This article was originally published on www.display-central.com.
A new Sony 4K Media Player (FMP-X1) selling for $699, and two new price-breaking UHD sets were announced by Sony. The 4K media player will bundle UHD technology and content from Sony’s television, film and production / distribution unit, Sony Pictures Entertainment, in a “studio play.” The company is charting a path in the consumer TV space using new ultra high definition displays and content to differentiate its offerings.
UHD is a “green field” in the CE space for Sony looking for a way to re-start its CE TV business amid Japanese and Korean rivals and the onslaught of China brands from both mainland and Taiwan. Sony said it will sell its new LED-based LCD sets in 55- and 65-inch with UHD 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution at new “affordable” prices of sub-$5K for the 55-inch diagonal UHD set (XBR-65X900A) and sub $7K for the 65-inch (XBR-65X900A). Details were made public in an April 7th press release and on the official Sony Blog Site.
Sony said its UHD TVs and 4K Media Player content is available for viewing now at select Sony Stores with delivery of the 55- and 65-inch UHD sets expected just prior to summer. Pre-orders are available from April 21st on the SonyStore.com web site or at the specific retail locations in California (LA, Costa Mesa, Palo Alto), New York (NYC), Texas (Houston) and Nevada (Las Vegas).
Content is King
Meanwhile, for UHD TV adoption, analysts predicted the biggest hurdle would be UHD content and that’s where Sony Pictures unit comes into play. The 4K Media Player will come pre-loaded with bundled content from Sony Pictures that is mastered for the higher resolution sets. Sony said the FMP-X1 will include remastered 4K native resolution versions of:
- Bad Teacher
- Battle: Los Angeles
- The Bridge over the River Kwai
- The Karate Kid
- Salt
- Taxi Driver
- That’s My Boy
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- The Other Guys
- Total Recall
The group will expand content in 2013 (TBA but “Fall season” was mentioned) using a PPV (pay per view) distribution service that will offer up to 4,000 titles from Sony Pictures alone. But don’t expect to dial in Netflix or Hulu to get UHD native streaming over the internet, just yet. The bandwidth requirements will limit UHD content for these sets, and it’s still not clear just how the 4K titles will be distributed (via disc and mail?) or if they are using video compression combined with a “trickle to hard drive” scheme. The point is, we don’t expect to see real-time 4K video streaming over the Web anytime soon. So it may be back to the mail (via Netflix original model) and / or waiting for an overnight download to watch a 4K film.
Sony also said it will use the opportunity to re-launch 1080p Blu-ray titles using a “Mastered in 4K” moniker with the promise of 1080p versions that are “…derived from the highest quality 4K source material with new expanded color, …dynamic and vibrant picture, …and plays back on all existing Blu-ray players and HDTVs.”
UHD exploded on scene last quarter at CES with remarkable product coverage particularly by the China brands (Mainland and Taiwan.) At the time, most analyst saw the move to UHD as a way for flat panel set makers to boost declining ASPs (average selling price) of HDTVs, and perhaps gain an early market position in a flat-panel TV field dominated by Korean rivals Samsung and LG. All the while, content was seen as the gating issue, perhaps pushing out the UHD TV adoption by a year or more.
Now, clearly, Sony is using the new UHD format to help get to market early with a differentiated product that leverages its unique position in both consumer electronics and TV / Film production / distribution. So it’s sooner rather than later for UHD with Sony leading the charge, with this complete 4K media player /display solution and the hopes to reinvigorate the once untouchable brand and bring back the glory days of “Sony-No Baloney.” – Steve Sechrist
Source: Display Central
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