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Monday, February 10, 2025

Sony Bravia 8 Review


Sony has, for years, produced my total favourite televisions and so they have gotten even simpler to suggest lately due to costs which are extra in keeping with direct opponents. When Sony made the A95K in 2022 and adopted it up with the A95L the 12 months after, there was no query: Sony made my favourite OLED.

In 2024, Sony modified its branding and commenced a shift to utilizing the Bravia title together with sequential numbers, making it far simpler to know the place the TV you had been sat within the firm’s total lineup. The Bravia 8 is the one Sony tv that bears this new branding, nevertheless, because the A95 collection has not but converted (and it may not) – maybe not fairly as confusion-avoiding as I had hoped.

All that is to say that the Bravia 8, whereas an OLED, isn’t Sony’s nicest tv (it’s not even its highest-end Bravia collection named tv, because the mini-LED Bravia 9 stands above it). What it’s, nevertheless, is reasonably priced: for $2,000, the 65-inch Bravia 8 comes near what LG is asking for its lauded C4.

Sony Bravia 8 – Design and Build

Sony bounces round between one of some totally different tv designs and for the Bravia 8, it went with the dual-foot design it has used previously. The advantage of this design is that it permits the tv to take a seat practically flush to the highest of a media console, which then hides any of the cables and wires that could be strung behind it. This design works greatest in a front room with bookshelf-style audio system, but it surely’s not nice in the event you’re utilizing the much more ubiquitous soundbar.

In order to set a soundbar below the Bravia 8, you’ll have to interact the second degree on the toes which elevates the tv to permit for a number of inches of clearance. That’s loads of room for nearly any soundbar however comes at the price of hiding these aforementioned wires. Sony didn’t put any type of cable administration into this design, so in the event you do elect to go along with the elevated foot, you will notice the cables dangling behind it. It’s not my favourite.

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The remainder of the tv is fairly unremarkable, and that’s possible by design. Sony stored issues extraordinarily minimal with the Bravia 8, with principally no bezels on three sides and simply the thinnest one alongside the bottom to accommodate the IR receiver for the distant management. The total tv can also be very slim, though Sony determined to go along with a full-body casing on the again, as in comparison with how LG’s design division elected to go along with simply the OLED panel within the higher third. The result’s that Sony’s Bravia feels simpler to maneuver and arrange versus LG’s design, which might really feel such as you’re attempting to steadiness the load of the entire tv right into a nook of a bathe door.

The Bravia 8 options 4 HDMI ports however solely two of them are able to accepting 4K at 120HZ, which is the minimal I search for in a gaming tv. Compounding this concern is the truth that a kind of two ports is the eARC port, which suggests when you’ve got a PC and PlayStation or a PlayStation and an Xbox, you’ll have to both get a high-end HDMI switcher to swap between them otherwise you’ll turn into very conversant in the facet of the Bravia 8 because you’ll be over there plugging and unplugging a dangling HDMI cable everytime you need to change consoles.

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For a $2,000 tv within the higher tier of Sony’s Bravia line, not offering no less than two HDMI ports for high-framerate gaming along with eARC is egregious. Sony has been doing this for some time now (I complained about it within the Bravia 7, too) and it’s now not one thing I can overlook.

Aside from HDMI, the Bravia 8 has one LAN and optical enter every, two USB ports, an RF antenna enter, and Bluetooth 3.2 in addition to WiFi 6.

Sony’s speaker system makes use of a front-firing fundamental system that’s behind the OLED panel in addition to two side-firing audio system. The tv will also be used as a middle channel when paired with a Sony encompass sound system, which is likely one of the firm’s distinctive worth propositions throughout its televisions. It helps each Dolby Audio and Dolby Atmos.

Sony Bravia 8 – The Remote

If you learn my evaluation of the Bravia 7, the distant that’s included with the Bravia 8 gained’t shock you – it’s similar. It’s an important measurement, splitting the distinction between the hulking behemoths that Sony used to provide and the tiny ones Samsung presently makes. It has all of the buttons you want with none additional fluff and the design is accentuated by a blue speckle within the plastic.

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I’ve complained about this earlier than, however Sony places some moderately harsh raised edges on the 4 corners of the directional pad which uncomfortably dig into my thumb. If I’m doing any form of multiple-step navigation with these buttons, it fairly actually hurts after not a really very long time. I like that there’s a strategy to navigate to those buttons by really feel, however there needs to be a manner to do this and likewise not trigger me bodily discomfort.

The built-in shortcuts that got here included with the my evaluation unit of the Bravia 8 are precisely the identical as those that got here with the Bravia 7: Sony Pictures Core (a rebrand of the prior Bravia Pictures Core), Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Crunchyroll, and YouTube.

Sony Bravia 8 – Software and UI

Sony makes use of Google TV as its working system and it’s a reasonably dependable platform that permits for stable ranges of customization and the power to show off most suggestions through Apps Only mode do you have to want. “Recommendations” is a pleasant manner of claiming advertisements, but it surely’s good that there’s some choice to disable most of them (that’s greater than different working methods deign to supply).

95% of the time, Google TV feels quick and snappy. Sony additionally builds-in a strong customization system that’s as superior as the perfect within the trade whereas placing the likes of Samsung’s providing to disgrace. In addition to making a customized image possibility or deciding on from a set of others, the Bravia 8 helps a variety of HDR profiles together with HDR 10, HLG, IMAX Enhanced, and Dolby Vision.

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Sony’s televisions can really feel like they take a little bit of time to heat up, nevertheless. When you first activate the Bravia 8, Google TV can really feel prefer it’s not fairly responding to your actions and you’ll even watch it instantly calculate all of your button presses and activate them without delay. If you give the TV a couple of seconds this goes away, however I’ve discovered that over time, the period of time it’s important to anticipate a Sony TV to “heat up” so to talk takes longer.

Something else price mentioning is that usually, however not at all times, the Bravia 8 will flicker quickly for a couple of seconds when switching between excessive body charges 120Hz (corresponding to in Apex Legends or Marvel Rivals on PlayStation 5) and when quitting an software and returning to the principle display, which operates at a decrease 60Hz or 30Hz. This flicker is extreme and hurts my eyes if I take a look at it. It doesn’t occur each time, however in per week, I’d say it occurs 4 of the seven days. It additionally solely occurs when a related HDMI gadget switches between excessive body fee and commonplace, decrease body charges, so it has by no means occurred whereas utilizing a related PC and is just repeatable when utilizing a PlayStation since how that console manages framerate differs relying on the appliance. I’ve by no means seen this phenomenon occur earlier than on some other tv.

Sony Bravia 8 – Picture Quality

As is often the case with Sony televisions, the Bravia 8 has excellent coloration accuracy and presents a stunning image in each HDR and SDR codecs. In testing, the Bravia 8 lined 99.9% of sRGB, 83.5% of Adobe RGB, and 96.1% of the DCI P3 coloration gamuts with a delta E of 0.57 whereas by no means exceeding 1.18 – an impressive consequence. The Bravia 8 additionally doesn’t lean notably exhausting in any of the three main colours, as a substitute providing a really balanced set of tones straight out of the field.

The OLED panel Sony is utilizing right here isn’t the QD-OLED present in its A95L, however moderately the WOLED panel seen in televisions just like the LG G4 and C4. However, whereas LG has not too long ago discovered methods to juice the brightness of its WOLED panels to match the output of Samsung’s QD-OLED panels with out sacrificing coloration accuracy, Sony’s Bravia 8 isn’t utilizing this know-how, so it’s extra in keeping with what you’d anticipate to see from an excellent, previous-generation WOLED.

It doesn’t get as vivid as LG or Samsung’s most up-to-date choices – it is available in at sub-1,000 nits peak – and it additionally doesn’t assist 144Hz, though 120Hz might be sufficient for many players preferring the sofa over the desk. For setups like my testing space in my basement, the Bravia 8 is a lot vivid. However, you could be dissatisfied with its output in the event you plan to place it in a well-lit front room or throughout from a vivid window.

On that observe, whereas the Bravia 8 does a very good job for essentially the most half with suppressing reflections, it’s not the perfect I’ve seen and vivid sources will replicate with out a lot diffusion.

Panel Uniformity

I used to be left fairly dissatisfied by the Bravia 8’s panel uniformity, too. I’ve come to anticipate practically good panel uniformity from Sony however was let down this time by all 4 corners dipping considerably in delta E efficiency and measuring 5 to eight occasions worse than the efficiency close to the middle of the show. The excellent news is that more often than not, this gained’t end in a worse viewing expertise and I didn’t see any points with the films, televisions, or video games I examined on the Bravia 8. This result’s one thing I’ve come to anticipate from different manufacturers, I’m simply used to Sony performing higher right here.

All this stated, the principle advantages of OLED are on full show right here: no halo round vivid objects, improbable off-angle viewing, and deep, wealthy, colours are paired with instantaneous pixel response time. While tv fanatics will discover locations to complain and nitpick, really utilizing the Bravia 8 is an pleasurable expertise.

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Additionally, Sony’s processing continues to be top-tier and unbeatable, so upscaled or low bitrate content material is cleaned up higher and simply seems to be nicer on the Bravia 8 than on competing OLEDs. When NFL video games are nonetheless largely broadcast in artifact-riddled 720p, that could be vital to you.

Sony Bravia 8 – Gaming Performance

Sony’s Bravia 8 is an excellent gaming tv, outdoors of the flickering concern I famous earlier. It is very wonderful when paired with a PlayStation 5 because it acknowledges when one is related and optimizes the console’s HDR tone mapping and movie mode to offer the absolute best viewing expertise. The Bravia 8 additionally options VRR and ALLM in addition to source-based tone mapping, which is an HDMI know-how that permits a supply, corresponding to a PC or PlayStation, to regulate its output to take greatest benefit of the show’s HDR functionality.

Games look improbable on the Bravia 8. I examined the tv with Marvel Rivals, Apex Legends, Risk of Rain 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 with the PS5, in addition to Metaphor: ReFantazio and Cyberpunk 2077 on PC. In all instances, I used to be very pleased with the outcomes. Sharp, crystal-clear photos and excellently-rendered scenes are just about to be anticipated with OLED, and the Bravia 8 didn’t disappoint.

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Shadows and highlights are rendered very properly and when a sport’s dynamic vary is exceeded, corresponding to when wanting from a vivid space shortly right into a darkish space, ends in instantaneous publicity adjustment with no flash or flicker.

Sony’s sport menu isn’t flashy, but it surely will get the job executed and provides you quick access to all the settings players care about most, from the choice to bump the blacks so it’s simpler to see in FPS video games to turning VRR and movement blur on and off. Sony supplies a couple of built-in presets like FPS and RTS which regulate colours and black ranges to what it thinks are the perfect for these sorts of sport (FPS raises the shadow worth up, for instance).

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Sony PlayStation house owners are additionally capable of deal with the Bravia 8 like an enormous PlayStation Portal due to built-in distant play. It’s not fairly as helpful as with the ability to tote round a mini show wherever in your own home, but when your gaming room doubles as a spot for visitors, you’ll be able to fireplace up your PlayStation on the Bravia 8 in your front room due to this included function.

I do want that the Bravia 8 achieved increased peak brightness in order that the lighting results in video games like Cyberpunk had been extra dramatic, however that’s a minor criticism.

Sony Bravia 8 – Audio Quality

Sony has executed a reasonably good job with built-in audio in its most up-to-date televisions and the Bravia 8 is greatest when tasked with dialogue, as the bounds of physics forestall the mids and lows from being as full as they need to be because of the small chassis of the tv. That stated, I’ve definitely heard worse and despite the fact that I at all times suggest some type of exterior sound system with a flatscreen tv, Sony’s built-in audio is fairly truthful.

Sony Bravia 8 – The Competition

In a vacuum, the Sony Bravia 8 is excellent. It has nice image high quality, wonderful coloration copy, respectable sound, helps players in a wide range of methods, and is well-priced. However, its prime competitors comes within the type of the LG C4 and there, the C4 is best as a result of it will get brighter and it affords extra 4K 120Hz ports – and it’s a couple of hundred {dollars} cheaper. The LG G4 and Samsung S90D are additionally superior thanks to raised OLED know-how. Although Sony continues to be king of processing and upscaled content material simply seems to be higher on a Sony show versus the competitors, which may not be sufficient.



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