Sony KD-85X80L: 85-inch 4K HDR LED BRAVIA TV Sony - Review 🏆

The Sony KD-85X80L is an impressively large 85-inch 4K LED TV that delivers an immersive viewing experience thanks to its combination of high-quality picture and audio performance. Part of Sony's 2022 X80L series, this model features the company's acclaimed 4K X-Reality PRO technology for sharp, detailed images. With Sony's Triluminos display and Live Color technology, colors are rich and vibrant. In addition, the KD-85X80L is a smart TV powered by Google TV, giving you access to popular streaming apps and Google Assistant voice controls. Keep reading for an in-depth review of the design, display quality, audio, smart features, connectivity, and more on the Sony 85-inch X80L 4K LED TV.

Design

The Sony BRAVIA KD-85X80L has an attractive design with its thin bezel and minimalist stand. The TV has an impressive screen-to-body ratio thanks to its narrow bezels, giving it a sleek, modern look that blends into any living room.

The stand has a unique two-legged design that provides sturdy support while taking up less surface area. This is helpful for placing the large 85-inch TV on furniture. The stand feet can be adjusted inward or outward to accommodate different table widths. Overall, the thin bezel and minimalist stand design give this TV a streamlined aesthetic that looks great in a contemporary home.

Another noteworthy model is the Sony XR-50X90S: 50-inch BRAVIA XR Full Array LED 4K UHD HDR Smart TV, which boasts a stunning full-array LED display and advanced HDR capabilities. At 50 inches, it offers an immersive viewing experience in a compact size, perfect for smaller spaces. Its sleek design incorporates slim bezels for a modern aesthetic, enhancing any room's decor while delivering exceptional picture quality and vibrant colors.

Display Quality

The Sony KD-85X80L comes with a massive 85-inch screen and impressive 4K resolution, delivering stunningly detailed and immersive visuals. With over 8 million pixels, 4K offers 4 times the resolution of Full HD for lifelike clarity and depth. Even up close, images stay pin sharp.

This TV supports high dynamic range (HDR) including HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. This expands the range of brightness levels displayed, resulting in more vivid colors and increased contrast between light and dark areas of the image. Highlights like sunlight glinting off water really pop, while shadows remain inky and detailed.

In terms of brightness, this TV can reach up to 700 nits peak brightness when playing HDR content. This helps it better display specular highlights and makes HDR images really shine. The high native contrast ratio further enhances picture depth. Even in dark scenes you'll be able to make out details in shadows.

The IPS LCD panel provides very wide viewing angles up to 178 degrees both vertically and horizontally. This means the picture retains accuracy, vibrancy and black levels even when viewed from off-center seats. The whole family can enjoy the action without color shifting or loss of contrast.

Sound Quality

The Sony KD-85X80L BRAVIA TV delivers an immersive audio experience thanks to its powerful integrated speakers. The TV has 2.0 channel speakers with a total output of 20W. While it lacks a dedicated subwoofer, the speakers still manage to produce decent bass, especially when enabled with Sony's bass boost technology.

There are several sound modes to choose from depending on your content, including Standard, Dialog, Cinema, Music, and Dolby Audio. Standard mode works well for most TV watching, while Cinema and Dolby Audio bring an extra sense of spaciousness. Dialog mode enhances speech clarity for news and talk shows. The Music mode adds more power to treble and bass for a lively listening experience.

Volume levels can go quite high without much distortion. The speakers easily fill a medium to large room at around 50% volume. Even at maximum volume, the sound retains detail and avoids sounding tinny. For private listening, there's also a headphone jack or you can connect to external speakers via Bluetooth or the audio out ports.

Overall, the built-in speakers provide impressive audio quality for a slim TV. The different sound modes allow easy customization based on what you're viewing. Dialogue comes through clearly, music has a sense of energy, and action scenes pack a punch. While connecting a soundbar can further boost immersion, the speakers are capable enough for casual TV watching and listening to music.

Smart TV Features

The Sony KD-85X80L comes packed with smart TV features powered by Google TV. This provides access to a wide range of apps, streaming services, and Google Assistant voice control.

Some of the key smart TV capabilities include:

• Google TV - This gives you personalized recommendations for movies, shows, live TV and more. It learns your preferences over time to serve up content you'll enjoy.

• Apps - With Google Play you can access a huge library of apps for entertainment, sports, games, music and more. Popular apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Spotify and YouTube are available.

• Voice Control - The TV has built-in Google Assistant so you can use your voice to search for content, get recommendations, control smart home devices and more. Just press the mic button on the remote to get started.

• Chromecast - Easily cast movies, shows, photos, music and more to the TV from compatible apps on your mobile devices. Chromecast is built-in for seamless streaming.

• Works with Alexa - You can also pair Alexa-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo to voice control your Sony TV.

The smart TV platform makes it simple to find and access all your favorite content and streaming services. With Google TV and voice control, the Sony KD-85X80L delivers a smooth, intelligent viewing experience.

Connectivity

The Sony KD-85X80L BRAVIA TV offers excellent connectivity options. It has 4 HDMI ports to connect 4K Blu-Ray players, game consoles, and other devices. The HDMI ports support HDMI 2.1, HDCP 2.3, eARC, and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). There are also 2 USB ports to connect hard drives, keyboards, and other USB devices.

For wireless connectivity, the TV has built-in WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2. The WiFi supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands for stable streaming. Bluetooth allows you to pair wireless speakers, headphones, and other accessories.

Additional connections include an Ethernet port, composite video input, digital and analog audio outputs, IR blaster input, and a CI+ slot. The TV can connect to the internet via WiFi or wired Ethernet. There is also Apple AirPlay and Chromecast built-in for casting content from mobile devices.

Overall, the connectivity options on the Sony BRAVIA KD-85X80L are very good. With multiple HDMI 2.1 ports, USB, WiFi 5, Bluetooth, and more, you can connect all your devices and accessories.

Picture Processing

Sony's powerful X1 processor brings images to life with enhanced depth, textures, and natural colors. It uses advanced algorithms to cut noise and boost detail. The X1 processor excels at upscaling lower resolution content to 4K, minimizing artifacts.

Motion handling is also a highlight thanks to Sony's X-Motion Clarity technology. This inserts extra frames to make fast action look smooth and fluid. The effect can be customized to preference.

For gamers, input lag measures around 10ms, ensuring responsive gameplay without delay between controller and on-screen action. Auto game mode also optimizes settings for gaming when a console is connected.

Overall, the X1 processor and Sony's image processing technologies deliver a stellar 4K picture with excellent clarity, color, motion, and upscaling. Games and movies look superb.

Eco Features

The Sony KD-85X80L TV has several eco-friendly features.

Energy Efficiency

This TV is designed to be energy efficient. It has an 'Eco mode' that adjusts the picture brightness based on ambient light conditions to save power. The TV also meets strict energy efficiency guidelines like Energy Star.

Sustainable Packaging

Sony aims for sustainability, so the TV packaging uses recycled materials and is designed to minimize waste. The polystyrene used is recycled and recyclable. The packaging also uses cardboard cushions containing up to 30% recycled PET plastic.

Overall Sustainability

In terms of sustainability, Sony has a zero waste goal for its operations and 100% renewable electricity by 2040. The company is committed to reducing its environmental impact through energy efficiency, resource conservation, and eco-design across its products. For this TV model specifically, the eco-friendly features like the efficient panel, optimized electronics, and recycled packaging make it a more sustainable choice.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Beautiful 4K HDR picture quality with vibrant colors and excellent contrast
• Impressive 85-inch screen size for an immersive viewing experience
• Acoustic Multi-Audio with two front-facing speakers produces good sound
• Runs on Google TV for easy access to apps, content and Google Assistant
• Lots of HDMI and USB ports for connecting devices
• Energy efficient with eco features like light sensor and low power standby

Cons:

• No Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos support
• Mediocre viewing angles compared to OLED TVs
• Lacks more advanced gaming features like VRR and ALLM
• Some may find Google TV interface overwhelming or confusing
• Stand only tilts the TV and doesn't swivel or adjust height
• No headphone jack on the TV itself

Overall, the Sony 85X80L is an excellent large-screen 4K LED TV with vibrant HDR picture quality and the convenience of Google TV built-in. But it lacks some higher-end features found on more expensive models. For most buyers, the pros outweigh the cons, but more discerning videophiles may want to look at OLED or more premium LED options.

Conclusion

The Sony KD-85X80L BRAVIA TV delivers impressive performance and features in an attractive package. With its 85-inch 4K HDR display, users can enjoy an immersive viewing experience with excellent clarity and vibrant colors. The Google TV interface also provides easy access to a wide variety of streaming apps and content.

The X1 4K HDR picture processor does a great job at upscaling lower resolution content to near 4K quality. Motion handling is also solid thanks to Sony's XR Motion Clarity technology. Gamers will appreciate the low input lag and dedicated game mode as well.

On the audio side, while the 10W + 10W speakers provide decent sound, connecting the TV to a soundbar or surround sound system is recommended for a more impactful audio experience.

Connectivity options like HDMI 2.1, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB allow for versatile device connectivity. The provided voice remote with Google Assistant enables hands-free control as well.

Some downsides to consider are the lack of Dolby Vision support and limited viewing angles due to the VA panel. The speakers could also be more powerful.

Overall, the Sony 85X80L is an excellent option for those wanting a massive, feature-packed 4K TV for movies, gaming, and streaming. While not perfect, the superb picture quality, smart platform, and sleek design make it easy to recommend for most users and living room setups. Those wanting top-notch performance for HDR and audio may want to look at more premium Sony models.