Sony will be launching their 2024 line up of TVs, home audio & possibly also new home theatre products later tonight (12 midnight). Sony did not launch any new TVs or home audio products in CES 2024 earlier this Jan and decided to do their own launch event much later.
Here is a LIVE link to the launch event:
So excited for this one. Want to see how they have improved an already excellent Mini-LED offering in X95L from last year, the rumoured new backlight system.
So the big buzz is all about the flagship Mini-LED tv. Sony launched a new mastering monitor late last year, which can master content up to 4000nits, so the buzz is that they will be launching a consumer Mini LED tv that can actually make use of this much higher brightness in content going forward (which is why Sony have decided to focus on Mini LED for their flagships instead of OLED 
another rumour). It’s not that there haven’t been higher nit content available before this, but mostly it has been 1000nit mastered content, there will be more 4000nit mastered content going forward.
Apparently they came up with the consumer proto type display first and then thought they need more higher nit content for this new proto type display going forward, so the 4000nits mastering monitor was born.
Sony has never been chasing zone numbers in their FALD TVs, they have always not had the highest dimming zones in comparison to the competition, they have had the best backlight algorithm though & thus competed with FALDS with way higher dimming zones. Now with this new backlight driver they have developed…they finally can play dimming zone numbers game too.
Sony never had best blooming control either, but to my eyes they had the best blooming control without sacrificing near black details or crushing blacks to the point darker scenes lost details. Really excited to see what they can do now with more dimming zones and better black control.
The new backlight system is bringing a new piece of hardware into the mix, so it’s not just a better software or better processor (which is usually the case for year-on-year improvement), Sony have developed a new Intergrated Circuit Mini-LED driver, this new IC is significantly better in two ways 1) they have shrunk it, so they can have more within the same real estate than before 2) more bandwidth per IC, so it can handle way more data now than before. Sony claims it’s the worlds smallest MiniLED driver currently in the market. So this small IC allows Sony to actually put more LEDs in the backlight panel, thanks to the extra space now available, so the backlight density is significantly higher than what they could do with the X95L, this means more precise backlight controlling around objects, so the local dimming & local boosting will now be far more precise and also can go far lower and far higher, so black can be more black & brighter parts of image can go even more brighter.
some leak photos here, just in case the models shown onscreen in the launch event doesn’t shows all… especially the leggy part.
The newer 2024 models (with the equivalent older predecessor range)
Bravia 9 (X95L) - A mini LED QLED TV Sony’s best backlight and contrast hardware.
Bravia 8 (A80L) - A wrgb OLED. Not MLA+ panel though. 
Bravia 7 (X90L) - A mini LED QLED TV. Not as many dimming zones as Bravia 9, not as bright as Bravia 9, not as many miniLEDs as Bravia 9. Basically a trickle down version of Bravia 9, this will probably be the best selling 2024 model. The X90 range usually sells well, this one is the equivalent.
Bravia 3 (X85L) - A FALD Led tv.
Good news is the Bravia 9 will be available in SG.
I reckon the Bravia 9 85" will launch with an MSRP of S$13999 
, will be surprised if it’s anything less. Will probably have a pre-order sale though, usually sony does have a pre-order sale.
The pricing of the Bravia 7 will be interesting. That is the big volume sales model usually, hopefully it’s priced competitively. MSRP for 85" @ S$8999 ?
SUCH A BUMMER. Looks like we won’t be getting the 65" version of the BRAVIA 9 here in Singapore, similar to the UK. Mad decision given that is still the biggest sales volume size in Singapore.
Bravia 7 is available in 3 sizez 65, 75 & 85.
Bravia 3 is available from 43" to 85"
Bravia 8, the Wrgb OLED is not available in 77" size here. Don’t think anyone will be buying this OLED range at all tbh, it’s neither QD nor MLA+ panel & neither is it available in a bigger 77" here. Why did they even make this model? 
Sony Japan had cut down their production volume few years ago, Malaysia plant have to push up production volume to feed Taiwan and HongKong along with Asia-Pac market with the mid-high, high-end makes. the mid-low, low end makes now comes from Vietnam plant.
since the price had not finalize, we could probably get a rough idea how the pricing would be.
the construction of backlight structure to the Bravia 9 range is complex due to the integration of ICs to control different zones of diodes. such implementation and contruction, which is exclusive to Sony now, is very much… costly. hence, OLED don’t get to be ranked above miniLED display this year.
who are the competitors that Sony is out to beat? i say, personally, the Bravia 9 range is out to kick Chinese butts rather than the Koreans, where the latter now are relying on brand devotees’ supports as well as their bottle-necked tech. both TCL and HiSense had been grabbing international consumer attentions with their highest-end “thousands nit, thousands diode, thousands dimming zones” products, the X955 range as well as the UX range.
price, the most important numbers that would draw buyers interests, especially here in SG. @$14k for 85", the Bravia 9 could kick TCL’s 98X955, as well as HiSense 85UX-K by creating an impression that “Chinese can make 3-Thousands tech, we Japs can make and deliver better pictures with refinements”.
For those interested, a Q&A session for the 2024 Sony Bravia TVs & Bravia Theatre line-up by Sony:
not only 65XR90, 55XR70 is also probably not…
…so soon or cancelled. only time will tell.
on OLED, Sony’s “lack” of QD-OLED model option may yet to be finalize. 2 possibilities…
the top 6 expensive models’ target price leaked!
The 2023 A95L flagship OLED only starting shipping to customers in September, technically it’s a 6 month old product, I think Sony were right to not release a newer flagship QD OLED so fast into a flagship product cycle. Rumours are Sony will release a QD OLED successor to A95L during IFA in September 2024, probably will be named Bravia 10 or Bravia X.
Also the Sony staff in Q & A and Caleb Denison a fews back suggested Sony might actually be doing a staggered approach to product release, meaning the A95L were actually suppose to compete with the 2024 OLED TVs, so in that sense they actually released a 2024 OLED model early in late 2023, so if that was supposed to be true, then we will probably see a 2025 OLED model release in September/October 2024. Let’s see.
WOW. They have actually slapped the same MSRP for 85" Bravia 9 as the X95L 85" last year.
USA has seen a $1000 hike in MSRP for Bravia 9 from X95L.
Officially available to pre-order at Sony Singapore, TVs will start shipping to customers in June. The 65" Bravia 9 won’t be sold here in our market, confirmed, neither will the 77" Bravia 8 OLED. Surprised how early the flagship has gone for sale here in our market.
This is bad move. Agreed that the 65" will be popular size here.
And I would love to see the 77" oled in sg. 77" oled is lovely. Sigh.
Yeah pretty baffling decision. Lot of uproar in the UK forums, no 65” in UK market too.
the one and only BRAVIA9 product on display now @Courts Tampines is the 75-XR90.
Breakdown of all the Home Audio Sony 2024 products:
The Voice Zoom 3 looks very promising, really curious to hear if it works as promised. Sony’s 360 spatial sound mapping had some rave reviews last few years, wonder if the new iteration (future update) will take it even further.
