Sony X91J Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the Sony 85" X91J (KD-85X91J), which is the only size available for this model. 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.

One of the first things we did was disable Auto Picture Mode, and Light Sensor, as we don't want the picture settings changing during calibration.

For SDR content, we recommend choosing the 'Custom' picture mode, as it's the most accurate one out of the box, and allows for the most customization. We recommend leaving the Contrast to '90,' Gamma at '0,' and the Black level at '50.' We set the Color Temperature to 'Expert 1' and left the Color and Hue settings at their default. We also disabled Black Adjust and Adv. Contrast Enhancer, but you should adjust these to your liking. For local dimming, we set Auto Local Dimming to 'High' and also set X-Tended Dynamic Range to 'High', but you should adjust these to your preferences if you notice too much blooming.

In the Clarity tab, we left Sharpness to the default value of '50,' which is the neutral setting. Reality Creation was left disabled, but you can enable it when watching lower-resolution content, as it can help to improve the image quality. Random Noise Reduction and Digital Noise Reduction were also left disabled, but they can help improve the image quality of low-quality videos. Unlike the Sony X90J, which has a newer processor, the older processor on this TV has no Smooth Gradation setting to improve the gradients. 

You should adjust the Brightness to your specific viewing conditions. Changing the brightness does not have any impact on the overall picture quality.

HDR is automatically enabled for the native apps. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears in the picture settings menu. Once you start playing HDR content, some of the settings change automatically, including the Brightness, which increases to 'Max.' We recommend leaving these settings to their default settings in HDR.

For HDR to work from some external devices, the HDMI Signal Format setting usually has to be set to 'Enhanced Format'. Older devices may have compatibility issues if this option is left selected, so it's recommended to leave older devices set to 'Standard format' if you notice any issues.

If you find HDR content too dim, you can make it brighter by setting Adv. Contrast Enhancer to 'High', Contrast and Brightness to their max, and the Color Temperature to 'Cool'.

The Sony X91J supports Dolby Vision from native apps and with most external devices. Some devices may require firmware upgrades to work with Sony's Dolby Vision firmware. As with normal HDR content, when you start playing Dolby Vision content, some settings change automatically. We recommend leaving these settings as-is, do not copy our SDR settings over. There are two additional Picture Modes for Dolby Vision: 'Dolby Vision Bright' and 'Dolby Vision Dark.' We recommend 'Dolby Vision Dark,' but the 'Bright' setting might be better if you aren't watching in a completely dark room.

If your device doesn't recognize that the X91J supports Dolby Vision, you might need to switch the HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced format (Dolby Vision)'.

Sony TVs usually feature great, highly customizable motion features, and the Sony X91J is no exception. Although we disable most motion enhancing functions for most of our tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best for you. Some settings, like motion interpolation settings, may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

The Sony X91J has a backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion. It only flickers at 120Hz, and to enable it, set Motionflow to 'Custom' and adjust the Clearness slider to the max.

Although we usually leave these settings disabled during testing, you should adjust the settings in the Motion tab to your liking, as different people prefer different levels of motion interpolation. If you want to enable motion interpolation, set CineMotion to 'Auto,' Motionflow to 'Custom,' and adjust the Smoothness slider to the max. Most of these settings will need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

The Sony X91J can remove judder from all sources, but some additional settings are required for some content. For a native 24p signal, like from a Blu-ray player, no additional motion settings are required. To remove judder from external 60p/60i sources, like a cable box, or for the native apps, set CineMotion to 'Auto', Motionflow to 'Custom', Smoothness to 'Max' , and Clearness to 'Min'.

From the base SDR and HDR gaming settings, very few changes are required for a great gaming experience. When you start gaming, it's best to switch to the 'Game' Picture Mode to get the lowest input lag and use the recommended settings for SDR or HDR. For HDR gaming, it's important to make sure that HDMI Signal Format is set to 'Enhanced Format' for the input you are using. This also enables the Auto Low Latency Mode that switches the TV into Game Mode when you launch a game from a compatible device.

The Sony X91J has a setting for variable refresh rate support, and the VRR support works properly after you update it to the latest firmware. You can enable VRR by setting the HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced Format (VRR)', but that disables the Auto Local Dimming and X-Tended Dynamic Range settings.

Unlike TVs from most other brands, no special settings are required for PC use on the X91J. Just make sure you are using either the 'Game,' or 'Graphics' Picture Mode and that the HDMI Signal Format is set to 'Enhanced Format' for the input you are using. Both of these modes offer excellent low input lag and display chroma 4:4:4 properly from 4k @ 60Hz sources, so that text is displayed properly.

The Sony X91J supports eARC with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X signals, allowing you to pass high-quality, uncompressed audio to a compatible receiver through a single HDMI connection. In the Audio Output settings page, set eARC Mode to 'Auto', Digital Audio Out to 'Auto 1', and Pass Through Mode to 'Auto'. This will allow the TV to pass any audio format through eARC, ARC, or Optical connections.