The Sony X90K is at an upper midrange price and generally performs better across the board, especially for gaming, watching movies and series, and in brighter rooms. It provides good reflection handling, better motion processing, and has a higher refresh rate which is great for gaming. If you value a more immersive experience with higher picture and sound quality, the Sony could be a great choice.
On the other hand, the TCL S435 is a budget-friendly option and still offers decent performance for casual watching, particularly for cartoons and animation. However, it has less impressive contrast, brightness, and overall picture quality. It also lacks local dimming, which can affect the dark room viewing experience.
If budget is a priority and your viewing habits are not demanding, the TCL S435 could serve you well. But if you're willing to invest more for a better all-around experience and particularly value gaming and bright room performance, the Sony X90K would be the superior option. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Sony X90K (LCD)
Very good for bright room
Good for dark room
Very good for gaming
Good for movies & TV
Good for sports
Very good for news, talk, & other TV
Very good for cartoons & animation
Good for use as monitor
Best in class for upscaling
Best in class motion processing
Advantages of the TCL S435 (LCD)
The TCL S435 (LCD) has no clear advantages over the Sony X90K (LCD).
Key differences
Picture Quality
7.7/10
6.6/10
7.38/10
CONTRAST
7.50/10
7.8/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.6/10
LED FALD
PANEL TYPE
LED
TBD
PANEL SUB-TYPE
VA
The Sony X90K (LCD) has good picture quality, while the TCL S435 (LCD) has only fair picture quality.
Movies & TV
7.5/10
6.1/10
7.38/10
CONTRAST
7.50/10
6.1/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
6.7/10
10.0/10
UPSCALING
5.9/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
Yes
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
No
The Sony X90K (LCD) is good for movies & TV, while the TCL S435 (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony X90K offers better movie and cinematic TV viewing compared to the TCL S435 due to its very good contrast, effective local dimming, and strong black uniformity, which enhance the viewing experience in darker scenes. Conversely, the TCL S435, despite having excellent colors out of the box, falls short with its lack of local dimming and poorer black uniformity, making it less suitable for viewing content where dark scene performance is crucial.
Sports
7.1/10
5.9/10
10.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
3.2/10
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
7.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
5.8/10
10.0/10
UPSCALING
5.9/10
8.7/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.2/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony X90K (LCD) is good for sports, while the TCL S435 (LCD) is poor.
The Sony X90K is better for sports due to its superior motion processing which decreases blur in fast-moving scenes, and its handling of reflections is more effective, making it easier to watch in various lighting conditions. The TCL S435, on the other hand, struggles with motion due to slower response time, and reflections might be more distracting, reducing visibility especially in bright rooms.
Gaming
8.1/10
5.5/10
8.0/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
6.2/10
7.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
5.8/10
10.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
3.2/10
76.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
8.6/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.3/10
The Sony X90K (LCD) is very good for gaming, while the TCL S435 (LCD) is poor.
The Sony X90K is superior for gaming due to its very good response time and input lag, ensuring smoother and more responsive gameplay, whereas the TCL S435 is considered poor for gaming as it falls short in these critical performance aspects, potentially leading to blurrier motion and delayed reaction times during play.
Cartoons & Animation
8.0/10
7.0/10
7.7/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
6.0/10
7.8/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.6/10
8.7/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.2/10
7.0/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
9.0/10
6.6/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
5.9/10
The Sony X90K (LCD) is very good for cartoons & animation, while the TCL S435 (LCD) is good.
The Sony X90K is very good for watching cartoons and animation because it has good colors out of the box, a good color gamut, and good color volume, which are critical for animated content that typically has vibrant and varied colors. On the other hand, the TCL S435 is good for cartoons and animation owing to its excellent score for colors out of the box, despite having only fair scores in color gamut and color volume, which may limit its display of a wide range of colors.
News, Talk, & Other TV
8.7/10
5.8/10
8.7/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.2/10
10.0/10
UPSCALING
5.9/10
The Sony X90K (LCD) is very good for news, talk, & other TV, while the TCL S435 (LCD) is poor.
The Sony X90K excels in upscaling and has very good SDR brightness, meaning it can make lower resolution content from news or talk shows look better and remain visible in well-lit rooms. On the other hand, the TCL S435 struggles with upscaling and has poor SDR brightness, which could result in less clear images and difficulty watching in bright rooms.
Bright Room
8.0/10
5.6/10
5.4/10
VIEWING ANGLE
5.0/10
8.7/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.2/10
8.3/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.1/10
6.3/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
5.9/10
The Sony X90K (LCD) is very good for bright room, while the TCL S435 (LCD) is poor.
The Sony X90K performs well in bright rooms thanks to its ability to get very bright in SDR and HDR, which counters glare and maintains visibility in sunlight, and it handles reflections adequately. On the other hand, the TCL S435 struggles in bright rooms due to its poor brightness in both SDR and HDR, and it handles reflections poorly, which can result in a washed-out image when there's a lot of ambient light.
Cost
$998
$700
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Sony X90K (LCD) has a price of $998 and the TCL S435 (LCD) costs $700.
"As Sony’s next-to-flagship LCD TV, the X90K series delivers impressive performance for the price. The XR90K had fairly accurate out-of-box color. The TV’s multi-position stand lets you either set the screen flush with any stand its mounted on or elevate it to clear space for a soundbar. With the latter option, you get around 3 inches of clearance enough to accommodate most soundbars. The X90K’s excellent suite of gaming features ranks it up there with the best 120 Hz 4K TVs."
"The TCL 4-Series is so inexpensive and capable you might start to question why there are any multithousand-dollar TVs at all. The 4-Series setup is intuitive and easy. If you're just looking for an easy-to-use TV with decent picture, this is an excellent place to start."
Get a great deal on the Sony X90K (LCD) or the TCL S435 (LCD)
About Sony
Sony stands as a highly experienced and widely trusted TV manufacturer, earning a reputation that surpasses all others. A Japanese company, Sony has been making TVs for far longs than it has been making Playstation game consoles. Sony's high-end TVs are often regarded as the ultimate choice for videophiles, representing the epitome of quality, albeit at a premium price point. Renowned for their advanced and precise motion handling, as well as their cutting-edge local dimming algorithms, Sony consistently delivers unparalleled performance in these areas. They include Google TV software with all their TV sets, which grants access to the largest selection of apps available and they also include Bravia Core which is a movie streaming platform specifically for Sony TVs that offers higher picture quality by using more bandwidth.
About TCL
TCL, the highly recognizable TV brand from China, has firmly established itself as the second-largest manufacturer in terms of sales volume. Renowned for striking an impressive balance between affordability, picture quality, and design, TCL TVs deliver a compelling overall package. While they have traditionally excelled in the low-end and midrange TV segments, TCL has recently made remarkable strides in the realm of high-end televisions, introducing impressive models that rival top competitors. Most TCL TVs use Roku software which is very user friendly and easy to use, but they have a few other models that use Google TV which has the largest app selection, but is not as user friendly as Roku.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec TVs team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest TV information and makes it digestible for you.
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