Sony Electronics has tapped L.A.’s Video & Audio Center (VAC) to serve as the retail launch pad for its new flagship Z-series 4K Ultra HD TVs.
The sets, unveiled to the media last month after a prototype showing at CES 2016, offer what Sony described as a significant leap forward for high dynamic range (HDR) contrast and color over its previous flagship X series, and represent a competitive response to LG’s OLED and Samsung’s SUHD display technologies.
Two Z9D models — in 65- and 75-inch screen sizes — will be on display for the public and press tomorrow at VAC’s new Westfield Topanga store, where Sony Electronics president Mike Fasulo and product technology manager Philip Jones will formally launch the line.
The 65-inch, $5,998 set will officially go on sale there at 1 p.m. PT for delivery by 3 p.m., marking the series’ retail debut, while the larger $9,998 model will be available for pre-order for September delivery. A 100-inch version is expected later this year.
“The advent of the new Sony Z-series 4K HDR Ultra HDTVs at Video & Audio Center marks another milestone” — both for the industry and the 35-year-old A/V chain, noted VAC co-owner Joseph Akhtarzad.
Indeed, vendors have long chosen VAC as the retail launch-point for new video technologies, including the first consumer sales of 4K Ultra HD OLED TVs and, more recently, 4K Blu-ray players.
VAC chief technologist and company spokesman Tom Campbell predicted that the new Sony sets will be “a grand slam” based on the brand, their premium quality and their price points, and said the chain is sitting on “substantial quantities to fulfill expected consumer demand.
“It’s good to see a product that goes far beyond $399 55-inch 4K,” he said. “It shows that there is indeed a market for a quality, first-tier product.”
The 65-inch Z-series set will be available for delivery from Best Buy on Friday, and can be pre-ordered at Amazon and other authorized Sony dealers.
