Sony Unveils Radical New TV And Soundbar Range For 2024 - And The Top TV Isn’t OLED

The day has finally come when I’m allowed to talk about Sony’s new TV and soundbar range for 2024 - and hopefully you’ll agree the wait has been worth it as the venerable brand unveils a radical restructure of its AV approach, and confirms that the exciting-looking LCD backlight TV revamp it showed in prototype form at the CES in January is, as all who saw it hoped it would, turning up in an actual 2024 consumer TV.

Sony first formally introduced its 2024 range revamp last month to a startlingly large horde of journalists (including yours truly) at a two-day event at Sony Pictures’ Culver City Studios in Los Angeles, no less - the perfect location to promote the brand’s revitalised ‘we can deliver a joined up content journey all the way from the filmmaker’s camera to the TV in your living room’ message.

As a sign of just how important Sony sees its 2024 range revamp, this launch event was on a scale that I can’t recall seeing from Sony since it put on a similar show with a 4K TV event it ran more than a decade ago. Even ‘Top Gun Maverick’ director Joseph Kosinski and his cinematographer Claudio Miranda put in an appearance to extol the virtues of making blockbuster films with Sony cameras and mastering monitors. So I guess I’d better get on with explaining all the juicy details!

The three biggest headlines are that Sony is simplifying its new core TV range into Bravia 7, Bravia 8 and Bravia 9 series; that it’s introducing a new range of soundbars and audio systems that includes the same Bravia 8 and 9 designations, in a clear bid to entice more people to buy Sony TV and soundbar packages; and that the top of the line Bravia 9 TV will be built around the hugely promising new high-brightness LED backlighting engine that caused such a stir at the CES.

The new Bravia 7, Bravia 8 and Bravia 9 TVs use Mini LED, OLED and Mini LED again technologies respectively, with the Bravia 9 benefitting from Sony’s advanced new backlight system - a system that’s claimed to deliver a 50% increase in brightness over its already far from dull X95L predecessor, as well as three times as many local dimming zones.

The Bravia 9’s so-called XR Backlight Master Drive is built around three key elements: The processor, the LED Driver and the LEDs themselves. The latest Sony XR processor separates the LCD and backlighting data, with the LED driver taking the backlight data and telling the mini LEDs what they need to do with it.

The Bravia 9’s LED drivers feature a completely new design that’s claimed to deliver 22 bits of performance from an exceptionally small chip, enabling the TV to both enhance dimming zone precision while simultaneously improving energy efficiency thanks to better control over the LEDs’ current and time domains. In fact, despite its huge brightness boost over its predecessor, the Bravia 9 claims to be 20% more energy efficient.

For the past couple of years Sony has positioned QD OLED TVs as its flagship models. The Bravia 9, though, is placed in Sony’s latest range above 2023’s flagship A95L QD OLED series (which is set to continue as Sony’s premium OLED option for the forseeable future). This speaks volumes about Sony’s ambitions for its new Mini LED-based XR Backlight Master Drive - as well as reminding us that for Sony brightness is key to unlocking the full potential of today’s high dynamic range content. Don’t forget, after all, that Sony’s Professional division also recently introduced a mastering monitor capable of hitting 4000 nits light peaks.

The new XR processor includes a couple of significant new features designed to make it even more effective at recognising and responding to different types of picture content in real time. A new Scene Recognition system can detect the context of a shot to better know how to handle detail and clarity, while an improved Face detection system can now tell if something’s a face and adjust that part of the image’s appearance for a more natural look even if the face only appears in profile, is only partially complete thanks to, say, an extreme close up, or even if there are multiple small faces to detect in a crowd scene.

The Bravia 9 TVs will also enjoy Sony’s X-Wide Angle and X-Anti Reflection features (both of which do exactly what they say on the tin), use a Quantum Dot colour system, and carry the Calibrated modes for Sony Pictures Core (the new name for Bravia Core), Netflix and even, thanks to a brand new collaboration also announced at the Sony Pictures event, Prime Video.

When it comes to sound, the Bravia 9s will get a so-called Acoustic Multi-Audio+ arrangement of eight speakers - including new Beam Tweeter technology for more accurate effects placement - delivering 70W of power into 2.2.2 channels of sound. The X95Ls, by comparison, only delivered 60W into a 2.2-channel arrangement, lacking the two new ‘up-firing’ frame tweeter amplifiers the Bravia 9 has built along its top edge.

The Bravia 9 also - along with the Bravia 8 and 7 - benefits from an improved version of Sony’s Acoustic Centre Sync system, where the TV’s speakers can take on partial centre-channel sound duties when connected to Sony soundbars. Fitting a soundbar beneath any of the new TVs is helped by the fact that their desktop feet can be attached so that the screen is lifted a couple of inches above whatever furniture you’ve placed it on. There are actually four foot mounting positions in total, since as well as the low/high screen positioning you can also opt to fit the feet relatively close together or right out under the screens’ corners.

If you find yourself struggling to make out what people are saying during a particular film or TV show, a clever new Voice Zoom 3 feature uses serious high-tech AI sound separation technology to detect, isolate and then enhance vocals in a mix so that you no longer miss a single word. That said, Sony has also amusingly provided the option with Voice Zoom 3 to isolate and then essentially remove dialogue from what you’re watching - handy if you happen to hate the person commentating on the football match you’re watching.

One final new audio feature finds the Bravia 9 (and 8 and 7) supporting simultaneous playback of audio through both the the TV’s speakers and a Bluetooth device. As well as the sound being playable from TV speakers only, the Bluetooth device only or both simultaneously, it’s also possible to adjust the volume of each sound output individually.

The Bravia 9 supports the full Dolby house of Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound, while gamers can benefit from support for 4K/120Hz, variable refresh rates, Auto Low Latency Mode switching, and Sony’s dedicated Game Menu of gaming related features and signal information. Plus, of course, there’s compatibility with Sony’s Perfect For PlayStation 5 system where Sony’s console can tell exactly which model of Sony TV it’s connected to and automatically adjust its HDR output accordingly. The only disappointment here is that only two of the four available HDMIs are capable of handling the full range of cutting edge gaming features.

The Bravia 9 series will be available in 85 and 75-inch screen sizes in the next few weeks, with an additional 65-inch model also being available in the US.

Stepping down to the Bravia 8s, these OLED models will feature medium level ‘EX’ grade WRGB panels rather than the Quantum Dot OLED panels of the continuing-from-2023 A95L OLED range. Nor will they benefit from the Micro Lens Array brightness-enhancing technology found in one or two WRGB rivals these days - but this makes sense within a range where the Bravia 8s are positioned as the more affordable OLED alternatives to the ongoing A95Ls.

The Bravia 8s are powered by Sony’s latest XR chipset again, delivering the latest refinements on Sony’s XR Triluminos Pro colour management system, XR Clear Image system for reducing image noise and blur, XR Contrast Booster system, and an XR OLED Motion system that’s especially designed to compensate for OLED’s specific judder issues.

The Bravia 8 supports 4K/120Hz and VRR/ALLM gaming too, along with the Perfect For PlayStation 5 features and dedicated Game Menu screen, while its ‘Studio Calibrated’ modes cover all the same content providers that the Bravia 9 does.

The Bravia 8’s sound system, though, differs considerably from that of the Bravia 9. Its Acoustic Surface 2.1-channel arrangement finds two smart actuators causing the TV’s actual screen to vibrate and generate the bulk of each TV’s sound, while two sound positioning tweeters work to ensure that sounds appear to be coming from the correct part of the screen.

As with the Bravia 9s, the Bravia 8s’ two desktop feet can be positioned in four different ways, depending on the width of the furniture you’re placing the TV on and whether you want to raise the screen to accommodate a soundbar.

The Bravia 8s will be available in 55, 65 and 75-inch screen sizes.

Impressively given that they’re ranged below the Bravia 8s, the Bravia 7s are built on another Mini LED panel design. In fact, Sony still refers to the panels they use as XR Backlight Master Drive panels, and claims that they’re going to be 30% brighter than 2023’s X90L equivalents, as well as improving light control to the tune of eight times as many local dimming zones.

There’s no return of the X-Wide Angle And X-Anti Reflection features of the Bravia 9, and obviously as they’re going to be significantly cheaper, these panels aren’t configured to deliver the same level of brightness or contrast as the Bravia 9s - or such precise local light controls. That said, demonstrations at the recent Sony event showed their picture quality looking very promising indeed for their potentially quite affordable price points (though I hasten to add that formal pricing has not yet been announced for any of Sony’s new kit).

The Bravia 7s pleasingly continue to support the 4K/120Hz gaming, VRR, ALLM and Perfect For PlayStation 5 gaming features, and the dedicated Game Menu.

The Bravia 7s’ sound is built on a two-channel Acoustic Multi-Audio configuration of four speakers, including two sound positioning tweeters. Plus, again, you could use its speakers in Acoustic Centre Sync mode with one of Sony’s new soundbars.

The Bravia 7s will be available in 65, 75 and 85-inch models in the US, with an additional 55-inch model available for the UK.

One last point to note is that no less than six 2023 Sony TV series are currently set to continue fthrough 2024: The A95L OLEDs, as previously mentioned, the (small screen) A90K OLEDs, plus the X90L, the X85L, the X80L, and X75WL LCD series.

Let’s move npw on to the quartet of new audio products Sony has just revealed for 2024. Starting with the key Bravia Theater Bar 8 and Bravia Theatre Bar 9 soundbars.

As with Sony’s previous ’A Series’ of soundbars, the two new models will ship as single bar solutions that you can upgrade with optional rear and external subwoofer speakers. In fact, these upgrade speakers, the SA-RS5 and SA-RS3S rears plus SA-SW5 and SA-SW3 subwoofers, are the same ones you could add to the A Series soundbars. The main Bar 8 and Bar 9 soundbars feature a number of improvements, though.

The Bravia Theatre Bar 9 is 36% smaller all round than the A7000 it’s designed to replace, for starters, yet the 13 speakers included in its compact form are claimed to deliver an even better sound. Those speakers comprise two ‘X-Balanced’ side speakers, two X-Balanced up-firing speakers, left, centre and right tweeters, two beam tweeters at either end, and four X-Balanced forward-facing woofers. Plus there are a pair of passive radiators to help air flow with low frequencies.

The glass top of Sony’s previous A7000 flagship soundbar has been replaced by a crisp grey felt finish that simply wraps uninterrupted around the sides, too, for a less striking but ultimately more unified finish.

The Bravia Theatre Bar 8 resembles a shrunk down Bar 9 (it’s 30% more compact than the A5000 it replaces, too), again losing the ‘hard’ top in favour of a wrap-around grey felt. It still manages to accommodate 11 speakers within its compact form, though: two X-Balanced side speakers, two X-Balanced up-firing speakers, four X-Balanced front woofers, and left, centre and right tweeters. There’s no space here, though, for the passive radiators or the beam tweeters.

Both soundbars are equipped with Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping feature, which creates phantom speakers around you for a fully immersive hemisphere of sound, and both soundbars support Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced sound systems.

Impressively specced though the Theatre Bar 8 and 9 are, and they don’t represent the apex of Sony’s 2024 home audio offering. That honour belongs to the new Bravia Theatre Quad. Designed as a replacement for Sony’s well-received HT-A9 external four-speaker surround system, the big news here is that the hefty cylindrical shaping of the A9 speakers has been replaced by much more practical, living room friendly flat panel designs (275(h) x 289(w) x 55(d)mm). This means the speakers can be hung on your walls without sticking out any further than a typical painting (or your TV) - though the package also ships with neat open bar-style feet for each speaker if you’d rather stand them on shelves or furniture.

The Quad speakers finished in a neutral, vaguely magnolia colour to stop them taking over the look of your living space too much, while internally their completely redesigned audio set up sees the speaker count increase from 12 speakers across the four components to 16 speakers. This is because the completely redesigned tweeter, midrange speaker and X-Balanced woofer drivers in each speaker are joined by a new up-firing X-Balanced driver to improve the system’s Dolby Atmos and DTS:X performance. The HT-A9 system, to be fair, made great use of Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping system to create virtual height channel effects, but adding actual physical up-firers can only be a good thing when it comes to creating a more precise hemisphere of movie or music sound. This system sounded seriously good during demos at the Sony event.

The Bravia Theater Bars and Theatre Quad systems can all be controlled now, thankfully, by the Bravia Connect App for Android and Apple devices. It’s possible using this app, too, to calibrate your Sony audio system using a new, more accurate Sound Field Optimisation system which more precisely takes into account your exact room layout and listening position.

Last and kind of least among Sony’s major AV announcements for 2024 is the Bravia Theatre U. This is Sony’s latest stab at designing a ‘surround sound’ speaker system that’s designed to rest on your shoulders. Two improved (over its predecessor) X-Balanced full range speakers have been fitted into the ‘neck band’ design, making it capable of delivering more sound pressure, less distortion and clearer dialogue. These new drivers have been integrated without significantly compromising the Theatre U’s weight or comfort, though; on the contrary, the system feels extremely light and well contoured, making it easy to wear even over extended movie viewing or, more likely, gaming sessions.

Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound know-how has fed into the creation of a personal 3D sound effect from the Theatre U, while battery life is claimed to be a very credible 12 hours (with 60 minutes of playback possible from just a 10 minute charge time). Bluetooth connectivity is now supported for two separate Theatre U users simultaneously from the latest Bravia TVs with no need for a dongle, while PlayStation 5 connectivity supports multipoint connections with laptops or smart devices.

Personally I remain a little uncertain of the point of products like the Theatre U when a good set of headphones can deliver a more powerful and immersive effect. But there was no doubt during demos at Sony Pictures that the Theatre U offers a substantial improvement over its predecessor, particularly when it comes to the power of its sound and the clarity and conviction of its 3D sound staging. Especially with game sources.

That, finally, is that. All that’s left to say is that I’ll be adding more about Sony’s 2024 AV range - including pricing and a review or two - on my Forbes channel in the coming weeks and months.

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