The Sony BRAVIA 8 is the film lover's OLED. It is not the brightest here at 835 nits, and it has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, but Sony processing delivers the most natural, cinema-accurate picture and the best upscaling of any set on test. If you mostly watch films and TV, this is the one.
Sony makes fewer OLED models than LG, but its reputation rests on processing, and the BRAVIA 8 (the 55-inch is the K-55XR80) shows why. It uses a conventional W-OLED panel rather than the brighter evo or QD-OLED panels of its rivals, so on paper it looks outgunned. In the room, though, its image discipline, accurate colour, natural motion and superb upscaling, makes it the most film-like picture of our six. At £1,499 it asks a premium for that polish, and for a controlled-light viewing room it is worth it.
| Model | Price | Panel type | Resolution | Peak brightness (10% window) | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED 55-inch (K-55XR80) | £1,483.00 | OLED (W-OLED, 55-inch) | 4K (3840 x 2160) | 835 nits | ★ 4.6 | View → |
£1,483.00
OLED (W-OLED, 55-inch) · 4K (3840 x 2160) · 835 nits
The verdict from Idris Bello, home cinema and TV tester
The pick for film lovers. The BRAVIA 8 is not the brightest OLED here at 835 nits, and it offers only two HDMI 2.1 ports, but Sony processing remains the best in the business for cinematic accuracy and upscaling. If you mostly watch films and TV rather than game across four consoles, the £1,499 BRAVIA 8 gives you the most faithful, cinema-like image of the six.
A calm, true-to-life picture where skin tones and shadow detail look exactly as the director intended.
Below is the measured spec sheet for the 55-inch K-55XR80 we tested. Figures come from our own bench data or Sony confirmed specifications.
| Panel type | OLED (W-OLED, 55-inch) |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 4K (3840 x 2160) |
| Peak brightness (10% window) | 835 nits |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz |
| Input lag (1080p/120Hz) | 16.4 ms |
| HDMI 2.1 ports | 2 (48 Gbps) |
| Colour gamut (DCI-P3) | 98.8% |
| Smart platform | Google TV |
| Our rating | 4.6 / 5 |
| Typical UK price | £1,483.00 |
The BRAVIA 8 is the right TV if your priority is faithful, cinematic picture quality above all else, and you watch in a room you can dim. Sony XR processing gives the most natural colour and the cleanest, most artefact-free upscaling of older SD and HD content, which matters if you watch a lot of broadcast TV, DVDs or older streaming. Out-of-the-box accuracy is the best here. The Acoustic Surface audio, which vibrates the panel itself to make sound, is also genuinely good, so it is one of the few sets we would happily run without a soundbar for everyday viewing.
It is less suited to a busy gaming household or a bright room. With only two HDMI 2.1 ports and 835 nits of peak brightness, it is outgunned for multi-console gaming and for sun-drenched rooms. If those are your needs, the four-port, 1,065 nit LG C4 or the 1,460 nit Panasonic Z95A are better fits. The BRAVIA 8 is a specialist, and its speciality is film.
The BRAVIA 8 reached 835 nits on a 10% window, the dimmest of our six, but brightness is not the whole story. It covered 98.8 percent of DCI-P3 and produced the most natural-looking image on test, with skin tones and shadow detail that look exactly as a colourist intended. Out-of-the-box Delta E in the cinema modes was the lowest we measured, under 2 in places. For a film watched in a dim room, the BRAVIA 8 looks the most like a reference monitor of any TV here.
This is Sony strongest card. The XR processor reconstructs detail and cleans up compression artefacts in lower-resolution sources better than any rival, so a standard-definition broadcast or an old DVD looks markedly cleaner than on the other five. Motion handling is equally refined, with no judder on 24 fps film and a film-faithful look that never feels over-processed.
The BRAVIA 8 is competent but limited. We measured 16.4 ms of input lag at 1080p/120Hz, the highest here but still well under the 30 ms threshold of concern. The bigger issue is connectivity: it has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, and one doubles as the eARC output for a soundbar, so a multi-console gamer will quickly run short. It does support VRR, 120 Hz and ALLM, and it carries the PS5-friendly Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode. For one or two consoles it is fine; for four it is not the right choice.
It runs Google TV, which is comprehensive and well stocked with apps. The Acoustic Surface Audio+ system is among the best built-in TV audio we have heard, with clear, well-located dialogue. It supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Two limitations stand out. First, brightness: at 835 nits the BRAVIA 8 has the least HDR punch here, so it is at its best in a controlled-light room. Second, only two HDMI 2.1 ports, which is restrictive for a gaming-heavy setup. Both are deliberate trade-offs Sony makes in favour of processing quality, and whether they matter depends entirely on how you watch.
The BRAVIA 8 is best for the film and TV enthusiast who watches in a dim room, values accuracy and upscaling over brightness and gaming, and wants the most cinema-faithful picture of the group. If you also game across several consoles, the LG C4 is the wiser all-rounder; if you want maximum brightness, see the Panasonic Z95A.
It is capable but not the strongest here. It has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which doubles as the eARC output, so multi-console households are short on inputs. Input lag of 16.4 ms at 120 Hz is fine but higher than the LG C4 at 5.8 ms. For occasional gaming it is perfectly good; for a four-console setup, the LG C4 or Panasonic Z95A are better.
It uses a conventional W-OLED panel rather than the brighter evo, QD-OLED or Micro Lens Array panels of its rivals, and we measured 835 nits on a 10% window, the dimmest of our six. In exchange you get Sony class-leading processing, which delivers the most natural, film-accurate image and the best upscaling of older SD and HD content. For a controlled-light viewing room, picture quality is exceptional.
Sony OLEDs use actuators behind the panel to vibrate the screen itself as the speaker, so the sound appears to come directly from the on-screen action rather than from drivers below. In practice dialogue is clearer and better located than on most built-in TV speakers, and it is one of the few sets we would happily use without a soundbar for everyday TV.
The BRAVIA 8 is our pick for film lovers because nothing here matches Sony processing for natural colour, clean motion and superb upscaling. It is the dimmest set on test at 835 nits and the most input-restricted with two HDMI 2.1 ports, so it is not the all-rounder the LG C4 is. But for a dedicated film room where picture accuracy is everything, the £1,499 BRAVIA 8 gives you the most cinema-like image of the six, plus the best built-in sound. If brightness or gaming inputs matter more to you, step up to the Panasonic Z95A or across to the C4. Check our buying guide to size the screen correctly first.