SI: Sony Japan Details New BRAVIA TV’s That Have 3D, Blu-ray/DVD Playback, 500GB DVR

[Christopher]

Sony Japan has detailed five new televisions that have compelling features such as a dual HD tuner, built-in Blu-ray/DVD player and a 500GB DVR. Set for release around late November, the 3D capable BRAVIA KDL-HX80R (based on HX800 series) and regular HD KDL-EX30R series (based on KDL-EX300) televisions will continue to remind consumers the USA is oddly far behind.

You have yet to see a TV like this in the USA because cable and satellite companies have made sure that we’re at the bottom of the barrel with this technology. It just doesn’t make any sense to have such incredibly advanced phones, computers, and so forth, yet US television content control is nearly in the stone age compared to the rest of the world. Most 2010 Japanese TV’s have some sort of DVR and massive hard drive, and Europe and Japan have enjoyed a DVR add-on that works brilliantly with the PS3. Maybe GoogleTV and the incoming horde of instant content streaming (from Apple, etc) will finally push the USA in the right direction, but it is still unclear how this will work with major operators, such as Comcast, Verizon FIOS, DirecTV, etc. And in some ways that’s where the problem lies, as there are so many providers that make great revenue off charging the masses for DVR rentals and associated fees.

The recording options on both televisions are pretty standard for what we’re seeing from other manufacturers in Japan, and it has a 500GB hard drive, and the ability to record two programs in AVC at the same time. There is also enhanced editing and chapter integration for recorded movies. Japanese consumers will enjoy the ability to record MPEG-2 TS streams directly to the hard drive, or use MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoding at XR (16Mbps), XSR (11Mbps), SR (8Mbps), LSR (4Mbps), LR (3Mbps), ER (2Mbps) modes. We also give a big thumbs up for the ability to import AVCHD content from a camcorder or camera into the television’s hard drive. How cool is that!

Here are some more pictures of the monolithic design influenced HX80 series which is 1080P HD, HD 3DTV, and Blu-ray (2D/3D) playback. There will be 55″ (KDL-55HX80R, Y440,000), 46″ (KDL-46HX80R, 360,000Y) and 40″ (KDL-40HX80R, Y300,000) models, all of which featuring 240Hz Motionflow Pro on a beautiful dynamic edge-lit LED LCD panel.

Similar to the HX800, the HX80R will have BRAVIA Engine 3 and the CREAS3 chip for enhanced color and image clarity. Unfortunately, like the HX800 series, the 3D transmitter (TMR-BR100) and active shutter 3D glasses (TDG-BR100, TDG-BR50) will be optional accessories that you’ll have to buy as well. I’m sure local Japanese retailers are offering 3D accessory bundles.

The EX30R (based on the EX300/EX308 series) is a more basic LCD HDTV with CCFL backlighting, and despite that fact, Sony Japan has integrated 500GB hard drives and a Blu-ray Player into this series as well. The 30″ (KDL-32EX30R, Y150,000) and 26″ (KDL-26EX30R, Y145,000) feature a double HD tuner and 720p resolution. It also has BRAVIA Engine 3 and the CREAS3 chip like the HX80R, but does not support MotionFlow Pro and operates at 60Hz.

Real life pictures of the HX80R and EX30R courtesy of AV Watch. More pictures at our Picasa Gallery of the HX80R and EX30R.

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