Sony might have been accused of being a bit ‘behind the curve’ due to its reluctance to build many… uhm… curved TVs. But that’s no longer the case, for the Japanese brand has finally bent to the will of one of TV’s hottest new trends with the release of its new Bravia S90 4K Ultra HD television.
Yep, you guessed it, Sony’s just gone and launched a curved TV to rival those from the Koreans, although it’s still considerably smaller than Samsung and LG’s latest monstrosities. Nevertheless, with a choice of 65-inch and 75-inch sizes, Sony’s first curved ultra high-definition (UHD) television is more than big enough to provide that “spectacularly immersive” viewing experience that only curved screens can deliver (according to the company anyway).
Some readers might remember that this isn’t Sony’s first curved effort. The Tokyo-headquartered manufacturer actually launched its S990 curved TV series last year, although those only came with bog-standard Full HD 1080p resolution, and more importantly we never got to see them in the UK and Europe.
This time round Sony’s gone one better – the S90 offers full 3840×2160 Ultra HD resolution in all its glory, and arguably the telly looks a bit better too, with its slim design and the subtle contours of the screen pulling you “right into the action”, claims Sony.
The 65in KD-65S9005B and 75in KD-75S9005B feature edge-lit LED backlighting, 4K X-Reality PRO video processing engine, Triluminos Display tech, Motionflow XR 800Hz motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) system, active 3D capabilities (two pairs of glasses included), and its X-tended Dynamic Range to boost contrast. Meanwhile its 4.2 channel Multi-angle Live Speakers use separate drivers for the first time, helping it to direct left, right and surround sounds around the room more accurately.
Our chief editor Vincent Teoh was given a private demo of the Sony KD65S9005B ahead of today’s announcement, and this is what he thought:
Picture quality was as good as the X9005B, and the supporting feet could be moved inwards to be placed on a narrower AV rack too. Its screen curvature wasn’t as aggressive as that on the Samsungs, therefore introducing less geometrical distortions from closer viewing distances. The virtual surround sound effects were particularly impressive, even though the Bravia X9 still wins in outright audio resolution.”
Whether or not the Sony S90 is actually any better than similar offerings from Samsung and LG Electronics remains to be verified until we can get one into our test lab, but it’s not nearly as advanced as Samsung’s new 78-inch flexible/ bendable curved TV, which can be adjusted to suit wherever you’re sitting in the room. Even so, it could be argued that Sony takes the lead when it comes to 4K content at least – it has its own 4K media players that offer access to its private library of ultra high-def movies and TV shows, which is something that neither Samsung or LG can offer at this time of writing.
The Sony KD65S9005 and KD75S9005 have been scheduled for an IFA launch, with price and availability to follow.
