Expert review of the Sony A8 OLED TV

For this review, I test the 65-inch version of the A8. This thin OLED TV is easy to assemble. I slide the 2 leg stands into place at the bottom in one movement and put the TV down securely. The predecessor of the Sony A8, the AG8, had a checkered back. The casing of the new A8 looks calmer and is striped. This year, the Sony OLED TV still doesn't have HDMI 2.1 ports. It does support eARC. This allows you to send high-quality audio signals like Dolby Atmos to a receiver.

The first thing that stands out when it comes to image quality is that the image is razor-sharp. Small details like the individual feathers of a bird are displayed clearly. Colorful HDR images are displayed realistically as well. The subtle color details are clearly visible and blend together smoothly. The image enhancement is driven by the X1 Ultimate processor in the Sony A8. This processor recognizes individual objects and improves the image settings per object on screen. This way, the image gets a lot of depth.

OLED TVs have a great viewing angle. As a result, I can still watch images on the A8 with the same contrast and clear colors when I sit slightly on the left or the right of the TV. This is especially handy when you watch TV with a larger group of people. In a brightly-lit room, you do see some reflections when you watch darker images. To enjoy the contrast and OLED image quality as much as possible, I would recommend watching TV in a slightly darkened room.

An OLED screen has pixels that darken or show color individually. As a result, I watch images with deep black levels. I don't see a glow around lightning flashes in a dark sky. Because the brightness of OLED screens is limited, you loose a bit of the contrast in very brightly-lit rooms. But in a normally lit room, the TV still shows a strong contrast. You'll see light details on screen sharply and with a lot of detail against a dark backdrop, such as the lights of a spaceship in pitch-black space.

The Sony A8 has the Acoustic Surface Audio+ system. That means the 2 speakers cause the screen to vibrate, so seems as though the sound actually originates from the image. As a result, I hear a realistic stereo sound. If a car rushes past in the left corner of the screen, I hear the sound mostly on the left. In addition, the OLED TV uses 2 small subwoofers, so the deep bass is clearly audible. The sound is indeed rich and spacious. Even at a high volume, I find all the sounds clear and pure. For example, when you watch a recording of a loud concert. The bass sounds deep, but higher sounds like the applause from the audience are clearly audible as well.

The remote of the Sony A8 doesn't differ much from its predecessor. It looks calm and organized and is comfortable to hold. The buttons are easy to press, but feel sturdy as well. Because the remote is sleek, you can effortlessly reach all buttons with one hand. The buttons on the remote are the well-known arrow buttons, number buttons, and settings buttons. The 2 large buttons that stand out open the Google Play Store or Netflix with the push of a button.

The Sony A8 uses Android as its smart TV platform. This allows me access to a wide range of apps and many different functions. The smart menu looks organized. The downside is that the menu fills the entire screen. That means I can't watch live TV while I navigate through the menu. When I move through the menu, I notice that the TV reacts quickly and that the image moves smoothly. This makes the smart menu very comfortable to watch.