Sony's new 115-inch Bravia 9 Mark II TV delivers unprecedented color accuracy and brightness, offering a near-reference-grade home theater experience with true RGB backlighting, but suffers from high input lag and mediocre gaming performance.
Summary
The Sony Bravia 9 Mark II, a massive 115-inch TV retailing for $31,000, is built around Sony's 'true RGB' technology, using independent red, green, and blue diodes, with no color filters. In practice, this yields exceptional color accuracy: lab tests confirm 91.2% BT2020 coverage in professional HDR mode and a stunning 92.3% in vivid mode. Peak brightness hits nearly 4700 nits, exceeding the 1,000-nit standard for most HDR films and matching future-oriented 4,000+ nit HDR masters. However, it lacks the advanced anti-glare coating found on smaller Bravia models and omits features like the innovative cable-hiding stand present in the lineup's lower sizes.
Video IO includes four HDMI (two supporting 4K 120 Hz), LAN, USB, digital audio out, optical, RS232C, IR input, and cable/antenna support. Variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode are present, but HDR10+ is not supported—only Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR10. Despite a robust integrated speaker array (eight speakers), reviewers stress that for this price, buyers should invest in dedicated audio hardware.
Real-world performance distinction comes from how Sony manages color blooming: the display compensates at the LCD panel level to mitigate color blooming and halos, greatly outperforming comparable displays with higher dimming zone counts. Despite having fewer local dimming zones, the Bravia's processing and precise control virtually eradicate visible blooming in most scenes. Color rendition is described as the best the reviewers have ever witnessed, without the harsh oversaturation common in 'vivid' TV modes, enabling color-sensitive professional work (measured average delta 2000 of 1.8 in SDR, 7.79 in HDR).
However, gaming exposes major shortcomings: input latency is extremely high, even in game mode (166 ms at 60 Hz, 141 ms at 120 Hz), making it unsuitable for fast-paced gaming. Pixel response times are also subpar and there's no support for Backlight Frame Insertion (BFI) and VRR simultaneously. The built-in sound is 'passable,' but again, external audio hardware is recommended. Finally, Sony's adoption of the CIE 172 color calibration standard marks a departure from the industry's 1931 practice, potentially presaging broader changes.
Outline
Introduction and Features
Sony's 115-inch Bravia 9 Mark II TV arrives, boasting true RGB tech, 90%+ BT2020 color, 4,000+ nits brightness, and professional-grade aspirations.
Unboxing and Build
The packaging is unfinished as this is a loan unit; unboxing reveals the sheer size and specialized handles for safe movement.
Specs and HDR Standards
4K, 120Hz refresh rate, supports VRR, ALLM, Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10 (but not HDR10+); has to choose between current HDR ecosystems.
Physical Setup and IO
Setup involves attaching handles and feet; lacks advanced anti-glare coating and cool cable-hiding stand found in smaller models; overview of all input/output options.
Installation and Remote
Heavy lifting required; notes on included illuminated remote and dedicated Sony Pictures Core button; lacks AI features.
True RGB and Color Lab Results
True RGB explained; lab tests show 92.3% BT2020 in vivid, 91.2% in pro HDR; nearly 4700 nits brightness—industry-leading performance.
Room Setup and Viewing Experience
Discusses home installation scenarios, lack of anti-glare less important in dark theater setups, and user setup wizard experience.
Menu Complexity and Calibration
Sony's detailed menus offer deep calibration options; unique color backlight control always stays RGB, unlike competitors that switch to white.
Brightness, Contrast, and Content Demo
Content tests (e.g. Speed Racer) show outstanding color and contrast; vivid mode judged garish, professional mode is strikingly natural and accurate.
Blooming, Dimming, and Haloing Tests
Despite fewer dimming zones, Sony's processing eliminates most halos common in competitors; engineers precise pixel-level compensation.
Gaming Performance Issues
High input lag (166 ms at 60 Hz/141 ms at 120 Hz) and slow response times make gaming poor; can't use BFI and VRR together.
Color Accuracy and Calibration Standards
Delta E measurements indicate reference-level accuracy; Sony is transitioning to CIE 172 rather than 1931 for calibration, hinting at industry evolution.
Sound Quality and Final Thoughts
TV speakers are 'passable' but unworthy for a $31k display; recommendation to invest in separate sound setup; closing commentary.
[00:00] Sony sent it. In here is one of their newest Bravia TVs featuring their true RGB technology. I knew this was coming because I first checked it out a couple of months ago, but I had no idea they were sending one this big. Meet the 115in Bravia 9 Mark II. An absolute unit of a display that boasts over 90% of the BT2020 color space. manages well over 4,000 nits of peak brightness and offers a near zero compromised experience [music] on image contrast and viewing angles. It costs $31,000, but if everything Sony told me at the
[00:45] announcement in Japan holds true, this is as close to it gets to having a professional-grade mastering monitor in your home. Except it's over 10 times the surface area. I cannot wait to see this thing in action. Me either. You've been talking it up so much. Oh my god. I've been dying to see this thing in person. Just like I've been dying to tell you about our sponsor, >> which is technically boot.dev, but really that's a way to sponsor yourself by giving yourself the ability to code and thus the power to accomplish
[01:15] wondrous feats and quite possibly change your life. Also, it's fun, which seems like cheating, but who cares? LT is the code you could use. 25% off. Link below. FYI. It's a good thing our home theater room set is operational because this is a loaner unit, meaning we need to be a little bit more conscientious about the unboxing experience than we normally would be. >> Yeah, the packaging is definitely not final at all. [laughter] >> Yeah, I was wondering about that. This does feel a little female peacocky.
[01:46] >> No one's going to get that joke except for like a few bird enthusiasts. >> Okay, well, not that >> second box. Imagine unboxing this like in a small apartment. >> I don't think anyone in a small apartment's buying a 115in TV. >> Yeah. Well, tell that to Adam who won the 116 UX [laughter] and then had to unbox it at his home. I guess now is a good time to do some speeds and feeds. So, it's 4K as you'd expect. 120 Hz, which is not that competitive with other very high-end TVs, some of which are doing 144 or even 165, but the way that
[02:25] Sony explained it was it pairs perfectly with PlayStation. Yeah. To which I kind of went right, but there's things other than PlayStation that ex anyway. It supports variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode, though, and supports Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR10, but not HDR10 plus. So, just like with Samsung and LG, you kind of have to choose which current generation HDR standard you are going to buy into. >> Dolby Vision is better, but I mean not by a lot. We looked at that what 2 3 years ago and they were like clearly the
[02:59] slightly better version, but whatever. Pick the TV, not the technology. The bigger issue for me is just that not every piece of content is available in both formats. So, I'm not always given the choice. I want my display to support all of them. I don't know about you guys, but my municipality limits how much garbage I can put in my like this would seriously this would take me like 3 months to get rid of already. I'm seeing a clue as to how you're supposed to handle this thing. They've taken >> the same approach as TCL where you get
[03:30] >> there's four of them. Four handles that screw into the sides. There we go. Uh that's interesting. A little too low for the foam. Yeah. Well, you know, maybe we just lift it up with those ones. And then we get Reese to really quickly pop the other handles [laughter] in. >> Okay, here's what you do. And then this comes out. >> Are you sure? >> Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm sure. And then it's just supported by the middle one. There we go. >> Can I have a butt plug, please? >> It's way down there. >> Really? You're going to throw that in?
[04:01] >> You got it. >> I mean, the good thing is he wouldn't have scratched the next generation anti-glare coating because the 115in model doesn't get it. >> [laughter] >> All the rest of the members of this family do get this like wild anti-glare coating. We're going to be checking it out on the 65-in model over on short circuit sometime in the next little bit here. What else can I say about it before we put on the stand? Uh, it supports Wi-Fi 6E. It's got like a bunch of speakers in it. So, eight speakers,
[04:31] two tweeters, two subwoofers. Apparently, the sound is supposed to be really great. Um, just going to reiterate again for the eenth time. If you are buying a $31,000 TV, do not use the speakers that are on board it. I don't care how good they are. Oh yeah, we can put the feet on like this. Oh, that's so smart. >> That's true. >> Speaking of the feet, that's a third feature that is not present on the 115in model. The smaller ones have this cool like real life cloaking device stand that bends the light so you can run
[05:05] cables behind it and then you look at it and you like can't see them. It's kind of cool. >> It's lenticular. >> Lenticular. Oh, hey Reese. Do you have an LT screwdriver? Oh, yeah. >> Bring one. Yes. >> Thank you, sir. >> ltstore.com. We have so many different colors and styles. Now, while we're down here, built-in power supply. So, here's our AC in. And I just was going to look at the IO. Uh, there we are. Four HDMI ins. Two of them do up to 4K 120 Hz. One with ERC. We've got LAN. It doesn't say if it's 1000 or gigabit.
[05:41] I would really hope at this price it would be gigabit, but smart TVs, man. >> There's no way it is. >> What else we got? Couple USB ports, digital audio out, and optical. This is a cool feature. It allows you to use the speakers on your TV as the center channel in your surround sound setup. It can be pretty nice for a clean installation, even if I would still recommend a dedicated center channel. Also, RS232C support as well as IR in if you want to use like an external IR blaster as well as a cable antenna port.
[06:12] And that's it. That's your IO. Really clean back. Okay, Henry, you're going to want to get this cuz if we drop it, then this is where it's going to happen. We're being realistic. It's about a threeperson job to move these TVs around. >> The gap is so big this way. >> I know. One, two, THREE. [screaming and groaning] >> OH, SORRY, REE. >> Let's go. >> Okay, >> we're putting it on. >> Yeah. Oh, yeah. >> Okay, >> go ahead. You can put that foot on. >> Okay. >> We probably should have attached the power cord [laughter] first.
[06:44] It's in the bag. Maybe it's a fourperson lift and that's why they've got [laughter] >> I I think it's fine that you break your back moving the thing around because realistically once you have this TV >> never move. >> Do you ever get up again? >> Okay. Oo, illuminated remote. You would think I could take that for granted, you know, with such an expensive product. I don't. I've seen very expensive projectors and TVs that do not include a decent remote. Oh, wow. Big dedicated Sony Pictures Core button. Oh, thank
[07:16] you, Sony. Along with all the sponsored crunchy roll, though. Got YouTube on there. >> Is there an AI button? >> No AI button. >> That's cool. The mic button on the C6H is an AI button. That's great. >> Nice. I like this free TV button, though. >> Yo, I want free TV. >> That's the first thing I'm going to click. I guess we haven't really talked about true RGB yet. Sony is calling their tech true RGB because they're using three independently controlled diodes, red, green, and blue. Pure color, no filter. In theory, this
[07:49] results in massive coverage of the BT2020 color gamut. And in practice, it [music] works. The lab measured a whopping 92.3% in vivid mode. And [music] like, okay, yeah, sure, gross. Vivid mode, who cares? But in professional HDR, the mode that Sony recommends that you use for a more accurate picture, it was still 91.2%. Absolutely incredible. Part of how Sony achieves their next level color gamut coverage comes from just how bright they can make every color channel. We're not capping out the like 10,000 nits that
[08:25] BT2020 is rated for, but we still did measure almost 4700 nits peak brightness in that accurate professional HDR mode. That is well past the typical,000 nits that many HDR films are mastered for. Although, there are some that were mastered with future displays in mind for up to 4,000 nits and [music] beyond. So, why don't we start with checking out a couple? Your seat's not going to sit in itself. The thing that I can't believe right now is how much of a thing this became. How many people have $30,000 to spend on a
[08:58] TV? Like, how many competitors do we need in this in this niche? Here we go. You know, you never get over it. >> What? How big that TV is? >> It's so big. I'm expecting this to be a whole new brand new experience. >> Oh, yeah. With the fancy true RGB. I'm already a little disappointed that this doesn't have the anti-glare coating that I saw at the unveiling. >> I know, but like it's >> I know it's bad, but like [laughter] you're going to be This is going to be in a massive theater room with the lights off. Those spotlights. We're
[09:30] filming stuff. It's fine. >> That's probably living room. There is no theater room option. >> I looked through the Ubie. There's a TV. >> You'd think that on a TV this big shed >> there might [laughter] >> Yeah. I'M GOING TO PUT THIS 115 IN $31,000 TV in my shed. >> It's a theater shed. >> It acts as a wall of the shed. >> Is this another setup wizard? >> Yes. Um, but this is for the actual TV, not your Google account. So, this is the one that actually matters. >> So much for Let's watch some content.
[10:03] >> Wait, why am I doing why am I saving off? I don't know. Do this again. I don't know. I I don't know. >> So, this is the optimization thing. >> Oh, yeah. Okay. But this I would I would >> Oh, yeah. Tabletop stand for sure. >> And then it can do this if we want to. Oh, remote control is not connected via Bluetooth. >> Well, that sounds like a U problem. >> Yeah. Why didn't it just do that out of the box? >> I mean, that could be a quirk of this having been set up and something by a previous reviewer. I don't know.
[10:28] >> Maybe we've reset it a few times. >> Oh my god. What is this? How do I get rid of this? >> Create your Just hit next. >> Oh, for crying a lot. Dark patterns, man. >> Yep. No. >> Okay, next. This [laughter] is We're almost there. Start using the TV. >> Yes. Just Just start it. Why do you got TO PUT OH MY GOD. [laughter] >> Set up your screen. >> Hey, is that alive? >> That's cool though. >> Dude, I can't wait to see this thing. I got to turn off motion smoothing though. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It is absolutely on.
[11:00] >> Okay. >> Um Okay. So, here's one thing. >> Oh my god. >> The settings menus. >> No way. >> There's too many. >> Wait. >> Yeah. Look at this. >> Finished setup. >> Yeah. I'm still not done. >> Hell yeah. >> This is something that I feel like every TV manufacturer could learn from. When I go to change something and it says, "Hey, you can't do that right now because of X." I should immediately be presented with the option to change that thing without having to go find it. >> So, we're on four for SDR content.
[11:33] It can also if you go down it can do tone mapping for SDR content as well to do like a fake HDR kind of thing. >> Uhhuh. >> Um so even SDR content gets very bright if you wanted to. I think it's here. Yeah, you can change and choose just a color backlight or a white one if you want. Um >> interesting. >> I think the idea behind that is for if you want to you're mastering something and you want to check what it's going to look like on a normal backlight, >> right? >> Swap to white. Take a look. Nothing's
[12:00] too screwed up. Okay, back to color. >> Fun fact, by the way, Sony showed us this in action, but some of the other RGB back lit TVs out there actually only turn on the RGB backlight in certain situations. >> Oh, really? >> And will fall back to white in some more challenging scenarios. >> So, uh I thought that was pretty interesting. They claim that theirs never does that and >> seems correct. According to their demo in the lab, it appears that it always uses the RGB backlighting. This is a very complicated menu.
[12:34] >> Uh yeah, but I mean to be fair, this is like a Bravia usually has all of the um color calibration stuff in it. So you can actually calibrate it, whereas a lot of other TVs you can't even really change the colors all that much or you can't change like individual RGB [music] values all that much. >> Reality creation. Just tell me what stuff is. [laughter] is reality. I'm in reality already. I don't need to create. >> Detail preferred. Sure. I'm okay with a little bit of noise reduction. >> Really [music] deep menu. I feel like I
[13:05] could spend a week just playing around with all of this. >> Let's try to start. >> I think Speed Racer because one, it's mastered to 4,000 nits, which this does more than that. >> Y >> and two, very colorful. >> Okay. >> Very colorful movie. Haven't actually seen it. >> Um >> I heard it's really good. >> It's >> Oh, >> it's not good. I like it because I'm a big Speedraer fan. Like it was I love that show as a kid. >> Um it's a fun movie to watch. >> Got it. [laughter] >> Going to say it's a good movie to watch.
[13:35] >> This is what we want. Yes. Okay. >> Okay. >> Uh brightness max. Sure. But then if we go to Keep going, >> keep going. Uh contrast enhancer and the Yeah. So this can go up to high if you really want. And then uh >> that's too much. [laughter] >> Okay. >> I don't even want that. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> And then peak luminance is set to high. Okay, that's good. All right. So, we're good. >> I think I think we're good. I was a little worried, but I think we're good. >> All right. [music] This is ludicrous.
[14:04] >> Oh, yeah. >> I have never seen color like this. >> No, me either. It's >> But it's not Best Buy show floor vivid mode either. >> We'll show you vivid mode later. It's awful. [laughter] What? >> Dude, you could use this TV as a camera flash. That's insane. >> Oh, yeah. >> Wow. >> But the color >> like that red >> I know. It's so red and all the greens are so vibrant. >> And what's really impressive too is there's no there's no carryover. >> Oh yeah. like from the car into his skin or like like I'm really looking for the
[14:47] same kind of artifacting that we saw in 1917 on the high sense and Sony assured me it wouldn't be a thing because they actually compensate with the color of the front LCD layer for the color of backlight that's coming through it pretty much pixel by pixel. >> That's what they're doing. >> That's how that's how they're doing. So, so where where you would have like a, you know, a green backlight and it would cause green blooming. >> Sony is compensating with the LCD panel. >> It's amazing. >> It beats it. It just it wins. But as if
[15:24] I was gaming, >> we'll get to that [clears throat] later. >> We'll get to it later. >> It's complicated. >> YEAH. [laughter]
[15:36] >> OKAY. YES, Kevin Spacy absolutely sucks and he is a horrible person. Anyway, The Usual Suspects is an amazing movie regardless and it was mastered to like I think around 10,000 nits or something. And there's one scene about 10 minutes in >> where they're being interrogated. [laughter] >> What the heck is that? >> I told you it can get brighter. So that's vivid mode, baby. [laughter] That is the most ass image quality that I think I have ever seen on anything ever. >> We measured it and I think we measured
[16:10] like a delta EITP of 200. Like it's awful. >> Oh, >> it's just like peeking and [laughter] >> I don't even know if it is. I think it can even almost handle it. >> Oh yeah, actually his forehead. You can see his wrinkles. >> It's disgusting. >> Okay, take it off vivid mode. Let's just see how bright we can make normal professional HDR. >> So, we just need the [laughter] >> Oh, and then, man, this is something you can't experience on a display that doesn't have this kind of brightness. That felt like walking out of a dark
[16:47] room into an overcast day. It really did. >> Oh, yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> What we're looking for here is Sony doesn't have a ton of backlight dimming zones. Composite. So, one of our concerns about this TV then is that they would have large halos, big blooms around bright objects against dark backgrounds. And this is something that both my TCL and the High Sense 115in class TVs have struggled with, even though they have so many more dimming zones. Watch it over his shoulder between him and the car.
[17:22] >> Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> An OLED wouldn't do that. >> You're right. It's But that's We're really splitting here. >> I know. I know. But I'm trying to find it. That's my job. >> And this was the really bad scene when just with just Arie there against the pure black. Uh we saw tons of haloing on the high sense, I believe. And this it's just it's not really there. >> I wouldn't have thought it possible to achieve this good of a result with that number of zones. >> I fully agree. I It's tough cuz like
[17:50] OLED is basically per pixel. So you're looking at like how 3 million zones. But the difference between per pixel and local dimming is not as big as you might think because of internal reflections in your eye. And you can actually you can you can play around with this a little bit too. Like you can walk up to a whoops, there goes my remote. You can walk up to a display and you go, "Okay, I see some haloing around it." And then if you actually just like take your finger and cover it, you can see some of
[18:14] it goes away. To its credit, plugging in a PC did flip it over into game mode for us automatically. But if you ever accidentally use the wrong mode, we found that the input latency on this thing was like 10 generations ago awful. >> 166 milliseconds at 60 Hz >> and 141 at 120. >> And that's just the input lag. Now it's time to talk about pixel response times. That is ass. And that's even in-game mode. We had trouble measuring it as well. Um, >> well, I can tell you that's like [snorts] freaking dude, that's like a 20th of a second.
[18:57] >> It's not great, but [music] go to the motion settings and turn that level of BFI on. >> Oh, >> wait. >> Okay, turn VRR off then. >> I can't use BFI to fix that clarity and variable refresh rate at the same time. >> Doesn't look like it. That's a huge yikes. [laughter] So bright. >> Look at the center yellow light. [laughter] >> And the the room's lit now. So like it still just looks crazy bright. >> Would you replace the TCL with this? >> 100%. No question. Immediately. >> I think >> this is a greater TV though. No
[19:40] question. >> And one of the things that makes it so great is Sony's legendary processing. We measured an average delta 2000 of just 1.8 in SDR. Like you could do color sensitive work on this thing. And even more impressive, an average delta EITP of just 7.79 in HDR. That is very good. And that's in spite of this one being an early unit without final calibration steps, which should be tuned to the CIE 172 standard. Quick side note, little technical here. Sorry, boring. Everyone else is still using CIE1931,
[20:17] so that's how we're still testing displays. But there is a strong argument for what Sony's doing, and [music] we will adapt if the rest of the industry follows them. There is one more thing. We totally forgot to listen to Crab Rave. They're pretty good. >> Oh yeah, they're really good, honestly. Just wait. And we didn't even tune it for the room.
[20:41] [music] And what volume? What volume level are you on right now? Like 20. >> I'm pretty low. [music] >> It's very passable. >> However, however, >> get a sub. >> You don't spend this kind of money for passable. Okay. You're already paying a significant premium for it to be a little bit better. >> You're spending $31,000. Spend another two grand. >> Yeah. >> At least. >> Yeah. And while you're spending money, why don't you spend some money with our sponsor? Hey, you know that feeling you've been feeling that kind of feels
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