Sony Bravia 8 (XR80) vs Samsung Neo QLED QN90D / QN92D

The Sony Bravia 8 performs commendably in terms of HDR brightness, reaching a peak of 880 nits. This level is sufficient to render lighting effects effectively in most scenes. In tested clips from Life of Pi and Sicario 2, the television demonstrated vibrant, detailed imagery that captured the atmosphere of these films beautifully.

However, challenges arise in scenes with consistently high brightness, such as in The Meg, where the display's limitations become apparent. In these situations, OLED technology can struggle, with brightness levels dropping to around 450 nits, which can be less satisfying when intense illumination is needed throughout a scene. Despite this, the Sony Bravia 8 remains a strong contender, offering excellent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage and 74% BT.2020 coverage. These attributes result in rich, accurate colours and fine details, enhancing HDR content and providing an enjoyable viewing experience.

During synthetic tests, the Samsung QN92D demonstrated remarkable brightness capabilities, reaching an impressive 2000 nits—on par with top models in the market. This level of brightness puts it at the forefront for displaying HDR content, where high brightness is essential. But how does it fare in real movie scenes? Under favourable conditions, such as the light-drenched opening and closing scenes of Life of Pi, the QN92D nearly replicates its lab results, delivering striking brightness levels. However, performance changes in scenes featuring small, bright objects against dark backgrounds, such as the fourth scene in Sicario. Here, brightness levels drop significantly, with maximum values capping at around 600 nits.

As with contrast, these limitations are due to the aggressive local dimming algorithm, which aims to reduce the "halo" effect around bright objects in dark scenes but often sacrifices overall brightness. Consequently, while the TV excels in scenes with abundant light, it faces challenges maintaining brightness with smaller, bright elements on dark backgrounds.

The best factory mode on the Sony Bravia 8 television is IMAX Enhanced, offering the most cinematic experience, though it isn't perfectly calibrated. The TV attempts to replicate cinematic settings as accurately as possible, but some issues are evident. Starting with white balance, both for SDR and 4K content, there is a noticeable blue dominance, making the image appear too cold and lacking in natural warmth. Colour Checker tests reveal a shift towards cooler tones, affecting colour accuracy and making the image feel less lifelike.

Regarding brightness and contrast, the gamma shows a significant drop towards the end of the spectrum, meaning dark details may become too shadowed, and bright areas too intense, causing a loss of subtlety and detail. This is particularly noticeable in the sky, as seen in the comparison image. Additionally, the EOTF curve is considerably above the reference value, making bright elements overly intense. As a result, users may experience an unnatural image, with bright parts losing detail and negatively impacting the overall viewing quality.

The best mode for colour reproduction on the Samsung QN92D is Filmmaker mode. Although it generally offers good colour quality, it is not without significant issues. Starting with HD/SDR image quality, the main challenge is white balance. The graphs reveal considerable instability, with a dominant red tint that makes the image appear too warm. This imbalance causes shades to shift unnaturally towards warmer tones, potentially affecting the perception of natural colours. Additionally, while contrast, as indicated by the gamma chart, is not the worst, it still falls short of the ideal, impacting overall image quality, especially in darker scenes.

This issue continues with 4K content, such as high-quality series or films. Here too, white balance proves problematic, with noticeable deficiencies in both blue and red, leading to tonal shifts. Tests using the Colour Checker tool confirm these issues, showing a tendency for colours to skew toward yellow hues, further distorting the natural look of the image. While Filmmaker mode remains one of the best options for cinematic content, it could still benefit from improvements, particularly in colour accuracy and white balance.

The calibration process of the Sony Bravia 8 television resulted in significant improvements in image quality. The white balance was notably enhanced for both SDR and 4K HDR content, with minimal errors in the middle section of the graph. Gamma calibration was one of the biggest improvements, eliminating previous dips that had impacted brightness stability and the reproduction of detail in dark areas. The EOTF curve was also corrected, making bright elements appear more natural and improving the overall tonal balance.

However, the most attention should be given to colour reproduction, where some issues persist despite calibration. Sony has omitted the CMS system in this model, which would allow for more precise colour control. As a result, the Colour Checker test for 4K content still reveals significant colour inaccuracies. Despite these limitations, calibration is still recommended, as the improvements in brightness and contrast are noticeable and greatly enhance the overall image quality.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN92D shows significant improvement, particularly with SDR content. The white balance has been greatly enhanced — previous colour shifts and red dominance have been corrected, resulting in more natural colour reproduction. Although the gamma curve didn’t require major adjustments, its stabilisation has positively impacted overall picture quality.

In high-quality materials, the white balance has also improved. However, contrast remains an area to watch. The EOTF curve initially appears accurate, but closer inspection reveals that the television struggles to maintain consistent contrast in film content, indicating further room for improvement. Despite these areas, one advantage is the TV’s colour saturation. Skin tones are rendered well, and while some colours may be slightly oversaturated, the overall effect is rich and vibrant.

Despite minor contrast limitations, the calibrated Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN92D delivers excellent picture quality, with natural colours, making it a strong choice for movie watching.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in lower-quality materials on the Bravia 8 is lacking. Unfortunately, the gentle gradation function, which was available in previous models, is missing, which is a significant drawback. The digital noise reduction feature can improve tonal transitions, but it often removes fine details, such as clouds in scenes from The Martian, which may not be to everyone's taste. On the other hand, the digital processing in the Sony XR80 is quite effective. In test scenes, it performed well without noticeable flaws, and the branches in the background remained smooth without jagged edges. This indicates that the Bravia 8 is capable of handling complex low-resolution image details with relative ease.

Let's examine how the Samsung QN92D television manages tonal transitions in low-quality materials. The noise reduction function is highly effective, enhancing the fluidity of tonal transitions even under challenging conditions. However, it’s worth noting that, as with other Samsung televisions, this feature can occasionally remove desirable elements, such as film grain, which may affect image authenticity. 

In terms of digital processing, the Samsung QN92D also performs impressively. During testing, the image appeared natural and well-balanced, with details like background branches precisely reproduced, underscoring the television’s ability to enhance the quality of low-resolution materials.

The Sony Bravia 8 offers a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, ensuring smooth viewing of dynamic content such as sports and games, with sharp and fluid motion. For more demanding users, the Sony XR80 features an advanced motion smoothing system, divided into three settings: Smoothness (Film), Smoothness (Camera), and Clarity. The first two settings adjust the level of blur and smoothness, while the Clarity setting will be discussed in more detail below. Each of these parameters can be customised to suit individual preferences, allowing users to fine-tune the settings for the optimal viewing experience.

The Samsung QN92D TV features a 144 Hz panel, however, when using the motion smoother, the maximum refresh rate adjusts to 120 Hz. This setup ensures excellent picture quality for both gamers and sports enthusiasts. Additionally, the TV offers a range of image enhancement options, such as the "blur and judder reduction" feature, which lets users fine-tune smoothness on a 10-point scale. Blur reduction sharpens fast-moving objects, while judder reduction smooths out motion, eliminating the "stutter" effect. With these advanced settings, the Samsung QN92D provides optimal visual experiences for dynamic scenes and intense gameplay alike.

The TV performs impressively in terms of motion blur, with minimal issues. The only minor drawback is a slight overshoot effect noticeable on dark backgrounds in our "Ufoludkiem" test. Nonetheless, with its advanced smoothness settings, the Samsung QN92D delivers outstanding performance for both fast-paced scenes and immersive gaming sessions.

The Sony Bravia 8 has greatly improved its compatibility with consoles compared to earlier models. It supports variable refresh rate (VRR), which eliminates screen tearing and can sync with graphics cards for smooth visuals. The Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) reduces input lag, a crucial feature for fast-paced games. Additionally, Dolby Vision with low latency enhances HDR effects, offering stunning visuals during gameplay.

The Sony XR80 also includes a Game Bar, which provides quick access to settings and monitoring tools during gaming. A notable feature is the option to enable a virtual crosshair on the screen, giving players a potential advantage in shooter games.

However, there are some drawbacks. The TV lacks support for 1440p@120Hz resolution, which would benefit users with less powerful graphics cards. Furthermore, the Sony XR80 has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is typically used for connecting an audio system via eARC, limiting the number of available ports for next-gen consoles.

The Samsung QN92/QN90 TV is an outstanding choice for avid gamers and is highly recommended. This model provides virtually every gaming feature currently available, enhancing the excitement of gameplay. A standout feature is the 120 Hz panel, delivering impressive motion smoothness, which is especially beneficial during action-packed games. The TV also boasts low input lag, ensuring quick responses to player commands. Additionally, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) optimise refresh rates and automatically activate gaming mode, further elevating the gaming experience. An additional bonus is the Xbox app, enabling users to play directly on the TV without needing a console—an exclusive feature in Samsung TVs, adding to their appeal in the gaming world.

Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus Game feature deserves particular praise. This motion smoother is highly effective in gaming, making lower frame rates appear smoother—30 frames per second can look like 45, and 60 Hz can resemble 90 Hz. Crucially, it achieves this without introducing noticeable input lag (keeping it below 25 ms), so gameplay remains highly responsive, unlike many other motion-smoothing options on the market. As a result, players can enjoy a smoother visual experience without sacrificing responsiveness.