Sony Bravia 8 (XR80) vs TCL C69K / Q6C

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.

In terms of brightness, TCL C69K / Q6C is a moderate model. Under optimal movie conditions, it shows its full potential, reaching a maximum of around 600 nits. In scenes with large, intense light sources, the HDR effect can be truly satisfying, providing a cinematic sparkle. However, it should be noted that when managing the backlight zones, there are situations where some elements of the image become dimmed, and sometimes they are barely visible. This suggests that there is still a lack of proper optimization of algorithms, though considering the technical parameters in this price range, the construction still looks very good.

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 Filmmaker mode, which has arrived in this year's TCL televisions (including the C69K / Q6C), is definitely the best choice "to start with." This is the mode we recommend for everyday viewing of movies and series. Unfortunately, as is often the case, best does not mean perfect. In SDR content, the image turned out to be too warm, with a strong red tint in the white balance. We had the opposite impression with HDR content – here the image became cooler than it should have, due to an excess of blue color. Additionally, the brightness characteristics sometimes resulted in overexposure. In practice, this translated to quite noticeable errors in color tests, which is hard to accept in a mode labeled as “by the creators.”

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.

Through white balance adjustment, we were able to significantly reduce the tendency of C69K / Q6C to distort colors, which resulted in a very good final outcome. After calibration, the issue of excessive warmth in SDR scenes and overly cool images in HDR disappeared. However, it is worth closely analyzing brightness characteristics. While there are few complaints about SDR content - the image looks really good, especially in older movies, TV programs, or on YouTube - the situation is much worse with HDR content. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests that everything is fine, but in practice (EOTF in films), the limitations of the design become apparent. This model tends to excessively brighten small parts of the frame, while in other situations it dims the entire scene too much. The effect of calibration is undeniable, and in terms of color accuracy, C69K / Q6C gains a lot. Unfortunately, certain limitations resulting from local dimming management simply cannot be overcome.

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.

In terms of image scaling, TCL C69K / Q6C performs quite well. Lower quality content is displayed acceptably, and thanks to the lack of overscan issues, the image is presented in full without any cropping. However, one shouldn't expect miracles – very low-quality materials won't gain a new life here, as the image processor has its limitations.

On thin lines and details, one can see characteristic jitter, indicating a lack of more advanced image enhancement algorithms. It's also a pity that the C69K / Q6C lacks the function for smoothing tonal transitions. As a result, in older movies or video materials, color banding can be noticeable and may become distracting during longer viewing sessions.

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 use of a 144 Hz panel in TCL C69K / Q6C is a significant advantage in this price range. It represents an important step forward compared to its predecessor (C655 PRO), which only offered 60 Hz at 4K. The difference is particularly noticeable when watching sports or playing games – the ball, players, or dynamic action in games are displayed more clearly and without losing details. An interesting feature is also the ability of the panel to operate at 240 Hz (which the manufacturer does not officially mention) – we will return to this topic in relation to the PC gaming mode. TCL has also added a feature for movie fans: “Motion Clarity.” This allows users to adjust the picture to their preferences using two simple sliders. We can either keep the visible film frame or opt for very smooth, "

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.

TCL C69K / Q6C is a television that can boldly be called equipment created with gamers in mind. Here we have 4K at 144 Hz, VRR support, automatic game mode (ALLM), and Dolby Vision Gaming. Additionally, there's a practical Game Bar, which is a panel with the most important settings right at hand – useful when we want to quickly change something during gameplay (e.g., aspect ratio: Yes, it’s possible!). The wide range of VRR, reaching up to 240 Hz, is noteworthy. This option is primarily for PC gamers who will lower the resolution below native 4K. In that case, the TV can spread its wings and show additional smoothness, especially in fast esports titles. For consoles, we stick to the classic limit of 120 Hz, but the possibilities are still quite broad. The only drawback is slight motion blur that can sometimes be seen in dynamic scenes. Other than that, C69K / Q6C offers everything gamers expect from a television.