Sony is bringing all-TV technology to CES 2022. The company’s new lineup of televisions skews the high-end, as it did before, but includes more variety than ever before. Sony will introduce its first mini-LED model, include a version with 8K resolution, beef up its gaming chops with the PlayStation 5 and even roll out a remote finder. And for the first time for any TV maker, Sony is going to sell two types of OLED TVs.
TVs that use OLED technology have some of the best picture quality available, and Sony’s lineup includes three series of OLED models. Most interesting is the A95K series, which Sony says is its best OLED TV yet. This is the second TV announced by Samsung after any model to use QD-OLED display technology. Sony uses better colors and viewing angles than its other 2022 OLED TVs, namely the A90K and A80K.
Meanwhile, Sony’s best non-OLED TVs are the Z9K with 8K resolution and the X95K with 4K, both of which use Mini-LED technology and Sony’s “Backlight Master Drive” for precise control of the full-array local dimming backlight. Huh. Sony is also packing in its latest version of the “cognitive” processor it introduced last year, promising better color and depth mapping.
Beyond the picture quality, the company is offering some interesting features. Its highest-end TVs come with a remote Finder function, similar to the feature we like on the Roku Ultra for example, which emits a tone when the clicker is lost (and it’s a remote, so you can’t lose it). will give).
There’s also a new camera called the Bravia Cam, which includes the two most expensive models and is optional on the others. In addition to video chat from apps like Google Duo, the camera can help adjust picture and sound according to room conditions and seating distance, spawn a pop-up or block the screen if someone ( like a child) comes too close, engages power saving if you leave the room and (wait for it) responds to even rudimentary gesture controls. Those who don’t like the idea of a TV with a camera can attach a built-in privacy shutter or remote the camera altogether.
Instead of relying on software updates to add features later, all 2022 Sony TVs will ship with variable refresh rate enabled. A new addition called Auto HDR Tone Mapping allows the PS5 console to automatically detect the model of Sony TV it’s connected to and select the best HDR settings. Another new addition, called Auto Genre Picture Mode, lets the PS5 tell the TV that it’s playing a game or other content, such as a streaming TV show or movie, and turn the TV’s game mode on or off accordingly. Stop it.
Sony TVs continue to run the Google TV operating system and select models have a mic — complete with a physical mute switch — for hands-free “Hey, Google” voice commands. New for 2022, Sony’s Netflix Calibrated Picture Mode will automatically gain the ability to adapt to different viewing environments.
In case you’re wondering, the size segment of the A90K OLED isn’t wrong: It actually only comes in 42- and 48-inch sizes, which Sony is aimed at, gamers. In terms of image quality, Sony said that both its non-QD-OLED models – the A90K and A80K – will perform basically the same, as well as the flagship A90J OLED TV from 2021. It’s also worth noting that the cheapest full-arrange local dimming TV is the X90K, the successor to the excellent X90J I reviewed last year.
TV display technology is undergoing a massive change – raising the bar from the larger OLED TVs, which first launched in 2013, to QD-OLED. Showcased by Samsung, Sony and Alienware at CES 2022, QD-OLED uses quantum dots and organic light-emitting diodes to produce the best image quality we’ve seen.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about QD-OLED TVs, including how they compare with current OLED TV models, when you’ll actually be able to buy one, and how much they cost. But we do know that 2022 is the start of the QD-OLED era, a stepping-off point for improvement in the years to come.