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Sony Bravia 8 II: Two-minute evaluate
The Sony Bravia 8 II is the corporate’s flagship OLED TV for 2025. Whereas its Sony Bravia 8 predecessor used a mid-range W-OLED show panel, the Bravia 8 II makes use of a QD-OLED panel, the identical kind discovered within the Samsung S95F.
Including QD-OLED to the Sony Bravia 8 II combine has resulted in a TV with a notably brighter image than the Bravia 8. It additionally improved shade gamut protection, with colours trying constantly wealthy, but correct on the Bravia 8 II. The TV’s efficient anti-reflective display screen lets it carry over these image high quality advantages for bright-room viewing, although the Bravia 8 II’s detailed, refined image is finest appreciated once you dim the lights.
On a lot of the best TVs, the Bravia 8 II’s slim design would possibly point out doubtlessly anemic audio –you might want to put decent-sized audio system someplace to get good sound, and slim TV frames do not accommodate that. However Sony offers an ingenious workaround with its Acoustic Floor Audio+ function, which positions actuators behind the TV’s QD-OLED panel that flip your complete display screen right into a speaker. In consequence, the Bravia 8 II offers comparatively full and strong sound for a TV, and its Acoustic Middle Sync function additionally permits you to use it as a devoted middle channel with a suitable Sony soundbar or speaker system.
Google TV is used because the Bravia 8 II’s good TV platform, and it is an easy-to-navigate system. A built-in mic permits you to management the TV utilizing Google Voice Command, and it’s also possible to management it utilizing a mic button on the distant or with Alexa audio system in case you’re a part of the Alexa ecosystem.
PlayStation 5 customers unsurprisingly take pleasure in gaming advantages on the Bravia 8 II, which robotically switches to a preset Recreation mode and engages auto HDR tone mapping when a linked PS5 console is turned on. The TV additionally helps 4K 120Hz enter, however with solely two HDMI 2.1 ports, players trying to additionally join each an Xbox Collection X console plus one of many best soundbars shall be dissatisfied.
The Bravia 8 II is undoubtedly one of many best OLED TVs to be launched in 2025, nevertheless it has stiff competitors from flagship OLEDs such because the Samsung S95F and LG G5, each of that are brighter and extra feature-packed. All three units are at the moment priced across the identical, making the Bravia 8 II a little bit of a troublesome worth name, however its charms are many, and its nice total image and sound high quality let it successfully compete with different flagship TVs.
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Worth and launch date
- Launch date: April 2025
- 55-inch: $2,999 / £2,499 / AU$3,999
- 65-inch: $3,499 / £2,999 / AU$4,999
In contrast to its Bravia 8 OLED TV predecessor, which was out there in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch display screen sizes, the Bravia 8 II is proscribed to 55- and 65-inch fashions (although the older Sony A95L TV is being saved round in a 77-inch mannequin solely, in case you desire a bigger choice).
Since its April unveiling, costs for each sizes have dropped within the US and Australia, with the 55-inch now priced at $3,299 / AU$2,999 and the 65-inch at $2,999 / AU$3,999.
The Bravia 8 II’s diminished value extra intently aligns it with different flagship OLED TVs such because the Samsung S95F ($3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,295 at launch) and LG G5 ($3,399 / £3,299 / AU$5,299 at launch). Each these fashions have additionally seen early reductions within the US, with the S95F dropping as little as $3,099 and the G5 to $3,199.
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Specs
|
Display screen kind: |
QD-OLED |
|
Refresh charge: |
120Hz |
|
HDR assist: |
Dolby Imaginative and prescient, HDR10, HLG |
|
Audio assist: |
Dolby Atmos, DTS:X |
|
Good TV: |
Google TV |
|
HDMI ports: |
4 (2x HDMI 2.1) |
|
Constructed-in tuner: |
ATSC 3.0 (US) |
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Benchmark outcomes
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Options
- QD-OLED show panel with robust anti-reflection layer
- Acoustic Floor Audio+ sound
- Excellent for PlayStation 5 gaming tech, however restricted different options
The Sony Bravia 8 II contains a QD-OLED show panel – an improve over the usual W-OLED panel utilized by its Bravia 8 predecessor. It additionally makes use of Sony’s XR Processor, which offers AI-based scene recognition to boost footage, together with a bunch of image processing options that come below the XR umbrella, similar to Distinction Booster, Clear Picture, and OLED Movement. The Dolby Imaginative and prescient, HDR10, and HLG excessive dynamic vary codecs are supported, however not HDR10+.
A shiny display screen with an anti-reflective coating helps to cut back display screen glare from indoor gentle sources on the Bravia 8 II. There’s no Filmmaker Mode, however a spread of customized presets, together with IMAX Enhanced, Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, and Prime Video Calibrated Mode, can be found to optimize footage for motion pictures, TV reveals, and sports activities.
Sony TVs frequently rank among the many best TVs for sound, and the Bravia 8 II offers a spread of options that assist distinguish it from different TVs in relation to audio efficiency. The principle one is Acoustic Floor Audio+, which positions actuators behind the TV that flip your complete display screen space right into a speaker.
There’s additionally Acoustic Middle Sync, a function that accepts an audio enter from a suitable Sony soundbar or audio system so the TV’s built-in audio system can be utilized as a center-channel speaker.
Sony’s 3D Encompass Upscaling does precisely what its identify implies by boosting two-channel and 5.1-channel soundtracks to an immersive audio presentation, whereas Voice Zoom 3 makes use of AI to acknowledge voices in soundtracks and provides them an additional quantity enhance. Each the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio codecs are supported by the Bravia 8 II.
Sony TVs use the Google TV good TV platform, and the Bravia 8 II has a built-in mic that allows you to use Google Assistant for voice instructions. A mic button on the TV’s distant management may also be used for voice instructions, which has the good thing about not having to go away the TV’s microphone perpetually on (there’s a mic on-off swap on the TV’s enter panel).
You’ll be able to wirelessly stream content material to the Bravia 8 II utilizing Google Forged and AirPlay. And in case you’re a part of the Alexa universe, with Alexa audio system in your house, it’s also possible to management the TV utilizing Alexa voice instructions.
The Bravia 8 II’s gaming options embody assist for 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rate, auto low-latency mode, and Dolby Imaginative and prescient gaming. It additionally has a brand new Gaming Menu 2 for making gaming-related changes, and is “Excellent for PlayStation 5,” with an auto HDR tone mapping and auto style mode options kicking in when a PS5 console is linked.
In contrast to the best gaming TVs, which generally present 4 HDMI 2.1 inputs, the Bravia 8 II’s HDMI 2.1 enter depend is proscribed to 2 ports out of its 4 HDMI ports in whole.
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Image high quality
- Good brightness for an OLED TV
- Inky, detailed shadows and black tones
- Wealthy, but pure shade
Once we examined the Sony Bravia 8 in 2024, it yielded solely common HDR brightness ranges, topping out at 817 nits peak and 182 nits fullscreen brightness within the Commonplace image mode.
The brand new mannequin’s QD-OLED panel pushes peak HDR brightness ranges considerably increased, with the Bravia 8 II measuring 1,439 and 1,067 nits in Cinema and Commonplace modes, respectively. Fullscreen brightness, however, is just barely increased, with the Bravia 8 II measuring 183 nits in Cinema mode and 250 nits in Commonplace mode.
The Bravia 8 II’s brightness outcomes, whereas a powerful leap over final 12 months’s mannequin, nonetheless fall brief in comparison with different 2025 flagship OLED TVs we’ve examined, such because the LG G5 and Samsung S95F, each of which attain effectively into the two,000 nits of peak brightness vary, and over 350 nits of fullscreen brightness.
That’s to not say that the Bravia 8 II isn’t sufficiently brilliant; its image simply doesn’t arise equally effectively in brilliant room lighting situations as these two TVs.
I measured the Bravia 8 II’s protection of the UHDA-P3 and BT.2020 shade areas in Cinema mode at 99.9% and 87.5%, respectively. These are each wonderful outcomes and are much like what we measured on the Samsung S95F.
Colour level accuracy in the identical mode averaged a 2.6 Delta-E worth (which is the margin of error between the take a look at sample supply and what’s proven on-screen, with a outcome decrease than 3.0 being undetectable by the human eye). In distinction, Cinema mode grayscale accuracy was 5.4 – a much less spectacular outcome.
Considered in dimmed lighting situations, a 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient stream of the film Civil Battle appeared impressively punchy, with the intense highlights from spotlights and bonfires in a nighttime encampment scene contrasting effectively with the black night time sky. Shadow element was additionally robust, and the a number of changes within the TV’s image Brightness submenu could possibly be used to fine-tune black ranges to carry out much more element.
I had the identical impression once I watched one other film, Alien: Romulus, in 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient. Blacks within the ship’s shadowy chambers appeared inky and deep, and the coloured lights of the management panels popped with a excessive degree of brightness.
These and different reference motion pictures I watched with my room’s overhead lights turned on misplaced a few of their distinction punch, however black ranges remained largely constant. The TV’s anti-reflection display screen additionally did a great job of eliminating glare, although lamps positioned throughout from the TV have been mirrored in a mirror-like method.
The Bravia 8 II does a superb job upscaling older motion pictures and TV reveals. Streaming an episode of the detective present Columbo from the Nineteen Eighties, the image appeared impressively stable and clear, and I may even make out textures within the mullet haircuts of company in a marriage scene.
Colours in each older and more moderen motion pictures appeared constantly pure, and the Sony was capable of present correct pores and skin tones whereas additionally vividly rendering brightly coloured objects, similar to a magenta flower bush and a yellow youngsters’s toy, in a scene from Civil Battle.
Movement dealing with is excellent on the Bravia 8 II. Watching a reference scene from the movie No Time to Die, the place James Bond walks throughout a hillside cemetery, there was solely a slight diploma of judder and blur seen, and it could possibly be simply lessened by setting the TV’s Motionflow Smoothness settings to Movie (2) and Digital camera (2).
- Image high quality rating: 5 / 5
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Sound high quality
- Acoustic Floor Audio+ turns the display screen right into a speaker
- Dolby Atmos and DTS:X assist
- Acoustic Middle Sync permits you to join TV with exterior audio system
Acoustic Floor Audio+ on the Bravia 8 II makes use of actuators positioned behind the TV’s display screen that rework your complete display screen right into a speaker. This design offers a way of dialogue emanating straight from the characters on-screen, and it additionally lets sound results observe precisely with the motion.
Each the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound codecs are supported by the Bravia 8 II, together with IMAX Enhanced. The latter means you’ll be able to stream the library of flicks with DTS:X soundtracks contained in each the Sony Footage Core and Disney+ apps, and expertise them with IMAX Enhanced post-processing, which is meant to ship the identical prolonged dynamic vary you hear in IMAX cinemas.
Dialogue in motion pictures like Civil Battle sounded clear and well-defined on the Bravia 8 II, and the Voice Zoom 3 function helped to raise voices in battle scenes with a lot of background noise. The TV’s Acoustic Middle Sync function, in the meantime, let me use it as a middle channel speaker by connecting a cable from the TV to Sony’s Bravia Theater Quad wireless speakers, whereas the Bravia Join app made it simple to calibrate the middle channel degree for a easy mix with the remainder of the system.
As soon as I had that arrange, the TV labored very successfully as a middle channel speaker, with voices sounding pure and full-bodied. Listened to by itself with out the Bravia Theater Quad setup, the TV’s built-in audio system delivered fairly full sound with motion pictures, with a great sense of atmosphere, however bass was restricted – one thing to be anticipated from a TV with such a slim profile.
- Sound high quality rating: 4.5 / 5
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Design
- Slim One Slate design
- Two-way aluminum assist ft
- Full-sized, backlit distant management
Sony’s Slim One Slate design for the Bravia 8 II offers the TV a bezel-free ‘all-picture’ look, and its textured again panel makes issues look good even from the again and sides. Sturdy aluminum assist ft on the TV’s outer edges could be set for both a flush set up with the display screen positioned straight on a stand or an elevated one, with three inches of house cleared for a soundbar.
Connections are positioned in a side-mounted panel and embody 4 HDMI ports with two HDMI 2.1 inputs offering 4K 120Hz assist, a mini-jack speaker enter for the Acoustic Middle Sync function, USB-A and Ethernet ports, and an antenna enter for the TV’s ATSC 3.0 broadcast tuner (US-only). Sony offers you removable panels to hide the enter and energy twine sections post-installation, which can scale back cable litter and keep the TV’s 360-degree attractiveness.
Sony’s medium-sized distant management sits comfortably within the hand and features a full sufficient array of management buttons that you just received’t have to go to the TV’s onscreen menus to do one thing so simple as swap inputs. Direct entry buttons are offered for key apps like Netflix and Prime Video, and in addition for extra obscure ones such because the Crunchyroll Anime service.
Oddly, the Bravia 8 II’s distant isn’t the identical Eco Distant model supplied with final 12 months’s Bravia 8 and Sony Bravia 9 TVs, one which makes use of a USB-C port for charging. It’s constituted of 79.7% recycled plastic, nevertheless.
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Good TV and menus
Picture 1 of 3
- Google TV
- Reside program grid integrates FAST and broadcast channels
- Fast Settings menu offers easy accessibility to changes
Sony TVs use the Google TV good TV platform, one with a homescreen dominated by a giant rotating banner up high with advertisements for reveals. A few of these advertisements, together with the row of ‘High picks for you’ content material ideas straight under, are based mostly in your viewing and internet searching exercise, which is one thing you give Google entry to once you register with a Google account.
Google TV provides a whole array of streaming apps, and these are arrayed in a row on the backside of the homescreen in an order that may be personalized. Tabs on the high of the homescreen allow you to entry Reside TV and Sony screens, amongst different choices, with the Sony display screen offering entry to Sony Footage Core film streaming picks in addition to educational movies on find out how to function the TV.
The Reside TV display screen is price commenting upon as a result of it properly integrates Google Freeplay free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels with broadcast TV ones pulled in by the TV’s ATSC 3.0 tuner. Each FAST and broadcast channels could be browsed in a time-based program grid, with program info offered for every channel.
As with different Google TVs, accessing image, sound, and system settings on the Bravia 8 II includes urgent the gear icon on the distant, or the identical factor on the highest proper nook of the Google TV homescreen. Sony offers an intensive vary of changes for dialing within the Bravia 8 II’s image, though getting to those includes wading deep via menus.
A better choice for making changes is to press the wrench icon button on the distant, which calls up the TV’s Fast Settings menu on the backside of the display screen. From right here you’ll be able to scroll via choices like image settings, image modes, brightness, and numerous audio changes, and it’s also possible to edit the menu so as to add or take away choices.
- Good TV & menus rating: 4 / 5
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Gaming
- Two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz assist
- Excellent for PlayStation 5 options
- Comparatively excessive 16.3ms enter lag
The Bravia 8 II provides a good variety of gaming options, essentially the most notable being ‘Excellent for PlayStation 5’ options, which embody an Auto HDR Tone Mapping mode when enter from a PS5 gaming console is detected to match the dynamic vary of the generated photos to precisely what the display screen is able to exhibiting.
An Auto Style Image Mode function may also robotically activate the TV’s Recreation image mode for the PS5, and Sony’s Recreation Menu 2 permits you to make onscreen gaming-related image and different changes.
Different gaming options supported by the Bravia 8 II embody Dolby Imaginative and prescient gaming, variable refresh rate, and auto low-latency mode. Two of the TV’s 4 HDMI 2.1 inputs assist 4K 120 Hz enter for gaming consoles, although these days it is turning into extra widespread to see three or extra HDMI 2.1 inputs on TVs.
Utilizing a Leo Bodnar 4K meter, I measured enter lag in Recreation Mode on the Bravia 8 II at 16.3ms, a notably increased degree than on different TVs we’ve just lately examined, a few of which measure under 10ms on the identical take a look at.
Sony Bravia 8 II evaluate: Worth
- Priced roughly the identical as high OLED competitors
- Decrease total brightness than high OLED competitors
- Much less in depth gaming options than competitors
At its $2.999 diminished value within the US, the Bravia 8 II at the moment prices lower than the 2025 flagship OLED TVs from LG and Samsung. However does that make it an excellent OLED TV worth?
The Bravia 8 II has implausible total image high quality, with excessive brightness for an OLED TV. Its image lacks the mini-LED-rivalling brightness ranges of the Samsung S95F and LG G5, nevertheless, and it appears to be like finest in dimmed lighting situations, the place the TV’s distinctive distinction, wealthy shade, and tremendous element could be totally appreciated.
Sony’s high OLED additionally has spectacular sound high quality for such a slim and classy TV, and it offers a number of options that allow it simply combine with suitable Sony soundbars and wi-fi audio system for even higher sound efficiency.
The Bravia 8 II’s Gaming options, whereas good, aren’t as in depth as what you’ll discover on high TVs from Samsung and LG, although there are explicit advantages for PlayStation 5 console house owners.
Checked out when it comes to worth, the Bravia 8 II is particularly a finest guess for film followers who don’t thoughts dimming the lights a bit, although its image can be brilliant sufficient to carry up in well-lit rooms. It doesn’t precisely beat this 12 months’s flagship OLED TV competitors, however with value reductions having already kicked in, no less than it is competitively priced.
Ought to I purchase the Sony Bravia 8 II?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Ranking |
|---|---|---|
|
Options |
Revolutionary Sony-centric audio options and particular capabilities for PS5 house owners make this an interesting TV for Sony followers |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Image high quality |
Spectacular brightness, shade and distinction plus an in depth, correct image make this set particularly simple on the eyes |
5 / 5 |
|
Sound high quality |
Sony’s Acoustic Floor Audio+ function delivers comparatively full, spacious sound from a slim TV |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
A slim, elegant design with cable administration and two-way adjustable ft that may clear house for a soundbar |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Good TV and menus |
Google TV is a stable good TV system and Sony’s Fast Settings menu offers easy accessibility to image and sound changes |
4 / 5 |
|
Gaming |
Good options for PS5 house owners, however solely two HDMI 2.1 ports and relatively excessive enter lag in Recreation mode |
4 / 5 |
|
Worth |
Expensive, however its spectacular image and sound high quality assist it to face as much as the premium OLED competitors |
4 / 5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Sony Bravia 8 II: Additionally think about…
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Sony Bravia 8 II |
LG G5 |
Samsung S95F |
Sony Bravia 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Checklist value (65-inch) |
$3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,295 |
$3,399 / £3,299 / AU$5,299 |
$2,699 / £2,699 / AU$4,299 |
$2,799 / £2,699 / AU$4,495 |
|
Display screen kind |
QD-OLED |
OLED |
QD-OLED |
OLED |
|
Refresh charge |
120Hz |
165Hz |
165Hz |
120Hz |
|
HDR assist |
Dolby Imaginative and prescient/HDR10/HLG |
Dolby Imaginative and prescient/HDR10/HLG |
HDR10+/HDR10/HLG |
DolbyVision/HDR10/HLG |
|
Good TV |
Google TV |
webOS |
Tizen |
Google TV |
|
HDMI ports |
4 (2 x HDMI 2.1) |
4x HDMI 2.1 |
4 x HDMI 2.1 |
4 (2x HDMI 2.1) |
How I examined the Sony Bravia 8 II
- I spent about 15 viewing hours in whole, measuring and evaluating
- Measurements have been made utilizing Calman shade calibration software program
- A full calibration was made earlier than continuing with subjective exams
Once I take a look at TVs, I first spend a number of days and even weeks utilizing them for informal viewing to evaluate the out-of-box image presets and get conversant in the good TV menu and film changes.
I subsequent choose essentially the most correct preset (normally Filmmaker Mode, Film or Cinema) and measure grayscale and shade accuracy utilizing Portrait Shows’ Calman color calibration software. The ensuing measurements present Delta-E values (the margin of error between the take a look at sample supply and what’s proven on-screen) for every class, and permit for an evaluation of the TV’s total accuracy.
Together with these exams, I make measurements of peak gentle output (recorded in nits) for each commonplace high-definition and 4K excessive dynamic vary utilizing 10% and 100% white window patterns. Protection of DCI-P3 and BT.2020 shade house can be measured, with the outcomes offering a way of how faithfully the TV can render the prolonged shade vary in extremely high-definition sources – you’ll be able to learn extra about this course of in our information to how we test TVs at TechRadar.
For the Sony Bravia 8 II, I used the Calman ISF workflow, together with the TV’s superior image menu settings, to calibrate the picture for finest accuracy. I additionally watched a spread of reference scenes on 4K Blu-ray discs to evaluate the TV’s efficiency, together with 4K HDR reveals streamed from Max, Netflix, and different companies.