Impressions From A NYC Sony Event

Hello fellow readers, here is a scoop of information about Sony Innovation get-together that occurred in NYC. I’d say this is a pretty rare opportunity that bloggers and Sony enthusiasts who attended the event got to experience at the Sony USA Headquarters on 550 Madison Ave. This gig was hosted on the 35th floor at the Sony Club which is not open to public eyes. Mind you the 34th floor is the Chairman’s floor, where sir Howard Stringer’s office is located, I’ll share more about that part at the end of this post.

When one enters the building, a grand lobby greets its visitors outfitted with a number of Sony Bravia TVs mounted on the wall next to each other. I proceeded to the elevator which takes you to the next level where every employee passes security check each morning. From there you take another elevator and the world of Sony Corporate offices is spread out on each floor.

After we reached the 35th floor we were greeted by the catering staff with finger food and lots of drinks available. But since we are mostly interested in the products we went into special room that was set up with products and Sony specialists waiting to answer any of your questions.

So what impressed me among the Sony gadgetry that I got to play with you may ask? Since I was hoping to see a Google integrated Bravia TV and maybe something new in the VAIO area, and as you know that did not happen, I got to spend some time with the Sony employees and have a good candid talk with some of them about current, past and upcoming products. One of them even mentioned in a polite but fun way that we “blew the embargo” when we posted a story on the not yet released Sony readers. But we would not be a Sony Insider site if we don’t share some of the juicy info from time to time, don’t you agree?

Let’s talk a little about Bravia, I spent a good amount of time discussing 3D, OLED and what Sony is doing in order to gain more share in this competitive market. I mentioned that I believe for 3D to take off, people need more 3D content which is pretty scarce at the moment. Sony rep gave a good response and analogy on how HDTV was also a slow starter and it took some time for it to be adopted and be available to the users. So with 2011 around the corner, let’s hope consumers will be flooded with 3D content from providers as well as Bluray 3D offerings. There is a good possibility that Sony may even consider streaming 3D content through its Bravia Internet Video service available now on all Bravia sets. To which I would say, go for it! Bring us 3D downloadable content from PSN or Qriocity services.

The upcoming Google integrated Bravia is going to be interesting and the sets are being assembled and shipped as we speak. So stay tuned for the announcement and availability this fall. This joint effort of Sony and Google has been praised on techy blogosphere and Sony is very excited about it. I believe if this is done right and most importantly user friendly, it will be an amazing product. I cannot say enough that well-done GUI and Internet features implemented within Bravia would make it or kill it. After asking about design, whether or not it’s going to be 3D ready, I got an answer that this new Bravia is going to be different. The rep felt like it is a good term to describe this upcoming TV, so we will see it and be judges of that.

The new NX810 models were displayed at the event and the 60 inch model drew some attention of course. Its slim design and 3D demos running definitely make the experience fun, but those folks who are neat-picky as far as PQ and want their blacks to be black may still want to wait until Intelligent LED Backlighting reaches the 60 inch mark. For some reason Sony has not yet come up with such a monster and I know many AV enthusiasts are disappointed and jumping the ship to Vizio and Sharp or Samsung 65” plus 3D LCDs. Shortage of panels was one of the main culprits this year.

As far as new monolothic design, I wanted to mention that I like it, but I’d say it’s OK though. I think when XBR10 series were released last year, it was already designed with this monolithic approach in mind as the screen was flush. XBR10 was also a beautiful set. I just think that something is still missing in the design department of the current models and they seem to be just plainly beautiful not striking enough in my opinion (the HX909 model I own is cutting close to being a beauty with its optional aluminum stand it is sitting in, but the panel itself is still on the thick side, I know I am very picky).

The NX810 are available in 46, 55 and 60 inch full HD resolution of course, all models share Dynamic Edge LED Backlighting with local dimming, Motionflow Pro 240Hz (watch the vid below where we discuss difference between 240Hz vs 480Hz).

The Sony NEX-VG10 was another product that drew attention of many. The interchangeable and first of its kind in the world camera will be available this September. There were also TX9 and a pair of NEX-3,5 as well as presentation of several 3D pictures taken by those Cybershots.

Anyways, check out the videos that will be posted soon (they are being uploaded).

As I mentioned in the very beginning the floor below the event was the Chairman’s floor and at that point I did not know that, I needed a lil break and I walked the marble stairs that led to the 34th floor, and as I wondered around, I passed the conference room outfitted with 2 Sony professional monitors where most likely videoconferencing takes place with Tokyo. As I proceeded further, I spotted Bravia HX909 hanging on the wall and a number of pictures and after talking to a lady sitting there, I realized that it was sir Howard’s office! Of course, he was not in, but being in the area where a lot of Sony decisions take place was pretty awesome!  I also got to talk to one of the Sony Club employee who has interfaced with Mr. Stringer on many occasions and that the CEO is a real true English gentleman with an awesome sense of humor.

All in all, it was a remarkable event and I was happy to catch up with a couple of my good Sony friends – Sukhjit  – the social media butterfly that has a huge passion for Sony and loves what she does there, Marcy Cohen and Jon Piazza.