Sony X93L Review (2023 4K mini-LED TV)

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From the moment Sony announced their new 2023 TV lineup earlier this year we noticed some peculiar models numbers. Which is mostly confusing for consumers that want to have a more direct way of knowing their way around all the new releases. And one area were Sony really mixed things up this year is with their mini LED models. And this is why in our Sony X93L review today we will focus on one of them.

The reason why we said that Sony mixed things up is because their new X95L comes only in 85″ in the US market. Thus, the X93L fills in the gap with smaller sizes available. This essentially makes the X93L the real replacement model for the 2022 X95K in the US. To make matters worse in EU markets Sony follows a different release policy as the X95L is released in more sizes than just the 85″ one. Pretty confusing, huh?

So with that out of the way let’s see what the X93L is all about. It features a VA panel with a frequency of 120Hz. It uses a mini LED backlight system along with Sony’s best Cognitive Processor XR while it comes with all the advanced features Sony has like Acoustic Multi-Audio, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, HDMI 2.1 ports with VRR, ALLM and HFR and Google TV that includes Chromecast, Airplay and voice control among others.

Our initial thoughts that the X93L is just a rebranded X95K seems to be true as both the looks and the specs are entirely the same. But some times our tests reveal differences that specs do not show. And this is what we are about to find out.

Design

First let’s begin by talking about the design and upon unboxing the first thing that we immediately noticed was how similar the X93L looks to the X95K. In fact the two TVs seem to be exactly the same which is another clue on how little Sony changed between these two models.

Measurements

The TV retains the same premium feel most Sony top tier TVs have even if it is still mostly made out of plastic.

Thickness was measured at about 2.3″ (6.0 cm) which is nice and really thin for a LED TV. It also has thin black borders that we measured close to 0.3″ (0.8 cm) that add to the overall image immersion.

Back Side

The back of the X93L features a checkerboard design which is the very same design the X95K had. On the far right we find all the connection ports. Some of the look sideways while some other look downwards.

As usual the power connector is isolated from the rest towards the left while in the middle we find the VESA wall mount holes. As was the case last year, Sony decided again not to include the Bravia XR logo on the plastic body.

The TV comes with special plastic covers to hide all the connection ports. The insets include special clips to keep all cables grouped together so you get some basic cable management system.

Stand

Sony kept the same design not only for the body of the TV but also for the stand. So this is the same one we found in the X95K. Again, no difference between the two.

The one that comes with the X93L is the usual bench type one which usually needs a large surface to place the TV on. Thankfully Sony understood the problem and designed it in such a way to give you more options.

As such there are three different placements for the stand. The wide position, the narrow position and the soundbar position. The narrow position is good if you have a smaller furniture to place the TV on. The soundbar position on the other hand leaves enough space under the panel to place a soundbar.

The wide and narrow positions leave a space of 1.3″ and 1.8″ respectively between the surface and the panel. The soundbar position on the other hand leaves a space of 3.7″, which is more than enough for any soundbar available today.

Remote

As for the remote, the one we find in the X93L is probably the only aspect of the TV that comes with minor changes compared to last year. But the differences are really small compared to the X95K. And the remote feels and looks very much the same as the one Sony had in 2022.

Sony really found a nice balance for their buttons layout. It is not as cluttered with buttons as LG’s remotes are and is a bit more functional than Samsung’s One Remote. The number of buttons is just the right one and you will never feel troubled pressing the correct one.

The remote obviously comes with a built-in microphone for issuing your commands to the TV and also comes with six dedicated buttons instead of four available last year.

In the new one you will find buttons for the usual Netflix, Amazon Prime, DIsney Plus and Youtube. Sony also added their own Bravia Core Service and Chruncyroll. It appears that Crunchyroll is an online service for anime and manga so it makes sense to see this from Sony.

Video Quality

Processor technology used

In terms of image processing the X93L uses Sony’s best Cognitive Processor XR which is the same chip used across most premium and top tier TVs from this brand.

The Cognitive Processor XR divides the screen into hundreds of zones and recognizes individual objects in these zones better than ever before. What’s more, it can cross-analyze around a few hundred thousand different elements that make up a picture in a second like focal points, contrast, colors, motion and clarity and determine ways in order to improve the end result even more.

It is hard to know if this is exactly the same chip as the one used the previous years. Sony may be using the same brand name. But they have gone through a series of improvements since this chip came out 2 years ago. So we cannot really say how much of an improvement each year brings in terms of pure specs.

Resolution and Up-scaling

As always first comes our upscaling testing. We run a few videos in different resolutions ranging from ultra low quality ones, some 480p DVDs, some in 720p and obviously 1080p resolutions. We tried broadcasting signals, streaming content and discs to have a better, all around idea of the TV’s capabilities.

The X93L was really good with all kinds of content we tried out. Low resolution content upscaled nicely with a lot of details being preserved. Text appeared very clear and distinct. Low quality streaming content was equally good with very minor macro-blocking.

The TV seems to smooth out the image nicely without obvious distortion. Sony has done a great job in this area and their upscaling algorithms are some of the best we have seen in the field.

Audio Processing

We will talk more about the X93L’s audio capabilities in our dedicated audio section but the TV seems to use many of the same audio processing technologies we have seen from Sony before.

As such we find the XR Sound suite which includes Sony’s Acoustic Multi-Audio system. Along with it we get XR Surround for virtually created audio and Voice Zoom 2 which is a dialog enhancement feature.

Lighting Technology Used

The X93L is using the exact same mini LED backlight with local dimming that we saw in the X95K.

Sony started to use the mini LED backlight only last year. But it seems that it will become part of their lineup from now on, slowly replacing the aging FALD TVs.

The arrival of mini LED brought several improvements over what was previously possible. Although this still has its fare share of problems.

mini LED Explained

The X93L is using a Mini LED backlight which is accompanied by Sony’s XR Backlight Master Drive that utilizes a unique local dimming algorithm to control the thousands of tiny, high-density Mini LEDs with much better precision and independence than any previous FALD system could.

The major advantage of Mini LED is that its LEDs has 1/40 the height of a conventional LED. Instead of using a lens to disperse light, and a package to fix the LED in place, Mini LED has incredibly thin micro layers filled with many more LEDs. This way this technology has much better and more precise control of the densely packed LEDs. This prevents what was the most obvious disadvantage of previous LCD backlight systems, blooming.

Keep in mind that while mini LED technology is vastly superior to any other LED LCD backlight system so far, from what we have experienced the last couple of years, it is not alleviating the blooming problem completely. And it is still very much dependent on the number of zones that have been added to each panel along with how efficient the dimming algorithms are.

Number of Dimming Zones

As was the case with last year’s X95K, there is no 55″ version of the X93L. So the 65″ is the smallest you can go with it and from what we saw the TV utilizes 420 zones. The bigger sizes surely will use more zones but we don’t have specific numbers to provide as no brand provide such information.

Blooming & Zones Transitioning

In our blooming test patterns the X93L was really good but it was not perfect. In specific scenes where very bright objects would appear in a dark background some blooming was noticeable.

The same happened with subtitles but the overall effect was not so bothering as some other mini LED TVs. And it was mostly apparent in very specific scenes, so in most cases you will not even think about it.

Furthermore zones transitioning was fast and the algorithms were responsive enough not to show much delay. With fast moving objects you could still slightly see the leading edge being slightly darker. But this was really subtle and you have to look for it to notice it.

Brightness / Contrast

Next we will be looking at the brightness of the TV. In terms of settings we used the same ones as we do in most Sony models. For picture mode we selected Custom with maximum brightness and Peak Luminance.

SDR and HDR Measurements

First test is the SDR brightness over a 10% window and the number we got was 1,263 nits which is great. It may not be the highest we have seen but it’s enough to combat glare in an extremely bright room. This makes this TV ideal for any room condition.

We then switched to HDR content and in our HDR brightness over a 10% window test we measured 1,401 nits. Again excellent peak brightness for all kinds of HDR content and room conditions.

Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL)

As with most TVs, the X93L comes with an Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL). This lowers the overall brightness of the screen when large parts of it become very bright for a long period of time. This may not be very obvious when watching a movie for example. But is more obvious with bright static images, or if you use the TV as a computer monitor.

The ABL on the X93L was not as aggressive as we thought it would be. The image would still be noticeable dimmer compared to it before the ABL kicks in. But as we mentioned above this will happen only if you leave a bright static image for some time. And even then the TV kept a high enough brightness not to be particularly bothering.

Last Year Comparison

In these first tests the X93L showed how close to the 2022 X95K it really performs. Small differences in our numbers are normal, even between the same models. So we cannot say there is any difference between the two. At least in terms of backlight and local dimming performance.

EOTF Tracking

Brightness levels were extremely close to the EOTF reference values up to its relatively smooth roll-off point. The TV seems to slightly keep a darker tone but this is extremely subtle across the entire tracking line. So nothing major to complain about.

Most picture modes seem to have similar tracking accuracy. But as usual, for the X93L to follow the curve accurately you have to use its Gradation Preferred tone mapping as the other options are far less accurate.

Contrast Performance

In terms of contrast the X93L was really good with deep blacks and bright highlights. Native contrast was lower than usual compared to other VA panels. But this was to be expected because Sony added the X-Wide Angle layer to improve the TV’s viewing angles. This layer usually has a negative impact on the contrast.

Fortunately, with the local dimming feature the TV’s contrast improves exponentially. As a result we get very deep blacks as any such top tier TV should have.

Viewing angles

The X93L is using a VA panel which doesn’t mean good things when it comes to viewing angles. At least Sony is using their X-Wide Angle and X-Anti Reflection technologies here in order to improve things as much as possible.

These two technologies are basically special layers on the panel in order to improve its performance. But while these do improve viewing angles and reflections they tend, as we mentioned above, to have a negative effect on native contrast.

From what we saw we can say that up to around 35 to 40 degrees the TV retains good image quality. But anything above that and image starts to degrade a lot as the image looses a lot in terms of brightness, colors and black levels.

This extra layer helps a lot in order to bring the viewing levels up to competing levels, although in no way it can achieve what OLEDs can do nowadays. So if you are considering to use this as a family TV you shouldn’t have any problem with various viewing positions.

HDR support

As far as HDR formats Sony likes to include the same across the entire lineup, either it is top tier or lower end TV. So here things are pretty much the same as the rest of the 2023 releases.

In total the X93L features the standard trio of HDR formats. These are the basic HDR10 which is required for 4K UHD playback, HLG that is used in broadcasting and lastly the more advanced Dolby Vision that uses dynamic metadata and offers the best quality from the three available.

The only omission is HDR10+. But if you don’t care about it then you shouldn’t really worry. Dolby Vision has far more support although HDR10+ seems to be getting some traction both from online streaming services like Amazon Prime and in the UHD format.

If you really want to have both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision then you will have to look at some other brand like Hisense, TCL or depending where you live at Panasonic or even Philips. Unfortunately none of the big three (LG, Samsung and Sony) support all three of them.

We don’t see this changing any time soon. So if you definitely want them all there are alternative brands to look for. But Dolby Vision has most support right now. So Sony TVs are good in that front.

Color coverage

The X93L, similar to many premium Sony TVs, is equipped with certain tech in order to allow it to display deeper and more lifelike colors. As such Sony has used an XR Triluminos Pro display in combination with their XR Picture suite.

In our measurement tests the TV reached about 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space which is great. On the wider REC.2020 color space we got a coverage of 74% which again is very good.

The above numbers again show how close the X93L is to the X95K. No major difference between the two.

DeltaE Errors

Before calibration the TV had very good color accuracy. Most colors managed to stay under the DeltaE limit of three and only blue colors went above it. White balance was off and color temperature was slightly higher than it should. But gamma on the other hand was almost perfect.

After calibration we were able to correct most of the above errors. But blue colors were still a bit off compared to the rest that were pretty accurate. Color temperature was almost spot on and white balance was nearly perfect.

Obviously after calibration the TV performed far better. But even its out-of-the-box settings were really good. This surely will satisfy you if you are not very much into complex calibrations.

Color Gradients

Color gradients were really good. We only noticed some minor banding in the darker blue shades. And this was not so obvious with real world content. The TV did very well here.

As we many Sony TVs, there is also a Smooth Gradation feature in case banding is bothering you. But you are going to lose some fine detail if enabled as is always the case with this feature.

Panel Uniformity

Grey and black panel uniformity of the X93L were very good. With a grey background we did notice that the edges were slightly darker than the center. But this was very subtle.

Black uniformity was equally good. We didn’t notice any bright patches or clouding in our tests and the screen was very clear overall.

Motion performance

Next we have our motion performance tests and it seems that the X93L hasn’t changed much compared to last year.

The TV is using a 100/120Hz panel along with a backlight dimming frequency of 720Hz which is exactly the configuration we saw in the X95K.

In terms of motion the TV performed really well with very little blur in fast action scenes. This is obviously a result of the X93L’s fast response times. But this also has a negative effect as a lot of stutter shows up with low framerate content that can be reduced only by enabling motion interpolation. The TV can also remove judder either from 24p or 60p content, which is great for any kind of content.

Motion Interpolation

Due to the inclusion of Sony’s best processor we get XR Motion Clarity which is Sony’s motion interpolation technology. This can smooth motion and remove blur and judder from fast camera movements. Motion interpolation in the X93L was very good and while in most cases it gave us solid results it had a few problems.

For example, in some very demanding scenes we did see some artifacts appearing. But this was to be expected. And these were mostly due to the very fast camera movements, which is a problem with almost all TVs.

Obviously using very aggressive settings will make the “Soap Opera Effect” to appear so you have to adjust the settings accordingly. Motion Interpolation can be enabled by turning CineMotion to High and MotionFlow to Custom. From there you can adjust the Smoothness slider accordingly.

Black Frame Insertion (BFI)

Black Frame Insertion (BFI) is also available and can be enabled with the Clearness setting in the MotionFlow menu. With BFI the X93L was able to smooth motion considerably but not without some undesirable, but well documented, side effects.

The most obvious one is that brightness takes a visible hit. Which is detrimental with any TV that cannot achieve extremely high brightness output. Thankfully the X93L is bright enough, so this does not pose much of a problem. Also the BFI feature flickers only at 120Hz. This means that with 60Hz content you may notice some undesired image duplication.

Overall Motion Impressions

We cannot say that the X93L felt any different than the X95K. With or without motion interpolation and BFI both TVs did equally good. But they also showcased the same problems. But overall we can definitely say that the X93L’s performance is in line with competition in this top tier segment.

Input lag Measurements

Next we will test the TV’s input lag performance.

According to our measurements the X93L measured an average of 18.0ms input lag in both 1080p and 4K resolutions at 60Hz. Very good numbers here. At 120Hz we measured 9.6ms in both 1080p and 4K resolutions which again is great.

The numbers we measured are almost identical to last year, so no surprises here either. Sony TVs always had slightly higher input lag than both Samsung and LG, something we have seen in all their releases.

But the difference is relatively small, and gaming can really be a pleasure. Just make sure you use the available Game mode. As outside that the input lag will greatly increase to around 143ms which can still can be fine for slow paced games but for nothing more.

One thing we need to mention is that the X93L does not support either 1440p resolution or 144Hz refresh rate. So 4K@120Hz is the best you can get. Keep that in mind as we start to see certain brands supporting either 1440p or 144Hz, or even both. Sony is always slow at adopting such features so it is not much of a surprise.

Other Gaming Features

We should also not forget to mention that the TV supports Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). This can be used with any devices that support that like the PS5 and Xbox consoles and can greatly benefit users.

Unfortunately, as with all Sony TVs there is no HGiG mode. But we do get Auto Genre Picture Mode and Auto HDR Tone Mapping which are Playstation 5 specific features.

VRR Support

The X93L comes with VRR support out of the box, which Sony made standard last year. HDMI Forum VRR and G-Sync are supported but unfortunately not FreeSync. Sony is not supporting that in any of their releases so far. It was the same last year and it seems to be the same in 2023.

Trying Out a Few Games

As we usually do, to get a feel of the TV’s responsiveness we connected both our PS5 and Xbox series X to one of the HDMI 2.1 ports of the X93L. The games we try out lately are F1 2022 which supports both 60Hz and 120Hz and Dead Space which is a 60Hz game only.

The time we spent with both of them went by without any particular problems. All our inputs registered on the screen immediately. Especially with F1 22 which is a particularly demanding game the TV was blazingly fast. But with slower paced games it did equally good. So either you are a casual or hardcore gamer, the X93L will not disappoint you.

Unfortunately being a Sony TV we are missing some features. Sony still refuses to add FreeSync. And there is neither 1440p resolution nor 144Hz support. Obviously most gamers do not need these but with competition starting to offering them it will be good for Sony to add them also at some point.

Overall Image Quality Impressions

After finishing all our tests we can say with certainty that the X93L is exactly the same TV as the 2022 X95K was. At least when comparing their image quality performance we could not see any meaningful difference.

Audio Quality

When it comes to sound Sony developed several technologies that uses in their TVs and the one that they used in the X93L is called Acoustic Multi-Audio.

This is the exact same system we saw in the X95K so we don’t expect any surprises here either.

Audio System – Channels & Power Rating

Sound on conventional TVs with speakers located below the screen is often out of sync with the picture. Sony’s Acoustic Multi-Audio includes two sound-positioning tweeters at the back of the TV in addition to the down firing drivers that enable sound to follow the action for a more accurate experience.

Independent amps are controlled separately to precisely manage sound positioning of these speakers in high tone areas, enhancing sound pressure and stability for more realism.

Again, the channels configuration of the X93L is not entirely clear. But from the looks of it we are talking about a 2.2 channels system.

Power output is at 10 W + 10 W + 10 W + 10 W + 10 W + 10 W with two mid range drivers, two tweeters and dual subwoofers.

Audio Formats Support

There is support for Dolby Audio, Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital surround sound. But don’t let all these fool you because the TV cannot really create a true surround cinematic experience. Since it lacks any rear speakers all action is strictly positioned at the front.

Also keep in mind that Sony supports DTS and can even pass-through both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X signals from its eARC port. So if this important to you then the Sony is one of your definite choices.

Since last year Sony was the only of the big three (Samsung, LG, Sony) to still support DTS. But LG brought it back in 2023 upping the competition considerably. Let’s hope Samsung will be forced to do the same in the future.

Audio Features

The inclusion of the XR Cognitive Processor has allowed the X93L to include a few more advanced technologies which are part of the XR Sound suite.

One of them is called XR Surround. With it the X93L is using 3D surround upscaling in order to create a more immersive virtual surround environment. This is done by using two of Sony’s proprietary virtual technologies. The first one is called S-Force Front Surround which is responsible in creating virtual surround sound. The second one is Vertical Surround Engine which is responsible for over the head audio like Atmos effects.

Also present is Voice Zoom 2 which is Sony’s dialog enhancement technology. This feature detects voices and after analyzing them uses special filtering to suppress ambient sounds. This way even subtle dialog is greatly enhanced.

A couple more features is Sony’s Acoustic Center Sync and 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer. With the first you can combine the TV with a Sony soundbar for a more synchronized output. The second can be used in combination with other speakers, like the SRS-NS7 wearable speaker, for spatial sound.

The X93L also features Sony’s Acoustic Auto calibration in order to get the best audio performance no matter your sitting position. This can be used in combination with the optional Bravia Cam as it will detect where you sit in the room and calibrate the audio accordingly.

Overall Audio Performance Impressions

Unfortunately most brands still cannot improve the audio up to the same level their image quality is. And to be totally honest here, we think they never will. There are certain restrictions, like space, that you cannot simply overcome.

As such the X93L’s audio performance falls right into the same spot as most other top tier TVs. Volume can get pretty loud while dialog is crisp and very distinct. But everything else is mediocre. The bass is weak making action films feel flat, there is no surround activity and the output lacks the desired extension and depth.

As a result we will repeat what we mostly say in these reviews. The X93L’s audio is good for casual use. But if you want audio that is on par with the TV’s image quality then make yourself a favor and buy a dedicated surround audio system. Or at least a good performing Dolby Atmos soundbar.

Ports and Connectivity

The X93L comes with two groups of ports available. The one looking sideways includes a Remote IR input, a AV input that needs a special adapter, a USB port and a single HDMI along with a small switch at the bottom for turning on and off the built-in microphone.

On the other group looking downwards we get the antenna/cable port, an Ethernet port for connecting to a local network, a digital optical output, an RS-232 jack, three more HDMI ports and another USB.

HDMI Specifications

As with all Sony TVs, we get two HDMI 2.1 ports along with two more older HDMI 2.0 ones. Unfortunately Sony, along with many other brands other than LG and Samsung, are still struggling with only two HDMI 2.1 ports.

And to make matters even worse one of them is also the one with ARC/eARC functionality. So if you plan on using that then you are left with a single HDMI 2.1 port. In general all TVs that feature only two ports use Mediatek’s SoC. At least the HDMI 2.1 ports in the X93L provide full 48Gbps bandwidth in order to allow high frame rate gaming and all HDMI 2.1 gaming features.

The HDMI 2.1 ports support ARC, eARC, HFR, ALLM and VRR. With VRR both HDMI Forum VRR and G-Sync are available out of the box, something that applies for all 2023 Sony models. FreeSync VRR on the other hand is not in any of Sony releases.

Connectivity Observations

Again, the Ethernet port is still the usual 100Mbps one. But this does not surprise us, as we have yet to see a TV making the transition to Gbit adapters.

Streaming requirements and internet connections have greatly advanced the last few years. This made the 100Mbps limit obsolete a while back. And while most TVs update their WiFi capabilities (some models even support WiFi6 this year) the Ethernet adapters are still the same.

And considering that the X93L comes with Bravia Core, Sony should be at the forefront of this change initiative. We say this because Bravia Core’s highest quality Pure Stream available at 80Mbps require a minimum internet speed of 115Mbps. So in essence you cannot do that with a wired connection and have to rely on wireless with all the problems this can bring.

And lastly Sony, unlike some of the other big manufacturers, actually provide a USB 3.0 port in most of their TVs. Usually manufacturers don’t seem very fond of using the newer USB ports. And rely mostly on the archaic 2.0 version even for many of their top premium models. So having one is definitely a plus.

Wireless Capabilities

When it comes to its wireless capabilities the Samsung X93L supports WiFi5 (802.11ac) along with Bluetooth 4.2.

OS, Apps and Features

The X93L comes with Google TV version 10.0. The last versions of Google TV do not have major differences between them and they keep their overall layout unchanged.

Google TV 10.0

Google has done a poor job at making clear of the differences between Google TV and Android TV that is still being used from some TV brands.

To make things real simple Google TV is still Android TV but with an extra layer on top of it. Think of it like how it works with Android smartphones. Most manufacturers that use Android in their releases they use on top of that their own layer that gives this extra something to their UI that make them unique both in appearance and functionality.

The same is with Google TV. You still basically use Android TV but there is the extra Google TV layer on top in order to make the UI feel different both in looks and functionality.

Google TV seems to have been designed around recommendations, either it be movies, TV shows or applications and this seems to be the main focus of all the latest OS in general. During setup the wizard asks you of what specific streaming services you use in order to customize the Home screen recommendations.

Keep in mind that Google TV is still Android at its core even though it looks different from Android TV. But with Google TV things seem more fluent, more direct and more easy to navigate around.

Google TV 10.0 navigation on the X93L was perfectly smooth. All apps would open almost instantly and we didn’t notice any bothering delays between apps. Overall a very pleasing user experience, one that any top-tier TV should offer.

Streaming Capabilities

If there is one thing that Android has in abundance that is huge app support. Through the included Google Play Store you can find literally thousands of apps that you can download and use except from the pre-installed ones. There is so much content available that you will hardly miss anything.

All the big names are obviously present like Google TV, Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu and Youtube as well as Pandora, Tidal, Google Play Music, Spotify or iHeartRadio. As always some of them are region dependent so make sure the ones you are interested in are working in your area. Lastly many apps like Netflix and Youtube support playback for both 4K and HDR content for those interested in it.

Various Connectivity Features

Chromecast is also available here and it gives you the ability to stream content from other Chromecast enabled devices like mobile phones and tablets directly to the TV.

Sony has also added support for both Apple Airplay 2 and HomeKit. With Airplay 2 you can stream content from other Apple devices on your TV while HomeKit lets you control certain aspects of the TV through your mobile device.

Voice Control

Voice control is also present but it seems that it is a bit limited compared to other competing models. While Google Assistant is built-in the TV, for Amazon Alexa you will need an external Alexa enabled device to work.

You also have the ability to use Apple’s Siri through HomeKit in case you prefer Apple’s solution.

Built-in Media Player

As with most TVs nowadays the X93L can playback a wide range of files and codecs through its USB port. These built-in media players can playback almost all of the known files available right now.

We tested the TV by trying a selection of files we keep for this reason. The files we tried were various combinations of video and audio codecs and the results were pretty good.

Obviously it comes down to files and codec compatibility. But we found that the internal media player could play even some less common files. The ones that showcased major problems were the ones that had unusually high bit rates and some very strange codec combinations.

Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode

The X93L also comes with the Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode which we also saw in the A80L. What this does is to allow you to experience picture quality close to a filmmaker’s vision and intent for all content that is streamed through the Netflix streaming service.

This feature works together with the ambient light optimization feature of the X93L by optimizing the picture brightness based on your room lighting conditions.

Calman Ready

For one more year all Sony TVs are Calman Ready. To address color variations from the production process, the TV is ready to use Portrait Displays’ high-performance Calman auto-calibration software.

This allows an unprecedented level of calibration and the ability to fine-tune adjustments simply not possible through conventional picture settings. It delivers high-fidelity color reproduction that’s true to the original TV signal, and can even adapt to the subtlest changes in color that may occur over time.

Bravia Cam

Bravia Cam is another returning feature. This is an optional accessory that can be purchased separately and can further enhance the functionality of this TV.

With the Bravia Cam the X93L can detect where you sit in the room and adjust the picture and audio accordingly. Other functions include gesture control and power saving features among others.

Game Menu and Eco Dashboard

LG started it, Samsung followed, so it was about time Sony to offer something similar. The new Game Menu offers you the ability to gain access to certain gaming features like VRR, screen size settings and picture features. And all of this with a press of a button.

The Game menu feels less refined than LG’s and Samsung’s implementations but keep in mind that this is Sony’s first year for rolling out this feature. As happened with the other brands, now that it’s out they will surely update and refine it in future releases.

Also new is the Eco Dashboard. This allows you to change energy settings but also indicate you how these settings affect power consumption. Everything through a single, comprehensive screen.

Compared to other TVs

Well, the obvious comparison could not be other than the 2022 Sony X95K. Basically both TVs are the same. The only minor differences they have is that the new X93L comes with a slightly refined remote and the new Google TV 11.0. So in case you can find both models we suggest you to go for the one you can get at a lower price.

From LG the model we find in the same price range is no other than the LG C3 OLED. Here things are far more complex as each one has specific strengths and weaknesses. The X93L may be brighter but the C3 OLED has deeper blacks and perfect contrast. The C3 OLED may have better color coverage but the X93L had better out of the box performance. Lastly the C3 OLED has better gaming features and 4 HDMI 2.1 ports. So overall we would give the edge to the LG C3 OLED.

Next one is Samsung and at the same price we find the Samsung QN90C. Both the X93L and QN90C are very close in performance with small differences is some areas. The Samsung is notably brighter and comes with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports. But on the other hand the X93L seems to have slightly better processing and obviously supports Dolby Vision which has far more support than Samsung’s HDR10+.

A couple more TVs are are worthy of consideration are the 2023 TCL QM8/QM850G and the 2022 Hisense U8H. Both of them come at a far lower price than the Sony and perform equally good or even better than the X93L in some areas. And with their astonishingly low price tags they should definitely be on your list of alternative models.

Final Thoughts

The Sony X93L is a fine mini LED TV but finds itself in an extremely competing price point. As you can see from the comparison section above the X93L has to compete with some very strong entries which makes it hard for the Sony to distinguish itself from the rest.

But this doesn’t mean that the X93L is bad. On the contrary, this TV is doing a lot of things right. And if you are a Sony fan looking for a LED LCD TV then the X93L is a no brainer. Its strong processing abilities, its great brightness and colors and its solid motion and gaming features are some of its highlights.

On the other hand the TV falls in all the same pitfalls its predecessor did. As good as its backlight with local dimming is, blooming is still visible in specific scenes. Its contrast is lower due to the X-Wide Angle layer, it still comes with only two HDMI 2.1 ports while its audio is good only for casual use.

Being a rebranded X95K the Sony X93L didn’t hold any surprises. It’s the best offering Sony has in the LED LCD arena. And from all our tests we can assure you that this TV can be a very intriguing option either you want it for movies, gaming, casual use, or any combination of these.

For more reviews you can check our dedicated 4K LED LCD TV reviews list or even look at our Product Reviews Table where you can find the brand and specific product you are looking for.

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