sony not showing up in E3 conferences when E3 was still a thing. The problem is the justification seems more corporate. These events are way to interact with the community and thats why I think it always reflected poorly when sony didn't show up.
We thought that LCD technology was dead and buried, but now Sony is reviving it with their special backlight system, it will be interesting to see how it is stuck up against OLED, as it has gained a momentum for high picture quality and the prices have come down.
Caleb, your channel knows alot about Sony and so many products. It would be nice to see a review of their flagship sound bar (and system) - the HT-A7000. I have only seen mixed reviews on that one. Thanks!
Thanks for the video. I have the LP that's in the background behind you. It's the Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby. 🙂 I have a Sony X900E LED TV and I'm looking to upgrade soon. Would love to stick with Sony but also considering Samsung and LG. Really like the X93L and X95L if I don't go to OLED. I will consider miniLED also. My question is how do they do blacks and dark scenes? Is OLED and QD-OLED still king here?
I'm still quite happy with the X90J. For the future though, I love what Sony is doing here with mini-LED TVs with their XR cognitive processor. Can't wait to see how they refine the tech over the next few years.
Isn't is obvious on why Sony is showing you the backlight? It's because they don't really have much new tech, so to drive up demand/create hype, they are showing you how it works (like it has worked for the past few years)
Did you not see the improvements from last years X95L? Look at again at 12:08 and see the huge contrast/dimming difference. Look again at 12:11 for the massive brightness difference and also more contrast detail. That is just the backlight drive that easily doubled in performance. In 2023 the X95L 85" was bar none the best MiniLED in the world. The processing and dimming control was great despite fewer zones. Because as Caleb and Sony explained the "zone count" is just part of it. The real trick is the gradients in light control. The proof is in the pudding how an 864 zone X95L can hang or even beat a 2300 zone TV in the top end. This upgrade with IC on the circuit boards allow them the same fine control but with a lot more zones. That brightness increase was substantial as well. What "much new" tech does LG and Samsung have? TCL and Hisense will have nice specs on paper, but can that translate into great processing and USE of said specs.
This technology looks like a good candidate for laptop screens, and even PC monitors. OLED is great, but for portable devices brightness is always better (if all else equal)
I am willing to wait a few extra months to see what Sony comes out with. I have always been a fan of there picture processing being the best and as someone that keeps his TV for 5 to 10 years I want to get something I am really comfortable with so I am in no hurry to rush into a buying decision until I can see all the cards on the table and hopefully make the best buying decision for my use case.
I think I’ll keep watching you and appreciating the beautiful new tech for sometime! Hopefully by the end of 2025 I can get my hands on the 77 inch Sony’s latest OLED tv, alongside a PS5 Pro!
I'm in the market and looking to buy the LG G4 83". I would love to consider what Sony might be offering, but I'm not waiting a year. And even if i did, by the time Sony releases their fkagship, the LG will likely be going on sale... making it even more difficult to persuade me not to just pull the trigger on the G4 and call it good enough. Bummer, I would have liked to have known what is coming to make a better informed choice.
You and I are in the same boat my friend. I've saved $6000 and am just stalking for the very best I would love to grab sonys mini-LED but to your point by that point the 83' G4 will be on sale. It's a tough choice, sony will have to impress me big time to sway me from the 83' MLA.
For years, I've told myself I'd buy the latest A series TV or wait for the next one to come out so the one I was looking at gets discounted. I've been doing this since the H series. :)
I just want a 75 inch "CURVED" model, and maybe a way to do 3D without the glasses. Even if it only works for the one person sitting directly in front.
I have the A95K going on 14 months now and I'm not touching another Sony TV until there are 4 HDMI 2.1 ports. We pay the "Sony tax" for the premier tech, but that absolutely needs to include all features.
I got a tcl 98 inch TV for 2500 dollars installation and shipping included. I don't care how much better Sony tech is. It's not worth paying 4x more period.
I have to say, I do enjoy this channel more than the others. But, I’m afraid I only watch because I’m in the market for a tv. Watching, though, has me frozen on my purchase. I can’t make a decision now! Once I decide on one I want, I get a…”but, it doesn’t perform well in this test.” Haha… so, as helpful as it may be, it’s also detrimental to your tv decisions!
Hey Caleb, I thoroughly enjoy your videos. You are so good at what you do. You are the best, not compared to other TV tech reviewers but compared to all TH-cam channels, period. I really appreciate your sense of humour. The fact that I’m in the market for a high end TV makes it easy to tune in, but I know that even after I get my new TV (A95L?) that I will continue to tune in. Keep on keepin’ on!
I wanted a SAMSUNG, but no Dolby Vision, so SONY is my choice now, though impressed with the TCL from your comparison video, which supports both HDR10+ & Dolby Vision -- tempting for the money...
Interesting note (to me at least): When I watch this video on my TV, the little graphic about the Sony Tax that Caleb is pointing to does not show, but it does when watching on my phone.
Sony knows what they're doing. From a business perspective, it does make sense to have your own press conference, Similar to Apple's keynotes. Buyers of the A95K/L are usually affluent buyers who are less price-sensitive. They want the best image quality possible. I don't think we saw a discount on the A95L for Black Friday.
My Samsung 55” Q60C tv is edge lit, and it’s bright enough, and I don’t need the brightness all the way up, and it has no blooming, and with great contrast and clarity!
Sony is the best TV on the market when you hold the remote in your hand. It does not feel cheap. Very important factor that is often overlooked when buying a new TV.
What's the point though? If they are hitting contrast ratios of 200,000 with the X95L and this new technology can improve it, it's practically oled to the eye without all the problems that oled has. Our eyes have trouble telling apart IPS panels from OLEDs with any ambient light and the contrast ratio is 1000 vs infinite. It's why Oleds are always reviewed in dark rooms.
Correction Mr Denison Dolby Pulsar 4000 nit color grading monitor, has been used by Sony, Disney, and WB. Flanders Scientific XM3110K 5000 nit color grading monitor. So we can expect more content graded within a 4000 nit container.
Thanks for the coverage, Caleb. Did Sony mention or show anything about the 2024 X90 series? I guess I might end up with the X95L on clearance sale around June. The X95M 2024 is going to be out of my budget, and I doubt the X90M would be upgraded to MiniLED (It will only happen in my dreams).
Similar to their stance on E3 a few years ago, they do their own thing. It hasn’t hurt their gaming side at all - quite the opposite. But I would be curious to see how their TV related products fare in terms of tech progress and profitability. Definitely excited that Sony is trying to compete, that’s for sure!
Hey Caleb wondering if you know of a hdmi splitter to pair with the Sony A95L because it’s only got 2 hdmi 2.1 ports? I need hdmi 2.1 VRR because I use my tv with ps5 and a 4090 (PC) I also use the earc for my Sonos arc. Thanks
@@RobertK1993 and you read the reviews and VRR doesn’t work or flickering or black screens… which is why I was asking an expert. I’ve looked into the Amazon products. Also there is a lot of fake products that claim hdmi 2.1 but you read the reviews and they don’t work with ps5 , ps5 doesn’t recognize VRR support or 120hz/fps or they are not the full 48Gbps of hdmi 2.1.
I was a professional salesman selling Sony broadcast products, and I always like their cameras and monitors the best of all the other options. You do pretty good reviews and of course I know Sony Ola at my house and now you’re gonna make me go out and buy another TV.
😊 I used to buy everything from Sony . I had their laptops everything . Years later d fav thing I liked about their laptop I thought so premium I realize they were NOT produced by Sony . They were made by -- SHARP ! Apparently their monitors mostly made by Sharp n Samsung . U better check it out :):)
Also Sony’s most premium LED the got their LED popular innitially ,,,, 100🎉% Sony LED TVs were made by Sharp n Sharp Aquos , Sony just container n adding software on it . Sharp Aquos kept the Best “Quatrum “ panel (4 true BASE colors - extra sub pixel yellow vs Sony RGB ) in d house . So Hisense bought Sharp Tv jn 2014 , it still retains a lot of patterns . Hisense tv led technology r more like Sony Early 2010 2011 flagship colors than modern day Sony Blue/magenta Pestle tint 😊
I just feel disappointed by Sony. I live in Tokyo, Japan and they will not release the A95L here... I went to some big famous stores here in the center of Tokyo and asked to some of the staff that are in charge of selling TVs and yes.... there is something very strange going on with Sony and the Japanese market. They kind of feel ashamed to say the Japanese brand will not sell their flagship TV in their home country... that is a shame....
Well, it's sort of the same in the US. We only have the 85 inch X95L. The more popular 65 inch and 75 inch are not available here either. Europe seems to have all X95 models but they are more pricey. The X93L is not that far off the X95L in terms of performance and the price is much better. But I can't wait to see how good Sony's new models are because this seems to take LEDs to a completely different level if it works as advertised. Most reviewers seem to view the X95L as near identical to OLED once you factor everything in so if this level of performance can be offered in the X90L, then it's going to redefine the market and shift the boundaries of OLED vs LED.
Great to see Sony continuing to innovate with regards to LCD TVs. However, I would be really impressed if their TVs could allow apps to output lossless audio formats via eARC or even a dedicated HDMI audio out. Then I might be able to retire my Nvidia Shield...
I’m really not getting how this is some sort of secret sauce. Running the back light as a grey-scale image based on luminance/brightness seems like a no-brainer to me. Are you saying that other TVs don’t? And what do small micro processors on each miniLED have to do with anything? Wouldn’t each LED just be run as a pixel in a bitmap and activated by a controller? This just sounds like Marketing speak. Trying to make a pretty obvious method sound like magic. I would have thought the magic happens adjusting the LCD to match the backlight brightness and have it blend between mini-zones.
Have always liked SONY, worked as a QA Tech for them decades ago and still have some of their high end older Audio. I went on a used tech buying spree years ago, and thanks to Sony, because that's what replaced the sellers previous Flat Screens, I was able to add to my Collection the last generation, best, Pioneer KURO 60" Plasma from 2009, 60" Samsung Plasma and a Rare, 1 year only, Full array, LED backlit, auto dimming, THX certified, Flat screen that was the first LCD to beat a Plasma for TV of the Year. Can you guess which TV I'm talking about ?
I also suspect Sony stopped announcing new TV's at CES because those TV's wouldn't hit shelves for at LEAST 6 months after announcement. It was a real problem some years, heck it was even an issue back when they launched the HX900 (which I bought, even though it had supply issues for most of the year at the time).
12:08 if the one on the left is 2023 X95L (can see the X95 part on the left) and the TV on the right is the new 2024 model. Yikes that is a massive difference in contrast and also allowing way brighter highlights (the lit up parts) seen at 12:11. I mean it's easily twice as defined in contrast as the left TV. The X95L was already really good, especially the 85" model. Couple this with the Pentonic and maybe some other image processing upgrades. I am so glad I waited all this time. That is a really big difference in that time stamp.
The Chinese brands TCL and Hisense, are going to bring out massive specs in-their mini LED TVs this year, that it will be interesting to see how that pans out and wether Sony can maintain its edge as the best LCD Tv this year like last year’s X95L, which was widely regarded as the best Mini-LED TV.
The pentonic has been tough to get working just right, like a lot of new tech, but Sony is getting better with it. I think it’s next gen of TVs are going to slay
@@amitavraja3385 I think Sony will do fine. Because as a scenario. TCL/Hisense having 2023 TVs with more than double the zones of X95L. They didn't come close to beating it. Because the processing and frankly the blooming control was better in many ways because of that fine gradient dimming. TCL and Hisense are more brute-force more zones. So now with Sony maybe doubling their zones and still retain that excellent fine gradient algorithm (for lack of a better word). And their image processing. It will win again. TCL and Hisense will likely look great but they will fail in upscaling and motion in comparison and their dimming zone count advantage won't mean much if it's more crushing and 'uneven" in how it's used. If TCL and Hisense can reach processing of the "big three" they will be very serious contenders. That said they will still sell more. Because Sony is more of the premium brand now and TCL and Hisense hits most areas. My question is Samsung. They have to really step up as well. TCL and Hisense are more of a threat to Samsung than Sony.
@@Caleb_Denison Hopefully they have got it ironed out more. It's been out for a bit and I guess firmware upgrades can be had etc. So stoked though. That was a massive difference between the X95L and I assume X95M (if that is what they call it). Not just dimming zone and contrast, but brightness at 12:11 was way way brighter. Great video looking forward to all the rest with CES.
@@loki76 I think they are getting there. What I’m told is that it’s like coding for a new operating system. They had to write all new code to program the chip, very little could be copy and pasted. So it was a bit of an uphill climb. But they have some pretty smart folks working on it so I’m gonna think by gen 2 they have their ish together.
I’m not sure what really got to see but that Las Vegas night footage of the lights and black back ground for showing off no/low blooming was Z9D demo, next would’ve been some Bellagio footage as well. I still have the video from standing in Best Buy magnolia theater Z9D demo area in 2017, including showing off the backlighting technology with that white back light mode. It’s a shame they have the secret recipe for one of the greatest televisions ever created. All they have to do build it again, add the newer better control IC board you talked about, make 100” more affordable & done!
it all sounds great but at the end the consumer is looking at a display of TVs at their local dept stores while LG and Samsung are always right up front taking the center stage and Sony is somewhere along the sidelines. My first 48” slim screen tv was the Sony Bravia there was a reason it was one of the most expensive and that was due its picture quality which was superb compared to others. Today they’re basically all about the same quality so it comes down to pricing and guarantees Great video but I’m still not sold on Sony
I’m clearly a Sony ‘fanboy’, while approaching 75 years young. I have always enjoyed the quality of Sony TVs and camera gear. I’ll likely replace my current Sony with the mysterious miniLED.
Another great video. I’m excited to see what Sony does put out in 2024 both with the Mini-LED and OLED. I’m probably upgrading this year from my 2017 Samsung 65” curved to one of the televisions mentioned above. Just haven’t made up my mind which way to go yet. I just keep going back and forth, at the moment leaning towards the Mini-LED.
I have the Bravia A 80L. The store display mode had the video of the vibrant city showing in the store. How can I see my tv up to closely resemble that level of picture quality? Unlike most, I actually like that.
Hey everyone! I hope this one was worth the wait! I can’t tell you how impressive the backlight demo was IRL. Looking forward to May, and not just for my birthday! What a wait for a new toy, though! So, think it’s worth it? Is Sony coming out with TVs just a couple months later worth the wait? Let me know!
I think Sony is worth the wait.
Very cool indeed. Can't wait for the new TVs to drop.
Eeenh.... waiting six months only for them to release the exact same tv with different badging is a no for me..... I'll go for sharp/LG....matte finish and legs...heck no.....they need a design overhaul.... it's getting annoying now.....same A8 series oled since the H series🚮🚮🚮.... Samsung please release a new QDoled at the same price point.... laziness at its best....Sony tax and processing propaganda is long overused😂😂
A person receives money from Sony, courses and hospitality corruption!
Don't take his word for it
Thumbs up for your channel!
Sony has always had better image quality than the competition. In the early days of HDTV competitors didn't handle reds very well and also analog content looked like crap. Now the issue is with 4k TVs not being able to handle non 4k content very well (particularly from cable and satellite). Streaming services seem to be fine. So non-native sources look better on Sony TVs.
❤YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEAR DEATH IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, AND TRUST IN HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, BECAUSE HE ATONED FOR YOU FOR ALL YOUR INSULTS, THAT YOU WOULD OBTAIN PEACE WITH ALMIGHTY GOD, AND GO TO HEAVEN BY HIS GRACE!!!❤❤❤
My Sony X95J still looks amazing and sometimes I can't believe how good it is. Obviously some blooming because it's an LED, but for 95% of viewing, it's awesome.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop.
A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase.
A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase.
New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
I agree. I have the same tv and I don't take for granted how beautiful the picture looks. There is just something special about it being the last flagship 4k led before miniled.
I cannot believe Sony is going above and beyond the X95L and A95L, the only thing that's good about them coming out with new tvs this year is that the L series will drop in price faster than u can say dimming zones. Thats the time to get one!
我也是，65寸x95j对于一般家用来说已经很棒了，miniled或者oled索尼电视应该是以后的选择
I just watched this video a second time and the demonstration of Sony’s backlight system is even more impressive than I realized after my first viewing and Caleb’s explanation is stellar too!
Caleb, you are my go-to source for TV/tech news. Probably my most trusted source. Your review has swayed my decision many times and your A95L video was the final straw that made me decide to buy it. Thanks for the great content and keep up the great work. That part about how Sony's min-led actually works was very cool.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop. A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase.
A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase. New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
Love it when companies like Sony focus on pushing advancements in innovation. I’m definitely more likely to be loyal to these companies than those focused on low prices.
I have no trouble with Sony's practices that allow them to stay in the game and to do a faster trickle down. We purchased the X90J because of the Cognitive Processor available at that price point. I expect Sony to build smarter TVs in the future by applying technology effectively as shown in their backlighting system. They are making advances in their products by addressing the engineering challenges by taking a 360 degree approach.
I also bought the X90J about 2 years ago and absolutely love it.
Nice that Sony FINALLY showed off their tech. There is no reason to hide it because it's awesome and fascinating!
It's not like their competitors don't disassemble their TVs to see how they work anyway as that's common practice in most industries. And if the tech is patented the blueprint is public anyway so no reason not to flex their tech.
Now we just need to hope that one day the awesome tech and performance is in full force in every size of each of the models of their TV's, not just the largest sizes with the highest profit margins - for example the lower sized X95L's reportedly having noticeable performance decrease (blooming etc) in comparison to the godly 85inch version. the same premium models carrying the same premium price tags - just adjusted slightly for size, should also have the same premium performance and that's one of the few areas where Sony purposely falls short.
@@whiskizyo2067 Blooming is overblown on many Sony Bravia LED/Mini TVs
@@whiskizyo2067 have you got links to those reports? it is bad if its true because the smaller sizes are not cheap either.
I’m a Sony guy they have always been the best TV’s for me personally. They’re just well balanced.
Showing this behind the scenes view (literally) of Sony’s backlight system is very cool!! Really fun video!! Not truly earth shaking for me only because I am more interested in OLED, but really interesting stuff. And it sounds like their new mini led tvs will be improved !
Well i was super hyped about this video...since yesterday but....the only news is that the flagship qd-led model will continue to 2024.... And we also been informed that the top world reviewers where invited to japan 🤪 sorry but i was expecting much more from this video....in fact i think this video has no right to exist since it does not provide much information about sony 2024 tvs besides a new fald system and the continuation of the qd oled model....we want more news 🤪😅 oled models? New 42 48 models? New sizes? New master series models?
I think we were all blown away by the X90L with 80 dimming zones and X95L with 480. If the X90L had more zones or more control over the light and better viewing angles, it'd be very tough to choose any TV over it... Plus many reviewers have bought the X95L which pretty much says it all.
Clarification and correction.
X95L: 65" 480, 75" 720 and 85" 864 dimming zones. The 85" version is the most impressive not only because of dimming zones but because of the impressive native contrast panel of 5000:1 even with a wide viewing angle layer that reduces contrast by about 1000:1 which means this panel is really a 6000:1 panel. This LCD TV really is the closest thing to OLED.
@@LazyCrazyGuy Yeah, you're correct the 65 inch model had 480. Ironically the 75 inch has the most dimming zones per square inch, not the 85 inch.
No one has seen the 65 or 75 inch A95L in the States but Vincent used one in his comparison and it looked pretty good against the reference monitor and even the G3. I know the 85 inch has a better panel but isn't 6,000 contrast ratio almost irrelevant when local dimming measures 200,000? It'd only come into play if local dimming was turned off which you would never want to do since the whole point of buying a X95L is for the outstanding local dimming.
Have you seen a comparison of the 65 inch to the 85 inch X95L anywhere?
I agree. The X90L is a great TV but the viewing angles ruin it. No wide angle filter, so sitting even 15° off center makes the opposite side of the screen light up with blooming and lifted blacks.
When two halves of the same TV look so different with the same image, something is wrong.
@@techsamurai11yep native contrast means much less nowadays. I have the U8K ADS at home with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and picked up the X90L to compare with its 5600:1. Turns out that really doesn't mean much when Hisense has over 10x the zones. After some tweaking, the difference in native contrast is basically unnoticeable. I'm sure the X95K/L are better though since they're MiniLED.
@@techsamurai11 I'm not sure where the reasoning for dimming zones per square inch became a discussion but it is backwards thinking and irrelevant. Let me give you an example. If you had a tv that was 10 inches and it had 25 zones each zone would be 1.74 width by .98 height. Compared to the 85X95L at 2.31 width by 1.54. Do you believe because the 10 inch screen has much smaller dimming zones it will have better blooming suppression and better local dimming control? It doesn't and that is because within that 10 screen it has to handle the same content which means if you took 864 boxes of a checkerboard pattern you would light up 6 boxes per every dimming zone on the 10 inch screen with 25 zones vs on the 864 85" set you would be able to turn off those zones for complete black level and keep white boxes completely lit with insane white bright. At the end of the day more zones means better control of light. Just like more pixels means a sharper picture regardless of size. Pixel density is another argument but no matter what an 8k pixel screen will always be better than a 2k pixel screen regardless of size.
Moving on to the next point yes your argument would make sense about contrast but unfortunately you still have to remember that within each 2.5 inch square box (zone) there are a thousand plus pixels which means if you have a star in a black landscape a lower contrast panel will show the white light bleeding through black pixel because that area is illuminated. A higher contrast panel helps to hide the light that seeps through or actually containing it from seeping so it looks like a bright star next to a black space. On the AVS forums we have discussed and many owners aren't thrilled with the 65X95L because of low contrast it doesn't have the same punch and also it has gray blacks compared to deep inky blacks on the 85". The 75" is actually not bad though and a few owners who have both 75" and 85" have measured and found out that the 75" isn't that far off from the 85". The black levels are lower still but it's because of a lower contrast panel on 75". I think that one is 3500:1 or something like that. But they said it's a slight step down in terms of blacks. But other than that is very similar to the 85".
Incredible 😊 how SONY does backlight for their TVS.
Sony releasing their tvs later in the year seems really dumb. By the fall when your competitors tvs are all on good sale prices, you’re now trying to compete with full price tvs. I want to buy a Sony tv right now, but it’s hard to justify it when they’re nearly at full price now, and the LG and Samsung are on big discounts. This is going to hurt Sony if they keep this up.
That said, if you pay full price, you know you're getting a TV that's better than the competition now.
That what you think Caleb thinks pretty smart sway from competition more attention in the summer.
@@alsayedfakhri4597not true at all....
@@alsayedfakhri4597Definitely LG G3 inferior to Sony Bravia A95L QD OLED in every area even with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports and Samsung S95C
Sony is so far ahead I think the strategy works. Their old stuff will go on sale against full price 2024 TVs.
Seems like a bad business model as by the time Sony releases there TV'S (May-Oct) there is already deep discounts from it's competitors who released their 2024 TV products earlier in the year. For me it would be hard to justify buying a Sony TV based on the discounts the other manufactures are given when Sony releases there TV products much later during the calendar year.
I agree, they have got to change that business model. I don't get what they are thinking with that. Can't even begin to image how many sales they would lose for people that would have chose them but didn't want to wait and see. And as you said the prices would come down for the other models making the prospect of paying even more, worse.
People that buy Sony continue to buy Sony. I hardly ever see a Sony tv customer go samsung or lg, but I see it the other way around.
I hope you realize that the new models of TVs roll out not all immediately. They have different models roll out every year between March-October. The holiday models come out near the end of the year for Black Friday which are (usually) going to be something with lower specs than their lowest model they usually make. People just always hear the, "Just bought this TV and a new one just came out after" comment and it's because they usually buy the TV at the discounted price around the Holidays or clearance time and see a new model come out not long after, but it's not always a newer BETTER model.
At this point, on rare occasions do you see Sony roll out with a new Flagship model at the end of the year, and even then, it stays around for a few years. Like the Z9 model. Z9D came out at the end of 2016 and stayed for a few years to be replaced with the Z9F. Before that was the 950B which was still around through roughly 2016-2017 even though it was released in 2014.
@@deviantbuilds I did! I went from a Sony A80k to a LG G3 this past November. The difference is night and day.
❤YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEAR DEATH IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, AND TRUST IN HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, BECAUSE HE ATONED FOR YOU FOR ALL YOUR INSULTS, THAT YOU WOULD OBTAIN PEACE WITH ALMIGHTY GOD, AND GO TO HEAVEN BY HIS GRACE!!!❤❤❤
I own the 85-inch version of Sony X90K TV that Caleb didn't like. I had built my media room around an 82-inch Samsung Q70R that inexplicably died after three years (just beyond the warranty period) and needed a replacement. I took Samsung off the table having to replace their TV after a failure - so it was Sony or LG. I still love my Sony X90K - especially at the price I paid for it - which was only $2000. I seriously thought about getting the 83-inch C2 OLED from LG, but the price.... The blooming didn't bother me as much as the extra $2000 did. Even the mini-led Sony X95K was $1500 more at the time. The Sony X90 class is really a great value, especially in the 80+ size class.
Hi, do you know if you can turn the tv on and off using the remote control but without pointing it at the sony x90k tv??
Such awesome news. I’m really glad Sony is finally investing all of their TV might into MiniLED tech. A true successor to the Z9D is long overdue.
That 12:08 and 12:11 is a massive improvement. Looks basically like twice the contrast and micro-contrast detail over X95L and same with brightness. I wouldn't be surprised that the "lead" the QDOLED and MLA have in the small specular highlights on a dark scene. Will be smaller or down right almost equal. That brightness difference was like looking at an X90L vs X95L.
I am so stoked. Now lets just hope we get all the sizes this year.
I have a ZD9 and I'm desperately looking for something that I think I'd worthy to replace it. I'm tempted with A95L at the moment but I was watching Ozark through apple TV last night and the image quality was still blowing my socks off.
I just want a mini led ads/ips panel thts 85 inches
I definitely think the A95L will be a carryover to this year. They released it basically in October and it has the new Pentonic SoC and excellent processing. There isn't much they could to for this year. Minor processor upgrades, same brightness etc. What would be the point. The A95L is so good it can easily hang in 2024. I also think that is why they went all out on the A95L in 2023 and the MiniLED was a minor upgrade. They knew what they would going for in 2024. Which means higher focus on the MiniLED. So 2023 was the minor improvement skip/leap year for miniLED and this year will be the much higher improvements including Pentonic etc.
I am really hoping they release 65/75/85" this year in X95M. I am worried I cannot fit an 85" down my stairs to my movie room.
Agree 100%. Most likely their new and imrpoved stuff will be MiniLED. Thats fine by me, as long as we see a price cut to the A95L. :)
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop.
A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase.
A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase.
New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
2024 is going to be the year for the mini LED TVs with improved backlighting technology and other advancement. Lovers of high and LCD TVs, rejoice! Huge screen sizes that OLED can’t compete in price.
Definitely. We can see how LG is trying to get in on that with their 83" MLA OLED. Since QDOLED is stuck at 77" they try to reach the market that like OLED but want bigger screens.
But there is going to be a lot of big screens this year.
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop.
A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase.
A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase.
New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
Sony just makes it better, they released their first color tv when Samsung and LG where making toasters.
Samsung was making mediocre electronics then LG didn't exist
I have owned Sony TV's for years and they last and work very well. the X900H is the last TV I bought and it looks great and works great for everything weather it's movies, games, sports ect and under $1,000 for 55" well worth it.
No matter how good the backlight would be on LCD, LCDs still have way more DSE than OLEDs, so the colours won't be as pure as OLEDs. Even if LCD can do 100 000:1 contrast ratio, it still has more DSE.
what we would love to see from sony is 5 years minimum os updates.... bought a 83a80l and it isnt even android v13.
They do in past model, My Sony W800C Get Update From Lolipop to Oreo, and ended security patch on 2020.
Awesome video you knocked this out the park
Thanks Nick!
I would love to go back to Sony, but until they finally match LG and Samsung with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, they're not even in the running. Idk how they haven't fixed that yet. It's 2024. We should be at 6 HDMI 2.1 ports by now.
It's because more than 99% of those that buy new TV's today will never actually need more than one (usable) HDMI 2.1 port. They have done studies on this now and most of those that buy TVs with four HDMI 2.1 ports never even bother using more than one of them at a time anyways. What people SAY they want on a new TV and what they end up actually USING are often two entirely different things. But don't worry, I'm sure Sony will be moving to four HDMI 2.1 ports soon enough.
Because they don't cater to "gamers". Gamers are overrated and over-focused on.
@@mhoroky true, but the gamer community that uses TVs for gaming grows substantially every year so I'm sure you will see Sony doing more things to accommodate them going forward. Their new Game Bar introduced this past year is a prime example of that. I'm sure that will continue to get updated with new features over time as it has been very well received so far and many felt that it was something that was LONG overdue. I think Sony finally got the message there on that (Hint: TV Gamers want in-game controls on the TV - and a LOT of them!) Hopefully Sony will be adding an FPS counter to their game bar here very soon as well.
@@mhoroky Clearly, but their competitors do. Both LG and Samsung advertise their TV's as being great for gaming because of their HDMI 2.1 Ports. It'd be nice if Sony followed suit.
Interesting video, although I have to say that I was hoping for the big news to be more around motion. It’s the last area to conquer to me. I want to see tvs have flawless film like 24fps playback when it comes to stutter. Certainly they can engineer this one day.
That backlight tech is fascinating!
Very curious how it handles variable color brightness. Given how LCDs work by blocking certain wavelengths of the white backlight, that would typically make white highlights much brighter than colorful highlights. But if you can use color data to inform variable backlight levels, you could theoretically compensate for this by running the backlight higher for colored highlights than for white ones.
If you have a backlight theoretically capable of like 4000 nit white highlights, that may give you the necessary headroom to hit 1000 nits of brightness for any color of highlight, in addition to hitting 1000 nits for white highlights w/o breaking a sweat.
For HDR content mastered to 1000 nits, that could theoretically get you a perfect picture, no?
I think Sony uses their own kind of "quantum dots" so I don't think the colors would suffer. That said like we see on G3 with MLA. Most specular highlights are whiteish. So if they can reach that and still have deep color, it will be amazing.
@@loki76Triluminos is their marketing name for Quantum Dots.
@@loki76Sonys used Quantum Dot long before it was called that, that's why we never heard that marketing term by them because they've always called it something else, I've even had a Sony phone with their quantum tech(from a decade ago), it's practically in every LED TV they make, always has been
But yeah TLDR; this is better for backlight isolation, but it'll still have some losses compared to completely self emissions solutions
@@ChroniclesofKToyoda They call it "Triluminous" and it's quantum dots. It's annoying when others say Sony doesn't have quantum dots because they don't use the name "quantum dots". They have their own solution using them.
I have a Sony 900E and it has Triluminous and it's soon 7 years old. They had it before Samsung with their Qled or at least same time.
@@loki76 yup Sony had it first since forever for their reds & greens(they had additional tech for their blues IIRC), Hell my phone even had Mobile Bravia Engine from a decade ago, they were pushing tech on mobile that even other companies TVs didn't have
But Sony's marketing being what it is, most folks won't really know half the tech' that's actually in them, whilst other brands flaunt these features heavy but that's also because for other brands things like this are new
Hi Caleb. i got the opportunity to attend CES in vegas on behalf of samsung and i hope to meet you there. Been following for a long time now.
Cool stuff, hoping the X90 series benefits from some new or trickle down tech this year. Thanks Caleb.
Considering that the 2022 X95K is basically the same as 2023 X93L, there is a good chance that we will see the 2024 X90M with that kind of performance but with a much lower price, making it a great buy for a lot more people.
That would be nice wouldn't. IMO they can now make the X90 series MiniLED as well. In fact they could basically bring the X90 to the level of X95L. Because the difference there at 12:08 and the rest of that few second demo was massive. More than twice the contrast and brightness (at least sort of look like it). So it will still stand out far and above the X90 in that case.
@@loki76If they can control the backlight and push more brightness as it's more energy efficient, then they may not need MiniLed. If the X90M is better than the X93L and close to the X95L and has improved viewing angles, it's going to be the TV to beat in terms of value.
@@techsamurai11 I think they need the MiniLED to actually do that. Old LED tech means large LED lights and they can't do their "Sony thing" with it as well. It has limitations. Otherwise I think we would have seen 200-300 zone X90 models.
Wouldn't it just be easier to transition X90 series to MiniLED as well. They can keep it cheaper and separate the flagship vs X90 series by keeping the older dimming panel on X90M (meaning the X95L backlight) and use the new for the X95M. Can see in the video it's basically twice as good.
X90 is a bigger seller because more budget and if they offer something looking as good as X95L did last year. That would just be all around good for everyone.
I just can't see an X90M with 80 Zones and old FALD when the X95M looks to be a big leap over X95L miniLED. The gap would be like going from X95 series and then X75 or something.
@@loki76 Yeah, I agree. It does depend on the cost of the new backlight panel vs the X95L or X93L's backlight. You're right, though. The X90 cannot remain unchanged especially as TCL and Hisense will certainly reveal new technologies as they also introduce higher-end models. Blooming is getting really, really old. We've been talking about it for 10+ years.
Thanks Caleb. I always watch your content. You always break it down and get me excited on what new is coming. Sony for the win. 😊
On a side note, do you remember the Sony XBR squared with the external side speakers. 😉. I was rockin that back in the day.
I didn’t buy Sony tv in 23 as I know new LG will be out soon so I wait for the LG. Bad strategy to release so late in year as far as I am concerned 😦
Thanks for the update Caleb, as always you keep me informed on the cutting edge of tv technology. I am looking forward to new TVs and the larger sizes. Really looking for an oled tv that will go over 83” and have qd tech or even the rumored pho led that LG is possibly developing. Looking forward to seeing your CES show. Thanks again! 👍🏻
Sony putting much more emphasis on mini-LED makes a lot of sense, OLED tech is kind of plateauing a bit right now whereas Mini-LED has a ton of room to improve, and is more widely appealing to people than OLED even though OLED is the superior technology in most respects. I wonder if this is the year where we finally see the X90 series (X90L in 2023, X90M? in 2024) switch from Full Array to Mini-LED
Spring 2024 Sony OLED - A95L: No change with exception of price drop.
A80L/M: Upgrade with brightness close to A95L. Slight price increase.
A77L/M: Upgrade with XLCLEAR. Little to no price increase.
New A90M - Very similar to A95L. Priced midway between A80L/M and A95
A95L and X95L coming down in price are the ones to get this year.
I’m hoping and crossing my fingers that Sony would will invest in LG’s MLA OLED for their Sony A80’s models 🤯
I agree but doubt they would do it. It would bring both the cost and performance too close to the A95L. Also the LG C4 won't have MLA so no competitive pressure to add it.
They need to add something to the A80. The C4 is going to be eaten alive by LEDs next year.
What they need is to add is a glossy screen. The glossy screen does make the picture more vibrant.
Caleb, can you please do a "deep dive" on both MediaTek and TSMC for us? Specifically on the Pentonic 700, 1000 and 2000 SoC's? Since these are the basis for SO many new TVs coming to market now this year we really do need to spend a LOT more time focusing in on the abilities and limitations of these chips. We also need to be talking about how some companies are making really good use of these platforms (with advanced software algorithms) while others really aren't. This is 2024 now and we all should be focusing far more attention now on the single most important component of ANY TV today: the processor!
Thank Caleb for that explanation. I’m running a LG CX OLED and will need to replace it as some point. I was going to go down the OLED route again, but what ruined that choice is when I saw the Hisense U8 on display, and that looked mighty fine to me. But even this was blown away by the Sony Mini-LED tele which looked so purposeful that it was unreal.
It’s going to be a very hard choice when I do upgrade.
Loyality behind buyers is Sonys force. I have owned some Sony tvs through out the years. Currently the 55ag9 - love it.... But to some extended i feel other manufactures have engaging picture quality but lacks the overall quality that Sony provides. And I love Sonys approach to the menus compared to Philips, Samsung and LG.
OMG! I can't wait for the NEW K-85XR90 Mini-LED to come out in 2024! That's gonna be a crazy good TV 🥵😍🥳
Really digging all these dad jokes. You're a ~bright~ guy, Dennison!
lol!!!
I picked up a Bravia XBR65X900F in 2019 and it has been great. After owning LG (huge disappointment) , and Samsung in the past, i will buy a mini LED Sony when the time is right as my next tv.
Same here. I got the Hisense flagship 1 yr afer u. Then the Larger one another flagship. Like i cant go back to OLED. They are just nicer n more vibrant in my opinion. OLED just to dim pestle.
Forget the backlight LED...let focus on OLED, The LG g4 will kill the A95L.......the AI and the MLA combo are really something
I’m a Sony fanboy. X95j still going strong 💪
Sony not showing up in CES is the same as Sony not showing up in E3 conferences when E3 was still a thing. The problem is the justification seems more corporate. These events are way to interact with the community and thats why I think it always reflected poorly when sony didn't show up.
We thought that LCD technology was dead and buried, but now Sony is reviving it with their special backlight system, it will be interesting to see how it is stuck up against OLED, as it has gained a momentum for high picture quality and the prices have come down.
Caleb, your channel knows alot about Sony and so many products. It would be nice to see a review of their flagship sound bar (and system) - the HT-A7000. I have only seen mixed reviews on that one. Thanks!
Thanks for the video. I have the LP that's in the background behind you. It's the Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby. 🙂 I have a Sony X900E LED TV and I'm looking to upgrade soon. Would love to stick with Sony but also considering Samsung and LG. Really like the X93L and X95L if I don't go to OLED. I will consider miniLED also. My question is how do they do blacks and dark scenes? Is OLED and QD-OLED still king here?
I'm still quite happy with the X90J. For the future though, I love what Sony is doing here with mini-LED TVs with their XR cognitive processor. Can't wait to see how they refine the tech over the next few years.
Isn't is obvious on why Sony is showing you the backlight? It's because they don't really have much new tech, so to drive up demand/create hype, they are showing you how it works (like it has worked for the past few years)
Did you not see the improvements from last years X95L? Look at again at 12:08 and see the huge contrast/dimming difference. Look again at 12:11 for the massive brightness difference and also more contrast detail.
That is just the backlight drive that easily doubled in performance. In 2023 the X95L 85" was bar none the best MiniLED in the world. The processing and dimming control was great despite fewer zones.
Because as Caleb and Sony explained the "zone count" is just part of it. The real trick is the gradients in light control. The proof is in the pudding how an 864 zone X95L can hang or even beat a 2300 zone TV in the top end.
This upgrade with IC on the circuit boards allow them the same fine control but with a lot more zones. That brightness increase was substantial as well.
What "much new" tech does LG and Samsung have? TCL and Hisense will have nice specs on paper, but can that translate into great processing and USE of said specs.
So when will Sony release their new tvs ? September ?
Sony Playstation has been doing their own presentation instead of the large E3 style conventions and it has worked.
Vincent from HDTV Test posted a video today that Sony is ditiching OLED TVs and why they are showing the Mini LED technology. Can you confirm?
He said no such thing he said they are just releasing more Mini LED TVs
This technology looks like a good candidate for laptop screens, and even PC monitors. OLED is great, but for portable devices brightness is always better (if all else equal)
I am willing to wait a few extra months to see what Sony comes out with. I have always been a fan of there picture processing being the best and as someone that keeps his TV for 5 to 10 years I want to get something I am really comfortable with so I am in no hurry to rush into a buying decision until I can see all the cards on the table and hopefully make the best buying decision for my use case.
I saw TCL presentation for backlight and the new 98 x with 5000 zones was better... You can see the image with the lights.
I think I’ll keep watching you and appreciating the beautiful new tech for sometime! Hopefully by the end of 2025 I can get my hands on the 77 inch Sony’s latest OLED tv, alongside a PS5 Pro!
I'm in the market and looking to buy the LG G4 83". I would love to consider what Sony might be offering, but I'm not waiting a year. And even if i did, by the time Sony releases their fkagship, the LG will likely be going on sale... making it even more difficult to persuade me not to just pull the trigger on the G4 and call it good enough. Bummer, I would have liked to have known what is coming to make a better informed choice.
Why not buy the best Tv.....Sony.
You and I are in the same boat my friend. I've saved $6000 and am just stalking for the very best I would love to grab sonys mini-LED but to your point by that point the 83' G4 will be on sale. It's a tough choice, sony will have to impress me big time to sway me from the 83' MLA.
For years, I've told myself I'd buy the latest A series TV or wait for the next one to come out so the one I was looking at gets discounted. I've been doing this since the H series. :)
I just want a 75 inch "CURVED" model, and maybe a way to do 3D without the glasses. Even if it only works for the one person sitting directly in front.
I have the A95K going on 14 months now and I'm not touching another Sony TV until there are 4 HDMI 2.1 ports. We pay the "Sony tax" for the premier tech, but that absolutely needs to include all features.
I got a tcl 98 inch TV for 2500 dollars installation and shipping included. I don't care how much better Sony tech is. It's not worth paying 4x more period.
I have to say, I do enjoy this channel more than the others. But, I’m afraid I only watch because I’m in the market for a tv.
Watching, though, has me frozen on my purchase. I can’t make a decision now! Once I decide on one I want, I get a…”but, it doesn’t perform well in this test.” Haha… so, as helpful as it may be, it’s also detrimental to your tv decisions!
Hey Caleb, I thoroughly enjoy your videos. You are so good at what you do. You are the best, not compared to other TV tech reviewers but compared to all TH-cam channels, period. I really appreciate your sense of humour. The fact that I’m in the market for a high end TV makes it easy to tune in, but I know that even after I get my new TV (A95L?) that I will continue to tune in. Keep on keepin’ on!
I wanted a SAMSUNG, but no Dolby Vision, so SONY is my choice now, though impressed with the TCL from your comparison video, which supports both HDR10+ & Dolby Vision -- tempting for the money...
Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Ultra HD Blu ray disc player best mid range player
@@RobertK1993Panasonic UB9000 😉
Interesting note (to me at least): When I watch this video on my TV, the little graphic about the Sony Tax that Caleb is pointing to does not show, but it does when watching on my phone.
Same here. It shows up on my phone and tablet, but not here on my desktop.
Would be interesting to see whether TCL or Hisense are applying something similar or about to....
So basically this new backlight tech looks more like a "Mini LED +" type of upgrade. 😎👍
Sony knows what they're doing. From a business perspective, it does make sense to have your own press conference, Similar to Apple's keynotes.
Buyers of the A95K/L are usually affluent buyers who are less price-sensitive. They want the best image quality possible.
I don't think we saw a discount on the A95L for Black Friday.
My Samsung 55” Q60C tv is edge lit, and it’s bright enough, and I don’t need the brightness all the way up, and it has no blooming, and with great contrast and clarity!
I want the x95l Sony but no one reviewed this size pricing from 2800 to 1800 but no one reviewed this size
Sony is the best TV on the market when you hold the remote in your hand. It does not feel cheap. Very important factor that is often overlooked when buying a new TV.
Z9L finally we see? Well hopefully microled and nanoel news. Also panasonic sharp
What's the point though? If they are hitting contrast ratios of 200,000 with the X95L and this new technology can improve it, it's practically oled to the eye without all the problems that oled has. Our eyes have trouble telling apart IPS panels from OLEDs with any ambient light and the contrast ratio is 1000 vs infinite. It's why Oleds are always reviewed in dark rooms.
While ever improving tech is wonderful it makes it hard on us with GAS to be quite as happy with our 1-2 year old TV's. (Hisense U8H)
Correction Mr Denison Dolby Pulsar 4000 nit color grading monitor, has been used by Sony, Disney, and WB. Flanders Scientific XM3110K 5000 nit color grading monitor.
So we can expect more content graded within a 4000 nit container.
Thanks for the coverage, Caleb. Did Sony mention or show anything about the 2024 X90 series? I guess I might end up with the X95L on clearance sale around June. The X95M 2024 is going to be out of my budget, and I doubt the X90M would be upgraded to MiniLED (It will only happen in my dreams).
Similar to their stance on E3 a few years ago, they do their own thing. It hasn’t hurt their gaming side at all - quite the opposite. But I would be curious to see how their TV related products fare in terms of tech progress and profitability. Definitely excited that Sony is trying to compete, that’s for sure!
Hey Caleb wondering if you know of a hdmi splitter to pair with the Sony A95L because it’s only got 2 hdmi 2.1 ports? I need hdmi 2.1 VRR because I use my tv with ps5 and a 4090 (PC) I also use the earc for my Sonos arc. Thanks
Amazon has loads 4K 120HZ Dolby Vision support even 8K they have loads HDMI 2.1 ports up to 6 some
@@RobertK1993 and you read the reviews and VRR doesn’t work or flickering or black screens… which is why I was asking an expert. I’ve looked into the Amazon products. Also there is a lot of fake products that claim hdmi 2.1 but you read the reviews and they don’t work with ps5 , ps5 doesn’t recognize VRR support or 120hz/fps or they are not the full 48Gbps of hdmi 2.1.
I was a professional salesman selling Sony broadcast products, and I always like their cameras and monitors the best of all the other options. You do pretty good reviews and of course I know Sony Ola at my house and now you’re gonna make me go out and buy another TV.
😊 I used to buy everything from Sony . I had their laptops everything . Years later d fav thing I liked about their laptop I thought so premium I realize they were NOT produced by Sony . They were made by -- SHARP !
Apparently their monitors mostly made by Sharp n Samsung . U better check it out :):)
Also Sony’s most premium LED the got their LED popular innitially ,,,, 100🎉% Sony LED TVs were made by Sharp n Sharp Aquos , Sony just container n adding software on it . Sharp Aquos kept the Best “Quatrum “ panel (4 true BASE colors - extra sub pixel yellow vs Sony RGB ) in d house .
So Hisense bought Sharp Tv jn 2014 , it still retains a lot of patterns . Hisense tv led technology r more like Sony Early 2010 2011 flagship colors than modern day Sony Blue/magenta Pestle tint 😊
Hello, do you know if you can turn the sony tv on and off using the remote control but without pointing it at the tv??
I just feel disappointed by Sony. I live in Tokyo, Japan and they will not release the A95L here... I went to some big famous stores here in the center of Tokyo and asked to some of the staff that are in charge of selling TVs and yes.... there is something very strange going on with Sony and the Japanese market. They kind of feel ashamed to say the Japanese brand will not sell their flagship TV in their home country... that is a shame....
Well, it's sort of the same in the US. We only have the 85 inch X95L. The more popular 65 inch and 75 inch are not available here either.
Europe seems to have all X95 models but they are more pricey. The X93L is not that far off the X95L in terms of performance and the price is much better. But I can't wait to see how good Sony's new models are because this seems to take LEDs to a completely different level if it works as advertised. Most reviewers seem to view the X95L as near identical to OLED once you factor everything in so if this level of performance can be offered in the X90L, then it's going to redefine the market and shift the boundaries of OLED vs LED.
Love and a big Like always on everything Sony on this channel ! He also explains and dissect very well
Great to see Sony continuing to innovate with regards to LCD TVs. However, I would be really impressed if their TVs could allow apps to output lossless audio formats via eARC or even a dedicated HDMI audio out. Then I might be able to retire my Nvidia Shield...
I’m really not getting how this is some sort of secret sauce. Running the back light as a grey-scale image based on luminance/brightness seems like a no-brainer to me. Are you saying that other TVs don’t?
And what do small micro processors on each miniLED have to do with anything? Wouldn’t each LED just be run as a pixel in a bitmap and activated by a controller?
This just sounds like Marketing speak. Trying to make a pretty obvious method sound like magic.
I would have thought the magic happens adjusting the LCD to match the backlight brightness and have it blend between mini-zones.
Now if they could just figure out how to get more than 2 HDMI 2.1 ports on their TVs....
Sony tv’s should have 4 or even 6 hdmi 2.1 for that price having only 2 is a big NO for me, right now LG is the best at least for me and what I need
Have always liked SONY, worked as a QA Tech for them decades ago and still have some of their high end older Audio. I went on a used tech buying spree years ago, and thanks to Sony, because that's what replaced the sellers previous Flat Screens, I was able to add to my Collection the last generation, best, Pioneer KURO 60" Plasma from 2009, 60" Samsung Plasma and a Rare, 1 year only, Full array, LED backlit, auto dimming, THX certified, Flat screen that was the first LCD to beat a Plasma for TV of the Year. Can you guess which TV I'm talking about ?
I own a high end sony tv and always awsome picture
I also suspect Sony stopped announcing new TV's at CES because those TV's wouldn't hit shelves for at LEAST 6 months after announcement. It was a real problem some years, heck it was even an issue back when they launched the HX900 (which I bought, even though it had supply issues for most of the year at the time).
That was a long explanation for no liquid crystal led for this year still 😢❤
12:08 if the one on the left is 2023 X95L (can see the X95 part on the left) and the TV on the right is the new 2024 model. Yikes that is a massive difference in contrast and also allowing way brighter highlights (the lit up parts) seen at 12:11. I mean it's easily twice as defined in contrast as the left TV. The X95L was already really good, especially the 85" model.
Couple this with the Pentonic and maybe some other image processing upgrades. I am so glad I waited all this time. That is a really big difference in that time stamp.
The Chinese brands TCL and Hisense, are going to bring out massive specs in-their mini LED TVs this year, that it will be interesting to see how that pans out and wether Sony can maintain its edge as the best LCD Tv this year like last year’s
X95L, which was widely regarded as the best Mini-LED TV.
The pentonic has been tough to get working just right, like a lot of new tech, but Sony is getting better with it. I think it’s next gen of TVs are going to slay
@@amitavraja3385 I think Sony will do fine. Because as a scenario. TCL/Hisense having 2023 TVs with more than double the zones of X95L. They didn't come close to beating it. Because the processing and frankly the blooming control was better in many ways because of that fine gradient dimming. TCL and Hisense are more brute-force more zones.
So now with Sony maybe doubling their zones and still retain that excellent fine gradient algorithm (for lack of a better word). And their image processing. It will win again.
TCL and Hisense will likely look great but they will fail in upscaling and motion in comparison and their dimming zone count advantage won't mean much if it's more crushing and 'uneven" in how it's used.
If TCL and Hisense can reach processing of the "big three" they will be very serious contenders. That said they will still sell more. Because Sony is more of the premium brand now and TCL and Hisense hits most areas.
My question is Samsung. They have to really step up as well. TCL and Hisense are more of a threat to Samsung than Sony.
@@Caleb_Denison Hopefully they have got it ironed out more. It's been out for a bit and I guess firmware upgrades can be had etc.
So stoked though. That was a massive difference between the X95L and I assume X95M (if that is what they call it). Not just dimming zone and contrast, but brightness at 12:11 was way way brighter.
Great video looking forward to all the rest with CES.
@@loki76 I think they are getting there. What I’m told is that it’s like coding for a new operating system. They had to write all new code to program the chip, very little could be copy and pasted. So it was a bit of an uphill climb. But they have some pretty smart folks working on it so I’m gonna think by gen 2 they have their ish together.
A person receives money from Sony, courses and hospitality corruption!
Don't take his word for it
Should i get a sony projector are a sony 98" Tv for my 14X17X8 theater room I am building ?
I’m not sure what really got to see but that Las Vegas night footage of the lights and black back ground for showing off no/low blooming was Z9D demo, next would’ve been some Bellagio footage as well. I still have the video from standing in Best Buy magnolia theater Z9D demo area in 2017, including showing off the backlighting technology with that white back light mode.
It’s a shame they have the secret recipe for one of the greatest televisions ever created. All they have to do build it again, add the newer better control IC board you talked about, make 100” more affordable & done!
Some youtubers upload hdr on youtube, any plans on hdr upload?
it all sounds great but at the end the consumer is looking at a display of TVs at their local dept stores while LG and Samsung are always right up front taking the center stage and Sony is somewhere along the sidelines. My first 48” slim screen tv was the Sony Bravia there was a reason it was one of the most expensive and that was due its picture quality which was superb compared to others. Today they’re basically all about the same quality so it comes down to pricing and guarantees
Great video but I’m still not sold on Sony
Hey Mr. TH-cam Tech Guy: You explain things real good!
I’m clearly a Sony ‘fanboy’, while approaching 75 years young. I have always enjoyed the quality of Sony TVs and camera gear. I’ll likely replace my current Sony with the mysterious miniLED.
Another great video. I’m excited to see what Sony does put out in 2024 both with the Mini-LED and OLED. I’m probably upgrading this year from my 2017 Samsung 65” curved to one of the televisions mentioned above. Just haven’t made up my mind which way to go yet. I just keep going back and forth, at the moment leaning towards the Mini-LED.
I have the Bravia A 80L. The store display mode had the video of the vibrant city showing in the store. How can I see my tv up to closely resemble that level of picture quality? Unlike most, I actually like that.