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Sony A90J 65” or A80j 77”?

16039 Views 28 Replies 19 Participants Last post by samuel1983, 11 mo ago

Badgerst

Discussion Starter · Jun 3, 2021

Lurking for a bit. Plan to get one or the other by late summer.
Viewing distance is 12 feet, room is moderately light but mostly night viewing and content in order is;
PS5-streaming content-HD content (mostly sports)

Maybe it’s a no brainer for the A90j but wanted to get forum input. I really wish Sony could figure out VRR.

which and why? I plan to have the set for at least the next 5 years.

thx in advance

1 - 20 of 29 Posts

sbarnhar

· #2 · Jun 5, 2021

Well, I just made a similar decision to yours, but for me it was 83" A90J vs 77" A80J. I also sit 12' back, and my room is similar to yours - kind of bright during the day, and always some lights from the open floor plan on at night.

From all my reading of hundreds of pages of posts on both owner's threads, the main difference comes down to the A90J being brighter in HDR (specular) highlights. That probably also results in being able to sustain a brighter SDR image when pushing brightness to non-reference levels.

I am coming from a 2009 plasma, so either of these TVs are way brighter than my plasma. To me, the A80J was the better value for our situation, giving me a much bigger screen than the 65" without having to pay 83" money. For you it would boil down to screen-size vs brighter HDR highlights instead of being more of a $$$ decision.

I am also not a 100% stickler for accuracy - I don't watch in a dark room, I'm happy to watch SDR at brighter than 100 nits, director's intent never trumps my personal preference, and if my HDR highlights don't quite reach the brightness level of the director's intent, I don't really care.

All that said, I personally find the A80J spectacular, especially at night or with the blackout blinds pulled so it is not competing with sunlight. And the big increase in size makes a big difference in enjoyment of movies. I couldn't be happier with this TV, and if at some point down the road I'm not, then hopefully by that time, the big A90J will have dropped in price enough to change my value equation.

p.s. - I don't game at all, so that played no part in my decision.

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Badgerst

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 8, 2021

Thx for the reply. I do game and stream a lot from my ps5. I feel brightness and processor may be the deciding factor.

I also wish Sony could get it together ref VRR. Still deciding.

tonydeluce

· #4 · Jun 9, 2021

Badgerst said:
Lurking for a bit. Plan to get one or the other by late summer.
Viewing distance is 12 feet, room is moderately light but mostly night viewing and content in order is;
PS5-streaming content-HD content (mostly sports)

Maybe it’s a no brainer for the A90j but wanted to get forum input. I really wish Sony could figure out VRR.

which and why? I plan to have the set for at least the next 5 years.

thx in advance

I originally ordered the 77 inch a80j but when I saw the HDR PQ of the a90j changed my order to the 65 inch a90j.

But I am able to sit six feet away so much different situation.

If you mostly watch SDR and don't geek completely out on HDR highlights, get the a80j, no question about it.

But if you care about mind blowing HDR PQ, get the a90j.

Anyone that tells you any different have them watch Aquaman side by side in a dark environment (to help level the playing field), and there is simply no comparison... The a90j is simply in a league of its own ...

Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

Reactions: 1

catamountalum200

· #5 · Jun 14, 2021

So if i watch alot of hulu with their live tv service and netflix as well as Peacock go with the A80J? All movies and tv are from streaming apps

BillP

· #6 · Jun 14, 2021

^^ As has already been stated, it's a trade-off between the better display (the A90J) and the bigger size. There is a ton of HDR and DV material from those streaming services, which is where the A90J does outshine the A80J. But size matters as well. You don't say how far you will be sitting from the display, so it's impossible to tell you which is the better choice in your case.

Reactions: 1

DoNotLookDown

· #7 · Jun 17, 2021

tonydeluce said:
I originally ordered the 77 inch a80j but when I saw the HDR PQ of the a90j changed my order to the 65 inch a90j.

But I am able to sit six feet away so much different situation.

If you mostly watch SDR and don't geek completely out on HDR highlights, get the a80j, no question about it.

But if you care about mind blowing HDR PQ, get the a90j.

Anyone that tells you any different have them watch Aquaman side by side in a dark environment (to help level the playing field), and there is simply no comparison... The a90j is simply in a league of its own ...

Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

I'm currently debating between these two options as well. I'm about ~8-9 feet from where my display would go and primarily stream TV (at least 75% of the time), with the secondary usage being a mix between movies (also streamed) and gaming (PS5). At this distance and since I'm not doing a ton of HDR movie watching (and when I do, it's typically not from disc), I'm leaning towards the A80J 77", but would be interested to get your two cents. I'm more concerned about overall brightness than HDR specifically (fairly bright living room, though no direct sunlight on the display), and also noticed on KG's comparison that the A80J had more image retention than the 90. Thoughts? Thank you!

Badgerst

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 17, 2021

At 12 feet viewing distance I still remain really torn. And a bit surprised how some on this site say how it’s almost a toss up ref image quality (brightness being approx 15-20 percent higher) on the A90j.

MechanicalMan

· #9 · Jun 17, 2021

Badgerst said:
At 12 feet viewing distance I still remain really torn. And a bit surprised how some on this site say how it’s almost a toss up ref image quality (brightness being approx 15-20 percent higher) on the A90j.

I'm a bit surprised that someone watching from 12' is even considering buying a 65" model that will look exactly the same as a 77" model 99% of the time. That's too far for a 65". This shouldn't be a tough decision at all, IMO.

Reactions: 1

tonydeluce

· #10 · Jun 18, 2021

MechanicalMan said:
I'm a bit surprised that someone watching from 12' is even considering buying a 65" model that will look exactly the same as a 77" model 99% of the time. That's too far for a 65". This shouldn't be a tough decision at all, IMO.

LOL - 99% of the time ;-)

Maybe if you only watch SDR...

Whatever you need to do to justify your purchase.

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vinuneuro

· #11 · Jun 18, 2021

At 12' the 77" A80J should be a no brainer.

Reactions: 2

MechanicalMan

· #12 · Jun 18, 2021

tonydeluce said:
Whatever you need to do to justify your purchase.

I really wish you would start taking that advice. You moved your viewing distance to 6' to downsize to the A90J. Your ridiculous obsession with exaggerating the difference between these models has you recommending the 65" to someone who said that his viewing distance will be 12'. He should be choosing between the 77" A80J and 83" A90J, and if he feels that the 83A90J is more than he can spend, then that leaves the 77A80J. If his viewing distance is inflexible, then he shouldn't be considering any 65" TV. Hopefully he's smart enough not to listen to you.

Reactions: 4

New_to_4K

· #13 · Jun 18, 2021

I saw A80J 77" and A90J 83" side by side today, playing same demo clips. Besides the A90J 83" being slightly bigger (and twice the price), I could not see any difference in Picture Quality. Looked the same.

Reactions: 1

tonydeluce

· #14 · Jun 18, 2021

MechanicalMan said:
I really wish you would start taking that advice. You moved your viewing distance to 6' to downsize to the A90J. Your ridiculous obsession with exaggerating the difference between these models has you recommending the 65" to someone who said that his viewing distance will be 12'. He should be choosing between the 77" A80J and 83" A90J, and if he feels that the 83A90J is more than he can spend, then that leaves the 77A80J. If his viewing distance is inflexible, then he shouldn't be considering any 65" TV. Hopefully he's smart enough not to listen to you.

Now you are simply making stuff up. Please review my response.

For me personally quality trumps quantity and I bought this set for HDR and I have never seen PQ for such close to the a90j.

Watch a movie Ike Aquaman and many others on the a90j and hold on to your socks!

Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

tonydeluce

· #15 · Jun 18, 2021

New_to_4K said:
I saw A80J 77" and A90J 83" side by side today, playing same demo clips. Besides the A90J 83" being slightly bigger (and twice the price), I could not see any difference in Picture Quality. Looked the same.

You must have posted this same message on half a dozen threads. If you are unable to see a difference, save your money ;-)

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Badgerst

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 21, 2021

MechanicalMan said:
I'm a bit surprised that someone watching from 12' is even considering buying a 65" model that will look exactly the same as a 77" model 99% of the time. That's too far for a 65". This shouldn't be a tough decision at all, IMO.

Noted. And yes, based on living room setup, 12 feet is the set distance.
I am considering the 65 inch A90j because atm, I (and the family), have grown used to our 55” Sony 929 LCD. I look forward to the leap to OLED but am a little concerned ref brightness.
Either will be a nice step up and overall I know bigger is better. Part of me is stuck in the “best current panel on the market“ for the A90j hype and user satisfaction.

Reactions: 1

Ace2377

· #17 · Jun 21, 2021 (Edited)

Badgerst said:
Noted. And yes, based on living room setup, 12 feet is the set distance.
I am considering the 65 inch A90j because atm, I (and the family), have grown used to our 55” Sony 929 LCD. I look forward to the leap to OLED but am a little concerned ref brightness.
Either will be a nice step up and overall I know bigger is better. Part of me is stuck in the “best current panel on the market“ for the A90j hype and user satisfaction.

Of all the things boggling my mind on all of the threads asking for input like this, the one that surprises me more than people saying there is basically no difference between the A80J and A90J is people saying if you sit more than 6' from your display you NEED a 77" or higher tv and it's a no-brainer. I sit a bit more than 9' away (we are measuring where our head is at to the tv, correct?) and I have been rocking an old 52" for just over a decade. And I'm with you, I still feel like it's a decent size for that distance. And if I'm measuring correctly, lol, 9' doesn't feel far away, I feel like I'm pretty close to it. Yes, I'm super excited to make the jump to OLED this year and to a bigger set, but crazy enough I'm still pleasantly satisfied with the picture and size of my 52".

I've been torn myself between the 65A90J and 77A80J, but think I've settled on the 65A90J. My thinking is, if I'm satisfied with the size of the 52", then going to 65" should seem like a significant jump as it is, right? Then add the best PQ possible on top of it, seems like a pretty good scenario to me. Then in several more years if something new and improved quality-wise comes out that I feel the need to get, I can then make another fun jump up in size to 77" and get that. I dunno, seems like reasonable logic to me. 🤷‍♂️

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tonydeluce

· #18 · Jun 21, 2021

Ace2377 said:
Of all the things boggling my mind on all of the threads asking for input like this, the one that surprises me more than people saying there is basically no difference between the A80J and A90J is people saying if you sit more than 6' from your display you NEED a 77" or higher tv and it's a no-brainer. I sit a bit more than 9' away (we are measuring where our head is at to the tv, correct?) and I have been rocking an old 52" for just over a decade. And I'm with you, I still feel like it's a decent size for that distance. And if I'm measuring correctly, lol, 9' doesn't feel far away, I feel like I'm pretty close to it. Yes, I'm super excited to make the jump to OLED this year and to a bigger set, but crazy enough I'm still pleasantly satisfied with the picture and size of my 52".

I've been torn myself between the 65A90J and 77A80J, but think I've settled on the 65A90J. My thinking is, if I'm satisfied with the size of the 52", then going to 65" should seem like a significant jump as it is, right? Then add the best PQ possible on top of it, seems like a pretty good scenario to me. Then in several more years if something new and improved quality-wise comes out that I feel the need to get, I can then make another fun jump up in size to 77" and get that. I dunno, seems like reasonable logic to me.

^^^ This

Sound logic.

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gorman42

· #19 · Jun 21, 2021

At 12" I would go 77" with no hesitation. While I do not dispute that in several scenes A90J will look better (a bit, a lot... let's just settle on better), in all scenes 77" will give you a much more cinematic feeling from whatever you'll be watching.

Edit: speaking with my wallet, I could have bought an A90J in 65" for the same money I got the 77C1 I'll be receiving tomorrow. I chose 77". And I sit at 10 feet (slightly less, probably, more 9.5).

Reactions: 2

craiglc15

· #20 · Jun 21, 2021

Badgerst said:
Noted. And yes, based on living room setup, 12 feet is the set distance.
I am considering the 65 inch A90j because atm, I (and the family), have grown used to our 55” Sony 929 LCD. I look forward to the leap to OLED but am a little concerned ref brightness.
Either will be a nice step up and overall I know bigger is better. Part of me is stuck in the “best current panel on the market“ for the A90j hype and user satisfaction.

I sit around 11-12 feet away and purchased the 77 a80j. The picture quality is amazing, and the immersion factor is very high. I think I would miss out on seeing many of the finer details of a 4K picture if the TV was only 65. Also, many of the best blockbuster movies are shot in cinemascope with large black bars on the top and bottom, which further reduces screen size. Imagine trying to make out small details in a landscape shot from a movie like Lord of the Rings.

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