Sony AF9 OLED TV Owners and discussion Thread

Looks like our sets will be upgraded to android 9 shortly :)

that sounds cool. Any more news on it? I noticed there was a European firmware update the things AF8 and many other models Lately but nothing for our AF9s.
 
Just what I’ve been reading on the site across the water ,stating it should start rolling out this month
 
Just what I’ve been reading on the site across the water ,stating it should start rolling out this month

Good stuff. I wonder if everyone who installed the AG9 firmware will be able to put the new AF9 firmware on.
 
HOLY CRAP. This will add AirPlay and Dolby Atmos to the Sony AF9. :)

Way to bury the lead @wezzywebb

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I never understand what the atmos support in a tvs inbuilt speakers does. Surely it can't give them the atmos channels? They are normally for ceiling mounted speakers or at least higher up.
 
Another reason to be glad you didn't put the AG9 firmware on your AF9!
 
I never understand what the atmos support in a tvs inbuilt speakers does. Surely it can't give them the atmos channels? They are normally for ceiling mounted speakers or at least higher up.

That’s exactly what it does. :) It’s the same way you get virtual surround currently or atmos in 2ch headphones. It uses phase shifting to mimic the way you hear things to create the illusion of surround. We only have two ears after all and can hear things around and above us.

The AF9 does really good 5.1 surround as it is IMHO. So there no reason why it couldn’t have a height channel for atmos also.
 
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Super pleased to see we should be getting AirPlay 2 :) Here’s an Engadget article which also apparently confirms its coming to the US AF9:


Hats off to Sony on this.
 
I also wonder if this could be a way to get iTunes Dolby Vision/Atmos content on to the AF9 without an Apple TV.

While the Apple TV plus app on Roku and Fire TV does not give DV and Atmos, and so might well neither when it comes to Sony TVs, I remember reading that AirPlay 2 does support both.
 
I never understand what the atmos support in a tvs inbuilt speakers does. Surely it can't give them the atmos channels? They are normally for ceiling mounted speakers or at least higher up.

In addition to @CMBmovies point, getting Atmos also gets you higher quality audio in the case of iTunes (a higher bitrate DD+ stream instead of a lower bitrate DD stream). While this doesn’t have to/shouldn’t be the case - they could deliver the higher bitrate core DD+ stream to everyone - unfortunately it is. I’ve verified it first hand using the ATV developer overlay, which gives details on the codecs being played. It’s actually the only reason I added Atmos speakers in my 5.1.2 setup - I never really notice them but I do notice the better quality audio.
 
Its 100% coming to the US ,although judging by comments from over there , it was announced AFTER the other sets were confirmed
 
I also wonder if this could be a way to get iTunes Dolby Vision/Atmos content on to the AF9 without an Apple TV.

While the Apple TV plus app on Roku and Fire TV does not give DV and Atmos, and so might well neither when it comes to Sony TVs, I remember reading that AirPlay 2 does support both.

I’m pretty sure AirPlay 2 only supports 1080p sadly. But in a world where this updating is happening, maybe The Apple TV+ app will show up also? Though as you mention with the app on other model TVs - the ATV box is still the best way to watch ATV content with 3x higher bit rates and Dolby vision / atmos.
 
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This is interesting. From the flat panels article.

“In addition, Sony is listing "support for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) 100/120Hz format for USB video playback" but curiously only for the 2018 models. This may be related to the fact that these models actually have a more capable chip than the 2019 models.”

 
I’m pretty sure AirPlay 2 only supports 1080p sadly. But in a world where this updating is happening, maybe The Apple TV+ app will show up also? Though as you mention with the app on other model TVs - the ATV box is still the best way to watch ATV content with 3x higher bit rates and Dolby vision / atmos.

Hi there, I think the specifications of AirPlay 2 are still not very well explained (i.e. by Apple). Which I suspect means it is more a brand than a single protocol. I know what you mean - there were some early reports of it being limited to 1080p. But the LG implementation has been confirmed to support Dolby Vision (so presumably 4K too and handing over the web stream rather than peer to peer). Also, if you text search the transcript of this Apple presentation during WWDC 2019 for "4K" it suggests AirPlay 2 will be able to support 4K HDR:

Hopefully we get the chance to find out for ourselves soon enough :)

You're absolutely right r.e. the ATV in general, but it has always has (albeit minor) lip sync issues in my setup. So I'm very open to new ways to watch my iTunes content. I tried both Fire TV and Roku implementations of the ATV+ app; they both play with perfect lip sync in my setup, and the latter has match framerate - but they are both limited to HDR (no DV) and DD 5.1.

For me, the perfect outcome would be if the ATV+ app comes to the AF9, and ultimately gets DV and Atmos. Then - along with Airplay to see our iCloud photos - we'd be able to use the AF9 for nearly everything. Can't believe this actually seems like a real possibility now :)
 
Thanks for the update. Interesting. I've tried in vain to find confirmation Airplay supported 4K before but there was nothing concrete. 1080p can still have Dolby Vision of course (like Discovery on Netflix) but thats pretty cool if it is as we hope.

I caved in the Black Friday sales last week and bought another Dolby Atmos soundbar. lol. With my Setup the bar is in perfect synch for ATV Atmos but off and on with other sources depending on the App. So figured I'd just turn it on for atmos movies and use TV for the rest.

Now with this news I'll either take it back (again lol) or wait to see which I think is better once the update drops then maybe sell it on.
 
Thanks for the update. Interesting. I've tried in vain to find confirmation Airplay supported 4K before but there was nothing concrete. 1080p can still have Dolby Vision of course (like Discovery on Netflix) but thats pretty cool if it is as we hope.

I caved in the Black Friday sales last week and bought another Dolby Atmos soundbar. lol. With my Setup the bar is in perfect synch for ATV Atmos but off and on with other sources depending on the App. So figured I'd just turn it on for atmos movies and use TV for the rest.

Now with this news I'll either take it back (again lol) or wait to see which I think is better once the update drops then maybe sell it on.

Nice. Yeah the speakers getting Atmos support is really cool. I had an LG E7 for a while - which had good speakers (essentially an integrated midrange soundbar) and supported Atmos. You could really tell a difference when watching Netflix Atmos content vs non-Atmos content. Really it was still just stereo sound, but there was a noticeable bump in quality - depth, bass, dynamics, detail etc - even just from the "TV Speakers".
 
Nice. Yeah the speakers getting Atmos support is really cool. I had an LG E7 for a while - which had good speakers (essentially an integrated midrange soundbar) and supported Atmos. You could really tell a difference when watching Netflix Atmos content vs non-Atmos content. Really it was still just stereo sound, but there was a noticeable bump in quality - depth, bass, dynamics, detail etc - even just from the "TV Speakers".

The X8500 I bought (again) I find works really well... if I'm sat on the floor so it's near my ear level. The surround effect is less pronounced when I'm sat at a normal height. I love the design of the AF9 but it doesn't leave room underneath it so the bar sits on what's essentially the top AV shelf lower down the cabinet. I'm presuming the AF9's built in surround is more convincing as it's speakers are naturally at ear level.

I started googling for rubber door stops to essentially tilt the bar so it's aimed at my head for a normal sitting height and found these acoustic speaker tilting things lol. So looking forward to trying it out when they are delivered tomorrow.

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Just popped on here to see what's been going on and I find some very nice surprises, this TV just keeps on giving doesn't it :)
Just one point regarding the surround sound, I've never heard surround effects using the TV speakers with any source and I have the sound setting on Dolby audio and surround on, just doesn't seem very effective to me. Whether the fact it's wall mounted makes a difference I don't know (don't see why it would) , anyway looking forward to the android 9 update and Atmos comparability and seeing how things sound then, a nice Xmas present from Sony :)
 
Just popped on here to see what's been going on and I find some very nice surprises, this TV just keeps on giving doesn't it :)
Just one point regarding the surround sound, I've never heard surround effects using the TV speakers with any source and I have the sound setting on Dolby audio and surround on, just doesn't seem very effective to me. Whether the fact it's wall mounted makes a difference I don't know (don't see why it would) , anyway looking forward to the android 9 update and Atmos comparability and seeing how things sound then, a nice Xmas present from Sony :)

Welcome back :) Your mileage may vary for the surround effect depending on the shape / size of the room. How far you sit ect. That’s why atmos sound bar reviews are so polarising. You have a bunch of reviews swearing it works and a bunch saying it’s snake oil.

For me I find it definitely works. But we’re all different and that’s what makes the world a beautiful place. :)
 

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