LAS VEGAS – “Sony is a creative entertainment company.”
That was the opening comment from CEO Kenichiro Yoshida as he began his 45-minute CES press conference that focused almost completely on content not hardware. In fact there was just the briefest mention of their two new 8K resolution TV sets.
“We at Sony partner with content creators who make the music, the movies, the television shows and the games that engage billions of eyes and ears and minds around the world,” added Yoshida. The remainder of the press event focused on how Sony technologies support creators across the entertainment industries to produce content and how its consumer products connect creators and users by “enabling people to enjoy content at the highest possible quality."
Yoshida shared the stage with Tim Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Rob Stringer, CEO of Sony Music, to highlight their newest projects including the Golden Globe winner for best animated feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Also taking the stage was Sony artist Pharrell Williams who described, somewhat awkwardly, a recent trip to Tokyo to explore Sony’s newest audio technology. Since none of this technology has yet been announced by Sony, Williams was limited to gushing about how wonderful the opportunity was for him to provide feedback on whatever it was he saw that he can’t actually speak about.
"Creativity when combined with technology brings about amazing content and entertainment," added Yoshida. He took the opportunity to note that Sony has now sold more than 91.6 million PlayStation 4 units worldwide.
He also introduced what he called "Communities of Interest," where artists who share “similar interests, emotional values and experiences,” are formed around Sony’s entertainment content and hardware products such as PlayStation and their interchangeable-lens digital cameras.
Sony also let the audience have their first peak at their new 8K TVs, the Master Series Z9G 8K LCD (pictured). 8K TVs which have been shown in prototypes for the last couple of CES shows will actually be available for sale this year to the public from all the major set manufacturers (and they won’t be cheap…). With four times the resolution of 4K TVs the added pixels are a waste on any TV smaller than 80.” So no surprise, the 8K TVs announced so far at CES are all really big. The Z9G tops out at 98 inches and there is also a “smaller” 85-inch version. As always, pricing is anyone’s guess, but Sony promises they will make it to market this year.
Both models feature the latest generation Picture Processor X1 Ultimate that has an algorithm specially developed for 8K that can “intelligently detect and analyze each object in the picture, resulting in exceptional detail and contrast for a more realistic picture that represents the creators' intent,” says the company.
The same processor also enables the newly developed 8K X-Reality PRO to upscale any content using a new, dedicated 8K database for reference, resulting in even more precise, detailed upscaling.
For those consumers who can’t fit a 100-inch TV in their homes, Sony also announced the A9G, its flagship 4K OLED TV available in 77", 65" and 55" sizes.
Both the Z9G LCD and the A9G OLED feature Sony's Android TV, which supports a range of apps from Google Play, including YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu. Both TVs also feature built-in Google Assistant and built-in microphones that will free users' hands. Viewers can talk to the TV using the Google Assistant to quickly find what they want, or to play TV shows, movies and more. Sony Z9G Series, A9G Series and X950G Series TVs will be compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit3.
Consumer electronics editor John Bugailiskis is in Las Vegas this week covering the Consumer Electronics Show.
