Sony A95L vs Sony Bravia 8 MK2

Sony A95L offers an incredible HDR effect, achieving an impressive brightness level of 1500 nits in scenes such as those from Life of Pi or Sicario 2. These results are truly remarkable – the bright elements in these films practically come to life on the screen, providing the viewer with immersive visual experiences. The only thing that can be noticed is minor issues with maintaining brightness in a scene from The Meg, where the entire scene is flooded with light. However, this is a natural effect associated with OLED technology. The wide coverage of the BT.2020 colour palette at 89% also deserves high praise, placing A95L Sony among the top televisions in terms of colour reproduction. All this is made possible by the QD-OLED panel from Samsung Displays.

Thanks to the new QD-OLED panel, the Sony Bravia 8 II can achieve astronomically high brightness levels of around 2000 nits, translating into nearly reference-quality for films and series recorded in HDR format. In test materials such as Life of Pi and Sicario 2, the effect is truly captivating – details in bright areas of the image remain perfectly visible, and night scenes enchant with depth and contrast. However, it is not perfect. Compared to its fiercest competitors, the Bravia 8 II shows a noticeable drop in brightness during full-screen, very bright scenes. When comparing maximum peak luminance with 100% white brightness in HDR mode, the Bravia 8 II appears even two or three times dimmer than LG G5 or Samsung S95F models. This was especially evident in a scene from the film The Meg – the screen became noticeably darker than in competing televisions. Despite this shortcoming, the results of the Bravia 8 II still place it among the top of the market. It deserves praise for its absolutely top-tier colour gamut coverage – nearly 100% DCI-P3 and close to 90% BT.2020. These parameters allow for fully extracting the potential of HDR content and providing experiences akin to those in a cinema within the comfort of home.

The best factory mode for colour reproduction in the Sony A95L is IMAX Enhanced. This mode appears to be well calibrated at first glance, but upon closer examination, several areas requiring improvement can be identified. Firstly, the white balance for both SDR content and 4K HDR is affected by an excess of blue and red, leading to a subtle pinkish hue, particularly noticeable on neutral tones. As a result, skin tones are distorted, impacting the realism of the displayed image. This is clearly visible in the comparison image below. Additionally, the Colour Checker test confirms the presence of these errors – colour samples often deviate from their reference values, indicating some inconsistencies in the factory colour reproduction of the A95L Sony. Maximum deltaE error values reach up to 5.8, which is a clear indicator that colours are not always reproduced as precisely as they should be.

Regarding brightness characteristics, gamma for HD/SDR content is generally quite accurate, maintaining an appropriate balance between brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, a significant jump is visible at the end of the graph, leading to a strong brightening of the image when the screen is entirely flooded with white. This can make scenes with a very bright background, such as snowy landscapes or bright daylight, appear too harsh and lose detail. For HDR content, the EOTF curve, which controls luminance, is slightly boosted compared to reference values. This, in turn, causes the image to appear somewhat brighter than it should, which can affect the viewing of more subtle details in the darker parts of the frame.

Straight out of the box, the Bravia 8 II performs quite well. In the best IMAX® Enhanced mode, the television is able to render colours in a pleasant and natural way, although “good” doesn’t mean “best in class” here. The white balance definitely needs adjustment – skin tones tend to lean towards slightly pink/cool hues, both in SDR and HDR materials. We also noticed that the characteristic of the EOTF curve reveals a certain tendency to brighten the darkest parts of the image. This is probably 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 is not an ideal solution.

Sony A95L offers excellent tools for professional screen calibration, which allows users to unlock the maximum potential of the IMAX Enhanced mode. We utilised these tools to achieve a picture quality that will satisfy even the most demanding viewers. After calibration, the white balance for both 4K HDR and SDR content looks simply superb – almost perfect. The Colour Checker test confirmed that deltaE errors do not exceed the value of "2", which means that colour reproduction is incredibly accurate, and any deviations are practically unnoticeable to the human eye.

Calibration also brought significant improvements in terms of brightness – gamma is now perfectly balanced, eliminating the previous issue of excessive lightening in scenes with very bright backgrounds. As a result, even the most vibrant moments, such as snowy landscapes or intense daytime scenes, appear natural, without any risk of overexposure. The EOTF curve, responsible for controlling luminance in HDR content, has also been improved – it now reaches reference levels, both in synthetic tests and during practical movie watching.

As a result of the calibration, A95L Sony offers outstanding experiences, whether you are watching content from regular television or your favourite films. Every detail is reproduced exactly as the creators intended – without unnecessary brightening, with perfectly rendered colours and appropriate depth. This demonstrates that this television, after professional tuning, is capable of competing with the best screens on the market, delivering a picture that truly delights.

After calibration, the excessive cooling of the image caused by an overly strong boost of the blue colour was mainly eliminated. The reds have become deeper, and skin tones have taken on a natural, healthy appearance. The actors, who previously seemed "cold," now look much livelier and more convincing on screen. However, one thing has not changed – the analysis of the EOTF curve still shows that the Bravia 8 II has a tendency to brighten the darkest areas of the image. It is difficult to determine whether this is a deliberate method used by the manufacturer or a result of the panel and software design. In practice, this means that scenes which the creators intended to leave in deep darkness can reveal more details than anticipated. Despite this, the image quality after calibration is clearly improved – warm, natural colours and realistic skin tones make viewing on the Bravia 8 II simply more pleasant to the eye.

The tonal transition smoothing feature in Sony A95L works really well and is worth noting. We recommend setting it to "Medium" because at this level, you achieve the perfect compromise – no artifacts appear, and the image looks incredibly natural and pleasing to the eye. As a result, the transitions between different shades are smooth while maintaining the detail of the scenes, which further enhances the viewing comfort.

When it comes to upscaling, you can see the full power of the XR processor here. Sony A95L handled our test material featuring a model exceptionally well – the image is remarkably clear, there are no excessive jagged edges, and details in the background are perfectly preserved. The XR processor effectively improves low resolution, delivering very good results that allow you to enjoy materials in almost high quality, even if their source is not ideal.

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 reaffirms its reputation. The proprietary XR processor can extract nearly the maximum from lower-resolution materials – whether it's television or an old DVD film, the image appears clearer, with more detail and better depth. Of course, if we feed it exceptionally low-quality material (like our archival photo with the Model), it won't work wonders, but in everyday viewing, it's hard to find fault with it.

The gentle gradation feature also performs excellently. In the "Medium" setting, it effectively smooths tonal transitions, eliminating banding in coloured and grey gradients, while not destroying the film grain or fine details in the image. It is this balance between subtlety and effectiveness that keeps Sony televisions among the best on the market in this category.

Sony A95L is a television that should satisfy both gamers and cinema lovers. When it comes to watching films, this model is equipped with the Motionflow feature, which allows you to precisely adjust whether you want the image to be more "cinematic," like in traditional cinema, or exceptionally smooth, like in cinema-style TVs. The "Smoothness" slider lets you regulate the level of fluidity – from subtle changes to a more noticeable effect, while the "Clarity" slider is responsible for reducing flicker and artifacts, helping to achieve a more natural and clear motion. As for gaming and watching sports, the A95L Sony television offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, making every dynamic action look incredibly smooth. Gamers will appreciate the lack of blur, while sports fans will see every movement in full clarity. Overall, the television performs excellently – both with fast-paced games and emotionally charged film sequences.

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

Sony A95L is a television that will truly satisfy gamers, thanks to several key features that set it apart from the competition. To start with, the 120 Hz refresh rate – this is something everyone who loves fast action games, racing, or dynamic shooters will appreciate. As a result, the image is exceptionally smooth, and the gameplay is more satisfying, without annoying stuttering. The A95L Sony also has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically engages low latency mode when we turn on the console. What does this mean? Above all, faster response on the screen, which in games where every second matters is simply invaluable. Additionally, there’s VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which adjusts the image refresh rate to the number of frames generated by the console. The effect? No tearing of the image, and everything looks smooth and cohesive – even with variable FPS.

It is worth mentioning the support for Dolby Vision with low input lag in games – something we don’t often encounter in televisions, and here we have it onboard. Thanks to this, the image in games that support HDR is incredibly vibrant, with rich colours and excellent contrast. Both the brightest and darkest details are visible, making everything look as the game creators intended. And then there's the "Game Bar" – a small but very practical feature. With it, we have all the most important gaming-related settings at our fingertips, such as VRR or latency information. There’s no need to interrupt gameplay to adjust parameters – everything is right at hand.

However, it should be remembered that the A95L offers only two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is designated for eARC. This may pose a limitation if we plan to connect multiple devices – for instance, a next-gen console and a soundbar simultaneously. In such a case, the eARC occupying one of those ports can be somewhat problematic, blocking the possibility of connecting a second console.

Sony has really learnt its lessons from previous years and in the Bravia 8 II has prepared a package of features for gamers that is hard to describe in any other way 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 preview parameters and change settings without leaving the game. It's also worth noting how smoothly and seamlessly these features work – no delays, no strange stutters. You simply start the game, and everything looks as it should. Unfortunately, there are a few "buts". The manufacturer still only provides us with two full-bandwidth HDMI ports, so if someone has a console, PC, and another device such as a soundbar connected via eARC, it becomes a hassle of switching cables. It is also surprising that there is no support for 1440p resolution at 120 Hz – particularly important for Xbox gamers. Overall, however – this is one of those televisions that can easily be placed in the centre of a gaming lounge and enjoyed without significant compromises.