If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, and your viewing environment isn't overly bright, the Samsung AU8000 will serve you well for casual viewing and news. However, if you're a movie enthusiast or gamer seeking superior picture quality with deeper blacks and more vibrant colors, and you don't mind paying a premium, the Sony A80K is an excellent choice. The Sony A80K also offers better motion handling, which is beneficial for sports and fast-paced gaming. Keep in mind that OLED screens like the one on the Sony A80K can suffer from glare in very bright rooms. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Samsung AU8000 (LCD)
The Samsung AU8000 (LCD) has no clear advantages over the Sony A80K (OLED).
Advantages of the Sony A80K (OLED)
Good for bright room
Excellent for dark room
Very good for gaming
Excellent for movies & TV
Excellent for sports
Very good for news, talk, & other TV
Very good for cartoons & animation
Very good for use as monitor
Best in class for upscaling
Best in class motion processing
Excellent viewing angle
Very good reflections
Key differences
Picture Quality
6.6/10
8.6/10
6.71/10
CONTRAST
10.00/10
6.3/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.4/10
LED
PANEL TYPE
WOLED
VA
PANEL SUB-TYPE
WBE
The Sony A80K (OLED) has very good picture quality, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) has only fair picture quality.
Movies & TV
5.9/10
9.1/10
6.71/10
CONTRAST
10.00/10
6.9/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
10.0/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
No
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony A80K (OLED) is excellent for movies & TV, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) is poor.
The Sony A80K boasts superior contrast, effective local dimming, and excellent black uniformity, which are crucial for deep blacks and high picture quality in movies and cinematic content. In contrast, the Samsung AU8000 falls short in these aspects, with no local dimming and poorer black uniformity, resulting in less impressive dark scenes, crucial for a good movie experience.
Sports
6.5/10
9.2/10
6.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.0/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
7.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony A80K (OLED) is excellent for sports, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony A80K excels in watching sports due to its excellent response time and motion processing, which ensure smooth fast-action scenes and minimal blur, along with better handling of reflections and wider viewing angles compared to the Samsung AU8000. However, the Samsung AU8000, while offering fair performance, might show more blur during fast-moving sports and is less suitable for rooms with many reflections and larger groups due to its narrower viewing angles.
Gaming
5.8/10
8.8/10
5.9/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
9.4/10
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.0/10
6.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
0.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
100.0/100
5.8/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
The Sony A80K (OLED) is very good for gaming, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) is poor.
The Samsung AU8000 has a poor response time and best input lag, which can lead to motion blur in fast-paced games despite having minimal delay in registering inputs. In contrast, the Sony A80K exhibits excellent response time with only good input lag, providing sharp images during movement and a responsive gaming experience with slight tradeoff in immediate input detection.
Cartoons & Animation
6.9/10
8.5/10
6.1/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
8.1/10
6.3/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.4/10
7.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
7.2/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
8.0/10
6.8/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
9.6/10
The Sony A80K (OLED) is very good for cartoons & animation, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony A80K OLED TV delivers very good performance for watching cartoons and animation due to its superior color accuracy out of the box and a very good color gamut, ensuring vibrant and accurate colors. In contrast, the Samsung AU8000 LCD shows colors fairly well out of the box and has a fair color gamut, which means it may not produce as wide a range of colors, affecting the vibrancy and fidelity of animated content.
News, Talk, & Other TV
6.7/10
8.9/10
7.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
The Sony A80K (OLED) is very good for news, talk, & other TV, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony A80K excels with superior upscaling quality and more vibrant colors right out of the box, which enhances the viewing experience for news and talk shows compared to the Samsung AU8000. Both TVs have satisfactory SDR brightness for well-lit rooms, but the OLED technology of the Sony provides better contrast and local dimming which can contribute to a more visually engaging experience.
Bright Room
6.3/10
7.0/10
5.5/10
VIEWING ANGLE
9.1/10
7.1/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
5.7/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.8/10
7.8/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
8.9/10
The Sony A80K (OLED) is good for bright room, while the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony A80K OLED has better handling of reflections, which improves its performance in a bright room compared to the Samsung AU8000 LCD, which is just good at handling reflections. Additionally, the Sony A80K offers a better color volume and gamut, enhancing its ability to produce vivid images under brighter conditions, unlike the Samsung AU8000 that performs fairly in these areas.
Cost
$648
$1,698
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Samsung AU8000 (LCD) has a price of $648 and the Sony A80K (OLED) costs $1,698.
"To put it directly: you’d never see a mid-range 4K TV hitting this black levels half a decade ago. AU8000 plays the part of a higher-end TV thanks to its sleek design. If you’re upgrading to a smart TV for the first time, the software is a great way to dip your toes in the streaming water."
"It’s a high-end TV through and through something that becomes clear the moment you glance at its stunning picture. The A80K’s surgically precise contrast control is likely the first thing you’ll notice about its picture ... every piece of content looks better when this amount of precision is available. Color accuracy is another strong suit; the A80K features fantastic out-of-the-box color accuracy in the Custom picture mode."
Get a great deal on the Samsung AU8000 (LCD) or the Sony A80K (OLED)
About Samsung
Samsung, a South Korean electronics manufacturer, holds the title of being the largest global TV vendor in terms of units sold. They offer a diverse lineup of TV products that cater to various budget ranges. A notable achievement in recent years is the development of Quantum Dots, a technology that enhances color reproduction, resulting in richer and more vibrant hues. Samsung TVs are well-regarded for their high manufacturing quality and user-friendly software, making them an excellent choice for consumers seeking an intuitive viewing experience.
About Sony
Sony stands as a highly experienced and widely trusted TV manufacturer, earning a reputation that surpasses all others. A Japanese company, Sony has been making TVs for far longs than it has been making Playstation game consoles. Sony's high-end TVs are often regarded as the ultimate choice for videophiles, representing the epitome of quality, albeit at a premium price point. Renowned for their advanced and precise motion handling, as well as their cutting-edge local dimming algorithms, Sony consistently delivers unparalleled performance in these areas. They include Google TV software with all their TV sets, which grants access to the largest selection of apps available and they also include Bravia Core which is a movie streaming platform specifically for Sony TVs that offers higher picture quality by using more bandwidth.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec TVs team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest TV information and makes it digestible for you.
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