Sony KD-65A85 65 "

Almost high end

The new Sony KD-65A85 is an interesting example of a “nearly hi-end” TV that delivers a picture and sound of a very serious level, but falls short of the universal coolness of the MASTER family of TVs. Sony is positioning it as an improved version of last year's AG8 4K model with a refined processor and support for Apple AirPlay 2 with Dolby Atmos. The only pity is that HDMI is also the second version here, so playback of 4K content with a refresh rate above 60 Hz is beyond its control. HDR10+ was also not delivered. But there is Dolby Vision.

Thinner iPhone 12

If we touch on the topic of visual aesthetics, then the Sony KD-65A85 in this regard is quite difficult to objectively evaluate. The company's designers strived for maximum invisibility and versatility, according to their idea, this huge black rectangle should easily fit into any interior without drawing attention to itself. However, it is rather difficult to show disinterest in it, if only because the thickness of the panel is only 5.9 mm, and this, for a minute, is slightly thinner than the new iPhone 12. In fact, its claimed thickness of 52 mm is formed by a unit with a speaker system, electronics and cooling. The Metal Blade Stand offers height adjustment: the display can be lowered almost to the very legs, raised higher or find the optimal height so that the soundbar is placed between the legs and the edge of the screen.

Advanced X1 Ultimate Video Processor

The image is exactly that, in fact, the only reason why it is worth paying for the OLED panel the money that is asked for it. Sony has no problem with this. But most of all, it’s not even the quality of the output image that surprises, but the possibilities for customizing it. There are a lot of darkness options, among them there is both the usual brightness with contrast, and unusual ones like adjusting the colour temperature to the lighting in the room (Ambient Optimization) or the degree of image sharpness (X-Motion Clarity). Triple cool that each option for clarity is provided with a detailed description and a visual showing the effect of the change. Even if you don’t understand anything about calibrating displays, setting up the Sony KD-65A85 won’t take you much time. Equally important, the Sony X1 Ultimate processor involved in all operations confidently handles with any image processing, whether it's upscaling or processing HDR content.