Sony Australia is banking on a new range of 3D TVs to lift it flagging sales in Australia. The Chinese made Bravia TVs, which will be launched shortly, include a new technology called “Dynamic LED Edge Lighting.”
The system uses an expanded number of edge-lit LED zones projecting light from the left and right sides of the screen; the engine adds local dimming technology to adjust the brightness of each of the zones. This improves black-level performance, though not to the degree of step-up models using local dimming controlled full-array LED backlighting.
After initially lying to journalists about their 3D TV launch plans, Sony eventually launched a major 3D TV promotion in June, days out from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After offering a free Sony Playstation 3 console, Sony who this week reported a $201Million dollar slump in sales, suddenly cancelled the promotion resulting in Samsung grabbing the lion’s share of the available 3D business.
Speaking in Tokyo at the launch of the company’s new TV models, Senior Vice President, Yoshihisa Ishida, said Sony was still struggling to meet sales targets and that company was now witnessing a rapid deterioration in the U.S. economy which was impacting global sales.
The Japanese company now expects to fall short of its undisclosed full-year television sales targets for the 2010/2011 financial year.
Sony Australia is telling retailers that 3D models will make up 10 percent of Sony Bravia TV sales in Australia.
Among the new Sony Bravia TV offering are three Sony Bravia NX810 series TVs, including 60-inch, 55-inch and 46-inch models. It is not known which sizes will be launched in Australia.
The new Bravia range being launched in Australia will include Internet Video with built-in Wi-Fi as well as additional content streams to what Sony is currently offering. They will also incorporate ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the picture in changing room conditions.
It’s believed that Sony’s active-shutter 3D glasses, required to view 3D images on the sets, will be sold separately.
Sony Australia is refusing to officially comment. However information given to SmartHouse yesterday indicates that Sony is planning a major launch of their TV offering with a heavy emphasis on IPTV content streams.
