THE FRONT LINE: JUNE 2008
Sony 2008 Bravia Showcase
Sony chose an eclectic location for its 2008 New York line show, contrasting its trendy LCD TVs against an eclectic interior decorating scheme that could only have been accomplished by a blindfolded shopper in an antiques store.
Figure 1. The press listens with rapt attention as Sony execs hold forth.
Seven new Bravia XBR LCD HDTVs made their debut at the show, and the biggest set in the line got the most attention. Sony’s 70-inch (diagonal) KDL-70XBR7 uses a conventional cold-cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) and is about 5 inches thick. Both it and its smaller sibling (KDL-40XBR7) have expanded color gamut capability, 10-bit signal processing, and Motionflow 120 Hz processing. Four HDMI inputs are standard on XBR 8 and 7-series LCD TVs.
There are also four XBR6-series of LCD TVs in 32-inch, 37-inch, 46-inch, and 52-inch sizes, and all are full 1080p displays. They also have Motionflow 120 Hz processing, support xvYCC color, a full rack of HDMI inputs, and a USB connection for viewing of photos and playback of music files. All of the new sets also support Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) devices through a home network. (No prices were announced for any of the XBR-series TVs, and won’t be until late August.)
Figure 2. 70 inches is a lot of LCD to fit into any room!
Upstairs, Sony showed the cream of the crop - two XBR8-series LCD HDTVs, equipped with Triluminous LED backlights that use local dimming for lower black levels and higher contrast. In the demo, Sony’s 55-inch KDL-55XBR8 was paired off against an “unnamed” current model 50-inch plasma “that begins with a P.”
Results? The LCD black levels were really deep and colors popped off the screen. The “unnamed” plasma was later determined to be a Pioneer model, but apparently not from the KURO line, as its black levels were too high (and maybe set that way). The 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 also uses Triluminous backlighting, based on small LED arrays with two green emitters, one red emitter, and one blue emitter (no word on how many arrays are used in the 55-inch and 46-inch backlights).
Sony’s also worked up a partnership with YouTube, which (along with Wired.com and C-Spot) will be directly accessible through Bravia Internet Video Link on all current and new HDTVs. The image quality was pretty good when enlarged to fill the height of the 40-inch set used in the demo. (With YouTube, it’s all about the content anyway, not picture quality.)
Figure 3. These speaker grilles do add a nice color touch to Bravia TVs
and perhaps one reason why they sell so well.
Figure 4. At $2,500, the XEL-1 works out to $227 per diagonal inch.
That’s about what a 42-inch plasma monitor cost 10 years ago.
For consumers with a flair for redecorating (something the 632 Hudson Street location needed badly!), Sony had a demonstration of custom color speaker grille trim pieces for the bottom and sides of XBR models in the upstairs kitchen and dining area. These grilles come in silver, gold, red, and brown and are easy to install by the customer.
To tantalize the press, there were four XEL-1 OLED TVs running in the downstairs rooms. They can be yours for all of $2500, which would also buy you a nice 50-inch plasma or 52-inch LCD screen. (But those aren’t as cool, are they?) Despite the relative abundance of the XEL-1s, they’re still hard to pry loose from Sony for reviews.
Of course, there was a Blu-ray demo in the front downstairs room using a pair of KDL-40XBR6s. Casino Royale was featured on Blu-ray, running side-by-side with its red laser pressing played back through an unnamed upconverting 1080p DVD player. While the Blu-ray version had more detail and sharpness, I’ve seen better demos of upconverted red laser content.
As good as Blu-ray looks, it’s still proving to be a hard sell. A recent NPD study showed that only six percent of respondents in a recent survey plan to purchase a BD player in the near future. According to NPD, “…many consumers are content with standard-definition DVD players and content. The leading reasons cited as barriers to purchase were a perceived high cost of BD players and a belief that standard-definition DVD is “good enough.”
Sony’s just going to have to bite the bullet and discount prices if they expect Blu-ray to take off any time soon. Current players start at $400, which is just too much for mainstream buyers. Not surprisingly, smaller HDTV screen sizes and upscaling DVD players are very popular right now with the economy sputtering along. (One likely reason for high BD player prices is a scarcity of players and some of the key components inside them, according to one of the Sony representatives at the event.)
