Here’s why your next TV should be a Sony AG8 or AG9
Jaw-dropping OLED panels and groundbreaking audio combine to provide a truly cinematic experience
Choosing a new TV is never an easy decision. Every year sees a slew of new models arrive to a fanfare of brain-teasing buzzwords and exciting-sounding acronyms, none of which answer the burning question on everyone’s lips: whether the TV itself is actually any good.
Happily, Sony doesn’t believe in making things difficult. Its AG8 and Master Series AG9 OLED televisions may have a long list of technological highlights, but they’re all there for a purpose. In this instance, it’s to produce the best OLED TVs you can buy.
Here we’ll explain the key technologies that make the AG8 and AG9 the best-looking, best-sounding TVs around – and why your next TV should be a Sony OLED.
What you need to know
Sony’s AG8 and AG9 are 4K HDR OLED TVs, both available in 55in and 65in screen sizes – and the AG9 stretches to an enormous 77in model. Each has 8.5 million pixels that are individually controlled by class-leading picture processors. It’s this level of technological firepower, in conjunction with support for Dolby Vision dynamic metadata HDR, which promises the finest, most accurate images available at any price.
And because great picture quality is only part of the story, the AG8 and AG9 both feature Sony’s extraordinary Acoustic Surface Audio technology. Amazingly, this turns the screen into one giant speaker – so these TVs sound better than any rival while at the same time having no visible speakers whatsoever.
Picture perfection
As befits Sony’s flagship 4K TV, the AG9 is fitted with Sony’s most powerful, most effective picture processor so far. It’s called X1 Ultimate.
X1 Ultimate detects and analyses individual objects within a scene – hundreds at a time, if necessary. It then intelligently enhances contrast, detail and colour for the most vibrant, most realistic images imaginable. Then Pixel Contrast Booster technology weighs in, maximising contrast levels in the brightest scenes. The result is standard-definition and high-definition images that look closer to 4K HDR than ever before, and 4K HDR images that look precisely as they were intended to. Thanks to X1 Ultimate, it’s possible to bring the Hollywood director’s vision into your home, exactly as they intended.
The AG8, meanwhile, utilises the power of Sony’s X1 Extreme processor. This blends three distinct (and fearsomely complicated) technologies to deliver unparalleled contrast and colour accuracy. ‘Object-Based HDR Remapping’, ‘Dual Database’ and ‘Super Bit Mapping’ are all as complicated as they sound, but they combine to produce staggeringly lifelike, absolutely convincing images – which is, after all, what’s important.
The sound of the big screen
Few, if any, OLED TVs produce a scale and clarity of sound that lives up to the pictures. But then most OLED TVs don’t have Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio technology.
This, in effect, turns the entire OLED panel into a speaker, with the screen vibrating to produce a wider, more precise range of frequencies than TV speakers can traditionally muster. No other OLED TV is capable of either the scale of sound the AG8 delivers. And no other screen’s audio system is as effective or as discreet.
No other screen except the AG9, that is. It refines the effect even further, using Acoustic Surface Audio+ to pair all the benefits of the AG8’s system with the added ability to designate the AG9 itself as the centre speaker in a multichannel home cinema setup – perfect for minimising cables and clutter, while highlighting every detail from your favourite movie soundtracks.
Complete control
Sony’s Android TV operating system is running the show on both the AG8 and AG9 models. Clean, logical and straightforward to use, it’s home to a whole world of apps – including streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. The result is that controlling both TVs is refreshingly simple. You can reach for the premium remote handset, or lie back, relax and take advantage of Google Assistant voice control.
Ordinarily, you might expect all this cutting-edge technology to carry an equally substantial price tag. But Sony hasn’t allowed costs to get out of hand: a 55in AG8 OLED TV can be yours for just £1,999. And if you’re fortunate enough to be considering an AG9, Currys will provide free delivery and installation. All you need to do is cue up your favourite movie, sit back and enjoy the show.
