The Bravia 8 II is Sony’s newest OLED TV, offering a premium picture at a premium price ($3,499.99 for the 65-inch model I tested). On paper, it seems like a step behind the LG G5 Evo and the Samsung S95F, both of which have brighter panels and more accurate white balance. Those measured performance differences don't tell the full story about how the TV actually looks, though; the Bravia 8 II’s picture is still beautiful. It's also the only model of the three with Google TV and hands-free Google Assistant, which has its own benefits not afforded by LG’s webOS or Samsung’s Tizen OS. What matters most is how the TV looks in action, and at that, the Bravia 8 II doesn't disappoint. That said, the LG G5 remains our Editors' Choice OLED for its record-breaking brightness and sleeker look.

Design: Bulkier Than Usual

Unlike most TVs in this price range, the Bravia 8 II doesn’t have an incredibly slim profile. Its black plastic back panel curves out slightly to give the TV a depth of 1.4 inches, hardly chunky but nowhere near as thin as the LG G5 (1 inch) or the Samsung S95F (0.4 inches, with a separate One Connect box holding most of the TV’s connections). The screen is nearly bezel-free, bearing only a narrow two-tone metal strip along the bottom edge. A small black bar built into the center of the strip holds the TV’s far-field microphone array.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

All ports sit neatly on the left side of the back of the screen, facing left. They include four HDMI ports (two 4K120, one of which is eARC); two USB ports; an optical audio output; 3.5mm ports for an IR blaster, RS-232C control system integration, and center channel speaker input; an Ethernet port; and an RF antenna/cable connector. A mute switch for the microphone array can also be found here. The permanently attached power cable runs out of the right side of the back of the TV. 

The center channel input is a feature unique to Sony TVs. It lets you incorporate the Bravia 8 II into a surround sound setup by using its built-in speakers for the center channel while leaving the other channels to your satellites. It isn’t a big deal with a non-Sony soundbar that doesn’t have a center channel output, but if you have a more complicated speaker setup with a receiver, it’s quite useful. 

Unless you’re planning on wall-mounting the Bravia 8 II, it stands on two narrow metal feet. The feet attach to the very edges of the TV, so make sure that the surface you want to place it on is at least as wide as the screen itself. 

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The remote is a slim black rectangle with fairly small buttons. A circular navigation pad sits near the top, with a pinhole microphone for manually using voice control without the hands-free mics on the TV itself. Volume and channel rockers are in the center of the remote, and dedicated app buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Disney+, Netflix, Sony Pictures Core, and YouTube can be found below.

Software: A Rare OLED With Google TV

Sony uses Google TV as its smart TV platform of choice, giving the Bravia 8 II a full-featured interface for streaming and smart home device control. All major streaming services are supported, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Crunchyroll, Disney+, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube. Plus, with both Apple AirPlay and Google Cast, you can stream locally from your Android phone, iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC. 

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

You can use Google Assistant voice commands to search for content, control the TV and any compatible smart home devices you have, get general information like sports scores and weather reports, and perform a variety of other tasks through the TV. A far-field microphone array enables hands-free use, but if you don’t want the mics to always be listening for the wake word, you can disable them and still use Google Assistant by pressing the mic button on the remote and speaking into it.

Picture Quality: Proof That Numbers Aren't Everything

The Sony Bravia 8 II uses an OLED panel with a quantum dot layer similar to those used in QLED TVs. For high dynamic range (HDR) content, it supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, and hybrid log gamma (HLG). It features Wi-Fi 6E for fast wireless connectivity, along with an ATSC 3.0 tuner.

My testing tools include a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For an OLED panel, the Bravia 8 II is satisfyingly bright but doesn’t reach the peaks its competitors hit. With an HDR10 signal in Cinema mode, the TV shows a modest peak brightness of 269 nits with a full-screen white field, but that number increases dramatically to 991 nits with an 18% white field. I use the 18% white field measurement to compare all TVs, though I also check all OLED and some higher-end LED TVs with a smaller 10% white field as well, and with that test pattern, the Bravia 8 II has a far higher peak brightness of 1,567 nits. It isn’t as bright as the Samsung S95F (1,451 nits 18% white field, 2,138 nits 10% field) or the current record-holding LG G5 Evo (1,608 nits 18%, 2,386 nits 10%), but it doesn’t look remotely dim in use. Like all OLEDs, it shows perfect black levels with no light bloom (a haze along high-contrast edges) thanks to the technology’s per-pixel light output control.

(Credit: PCMag)

Measured colors are also very good, but again aren’t quite as good as LG's or Samsung’s best. The above charts show the TV’s color levels with an SDR signal compared against Rec.. 709 broadcast standards and with an HDR10 signal (both in Cinema mode), and with a Dolby Vision signal in Dolby Vision Bright mode also compared against DCI-P3. Whites run a little cool in all cases, which is a shame to see when the LG G5 Evo and Samsung S95F both showed effectively perfect whites in my tests. Magentas are also a bit warm with an HDR10 signal, but otherwise the TV shows wide, accurate colors, and Dolby Vision colors in particular are just about perfect out of the box. 

BBC’s Planet Earth II looks lifelike on the Bravia 8 II. The greens of leaves and blues of water are vibrant, varied, and bright. Fine details like fur and bark can be clearly seen, whether light and brightly lit by the sun, or dark and under shade. It’s a well-balanced and nicely saturated picture.

The party scenes in The Great Gatsby show off the OLED TV’s excellent contrast. Black suits and hair look incredibly dark, while still retaining shadow details that can easily be lost in that darkness. The whites of shirts, balloons, and lights stand strongly against them, looking properly bright in the same frame. Flourishes of oranges and blue pop nicely in the frame, and skin tones are balanced and natural.

Demonstration footage on the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD benchmark disc also looks fantastic across the board. Dusk and evening shots maintain excellent detail along shaded trees and cliffs while sunlight on the horizon glows brightly. Wintery video is very bright and maintains strong highlight details, so wisps of clouds and snowflakes can be seen clearly against the white sky. Shots of bright, colorful objects against black backgrounds pop out vividly while the backgrounds themselves are perfectly dark without a hint of light bloom (the biggest benefit of OLED panels and their ability to adjust light on a per-pixel basis).

Gaming: A Modest Toolset

The Bravia 8 II doesn’t have any formal certification for AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync, but its 120Hz refresh rate with VRR still performs well for games. Using a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester, I measured an input lag of 16.1 milliseconds with a 4K60 signal and 7.9ms with a 1080p120 signal, both in Game mode. They squeak just under our one-frame threshold (16.6ms at 60Hz and 8.3ms at 120Hz) to qualify the Bravia 8 II as good for gaming.