Dec 7 First Impression - Sony 84" 4K TV
One of our listeners (Rob Smith) in Waterloo, Ontario Canada had the good fortune of seeing a demo of the Sony 84 inch 4K TV at a Sony store. He has given us permission to share with you his impressions of the TV. It confirms how we felt about 4K after seeing demos at CES last January.
SONY 84 inch 4K TV
Recently, you’ve talked on the Podcast about the Sony 84” 4k TV.
I wanted to share that I was able to view this unit in action at a local Sony dealer last night (Gibson’s Sound and Vision in Waterloo, Ontario Canada)
Just the physical size and sleek design of the unit alone when you walk into the room is enough to make a great first impression, but when you see the demo content - In a word – Awesome!
We were invited to get as close to the screen as we wanted – no screen door effect, just vibrant colors and VERY detailed images in the demo material.
As you stand and look at the picture being displayed, it strikes you that it’s very much like looking at a scene though a window.
The Sony rep was playing 4K content, shot with Sony 4K cameras from a server sitting beside the TV. It sounds like one of these servers will be provided with each unit sold.
The server hasn’t been approved for use in Canada yet, probably due to cross border content licensing issues but the rep was confident it wouldn’t be long until it was ready for use here as well.
Then the Sony rep asked if we’d like to see the upscaling capabilities, and switched the input to a PS3 playing a BluRay of The Avengers. With or without a bowl of Popcorn, I could easily have sat and watched The Avengers in upscaled 4K for the rest of the night. WOW! The detail you could see in the actors faces, on their costumes and in the sets around them was something I’ve not experienced before. Of course the mileage will vary depending on the quality of the source material. 1080P BluRays originally shot in 4K upscale best.
Some interesting facts (as I understood them);
- Server Content will be updated/added via internet connection
- The initial video card created for this server, which was one of the first developed to be capable of outputting 4K through a single HDMI cable cost $20,000.00 – and due to the magic of mass production that price has dropped to around $700.00. I believe it was an Nvidia card, but don’t quote me on that
- The TV is 3D capable and uses Passive glasses - due to the native resolution at 4K viewing in 3D would mean that each eye receives full 1080P
- The display can be split into 2 screens for side by side simultaneous game playing (if the game manufacturers take advantage of the feature)
- There are decent speakers mounted to the side of the TV driven by a 50watt amplifier, but they are removable
- During a stop in Toronto, Sony has sold (but not necessarily delivered yet) a number of these units already
- Due to the sizes of the files, future content should be available from a 4 layer BluRay disk (once this expanded format completes the approval processes)
All in all, if I won the lottery, this $25,000.00 beauty would be in my house tomorrow!
Thanks for the podcast, and keep the great information coming!
Rob Smith
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada
Reader Comments (1)
Interesting. I visited the local Sony store (Auckland, New Zealand) last weekend to view the same model TV and left feeling rather underwhelmed.
I mean, it looked great, but not mind-blowing-I-just-gotta-have-it great.
It really wasn't the reaction I expected from myself!
If I had an unloved wad of nz$ 35,000 and a desire to knock out walls of my house, and it'd be great.
Cheers,
Kerry