Sony KD-75XD9405 prices and specs

With its vast, cinematic screen and ability to deliver stunning picture quality whatever the source, the 75XD9405 is a contender for the best TV of 2016. If you can afford to shell out £5,000 on a TV, make it this one.

FOR

• Outstanding picture quality
• Slim design
• Huge, immersive screen
• HDR works well

AGAINST

• Minor clouding with HDR
• Android TV is clunky
• Horrible remote control
• No other screen sizes

Thanks to its combination of a huge screen and often mesmerising HDR and 4K picture quality, the 75XD9405 crosses over from being a mere TV into genuine home cinema territory. It also delivers the most convincing all-round showcase of what HDR is capable of that I've seen from a TV to date, while simultaneously working wonders with all that non-HDR stuff we're still going to have to spend most of our time watching. If you've got the living room space and bank balance health to take it on, you'd be crazy not to audition one as soon as possible.

If you're looking for a really large screen TV then the Sony KD-75XD9405 should definitely be on your list and at £4,999 it might well be the only one on your list. The XD94 isn't only very reasonably priced, it's rather pretty and despite the 75-inch screen and the full array LED backlight, it remains both stylish and surprisingly thin. The unimposing nature of this big screen TV is partly thanks to Sony's minimalist design but also thanks to the manufacturer dropping the big forward-firing speakers found on previous generations. However despite this, the 75XD94 still sounds good, although we would expect anyone buying a screen this large to have an outboard audio solution.

Along with the new look, the XD9405 also includes a comprehensive set of connections, including four HDMI 2.0a inputs with support for HDCP 2.2. There are also twin satellite and terrestrial tuners, three USB ports and built-in WiFi; along with covers and grooves for tidier cable management. The XD94 comes with Sony's newly designed controller, although there's also a free remote app for iOS and Android, and the latest version of Android TV. Whilst the processing power has been improved and the recommendation bar is a nice addition, the platform still feels disjointed and is prone to the occasional glitch. The input lag is a reasonable 35ms and the energy consumption actually quite low considering the sheer size of the screen.

The out-of-the-box image accuracy was excellent before calibration and reference afterwards, with impressive black levels and a highly effective local dimming system. The video processing was also very good, as was the motion handling and the XD94 delivered the goods with both standard and high definition content. Sadly the Sony wasn't as impressive when it came to 3D, with excessive crosstalk ruining an otherwise good image. The HDR performance was largely very good with a great dynamic range and a decent level colour accuracy. However the peak brightness was limited to around 760nits, which would explain why the XD94 doesn't have Ultra HD Premium certification and the display was also clipping test patterns and certain HDR 10 content.

Despite this, the XD94 could still deliver a great picture with HDR content and when combined with the fantastic-looking high definition material, the screen size and the price, the Sony does start to look like a real bargain. So if it's big screen entertainment that you're after, then the Sony KD-75XD9405 is just the ticket.

So with the lower-ranging KD-55XD9305 also bagging five stars, it’s two out of two for Sony. After a mediocre run with TVs last year, the company appears to have raised its game for 2016.

The KD-75XD9405 isn’t cheap (albeit cheaper than its £6000 predecessor), but it embraces the industry’s cutting-edge technologies and shows how valuable they are. If not for the fact that 3D glasses aren’t included, we’d be more than ready to ask ‘what more could you want?’

We’ll have to sit tight to see what Samsung, Panasonic and LG bring to the table, but for now the Sony KD-75X9405 is the big-screen flagship to beat.

Going all-out with compatibility and picture performance, Sony’s flagship is the one to beat.

For
*Generous smart offering
*HDR compatibility
*Sharp and stable 4K picture
*Capable upscaler
*Smooth motion handling
*Nice design

Against
*Nothing we can think of