Sony X900H TV Review

The Sony X900H is a mid-range LED TV that replaces both the Sony X850G from 2019 and the Sony X900F from 2018, and it sits just right below the Sony X950H in the 2020 lineup. It competes with the Samsung Q70/Q70T QLED, Vizio P Series Quantum 2020, and the LG NANO90.

The Sony X900H has a sleek design, very similar to the Sony X950H. The metal feet are simple and hold the TV well, although you can't adjust their position to suit smaller tables. The back has some visible screws in the corners, but overall the TV looks nice and should look good in any living room.

The metal feet slide into the TV itself instead of being screwed on, making setup easier. It has a wide footprint, but there's plenty of space in front for a soundbar without obstructing the screen.

Footprint of the 55 inch TV: 41.8" x 13.2"

The back of the TV looks very similar to the Sony X950H, with the same horizontal brushed texture. There are clips included in the box to tie the cables to the feet for cable management.

The borders are thin and aren't distracting.

The Sony X900H is a bit thicker than most premium TVs we've tested in 2020, but it shouldn't stick out when wall-mounted. The inputs are side-facing, making them easier to access when wall-mounted compared to the Sony X900F.

This TV has great build quality. It feels well-built and doesn't wobble much, as the metal stand supports the TV well. However, the plastic near the inputs flexes a bit. There are some visible screws where the back panel attaches to the borders, and there's a bit more give in this area, but it isn't very noticeable and shouldn't be an issue for most people.

The Sony X900H has an excellent native contrast ratio, although contrast may vary between units. It's higher than that of the Sony X950H, as it doesn't have Sony's 'X-Wide Angle' layer, which has the side effect of lowering the contrast ratio. The local dimming improves the contrast a bit, but not by much. That said, blacks still look deep, making it a great choice for dark room viewing. If you want a TV with an even better contrast ratio, check out the Hisense H9G.

This TV has great SDR peak brightness. It's more than enough to fight glare, so you shouldn't have any issues using the TV in a well-lit room. However, the brightness varies a lot depending on the content and small areas are more dim, as seen in the 2% and 10% windows.

We measured the SDR peak brightness after calibration, using the 'Custom' Picture Mode. Local Dimming and X-tended Dynamic Range were both set to 'High'.

If you want an even brighter image and don't mind losing accuracy, we reached 638 cd/m² in the 25% window using the 'Vivid' Picture Mode, with Local Dimming and X-tended Dynamic Range on 'High', and Contrast at max.

Update 06/22/2021: We've added two new videos demonstrating the local dimming feature with real content.

The full-array local dimming is good. It looks very similar to the Sony X950H, but with less blooming. There's a bit of dimming, though, and some small details are crushed in darker areas. It's good at making highlights in the background pop without being overly distracting; however, it doesn't handle highlights in the foreground as well as the X950H.

Update 06/22/2021: We've added two new videos demonstrating the local dimming feature with real content.

Local dimming in 'Game' mode looks and functions the same as it does outside of 'Game' mode.

Update 06/22/2021: We've retested the HDR peak brightness with Local Dimming set to 'Medium'. In that mode, the 2% and 10% windows aren't dimmed by the algorithms, resulting in a more consistent peak brightness across different content, but some scenes aren't as bright.

Update 03/12/2021: We've retested the HDR peak brightness with the latest firmware (version PKG6.0414.0055NAA). There's a slight drop in the real scene brightness, from 556 cd/m² to 526 cd/m². Overall, the 2% windows are a bit dimmer, while all the other windows are slightly brighter. The ABL result increased from 0.050 to 0.053. The score has been adjusted accordingly.

The HDR brightness is adequate. It gets bright enough to deliver a fairly good HDR experience, especially if you're watching in a dark to moderately lit room, but it doesn't look as punchy in a bright room setting. The overall brightness of scenes is good, as the EOTF follows the target almost perfectly but rolls off toward the TV's peak brightness, meaning that highlights can't appear quite as bright as intended. The brightness also varies a lot depending on the content with Local Dimming set to 'High'. If this variation bothers you, setting it to 'Medium' results in less variation in peak brightness, but also a slightly dimmer image in some cases. If you want a TV with exceptionally high brightness in HDR, check out the Samsung QN85A QLED.

We measured the HDR brightness before calibration, using the 'Custom' Picture Mode, 'Expert 2' Color Temperature, and with Local Dimming and X-tended Dynamic Range set to 'High'.

If you find HDR content too dim, you can make it brighter by using the 'Vivid' Picture Mode, with Local Dimming, X-tended Dynamic Range, and Advanced Contrast Enhancer all set to 'High'. These settings result in a much brighter image, as you can see in this EOTF.

Update 03/12/2021: We've retested the HDR brightness in Game Mode with the latest firmware (version PKG6.0414.0055NAA). The real scene brightness dropped from 688 cd/m² to 669 cd/m². All windows are slightly dimmer but shouldn't be noticeable. The most notable changes are in the 2% peak and sustained windows, both losing roughly 50 cd/m². The ABL result increased from 0.030 to 0.035. The score has been adjusted accordingly.

In 'Game' mode, HDR is somewhat brighter. This is especially noticeable in real scenes. As with 'Game' mode turned off, the brightness varies quite a bit depending on the content.

We measured 'Game' mode HDR brightness after calibration, using the 'Game' Picture Mode with Local Dimming and X-tended Dynamic Range set to 'High' and the Color Temperature set to 'Expert 1'. All extra settings were turned off.

Gray uniformity is great, but this may vary between units. The corners are slightly darker but shouldn't be distracting in normal content. There's almost no dirty screen effect at all, and uniformity is excellent in dark scenes.

The Sony X900H has excellent black uniformity, but this may vary between units. Without local dimming, the entire screen looks a bit grayish, and there's only some faint clouding around the top and bottom edges of the screen. With local dimming enabled, uniformity is much better throughout the screen, and surprisingly, there's very little blooming around the test cross.

Like most VA panels, this TV has narrow viewing angles, and unfortunately, it doesn't have Sony's 'X-Wide Angle' layer to improve it. The image loses accuracy fairly quickly when moving off-center, so it's not the best option for large rooms or wide seating arrangements.

This TV has decent reflection handling. It struggles mostly with direct reflections, so it's best to avoid placing the TV opposite bright lights.

The color accuracy is excellent out-of-the-box, but this may vary between units. There are minor inaccuracies with blue and red, and the white balance is only slightly off. The color temperature is very close to our 6500K target. Gamma is also close to the 2.2 target, but most scenes are too dark and bright scenes are over-brightened.

After calibration, color accuracy is outstanding. White balance, gamma, and color temperature are nearly perfect. However, there are still some inaccuracies with reds and blues, but it shouldn't be noticeable in most content.

You can see our recommended settings here.

The Sony X900H upscales 480p content such as DVDs well and there are no visible artifacts.

Upscaling of 720p content like cable TV is great.

1080p content like Blu-rays looks incredible and there are no issues with the upscaling.

Native 4k content is displayed perfectly.

This TV can't display an 8k signal.

The Sony X900H has a BGR subpixel layout. It doesn't affect picture quality, but it can affect text clarity when using the TV as a PC monitor. You can read more about it here.

This TV has a good color gamut, wide enough for HDR content. It has excellent coverage of the DCI P3 color space used in most HDR content, but coverage of the wider Rec.2020 is just okay. If you want a similar TV with a better color gamut, check out the Vizio P Series Quantum 2020.

The color volume is decent. It displays dark colors well due to its high contrast ratio, but like most LED TVs, it has trouble displaying bright blues.

This TV has amazing gradient handling. There's only a little bit of banding in the darker shades of each color, and shouldn't be very noticeable with most content.

The Sony X900H doesn't exhibit any signs of temporary image retention, but this may vary between units.

We don't expect VA panels to experience permanent image retention, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.

The Sony X900H has an impressive response time, resulting in very little motion blur in fast-moving scenes. There's a lot of overshoot in the 0-20% transition, though, causing some motion artifacts in dark scenes.

The Sony X900H uses Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight, but because of its high flicker frequency, it shouldn't really be noticeable for most people.

This TV has an optional Black Frame Insertion feature to help reduce motion blur. Unfortunately, the backlight's minimum flicker frequency is 120Hz even when playing 60Hz content, which results in some image duplication.

To enable BFI, set Motionflow to 'Custom' and adjust the Clearness slider to your preference.

To activate Sony's X-Motion Clarity Plus feature, which helps to make the image look clearer and brighter in fast-moving scenes, set Motionflow to 'Custom' and adjust the Clearness slider to '1', and the Smoothness slider to '2'.

The Sony X900H can interpolate lower frame rate content up to 120fps to make motion look smoother, also known as the 'Soap Opera Effect'. Motion looks good when enabled and we didn't notice any issues.

If you want to use motion interpolation on native 60fps content, set Motionflow to 'Custom', with the Smoothness slider set to 'Max' and the Clearness slider set to 'Min'. For native 30fps content, set Cinemotion to 'Auto'.

Due to the TV's fast response time, there's a bit of stutter when watching lower frame rate content. It's more noticeable with 24fps content since each frame is held on for longer.

This TV can remove judder from all sources. For 24p content, it does so automatically, so there's no need to change any settings. To remove judder from 60p, 60i, and content from native apps, set Cinemotion to 'Auto', Motionflow to 'Custom', and the Smoothness and Clearness sliders to their minimum.

Update 04/29/2021: We received reports that the TV got an update for VRR to work. However, we updated the TV to firmware PKG6.0414.0055.NAA and VRR still doesn't work no matter which settings and HDMI ports we use. If you notice VRR is working on your X900H, let us know.

Update 10/27/2020: We updated the TV to the latest firmware version and retested it with an HDMI 2.1 source. There's still no VRR support at this time.

The Sony X900H doesn't have variable refresh rate support, and while Sony has stated that they'll address this in an upcoming firmware update, it isn't available yet. We'll retest the TV once it is.

Update 10/27/2020: We updated the TV to the latest firmware version and retested it with an HDMI 2.1 source.

This TV has a remarkably low input lag. It's low as long as you're in 'Game' mode, and it's the lowest with 4k @ 120Hz games. PC users can be in either 'Game' or 'Graphics' mode to get the lowest latency. Input lag remains low even when playing at 4k @ 60Hz + 10-bit HDR, but it increases significantly if motion interpolation is enabled, so it isn't recommended. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until Sony releases the firmware update that enables VRR to test the input lag with VRR enabled, and the 'Auto Low Latency Mode' should also be enabled in the same update.

Update 06/22/2021: We retested 4k @ 120Hz support, and unfortunately, the issue hasn't been fixed yet.

Update 02/15/2021: We previously indicated that 1440p @ 60Hz is supported natively, it is not. It only works through a forced resolution. We've also retested 1440p @ 120Hz, and it still doesn't work. 1080p @ 120Hz works and is supported natively.

Update 11/26/2020: We updated the TV to firmware version PKG6.0414.0055NAA and checked to see if it fixed the issues with chroma 4:4:4 at 4k @ 120Hz. Text looks a bit better, but it's still blurry, as seen in this photo.

Update 10/27/2020: We updated the TV to the latest firmware (version 6.0384) and retested it with an HDMI 2.1 source.

Update 09/30/2020: We've retested the X900H's ability to display proper chroma 4:4:4 with the latest firmware, as we've received reports that it functions in all picture modes. Unfortunately, the results haven't changed. Chroma 4:4:4 is only possible in 'Graphics' or 'Game' mode.

The Sony X900H supports most common resolutions, except for 1440p @ 120Hz. It properly displays 4k @ 120Hz and doesn't skip frames. Chroma 4:4:4 is supported at all resolutions, and only requires that you be in 'Game' or 'Graphics' mode. However, text looks a bit blurry with chroma 4:4:4 at 4k @ 120Hz, as you can see in this photo. For full-bandwidth signals like 4k @ 60 + 10-bit HDR, set HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced Format' for the input in use.

The Sony X900H has two HDMI 2.1 ports (ports 3 and 4), and it supports most, but not all, resolutions for new gaming consoles. When setting the HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced Format', it can support a 4k @ 120Hz signal but not Dolby Vision, as you can see here. However, when it's set to 'Enhanced Format (Dolby Vision)', it can't support a 4k @ 120Hz signal, as seen here. This, unfortunately, means that users have to choose between 4k @ 120Hz or Dolby Vision when using the Xbox Series X.

The TV doesn't currently have official Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) support, but it appears to approximate it with Sony consoles. When a PS5 or even a PS4 is plugged in, the TV automatically detects it and changes the name and icon of the HDMI input to match the console. With Auto Picture Mode enabled, the picture mode automatically switches in and out of 'Game' mode when you launch or quit a game. With an Xbox, however, you have to manually switch into 'Game' mode.

Update 10/28/2020: We incorrectly listed all four ports to have HDMI 2.1, but only HDMI 3 and 4 have HDMI 2.1 support.

Update 10/27/2020: We updated the TV to the latest firmware version and retested it with a HDMI 2.1 source.

There's a composite input for older devices such as DVD players, but it requires an adapter, which isn't included in the box.

Update 10/27/2020: We updated the TV to the latest firmware (version 6.0384). eArc now works on the HDMI 3 port.

The Sony X900H has eARC support when you update it to its latest firmware version. This allows you to send high-quality audio such as Dolby Atmos via TrueHD to a compatible receiver using an HDMI connection.

This TV has a decent frequency response. The sound profile is reasonably well-balanced and dialogue sounds clear. The bass is punchy, but it doesn't produce a deep rumbling sound. It gets very loud without causing too many compression artifacts, which is great for large or noisy environments. The 65 inch, 75 inch, and 85 inch sizes of this TV have a different speaker configuration and are expected to have better performance.

The distortion performance is disappointing. It doesn't distort too much at moderate volume levels, but there's a lot of distortion when playing near max volume.

Update 07/15/2020: It's been mentioned to us that apps and settings can be customized to show on the quick menu and quick settings list, which further reduces the amount of time required to access them. The 'Time Taken' values have been updated.

The Sony X900H runs on Android TV. It runs very smoothly, and we didn't notice any issues while testing. The interface is clean and fairly easy to navigate.

During our testing, we didn't notice any ads, but there's some suggested content on the home page and within the app store.

The Google Play Store offers a ton of apps available to download, and they work well. The built-in Google Chromecast allows you to cast anything you want from your phone.

The Sony X900H comes with the same large and stylish remote as the Sony X850G. It has shortcut buttons to Netflix and the Google Play Store. There's also a Google Assistant button that allows you to ask for most common demands, such as changing inputs or searching for content in apps, but we weren't able to change the TV's settings.

Like the Sony X950H, the TV's control is now just a single button, located beneath the Sony branding at the center of the bottom bezel. This button lets you turn the TV On/Off, change the input source, change the channel, adjust the volume, and restart the TV.

• User guide
• Remote control
• 2x AAA batteries
• Wall-mount spacers