First announced at the 2013 CES, Sony has released the pricing of its 2013 HDTVs. In addition, HD Guru reveals the prices and release dates of its 2013 55-inch and Sony 65-inch 4K (UHD) models.
Read the details and features after the break.
Joining Sony’s 84-inch UHD TV ($25 K retail) in May will be the 55-inch XBR-55X900A at $4999 and the 65-inch XBR-65X900A at $6999 (source: CE Daily, an industry trade publication). Both UHDTVs feature 3840 x 2160 resolution, Sony’s 4K X-Reality PRO upconversion, two 65-watt speakers, dynamic LED edge lighting and Triluminous color.
Unlike the 84-inch UHD LCD which is made by LG, the new smaller 4K screens will be sourced by AU Optronics a Taiwanese LCD panel maker. These panels will also feature 3D.
The 55 and 65-inch models like Sony’s 2K W900A series models will be using QD Visions Quantum Dot technology. These televisions will incorporate blue LEDs instead of the common white ones found within all other current LCD LCD HDTVs. The blue light passes through a guide coated with Quantum Dots material that creates red and green light along with allowing the blue light to pass through. In front of LCD panel (behind the cover glass) are red, blue and green filters similar to ones seen on all other LED LCD flat panels. The result, a wider color gamut, meaning the display is capable of redder reds and greener greens. Of course, some of these colors are beyond the HDTV color standard, meaning the TV will use algorithms to create colors not found within the content.
Below are Sony’s descriptions of the main features within the new Sony X900A models and a copy of its latest press release covering the 2013 KDL-W900A, KDL-W802A and KDL-W650A HDTV series.
Phone and Tablet Communications
Movies, music and apps from your smart phone can now be viewed big on your TV. With three ways to connect Android phones and tablets to the X900, Sony is helping you add value to the entertainment you already own. 1. Using a Mobile High Definition Link cable, you can connect your smart phone to the TV to literally “mirror” what’s seen on the smart phone screen. Video, photos and apps are re-sized and scaled to fit the larger TV screen. You can then use the TV remote to navigate the phone, while it’s charging from the TV. 2. Using screen mirroring technology, you can connect phones that are Miracast enabled to the TV. 3. Using One-touch mirroring with NFC technology, briefly place your compatible Xperia smart phone to the one-touch remote. You’ll instantly be able to view exactly what is on your smart phone’s screen on the TV4.
Custom control installations
RS-232C and IR-in for custom control installations.
Go way beyond cable.
Welcome to the endless entertainment of the Sony Entertainment Network, where thousands of movies, TV shows, online videos, games and music are always at your fingertips. By connecting to the Internet you can access Full HD 1080p entertainment, 3D content and made-for-TV apps like Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Facebook and more.
Twice the fun: 2-player games with no split screen
Say goodbye to split screen. Now you and a friend can both experience your own big-screen view of the action as you play nail-biting games on your PlayStation®3 system. SimulView™ gaming presents two separate Full HD pictures: each player watches independently through light easy to wear optional Simulview glasses that don’t need batteries.7 There’s already a growing choice of SimulView game titles available.
TV that looks like real life.
Suddenly, everything looks better. Experience stunning picture quality, whether you’re watching true 4K video or low-resolution smart phone clips. The new 4K X-Reality™ PRO chip upscales HD (or lower resolution) images by analyzing and refining images from all sources2 . Everything you see is restored with beautiful, natural detail, richer color and stunning contrast. The latest Reality Creation database and Super Resolution processing breathes new life into everything you see with phenomenal 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution.
Lifelike motion
Watch the sprinter break off the blocks and race smoothly as the camera follows him from left to right. Even quick motion seen in action movies appears amazingly realistic as Motionflow™ XR 960 technology, which takes motion clarity beyond refresh rates, smoothes out the picture where the camera can’t for clearer and more natural movement.
Goodbye wires, hello built-in Wi-Fi
Maximize your entertainment while reducing cable clutter. Wirelessly stream beautiful, HD entertainment straight from the internet or your home network using built-in Wi-Fi connectivity.
Save On The Best Selling HDTVs
3D immersion
There’s 3D, then there’s 3D with 4K (3,840 x 2,160). Life-like 3D images emerge from the 4K screen with realism that makes your heart race. The level of detail is absolutely stunning—it’s the closest thing to a 3D theater in your living room.
Sound Innovation
Your TV’s loudspeakers have evolved. Unique to Sony, Magnetic Fluid Speaker technology allows a thinner, more efficient loudspeaker that offers faithful reproduction of high-fidelity sound. The 6-Unit front-facing speaker system directs sound right at you with 65 Watts of power3. S-Force® Front Surround simulates 5.1 sound, with an enlarged sweet spot that everyone in the room can enjoy.
Life-sized video calls.
It’s like they’re in the room with you. Skype® video calls bring your family and friends closer than ever as they appear as large as life on your big screen—for free.5 Just connect the easy-to-use Skype camera (sold separately) for a face-to-face look at the caller on the beauty of your Sony HDTV.
Photos are better with 4K.
Enjoy your photos in amazing 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) on the immersive 4K screen. Add extra polish to your pictures with fun, artistic effects. View, share and edit photo memories with PlayMemories Studio™ software and your PlayStation®3 system on the TV screen. Scroll effortlessly through your image collection. Pinpoint images by date and time, smiles or location. Everything’s smooth and speedy, thanks to the immense processing power of the PlayStation®3 system.9
More brilliant color than ever before
Unique to Sony, TRILUMINOS Display creates incredibly true, natural shades of colors – just the way you want to see them. Hard-to-reproduce reds and emerald greens are displayed beautifully, so landscapes and seascapes look more vivid, richer and more intense. Faces look better, too, with natural skin tones. It’s all thanks to a new-generation TV technology that makes colors purer and more distinct with a wider color range, giving images a heightened sense of depth.
At four times the resolution, it’s like you’re there.
The largest, highest resolution picture Sony has ever produced on a TV. With four times more resolution than Full HD, the 4K screen contains no less than 8 million individual pixels (3,840 x 2,160).1 Advanced picture processing ensures that every one of those pixels displays images with superb quality. At a closer, more comfortable distance, the TV screen fills your field of vision: it’s like experiencing the action in real life.11
Control your TV with your smart phone or tablet
Get more from watching television with TV SideView. Control the TV or browse the channel guide with your smart phone or tablet (Android or iOS), all without having to minimize what you’re watching on the TV. Learn more about the show you’re watching right now, like cast and episode details. Search what’s available to watch on TV, internet videos and apps like Netflix®. Once you find what you want to watch, you can select to view it on the TV. Make TV viewing more social by Tweeting about the show from your mobile device8.
The difference is dynamic.
It’s all about perfecting a natural look. Dynamic Edge LED backlighting with local dimming delivers pitch-black night scenes and illuminates bright scenes. Rather than illuminating the entire screen, contrast is boosted in just the right areas for a more realistic picture.
Sony 2013 HDTV Press Release
The W series of LED BRAVIA televisions includes the KDL-W900A, KDL-W802A and KDL-W650A. In addition to being Wi-Fi enabled, all W-series models utilize Sony’s acclaimed X-Reality PRO picture processor which ensures the TV displays unprecedented detail and astonishing color regardless of the content source. This series also employs Motionflow XR™ for the best experience when viewing fast action television programming and gaming.
New in 2013, the W900A TV incorporates TRILUMINOS Display LED backlighting to present rich, authentic color with subtle tones while also replicating bold colors including hard-to-reproduce reds, blues and greens. By integrating Quantum dot technology with Sony’s own unique display technologies, the W900A delivers a significantly wider color gamut and provides a far more natural and vivid viewing experience with a heightened sense of depth.
Lastly, the W900A model integrates a unique long duct speaker cabinet design. The long 1.2m speaker duct is cleverly folded into a compact unit that’s hidden neatly behind the TV screen. Though the speakers are hidden, the newly-designed speaker cabinet reproduces rich bass and lower midrange sounds, adding extra punch and depth to action movies, music and dialogue and producing the bass extension of a much bigger, bulkier speaker.
All W-Series TV models include screen mirroring via Wi-Fi, with the W900A model shipping with an NFC remote, and an optional NFC remote available for the W802A television. Additionally, all three series are MHL-ready for wired mirroring capabilities.
The KDL-W900A model comes available in a 55-inch screen size at a suggested retail price of $3,299. The KDL-W802A model is available in both 55-inch and 47-inch screen sizes, and starts at $1,799. The KDL-W650A model comes in a 32-inch screen size and a suggested retail of $799.
HD for Every Room in the House
Sony’s R-series BRAVIA LED HDTVs include several options for consumers looking for feature-rich TVs with Sony’s famed picture quality, each driven by Sony’s Clear Resolution Enhancer technology, delivering a superb high definition resolution and a vivid, clear, life-like picture. The KDL-R550A LED HDTV with 3D is Wi-Fi connected, enabling consumers to wirelessly access a full array of Sony Entertainment Network services and other services, including Netflix, HuluPlus, Pandora, and more. In addition this series is RVU compliant, meaning DirectTV customers with Genie Whole Home HD DVR can access their set-top box, DVR and on-demand services right from the KDL-R550A TV without the need for additional equipment. Also, with wireless screen mirroring (Miracast™) and passive 3D (including four pairs of glasses), the model is available in 70-inch, 60-inch and 50-inch sizes, representing new sizes and performance from Sony, and start at a suggested retail price of $1,399. Also available with the same feature-set, in 70-inch and 60-inch sizes, minus 3D capability is the KDL-R520A model, starting at $1,999. Additionally, the KDL-46R453A, KDL-40R450A and KDL-32R400A models also debut with excellent picture and a bevy of features, including screen mirroring via MHL (Mobile High Definition Link) cable sold separately, and starting at $399 represent a great value for consumers.
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