Set Up Your Sony TV For Best Picture Quality - ISF Calibrator Recommendations

In this video, we go through the basic picture adjustments, (with top ISF video calibrator Jason Dustal), EVERYONE should do when setting up their new Sony TV to ensure the best picture quality and operation for SD and HD video sources.
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - Jason Introduction
00:53 - Sony model in video
01:25 - First steps
01:36 - Firmware update
01:59 - HDMI setup
04:14 - Quick tip: check for Dolby Vision content
05:19 - Turn off energy saving mode
06:58 - Disabling ambient light sensor
08:19 - Get display out of torch/vivid picture mode
09:25 - Which picture mode is best?
10:53 - Disable motion enhancement settings (soap opera effect)
12:27 - SMPTE test pattern
12:45 - Murideo and FREE test patterns
13:34 - Some settings will need to be adjusted by eye
13:49 - Brightness adjustment
14:01 - Brightness setting on modern Sony displays
14:18 - Brightness settings on older Sony displays
14:36 - Brightness/backlight setting
16:10 - Contrast setting
17:06 - How to read contrast test pattern
17:41 - How to set contrast
18:38 - Don’t use contrast control to make picture brighter
18:51 - Brightness/backlight adjustments vs contrast adjustment
19:23 - Setting black level
19:50 - Why is black level important?
20:13 - How to read brightness pattern
21:20 - What is the gamma setting?
21:47 - Best calibrated with a light meter
22:47 - Setting gamma
23:20 - Advanced contrast enhancer setting
24:34 - How to adjust local dimming
26:02 - Peak luminance
26:40 - Peak luminance OFF for SDR content, ON for HDR content
27:19 - Calibrating multiple picture modes
27:45 - Color Temperature setting
28:14 - How to set color temp preset
28:51 - Expert setting and using a light meter
30:05 - Color menu
30:16 - Test patterns for verifying color
31:58 - Do you need to apply these settings to each picture mode?
32:15 - Sharpness control
32:33 - How to adjust sharpness
33:02 - Extra/other settings (reality creation, noise reduction, etc.)
33:40 - Overall process
👉 Use these Test patterns:
www.murideo.com/test-pattern-...
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SVS Prime 5.1 Speaker / Sub System: audioadvice.io/3JZJOt5
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#sony #hdtv #hometheater

[@jasonschubert6828]

This is far and away the best of these setup videos I have seen, at least for Sony TV owners!

[@Audioholics]

thank you, please share it with others if you are so inclined.

[@sandroschreiber1790]

yes, please do the OLED version of this!!!🙏

[@nunolemos9112]

My X90J still rocks since 2022 ✌🏻....great video and thanks

[@HT-Denmark]

The video i really needed. Changed a few things on my Sony tv and wow. I am very happy now. Thanks alot 🙏

[@bingdong8571]

Hey sweet! Just happened to be watching an older one of these. Im always adjusting my projector but never messed with my tv much. Amazing difference with this advice. Thanks!

[@alancox8466]

Thank you again for such quality content Gene.

[@scotsmanmike]

Thanks for this superb video guide I feel confident now to download & use the test patterns and use this video as my reference

[@trippw2560]

Thank you for the video. Great information

[@brucemoolenaar7944]

AWESOME THANK YOU!

[@chefrd381]

Thank you so much just bought the 75 and what a difference

[@AlexGtheDon]

I am going to watch this again when I get home as I just replaced my 2021 LG 75nano90 75" with the Bravia X90L 85'!!!

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

Why replace a 2021.tv it's like practically new still to me.

[@AlexGtheDon]

@@DavidMander-rs4uk because I am giving the 21 model to my sister and her husband. They recently had their TV go bad and her dad passed away about a month ago. He did not have his affairs in order, so sadly she and my brother in law had to fork out about 18k to bury him. They had talked with me about buying it (before he passed). But I felt that I could upgrade AND help them by giving it to them.

[@CarlosGomez-THX_1138]

Thank you!

[@madcrabber1113]

This is why I am still rocking my old 1080p tvs.

[@bigcat9606]

Really glad you made this video Gene. Was told by my seller that since my TV was a Bravia no calibration was needed.

[@bigcat9606]

@@happydogg312 anytime!!!

[@RickinICT]

He probably wasn't wrong. Caleb over at Digital Trends tested an X90L and found it to be so accurate out of the box, he called Sony and asked them if they'd done a hardware calibration on the set before sending it to him for review. They said they had not, but they had tested to make sure it was within their tolerance specs. Now, I guess the next question would be how many they had to test before they found that one, but I've seen several reviews which all remarked on how accurate the X90L they tested was out of the box. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqmUaYttoaZkebcsi=gJY3F9oQ7fSSDAUk&t=372

[@bigbro8439]

Thx for this video and heads up. Question: with a Somy Bravia oled is it harmless to set the brigthness to max?

[@greenhill26]

Gene, this is great, thank you! Would have loved it if he/you had touched on Sony's "Cinemotion" settings... And also his/your thoughts using Sony's built-in Netflix "calibration mode", which I think looks amazing.. On a side note, I had purchased a new Apple TV, to go along with my new 85X90L, However, I ended up taking it back due to how good the TV looked/processed without it... Anyway, love the channel Gene. THANKS.

[@michaelwozniak8860]

I wonder what Jason, or Gene think of the Spears&Munsill UHD calibration disc.

[@rexdeshon5274]

So, how do you use the usb stick after downloading the test patterns?

[@HeavyMetalSonicRM]

The light sensor is handy for people who don't like switching back and forth between settings for day and night. For example, the calibrator mentioned South Park being a blast in the eyes. Most TV shows are like this, so just add thr light sensor to the quick menu for an easy toggle.

[@markdupont6060]

A few weeks ago I upgraded to a Sony Bravia XR A90K Oled. With your help, it now looks like I expected it to. I am having a problem unrelated to PQ. I wasn't getting HDR from my Shield Pro because the Sony HDMI inputs weren't enabled. Now that the Shield and the Sony are setup properly, I'm still not getting HDR from the Shield. What could be the problem?

[@dhong002]

Thank you for letting me know why I couldn't get Dolby Vision on my A90J (the enhanced HDMI settings)!

[@michaelwozniak8860]

Definitely! But honestly, why only two of the four inputs and why can't they make the EARC a SEPARATE connection?!?

[@Linnjazzy-93]

I still can t get it ! I have a pink colour.

[@chrislukowski1825]

Where can we download the gamma step pattern? That's not included in the linked Murideo folder.

[@JumpRopeLift]

Hi Jason!

[@ericlarsen6209]

Do you have the settings for Sony oled

[@marksideman3537]

I very much appreciate this video. I just purchased the A95L and have been investigated as much as possible set-up and settings. In regard to picture settings I have come across videos and information on Sony Bravia Calman app. This seems like a pretty important option that I would greatly appreciate your commenting on. I was surprised this was not addressed at all. As this video is for the home user and that software is free and apparently not meant to be a "professional" calibration; more along the lines of this video, please let me know your thoughts. Thanks

[@garyausten5939]

Is it a reasonable idea to replace one 2023 TV with a different one with higher-level technology? I bought a 50" LG QNED80 in January 2023 that I 'd like to replace with something bigger and better. Looking at Sony and LG at present and would like to step up to OLED if feasible. The X90L in the video is much cheaper than what I had been considering. I don't, though, want something that will be obsolete in a sort time either spending so much (IMO) money.

[@johngoard8272]

Well really interesting but I have an older Sony Bravia Smart TV model KD-49X7000E and I do not have half of those Settings features and would lie to see a tutorial on setting up that particular model. I know it is quite old now but still in perfectly good working order except that I would like to know for example display features such as for the picture brightness, Gamma, light sensor (if it even has one that is), etc and why this model has suddenly lost all of the original apps a that it came with.

[@Richard-bq3ni]

Tint control have always been part of NTSC sets. Here in the PAL region tint control didn't exist on tv's. Now with modern tv's it has appeared in the menu but i never touch it. Adjusting tint never seems to improve anything.

[@ben23a31]

Great video. Can you do one on a Sony OLED?

[@Audioholics]

Maybe if this video gets some serious views. Right now, it doesn't seem to be resonating with our audience.

[@raccerx67]

@@Audioholics The need is out there and you have the audience, been subscribed here for a few years and thisis just something not expected. I am thrilled to see this additional type of content that is something that can improve our experiance and not cost us a ton of money. i hope it gets traction! thank you either way!

[@anthonyfiorella1]

I will apply these settings to my oled and get back

[@dandonna852]

My Sony CX-960 Blue ray/ DVD player broke down I want to put all 400 blue rays on NAS or hard drive(s) play them straight to Marantz Home theater using HDMI? So What kind of hardware and software best to use?

[@knuckles1006]

Connect your TV to your AVR with a High Speed HDMI Cable using the TV's HDMI 3 E-ARC to the AVR HDMI 3 E-ARC.

[@WilliamScott-ug9df]

I have a A90J.Unless professionally calibrated the best picture is custom picture mode with the default factory settings.

[@mustafahussain3972]

Awesome tv... I also have one, love watching movies on it specially uhd

[@optimuscrim]

I have a Sony A80J and use a PC with Nvidia RTX 3050 to a Denon X3800 using 120Hz refresh rate watching with things like Kodi. I love 120 Hz for movies because it is an even multiple of 24 fps whereas 60 isnt and i find it's a smoother picture. I find in the Enhanced settings of the Sony when I select VRR you lose certain feature like (i can't remember) Atmos or HDR, and when you choose Dolby Vision it limits the TV to 60 Hz, at least from the Windows side. For the PC I use the simple Enhanced for 4K mode that enables all the film goodies we are looking for, minus Dolby Vision. To watch DV from a stream or hard drive i use something like Kodi that can be installed on the smart tv side and use EARC out to the Denon. FWIW Kodi 21 came out a few days ago and i think it has native Dolby Vision support now. This is how i have it set up, just thought i'd share.

[@SwirlingDragonMist]

Props to Sony for calling things by their name

[@juanjosesanchezbuenaventur877]

Please oled Sony 🙏🏻…

[@Squishmallows24]

I have the Sony a80j and there’s 2 things that kinda bother me. On my other tv, the lg c2 the blacks are much deeper while the Sony has a more grayish black. The second thing is the oled stutter when watching 24/30fps content. Setting motion flow to 1 helps but then you get some soap opera effect which is just ugly.

[@knuckles1006]

I have a 77" A80J. Set picture mode to Custom and search on KZbin for Best Picture Settings For SONY A80J. I use KEEP IT Classy SETTINGS for mine.

[@kaneda7katsuragi]

Always looking for ways to make my x95k better. Thanks!

[@Z4d0k]

Motionflow should be set to Custom, 2 smoothness and clearness 0, on an OLED in my experience. I can't stand low frame-rate on OLED!

[@lawrence09151]

I’m a simple guy. I see rippling Gene, I click. No Sony tv ownership needed.

[@danemoreno88]

Sony really messed up not having the ports be able to output Dolby vision and vrr at the same time every other tv can edit the guy say who cares umm anyone using a avr and wants one cable to the tv

[@kwinders]

Not every other TV can do both at the same, many can't. It had to do with the chipset, not Sony specific. I bought the X900H, which has a rebooting issue that Sony couldn't fix, so they warranty replaced it with a X90K. I have the limitation and yes it bums me out but not a deal breaker. I have my Marantz SR-8015 connected to HDMI 3 with the eARC and my Xbox Series X to HDMI 4 with VRR, I use headsets with gaming so not a big deal and if I choose to use it for a disc player or want the game sound on the speakers, the eARC takes care of that without loss.

[@danemoreno88]

@@kwinders the point was for the price of Sony TVs it should be able too my old Vizio oled could and also could do every hdr format as well and it was a cheaper brand and oled than my current Sony I’m glad you found a work around that doesn’t bother you but for me it’s un acceptable. But it doesn’t matter for me anyways I sold my ps5 and put the Sony in the bedroom and got a ultra short throw projector for the living room

[@Barleyleg]

Exactly. It was such a disappointment when they added VRR to my x90j, only to find out it’s one or the other (DV), and only via ONE port. But that’s Sony these days - just can’t do anything 100%. I want to be able to use the features I paid for on my receiver. Therefore, a Sony will not even be considered for my next TV.

[@absolutium]

What do you want DV for with VRR? To increase latency a little bit while watching the same HDR image?

[@danemoreno88]

@@absolutium because I have everything hooked up to my avr and one cable going to the tv with a 4k blu ray player and ps5 dv for movies and vrr enabled for games which you cannot do on a single port which is un acceptable

[@JohnConboy1]

Not sure why this guy is dropping the sharpness setting to min when Sony recommend a setting of 50 ( no added sharpness )

[@Audioholics]

Watch the video

[@JohnConboy1]

@@Audioholics I did. Sharpness set to minimum is incorrect. I've had my last 3 Sony Bravia's professionally calibrated and they were all set to 50 ( no added sharpness)

[@CoveringOfGod]

Yeah 50 is no sharpness or smoothing added, 0-49 adds smoothing. I think it's silly Sony still labels the neutral setting as 50 after all these years.

[@JohnConboy1]

@@CoveringOfGod The sharpness setting adds no smoothing whatsoever. That is a completely different setting found under 'motion'.

[@CoveringOfGod]

@@JohnConboy1 how would you word it, softening, blurring?

[@chebrubin]

This is precisely how to make a TV dim. Joe Kane is from 1080p era. Look at what Standard mode on a QD OLED S95C 77" can do with color volume and NITs compared to Sony. DSP cant make pop.

[@AwinashGuptar]

It's not about more brightness and more color volume. It's about a picture that's true to the source.

[@chebrubin]

@@AwinashGuptar True to dim and dull grey scale. The whole Joe Kane and Sony pre 2024 4k NITs tv is garbage.

[@Britishbandogge]

Audioholics and videoholics shouldn't hang out together. It makes recovery much harder.

[@davidt8438]

What an incredible waste of our money, these energy saving modes that only a couple people in the green peace group will want to use. They all hamper performance and every single video and your own brother in law tells you to turn them off. They could eliminate them and pass the cost savings to the consumer. If I want to save some energy I’ll unplug my new tv and let it sit without use.

[@SwirlingDragonMist]

I find it valuable, if I was a business using the display all day. If I had a tight month and needed to trim back on bills I would appreciate a mode that would give me the best it can within the curve of diminishing returns relative to power consumption. If I was tripping breakers with tube gear and a gaming pc I would definitely appreciate all my electronics having an eco mode that I could use to try to reduce the power draw, or if was in a space that kept getting really hot from the electronics, the discomfort of the heat may be a worthwhile exchange for screen brightness. I would just be glad to have eco mode as an option. As a default, It makes sense to have it on since enthusiasts will be diving the menus anyway, but for the same reason having it on by default will leave many casual viewers unaware of their compromised image. As a method of reducing wanton cavalier energy consumption, it makes sense to have it on by default, and also when we consider the device is consuming the users money via electricity in it’s default operation, it makes sense to err on the cheaper operating cost configuration. Like a saleman automatically enrolling you in the most expensive package, starting with the base cost package is somewhat of a curtesy, but also annoying if you were wanting the best not the cheapest. But we all know it’s there because climate change is real and is going to cataclysmically shatter our world in a way that dim displays can’t even hold a candle to.

[@michaelwozniak8860]

I wonder, per tv, how much the circuitry does cost.

[@frommatorav1]

​@@SwirlingDragonMistIf you're tripping breakers, it's not from your TV settings. Check your CPU and GPU overclocks and turn them down or off to save power. The computer could waste or save way more energy than eco mode on the TV ever will. That setting just makes your TV too dim and hampers all the other adj.

[@SwirlingDragonMist]

@@frommatorav1 I feel we’re echoing the same idea. If you need to reduce power consumption, the more levers and options you have the better. Someone may choose to allocate their power budget to their display, while another to their GPU. Maybe even the same person just at different times in different moods. Just having the flexibility of the option does no harm. My room has lava lamps and an electric massager, maybe someone has a heated blanket their girlfriend likes for movies. Just saying flexibility with the power budget is nice. Having it on by default though, definitely debatable.

[@SwirlingDragonMist]

@@michaelwozniak8860 that is interesting, I think it’s all software driven, just values, the power savings coming from changing the parameters in which the values are limited.

[@jtanderson2515]

Too much yapping, too little actual information.

[@Audioholics]

@jtanderson2515 too much ADD, not enough paying attention to the actual information.

[@crawford323]

Typical, you failed to take in the considerations of all the levels of your viewing audience. You started punching buttons on the controller without instructing on what buttons to activate. Menu is not the correct button. That wrench looking thing is. Did I read the pamphlet? No this is why KZbin is so popular, it is visual.

[@Audioholics]

You're welcome for our highly informed video with OSF calibrator and great setting tweaks you can't find anywhere else. If you can figure out how to get to the picture menu, you shouldn't be changing any settings. Stick to torche mode and enjoy.

[@crawford323]

@@Audioholics As expected, positive criticism has alluded you. Please sit someone who you know is inexperienced and watch them try and keep up. Full disclosure I am a degreed photographer with 52 years of professional experience. I did find a way into adjustment via another instructor. Once there in the proper custom screen, I was in my element. It is now adjusted with the exception of slight color grading. You maybe the best of the best but if you have lost the ability to interface, then you have lost the ability to teach. Now that I know what I am looking for perhaps I will review your presentation once again. I can learn from anyone.

[@loganf6517]

First thing you should do with your new Sony TV is return it and get an LG TV.

[@Tom_the_great]

Sup Jason