Critics agreed that the Sony X800H has fantastic peak brightness and wide viewing angles, making it a great choice for people who want to host a viewing party for a sporting event. The wide color gamut and low input lag makes the Android TV great in this regard too. Unfortunately, it’s held back by a bad contrast ratio (not normally typical for a Sony TV), its proclivity towards glare, and no advanced gaming features like an HDMI 2.1 port or a variable refresh rate. This is very similar to the Sony X750H 4K TV.
Picture Quality
4K
- Reviewers loved that the Sony X800H displayed 4K HDR (thanks to the 4K HDR processor X1) content near-perfectly with real-world detail and texture that brings scenes to life with everything you watch. They were also pleased that the Android TV upscaled lower-resolution pictures well thanks to the triluminos display.
Color
- The Sony X800H has a nice, wide color gamut, according to reviewers. It has excellent coverage of the DCI P3 color space – about 90% according to experts – and although the Rec 2020 color space measures about 63%, it’s still considered to produce a wide color gamut thanks to Dolby Vision.
Black
- Top critics weren’t entirely dismissive of the TV’s black levels, but they did wish it was slightly better. They agreed that you will notice some clouding and blooming around bright images in dark scenes. But overall, they still found it to be on the better side for entry-level LCD televisions.
Brightness
- The Sony X800H has fantastic peak brightness, according to critics. Reviewed and Consumer Reports measured the HDR peak brightness and the HDR contrast brightness to be the same: 522.9 nits. You should have no problems watching your favorite show or movie in a dark room.
Contrast
- Expert reviewers were surprised at the TV’s low contrast ratio, which they measured at 1,083:1. A low color and contrast ratio is surprising for Sony TVs, and because of this, the Android TV has trouble displaying deep colors. For a Sony 4K TV with a better contrast ratio, consider the Sony X750H.
Dimming
- The Sony X800H does not have a local dimming feature, which was disappointing to most experts. This means the Android TV cannot improve its already poor contrast ratio as there are no backlights to help brighten a dark scene.
Gaming
- Top commentators were happy with the TV’s low input lag (9.8 milliseconds), which should give you good, responsive, and quality gameplay.
- They were less impressed, however, with the TV’s lack of other gaming features, such as no HDMI 2.1 port and no VRR (variable refresh rate) support.
HDR
- The Sony X800H has good all-around HDR (high dynamic range), according to analysts. Peak brightness in HDR is an impressive 522.9 nits, and in game mode it is virtually the same (515 nits). They also found the color gamut is also quite good in HDR.
- However, the TV doesn’t have support for HDR10+.
Motion
- Product testers were disappointed that the Sony X800H can’t reduce motion blur very well despite the Motionflow XR technology, so some duplication can occur. Further, while it can remove judder from 24p content, it can’t remove judder from anything higher.
Refresh
- The Sony X800H has a 60Hz native refresh rate and doesn’t support VRR (variable refresh rate). This means the TV is prone to screen-tearing, which can be annoying to gamers trying to play a fast-paced game online.
Response
- Top reviewers were impressed that the TV has a good response time (4.9 milliseconds), but had to concede that there will still be a little bit of motion blur behind fast-moving objects.
- Dark scenes, they also pointed out, had worse response times. This can lead to black smearing.
Viewing Angle
- The Sony X800H series has exceptional viewing angles, much better than the Sony X900H, and commentators were very pleased about this. Color washout doesn’t occur until about 42 degrees, and you won’t lose any brightness until 44 degrees, according to Rtings and Cnet TV reviews.
Burn-In
- Critics liked that the Sony X800H doesn’t have a risk of burn-in. This is because the TV sports an IPS panel, which doesn’t suffer from image retention.
Design
Stand
- The Sony X800H has a simple and sturdy stand. The feet are made out of durable plastic that won’t scratch or damage the table surface.
- The feet are wide, though, so experts mentioned you’ll need a large surface to put the TV on if you don’t plan to mount it.
Back
- Top evaluators adored the noticeable grate on the back of the TV which helps with heat dispersion.
- But they were less enthusiastic about the TV being made entirely of plastic, which caused some noticeable wobble.
Borders
- The Sony X800H has very thin borders that shouldn’t be too distracting. Top reviewers measured the borders on the TV to be about 0.59 inches (1.5 centimeters).
Thickness
- Experts admired the thinness of the Sony X800H, measuring the TV at about 2.87 inches (7.3 centimeters). They also agreed that the TV shouldn’t stick out too much if you try to wall-mount it.
Features
Tuner
- The Sony X800H has a tuner for an HDTV antenna, but top critics didn’t have anything to say about this feature.
Input
- Top analysts were neutral regarding the Sony X800H’s inputs for smart home devices. It comes with 4 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, an ethernet port, and the aforementioned tuner.
- However, none of the HDMI ports are HDMI 2.1, which disappointed reviewers because this makes the TV non-conducive to gaming.
Remote
- The Sony X800H has a large, voice-controlled google assistant remote control, which makes commentators happy because you’ll have full control of your TV’s functions.
- The only downside they found was that the voice control won’t work unless the TV is paired with the remote via Bluetooth.
Smart TV
Apps
- Reviewers loved the large selection of apps the TV comes with. And because the Sony X800H is an Android-powered TV, there’s an even greater selection on the Google Play Store.
Streaming
- The Sony X800H comes with the basics (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Chromecast) in terms of streaming services, according to top critics. They were also delighted that the streaming services worked great and didn’t take long to stream content.
Menu
- Top critics respected the easy-to-use and fast interface that comes with the Sony X800H. Navigation is smooth, and most reviewers didn’t experience any bugs or ads while testing the TV.
Sound Quality
Audio
- Listening to loud, action-packed movies or concerts on the Sony X800H should produce decent audio output, according to leading critics. It’s passable, but a soundbar should get you the extra kick you want.
Bass
- Product experts liked that the Sony X800H has a decent frequency response, but they also noted that the bass doesn’t produce any thump or rumble on the LFE (low-frequency extension). As such, it doesn’t get as boomy as it should get.
Soundstage
- The Sony X800H has an even sound profile thanks to Dolby Atmos, according to leading experts. This makes the TV a good choice for many dialogue-heavy films.
- However, these same experts found that the TV doesn’t handle distortion well and that this is very noticeable at high volumes.
