Product: Sony X80E LED 4K Ultra HD TV
Type: 4K UHD TV
Price: From $1,599.00 RRP
Availability: Out Now
Link: sony.com.au/electronics/televisions/X8000E-Series

With the recent release of the Xbox One X and Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro last year, gaming in 4K (or resolutions higher than 1080p) has more than become a reality – it’s now quite affordable. With that in mind we’re approaching this review of the Sony X80E UHD TV from the perspective of console gaming with Sony and Microsoft 4K capable hardware. Other features, like app support and picture quality for movies, and what the latest Netflix Marvel joint looks like - will be touched upon but not the focal point.

Design and Features

The X80E series from Sony isn’t the hardware makers cheapest 4K offering, but with only two sizes available 43” (108 cm) and 49” (123 cm) it sits somewhere in the realm of a low to mid-range in terms of pricing and functionality. For this review we checked out the 43” version, which in addition to currently being the smallest 4K TV size you’ll find in stores, also proved to be the ideal size for our cosy gaming setup.

At a glance the X80E shares the same minimal aesthetic as the rest of Sony’s 2017 line-up of TVs, right down to the very cool aluminium frame and stylish stand. Like most modern displays the X80E can either be wall-mounted or sit on a cabinet or desk. At 5.8 cm thick at it’s chunkiest point it’s not the slimmest unit available on the market but isn’t exactly bulky either. The build quality, as expected coming from Sony is excellent and as such feels way more premium than other cheaper displays in this size range.

As a 4K TV primarily used for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X gaming, the main concern when looking at a display comes down to whether it can handle a 4K image at 60Hz – which the X80E does. This is especially important for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X owners because quite a few entry-level displays as only go so far as 50Hz – making the refresh rate sub-optimal for gaming. That isn’t the case here, and with HRD-10 support the Sony X80E has clearly been designed with gaming in mind, and will work in a plug-and-play fashion with either of the two premium 4K consoles.

Picture Quality

HDR, High-Dynamic Range lighting. Arguably as important as the resolution bump to 4K. What does it do? Well amplify light sources and bright objects in an image whilst also expanding colour depth. Resulting in brighter images but also deeper colours and less contrast bleeding. Which means when checking out a bright sunny sky in Gran Turismo Sport on PlayStation 4 you still see full cloud detail and stuff like shadows and colour. On a non-HDR display the same depiction of the sun and nearby clouds might simply appear one big white light.

HDR on a TV should impress the moment you get to see the difference with it on or off. And thankfully the HRD-10 performance on the Sony X80E is very good for the price. HDR is the sort of TV feature that varies in quality depending on the overall brightness capabilities and how the display handles its LED lighting. As the X80E uses edge-lit technology, HDR performance could be better but thanks to the brightness of the IPS panel HDR performance is overall quite good and exceptional across several games – from Uncharted: The Lost Legacy on PS4 Pro to Gears of War 4 on Xbox One X.

Where the X80E falters a bit is in the overall contrast ratio and black levels never quite reaching optimal levels. This may be in part to the IPS used in the display, but the upside to that is a wide viewing angle and exceptional colour depth.

Game Performance

With a gaming in 4K response time sitting in the lower-end of the 30ms range, the X80E is perfectly fine for just about any PS4 Pro or Xbox One X title you throw at it. Of course, for a professional or twitch gamer that needs a response time of less than 5ms they’ll notice some input lag. But after spending several hours with the X80E we didn’t have any issues, and really it was comparable to pretty much every other TV we’ve gamed on recently.

Outside of the 4K 60Hz support and decent response time, where the X80E shines brightest for gaming comes with its HDR implementation and Wide Colour Gamut. An immediately vibrant image that although takes a fair bit of tweaking to get in a place where it’s good for most games, is something to behold. A feature that also makes 4K content on Netflix and 4K Blu-rays like Planet Earth 2 pop and impress. Again, darker scenes suffer a bit due to the contrast and black levels not being the best, but the trade-off is worth it for the most part. Which comes in handy when most games opt for brighter and well-lit scenes.

The Moving Image, Smarts, and Final Thoughts

With support for lower than 60Hz signals like 24p playback for movies, images on the X80E look great in motion. And thanks to the Android powered OS the app selection is quite good with support for all the regular streaming services. 4K Netflix looks great on the X80E as does watching most content with HDR turned on. Add in four HDMI inputs and three USB ports and the Smart TV side of the X80E more than delivers – it’s probably the best yet for Sony and a sign that its 2017 line-up of displays can compete with the best of them.

With 4K TVs becoming standard, and the affordability of 4K HDR capable displays reaching mass-market levels the choice has never been greater. And for those looking on the smaller end of the display size spectrum we can recommend you check out the Sony X80E for its great overall game performance that will showcase just how much better games in 2017 look thanks to the additional power of the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.