OLED TVs are never cheap. Indeed, a flagship set can cost as much as what most of us pay for a car, or multiple months of rent.
But there's a reason for that. Having tested OLEDs since the tech went mainstream more than a decade ago, we can certainly vouch for the fact that there is a lot to like about these TVs – as a glance at the upper echelons of our best TV guide will show you.
Thanks to the technology's pixel-level light control, a good OLED TV can offer purer blacks and more dynamic light control than even the best Mini LED TV.
We know, because we regularly pit the best of each technology head to head in our review rooms. The major benefits of Mini LED TVs usually come in their generally more affordable price tags and the extra brightness that Mini LEDs bring over OLED.
So if you want the “best” home movie picture money can buy on a TV, until Micro LED becomes more mainstream, OLED is the panel tech to invest in.
If you have the funds and are in the market for a new TV right now, we are pleased to confirm we have a newly crowned recommended premium option in our best OLED TV guide: the Sony Bravia 8 II.
Despite its deceptive name, this is the successor to the Sony A95L at the top end of the market, not a replacement for the Award-winning, but step-down, Sony Bravia 8, which remains our overall recommended OLED thanks to its lower cost.
Why this OLED over its rivals, which include the five star LG G5 you ask? There are a couple of reasons.
First, it offers a wonderfully bright, punchy, but realistic picture. During testing, our reviewers all agreed that this set's QD-OLED panel offers the best all-round picture available on a premium OLED.
Regardless of whichever test disc or film we threw at it, the Bravia 8 II offered a wonderfully three-dimensional picture with brilliantly bright peaks, and inky blacks, full of dark detail.
Hence our reviewers glowing verdict:
“The Sony Bravia 8 II is a truly exceptional TV. Its combination of sizzling brightness, vibrant colours through all degrees of light, terrific shadow detail and razor-like sharpness combine to produce an image with regularly astonishing dynamism, depth and realism.”
Second, it is also one of the best-sounding TVs we have tested. It benefits from Sony’s proprietary Acoustic Surface Audio+ tech, which uses two actuators that vibrate under the screen to create sound.
Backed up by two subwoofers, this setup offers reasonable levels of detail and is able to offer a sense of directionality that is missing on every other TV we have tested this year.
Having said that, while the in-built system is good by TV standards, it still isn’t perfect.
It lacks low-end heft and can suffer from distortion at high volumes – and it certainly doesn’t match the performance you’ll get with a price appropriate soundbar or speaker package. We recommend pairing it with a Sonos Arc Ultra, or similar price-appropriate soundbar.
The TV is also good for gamers, but not class leading. For the truly hardcore gamer, as you will see in our best gaming TV guide, we recommend the LG G5 with its four full-fat HDMI 2.1 inputs, compared with the Bravia 8 II's offering of two.
But if normal TV watching and movies are your main priority, our reviewers are in no doubt that the Sony Bravia 8 II is the premium OLED TV to get.
MORE:
These are the best 65-inch TVs we have tested
We rate the best 55-inch TVs
Our picks of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
