Why yes, there is a juicy LG G5 deal for Cyber Monday – but I wouldn’t buy it

The 65-inch LG G5 OLED TV pictured on a wooden rack. On the screen is a still from Netflix F1 series Drive to Survive.

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Netflix (Drive to Survive))

In the past year, I've been involved in the testing of around 50 TVs.

Yes, that's a lot of TVs, and one of my favourites is the LG G5, which employs a fancy new Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel to dazzling effect.

But here's the thing: as much as I like the LG G5, the Sony Bravia 8 II is even better. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's the best TV I've ever tested.

The Bravia 8 II is discounted for Cyber Monday, too. Yes, it's a bit more expensive than the G5 – £1999 at Amazon – but the extra is well worth paying, particularly if you're not going to partner your new TV with a dedicated sound system.

The Bravia 8 II is the successor to the A95L (a TV I love so much, I have one in my own living room), and it's a significant upgrade.

It uses a newer, significantly brighter QD-OLED panel, for starters. Sony doesn't push the brightness as high as LG does with the G5's Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, but it combines the increased brightness with richer colours and Sony's peerless processing to produce an image that's exceptionally punchy and three-dimensional, but still consistent and authentic.

This is a TV that dazzles with bold, stylised content, yet it never strays into the oversaturated, over-processed territory that some rivals occasionally find themselves in. Instead, the Bravia 8 II maintains Sony’s trademark naturalism, delivering that careful balance between vibrancy and subtlety.

Dark-scene performance is especially strong. Gradation is handled with a finesse the G5 doesn’t quite match, producing true OLED blacks and shadow detail that feels layered rather than crushed.

And, as ever with Sony, you barely need to touch the settings. As noted in my original review:

“For a supremely authentic picture, simply pick Dolby Vision Dark for Dolby Vision content or Professional for everything else.

“Should you want a little more pop to proceedings, either because you’re watching in a room with ambient light or simply because you enjoy an even more thrilling delivery, simply switch to Dolby Vision Bright or the Cinema mode.”

Audio is another feather in the Bravia 8 II’s cap. Its Acoustic Surface Audio+ system produces direct, articulate sound with an openness that most OLED rivals – including the LG G5 – simply can't match.

A dedicated sound system will always be the better option (the Sonos Arc Ultra remains an excellent match), but for built-in speakers alone, the Bravia 8 II is unusually capable.

If there’s one caveat, it’s connectivity: Sony still limits you to two HDMI 2.1 sockets (one doubling as the eARC port), whereas LG offers four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs on the G5.

For setups with multiple consoles and an AVR or soundbar, that’s something to consider. But if you have just one games machine or none at all, that won't be an issue.

And that’s ultimately why I’d recommend the Bravia 8 II over the G5: while the LG has more HDMI 2.1 sockets and higher brightness, the Sony delivers a picture and sound experience that simply feels more cinematic, more refined, and more consistently satisfying.

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Tom Parsons has been writing about TV, AV and hi-fi products (not to mention plenty of other 'gadgets' and even cars) for over 15 years. He began his career as What Hi-Fi?'s Staff Writer and is now the TV and AV Editor. In between, he worked as Reviews Editor and then Deputy Editor at Stuff, and over the years has had his work featured in publications such as T3, The Telegraph and Louder. He's also appeared on BBC News, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 and Sky Swipe. In his spare time Tom is a runner and gamer.

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