Low brightness and contrast in HDR content on Sony XF9005 (compared to XE9005)

simo_plpl — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 21:14:30 GMT

Hello,

I recently purchased the new 55” Sony xf9005 (kd-55xf9005 in Europe).
I have a great comparison to the last year’s model (xe9005) which is located in the other room.
The new model is not that different from the previous one. Motion mapping as well as factory color calibration in xf9005 is slightly better - after setting the color profile to Expert 1, there is not really anything to improve.
There is however a bit of a downgrade and a few setbacks in regard to the xe9005 and I want to focus on discussing those.
Angles of sight are a tad worse. Degradation of black is faster. The halo effect (blooming) is also more visible around light objects located on a dark background although I used the auto local dimming option.
However what’s troubling me the most is a terribly low backlight and HDR contrast - they are around 15-20% lower than on xe9005. That can be a real bummer, especially in bright rooms with a lot of natural light.
I checked it on PS4 pro, Netflix and HDR samples I played from a USB drive.
The xf9005 I have is calibrated in the right way, I did try all the other possible options and solutions nonetheless.
There is no way I can get the brightness and contrast to be at least slightly similar to those in xe9005.
That makes the HDR content less enjoyable and not nearly as spectacular. They are simply worse and not as pleasant to look at.
I don’t have a clue if that can change in the nearest future or maybe if that can be fixed with a system update.

My settings for gaming:

Brightness and contrast are at the maximum level. I'm using the game mode, Expert 1 color gamut. Other importrant settings:

gamma: 0
black level: 50
black adjustement: off
advanced contrast: low/medium
auto local dimming: medium
x-tended dynamic range: high
live color: off
smooth gradation: low/off
video options: all options on auto

light sensor is disabled

I reached out to Sony Support in Poland and I am currently waiting for them to reply.

Re: Low brightness and contrast in HDR content on Sony XF9005 (compared to XE9005)

Jecht_Sin — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 06:17:48 GMT

Well.. According to rtings.com the XE90 has a better contrast and dimming than the XF90. The XF90 should have a quite higher peak brightness, though. In both SDR and HDR. But I am not sure how much an higher brightness would help if the contrast is worse..

topic Re: Low brightness and contrast in HDR content on Sony XF9005 (compared to XE9005) in Android TV

Low brightness and contrast in HDR content on Sony XF9005 (compared to XE9005)

Re: Low brightness and contrast in HDR content on Sony XF9005 (compared to XE9005)