Sony makes some of the greatest TVs built for cinephiles and those who game with a PlayStation system, but they often come at a price premium. That can make picking apart of the absolute best Sony TVs quite difficult. Do you go with the last-generation flagship, or the latest alternative that’s built differently? The top pick for the best Sony TV is the Sony A95L, but you could easily swap that out for the newer Sony Bravia 9 if you prefer Mini-LED to OLED—they’re both stunning TVs.
After testing, we named the Sony Bravia 8 as the best budget Sony OLED TV pick.
Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Retailer
All of them are excellent for gaming, too, and feature impressive brightness and fantastic upscaling. They don’t have to be silly expensive either, as the Sony Bravia 7 and its more-modest counterparts show. No matter what you choose, the top picks for the best Sony TVs will upgrade your home theater. And while you’re upgrading your TV, don’t forget to add one of the best soundbars and best subwoofers to enhance your audio on top of your picture.
Sony’s latest Bravia TVs are amazing, but they can’t quite measure up to Sony’s best TV that also happens to be from 2023: The A95L. This TV is based on QD-OLED technology, so offers the best of both worlds: incredible contrast and per-pixel control of OLED, with the additional color vibrancy of quantum dots. Despite being an OLED which are historically darker, this TV gets super bright, which allows it to make HDR highlights really pop, and makes this TV usable in bright rooms—even if it will always look its best with the lights off.
For gaming, Sony’s TVs are some of the best, and this A95L is right up there with the best gaming TVs. It has two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K 120Hz gameplay on consoles and gaming PCs, and it has almost zero input lag so you aren’t held back in competitive play. With a fast response time and refresh rate, you’ll have the most up to date information, making this a great TV for playing couch co-op or online games. It’s expensive, but this is about as good as OLED gets, minus some minor quality of life features on some newer models.
What our editors say: During a hands-on, consumer tech editor Rebecca Isaacs also noted how crisp the picture was on the A95L. “During video playback of the Tokyo skyline, I could see every detail on the city’s buildings and streets. It has some of the deepest, inkiest blacks I’ve seen on a panel. It also gets bright enough to enjoy in a fairly sunny living space.”
Strong upscaling for watching live TV or older movies
Cons:
Limited contrast
Doesn’t get particularly bright
Sony’s entry-level Bravia 3 is still a capable modern TV with a few bells and whistles that make it a good buy for anyone looking for a Sony TV on a tighter budget. Sony TVs don’t typically come cheap, even at this scale, so for the money this TV isn’t particularly big. It’s available at larger sizes, but that does send the price much closer to its higher-end alternatives, and at that point you might was well target one of them instead. Still, whatever size of Bravia 3 you buy, you’ll be able to enjoy it with friends, as the viewing angles on this TV are excellent.
The brightness and contrast on this TV aren’t great, however, so it’s better viewed in darker rooms to make the most of it. There is HDR support too, so while it’s not super vibrant, there are still notable highlights in some scenes, though blooming is present in high-contrast scenes. There’s no high refresh rate for gaming, but the input lag is very low, so you shouldn’t have to lead your actions in game. The upscaling is great, as with most Sony TVs, so lower resolution content looks much better than it would on older TVs.
Sony showed with the Bravia 9 that you can really close the contrast gap between Mini-LED and OLED if you make the TV right. It’s been hailed by some as the OLED killer for how much it has the best of both worlds. Impressive contrast, incredible brightness, vibrant colors—it’s all there. It’s not quite as fast for gaming as OLED, and the contrast isn’t quite as impressive, but it’s very close. The added brightness is a game changer, making colors and HDR highlights really pop of the screen. It also makes this TV stellar for bright room use.
With a massive number of local dimming zones and fine-tuned brightness control of the LEDs, that brightness is applied very specifically, making this TV’s HDR incredibly nuanced with very limited blooming. While there’s no HDR10+ support, you get HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which give you great coverage across a wide range of TV and movies. For gaming, this TV is one of the best, too. It has a fast response time and refresh rate, and an incredibly low input lag, so it’s fantastic for competitive play. It also has several full HDMI 2.1 ports for connecting all your consoles, PCs and A/V equipment.
What our editors say: During a hands-on, Isaacs found it to have a gorgeous contrast. “The Sony Bravia 9’s bright picture excels when it comes to vivid scenes. It can handle sunny living rooms while showcasing a wide range of colors. And, since it’s a Sony panel, PlayStation 5 owners can enjoy a host of gaming features dedicated to the console on this TV.”
The Sony Bravia 8 is the best OLED Sony released in 2024. While it can’t quite measure up to the A95L, it gets so close—and with a better price tag, it’s well worth considering if you’re on a tighter budget. It’s a more traditional OLED TV, not the QD-OLED of some other Sony OLED TVs, which means it doesn’t have the quantum dot enhancement for its colors. However, that does make it a little brighter, helping it to stand out in brighter rooms and ensure that highlights, even on bright scenes, can still shine through.
It has that gorgeous, near-infinite contrast of OLED too, giving it a real leg-up over even the Bravia 9, and it enjoys an incredibly fast response time and input lag, making it stellar for gaming. It has four HDMI 2.1 ports which are all full-bandwidth, letting you connect all your favorite gaming systems and UHD Blu-ray players. It has full support for variable refresh rates, too, and the out of the box calibration is excellent, so you needn’t mess with the settings on this TV. Just unbox it and start enjoying it right away.
What our editors say: Isaacs tested the Bravia 8 TV for a few weeks. She says, “The Sony Bravia 8 requires some finagling to get the picture settings right, but when it’s fully set up, it showcases a great picture. Colors really pop on this panel, with games like Stardew Valley and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom responsive on-screen during gameplay.”
Excellent upscaling for watching lower resolution content
Cons:
Viewing angles aren’t the best
Lacks the contrast of OLED
For a more affordable but still excellent Sony TV, the Bravia 7 is a fantastic choice. It isn’t OLED, but its Mini-LED backlighting gives it incredible brightness, making it an excellent TV for living rooms and daytime viewing. With the ability to get close to 2,000 nits at its brightest, this is a TV that looks good with partial sunlight. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, so it’s not only compatible with your favorite movies and TV shows, but it can really make the highlights jump off the screen. With its many dimming zones, too, blooming is rarely an issue.
In gaming, you get a fast and responsive TV, with a high refresh rate and low input lag. It’s not quite as responsive as OLED TVs, but it gets very close, bringing it down to just a few milliseconds. Response time is similarly fast, helping to make sure that fast-paced action is always visible. The only real downside of this TV is that it does have some image degradation at extreme viewing angles, so you’ll get the best picture from sitting directly in front of it.
Consumer tech editor Rebecca Isaacs is a TV expert with years of experience reviewing the latest in screen technology. She has tested most popular TV models currently on the market, and has written and edited most of Forbes latest TV content. She most recently tested the LG G4, the Roku Pro Series and the Hisense U8N TVs.
Jon Martindale has extensive experience in the tech space. Martindale formerly ran his own PC hardware review website and is responsible for updating many of Forbes TV articles, including the best OLED TVs, the best
We’ve published a robust library of TV guides, drawing from our team’s categorical expertise and testing experience.
How We Chose The Best Sony TVs
To find the best Sony TVs of 2024, we first looked at the latest models from its major ranges, as well as factoring some of the best units from recent years.
We then examined the specs and overall performance of each TV, and looked at their size options, screen type, resolution, refresh rate, operating system and HDR.
From there, we leveraged our team’s personal experience with many of these models to determine if they should make the final list; Isaacs has personally tested some of the above TVs.
In addition to our hands-on testing, we spoke with product experts and industry leaders to help us determine what set each TV apart from the rest. Also, every TV needed to have stellar customer reviews, with no less than 4 out of 5 stars.
