Sony A95L OLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the 65-inch Sony A95L (XR-65A95L), and for the most part, we expect them to apply to the 55-inch and 77-inch models as well. These settings should apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which require a few additional changes, listed below.

These settings are meant to provide you with a starting point; they're not meant to be copied 1:1. They provide the most accurate image, but you should adjust them to match your personal preferences and viewing conditions.

For SDR content, you can choose from a few different preset picture modes. We used the 'Professional' Picture Mode because it's the most accurate out of the box and allows for the most customization.

You should adjust the Brightness to your specific viewing conditions, and changing this doesn't have any impact on the overall picture quality. Note that the Brightness setting adjusts the backlight, while Black Level adjusts blacks, and the Peak Luminance setting allows the TV to get brighter. Most people should set Peak luminance to 'High' for the brightest image possible, but during calibration, it was disabled.

There are a few settings you can adjust on the Picture settings page to optimize the image to your preference. We set the Contrast to '90,' Gamma to '0,' and Black Level to '50.' For our calibration, Black Adjust and Advanced Contrast Enhancer were disabled, but you should adjust these to your liking. We also used the 'Expert 1' Color Temperature because it's closest to the target color temperature, but use 'Cold' or 'Warm' if you prefer colder or warmer settings.

In the Clarity tab, we set Sharpness to '60' and set Reality Creation to 'Auto,' as this delivers the best results when upscaling low-resolution content. Random Noise Reduction, Digital Noise Reduction, and Smooth Gradation were also left disabled as they can cause a loss of fine details in higher-quality content.

To set HDR so it's automatically enabled, set HDR Mode to 'Auto' in the Video Signal tab. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears in the picture settings menu. When HDR is enabled, some settings change automatically, including the Brightness, which increases to 'Max.' We used the 'Professional' Picture Mode for HDR and the 'Expert 2' Color Temperature and left the other settings as-is. Adjust the settings to find the image you find is best. We set the HDR Tone Mapping setting to 'Gradation Preferred' but set it to 'Brightness Preferred' if you want a brighter image.

When watching Dolby Vision content, you choose between 'Dolby Vision Bright,' 'Dolby Vision Dark,' and 'Vivid.' 'Dolby Vision Dark' is the most accurate, but 'Dolby Vision Bright' also produces a brighter image and is still accurate.

The following are the old results of calibrating the white balance of our unit to 6500K in HDR using the 2 point method. We don't publish the values we used for our new 20 point calibration.

These are provided for reference and shouldn't be copied as the calibration values vary per individual unit, even for the same model and size as the TV we reviewed, due to manufacturing tolerances. If you want to try them, you'll need to enter all values shown, as all of them are active simultaneously. If you have worse picture quality, simply reset them to the default values.

For HDR to work from external devices, you need to adjust the HDMI Signal Format accordingly. HDMI ports 1 and 2 support HDMI 2.0, so they're limited in the bandwidth they support. However, HDMI ports 3 and 4 have three different HDMI Signal Format options you can choose from depending on what you're connecting them to.

• Standard Format: Limits the bandwidth to HDMI 1.4. Use this for older devices that don't need the extra bandwidth, like DVD players, cable boxes, or the PS3 and Xbox 360, as using a higher setting may result in compatibility issues.
• Enhanced Format: This setting essentially limits the port to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, but it still allows you to enable VRR. Use this for 4k devices that don't support 120Hz, like an external 4k Blu-ray player.
• Enhanced Format (4K120) (Ports 3 and 4 only): This mode enables up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming from an HDMI 2.1 bandwidth device, like a recent console or PC GPU.

Sony TVs usually feature great, highly customizable motion features. Although we disable most motion settings for most of our tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best for you. Some settings, like motion interpolation, may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you're watching.

If you want to enable motion interpolation, set CineMotion to 'High,' set Motionflow to 'Custom,' adjust the Smoothness slider to its max, and keep the Clearness to its minimum. However, setting 'Smoothness' to its max results in some artifacts with motion interpolation, so if it bothers you, lower the setting. Most of these settings will need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you're watching. The Clearness setting controls the Sony A95L's black frame insertion feature, which only flickers at 60Hz.

The Sony A95L can remove judder from 24p sources. It automatically removes it from native 24p signals, like Blu-rays. For 60p/i signals, like a cable box or from streaming apps, set Smoothness and Clearness to their minimum with Motionflow set to 'Custom' and set CineMotion to 'High.'

From the base SDR and HDR settings, very few changes are required for a great gaming experience. When you start gaming, it's best to switch to the 'Game' Content type to get the lowest input lag and use the same settings for SDR or HDR. Enable Auto Picture Mode so that the TV automatically switches into Game Mode when you start playing a game from an Xbox Series X or PC. From the gaming bar, there are a few additional settings that you can adjust to your personal preferences.

Unlike TVs from most other brands, no special settings are required for PC use on the Sony A95L. Just make sure you're using either the 'Game' or 'PC' Content type and that you set HDMI Enhanced Format to 'Enhanced Format' for the input you're using. Both of these modes offer low input lag and display chroma 4:4:4 properly, which is important for text clarity.

The Sony A95L supports eARC passthrough on HDMI 3, so you can pass high-quality audio to a compatible receiver. To enable passthrough, set Digital Audio Output to 'Prioritize pass through,' and set eARC setting to 'Auto.'

One of the first things we did was disable Power Saving, as we don't want the TV to adjust the image during testing. From the Picture menu, we disabled Auto Picture Mode and Light Sensor as we don't want the picture settings changing during calibration.

From the Ambient Optimization Pro menu, we disabled everything, as we don't want the TV adjusting the image settings automatically when we leave the room.

Although QD-OLED panels are supposed to be better than past OLEDs, there still could be a chance of burn-in on the A95L. There are a couple of settings you should be aware of to ensure you get the most out of your new TV. You can find these in the Expert Panel Settings menu.

Pixel Shift, as the name describes, shifts the entire image a few pixels to one side and gradually shifts it in a different direction over time. It helps reduce the effects of burn-in from very small elements, like fine lines in a game HUD. We recommend leaving this enabled. The screen shift isn't very noticeable unless you're using the TV as a PC monitor.

The Panel Refresh feature lets you run a complete pixel refresh cycle to reduce the possibility of burn-in. However, Sony recommends only using this option a maximum of once per year.

The Sony A95L has a few accessibility features, and the settings are available in the Accessibility section. You can enable Captions, Audio Description, High Contrast Text, and Text to Speech, to name a few.

Google TV has an Ambient Mode available to display your Google Photos or pictures of art if you want the TV to display a slideshow while you're not actively using it. You can even control the slideshow speed.

The included remote has a built-in mic for voice control, and the remote needs to be connected to the TV via Bluetooth for it to work. If the voice control isn't working, make sure it's connected via Bluetooth in the Remotes & Accessories page of the settings menu. The TV has a microphone built-in, and there's a switch to turn it on if you prefer. If you keep it on, you can change the sensitivity.

The Sony A95L also comes with a BRAVIA webcam that sits on top of the TV. It adds a few extra features, like adjusting the settings and brightness depending on where you sit. It also supports gesture control, allowing you to make quick adjustments to certain settings with a simple hand gesture.