Sony X77L/X77CL Review (KD-43X77L, KD-50X77L, KD-55X77L, KD-65X77L, KD-75X77L, KD-85X77L) (2024)

Curved No

The Sony X77L has a basic design that looks a bit cheap. The bezels are thicker and more distracting than most similarly-priced TVs on the market, and the plastic build looks dated.

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Uniformity Pictures N/A

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Wall Mount VESA 300x300

The back of the TV is plain and looks a bit cheap. The inputs are inset into the back of the TV, so they're hard to access when the TV is wall-mounted. The TV comes with clips that you can attach to the back of the feet to help with cable management.

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Borders 0.63" (1.6 cm)

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Max Thickness 2.72" (6.9 cm)

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The Sony X77L has decent build quality overall. It's entirely made of plastic, but the plastic is decent overall, and the build has no serious issues. As the back panel is mostly one large piece, there's a fair bit of flex to it, but again, this isn't uncommon and won't cause any long-term issues.

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Contrast

Native Contrast

Unfortunately, the contrast ratio of this TV is terrible. Blacks are raised and washed out even in dim scenes, and the entire screen looks washed out when very bright highlights are visible in otherwise dark scenes.

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This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature, so there's no blooming around bright objects or subtitles in dark scenes.

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Local Dimming

Backlight

Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV

This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature, so it can't adjust the backlight of individual zones to brighten up highlights without impacting the rest of the image. But this means that there's no distracting flicker or brightness changes as bright highlights move between zones.

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Switching to Game Mode makes no noticeable difference in dark scene performance; it's still horrible.

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Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)

Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)

Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)

Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)

Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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600 Nit Tracking Delta

1000 Nit Tracking Delta

4000 Nit Tracking Delta

Most HDR content is displayed at the brightness level intended by the content creator. Shadow details in HDR are significantly raised, though, mainly due to the TV's low contrast and lack of local dimming; it simply can't display dark shadow details. It's also severely limited by its low peak brightness, and it starts to roll off even in mid-tones as the brightness approaches the TV's maximum brightness. The PQ EOTF tracking is consistent across all content, regardless of how it was mastered, which is great.

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Real Scene Peak Brightness

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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Wide Color Gamut

DCI P3 xy

DCI P3 uv

Rec 2020 xy

Rec 2020 uv

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1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP

10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP

White Luminance

Red Luminance

Green Luminance

Blue Luminance

Cyan Luminance

Magenta Luminance

Yellow Luminance

The Sony X77L has mediocre color volume. It's limited in pretty much every way, as it has low contrast, low peak brightness, and a narrow color gamut, so vivid color details don't pop at all.

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White Balance dE

Color dE

Gamma

Color Temperature

Picture Mode

Color Temp Setting

Gamma Setting

The Sony X77L has excellent accuracy in SDR even before calibrating it. The overall color accuracy is excellent, with just a few noticeable issues in saturated reds. The white balance is a bit off, but not noticeably so, and the color temperature is fantastic. Gamma is also nearly perfect, but near blacks are raised due to the low contrast ratio and lack of local dimming.

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White Balance dE

Color dE

Gamma

Color Temperature

White Balance Calibration

Color Calibration

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50% Std. Dev.

50% DSE

5% Std. Dev.

5% DSE

The gray uniformity is good. The sides of the screen are a bit darker than the center, but it's not too noticeable. The center has relatively little dirty screen effect, which is great for sports fans.

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Std. Dev.

Native Std. Dev.

Unfortunately, the black uniformity is just okay. Blacks are raised across the entire screen due to the low contrast ratio, and there are a few warm spots. Overall, it doesn't look good in dark scenes.

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Color Washout

Color Shift

Brightness Loss

Black Level Raise

Gamma Shift

The viewing angle of this TV is great. The image remains consistent even when viewed from the sides, which is important if you have a wide seating arrangement.

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Screen Finish

Total Reflections

Indirect Reflections

Calculated Direct Reflections

The reflection handling of this TV is decent overall. The semi-gloss coating reduces the intensity of direct reflections a bit, but they're still distracting in a bright room.

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100% Black to 50% Gray

50% Gray to 100% White

100% Black to 50% Red

50% Red to 100% Red

100% Black to 50% Green

50% Green to 100% Green

100% Black to 50% Blue

50% Blue to 100% Blue

The HDR gradient handling of this TV is mediocre. There's significant banding in dark shades.

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Smoothing

Detail Preservation

Unfortunately, this TV has very limited processing capabilities when displaying low-quality content. It doesn't smooth out macro-blocking or pixelization well, but on the flip side, fine details are preserved well.

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The Sony X77L has good sharpness processing. Fine details in upscaled content are preserved well, and fine lines are straight and detailed without oversharpening. These results are with Sharpness set to '60', and Reality Creation set to '20'.

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Subpixel Layout

Type LED

Sub-Type

This TV has an RGB subpixel layout, which is better for PC use than BGR panels because it improves the text clarity, which you can read about here.

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80% Response Time

100% Response Time

The Sony X77L's response time is alright. There's some motion blur behind fast-moving objects, but it's especially noticeable in shadow details.

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Flicker-Free

PWM Dimming Frequency

Like the Sony X75K before it, the Sony X77L is one of the few TVs on the market that's completely flicker-free at all brightness levels. It's amazing for anyone sensitive to flicker, as this causes less eye strain and fatigue if you watch TV a lot.

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Optional BFI

Min Flicker For 60 fps

60Hz For 60 fps

120Hz For 120 fps

Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode

This TV has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, or BFI. It introduces a fixed 120Hz flicker with all content, reducing the persistence blur and resulting in a crisper image overall. The flicker timing is a bit off, resulting in a noticeable double image.

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Motion Interpolation (30 fps)

Motion Interpolation (60 fps)

This TV has an optional motion interpolation feature to improve the appearance of fast action scenes. It's okay overall, but like most TVs, it looks best in slower, panning shots. It can't keep up with fast action, where there are more noticeable artifacts.

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Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps

Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps

Thanks to this TV's relatively slow response time, there's very little stutter when watching 24p content.

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Judder-Free 24p

Judder-Free 24p via 60p

Judder-Free 24p via 60i

Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps

Sadly, this TV can't remove judder from any source.

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Native Refresh Rate

Variable Refresh Rate

HDMI Forum VRR

FreeSync

G-SYNC Compatible

4k VRR Maximum

4k VRR Minimum

1080p VRR Maximum

1080p VRR Minimum

1440p VRR Maximum

1440p VRR Minimum

VRR + Local Dimming No Local Dimming

The Sony X77L is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate on all sizes and doesn't support VRR to reduce tearing.

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1080p @ 60Hz

1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode

1080p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 144Hz

1440p @ 60Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1440p @ 144Hz

4k @ 60Hz

4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR

4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode

4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation

4k @ 120Hz

4k @ 144Hz

8k @ 60Hz

The input lag on this TV is incredibly low in 'Game' mode, ensuring a smooth, responsive gaming experience. Unfortunately, the 'Graphics' Picture Mode, which is the only mode that can display text clearly from a PC, has abnormally high input lag, and it's not really useable in that mode, as cursor movements feel incredibly sluggish.

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Resolution 4k

480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)

720p @ 59.94Hz

1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

1080p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 144Hz

1440p @ 60Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1440p @ 144Hz

4k @ 60Hz

4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 120Hz

4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 144Hz

8k @ 30Hz or 24Hz

8k @ 60Hz

The Sony X77L supports most common formats, but only at 60Hz. Chroma 4:4:4 or RGB signals are only displayed properly in the 'Graphics' Picture Mode

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Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)

4k @ 120Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 120Hz

HDR

VRR

This TV can't take full advantage of the PS5, as it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. There's an auto low latency mode that automatically switches the TV to the 'Game' Picture Mode, but strangely, unlike previous Sony TVs, you have to enable this setting on the HDMI signal format menu, and it's only supported on port 3, which is also the eARC port. If you're using a soundbar or home theater receiver, you'll have to use one of the other inputs and manually switch to the 'Game' Picture Mode to get low input lag.

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Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)

4k @ 120Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 120Hz

HDR

VRR

Unfortunately, this TV is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, so it can't take full advantage of the Xbox Series S|X. There's an auto low latency mode that automatically switches the TV to the 'Game' Picture Mode, but strangely, unlike previous Sony TVs, you have to enable this setting on the HDMI signal format menu, and it's only supported on port 3, which is also the eARC port. If you're using a soundbar or home theater receiver, you'll have to use one of the other inputs and manually switch to the 'Game' Picture Mode to get low input lag.

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HDR10

HDR10+

Dolby Vision

HLG

HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth

HDMI 2.1 Class Bandwidth

CEC Yes

HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,3)

ATSC Tuner

USB 3.0

Variable Analog Audio Out No

Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

This TV is limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth on all three HDMI ports.

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HDMI 3

USB 2

Digital Optical Audio Out 1

Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0

Analog Audio Out RCA 0

Component In 0

Composite In 1 (adapter required, not incl.)

Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1

Ethernet 1

DisplayPort 0

IR In 0

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ARC/eARC Port

eARC: Dolby Atmos Over Dolby Digital Plus

eARC: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1

eARC: LPCM 7.1 Over Dolby MAT

eARC: Dolby TrueHD 7.1

eARC: DTS:X Over DTS-HD MA

eARC: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1

eARC: LPCM Channels (Bitstream)

ARC: Dolby Digital 5.1

ARC: DTS 5.1

Optical: Dolby Digital 5.1

Optical: DTS 5.1

Unfortunately, although this TV supports eARC, it doesn't support any DTS or DTS:X formats, which is disappointing as Blu-ray movies often use that format as the main audio track. For the best sound, you're best to connect your external player directly to your sound system, if possible.

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Low-Frequency Extension

Std. Dev. @ 70

Std. Dev. @ 80

Std. Dev. @ Max

Max

Dynamic Range Compression

This TV's frequency response is just okay. Like most TVs, it has almost no deep bass, and the low-frequency extension (LFE) is very high. Above the LFE, the frequency response is well-balanced at low and moderate volume levels, so dialogue is clear and easy to understand. It doesn't get very loud, though, and there's considerable compression at max volume, so it's not a good choice for noisy environments.

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Weighted THD @ 80

Weighted THD @ Max

IMD @ 80

IMD @ Max

The distortion handling of this TV is sub-par. It's okay at moderate listening levels, but increasing the volume to max increases the amount of distortion drastically.

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Smart OS Google TV

Version 11

Ease of Use

Smoothness

Time Taken to Select YouTube

Time Taken to Change Backlight

Advanced Options

Strangely, this TV runs version 11 of the Google TV smart interface, whereas most higher-end Sony TVs released in 2023 are still on version 10. The interface is smooth and fairly easy to use.

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Ads

Opt-out

Suggested Content in Home

Opt-out of Suggested Content

Unfortunately, like most TVs on the market, there are ads throughout the entire Google TV interface. There's an option for an 'Apps only mode', which, as described, makes it seem like it disables suggested content, but in reality, this just disables personalized ads. You'll still see as many ads; they just won't be personalized to your viewing history.

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App Selection

App Smoothness

Cast Capable

USB Drive Playback

USB Drive HDR Playback

HDR in Netflix

HDR in YouTube

The Google Play Store has tons of apps available to download, and they run very smoothly. It has Google Chromecast built-in, meaning you can cast content from your phone. You can also connect the Bravia webcam for video calls.

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Size

Voice Control

CEC Menu Control

Other Smart Features

Remote App Android TV

The included remote is compact and simple. The remote has a built-in mic, which you can use to search for content, change settings, and open apps. Unlike higher-end Sony TVs like the Sony X90L/X90CL, there's no hands-free voice control on the TV.

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Power Consumption 62 W

Power Consumption (Max) 180 W

Firmware 60636000

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