Sony first introduced the Bravia branding for its TVs in 2005. It was the snappily-named KDL-46X1000, an LCD TV, that was the first to carry the Bravia branding. Sony used the branding in other products – most notably its Xperia phones – but in recent years the Bravia name hasn’t been as high profile as it once was.
That’s all changing, as Sony is going all-in on Bravia in 2024, renaming its top televisions as Bravia 9, Bravia 8 and Bravia 7 and restructuring its home theatre soundbars and speakers under the Bravia name too. Sony is using cinema is coming home as a strapline for its 2024 efforts, but it really feels more like Bravia is coming home.
OLED continues, Mini LED rises
Sony’s 2024 line-up of television continues to be a mixture of technologies, but the new models emphasise the importance of Mini LED: both the Bravia 9 and the Bravia 7 are Mini LED sets. The Bravia 8 by contrast is OLED and these new models slot in alongside existing TVs from 2023 and in one instance – the 42-inch A90K OLED – a model from 2022.
This very much continues the trend of Sony’s TVs and means that there are choices for display technology as well as features and pricing.
It’s also worth noting that the Sony Master Series branding has now also been dropped: this was applied to Sony’s top televisions both with LED and OLED technology, but that won’t be the case going forward.
The new models are all 4K, there is currently no change in the 8K offering from Sony.
IMAGE CREDIT: SONY
Sony Bravia 9
The Bravia 9 is the new flagship of Sony’s TV range. It will come in 65, 75 and 85-inch sizes, offering 4K HDR content and powered by Google TV. This TV features a new backlighting system which sees a 50 per cent boost in brightness over the excellent Sony X95L from 2023, while boosting the dimming zones available by over 300 per cent.
That means that it will deliver knock-out HDR visuals and increase the accuracy of illumination, reducing the blooming that sometimes sees LED technologies fail to compete with OLED. Indeed, Sony is saying that you’ll get OLED levels of black from the Bravia 9.
There is also new audio technology, with the introduction of beam tweeters and frame tweeters on this TV. There’s an eight-speaker sound system built into this TV in a system called Acoustic Multi-Audio+. The beam tweeters on the rear are designed to add height to better support Dolby Atmos delivery, while the frame tweeters expand the soundstage for a more immersive audio experience.
IMAGE CREDIT: SONY
Sony Bravia 8
The Bravia 8 is Sony’s new OLED television for 2024, but it slots in alongside the A95L from 2023. The prices haven’t been confirmed yet, but the Bravia 8 is using a W-OLED panel, so it might not be quite as sophisticated as the A95L, which is a QD-OLED, so will potentially deliver better colours. From the old line-up, I suspect that the Bravia 8 is really a replacement for the Sony A80L. This model appeared earlier in 2023, whereas the excellent A95L didn’t make it to market until around October 2023, so it’s still relatively recent.
The Sony Bravia 8 will some in 55, 65 and 75-inch sizes, is powered by Google TV and will feature Acoustic Surface Audio+. This is where the speakers are behind the display, so the sound seems to come right from the screen. There are added sound-positioning speakers to boost that effect, while the TV’s AI can better detect voices and make sure that spoken word comes through loud and clear.
IMAGE CREDIT: SONY
Sony Bravia 7
A stepdown from the Bravia 9, the new Bravia 7 is also powered by Mini LED technology. Sony has confirmed that this is a replacement for the Sony X80L from 2023, which was a full-array LED display. In that sense, the Bravia 7 represents a step-up in the technology you’ll get at this position.
There will be a number of older models remaining alongside the Bravia 7 – the X85L, X80L and a couple of lower sets too. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed, but I suspect that this will be positioned as the “affordable” Mini LED compared to the “flagship” Mini LED that is the Bravia 9.
The Bravia 7 will come in 55, 65, 75 and 85-inch sizes, with the range of sizes suggesting that this is being pitched as the volume seller. Again it’s a Google TV and the sound system packed into this TV is a little simpler, with four speakers.
Of course, boosting the performance with one of Sony’s new soundbars is exactly what the company wants you to do.
Sony Bravia Theatre
Sony is repositioning its home theatre speakers under the Bravia Theatre name. There are two soundbars – the Bravia Theatre Bar 9 and Theatre Bar 8 – accompanied by Bravia Theatre Quad. This latter product is a replacement for Sony’s HT-A9, which is a wireless four-speaker surround sound system.
IMAGE CREDIT: SONY
The new Bravia Theatre Quad now has slimmer speakers, with each unit containing four drivers – delivering support for Dolby Atmos thanks to the upfiring speakers and boosted with a woofer, midrange driver and tweeter.
But it’s the new Bravia Theatre Bar 9 that’s likely to get the most attention. This is Sony’s new flagship soundbar and it replaces the award-winning Sony HT-A7000, which has been around since 2021. There are now 13 speakers in the housing, offering a complete Dolby Atmos solution from a single box.
Take a step down and the Theatre Bar 8 replaces the HT-A5000 and has 11 speakers in a more compact format.
These new Bravia Theatre devices all support a wide range of audio technologies, with Sony saying that you can create phantom speakers for an immersive experience from just a soundbar. They are designed to work seamlessly with Sony televisions, using Acoustic Centre Sync so that the TV’s speakers will also provide some of the sound together with the soundbar’s speakers, for more engaging overall results.
Sony hasn’t revealed prices or availability for any of the new Bravia range, but it’s an exciting and comprehensive offering for 2024.
