Sony has gone big on its Master Series lineup of TVs , announcing a set of 8K LCD and 4K OLED screens that stretch to gargantuan proportions
The new A9G OLED TVs measure from 55 to 77 inches but it’s the Z9G 8K LCD TVs that really sprawl, coming in frankly ridiculous 85in and 98in models.
All make use of Sony’s Picture Processor X1 Ultimate, which the company says will help optimise the 33-million pixel resolution on its first commercial 8K models. This includes a proprietary algorithm that Sony says can upscale lower resolution sources to 8K, an important consideration given the current scarcity of true 8K content.
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The new enormous LCD models also come with four speakers embedded above and below the display, making it seem like audio is coming from the screen itself. This is something Sony calls Acoustic Multi-Audio, and is designed to mimic the “Sound-from-Picture” technology in its OLED TVs, which uses drivers behind the display panel to generate a similar effect.
The TVs also all come with Netflix Calibrated Mode, optimising image quality for the streaming service and, alongside the usual HDR standards, will also be compatible with the latest 4K standard – IMAX Enhanced. Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit will also be arriving for the new models later on this year.
Pricing and release date information has yet to be made available, but we should know how much these monsters will cost by the spring. You can bet your bottom dollar they won’t be cheap.
Samsung's 98-inch competitor
Sony isn't the only company waving a 98-inch product around. Samsung also debuted a 98-inch QLED 8K TV at CES 2019, topping off an 8K lineup that also includes sizes measuring 65, 75, 82 and 85 inches.
These sets all feature Samsung’s QLED technology, as well as a new Quantum Processor 8K chip. Much like Sony's offering, Samsung's TV include a proprietry algorithm for upscaling content, whether that's from a streaming service, a HDMI-connected source or mobile screen mirroring. Also like Sony's TVs, they support Apple's AirPlay 2.
The most impressive screens to come from Samsung's stable, however, were the company's modular MicroLED panels. These were first shown last year with a 146-inch setup, intimidatingly called The Wall, but this year the technology was showcased in a more home-friendly 75-inch form.
As Samsung explains, the screens are "made up of individual modules of self-emissive Micro LEDs, featuring millions of inorganic red, green and blue microscopic LED chips that emit their own light to produce brilliant colors on screen". They can be snapped together in a variety of formations, all without bezels, meaning they can support 16:9 content, 21:9 widescreen films, or even unconventional aspect ratios like 32:9 or 1:1.
