Sony AG9/A9G (KD-55AG9) OLED TV Review & Comments

Sony Exec #1: “We have finally produced an OLED set with a fantastic picture, innovative sound, complete feature set and a working OS. We’ve finally caught up with LG & Panasonic!”

Sony Exec #2: *snorts massive line of cocaine* “Well we better charge a grand more for it then!”
 
Sony Exec #1: “We have finally produced an OLED set with a fantastic picture, innovative sound, complete feature set and a working OS. We’ve finally caught up with LG & Panasonic!”

Sony Exec #2: *snorts massive line of cocaine* “Well we better charge a grand more for it then!”
Think it's more like Panasonic and LG have caught up to sony.

And if price is such an issue,you may as well get the Af9 where arguably you will have a better set than the Ag9 anyway,and cheaper.
 
Think it's more like Panasonic and LG have caught up to sony.

And if price is such an issue,you may as well get the Af9 where arguably you will have a better set than the Ag9 anyway,and cheaper.

1. No

2. Proves my point?
 
Excellent and comprehensive review, as ever - if only all reviews were this thorough.
All things considered I think I'll stick with Panasonic - for me they're head and shoulders above the rest for less money which makes it the very definition of a no-brainer.
 
Very nice review, @Phil Hinton thank you. Any idea when we might expect a review of the GZ2000?
 
Last year i can remember the dont-buy-yet brigade always mentioning HDMI 2.1 and yet this year, when LG include it when I'm not sure anyone expected it, it hardly gets mentioned. Quite rightly it's a neg in the review - I think HDMI 2.1 is the most important step since HDR. There are no receivers passing it yet but it doesnt add much cost to include.
I'm not sure how important HDCP 2.3 is yet. LG have added it by firmware but only the newest Denons support it.
It does have eARC which will likely used more immediately as amps have that, but I think more HDMI ports will be needed on TVs to fully shift to connecting devices that way - but eARC should solve many probs we currently have.
 
Very nice review, @Phil Hinton the only thing I hate about my LG C8 is the motion, would you say the Sony or Panasonic has the best motion handling?
 
Thanks for the great review Phil. In regards to the blue tint due to WRGB oled. How is it that after calibration the blue tint still occurs? I'm confused how you can get a flat greyscale graph that shows no blue push and hit D65 white point but still have a slight blue tint to the picture. Wouldn't the colorimeter see this and show up in calMAN? I thought I understood the calibration process but there is obviously more to it.
 
Considering it's more than a grand expensive than more talented GZ950, it should score 8. Why have a product on the market where the rival set is far cheaper & with better performance.

If I was on the market for a new OLED and the AG9 is priced the SAME as Panasonic GZ950, I would go for GZ950/GZ1000.
Can you point out were the 950 is more talented than the AG9 , or the AF9 please
 
Last year i can remember the dont-buy-yet brigade always mentioning HDMI 2.1 and yet this year, when LG include it when I'm not sure anyone expected it, it hardly gets mentioned. Quite rightly it's a neg in the review - I think HDMI 2.1 is the most important step since HDR. There are no receivers passing it yet but it doesnt add much cost to include.
I'm not sure how important HDCP 2.3 is yet. LG have added it by firmware but only the newest Denons support it.
It does have eARC which will likely used more immediately as amps have that, but I think more HDMI ports will be needed on TVs to fully shift to connecting devices that way - but eARC should solve many probs we currently have.

HDMI 2.1 barely gets a mention because the vast, vast majority of owners/potential owners dont care about it.
 
Very nice review, @Phil Hinton the only thing I hate about my LG C8 is the motion, would you say the Sony or Panasonic has the best motion handling?
I thought my AG8 had terrible motion when I first started using it. Then realised I had one of the settings wrong, setting motion to smooth, which seemed logical when I went through the options. After resolving this, it has no motion issues at all that I can see, and the AG9 should be even better with the faster and more powerful processor. Have you miss set one the the LG settings, to give this issue??
 
I thought my AG8 had terrible motion when I first started using it. Then realised I had one of the settings wrong, setting motion to smooth, which seemed logical when I went through the options. After resolving this, it has no motion issues at all that I can see, and the AG9 should be even better with the faster and more powerful processor. Have you miss set one the the LG settings, to give this issue??
I looked at the AG8 today and the motion was very jerky on their demo footage, couldn't get the remote to change settings
 
Can you point out were the 950 is more talented than the AG9 , or the AF9 please

I have the 950, but I looked at the ag9 quite carefully before buying. I can’t see how the 950 is more talented than the ag9, but the Panasonic is excellent. For various reasons I chose the 950, but I can’t see how an owner of either set would be disappointed.
 
I have the 950, but I looked at the ag9 quite carefully before buying. I can’t see how the 950 is more talented than the ag9, but the Panasonic is excellent. For various reasons I chose the 950, but I can’t see how an owner of either set would be disappointed.

No certainly not, both Amazing TVs! but when the GZ950 has HDR10+ playback, better Dolby vision playback, 700nits brightness rather than 500nits and a more accurate out of the box picture you have to ask what your paying for on the AG9. A vibrating screen and Google Android (which still offers the least catch up apps btw)
 
No certainly not, both Amazing TVs! but when the GZ950 has HDR10+ playback, better Dolby vision playback, 700nits brightness rather than 500nits and a more accurate out of the box picture you have to ask what your paying for on the AG9. A vibrating screen and Google Android (which still offers the least catch up apps btw)

Yes - I think if the prices had been much closer between the 2 it would have been a hard decision as I still think the Sony is great, but the 950 does everything so well I just couldnt be happier, esp for the price point. Even the upscaling and motion now is really superb
 
Thanks for the great review Phil. In regards to the blue tint due to WRGB oled. How is it that after calibration the blue tint still occurs? I'm confused how you can get a flat greyscale graph that shows no blue push and hit D65 white point but still have a slight blue tint to the picture. Wouldn't the colorimeter see this and show up in calMAN? I thought I understood the calibration process but there is obviously more to it.

I also don't get this, can anybody clarify?
 
Thanks for the great review Phil. In regards to the blue tint due to WRGB oled. How is it that after calibration the blue tint still occurs? I'm confused how you can get a flat greyscale graph that shows no blue push and hit D65 white point but still have a slight blue tint to the picture. Wouldn't the colorimeter see this and show up in calMAN? I thought I understood the calibration process but there is obviously more to it.

I also don't get this, can anybody clarify?
I'd also like to understand this. Given the AG9 and GZ1500 share the same 2019 LG WRGB panel (AIUI), if it's inherent to that configuration, it should be apparent on all 2019 OLED TVs.

Paul
 
I also don't get this, can anybody clarify?
It's not just the colour of white, but the spectrum of light produced by the panel that can vary. An LED LCD can measure D65 flat greyscale and be sat next to an LG C9 also calibrated to the same standards. However with a 100% white slide, the LED LCD will have a magenta white look and the OLED will look cyan or light blue, yet both measure the same to the standards. The LED light has a different light spectrum compared to OLED, is the simple non-technical answer. This is why perceptual white balance matching, matching meters to the different displays, and knowing about the different light sources is just as important as looking at calibration charts and assuming things look the same.
So, in respect of the Panasonic, they have changed the light source attributes using their own engineering (but will not divulge what) to give it a more accurate yellow-white (remember video white at D65 is the same as a piece of white paper in the mid-day sun). This is why when side-by-side the Panasonic looks different and towards the correct warm look of white, which in turn corrects colours and other image attributes.
 
Very pleased you mentioned Autocal in the review Phil, especially as you confirm it can pretty much provide a very accurate calibration (providing you have the right equipment of course) very easily and by simply pressing a few buttons. Brilliant piece of software, took barely 10 minutes or so to get the best diy calibration on my ZD9 I've ever seen!

I do hope you can do a review of it to broaden people's awareness, accurate automated diy calibration is a wonderful thing!
 
Had this TV for the past few months.
Very pleased with performance (both in-menus and picture), my only complaint is not infrequent crashes - at least once per week where TV auto restarts for no particular reason.

I'm not using any in-TV apps (all apps via ATV or Shield) and have disabled most of the Google aspects, where possible.
 
Had this TV for the past few months.
Very pleased with performance (both in-menus and picture), my only complaint is not infrequent crashes - at least once per week where TV auto restarts for no particular reason.

I'm not using any in-TV apps (all apps via ATV or Shield) and have disabled most of the Google aspects, where possible.
Strange. Maybe try a factory reset?

Had mine since launch and not a single crash.
 
Strange. Maybe try a factory reset?

Had mine since launch and not a single crash.

Auto - Panel refresh possibly ?

Just to add my 65ag is frigging amazing. Had it since launch and not found a single fault Icould list.
 
I am not an owner but looking to upgrade from my Sony 65XE9305.

How do you owners find gaming?
I play single player games such as God of war and Gears 5 etc.

Are you happy with its 4K UHD Blu Ray performance?

Reviews seem to say its not as bright as other OLEDs.....any comments on its brightness?
 
Unlike the Sony AG8 review, I don't see any mention in this review of ABL when bright colours or white covers a large part of the screen.

Does this TV suffer from the same slightly aggressive ABL as the AG8?
 

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