Sony Bravia 8 MK2 vs Samsung QN80H

Thanks to its new QD-OLED panel, the Sony Bravia 8 II can reach an astronomically high brightness of around 2000 nits, which translates into near-reference quality for movies and series mastered in HDR. In test material like Life of Pi or Sicario 2 the effect is simply stunning, with details in bright areas remaining perfectly visible and nighttime scenes impressing with depth and contrast. It is not perfect, though. Compared with its toughest rivals, the Bravia 8 II shows a noticeable drop in brightness on full-screen, very bright frames. If you compare peak spot luminance with 100% white luminance in HDR mode, the Bravia 8 II can appear two to three times dimmer than the LG G5 or Samsung S95F models. In the scene from The Meg this was especially apparent, as the screen became noticeably dimmer than competing TVs. Despite this shortcoming, the Bravia 8 II’s results still place it among the market leaders. Its absolutely top-tier color gamut coverage deserves praise, with DCI-P3 at nearly 100% and BT.2020 close to 90%. These figures let HDR content reach its full potential and deliver cinema-like experiences at home.

Samsung QN80H is without a doubt a bright TV. In synthetic tests it breaks the 1000-nit barrier, which on paper already promises a solid HDR effect. In practice the screen really shows its claws, though it can't fully spread its wings (or its backlight 🤔) in every situation. The best impression comes from bright, expansive shots. Sunlit exteriors or heavily lit scenes look really good on it. Brightness then stays around 700 nits, which gives a noticeable step up in quality over standard SDR. Problems start in dark scenes with small, pinpoint highlights. The QN80H tends to heavily dim them, doing everything it can to protect black levels. On one hand we gain better contrast, on the other... we lose some of the dynamics and the sparkle of fine HDR details. The TV therefore has considerable potential, but the dimming algorithm can be too restrictive.

Color gamut coverage

Colors are good too. The QN80H uses quantum dot technology, and in our measurements it covered 93% of the DCI-P3 space and about 70% of BT.2020. Today those results won't exactly blow anyone away, but in real-world use they're more than enough to deliver vivid, natural-looking images in most movies and TV series. Colors are properly saturated and, after proper tuning, don't look artificial or overly aggressive.

Out of the box the Bravia 8 II performs really well. In its best IMAX® Enhanced mode the TV renders colors pleasantly and naturally, though "good" here doesn't mean "best in class." The white balance definitely needs adjustment, as skin tones tend to shift slightly toward pinkish/cooler hues in both SDR and HDR content. We also noticed that the EOTF curve has a tendency to brighten the darkest parts of the picture. This likely comes from the manufacturer's desire to reveal as much detail as possible even in deep shadows. Is that a good approach? It's hard to say for sure, but one thing is clear: it's not an ideal solution.

The QN80H's factory settings were really good, especially compared with most TVs that come into our tests. Of course, we performed measurements in Filmmaker Mode, and that's the mode we recommend turning on right after the initial setup. In SDR material our unit was set up surprisingly well. The white balance was very even, colors looked natural, and the errors were so small they were hard to spot without measurement equipment. The only weak point was the gamma. In brighter parts of the image the TV brightened them a bit too much, so the picture sometimes lost a little depth. Even so, we'd like most TVs to look this good straight out of the box.

It was a bit worse in HDR. The white balance itself was still set correctly, so the problem wasn't with the colors but with how the QN80H managed image brightness. You could see that immediately on the EOTF chart. The TV brightened large parts of scenes too much, causing the brightest elements to blow out. Interestingly, at the same time very small points were often dimmed too much. As a result some fine detail simply disappeared. So the factory Filmmaker Mode in HDR isn't bad, but it's definitely not as well calibrated as in SDR.

After calibration we mainly managed to eliminate the excessive cooling of the image caused by too strong a boost in blue. Reds became deeper and skin tones took on a natural, healthy look. Actors who had previously seemed "cold" now appear on screen much livelier and more convincing. One thing hasn't changed, however: analysis of the EOTF curve still shows the Bravia 8 II tends to brighten the darkest parts of the image. It's hard to say whether that's an intentional choice by the manufacturer or a result of the panel design and software. In practice this means scenes that filmmakers intended to remain in deep shadow can reveal more detail than intended. Despite that, the picture after calibration is clearly better — warm, natural colors and realistic skin tones simply make watching on the Bravia 8 II more pleasant to the eye.

The biggest difference after calibration was in HDR Filmmaker mode. SDR was already very good out of the box, so we didn't have much work to do there. In HDR, however, we managed to tame the way the QN80H handled brightness, as it had been over-brightening most scenes. After calibration the picture is calmer, more natural, and much closer to how a faithful picture should look.

Upscaling and digital image processing are a real showcase for the Bravia 8 II. Sony has long been regarded as a master in this field, and this only reinforces that reputation. The company's proprietary XR processor can extract almost the maximum from lower-resolution sources, whether broadcast TV or an old DVD, the picture looks sharper, with more detail and better depth. Sure, if you feed it exceptionally poor-quality material (like our archival photo of the model), you won't get miracles, but for everyday viewing there's little to complain about.

The smooth gradation feature also performs very well. On the "Medium" setting it effectively smooths tonal transitions, eliminating banding in color and gray gradients while preserving film grain and fine image detail. It's precisely that balance between subtlety and effectiveness that keeps Sony TVs among the best on the market in this category.

Digital image processing in the Samsung QN80H is handled by the second-generation NQ4 AI processor. It's a chip we already know from earlier models and it still performs very well, especially with lower-resolution material. The image is effectively upscaled to 4K, but without excessive sharpening and without the feeling that the TV is forcing improvements on the source material.

The "Noise Reduction" feature also proves useful. It can noticeably reduce posterization and visible banding in poorer-quality material, particularly in low-bitrate streaming. However, it's important to remember that it doesn't work without side effects. It can remove some film grain and slightly smooth the image. So with a good-quality source we'd leave this feature off. If, however, banding and uneven tonal transitions bother you more than losing some grain, "Noise Reduction" can be a really useful addition.

When it comes to motion handling, the Bravia 8 II is basically a done deal. The OLED panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate naturally delivers a very clean, sharp picture in fast-moving scenes, so there's little to complain about. What deserves special praise, though, is one of the best motion smoothing systems on the market. It lets you precisely tailor motion in films to your preferences, from subtle smoothing to an almost "theatrical" look, without the risk of artificial judder, image tearing, or annoying artifacts. It's one of those features you'll appreciate both when watching movies and during sports.

Motion blur and motion handling on the QN80H are really good, mainly thanks to the fast panel. In 4K the screen refreshes at up to 144 Hz, and when switched to Full HD and connected to a PC it can reach as high as 240 Hz. That's new for Samsung TVs and a nice bonus for people who want to use the TV for PC gaming as well. We were more interested, however, in how the QN80H performs at 120 Hz, since consoles use that refresh rate. Here it's really good. The panel doesn't have a big problem with the smearing typical of VA panels, and slight trails behind moving objects are mostly visible on dark backgrounds. This is nothing that would interfere with normal sports viewing or gaming. The TV also includes a motion smoothing system that Samsung calls "Image Clarity." You can adjust judder reduction and blur reduction separately, so it's easy to tailor its operation to movies, sports, or your own preferences.

Sony really learned from previous years, and with the Bravia 8 II it has put together a package of gamer-focused features that’s hard to call anything but "almost perfect." It includes everything you expect at this level: VRR, ALLM, Dolby Vision Gaming mode, HGiG, and even a handy Game Bar that lets you quickly check parameters and change settings without leaving the game. Also a plus is how smoothly and seamlessly these features work, with no delays and no odd stuttering. You just launch a game and everything looks as it should. Unfortunately, it’s not without a few caveats. The manufacturer still gives us only two full-bandwidth HDMI ports, so if you have a console, a PC, and another device like a soundbar connected via eARC, you’ll be swapping cables. It’s also surprising there’s no support for 1440p at 120 Hz, which is particularly important for Xbox players. Overall, though, this is one of those TVs you can comfortably place at the center of a gaming-focused living room and enjoy gameplay without major compromises.

Samsung QN80H is a TV that scores very well on gamer-oriented features. The biggest new addition for 2026 is DLG mode, which allows refresh rates up to 240 Hz when the image is switched to Full HD resolution. This option is aimed mainly at PC users, but it also shows that Samsung is still heavily developing the gaming side of its TVs. That’s not the end of the list of advantages. The QN80H has four full-featured HDMI 2.1 ports, which in this price range still isn’t standard. You can therefore connect multiple consoles, a PC, or a soundbar at the same time without worrying which input supports the full picture capabilities. The TV also supports VRR, ALLM, and HGiG, so it’s hard to fault its basic feature set. One downside remains the lack of Dolby Vision, which may matter especially to Xbox Series X owners. That said, it’s not a flaw that rules out the QN80H as a gaming TV. Samsung includes a feature still missing from most manufacturers: its proprietary motion interpolator, Game Motion Plus. It’s a motion interpolator that also works in game mode, allowing you to improve the smoothness of titles running at 30 or 60 frames per second without a drastic increase in input lag. In practice, Game Motion Plus can make a much bigger difference than Dolby’s processing, especially in more demanding games that don’t offer a 60 FPS mode. The image becomes noticeably smoother while controls remain responsive enough. So despite the lack of Dolby Vision, the QN80H is still one of the best-equipped TVs for gamers in its class.