Sony won't offer 4K movie service in the UK
Sony has told Inside CI that it has no plans to bring its 4K media server and film distribution service to the UK or Europe. Sony is sticking to its official line that "there are no such plans for Europe at this stage. It's a US-only thing".
So UK customers won't get a selection of 4K films pre-loaded on a hard-disc media server for full Ultra HD playback.
Read our full hands-on review of the Sony KD-84X9005
But the firm is still committed to the rollout of its new Ultra HD TVs, as revealed at CES 2013 earlier this month. It will focus on 4K upscaling technology and will brand a host of Blu-ray titles as 'Mastered in 4K'.
Sony's £25,000 84in flagship 4K LCD screen, the KD-84X9005, will be joined by 55in and 65in models later this year. The so-called X9000A range uses the latest Sony 4K X-Reality Pro and X-Reality Pro processing engines, to deliver 4K content and upscaled Full HD content on the 4K screens.
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Comments
Whats the point of building what looks like an amazing peice of kit, to then not exploit it everywhere except the country where the movie studios live! Are we not good enough for it? Small wonder so many of sony's products have failed over the years,as it appears they just dont get marketing like their two big korean neighbours. Falling at the first hurdle again.
Whats the point of building what looks like an amazing peice of kit, to then not exploit it everywhere except the country where the movie studios live! Are we not good enough for it? Small wonder so many of sony's products have failed over the years,as it appears they just dont get marketing like their two big korean neighbours. Falling at the first hurdle again.
Nobody in Europe should buy it (not that I imagine many will anyway at that price), so we can say to Sony 'your sales are a US-only thing'.
Sorry to say that for a one time innovator and electronics leader Sony has fallen behind in more ways than one. Apple overtook it many years ago and Sony has not seen the sense in at least trying to copy some of the ideas that have made Apple successful.
Give the products a simple clean identity that consumer remember and respond to.
If you launch new tech, fully support it, everywhere.
Entice customers to WANT to buy your expensive gear.
Customer service, quality of product construction and presentation must be a given.
SACD was a great CD 2.0 and HD music before HiRes downloads, but Sony managed to totally fudge up its introduction and marketing to such an extent that it never took off the way it should have done. Sky high prices for players and discs didn't help. Hybrid discs should have been the norm from day one and a great way to develop adoption by enthusiasts and introduction to the average joe...
Did no one notice how Sony changed the Region formats for BluRay so that Japan is now in Region 1 with the US, even though everywhere else in Asia is Region 3?!
Now with 4K Sony would like to charge £25k per TV and then treat a whole continent as a sub-standard customer group! That's insulting. Sony deserve their current 2nd tier status with stunts like this. I know many Sony repeat customers who have bought nothing but Sony for over 30 years. They have money. I don't think this will help them part with it in the future.
Many well known brands and technlogy giants have bitten the dust in these tough economic times and due to tehnological and consumer taste changes over the last few years. Sony needs to get its house in order and treat customers with respect. This stinks of an arrogance and swagger that Sony can't afford.
Sorry for the morning rant, but Sony's methods over the years have gotten on my nerves as consumers suffer over their bad decsions and funnily enough even Sony didn't benefit enough out of them due to their own ineptitude. This is from someone who actually likes Sony!
Mastered in 4k is a con.
It reminds me of the superbit DVDs. They weren't special, it was just one company branding their DVD as being somehow superior.
Same as OLED TV.... we have to wait and see as to what happens I guess ?
4k is doomed to fail if there is no native content and the displays cost £25,000
Errr ok ? Where exactly is the sense in this ? 4K is suppose to be the next big thing and yet they are not backing it's format but expect us to shell out a fortune for one of their screens ? Not exactly enticing the mega rich to the format is it ?