Sony Bravia 8 (XR80) vs Sony X85L

Sony Bravia 8 performs reasonably well in terms of HDR brightness. A maximum brightness level of 880 nits is satisfactory and allows for well-rendered lighting effects in most scenes. In the tested segments of the films Life of Pi and Sicario 2, the TV presents itself quite well, offering vibrant and detailed images that fully capture the atmosphere of these productions.

However, a greater challenge arises in a scene from the film The Meg, where the screen is entirely very bright. In such situations, the limitations of OLED technology become apparent, as the TV loses brightness, dropping to around 450 nits. Such a drop is less satisfying, especially when the entire scene requires intense lighting. Despite these limitations, Sony Bravia 8 remains a competitive model, offering excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and 74% coverage of the BT.2020 standard. This results in rich colours and precise details, significantly enhancing the quality of HDR content viewing and making for a pleasurable experience.

The Sony X85L TV offers solid HDR performance with a brightness of 750 nits, which is sufficient to enjoy vibrant effects. In scenes of moderate difficulty, such as the first, third, or fifth test scenes, a brightness of around 600 nits allows you to fully experience the HDR effect. Unfortunately, in more demanding segments, like the scene from the film Sicario 2, the TV reveals its limitations. Drops in brightness to 250 nits make the HDR effect lose its impressive quality and resemble ordinary SDR. Nonetheless, it is worth highlighting the very good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at 95%, which definitely deserves praise and positively impacts the overall image quality.

The best factory mode available on the Sony Bravia 8 television is IMAX Enhanced, which provides the most cinematic experience, although it is not set up perfectly. The TV tries to replicate cinema settings as faithfully as possible, however, certain shortcomings are noticeable. Starting with white balance, both for SDR materials and 4K, there is a clear dominance of blue. This makes the picture appear too cold, taking away its naturalness. Tests using Colour Checker show that colours shift towards cooler shades, which may lead to less accurate colour reproduction and makes the image less realistic.

As for brightness and contrast characteristics, gamma shows a significant drop at the end of the graph. This means that dark details may be too dim, while bright elements are too bright, causing them to lose subtlety and become less visible. As can be seen in the sky - in the comparison photo. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve is significantly above the reference value, causing the bright elements of the image to be too intense. As a result, users may perceive the image as unnatural, and bright areas may lose detail, negatively impacting the overall viewing quality.

The television Sony X85L has been tested in IMAX Enhanced mode, which, while associated with world-class cinema, does not guarantee an image consistent with the director's intent. The main issue is the white balance – there is a noticeable strong dominance of blue and significant deficiencies in red. As a result, the image becomes unnaturally cool and looks artificial. Errors in colour reproduction were confirmed by the Colour Checker test, which showed significant discrepancies – colours were "scattered" like shots from a rifle, and only a few samples hit the target values. This clearly shows that the precision of colour reproduction leaves much to be desired.

The brightness of the image is one of the positive features of the television. The gamma for HD content is at an acceptable level, although minor errors occur, but generally it is quite good. However, the issue remains the brightness characteristic for 4K materials, controlled by the EOTF curve. It is evident here that very small, bright elements of the image are too dim, which is the result of the limited number of backlight zones due to the design of the television.

The calibration process of the Sony Bravia 8 television has brought significant improvements in image quality. The white balance has been distinctly enhanced, both for SDR content and 4K HDR, with minimal errors in the middle section of the graph. Gamma proved to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the calibration – it has been completely stripped of previous drops, which significantly affected brightness stability and better detail reproduction in dark parts of the image. The EOTF curve has also been levelled out, making bright elements of the image appear more natural, and the overall tonal dynamics are now more balanced.

However, the most attention should be paid to colour reproduction, where despite the calibration, there are still some issues. Sony has omitted the use of a CMS system in this model, which allows for very precise control over colours. Consequently, the Colour Checker test for 4K materials still shows significant errors in colour samples. Despite these difficulties, we recommend carrying out the calibration, as the effects are noticeable and significantly enhance image quality, especially in terms of brightness and contrast.

Thanks to the use of calibration tools offered by Sony X85L, it has been possible to significantly improve the image quality. After calibration, the white balance for HD content is much more stable, making colours look more natural and enhancing the authenticity of the image. Although it's not perfect, these changes allow viewers to enjoy a more realistic representation of colours, eliminating the earlier cool tone. The gamma, which already performed reasonably well, has been adjusted to an even better version. As a result, tonal transitions and brightness are more consistent, positively impacting the depth and detail of the image.

As for 4K content, despite efforts, the white balance still struggles with a lack of red, which can cause overly warm colours in some scenes. Synthetic tests showed that the EOTF curve in HDR is fairly stable, with a slight boost in mid-bright scenes. However, in actual film material, the TV can still be too bright with fine, light details, which is a result of the limitations of large local dimming technology.

Nonetheless, the calibration has brought significant benefits, particularly in terms of colour accuracy, improving overall image quality and providing a more natural and consistent directorial vision.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in low-quality materials on the ChooseTV 8 is lacking. Unfortunately, the gentle gradation feature (which was available in previous models) is missing, which is a significant downside. The digital noise reduction function can improve tonal transitions quite well, but it also tends to remove some details, such as clouds in scenes from the film The Martian, which may not appeal to everyone. When it comes to digital processing, the Sony XR80 TV performs quite well. The model in the test scenes is displayed without noticeable errors, and the branches in the background are not overly jagged. This shows that ChooseTV 8 is capable of processing complex image details at low resolution well.

In terms of smoothing tonal transitions, the Sony X85L television doesn’t offer any dedicated enhancement options, which is a bit of a downside. On the other hand, the image scaling performs quite well – the television adds a touch of artificial sharpness, which can make details such as tree branches more pronounced, although sometimes with visible jagged edges. This type of effect may appeal to some viewers who prefer a more detailed image.

Sony Bravia 8 offers a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which lays the groundwork for smooth viewing of dynamic content such as sports and games. As a result, movements are sharp and fluid. For more demanding users, the Sony XR80 television is equipped with an advanced motion smoothing system, which is divided into three segments: Smoothness (Film), Smoothness (Camera), and Clarity. The first two are responsible for adjusting the level of blur and smoothing of the image. The third option, concerning clarity, will be described in more detail below. Each of the parameters can be tailored to personal preferences, allowing users to find the optimal setting suited to their individual needs.

Sony X85L, equipped with a 120 Hz panel, will meet the expectations of a wide range of users – from sports and gaming fans to movie enthusiasts. Movie lovers will surely appreciate the presence of one of the best motion smoothing systems, known as Motionflow. This system offers adjustment using smoothness and clarity sliders – smoothness is responsible for fluid motion, eliminating the stuttering effect, while clarity enhances the sharpness of fast scenes, reducing blur.

Sony Bravia 8 has significantly improved its compatibility with consoles compared to earlier models. The TV supports variable refresh rate (VRR), which eliminates screen tearing, and is compatible with graphics cards, ensuring smooth visuals. The auto low latency mode (ALLM) reduces input lag, which is crucial in fast-paced games. Dolby Vision with low latency additionally provides impressive HDR effects that look fantastic during gameplay.

The Sony XR80 TV also features a Game Bar, which allows quick access to settings and monitoring parameters while gaming. An interesting option is the ability to enable a virtual crosshair on the screen, which can provide a slight advantage in shooter games.

A downside is the lack of support for 1440p@120hz resolution, which could make gaming easier for users with less powerful graphics cards. Additionally, the Sony XR80 only has two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is typically used to connect an audio system via eARC, limiting the number of available ports for connecting next-gen consoles.

Sony X85L offers a fairly solid set of features for gamers, making it an attractive choice for gaming enthusiasts. First and foremost, the television has a 120 Hz panel, which translates to smooth and dynamic image display, ideal for both fast-paced action games and more demanding sports titles. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, allowing for the full capabilities of next-generation consoles to be utilised. Additionally, Sony X85L supports VRR (variable refresh rate) technology, which helps reduce stuttering and artifacts during gameplay, ensuring a smooth experience. The television also supports G-Sync, which is particularly beneficial for gamers using NVIDIA graphics cards, allowing for screen refresh rate synchronization with GPU performance, eliminating screen tearing. It’s worth mentioning the Game Bar feature, which facilitates quick access to important game-related settings, such as VRR, brightness levels, or display modes, making it convenient and useful during gameplay.

However, there are some limitations. The television does not support HGiG, which may be a downside for some gamers, as HGiG optimises HDR effect rendering in games, providing a more authentic visual experience. Additionally, the Dolby Vision mode, although available, is not practical for gaming due to very high input lag.