Sony KD-65A1
NOT NEW ON SHELF, BUT STILL STANDING OUT.
IN THE PAST, it may have been a trepid passenger, but in 2018, Sony is all aboard the OLED train. Its top-of-the-line models will all feature OLED panels, reputedly supplied by LG, but with different electronics powering the panels. At the top of the food chain is the A8F OLED series, which has some extremely interesting technologies.
Sony is using the 4K HDR picture processor-X1 Extreme to push all those OLED pixels, and it features object-based recognition to tailor the colours for each item on the screen. It also uses features Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR and Dual database processing, two other technologies both developed to deliver even better HDR performance. We should point out that this chip isn’t exactly new, with it being released back in 2016. They do have a new processor in the works, in the form of the Sony X1 Ultimate, which is apparently twice as powerful as the current chip.
More interesting is the continued use of Sony’s brilliant ‘Acoustic Surface’ technology, which basically turns the entire screen into one giant speaker. We haven’t mentioned audio quality on the other sets as we believe you’re going to buy a soundbar or dedicated sound system if you’re buying one of these screens, but you may not need to with the Sony. The audio quality is far better than expected considering it’s pumping audio through the screen itself, though bass is handled by a standalone subwoofer.
We weren’t able to get hold of this year’s TVs, but were able to take the 65-inch A1 OLED (KD-65A1) for a test spin, which is very similar to this year’s model. To say we were impressed is an understatement. It matched the LG panel in our image quality tests, so we’re sure that this year’s updated range will be even better. Especially noticeable was the detail in darker areas, where OLED sometimes suffers due to the fact that it’s so damned dark. The incredible design is a sight to behold, looking more like a picture frame than a TV.
The new range is obviously fully HDRcompliant, with support for HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. Like the KD-65A1, the new range is based on the Android TV OS, which means it has support for every major streaming service in Australia. We did find the remote to be a bit cumbersome and cluttered, though. Thankfully, this year’s range will be updated with Voice Search and Google Play; here’s hoping it works better than the Kogan we tried.
If you don’t have almost six grand to blow on a TV, the company is also releasing two new ranges of 4K HDR LED TVs in the X9000F Series and X85F. Both feature the same Android TV OS, voice search and Google Play functionality, but have been downgraded to LED screens using Sony’s Triluminos Display technology to extract the maximum performance.
One thing to note here, though, is that, should you choose to stand this TV up on a media unit rather than wall-mount it, you will have to account for a full 34cm of depth.
We can’t wait to see what Sony delivers with the A8F series; if it can out-do last year’s A1 series, then Sony will be the company to beat in 2018 when it comes to premium TVs.