Sony A1E series Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Sony

OLED-based televisions are the cream of the high-end TV crop, and until now only LG has sold them in the United States.

In 2017, Sony enters the OLED fray. The new A1E series will ship later this year at an as-yet-undisclosed price, although a previous report says the 55-inch and 65-inch will ship during the second half of 2017, with prices of $2,000 and $3,000, respectively. It also said the panels used in the Sony TV will be originally manufactured by LG Display.

Sony’s announcement today mentions none of that, but does reveal some new details about the series. It will include a 77-inch size (likely $20K or more) and, more interesting, a new audio technology. The screen of the TV itself acts as a speaker to produce sound, so the audio emanates from the picture itself. It eliminates speakers around or behind the TV for what Sony is calling a stand-less form factor.

I got a quick demo of the technology from LG Display earlier and it worked well, but don’t expect stellar sound from a TV screen.

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OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, a display technology found in phone and laptop screens too, although only LG Display makes large screen sizes with that technology. LG’s OLED TVs deliver the best picture quality we’ve ever tested, beating LCD sets from Samsung, Sony and others in our tests over the last few years.

I expect similar stellar image quality from Sony’s OLED TV, and they could even beat LG (we’ll see). They’ll have 4K resolution and a flat form factor, just like LG’s, and new for 2017 they’ll work with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR formats (just like Sony’s 2017 XBR-X930E/X940E LCD TVs). Sony also talks up its processing, which is generally very good. Game on!

The set will also work with Google Home, so that device can control the TV via voice, and like previous Sony sets it uses Android TV’s operating system.

Sony A1E specifications

• OLED display technology
• 55-, 65- and 77-inch sizes
• HDR compatible (Dolby Vision and HDR10)
• Acoustic Surface audio technology
• Works with Google Home
• Android TV operating system