Sony has announced pricing and details on the European release for its BRAVIA A1 OLED 4K HDR TV.
Unveiled in CES 2017 back in January, Sony’s BRAVIA A1 OLED 4K HDR TV (which caught a lot of attention at the show for its screen acting as both a display and speaker), is taking pre-orders ahead of a May 2017 European release.
In addition to featuring what the manufacturer calls the “world’s first Acoustic Surface sound system,” the Android-powered BRAVIA A1 OLED series incorporates Sony’s 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme and a slim, stand-less form factor (without the need for speakers at the side or below). The OLED A1 reportedly has over 8 million self-illuminating pixels, Sony say the TV offers a wide viewing angle and deep blacks for viewers.
“Since the product reveal at CES in January this year we have received amazing feedback praising BRAVIA A1 OLED’s innovative combination of industry-leading picture quality with the ingenious Acoustic Surface sound design,” commented Motoi Kawamura, head of TV marketing and product planning at Sony Europe.
“Emits sound from the screen itself”
Taking advantage of the OLED’s backlight-less structure, the TV features Sony’s newly developed Acoustic Surface sound technology to emit sound from the screen itself. Unlike LED TVs (where the sound emanates from the bottom or sides), the A1 “fuses image and sound” to give the impression that voice are coming from directly from the characters speaking and explosions from the screen.
The Acoustic Surface technology also is said to produce a wide sound and image synchronisation from all angles – even from the sides.
Sony’s 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme image engine supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision-1 and can also upscale non-HDR content to near 4K HDR quality through object-based HDR Remaster technology. Motionflow technology furthermore works to reduce motion artefacts for natural motion reproduction.
Other technologies including Triluminos Display maps colours for a wider palette, alongside Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR designed to reduce “banding” and on-screen noise (via dual database processing).
The A1’s easel support packs in a subwoofer and cable management system which can be folded-in, against the TV or wall-mounted.
The pricing in the UK (dependant on retailer) has been revealed as below:
- 55-in (54.6-in diagonal) KD-55A1 £3,500 RRP
- 65-in (64.5-in diagonal) KD-65A1 £5,000 RRP