Sony Bravia XR OLED TV A80K Review Should You Buy This Oled TV?
First of all, let me explain to you in short, the difference between an OLED TV and a 4K LED TV. LED TVs to require a light source to illuminate the pictures, whereas, in OLED TVs, the pixels that form the pictures, light up on their own. They do not require any external light source. |
| Sony A80k OLED TV |
For example, if in a scene, some part is fully illuminated, while another is plunged in darkness, the pixels of the dark parts will remain switched off, whereas, the pixels of the area where there is light will get illuminated. In the same manner, where there is a requirement for dim light, over there, the pixels will light up at low intensity. This is the reason why you get fairly deep Blacks on OLED TVs, and, there is no problem of light bleeding, too, as commonly seen in LED TVs. In OLED TVs you generally don't come across any blooming issues too.
As far as the smartness of this TV is concerned, this is an Android TV, which comes with Google TV UI, which is very fluid. On Google TV, you get more than 7000 apps and games to download and there is also a constant edition to this list. Understanding your browsing history, the Google TV UI starts displaying content from your favourite genre right there on the home screen, which saves you the hassle of searching for your favourite content in different applications.
On this TV you get Google Chromecast, Apple Airplay and Apple Air Kit, so you can cast the contents of your Android and Apple devices on the big screen of this TV. The voice command feature of this TV is very responsive. Apart from the Google assistant button given on the remote, you can also give direct voice commands to this TV. You can also control all the paired compatible devices through your voice command. Apart from Google, this TV is also compatible with Alexa. You can download the Google home application on your phone and turn your phone into a remote. This way typing will become much easier. This TV has the option to install Bravia cam on it. For that, you need to buy the Bravia cam separately and then you can do video calling on the big screen of this TV. Bravia cam also enables you to control this TV with gestures. And if the viewing distance reduces, the TV also prompts you to maintain the proper distance by popping up a message regarding this. All the Sony XR series TVs come with the award-winning Bravia core technology, where you get unlimited movies, amongst which some are IMAX Enhanced movies. IMAX-enhanced movies give you an altogether different experience, where you get to see cinemascope movies on full screen in their best quality. On the Bravia core application, you get to watch the best of the best movies in their best quality without any subscription. And, in the Bravia calibrated mode, you get the best settings for these movies.
On this TV you get a separate UI for kids, where only kids' contents or permitted contents get displayed. You can even set the timer and limit the viewing time of your kids.
Through the living decor application given on this TV, you can display your personal photos or artwork as a screensaver and convert this TV into a piece of art.
You can also use this TV as a monitor as you get pretty good colour accuracy on it, as well as, the 4:4:4 proper chroma ratio in 4K and 1080p resolution.
OLEDs are certainly exposed to burn-in risk, but, but if you don't watch contents through a set-top box, the risk gets minimised. Actually, when you watch content through a set-top box, the channel logo that constantly displays at a point on the screen can become a cause of permanent image retention. However, if you change the channel frequently, the risk of image retention gets reduced.
The company also claims that it has a technology in its OLED TVs that minimizes the burn-in risk. I have given the link to that article in the description if you want you can read that Sony gives a two-year warranty on this TV, and, under the Onam offer, it is providing 3 years warranty in certain areas. So do check out!
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This Sony A80K TV is available in 55, 65 and 75 inches. The purchase links of all these TVs:
🛒 Buy On Amazon Sony A80k OLED TV
55" - https://amzn.to/3zZTdO3
65" - https://amzn.to/3vMrLBK
75" - https://amzn.to/3SwdYJs
Inside the box
Apart from the TV, you get a power cord, two-piece metallic tabletop stand, a remote, 2 triple A batteries, an ABS plastic panel cover, an instruction manual, and, a warranty card.
The built quality
The built quality of the remote is pretty good, and, this time, it is pretty compact. The number buttons have been removed from the remote and a single number button is provided, pressing which, you can open a virtual number pad on the screen. On the remote, apart from the Google assistant button, you get direct buttons to Netflix, YouTube, Prime video and YouTube Music. The TV is very stylish and premium in looks. On three sides, it is bezel-less, however, there is a narrow black metal frame on three sides, and, on the lower side, there is an ultra-slim metallic bezel, on the extreme left of which, Sony branding is given. The legs are minimalistic, but, very stylish, whose construction is metallic. You just need to fit these legs in the spaces given below the TV. There is no need for any screw to fit the stand. The stand has a height adjustment option, you can increase or decrease the height according to your convenience. The back of the TV has been constructed out of premium black plastic material, on which, there is a grid pattern that imparts a stylish look to the TV. The quality of the plastic material used can be gauged through its shine. The placement of the ports is on the right side and on the left there is a Power port. Along with the ports, there is a single button through which you can power on/off the TV, as well as, switch between the channels, increase or decrease the volume and change the input mode. There is also an XR badging on the back. An ABS plastic cover has been provided to cover the ports. Not only does it prevent dust from entering the ports, but it also enhances the aesthetics of the TV. From the sides too, this TV has an ultra-slim profile. Overall in looks, this TV is pretty premium and elegant.
Connectivity Option
Coming to the connectivity option, this TV has 4 HDMI ports whose HDCP version is 2.3. The HDMI 3 and 4 that come with 2.1, support auto low latency mode, HDMI eARC, 4K @120 Hz and VRR. HDMI CEC and ARC, both, both are present on this TV. You can operate multiple paired devices with a single remote. This TV has 2 USB ports, an Ethernet port, digital optical audio out port and 1 analogue audio out 3.5 mm port. The TV comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v4.2.Features and Specifications
Now let's talk about the company's mentioned features and specifications. This Sony A80K OLED TV comes with Sony's cognitive processor XR. According to the company, Sony has put its best technologies into its XR series TVs and made them future-proof. This TV comes with a 10-bit panel, and, supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. For clarity enhancement, it has dual database processing, XR 4K upscaling and XR super-resolution. For colour enhancement, it has Triluminos Pro which widens the colour gamut and produces more than a billion colours. XR smoothening reduces the banding to create smooth pictures. For contrast enhancement, there is XR OLED Contrast Pro Technology, apart from pixel contrast booster, HDR Remaster and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer. The XR HDR Remaster adjusts the colour, brightness, bandwidth, hue, saturation and other minute things to produce pictures with precision. To control motion, there is XR OLED Motion on this TV. For audio, there are 10 + 10 watts, 5 phantom front-facing acoustic surface audio plus speakers and amplifiers that come with three actuators and two subwoofers. Apart from Dolby Audio, this TV supports Dolby Atmos, DTS, 2nd generation zoom 2, and, 3D surround upscaling. This TV gives you the best audio experience by understanding the positioning of the viewer in the room. This is an Android TV which comes with Google TV UI. It has a 16GB Ram and it supports the Bravia cam so that you can make video calls on a big screen. It comes with a dedicated Game Mode and HDR tone mapping, which gives you the best picture settings while playing HDR games through the PS5 PlayStation. Apart from this, the TV comes with an auto genre picture mode, so that when you switch over to movies from games, the standard mode automatically gets activated.Real Performance
Now, let's talk about its real performance. The picture quality of this TV is superb! You get to see very deep Blacks and an infinite contrast ratio on it, due to which colours literally pop out on this TV. On this TV, you get that picture quality, which can never be seen on any QLED or 4k TV. The colours are very deep and vibrant and the picture clarity is outstanding. On this TV, you get to see pretty sharp and well-defined pictures. Colours are much vibrant with a shine that makes the pictures very attractive. You also don't get to see any blooming around bright objects, which is commonly noticed in LED TVs. The colour accuracy of this TV is also very good and out of the box, too, you get very good picture settings. This TV gives very wide coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. Your favourite content, which you have already seen before on any TV, will appear very different and so good on this TV that you will be tempted into watching them again. The pictures apart from appearing real, look very colourful and fresh, in the same manner as Nature comes out alive and fresh after rains! You get to see a 3D depth in the pictures, which creates an illusion of their being real. This is that TV, which more than my defining it, needs to be experienced to get the real feel of its picture quality. I can just say that this OLED TV becomes an addiction once you start watching programs on it. Both the Grey and Black uniformity of this TV is very good. You don't get to see any dirty screen effect on it, because of which, a single colour stretch such as a sky or any sports field appears very clean and uniform. On this TV, you don't get to see any banding, blooming or bleeding! You just get to see super clean pictures, without any digital noise. The brightness of this TV is pretty good. In a 25% window, the HDR peak brightness measured was 947.8 Nits and in a 50% window, the brightness turned out to be 546.2 Nits. Both SDR and HDR contents look good on this TV. While watching HDR videos, the brightness definitely increases, because of which HDR and Dolby Vision contents are highly enjoyable on it, especially in night scenes, where there are lots of lights illuminated in a dark background. However, in some of the dark scenes, the brightness looks lower than Sony X90J or Sony X90K. If we talk of the picture upscaling on this TV, this TV is an amalgamation of Sony's ultimate technologies. In none of the OLED TVs, you get this level of picture upscaling. Apart from the excellent upscaling of OTT contents, this TV gives you a very good picture upscaling even through the USB port. If we talk about the viewing angles of this TV, then your entire family can enjoy this TV from different angles without any problem. Even when you watch this TV from the side, the colours don't get washed out. The picture looks good from all angles. The reflection handling capacity of this TV is decent till the time light is not falling directly on the screen, you will not face any problem. Though in an illuminated room the performance of this TV is pretty good, you get its best performance in a dimly illuminated room. Generally, motion blur is not a problem on this TV, and neither, while watching games you face any problem of motion blur, but sometimes when the frame rate of any content does not match with the TV's frame rate you might notice some blur. The audio of this TV is also very good, you get a very different experience on it, which I did not notice on Sony X90K or Sony X90J. I had even mentioned this in my review of these TVs, but this TV has changed my opinion regarding the XR sound technology of Sony. The surface acoustic audio technology of Sony can be seen working pretty well on this OLED TV. This might be due to the fact that this TV comes with a more powerful speaker system. The audio seems coming directly from that part of the screen where it's originating. And the way sound moves around from one part of the screen to another is a beautiful experience.Audio
The audio of this TV apart from being loud is very clear. The object-based audio experience of Dolby Atmos can be had on this TV to some extent. On this TV, you get a decent surround sound experience too.Smartness
As far as the smartness of this TV is concerned, this is an Android TV, which comes with Google TV UI, which is very fluid. On Google TV, you get more than 7000 apps and games to download and there is also a constant edition to this list. Understanding your browsing history, the Google TV UI starts displaying content from your favourite genre right there on the home screen, which saves you the hassle of searching for your favourite content in different applications.
On this TV you get Google Chromecast, Apple Airplay and Apple Air Kit, so you can cast the contents of your Android and Apple devices on the big screen of this TV. The voice command feature of this TV is very responsive. Apart from the Google assistant button given on the remote, you can also give direct voice commands to this TV. You can also control all the paired compatible devices through your voice command. Apart from Google, this TV is also compatible with Alexa. You can download the Google home application on your phone and turn your phone into a remote. This way typing will become much easier. This TV has the option to install Bravia cam on it. For that, you need to buy the Bravia cam separately and then you can do video calling on the big screen of this TV. Bravia cam also enables you to control this TV with gestures. And if the viewing distance reduces, the TV also prompts you to maintain the proper distance by popping up a message regarding this. All the Sony XR series TVs come with the award-winning Bravia core technology, where you get unlimited movies, amongst which some are IMAX Enhanced movies. IMAX-enhanced movies give you an altogether different experience, where you get to see cinemascope movies on full screen in their best quality. On the Bravia core application, you get to watch the best of the best movies in their best quality without any subscription. And, in the Bravia calibrated mode, you get the best settings for these movies.
On this TV you get a separate UI for kids, where only kids' contents or permitted contents get displayed. You can even set the timer and limit the viewing time of your kids.
Through the living decor application given on this TV, you can display your personal photos or artwork as a screensaver and convert this TV into a piece of art.
Gaming Performance
Coming to the gaming performance of this TV; this Sony TV, like other Sony XR models, gives you a very good PS5 gaming experience. The HDMI 2.1, ALLM, VRR, 120 Hz refresh rate and 8.4 ms input lag, all, work in unison to make your gaming experience enjoyable on this TV. The graphics of this TV are very good and while playing HDR games you get a good brightness on it. As soon as you connect your PS5 Playstation to this TV, it goes into the Game Mode, and thereafter the input lag gets minimised. The response time of this TV is decent and there is no visible delay. Gaming on this TV is fluid and lag-free. Neither there is any issue of frame drop or stuttering. Gaming is pretty enjoyable on this TV.You can also use this TV as a monitor as you get pretty good colour accuracy on it, as well as, the 4:4:4 proper chroma ratio in 4K and 1080p resolution.
Conclusion
I would conclude by saying that if you are thinking of buying any OLED TV, this is the best option. Apart from the good picture and audio quality, you get very good picture upscaling along with attractive features.OLEDs are certainly exposed to burn-in risk, but, but if you don't watch contents through a set-top box, the risk gets minimised. Actually, when you watch content through a set-top box, the channel logo that constantly displays at a point on the screen can become a cause of permanent image retention. However, if you change the channel frequently, the risk of image retention gets reduced.
The company also claims that it has a technology in its OLED TVs that minimizes the burn-in risk. I have given the link to that article in the description if you want you can read that Sony gives a two-year warranty on this TV, and, under the Onam offer, it is providing 3 years warranty in certain areas. So do check out!
🛒 Buy Here:👇 Sony A80k OLED TV
55" - https://amzn.to/3zZTdO3
65" - https://amzn.to/3vMrLBK
75" - https://amzn.to/3SwdYJs
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