Big Picture Big Sound

At CES in Las Vegas earlier this week, Sony announced their new products and go-to-market strategies for 2008. And although they could have taken the opportunity to revel in the news of Warner's exclusive support of Blu-ray, Sony executives chose the high road instead, with just a few choice words on the subject. Always a gentleman, Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer said only "we're all feeling a little Blu today."

As for specific product news, Sony executives announced that they will be discontinuing their SXRD rear projection line, but keeping their front projection models. And they'll be moving full speed ahead on development of flat panels with both enhanced LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) models and new OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) designs.

To this end, Sony introduced seventeen new models in their BRAVIA line of LCD televisions, ten of which feature full HD 1080p resolution. Models include smaller 32-inch and 37-inch entries in the XBR series with their elegant floating glass bezel and advanced Motionflow™ 120 Hz video processing. Motionflow processing is also being extended to more affordable models in the 40-inch and over size ranges. Full model pricing, features and availability is available in the press release below.

In the OLED department, Sony announced and displayed their first commercially available OLED display - the XEL-1, which will begin shipping later this month. It's an 11-inch diagonal wafer-thin OLED TV which will sell for $2500. When I say the new XEL-1 TV is "wafer-thin" I mean just that - the panel is actually only 3mm thick, a little over 1/10 of an inch.

Sony also had on display a 27-inch prototype OLED model but with no details on pricing or availability. Like plasma technology, the OLED panels are self-illuminated, meaning they're capable of better blacks and better contrast than LCD models - the XEL-1's spec sheet lists its contrast at a whopping 1,000,000:1. The OLED's picture looked mighty impressive but an 11-inch screen isn't going to be replacing the ones in most living rooms just yet. It will be interesting to see how far (and how big) Sony can take this technology.



Full HD? Meet Extreme HD

Another impressive technological demonstration in the Sony booth was a prototype 82-inch LCD TV which featured a native resolution four times more detailed than Full HD 1080p - a full 4096x2160 pixels, aka "4K resolution" Driven with 4K content from a hard-drive based source, demo clips featuring cityscapes of New York City and nature scenes looked crisp and clean with a "you are there" realism not normally seen on consumer televisions. As screen sizes get larger and larger, panels with resolutions higher than 1080p will become more common and the need for high quality up-scaling circuitry will become even greater.

And in the "Just for Fun" department...

On the more whimsical side, Sony introduced the US launch of Rolly - a uniquely styled MP3 player that literally dances to its own beat. The roughly egg-shaped device includes built-in speakers and wrap-around circular treads. Push its button once and it begins playing music like a compact little boombox. Press it again and it starts waving around its appendages (speaker flaps, etc.) and rolling around a small area of the floor.

You can let the let the Rolly do its own thing by analyzing the musical content and coming up with its own dance moves or you can use the included software to pre-program it for specific moves timed to specific songs. I've never seen anything quite like it and think it could be a very popular item with kids. To see it in action, click here (warning - large file!).

Full press release on Sony's newest Bravia LCD flat panel HDTV models follows below:

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SONY BOLSTERS BRAVIA FLAT-PANEL LCD LINE WITH 17 NEW MODELS

Slim Bezels and 3D Graphical User Interface Highlight New Features

LAS VEGAS (CES BOOTH # 14200), Jan. 6, 2008 - Sony today introduced 17 new BRAVIA® flat-panel LCD high-definition televisions at the International Consumer Electronics Show, bolstering the company’s industry-leading LCD HDTV line.

The new line features several models with slim bezels and thin depth, along with Sony’s new 3D graphic user interface. Many of the models also have the ability to access video and music from portable media devices like compatible Walkman® and iPod® players via Digital Media Port (DMP) accessories, which are sold separately. Additionally, certain models can display digital photos and play digital music from Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant and USB devices.

"With features like BRAVIA Internet Video Link, Digital Media Port, DLNA compatibility and USB input, we are offering a host of entertainment solutions that allow access to Internet videos, digital photos and music from a variety of devices," said Jeff Goldstein, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ television group.

With Sony’s Digital Media Extender (DMeX ) technology seamlessly integrated throughout the line, new features from various add-on modules expand functionality over the lifetime of the sets.

The first of these is the currently available BRAVIA Internet Video Link module, which allows you to view select streaming Internet video, including high-definition content, on a BRAVIA HDTV. Future BRAVIA Internet Video Link content providers include CBS and FEARnet - which were announced today - along with existing providers like Yahoo!, AOL, Crackle, CondéNet, Sports Illustrated, blip.tv and Sony Pictures.

Z-Series

With an elegant slim bezel, the full HD 1080p 40-inch KDL-40Z4100 and 46-inch KDL-46Z4100 models (all measured diagonally) feature the new BRAVIA Engine™ 2, Motionflow 120Hz high frame rate technology, x.v.Color, WCG-CCFL backlight with ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuitry) and 10-bit processing with a 10-bit panel. Both models are also DMeX and DMP compatible, while offering the USB digital music and photo player.

Motionflow creates 60 unique frames between each of the existing 60 frames, doubling the frames displayed per second in real-time, further improving images for fast action sports and other programming. The technology dramatically eliminates motion artifacts ("judder") while watching content filmed at 24 frames-per-second. While watching DVDs, broadcast movies or prime-time television shows, you can enjoy all the fast-moving detail.

Enhancing the BRAVIA picture further is x.v.Color compatibility. This technology expands the potential color data range of video by about 1.8 times, resulting in the display of more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. This complements Sony’s HD camcorder models, which capture color range beyond what broadcasters currently deliver.

The new televisions also include Sony’s BRAVIA® Sync™ one-button command, which integrates the operation of the TV with supporting external components connected via an HDMI™ input. Through a simple click of the remote, you can easily view a Blu-ray Disc™ movie, listen to surround sound audio via an AV receiver, and control other components like a Sony Handycam® camcorder -- all over a single HDMI cable (sold separately) connection.

Inputs include four 1080/60 24p HDMI connections (HDCP), two 1080/60p component inputs, and a 1080/60p PC input.

The Z-series models are also compliant with the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) specification, so they can display digital photos from PCs and other DLNA-enabled products.

W-Series

The full HD 1080p 120Hz W-series includes the 52-inch KDL-52W4100, 46-inch KDL-46W4100 and 40-inch KDL-40W4100 models. The models feature the new 3D graphic interface, BRAVIA Sync and DMeX compatibility. Motionflow 120Hz high frame rate technology has also been added to the new W-series models.

The models include the USB photo and music player, four 1080/60 24p HDMI inputs (HDCP), two 1080/60p component inputs and a 1080/60p PC input.

V-Series

The 1080p entry-level V-series includes the 52-inch KDL-52V4100, 46-inch KDL-46V4100 and 40-inch KDL-40V4100 models. Features include 3D graphic user interface, DMeX compatibility, and BRAVIA Sync.

The models include the USB photo and music player, four 1080/60 24p HDMI inputs (HDCP), two 1080/60p component inputs and a 1080/60p PC input.

XBR6-Series

Sony also announced small size XBR6 series models, offering full HD 1080p resolution in new 37-inch and 32-inch screen sizes. The KDL-37XBR6 and KDL-32XBR6 models have a new industrial design and deliver such advanced features as the new 3D graphic interface and DMeX compatibility.

N-Series

Sony’s premium N-series was designed with audio in mind. The new model offers 37, 32, and 26-inch screen sizes and features a slick cosmetic design that can complement PlayStation 3® and other gaming consoles. In addition to delivering 720p HD resolution, the KDL-37N4000 and KDL-32N4000 models feature integrated 5.1 audio, while the KDL-26N4000 unit offers integrated 3.1 audio with a subwoofer built into the stand and matching full-range speakers. The models also have DMP compatibility for matching with portable music devices.

M-Series

There are four new models in Sony’s entry-level M-series with screen sizes of 19, 26, 32, and 37 inches. They offer high-definition picture quality at attractive prices. The KDL-26M4000, KDL-32M4000 and KDL-37M4000 models all feature 720p HD resolution.  The 19-inch KDL-19M4000 unit offers a 1440 x 900 progressive screen resolution. It features an HDMI, component and PC input, while the other M-series models offer two HDMI and component inputs along with a PC input.

All of the new BRAVIA models ship this spring. They will be offered direct at sonystyle.com and at Sony Style retail stores nationwide, as well at military base exchanges and at authorized Sony dealers across the country.