Verdict
Another impressive OLED TV from Sony with big appealingness to plate celluloid fans . There are improvement to the Bravia 8 ’s characterization , the innovation is more commodious and Google TV offers a crafty smart experience ; but this is n’t a big leap over the A80L. It could arguably do with a boost to brightness to vie with five - star models from LG and Philips .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Bravia 8 is the mid - range OLED in Sony ’s 2024 TV range , supersede the A80L.
It joins theBravia 9and Bravia 7 Mini light-emitting diode models in Sony ’s slimmed - down offering – the UK did n’t get the Bravia 3 – and at first glance , the Bravia 8 is n’t altogether dissimilar from the A80L.
Is the Bravia 8 an upgrade or a sidestep ? And can it beat the likes of theLG C4andPhilips OLED809 ? countenance ’s find out .
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Design
The Bravia 8 OLED ’s svelte One Slate design adopts a minimalist , supple look . At 37 mm , the Bravia 8 ’s screen depth is less than the Philips 55OLED809 ( 113 mm ) and LG OLED55C4 ( 45.1 mm ) , and thinner than Sony ’s ownA80L(53 mm ) .
The bezel is lean , the rear of the screen is bland and if you prefer to rampart - mount , it ’ll ride flush against a wall . Assembling the TV is tight , taking just over a minute to attach the foot .
The feet can be arranged in a low perspective or a higher one that accommodates a soundbar . They can be attached in the eye of the CRT screen or out to the sides , bet on the surface the Bravia 8 is on . The feet come in full form with no need to be assemble , so all that needs to be decided on is the tallness and position .
you may plonk a soundbar in either orientation and it balances on the feet . I ’ve had theBravia Theatre Bar 8for critical review and it goes well together with the 55 - inch Bravia 8 . It ’s almost as if they were made for each other …
User Experience
Unlike LG or Samsung , Sony does n’t seat in its own UX ( user experience).Instead , it choosesGoogle TV , though unlike other UK Google TV theoretical account , Sony ’s set feature all the UK catch - up and on - demand apps .
It ’s not as if Google TV lacks content , either . You ’re covered for plastic film , TV , sport , music , news , and more , as Google claim to have over 40,000 movies and telly episode .
The user interface is part into For You , Movies , TV , Apps , Library , and Sony tablet . For You feature apps , channels , and good word , with Rotten Tomatoes ratings to help you line up something to watch .
Google TV is easy to navigate and responsive – it ’s more visually attractive than Android TV ever was too . It ’s slick and well - organised , though I wonder whether the recommendationsreallywork . Oftentimes , I ’m recommended something I ’ve get wind before .
The ‘ Continue see ’ quarrel makes it leisurely to dive back in , but it only works withApple TV+ , Disney+,Prime Video , Paramount+ , and Netflix , not the UK catch - up apps . you’re able to get at the individual channels through the YouView resilient TV portal .
There is n’t as much scrolling through the interface , and flicking down the rows brings up suggestions from dramas to trending films , free advertising - sustain subject , activity picture show , and comedies , so there ’s a extensive variety to get stuck into . Once at the bottom , there ’s a ‘ manage services ’ section where you’re able to change which apps feed into Google TV ’s recommendation .
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BRAVIA Core has been renamedSony Pictures Core , and offer Sony streaming deed in 4 K andIMAX Enhanced . Each Bravia TV owner can redeem up to 15 movies and enjoy two years of admission to a curated selection of up to 100 movies that on a regular basis exchange . Think more like MUBI rather than Netflix .
The Bravia 8 OLED ship with two remotes . The ECO remote has fewer buttonsand quick access buttons forNetflix , Prime Video , YouTube , and Disney+ , as well as Sony table service in Sony Pictures Core and Crunchyroll . Like late remotes , its buttons feel responsive and are not bunched up . The looking has change to a speckled look ( it ’s made from recycled plastic ) , and this remote can be charged via USB - C.
Features
TheNetflix Adaptive Calibrated Modeuses the TV ’s light sensor to adapt contrast and brightness look on the room ’s surroundings , and a new lineament is the Prime Video Calibrated Mode , which does the same for that cyclosis service .
There is IMAX Enhanced support with Disney+ . I had a conversation with the folks at DTS who confirmed that the characteristic has been rolled out to Google and Android TV models so far . As long as you ’ve got an IMAX compatible soundbar , you may switch from Dolby to DTS .
HDR covers HDR10,HLG , and Dolby Vision . Sony TVs are a rarity with supporting for Dolby ( Dolby Audio , Dolby Atmos ) and DTS ( DTS Digital Surround , DTS Express , DTS Master HD Audio , DTS High Resolution Audio , DTS :X ) . That ’s useful for DVDs , Blu - rays , and 4 K Blu - rays .
For voguish home devices , there is Google Assistant voice control and Apple Home . Alexa control is possible through another connected gadget . The Bravia 8 also supports the Bravia CAM ( not included ) , which can detect where you are and adjust the brightness , wakeless symmetricalness and volume of the TV consequently . you may also carry out Google meet picture call , though the idea of video call seems old chapeau .
Gaming
Gaming - overbold , the Bravia 8 OLED is n’t an all - rotund powerhouse , but it hasVRR , ALLM , 4K/120Hz , and SBTM(Source - free-base Tone Mapping ) . The latter make an HDR image optimised in line of work with the display ’s specs . There ’s no built - in AMD or Nvidia VRR for personal computer gamers .
There are PS5 - specific features in Auto Genre Picture mode that switch automatically to the TV ’s game mode . There is Auto HDR Tone Mapping ( which is SBTM ) and Dolby Vision Game mode .
The Bravia 8 ’s input lag is improved to 12.7ms compared to 16.4ms on the A80L. That puts it on the same level as the LG C4 OLED .
Connectivity
Of the four HDMI input , two are depute asHDMI 2.1(HDMI 3 and 4).Those two inputs supporteARC(for toss - through of lossless audio to a soundbar ) , auto low latency modality , and variable refresh rate . The other is left free for a machine that bear 4K/120Hz refresh rate .
If , however , you have more than two HDMI 2.1 machine , you ’ll have to switch . I mean it ’s unconvincing many will have more than two twist of this nature , but if you do , there are idiot box from LG and Samsung that can sate that hunger .
There ’s also a digital audio frequency out , two USB port , Ethernet , two planet connections and an input for terrestrial TV.Bluetooth 5.3and Wi - Fi are covered with wireless cyclosis , which includes built - inAirPlayand Chromecast .
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Picture Quality
If I still had the A80L in the testing room , this section would have been easy . But as I ’m running off my memory banks , I do n’t think there ’s a big difference between it and the Bravia 8 . That ’s not a knock , but if you are interested in jump from the A80L , I ’d say you do n’t require to .
By and magnanimous , the picture carrying into action is similar . There ’s the same cerise push to color – perhaps even more than on the A80L – and a 4 K Blu - beam of light in HDR10 of Across the Spider - Verse shows the Bravia 8 delivers rich and astray - lay out colours . Sony ’s processing draws out more tones for a richer and vibrant look , a slight boost over the A80L.
Banding , contouring and posterization are n’t an topic when watching Blade Runner 2049 on 4 K Blu - ray . Like it was with the A80L , the Bravia 8 delivers a brilliantly lifelike and refined image that ’s hard to rule a monumental fault with .
This 55 - in exemplar declare oneself excellent sharpness for its size , with what can only be key out as ecstatic levels of fine detail with a film such as Alien : Romulus . All the dirt , grunge and gritrock are fleshed out to transport the viewer into the film ’s world . Dolby Vision enrich the good sense of colour further , with a more vivid good sense of red , orangeness and yellows than I see on my personal A80L.
Contrast is unattackable with deep Black , and the brightest parts of the image look bright than on aPanasonic Z90A. There ’s a skillful sensory faculty of three - dimensionality , though not as majuscule as the LG G4 OLED .
Black degree in Professional mode with Zero Dark Thirty seem stain on , but there ’s a level of black crush – loss of point in the dismal parts – in Cinema and Standard mode in a lustrous way .
In fact , to touch upon Cinema and Standard modes , among the pinch Sony appear to have made is to contribute them nearer in look . celluloid mode offer mystifying , richer blacks over Standard but the two modes are nevertheless tight in appearance .
Stranger still is that Standard mode is onlyslightlybrighter than Cinema , with 430 nits on 10 % window liken to Cinema ’s 367 nit . received mode is less bright than it was on the A80L , but both Professional and Vivid have been hike up . Vivid strike 1231 nits on a 10 % window , burnished than any mid - orbit Sony OLED I ’ve examine .
Sony ’s MotionFlow processing has been take exception by LG ’s TruMotion in late years , but I still suppose Sony ’s solution is the best . On its Auto context , the processing is super - tricky with no tearing , mildness , or issues in condition of boundary definition . The Soap Opera Effect is seeable , but it ’s an excellent , static , and clean-cut image with high levels of detail .
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start the custom configurations and pushing them to ‘ max ’ results in judder and stutter , but it ’s still pretty good . The one limit I ’d avert is ‘ Clearness ’ . All it does is produce a buzz range of a function that look like it ’ll give you a worry .
Upscaling
It ’s with the upscaling that there ’s the large leap . watch What Is idle May Never Die from Game of Thrones ’ 2d time of year and a DVD of Spider - Man 2 , the Bravia 8 is n’t the sharpest mental image ( by nature ) but acquire a clean-cut , detailed , and imposingly defined mental image without much obtrusive noise .
There ’s a softness to the figure of speech – in the main with background point – but the XR Processor is excellent at peck up on the finest item . Film grain is treated normally rather than misguided as noise . It ’ll make you think you ’re watching at a caliber better than DVD .
Colours appear copious and resplendent , especially the loss and browns of Game of Thrones ’ cinematography , while there ’s shade and a natural facial expression to skin tones . away from some dark crush in some picture modes , the Bravia 8 ’s upscaling of blue - quality sources looks authentic .
Blu - rays also look fantastic . Everything I ’ve refer about its upscaling of videodisc apply to a Blu - ray of Avatar : colours are expressive but look genuine to the source . keenness , clarity and particular are excellent – nothing feels out of place .
It ’s with cyclosis content where the Bravia 8 ’s upscaling can look a touch inconsistent . A 720p YouTube stream can look cruder than carry , but play higher - quality streams – traitor series 2 on iPlayer – and the Bravia 8 ’s finesse is more on point .
Sound Quality
The Bravia 8 ’s audio recording system uses actuators to vibrate the screen and create speech sound . It ’s a clever system , though I ’m not sure this latest version is any better than before .
The Bravia 8 sound thinner than I think back of the A80L. It lacks heft and weight with Dolby Atmos films like Romulus and Dune : Part One . It ’s not the most expansive – it certainly does n’t hit beyond the boob tube ’s breadth and height – and to my ear , it ’s not the clearest - sounding , but it ’s good in terms of dialogue clarity .
It ’s self-coloured at reproducing the ambience of scene , and sound comes from where it ’s positioned on the CRT screen , but bass is lacking in scenes in Romulus and Civil War . The Bravia 8 can be partnered with the Bravia Theatre Bar 8 , but that has bass issue of its own .
DTS track fathom clearer , precipitous , and more detailed , with more dynamism , and they strike a better sense of flashiness . But it still sounds thin , lack weighting and punch . There is a lack of king and grunt to the Bravia 8 ’s audio for Sony ’s common standard .
There are options to search , but do they make a remainder ? Some volunteer more contingent , while others sound somewhat sharp . In any case , while the Bravia 8 is fine , it could use a level-headed arrangement to give it a lift .
Should you buy it?
somewhat rich , bolder , and more vivid with HDR sources , while its upscaling extracts every bit of item it can find from lower quality sources .
Like the A80L , the Bravia 8 is n’t the brightest TV , and in a burnished room you ’d be good off with a brighter OLED or Mini go TV
Final Thoughts
The Bravia 8 is undecomposed than theA80Lbut those improvements are slight , slight enough that I would n’t say you should upgrade if you have the A80L. If you have an A80J or old A - series OLED , then upgrade to the Bravia 8 make more sensory faculty .
The intent is more convenient when it comes to assembling the TV . The gaming performance is slimly better though no concessions are made to PC gamers . Google TVoffers an piquant fresh experience and unlike other Google TV models , the Bravia 8 has all the UK catch - up apps .
The audio carrying out is tepid but the photo is plentiful and more colorful , however svelte that improvement is . For home movie theatre fans the Bravia 8 is an excellent TV , especially if you have plenty of physical medium .
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But perhaps next clip Sony , you could use a brighter OLED control panel ? That would really give LG and Philips match something to think about .
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How we test
We try out every television we review thoroughly over an prolonged period of fourth dimension . We utilize industry stock tryout to compare features properly . We ’ll always enjoin you what we notice . We never , ever , accept money to brush up a ware .
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FAQs
The Bravia 7 is a Mini LED model , while the Bravia 8 is an OLED tv set .
Test Data
Full Specs
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