Sony Bravia 8 (XR80) vs Samsung QLED Q80D

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.

In the context of HDR, the Samsung Q80D television achieves very positive brightness results in the tested film scenes, where the frame is filled with light, reaching values from 600 to 900 nits, allowing the user to experience a great juiciness of the image. Such results allow the user to feel the difference between HDR and SDR quality. Unfortunately, problems arise in situations where small light effects occur against a dark background. In such cases (e.g. test pattern 4 from the film Sicario 2), a noticeable drop in brightness can be observed, caused by the large sizes of the dimming zones used here. This limitation, combined with the dimming algorithm, affects how the television handles small bright elements against a dark background. At that point, we may perceive an unwanted lack of brightness, and the HDR effect resembles that of SDR.

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.

In "Filmmaker" mode, which is the best choice out of the box, the Samsung Q80D TV shows solid colour reproduction. For SDR content, a visible drop at the beginning of the gamma curve suggests that details in dark scenes may be less pronounced, impacting the overall viewing experience. Regarding white balance in SDR content, while it is generally accurate, significant drops in blue colour when screen coverage exceeds 70% can result in less natural hues in bright and dark scenes. Users may notice that some blue elements in the image may appear less intense, and the overall colour will have a warmer tint.

In contrast, for HDR content, the EOTF curve being above the reference line for most of the time indicates that the TV may struggle with accurately reproducing brightness and details in the brighter areas of the image, which may be disadvantageous for the viewer. It is also worth noting the substantial drop at the beginning of this graph, indicating that the TV has difficulties reproducing brightness in the darker areas of the image, as seen in the contrast and black tests, where several scenes were unable to showcase the full capabilities of the TV's brightness. In terms of its white balance, the initially good results on the graph are promising, but the sharp drop in red colour, which significantly falls down, combined with a large increase in blue colour, may lead to inaccuracies in reproducing certain skin tones and other key colours. This phenomenon may be noticeable to viewers in scenes where colour details are crucial.

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 film mode after calibration looks significantly better than the one you can see when taken out of the box. Samsung offers an advanced range of calibration tools in its televisions. Among them are 2- and 20-point greyscale adjustment and CMS (Colour Management System). Both in HDR and SDR mode, the white balance has improved significantly, although there are minor errors at the end of the graph in the case of HDR content. The contrast has also been greatly improved, and the gamma curve responsible for SDR shows better results. However, when it comes to HDR, the EOTF curve in the television seems to be at an ideal level at first glance. Yet, when we delve deeper and enable the EOTF graph while watching films, we may notice that all the lines of the curve are above the reference line. One could even say that the television is "cheating" when playing film materials. Such a situation, where the EOTF curve is above the reference line, makes the screen – although it may seem brighter, which some users may find attractive – lose detail in the darker parts of the image. In practice, this means that in scenes with a lot of shadows or dark elements, the television is unable to accurately render the details that should be visible.

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.

Samsung Q80D performs very well with low-quality materials. The noise reduction works on the principle of gentle grading, making it very effective in smoothing out unwanted image disturbances. Unfortunately, this same effectiveness also causes elements that should not be smoothed, such as film grain, to become blurred. For those who value a pliable, smoothed image more, this can be seen as a significant advantage, especially for lower-quality content.

When it comes to image scaling, Samsung Q80D stands out positively in this aspect, significantly enhancing viewing comfort. The television handles the conversion of lower-resolution materials well, improving their quality and detail. For example, in the attached image with the model, there are no visible artifacts or excessive fraying of branches, which attests to the advanced image processing technology.

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 Samsung Q80D television stands out very positively in terms of motion fluidity and motion blur reduction, primarily due to the applied 120Hz panel and above-average response time of the panel. Users have two options for adjusting fluidity: "Motion Smoothing," which allows for adjustment of smoothness on a 10-point scale, and "Blur Reduction," particularly effective at higher refresh rates, improving the sharpness of rapidly moving objects. In the UFO test, no motion blur is visible behind the moving object, and the image is not cloned forward, indicating a lack of overshoot effect.

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.

The Samsung Q80D television is a true gem for gamers. It is equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports, which is a rarity, especially in this price range. This allows users to enjoy features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and 120Hz in 4K resolution. These features ensure smoothness and responsiveness of the image, which is a key aspect during dynamic gameplay. The television also supports HGIG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), enabling optimal display of HDR content in games. Additionally, it is equipped with a Game Bar that allows quick access to gaming settings. Users of Nvidia graphics cards will also be pleased thanks to the implementation of G-Sync. This feature eliminates stuttering and screen tearing. The only downside is the lack of support for Dolby Vision mode, which may be disappointing for users looking for this HDR format. It is also worth mentioning that since 2022, thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, Samsung televisions offer the Xbox Game Pass application, allowing for cloud gaming. This is an additional advantage for gamers who want to access a wide library of games without the need for a console.