Did you buy a Sony AG8 4K OLED television yesterday? Were you lured by it’s beautiful design, gorgeous HDR visuals and the rich and inky blackness of its… blacks? Did you think ‘to hell with the cost! I must have this!’? Then look away now; today it is up to £600 cheaper, courtesy of mister John Lewis, and his 'partners'. Ouch. Those with maths skills will note that the 55-inch is a better deal in percentage terms, but the £600 off the massive, yet slimline, 65-incher is also sorely tempting…
The genius of Sony’s AG8 OLED TV is that it serves up great visuals whether the source is 4K or HD. In fact, thanks to the X1 Extreme 4K HDR processor and 4K X-Reality Pro upscaling, even standard-def stuff looks pretty fly. Motionflow XR smooths out and sharpens up everything you watch – especially effective with sports. Meanwhile, the TRILUMINOS Display 'expands the colour range beyond conventional LED displays for a richer, more lustrous image.' So that's nice.
Watch something in native 4K or a good quality HD feed and the results are truly stunning, with deep blacks, razor-sharp detail and stunning HDR contrast.
Despite being exceedingly slim, Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio system – which actually uses the screen itself as the TV's speaker – means you don't necessarily need to add a soundbar to get great audio. Although since you're saving up to £600 here, maybe you should splash out on one anyway. The stand of the AG8 rotates 180° to raise the screen, leaving plenty of space for one, which isn't something you can say about a lot of modern TVs.
HDR support includes Dolby Vision, and Dolby Vision films and TV shows from Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Prime and elsewhere look absolutely mind blowing. The AG8 also boasts a special Netflix Calibrated Mode for what Sony calls 'studio quality content.' Mmm-mm.
Streaming is accessed via Google's 'super-smart' Android TV platform, which also incorporates Google Assistant voice control. It’s also compatible with Alexa devices, Apple Airplay, and Apple HomeKit. The Youview tuner makes it easy to find live and catch-up TV from all the big UK broadcasters.
A super-slim bezel maximises the viewing area, while cables are neatly hidden from view.
