Sony’s BRAVIA 5 is the successor to the X90L that the company released in 2023. Unlike some other TV makers, Sony doesn’t replace each entry in its lineup every year; instead, they staggered them, which is why it took until 2025 for their mid-range miniLED model to get the new naming scheme.

Currently, the BRAVIA 5 sits right in the middle of Sony’s 2025 lineup, above the BRAVIA 2 II and BRAVIA 3, but below the BRAVIA 7, BRAVIA 8, BRAVIA 8 II, and BRAVIA 9 QLED. Though it’s worth mentioning that the BRAVIA 8 models are both OLED and not miniLED.

Now, Sony is pretty well-known for having higher-priced TVs compared to the competition, unfortunately. And the BRAVIA 5 does start at $1,399 for the 55-inch. It offers the BRAVIA 5 in 65, 75, 85 and 98″ options, with the 98″ model coming in at just under $6K. So it’s not a cheap TV, despite the fact that it’s in the middle of the lineup. However, that doesn’t make it a bad TV, and that’s after coming from the Hisense U8, which is about the same price, but with a far better brightness profile.

Sony BRAVIA 5 Specs

Sony BRAVIA 5 Specs

Screen type
LCD, Mini LED

Display Sizes
55, 65, 75, 85, 98″

HDR Support
HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision

Audio Support
DTS Digital Surround, DTS Express, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS:X, Dolby Audio, Dolby Atmos

Software
Google TV (based on Android TV 12)

HDMI Ports
4 (two HDMI 2.1, one eARC)

View Device Specs

Sony BRAVIA 5 Review: Design and build quality

The BRAVIA 5 has the same sort of design that most of Sony’s recent TVs have. That includes a sort of checkerboard pattern on the back, that allows it to be flush against the wall if you opt to mount it. There are also panels available to cover up the ports, making for a very seamless look. A bit surprisingly, the legs aren’t slanted; instead, they are straight front to back. But you can have them closer together or further apart, depending on where you are placing the TV.

When looking at the back of the TV, the ports are all on the right side, with the power on the left. This is somewhat annoying for me, but it’s how every TV does it, so it’s a little tough to be upset with Sony for this. But I’d definitely rather have all the cords coming out of one side.

On the right side, you’ll notice a slew of ports. That includes four HDMI ports (two 2.1 with one being an eARC port). It also has an Ethernet port, a few speaker ports, two USB-A ports and a coaxial jack for those that still watch cable and haven’t cut the cord yet.

On the front of the TV, you’re looking at some pretty thin bezels, and unlike other brands, there’s no logo on the front. It’s a plain black frame, which looks incredible.

Sony’s new remote, which is made from recycled materials, is also here. It’s a remote; there’s not a whole lot to say about it. It works as you’d expect it to. With shortcuts to Sony Pictures Core, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll and YouTube at the bottom. There’s also shortcuts to quickly change settings without closing what you’re watching. This is really great for changing the audio or picture settings in a breeze.

The build quality is pretty good, and it’s fairly light for a 65-inch TV. But given how much dimmer this TV is compared to the Hisense U8 with its 5,000nits of peak brightness, it makes sense.

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Sony BRAVIA 5 Review: Picture Quality

The picture quality on the BRAVIA 5 is quite good, but I have to say, I was pretty spoiled by the Hisense U8 that I reviewed before the BRAVIA 5. The BRAVIA 5 does have great color reproduction, which is not surprising in the least. Sony has always had great colors on their panels, because they are also a movie studio. Obviously, Sony wants their movies and TV shows to look great on their own TVs. So the picture quality isn’t over-saturated by default, like some others might be.

Powering the BRAVIA 5’s panel is Sony’s third generation XR processor. This is what processes the picture for the panel, complete with the colors, and upscaling lower-resolution content to FHD or even UHD. This processor not only makes the panel brighter, but it also analyzes each scene to understand what you’re looking at. That includes a person’s face, landscape or even text on the screen. It can then apply specific optimizations as needed.

Picture quality is excellent — unsurprising given Sony also makes movies and wants them to look great on its own screens.

One of the complaints I have had about the BRAVIA 5 is the out-of-the-box experience. Out of the box, the BRAVIA 5 has its eco mode on. Which means that it is incredibly dim. It was so dim, that it was almost impossible to see in my living room, with only some lighting. Once you turn off the eco mode, and brighten the panel up, it does look much better. So I hope that Sony does change this in the future. The eco mode is great, especially for those wanting to conserve energy, but I think that should not be the default mode when you take the TV out of the box. At least add an option for this in the initial setup.

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A good way to test out the BRAVIA 5 is by using Sony Pictures Core. This is Sony’s own app that houses all of its movies and TV shows. It also supports IMAX Enhanced, so while some of these movies are available on other services, you’re going to get an even better experience out of the Sony Pictures Core app.

Perhaps the best TV for PlayStation 5

It should come as no surprise that a Sony TV has an incredible experience for the PlayStation 5. After all, Sony does make both the BRAVIA 5 and PlayStation 5, and that’s what really makes Sony’s TV options elite – and cost more. As Sony does have so many aspects of entertainment, from movie making, to movies and tv shows, and even playing games. All of which look great on the BRAVIA 5.

If you’re a PlayStation 5 owner, Sony is going to be the best experience for playing games.

As mentioned already, the BRAVIA 5 does have two HDMI 2.1 ports, which are capable of playing games on the PlayStation 5 (and Xbox Series X) at 4K120, as long as the game supports it. It also includes Auto HDR Tone Mapping, Auto Genre Picture Mode, Dolby Vision for Gaming, ALLM, and VRR are also here, of course. Sony also allows you to play your PS5 remotely on the BRAVIA 5, using the PS Remote app.

Sony BRAVIA 5 Review: Sound

Despite Sony sending over the BRAVIA Bar 6 with the BRAVIA 5, I did use the TV for a couple of weeks without the soundbar and sub. This is so that I could really experience how good (or bad) the built-in speakers are. And honestly, they’re pretty good.

Remember that the BRAVIA 5 does support just about every audio codec you could imagine. From DTS:X to Dolby Atmos. The mids and highs are quite good, but there’s not a ton of bass. This is pretty normal with most TV speakers. Only the Hisense U8GQ was different, and that’s because it had two subs inside the TV – it was also much thicker and heavier than other 65-inch TVs.

Typically, with built-in TVs, the speakers do suffer once you turn up the volume quite high. However, that’s not a problem here on the BRAVIA 5. Turning the volume all the way up to 80, it still sounds good and not distorted. Which is much higher than I’d ever have the TV at. I usually keep it around 25-30.

To be quite honest, if you’re not an audiophile, the built-in speakers are going to be perfectly fine for you.

Sony BRAVIA 5 Review: Software

Sony has been all-in on Google’s TV software for over a decade now. Essentially since Android TV first debuted back in 2015. Nowadays, Sony is using Google TV instead, which is essentially Android TV with a bit more customization and recommendations. This particular TV is based on Android 12.

Now, typically with TVs, there’s not a ton of updates. And in my time with this TV, I did not receive any OS updates. However, I did receive an update for the TV remote. Which I have to say, is the first time that’s happened in my experience. And honestly, I didn’t notice much of a difference after the update. I’m guessing it was a bug fixing update.

So, it’s Google TV. Which is pretty much the same across every device, from the Google TV Streamer, to Hisense, TCL and Sony TVs. Sony, does have a bit of customization here, however. Sony does have a number of their own apps pre-installed here, like Sony Pictures Core, Crunchyroll, My BRAVIA, Sony Select, PS Remote Play, Eco Dashboard, TV Control with Smart Speakers, Living Decore, BRAVIA Notifications and more. A lot of these are actually shortcuts versus actual apps. But it does really clutter up the “Your apps” row on the BRAVIA 5, unfortunately. And you can’t remove these from the “Your apps” row, only move them around. So the best thing to do is, re-order your apps so your most used ones are on the left side, and these lesser used ones are on the right.

Now, when it comes to storage, there is technically 32GB available; however, you only get to use 16GB for Google TV. That’s likely enough. While the software doesn’t show me how much storage I’m using and what’s using the most, I haven’t had any problems with performance here. Which is something I’ve had with other TVs with less storage – typically around 8GB of total storage.

When it comes to settings, however, it can be a bit confusing. Some Display and Audio settings are in the Google TV settings, while some are in Sony’s own settings. I wish they were in both, or the Sony settings section only. Pressing the wrench button on the remote (just below the power button), will bring up a menu from the bottom of the screen, which has shortcuts to a whole bunch of settings that you can easily change without leaving the app you’re in. Like changing the content type, picture mode, brightness, power saving mode, voice zoom, sound field, night mode, and bass level. There are also shortcuts to others like Settings, BRAVIA Notifications, and Picture and Sound.

Being able to quickly change the content type from a movie to a game is really nice to have. And it only takes a couple of seconds. And it does actually make a pretty big difference.

One performance issue I did notice pertains to a certain app. That is Pluto TV. I’m chopping it up to it being Pluto TV’s fault and not Sony’s, even though it works fine on other TVs I have in the house. But on certain Pluto TV channels, the picture really stutters, and sometimes just freezes altogether. I’d think it was the internet speed, but since the same channel on The Roku Channel or Google TV FreePlay works just fine, I’m not sure that’s the issue.

Otherwise, performance has been great on this TV, when it comes to Google TV.

Should you buy the Sony BRAVIA 5?

Now, the big question. Should you buy this TV? Honestly, this one is pretty hard. I have to keep in mind that this is their mid-range TV, even though it is priced at $1399 to start. The “Sony Tax” is a real thing, and it’s definitely present on this LCD Mini LED TV. Samsung has competing QLED TVs in the QN70F and QN80F lineup that are priced similarly (the QN70F is actually cheaper), and it’s using a better panel.

But if you are a PlayStation 5 owner like me, Sony is going to be the best experience for playing games. Not only because of things like HDMI 2.1 for 4K120 gameplay, VRR, and ALLM, but also because Sony makes this TV and the PlayStation 5, so they can really optimize their TV for it.

You should buy the Sony BRAVIA 5 if:

You want a Sony TV without breaking the bank.

You want a TV with an incredible PlayStation 5 experience.

You want an environmentally-friendly TV that will also save electricity.

You should not buy the Sony BRAVIA 5 if:

You want an OLED TV – grab the Sony BRAVIA 8 or 8 II.

You want a good, cheap TV.

The post Sony BRAVIA 5 Ultimate Review: A Solid Mid-Range TV With a PlayStation 5 Advantage appeared first on Android Headlines.

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