Interviews

In conjunction with the launch of Sony Bravia A1 HDR OLED TV, we expound on the latest home theatre and entertainment trend with the managing director of Sony Malaysia, Saturo Arai

Key insights from Satoru Arai and Blaine Robert

We understand that you have been in charge of and are familiar with the Middle East, as well as the SEA market in the past years, and are presently heading the Malaysia team. Based on your experience, what are some of the current trends or demands in the market in terms of home entertainment? The way people – in this case I am referring to Malaysians – watch movies and enjoy multimedia today is changing. Because of that, we also see a change in terms of what they need and anticipate, when shopping for a home entertainment system. For instance, there is an increase in demand for televisions with bigger, wider screens, even though both the economy and home sizes are shrinking. Evidently, a quality home entertainment experience is important to consumers. I’ve recently read an article which quoted a research on the way millennials are consuming content on all types of devices and therefore aren’t watching TV nearly as much as their parents. Do you and your team observe such an inclination in the local market? I agree that the younger generation today use a lot of mobile devices and tablets on which they spend much of their time consuming multimedia content. But I don’t view these devices as substitutes for televisions. If that is any indication, it only reflects people’s high consumption need for entertainment and these devices fulfil that desire when they are on the go. But television is a universal, evergreen need among people, and especially families. In that case, could you tell us more about Sony’s latest home entertainment offerings and their most exciting aspects? There are too many to list out! If we narrow down our scope to one of our newest stars – the Sony Bravia A1 HDR OLED TV, I’d say the biggest selling point has got to be its appearance and design. We introduced the Slice of Living concept into the product, having understood how people style their living spaces these days. Other than functionality, aesthetics is another factor many modern homeowners take into account. We keep the Bravia A1 OLED TV minimalist in design for the visual appeal. The more minimal and simpler a design is, the more challenging it is to achieve. What is the biggest challenge the R&D team faced in the design process? That is so true. In order to achieve that simplicity we want for the Bravia A1 OLED TV, the different functions and technology had to be incorporated within the screen itself, thus eliminating the need for speakers, a bezel, or a stand. To consolidate the visual and aural experience into a single slate is definitely not easy. That aside, having to study and predict design trends and lifestyle changes that might occur within the next one, three and five years is another challenge they faced. Speaking of design trends, where do you think the home entertainment industry is heading to in the next ve years? I believe simplicity will remain a big theme in the years to come, especially with the advance of technology. A good home theatre will no longer be composed of so many different complicated parts. Even now, all it takes is one good sound bar to provide an impressive surround sound, and it is only going to get better in time.