Sony to release ‘price friendly’ 4k TVs

Those interested in the upcoming 4K television sets have been put off by pricing often in the $25,000 zone. Sony however have announced some sets which won't cost anywhere near as much.

While we have no news or information on UK pricing, the 55 inch XBR-55X900A and 65 inch XBR-65X900A 4K Ultra LED TVs will cost $4,999 and $6,999 respectively. They will be available for order on April 21st.

Mike Lucas, senior vice president of Sony's Electronics Home Division said “These new models will be arriving in homes just before the summer and are sure to bring the enhanced viewing experience of 4K TV to a whole new audience.”

The 4K television sets have four times the pixels of current 1080p screens. 3,840×2,160 pixels should ensure the highest quality possible. The ‘4K' terminology doesn't relate directly to the pixels across the width of the screen. Sony want to push this hard, as they are at the forefront of development and will reap the rewards. It is likely to be only adopted by the hardcore enthusiasts in the first year, until prices start to drop.

Sony are also releasing their FMP-X1 4K Media player which addresses the content problems. It will be available in the summer and will ship with 10 feature films and video sorts in 4k resolution. The FMP X1 4K player will retail for $699. The films bundled with the media player are “Bad Teacher,” “Battle: Los Angeles,” “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “The Karate Kid” (2010), “Salt,” “Taxi Driver,” “That's My Boy,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Other Guys,” and “Total Recall” (2012).

Will you need to adopt 4K soon to get the most from new movies? The jury is still out on that, because there will be very little content available in true 4K for the forseeable future, meaning most content will be upscaled from 1080p to 4K. Some claim that the 4K resolution is too high to perceive, unless you are sitting very close to the screen.

Kitguru says: We can't see Joe Public rushing to adopt another standard, after buying a new flat screen HD television in recent years. Not in such a tight economy.

Become a Patron!