The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV is a great TV to get if you mostly have dark rooms. It is a solid TV for media consumption and streaming movies & TV shows over the internet. Its organic LED panel delivers excellent black levels, best-in-class contrast ratio, wide viewing angles, and fast response time. However, the lack of HDMI 2.1 will be disappointing for gamers. And the slight risk of image burn-in will be enough for some users to steer clear of this TV.
PICTURE QUALITY
4K
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV comes with a 4K OLED panel, and most reviewers did not face any negative issues playing back native 4K ultra HD content with HDR. In addition, the Sony A8H OLED also sports fantastic upscaling for 1080P and lower resolution content. There are no upscaling artifacts either, even with the object-based super-resolution setting enabled. It is on par (if not better) with some of the best 65 Inch TVs in this aspect.
Color
- RTings measured 97% coverage of the DCI P3 color space and 77% coverage of the Rec. 2020 color space on the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV. On top of that, this Bravia OLED also features a wide color gamut and a native 10-bit panel, which is fantastic for HDR content. Furthermore, the pixel contrast booster setting helps boost the color and contrast even more. And the out of the box color accuracy is also pretty good.
Black
- Similar to the LG CX, the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV can deliver deep inky black levels. OLED TVs can individually turn each pixel off for achieving perfect black levels, and this Sony OLED TV operates the same way. And the uniformity is fantastic as well, according to top experts.
Brightness
- Experts were somewhat let down by the peak brightness of the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV. The measured peak brightness is 834 nits, which falls slightly below the 1000 nits mark TVs need to achieve to display HDR scenes bright and clear. However, the pixel contrast booster setting helps overcome that for the most part.
Contrast
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED comes with an OLED 4K ultra HD panel, and its contrast ratio is technically infinite. So product reviewers found it to be an excellent TV for watching movies and TV shows in a dark room. And just like the Sony A90J OLED, there’s a Netflix calibrated mode as well, to view the content just as the creator intended.
Dimming
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV doesn’t feature any local dimming. So we couldn’t evaluate this aspect of the TV. But, according to testers, as it comes with an OLED screen, it doesn’t exactly need a local dimming feature. One alternative is to get the Sony X75CH which comes with a full array of local dimming.
Gaming
- Top reviewers were disappointed by the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV’s gaming performance, mainly because it doesn’t have HDMI 2.1. In addition, it only has support for 120Hz in 1080P and doesn’t support VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) or ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) at all. The LG CX OLED TV is way better in this regard.
HDR
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV supports HDR 10, HLG, and Dolby Vision, according to WhatHi-Fi. They also said that the HDR performance is excellent, thanks to the wide color gamut, impressive color volume, and Sony’s Triluminos display technology.
- However, they also noted the absence of HDR 10+.
Motion
- Top experts lauded the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV’s ability to handle motion, thanks to its X motion clarity technology and the 120Hz panel. In addition, the X1 Ultimate chip can manage fast-paced content well, and the optional BFI (Black Frame Insertion) feature works perfectly. The X motion clarity technology also enables motion interpolation on this TV, removing judder from all sources.
Refresh
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV comes with a native 120Hz panel, but you can’t use 120Hz with any resolution but 1080P. As a result, you’ll be limited to 60Hz most of the time. And VRR also isn’t available.
Response
- Testers love the near-instantaneous response time of the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV, thanks to the X1 Ultimate picture processor chip and the OLED panel. Fast-paced content (e.g., sports) produces minimal blur on this TV. And the input lag also stays below 20ms most of the time.
Viewing Angle
- Being an OLED TV, the Sony Bravia A8H OLED delivers excellent viewing angles overall. In addition, certified reviewers measured that the image doesn’t degrade before 64° viewing angles, and the color washout is minimal. It is way better than VA panels in this aspect.
Burn-In
- Unlike the Sony X90J, product experts did note a slight risk of permanent display burn-in on the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV. But, they don’t expect it to be a big problem for most users who mix up their daily display content. And Sony also has built-in a few settings to help prevent such issues.
DESIGN
Stand
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV features Sony’s metal blade stand design, which consists of two feet. However, testers noted that the feet are adjustable, and you can set the TV in a higher position to accommodate a soundbar if you want to. There are also tabs on the back of the stands to route cables.
Back
- Top reviewers were impressed by Sony’s super-slim one slate design on the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV, and the back is mainly metallic. The part that houses the ports is plastic, but there’s no additional section for cable management. The plastic area also houses the holes for wall mounting, and it’s compatible with Sony’s SU-WL855 wall mount.
Borders
- The bezels of the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV are only about 0.8cm wide. Thus, they are even thinner than the older Sony A8G OLED TV. Reviewers were highly impressed with the modern look the narrow borders deliver.
Thickness
- Experts measured the thickness of the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV at 5.5cm at its max point. So it’s super slim, and once wall-mounted, it should stay flush to the wall.
FEATURES
Tuner
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV features an ATSC 3.0 next-gen tuner for 4K broadcasts. Reviewers reported it to function well to its spec.
Input
- Testers were disappointed that, despite the four HDMI ports, none supported HDMI 2.1 on the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV. However, it does come with three USB ports, one of which is a USB 3.0 port. And it also has an ethernet port in its I/O.
Remote Control
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV comes with a slightly redesigned large brushed metal remote with a mic for voice control through the Google Assistant. It also includes two shortcut buttons to Netflix & Google Play and a dedicated button for Google Assistant.
SMART TV
Applications
- Certified reviewers applauded the massive library of apps the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV provides, thanks to the Android TV platform and the Google Play Store. And if you don’t have any specific app available in your region, sideloading is extremely easy on Android TV. Also, thanks to the 4K X Reality Pro processor inside, most apps run fluidly.
Streaming
- The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV comes with a few pre-installed streaming apps (e.g., Netflix, YouTube, etc.). According to top experts, it streams 4K HDR content just fine without lag or frame drops. And it supports Dolby Atmos on compatible content from most native streaming apps.
Menu
- Testers admired the smoothness of the Android TV UI (Android 9.0) on the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV. You can also customize the menu to display your favorite streaming apps at first. In addition, it’s bug-free and easy to navigate.
SOUND QUALITY
Audio
- Like other Sony OLEDs, the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV also sports Sony’s acoustic surface audio solution. However, rather than using built-in speakers, the screen vibrates to create audio for extra depth and realism.
- Reviewers noted that the TV could get pretty loud depending on the content.
Bass
- Testers were impressed by the healthy amount of bass on the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV’s acoustic surface audio solution.
- But, they also noted that there isn’t enough sub and low bass to create rumbling & room-shaking sound.
Soundstage
- Thanks to the Dolby Atmos support, the Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV can achieve a very wide soundstage.
- However, the absence of eARC will be annoying for some users who also plan to get an external sound system with this TV. And experts also noted some distortion at max volume.
