Sony X800H Bravia – Is the entry-level model from Sony worth a look?

The frame of the Sony X800H is entirely made of plastic. Overall, the manufacturing is very solid – although the TV wobbles a bit when you strike it. The stands are a bit further apart than on the predecessor Sony X800G, which is probably because Sony wants to offer more space for a soundbar in between.

Unfortunately, the cable sorting doesn’t work as well as on the predecessor. In return, the screen edges are narrower and the TV is thinner, which creates a very modern and minimalist impression. Especially because of this it looks very decent and chic on a wall.

Because the Sony X800H, like its predecessor, has an ADS panel, some characteristic features can be expected. For example, the contrast with a ratio of only 1100:1 is rather disappointing. However, it should also be mentioned at this point that the black level and contrast are better than in other televisions with ADS panels. Due to a wide color gamut, the X800H offers a vivid and colorful picture. With a maximum of 530 nits, it becomes bright enough to compete against a well-lit room with lots of windows. However, the black is not as uniform as on a TV with a VA panel. Therefore, we would rather recommend a different device for dark rooms.

Motion handling is undoubtedly one of the strengths of this affordable television. The response time is ~5ms, which is almost as good as that of its predecessor. The backlight does not flicker at all, which is a great feature. Motion interpolationArtificial calculation of more frames than the source material has to offer at 60fps also works very well.
The Black Frame InsertionProcess that inserts black “blank images” as intermediate images. This makes movements appear finer and clearer. feature, reducing motion blur, is rather disappointing. The Sony X800H also struggles to remove JudderInconsistent time frame due to the input frequency not mismatching the TV’s frequency (e.g. 24p via 60Hz). However, these disadvantages should be accepted in this price range.

There are some features that make the Sony X800H a satisfying and affordable gaming TV. Due to Auto Low Latency Mode the TV switches directly to gaming mode when the console is turned on. The input lag is just about 13ms then. The TV enables 4K gaming at 60 fps. An HDMI 2.1 connection for gaming at 4k@120Hz with the upcoming consoles is unfortunately not available. Other gaming features, like a variable refresh rate, are also missing.

For gamers who prefer the current generation of consoles and use Xbox One X or PS4 Pro, the Sony X800H will still be great fun to play with. So if you don’t need a new console right away and are happy with 4K gaming at 60 fps, the X800H is a great choice for bright rooms.

The TV may perform well in all other aspects, but the sound is unfortunately rather disappointing. Due to the extremely thin construction, the TV can hardly produce any bass, which makes the sound very mid and high 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. heavy. Although the device gets loud enough and can reproduce understandable dialogues, it distorts relatively quickly at high volumes. As a result, the sound is very midrange- and high-frequency-heavy. The X800H supports Dolby Atmos and DTSMulti-channel-sound-system (Surround Sound) competing with Dolby Digital in compressed Dolby Digital Codec. But you can’t access the uncomplicated formats for lack of HDMI eARC.

The TV runs, like all Sony TVs of the year, with Android 9.0 Pie. The smart surface runs cleanly and extremely smoothly, so there should be no errors. As usual, advertising is unfortunately supported and displayed here. This cannot be turned off.

Due to the attached Google Play Store, the selection of additional apps is huge. The classics – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney + and Sky Ticket – are already pre-installed. The included remote control is also great, as it supports voice control via Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.