I spent a week with Sony's $3,500 Bravia TV - the True RGB display is the real deal

pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent color accuracy
• Brighter picture than previous Bravia models
• Fantastic built-in audio

Cons

• Pricier than most premium TVs
• Not as many gaming features as competitors

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Sony is known for its high-quality TVs, and it should come as no surprise that the latest refresh to the Bravia lineup continues that tradition. In the wake of entering a tentative partnership with TCL to co-own the Bravia brand, Sony has put a pause on refining its more established OLED and Mini LED TVs in favor of adopting new Micro RGB display tech and AI integration - the former of which is a much more welcome development, from our tests.

Also: Sony Bravia 9 II vs. Bravia 9

The new Bravia 9 II uses Sony's version of the multi-colored display technology, branded as True RGB, to produce a picture that has the potential to outshine OLED in terms of color accuracy and contrast. But like all new technology, the Bravia 9 II comes with a hefty price for early adopters. Here's how it fared in our lab tests, and what you should know before buying one.

Updated and streamlined

While the previous Bravia 9 delivered a truly stunning picture, it was held back by the OLED panel's brightness limitations. The new Micro RGB panel has no such issues, offering an almost blindingly bright image in comparison. I was expecting to lose at least a little visual appeal in return, with certain colors looking oversaturated, but the Bravia 9 II handled all of my test videos beautifully. 

You still get a touch of oversaturation with warmer colors like bright reds, yellows, and oranges, but that's easily remedied by either switching to any of the seven picture modes or manually adjusting settings. I highly recommend turning off the Cinema Motion setting to prevent the TV from creating an uncanny-valley effect with older movies and shows.

Also: The best Sony TVs

You won't get any preset audio modes, but you can manually adjust multiple sound settings, such as speaker balance, dialogue boost, and treble/bass balance. You can also toggle on either Dolby or DTS audio processing for virtual surround sound and richer, fuller audio for streaming music. 

Taylor Clemons/ZDNET

There's even a fully customizable equalizer for audiophiles (and control freaks) to get the most out of the Bravia 9 II's built-in speakers. The speakers themselves sound very nice, even at very high volume, delivering clean dialogue and fairly balanced music. 

They also work with Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology, which uses tiny actuators behind the display to turn the entire screen into a speaker. This means you'll get object-tracking sound for a more immersive streaming and gaming experience.

Technicolor truly shines

I put the Bravia 9 II through a gauntlet of tests: Calman verification for color accuracy, contrast, and brightness, maximum refresh-rate limits, and a battery of real-world scenarios. Because if I've learned one thing in my nearly decade of testing TVs, it's that a screen can give you perfect scores, but that doesn't always translate to the picture actually having any visual appeal. 

The Wizard of Oz (1939) has one of my favorite visual transitions in film as Dorothy opens the door of her sepia-toned house and steps into the vibrant Technicolor world of Munchkin Land. 

Also: Own a Sony TV? 3 quick settings I'd change to meaningfully improve the picture quality

And on the Bravia 9 II, it's easy to appreciate how the film is chock-full of color and detail that even lifelong fans might have missed on lesser TVs. Cult of Chucky (2017) also let the Micro RGB panel stretch its legs, with the stark white of hospital interiors showing just how bright the screen can get without feeling overwhelming or losing detail. 

Gaming features need a level-up

The ZDNET lab has a PlayStation 5 set up for TV testing, giving me the perfect opportunity to see if Sony's much-touted "exclusive" VRR support for the console. One of my favorite games to use for testing is Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight because it is both a literal and visual cacophony and good at pushing VRR and reducing input lag. 

I had a very difficult time getting the TV and game to cooperate, with the on-screen notes constantly feeling just a touch out of sync with the music. I'm inclined to chalk most of this up to the fact that the in-game lag calibration menu isn't very precise. However, I would like to see a future firmware update that adds the ability to fine-tune audio/video sync for both gaming and streaming. 

Taylor Clemons/ZDNET

The Bravia 9 II also handled the stunning vistas and moody night scenes of Ghost of Tsushima with ease. From the bright, bold yellows and reds of birch and Japanese maple forests to green-grey grasslands and snowy mountains, every frame proved why Micro RGB could overtake OLED in the future.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Sony Bravia 9 II is a worthy successor to the flagship line, offering one of the most impressive pictures you can buy outside of an OLED TV. The Micro RGB panel delivers a brighter picture than the previous Bravia 9, without washing out details or oversaturating colors. 

Movie buffs can take advantage of the IMAX Enhanced picture mode for appreciating old classics and new blockbusters alike. The new display technology also delivers some of the most impressive color accuracy and contrast I've seen in a very long time, and, given enough time, Micro RGB may even topple OLED as the best choice for premium TVs. Sadly, all of this comes at a very steep price for early adopters.

Also: Your TV may be tracking your viewing data - here's how to stop it (beyond disabling ACR)

The Bravia 9 II starts at $3,500 for the 65-inch model, compared to $1,800 for the 65-inch Bravia 8 II and XR8B OLED TVs. The price only ratchets up from there, with the 85-inch version selling for $6,500. And if you've got your eye on the 115-inch model that's slated for release later this year, be prepared to take out a small loan of $31,000. 

Personally, I would give Sony a bit more time to work out the kinks in firmware updates and to become more experienced as a manufacturer before jumping on the bandwagon. But if you've got the cash to burn, you can get in on the ground floor for some truly impressive TV tech.