Head to head
TCL QM8L 85-inch vs Sony BRAVIA 8 II 65-inch
The same premium-tier budget buys either a giant 85-inch Mini-LED or a reference-grade 65-inch QD-OLED. The deciding factor is screen size and room light versus picture refinement.
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These two sit in the same price tier but answer different questions. The TCL is 20 inches bigger, far brighter, and built for a room that cannot be darkened. The Sony is the most refined picture in the catalog, with perfect OLED blacks and Sony's processing. The one question that decides it: does your seating distance call for 85 inches, or does a 65 already fill your view?
| Spec | Sony BRAVIA 8 II 65-inch QD-OLED (K-65XR80M2) Reference movie watching, Sony and PlayStation households View on Amazon | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Big bright rooms, sports and HDR movies | Reference movie watching, Sony and PlayStation households |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Screen size | 85 in | 65 in |
| Panel | SQD Mini-LED QLED (VA), up to 4,000 zones | QD-OLED |
| Peak HDR brightness | 2,000 nits in Filmmaker Mode, 4,000+ in Standard | About 1,500 to 1,800 nits (10% window) |
| Refresh | 4K 144 Hz | 4K 120 Hz |
| HDMI 2.1 inputs | 4 (all 4K144) | 2 of 4, one shared with eARC |
| HDR formats | Dolby Vision, HDR10+ | Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced |
| Platform | Google TV | Google TV |
Pick the TCL QM8L 85-inch if
- You sit 10 feet or more from the screen and want a projector-sized image without a projector.
- The room is bright, or used for daytime sports.
- You have several HDMI 2.1 sources; all four TCL inputs are full bandwidth.
Pick the Sony BRAVIA 8 if
- You sit within about 8 to 9 feet, where 65 inches already gives a cinematic field of view.
- The room can be darkened and you want perfect blacks with no blooming.
- Motion clarity and processing matter more to you than size or brightness.
Verdict
Buy the TCL QM8L if size is the goal; at 85 inches and well over 2,000 nits it is the catalog's answer to a projector in a room you cannot darken, and its thousands of dimming zones keep blooming low. Buy the Sony BRAVIA 8 II if your seats are close enough that 65 inches fills the view, because in a dim room its picture is the more refined of the two. The exception is mounting: the TCL is heavy and deep, so check the wall and budget for a mount rated well above its weight.
Common questions
- Is 85 inches too big?
- Not if you sit about 10 to 12 feet away, where 85 inches lands in the roughly 30 degree field of view most standards recommend. Run your distance through the TV size calculator before deciding.
- Which has the better picture?
- In a dark room, the Sony: OLED's per-pixel light means perfect blacks and better motion. In a bright room, the TCL, which is several times brighter and has an anti-reflective wide-angle filter.
- Which is better for gaming?
- The TCL, on ports: four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs at up to 144 Hz against the Sony's two at 120 Hz.