In case you missed it, just a little over two weeks ago, Sony debuted the Z9D 4K HDR Android TV. Coming in a 65-, 75-, and whopping 100-inches, the surprise TV reveal is all about catering to the premium market and features the latest tech Sony has to offer.
Though the TVs won’t be launching for another few months, the team at What Hi-Fi? has gotten their hands on a set for their first look video.
Sony’s TV division seems to be firing on all cylinders. After unveiling their flagship ZD9 line which offers 3D and native 4K HDR in up too 100-inches, Sony also announced a more budget-friendly lineup of 4K TVs. For those in the US, check out the X800D, X750D, and X700D which offer 4K HDR compatibility. For those in Europe, this article is for you.
Sure Sony just unveiled the ultra-premium ZD9 series which is offered in three different sizes, including a 100-inch model that may just cost more than your house but that doesn’t mean they don’t have something for you and I – you know, the common people. Jokes aside, while the ZD9 is obviously designed to cater to the premium clientele that Sony should cater to, the company has also unveiled a lineup designed to satisfy the masses, the X700D, X750D, and X800D which start at just $749.
We all bitched and moaned at CES 2016 when Sony didn’t unveil what would be the X950D series, a premium lineup of 4K HDR TVs but today, we can all wipe away those tears and shed new ones. Announced earlier this morning was the Sony Z9D, a brand new ultra-premium lineup of 4K HDR TVs, and they come in whopping 65-, 75-, and 100-inch variants.
Sony tends to be a less than boastful company and that’s been clear under Kaz Hirai’s leadership. During his time at CEO, Kaz has taken a hands on approach with turning around the company’s television division which for years was bleeding cash – and a lot of it.
In the past few years, not only has the division recovered, but it’s finally turned profitable as well. But the recovery has come at a cost, which has been far lower sales volume. That’s because one of the key strategies to turn around the division has been an increase focus on profitability which has seen Sony transition to more premium TVs which higher profit margins. On the other hand, a lot of companies like Samsung and Vizio sell a wide variety of TVs with a majority of their volume coming from low-end sets that are either sold at razor thin margins or at a loss.
This has been a game that Sony has wisely decided not to pursue any longer, much like Apple who chooses to sell premium devices as opposed to chasing marketshare for the sake of it. But with a division that’s now stabilized, it’s looking like Sony wants to increase its marketshare with some more affordable sets.
Some good news for you early adopters with 4K TVs and Dolby Atmos sound rigs. NBC plans to record and provide the 2016 Rio Olympics in 4K. Richard Lawler writing for Engadget:
NBC will provide a downconverted version of the 8K feed Olympic Broadcasting Services and Japan’s NHK are experimenting with, to 4K, and present it in HDR with Dolby Atmos surround sound audio.
With the sheer number of sports at the Olympics not everything is getting the 4K treatment, but events that will be offered include:
One of the most frustrating parts about being a fan of Sony products (and somebody who covers the company) is their convoluted pricing strategy. Unlike PlayStation announcing the price for a new model or accessory which is then replicated by retailers, a majority of Sony products come with an MSRP. The problem with the structure is that Sony is truly emphasizing the suggest part of MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price).
Besides being confusing, this also can help garner bad PR for Sony and play into the “too expensive” narrative that’s been haunting them the past few years. Take the newly released Xperia X which was announced with a £549 MSRP. The kicker is that most retailers will instead be selling the device for £499 which sounds a hell of a lot better. The MSRP instead simply acts as a cap and in such a competitive market, be it TV or mobile, you can rest assured that nobody will be trying to sell them for more.
With the company’s 2016 fleet of 4K HDR TVs now widely available, it’s time to take a look at the pricing Sony introduced and the price you’ll actually pay. The difference? Quite dramatic, actually.
At CES 2016, Sony unveiled the flagship X930D (55-, and 65-inch) and X940D (75-inch) flagship 4K HDR TVs. While many, including yours truly, were hoping that Sony would offer even larger sized TV in the series, the only thing that changed was the slim factor (though you can get an 85-inch X850D). That’s because Sony made the surprise move of dropping their Magnetic Fluid Speakers from the 930 line, a differentiator they’ve been pushing for sometime, which in turn has allowed the lineup to get much slimmer than past iterations.
With an all new identity compared to years prior, the big question would be if Sony was moving in the right direction with their flagship series or were they chipping away at the wrong things. The answer couldn’t be better than this:
Let’s cut to the chase: the daddy of Sony’s 2016 TV line-up is a movie lover’s dream come true.
Unlike the the X930D range which features Slim Backlight Drive, X940D is an
LED back-lit TV that supports Ultra HD and HDR through streaming and physical formats, as well as active 3D. If that isn’t enough to lose you in AV-centric reverie, perhaps the fact that it looks stunning will be.
So let’s dig a little deeper into just what you can expect from the flagship TV.
From TIME:
Think of the gear you can’t live without: The smartphone you constantly check. The camera that goes with you on every vacation. The TV that serves as a portal to binge-watching and -gaming. Each owes its influence to one model that changed the course of technology for good.
This list couldn’t have come at a better time as Sony celebrated its 70th birthday on Saturday and what a 70 years it’s been. I don’t say this lightly when I say Sony is the closest any company has come to matching and perhaps even exceeding the influence that Apple has had on our lives. While the last two decades might be dominated mostly by Apple, Sony’s influence throughout the years cannot be ignored.
From changing how we watch TV with the Trinitron to how we entertain ourselves with Walkman and PlayStation – Sony has forever altered our lives with their rich products. Even today Sony is challenging the notion of how we view photography by being a champion of E-mount cameras and taking on once dominant competitors Nikon and Canon.
Some of these, like Sony’s Walkman, were the first of their kind. Others, such as the iPod, propelled an existing idea into the mainstream. Some were unsuccessful commercially, but influential nonetheless. And a few represent exciting but unproven new concepts (looking at you, Oculus Rift).
After the jump, the four Sony products that made the 50 most influential gadgets of all time list.
A lot has been said about a lack of support for Dolby Atmos from Sony at CES. Despite introducing new receivers and sound bars, Sony unveiled no new products that would allow for Atmos playback, a new format that Dolby has been pushing for, especially in theaters. Even the STR-DN1070 receiver with 4K HDR support and a whole host of streaming services lacks support for Atmos but the reason might be a good one – price.
Excluding the 930D and 940D 4K HDR TVs, a majority of home theater products shown off at CES by Sony were mid-range. For example, Sony announced the new HT-NT5 sound bar ($799) but didn’t update their flagship HT-ST9 ($1,499). The same goes for receivers; the DN1070 enjoys a modest $599 price tag – a truly fantastic price for how much tech Sony has crammed in but well short of flagship status.
Which brings us to Dolby Atmos, a bleeding edge standard that’s still not supported on most Blu-ray films and one that isn’t even offered on streaming, be it iTunes or Netflix. Chances are that if you’re designing a home theater system with Dolby Atmos in mind, you’re either dream building it in your head or are spending thousands upon thousands of dollars with all flagship equipment. Luckily if the latter is you, Sony has a monster 9.2 channel receiver for you with Dolby Atmos support.
More after the jump.
If you remember way back in January at CES, Sony had a surprise product of sorts for everybody, the Turntable PS-HX500 which we previewed in our video. As the name suggests, the turntable is everything you’d expect it to be: a record playing machine. So if you’ve been living the hipster lifestyle or simply have an affinity for them, the HX500 is a device worth keeping an eye on when it arrives later this month. But with a $599 price point, it better do a hell of a lot more than simply play old records right? Luckily this record player has one big trick up its sleeve.
Breathe new life into analog masterpieces with DSD. Just hook up the PS-HX500 turntable to your PC via USB, play a record, and capture every aspect of the vinyl with DSD 5.6 MHz native conversion. Convert your precious vinyl collection into High-Resolution Audio, take it out for a walk with your Walkman, or just sit back and enjoy playing your vinyl originals.
In short, via a built-in analog-to-digital converter, you’re able to turn any old records to lossless, Hi-Res audio files in native DSD (up to 5.6 MHz) or WAV files (up to 192 KHz/24-bit resolution). Not only does that mean you can play back your records in lossless quality on devices like the Walkman and some Android phones, but that you’re able to also back up your records as the:
PS-HX500 is equipped with a high-quality A/D converter. So just connect it to your PC with a USB cable and record your vinyl as High-Resolution Audio tracks. This is a great way to backup your precious vinyl collection, or even take tracks outdoors with you on your Walkman.
More on the Sony Turntable after the jump.
Revealed at CES 2016, the successor to the STR-DN1060, the Sony STR-DN1070, is finally available to order and is priced affordably at $599.99. While lacking future-proofing tech like support for Dolby ATMOS which may or may not even gain traction at home, the 7.2 channel receiver packs no shortage of other features like the ability to stream from:
Connecting your various equipment is also easy, thanks to the multitude of inputs and outputs offered in the rear.
With six HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs—including one dedicated second zone HDMI output—there’s space for your current equipment and scope to expand.
Speaking of zones, the DN1070 actually supports three zones:
With three-zone listening, you can connect three sets of speakers to the STR-DN1070 and listen to the same audio output across three rooms. The receiver can also control two separate source inputs at once. Select which signal is sent to each listening zone, so you can watch a DVD in your living room using 5.2 channels while others listen to a CD in the den using 2 channels. Or just enjoy the power of 7.2 channels for an immersive surround experience in your living room.
For quick access, you’ll also find an HDMI and USB input on the front which allows you to play:
DSD through DLNA network connected devices, or connected to USB with its 24 bit/192 kHz high bit rate for High-Resolution Audio playback
Beyond a rich assortment of streaming capabilities that will certainly help on the cord clutter, the DN1070 also offers wireless multi-room capabilities. According to Sony, via their SongPal app on iOS and Android, you can:
group selected Sony sound bars and speakers together, then stream music from different music services, a smartphone, a PC, or your DLNA network in multiple rooms throughout your home
While the ability to create a Sonos-like environment isn’t new to this years lineup of receivers and sound bars, what is new is the ability to create a wireless surround sound system. That’s because till now, via SongPal, you could only stream the same content to wireless speakers, and Sony’s equipment didn’t have the capability to decode different channels. So while you could have placed two smaller wireless Sony speakers at the rear and treated it as surround sound, what would have actually happened is that the same audio from your front speakers would also played from the rear.
All that changes this year where you can finally connect two wireless speakers (as seen above) that will act as your rear channels. Other speakers like the two fronts and center channel must still be plugged in via a cord and the setup is only good for 5.1 as for some reason, it cannot handle 7.1. That shouldn’t be much of a hurdle as 7.1 setups are generally found in more premium environments where speakers are properly placed, measured, and hardwired in. This is one of those areas that Sony should have been leading but was asleep at the wheel as Sonos swooped in, but it’s nice to see them finally catch up.
But enough talk about audio. After the jump I discuss 4K HDR.
(As always, keep in mind that these charts are fairly wide and created in very high resolution so simply click on them to enlarge)
The more I look at Sony’s Q4 FY15 earnings report which comprises of how they did in Q1 2016, the more hopeful and cautious I am of the company. In short, I find the direction Kaz Hirai is pursuing to be the correct one for Sony at the time. The question which remains is if Sony can execute his vision at a quick enough pace and transition to the next phase which is being a more lean and robust company with hopefully better selling devices on the market. That is outside of PlayStation which continues to do gangbuster numbers. Otherwise for Sony, it’s a tale of lower sales but higher profits, thanks to their more premium lineup which offers better margins.
If you look at the above chart, you’ll notice that excluding entertainment endeavors which in my mind comprises of PlayStation, Sony Pictures, and Sony Music, most of Sony’s electronic businesses were down compared to a year ago’s quarter. I’ve already discussed in length what’s been happening at Sony Mobile which you can read about here. However as the chart below shows, despite a drop in sales, Sony’s prospects on each division is improving, including their troubled mobile division. In fact Sony has posted a 666.5% rise in pretax profit for its full fiscal year.
Across nearly all core electronics business, Sony has seen a rise in operating income, even if they’re still posting negative numbers. The reason Financial Services dipped is mostly due to stock market volatility which has been in full affect the entire year. As Sony put it:
Increases in the amortization of deferred insurance acquisition costs and the provision of policy reserves, primarily driven by a significant decrease in interest rates and the deterioration in the stock market
For comparison, Apple each quarter has ‘lost’ more money due to currency volatility than companies like Facebook actually make. Context is king, right? Otherwise, as I said earlier, it seems like most of Sony’s businesses are humming right along the path set out by Kaz. However, let’s not forget about the elephant in the room – that division right in the middle – Devices. As you can see, compared to a year ago’s quarter, Devices is down ¥75.3 billion. It’s as if that division fell off of a cliff. For those unaware, Devices comprises mostly of Sony’s semiconductor business which supplies companies like Apple and Samsung things like batteries and camera sensors. According to Sony, the large negative number is in part due to:
Deterioration in the operating results of the camera module business
Deterioration in the operating results of the battery business
Increases in depreciation and amortization expenses as well as in research and development expenses
I’ve heard from a little birdie that Sony may have lost a major customer which could lend credence to the dramatic drop. Otherwise it’s hard to equate their reasonings and that number but for now, all we have is Sony’s vague statement on the matter. For those wondering what percentage of the company each division of Sony comprises, wonder no more with the chart below.
Way more details on each division from the Sony Q1 2016 earnings report after the jump.
It’s earnings time again and as a whole, things are going well for Sony as evident by the:
666.5% rise in pretax profit for its full fiscal year
This can be mainly attributed to the strong performance of PS4 and Sony’s ability to cut costs within its mobile division. All of this has led to:
income before taxes for the year ending March 31 came in at 304.5 billion yen ($2.81 billion), a big rise from the 39.7 billion yen recorded during the same period last year. Operating profit rose 329.2% to 294.2 billion yen, its largest figure since fiscal 2007
Looking at things more closely, mobile is still a business that’s struggling for Sony but losses did narrow to:
61.4 billion yen from 217.6 billion in fiscal 2015
Ultimately that operating loss of ¥61.4 billion ($544 million) was 57.4% bigger than the company predicted a year ago but that’s mainly due to Sony choosing profits over scale which has also led to a revenue dip of 20% compared to the year prior. Kazuo Hirai:
If it means that we’re selling less number of phones going out the door. We’re fine with that so long as we have a profitable business, and we’re really on our way to being profitable in that regard
Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight is more optimistic about Sony Mobile’s future. While what he has to say isn’t wrong; it’s up to Sony to be able to capitalize on future opportunities, especially now that they’re more lean than years past and the division hasn’t shown the same foresight as PlayStation to garner the benefit of the doubt. Ben Wood:
Sony Mobile has embarked on some aggressive cost reduction over the last 12 months. This has seen it exit markets such as China, India and the U.S. as well as reducing its headcount. Now the business unit has more stable financial position to build on as it looks to driving a return to growth
It’s no secret that gaming continues to become a more critical division of Sony and PlayStation did little to disappoint. Operating income for the Games division rose 84.3% to to ¥88.7 billion ($785 million) and an 11.8% improvement in sales. Both software and hardware sales for PS4 were up year-over-year which is helping offset the predictable decline of PS3 sales. PlayStation VR will also go on sale later this year but I’m doubtful first year sales will have a large impact on the bottom line as larger consumer interest in VR has yet to be determined and it’s unclear how profitable each VR headset is for Sony. However, if VR does take off, Sony is well positioned.
More after the jump.
The flagship 2016 Sony Android TV is an interesting set. Gone are those magnificent-sounding Magnetic Fluid Speakers and in their place is a much thinner profile. With its visual makeover, Sony also focused heavily on the internals, providing a more robust Android TV experience and native 4K HDR support which many believe will be the true draw and strength of 4K sets. So how is the X930D being received? Quite well, it seems. Here is the final verdict from What Hi*Fi:
This is what we want from an HDR set. It doesn’t reach the absolute blacks or brightness of some rivals, but the Sony XD93 trumps most of them where it matters: subtlety
With the flagship TV in hand, the gang over there judged the X930D based on four categories: features, Android TV, picture, and HDR. On the topic of features:
The main thing you ought to know about the XD93 is that, equipped with Sony’s 4K Processor X1 chip, this set is both Ultra HD and HDR compatible.
There are a couple of extra technologies too, X-tended Dynamic Range PRO and the company’s unique TRILUMINOUS display, which are basically geared to delivering that HDR content as more than just a box-ticking exercise.
What’s more, all four of the set’s HDMI inputs are waiting open-armed for that 4K content with HDCP compatibility, and three further USB ports effectively gives you an option for each day of the week.
When it comes to Android TVs, things have certainly improved – as much as they can improve. That’s because like Android Wear, manufacturers can’t touch the UI which leaves little for Sony to do, other than hardware tweaks to make the experience better.
We’ve sometimes been less than complimentary about Android TV as well, but this appears to be its least convoluted, most intuitive form. Your homepage is neatly set out into sections for recommended content, featured apps, inputs, your remaining apps, games and settings, with each category significantly malleable.
Don’t want to see that input you hardly ever use? Just hide it. Want another to be more easily accessible? Then move them around.
After the jump, their thoughts on picture and HDR which just got a big boost from Netflix, as their HDR-enabled app has gone live for Sony’s 2015 and 2016 4K TVs.
You must be logged in to post a comment.