Best Sony TVs for dark-room performance

#1

Evening viewing brings out the strengths of the OLED panel: rich blacks, high contrast, and immersive shadows. Peak brightness is less of an obstacle when the room is dark.

#2

The Bravia 8 II is at its best with the lights down, where its precision, blacks, HDR punch and cinematic balance become especially convincing.

#3

Dark-room movie performance is strong and cinematic, but opinions become more qualified when compared directly with OLED’s perfect blacks.

#4

In a controlled room the TV can look cinematic, detailed and impressively close to OLED in many scenes. A few critical tests found some very dark material difficult to read...

#5

Movies can look rich in moderate or dim light, but raised blacks, occasional blooming and shadow quirks make a pitch-black reference theater a less convincing fit.

#6

Grayish blacks, backlight glow and shallow contrast make dedicated lights-off movie sessions a poor fit, despite respectable image processing.

#7

The absence of local dimming makes black-heavy scenes much less immersive, especially on the 65-inch IPS model. Even enthusiastic owners often see a higher-tier backlight as preferable for nighttime films.