Sony Bravia 8 MK2 vs Philips OLED820

Thanks to the new QD-OLED panel, the Sony Bravia 8 II can achieve astronomically high brightness levels of around 2000 nits, translating to near-reference quality in films and series recorded in HDR format. In test materials such as Life of Pi and Sicario 2, the effect is absolutely stunning – details in bright parts of the image remain perfectly visible, and night scenes captivate with depth and contrast. However, it’s not perfect. Compared to its most formidable competitors, the Bravia 8 II shows a noticeable drop in brightness during full-screen, very bright scenes. When comparing peak luminance with 100% white brightness in HDR mode, the Bravia 8 II can appear two or three times dimmer than LG G5 or Samsung S95F models. This was particularly evident in a scene from the film The Meg – the screen became noticeably darker than in competitors' televisions. Despite this flaw, the Bravia 8 II's results still place it at the forefront of the market. It deserves praise for its absolutely top-notch colour gamut coverage – nearly 100% DCI-P3 and close to 90% BT.2020. These parameters allow full potential extraction from HDR content and provide a cinematic experience in the comfort of your home.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Philips OLED820 uses the same class of WOLED panel found in its biggest rivals – the LG C5 and the Samsung S90F. This means we can expect really solid results. This year, mid-range OLED panels can exceed the threshold of a thousand nits, and the tested model reaches around 1300 nits in some films. This is an outstanding result, allowing the director's vision to be conveyed with incredible precision, as this is the brightness range in which modern productions are mastered. Of course, there are situations where even the OLED820 has to compromise. Full-screen scenes flooded with white, like those in the film The Meg, can drop brightness to 400–500 nits, which clearly diminishes the effect. This is a characteristic of OLED technology that has not yet been fully eliminated. Despite this limitation, it's hard not to appreciate the HDR in this model – high luminance and a wide coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at 99% make the image look simply fantastic.

Right out of the box, the Bravia 8 II performs really well. In the best IMAX® Enhanced mode, the TV manages to render colours in a pleasant and natural way, although "well" doesn’t mean "best in class" here. The white balance definitely requires adjustment – skin tones tend to lean towards slightly pink/cool tones, both in SDR and HDR content. We also noticed that the EOTF curve characteristics show a tendency to brighten the darkest parts of the image. This is likely due to the manufacturer's desire to highlight as many details as possible, even in deep shadows. Is this a good approach? It's hard to say definitively, but we know one thing – it's not an ideal solution.

The colour reproduction in the factory settings really surprised us, and in a positive way. The Philips OLED820, switched to Filmmaker mode, immediately showed that it was quite well tuned in terms of colour. The white balance was relatively accurate, although there was a slight deficiency in the blue hue, which sometimes gave the image a slightly yellowish tint. However, this is not a drawback that particularly interferes with everyday viewing. A bigger problem arose with the brightness characteristics. The gamma chart clearly deviated from the ideal, as the line was below the expected values, causing the image to be excessively brightened, and the colours looked as if they were covered with a light milky filter. This effect was also noticeable in tests using the Colour Checker pattern, where more pronounced errors appeared.

After calibration, the excessive cooling of the image caused by an overly strong boost in blue colour was primarily eliminated. The reds became deeper, and the skin tones took on a natural, healthy appearance. The actors, who previously seemed "cold," now look much livelier and more convincing on screen. However, one thing hasn't changed – the analysis of the EOTF curve still shows that the Bravia 8 II has a tendency to brighten the darkest parts of the image. It's hard to say whether this is a deliberate effect by the manufacturer or a consequence of the panel's design and software. In practice, this means that scenes that the creators wanted to leave in deep darkness can reveal more details than intended. Despite this, the reception of the image after calibration is clearly better – the warm, natural tones and realistic skin shades make viewing on the Bravia 8 II simply more pleasant to the eye.

After calibration, both the Filmmaker mode and the gaming mode improved quite a bit. A slight adjustment of the white balance and enhancement of the brightness characteristics yielded excellent results with SDR content – the image looked nearly perfect, natural, and very close to the reference. For HDR material, the situation was similar; the colours looked fantastic, and it was hard to find fault with anything. However, we did notice a certain characteristic, which we had already pointed out when comparing scenes from the film Billy Lynn. The analysis of the EOTF curve showed that the TV has a slight tendency to dim details in the blacks, meaning that the darkest parts are not always displayed exactly as the director intended. Nevertheless, the effect after calibration is superb, and the OLED820 is emerging as one of the more interesting screens in its class. A little bit of fine-tuning is all that’s needed, and there’s really nothing to worry about.

Upscaling and digital image processing are a true showcase of the capabilities of the Bravia 8 II. Sony has long been regarded as a master in this field, and here it only confirms its reputation. The proprietary XR processor can extract nearly the maximum from lower resolution materials – whether it's TV or an old movie from a DVD, the image appears clearer, with more detail and better depth. Sure, if we feed it exceptionally poor-quality material (like our archival photo with the Model), it won't work miracles, but in everyday viewing, it’s hard to find fault.

The gentle gradation feature also performs excellently. In the “Medium” setting, it effectively smooths tonal transitions, eliminating stripes on colourful and grey gradients, while not destroying film grain or fine image details. It’s this balance between delicacy and effectiveness that keeps Sony TVs among the best on the market in this category.

Fortunately, the earlier effects of the mentioned posterisation can be quite effectively mitigated. The "distortion reduction" feature set to medium handles unwanted colour banding well, improving the smoothness of tonal transitions. It does sometimes work a bit too aggressively and smooths out some details – such as the minor imperfections of the actors’ skin – but despite that, it can be considered worth using without major compromises. The upscaling in the OLED820 also performs well. The test image with the model is exceptionally soft, sometimes perhaps too much, although this can be remedied with a slight increase in sharpness in the picture menu – that's a matter of individual preference. The absence of overscan issues with very low-resolution content is also commendable, allowing us to not worry about the image being unnecessarily cropped.

Motion fluidity is practically a closed topic in the case of the Bravia 8 II. The OLED with 120 Hz refresh rate naturally provides a very clean, clear image in dynamic scenes, so it's hard to complain about anything here. However, one of the best smoothing systems on the market deserves particular praise. They allow for precise adjustment of movie fluidity to personal preferences – from gentle smoothing to an almost "theatrical" effect – without the risk of artificial jumps, image tearing, or annoying artifacts. It's one of those features that will be appreciated both during movie screenings and while watching sports.

Motion fluidity is an area where OLEDs always shine, and the Philips OLED820 confirms this rule. The panel itself offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which will mainly benefit PC gamers, but even with standard TV sources or consoles, where it operates at 120 Hz, motion is fast, sharp, and simultaneously smooth, without any signs of smearing. This is thanks to the remarkable response time between pixels, which ensures the image maintains clarity in every dynamic scene. The manufacturer has also added their own smoothness enhancer called "Motion Style." In the menu, we find two sliders – the first, responsible for smoothness, allows for the adjustment of the number of artificially added frames in films. This way, we can choose a raw, cinematic character with clearly visible film frames or a more theatrical image with smooth motion. The second slider is for motion blur reduction, particularly useful in sports broadcasts. Here, we definitely recommend setting it to the maximum value, as the effect is truly excellent.

Sony has really done its homework from previous years and in the Bravia 8 II, it has prepared a package of features for gamers that is hard to describe as anything other than "almost perfect". We have everything you’d expect from equipment of this class – VRR, ALLM, Dolby Vision Gaming mode, HGiG, and even a handy Game Bar that allows you to quickly check parameters and change settings without leaving the game. It's also worth noting how smoothly and seamlessly these features work – no delays, no strange stutter. You simply turn on the game and everything looks as it should. Unfortunately, there are a few "buts". The manufacturer still provides us with only two full bandwidth HDMI ports, so if someone has a console, a PC, and another device like a Soundbar connected via eARC, the fun begins with plugging and unplugging cables. It's also surprising that there's no support for 1440p at 120 Hz – particularly important for Xbox gamers. Overall though – this is one of those TVs that can comfortably be placed in the centre of a gaming lounge and enjoyed without major compromises.

The Philips OLED820 is one of the most comprehensive TVs for gamers. Onboard, we find practically everything one could expect: two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps (shame there aren't four), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), support for Dolby Vision in games, and a good implementation of the HGiG mode. The TV also handles lower resolutions at 120 Hz without issue, so you can count on great flexibility when choosing different picture modes on your console. Philips also adds a Game Bar – a panel that allows you to change picture modes, add a crosshair, or preview parameters. Although it looks a bit clunky and is less refined than its competitors, it gets the job done. In practice, therefore, the OLED820, in addition to a full set of four HDMI 2.1 connections, offers almost everything a gamer could need.