Sony BRAVIA Sony - 77" Class BRAVIA XR8B OLED 4K Google TV Review

A gamer's OLED that doesn't quite win the picture quality crown. Fantastic for PlayStation, just good for everything else.

The Sony XR8B is a fantastic TV that gets one thing absolutely right: it's a gamer's OLED. With a 120Hz panel, HDMI 2.1, and Sony's excellent motion processing, it's built for the PlayStation crowd. But here's the one thing you need to know: its picture quality, while good, lands in a surprisingly low percentile in our database. For a premium Sony OLED, we expected it to be a top-tier performer, but it's sitting in the middle of the pack. That doesn't make it bad, but it changes the conversation.

The numbers tell a story. Its gaming performance is in the 88th percentile, which is excellent, and the display itself is in the 93rd. But the overall picture quality score? A head-scratching 47th percentile. That means a lot of other TVs in our database are scoring higher for pure image processing. The XR processor is smart, but in real-world viewing, it doesn't seem to push color and contrast as aggressively as some competitors. It's still a great picture, just not the knockout we anticipated from Sony.

Prices are all over the place, ranging from $1798 to $2100. At the lower end of that spread, this TV is a solid deal, especially for gamers. At $2100, you're paying a premium for the Sony name and the OLED panel, but you might want to look at competitors that offer better pure picture quality for the money. Shop around, because that $302 difference is real.

This sits in a crowded field. The LG C5 Series OLED is its direct rival, often beating it on pure picture processing and offering better smart features with webOS. If movies are your main thing, the LG is probably the better choice. The Sony BRAVIA 9 Mini LED is Sony's own step-up model; it's brighter and has better HDR, but it's also more expensive and not OLED. For a budget-friendly alternative with great brightness, the Hisense U6 Series Mini-LED gets you a huge, bright picture for less, but you sacrifice the perfect blacks of OLED.

If you're a pure cinephile chasing the absolute best HDR pop and shadow detail, this isn't your champion. Go get the LG C5 OLED instead. And if you hate buying extra gear, skip this too, because you'll need a soundbar the day it arrives.

We recommend the Sony XR8B if you're a gamer first and a movie watcher second. Its combination of OLED response, high refresh rate, and Sony's reliable motion tech makes it a fantastic living room centerpiece for a PS5 or Xbox Series X. If your primary goal is the absolute best cinematic picture quality for film buffs, you should look at the LG C5 or step up to the Sony BRAVIA 9. This is a great TV, but it's specialized.