Our Verdict
This TV is very good for mixed usage. It has decent reflection handling and can get bright enough to be placed in average lit rooms. It has deep blacks that enhance the good picture quality, but the viewing angles are poor and those viewing from the side will be disappointed.
- Deep and uniform dark scenes
- Excellent motion handling
- Supports a wide color gamut
- Mediocre HDR peak brightness
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle
The Sony XBR60X830F is decent for watching movies. The picture quality is very good and blacks are deep and uniform. However in dark scenes in dark rooms, the absence of local dimming support might annoy some movie enthusiasts.
Very good performance for this Sony X830F on TV shows. Good handling of reflection and great brightness allow you to place in a bright environment like a kitchen. Motion handling is excellent and will please the soap opera effect fans. Viewing angles are poor so you should avoid watching from the side.
The Sony X830F is very good for sports watching. It can get very bright and can handle reflections well so it can be placed in a bright room. Response time is excellent, so you will enjoy the fast-moving action. Some people might notice a little dirty screen effect, but this won't be visible to most.
The Sony X830F is very good for playing video games. It has an excellent low input lag and a very fast response time that make it very responsive. It can handle most common resolution and will keep gamers happy.
The performance when watching HDR movies is mediocre. It has nice deep and uniform blacks but the lack of local dimming support and the mediocre brightness in HDR do not allow highlights to pop and the creator's content is not presented as intended.
Playing HDR games on this Sony XBR-60X830F is very good as it has very low input lag at the 4k @ 60Hz + HDR resolution. The fast response time and the excellent motion handling make the gaming exciting. Unfortunately, when displaying HDR content it does not deliver the content as intended.
The Sony X830F is great for use as a PC monitor. It has very low input lag and excellent motion handling. It is very responsive and will display clear and crisp text as it supports 4:4:4 chroma subsampling. Finally, as it is a VA panel, you do not have to worry about temporary or permanent image retention.
Changelog
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Feb 28, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Jul 17, 2018: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 60" (XBR60X830F). For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 70" (XBR70X830F).
The European variant of the TV is known as the XF8305.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Sony X830F doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | US Model | Alternative Name | UK Model | VESA Mount Size |
| 60" | XBR60X830F | XBR-60X830F | KD-60XF8305 | 300x300 |
| 70" | XBR70X830F | XBR-70X830F | KD-70XF8305 | 400x300 |
Popular TV Comparisons
The Sony X830F is a good pick for both a bright room or a dark room, but the image loses accuracy when viewed at an angle. See our picks below for how it compares to the competition.
The Sony X850E is slightly better than the Sony X830F. The Sony X850E has marginally better reflection handling when placed in a room with many lights and a slightly better native contrast ratio which is good for movies in a dark room. The Sony X830F has a faster response time that leaves a smaller blur trail in fast action.
The Sony X900F is much better than the Sony X830F. The Sony X900F supports local dimming and has a better native contrast ratio which produces deep blacks and thus a better SDR and HDR movie watching experience in a dark room. The Sony X900F also has better peak brightness and better reflection handling which make it more suitable for a bright room. It's also better for gaming as it has marginally better input lag.
If you've got a bright room with wide seating, then the Sony X850F is a better choice due to the IPS panel and the good viewing angles. But for a dark room with seating directly in front, the Sony X830F is better because of the higher native contrast ratio the VA panel has. The Sony X850F also has a lower input lag for those who play video games and somewhat better reflection handling if you place it in a room with many lights. The Sony X830F, on the other hand, has a slightly faster response time, and thus displays less blur on fast-moving content like sports.
The Samsung NU8000 is a bit better than the Sony X830F. The Samsung NU8000 has better native contrast ratio and local dimming support, which produce deep blacks in a dim room and offer you a very good movie and HDR movie experience. The Samsung can also get brighter and can handle reflections slightly better, so it's more suitable than the Sony for a brighter room. Finally, the Samsung NU8000 is better for gaming due to the lower input lag and FreeSync support. The Sony X830F has a faster response time and will leave a smaller blur trail in fast-moving content like sports.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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