Sony A9G OLED
TV REVIEW
The Sony A9G is a remarkable OLED TV that delivers excellent picture quality. Like all OLED TVs, the A9G has an emissive technology that allows it to display perfect blacks by switching off individual pixels. It is better-suited for an average-lit room as it can't get very bright in SDR and can't overcome glare in a very bright room. It has a remarkable HDR performance thanks to the wide color gamut and the decent HDR peak brightness that deliver vivid colors and bright highlights. It has excellent reflection handling, and the image remains accurate when viewed from the side. Motion handling is excellent with a fast response time that leaves almost no blur trail behind fast-moving content. Finally, the TV has a low input lag that will satisfy most gamers.
- Almost-instantaneous response time.
- Remarkable dark room performance.
- Excellent wide viewing angles.
- Brightness is limited in white scenes.
- Possibility of permanent burn-in with static content (see here).
| Design | 9.5 |
| Picture Quality | 8.7 |
| Motion | 8.8 |
| Inputs | 8.8 |
| Sound Quality | 7.3 |
| Smart Features | 8.0 |
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Market Context
The Sony A9G is a high-end 2019 OLED TV, and directly replaces Sony's 2018 A9F. All OLEDs deliver very similar overall picture quality, so the design and the additional features are the main differences from one to another. The main competitors to the Sony A9G are the LG B9, LG E9, LG C9, and Sony A8G. The main LED competitors are the Sony Z9F, the Samsung Q90R, and the Samsung Q80R.
Design
The design is excellent and very different from last year's A9F. The TV is very slim and has a flat stand that supports it well. If you nudge it, it will wobble a little, but not much. The stand is not adjustable, unlike the stand on the Sony A8G. The back of the TV looks nice and has a few small panels that help cover the TV's inputs and guide cables to a single exit. The build quality is excellent and we don't expect you to have any issues with it.
The A9G has a flat stand that supports the TV well and only allows minimal wobble. The stand doesn't lift the TV from the table much, so there's not enough space to put a soundbar in front of the TV without blocking some part of the screen. The stand is not adjustable, unlike the stand found on the A8G.
The footprint of the 55" model is 18,3" x 10.1"
The back of the TV looks good, featuring a nice design with squares. It's made both of metal and of plastic. The metal part of the back helps support the thin screen, whereas the part that hosts the electronics is made of plastic. The plastic part has a few panels that help cover the inputs and also help guide the cables through a single exit to serve with cable management.
Picture Quality
The Sony A9G has excellent picture quality. Just like most OLED TVs, it delivers an amazing dark room performance with perfect blacks thanks to its ability to switch off individual pixels. The TV is more suitable for an average lit room as it can't fight the glare of a very bright one. It has a wide color gamut and can display HDR content with vivid colors and highlights that pop. The image remains accurate when viewed from the side, so you can place it in a large room with a wide seating arrangement and not worry about who will sit on the side. Like most high-end TVs, the A9G has remarkable reflection handling; however, like all OLEDs, it has the risk of permanent burn-in.
The A9G does not have a local dimming feature. The TV uses a self-emissive technology and has no backlight. Since it is able to switch off individual pixels, there's no need for local dimming and there is no noticeable blooming around bright objects in dark scenes. Subtitles are displayed perfectly.
The Sony A9G has decent SDR peak brightness in the same ballpark as other OLEDs like the A9F, but it isn't as good as LED TVs like the X950G. It's more suitable for an average lit room, as it won't be able to fight bright room glare.
We measured the peak brightness after calibration, using 'Custom' Picture Mode, with Peak Luminance set to 'High', and Color temperature set to 'Expert 1'.
If you don't care about image accuracy, you can obtain higher brightness levels. We were able to momentarily reach 768 nits with the 2% window using the default settings of the 'Vivid' Picture Mode, Brightness set to 'Max', Contrast set to 'Max', Peak Luminance set to 'High', Adv. Contrast enhancer set to 'High', and Color set to '60'.
The Sony A9G has decent HDR peak brightness, good enough to display bright highlights in HDR as long as you are not in a very bright room. It's in the same ballpark as the Sony A9F, but can't reach the HDR levels of LED TVs like the Z9F.
We measured the peak brightness, using 'HDR Cinema' Picture Mode, with Brightness set to 'Max', and Color temperature set to 'Expert 1'.
If you don't care about image accuracy, you can obtain higher brightness levels. We were able to momentarily reach 794 nits with the 2% window using the default settings of the 'Vivid' Picture Mode, Brightness set to 'Max', Contrast set to 'Max', Black Level set to 'High', Adv. Contrast enhancer set to 'High', and Color set to '60'.
Excellent gray uniformity on the Sony A9G. There is no noticeable dirty screen effect, which is great news for sports fans. It has the same good performance in darker scenes, as well. Like previous OLED TVs, there are some very faint horizontal and vertical lines noticeable in a pitch black room when displaying near-black scenes.
The Sony A9G, just like all OLED TVs, has excellent wide viewing angles. The image remains accurate when viewed from the side and the TV is an excellent choice for those with wide seating arrangements. Brightness and blacks remain accurate for large viewing angles. Colors, however, shift and lose accuracy at moderate angles. This is still better than the Sony Z9F and the Samsung Q80R, which have VA panels with a special filter that improves the viewing angles at the expense of contrast ratio.
The accuracy of the TV with our pre-calibration settings is decent. There are noticeable errors in the brighter grays, and some enthusiasts will also pick out the errors in the colors. The gamma does not track the target well and most scenes appear brighter than they should be. The color temperature is a little warm and the TV has a slight reddish-yellow tint.
After calibration, the Sony A9G has nearly perfect accuracy. The errors in the grays almost entirely disappear and the errors in the colors are very hard to notice, even for enthusiasts. The color temperature is spot on target and the gamma follows the curve almost perfectly.
The TV features an auto-calibration feature, but you still need a colorimeter.
You can see our recommended settings here.
The Sony A9G has an impressive wide color gamut. It is slightly worse than last year's A9F and most of the other OLED TVs we've tested. This, however, is not noticeable in normal content. The EOTF follows the input stimulus well until it starts a sharp roll off towards the TV's peak brightness. The 'Game' mode EOTF is almost identical as you can see here, although some brighter scenes might be slightly brighter than they should be.
If you find HDR too dim, check out our recommendations here. With these settings, the A9G is significantly brighter in HDR, as shown in this EOTF.
The color volume is decent. It's similar to the LG C8, but worse than the A9F, which has better performance. We even did a side-by-side comparison and verified this. The A9G has difficulty displaying bright saturated colors, as the use of the white subpixel to boost brightness desaturates the pure colors at high brightness levels.
The A9G has a very faint temporary image retention that is not noticeable in normal use.
This test is only indicative of short term image retention, and not the permanent burn-in that may occur with longer exposure to static images. We are currently running a long-term test to help us better understand permanent burn-in. You can see our results and read more about our investigation here.
OLED TVs such as the Sony A9G have an inherent risk of experiencing permanent image retention.
The Sony A9G has two features to help mitigate burn-in. We recommend enabling the Pixel Shift option and run the Panel refresh procedure once a year or less, as Sony recommends.
You can read about our investigation into this here.
Like all other OLEDs, the A9G uses 4 sub-pixel structure, but all 4 sub-pixels are never on at the same time. This image shows the green, white, and blue sub-pixels. You can see the red sub-pixel in our alternative pixel photo.
Motion
The Sony A9G has remarkable motion handling. The response time is nearly-instantaneous and the TV does not use flicker to lower its brightness. It has some nice features, like Black Frame Insertion and motion interpolation that can further improve how motion looks. The TV can remove judder from any source but does not support any Variable Refresh Rate technology, like FreeSync, G-SYNC, or HDMI Forum VRR.
The TV has an optional Black Frame Insertion feature. When activated the BFI feature inserts black frames to simulate flicker, which can help motion appear clearer. It only supports 60Hz 'flicker', and this can be bothersome to some people.
BFI is enabled on the A9G by setting Motionflow to 'Custom' and Clearness to 'High'. When BFI is enabled, it causes judder when playing back 60p content.
The A9G can interpolate lower frame rate content to 120Hz. This will introduce some Soap Opera Effect, which might bother some people. When interpolating at 120Hz, you might notice some artifacts, but in general, Sony has one of the best interpolation implementations. If there is too much motion, the TV will stop interpolating, thus avoiding the creation of artifacts. This sudden change in motion can cause the image to appear jerky.
See here for the settings that control the A9G's motion interpolation feature.
The A9G has a nearly-instantaneous response time, and this will create some stutter in movies. If you're bothered by the stutter, then motion interpolation and BFI can help.
The A9G displays movies judder-free no matter the source. However, when BFI is enabled, the TV has judder when playing back 60p content.
See our recommended settings to remove judder here.
The A9G has a native 120Hz panel, but like all Sony TVs, it doesn't support any VRR technology. This is one of the major differences with the 2019 LG C9, which supports HDMI Forum VRR.
Inputs
The Sony A9G has excellent low input lag and the TV feels very responsive. It supports the most common resolutions, except 1440p @ 120Hz. When used as a PC monitor, the text looks clear, thanks to the TV's proper chroma 4:4:4 support.
The Sony A9G has an excellent low input lag. The TV feels responsive as long as you are in 'Game' or 'Graphics' mode. To get low input lag and display proper chroma 4:4:4 you can use either, but 'Game' mode is recommended.
Just like all Sonys up until now, the A9G does not support low input lag with motion interpolation and doesn't support Auto Low Latency Mode.
Note: the 1440p @120Hz input lag measurement was done using another PC, as the TV could not display the 1440p @ 120Hz resolution from our laptop. This should not have a significant impact on the measured input lag.
The A9G supports the most common resolution and refresh rates. We were not able to display 1440 @120Hz from our laptop but we were able to do so from our desktop. This was strange, as we had not such issues with the A9F.
To properly display chroma 4:4:4 in all supported resolutions, you must enable full bandwidth by setting the 'Enhanced format' from the External inputs menu and choose 'Game' or 'Graphics' mode.
The TV has speaker terminals, so you can connect it to an external AV receiver.
The TV is marketed as supporting HDCP 2.3, but we have no way to test this at the moment. It supports HDMI 2.0b and also supports eARC properly.
In order to obtain eARC, you must set Speakers: to 'Audio System', eARC mode: to 'Auto', Digital audio out: to 'Auto 1'.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is decent. It's a TV that can get fairly loud and is good for most environments. It produces clear and well-balanced dialog and can deliver a good amount of punch to its bass, but it lacks thump or rumble and produces pumping and compression artifacts under heavier loads. For even better sound, dedicated speakers or a soundbar is recommended.
The frequency response of the A9G is good. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 71Hz, and this is good for a TV. The TV has a good amount of punch to its bass, but it still lacks sub-bass, so it can't deliver any thump or rumble. The response above the LFE point is quite well-balanced, and the TV can produce clear and intelligible dialog. The A9G can get quite loud, but produces noticeable pumping and compression artifacts under heavy loads.
Smart Features
The Smart features of the Sony A9G are impressive and deliver one of the best Android TV experiences we've had up until now. Just like the X950G, the TV runs Android TV Oreo 8.0 and it's easy to find content. The main interface is very smooth and gives you access to the Google Play Store, where you will certainly find what you are looking for. The remote is the same as the X950G and allows you to quickly choose what you want to do. Just like the A9F and the X950G, this TV has a mic that is built into the body of the TV and can perform the same voice controls as the remote, without the need for the remote. All you have to say is 'OK Google' and then issue the command you want.
The Android TV Oreo 8.0 interface is very smooth and relatively easy to use. It's an improvement over previous Sony TVs. It can be a little overwhelming for beginners, but after using it for some time you should have no issues with it. The new customizable Quick Settings menu is a welcome addition.
The A9G, just like the X950G, has ads and sponsored content. Google has pushed an update to some Sony TVs that run the Android Oreo update. This update adds a row of Google Sponsored Content in the second row of the home page. Unlike the existing sponsored content, this row cannot be removed normally from the Customize Channels menu menu, as can been seen in this picture from X950G. There is a workaround, though, which is available here.
The A9G gives you access to the Play Store, which has a very large number of apps to cover any need. The native apps run smooth and are easy to use.
Just like the X950G, high bandwidth/resolution videos on YouTube play smoothly.
The remote control is plastic with a metallic tint. It has better button placement and it is identical to that of the X950G. The remote has a button to bring up the new Quick Settings menu, which is great.
There is a built-in mic that offers direct access to Google Assistant and allows you to give certain voice commands to the TV.
When the remote is connected via Bluetooth, which is necessary for the voice commands, it doesn't require a direct line of sight as other Sony TVs did.
Unlike the X950G, the remote app is pretty smooth and only lags a bit when used with some of the apps. It can remotely launch apps, change inputs, and can stream media from your mobile device. You can also access the TV's Google Assistant from your phone.
Differences between Sizes and Variants
We tested the 55" Sony MASTER Series A9G (XBR55A9G), and for the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" model (XBR65A9G) and the 77" model (XBR77A9G) as well.
The European variant of the TV is also known as the AG9, and we expect it to offer the same performance.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Sony A9G doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests, such as gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
| Size | US Model | Alternative Name | EU Model |
| 55" | XBR55A9G | XBR-55A9G | KD-55AG9 |
| 65" | XBR65A9G | XBR-65A9G | KD-65AG9 |
| 77" | XBR77A9G | XBR-77A9G | KD-77AG9 |
The A9G we reviewed was manufactured in Apr. 2019
Compared to other TVs
The Sony A9G is an excellent OLED TV, but it faces steep competition from LG and Samsung in the top-end TV market. See our recommendations for the best televisions and the best flat screen TVs.
The LG C9 OLED is slightly better than the Sony A9G. The LG has a lower input lag, which is great for gamers, and supports HDMI Forum VRR for nearly tear-free gaming. The C9 can also get brighter in SDR which, however, isn't that noticeable and could be due to panel variance.
The Sony A9F and the Sony A9G have very similar performance. They have a very different design and different remote control. It's hard to notice any differences in performance when watching normal content.
The Sony A9G OLED is very similar overall to the Sony A8G, but is a bit better for gaming. The A9G has much lower input lag, and all four HDMI ports support the full bandwidth of HDMI 2.0. The A8G only supports ARC over HDMI, whereas the A9G supports eARC, which allows for new, higher quality audio formats. The A9G also has a better remote, and the smart features are smoother and faster, due to the inclusion of a better smart processor.
The two TVs have different panels, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The Sony A9G is an OLED TV that displays perfect blacks in a dark room, has excellent wide viewing angles, and is recommended if you love watching movies in a dark room. On the other hand, the Samsung Q90R can get brighter, which is great for a bright room, is packed with gaming features to please gamers, and performs well in a dark room. The Samsung doesn't have the burn-in risk that the OLED Sony has.
The two TVs have different panels, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The Sony A9G is an OLED TV that displays perfect blacks in a dark room, has excellent wide viewing angles, and it is a better choice for watching movies or HDR movies in a dark room. On the other hand, the Sony Z9F can get brighter in SDR so it can easily fight glare. Also, the Z9F has a much higher HDR peak brightness and can display HDR highlights much brighter. The Z9F doesn't have the burn-in risk that the Sony A9G has.
Conclusion
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