Sony Bravia 8 (XR80) vs Samsung QN90F / QN92F

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.

The Samsung QN90F can truly shine in brightness. In our measurements, it achieved over 2200 nits, which directly translates to the viewing experience. Practically, this means that when a very bright scene appears in a movie – for example, the sunrise in The Meg – the screen looks as if natural light is actually shining on us. This isn’t just a number from a chart, but a real sense of image intensity! However, the TV cannot always deliver that full power. With smaller details, such as headlights or lamps, the brightness drops to 500–700 nits. This is a conscious decision by the algorithms – this way, the contrast between large and small elements is better controlled, and the image does not lose balance. Importantly, this is still a huge improvement compared to last year's QN90D, where similar details were almost invisible, shining at just 200 nits. Here, the HDR effect is much more consistent and credible. The only downside is the colors. The coverage of the DCI-P3 palette stopped at 91%, which can be considered a rather average result in this price range.

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.

We tested color reproduction in the QN90F in Filmmaker mode, and as usual with Samsung TVs, this mode proves to be the best starting point right out of the box. However, this does not mean that the image is free from flaws. The white balance in SDR and HDR content was surprisingly good – the colors didn’t shift in any direction, and even in the factory setting, it looked solid. However, a problem arose with the gamma and EOTF curves, which are responsible for how the TV manages brightness. Here, the QN90F significantly brightened the entire image, causing black levels and colors to lose their intensity, and the overall effect resembled a milky filter being applied. Fortunately, Samsung, unlike many competitors in the miniLED world, provides users with a lot of tools to control the settings that we don’t find with other manufacturers, such as Chinese brands. Therefore, we decided to check if it was possible to extract the full potential of the QN90F because we know that such a high series can deliver much more.

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 our adjustment of the settings, the QN90F showed what it is really capable of – and it must be admitted that it has one of the best images we have seen on a miniLED screen this year. As we mentioned earlier, the white balance was not a major issue even in its factory version, but only after the gamma calibration were we able to get close to nearly reference values. The same is true for HDR content, where the EOTF curve after correction presents mature and consistent results. Indeed, in some films, it can be noticed that the smallest elements of the image are slightly brightened, and with a limited number of dimming zones, there is still a risk of the halo effect. It should be remembered, however, that such phenomena are characteristic of all miniLED televisions, and it's hard to expect miracles even from the QN90F. The most important thing is that after calibration, the television shows an image that, in terms of conveying the director's vision, confidently competes even with many OLED screens available on the market.

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.

QN90F handles upscaling very well. Materials in lower resolution, even SD, are boosted to a clear and sharp image, showcasing plenty of details in the background. This is a significant advantage because the television makes older content or everyday TV look much better than on most budget screens. However, the issue of overscan remains, which is the trimming of the edges of the screen that cannot be turned off in Samsungs. This can cause some subtitles on the screen to disappear or a relative's face from a wedding on a VHS tape to be slightly cropped. 😉

The digital image processing also works well. In the menu, we find a feature called "noise reduction," which can smooth out tonal transitions and improve the reception of lower-quality materials, such as from YouTube. In medium setting, the effect is the most beneficial – it does not heavily interfere with details while eliminating the "stair-stepping" problem in colors. However, it is important to remember that the feature can be quite aggressive and can also remove natural grain in older films, so it's best to use it in moderation.

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 QN90F is equipped with a panel that has a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz, and while primarily PC gamers will appreciate this advantage, it is still worth highlighting. In movies or sports broadcasts, we are limited to the classic 120 Hz, but this is not a cause for concern. In practice, the additional motion smoother plays a more significant role here. With the "Motion Clarity" setting, we can adjust the image to our own preferences. The blur reduction option is responsible for smoothness and trailing in sports. Meanwhile, the "judder reduction" function improves motion smoothness in productions recorded at 24 frames, such as movies and series. If we set it high, the film looks smoother and more fluid than it was actually filmed. Lower values, on the other hand, maintain its cinematic "rawness" with the visible film frame.

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.

QN90F has nearly everything to become the perfect television for gamers. Things like four HDMI ports, VRR, ALLM, and refresh rates reaching up to 165 Hz are probably well-known. It deserves high praise for the Game Motion Plus mode, which is a proprietary motion smoothing technology for games. Thanks to this, it can add a few “artificial” frames and make the image generated from the console look smoother than it should. This is a very unique solution in the world of televisions – competitive systems usually do not offer this – which is why Samsung has had a strong bargaining chip among gamers for years, even despite the lack of support for the still niche Dolby Vision in games.

[UPDATE] We have updated our tests of Samsung televisions from the 2025 model year due to the release of software version 1131, which restored the crucial gaming feature HGiG.

So why are we writing about a “nearly” perfect screen? Unfortunately, similar to recent Samsung models, we noticed an issue with the lack of the HGiG feature. This solution allows the television to leave control over tone mapping to the console, so that games look exactly as the creators intended. Worse still, this feature was previously present, and it disappeared after software updates. Instead of minor tweaks, we received a step back. It’s a shame because if it weren't for this absence, the QN90F could truly be the perfect choice for gamers in the miniLED category.