Sony A80J and A8H are both introduced as 4K OLED TV series from Sony. They can be called as successor and predecessor series. Sony A80J comes as part of Sony’s 2021 TV lineup while Sony A8H was released as part of Sony’s 2020 TV lineup. There are three screen size options available for Sony A80J : 77-Inch (XR-77A80J), 65-Inch (XR-65A80J) and 55-Inch (XR-55A80J) while there are only two screen size options for Sony A8H : 65-Inch (XBR-65A8H) and 55-Inch (XBR-55A8H). What is better in Sony A80J that comes as the successor of Sony A8H? To answer that question, it’s necessary for us to talk about the differences between Sony A80J and A8H.
Sony A80J Introduction
Sony A80J
Sony A80J is the lower 4K OLED TV series introduced by Sony as part of their 2021 TV lineup. It comes with 4K UHD resolution that completed with XR 4K Upscaling so that we can enjoy excellent picture clarity both from original 4K content sources and non 4K contents that upscaled into near 4K picture quality. The clarity is also enhanced by Dual database processing and XR Super Resolution. Dual database processing is able to reduces on-screen noise especially for upscaled non 4K contents while XR Super Resolution detects individual objects in a picture then upscales their resolution to brings real-world texture. OLED panel of Sony A80J is able to delivers perfect black and infinite contrast since its pixels can be completely powered off and dimmed autonomously with its pixel dimming. We can also find OLED XR Contrast, Pixel Contrast Booster, XR HDR Remaster and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer integrated as the additional contrast of Sony A80J. OLED XR Contrast is able to boosts the contrast in the bright area of the picture, Pixel Contrast Booster delivers better pixel brightness, XR HDR Remaster reproduces greater depth while Dynamic Contrast Enhancer can adjust the screen brightness to match the lighting condition of the environment. OLED Panel that completed with XR Triluminos Pro can delivers wide color gamut so that we can enjoy rich and accurate color details. The color quality is also enhanced by XR Smoothing that creates more natural color by minimizing color banding while Live Color Technology brings more lively color details. Sony A80J is powered by Cognitive Processor XR that can optimizes the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on the screen of this TV. It already supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision so that we can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. The motion technology of Sony A80J is XR Motion Clarity that allows us to enjoy fluid motion images from our favorite action movies and sports. It also supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (with firmware update) to bring more immersive gaming experience with minimum input lag. Sony Android TV is the smart TV platform of Sony A80J. It can delivers wide range of premium entertainment from our favorite content providers with fast internet connection provided by 802.11ac wireless. We can also run wide collection of smart apps as it’s already linked with PlayStore. Sony A80J also allows us to enjoy 4K HDR OTA (Over the Air) entertainment as it already comes with ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV). We can control this TV conveniently with its included Voice Remote Control as well as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit/AirPlay since they are already supported. We can enjoy good sound quality with 30W (10 W + 10 W + 10 W) Acoustic Surface Audio+ speaker integrated with this TV. We can also setup more advanced AV system with this TV to enjoy higher quality audio formats since Sony A80J already supports eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel).
| Sony A80J Prices | |
| 77-Inch (XR-77A80J) | Check Today’s Price (BHPhotoVideo.com)… |
| 65-Inch (XR-65A80J) | Check Today’s Price (BHPhotoVideo.com)… |
| 55-Inch (XR-55A80J) | Check Today’s Price (BHPhotoVideo.com)… |
Sony A8H Introduction
Sony A8H
Sony A8H is the predecessor of Sony A80J. It comes with OLED Panel that can delivers perfect black and infinite contrast with the ability of its pixels to be completely powered off and dimmed autonomously. The contrast is also enhanced by Pixel Contrast Booster, Object-based HDR remaster and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer. Pixel Contrast Booster is able to deliver better pixel brightness, Object-based HDR remaster can reproduces greater depth while Dynamic Contrast Enhancer adjust the screen brightness according to the environment. OLED panel of Sony A8H is completed with Triluminos that allows us to enjoy rich and accurate color details on its screen. The color quality is also enhanced by Super bit mapping HDR that creates more natural color by eliminating color banding, Precision Color Mapping that optimizes color individually and Live Color Technology that brings more lively color details. 4K X-Reality PRO is installed on top of 4K UHD resolution of Sony A8H so that we can enjoy excellent clarity not only from original 4K content sources but also from non 4K contents that upscaled into near 4K picture quality. The clarity is also improved by Dual database processing that reduces on-screen noise especially from upscaled non 4K contents and Object-based Super Resolution that reproduces real-world textures after detects individual objects in a picture. Sony A8H already supports HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG so that we can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. We can also enjoy smooth motion images from our favorite action movies and sports with X-Motion Clarity integrated as the motion technology of Sony A8H. X-Motion Clarity also allows us to enjoy minimum input lag when we use this TV as our gaming monitor. The picture processor of Sony A8H is X1 Ultimate. It can optimizes the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on the screen of this TV. To bring wide range of premium entertainment, Sony A8H comes with Sony Android TV as its smart TV platform that completed with 802.11ac wireless that provides fast internet connection to our favorite content providers. Sony Android TV is also connected to PlayStore so that we can also run wide collection of smart apps on the screen of this TV. The remote control that included with Sony A8H is Voice Remote Control that allows us to control this TV conveniently with our voice. Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit/AirPlay are also supported so that we can control this TV conveniently with them. The speaker system that integrated with Sony A8H is 30W (10 W + 10 W + 5 W + 5 W) Acoustic Surface Audio. It’s basically able to deliver good sound quality. With eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), we can also enjoy higher quality audio formats from this TV using additional AV system.
| Sony A8H Prices | |
| 65-Inch (XBR-65A8H) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart.com)… |
| 55-Inch (XBR-55A8H) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart.com)… |
Table of Similarities & Differences
Let’s take a look at the key specs and features of Sony A80J and A8H in the table of similarities & differences below. It’s important for us to look at the specs and features of those two TVs before we can talk more about their differences.
| Sony A80J | Sony A8H | ||||||
| Similarities | |||||||
| Brand | Sony | Sony | |||||
| Resolution | 4K UHD | 4K UHD | |||||
| Display Technology | OLED | OLED | |||||
| Clarity Technology | Dual database processing | UHD Upscaling | |||||
| Color Technology | Live Color Technology | Live Color Technology | |||||
| Contrast Technology |
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| HDR Support |
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| Smart TV Platform | Sony Android TV | Sony Android TV | |||||
| Remote Control | Voice Remote Control | Voice Remote Control | |||||
| Control Support |
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| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac | 802.11ac | |||||
| Audio Return Channel | eARC/ARC | eARC/ARC | |||||
| HDMI/USB | 4/3 | 4/3 | |||||
| Differences | |||||||
| Introduced | 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Picture Processor | Cognitive Processor XR | X1 Ultimate | |||||
| Contrast Technology |
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Object-based HDR remaster | |||||
| Color Technology |
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| Clarity Technology |
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| Motion Technology | XR Motion Clarity | X-Motion Clarity | |||||
| Gaming Technology |
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NO | |||||
| TV System (Digital Terrestrial) | ATSC / ATSC 3.0 (NEXTGEN TV) | ATSC | |||||
| Sound Technology |
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| Price | Higher | Lower | |||||
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The Differences of Sony A80J and A8H
From the table of similarities and differences above, we can find that there are few differences between Sony A80J and A8H. Let’s talk more about those differences together.
1. Picture Processor
We can find that the picture processor integrated with Sony A80J and A8H are different. Sony A80J comes with Cognitive Processor XR while Sony A8H is powered by X1 Ultimate. Cognitive Processor XR is more advanced picture processor that can delivers better color, clarity and contrast optimization so that we can enjoy more realistic picture on the screen of Sony A80J.
2. Contrast Technology
OLED XR Contrast is integrated with Sony A80J. It’s the contrast technology that can boost the contrast brightness on the bright area of the picture. We can also find that Sony A80J comes with XR HDR Remaster that comes as improvement of Object-based HDR Remaster of Sony A8H. Basically, XR HDR Remaster is able to reproduces greater depth than Object-based HDR Remaster.
3. Color Technology
There’s a difference in the color technology that integrated with Sony A80J and A8H. Sony A80J comes with XR Triluminos Pro and XR Smoothing while Sony A8H comes with Triluminos display, Precision Color Mapping and Super bit mapping HDR. XR Triluminos Pro and XR Smoothing is basically the more advanced color technology that can delivers richer color and creates more natural color details by eliminating color banding.
4. Clarity Technology
We can find that there’s another difference in the clarity technology of Sony A80J and A8H. Sony A80J comes with XR 4K Upscaling and XR Super Resolution while Sony A8H comes with 4K X-Reality PRO and Object-based Super Resolution. Basically, XR 4K Upscaling comes as the improvement of 4K X-Reality Pro while XR Super Resolution is the improvement of Object-based Super Resolution. XR 4K Upscaling is able to delivers better upscaling result while XR Super Resolution can reproduces more realistic textures on the screen of Sony A80J.
5. Motion and Gaming Technology
Sony A80J comes with XR Motion Clarity while Sony A8H comes with X-Motion Clarity. Although they are slightly different, both of XR Motion Clarity and X-Motion Clarity are able to deliver smooth motion images from our favorite action movies and sports. But we can also find that XR Motion Clarity already supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (with firmware update) so that we can enjoy more immersive gaming experience when we use Sony A80J as our gaming monitor.
6. Digital Terrestrial TV System
When we look at the digital terrestrial TV system of Sony A80J and A8H, we can find that Sony A80J already comes with ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) while Sony A8H only comes with ATSC. With its integrated ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV), we can enjoy 4K HDR OTA (Over the Air) entertainment on the screen of Sony A80J.
7. Sound Technology
The speaker system that integrated with Sony A80J and A8H are slightly different. Sony A80J comes with 30W (10 W + 10 W + 10 W) Acoustic Surface Audio+ speaker while Sony A8H comes with 30W (10 W + 10 W + 5 W + 5 W) Acoustic Surface Audio. Acoustic Surface Audio+ is basically a better speaker than Acoustic Surface Audio although the different is not that significant.
8. Price
If we look at the price of Sony A80J and A8H, We can find that Sony A80J is normally offered at the higher price than Sony A8H for similar screen size option. It’s a good idea to check the price of Sony A80J and A8H before we can point out the latest price difference of Sony A80J and A8H as TV prices often change from time to time.
What is Better in Sony A80J?
We have talked about the differences between Sony A80J and A8H. What is better in Sony A80J? From our discussion, we can find that Sony A80J comes with better picture optimization with Cognitive Processor XR as well as better contrast, color and clarity. We can also find that Sony A80J already supports ALLM and VRR for more immersive gaming experience while it’s also completed with ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) to bring 4K HDR OTA (Over the Air) entertainment. So if you are looking for better picture quality, better gaming experience and integrated ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV), then Sony A80J is the one that you should choose.
| Sony A80J Prices | |
| 77-Inch (XR-77A80J) | Check Today’s Price (BHPhotoVideo.com)… |
| 65-Inch (XR-65A80J) | Check Today’s Price (BHPhotoVideo.com)… |
| 55-Inch (XR-55A80J) | Check Today’s Price (BHPhotoVideo.com)… |
As the predecessor of Sony A80J, we can find that Sony A8H is usually offered at the lower price for similar screen size option. It indeed comes with less excellent picture processor as well as color, clarity and contrast technology but it still can delivers good picture quality on its screen as it already comes with OLED panel that powered by X1 Ultimate picture processor. Sony A8H is basically still able to delivers non lagging gaming experience with X-Motion Clarity although it indeed doesn’t support ALLM and VRR. We can also enjoy 4K HDR entertainment from our favorite content providers with Sony Android TV and 802.11ac wireless although we can’t enjoy 4K HDR OTA (Over the Air) entertainment without ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV). If you have more limited budget, Sony A80J is basically a good choice for you.
| Sony A8H Prices | |
| 65-Inch (XBR-65A8H) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart.com)… |
| 55-Inch (XBR-55A8H) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart.com)… |