OLED televisions have rapidly grown in popularity thanks to their stunning picture quality and ultra-thin form factors. With deep blacks and vibrant colors, they have become highly coveted by home theater enthusiasts. Sony is a venerable brand known for premium electronics, so it‘s no surprise they now offer OLED TV models that promise an exceptional viewing experience.
However, while enticing at first glance, Sony OLEDs also come with some significant drawbacks buyers should consider before taking the plunge. From more affordable alternatives to technical compromises, there are good reasons why a Sony OLED may not be the right fit for your needs and budget. Let‘s explore why you may want to avoid Sony‘s lineup of organic light-emitting diode televisions.
1. Prohibitively High Cost
The most obvious reason to avoid a Sony OLED TV is its premium price point that puts it out of reach for many buyers. While all OLED sets demand a higher cost than traditional LCD/LED televisions, Sony‘s models take that to the extreme.
For example, their A95K flagship 77-inch model costs a staggering $6,999 MSRP. Even scaled down 55-inch and 65-inch sizes still demand $2,999 and $3,999 respectively. Compared to mid-range offerings from Vizio, Hisense and TCL priced below $1,000, that difference is hard to justify for many.
Analyzing cost per inch also reveals how disproportionately expensive Sony OLEDs have become. The 77-inch A95K translates to over $90 per diagonal inch. More affordable OLED alternatives land closer to $40-$60 per inch — almost half the cost. While Sony promises best-in-class performance, that huge price premium limits the value proposition.
2. Dim Screen Brightness
One technical compromise that Sony OLEDs exhibit is lower peak brightness compared to LED/LCD televisions. While OLED is renowned for perfect black levels, they achieve less luminosity than modern quantum dot and mini-LED backlit models. This becomes especially apparent displaying high dynamic range (HDR) content.
Sony‘s OLED panel brightness measures around 800 nits peak, compared to some LCD TVs now achieving 2,000-4,000 nits for optimized HDR highlights. So bright spectacle scenes don’t quite dazzle as they should. Adding insult, Sony lags slightly behind competitor OLEDs from LG in terms of max luminance. LG‘s latest G2 series claims 20% higher brightness than standard OLED panels.
With HDR rapidly becoming a baseline video standard, it’s worth considering displays that excel presenting that vivid color and contrast. Sony OLEDs fall short there compared to higher-specced LED televisions. Their processing partly makes up for it through tone mapping magic, but at an ultra-premium cost.
3. Narrow Optimal Viewing Angles
While revolutionary in picture quality, current OLED technology still suffers from narrow optimal viewing angles compared to LED TVs. This means the image fidelity Sony OLEDs offer directly in front of the screen diminishes significantly when viewed from off-axis positions.
How do they fall short? Severe color shifts occur when viewed more than 30 degrees off-center, along with black levels appearing more elevated. This makes it impractical for larger rooms where seating arrangements vary widely, forcing viewers to constrain themselves central to the OLED panel. Otherwise the picture splendor Sony advertises quickly falls apart.
For buyers thinking of wall-mounting their shiny new OLED TV, this might prove disappointing down the road. The narrow sweet spot also creates headaches for open-concept spaces where multiple seating locations make consistent image quality nearly impossible. If you demand flexibility in placement, avoid Sony‘s vivid but finicky OLED lineup.
4. Lack of Dolby Vision HDR Support
One curious omission from every Sony television is native support for Dolby Vision — considered the premiere HDR format on the market today. Instead Sony relies exclusively on the HDR10 platform, with some models adding HDR10+ extensions for extra metadata. However, they ignore the more advanced tone-mapping Dolby Vision HDR employs for optimal color and contrast.
Why does this matter? A vast amount of streaming content and Ultra HD Blu-ray releases rely on Dolby Vision to achieve superior luminance, black levels and specular highlights. Sony TV owners unfortunately miss out showcasing much of this enhanced content to its fullest via widely compatible televisions from the likes of LG, TCL and Vizio.
If your entertainment appetite includes the latest 4K Dolby Vision films and television shows via Netflix, Disney+, iTunes or Ultra HD Blu-ray, a Sony OLED will sell that stunning imagery short. Their processing can’t fully compensate for lacking native support of Dolby‘s platform. For uncompromised HDR viewing, avoid Sony OLEDs and their incomplete standards coverage.
5. Subpar Operating System and Casting Support
Sony also differentiates itself by relying on the Google TV platform to power its smart features and streaming services instead of more refined, mature operating systems. However, this Android-derived OS retains a clunky interface and frustrating quirks other television software has evolved past years ago.
Google TV buries favorite apps across multiple menus rather than presenting a simple quick-launch ribbon for convenience. The universal search feature tries to pull far-flung results from individual isolated apps rather than aggregating them cohesively. And glitchy performance persists switching between apps and inputs compared to the responsiveness rival platforms demonstrate.
Casting content from Apple devices also poses another challenge thanks to Google and Apple disagreements locking Sony out of AirPlay 2 support. That means smoothly beaming videos, music and photos from an iPhone or Mac hits roadblocks compared to most competitor televisions. Instead owners must use inconvenient workarounds to enable compatibility.
These smart TV and casting drawbacks don’t render Sony OLEDs unusable. However, they do detract from the overall experience using them daily compared to cheaper yet smarter alternatives available.
6. Elevated Black Levels
Delving deeper into the technical performance of Sony OLED panels reveals some slight deficiencies producing deep black levels compared to other manufacturers. This metric indicates how closely a display approaches perfect black color — the hallmark that makes OLED so revered.
Lab measurements demonstrate Sony OLED televisions yield around 0.003 to 0.005 cd/m2 black luminance with test patterns. Its rivals LG, Vizio and Panasonic score even lower results closer to 0.001 to 0.003 cd/m2 — essentially pitch black. Why does this matter? Those slightly elevated black levels on Sony models translate into dark scene content appearing more washed out and muted.
Shadow detail that stands out distinctly on an LG C2 OLED may look more flattened, lacking depth and dimension on a pinnacle Sony A95K costing far more. It seems like a minor discrepancy on paper, but creates big differences experiencing dim content like sci-fi films and prestige dramas where nuanced black levels matter greatly.
Considering the stratospheric pricing Sony demands for its OLED televisions, settling for second best black level performance seems unacceptable. This metric shows other manufacturers eking out small but impactful advantages that entry-level buyers also enjoy.
7. Looming Burn-In Risks
All self-luminous OLED televisions exhibit risks of permanent image retention and burn-in to some extent thanks to organic materials wearing unpredictably from cumulative stress. However, real-world burn in remains relatively rare thanks to modern compensation features. Although Sony‘s reliance on LG’s OLED panels means its televisions likely share similar, slightly above average burn-in risks LG has exhibited.
Do Sony‘s models uniquely pose more dangers here? Without access to internal manufacturing data, that is unclear. Although owners widely reporting issues online indicates Sony needs to better optimize their processors to account for OLED drawbacks. Considering cheaper brands seem less prone to burn-in through proper software safeguards, it makes Sony‘s lack of reassurance here concerning.
Until more prolonged field data helps quantify Sony‘s burn-in risk profile, we can only speculate whether their lush visuals will remain intact years later. Considering weaker brands offer comparable 10-year panel guarantees protecting against retention issues, Sony’s silence signals lacking confidence. Another reason to think twice before their premium cost leaves you fearful about image permanence problems.
Key Takeaways: Consider Alternatives Before Buying
Sony produces esteemed electronics that drive the entire industry forward through innovation and quality. Their acumen with OLED televisions deserves praise for helping perfect its tremendous picture fidelity. However, as examined closer here, notable deficiencies exist compromise that overall excellence they strive toward across other Sony products.
Potential Sony OLED buyers would be wise to weigh their personal needs and tolerance for occasional lackluster performance against the cosmic price tags they command. More affordable high-performing solutions exist suiting a wider range of preferences and spaces. Value seekers can find gorgeous OLED imaging at half the cost without the same sting of losing Dolby Vision or reduced viewing angles for guests.
Before committing fully to Sony’s vision for premium home entertainment, run through this checklist of considerations:
- Does ultra-thin OLED imaging matter more than maximum brightness/HDR pop?
- Can you accommodate the narrow 30-degree optimal viewing cone?
- Is Dolby Vision missing a dealbreaker losing that enhanced color and contrast?
- Will interface lag and casting quirks affect your TV satisfaction?
- Can you justify spending over $90 per diagonal inch on a TV model?
- Does Sony’s murky stance on burn-in risks cause concern?
If several boxes remain checked here, diving into Sony’s OLED pool makes less sense over more well-rounded and affordable LED/LCD televisions. Value shoppers also find comparable OLED thrills meeting their needs from alternatives like the LG C2 or Vizio OLED lineup costing thousands less.
Evaluate your personal priorities, room dynamics and budget when considering Sony’s reasons to avoid their highly touted but occasionally compromised OLED offerings. Their vivid picture promises may dazzle but lose luster examining finer details most buyers shouldn‘t compromise. Hopefully this deep dive analysis helps steer you toward satisfaction enjoying both thrilling visuals and long-lasting performance.
