The problems inherent with LCD aside, this is an extremely good looking TV, with Sony's software and new X1 Ultimate processor helping boost colour and sharpness on a per-object basis to upscale content very cleanly to 4K and pseudo-HDR. It's also a 120Hz display, meaning it can ramp the smoothness right up if you're a fan of the soap opera effect. Even at a standard frame rate though, pans during films and TV are remarkably judder-free and natural.

There's the usual bulk of modes and options for those looking to tweak and calibrate their viewing experience, but in general I thought the standard modes (with all smoothing turned off) worked very well. There's also a handy Netflix Calibrated mode, which uses metadata transmitted with Netflix Originals to set your TV settings in an optimal way to get the experience the creators intended. In my experience this tended to work best with the lights off.

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As you might expect for a high-end TV in 2019, most of the current formats and standards are supported here. The X9500G can display HDR10, hybrid log gamma and Dolby Vision flavours of high dynamic range, and can handle Dolby Vision or DTS:X sound. It supports eARC, so it can also pass these object-based sound formats through to your soundbar or receiver. Gamers will be pleased that full bandwidth is supported on all four HDMI ports, with native support for 1080p output at 120Hz or 4K at 60Hz. Latency is impressively low with the game mode turned on, regardless of resolution.

As for the software experience, the X9500G sports an expanded version of Sony's existing take on Android TV, and everything's very quick and fast. I really like the "channels" layout of the content, with your installed apps all displaying the latest releases and personal suggestions right on the home screen so you don't have to open each one. Searching for content across apps and stores using text or your voice also works very well.

If you have Amazon Echo or Google Home device in your home, you can incorporate the TV for powering on, changing the volume and more with your existing smart home controls. Of course, being powered by Android, the X9500G also has the Google Assistant built in. If you activate it, you can speak out loud to the TV to search for shows and movies, change inputs or give commands to your other connected lights and appliances. You can use the TV like a Chromecast to send video content from your phone, and an upcoming update will add AirPlay 2 and HomeKit functionality so the TV will play nice with your Apple content and Siri.

This is a very slick TV, and and a great choice if you're looking to upgrade to a new LCD 4K unit right now, even though both those technologies might start taking a back seat to more sensational technologies in premium televisions from next year.