Sony XR-55A80L

Verdict

A superb OLED for residence cinema followers with its nuanced image and sound high quality that’s a step up over its rivals. It’s arguably extra of what’s come earlier than nevertheless it’s arduous to critique the Sony A80L when the efficiency is that this achieved.

Introduction

The Sony XR-55A80L sits under the forthcoming A95L QD OLED and follows within the wake of mid-range OLEDs such because the A80J and A80K, the previous being a TV this web site preferred rather a lot when reviewed in 2022.

Competitors is formidable with the likes of the LG C3, Philips OLED808, and Samsung S90C however with the A80J’s efficiency nonetheless residing in our reminiscence banks, it’s with hope the Sony A80L can carry out simply as nicely if not higher.

Design

• Customisable stand
• Robust viewing angles
• Minimalist stylings

The design of Sony’s mid-range OLED has been constant these previous few years with its ‘One Slate’ design. The bezel is super-thin to the purpose the place you’d must squint to see it, which helps the display take as a lot area as doable with out a chunky bezel infiltrating the viewing expertise.

The ft (or wedges) may be organized in one in every of 3 ways: out in the direction of sides, within the centre or raised as much as accommodate a soundbar. It’s fantastically versatile by way of matching an area, although in its soundbar place it might probably solely accommodate bars of a sure dimension. I attempted so as to add Sony’s personal HT-A5000, and it didn’t match. Greater bars would require extra space in entrance of the TV to take a seat in.

The rear bodywork offers it a little bit of girth, stretching the depth out to 53mm. That’s not a lot however in case you’re wall mounting the Sony XR-55A80L it received’t sit flush in opposition to a wall.

Viewing angles are sturdy – that is an OLED in spite of everything – however the A80L isn’t the brightest display and can be best-served in dimmer, darker rooms.

Google TV interface

• Responsive interface
• Good remotes
• Plenty of content material suggestions

The UI is separated into a number of tabs: For You, Films, TV, Apps, Library and Sony. For You is the overall residence display with suggestions for stuff to look at, aided by scores from Rotten Tomatoes which may persuade you to click on on a title.

The ‘Proceed Watching’ row makes it simpler to dive again into a movie or programme. It solely works throughout sure apps corresponding to Apple TV+, Disney+, Prime Video, and Netflix – content material from UK catch-up and on-demand apps doesn’t present up right here, which is a disgrace.

A few elements I’m not keen on is the diploma of scrolling to resolve the principle display. It offers me vibes of the limitless Hearth TV interface when it’d be higher served by being condensed. As soon as on the backside, you’ll (inexplicably) discover the ‘Watchlist’ that gathers titles you’ve saved to look at later. Whereas it may be accessed within the ‘Library’ tab, it must be a lot greater in any other case who would understand it’s even there?

Fast settings may be accessed to the fitting (inputs, image settings, notifications), or by urgent the settings button on the distant for simply image and sound settings.

Throughout the interface is Sony’s Eco settings, collating all of the A80L’s power-saving options in a single place. Technically there’s nothing right here that’s new, nevertheless it’s introduced otherwise with a picture of a tree that grows branches and leaves to indicate the quantity of power being saved. Will it catch on? Maybe, however power saving leads to a dimmer, much less enticing picture regardless of the power saving guarantees.

The remotes that ship with the Sony XR-55A80L are each of fine high quality. There’s one with an aluminium sheen that carries fewer buttons and feels properly weighted with fast entry buttons to the likes of Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and Disney+; in addition to Sony’s personal companies in BRAVIA Core and Crunchyroll.

The opposite distant is full of buttons, but feels as good to make use of with its smooth, comfortable button response. The dearth of fast entry buttons is the one side I miss not having on this distant.

Options

• Two HDMI 2.1 inputs
• Stable enter lag for gaming
• 4K/120Hz and VRR help

There are 4 HDMI inputs however solely two are specified as HDMI 2.1 suitable (HDMI 3 and 4). Throughout these two inputs is help for eARC (for passthrough of lossless audio corresponding to Dolby Atmos to a suitable soundbar), auto low latency mode and variable refresh charges.

If in case you have a soundbar linked to the eARC port, that leaves one different for one more HDMI 2.1 gadget. If in case you have a PS5, an Xbox Collection console, or any one other 2.1 compliant gadget, then you definately’ll have just one enter to play with.

Different connections quantity to a digital optical out, two USB ports, composite video enter, Ethernet, two satellite tv for pc connections and an enter for terrestrial TV. Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi are wi-fi choices, the latter including Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast compatibility to stream from a tool to the TV.

There are smarts however not as many discovered on an LG or Samsung with the A80L’s Google Assistant voice management and Apple HomeKit. Alexa management is feasible by way of one other linked gadget (say, an Echo speaker).

BRAVIA Core provides a variety of Sony titles that may be streamed in 4K, and IMAX Enhanced. There’s additionally Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode that makes use of the TV’s gentle sensor to regulate distinction and brightness relying on the room’s lighting situations.

Because the A80L and the PS5 are Sony units there’s crossover with a couple of options. Auto Style Image mode (principally ALLM) routinely switches the TV out and in of its sport prepared state so the A80L isn’t caught in sport mode if you’re watching iPlayer, for instance.

Auto HDR Tone Mapping enhances the HDR efficiency of the A80L’s display for the most effective efficiency. Dolby Imaginative and prescient Gaming isn’t supported, however 4K/120Hz and variable refresh charges (VRR) are. I measured enter lag at 16.4ms, which isn’t as quick as LG and Samsung OLEDs, however VRR can carry the extent of latency down additional.

Image High quality

• Nuanced image efficiency
• Glorious movement processing
• Rival OLEDs are brighter

Beginning with the set’s upscaling and armed with a DVD of There Will Be Blood, the Sony XR-55A80L’s upscaling will not be the sharpest however that appears consider to keep away from producing a very processed picture.

There’s much less noise and fuzziness than I anticipated for a DVD, the TV’s XR Clear Picture tech identifies and defines characters’ faces, objects, and the panorama of the movie’s opening (and wordless) sequence with respectable definition.

It drums up good ranges of advantageous element, whether or not it’s the garments or grizzled, soiled faces and arms of Plainview and his prospectors. There’s a slight pixelated look to things within the background of pictures, however colors look pure, as do complexions. It’s an analogous stage of efficiency with a DVD of the Tree of Life, and although edges are smooth, the movie holds up decently on a 55-inch display. Upscaling of 480p content material is dealt with higher than anticipated.

Transferring to a Blu-ray of Taxi Driver, and the A80L’s upscaling doesn’t add nor detract from what’s already there, sustaining the movie’s wealthy, filmic look. Colors are agency, pure, and large ranging. It’s a great-looking presentation.

A Blu-ray of Thor: The Darkish World reveals the A80L isn’t eager about a razor-sharp presentation – the LG C3 has the sting in that context – however the Sony provides excessive ranges of element and readability. Colors are wealthy, particularly within the scenes set on Asgard with pretty golds and reds, and the A80L conveys a wonderful sense of distinction within the movie’s darker scenes. It’s a persistently good-looking picture.

With HDR the Sony A80L isn’t as shiny because the LG C3 or Samsung S90C. Measured on a ten% HDR window, it tops out at 724 nits in Customary mode and 699 nits in Customized. It doles out just a little extra brightness with smaller highlights than bigger objects however the C3 hits larger peaks than the Sony A80L can muster.

That leads to scenes that don’t have as a lot punch or vibrancy and evaluating the A80L to a (65-inch) Samsung S90C demonstrates that some daytime scenes have a gray British ‘overcast’ morning on the A80L. However what the Sony lacks in outright brightness, it makes up for by way of finesse, nuance, and subtlety, crafting pictures that really feel extra authentically filmic than they do on the Samsung, particularly in HDR.

Watching The English in HLG HDR on iPlayer (in Customary mode), the A80L brings out the TV’s gorgeously wealthy color palette with its lush, wealthy, and verdant greens, deep blues, and excessive distinction cinematography. The A80L ekes out good brightness with highlights (a scene with candlelights seems to be fabulous) and mixed with OLED’s glorious black ranges and distinction, night-time scenes look luxurious.

Complexions are drawn in a convincingly pure method; the A80L reveals the shades and tones of actors’ faces with extra nuance than the Samsung S90C manages. Its sense of element in a picture’s darkest components is extra sturdy and revealing, and add to that its stronger, richer black ranges, higher sense of depth to the picture and definition to edges – and the Sony ceaselessly wows.

With Extraction II on Netflix, it’s lift-off by way of readability, sharpness, and definition with this Dolby Imaginative and prescient-graded movie. The Sony is at its greatest with 4K HDR content material, so whereas the crisp, muted colors of the Extraction sequel don’t leap off the display, the most important praise I will pay is that the A80L renders all of it in a convincingly pure method.

And to additional extol the A80L’s image qualities, Sony’s movement processing is class-leading. Blurriness and noise with motion is just about erased, judder is managed to a minimal and barely a difficulty within the quick and flowing one-shot scenes of Extraction II. It will probably look just a little bizarre on some o, the Cleaning soap Opera Impact (SOE) is a contact extra noticeable when watching DVDs, however as a rule the Sony A80L is persistently easy, pure, and clear with its movement processing.

Sound High quality

• Clear, detailed sound
• DTS help

Packing Sony’s Acoustic Floor Audio+ set-up, the A80L’s audio efficiency is significantly better than the competitors it’s up in opposition to. It captures Johnny Greenwood’s expansive, dynamic rating in There Will Be Blood nicely, delivering a giant spacious soundstage with crisp, clear vocal readability.

With The English the Sony conveys extra depth and quantity than the Samsung S90C: gunshots, dialogue and music all carry extra impression on the A80L. It’s sharper, higher by way of element and definition, and conveys the ambient sounds in scenes with extra readability. Scenes really feel far more vividly realised than they do on the Samsung rival.

Bass is respectable and avoids distortion when the amount is pushed up however there’s a restrict to how deep it might probably go. Sounds are mapped to their place on display nicely and steered throughout the display successfully, including to the A80L’s sense of precision.

It’s value noting the Sony can pass-through DTS audio, which is nice for residence cinema followers who’ve a sound system suitable with DTS tracks.

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