Sony announces new A1 4K OLED TV with Dolby Vision - news discussion

If OLED want to be a serious contender then they should lower the prices. Otherwise most of the people won't event bother or justifies to pay more than 2k for just an 55 inch screen.
Wait 4-6 months after initial release and they do become relatively at least .. 65 b6 on release 4299£ dropped to £2700 and less 4 months later .. I bought high so not a happy bunny .
 
I don't think BFI is the be all and end all solution, especially not when Sony's motion handling prowess is concerned, and I think the ZD9 is precisely where we have to look as possible proof of this (remember the Z's X1 Extreme chip caries over to the Sony OLEDs and 2017 mid range LEDs now).

Z9 review indicates that you can get BFI to kick in on the Z series once you amp up the 'clearness' to its highest setting, but as is known, BFI reduces the brightness and on the Z becomes rather flickery. The inherent nature of OLED technology may see it respond differently to the same settings, I'm honestly not sure, but the same menu options from the Z are quite likely to be there on the OLEDs if we want it since the same chipset is being used.

Again though, from reading Z series reviews there seem to be more optimal settings for motion. From AV Forums own ZD9 settings video for example, you'll see Steve highlight the preference for TrueCinema, and as you say yourself, raymondo, the Z's sample and hold motion performance (thanks to whatever magic Sony are conjuring there) is exceptional.

Bottom line really is Sony have a remarkably good history with motion processing which, combined with their expertise having already made their own 30" industry standard OLED monitor, really puts them at an advantage over their competitors here.
Exactly...so hopefully they will push the high bar up that lg have placed up there and move it higher... cant wait!
 
The B6 I have has V Banding visible when viewing panning shots .. though no doubt present from day 1 , mine is now over 7 months old and it is only the last 3 months it has become visible to my eyes at least .. if it had been visible from day 1 on content , I would have sent it back .

This is my 4th OLED , 930 920 950 .. for me the 930 has been the best .. the 950/B6 the worse .
That's gutting...oled owners generally get a fairly uniformed screen too...most owners get very defensive about their sets..this makes me reluctant to get one now ...hate banding etc
 
By the look of the stand the panel isn't vertical
Can anyone confirm this ?
Thanks
 
Looks fantastic.

I am sure the tilt can be adjusted to make it stand vertically. Would be interested the know the actual brightness for HDR.

There was a rumour before that Sony would be selling their OLED TV on a budget price of $2,999 for 65 inch but looking at this stunning set, it looks like a premium set and would sell for a hefty price.

Not bothered about 3D, which I never watch and don't need.
 
I don't believe the stand can be adjusted for vertical alignment, but to follow up on early concerns about mounting options... I don't know if we're allowed to link to other news sites in forum news threads so I'll refrain, but there's a CES show floor interview on Youtube from Abt where the Sony rep talks about how the back panel can come off and it IS VESA compliant so it "can be mounted with anything that you'd like"... So, worst case is that you'd buy a third party pedestal stand if you want a different table mounting option to the silly titled kickstand.

I should also add that the rep said "summer" for release in the interview.
 
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I do hope there are mounting holes in a rough VESA pattern as I have one of the stands that attach to the rear of the TV rather than the TV taking a shelf of its own.

Regarding HLG then it can be lived without for now if no one is broadcasting it, and no iPlayer apps or external Sky boxes support it. People have had DV for a year with nothing to feed it for example.

Regarding HDMI 2.1 then if nothing within the TV can use its extra features then it would be pointless adding it to the ever expanding specs list. For an AV receiver it's different - it has to be able to cope with a range of equipment. For HLG 2.0b is enough I believe.

The only other spec of interest to me is the input lag - please don't be 40+ !
 
Android + Sony's appalling customer service = no sale. I had three Sony TVs last year with multiple faults, but it's the Android operating system that needs to go. In can be all singing and all dancing, but what is the point if it reboots itself and freezes every so often?
I've never had a problem once with android on either of my Sony sets. . A reset once every six months when I've had the android swirls and it's great..
 
I've never had a problem once with android on either of my Sony sets. . A reset once every six months when I've had the android swirls and it's great..

Sony's implementation of Android TV was the reason I returned the ZD9.

Here's an example of how rock solid it was for me:


If they're simply lifting and shifting the CPU/SOC/RAM etc into the A1 then there's no way I'm going anywhere near it.
 
Wil
Sony's implementation of Android TV was the reason I returned the ZD9.

Here's an example of how rock solid it was for me:


If they're simply lifting and shifting the CPU/SOC/RAM etc into the A1 then there's no way I'm going anywhere near it.

wouldnt accept that, it would drive mad!
 
Wil

wouldnt accept that, it would drive mad!

Yeah it was crap. Pity, because the image was great (apart from the awful light bleed with the painfully bright HDR). Currys agreed with me that it was unacceptable, and back it went.

I know other forum members haven't had the same problems, but as it was my first (Sony) Android TV experience it's made me quite wary of trying again.

That said, I'm looking forward to (once all of the arguing and naysaying has died down) some user reviews, the more great tech on the market the better as far as I'm concerned.:D
 
Bottom line really is Sony have a remarkably good history with motion processing which, combined with their expertise having already made their own 30" industry standard OLED monitor, really puts them at an advantage over their competitors here.
And that last bit is what REALLY excites me about Sony entering the domestic OLED market: they've been making pro-grade OLED monitors for years so if even a smidgen of that expertise ends up in this set then it could be very, very special indeed.

Add to that's Panasonic's own shenanigans with their OLED using PHL's boffins to fine tune the processing and you can see why LG have got into bed with Technicolour to add some finesse to their own processing: their previous efforts were fine when it was just LG or the highway when it came to buying an OLED, but they could get shown up big-time by the 2017 efforts of Sony and Panny and they've upped their game as a result. Brilliant!

I've been going on about this for years re: OLED, that it desperately needed competition to really make the tech perform as best it can and now it seems as if we're FINALLY getting there. Sure, it doesn't look as if prices will be coming down any time soon because LG are still the only ones making these panels in any kind of large commercial volume but I dropped £3.3K on a 55" Sony 4K LCD set 4 years ago and I'd be happy to drop the same on a 55" Sony 4K OLED now. Gonna wait for reviews, mind....
 
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...I dropped £3.3K on a 55" Sony 4K LCD set 4 years ago and I'd be happy to drop the same on a 55" Sony 4K OLED now. Gonna wait for reviews, mind....

It's a funny thing coming from my 50" KURO which I will have had for 10yrs come November. It feels like the right time to retire it because I am eager to get into 4k and HDR at home now, and the Sony OLED might well be a case of perfect timing.

I'd been thinking £2500 max budget for a new TV purchase since investigating what's out there over the last few months, and accepted that going from a KURO to edge lit LED is going to bring about some compromises (as well as some benefits). From that perspective of upgrading from what once was a very expensive high end set though, it's probably not right to limit my budget if there's a chance of replacing what I have with a truly worthy modern successor. To that end I probably shouldn't be adverse to potentially spending north of the £3500 the Pioneer cost me back in the day (and it would surely be north of that figure as I also have a burning desire to move up to 65") should I feel like I am genuinely getting value from the premium expense. I'd be surprised if any new TV lasted as long as my Pioneer has, mind you, partly because TVs today seem so dependent on being feature laden and beholden to ever changing standards. In the end it's all going to be a case of weighing up features, performance, screen size and price. I'd like to think the 65" would not retail for more than £4500, but we'll see. Were it to hit that price I'd probably still be holding for it to drop below £4000.

I could still ultimately be swayed by a terrific value LED option to serve me a couple of years if it ticked enough boxes, so I am keen to hear more about this year's Sony LED sets and hope some focus on them this week does not go forgotten amidst the OLED hype. I'm typically more inclined to aim for making longer term investments when it comes to this sort of thing though, and a TV will mark the start of completely re-building a home cinema set up from scratch.
 
Great ...about time someone other than lg brought one out....decent brand at last! Does it have bfi?

Sony don't have OLED panel production (nor does Panasonic). Guess where they buy their panels from... Yes, LG factory in Poland....

Sorry to disappoint you.....
 
Regarding the stand/mount, interesting hands on

The stand serves a few purposes. Rip off the cloth cover panel and you’ll find the stand houses the TV’s subwoofer and connections. Collapse the stand and it can also serve as the TV’s built-in wall mount.
 
Regarding the stand/mount, interesting hands on

The stand serves a few purposes. Rip off the cloth cover panel and you’ll find the stand houses the TV’s subwoofer and connections. Collapse the stand and it can also serve as the TV’s built-in wall mount.

Read more at Sony A1 OLED TV hands-on | TrustedReviews


"What sticks out for me is the stability of the picture. Slow-motion pans and tracking shots are a challenge for even the best TVs, but the Sony A1 demonstrates remarkable composure, with no noticeable judder or stutter. This is a strength I’ve noticed in many of Sony’s TVs, and it’s evidence that the X1 Extreme processor is doing good work."

This should make people like @Daveikin happy, perhaps even if it doesn't have BFI.

Big, big plus.
 
Regarding the stand/mount, interesting hands on

The stand serves a few purposes. Rip off the cloth cover panel and you’ll find the stand houses the TV’s subwoofer and connections. Collapse the stand and it can also serve as the TV’s built-in wall mount.

would like some closer looks at the connections...doesn't look like the kick back stand can be done away with...what a mess.
 
"What sticks out for me is the stability of the picture. Slow-motion pans and tracking shots are a challenge for even the best TVs, but the Sony A1 demonstrates remarkable composure, with no noticeable judder or stutter. This is a strength I’ve noticed in many of Sony’s TVs, and it’s evidence that the X1 Extreme processor is doing good work."

This should make people like @Daveikin happy, perhaps even if it doesn't have BFI.

Big, big plus.
But surely, unless they're using BFI which early reports suggest they're not, they were either looking at 50Hz+ or 24fps with interpolation. If they can do something clever to make 24fps look smooth on panning shots without BFI or interpolation then great, but I'd really like someone to explain it to me.

How does the 'processing' behind two panels with instantaneous (and equal) refresh rates and no interpolation active cause motion to look different?
 
Upgrade time from the Kuro for me this year and I reckon this'll be it. Would love to go for the 77" if I keep the price a secret from t'other half.
 
would like some closer looks at the connections...doesn't look like the kick back stand can be done away with...what a mess.

It houses all of the panel's electronics and connection points, as well as the subwoofer for the speaker system, so there was never going to be an option to do away with it. For mounting you would collapse it back against the panel and mount. OK, that's not going to give you a pencil thin panel sitting flush on a pedestal stand or mounted on the wall, but I can't say that concerns me.
 

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