Sony (SNEJF) ushered in its 2024 home entertainment lineup in April, which, for the first time, placed home audio gadgets like soundbars and speakers alongside TVs under the Bravia family.
The result is a lineup that caters to bringing the equivalent of a cinema-going experience inside your home. That comes to life as OLED, QD-OLED (Quantum Dot OLEDs), LED, and Mini LED TVs alongside soundbars, a wearable neck speaker, and four speakers that work together. TheStreet's had the chance to go hands-on, and you can see my preview of the flagship Bravia 9 — poised to be the Mini LED TV to beat this year — and the complete Bravia lineup here.
Ahead, though, I'm sharing some bits of an exclusive conversation with Tyler Ishida, Co-President of Sony Electronics North America.
Related: Sony’s 2024 Bravia 9 is the Mini LED TV to beat
Ishida quickly noted that the rebranding to Bravia has "been in the works for quite some time." Sony has worked with creators, filmmakers, and engineers on various facets, from cameras on sets to soundstages and with professional monitors — like the BVM-HX3110 — used on film sets.
The Bravia lineup is derived from those relationships and the unique history in the space. Ishida shared that Sony aims to bring its "expertise across these categories together to provide an authentic cinematic experience to the consumer," highlighting that folks creating films can shoot and edit them using Sony equipment.
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This year, the long-standing adage of presenting visuals as close to realistic as possible and preserving the creator's intent has effectively doubled down. Ishida hopes that folks opting for a Bravia 9 or a Bravia 3 "understand [Sony's] dedication to the fidelity of creator's intent and bringing products that can provide an immersive and authentic cinematic experience."
Sony
Regarding flagships, it's a tale of two this year. Sony is committed to QD-OLED and Mini LED offerings, giving the customer the final choice. The well-reviewed A95L QD-OLED is sticking around and is joined by the Mini LED-powered Bravia 9. Ishida is pretty bullish on Bravia 9, noting that it offers up to a 50% boost in brightness and up to 300% more zones, saying it's "Sony's brightest model ever" and "[is] designed for the ultimate cinematic experience." Under the hood, it uses an all-new, much smaller driver to control many miniature LEDs that were previewed earlier in 2024.
Ishida summarized the two as follows: "Sony offers very premium technology in both panel types, and we are not deterring or suggesting to any of our customers to choose with the mindset of which technology is superior, rather what is the best fit for the consumer." He was also clear that the A95L is the flagship OLED, stating, it "is one of the best TVs we've ever made."
If you're looking for a new OLED from Sony this year, the Bravia 8 is the successor to the A80L standard OLED. Like the A95L, Bravia 3, Bravia 7, and Bravia 9, Bravia 8 also boasts new software enhancements, including Voize Zoom 3, a new eco dashboard to monitor usage, and a dedicated calibration mode for Prime Video.
Considering that Sony is not the only player offering OLED, QD-OLED, LED, and Mini LED TVs, Ishida said, "We aim to deliver on both the software and hardware that is needed to satisfy the needs of our consumers." Sony reimagines the use cases and benefits, which leads to breakthroughs, and it's only fitting that TV and audio are generally at the centers of a user's home.
It also makes sense that Sony is putting everything under one roof, with a central focus on providing the best experience that prioritizes realism and bringing the cinema home. Our early hands-on with TVs and audio products from the 2024 Bravia family proved impressive, and it's clear that Sony is full steam ahead on a cinema-quality experience for us all.
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Jacob Krol/TheStreet
