Our Verdict
Very good TV overall. The X850E offers a good experience with every usage. Picture quality is good, and it's especially good for fast motion like sports or video games.
- Deep and uniform blacks
- Excellent handling of fast motion
- Can display a wide gamut of colors
- Image degrades rapidly at an angle
- Could be brighter for HDR
Decent for movies in a dark room. The contrast ratio is great and blacks are very uniform, but the experience could be enhanced with local dimming.
The X850E is better than average for watching TV shows. It gets sufficiently bright to accommodate brighter living rooms and deals with reflections quite well. It also upscales lower resolution broadcast feeds very well.
Great TV for watching sports. The screen is relatively uniform and without major blotchiness. Motion is excellent, fast sports look fluid and crisp.
The X850E does a terrific job with video games. Input lag is sufficiently low, and it offers a variety of blur reduction features that help keep motion fluid and clear.
Very good TV for watching HDR Movies. Can display a wide range of colors with very little banding in skies. Doesn't get extra bright, however.
Very good HDR gaming TV. Input lag remains low regardless of the input type and the TV's HDR capabilities are good. It doesn't get especially bright though.
Great choice for use as a monitor. Supports a variety of resolutions and has both low input lag and motion blur. Viewing angle isn't great though, so sitting close might cause the edges to darken.
Changelog
- Updated Jun 12, 2018: A note for Xbox One X and Xbox One S owners: 1080p @ 120 Hz from the Xbox is only supported on this TV when the Xbox's connection type is changed from Auto-detect (Recommended) to HDMI, but unfortunately in this mode 4k and HDR aren't supported.
- Updated Mar 12, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Dec 11, 2017: Google Assistant has now been added to Android TV on Sony TVs, and it brings a lot of new features to the voice control. The remote score has been increased to reflect the new fuctionality.
- Updated Nov 10, 2017: Retested input lag with the latest firmware (PKG6.2669.0070NAA); there was no significant change.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65" (XBR65X850E).
Update 05/12/2017: Readers have reported that the 75" model has an IPS panel, resulting in a lower native contrast ratio but the image remains more accurate when viewed at an angle.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Sony XBR-65X850E doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | Model | Alternative Name | UK Model |
| 65" | XBR65X850E | XBR-65X850E | KD-65XE8505 |
| 75" | XBR75X850E | XBR-75X850E | KD-75XE8505 |
Popular TV Comparisons
The Sony X850E is a very good TV that offers good value, but some discounted 2016 models will often be a better pick over it. See our recommendations for the best TVs and the best 4k TVs.
If you've got a bright room with wide seating, then the Sony X850F is a better choice due to its better viewing angles and better reflection handling. But for a dark room with seating directly in-front, the Sony X850E is better. The Sony X850F has marginally better input lag for video games and HDR gaming and is slightly better as a PC monitor. On the other hand, the Sony X850E has a much better contrast ratio and better black uniformity that make it a better choice for movies in a dark room.
The Sony X900E is better than the X850E. The X900E is brighter than the X850E in SDR and HDR, and the 900E has a decent local dimming feature that can dim dark areas of the screen. The Sony X850E has better black uniformity, good for viewing in a dark room, and has a better black frame insertion feature that can improve motion at the cost of some brightness. The 75" X850E uses an IPS panel, which is better for a wide viewing area.
The Sony X850E and the Samsung MU8000 have very similar performance. The Samsung MU8000 has better local dimming and can display deeper blacks when watching movies in a dark room, whereas blacks on the Sony X850E are marginally more uniform. The Samsung MU8000 is a bit better for gaming and HDR gaming as it has a bit better input lag even when sent HDR signal. On the other hand, the Sony X850E has somewhat better reflection handling that you'll appreciate if you watch TV shows in brighter rooms.
The Sony X850E is better than the Sony X690E. The Sony X850E has better HDR performance due to better color gamut and better color volume. It can get brighter both in HDR and in SDR and is more suitable for a brighter room. The Sony X850E has better reflection handling, smart features, and motion interpolation support, which is great for those who watch TV shows. On the other hand, the Sony X690E is more responsive as it has lower input lag that makes more suitable for playing video games.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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