CULVER CITY, CALIF. — In a true
Sony United presentation, the electronics
manufacturer formally showcased
its lens-to-living-room involvement
in 3D TV, when it announced
the presale of its first 3D Bravia TVs
earlier this month.
The company said its 3D LCD TVs
are now available for presale at Sony
Style stores and that its integrated Bluray
3D devices will be at retail in July.
The presentation at Sony Pictures
Studios here underscored the company’s
involvement in 3D in virtually every
segment of its operations.
Howard Stringer, Sony chairman,
kicked off the ceremony by saying,
“We at Sony are marshalling all of our
consumer resources to deliver the next
great consumer experience — 3D.”
Sony’s 3D lineup now includes 19
Bravia HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players
and home-theater systems.
Sony also released a free firmware
update that activates Blu-ray 3D capability
for previously announced Blu-ray
Disc models, including the BDP-S470
and BDP-S570 players and the BDVE570
and BDV-E770W home-theater
systems.
Sony said it will support the 3D
launch with an integrated marketing
segment that marks the second
leg of its more than $100 million 2010
“make.believe” campaign. Planned TV
ads will start airing during the World
Cup and will feature NFL quarterback
Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis
Colts, and Grammy and Emmy awardwinning
artist Justin Timberlake, aiming
to deliver consumer education and
eliminate 3D confusion.
The ads will support Sony’s 3D Bravia
line, including the 3D-integrated Bravia
XBR-LX900 HDTV series, which features
a built-in 3D sync transmitter and
two pair of active-shutter glasses, and
the 3D-ready Bravia XBR-HX909 and
KDL-HX800 models, which offer the
option of adding the 3D sync transmitter
and glasses at an additional cost.
The line features screen sizes in 40,
46, 52, 55 and 60 inches and ranges
in price from around $2,100 (KDL-
40HX800) to about $5,000 (XBR-
60LX900).
Sony said its Bravia 3D TVs will
stand out from the competition due to a
variety of technological approaches that
deliver 3D and 2D images with superior
color and contrast performance, and
in 3D reduced cross-talk artifacts with a
wider viewing radius for its active- shutter
glasses systems through the use of an
advanced IR emitter system.
In addition, Sony’s 3D LED LCD
TVs use an Intelligent Dynamic LED
backlight system, which allows detail
to be seen clearly in dark areas.
Meanwhile, consumers who purchase
and register one of the new 3D Bravia
models will receive a copy of Sony Pictures
Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray
3D title “Cloudy With a Chance of
Meatballs” as well as Blu-ray 3D title
“Deep Sea.”
The sets will also include a PlayStation
Network voucher enabling 3D
Bravia purchasers to download stereoscopic
3D gaming experiences on the
PlayStation3 system (sold separately).
Michael Fasulo, Sony’s chief marketing
officers, said the company will conduct
more than 5,500 educational 3D demonstrations
on retail floors within two
months, reaching more than 200,000
consumers. That is in addition to the 1.6
million demonstrations given on 3D in
Sony Style stores since January.
By September, Sony will have placed
more than 6,000 3D retail displays in
the United States featuring all of the
company’s 3D products and entertainment
offerings, Faulo said.
On the programming end, Sony reminded
that it is part of a joint venture
with Discovery Communications and
IMAX to produce a new 24-hour 3D
TV channel to bring HD 3D content
to 3D TV sets.
Tom Cosgrove, now Discovery
Channel’s COO and executive VP, will
direct the new venture.
Sony said the as-yet-unnamed 24-
hour 3D channel will launch in January,
carrying a mix of movies, documentaries
and children’s programming.
Among the Sony PS3 games slated
to appear in 3D this year are Kill Zone
3, Super Star Dust HD and Pain.
