Sony A80J OLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the Sony 55-inch A80J OLED (XR55A80J) and we expect them to be valid for the 65-inch model (XR65A80J) and the 77-inch model (XR77A80J) as well. These settings should apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which require a few additional changes, listed below.

One of the first things we did was disable Power Saving, as we don't want the TV to adjust the image during testing. From the Picture menu, we also disabled Auto Picture Mode and Light Sensor, as we don't want the picture settings changing during calibration.

For SDR content, there are eight preset Picture Modes. We recommend choosing 'Custom', as it's the most accurate out of the box and allows for the most customization. We recommend leaving the Contrast at '90', Gamma at '0', Black Level at '50', and Peak Luminance at 'High'. For our calibration, Black Adjust and Advanced Contrast Enhancer were disabled, but you should adjust these to your liking.

You should also adjust the Brightness to your specific viewing conditions. Changing the brightness does not have any impact on the overall picture quality.

In the 'Clarity' tab, we left Sharpness at its default value. We also left Reality Creation disabled, but you can enable it when watching lower-resolution content, as it can help to improve the image quality. Random Noise Reduction, Digital Noise Reduction, and Smooth Gradation were also disabled, but they can help improve the image of low-quality videos. However, we don't recommend leaving them enabled, as they can cause a loss of fine details in higher-quality content.

To set HDR so it's automatically enabled, set HDR Mode to 'Auto' in the Video Signal tab. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears in the top corner of the picture settings menu. When HDR is enabled, some of the settings change automatically, including the Brightness, which increases to 'Max.' We recommend using the 'Custom' Picture Mode for HDR, the 'Expert 1' Color Temperature, and leaving the other settings as-is. We also set HDR Tone Mapping to 'Gradation Preferred,' but if you want a brighter image at the expense of accuracy, you can set it to 'Brightness Preferred'.

For HDR to work from external devices, the 'Enhanced Format' option usually has to be enabled from the HDMI Signal Format menu for the input you're using. Older devices may have compatibility issues if this option is enabled, so it's recommended to only enable this setting for devices that require it.

The Sony A80J supports Dolby Vision from native apps and with most external devices. Some devices may require firmware upgrades to work with Sony's Dolby Vision firmware. HDMI ports 3 and 4 (the HDMI 2.1 ports) on the Sony A80J have an 'Enhanced Format (Dolby Vision)' option in the HDMI Signal Format menu, which is new in 2021 and must be enabled for Dolby Vision to work on external devices that support it. As with normal HDR content, when you start playing Dolby Vision content, some settings change automatically. We recommend leaving these settings as-is.

If you find HDR content too dim, set Brightness to 'Max', Adv. Contrast Enhancer to 'High', and Peak Luminance to 'High'. Then adjust the Gamma and Contrast sliders to max, and set HDR Tone Mapping to 'Brightness Preferred.' 

Sony TVs usually feature great, highly customizable motion features, and this TV is no exception. Although we disable most motion settings for most of our tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best for you. Some settings like motion interpolation may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

Although we usually leave these settings disabled during testing, you should adjust the settings in the Motion tab to your liking, as different people prefer different levels of motion interpolation. If you want to enable motion interpolation, set Motionflow to 'Custom,' and adjust the Smoothness slider. Most of these settings will need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

The Clearness slider adjusts the Sony A80J's Black Frame Insertion (BFI) feature. For a 120Hz BFI frequency, set the Clearness slider to '1' or '2'. For a 60Hz frequency, set it to 'Max' (3).

The Sony A80J can remove judder from all sources, but some additional settings are required for some content. For a native 24p signal, like from a Blu-ray player, no additional motion settings are required. To remove judder from external 60p/60i sources, like a cable box, or from native apps, set Motionflow to 'Custom' but leave the sliders at '0', and set Cinemotion to 'High'.

From the base SDR and HDR settings, very few changes are required for a great gaming experience. When you start gaming, it's best to switch to the 'Game' Picture Mode to get the lowest input lag and use the recommended settings for SDR or HDR. For HDR gaming, it's important to make sure that you set HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced Format' for the input you're using. That also enables the ALLM mode, and if you want to enable VRR, set HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced format (VRR)'.

Unlike TVs from most other brands, no special settings are required for PC use on the Sony A80J. Just make sure you are using either the 'Game' or 'Graphics' Picture Mode, and set HDMI Signal Format to 'Enhanced Format' for the input you're using. Both of these modes offer low input lag and display chroma 4:4:4 properly, which is important for text clarity.

Initially introduced with the 2018 Sony MASTER Series TVs, the Z9F and A9F, the Sony A80J also features a Netflix Calibrated Mode. This setting is only available when the native Netflix app is open. Enabling it automatically changes many settings, from picture settings to motion. If you choose to enable it, we recommend leaving all settings as they are, except for Brightness, which should be adjusted to your viewing conditions.

Likewise, there are two additional Picture Modes that become available in native apps that support Dolby Vision. 'Dolby Vision Dark' is meant to optimize Dolby Vision HDR content for dark room viewing, while 'Dolby Vision Bright' is meant to optimize it for brighter lighting conditions.

When watching lower resolution content, the upscaling method may need to be adjusted depending on the specific format. The screen position and aspect ratio can be adjusted from the Screen page on each input.

Although we don't expect this to be an issue for most people, burn-in is a possibility on the A80J. There are a couple of settings you should be aware of to ensure you get the most out of your new TV. These can be found in the Expert Panel Settings menu.

Pixel Shift, as the name describes, shifts the entire image a few pixels to one side and gradually shifts it in a different direction over time. This helps reduce the effects of burn-in from very small elements, like fine lines in a game HUD. We recommend leaving this enabled. The screen shift isn't very noticeable unless you're using the TV as a PC monitor.

The Panel Refresh feature lets you run a complete pixel refresh cycle to reduce the possibility of burn-in. However, Sony recommends only using this option a maximum of once per year.