Value Electronics 2025 OLED TV Post Shootout- reaction

[Auditor55]

The results are in, and the Sony Bravia 8 MKII has won the Value Electronics 2025 OLED TV shootout as the best TV of 2025, beating out the Panasonic Z95B, Samsung S95F, and LG G5. It was a tight race, but the Sony Bravia 8 MKII basic won by a photo finish.

I was hoping Sony would lose, but that was wishful thinking on my part. I kind of knew that would be the result. As I said in other threads on this forum, Sony has what is tantamount to home court advantage at the Value Electronics Shootout. Sony TVs, from what I've read, have won the last six V.E. TV Shootouts.

It seems to me, for whatever reason, the outcome is skewed in favor of Sony. Even their latest so-called flagship TV, the Bravia 8 MKII, which many in the OLED TV space viewed as a step back for Sony, still manages to win.

There has been a vociferous backlash against the results of the Value Electronics 2025 OLED display Shootout, and people like me are questioning the process.

Is there a bias in favor of Sony by some of the judges? It's hard to say, but I think there could be, since the shootouts are not blind.

I heard D-Nice speaking about how conducting a blind shootout is just not doable, even though Vincent Teoh of HDTV Test has successfully shown it is indeed doable; if Vincent can do it, so can Value Electronics. I don't buy D-Nice's excuse as to why conducting a display shootout is not doable.

Conducting a blind TV test goes a long way in eliminating bias or what might be perceived as a potential for bias. Blind testing is tried and true and way more scientific than a non-blind test, not just in the A/V space but in other fields as well. It's high time for Value Electronics to start doing bling testing or comparison for their Shootouts.

If we look back on the 2024 Value Electronics shootout, the A95L won; that test was not blind, however, if we compare it to Vincent Teoh's 2024 Blind TV Shootout, the LG G4 won. How is that possible? Two different results for the same TVs.

Who are the judges and what are their backgrounds? That information needs to be made known to the public beforehand. Not just their qualifications (such as ISF-trained calibrators), but their backgrounds, whether or not they've been hired, in the past or present, or worked with any of the manufacturers on the TVs. Every effort should be made to eliminate any bias or perceived bias at those shootouts.

I think some of the judges should be regular consumers, but only if the shootouts are blind to eliminate potential fanboy-type bias, such as brand loyalty or tech loyalty, i.e., WOLED v QD-OLED.

From what I heard, the manufacturers are in attendance at the Value Electronic Shootouts. If that is indeed true, in my opinion, that should never happen. The attendance of the manufacturer at the shootouts can skew the results by placing undue or unnecessary pressure on the judges to score favorably for them. For example, if Sony is there and Sony keeps winning, the perception of bias is there, and people won't trust the results, except those already favorable to Sony, like what we call fanboys.

BTW, the Value Electronic TV Shootout should rightly be referred to as the Value Electronic OLED TV Shootout because at this point, no other display tech (i.e., Mini-LED) is a part of the Shootout; it's all OLED.