Sony Bravia 8 II Review: Good At Everything

For some reason, Sony sometimes gets forgotten in the TV wars. Maybe that has to do with the fact that Samsung and LG are pioneering their own TV panels and developing the new tech that often makes headlines at trade shows like CES. But you should keep Sony in mind when you're shopping for a new TV — especially at the high-end. Sony may use display panels from other companies, but how it tunes those panels and processes is often considered to be the best in the business.

The Sony Bravia 8 II is one of Sony's latest-generation QD-OLED models, leveraging Samsung's QD-OLED panel for high contrast and vibrant colors. Yes, it has a very confusing name — it isn't a follow-up to the still-available Bravia 8, instead serving as a follow-up to the much-loved Sony A95L OLED.

Is the Sony Bravia 8 II the best TV you can buy right now? Or should you stick to something like the Samsung S95F?

Premium TVs are getting better and better looking, but as far as TVs in this price range, the Sony Bravia 8 II is a bit understated. I love what Samsung has been doing with its high-end TVs by separating the brains and connectivity from the display panel itself through the One Connect Box. This makes the display super slim, with one thin cable connecting the box to the display. The Sony Bravia 8 II's design isn't as high-tech, but it's still a great-looking TV in general.

The TV is the slimmest in Sony's lineup — though it's still thicker than models from the likes of Samsung and LG. It has two feet that connect to the far corners of the bottom of the TV, which Sony says helps with reflections — though you're unlikely to really notice that difference. The wide placement also means that it's harder to place the TV on a TV stand that isn't super wide, though thankfully it does make placing a soundbar between the feet easier.

On the back of the TV, the port selection is a bit disappointing. There are four HDMI ports, but only two of them support the HDMI 2.1 standard — and one of those is the HDMI eARC port. At this price point, all of the HDMI ports really should support the latest HDMI standard.

The remote has changed compared to the Sony A95L, which is the direct predecessor of this model. It hasn't changed for the better. Gone is the backlit rechargeable remote in favor of a non-backlit remote that's powered by AAA batteries. It works fine, and it has quick access buttons for a solid selection of streaming services. If you haven't used the previous-gen remote, you might like it a lot, but it still can't help but feel like a downgrade.

Is the Sony Bravia 8 II the most stylish TV out there? No, but that's never been Sony's strength, and it be fair, it's still a well-built, nice-looking TV.

The TV offers a range of features that will appeal to both TV nerds and average users alike. Notably, it has Sony's XR Processor — or the latest generation of it. Sony has actually updated the processor a number of times over the past few years, but says that it only wants to give it a new name when it's improved enough to warrant a generational leap. In other words, the latest version offers the best of what Sony has to offer right now when it comes to image processing.

For this TV, you'll get AI-based scene recognition, plus things like Sony's Contrast Booster, Clear Image, OLED Motion, and more. There are also modes specific to streaming services — for example, you'll get a Prime Video Calibrated Mode and Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, ensuring the TV can best optimize content for the different ways different streaming services encode content.

For those who like free-to-air content, the TV has an ATSC 3.0 tuner built into it, so you'll be able to take advantage of the latest and greatest broadcast TV. There are also some helpful audio-related features. We'll get into how the TV actually sounds later, but for now, know that it offers features like Sony's 3D Surround Upscaling, which can turn stereo or traditional surround sound into 3D surround sound. Then there's the Acoustic Center Sync feature, which turns the TV into a center channel for those who have a compatible Sony soundbar — however, I don't, so I wasn't able to test this.

As mentioned, the TV has two HDMI 2.1 ports built into it, so it does support gamer-friendly features like VRR, with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. It also has auto low-latency mode, and there's a new menu for adjusting gaming-specific features. Lastly, if you game on a PlayStation, the TV and your console have a dedicated handshake that can automatically map HDR — so you don't have to adjust HDR settings every time you play a new game or the power goes out.

Speaking of HDR, the TV supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, but there's no HDR10+ support. Dolby Vision is more important than HDR10+, as it's much more widely available — but it still would have been nice to see a TV with both. All together, the TV is pretty feature-rich — and while gamers with multiple consoles will miss having additional HDMI 2.1 ports, there are still solid gaming features overall.

At its core, the Sony Bravia 8 II is powered by Google TV, which is well-designed and easy to use. Google TV shows rows of content, with a row at the top for content you might want to dive into, followed by your installed apps, and content for those apps below. I quite like the design.

Of course, it also integrates well with Google's ecosystem. It has Google Home controls built into it, for example. If you're not in Google's ecosystem, you might still like what the TV has to offer, as it supports tech like AirPlay for Apple users.

On top of the basic Google TV operating system, the TV also has other software features built in, specific to Sony. There's a whole dedicated Sony tab at the top of the Google TV interface, which shows Sony-specific content, along with the Sony Pictures Core service. And, of course, you'll get integration with PlayStation — you can access PS Remote Play on the TV, meaning that the TV doesn't have to be physically connected to your PlayStation for you to game on it. That's handy for multi-TV homes.

Of course, the main reason to buy this TV over another is its image quality. After all, Sony is known for its superior video processing and additional features, which build on whatever display panel it's using in its latest TV. For the Sony Bravia 8 II, that's a QD-OLED panel, similar to the one used in the Samsung S95F. It gets around 25% brighter than the A95L before it, and Sony says that it's 50% brighter than the Bravia 8, which has a traditional W-OLED panel. It looks absolutely stunning. Seriously, this TV, when it comes to performance, gets basically everything right.

As a QD-OLED TV, the Bravia 8 II is able to deliver those deep black levels, coupled with a decent level brightness, especially compared to traditional W-OLED TVs. Brightness has typically been the Achilles heel of OLED TVs, but QD-OLED technology has largely fixed that by swapping the white-emitting OLED panel for a blue-emitting panel, which then converts that light to colors using quantum dots, instead of traditional color filters, which can absorb some of the light and make the overall image dimmer.

Christian de Looper for BGR

Quantum dot tech also makes for purer, more vibrant colors — and you can immediately see that on this TV. Everything from random YouTube videos to cinematic masterpieces looks great on this TV. Of course, Sony isn't the only one using a QD-OLED panel. The Samsung S95F, which is also an excellent TV, uses the same technology, and it's able to produce a stunning image as well. So, what sets Sony apart? Well, it's Sony's image processing technology.

Sony has always excelled when it comes to image processing, and that remains true for the Bravia 8 II. Images look incredibly clear, and objects on the screen seriously pop. Watching nature-focused content like "The Secret Life of Animals" on Apple TV made for the most natural look I've seen on a TV. Sports, like the US Open tennis matches I was watching while reviewing the TV, looked clear, crisp, and free of blur.

I would be hard-pressed to say that the Bravia 8 II is way ahead of the competition, particularly the LG G5 — but it is ahead. Images are very sharp, and that can seriously make objects pop, looking almost three-dimensional.

There are hardly any downsides when it comes to image quality, but there are some minor pain points. While the TV is able to deliver incredibly bright images in HDR, SDR content is a little less impressive. Additionally, as noted above, the TV doesn't support HDR10+ — though given the choice between HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, I would take Dolby Vision every time.

The TV is also very good at handling reflections, though it's not as impressive as the Samsung S95F, which has Samsung's matte glass on the front. I like the matte look, and I hope other manufacturers, like Sony, adopt it at some point.

If you're spending this kind of cash on a TV, then you want a sound system to match. But I will say that the Bravia 8 II actually sounds pretty good. To be clear, it's not going to replace even a mid-range soundbar, and if you have more than $400 or $500 to spend on audio, you will get better sound than what the TV can produce on its own. But the Bravia 8 II was able to produce some crisp-sounding audio with deeper bass than I've come to expect from most TVs.

That's largely due to the fact that the TV has two subwoofers built into it, along with two actuators that can actually vibrate the screen itself to produce more crisp audio. It works quite well. Sony has introduced some smart features into the TV to make it sound better too. It has a room correction feature that you can set up when you first turn on the TV, using the remote as a microphone to detect what needs to be corrected.

All that to say, if you've used up your budget after buying this TV, expect to get decent audio without needing to spend any extra cash. Still, if you can spend more than $400 or $500, you'll get better-sounding audio overall.

The Sony Bravia 8 II, which starts at around $3,500 for the 55-inch model, is an absolutely stunning TV. It delivers on all fronts with deep black levels, vibrant colors, and excellent processing. It even has great audio. To be clear, this is one of the most expensive TVs you can buy, and because of that, it's certainly not for everyone. But if you have the cash to spend, you can't really do much better.

The competition

The biggest competition to the Sony Bravia 8 II comes in the form of the Samsung S95F and the LG G5. The Sony TV is more expensive than both of those alternatives, and it won't be worth the extra cash for everyone. If your budget maxes out around $2,200 or $2,300, I recommend getting the Samsung S95F — not just for its excellent image quality, but also for its great features like its design. That said, if you can stomach the extra cash, the Sony Bravia 8 II is absolutely worth buying.

Should I buy the Sony Bravia 8 II?

Yes. It's an incredible TV.