This Tv to me is a litmus test for whether to trust a reviewer or not. As an owner and someone that tests their sets extensively with just about every setting and type of content imaginable it's clear why this TV is won both major TV shootouts this year. You would have to blindly accept measurements with testing devices with very little expirence to both come to and trust the conclusion that somehow this set is not a more capable TV than the a95l that preceded it. You would have'd to only engaged in the absolute bare minimum of tinkering to come to the conclusion this TV is significantly dimmer than other 2025 TV(perceptually speaking ). The tonemapping and brightness curves vary a lot between these sets and depending on what you're watching there are times the b8ii displays the most impact on the market. Vivid mode is actually watchable for once on a TV, with a few adjustments to color temp and other settings of course. Brightness preffered in gaming mode offers a huge jump in perceived brightness vs gradient, this TV has hands down the most impactful hdr I've ever seen for gaming when you factor in there's almost zero noticeable dimming over time unlike the Samsung s95 or desaturation in the g5 because it's not a qdoled. If you love Sony, this is Sony at it's absolute best, I paid 3 grand for my b8ii and would have been satisfied with it had I paid the even higher price I paid for their Master Series sets.