Sony is one of the leaders in the premium TV segment, rivaling against LG and Samsung. The Japanese tech giant has some of the best televisions in its Bravia series, including the Bravia A1 model launched in India last July. But on Monday, Sony added two more smart TVs to its Bravia Master series that redefine cinematic experience at home.
We had the chance to catch a demo of Sony's Master Series A9F Bravia OLED TV at the launch event hosted in New Delhi on Monday. Before we get to how the new Sony TVs really stand out in the crowd, here's a quick rundown of its features.
Sony Bravia A9F TVs come in two sizes, 55-inch and 65-inch, with 4K OLED HDR panels. Powered by the latest X1 Ultimate image processor, Sony A9F TVs have multiple advantages such as Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR, Precision colour mapping, Dynamic Contrast Enhancer, improved object-based HDR remaster and all-new Object-based Super Resolution. All these features work together to bring you the best picture quality on a television screen.
Sony Bravia A9F TV runs Android TV 8.0 Oreo, integrated Google Assistant for hands-free voice search, 16GB onboard storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and all the standard ports to connect your STB, speakers and external storage units. But it's more than the standard features that grab everyone's attention.
Sony Bravia A9F features a "single slate design" with one stand holding the TV panel. The minimal bezels maximizes the viewing area and the rear stand packs bass powered subwoofer, three actuators that create sound coming straight out the vibrating TV panel and all the ports are well-hidden. The TV can also be wall-mounted without affecting the performance of the sound or the side-facing subwoofer.
The overall design of the Sony Bravia A9F is a bundle of effortless sophistication.
We had the chance to see the X1 Ultimate in action during the A9F demo, which brings out the accurate brightness, details and colours so what you see is nothing but a perfect picture. The sample videos played on the TV were 4K HDR, so even the tiniest objects illuminated to deliver the best cinematic experience.
But our favourite feature had to be the Acoustic Surface Audio+, which delivers the best-in-class sound that comes from different parts of the screen depending on what you're watching. We were shown the iconic scene from Thor: Ragnarok when Thor and Loki meet their sister Hela, who then demonstrates her power by effortlessly crushing the Thor hammer into pieces. We must say that the experience was as good as it was being played in a cinema hall and the audio coming straight from the screen added to the experience.
We were also shown samples of certain images comparing the image quality between the A9F and its predecessor and the difference was evident. Although the Sony A1 had warmer colours compared to the new A9F, it is the OLED characteristic in play. With use, even the A9F will show you warmer colours.
But the star of the show was the Object-based Super Resolution, which identifies small objects and enhances brightness, colour and sharpness. For example, the A1 model would recognise a bunch of grapes as one object but the A9F sees each grape in the bunch separately and works individually to improve the quality. It's a near-perfect TV experience we've ever seen.
The demonstration also showed Google Assistant in action, which worked like a charm, until at one point when Google Assistant responded quite late to turn on a table lamp. Another great feature in the Sony A9F was its capability to act as a center speaker in case you have a home theatre setup at home.
Sony's idea behind the A9F Bravia TV is that its viewers watch the content in the way it was imagined by creators of the content. That said, there's a special Netflix Calibrated Mode, which optimises movies and shows to the viewing setting that was initially mastered by content creators. This is a great addition for those who toggle between different settings while watching shows on Netflix.
Sony Bravia A9F is available for Rs 3,99,900 for the 55-inch model and Rs 5,59,900 for the 65-inch variant. Considering the technologies that go into the making of this new television, those who can afford it will certainly appreciate it much. Stay tuned for a detailed review coming up soon.
