The Sony LED TV I recommend to most people is on sale ahead of Black Friday

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

What's the deal?

The Sony Bravia X90L is on sale at both Amazon and Best Buy ahead of Black Friday, with the 55-inch model starting at $898, or 25% off. The steepest discount is on the 98-inch model, which has had its price tag slashed by $3,000, going from $7,999 to $4,998, or 38% off.

Also: The best Black Friday deals live now

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Why this deal is ZDNET recommended

What the Sony Bravia X90L lacks in eye-popping specs, it more than makes up for in real-world picture performance and Sony upscaling technology, which delivers great video for movies, sports, cable, and streaming.Regarding the features you'll love for daily use, the X90L has an excellent remote that feels premium, is just the right size, includes backlighting, and has a good balance of just the right number of buttons. The closest rivals to the Bravia X90L are the TCL QM8 and the Hisense U8 Series, both of which cost a little less than the Sony and have impressive specs.

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The Sony Bravia X90L is one of our picks for the best Sony TVs you can buy, and for good reason. Its color accuracy, precision brightness, 120Hz smooth motion, and 4K image processing make it one of our most recommended TVs you can buy. I also consider it one of the most underrated TVs available. And with the 2024 TVs now hitting the market, you can save on just about every size of this excellent 2023 model, from $100 off the 65-inch to $3,000 off the 98-inch. 

I've seen all of the best 2024 TVs from Sony, Samsung LG, TCL, and Hisense, both at CES 2024 and at several events since then. When I recently had to replace a 7-year-old 55-inch TCL TV that died, I chose a 65-inch Sony X90L because I think it has the best picture for the money right now, and it comes with a couple of extra advantages as well.

Also: The best QLED TV I've tested got an upgrade, and you can save up to $1,000 at Amazon

While the Sony Bravia XR X90L doesn't blow you away on the spec sheet -- it's an LED TV with a full-array backlight -- the real-world performance and usability make it one of the best buys on the market, based on ZDNET's testing. This Sony TV is technically in the same category as its very popular 2023 rivals, the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K. 

However, while those are Mini LED TVs and look like they should be better TVs on paper, the Sony X90L has better color accuracy, plenty of brightness, and a nicer remote than either the TCL or Hisense TVs (although the 2024 models are starting to emulate the Sony remote). All three TVs are around $1,000 -- $900 to $1,300 street price -- for a 65-inch, and the Sony is the best among them. 

Since Sony has had a long partnership with Google, the X90L also has an excellent implementation of Google TV. This makes the X90L's software interface much friendlier to use than Samsung's Tizen and LG's webOS, which can be overly complicated and frustrating to navigate.

With the X90L, you also get Sony's excellent picture processing to upscale content to 4K, which is especially helpful if you're watching older content or YouTube videos, and it's stronger than anything offered by Hisense and TCL. And if you're looking for a TV to watch movies, the X90L nearly rivals expensive OLED and high-end QLED TVs that cost almost twice as much. If you're upgrading from a TV that is at least 4-5 years old, you will be blown away by the picture quality of X90L -- and it will require a lot less tuning out-of-the-box than other TVs.

Also: One of the best QLED TVs I've tested is not made by TCL or Samsung (and it's on sale)

Sony has the most advanced picture processing of all five major TV brands. That means that it doesn't over-saturate and over-brighten the image the way Samsung, LG, TCL, and Hisense models sometimes do. Again, that means Sony TVs often have a better picture than higher-spec'd rivals from budget TV makers (Hisense and TCL) and can often compete with more expensive models from premium vendors (Samsung and LG). 

For gamers, this TV has a dedicated game mode, HDMI 2.1, VRR, and Auto HDR Tone Mapping when connected to the Sony PS5. It also has a game menu so that you can fine-tune the settings to your preferences.

The Sony X90L isn't as bright as its Mini LED rivals from TCL and Hisense -- or even its 2024 successor, the Sony Bravia 7 -- but it still takes advantage of Sony's advanced backlight system to brighten specific parts of the image. It also does an excellent job of revealing the details in the shadows of dark movies and shows. I'm using the X90L in a bright room and have never had an instance where I wished the picture was brighter.

Also: The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is great for gaming and streaming, and still 25% off

Of course, Sony's products often carry a 10% to 20% price premium because of the Sony brand name, so it's important to look for sales and deals like the ones we've highlighted from Best Buy, Amazon, and others. 

If you have a little more to spend, I'd recommend upgrading to an OLED because the Sony A80L, the Samsung S90C and the LG C3 are all 2023 OLEDs you can pick up on sale. The cheapest among these is the C3 TV, which costs about $1,940.