Verdict
An splendid organic light-emitting diode for home cinema fans with its nuanced picture and levelheaded quality that ’s a pace up over its rivals . It ’s arguably more of what ’s fare before but it ’s strong to critique the Sony A80L when the functioning is this completed .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Sony XR-55A80L sit below the forthcomingA95L QD OLEDand follows in the aftermath of mid - range OLEDs such as theA80Jand A80 K , the former being a TV this website liked a lot when reviewed in 2022 .
Competition is formidable with the the likes of of theLG C3,Philips OLED808 , and Samsung S90C but with the A80J ’s performance still occupy in our memory bank , it ’s with promise the Sony A80L can do just as well if not better .
Design
The design of Sony ’s mid - range OLED has been consistent these last few years with its ‘ One Slate ’ design . The bezel is topnotch - thin to the level where you ’d postulate to squint to see it , which aid the concealment take as much space as potential without a stumpy bezel infiltrating the regard experience .
The understructure ( or sub ) can be arranged in one of three way : out towards sides , in the centre or raised up to accommodate a soundbar . It ’s fantastically versatile in terms of matching a quad , though in its soundbar place it can only adapt taproom of a sure size of it . I endeavor to add together Sony ’s ownHT - A5000 , and it did n’t fit . braggart bars will call for more space in front of the TV to sit in .
The rearward bodywork gives it a bit of girth , debase the depth out to 53 mm . That ’s not much but if you ’re bulwark mounting the Sony XR-55A80L it wo n’t ride flush against a wall .
Viewing angles are strong – this is an organic light-emitting diode after all – but the A80L is n’t the brightest concealment and will be well - dish in dimmer , darker room .
Google TV interface
The UI is divide into several tabs : For You , Movies , TV , Apps , Library and Sony . For You is the general home plate screen with recommendations for stuff to watch , aided by ratings from Rotten Tomatoes that might convince you to select a form of address .
The ‘ Continue take in ’ rowing makes it easier to dive back into a film or program . It only works across certain apps such asApple TV+ , Disney+ , Prime Video , and Netflix – contentedness from UK catch - up and on - requirement apps does n’t show up here , which is a pity .
A yoke of aspects I ’m not fond of is the arcdegree of scroll to get to the bottom of the independent screen . It gives me vibes of the endless Fire idiot box interface when it ’d be good serve by being condensed . Once at the bottom , you ’ll ( inexplicably ) get hold the ‘ Watchlist ’ that gathers titles you ’ve saved to look on later . While it can be accessed in the ‘ Library ’ tab , it ought to be much higher otherwise who would know it ’s even there ?
prompt preferences can be access to the right ( stimulus , picture preferences , notifications ) , or by pressing the preferences button on the remote for just mental picture and sound setting .
Within the interface is Sony ’s Eco preferences , collate all the A80L ’s top executive - save up feature of speech in one spot . Technically there ’s nothing here that’snew , but it ’s presented differently with an image of a tree that grows branches and leaves to show the amount of energy being deliver . Will it catch on ? Perhaps , but energy saving results in a dimmer , less attractive image despite the muscularity saving promises .
The remote that ship with the Sony XR-55A80L are both of good quality . There ’s one with an aluminium shininess that sway fewer button and feels nicely weight with quick approach buttons to the ilk ofNetflix , Prime Video , YouTube , andDisney+ ; as well as Sony ’s own services inBRAVIA Coreand Crunchyroll .
The other remote control is packed with buttons , yet palpate as nice to use with its soft , cushy push button response . The lack of quick entree release is the one aspect I miss not have on this remote .
Features
There are four HDMI inputs but only two are fix asHDMI 2.1compatible ( HDMI 3 and 4 ) . Across those two comment is livelihood for eARC ( for passthrough of lossless audio such as Dolby Atmos to a compatible soundbar),auto low latency modeand variable refresh rates .
If you have a soundbar link up to theeARC port , that leaves one other for another HDMI 2.1 gimmick . If you have a PS5 , an Xbox Series console , or any another 2.1 compliant equipment , then you ’ll have only one input to act with .
Other connexion amount to a digital optic out , two USB port , composite video remark , Ethernet , two satellite connexion and an stimulant for terrestrial TV . Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi - Fi are wireless option , the latter addingApple AirPlay 2and Chromecast compatibility to stream from a machine to the boob tube .
There are smarts but not as many found on an LG or Samsung with the A80L ’s Google Assistant voice control andApple HomeKit . Alexa control is possible through another connected gimmick ( say , an Echo talker ) .
BRAVIA Core offers a range of Sony titles that can be streamed in 4 K , andIMAX Enhanced . There ’s alsoNetflix Adaptive Calibrated Modethat uses the TV ’s light sensor to align dividing line and smartness depending on the room ’s firing conditions .
As the A80L and the PS5 are Sony twist there ’s crossover with a few features . Auto Genre Picture mode ( basically ALLM ) automatically flip the TV in and out of its game quick state so the A80L is n’t stuck in plot style when you ’re watch iPlayer , for example .
machine HDR Tone Mapping raise the HDR performance of the A80L ’s screen for the best performance . Dolby Vision Gaming is n’t supported , but 4K/120Hz andvariable refresh rates(VRR ) are . I measured input lag at 16.4ms , which is not as tight as LG and Samsung organic light-emitting diode , but VRR can bring the storey of latency down further .
Picture Quality
Starting with the set ’s upscaling and armed with a videodisc of There Will Be Blood , the Sony XR-55A80L ’s upscaling is not the sharpest but that seems deliberate to ward off producing an overly work figure of speech .
There ’s less stochasticity and softness than I expected for a DVD , the television receiver ’s XR Clear Image technical school identifies and fix character reference ’ faces , objects , and the landscape of the film ’s possibility ( and wordless ) sequence with nice definition .
It drums up good levels of okay detail , whether it ’s the dress or grizzled , foul typeface and hired man of Plainview and his prospectors . There ’s a slight pixelated show to objects in the desktop of shots , but colour appear natural , as do complexions . It ’s a interchangeable degree of performance with a DVD of the Tree of Life , and though edges are lenient , the film holds up the right way on a 55 - inch screen . Upscaling of 480p cognitive content is handled better than ask .
move to a Blu - re of Taxi Driver , and the A80L ’s upscaling does n’t add together nor take away from what ’s already there , maintaining the film ’s rich , filmic facial expression . Colours are steady , natural , and wide ranging . It ’s a great - looking presentment .
A Blu - electron beam of Thor : The Dark World shows the A80L is n’t interested in a razor - sharp demonstration – the LG C3 has the sharpness in that circumstance – but the Sony offer high level of item and clarity . Colours are rich , especially in the scenes set on Asgard with lovely golds and reds , and the A80L conveys an excellent good sense of dividing line in the film ’s darker scenes . It ’s a consistently fine-looking image .
With HDR the Sony A80L is n’t as promising as the LG C3 or Samsung S90C. measure on a 10 % HDR window , it lead out at 724 nits in Standard musical mode and 699 nit in Custom . It doles out a footling more brightness level with smaller highlight than heavy objects but the C3 hits greater peaks than the Sony A80L can muster .
That ensue in scene that do n’t have as much punch or vibrancy and liken the A80L to a ( 65 - in ) Samsung S90C demonstrates that some daytime scenes have a gray British ‘ overcast ’ sunup on the A80L. But what the Sony lacks in outright brightness , it makes up for in terms of finesse , nuance , and subtlety , craft images that sense more genuinely filmic than they do on the Samsung , especially in HDR .
Watching The English in HLG HDR on iPlayer ( in Standard mode ) , the A80L brings out the TV ’s gorgeously rich colour pallet with its lush , ample , and verdant special K , deep blue , and gamey demarcation cinematography . The A80L ekes out good brightness with highlights ( a scene with candlelight look mythical ) and combined with OLED ’s splendid black levels and contrast , night - clock time scenes search sumptuous .
complexion are pull back in a convincingly lifelike manner ; the A80L reveal the shades and tones of actors ’ faces with more nuance than the Samsung S90C manages . Its sense of detail in an prototype ’s darkest persona is more robust and telltale , and add to that its potent , richer black levels , good good sense of profundity to the image and definition to edges – and the Sony often wows .
With Extraction II on Netflix , it ’s lift - off in terms of lucidness , bite , and definition with this Dolby Vision - graded film . The Sony is at its sound with 4 K HDR content , so while the crisp , muted colours of the Extraction subsequence do n’t jump off the screen , the biggest compliment I can pay is that the A80L renders it all in a convincingly innate way .
And to further extol the A80L ’s picture caliber , Sony ’s movement processing is class - leading . Blurriness and randomness with motion is virtually erased , judder is managed to a minimum and seldom an issue in the fasting and flowing one - slam scenes of Extraction II . It can count a little weird on some o , the Soap Opera Effect ( SOE ) is a signature more noticeable when watching videodisk , but more often than not the Sony A80L is consistently politic , rude , and clear with its move processing .
Sound Quality
Packing Sony ’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ set - up , the A80L ’s audio operation is much better than the competition it ’s up against . It bewitch Johnny Greenwood ’s expansive , dynamic score in There Will Be Blood well , delivering a bighearted spacious soundstage with frizzly , clear vocal clearness .
With The English the Sony convey more intensity and book than the Samsung S90C : gunfire , dialogue and medicine all stockpile more shock on the A80L. It ’s tart , well in terms of item and definition , and conveys the ambient vocalize in scenes with more uncloudedness . scene feel much more vividly recognise than they do on the Samsung rival .
Bass is nice and quash distorted shape when the book is pushed up but there is a limit to how deep it can go . Sounds are mapped to their position on cover well and steer across the silver screen in effect , lend to the A80L ’s sense of precision .
It ’s worth noting the Sony can perish - through DTS audio frequency , which is great for home cinema fan who have a sound system of rules compatible with DTS tracks .
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Should you buy it?
Like it was with the A80J , the A80L proves itself to be a very revealing performing artist with 4 yard HDR content .
The A80L gives up some HDR brightness to the LG C3 and Samsung S90C , lack some plangency and punch with some HDR message .
Final Thoughts
Like the A80J , the Sony XR-55A80L is very clearly a TV with figure on the home base cinema market . It ’s not as wide - set out in its talents as either theLG C3orSamsung S90Cwhen it come to smart and ( world-wide ) gaming , nor is it as bright as those TVs with HDR capacity , giving up a degree of punch and vibrancy to those screen .
But it ’s capable of greater nuance and subtlety with its picture , its motion acquisition are class - head , and it sounds better than either rival . A design that lodge dissimilar placements , and a tricksy user user interface are ticks in the positive column . It ’s competitively priced too , making the Sony XR-55A80L an excellent choice for home film fans .
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every tv we review soundly over an extended catamenia of time . We use industry received tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always enjoin you what we find . We never , ever , swallow money to review a Cartesian product .
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FAQs
At the prison term of review ( July 2023 ) , the Sony A80L does not digest gambling in Dolby Vision HDR .
