Premiere Design

Sony XBR-84X900 4K LCD HDTV: 1080p? Pfff…4K Is Like Being There

Bob Ankosko  |  Nov 19, 2012

OK, you can stop drooling now. We know you can’t wait to get your hands on the world’s first TV capable of displaying 8 million pixels of luscious detail—four times the resolution of 1080p. (We can’t, either.) Sony’s 84-inch XBR-84X900 4K LCD HDTV ($25,000) is one of the first 4K TVs to reach a handful of stores across the country. The heart of the set is a new chip that analyzes images with resolutions of 1080p or lower and upscales them to 4K. How well the chip performs that task is vitally important since 4K content for home viewing is not likely to be available for some time, even though Sony says 10,000 U.S. movie theaters are already using 4K projectors, and a growing number of theatrical movies are being shot in 4K.

As you would expect from any flagship TV these days, the XBR-84X900 has built-in Wi-Fi for access to Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, and content from more than 50 other sites through the Sony Entertainment Network. An app is also available so you can use your smartphone or tablet to control the TV experience. Sony hasn’t overlooked sound. The super TV is equipped with a 50-watt, 10-speaker system offering detachable side speakers and virtual 5.1 surround sound processing.

At the worldwide unveiling of the XBR-84X900, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai said 4K “virtually eliminates the line between television and reality to offer an unprecedented and revolutionary viewing experience. It’s so immersive that you simply will want to touch what is in front of you. You will never see a pixel, even in the closest proximity to the screen, regardless of whether you’re watching 2D or 3D content.” We’re anxious to judge for ourselves and hope to have a review sample soon.

Sony • (888) 363-7669 • sony.com

COMMENTS
kent harrison's picture
Submitted by kent harrison on November 19, 2012 - 2:39pm

You are right about this television,i seen it at sony style no pixels,I hope they come out with one 60 or 65 inch.

Billy's picture
Submitted by Billy on November 21, 2012 - 11:58pm

Did I miss something here or is there no price? Gosh kids, maybe its free! A goodwill gesture towards all of us Sony customers!

Bob Ankosko's picture
Submitted by Bob Ankosko on November 26, 2012 - 6:12am
The price is $25,000 and was inadvertently left out. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
anakinskye's picture
Submitted by anakinskye on November 23, 2012 - 11:06am

No native 4K material? No need for this technology......yet. You aren't increasing resolution so why bother. Also no price because it has to be well into the 5 figure category. Sorry. Not interested.

jhwalker's picture
Submitted by jhwalker on November 24, 2012 - 8:39am

It is a remarkable picture with hi-def material (they were showing a 720P broadcast of a football game), but the upscaling was a bit flaky - when it switched to a really low-quality source (say, an SD TV commercial), the upscaling pretty much fell apart. Artifacts like mosquito or block noise were actually emphasized, and text became an illegible mess. Now, maybe the display was just not set up optimally, but I'd expect more intelligent processing right out of the box.

As others have said, I think the strength of the display will only become evident with true 4k material.

Price was shown as $24,995.

X