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Sony R510C TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Sony R510C Picture
6.4
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.4
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.6
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.1
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.3
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
4.6
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
4.4
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
4.8
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench

The Sony R510C LED TV has great blacks, but only from directly in front. As soon as you are off-axis, the blacks become gray. It has the most limited viewing angle that we have measured so far.

Our Verdict

6.4 Mixed Usage

The narrow viewing angle of the Sony R510C is not ideal in a dark room, even if you sit alone and directly in front of your TV. You will see great blacks at the center of the screen, but not on the edges. The motion blur is good, but the input lag is only average, so it isn't ideal for gaming either.

Pros
  • Great contrast ratio.
  • Low amount of motion blur.
Cons
  • Worst viewing angle that we have ever measured. The blacks are gray as soon as you are not exactly in front.
  • 6.4 Mixed Usage
  • 5.4 Movies
  • 6.6 TV Shows
  • 7.1 Sports
  • 7.3 Video Games
  • 4.6 HDR Movies
  • 4.4 HDR Gaming
  • 4.8 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated May 19, 2015: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  3. Updated May 18, 2015: Our testers have started testing this product.

Test Results

Design
7.5
Design
Style
Curved No
Design
Stand

The stand is a prism made of plastic. The TV doesn't move sideways, but it does move back and forth.

Design
Back

The Sony R510C doesn't look bad for a budget LED TV. The bezel is not the thinnest, but the top half of the TV is slim.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.71" (1.8 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 1.81" (4.6 cm)
Picture Quality
8.7
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
4,904 : 1

From straight on, the blacks are really deep. We had to turn on 'LED Motion Mode' to get close to our 100 cd/m2 target, because without it, the minimum backlight was 157.1 cd/m2.

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Edge
5.9
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Peak 2% Window
257 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
257 cd/m²
6.8
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
4.714%
50% DSE
0.191%

You can see some vertical bands when the screen is showing a solid color background. The top and bottom edges are also darker than the rest of the screen.

4.1
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA
Color Shift
20°
Brightness
30°
Black Level
9°

Not only do the colors desaturate at an angle, but the blacks become gray even faster. Even if you are sitting straight in axis, it can be an issue on the left and right side of the TV.

Update 01/06/2017: We have changed the methodology of testing. Since this is an old TV which we don't have anymore, we extrapolated the results from 2016 TVs.

6.7
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
2.265%

This is very interesting. It actually has the best black uniformity that we have ever seen, but due to its very narrow viewing angle, the blacks on the left and right side appear considerably brighter. The picture was taken at seven feet (we test TVs at a 1.75 ratio of size to distance). For the 48", you will need to be at about 14 feet to not see this.

8.4
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
2.19
Color dE
3.6345
Gamma
2.15
8.4
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
2.19
Color dE
3.6345
Gamma
2.15

The Sony R510C doesn't have any advanced calibration settings.

8.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

The R510C does a good job at displaying lower-quality content like DVDs.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

The Sony R510C does also a good job at upscaling Cable TV.

10
Picture Quality
1080p Input

Blu-rays also looks good and sharp.

0
Picture Quality
4k Input
6.9
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
77.16%
DCI P3 uv
83.29%
Rec 2020 xy
55.46%
Rec 2020 uv
62.23%
8.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
1.9%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

It reflects slightly more light than average, but not enough to be an issue with a few lights on.
The maximum luminosity of this TV is average.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED

This is the first time we review this type of pixel substructure, which explains the very limited viewing angle.

Motion
8.7
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Response Time
12 ms
Overshoot
3.2 ms

The blur trail of moving objects is short. It also has a strobing mode to clarify the picture, although it doesn't work very well (see picture here).

10
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
0 Hz
BFI
Yes
BFI Frequency
60 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
Yes
0
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

Unfortunately, all movies will suffer from the 3:2 pulldown judder. Most people won't be bothered by this though, because it is a small constant judder.

0
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
No
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
No
Inputs
7.2
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
45.8 ms
1080p With Interpolation
N/A
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
46.5 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
45.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
N/A

The picture mode doesn't really matter for the input lag. Game had 45.8 ms and the other ones had 46.5 ms.

0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 1080p
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
No
4k @ 60Hz
No
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No

The chroma 4:4:4 test was almost a pass, but the pixels overlap a little bit.

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 2
USB 2
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 1
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
Component In 1
Composite In 0
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
No
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
No
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth No
ARC Yes (HDMI 1)
USB 3 No
HDCP 2.2 No
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Sound Quality
5.8
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
3.59 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
5.47 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
9.36 dB SPL
Max
95.9 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
142 Hz

This TV doesn't produce a lot of bass, but it does get loud. The frequency response is good at lower volumes, but it falls apart when the TV is pushed hard. There will also be significant compression and pumping artifacts present at high volumes.

7.4
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.01
Distortion @ 80
0.011
Distortion @ Max
0.033

The distortion increases as the volume increases, but it generally remains in quite a low range.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

The Sony R510C is technically a smart TV, but the app selection is very limited. It has access to the Opera TV Store, which is also very limited.

6.0
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Basic
10
Smart Features
Ads
Ad-free
Yes
Opt-out
N/A
Smart Features
Remote
Remote Basic

The included remote is very basic.

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 31 W
Power Consumption (Max) 64 W
Firmware 4.569-1.060-01