Here's a quick PSA: If you've owned a Sony TV for the past two years, you might want to check for updates when you have a chance today. Sony's latest software patch affects the Sony X90J, X95J, and Z9J released in 2021 and the new X90K, X95K, and Z9K released in 2022. This is a major update, especially for PS5 owners.
The issue that the software update attempts to fix is that when a Sony TV is connected to the PS5, the backlight local dimming feature is disabled when the variable refresh rate (VRR) is on. This resulted in a noticeable reduction in HDR performance compared to other modes on the TV.
The fix has been in the works for several months and was first discovered by Vincent Teoh of hdtvtest.
However, owners of Sony OLEDs and lower-end Sony X85J/X85K models will not be affected by the update, as they use different display technology or a different processor than last year's X90J and X95J.
The variable refresh rate synchronizes the frame rate of the console with the refresh rate of the TV, preventing screen tearing. With a higher refresh rate, the game will appear much smoother, which is one of the major selling points of new gaming consoles. [However, until now, VRR has degraded visual performance. Since Sony officially enabled VRR on its TVs in April of this year, gamers have been caught between a rock and a hard place.
Thankfully, Sony has learned from its mistake and will be releasing a new series of gaming monitors, the Inzone M9, with G-Sync and VRR support. According to our review, this is "perfect for PC and PS5 gaming."
Looking for the best gaming TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X? Take a look at the Sony A90J, LG C1 OLED, and Samsung QN90A.
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