[CEDIA 2008] Sony Delivers Ultimate A/V Experience with New ES Blu-Ray Disc Player

BD-Live Enabled Model Features New Technologies for Unsurpassed Picture Quality

Sony today announced the new BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc™ player, featuring the company’s newly developed HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies that deliver even sharper and more vibrant images from today’s Blu-ray Disc movies.

The model, which is fully BD-Live capable, features an Ethernet connection that allows users to connect to the Internet via their existing service provider to access BD-Live features and easy firmware updates. It also is equipped with an external flash memory port and includes a 1GB Sony Micro Vault™ Tiny flash storage device.

The BDP-S5000ES also features Quick Start mode, improving boot-up times to approximately six seconds, which is seven times faster than previous models.

“Sony’s Elevated Standard, or ‘ES’ products stand for the very best Sony has to offer, and the BDP-S5000ES is no exception,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Video Division. “Featuring the incredible build quality found on all Sony ES products, the S5000ES goes above and beyond traditional Blu-ray Disc players to deliver the ultimate home theater experience.”

[CEDIA 2008] Sony Debutes LCD Television With 240HZ Frame Rate

Also Introduces Super-Slim 40-inch LCD Monitor With a Depth of a Blu-ray Disc Jewel Case

Sony continues to push the limits of display innovation and technology with today’s introduction of two new BRAVIA® flat-panel LCD high-definition televisions appealing to the hard-core home theater enthusiast and design-conscious consumer alike.

The BRAVIA KDL-52XBR7 LCD TV features 240Hz high frame rate technology, delivering exceptional motion detail in movies, sports and video games. Meanwhile, the BRAVIA KLV-40ZX1M LCD monitor features a revolutionary slim design measuring just 9.9mm, or about the thickness of a Compact Disc jewel case.

“Sony continually pushes performance and design innovation beyond any other television manufacturer,” said Jeff Goldstein, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Product Division. “From the top to the bottom of our TV line, Sony offers unmatched performance and design.”

The full HD 1080p 52-inch diagonal KDL-52XBR7 incorporates Sony’s new Motionflow™ 240Hz technology delivering an exceptionally crisp and detailed image with natural motion.
The Motionflow algorithm goes beyond traditional 120Hz technology by quadrupling the frame rate of conventional LCD TVs and interpolating three new frames, producing remarkably crisp and natural motion.

Other picture enhancements include Sony’s Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE), which helps deliver a dynamic contrast ratio of 80,000:1 and BRAVIA Engine™ 2, Sony’s digital video processor that enhances all incoming signals to match the TV’s 1080p resolution.
The model also is compatible with Sony’s BRAVIA Link modules providing the ability to seamlessly add new features.  Optional expansion modules include the BRAVIA DVD Link, the BRAVIA Wireless link, the BRAVIA Input Link, which will ship later this year, and the currently available BRAVIA Internet Video Link.

The BRAVIA Internet Video Link module attaches to the back of a selection of Sony’s 2007 and 2008 BRAVIA LCD flat-panel television models.  The service seamlessly streams on-demand entertainment including movies, TV programs, your favorite YouTube videos and a variety of other content not found on network or cable/satellite TV.  The service connects to the Internet via your existing broadband Ethernet connection and streams content, much of which is avaialble at no additional charge  Content is easily navigated with Sony’s Technical 2007 Emmy® award-winning Xross Media Bar (XMB)™ user interface.

Sony’s 1,000,000:1 contrast BRAVIAs launch in Japan October 10

Sony’s XBR6 / XBR7 / XBR8 models are still waiting in the wings for their U.S. debut, but along with HDTVs that push the extremes in thin and fast, the company announced these more conventional models it’s deemed “the highest quality BRAVIA HDTVs in history.” The XR1 (read: XBR8) series will feature a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (3,000:1 static) courtesy of those new TRILUMINOS three-color LEDs, 10-bit BRAVIA Engine 2 processing and Motionflow 120Hz technology. If you can live without 240Hz or WHDI, the 1080p 55-inch edition runs ¥750,000 ($6,489 U.S.) with a 46-inch for ¥600,000 ($5,479 U.S.).

The next level down is the X1 (read: XBR6 / XBR7) series, based on old school CCFL backlights limited to a 3,000:1 contrast rating, ranging in size from 40- to 52- inches and in price from ¥530,000 ($4,866 U.S.) to ¥320,000 ($2,922 U.S.) when they go on sale October 10. Digital Media Extender support, DLNA connectivity and all the other high end feature’s make their expected appearance across the lineup.

With fears of watered down technology effectively quelled, Sony wouldn’t make us wait until October to find out when we can buy an HDTV in the U.S. or Europe from this lineup — somehow we doubt it.

Sony, Samsung to Spend US $1.8B on New LCD Line

Sony and Samsung are reaffirming their alliance in LCD (liquid crystal display) panel manufacturing with plans to jointly construct a third flat-screen factory in South Korea.

The 1.8 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) production line will be built by S-LCD, a joint venture between Sony and Samsung that already operates two factories in Tangjeong in South Korea. The new factory will be built at the same site and is scheduled to start turning out LCD panels in the second quarter of 2009, the two companies said Friday.

It will be based on so-called eighth-generation technology and has been given the name 8-2. That means it will be able to accept sheets of mother glass — from which several panels can be made — of 220 centimeters by 250 centimeters.

S-LCD already operates one eighth-generation line in Tangjeong, called line 8-1, in addition to its original seventh-generation line. With each successive jump in production technology the size of the mother glass sheets is increased and economies are introduced into the production process. The higher technology lines can make larger panels at a lower per-inch cost.

The new factory is scheduled to process 60,000 mother glass sheets per month, which makes it larger and the 8-1 facility that handles up to 50,000 sheets per month.

Output from the plant will be split between Samsung and Sony with 51 percent of panels going to the former and 49 percent to the latter. This is in line with their share holdings in S-LCD.

In February Sony it had started talks with Sharp towards investing in a new production line that Sharp has under construction in Japan. The Sharp plant will be based on a more advanced 10th generation technology and will be best suited to making LCD panels in the 60- and 50-inch class.

The announcement sparked speculation that Sony was giving up on S-LCD and had found a new partner with which to share the considerable cost of a cutting-edge display factory. Friday’s announcement reaffirms the joint venture with Samsung but repositions from the leading edge to become a supplier of panels for what are likely to be the mass market portions of the LCD TV market.

Earlier in the day Samsung reports 37 percent higher net profits for the January to March quarter on the back of strong demand for LCD panels and TVs. The company said its LCD panel business recorded a year-on-year sales growth of 53 thanks to increased production and strong sales of TV screens in the 46-inch size and above.

Sony Has No Plans to Reduce PlayStation 3 Pricing for Holidays.

Sony Playstation 3 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has no plans to respond to Microsoft’s aggressive price-cuts of the Xbox 360 video game console in the European Union and the United Stations with similar moves concerning the PlayStation 3 this holiday season, the head of SCEI said in an interview.

“The answer is ‘yes’, if you’re asking, ‘Are these the prices we’re going with this Christmas?’” said Kazuo Hirai, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, in an interview with the Financial Times.

Microsoft recently reduced the price of its Xbox 360 Arcade game console to $199 in the U.S. in response to lowering demand and financial crisis. The company has also consistently cut the cost of the Xbox 360 consoles in other regions, including Asia, Europe and Japan this year in a bid to attract gamers to its latest video game systems.

Obviously, the least expensive Xbox 360 Arcade does not offer certain features that are available on Sony PlayStation 3 ($399) and more expensive Xbox 360 Pro 60GB ($299) game console since the latter have hard disk drives, whereas the PS3 even has Blu-ray disc optical drive that transforms game console into a high-definition video player. In fact, a number of exclusive titles and value proposition have already made Sony PlayStation 3 nearly as popular as the Xbox 360 in some regions and allowed Sony to even leave the rival behind in some others. Still, neither of the consoles is as successful as Nintendo Wii, which usually outsells both PS3 and X360 combined in the USA.

However, for the majority of gamers the X360 for $199 is likely to be an option they will be satisfied with. As a result, there are reasons for Sony to worry about: more Xbox 360 game consoles on the market means that game developers start to give the systems higher priority compared to others, which ultimately leads to higher amount of higher quality titles, which further popularizes the platform.

In common with the rest of the video game industry, Mr Hirai expects video games to be resilient in the economic downturn because consumers buy video games rather than go out.

“As long as we can generate excitement, then we will be less affected than other industries,” the head of SCEI told the FT.

Hands On with Sony’s New PlayStation Portable 3000

Sony’s new re-brushed and buffed-up PlayStation Portable3000 handheld video game system should finally be dangling from plastic retail hooks or resting in neat little rectangle stacks on shelves as you read this, but should existing PSP owners think about upgrading? The PSP 3000 is basically a point update to the PSP “Slim and Lite,” Sony’s lighter, faster, slimmer refresh that arrived in September 2007. Recall that the original PSP debuted in March 2005, so we certainly weren’t due for an update this soon, but an update we’re getting, and one that includes a brighter, faster LCD display, expanded video-out, and a built-in microphone.

Nearly 14 million US gamers already own Sony’s portable PlayStation, roughly half as many as own a Nintendo DS, which considering the PSP’s current baseline price — $170 to the DS’s easier to swallow $130 — is certainly a respectable feat. No one knows how many original PSP owners dropped $170 on the “Slim and Lite” last year, but if you (like me) were one of them, you’re probably wondering whether it’s worth another $170 simoleons or not.

Let’s start with the casing, which top to bottom and side to side looks virtually identical to the PSP 2000. Weighs and feels the same too. Have a closer look, however, and you’ll notice some subtle tweaks. For starters, the ‘Sony’ moniker has been moved from the right side of the screen to its left, where the PlayStation logo used to be. Where’d the logo go? Look down at what used to be the ‘Home’ button, which if you think about it kind of makes sense, bringing the PSP into alignment with the PlayStation 3, which has a similar “master control” button smack in the middle of its wireless gamepad.

The next thing you’ll notice is that the ‘PS’, ‘Select’ and ‘Start’ buttons along the bottom of the PSP 3000 are now fully oval-shaped and no longer oblong half-circles. Run your fingers along their tops and they also feel flush to the case molding, not slightly protruding, as they do on my PSP 2000.

Finally, just to the left of the letters ‘PSP’ sitting between the volume and brightness controls, there’s now a tiny hole: the new external microphone that’s supposed to make spontaneous wireless voice communications more robust, since you no longer need a special headset to rattle off taunts or make Skype calls.

Flip the PSP 3000 around and it looks identical to the 2000, save for the circular band of metal on the UMD tray, which looks to be about one-half to one-third the width of the one on the 2000. Aside from creating a sleeker overall look, I’m betting that it’s meant to reduce the amount of visible scratching, something my PSP 2000 shows traces of.

The overall ABS plastic of the casing feels and looks more metallic and less plasticky now, with a noticeably reduced amount of reflective “glitter” in the molding’s weave. The screen remains as prone to fingerprints as ever, but then, so do iPhones, iPods, regular mobile phones, digital camera LCDs, and when you think about it, pretty much any piece of backlit plastic you’re bound to end up touching at some point or another. (Hint: You know the special cleaning cloths you sometimes get with a new pair of glasses? I have a few of those, and they beat sweaters, sweatshirts, button-ups, dry cloths, damp cloths, etc. every time for getting any LCD safe and squeaky clean.)

Trip the “on” switch and you’re greeted by the same familiar logo and XMB interface, though you’ll notice it now looks quite a bit more colorful, with enhanced edge-distinctiveness in terms of darks and lights, no doubt an expression of the improved LCD which Sony said would offer a better color range and higher contrast ratio. There’s also supposed to be less glare, but to be honest, I never noticed the glare on my original PSP all the way back in 2005. I can’t see much difference one way or another with the 3000, which is to say, it looks just fine in any kind of ambient light and outside of direct sunlight.

Click over to ‘system’ settings and you’ll notice a new ‘color space’ option that lets you switch between ‘wide’ and ‘normal’ (don’t bother checking the PSP 1000/2000, — it’s not available). Think ‘vivid’ versus ‘standard’ on a TV and you’ve got the idea. ‘Wide’ is enabled by default, and makes everything look brighter and color-saturated. It tends to make the text in the operating system look a little too vivid at times, but load a game like Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and the new colors simply pop, making it even easier to identify 3D in-game objects at a distance or in shadow, and the edges of menu bars and fonts in crowded interfaces look even cleaner and crisper. The picture looks quite a bit warmer, too, bringing the overall look nearer the sort of hard-to-duplicate hue richness you often enjoy with a really top notch high-definition tube television.