Sony A8H OLED – The OLED model with the sharpest and clearest image?

The Sony A8H OLED impresses with a rather minimalist design, which is expressed by its narrow metal frame and slim metal feet. Because the frame is hardly noticeable, an immersive picture experience is created. The feet are height-adjustable, creating space for an additional soundbar. Nevertheless, they are stable enough and ensure that the TV hardly wobbles at all. The A8H also looks good on the wall, as it is extremely flat.

The cable management is fine, but nothing new. The cables are fed through the feet to sort them.

The 10-bit OLED panel of the Sony A8H provides the classic characteristics of an OLED, such as infinite contrast and excellent black. This is to be further enhanced by Sony’s “Pixel Contrast Booster” technology. Since OLED technology does not require any backlighting, the TV does not have a local dimming feature. The peak brightness of 780 nitsSI unit of luminance: 1 nit = 1 cd/m² – The best way of measuring and comparing a TVs brightness   is very good for an OLED model, but doesn’t come close to the values of Samsung’s somewhat higher priced QLEDs, for example. This can be explained by the Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL), which dims the picture in large bright scenes to prevent damage to the panel. This makes it ideal for dark rooms. Because it doesn’t have any problems at an oblique viewing angle or with reflections, it still delivers a fairly good picture even in bright room environments. Brightness and colors can be individually calibrated with a variety of settings and customizable picture modes. The Sony A8H doesn’t support HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range) 10+, but offers Dolby VisionDynamic HDR-format with a color depth of up to 12 Bits and Mastering of up to 10,000 Nits instead. Upscaling also works very well.

Even if Sony doesn’t count it among the “Master Class”, the A8H’s motion handling couldn’t be better. With a refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 120 HzHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. and a minimum response time of less than a millisecond, there is practically no motion blur. The built-in X1 Ultimate image processor also ensures this. The optional Black Frame InsertionProcess that inserts black “blank images” as intermediate images. This makes movements appear finer and clearer. (BFI) feature, which Sony calls “X-Motion Clarity”, works just as well as motion interpolationArtificial calculation of more frames than the source material has to offer. These ensure sharp and clear movements and hardly any artifacts. This makes the TV particularly suitable for sports programs that can also be watched in the afternoon or in a group. The X-Motion Clarity development represents the biggest difference to its predecessor. Although the A8H is completely free of judder, stutter is possible for content with a lower frequencyHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second.. To avoid this, it is recommended to deactivate the motion interpolation.

Unfortunately, the Sony A8H isn’t as future-oriented in the gaming sector as in other categories and therefore isn’t necessarily aimed at gamers who want to gamble with the upcoming consoles. As there is no HDMI 2.1 connection, a variable refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. and the Auto Low Latency Mode are also unfortunately missing. Instead, an analog input is available, which makes it possible to have game fun with older consoles. This is also supported by the low input lag of under 19 ms.

As with most comparable devices, the A8H’s 2.2 channel 30W speakers can get loud enough, but the bass could be even more balanced. It’s nice that the TV also provides space for a matching soundbar, which can compensate for this deficit. Dolby AtmosObject-based surround sound format with 3D-Sound from any direction is supported by the HDMI eARC connection. But DTS is also available, which distinguishes Sony from Samsung, which will completely do without this sound format in 2020.
The TV supports Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio feature, which is designed to locate the sound in the picture and play it back via vibration at the appropriate place on the screen, instead of just through the speakers in the classic way.

Smart TV applications on the A8H work very quickly and smoothly. The Android 9.0 Pie software works a lot better than the previous versions, but the interface is unfortunately not completely free of ads. Thanks to the Play Store there should be almost no apps missing and therefore all classic streaming providers are available. Just like the XH95 below it in the lineup, the A8H has the smart remote control with voice control and the additional Netflix Calibrated Mode, which is supposed to reproduce the original studio quality of Netflix Originals. Furthermore, Google Assistant is supported. Amazon Echo for Alexa and Google Home can also be connected.