Verdict
The A90 K is almost everything you want from a wizen OLED TV – but it does come at quite the price for a 42 - column inch TV
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
They allege it could n’t be done . Well , more accurately they said there was no net to be made by doing it .
But at long last , here ’s an OLED TV that ’s small enough to count as naturalistic for any number of customers who a ) do n’t have a big room to watch telecasting in or b ) simply do n’t desire an especially bragging tv set . Sony ’s A90 K image ofOLED TVsstarts here , with this 42 - inch model .
Mind you , if there ’s no profit to be made at this asking price then Sony really needs to have a look at itself . This may be a comparatively titchy filmdom but there ’s nothing titchy about the price - shred . So can the XR-42A90 K apologize costing twice as much as some of thebest small TVswe’ve test lately ?
The Sony XR-42A90 K is on sale now , and in the UK it ’ll arrange you back £ 1699 . That ’s not a misprint , that ’s the asking cost . In the United States it trade for $ 1399 , and in Australia it go for AU$2899 .
Which question do you want to inquire first ? The one about why this television is so very much more expensive in the UK than it is in America ? Or the one about why this TV is so relatively expensive compared to virtually every competing 42 - column inch alternative ? true very few of these cheaper rivals are OLED , but still and all … a price this bounty is going to take some justification .
Design
If you ’re hop-skip for a act of that legendary OLED slimness from the Sony , you ’ll need to recalibrate your expectations . There ’s a hint of the nervous OLED skinniness at the top of the A90 K , but when find in the profile the majority of it assess 57 mm deep . Which means by any realistic measure this is not a slender goggle box , and accordingly not that enticing a prospect for bulwark - hanging .
It ’s a much good proposal for cast on a aerofoil . First of all , the sturdy pedestal foot is quite compact , which means the Earth’s surface indigence n’t be all that big . Secondly , the screen door sits gratifyingly low on the stand , which makes for quite a squeamish visual argument . And thirdly , Sony supplies a pair of extenders in case you want to raise the bottom of the screen above the sales booth sufficiently to place a soundbar in between .
Aside from its unglamorous depth , this is quite a good - bet machine inasmuch as its bezel are minimum and its build quality is unarguable . There ’s a level of cable television - management on the tail end of the dialog box , in the cast of clip on / nip off jury that enshroud the majority of the strong-arm connection .
Features
Sony , like every other OLED telly producer , buys its OLED panel from LG . And then Sony , like every other OLED idiot box manufacturer , undertake to extract maximum panel performance by using a bespoke processing engine .
The Sony A90 K utilise the same Cognitive Processor XR that ’s fit to theXR - A95 K QD - OLEDI review recently – and here , as there , its job is to make certain native 4 K content looks its good ( compatibility with HLG , HDR10 andDolby Vision HDRstandards helps here ) and upscaled 1080p content gets the welfare of its AI smarts . It ’s intended to ensure your gaming experience is as natural , smooth and convincing as your movie experience is . And if it can perform as well here as it does in the A95 K , we should be in for a ocular treat .
There are plenty of pick for have content on dining table for the processor to mould its magic on . forcible inputs run to fourHDMIsockets , a couple of USBs , an Ethernet input , a pair of aerial posts to pluck up the integrated goggle box tuners and a digital optical yield . Wireless alternatives consist of Bluetooth 4.2 , Wi - Fi , Chromecast Built - In , and Apple’sAirPlayandHomeKit .
one-half of those HDMI ports are 2.0 , the othertwo are 2.1 , which means they ’re 48Gbps , 4K/120Hz , VRRandALLM . Good news for current - gen gamers , even if price - corresponding LGs and Samsung tend to have 2.1 compatibility across the board . PS5owners can ignore the want of HGiG support thanks to their Auto HDR Tone Mapping lineament , but the omission of Dolby Vision plot mode will irkXbox Series Xusers .
One of the Sony ’s HDMI 2.1 input is alsoeARC enable , which might interest households with both consoles in summation to a soundbar that go via eARC .
Sony usesGoogle TVas a impertinent interface these days , and while it ’s a unblushing filmdom - hogger it does at least make navigational sense . App support is wide - ranging , passport are n’t flakey , and it does n’t devastate too much of its time adjudicate to sell you content . Disney+is the only major app that is n’t the best reading of itself here – it goes withoutDolby Atmossupport .
Using the interface or trawl through the set - up menu can be done using either of the supplied remote control handset . As is usual these days , one is prissy to hold , positive in action at law and has just the headline control , while the other is nasty to hold , vague in natural action and has too many clitoris ( most of which are too belittled ) to cover every contingence .
representative control is uncommitted , via Google Assistant – there ’s a small electrical switch on one of the screen ’s side - panel to sour the incorporate mic on or off . It operate well , and integrating the A90 K into your broad Google Home system is easy .
Picture Quality
To have any chance of show what it can do , the XR-42A90 K ideally needs some native 4 K content with an HDR element to it . And with a Dolby Vision - aid Netflix watercourse of Metal Lordsincoming via Ethernet , what it can do sprain out to be quite a lot . The overall picture is of utterly realistic , convincing and life - like images .
A quite a little of this is thanks to the Sony ’s extraordinarily widely - ranging , nuanced and persuasive colour palette . As far as judging colour volume and saturation goes , the XR processor is a ace – color here are wide-ranging , nuanced , and vibrant without fix anywhere near overblown or aggressive . And it helps no end that the Sony is able to invest double with a deal of item , both broad and fine – so blending , grain and rule are also render gross expression .
As everyone expect from a enough OLED TV , shameful tones are equally accomplished . There ’s substantial depth when there postulate to be , detail in every circumstance , and outstanding shade fluctuation – so the none more black vesture that features a mountain in Metal Lordslooks solely life - like .
Elsewhere the Sony A90 K does mostly admirable work , too . characterization noise is essentially missing , edge - definition is swimmingly convincing , and there ’s great depth of discipline too . Motion is controlled with right authority , no matter if it ’s the made random movement - in - all - directions of a sport program or the at leisure slow pan of a Coen Brothers feature article .
And with a few mild ( and predictable ) caution , this gifted presentation carries over to upscaled 1080p content . The brilliantly balanced color palette is in grounds , on - projection screen movement is static , edge are crisp , and until it encounters wide - open guess of consistent sky or something like that , the Sony controls motion-picture show noise well too .
The gaming experience via aPS5is similarly telling . All the sonority , all the insight , all the authority of the movie demonstration is present and correct , response times ( while not class - precede ) are very respectable , and at no detail do the on - blind action ruminate how hard both the console and the TV are work .
There ’s really only one sphere where the A90 K is anything less than excellent – but it ’s pregnant . OLED TVs have always suffered ( comparatively speaking ) from a lack of outright cleverness , and when a CRT screen is as compact as this one the pixel density makes achieving real brightness even more difficult .
And sure as shooting enough , the Sony just is n’t that bright a watch . Even with Dolby Vision Bright pick out when watching Metal Lords , the lighting looks soft and there ’s a distinct lack of ‘ pop ’ from bright livid sphere . The white tones the A90 K can generate are just as subtle and wide-ranging as the rest of its colours , but they ’re short of power . And there ’s a knock - on effect : the Sony ’s line are convincing as far as they go , but they do n’t go as far as they might .
Sound Quality
Sound is accept care of using the audio organisation Sony ’s been perfecting on its OLED tv set for a while now . Here , an actuator excites the screen to the degree it act as a verbaliser , and there ’s a small woofer chirrup out from the rear instrument panel to give some low - frequency body . It ’s been pretty effective for Sony in the past tense , and it helps the A90 kibibyte look unclouded and minimum too .
The individual nature of the Sony ’s audio frequency organization think it projects well through the midrange , cause dialog discrete and coherent . Because the screen is delivering sound , there ’s real 1 of presentment , and even a little mite of sound go forth from specific areas of the screen .
But despite the financial backing of the little woofer , the Sony A90 K lacks low - conclusion mien and is distinctly short of punch . There ’s a hint of edginess at the top close , too – and the more you increase bulk , the less of a tinge and the more of a trait it becomes .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
Finally , the benefit of organic light-emitting diode can be yours no matter the size of your viewing space .
The want of unlimited smartness here means a dumb showing room is pretty much crucial .
Final Thoughts
The merit of the Sony XR-42A90 K are obvious , and they ’re all about bringing OLED covert technology to a panel size that has antecedently been considered unfeasible . Certainly it has the sort of overall picture show fidelity that makes every sentry a delicacy . But watching has to take place with the curtains pull , because of the screen ’s want of brightness – and it will only go on at all if you ’re disposed to spend what is an undeniable premium .
Trusted Score
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FAQs
While the Sony A90 K supports Dolby Vision HDR , the TV does not have a specific Dolby Vision Game mode
Test Data
Full Specs
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