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Sony 85” X950G v. Sony 85 Z9G v. Sony 75 Z9D + LMCL?

5541 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by BRAC, Sep 9, 2019

JakeE

Discussion Starter · Sep 1, 2019

I currently own a Sony 75 Z9D, which is still AMAZING!!! Watching it over the years has been like watching a Magic TV…

When I purchased it years ago, I really wanted an 85 inch screen, but nobody made an 85 inch TV with a great picture, so I went with the 75 inch Sony Z9D which completely exceeded my high expectations.

This year Sony released two 85 inch TV models which have great pictures, with the X950G and Z9G.

I have not seen the 85 inch 8K Z9G in person so I can’t speak intelligently about it. It would seem like a no-brainer to replace my 75 inch Sony Z9D with the 85 inch Z9G, but I really dislike the aesthetics of the Z9G. In particular, I don’t like the bizarre blade design which ads a forehead as well as a J. Leno chin. Also, it’s twice as thick as the Z9D and X950G, which turns me off—big time…

The 85 inch Sony Z9G is also about three times as expensive as a the 85 inch Sony X950G, which is significantly more expensive.

From what I understand the motion on the X950G is better than on the Z9D, but the peak brightness is about 10-15% less bright. We primarily use our current Z9D to watch Netflix, and it looks stunning.

I have seen the 85 inch Sony X950G in person and it looks great! My question is if I replace the 75 inch Z9D with the X950G, will I be downgrading? The whole reason I am interested in an 85 inch is to increase the immersive experience, and it would suck to replace the Z9D, and then regret it. I assume I am not the only person in the forum with this dilemma. Anybody have any isight or experience to share on this?

Another option that crosses my mind is to wait to see what Sony does at the next CES show which is around the corner. Sony’s new ‘ Dual Layer LCD’ technology also known as “Light Modulating Cell Layer (LMCL)” found in the new Sony BVM-HX310 Reference TV seems to be amazingly promising. Apple has already incorporated this new technology into their soon to be released Apple Pro Display XDR, and it shows the potential for allowing LCD TV’s to wipe out the OLED advantages completely.

Below is a video from HDTVTest which covers this amazing new technology. I would not at all be surprised to see LMCL incorporated into Sony’s 2020 TV lineup across the board. Thoughts?

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Panson

· #2 · Sep 2, 2019

JakeE said:
I currently own a Sony 75 Z9D, which is still AMAZING!!! Watching it over the years has been like watching a Magic TV…

When I purchased it years ago, I really wanted an 85 inch screen, but nobody made an 85 inch TV with a great picture, so I went with the 75 inch Sony Z9D which completely exceeded my high expectations.

This year Sony released two 85 inch TV models which have great pictures, with the X950G and Z9G....

One thing to consider, X950G 85" and Z9G 85" have X-Wide Angle technology which inhibits contrast. How long Sony plans to offer this disadvantage (IMO) is unknown.

FWIW X900F 85" has no wide angle, and offers better contrast than X950G. However, it does not have the Ultimate Processor and eARC, if that's important.

With your current TV, you may or may not see PQ improvement with a jump to the five-figure Z9G. You would not see PQ improvement with jumps to X900F and X950G.

Good luck, have fun.

KING DRANZER

· #3 · Sep 2, 2019

I recommend holding off the purchase at least up to CES2020. Z9G will be still available till that time. But yet I wouldn't be expecting much from Z9G when going from Z9D. Z9D is a legend in TV manufacturing industry. It has already been 4+ years since its launch. Yet there is no answer for Z9D from any other brand and surprisingly not even from SONY. Z9G has only plus of being 8K besides that there is no big gain. To be honest with it's implementation of wider viewing angles the deep blacks are blown.

BRAC

· #4 · Sep 2, 2019

No big gain? I’d say it has far more going for it than just 8K.

It boggles my mind how people so easily ignore or brush off the capabilities of the Z9G.

True 4000 nit capability?? Even Vincent says it’s the most impactful HDR he’s ever seen.

picturequality

· #5 · Sep 2, 2019

Keep your z9d there is nothing better out there, the z9g is brighter but the z9d has better black levels. If you want to pay 13 grand for a tv that is brighter but has more blooming its up to you.

Majcric

· #6 · Sep 3, 2019

Another vote for keep the Z9D. Wait a couple of years and you should have better options. Not to mention the Sony Z9g might be more reasonably priced. I wouldn’t switch to the mediocre Sony 950g for the extra 10 inches.

family_guy

· #7 · Sep 3, 2019

I say sell your 75z9d to me

pbz06

· #8 · Sep 4, 2019

picturequality said:
Keep your z9d there is nothing better out there, the z9g is brighter but the z9d has better black levels. If you want to pay 13 grand for a tv that is brighter but has more blooming its up to you.

Have you seen the Z9G in person?

KING DRANZER

· #9 · Sep 4, 2019

Have you seen the Z9D. The richness in color and contrast. Z9G has its strong points but when compared to Z9D for viewing experience it lacks where it matters for most. For 8K content, wider viewing angles and extremely bright screen(most of us will be satisfied with Z9D brightness as it is not lacking much in that department) Z9G will be better. But when it comes to covering other areas Z9D is Victor by a long shot.

BRAC

· #10 · Sep 4, 2019

KING DRANZER said:
Have you seen the Z9D. The richness in color and contrast. Z9G has its strong points but when compared to Z9D for viewing experience it lacks where it matters for most. For 8K content, wider viewing angles and extremely bright screen(most of us will be satisfied with Z9D brightness as it is not lacking much in that department) Z9G will be better. But when it comes to covering other areas Z9D is Victor by a long shot.

Have you seen/tested the Z9G?

I’m willing to bet the house that the Z9G improves on the Z9D in every way imaginable, outside of blacks and blooming. What about upscaling, motion, resolution, brightness, HDR, Android OS, viewing angles, accuracy, size, etc?

JakeE

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 5, 2019

Has anybody compared the Z9G to the Z9D?

mxsledder

· #12 · Sep 6, 2019

I’m in a similar boat to, I have a 75” 940 D that’s been an incredible tv but i’m Moving to house with a huge living room and am wanting to go to 85”. After doing tons of research it looks like the 950 G for the money is very hard to beat. It won’t beat your Z9d in picture quality but should be close behind.

JakeE

Discussion Starter · #13 · Sep 6, 2019

mxsledder said:
I’m in a similar boat to, I have a 75” 940 D that’s been an incredible tv but i’m Moving to house with a huge living room and am wanting to go to 85”. After doing tons of research it looks like the 950 G for the money is very hard to beat. It won’t beat your Z9d in picture quality but should be close behind.

Thanks for sharing your thoughtful reply

Unless I am missing something the Z9G, at least on paper should blow away the Z9D, not only in terms of peak brightness, but also since it supposedly does an amazing job of upscaling all content to 8K. I imagine the only way to really confirm this would be for somebody to test them side by side.

On a side note its shockingly disappointing to me Sony would intentionally cripple their so called '4K flagship X950G' by giving it so few backlighting zones!?!! Vincent from HDTVTest measured it at 30 zones, while others say it's as many as 70. Either way it is way too few, and I assume there are many people like myself who would gladly pay more for more zones. I hate to say this, but it almost seems like we have to wait AGAIN for the next CES and hope Sony takes real and meaningful action.

BRAC

· #14 · Sep 7, 2019

JakeE said:
Thanks for sharing your thoughtful reply

Unless I am missing something the Z9G, at least on paper should blow away the Z9D, not only in terms of peak brightness, but also since it supposedly does an amazing job of upscaling all content to 8K. I imagine the only way to really confirm this would be for somebody to test them side by side.

On a side note its shockingly disappointing to me Sony would intentionally cripple their so called '4K flagship X950G' by giving it so few backlighting zones!?!! Vincent from HDTVTest measured it at 30 zones, while others say it's as many as 70. Either way it is way too few, and I assume there are many people like myself who would gladly pay more for more zones. I hate to say this, but it almost seems like we have to wait AGAIN for the next CES and hope Sony takes real and meaningful action.

The Z9G should better the Z9D in every way, outside of blooming and blacks.

Also, if the 950G is running the same FALD scheme as the 900F, the 85” version should have ~80 zones. Can’t remember the exact number, but I remember it being in the 80’s. The larger sizes do add more zones. I believe that Vincent tested the 65”.

JakeE

Discussion Starter · #15 · Sep 9, 2019

BRAC said:
The Z9G should better the Z9D in every way, outside of blooming and blacks.

Also, if the 950G is running the same FALD scheme as the 900F, the 85” version should have ~80 zones. Can’t remember the exact number, but I remember it being in the 80’s. The larger sizes do add more zones. I believe that Vincent tested the 65”.

Why do you believe the blooming and black would be worse on the Z9G?

BRAC

· #16 · Sep 9, 2019

JakeE said:
Why do you believe the blooming and black would be worse on the Z9G?

There are a few reasons why I believe this to be the case.

1) Scaled back version of BMD
2) Much brighter
3) Less zones per square inch of screen size
4) X-wide angle introduces more light
5) All the reviews are indicating more blooming
6) Measured contrast is lower

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