Sony’s New Bravia Lineup Aims for Hollywood at Home, Falls Just Short of $40K Stardom
Sony is back with a fresh Bravia lineup, and it’s aiming straight for the home theater throne. But first, a little history. Bravia, which launched in 2005, stands for "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture." It’s Sony’s premium TV brand, known for pushing picture quality to the edge of what our living rooms can handle.
Last year’s A95L QD-OLED was crowned “King of TV” at the Value Electronics Shootout. It dazzled judges, including The Verge’s Nilay Patel. Now, Sony is trying to top itself with the new Bravia 8 II.
Brighter, Bolder, and Possibly Cheaper
The Bravia 8 II is claimed to have 125% the peak brightness of the A95L and 150% of last year’s Bravia 8, which still stays in the lineup for those who prefer OLED without the QD.
The 8 II keeps a similar design to the A95L and may actually cost less, though Sony’s being vague about pricing for now.
In a Tokyo demo, Sony lined up the 8 II against rivals like Samsung’s S95D, LG’s G4, and even its own $40,000 BVM-HX3110 reference monitor, a beast used in professional color grading. While the 8 II doesn’t match that studio-grade monster (nothing really does), it held its own. In Filmmaker Mode, it delivered more accurate colors than Samsung or LG. The G4, surprisingly, looked a bit green and washed out in comparison.
Sony obviously had home advantage and carefully chosen demo footage, but since it dominates the reference monitor market, this feels like a fair fight. The Bravia 8 II looks like a strong contender to reclaim the TV throne.
Midrange Moves: Bravia 5
The Bravia 5 replaces the X90L and introduces Mini LED backlighting with six times more dimming zones. It comes in sizes from 55 to 98 inches, and in demos, it looked sharper and more refined than both the X90L and Samsung’s QN85D.
Sony showed off its AI noise reduction using clips from Friends and Home Alone, and it actually worked well. The Bravia 5 won’t beat OLED in black levels or viewing angles, and it won’t top the still-available Bravia 7, which has 25% more dimming zones. But for a midrange Mini LED TV, it puts on a very convincing show.
Entry-Level With Brains: Bravia 2 II
Sony is also introducing the Bravia 2 II, a standard LED TV that comes in sizes from 43 to 77 inches. It wasn’t previously sold in the US but now joins the lineup with the same image processing and software smarts as the higher-end models.
A Projector for the Serious (and Rich)
For projector fans, Sony launched the Bravia Projector 7, replacing the well-loved VPL-XW5000ES. It hits 2,200 nits brightness and supports 4K at 120Hz. It’s missing the “advanced crisp-focused” optics from the 8 and 9 models but still looked impressive against JVC’s competition. At $6,000-plus, it’s technically “entry-level,” but only if your entry point is into luxury cinema setups.
Sound Gets Smarter
New Bravia audio gear includes the Theater Bar 6 (3.1.2 soundbar with upward-firing speakers), the Theater System 6 (a 5.1 setup), and the Theater Rear 8 (wireless rear speakers). All work seamlessly with Bravia TVs and can be controlled using the Bravia Connect app.
Final Thoughts
Sony’s mission is clear: bring the studio to your sofa. The Bravia 8 II might not match a $40K reference monitor, but it gets impressively close. The Bravia 5 nails the midrange, and even the budget-friendly Bravia 2 II shares the Bravia brainpower. With Mini LED, OLED, projectors, and full audio systems, Sony’s covering all bases.
Pricing is still a mystery, but if Sony delivers, the 8 II could be this year’s new king. Just don’t expect it to dethrone the BVM-HX3110. That thing’s still royalty.
Source: Sony