SONY XBR55X930D Review

Last year’s Sony TVs were thick and wedge-shaped, some with huge speaker systems tacked onto the sides. But they were big for good reason: full array LED backlights provide superior picture quality and the large speakers produced some of the best sound we’ve heard from a TV without a sound bar tacked on. When we saw this year’s thinner models, we had to wonder: Was Sony now giving up performance in the name of a snazzy, ultra-thin look?

Sony claims its “Slim Backlight Drive” delivers the same capabilities in a thinner package, but we dismissed it as snake oil it until we saw it the first time in person. Whatever magic Sony has developed for its light-guide plate (the layer that spreads light from edge-mounted LEDs to every part of the screen) very clearly works. We saw an edge-lit Sony without the Slim Backlight Drive sitting right next to a model with it, and the difference was blatantly obvious.

Perhaps Sony’s move to this uber-thin TV with an inferior backlight system wasn’t so nutty after all. Considering nearly every TV reviewer on the face of the planet is so busy raving up and down about OLED, what else is an LED TV maker to do but step up their game? LED TVs needed more uniform brightness, better black levels, less halo effect, and less edge light bleeding, and Sony manages to deliver that with the X930D, in spite of its super-thin profile. Toss in excellent processing with HDR and Wide Color Gamut capabilities, and you have one of the most desirable 4K TVs Sony has produced, and for way less than OLED.

Out of the box

The X930D is a super-slim stunner of a TV — up top, at least. Travel down the TVs back a bit and you’ll find the typical bump-out guarding all the TV’s processing guts. The bump adds about 15mm to the TV’s otherwise waifish 10mm profile at the top, but that doesn’t seem to take away from the TV’s presence as an ultra-svelte TV, sure to impress onlookers.

The X930D sports a clever cable management system that yields a very clean look on the back of the TV if properly used. Sure, most folks don’t spend a ton of time looking at a TV’s posterior, but unruly HDMI cables can detract from an otherwise clean-looking installation.

The X930D’s stand incorporates some of that cable management, as well. Though its core is made of thick metal, it is covered up front with a faux brushed aluminum plastic faceplate, and in the rear with a swooping plastic cover with an outlet for cables.


In the box with the TV, we received a single voice-activated remote control, batteries, TV stand with hardware, and a quick-start guide.

Features


The Sony X930D is certified Ultra HD Premium by the UHD Alliances, which is to say it is supposed to be among the most advanced televisions today offering HDR, Wide Color Gamut, and 4K resolution. And, indeed, it is. This TV’s specs place it among the absolute best in the market.


HDR is a key attribute here, as high dynamic range offers a significantly “punchier” picture than 4K alone. And, these days, there’s plenty of 4K HDR content to watch. Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Vudu all offer growing libraries of 4K HDR content for streaming, and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs offer and even better experience, with more titles to add to the pile.

Performance

Not since last year’s LG OLED have we been so impressed by a television. That’s admittedly in part because Sony has the honor of being the first top-of-the-line LED TV to hit our lab in 2016. We expect to be similarly impressed by the Samsung KS9800, and Vizio P-Series (based on prior experience in an un-controlled environment). But this Sony gave us the first really impressive example of HDR being pulled off against a fairly uniformly black background.

Skeptics take note: Sony has made it pretty difficult to catch its LED edgelights in the act. For most common viewing scenarios, the Sony manages to keep light blooms and halos to a minimum. Yes, it’s possible to light up the lower half of the screen during a letterboxed movie by adjusting the TV’s volume, so you can force the TV into a tough situation and it will give itself up. But that’s not a typical viewing scenario. Based on comparisons to last year’s model, we have to credit Sony’s Slim Backlight Drive for this advancement. It’s a nebulous name, and it’s probably some pretty simple science at play, but it achieves the desired effect, and we like it. Go on with your bad selves, Sony!

Out-of-the-box color accuracy is impressive on common viewing material. No blown-out orang-ish reds, no artificially saturated greens — just high-quality, visually pleasing color. Of course, an ISF-certified calibrator could take the TV to that next level, but for most viewers, out-of-box performance in the Cinema, Cinema Pro, and HDR Video modes is going to be highly satisfying.

Then there’s the also questionably named X-tended Dynamic Range feature, which is a bit of processing that increases brightness levels in key areas, creating a sort of faux HDR experience when watching non-HDR material that we found very convincing. Put in some proper HDR video, however, and you will be dazzled.

Our favorite Ultra HD Blu-ray at the moment is Deadpool, an already entertaining film by nature of its comedic approach and extremely well-conceived and well-executed actions scenes. But HDR takes this film to the next level as it is expertly implemented in just the right places.

The texture of the title character’s hero suit is on constant display, with a natural sense of depth and realism we didn’t think was possible with a TV. Spectral highlights on cars, guns — pretty much anything with shine potential – all looked much more realistic than without HDR.