Sony Bravia 7 Review: A Solid Choice So Long as You Don't Mind Following the TV's Lead

Sony is pushing its mini-LED TVs hard, harder than 1 mightiness expect erstwhile it has its Bravia 8 OLED TV up for merchantability simultaneously with past year’s A95L QD-OLED. Sony positioned that eventual high-end OLED successful the aforesaid flagship tier alongside the Bravia 9 mini-LED with its unthinkable caller operator technology. OLED is an costly sheet to produce, but that doesn’t mean you person to settee for little erstwhile picking retired your big, costly TV.

The Bravia 7, connected the different hand, is your breadstuff and food 4K QLED TV. It’s not arsenic inexpensive arsenic immoderate of the champion 4K mini-LED TVs you tin buy, but it’s darned good, adjacent if it’s not the brightest connected the block. It starts astatine $1,700 astatine 55 inches and volition acceptable you backmost $3,300 MSRP if you opt for 85 inches.

Sony’s propulsion for mini-LED is subtle and overt passim the latest Bravia line. If you’re getting a Sony TV, you tin get a larger size 4K mini-LED for the aforesaid terms arsenic a smaller OLED. That’s thing we reviewers are much keen to constituent out, but Sony positioned its TVs similarly. That’s wherefore Sony’s pushing the XR Backlight Masterdrive exertion connected the LCDs, thing that’s not determination connected the Bravia 8. TCL is besides making its mini-LED TVs connected par oregon amended than comparative OLED,

Can the Bravia 7 bushed OLED? No, not quite. The Bravia 9 has amended wide quality, but the past clip I looked astatine 1 successful idiosyncratic was backmost successful April. Once you settee for thing person to mid-range, you’ll spot the tiny differences successful colour opposition and however heavy the blacks go. The Bravia 7 is easy 1 of the apical contenders successful the 2024 realm of high-quality 4K QLEDs with immoderate fantabulous HDR settings. Can it lucifer up to QD-OLED? Not quite.

It makes a truly coagulated attempt, though. The blacks are precise adjacent to ink-deep. Watching a movie similar Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse connected the Bravia 7 is simply a dainty with each that impeccable prime of color. Still, it’s not astir arsenic agleam arsenic the Bravia 9, and you’ll spot it if you’ve ever sat agelong capable successful beforehand of Sony’s much costly offerings. An already acheronian movie similar the horrendous Madame Web mightiness lone consciousness a small other muddy. I besides recovered immoderate beauteous large issues with viewing angles that detract from the acquisition if you’re not watching the surface dead-on.

You tin easy comparison the Bravia 7 to the Samsung QN90D 4K QLED successful presumption of wide representation quality, costing hundreds of dollars less. It’s a Google TV, truthful instrumentality that arsenic you will, but Sony inactive has country to turn by fixing its settings menus. It doesn’t play arsenic nicely with non-Sony gaming products arsenic with PlayStation.

Sony Bravia 7 Setup and Usability

Why Can’t We Have More Than One 4K HDMI?

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

The setup connected the Bravia 7 was not excessively antithetic from immoderate different large TV, prevention for the feet that slot into the underside of the display. That’s due to the fact that you tin presumption the feet successful the halfway and sides of the surface if you person a smaller furniture oregon privation much country to spot a soundbar. I rocked and quaked the TV, but everything seemed solid. The Bravia 7 is astir 2.5 inches on the back, truthful see that if you program connected hanging it from your wall.

You’ll archetypal announcement that portion determination are 4 HDMI ports, lone 1 supports 4K astatine 120 Hz eARC/ARC. That’s annoying if you person aggregate crippled consoles oregon players that enactment precocious refresh rates astatine 4K. It besides needs to beryllium said that it’s beauteous irritating that the powerfulness cablegram is connected the different broadside of the TV from its container with 2 USB-A, 4 HDMIs, and ethernet. You astir apt privation to plug everything into the aforesaid outlet, but you mightiness request an hold cablegram conscionable for the TV. The plug successful the container wasn’t astir agelong capable to scope the outlet.

Getting a bully representation prime going is different story. The TV’s default IMAX Enhanced representation mode was good for the astir part, and past Professional was suitable for astir different kinds of content. It takes a batch of effort to find and past crook disconnected the damn question smoothing setting, though, astatine the precise least, you tin pin Picture Settings to the speedy settings paper connected the remote. The Picture & Sound menu. After that, I realized my representation was dipping successful brightness and graininess. I rapidly learned that the automatic ambient airy mounting was heavy nether Ambient Optimization Pro nether the Picture & Sound menu.

Sony likes to instrumentality galore buttons and options successful its menus, but I privation the institution could cleanable up its UI truthful it’s easier to crook disconnected each these unwanted options that greatly interaction the viewing experience. It would besides beryllium bully if you could tune much of these settings with the Bravia Connect app, but each that does is enactment arsenic a secondary distant with immoderate speedy entree to Voice Zoom, representation mode, and brightness settings.

The Sony Bravia 7 isn’t arsenic high-flying arsenic the amazingly bold claims made astir the Bravia 9. They’re some mini-LED 4K televisions, but this year’s flagship Sony TV boasts unthinkable operator exertion and amazingly precocious stated brightness. It’s not rather a lucifer for the champion OLED screens, but it inactive has immoderate fantabulous contrast.

Sony’s basal distant is already bully capable you don’t request the app.Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

It’s a Google TV, which, for each its faults, felt similar an easy, breezy setup aft dealing with the LG QNED 90 T and its frustrating UI. There are a fewer different Sony-exclusive accouterments successful the Sony tab connected the main page, similar PlayStation distant Play connected Android TV and a fewer Bravia how-tos that could beryllium useful.

This TV likes it erstwhile you usage different Sony products with it, like a PlayStation 5. The TV automatically detected it erstwhile plugged into the singular eARC HDMI, and it automatically turned connected the Game Menu and game-specific representation prime options. You tin crook connected settings similar a achromatic equalizer to destruct shadows oregon adhd a crosshair straight successful the mediate of the screen. You tin besides straight spot your existent solution and refresh rates. There’s different enactment for picture-in-picture, successful lawsuit you privation to ticker YouTube astatine the aforesaid clip you play your game. It’s astir apt not the astir important happening for astir people, but it’s useful to cognize it’s there.

Sony Bravia 7 Picture Quality and Sound

Looks Great, But Not From Any Off Angle

There are immoderate evident glare problems connected the Bravia 7 erstwhile nether nonstop light.Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

This TV is not arsenic breathtaking arsenic the large Bravia 9 with its excessive dimming zones and operator technology. Still, Sony says this akin mini-LED TV uses the aforesaid lighting power exertion with less dimming zones, truthful you’re not getting arsenic overmuch colour explanation arsenic you would from the much costly model. Essentially, Sony is saying you’ll get the aforesaid representation prime arsenic its erstwhile flagship X95L from past year, though astatine a fraction of the outgo with a batch much portion power than the erstwhile X90L model.

What immoderate of that means successful signifier is beauteous nebulous, but it’s inactive beauteous bully representation prime for the price. Sony likes to boast your Sony Pictures Core app, and its 4K HDR movies are equivalent to a carnal Blu-ray DVD. I’ve watched some connected the TV, and yes, the 80 Mbps streaming from Core was beauteous damn bully overall, and I didn’t announcement immoderate problematic blooming.

Gaming is arsenic nice, though connected titles similar Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I needed to bump up HDR brightness and achromatic constituent to get the astir of the visuals. That’s with the Black Equalizer successful the Game Menu turned disconnected and connected the Standard mode for visuals. FPS mode greatly increases wide brightness but blooms the colour to a cartoonish degree.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

What you’ll besides find is that the viewing space connected the Bravia 7 isn’t excessively great. Take a fewer steps retired of line, and the representation looks washed out. I was lone 30 to 40 degrees off-center earlier seeing a dip successful representation quality. Another large contented that becomes evident rather rapidly is however reflective the surface tin be. There’s a bully woody of glare during immoderate daytime viewing oregon whenever immoderate lights radiance nearby.

So this TV wants you to beryllium successful cleanable viewing conditions; otherwise, it volition falter. It’s not excessively hard to support your sofa successful a straight-on presumption of the TV, and if you person the dosh for a ample 4K TV, you astir apt person a surviving country abstraction without galore spotlights connected the TV itself. Still, I’ve seen it done amended connected cheaper televisions than the Bravia 7.

The basal speakers connected Sony’s TV are thing to constitute location about. They enactment good enough, but there’s precise small bass, and it lone serves until you tin get a prime dependable strategy oregon dependable bar. Sony advertises that you’ll get an absorbing soundscape with a Bravia Bar 8 oregon 9, wherever the dependable comes from the TV speakers and the barroom simultaneously, though I couldn’t trial that. I besides utilized the Bravia Theater U with Sony’s latest mini-LED, but you tin find a abstracted talker strategy if you privation a prime audio setup.

Despite the Quibbles, the Bravia 7 is simply a Solid Entry successful a Crowded Market

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

There’s nary cleanable TV retired there, but the tract is truthful afloat of bully 4K mini-LEDs that you’ll beryllium min-maxing connected features and price. The Bravia 7 is taking a batch of bully things from the Bravia 9, including a portion of that backlight driver, but I wouldn’t accidental it has overmuch amended prime than the different staples coming retired this year.

If you person enjoyed Sony’s TVs successful the past, you’ll consciousness close astatine location connected this caller beauteous screen. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t store and possibly find the champion deal. It’s not a cleanable TV, but if you play Sony’s crippled (in the lawsuit of the PlayStation, literally), past you’ll person a expansive clip with immoderate fantabulous representation quality. Just don’t expect to scope flagship heights connected what’s inactive an upper-mid-range TV.