Sony has a substitute for its present flagship QD-OLED TV, the extraordinarily well-received A95L. That’s the mannequin that was topped “King of TV” eventually yr’s Worth Electronics TV Shootout, which Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel served on the judging panel for.
The brand new mannequin is known as the Bravia 8 II. Sony claims that it has 125 % the height brightness of the A95L and 150 % of final yr’s Bravia 8, which is able to stay on sale as an OLED-but-not-QD possibility. It has the same design to the A95L, and Sony even says it’ll be cheaper — although pricing data gained’t be shared till later in spring.
The guiding mission of the Bravia lineup, based on Sony, is to ship essentially the most genuine cinema expertise potential in the lounge. Yosuke Nakano, from the corporate’s product planning division, claims the Bravia 8 II has the “most devoted copy of the skilled monitor look of any TV within the trade.”
To that finish, at a current demonstration session at its Tokyo headquarters, Sony put the Bravia 8 II up towards the A95L, Samsung’s S95D, and LG’s G4, together with much more formidable competitors: Sony’s personal BVM-HX3110 reference monitor, which you’d usually discover on film units and studios for essentially the most correct HDR coloration grading potential.
For those who haven’t seen one among these in particular person earlier than, I form of suggest not looking for one out, as a result of it can destroy all different screens for you. It prices almost $40,000 and has 4,000 nits peak brightness. It appears completely uncontrolled, and I’d dearly like to have one on my desk.
That’s what Sony is taking pictures for with the Bravia 8 II. Does it get there? Properly, no. The BVM-HX3110’s larger brightness offers HDR footage an virtually surreal look due to its finer management over distinction. However in every TV’s filmmaker mode, which is meant to ship essentially the most correct coloration potential, Sony acquired a lot nearer than Samsung or LG. Because the proprietor of a few LG OLEDs myself, I used to be truly just a little stunned at how washed out and green-tinted the G4 tended to look compared.
Now, Sony gained’t have chosen demo footage which may journey up its personal shows, and it’s additionally at an apparent benefit with regards to emulating the colour copy of the BVM-HX3110. However Sony actually is the market chief for reference screens by a ways, so that also looks like a good and related goal. I’d not be shocked if the Bravia 8 II seems to be one other winner by “King of TV” metrics.
Sony can be updating a number of different merchandise in its residence theater vary. The Bravia 5 rounds out Sony’s lineup by bringing Mini LED backlighting to the midrange — it’s changing the X90L, which makes use of full-array native dimming somewhat than Mini LED, and consequently Sony says the Bravia 5 has as much as six instances extra dimming zones. This line is available in sizes from 55 to 98 inches, the higher finish of which is bigger than any OLED Sony sells.
Sony confirmed off the Bravia 5 towards the X90L in addition to Samsung’s QN85D “QLED” set. Additionally a part of this demonstration was the BVM-HX310 reference monitor, which has similarities to the BVM-HX3110 however “solely” reaches 1,000 nits peak brightness.
The Bravia 5’s management over backlighting and blooming was clearly higher than its predecessor, and it a extra strong answer than Samsung’s as effectively. Sony additionally made some extent of demonstrating its AI noise discount function, which is the form of factor I’d usually run away from however should admit was fairly spectacular — it did a very good job of cleansing up previous footage from Buddies and Residence Alone in actual time.
Unsurprisingly, the Bravia 5 couldn’t come near the BVM-HX310, since Mini LED nonetheless suffers compared to OLED with regards to blooming and viewing angles. It additionally gained’t match the Bravia 7, which is staying within the lineup and gives one hundred pc the brightness and 25 % extra dimming zones. However at the very least on this demonstration, the Bravia 5 made essentially the most convincing try to breed colours and distinction in addition to you could possibly fairly anticipate from a mid-range Mini LED TV.
Sony can be introducing a brand new entry-level TV for the US, considerably confusingly known as the Bravia 2 II; the unique Bravia 2 wasn’t truly offered within the US earlier than. It is a pretty normal LED TV that is available in sizes from 43 to 77 inches, however you’ll get comparable picture processing and software program integration to the remainder of Sony’s Bravia vary.
For those who’re extra of a projector particular person, Sony is including the brand new Bravia Projector 7 to its vary, becoming a member of the higher-end 8 and 9 fashions. The Projector 7 is fairly near them spec-wise, reaching 2,200 nits in brightness and supporting 4K 120Hz. One distinction is that the 7 has a “normal” lens, not the “superior crisp-focused” optics seen within the 8 and 9.
The Bravia Projector 7 is changing the well-reviewed VPL-XW5000ES, which is a $6,000 projector, so though that is an entry-level product it’s an entry to a really costly class. Nonetheless, it did look spectacular in a demo towards its closest competitors from JVC, so I’d anticipate this to be a robust possibility for individuals contemplating a house theater setup.
Lastly, Sony is introducing some new audio choices to combine with its Bravia TVs. The Bravia Theater Bar 6 is a 3.1.2 soundbar with upward-firing audio system, the Bravia Theater System 6 is a 5.1 setup-in-a-box with a much less succesful soundbar, and the Bravia Theater Rear 8 is a pair of wi-fi rear audio system. All of those merchandise might be paired to Bravia TVs and managed with the Bravia Join cell app.
As talked about, Sony doesn’t but have pricing particulars for any of its new Bravia merchandise — that’ll come someday this spring.
