Sony fans, are you tired of endless strings of letters and numbers to designate products? Can’t figure out if the 55X800Si is better than the 55X801S? Starting with the 2024 Bravia models revealed Wednesday, including two mini-LED TVs with lots of local dimming zones, an OLED and soundbars, Sony has simplified its model names and unified them all under the name Bravia.
I can see a few of you in the back raising your hands and asking, “Wait, weren’t Sony products using the Bravia name already?” Well, yes. But now the name is taking on a more prominent role, making it easier to figure out where a product sits in the overall Sony product range — from Bravia 3 through to 9. It’s similar to what Sony’s started doing with its headphones.
Also, while we now know the products coming and their pricing, availability for the full 2024 Bravia TV range is yet to be announced. Some models are available for preorder now. Most likely the rest will be available later in the spring or in the early summer.
TVs
The Sony Bravia 8 OLED.
The next step down, in Sony’s mind, is its new OLEDs. The QD-OLED A95L carries over as is, but the new Bravia 8 is just called “OLED” and isn’t QD. The only major differences compared to last year’s A80 are thinner bezels.
- 75-inch: $3,899
- 65-inch: $2,799
- 55-inch: $1,999
On the right are two of Sony’s new Bravia 9s. On the left are two Samsung QN90C. All are running the same video feed. The top TVs had their liquid crystal layer removed, so you’re looking directly at the LEDs that create the TV’s light. Yes, they’re all blue because that’s how quantum dots do their best work. The purpose of this demo was to show how Sony’s XR Backlight MasterDrive can dim more zones to improve contrast. We were unable to check exactly how the Samsung was set up, but the demo does give a good idea about how mini-LED backlights function.
At a recent Sony event for the new Bravia products, I got to see the curtain pulled back on the mini-LED backlight tech. OK, not the curtain exactly, but the LCD layer. Side-by-side with a Samsung QN90C, I saw how the Bravia 9’s combination of mini-LED and Backlight MasterDrive handled local dimming. I’ve talked about this tech before, but this was a great demo of how advanced these technologies have gotten.
A closeup of the many Mini-LEDs of Sony’s Bravia 9 TV.
Whether people will like the result is an entirely different question. If someone is used to watching their TV in the Dynamic mode with cool color temperature and maximum motion smoothing, the switch to something closer to a Cinema/Movie mode and no motion smoothing will be jarring, to say the least. Still, videophiles such as myself are grateful it’s included.
Audio
Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8
The Bravia Theater: Quad is something a bit different. These square speakers are designed to be hung on a wall, with each individual speaker boasting four drivers. The Bravia Theater: Quad is designed to plug the gap between a traditional multispeaker system and a soundbar, but not as elaborate or bulky as separates. As the Quad name suggests, you get four speakers for an MSRP of $2,499.
The necklace-like Theater U has upwards firing drivers to give you personal audio without disturbing others. Not sure I’d wear it on a plane though.
As well as covering audio and display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips and more.
Also, check out Budget Travel for Dummies, his travel book, and his bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines. You can follow him on Instagram and YouTube.
