Sony KD-65X9005B review Sony's sensational wedge TV delivers top 4K results

 

 

Sony's 65-inch KD-65X9005B (£3600) is a statement television in every sense.
From its technical prowess to audacious design, it pushes the envelope with unapologetic zeal. The wedge shape, accommodating prominent forward facing speakers, is potentially a bit Marmite, but I love it.
Build quality and detailing, from the rolled top to the chrome side panels, is exquisite. While the flanking speaker array gives screen considerable width, the piano black finish is extremely handsome.
The only thing missing when you unpack the set are a pair of white gloves, to prevent the oh-so glossy bodywork from being smothered in fingerprints when you're wrestling it into position.
That said the set, which is also available as the 55-inch KD-55X9005B and 79-inch KD-79X9005B, actually has a low centre of gravity and so requires only a moderate amount of floorspace.

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If the pedestal feet positioned either end of the set don't fit your AV furniture, there are two more central positions they can be relocated to.

If you don't have quite so much space on your TV stand you can adjust the feet of the Sony KD-65X9005B

Despite the unconventional triangular shape, the X9005B can be wall-hung using a standard Vesa mount. Spacers are provided in the box which square up the rear to the wall.
Also bundled in the box is an optional port replicator, to aid wall-mounted hook-up. This exterior connections box has its own power supply, plus satellite and RF tuner inputs along with a USB port and (three) HDMI connectivity. A single chord then runs all to an input on the back of the set.

The optional port replicator

Rear panel connections comprise four HDMI inputs (some of which are ARC and MHL compatible), plus three USBs, Ethernet, Scart and component/composite video and stereo audio inputs. There are also TV RF and dual satellite inputs, a CI card slot and a digital audio optical output. Wi-Fi is built-in.

The back is packed with ports

The X9005B is the only model in the Sony fleet to have a Skype camera actually built into the bezel (a consequence of that rolled top), so there's no clumsy camera contraption spoiling the clean lines. If the idea of an all-seeing eye staring back at you is too intrusive, a small cap is supplied to cover it up.

Features

The Sony X9005B boasts a wide range of connected functionality. The brand has significantly revamped its smart platform for 2014, although actual service and app content is largely unchanged from last season.
Niceties include screen mirroring, for use with compatible Miracast-enabled smartphones, along with a new feature called 'photo share' which allows up to ten users to share JPEGs in a single session. Cleverly you can collect and save cast pictures to any connected phone. The high resolution panel makes for a superb still image display.
Also new this year is the 'one flick discovery' bar. This sits at the bottom of the screen and recommends things to watch, from both broadcast and online sources. Given that it also supports keyword search, this is actually quite a powerful content curation tool.

There is a wide range of apps available for the Sony KD-65X9005B

While Twitter is best enjoyed on mobile devices, TV manufacturers continue to try and find ways to implement a bigger screen experience.
Here Sony has conjured up Social View, which delivers a stream of tweets across the bottom of the screen. These either relate to the TV show being broadcast at the time or specific search terms. It's an inventive idea, but perhaps somewhat distracting for those viewers not too interested in such fleeting views.

The built-in camera is nicely discreet

The set also offers a PIP Skype mode, to enable groups to join together while watching the same show/sports on TV. Inevitably there's also a football function, which engages a sound DSP mode intended to emulate a Brazilian stadium. This is apparently based on actual measurements, although you'd probably never guess.
More significantly, the X9005B incorporates an HEVC decoder fully compatible with the new Netflix 4K streaming service (fast fibre broadband connection required).

If there's a better 4K picture performer out there than the Sony KD-65X9005B, I haven't seen it.
To assess the screen in full-fat 4K, I hooked up a media server packed with movie, music and sports sequences. The set duly dazzled with detail and image refinement. House of Cards Season 2, in Netflix 4K, exhibits lavish texture and depth. The set will really have you hankering after more 4K content.
Thankfully, upscaling of Full HD sources is similarly outstanding. The latest X-Reality Pro image processing circuitry does a remarkable job extrapolating detail from 1080 sources. HD TV broadcasts magically gain solidity and nuance, while Blu-ray's look nothing short of brilliant in faux 4K. This Triluminos-branded system is compatible with the extended x.y.colour information included in the brand's Mastered in 4K Blu-ray disc line, although this only works on the cinema preset.

The football mode is disappointing

Of course, it's not just that four times Full HD resolution that impresses. The screen boasts huge dynamics with deep blacks and peaky whites, a consequence of Sony's X-tended Dynamic range image manipulation. Edge backlighting is reassuringly even.
Colour fidelity is also excellent. Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim looks positively psychedelic, with deep saturated primaries. There's such intensity to the onscreen hues that this TV could make a rainbow seem dowdy.
A change of panel supplier from last year's 4K Sony models has meant that this UHD screen offers Active Shutter rather than Passive 3D. Two pairs of 3D glasses are supplied.
The set's Active 3D is best viewed in a dark room; multiple light sources causes the 3D goggles to flicker which is quite distracting. Overall dimensional performance though is very good, with little in the way of crosstalk double imaging. The screen is particularly effective with Sky's side-by-side 3D broadcasts, exhibiting pronounced stereo separation and excellent colour retention.
Motion handling has always been a strength of Sony screens, and here it's characteristically impressive, although arguably not as comprehensively fine as that seen on the brand 2013 X9005A models. The various Motionflow settings are more of a lottery in terms of unwanted motion artifacts. I found the best settings to be standard, clear and true cinema; the latter has quite low levels of motion detail though. Avoid the impulse setting as it's too flickery to be watchable.