Sony A80J (XR-65A80J) 4K OLED TV Review & Comments

Nice review, have this TV in the living room for a few months now and like it very much, bought it specifically for Android and the Acoustic Surface.
For us it is more than good enough in the living room where the kids watch mostly Netflix/Disney+ and it has also made the Nvidia Shield and Denon X3300 with Dali Zensor 5.1 system redundant.
 
You find the sound that good?
Yes, above expectations, at least for what we do with it and with the content we watch (and mostly the kids).
When I ‘really’ want to watch a movie I go down to the basement to the theatre ;)
 
Great review Phil :smashin: . I'll hold out for the A80K, which to me seems more "complete". I'm in no hurry to buy :)
 
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Like the idea of the sound design on these. Stupid question though, does this not distort the picture quality at all ? also does this not cause any de-laminations or issues over time on the screens ?
 
I too have one of these, and while I love it I have some points that should be considered before buying:

1 - As stated in the review there are only two HDMI 2.1 inputs, HMDI 3 (eARC) and 4, unfortunately those are also the only inputs that support Dolby Vision.
As I have a Sonos Arc Soundbar with it (for Atmos ... I was considering the HT-A7000 but they haven't yet reviewed it here so I wasn't keen on purchasing without a review I trust) and the Arc only has HDMI In and no Out I am limited to a single input with Dolby Vision. That means I only have Dolby Vision on HDMI 4 which is my Apple TV, so when I (finally) plug in my Xbox Series X, or buy another UHD Bluray player I won't be able to get HDMI unless I replace the Arc.


2 - On the 77" model the feet in Soundbar position are 100cm apart, which would be fine for most Soundbars but for the Arc and the HT-A7000 (and probably most Atmos bars) they would be wider, as a result I have my soundbar propped up on some of my kids books so it won't bend.

3 - Finally the menu system feels more complicated than it needs to be, it took me a Google Search to work out exactly how to get DV from my Apple TV working (from what I remember you need to go to "Channels and Inputs" -> "External Inputs" -> "HDMI signal format" -> go to the HDMI port and then ensure it is set to "Enhanced with Dolby Vision"), whereas on my older/cheaper LG which it replaced it just worked straight away.


... and to answer your question @John_w100 - no, there is no visible affect on the Picture as a result of the sound.

** The Strikethrough is where it turns out I was mistaken, the TV can indeed do DV on all HDMI Ports **
 
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I too have one of these, and while I love it I have some points that should be considered before buying:

1 - As stated in the review there are only two HDMI inputs, HMDI 3 (eARC) and 4, unfortunately those are also the only inputs that support Dolby Vision.
As I have a Sonos Arc Soundbar with it (for Atmos ... I was considering the HT-A7000 but they haven't yet reviewed it here so I wasn't keen on purchasing without a review I trust) and the Arc only has HDMI In and no Out I am limited to a single input with Dolby Vision. That means I only have Dolby Vision on HDMI 4 which is my Apple TV, so when I (finally) plug in my Xbox Series X, or buy another UHD Bluray player I won't be able to get HDMI unless I replace the Arc.

2 - On the 77" model the feet in Soundbar position are 100cm apart, which would be fine for most Soundbars but for the Arc and the HT-A7000 (and probably most Atmos bars) they would be wider, as a result I have my soundbar propped up on some of my kids books so it won't bend.

3 - Finally the menu system feels more complicated than it needs to be, it took me a Google Search to work out exactly how to get DV from my Apple TV working (from what I remember you need to go to "Channels and Inputs" -> "External Inputs" -> go to the HDMI 3 or 4 and then select "Enhanced with Dolby Vision"), whereas on my older/cheaper LG which it replaced it just worked straight away.


... and to answer your question @John_w100 - no, there is no visible affect on the Picture as a result of the sound.
I'm fairly sure all the hdmi inputs will do 4k dolby Vision & up to 60hz. I think the TV only supports 2.1 on 2 of the inputs, but this only means you cant have your Sonos Arc & 2 newest games consoles. You can input your Sonos Arc into the eArc port (3), your Xbox into Hdmi 4, and then apple tv or blu-ray player into hdmi 1 & 2 which will support them FULLY, afaik
 
Really wanted the Z9J. Didn't materialise.

Hoped for a Panasonic 77JZ2000. Didn't materialise.

So bought the 77A80J.

Panasonic have announced 77LZ2000 which makes me grrrr.. lol.
 
I too have one of these, and while I love it I have some points that should be considered before buying:

1 - As stated in the review there are only two HDMI inputs, HMDI 3 (eARC) and 4, unfortunately those are also the only inputs that support Dolby Vision.
As I have a Sonos Arc Soundbar with it (for Atmos ... I was considering the HT-A7000 but they haven't yet reviewed it here so I wasn't keen on purchasing without a review I trust) and the Arc only has HDMI In and no Out I am limited to a single input with Dolby Vision. That means I only have Dolby Vision on HDMI 4 which is my Apple TV, so when I (finally) plug in my Xbox Series X, or buy another UHD Bluray player I won't be able to get HDMI unless I replace the Arc.

2 - On the 77" model the feet in Soundbar position are 100cm apart, which would be fine for most Soundbars but for the Arc and the HT-A7000 (and probably most Atmos bars) they would be wider, as a result I have my soundbar propped up on some of my kids books so it won't bend.

3 - Finally the menu system feels more complicated than it needs to be, it took me a Google Search to work out exactly how to get DV from my Apple TV working (from what I remember you need to go to "Channels and Inputs" -> "External Inputs" -> go to the HDMI 3 or 4 and then select "Enhanced with Dolby Vision"), whereas on my older/cheaper LG which it replaced it just worked straight away.


... and to answer your question @John_w100 - no, there is no visible affect on the Picture as a result of the sound.
All HDMI inputs will support Dolby Vision - 1 and 2 need to be set to Enhanced Format (Dolby Vision) not just Enhanced Format.
 
All HDMI inputs will support Dolby Vision - 1 and 2 need to be set to Enhanced Format (Dolby Vision) not just Enhanced Format.
@GeorgeL78 - That's interesting, can you confirm on your set that you are indeed able to get Dolby Vision on HDMI1 or 2? A quick search online is showing the opposite so it would be good to know first hand.

From what I recall when I originally setup the TV when I plugged the Apple TV into HDMI2 it said that it was not the correct port for full functionality and it use HDMI 3 or 4 instead.
 
@GeorgeL78 - That's interesting, can you confirm on your set that you are indeed able to get Dolby Vision on HDMI1 or 2? A quick search online is showing the opposite so it would be good to know first hand.

From what I recall when I originally setup the TV when I plugged the Apple TV into HDMI2 it said that it was not the correct port for full functionality and it use HDMI 3 or 4 instead.
Correction - HDMI ports 1 and 2 do allow Dolby Vision but no Enhanced (Dolby Vision) needed just Enhanced. The Enhanced (Dolby Vision) is a setting option only on ports 3 and 4. My Panasonic UB820 works fine in port 1 set to Enhanced and I'm getting Dolby Vision.
 
I don't have an Apple TV 4K to test with though!
 
The review states this TV supports Calman AutoCal, but does it have an internal pattern generator like the LGs and Pansonic or do you need to buy an additioinal expensive pattern generator to use AutoCal?
 
@GeorgeL78 - That's interesting, can you confirm on your set that you are indeed able to get Dolby Vision on HDMI1 or 2? A quick search online is showing the opposite so it would be good to know first hand.

From what I recall when I originally setup the TV when I plugged the Apple TV into HDMI2 it said that it was not the correct port for full functionality and it use HDMI 3 or 4 instead.
As with others hdmi 1 and 2 also supports Dolby vision @ 60 hrtz, as I have my 2019 shield and Apple TV 4K connected to these ports.

For HDMI ports 3 and 4 you have a choice between Dolby vision 60 hrtz or HDR10 120 hrtz without Dolby vision, unfortunately ports 3 and 4 can’t do Dolby vision @120 hrtz, so if you have a ps5 in ports 3 or 4 choose hdr10 120 hrtz for gaming.
 
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As Sky and BT now show premiere league matches in HDR could you tell us how well new displays show football in this mode? For me (and I suspect a sizeable minority) this could be the deciding factor.
 
£2.5k and out of the box not brilliant. Should we not, in this day and age, expect better?

I am sure most won't be able to pick up these minor issues.

£2500 for the 77A80J is a bargain compared to how things few in the previous years. Best is to check Keep It Classy YouTube channel to tweak the settings or hire a professional calibrator.
 
£2.5k and out of the box not brilliant. Should we not, in this day and age, expect better?
Where did you find it for £2.5k?
 
I am sure most won't be able to pick up these minor issues.

£2500 for the 77A80J is a bargain compared to how things few in the previous years. Best is to check Keep It Classy YouTube channel to tweak the settings or hire a professional calibrator.
Just had my 77” A80J delivered so I will take a look at YouTube.
 
Very good and detailed review when read in its entirety; although I am starting to maybe question the overall scoring system. It’s become a bit too predictable that every oled every year will score 9/10
 
Great TV, love my 77 inch but need to downsize to a 65 so mine will be up for sale in the coming weeks. I like the look of the A95K and X95K but not sure I can wait until they are available.
 
Very good and detailed review when read in its entirety; although I am starting to maybe question the overall scoring system. It’s become a bit too predictable that every oled every year will score 9/10

It’s about time that every tv that is not accurate out of the box got no more than a 7. Max.

It’s instantly an extra £300 to get it calibrated properly. Off my list.
 
It’s about time that every tv that is not accurate out of the box got no more than a 7. Max.

It’s instantly an extra £300 to get it calibrated properly. Off my list.
Problem is not every tv is the same,some tv's will be more accurate ootb than others. And many people who buy these sets don't put them in the most accurate mode anyway.

The GZ2000 which got many reviews saying how accurate ootb it was. But both my GZ2000 I had both would've needed a calibration. First had a green cast to it and the second one I got coulple months later . Even in the most accurate mode there was a big difference between that and the pro calibration I had done.

Not all tvs perform the same,some may have more posterization/banding than the next one so you can't just go and judge a tv by one review.

Although the Sony sets this year do seem to be less accurate ootb than say LGs and Panasonic oleds.

But if someone wants the most accurate picture, then the only way to know is get it pro calibrated.
 
I mostly agree.

Mine was calibrated by Vincent Teoh.

However, by now I expect all TVs to be quite accurate from the box.

Especially if I’m paying say three grand.

And it’s not so much the poorer picture I’m peeved at it’s the 9 out of 10 for a tv with errors.

I can’t recall the last time I read an LG or Panasonic tv review here that wasn’t below visible thresholds out of the box in at least one picture mode.

So if they can, then so can Sony and Samsung. And if they don’t, then that fact should not be glossed over by a 9 out of 10 review.

Certainly not on an expensive tv.
 

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