While the focus of 2014 has been Sony’s fleet of 4K televisions, which consists of the X850B, X900B, and X950B, Sony isn’t abandoning the traditional 1080p HD market. To that end, Sony has announced that the Bravia W600B, W700B, and W800B are now shipping worldwide, including features like Quick Start and One-Flick remote. If the Bravia W700B seems like a line you haven’t heard of, that’s because it’s exclusive to Europe.
At CES 2014, Netflix promised to bring 4K to televisions and the company has now fulfilled that promise. As of today, those with a compatible 4K television can download the free app which will provide 4K content with no added premium to your subscription. Content currently includes House of Cards: Season 2 and nature documentaries with more titles to come in the future.
Every year at NAB, Sony dazzles us with new products in their camera and video lineup and this year is no different. CES 2014 made it clear that Sony is going all in with 4K and NAB continued that promise with the announcement of the full-frame Sony Alpha A7s. As the name suggests, this isn’t a rethinking of the Alpha line and instead, an improvement on the full-frame A7 that was announced last year. In short, Sony is bringing 4K video recording to the party with vastly improvement sensitivity which is what the “s” in the name refers to.
Interested? Lets talk details.
4K just got yet another big push, this time at the world’s largest football event; the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Sony announced a deal with FIFA to produce the Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Film in 4K Ultra HD, and three full matches including the final. This year the World Cup will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July.
ESPN in the US has just signed Sony to supply studio cameras for their new Digital Center 2 studio production operations in Bristol, Conn. The Center is a 193,000-square-foot facility due to air this May.
In early Febraury Sony announced plans to reform their TV business and sell their PC section when they released their latest financial results.
Subsidiary, restructuring, streamlining; the announcement was full of management-speak, so what is actually happening?
The TV business is being set apart as a separate company that will be still be fully owned.
Let’s take a closer look at the language used in Sony’s news release on the TV business.
Let’s be honest; most remotes that ship with products, minus what TiVo includes with their DVRs, tends to be crap. At best, it’s ugly and at worst, it’s both ugly and clunky. To that end, products like the Harmony remote exist which tend to give a sleeker look and better overall functionality, perfect for those of us who own a multitude of home theater products. Now, Sony is throwing a bit of a wrench in this with their new One-flick remote which will be standard across their entire 2014 line of televisions.
Sony’s 2013 line of 4K XBR televisions already saw a massive price cut in late January. At CES 2014, Sony announced an entirely new fleet of 4K XBR TVs, which include the X850B (good), X900B (better), and X950B (best). The 2014 models, as you’d guess, are here to replace their predecessors, and that means that Sony needs to clear out what’s left of the old fleet. Now that we’re approaching Spring 2014, the timeframe Sony has given for the new fleet to be released, the company has decided to do another round of price cuts. Just how much? Let’s talk numbers.
Unfortunately, the old saying that “one mans loss is another mans gain” continues to echo true. Late last month, Sony announced that they’d be closing 20 of their 31 retail stores in the US. While a significant reduction of the company’s retail presence, the closing of the store more importantly has drastic consequences for all employees who will soon find themselves without a job. With little retail stores left, Sony has no good destination to send the products that reside in each store. This has resulted in the company announcing a huge sale at each of these locations with up to 60% off.
After the jump, we’ve got more details about the sales but your milage may very.
If you’re looking for something a bit more top of the line in the 4K world then fear not. While Sony will likely see their biggest growth come from their entry (X850B series) and mid-range (X900B series) 4K televisions, it doesn’t mean that they don’t want to draw in the big spenders. To that end exists the XBR-X950B series which comes in a more standard 65-inch and a eye melting 85-inch variants. Packing in all that the X900B series has to offer, the X950B series drops the wedge design and Magnetic Fluid speakers that come with it for a more streamlined look, sure to sit flush and command attention on any wall. So what makes the X950B series command the “best” tagline?
Unlike the X900B which offers edge dimming, the X950B series packs in local dimming, ensuring the brightest of colors and the darkest of blacks. Sony is also utilizing its X-tended Dynamic Range Pro engine, giving it what the company believes is a 300% better results when compared to their mid-range fleet. So what’s it going to cost you? We reveal that and more, after the jump.
Sony is taking 4K to heart in 2014 by revamping their entire 4K television fleet, which includes the much more affordable X850B and X900B series lineup. Besides price point, Sony is also bringing some potential game changing advancements which include Magnetic Fluid speakers, capable of replacing your tired surround sound system. Sony also knows that we’re an impatient bunch who groan at every extra second a device takes to perform a task. To that end, the company is offering what they call “Quick Start” in all of their 2014 televisions, including non-4K models.
Announced at CES 2014 and set to be releasing in Spring, Sony is looking to completely revamp its 2014 4K television fleet. Part of that includes the addition of a new entry lineup to the company’s 4K fleet, the XBR-X850 series which comes in a 49-, 55-, 65-, and 70-inch. Those looking for a little more bells and whistles need not look further than the X900B series. Amazingly, Sony has managed to pack in more features than its predecessor while also driving down the price.
Designed as what I’d refer to as the companies “better” 4K XBR (with the word better being relative to the XBR series that it falls in), the X900B comes in three screen sizes which include 55-, 65-, and 79-inches. Utilizing Sony’s Wedge design, the X900B series offer X-tended Dynamic Range for even a crisper picture and Magnetic Fluid speakers which are capable of filling a room with simulated surround sound. So what’s pricing like? Let’s talk that and details, after the jump.
During CES 2014, Sony made it clear that 4K is part of the company’s path towards profitability and growth with consumers. To help achieve this, Sony has already revealed a 4K consumer camcorder, priced at $2,000, making it a world first. The company’s latest flagship Android smartphone, the Xperia Z2, also includes 4K video capturing, pushing the boundaries and availability of 4K. To help further gain consumer adoption of 4K technology, Sony is releasing three new lines of 4K televisions in 2014.
Part of what I refer to as the companies “good” fleet of 4K televisions, the XBR-X850B series comes in a 49-, 55-, 65-, and 70-inch.. While lacking some of the fancier feature of the XBR-X900B series, the X850 fleet offers native 4K Triluminos display with Sony’s 4K X-Reality Pro engine. To help drive costs further down, the X850B series lacks the Magnetic Fluid speakers of the X900B, opting for basic speakers. Now let’s talk pricing.
Sony has proven itself once again in design terms, with no less than 26 of its products earning the seal of approval from the iF Design group, with three products earning a gold award. In individual company achievements, Sony ranked the third highest awarded company, ahead of rivals Apple and LG.
iF is an international group that recognises excellence in product design. It is their aim to “strengthen public awareness of design” and their logo has been an illustrious global standard of design for over sixty years. This year’s event took place on February 28th in Munich, Germany.
It probably surprises few that Sony would do well with awards for design. The company has always raised the bar with iconic and effortless designs with current class-leaders in the Xperia Z2, the PlayStation 4 and the luxury X9000A Bravia TV line to name but a few.
Read on to find out which Sony products earned gold and which two awards come at a bittersweet time.
As expected, the Sony Xperia Z2 has been unveiled at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. With the Xperia Z1 now one month old, Sony has followed a pattern set nearly two years ago of releasing a new flagship device every six months. This means that while the Xperia Z2 is built on the groundwork that the Xperia Z and Xperia Z1 have setup, there is still plenty of new things to love.
So what does the Sony Xperia Z2 have to offer? Lets talk specs and details, after the jump.
Sony just announced major plans regarding its PC and TV businesses. With the VAIO PC brand, we know that it is being sold to Japan Industrial Partners, a company that specialises in recovering companies in peril.
On the other hand, the TV business move has many of us wondering. During the past few months, many terms have been thrown around like subsidiary, restructuring, streamlining. The official announcement was no more clear with full of management-speak, so what is actually happening?
In short, the TV business will be made into a separate company that will be still be fully owned by Sony, but there is a lot more to it than that. Read on for a closer look at what Sony wishes to achieve by doing this.
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