Sony scrubs VRR and ALLM upgrade from X900H / X90H TV support pages
The future of VRR and ALLM on the Sony X900H and X90H 4K TVs remains uncertain.
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Update January 18 (1:16 a.m. ET): Sony states VRR and ALLM support still remains planned for the XH90 / X900H series.
What you need to know
The Sony X900H (and the X90H in Europe) have emerged staple TVs in the 2020 lineup, regarded among the best LED displays on the market. The 4K duo found themselves among the frontrunners headed into the next generation of consoles, supporting the standout features for PlayStation 5 andXbox Series X. That included 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, even stamped with the “Ready for PlayStation 5” tagline as an official seal of approval.
But unlike many of thebest 4K TVs for Xbox Series Xand PlayStation 5 throughout 2020, the X900H and XH90 lacked support for 4K at 120Hz refresh rates, variable refresh rate (VRR), and auto low latency mode (ALLM) support out of the box. Sony instead promised these for post-launch firmware updates, with 120Hz arriving last October, but VRR and ALLM remain absent. But the latest changes insupport documentationsuggest Sony could be walking back those claims, withgrowing concernamong existing owners of the 4K TVs. Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
HDMI 2.1 remains crucial to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X owners, providing the bandwidth to support 4K resolution up to 120Hz, alongside these new display features like VRR and ALLM. VRR looks to eliminate screen tearing, adapting your display’s refresh rate to that of outputted content. ALLM also targets gaming, allowing compatible TVs to adjust the picture, keeping games latency-free.
While these won’t impact movie watching, they’re huge components of the latest-generation experience for console and PC. The Xbox Series X already boasts the features, with the PlayStation 5 also scheduled to deliver both in a future update.
Sony is yet to officially confirm the cancellation of VRR and ALLM support for the X900H and XH90 series. However, it’s yet to deliver these features over half a year after release, leaving us hesitant to recommend either TV in 2021. The company still references plans to provide both technologies across some listings, but contrasts recent changes made to its support pages, and responses from support representatives (viaStop the FOMOon YouTube). While we expect Sony to clarify the situation soon, stay wary if in the market for a new 4K TV.
While the manufacturer often keeps to its word, we’ve repeatedly warned buyers to proceed with cautionin caseit fails to deliver. That comes after it just unveiled its new 2021 TV lineup as a part of CES 2021, including the X90J and X95J as LED successors, with VRR and ALLM on the spec sheet.
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Update January 18 (1:16 a.m. ET) — VRR and ALLM firmware update still planned
Sony has reaffirmed plans to deliver VRR and ALLM support with a future update, with corrections issued to any existing support documentation which referenced the chance. “XH90 will support VRR and ALLM via a future firmware update,” a Sony UK representative told Windows Central in a statement. “Any articles on Sony sites that stated otherwise have been updated with the correct information.”
Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central’s Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft’s gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter@mattjbrown.
