When you are looking for 4K OLED TV in 2020, Sony A8H and A9G are two choices that should be considered. Sony A8H and A9G are two 4K OLED TV model from Sony that comes from different TV lineup. Sony A8H comes from Sony’s 2020 TV lineup while Sony A9G was released as part of Sony’s 2019 TV lineup. There are 2 screen size options of Sony A8H : 65-Inch (XBR-65A8H) and 55-Inch (XBR-55A8H) while there are 3 screen size options of Sony A9G : 77-Inch (XBR-77A9G), 65-Inch (XBR-65A9G) and 55-Inch (XBR-55A9G). As the newer model, Is Sony A8H a better choice? It’s necessary for us to look at the key difference of Sony A8H and A9G to decide whether Sony A8G is a better choice.
Sony A8H Short Introduction
Sony A8H
Sony A8H is currently the only 4K OLED TV model introduced by Sony in their 2020 TV lineup. It comes with 4K OLED TV that completed with 4K X-Reality Pro. OLED display is able to deliver perfect black and infinite contrast since its pixels can be completely powered off and dimmed autonomously. The contrast is also enhanced by Pixel Contrast Booster that can brings better contrast for the bright part of the screen, Object-based HDR remaster that reproduces greater depth and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer that automatically adjust the screen brightness according to the environment. We can enjoy wide color gamut on the screen of Sony A8H that comes with OLED panels. We can also find TRILUMINOS Display, Super bit mapping HDR, Precision Color Mapping and Live Color Technology. Triluminos display brings richer color details, Super Bit Mapping HDR reduces color “banding” to delivers more natural color, Precision Color Mapping optimizes colors individually while Live Color Technology delivers more lively color details. 4K X-Reality Pro that installed on top of 4K UHD resolution of Sony A8H is able to bring excellent picture clarity from both of original 4K content sources and non 4K content sources that upscaled into near 4K picture quality. We can also find Dual database processing and Object-based Super Resolution integrated with this TV to enhances the clarity of this TV. Dual database processing can reduce on-screen noise especially for upscaled non 4K contents while Object-based Super Resolution can detects individual objects in a picture and upscale their resolution for better accuracy and details. HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision are already supported by Sony A8H so that we can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. We can also enjoy fluid motion images from our favorite action movies and sports on the screen of Sony A8H as It comes with OLED panels that completed with X-Motion Clarity. It’s also able to bring minimum input lag to bring immersive gaming experience. Sony A8H is powered by X1 Ultimate Picture Processor that can optimizes the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on the screen of this TV. Sony Android TV is installed as the smart TV platform of Sony A8H. It can delivers wide range of premium entertainment from our favorite content providers while also can run wide collection of smart apps since It’s already connected to PlayStore. We can control Sony A8H conveniently with its included Voice Remote Control as well as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa that already supported by this TV. Sony A8H can delivers good sound quality since It already comes with Acoustic Sureface Audio speaker powered by 10 W + 10 W + 5 W + 5 W sound output that support Dolby Atmos. But for sure it’s a good idea to attach soundbar that can be placed below this TV if you are looking for more powerful surround sound. Sony A8H already supports eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) so that we can enjoy higher quality audio from more advanced audio format that require greater bandwidth.
We can summarize the key specs and features of Sony A8H with the table below.
| Sony A8H | |||
| Introduced | 2020 | ||
| Display Technology | OLED | ||
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| Resolution | 4K UHD | ||
| Clarity Technology |
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| Contrast Technology |
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| Color Technology |
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| HDR Support |
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| Motion Technology | X-Motion Clarity | ||
| Picture Processor | X1 Ultimate | ||
| Smart TV Platform | Sony Android TV | ||
| Android Version | Android 9.0 Pie | ||
| Remote Control | Voice Remote Control | ||
| Control Support |
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| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac | ||
| Speaker System |
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| eARC Support | YES | ||
| HDMI/USB | 4/3 | ||
| Stand Design | 2-way position | ||
| Price |
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Sony A9G Short Introduction
Sony A9G
Sony A9G comes as the higher model of Sony’s 2020 4K OLED TV model. With OLED display, Sony A9G can delivers wide color gamut. The color quality of Sony A9G is also improved by TRILUMINOS Display, Super bit mapping HDR, Precision Color Mapping and Live Color Technology. Triluminos display is able to delivers richer color details, Super bit Mapping HDR brings more natural color by minimizing color banding, Precision Color Mapping Optimizes colors individually while Live Color Technology provides more lively color details. OLED display is also able to brings perfect black and infinite contrast since its pixels can be completed powered off as well as dimmed autonomously. We can also find Pixel Contrast Booster, Object-based HDR remaster and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer integrated as the contrast technology of Sony A9G. Pixel Contrast Booster is able to maximize OLED contrast across color spectrum in the bright area of the screen, Object-based HDR Remaster can reproduce greater depth and textures while Dynamic Contrast Enhancer adjust the screen brightness according to the environment. To bring excellent picture clarity from both of original 4K content sources and upscaled non 4K contents, we can find 4K X-Reality Pro integrated with this TV. The contrast is also enhanced by Dual database processing and Object-based Super Resolution. Dual Database Processing is able to reduce on-screen noise especially for upscaled non 4K contents while Object-based Super Resolution detects individual objects in a picture then upscale their resolution for better clarity and accuracy. Sony A9G is powered by X1 Ultimate picture processor that can optimizes the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on its screen. Since It already supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision, Sony A9G can delivers enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. X-Motion Clarity is integrated with OLED panels of Sony A9G so that we can enjoy fluid motion images for our favorite action movies and sports while experience non lagging gaming experience when we use this TV as our gaming monitor. Sony Android TV is installed as the smart TV platform of Sony A9G. It can delivers wide range of premium entertainment from our favorite content providers with 802.11ac wireless provides fast internet connection. Sony Android TV is already connected with PlayStore that allow us to run wide collection of smart apps on the screen of this TV. Voice Remote Control is included as the remote control of this TV. It allow us to control this TV conveniently with our voice. We can also use Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa to control this TV since they are already supported. Sony A9G comes with Acoustic Surface Audio+ that powered by 20 W + 20 W + 10 W + 10 W power output. It can delivers powerful surround sound while also supports Dolby Atmos. eARC is already supported by Sony A9G that allow us to enjoy higher quality audio from more advanced audio formats such as Dolby Atmos via TrueHD and DTS:X via DTS-HD MA.
The key specs and features of Sony A9G can be summarized with the table below.
| Sony A9G | ||||
| Introduced | 2019 | |||
| Display Technology | OLED | |||
| Screen Size |
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| Resolution | 4K UHD | |||
| Clarity Technology |
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| Contrast Technology |
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| Color Technology |
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| HDR Support |
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| Motion Technology | X-Motion Clarity | |||
| Picture Processor | X1 Ultimate | |||
| Smart TV Platform | Sony Android TV | |||
| Android Version | Android 8.0 Oreo | |||
| Remote Control | Voice Remote Control | |||
| Control Support |
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| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac | |||
| Speaker System |
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| eARC Support | YES | |||
| HDMI/USB | 4/3 | |||
| Stand Design | Low Central Stand | |||
| Price |
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What are Their Key Differences?
We can find that there are few key differences between Sony A8H and A9G after we look at their table of specs and features. The first key difference of Sony A8H and A9G comes from their speaker system. Sony A8H comes with Acoustic Surface Audio with 10 W + 10 W + 5 W + 5 W Audio Power Output. while Sony A9G comes with Acoustic Surface Audio+ that completed with 20 W + 20 W + 10 W + 10 W speaker system. Sony A9G that comes with Acoustic Surface Audio+ powered by 20 W + 20 W + 10 W + 10 W is able to deliver more powerful surround sound than Acoustic Surface Audio of Sony A8H that powered by 10 W + 10 W + 5 W + 5 W power output. The second key difference of Sony A8H and A9G comes from their stand design. Sony A8H comes with height adjustable stand in the right and left outside while Sony A9G comes with central-very low stand. With height adjustable side stands, we can install additional soundbar right below Sony A8H while we should add additional speaker system in the side of the TV in Sony A9G. The third key difference of Sony Sony A8H and A9G comes from their Android version. Sony A8H comes with Android 9.0 Pie while Sony A9G comes with Android Oreo 8.0. Android 9.0 pie is better in running more smart apps with the current update than Android Oreo 8.0.
Sony A8H is the model that introduced with the lower price than Sony A9G, but we may also find that Sony A9G offered at similar price with some special discount since it’s the older model. Since TV prices often change over time, we need to check the price of Sony A8H and A9G before we can find their latest price difference.
Is Sony A8H a Better Choice?
Sony A8H is introduced as the only 4K OLED TV model from Sony’s 2020 TV lineup while Sony A9G is the model that positioned higher from LG’s 2019 OLED TV lineup. Is Sony A8H that comes as part of the newer 2020 TV lineup a better choice? From the price perspective, Sony A8H is a better choice since it’s usually offered at the lower price while its specs and features are similar to Sony A9G. Sony A8H is also a better choice when you plan to use soundbar since we can easily place soundbar below Sony A8H. We can also find that Sony A8H comes with the newer Android version as an additional bonus.
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Sony A8H Prices |
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65-Inch (XBR65A8H) |
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55-Inch (XBR55A8H) |
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Sony A9G is the older model that basically similar in specs and features. It’s indeed completed with more powerful speaker system but usually offered at the higher price. The stand design of Sony A9G doesn’t allow us to easily place soundbar below this TV so it’s not a good choice if you plan to place soundbar below this TV. Sony A9G also use the older Android Oreo 8.0 that give another reason not to choose it if it’s offered at the higher price. It becomes a good choice that you can consider if you can find it offered at similar price to Sony A8H since you can get more powerful speaker system with similar price. It’s also the choice that you should consider if you are looking for larger screen size option (77-Inch).
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Sony A9G Prices |
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77-Inch (XBR77A9G) |
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65-Inch (XBR65A9G) |
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55-Inch (XBR55A9G) |
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