When it debuted last year, Sony A80K OLED display The TV scored fairly highly across the board. Despite being clearly in the middle of the company’s 2022 lineup, it had features and quality that rivaled premium products from other brands.
This year’s version, the A80L OLED displayIt takes what worked before and makes it even better, with the end result being a TV that exceeded my expectations and enhanced every piece of content I watched.
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It’s not Sony’s top-of-the-range TV, but it doesn’t pretend to be. The A80L OLED is, however, an upper-mid-range TV that will appeal especially to home cinema enthusiasts and gamers. Here’s why.
Specifications
| Dimensions | 57.13 x 34 x 2.1 inches |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 55”, 65”, 77”, 83” |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160p |
| High dynamic range | HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision |
| Improved clarity | XR 4K Upscaling Dual Database Processing XR Super Resolution |
| Video processor | XR cognitive processor |
| Update frequency | 120 Hz |
| Audio | DTS digital surround sound |
| HDMI ports | 4 (2xHDMI 2.1) |
What’s new in this model?
The Sony A80L offers improved processing of lower-resolution content in the form of XR Clear Image and a new hub that lets gamers tweak display options. Its audio performance is also fantastic.
1. XR Clear Image is a game changer
As for video, every bit of content on the A80L was fantastic. Lower-resolution shows on YouTube TV were upscaled to 4K with lifelike quality, 4K or UltraHD content on Netflix was beautiful, and games and Blu-Ray DVDs on the PlayStation 5 looked like never before.
Sony’s new XR Clear Image technology uses AI to produce vastly improved clarity and sharpness without losing fidelity to the original source material. Designed to show subtle textures and details that would otherwise be lost, this feature really shines on lower resolution content that is upscaled to 4K.
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I put in a Blu-ray of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom I tried this feature and was impressed by how natural everything looked. With my old TV, upscaling created a picture that looked “pretty,” but unnatural. The A80L breathed new life into Doctor Jones, while still retaining the grain and feel of the 80s.
2. A new gaming center to compete with competitors
Pressing the menu button while playing a game opens up a row of useful settings, such as the option to turn on variable refresh rate (VRR), use motion blur, change the black equalizer level, and add a crosshair (with six different options to choose from).
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Users can also change the size of the screen, an option I actually used in games when I needed to see a lot of information at once, such as a health bar, maps, inventory, etc. Most gaming monitors They have these options, just like other TV manufacturers like LG and Samsung. This is the first time Sony has offered all the basic features.
3. Acoustic Surface Audio+ is better than ever
While a good part of OLED TVs While it’s true that a soundbar is needed to produce an above-average audio experience, the A80L does a pretty good job of doing so with its built-in audio. This is largely due to what Sony calls Acoustic Surface Audio+, a system that uses actuators and woofers to gently vibrate the screen and create sound that comes from the display itself.
But beyond simply coming from the TV, the sound is coming from the area where the action is happening on the screen, making things process more fluidly in the brain.
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I keep the subtitles on for almost all of the content I watch to make sure I don’t miss any dialogue. But this is the first TV in a long time where I’ve felt comfortable enough to turn them off and still feel like I catch every word.
The TV handles audio perfectly fine on its own, but when I also paired it with the A5000 Soundbar and Speaker SystemIt was an almost cinematic experience. It’s a premium add-on, but one you’ll be very satisfied with.
What I would like to see in the next model
1. More shine from the top end.
My usual TV viewing environment is usually pretty bright. I often keep the curtains in my living room open just to let in natural light or to keep an eye on my kids playing in the front yard. Unfortunately, that means there’s often a lot of light hitting my TV screen directly.
My first impression of this TV was that it had a beautiful picture, but it actually seemed a little less bright than my old TV, a name-brand purchase from a big-box store on Black Friday.
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I don’t have the equipment to test it, but a little internet searching confirmed that the TV offers a range of 600 to 750 nits, less than comparable TVs of Samsung and LG that reach more than 1200 nits, which is an improvement over the A80Kbut I’d like to see Sony match (or surpass) its competition in this area next year.
2. Additional HDMI 2.1 ports
This is really not a problem still for most people, but it could be soon. The A80L, like all Sony TVsonly has two HDMI 2.1 ports (the newest and most powerful version). For a good setup, a next generation gaming console and a Sound bar will fill those spots. But what about people who have multiple gaming systems? The new offerings from LG and Samsung both have four HDMI 2.1 slots, and Sony should follow suit.
3. A heat sink to give it a little more longevity.
While heatsinks have been around in the computing world for some time, they are fairly new to televisions. A heatsink, which directs heat away from sophisticated electrical components, not only allows panels to last longer, but also allows the TV to have a brighter display. This would have been a nice upgrade for the A80L over its predecessor, especially since the A90K I had one.
ZDNET’s buying advice
He Sony A80L 65 inch The model I tested is priced at $2,400, which is in line with the LG C3 OLED and a little more than the Samsung S90CBoth have similar specs, at least when it comes to video. But the addition of Sony’s cognitive processor and improved sound make this TV worth the slightly higher price of the rest.
Should I buy one?
If you’re looking to buy a “better than budget” level OLED monitor that works perfectly right out of the box, the A80L should be at the top of your list.
The only downsides are the glare, which I was able to mitigate with the blinds closed, and the limited HDMI 2.1 ports, which is more of a future-proofing issue than anything else.. So if you have an unusually bright space that you can’t dim or you have multiple high-end gaming consoles and a sound setup, you may want to look elsewhere.