Sony has changed almost everything about its home entertainment lineup, and in more ways than one. I’m about to show you Sony’s craziest LED TV ever, and that ain’t even the half of it. Stick around because you are not going to want to miss this.
Welcome Message:
Welcome back, everyone. I’m Caleb Denison, and sitting on news is just part of my job. But I’m not exaggerating when I say that keeping all this info that I’m about to share with you a secret has been a special kind of challenging. That’s because I think it is so interesting and exciting. You’ll see what I mean in a moment.
Background Information:
Let’s get into it right now for context. For those of you watching who are unaware, I was part of a small group that traveled to Sony headquarters in Tokyo in November 2023. It was there that I saw and heard most of what I’m about to tell you. More recently, I was part of a much larger group that visited the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, California, where I learned even more. That was no typical press trip, but I’ll talk about that in another video later this week.
Overview of Changes:
Right now, though, I’m going to lay out the nuts and bolts of some sweeping changes Sony has made to its TV and audio lineup and show you, for the first time, possibly the most impressive mini LED TV I’ve ever seen.
TV Lineup Overview:
The first bomb drop here is that Sony has completely transformed the naming convention for its TVs. Forget X90 this and A80 that; all that is gone. Here is Sony’s 2024 TV lineup:
- Bravia 9
- Bravia 8
- Bravia 7
- Bravia 3
Now let’s start from the bottom and work our way up.
Bravia 3:
The Bravia 3 is what I guess you could call Sony’s entry-level TV, although Sony’s entry-level is going to perform more like other brands’ medium to medium-high models. It’s a direct LED TV, which means it does not have local dimming. It comes in sizes ranging from 43 inches up to 85 inches. It has Sony’s 4K HDR X1 processor and 4K X Reality Pro upscaling, which is a step down from the higher models but still among the best TV processors on the market. It has a 60Hz panel but still supports some gaming features like Auto Low Latency Mode. It supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and DTS Surround, as well as HDR10 and HLG. It does not have an ATSC 3.0 tuner and runs on the Google TV platform, as all of Sony’s TVs do. This will be Sony’s most affordable TV, and yes, I think I will be reviewing it this year.
Bravia 7:
The next step up is the Bravia 7. I suppose you could consider this a replacement for the X90L series last year, but it’s quite a bit more advanced. Best just to think of it as Sony’s second-best LED TV. That’s because the Bravia 7 is a mini LED TV this year with full-array local dimming XR backlight Master Drive. It’s armed with Sony’s revered XR processor, which comes along with XR Clear Image upscaling that everyone raved about last year. It’s got a 120Hz panel, Acoustic Multi-Audio with Voice Zoom 3, more on that amazing feature in the next video when we talk about audio stuff. It does have an ATSC 3.0 tuner and a four-way stand that allows for two different heights and two different widths. It comes in sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches. New for this year is a Prime Video calibrated mode, as well as Netflix adaptive calibrated mode, and it adds IMAX Enhanced among a myriad of other features.
Bravia 8:
Next is the Bravia 8, and this might mess with your head a little bit. The Bravia 8 is an OLED TV. I’m going to give some of you enthusiasts out there watching a little time to absorb that. Okay, yes, so the Bravia 8 is essentially replacing the A80L from last year, which is to say that it is a new OLED TV for Sony and it uses a WRGB OLED panel, not a QD OLED panel. It’s got all the same features as the Bravia 7 with the notable exception that it has Acoustic Surface Audio, which as a reminder means that the screen itself makes sound. Screen sizes for the Bravia 8 include 55, 65, and 77-inch variants. Now, try not to get too hung up that, as far as model names go, the Bravia 8 and OLED TVs have been folded in among LED TVs with no apparent distinction to Consumers. Those of you who care, please plan to join me in a future video in which we will commiserate over that and debate the merits of Sony’s decision to do so.
Bravia 9:
Now it is time to talk about Sony’s flagship TV for 2024, guaranteed to be one of the most exciting TVs of the year: the Bravia 9. The Bravia 9 employs the new mini LED backlight technology that I showed you at the beginning of this year. Now, for anyone who missed that video or just needs the simplified version, Sony’s new mini LED backlight panels feature legitimately innovative super tiny backlight control chips that allow more mini LEDs to be packed into a tighter space, much higher brightness while also using far less power, and they have more granular dimming control, which, frankly, is in my opinion their most impressive attribute. The result is a mini LED TV that can push above 4,000 nits of brightness in peak highlight areas, which I will argue is both impressive and important.
However, what I’m most excited about is the potential for this TV to minimize blooming and halo effect while also offering extremely good low light performance and shadow detail. In short, if what I saw during demonstrations translates into real-life performance the way I hope and expect it will, the Bravia 9 will be the most technically accurate and visually impressive LED TV ever made. It can do things that the famous Z9D simply could not do, and while this is not the deep dive video, I feel like I need to explain why I think that’s the case. We like to get excited about high brightness TVs because brightness is an important component of contrast, and also it’s just straight up dazzling.
But in 2024, there will be a ton of bright TVs on the market, some of which lay claim to getting much brighter than the Bravia 9. Now, the real measure of how good this year’s mini LED TVs will be is going to be how well they pull off low luminance images while also mitigating the blooming or halo effect that TV nerds like me love to hate. That is the real challenge, and it is those measures that will get a mini LED TV looking closer to OLED in terms of contrast and overall picture performance while also being able to display bright highlight detail in a way that OLED TVs simply cannot. The reason that I think the Bravia 9 can pull this off starts with Sony’s excellent processing, but it is the granular dimming control that is going to bring it home.
Comparison Illustration:
To illustrate how it is different than other brands’ mini LED systems, I actually want to head into the kitchen here and pull up my Vivant smart home app. No, this is not an ad for Vivant, I swear. I just think this is going to make the most meaningful illustration. But before we do, move over there, let me explain how other mini LED TVs work. So, for years when we’ve talked about local dimming, I think folks have thought of the LED dimming action on a TV to be kind of like a dimmer switch for your lights at home. You have off, you have full blast on, and then you have lots of subtle levels in between. But in reality, most LED dimming is an on or off proposition. If you want an area to be dark, you turn off the backlights behind that area. If you want it to be bright, you turn on the backlights in that area, and then all the subtlety of brightness levels in between is actually handled by the LCD cells being either open or closed or somewhere in between.
Now, to offer finer control than just having huge blocks of dimmable lights, more dimming zones were added so you could have something super bright sitting next to something super dark. Now, this helps, but it’s also really hard to do quickly, which is why often TVs with a bunch of dimming zones appear to brighten and darken kind of sluggishly. What we’ve really needed for mini LED TVs to get better is a backlight dimming system that actually did work like the dimmable LED lights that we have at home. See here on my Vivant app, I can dim or brighten each light on the kitchen track independently. Those are the zones for our little analogy, but I can also dim them at a granular level: 20%, 30%, 40%, and so on all the way up to full power. It’s that kind of granular dimming control that Sony has at work in its new backlight system, and you can see its benefits here in this demo where they have their new flagship backlight system right against their own flagship backlight system from last year. You can see very clearly here that there is much finer control than Sony’s own best TV last year, and that’s what I think is going to set the Bravia 9 apart from the rest of the pack this year. It’s got all the features up to 4,000 nits peak performance, and it comes in 65, 75, and 85-inch sizes.
Confirmation and Closing:
Now you finally know what I’ve been knowing for a minute now. No more rumors or speculation. That’s the deal. Oh, and before I go, just a reminder that all the rumors that you may have heard about the A95L QD OLED that it was going away or that Sony was quitting OLED, all of them are false. The A95L will continue to be Sony’s flagship OLED through at least most of 2024. Whether we see an update to that model this year is, well, that is up in the air. Thanks, as always, for watching, everyone. I know I don’t even have to ask you for the comments, but I’m going to do it anyway. What do you think of Sony’s new lineup and, more specifically, the new model names? Do you like the simplicity? Think it’s more confusing? Let me know down below. Hit the like button if you would please, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next two videos wherein I’ll talk about Sony’s new audio lineup, including the successor to the super popular HT-A9, and later, a deeper dive into what Sony is offering this year. I’ll see you on the next one, and until then, here’s two other videos I think you might like.
The wait is over. Sony’s 2024 TV lineup is revealed and not only are all the model names different, but the Sony mini-LED TV we’ve all been anticipating is not only the real deal, it’s likely the best LED TV ever made — even better than the Z9D. In this video, we have all the details on the specs for the 2024 TV models, along with a little surprise about 2024 Sony OLED TVs.
SONY 2024 TV LINEUP & PRICING
Bravia 9 Mini LED (85”, 75”, 65”)
85″ Class (84.6″ diag): $5,499.99
75″ Class (74.5″ diag): $3,999.99
65″ Class (64.5″ diag): $3,299.99
Bravia 8 OLED (77”, 65”, 55”)
77″ Class (76.7″ diag): $3,899.99
65″ Class (64.5″ diag): $2,799.99
55″ Class (54.6″ diag): $1,999.99
Bravia 7 Mini LED (85”, 75”, 65”, 55”)
85″ Class (84.6″ diag): $3,499.99
75″ Class (74.5″ diag): $2,799.99
65″ Class (64.5″ diag): $2,299.99
55″ Class (54.6″ diag): $1,899.99
Bravia 3 LED (85”, 75”, 65”, 55”, 50”, 43”)
85″ Class (84.6″ diag): $1,799.99
75″ Class (74.5″ diag): $1,299.99
65″ Class (64.5″ diag): $999.99
55″ Class (54.6″ diag): $849.99
50″ Class (49.5″ diag): $699.99
43″ Class (42.5″ diag): $599.99
WATCH MORE
Sony New Backlighting Tech Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xJLLrQFCdw
First Look at LG’s 2024 TVs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GwqCwQmBC4
Samsung QN90D QLED TV First Look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPDcTKZ8V-k
Samsung QN900D 8K TV First Look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JkzpDXUpzA
Samsung S95D OLED First Look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0POp-VwPHVg
READ MORE
Sony debuts the Bravia 9, its brightest 4K TV ever, alongside new 2024 models: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/sony-2024-bravia-tv-lineup-mini-led-specifications-prices-availability/
Sony updates and rebrands its best soundbars: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/sony-bravia-home-theater-bar-9-bar-8-quad/
An inside look at Sony’s exciting new mini-LED backlight tech: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/exclusive-2024-sony-mini-led-backlight-tech/
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:23 2024 model name changes
01:51 Sony Bravia 3 LED TV
02:55 Sony Bravia 7 mini-LED TV
04:08 Sony Bravia 8 OLED TV
05:18 Sony Bravia 9 mini-LED TV
10:17 Final thoughts
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Hey all. We just got pricing info! Going to drop that in the description shortly, so keep an eye out! Might … change the conversation, and maybe not a little bit. Let me know what you think!!!
No 65“ Bravia 9 for Europe, thats crazy and a good strategy to loose customers this year to other brands…
bravia 9 is huge. why no 55"? seriously awful for the standard lounge/sitting room [pick your continent]. Have to go for a 7. Shame on you Sony.
Last years QD-Oled made me not thirsty for A new One this year.
Thats new for me.
I will keep our 83 A90j and 7795l. Waiting for micro LED.
At those prices i may consider a sony over lg g4. Idk i thought i was dead set.
Thanks Caleb, I believe I had several Bravias back in the day 😊. No new 98"?
I still prefer the old number naming at least for now. Maybe time will change my mind. 😊
Returned a 65" Bravia. Google interface is a joke.
I personally have no problem with Sony keeping their flagship oleds for 2 years or so lately since there sinply isn't enough chnages made over a year to make it worth upgrading. Improve software and cut prices and that's the way most manufacturers should handle their flagships.
Actually super excited for their flagship Bravia 9. I’m considering replacing my G2 with it. Only downside, still only 2 HDMI 2.1 ports and one of them is still eARC and not one of the 2.0 ports. Such a bloody bummer.
In terms of price, I think it’s awesome. Previous two flagships started at around $3800 for the 65” variant, so it being now $3299 for the same size is awesome! I think the reason is lower sales thanks to a crazy high price. And now it directly competes with G4, which starts higher. Very interesting TV year this is shaping to be!
So “closer to OLED” is good enough to be….better than OLED? And didn’t we learn the lessons of the Z9D? The market wants true black and pixel level precision, not sunshine level brightness. Dynamic contrast is a good thing. But crazy brightness with a black floor higher than OLED? No. The market will speak soon enough.
A bit expensive.
Bravia 9 75” price guess?
Better that LG G4 or Samsung 2024…?
Maybe the 9 series will be the closest thing to micro LED for regular consumers for awhile, though the price tag is still on the high side.
It would be great that they're improving LED a lot if it was appropriately priced and placed within their product stack. But it isn't.
Even without MLA the 8 series is going to perform better than the 9 series and have much better sound whilst costing less in everything except maybe 4000 nit graded content IF you prefer extremely bright highlights over dark scene performance and actually watch 4000 nit content which the vast majority of people don't.
Moreover I guarantee Sony will charge more for the 9 series than LGs G4 will be priced by the time the 9 is released which will wipe the floor with it.
I don't understand the market for the 9 series other than Sony fan boys prepared to overpay for much improved but still inferior tech to watch their handful of 4000 nit Blu-rays on.
Don't get me wrong I like what they've done with the technology. But it should be the 8 series not the flagship. The 9 series will be impressive compared to other backlit LEDs but massively overpriced.
On what dates do these TVs go on sale?
You hyped all these up because the LEDs are dimmable now? Ok, bro whatever.
The way you were hyping it up I thought Sony would reveal microLED TV's at this point.
What about Trinitron and others Sony tv's
sony sucks..
I really wish they would put 3D back in their sets.
If they made Sony TV to access to PlayStation rumored cloud service, these TV will be snapped up
In the UK the XR 85X95L launch price in April last year was £4899. The price dropped to £3699 in November and is currently priced at £3324. It's just a waiting game to hopefully save a lot of money. The UK price for the new Bravia 9 85" is £4999 so I'm hoping to pick one up later this year for about £3800. The only TV model that has held its price well is the A95L OLED. The 77" model has only dropped £500 since it was launched for £5999 in August 2023. I guess this is the consequence of all the top reviewers giving it 5 star ratings and telling us all it's the best TV ever.
😉
Very exciting news! Thanks for another great video Caleb.
In the market for a A95L so I'm glad you covered that question at the end. Waiting for the 55" to go back down to the $2500 price it was at when I wasn't quite ready to pull the trigger!
Since I already know I won't be able to afford the 9, I'll probably take a look at the 7. The 8 doesn't interest me at all.
I will not buy a sony Ever again. They provide no service what so ever.😤 i had to Check a brand new tv one week old because they did not service my tv Under warranty.
Should I wait for the 65" Bravia 7 or just get the 65" X93L
QDOLED or GTFO. Lol at any type of LED
I think Sony's doing extremely stupid thing from marketing standpoint! They comparing "our OLD tech with our NEW tech" – only dumb marketologs doing that (they do realize that suppose to be "old tech" just yesterday was promoted by them as "GREAT NEW TECH"? 🤪
That's how similarly dumb "specialists" killed great name as Oldsmobile: "It's great new Oldsmobile that we will call Aurora, cause our regular cars so awful we don't even wanna know them ourselves!.. -Buy our NEW cars!" -IDIOTS! -Mayby bad but legitimate strategy suppose to contradict new products with concurrents or if they wanna play safe with your own product but in a positive way – like "We improved your beloved and great Bravia TV
lineage with even better, brighter, faster etc … technology…"😔
The new naming scheme is a huge improvement.
8UN review caleb? pls?
Sony is so ignorant that they do not even sell a 55-65 inch bravia 9 in europe anymore. The think everybody lives in a palace in europe.
Why all these companies premium tv only go down to 65"?
I appreciate this will open a can of worms, but I'm kind of happy to get burned for my ignorance if it means I become enlightened as a result. But isn't this great technology just going to be bottlenecked by the service it's viewed on?
I’ve seen some reports that the Bravia 7 has the dimmable backlight as well
Wouldn't bother with the Bravia 3 review personally – 60hz and no local dimming means a non-starter for most people willing to pay over a grand for a TV.
Hey Caleb, great vid. I heard some BS that the Bravia was going to get a "special" feed from Amazon, that will automagicly
calabrate the TV…lol some ppl are full of it !!!
Keep up the good work mate
I hope all that backlight magic doesn't diminish when HDR + VRR + 120hz is on. If it does it can't compete with OLED for gamming.
I'm seeing that the choice of a TV this year is going to happen more who has more qualities and who meets everything necessary and that model is the Samsung S90D if we talk about OLED and the battle is going to be in the miniled range they will pull their teeth 😮
i think the rumors are not the fake…95l 77 inches stopped no new 83 oled 2024. we will see. but your video show me a bad pictures of sony and some choixe difficult to understant….why no 55 serie 9???? do you think people will follow sony compare to TCL in the mini led segment? and finally they lost their second place in oled sales…they are number 4 in 2023
I don't have anything to say about Sonys new TV lineup, so I am not going to comment.
Every time I watch one of these videos I decide to keep my Sony 4K projector – now in its 6th year – for another year.
The Bravia 9 mini LED will cost over $3k for the 65 inch. So the question is, does it make sense to buy the Sony Bravia 9 over the Samsung S95C/S95D which can probably be had for $1k less?
Finally ready for a successor to my Z9D! 🤩
the model naming is awesome i think the new a95 would be called bravia 10 ,but what gonna happen to cheaper tvs like x77 or 75 series