Electronics giant Sony has taken the wraps off its 2009 television lineup at this year’s CES show, unveiling a line of new environmentally-friendly Bravia televisions, a new Bravia line with Ethernet and Yahoo’s Widget Engine built right in, and a slew of new models that migrate formerly high-end features all the way down to entry levels sets.
First up, the new Bravia VE5 series are being billed as “Eco” televisions, offering substantial power savings over traditional sets at similar sizes. Slated to be available in 40-, 46-, and 52-inch models, the sets sport Sony’s micro-tubular hot cathode fluorescent lamp (HCFL) technology to lower power consumption by almost 40 percent, and also feature a “presence sensor” that can detect when a television has been left unattended for a period of time and automatically shut it off—handy for folks who tend to leave a TV on all the time and forget to turn it off when they leave the house or settle down in another room. And when people come back into the room? The TV turns itself back on. The sets also feature an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness to match current lighting, and a standby mode that consumes nearly zero Watts of power. The sets also feature fgour HDMI inputs (along with PC, component, composite, and S-video inputs), Sony’s 120 Hz refresh technology and can be used with Sony’s Bravia Internet Link and a USB connection.
Next, Sony’s new XBR and Z-series models will feature an Ethernet connection for hooking into users’ home broadband networks…and under the hood they’ll feature Yahoo’s Widget Engine for accessing interactive content over the Internet directly from the television. The sets will als be DLNA compatible—so they can tap into DLNA-compatible media libraries on a networked PC, for example. The XBR sets will be available in sizes ranging from 32 to 52 inches, feature full HD resolution and 240 Hz fresh technology, and also pack 4 HDMI inputs, a UDB port, and PC, component, composite, and S-Video inputs. The Z-series will range from 40 to 52 inches.
Sony is also migrating some formerly high-end features down to its everyday and entry-level HDTVs. The new V-series will range from 40 to 52 inches and feature Sony’s Bravia Engine 2, 120 Hz fresh rated, four HDMI inputs, and Bravia Sync technology, along with a light sensor and dynamic backlight control. The S-series will range from 32 to 52 inches and sport full HD resolution with the Bravia Engine 2, while the L-series will sport 26- and 32-inch models with 1,366 by 768 resolution, three HDMI inputs, along with component, composite, and S-Video inputs.
Sony hasn’t announced pricing on any of the new Bravia sets, but says they’ll start reaching consumers this spring.
