Sony BRAVIA 9 II 65" RGB TV Review
For the past few years, Mini-LED TVs have largely followed the same formula. Manufacturers would focus on increasing brightness, adding more dimming zones, and refining local dimming algorithms in an effort to improve contrast and HDR performance. This year, though, the topic has shifted. Everywhere you look, manufacturers are talking about RGB LED technology, and for the first time in quite a while, it feels like we're seeing a different approach to LCD TV design.
Sony is one of the companies leading the charge with its new True RGB lineup, which consists of the BRAVIA 7 II and the flagship BRAVIA 9 II. Both models are built around Sony's new RGB LED backlight system, but it's the BRAVIA 9 II that sits at the top of the lineup and serves as Sony's flagship for what the technology is capable of.
Photo Credit: Sony
For those unfamiliar with the technology, RGB LED TVs replace the traditional white or blue LED backlight with individually controlled red, green, and blue LEDs. Instead of producing white light and filtering it into color afterward, the display is generating those colors directly at the backlight level itself. Sony takes things a step further by individually controlling those RGB LEDs, allowing for more precise management of both color and luminance across the screen.
The advantage is fairly easy to understand. Traditional LCD TVs rely heavily on color filters, and those filters inevitably reduce efficiency because some of the light is lost in the process. By generating red, green, and blue light directly from the backlight, RGB displays have the potential to produce brighter colors, greater color volume, and higher overall brightness without washing out the image.
That's one of the reasons so many manufacturers are suddenly pursuing RGB Mini-LED technology right now. It allows them to maintain more saturated colors at brightness levels that conventional LCD TVs have traditionally struggled to achieve.
Of course, every manufacturer seems to have its own interpretation of RGB technology. We've already seen several different approaches announced this year, each with slightly different implementations. What's interesting is that while RGB Mini-LED feels like the industry's newest buzzword, Sony has actually been down this road before. The company was the first to bring an RGB-backlit LCD TV to market back in 2005. Two decades later, Sony is revisiting the concept with modern Mini-LED technology and significantly more processing power behind it.
The BRAVIA 9 II may also be one of the most anticipated TVs I've had in for review in quite some time. Sony first showed the TV to a small group of journalists at its Tokyo headquarters well over a year ago, followed by another demo event earlier this year. Since then, there's been plenty of discussion about RGB LED technology and whether it represents the next step for LCD TVs. Demo rooms at events are one thing, but as any reviewer knows, the real test begins once a TV leaves the demo floor and lands in an actual viewing environment.
The BRAVIA 9 II is available in four screen sizes, though somewhat surprisingly, Sony isn't offering a 98-inch model. If you're specifically looking for a 98-inch Sony RGB TV, you'll need to step down to the BRAVIA 7 II. The BRAVIA 9 II lineup instead jumps from 85 inches all the way to the massive 115-inch model.
Features
Of course, those are the advantages that RGB Mini-LED technology promises as a whole. The bigger question is what makes Sony's implementation different from the growing number of RGB displays we're starting to see enter the market.
The answer starts with the backlight itself. Rather than developing an entirely new system from scratch, Sony has taken the backlight architecture that debuted in last year's BRAVIA 9 and evolved it into what the company calls RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro. In many ways, the BRAVIA 9 II is built on the foundation of the original BRAVIA 9, combining Sony's advanced local dimming technology with individually controlled red, green, and blue LEDs. There's also X-Wide Angle Pro that keeps color and contrast consistent from virtually any seat in the room.
Sony hasn't released an official peak brightness figure, but the company has said the BRAVIA 9 II is capable of approaching 4,000 nits in HDR content (we'll test this later). Managing all of that hardware is Sony's latest Cognitive Processor XR. As with previous Sony TVs, the processor is responsible for everything from upscaling and motion handling to HDR tone mapping and local dimming. Sony's philosophy has always been that processing matters just as much as panel technology, and the company continues to lean heavily into that.
HDR support remains largely unchanged from previous generations. Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG are all supported, along with Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced certification. As has been the case for several years now, HDR10+ remains absent from Sony's lineup.
Design
The BRAVIA 9 II is a striking-looking TV, but the biggest design change isn't actually the chassis itself. It's the screen. Sony has introduced what it calls Immersive Black Screen Pro, a new screen treatment designed to reduce reflections from windows and lighting while maintaining its black levels. Anti-reflection coatings have become more common across flagships over the last couple of years.
I know matte versus glossy screens tend to be a divisive topic among us enthusiasts. Some still prefer the perceived contrast and punch of a glossy panel, particularly in a completely dark room. Personally, though, I think these newer matte-style coatings have come a long way compared to earlier generations. During my testing, the BRAVIA 9 II spent a considerable amount of time in a bright living room with open window shades, and that's where the coating really proved its worth. Reflections were dramatically reduced compared to a traditional glossy panel, and more importantly, I didn't see the black levels wash out the way some earlier anti-glare implementations tended to do. The off-axis performance was also impressive. Colors and contrast held up well as I moved around the room.
Beyond the screen itself, Sony continues its minimalist design. The bezels along the top and sides are extremely thin, while the bottom bezel is only slightly larger. The overall effect is a very clean, premium-looking display. The TV also appears to float above its stand thanks to Sony's new Mirage Stand design. Sony uses a unique structure that creates a floating effect from the viewing position while simultaneously hiding the cables routed behind it. Marketing terms aside, it actually works surprisingly well.
Speaking of the stand…as a reviewer, I test a lot of TVs each year. And I mean a lot of TVs. This might be the best stand I've seen on a TV to date. Not only does it look great, but it's easy to assemble, feels sturdy once installed, and manages to hide the cables running behind it. The one tradeoff is that, unlike some of Sony's previous designs, there isn't any height adjustment. The stand is positioned to leave enough clearance for a soundbar underneath the TV, which most buyers will probably appreciate, but if you're not using a soundbar, there's no option to lower the panel closer to your furniture.
Around the back, Sony includes four HDMI inputs, though only two support full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, with one of those doubling as the eARC connection. I actually asked Sony about this because we've seen several manufacturers move to four HDMI 2.1 ports on their flagship TVs this year. According to Sony, the BRAVIA 9 II continues to utilize the MediaTek Pentonic platform that was selected during the TV's lengthy development cycle, and that chipset natively supports two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs.
Other connections include two USB ports, Ethernet, optical audio output, RS-232C, RF antenna/cable input, and a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner for next-generation over-the-air broadcasts. There's also Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 on board.
Remote
As we saw with last year's BRAVIA 9 and BRAVIA 7, the BRAVIA 9 II uses Sony's updated eco-focused remote design, though there are a few changes this time around. The overall shape is a bit more square and slightly thicker than the previous version. The remote retains the same speckled finish with blue and green flecks created from recycled plastics. The remote is also backlit and automatically lights up when you pick it up, which comes in handy in a dark room.
Sony has also updated some of the shortcut buttons. Alongside the usual Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and YouTube buttons, you'll find a dedicated Crunchyroll button, which anime fans will probably appreciate. Sony Pictures Core button now sits at the top center of the remote. The remote also includes built-in voice control through Google Gemini . There's also a customizable button located on the lower right side of the remote that can be assigned to a favorite app or function.
One thing I really like is that the shortcut buttons can actually power on the TV and launch directly into the selected app. So if you press Netflix while the TV is off, it'll automatically turn on and take you straight into Netflix without requiring a trip through the home screen first. There's also a customizable button located on the lower right side of the remote that can be assigned to a favorite app or function. I personally mapped mine to YouTube TV, but it's one of those features that's nice to have since everyone tends to have that one app they use more than anything else.
Performance
I was genuinely curious about the performance of the BRAVIA 9 II, and I know a lot of you are as well. This is a TV that's been talked about and hyped for well over a year now. Sometimes that kind of buildup can work against a product because expectations become almost impossible to meet. In this case, Sony absolutely delivers.
A couple of months ago Sony and TCL announced their joint venture, bringing together their strengths to establish a new company named BRAVIA inc. BRAVIA Inc. plans to leverage Sony's high quality picture and sound technology, premium brand value, and operational expertise, alongside TCL's advanced display technology, global scale, manufacturing footprint, end to end cost efficiency, and vertically integrated supply chain capabilities.
As you can imagine, that sparked quite a bit of discussion here on the forums. Sony has spent decades building a reputation around picture quality, and there were understandably some concerns about what that news might mean for the future of the brand. I even saw some comments of people wondering if Sony would simply coast through the transition period. If anything, the BRAVIA 9 II feels like Sony doing the exact opposite. This TV feels like a statement piece and a reminder of why the company has earned that reputation in the first place.
Right out of the box, the BRAVIA 9 II looks excellent. Colors are balanced, grayscale tracking is solid, and unlike some TVs that require a lot of tweaking before they really shine, Sony gets most of the heavy lifting done before you even touch the settings menu. Professional mode ended up being the most accurate picture preset during my testing and is the mode I would recommend for the majority of content.
Sony includes seven picture modes across SDR and HDR content: Professional, Cinema, Vivid, Standard, Calm, IMAX Enhanced, and Photo. One of the BRAVIA 9 II's biggest strengths is how little effort it takes to get a great image. If you're the type of person who wants the most accurate picture possible, simply selecting Professional mode for SDR and HDR content or Dolby Vision Dark for Dolby Vision titles gets you most of the way there. If you're watching in a brighter room or simply prefer a little more punch from the image, Dolby Vision Bright and Cinema mode were generally my preferred alternatives.
Let's start with color performance because that's ultimately one of the main reasons TVs like this exist in the first place. As I mentioned earlier, RGB technology isn't just about brightness. It's about expanding color capability beyond what traditional Mini-LED displays have been able to achieve.
For a bit of context, Rec. 2020 is the color space defined for 4K and 8K HDR content, but most movies and shows today are still graded in the smaller DCI-P3 color space, which sits inside that larger Rec. 2020 container. On top of that, a lot of SDR content is still mastered in Rec. 709, which is even more limited. Because of that, most of what you're watching today isn't taking full advantage of what panels like this can do yet. There are a few exceptions, like The Matrix , Aquaman , and Inside Out , where you can see that extended color range comes into play, but for the most part, Rec. 2020 support right now is more about future-proofing than something that completely changes the look of every piece of content.
With that said, the BRAVIA 9 II still delivers excellent color performance in both SDR and HDR. I measured just over 91% Rec. 2020 coverage and 99.6% of P3. Of course, measurements only tell part of the story. What matters more is how those numbers translate into real content, and that's where the BRAVIA 9 II really shines.
Colors are vibrant without drifting into oversaturation, which is something Sony has historically done well. A great example is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse , particularly the "You're a Mistake!" scene. The flashes of purple and orange leap off the screen, but they never look exaggerated or artificially boosted. Even smaller details, like the colors within Miles' suit and Miguel's suit, retain their accuracy while still exhibiting a richness and depth that's difficult to ignore. On the opposite end of the spectrum, films with a more restrained color palette also benefit. Watching Batman V Superman , skin tones remained consistent from scene to scene.
One of the biggest questions surrounding RGB LED technology right now is color crosstalk. In simple terms, color crosstalk occurs when light from one RGB backlight zone slightly influences neighboring pixels that are supposed to display a different color. Because the red, green, and blue LEDs light up a group of pixels rather than individual pixels themselves, there can be situations where the dominant color in a zone slightly affects adjacent colors.
As an example, if most of the pixels within a zone are displaying a bright red object, the backlight will generate primarily red light for that area. The LCD layer and color filters then do the work of shaping that light into the final image. Under certain circumstances, particularly when bright colors sit next to lighter shades or white objects, a small amount of that color can occasionally spill into neighboring areas.
This was one of the first things I went looking for during my testing. Running the BRAVIA 9 II through various test patterns and torture tests, I was able to spot some minor examples of color crosstalk. In actual content, the story was very different. Outside of a few isolated scenes, I rarely noticed it. The most obvious example during my testing wasn't even in a movie or TV show. It was actually within some of the apps on the home screen, where I could occasionally spot a slight color difference around certain icons, such as the Prime Video app. Movies and games were far less revealing. Across the multiple scenes I watched, color crosstalk was largely a non-issue, and certainly nowhere near the level some people may have feared when RGB Mini-LED technology was first announced.
Sony also gives users an interesting option within the menu system. When using Professional mode, you can switch the backlight from operating in full RGB mode to a traditional white-light mode. Doing so effectively eliminates the small amount of color bleed I observed. The tradeoff, however, is that you're also giving up one of the biggest advantages of the TV. In my measurements, BT.2020 coverage dropped from 91% down to around 78.6%. Personally, I left the TV in its full RGB mode throughout almost all of my testing. The occasional and very minor color bleed I observed was a small price to pay for the substantial increase in color volume and gamut coverage that the RGB backlight system provides.
Given how bright the original BRAVIA 9 was, it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the BRAVIA 9 II manages to push things even further. During my testing, I measured 4,250 nits on a 10% HDR window and just over 910 nits full-screen. Those are impressive numbers for a consumer display.
Of course, brightness measurements are only useful if they translate into actual content, and thankfully, they do. One of my favorite scenes for evaluating HDR impact is the Osaka Continental sequence in John Wick: Chapter 4 . As John fights his way through the hotel filled with neon lighting and illuminated artwork with brightly colored signage, the BRAVIA 9 II puts on quite a show. The reds and blues throughout the scene have a level of intensity that immediately grabs your attention, but what impressed me most was that the TV never seemed to run out of headroom. Highlights remained bright and vibrant without looking clipped.
With brightness levels this high, the obvious concern becomes black level performance. Historically, one of the biggest challenges for LCD TVs has been balancing brightness without introducing elevated blacks or excessive blooming. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be an issue here.
In fact, I'd argue the BRAVIA 9 II actually improves upon the already excellent black level performance of the original BRAVIA 9. Staying within the Osaka Continental sequence, there are several conversations between John Wick and Shimazu set against dark skies and dimly lit environments. Despite the tremendous light output available, blacks remain deep. Sony's local dimming and processing are doing some impressive work behind the scenes.
Blooming is also very well controlled. Letterbox bars stayed consistently black throughout my movie testing, and even when I intentionally pulled up some of the usual YouTube torture-test content designed to expose haloing artifacts, it took some effort to find anything significant. Is it completely bloom-free? No. OLED still maintains the advantage there. But in actual movies and TV shows, blooming was largely a non-issue, especially when viewed head-on. Dark scenes also revealed another advantage of Sony's RGB implementation. Compared to the original BRAVIA 9, the BRAVIA 9 II retains slightly more color information and color saturation in very dark content.
Off-axis performance was another pleasant surprise. Both color and brightness hold up better than I expected as you move around the room. That's one of the benefits of the RGB Mini-LED. The image remains surprisingly stable until you reach roughly the 40-degree mark. Beyond that, you'll begin to see some minor color shifting and a slight increase in blooming, but that's fairly typical behavior for a Mini-LED LCD.
One area where I think Sony may have made some improvements, even if the company doesn't specifically call it out, is upscaling. Now, I want to be clear that this is completely subjective. I've had the original BRAVIA 9 in my living room for the last couple of years, and while both TVs use Sony's Cognitive Processor XR, the BRAVIA 9 II seemed to do a slightly better job cleaning up lower-resolution content.
Part of that could also be the updated Reality Creation controls that Sony introduced a couple of years ago. Instead of the older sharpening slider that ran from 0 to 100, Sony now gives you a choice between "Detailed Preferred" and "Clearness Preferred," along with a separate intensity slider that ranges from 1 to 5. After some experimentation, I found that Detailed Preferred with an intensity setting of 2 delivered a result that was very close to the old manual setting of around 25, which is generally where I leave most Sony TVs.
I spent some time watching the 1080p version of Oblivion , and the processor handled it really well. The image was upscaled cleanly, with just enough added detail to Tom Cruise's white suit without pushing things into artificial sharpness or adding a layer of grain. Even lower-quality sources like 720p and 1080i broadcasts held up better than expected.
Audio
One thing I always recommend when buying a new TV is budgeting for a dedicated audio system. Whether that's a soundbar or a full surround setup, it's almost always going to outperform built-in TV speakers. The reality, though, is that most people not on this forum never make that upgrade.
The BRAVIA 9 II features an updated version of Sony's Acoustic Multi-Audio+ system, and the speaker layout has been redesigned compared to the original BRAVIA 9. The up-firing beam tweeters remain, but Sony has relocated the majority of the drivers higher up in the chassis rather than along the bottom edge of the screen. Sony has also expanded the system from 5.1.2 channels to 5.1.4 channels using signal processing/upscaling.
In testing, the biggest thing I noticed was how well the audio stayed attached to the action on screen. On some TVs, it's easy to tell exactly where the speakers are located. Here, voices and effects felt more connected to what was happening on the display itself. Watching Top Gun: Maverick , dialogue remained clear throughout, and flyover scenes had a surprisingly spacious quality for a built-in TV audio system. Dolby Atmos content also benefited from the additional height channels. Bass was decent, but let's be honest, who's expecting much bass from a TV speaker? As a result, action scenes sound balanced and distortion-free, though they don't have the low-end impact that even a modest soundbar and/or subwoofer can provide. I'd still recommend a dedicated audio system for a TV in this price range, but if you're relying on the built-in speakers, the BRAVIA 9 II delivers one of the better audio experiences I've heard from a television.
Final Thoughts
If it sounds like I've been enjoying the BRAVIA 9 II throughout this review, that's because I have. This is now the third RGB TV I've had the opportunity to test, and so far it's the best implementation I've seen. Sony has taken what made the original BRAVIA 9 such a good Mini-LED TV and pushed it further. It's brighter, color performance is better, black levels are improved, and perhaps most importantly, the BRAVIA 9 II doesn't feel like a first-generation panel. RGB Mini-LED may be the newest trend in the TV industry, but Sony's implementation feels polished. If you get a chance to see one in person, you'll understand what I mean.
Is it an "OLED killer"? No. But I also don't think that's really the right comparison these days. If you have a dedicated dark room and want perfect black levels above all else, OLED is still the way to go. On the other hand, if your TV is going into a living room or any space with ambient light, for that matter, the BRAVIA 9 II makes a very strong argument for RGB Mini-LED. It delivers the brightness needed to overcome challenging viewing environments while getting closer to OLED-level contrast and black performance than many LCD TVs we've seen before. The BRAVIA 9 II is an excellent TV with a beautiful picture.
Now, Sony, about that 98-inch version…
