Sony A80L OLED TV review: The AI-powered upscaling took me by surprise

When it debuted last year, Sony’s A80K OLED Television scored very high across the board. Even though it was in the middle of the company’s 2022 lineup, it had features and quality that rivaled premium entries from other brands.

this year’s edition, A80L OLEDTaking what worked before and making it even better, the end result is a television that exceeds my expectations and makes every single piece of the content I watch.

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It’s not Sony’s highest-end TV, but it’s not trying to be. However the A80L OLED is an upper mid-range TV that home cinema fans and gamers will particularly like. here’s why.

What’s new in this model

The Sony A80L XR brings a processing upgrade for low-resolution content in the form of clearer images and a new hub that lets gamers tinker with display options. Its audio performance is also excellent.

1. XR Clear Image is game-changing

In terms of video, everything on the A80L was great. Low-resolution shows on YouTube TV were upscaled to 4K in realistic quality, 4K or UltraHD content on Netflix was beautiful, and games and Blu-ray DVDs on PlayStation 5 popped like nothing I’ve seen before.

Sony’s new XR Clear Image technology uses AI to produce vastly improved clarity and sharpness while staying true to the source material. Designed to show off subtle textures and details that would be missed without it, the feature really shines on low-resolution content that’s been upscaled to 4K.

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i watched blu-ray Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom To test the feature out, and I was stunned by how natural everything looked. With my old TV set, upgrading produced a picture that looked “pretty” but quite unnatural. The A80L brought new life to Doctor Jones while preserving the grain and feel of the 1980s.

2. A new gaming hub to compete with the competition

Pressing the Menu button while gaming opens up a row of useful settings, such as the option to turn on Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), use motion blur, change black equalizer levels, and add a crosshair (with six different options to choose from).

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Users can also change the size of the screen display, an option I found myself really using for games when I needed to see a lot of information like the health bar, maps, inventory, etc. at the same time. Most gaming monitors have these options, as do other TV makers like LG and Samsung. It’s a first for Sony, and it covers all the essentials.

3. Acoustic Surface Audio+ is better than ever

While the vast majority of OLED TVs require a sound bar to produce an above-average audio experience, the A80L does quite well 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 generate sound coming from the screen.

But in addition to just coming from the TV, the sound comes from the area where the action is taking place on the screen, making things go more smoothly in your brain.

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I caption all 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’m catching every word.

The television on its own handled the audio just fine, but when I connected it to A5000 Soundbar and Speaker System, it was almost a theatre-like experience. It is a premium add-on, but you will feel very satisfied with it.

what i would like to see in the next model

1. Gloss over the top end

My normal television viewing environment can be quite bright. I’ll often leave my living room curtains open to let in natural light or keep an eye on my kids playing in the front yard. Unfortunately, this means that there’s often a lot of light shining directly at my television screen.

My first impression of this TV was that it had a beautiful picture, but it actually seemed a bit less bright than my old set, a set I bought from the Black Friday big box store brand.

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I don’t have the equipment to test, but a little research online confirmed that the television delivers in the 600-750 nits range, which is lower than comparable TVs from Samsung and LG at over 1,200 nits. it is an improvement compared to a80kBut I’d like to see Sony match (or even surpass) its competition in this area next year.

2. Additional HDMI 2.1 Port

it’s not really an issue As yet For most people, but it may be soon. The A80L, like all Sony TVs, only has two HDMI 2.1 ports—the newer, more powerful version. For a good setup, a next-gen game console and a soundbar will take those places. But what about those with multiple video game systems? Four of the new offerings from LG and Samsung all support HDMI 2.1, and Sony should follow suit.

3. A heat sink to provide a little more life

While heatsinks have been around in the world of computing for some time, they are fairly new to televisions. A heatsink, which draws heat away from fancy electrical components, not only allows panels to last longer, but it actually allows the television to have a brighter display. It would have been a nice upgrade for the A80L over its predecessor, especially since a90k there was one.

ground level

65-inch Sony A80L The model I tested costs $2,400. it conforms to LG C3 OLED and a little more Samsung S90C, the features of both are similar, at least on the video front. But the inclusion of Sony’s cognitive processor and strong sound make this television worthy of the slightly higher price tag among the bunch.

should i buy one?

If you’re looking to buy a “better than budget” level OLED that performs flawlessly, the A80L should be at the top of your list.

The only downside is glare, which I was able to reduce with the blinds closed, and the limited HDMI 2.1 port, which is more a problem with future-proofing than anything else., So if you have an unusually bright spot that you can’t dim or you have multiple next-generation video game consoles and a sound setup, you might want to look elsewhere.

options to consider

best lg alternatives

LG C3 OLED

The LG C3 OLED is another great 65-inch option with great color reproduction, built-in voice controls, and AI-powered 4K upscaling.

best samsung alternatives

Samsung S90C OLED

Samsung’s mid-range OLED TV is expected to feature Quantum HDR, Dolby Atmos object tracking, and a gaming hub similar to Sony’s.