Sony Bravia 8 (XR80) vs Philips OLED770

Sony Bravia 8 performs reasonably well in terms of HDR brightness. A maximum brightness level of 880 nits is satisfactory and allows for enjoyable light effects in most scenes. In the tested segments of the films Life of Pi and Sicario 2, the television looks really good, offering vibrant and detailed images that fully convey the atmosphere of these productions.

However, a greater challenge is presented by a scene from the film The Meg, where the screen is entirely very bright. In such situations, the limitations of OLED technology are evident, as the television loses brightness, dropping to about 450 nits. This decline is less satisfactory, 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 a BT.2020 standard coverage of 74%. As a result, colours are rich and details are precise, which significantly enhances the quality of HDR content consumption and makes viewing a pleasant experience.

The Philips OLED770 does not attempt to compete with the brightest OLEDs on the market, and it would be difficult to expect that, as it is the entry-level model in Philips' range for 2025. In our measurements, it reached a maximum of around 700 nits, which allows enjoyment of HDR effects in scenes where light appears sporadically – for example, in the flash of headlights or a starry sky. In such moments, the image can truly be stunning. However, it is different when there are more bright elements on the screen. The television, like many cheaper OLEDs, limits luminance in those situations, causing the entire image to noticeably dim. This was best observed in a scene from the film The Meg, where the sun comes out behind an oil rig – the brightness then dropped to around 250 nits, which is almost three times less. The HDR effect remains pleasant to the eye, but it is worth being aware that this model performs best in scenes with less intense light. Fortunately, the OLED770 has a trump card – the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is as high as 99%, so colours in films and games are vivid and very close to what the creator intended to convey.

The best factory mode available on the Sony Bravia 8 television is IMAX Enhanced, which provides the most cinematic experience, although it is not perfectly set up. The television tries to faithfully reproduce cinematic settings, but certain shortcomings are noticeable. Starting with the white balance, both for SDR and 4K materials, a pronounced blue tint can be observed. This causes the image to appear too cold, stripping it of its naturalness. Tests using Colour Checker show that colours shift towards cooler tones, which may affect the accuracy of colour reproduction and make the image less realistic.

As for brightness and contrast characteristics, the gamma shows a significant drop at the end of the chart. This means that dark details may be too dark and bright elements too bright, resulting in a loss of subtlety and becoming less visible. As seen in the sky - in the comparative photo. In turn, the EOTF curve is well above the reference value, causing bright elements of the image to be too intense. As a result, users may perceive the image as unnatural, and bright areas may lose details, negatively impacting the overall viewing quality.

The first measurements already show that the factory settings of the Philips OLED770 have quite a lot to improve even in Filmmaker mode. The white balance chart clearly shows a lack of blue, resulting in a slightly yellowish tint to the image. In practice, the white is not snowy but leans towards warmer tones – which some may even appreciate, but from the perspective of accuracy, this is a deviation from the norm. The gamma, on the other hand, tends to the darker side – the average value is around 2.6 instead of the reference 2.4. In the midtones, the image appears subdued and more saturated, which may seem too "filmic," but detracts somewhat from naturalness. However, the most issues are evident in colour reproduction. The average error is relatively high, and some colours – particularly shades of grey – deviate significantly from what one should see. In everyday viewing, this means that sometimes colours may look less natural than we would like.

The calibration process of the Sony Bravia 8 television has brought significant improvements in image quality. The white balance has been noticeably enhanced, for both SDR and 4K HDR content, with minimal errors in the middle of the graph. Gamma has proven to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of calibration – it has been completely rid of previous dips, which has significantly impacted brightness stability and better detail reproduction in the darker parts of the image. The EOTF curve has also been levelled, 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 calibration, certain issues still persist. Sony has omitted the use of a CMS system in this model, which allows for very precise control over colours. As a result, the Colour Checker test for 4K materials still shows significant errors in colour samples. Despite these difficulties, we recommend performing calibration, as the effects are noticeable and significantly enhance image quality, particularly in terms of brightness and contrast.

The Philips OLED770 from the outset signalled that it harboured significant potential, but in its factory settings, it was difficult to see this fully. The picture was often too warm, and some colours appeared to have lost their naturalness along the way. Calibration, however, revealed that it is a very responsive television – it reacted to every adjustment and almost immediately unveiled another layer of its capabilities. The white balance could be set in both SDR and HDR to eliminate the yellowish tint and introduce a neutral, clear white. The gamma stabilised closer to perfection, allowing midtones to regain their naturalness, and shadows stopped being artificially darkened, perhaps even with a slight brightening effect. The result was obvious... Films were watched with greater ease; the picture had cinematic depth, but without the feeling that something was exaggeratedly darkened. However, the most interesting aspect was the work on colours. Factory errors were not dramatic but slightly noticeable – skin tones were sometimes too warm, and grey didn’t always have the shade we expected. After calibration, the error values dropped to around 2, and in many cases even below 1. This is certainly a level lower than the threshold of human perception. In other words, after correction, the colours finally "clicked" into place. Looking at the screen, we had the impression that the television had begun to speak with its full voice. Like an instrument that has finally been well tuned.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in low-quality materials on the Bravia 8 is poor. Unfortunately, the soft gradation feature (which was available in previous models) is missing, which is a significant downside. The digital noise reduction feature can considerably improve tonal transitions; however, it also tends to remove some details, such as clouds in scenes from the film The Martian, which may not be to everyone's liking. As for digital processing, the Sony XR80 performs quite well. The model in test scenes was displayed without noticeable errors, and the branches in the background are not overly jagged. This shows that the Bravia 8 is capable of effectively processing complex low-resolution image details.

The issue of the aforementioned colour banding can largely be mitigated thanks to the 'distortion reduction' feature, which is an algorithm for smoothing tonal transitions in Philips. It performs best at a low setting – effectively eliminating unwanted colour bands while not introducing strange artefacts or losing image detail. This is one of those features that is truly worth leaving switched on.

The situation is somewhat worse regarding upscaling. The image from a lower resolution can be too soft, while in some areas, characteristic 'jaggies' appear. The impression is that the algorithm is trying to reconcile two conflicting directions – smoothing and sharpening – and ultimately fails to find a happy medium. As a consolation, it can be added that the television has no issues with overscan, meaning it does not cut off the edges of the image, which sometimes occurs in other competing models.

Sony Bravia 8 offers a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which forms the basis for smooth viewing of dynamic content such as sports and games. This ensures that 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 regulating the degree of blur and smoothness of the image. The third option, concerning clarity, will be described in more detail below. Each of the parameters can be adjusted to personal preferences, allowing users to find the optimal setting tailored to their individual needs.

The issue of the matrix in the Philips OLED770 is not entirely straightforward. The manufacturer claims a 120 Hz panel, but our measurements showed that the screen can accept a 4K signal even at 144 Hz. That sounds like great news – after all, who wouldn't want an additional mode for PC gamers at this price? However, the reality turned out to be more complex. With 120 Hz content, the television behaves like most OLEDs – the image is absolutely clear, with no trace of ghosting or blurring, making it perfect for both dynamic games and sports broadcasts. The problem only arises at 144 Hz. Unlike models with official support for this frequency, here you can observe the phenomenon known as frame skipping. This means that the television cannot display all the frames – some are skipped, causing motion to lose smoothness, and double contours appear on the screen. The effect resembles the operation of the BFI function, which Philips does not offer in this model anyway.

Sony Bravia 8 has significantly improved its compatibility with consoles compared to earlier models. The television supports variable refresh rate (VRR), which eliminates screen tearing, and it synchronises with graphics cards to ensure smooth image display. The automatic 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 stunning during gameplay.

The Sony XR80 television also features a Game Bar, allowing 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 edge in shooting games.

A downside is the lack of support for 1440p@120hz resolution, which could facilitate gaming 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 inputs for connecting next-generation consoles.

If someone is looking for a television for gaming, the Philips OLED770 is a contender that is hard to ignore. The mere fact that we have an OLED here provides an excellent starting point – perfect black and infinite contrast make evening sessions in atmospheric games look as if they were lifted straight from the cinema. On top of that, there is the Ambilight system, which consists of LEDs on the back of the television that extend the image onto the wall behind the screen. The effect is such that even playing FIFA can look like a small spectacle, and in horror games the atmosphere becomes truly thick. From a technical standpoint, it's also quite decent. The Philips OLED770 supports variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 120 Hz, has an automatic mode for gamers (ALLM), and if someone is using an Xbox Series X, they can also count on Dolby Vision support in games. One must only know that in this mode the input lag is slightly higher than standard, though still at an acceptable level. As a bonus, we get the “Game Bar” panel, which is a special tool bar for gamers. It isn’t the most conveniently designed solution, but it allows you to check key parameters without leaving the game. Overall, this results in a television that, on one hand, has all the essential gaming features, and on the other, can add something unique – Ambilight. And it is this mix of technology and visual effect that makes the OLED770 one of the better screens for gaming at home.