Sony Shows New Bravia XBR10 LCD TVs and Bravia VPL-VW85 SXRD Projector at CEDIA
Sony always has a large presence at the CEDIA Expo and this year is no different. Sony's booth is the first one you run into when you go through the main entrance. In it they are introducing a pair of new LCD TVs, their Bravia XBR10 series, in both 46" and 52" sizes. Sony has something interesting to show us every year. Last year it was Motion Flow 240Hz, and this year it is the edge lit LED XBR10 sets. They are sporting 240Hz, naturally and have Ethernet connectivity as well. The Bravia Internet lets the new sets play streaming content. You'll be able to see the sets in stores next month, but no word on prices yet, but they are possibly $4,500 and $5,00 for the 46" and 52" respectively.
Take note that the new Sonys are edge lit LED, not back lit with dynamic backlighting. That allows for a very slim form factor, but does not allow for the backlight in individual areas of the screen to be dimmed to improve black levels.
Similar functionality is included on Sony's new Blu Ray disc player, the BDP-N460, set to start shipping next month. As has become the norm lately, the BDP-N460 supports streaming content including Netflix, Amazon On Demand, YouTube, and Slacker Radio. Other services are said to be supported as well. Pandora, anyone? The player will also allow you to play content off a thumb drive.
Several of the new Sony products support wireless 1080p content streaming using WiHD technology. This will let components share content wirelessly. Now can have that TV over the stone fireplace, as long as you remembered to put a power outlet up there.
What about the new Sony projector? Actually Sony has 2 new SXRD projectors at the show, the aforementioned Bravia VPL-VW85, and the VPL-VW15. The VPL-VW85 claims a whopping 120,000:1 contrast ratio! In addition the 85 brings with it Sony's Advanced Iris 3 technology and Motionflow 120Hz processing. It does have built-in anamorphic lens support.
Similarly to what JVC added to some of their projectors a few years ago, the new Sony has a panel alignment function on the VPL-VW85.Contrary to popular belief, not all is necessarily perfectly aligned in 3 chip projectors. In fact, it is common of one of the colors to be a pixel too far one way or the other. Just because the CRT is dead doesn't mean convergence errors are too, but Sony lets you correct this now.
The VPL-VW85 will ship later this month at an MSRP of $7,000. That si a great projector value, but still too rich for some folks. For those that want a Sony projector but can't quite bite off the 85, Sony will have the VPL-VW15.
Shipping next month the VPL-VW15 SXRD projector will still get you 1080p native resolution, but at a reduced (but still pretty darn good) 60,000:1 contrast ratio. You'll have to wait another month for the VPL-VW15, but when it shows up in October, it will be at a recession friendly $2,800.
