Sony Bows 240Hz LCD TV; Blu-Ray Player

DENVER — An expanded line of step-up Bravia LCD TVs, including a 40-inch "razor thin" LED model and a 52-inch 1080p model with 240Hz frame rate technology, and a step-up Blu-ray Disc player with BD-Live capability are among Sony's planned introductions at CEDIA Expo this week.

Sony told TWICE it was planning to show a new addition to the previously announced XBR7 line, and a 9.9mm-thick 40-inch model that uses LED backlighting.

The 52-inch Bravia LCD TV, model KLV-52XBR7, will feature the company's new Motionflow 240Hz frame-rate technology, and a Blu-ray Disc player with BD-Live and 7.1-channel analog audio outputs.

The KLV-40ZX1M, which is due to ship in December at a price to be announced, uses edge-mounted LED lighting to enable a panel depth of 0.389 inches (9.9mm). The set uses a separate box for source inputs and will have an option for a wireless connection to display. It will incorporate a 10-bit Bravia Engine 2 system, 1080p resolution, Motionflow 120Hz frame rate.

The 1080p 52-inch KDL-52XBR7, meanwhile, will used more conventional CCFL backlighting, but will incorporate new Motionflow 240Hz technology that is said to deliver a sharper, and more detailed image with natural motion.

The Motionflow algorithm goes beyond more traditional 120Hz technology by quadrupling the frame rate of conventional LCD TVs and interpolating three new frames.

Other picture enhancements include Sony's Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE), which contributes to the set's dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1, and Bravia Engine 2, Sony's digital video processor that enhances all incoming signals to match the TV's 1080p resolution.

Sony will also formally unveil its BDP-S5000EX Blu-ray Disc player with BD-Live interactivity. The step-up player packages the company's newly developed HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies that were reportedly tweaked to deliver sharper and more vibrant images from Blu-ray Disc content.

The fully BD-Live capable model, which will ship in November at a $2,000 suggested retail, includes an Ethernet connection that allows users to connect to the Internet via their existing service provider to access BD-Live features and firmware updates. It also is equipped with an external flash-memory port and includes a 1GB Sony Micro Vault flash drive to add the necessary persistent memory for BD-Live applications.

The BDP-S5000ES also features Quick Start mode, improving boot-up times to approximately six seconds, which is said to be "seven times faster than previous models."

"Sony's Elevated Standard, or 'ES' products stand for the very best Sony has to offer, and the BDP-S5000ES is no exception," stated Chris Fawcett, Sony Electronics' home video division marketing VP.

Said to be unique to the model is Sony's new 14-bit HD video processor, which improves standard-definition and high-definition picture quality with the help of HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies. HD Reality Enhancer continually analyzes bit by bit of the original source, sharpening edges and reproducing detail, while reducing the effects of film grain. Super Bit Mapping delivers smoother color gradation realizing true 14-bit equivalent color tone from 8-bit sources connected via HDMI.

Sony said the BDP-S5000ES's analog audio circuit board is isolated from the video board to avoid interference. Additionally, the unit's rigid frame and beam chassis helps to reduce vibration and a low-leakage R-core transformer minimizes the interference of digital noise.

For DVD playback, the BDP-S5000ES incorporates Sony's new Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology that converts standard-definition signals (480i) to 1080p and outputs a full HD equivalent resolution signal to 1080p TVs via HDMI. The model is said to improve analog component video output using a 14-bit/297MHz video D/A conversion.

The model adds Sony's new Precision Drive HD system, which helps to detect and correct wobbling discs from three directions, stabilizing playback of bent or scratched Blu-ray Discs and DVDs.

The model offers 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio, and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio decoding and bit-stream output, as well as analog 7.1-channel output with Advanced Current Segment Audio D/A converters for legacy A/V receivers and decoders.

The BDP-S5000ES supports Deep Color video output and AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color (x.v.YCC) technology. It will be compatibile with a range of disc formats, including BD-R/RE (BDMV and BDAV modes), DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW (CD-DA format) and JPEG on BD/DVD/CD recordable media.