- Matching (Score) |
- Our verdict |
- Competing TVs |
- TV appearance |
- Where to buy |
- Contrast and black detail |
- HDR effect quality |
- Factory color reproduction |
- Color reproduction after calibration |
- Smoothness of tonal transitions |
- Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions |
- Blur and motion smoothness |
- Console compatibility and gaming features |
- Input lag |
- Compatibility with PC |
- Viewing angles |
- Daytime performance |
- TV features |
- Apps |
- Playing files from USB |
- Sound |
- Panel details
Sony BRAVIA 2 II (S25M2) Review
BRAVIA 2 II / S25M2
Available screen sizes:
Complete the survey to find out the result
Panel type: LCD IPS Refresh rate: 60Hz Brand: SONY Resolution: 3840x2160 System: Google TV Model year: 2026
This review is an English translation of the Polish original. Read the original on Wybierz.tv.
Sony BRAVIA 2 II is a budget model from the Japanese manufacturer that debuted back in 2025, but only reached Europe a year later. We decided to check whether, despite the passage of time, it still has anything interesting to offer and whether such a basic Sony model still makes sense in 2026.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Our verdict
5.8
Overall rating
The Sony Bravia 2 II is a television that performs best in simple, everyday use. And we suspect many people will choose it mainly because of Google TV. The system provides access to a huge number of apps and streaming services, and it also includes Chromecast, AirPlay and convenient voice search. The set itself may not run as quickly as more expensive Sony models, but in terms of features there is little to complain about. Importantly, for ordinary viewing the picture quality is quite decent. The Bravia 2 II handles SDR material particularly well, meaning regular TV, YouTube and much of older films and series. The factory Cinema mode is already fairly well tuned, colours look natural and, without much fiddling with the settings, you can simply start watching. And in our view this is where the Bravia 2 II shows its best side, as a simple Smart TV for everyday use rather than a television that aims to impress with the panel's capabilities.
However, you should remember that the word "Bravia" on the casing does not automatically mean excellent picture quality. The Bravia 2 II uses an IPS panel with very low contrast, and that is its biggest problem. During the day this is not such a big issue, but switch the lights off in the evening and the blacks start to look more like dark grey. Of course, in return you get good viewing angles, so if the TV sits in a large living room and is watched by several people from different positions, IPS has its advantage. But that comes at the cost of weak blacks. This is also not a television made with HDR impact or more demanding gamers in mind. About 300 nits of brightness and a narrow colour gamut mean HDR material does not show much more than what we see in SDR. The 60 Hz panel and the lack of broader gaming features also clearly show that gaming is not a priority for this model.
And it wouldn't really be a big problem, because we expected exactly that from an entry-level Sony model. However, the biggest issue for the Bravia 2 II is its price. For similar money you can easily find competing TVs, especially from Korean and Chinese brands, that already offer much more, from 120 Hz panels to Mini-LED backlighting with local dimming. So the Bravia 2 II is not a bad television in itself. It's simply too expensive for what it offers. If its price were noticeably lower, as a simple TV for everyday viewing it would make much more sense.
Advantages
Very good viewing angles (IPS panel)
Google TV with a vast selection of apps
Chromecast and AirPlay
Low input lag
Very good USB media player
Supports audio formats: Dolby (Atmos, TrueHD, Digital), DTS (X, HD)
Two remotes included
Disadvantages
Too high a price for what it offers!
Very poor blacks and low contrast (IPS panel)
Low brightness of around 320 nits
No support for dynamic HDR formats (Dolby Vision, HDR10+)
Only a 60 Hz panel
Very limited gaming capabilities
Movies and series in UHD quality5.2
Classic TV, YouTube5.2
Sports broadcasts (TV and apps)5.5
Gaming on console6.2
TV as a computer monitor6.0
Watching in bright light4.8
Utility functions6.6
Apps9.6
Sound quality6.1
Complete the survey to find out what fits your preferences
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Competing TVs in this price range
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - TV appearance
HDMI inputs: 4 x HDMI 2.0, 0 x HDMI 2.1 Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI) Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
Build quality: Good
Stand type: Legs
Bezel color: Graphite
Stand: Fixed
Flat design: No
Accessories: Two remote controls, Stand
The BRAVIA 2 II looks very classic, and it's immediately clear that we're dealing with one of Sony's cheaper models. From the front it looks quite neat. The three bezels are relatively slim, the bottom one a little thicker, but the build quality gives little cause for complaint. Nothing protrudes, the parts are well fitted and the whole feels solid. Only when you look at the television from the side or the back does its budget nature become more apparent. The construction is fairly simple, and the plastic section housing the electronics clearly protrudes from the casing, so the BRAVIA 2 II is not among the slimmest televisions. It is therefore not a model designed to impress with its design or to look particularly good when mounted flush on the wall. On the other hand, it's hard to complain; it's simple but neat, and for this class of television it's actually quite decent.
Buy at the best price
Select size:
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Contrast and black detail
2.7/10
Local dimming function: No
Result
1,150:1
Result
1,200:1
Result
1,450:1
Result
1,400:1
Result
1,100:1
When it comes to black levels, the Bravia 2 II unfortunately doesn't have much to offer. Sony has used an IPS panel here, a solution that delivers one of the lowest native contrast ratios among all LCD panels. In our measurements we recorded values of around 1100–1450:1, and unfortunately this becomes very noticeable when watching. Additionally, the TV has no local dimming system, so it cannot dim only those parts of the screen that really should remain dark. In practice this means that once the lights are turned off, blacks very quickly start to shift towards grey and dark blue. In scenes such as Oblivion or Sicario 2, instead of a deep backdrop we get a noticeably brightened image, which greatly undermines the atmosphere of evening viewings. Of course, the IPS panel also has the advantage of better viewing angles, but in this respect it's hard to see that as any real compensation. If you're looking for a television primarily for watching films in the evening, the Bravia 2 II simply isn't a model we could recommend.
Halo effect and black detail visibility:
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - HDR effect quality
4/10
Supported formats: HDR10, HLG
Luminance measurements in HDR:
Result
294 nit
Result
307 nit
Result
329 nit
Result
330 nit
Result
325 nit
The Sony Bravia 2 II is not a very bright TV and unfortunately that is immediately apparent in HDR. In our measurements brightness stayed around 300 to 330 nits, which is clearly too low for the brightest parts of the image to look truly impressive. In practice, HDR here does not differ that much from standard SDR. Bright highlights, the sun or lamps are of course visible, but they lack the intensity you would expect from HDR material. The Bravia 2 II therefore performs much better with standard SDR content, and in that use its limited brightness will be least noticeable.
Colour gamut coverage
The Sony Bravia 2 II is also not impressive in terms of colour. The TV does not use any additional gamut‑expanding filter, such as the quantum dots found in QLED TVs or a PFS phosphor layer. In our measurements coverage of the DCI‑P3 gamut was about 78%, and the very wide BT.2020 roughly 57%. That's definitely too little to talk about truly saturated colours in HDR material. More intense reds, greens or turquoises will simply be less striking than on TVs with an expanded colour gamut. The Bravia 2 II therefore performs much better in the Rec.709 standard, the gamut used for films, series and television in SDR.
BT.2020 color gamut coverage and primary color luminance
| Data set | BT.2020 | P3 | R | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic patterns | 57.4% | 78.7% | 49% | 53% | 61% |
| Film measurements | 57.4% | 78.7% | 49% | 51% | 61% |
BT.2020
BT.2020 and P3 – average color gamut coverage (percent of the target gamut).
R, G, B – average primary color luminance relative to target (percent).
Scene from the movie “Pan” (about 2800 nits)
Scene from the movie “Billy Lynn” (about 1100 nits)
Rendering of detail in HDR is also not one of the Bravia 2 II's strong points. The TV struggles to show the brightest parts of the image, and this is not limited to very demanding content. Even with material mastered to around 1000 nits, such as Billy Lynn, some detail in the highlights can be lost. With even brighter material, reaching 3000 to 4000 nits, the issue becomes even more noticeable. Fireworks, explosions, the sun and other strong light sources often wash out into a uniform bright patch, and the TV is unable to show the details within them. It's simply another consequence of the Bravia 2 II's limited peak brightness.
HDR luminance chart:
After poor tone mapping, one might expect the Bravia 2 II to benefit significantly from dynamic metadata such as Dolby Vision or HDR10+. The problem is that the TV does not support either format. With more demanding HDR content there is therefore no extra information that could help better match the brightest parts of the image to the display panel's capabilities. In practice the most demanding scenes can look noticeably blown out. Of course not every film will look as bad as the scene with the horses in a very bright meadow, but intense effects often lose some detail. This is precisely where it becomes most obvious how much the Bravia 2 II would benefit from support for dynamic metadata.
Static HDR10
Factory color reproduction
5.3/10
The out-of-the-box colour reproduction in Cinema mode was actually quite good, at least for ordinary SDR material. The Bravia 2 II had a slight tendency to boost reds, so some colours shifted to slightly warmer, at times faintly pinkish, tones. However, this wasn’t a major fault and during normal viewing the picture still looked fairly natural. There was a bit more happening with image brightness. Looking at the gamma curve, you can see Sony doesn’t stick perfectly to the reference value. The darkest areas are slightly lifted, while as brightness increases the gamma gradually rises and a larger part of the picture becomes darker than it should. That said, it’s not such a large difference as to be very distracting in everyday viewing. Overall, SDR straight out of the box performs quite respectably.
The situation is considerably worse in HDR. We’ve already mentioned the limited colour gamut, but in addition the Bravia 2 II noticeably manipulates image brightness here. The EOTF curve sits below the reference value for a large part of its range, which means the TV renders most mid and brighter parts of a scene darker than the source material intends. Only towards the very end of the range does the curve flatten out, as the panel reaches the limits of its capabilities. Combined with a peak brightness of around 300 nits, this results in HDR that not only lacks much brightness, but can also simply look too dark.
Color reproduction after calibration
7/10
Calibration did a lot for the Bravia 2 II, particularly with SDR content. Above all, we managed to even out the white balance and tidy up the gamma, which now follows the reference value much more closely. As a result, the image no longer has the previous pink cast, and the brightness across different areas is much better organised. You can also see this in the colour errors, which after calibration fell to a very low level (with slight issues in the most saturated reds). We also partially managed to rein in the Bravia 2 II in HDR, especially in the way the television handles image brightness. However, there is one thing no calibration can fix: the capabilities of the panel itself. A narrow colour gamut means the television is physically unable to reproduce the most saturated colours present in HDR material. On top of that, the low contrast of the IPS panel means darker scenes are veiled by a grey haze, which robs colours of some of their depth. So we can improve how the Bravia 2 II makes use of its capabilities, but unfortunately we cannot overcome the panel's inherent limitations.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Smoothness of tonal transitions
8/10
The smoothness of tonal transitions on the Bravia 2 II is quite good, although it depends a lot on the scene. In bright parts of the image the gradation is smooth and it’s hard to spot any major issues. It gets worse in very dark shots. In scenes with many dark shades distinct banding between successive tones was already visible. So it’s not perfect, but for most everyday content the problem shouldn’t be particularly noticeable.
Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions
6/10
Smooth transition function
Image without overscan on the SD signal
The upscaling on the Bravii 2 II is quite good and, in that respect, the TV matches the standard Sony has set. Lower-resolution content is sensibly upscaled to 4K, and the image is slightly smoothed in the process without excessive edge sharpening. The situation is worse when it comes to improving footage with visible compression artefacts. This is handled by the "Digital Noise Reduction" function, which at the "High" setting can indeed smooth out some unpleasant tonal banding. The problem is that it does this rather aggressively and, along with the imperfections, it also removes a lot of fine detail, including natural film grain. What is more, when there is more motion on screen its effectiveness drops sharply and any improvement is then minimal. For everyday use we therefore tended not to use this function.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Blur and motion smoothness
5/10
Maximum refresh rate of the panel: 60Hz
Film motion smoothing option: Yes
Blur reduction option: No
BFI function 60Hz: Yes, 120Hz (double contours)
BFI function 120Hz: No
Brightness drop with BFI: 25%
Bravia 2 II uses a 60 Hz panel and, given its capabilities, handles motion quite well. However, bear in mind that it is a basic panel and its limitations are already clearly visible, especially during sports. The TV cannot interpolate 50/60 fps material to a higher refresh rate, so it cannot further improve the sharpness of fast-moving objects. For films and series, however, it offers a conventional motion smoothing feature that can reduce the characteristic judder of material shot at 24 fps.
Blur (native resolution, maximum refresh rate):
Blur (BFI function enabled):
Sony also offers a BFI (black frame insertion) feature hidden under the "Purity" setting. In theory it is meant to improve motion clarity by inserting black frames, but combined with a 60 Hz panel the effect is not very good. The contours of moving objects visibly double, and the improvement in sharpness is minor. Therefore, in our view it is not a feature worth accepting the side effects for.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Console compatibility and gaming features
3.3/10
- ALLM:
Yes
VRR:
No - VRR range:
No
- Dolby Vision Game Mode:
No
- Correct implementation of HGIG:
No
- 1080p@120Hz:
No
- 1440p@120Hz:
No
- 4K@120Hz:
No
- Game bar:
Yes
The Bravia 2 II is not a television that lends itself well to gaming, and the list of features shows that quite quickly. You essentially only get the automatic low-latency mode ALLM and a simple Game Bar that lets you view basic signal information and change a few settings. But that is where the list of strengths ends. The TV does not support VRR or 120 Hz (not even at lower resolutions), and on top of that it has problems with a proper implementation of the HDR HGIG format. It is suitable for occasional console gaming, and thanks to low input lag controls remain responsive, but if someone is looking for a TV primarily for games, the Bravia 2 II will simply be a rather limited choice.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Input lag
10/10
Here the Bravia 2 II performs markedly better. The input lag is only about 11 ms, which is low enough that delays are practically unnoticeable when gaming. Even with a modest set of gaming features, the TV will therefore handle regular console play without any major problems.
| SDR | HDR | Dolby Vision |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p60: 12 ms | 2160p60: 11 ms | |
| 2160p60: 12 ms |
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Compatibility with PC
6/10
Chroma 444 (max. resolution and refresh rate): Yes
Font clarity: Very Good
Readability of dark text and shapes: Very Good
Input lag in PC mode (4K, max. refresh rate): 11ms
Matrix subpixel arrangement: RGB
Max refresh rate: 60Hz
G-Sync: No
The Bravia 2 II handles a computer very well, at least if you think of it as a screen for work. Thanks to its IPS panel and correct 4:4:4 chroma reproduction, text is sharp and legible regardless of size, shape or colour. That's good news, especially for those considering buying the smaller model and placing it on their desk instead of a conventional monitor. It's much worse, however, when it comes to gaming. The TV does not offer 120 Hz, VRR or other features that might interest more demanding PC gamers. So it performs very well for office work or for watching content from a computer, but as a gaming display it has quite a few limitations.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Viewing angles
6.5/10
Brightness drop at an angle of 45 degrees: 62%
Viewing angles are, in turn, one of the strengths of the Bravia 2 II. Thanks to the IPS panel, the picture retains accurate colours and brightness for quite a long time even when you are not sitting directly in front of the TV. In this respect Sony recoups some of the points it lost earlier on blacks and contrast. The Bravia 2 II can therefore be better suited to a larger living room or a room where some people watch the TV from the side, especially if it is mainly intended for everyday television viewing.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Daytime performance
4.8/10
Panel finish: Satin
Reflection suppression: Decent
Black levels during daytime: Good
By day the Bravia 2 II is rather average. Brightness of around 320 nits doesn't leave much headroom, but in a typical, moderately bright living room it's still enough to keep the picture readable. The matt screen coating does a decent job of limiting reflections, though it can't eliminate them completely. With strong light falling directly on the screen there's simply not enough brightness to effectively punch through the reflections. So it'll be fine for ordinary daytime viewing, but in a very bright room with lots of windows you may already notice the limitations of this model.
Panel brightness
Sony BRAVIA 2 II (S25M2): 319 cd/m2
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - TV features
6.6/10
System: Google TV
System performance: Decent
- HDMI inputs: 4 x HDMI 2.0, 0 x HDMI 2.1
- Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI)
- Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
- TV reception: DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-C
Classic features:
- Recording to USB (terrestrial TV): No
- Recording programming: No
- Picture in Picture (PiP): No
- RF remote control (no need to aim): RF
- Backlit remote control: No
- Teletext: Yes
- Audio only mode: Yes
- Bluetooth headphones support: Yes
- Simultaneous Bluetooth headphones & TV audio: No
Smart features:
- AirPlay: Yes
- Screen mirroring (Windows Miracast): No
- Voice search: Yes
- Voice search in native language: Yes
- Ability to connect a keyboard and mouse: Yes
Google TV
Bravia 2 II runs on Google TV, which is definitely one of this model's stronger points. First and foremost we get a huge selection of apps, so there’s no problem accessing popular streaming services. There’s also Chromecast and AirPlay, which make it easy to cast content from your phone or other devices. Voice search with Google Assistant/Gemini also works very well, including in Polish. The system itself is not, admittedly, one of the fastest versions of Google TV we’ve tried, and sometimes you have to wait a moment for a response, but overall it performs decently. In terms of capabilities there’s little to complain about, especially for one of Sony’s cheapest TVs.
TV features
When it comes to conventional TV features, the Bravia 2 II is rather modest. You won't find, for example, USB programme recording or other more advanced extras here, so in that respect it's fairly basic. On the plus side, it does come with two remotes. One is a modern, simpler remote intended mainly for operating the Smart TV, and the other is a classic remote with more buttons, which may be more comfortable for people who frequently use traditional television. The smaller one operates via radio, so you don't have to point it directly at the screen, which is simply convenient in everyday use.
Sound connection options
HDMI audio:
Other audio outputs:
- Toslink: Yes
Wireless audio:
- Bluetooth: Yes
Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):
- Dolby Digital Plus 7.1: Yes
- Dolby True HD 7.1: Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC): Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD: Yes
- DTS:X in DTS-HD MA: Yes
- DTS-HD Master Audio: Yes
Senior accessibility
- Numeric keyboard on TV: Yes
- Font size adjustment: No
- Audio description: Yes
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Apps
9.6/10
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Playing files from USB
9.4/10
| Maximum photo resolution: | Supported photo formats: |
|---|---|
| 4 Mpix | JPEG |
| 6 Mpix | HEIC |
| 8 Mpix | PNG |
| 10 Mpix | GIF |
| 12 Mpix | WebP |
| 16 Mpix | TIFF |
| 20 Mpix | BMP |
| 24 Mpix | SVG |
| 28 Mpix | |
| 32 Mpix |
The built-in file player performs very well. The Bravia 2 II opens almost anything you throw at it, from common video files and subtitles to photos and music. Importantly, it also has no trouble with more demanding 4K material encoded in HEVC or AV1. Of course, there are a few isolated formats the TV does not support, such as VVC or some less common audio and image files. These are mostly things few people will try to play directly on the TV.
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Sound
6.1/10
92dB
Maximum volume
Supported codecs (TV speakers)
Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Dolby True HD 7.1
Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC)
Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD
DTS:X in DTS-HD MA
DTS-HD Master Audio
The sound on the Bravia 2 II is simply adequate for an entry-level TV. It’s perfectly fine for watching regular television, such as the news, but as is common with this kind of design it mainly lacks bass. That becomes apparent quite quickly with music and even more so in action films, where explosions and other heavy effects lack weight. Sony does deserve praise for its support of audio formats. When you connect a soundbar or a home cinema system the TV will pass the main formats via eARC without issue, including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X. It’s particularly pleasing to see DTS included, which you cannot always take for granted on competitors’ TVs, even the most expensive models.
Sound Quality Test:
Acoustic Measurements
92dBC (Max)
75dBC
SONY BRAVIA 2 II - Panel details
Software version during testing: 6120800301
Image processor: mt5896 2,5gb RAM
Panel uniformity and thermal imaging:
Backlight Type: White LED
Founder and originator of the "ChooseTV" portal
Journalist, reviewer, and columnist for the "ChooseTV" portal
michal-woloszyn-title
Reader comments
Comments are provided by the external service Disqus (Zeta Global). Once loaded, Disqus may set cookies and process data about your activity.
We will remember your choice on this device. Provider's privacy policy
See articles related to Sony BRAVIA 2 II (S25M2):
Our YouTube channel
Picture comparison: Sony Bravia 9 II vs TCL X11L vs Hisense ...
7/15/2026
