Behind Sony TV’s Expensive Tag: Quality vs. Samsung & LG

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The other day you found yourself in BestBuy’s electronics section staring at their endless TV options.

Hundreds of TV brands seem to boast the same features: a 4K pictures resolution, stellar surround sound, and a low input mode.

However, you notice that out of all these brands, Sony TVs seem to be some of the most expensive. 

At a glance, Sony TVs look no different than their cheaper counterparts, so why do they come at such high price points? 

Keep reading to find out! 

1. Branding

There’s no doubt that Sony has carefully branded itself as a high-quality and internationally trusted brand.

They promise that all of their electronics, from soundbars to TVs, are not only high-quality but long-lasting, ensuring their customer’s money is well-spent. This makes Sony TVs seem like a thoughtful investment, instead of a worthless splurge. 

Sony also brands itself as the leading 3D entertainment brand, and after researching their numerous 3D electronics, it’s hard to disagree with them.

Not only does Sony sell TVs, but they also sell soundbars, speakers, and more! This means that you can create a premium 3D entertainment system using only high-quality Sony products, ensuring all devices are compatible with each other and work seamlessly together. 

Sony often highlights their stun-worthy picture quality, claiming their TV’s color and hue range is off the charts! Since Sony is already a well-known and trusted brand, most consumers are inclined to believe their big promises since they have a reputation for living up to high expectations. 

Like most big cooperations, Sony is made up of several smaller brands. However, it made the wise choice to label all its products with the same name, unifying the brand as a top-quality manufacturer of electronics. 

To ensure that everyone knows about Sony, it also spends generous amounts of money on advertising, making sure that anyone browsing an electronics store will have “Sony” on the mind. 

Naturally, advertising and branding can become quite expensive, so Sony must raise the cost of its TVs to cover all their expenses and turn a profit. And since most consumers see Sony as the be-all and end-all of high-quality TVs, they’re willing to pay this high price. 

2. High-Quality TVs with BRAVIA Technology 

Sony’s branding isn’t the only top-notch quality warranting its high price point. 

It’s hard to disagree that Sony makes incredible TVs with BRAVIA technology, allowing their TVs to be clearer, thinner, and faster than ever before. BRAVIA technology is specific to Sony, making them stand out against the crowd.

When looking for TVs, there are two main areas of focus: audio and video processing technology. 

Let’s look at how Sony stacks up in these two categories and how they contribute to its price point. 

Better Audio 

Sony TVs’ audio is unmatched thanks to their Acoustic Surface technology. This futuristic technology plays audio from the TV screen, allowing even the thinnest TVs to have amazing built-in sound systems. 

Most modern flatscreen TVs’ audio is lower-quality since the TV does not have enough space to fit multiple speakers into it, prompting many consumers to purchase external sound systems. 

However, Sony’s Acoustic Surface technology ensures your TV will have incredible stand-alone sound, making the addition of speakers or a soundbar a choice rather than a necessity. 

This makes Sony TVs’ high cost well worth it since you won’t need to buy any external devices to make them functional. 

On the other hand, Samsung’s crowning glory is its Symphony Sound technology, which uses an external HDMI ARC soundbar. While this soundbar is effective at delivering high-quality sound, it means that the TV’s audio is not strong enough to stand alone. 

LG TVs’ audio varies widely depending on the TV model, with more expensive TVs using AI Acoustic Tuning to adjust the audio according to your environment.

However, if your LG TV does not have this function, it may feature Dolby Atmos, which has proven to deliver incredible surround sound audio that brings movies to life. 

Still, neither Samsung nor LG’s audio compares to Sony’s intricate and advanced speaker system that allows the TV to be paper thin and still deliver in the sound department. 

Better Picture and Video Processing Technology

First and foremost, Sony TVs are fitted with awe-worthy resolution upscaling tech which guarantees a crystal clear picture with an incredible color range. This means that things like sunsets will look more life-like than ever since the screen can produce enough hues to create a smooth gradient. 

Another thing that makes Sony TVs superior (and consequently more expensive) to other TV brands is the ability to install more free apps on them.

While other smart TV’s app stores can be limited, Sony allows users to install virtually any app they want, ensuring you won’t miss out on your favorite streaming platform. 

Additionally, adding apps on your Sony TV couldn’t be easier, so you don’t have to be a techie to understand how it works. 

Some older Sony TVs are fitted with Android TV, which allows you to adjust the settings to make it ad-free. However, all of Sony’s newer TVs have Google TV, which includes ads in the form of recommended TV shows and movies on the home screen.

Luckily, you can simply scroll past them, and they may even suggest something that tickles your fancy! 

The good news is that Sony TVs don’t have any pop-up ads, so your viewing or scrolling won’t be interrupted by an unskippable promotion. 

Another pro of Google TV is that it comes with built-in Google Chromecast, allowing users to seamlessly cast content or mirror their phone’s screen directly to their TV and eliminating the need to purchase and connected a Chromecast device. Everything you need is already built into the TV’s software! 

Sony vs. Samsung 

Both Sony and Samsung have brag-worthy OLED (Organic Light-Emitted Diode) displays, which are still somewhat superior to QLED (Quantum dot LED) displays in that they have better black levels and facilitate greater contrast levels, making the colors on-screen vivid. 

However, Sony’s OLED TVs rival Samsung in that their color profile is unmatched. While to an untrained eye, the two brands may seem to deliver similar screen, further inspection will reveal that Sony OLED’s picture resolution and quality is truly unmatched and warrants its high price point. 

Additionally, while Samsung TVs have HDR10+, which is great for gaming, Sony TVs have Dolby Vision which fosters even higher contrast levels and intensifies the picture’s shadows like no other. 

Sony TVs’ picture saturation also stands out thanks to their skillfully crafted picture engines. 

Lastly, Samsung makes several moderately priced QLED TVs. Although QLED TVs are cheaper, are brighter, and come in a variety of screen sizes, their pixel refresh rate is slower than that of OLED TVs, resulting in a higher refresh rate when gaming. 

OLED TVs, on the other hand, can replicate colors more precisely, making the images on-screen look more life-like and have higher refresh rates that make for a smooth gaming experience. 

Sony vs. LG

LG also makes OLED TVs, but they don’t hold a candle to the high-quality TVs that Sony produces. Sony TVs have an overall better saturation and contrast, which makes your favorite movies pop on-screen. 

Sony TV’s colors are also smoother. Think of how large black areas on-screen can look slightly green in places due to poor color uniformity. You won’t have this problem on Sony TVs since their black levels are dark and uniform, making space movies look incredible. LG TVs also don’t get as bright as Sony TVs do, which can make daytime television watching a challenging feat. 

This is due to Sony’s X1 Extreme Processor, which produces high-contrast images quickly and efficiently. LG’s alpha9 Gen 4 AI automatically adjusts the image settings according to its environment, and while the image is usually passable, it never gets as bright or realistic as Sony’s. 

3. Premium Pricing Marketing Strategies

Since Sony markets itself as a high-end electronics brand and has the image and audio processing technology to match, its prices are reflective of its high quality. 

Sony also develops so many different electronics, ranging from entertainment systems to home security systems, that they’ve grown a fiercely loyal audience that believes Sony’s products are high-quality and long-lasting. This, coupled with their high prices, produces the idea that Sony is a high-end brand that’s worth every cent, especially if you’re looking for a worthwhile investment. 

This premium marketing strategy can easily be compared to Apple’s branding. Apple products are usually several times more expensive than their competitors, but they’ve amassed a huge client base that spreads the word that their electronics are worth every cent and last longer than their competitors’. 

Still, Sony is careful to not make their products overpriced in comparison to other brands (e.g. Samsung, LG, etc.) so that consumers believe they’re only paying a premium rate rather than an exorbitant one. 

4. Outstanding Customer Services

Last but not least, Sony has a fantastic reputation for its amazing customer service. Their warranties cover a wide range of mishaps, ensuring your investment won’t go to waste if anything goes wrong. 

One customer even recounted how Sony sent him a new TV for free when his old one broke, his warranty expired, and Sony didn’t have the proper replacement pieces. While most brands would simply kick their customers to the curb as soon as the warranty expires, Sony ensures they’ll stay loyal by lending them a helping hand and not forcing them to purchase a new TV. 

So, if your Sony TV suddenly stops working, you know their dedicated customer support agents will quickly and efficiently find a solution for you! 

Verdict

There’s no way around it: Sony TVs can be expensive. But their high price point isn’t unwarranted. 

Sony spends a lot of money on branding their TVs as high-end, worthwhile investments that will blow you away with their out-of-this-world picture and audio quality. 

Although Samsung and LG both make high-quality TVs, their video contrast, saturation, and pixel refresh rates do not compare to those of Sony TVs.

Additionally, Sony employs premium marketing strategies that are successful due to their loyal client base. Most people browsing any electronics store are bound to consider Sony to be one of, if not the best, brands available. And if they can afford it, they’ll consider purchasing one of their products. 

Finally, Sony’s customer service is unmatched since their agents will help users fix their TVs or even replace them for free while other brands will encourage them to simply buy a new model. 

So, there you have it. Sony TVs are expensive but for a good reason. They’re a long-term investment that will elevate your entertainment and gaming setup, and in the eyes of most of their customers, are worth every penny. 

What’s your experience using a Sony TV? Do you think Sony makes better TVs than other notable brands? If so, why? 

Let us know in the comments below! 

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