What Display Daily thinks: Bless Sony’s heart. The company does not play well with others and would rather sit alone at lunch than admit to needing anything from anyone.
You really can’t say that there is any downside to this for Sony. They are damned if they do or if they don’t when it comes to OLED because LG and Samsung would have been a bitter and expensive pill for the company to swallow just to deliver on OLED. It is unlikely to diminish Sony’s brand, but who knows what that really stands for right now in the consumer electronics space. Still a magic logo, and the game consoles are pretty awesome, but TVs?
Yet, I can’t help thinking that this is pure validation of the fact that not OLED can be good enough for the TV market and with the right pricing and go to market strategy, it can negate any of the technical advantages of OLED. But, let’s be serious, Sony is not the company to do that. Hisense and TCL are fine carrying the torch for MiniLED’s premium TV play.
Still, all of them are too expensive for the value they deliver, MiniLED and OLED premium TVs alike. This isn’t an Outback versus Smith and Wollensky on meats level of competition.
Sony Bravia 9 MiniLED TV Review
What Hi-Fi has a hands-on review of Sony’s Bravia 9, the OLED shunning, MiniLED flagship of Sony’s 2024 TV line-up. The Bravia 9 comes in three sizes: 65-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch. Technologically, the Bravia 9 claims an advanced backlight system. This system boasts 7680 MiniLEDs, controlled by 320 drivers, creating 1920 independent dimming zones. This configuration allows for precise brightness control, which Sony claims makes the TV 30% more efficient than its predecessors. The LEDs can be controlled with a granularity of 22-bit, promising exceptional contrast and brightness levels, reportedly around 4000 nits—a stark comparison to current high-end models.
The Bravia 9’s new XR Processor enhances scene recognition and face detection capabilities, improving image rendering based on content type. It supports standard HDR formats like HLG, HDR10, and Dolby Vision, but not HDR10+. Sony also introduces a Prime Video Calibrated Mode, adjusting settings based on the type of content being viewed.
For gamers, the Bravia 9 offers features like 4K/120Hz playback, VRR, and ALLM, essential for modern gaming setups, though it’s limited by having only two HDMI 2.1 ports. Audio technology in the Bravia 9 includes Acoustic Multi Audio+ with new beam tweeters and dual bass drivers, aiming to deliver sound-from-screen audio experiences similar to those of OLED TVs.
