When comparing Sony A1E 55" (XBR55A1E) vs Samsung MU8000 82" (UN82MU8000), the Slant community recommends Sony A1E 55" (XBR55A1E) for most people. In the question“What are the best TVs?” Sony A1E 55" (XBR55A1E) is ranked 7th while Samsung MU8000 82" (UN82MU8000) is ranked 170th. The most important reason people chose Sony A1E 55" (XBR55A1E) is:
The Sony A1E has exceptional picture quality because of its infinitely high native contrast ratio, decent luminosity, and near-perfect black uniformity. The TV does a fantastic job when it comes to reproducing dark scenes, as the infinitely high native contrast ratio and the near-perfect black uniformity allow it to display thick, rich, and immersive dark scenes. As for bright scenes, the luminosity of 389 nits allows this OLED TV to fight glare and reproduce crisp and vibrant colors in vivid scenes.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Excellent picture quality
The Sony A1E has exceptional picture quality because of its infinitely high native contrast ratio, decent luminosity, and near-perfect black uniformity.
The TV does a fantastic job when it comes to reproducing dark scenes, as the infinitely high native contrast ratio and the near-perfect black uniformity allow it to display thick, rich, and immersive dark scenes.
As for bright scenes, the luminosity of 389 nits allows this OLED TV to fight glare and reproduce crisp and vibrant colors in vivid scenes.
Pro Decent color accuracy
Out of the box, the Sony A1E has excellent color accuracy, so the majority of users will not require doing the color calibration procedure. The A1E has better color accuracy than its competitors, including the LG seven series OLED TVs.
Pro Compatible with current-gen consoles
This 4K120 TV works well with all of the current-generation 4K consoles, including the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, because of the A1E’s adequate input lag (30.7 ms) at 4K resolution. Additionally, the TV is a good choice for HDR gaming, since its input lag does not increase when processing high-bandwidth 4K HDR signal.
Pro Decent viewing angle
The Sony A1E looks good even from an angle since its colors only start to degrade when the angle between the viewer and the panel is greater than 29 degrees.
Pro Good sound quality
The Sony A1E sounds noticeably better than all of its competitors, including the LG Seven series OLED TVs.
Pro Extensive app selection
The Sony A1E runs the Android TV which has the widest app selection among all the smart TV platforms currently available.
Pro Perfect for 24p content
The Sony A1E is an excellent option for those who have a collection of old DVDs or Blu-rays, a cable or satellite box, or an Apple TV since the A1E can detect and eliminate judder from those sources and make 24p content playback nice and smooth.
Pro Can handle reflections
The Sony A1E does an excellent job of managing reflections as its panel is coated with the anti-reflective material; therefore, the TV looks good even when situated right in front of a window.
Pro Ads-free interface
The main interface of this TV is free of advertisements and sponsored content.
Pro Makes low frame rate content look good
The Sony A1E can boost up the frame rate of low FPS content up to a stunning 120 Hz, making such content look more fluid and smooth. This feature is called motion interpolation, or in some sources, the 'soap opera' effect. Some people find the interpolated content very attractive.
Pro Excellent for watching sports
The Sony A1E manages to balance all the features required for a good sports TV. It has well-handled motion blur, excellent color uniformity, and superb picture quality.
Motion blur handling is the most critical aspect of a good sports TV. The A1E has almost negligible motion blur because of its fast full pixel response time of 0.7 ms, which ensures that the pixels of this TV need only 1/1400th of a second to go from one color to another. Therefore, even fast objects don't leave noticeable trails on the screen.
As for the color uniformity, the A1E is currently the best TV money can buy. The overall color uniformity of a TV is essential for sports fans, as it allows a TV to reproduce realistic and good-looking football fields, hockey arenas, golf fields, and other large sports fields.
Pro Suitable for watching sports
The Samsung MU8000 is a good option for sports fans because of the TV’s decent color uniformity, well-controlled motion blur, and adequate picture quality.
Good color uniformity is essential for a sports TV since it allows it to reproduce beautiful and even looking sports pitches and arenas. In this aspect, the MU8000 performs as well as its more expensive competitors, like the Sony X850E and Sony X900E.
Also, a good sports TV must have a responsive panel that can eliminate the motion blur effect. Fortunately, the Samsung MU8000’s panel has a full pixel response time of 13.8 ms, which means that each pixel of this TV can fully change its color in about a 70th of a second, preventing fast-moving objects from leaving trails.
Pro Accessible inputs
The Samsung MU8000 comes with a mini One Connect box which is used to move all the TV’s inputs away from the rear of the TV so that you can easily access all of the essential inputs even if the TV is mounted on a wall. The One Connect box can also be used as a USB charging hub.
Pro Intuitive smart platform
The Samsung MU8000 runs the Tizen smart platform which is well known for its simplicity and intuitiveness. The whole menu of the Tizen OS is organized around the Smart Hub which acts as a gate for accessing all the functionality of the TV. Additionally, the Smart Hub has a row which contains the most-used items.
Pro Good for 24p content
The Samsung MU8000 can detect and eliminate the judder effect from 24p content even when the content is sourced from a 60 Hz device, like a cable or satellite box, or Apple TV.
Pro Compatible with current-gen consoles
This 4K120 TV is an excellent companion to any current generation gaming console, such as the Xbox One X, PS4 Pro, and Wii U. Additionally, the HDR gaming support of the MU8000 will allow you to experience the immersive HDR effects in the latest console games.
Pro Excellent color accuracy
Out of the box, the color accuracy of the Samsung MU8000 is very high. It’s unlikely that you’ll need to spend substantial time calibrating this TV.
Pro Suitable for gaming
The Samsung MU8000 is among the best gaming TV in its range because of its low input lag and excellent motion-blur handling. The TV’s input lag of 24.2 ms makes it suitable for fast-paced gaming.
Pro Good picture quality
The Samsung MU8000’s picture quality is on par with its direct competitors. The TV produces a clear and good-looking picture in both dark and bright environments.
The MU8000 does an excellent job of displaying rich dark scenes because of the TV’s fair uniformity of its blacks and high contrast ratio.
High SDR luminosity allows the Samsung MU8000 to deal with the glare even in relatively bright rooms. The peak brightness of this TV is 380 nits, which is a good result considering that the competitors are only a tiny bit more luminous.
Cons
Con Has image retention problems
Just like many other OLED TVs, the Sony A1E does suffer from severe image retention which is caused by a static frame which is displayed for an extended period. However, the burn-in effect fades after 5 minutes.
Con Hard-to-access rare inputs
Once the TV is mounted on a wall, it is very difficult to reach its rear inputs as there is simply not enough space between the TV and a wall.
Con Lacks Dolby Vision
At the moment, the Sony A1E is not compatible with Dolby Vision content which severely limits its HDR capabilities.
Con Poor viewing angle
Just like many other VA TVs, the Samsung MU8000 does suffer from the substantial picture degradation due to viewing angle. The colors of this TV start to degrade once the viewing angle is greater than 19 degrees which makes this unsuitable for watching with a large group.
Con Contains ads
The main interface of the Samsung MU8000 does contain ads and sponsored content.
Con Suffers from reflections
The Samsung MU8000 reflects a lot of light, which makes this TV unsuitable for overly bright rooms with lots of windows.