Sony ZD9 series, 1000 zones, 4000 nits, coming next month?

[ray0414]

Rumors have heated up about this new series over the past month. People at avs now reporting that you can preorder this tv at sony europe, and was told it would ship in August.

Sizes are 65, 85, and 100".


Also rumors of Dolby Vision are picking up too.

[Robert Zohn]

At the 2016 CES Las Vegas show Sony exhibited an engineering prototype 65" full array locally dimmed TV will 1k local dimming zones and 4k-nits peak luminance. The drive scheme was called the "Backlight Master Drive"

The demo looked excellent!

I hope we'll see this at the Dallas CEDIA Expo on September 14th.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

At the 2016 CES Las Vegas show Sony exhibited an engineering prototype 65" full array locally dimmed TV will 1k local dimming zones and 4k-nits peak luminance. The drive scheme was called the "Backlight Master Drive"

The demo looked excellent!

I hope we'll see this at the Dallas CEDIA Expo on September 14th.

After the madness from Vizio, I hate to find out what these folks want for it.

[ray0414]

Welp, Wednesday is the BIG DAY!

there are press events taking place in Japan, UK, and USA for the unveiling of the ZD9 series. The specs should be groundbreaking for LCDS.

[bootman]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

After the madness from Vizio, I hate to find out what these folks want for it.

Flagships are not meant for the masses and are priced for those that can subsidize the development costs.

The technology found in the flagships of today will eventually trickle down to mid tier models that are priced for mass consumption.
It is this reason enthusiasts are excited.

The R series Vizio you referenced is an excellent example of some of it's display tech making it to the P series and is priced accordingly.

[ray0414]

Tv officially unvieled today at multiple presser around the world. Looks ground breaking.

It has individual led control.

[Robert Zohn]

Look forward to seeing Sony's Z9D in person at CEDIA and when our allocation comes in we'll put it on our TV Shootout wall.

With the recent developments on HDR/WCG calibration patterns and tools we'll be able to repeat our June 22, 2016 TV Shootout with the Z9D and all of the TVs properly calibrated for HDR/WCG.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Look forward to seeing Sony's Z9D in person at CEDIA and when our allocation comes in we'll put it on our TV Shootout wall.

With the recent developments on HDR/WCG calibration patterns and tools we'll be able to repeat our June 22, 2016 TV Shootout with the Z9D and all of the TVs properly calibrated for HDR/WCG.

Are you saying there's going to be a shootout rematch, round 2??

[Robert Zohn]

Yes. Considering Sony's new mid-year flagship entry and our upcoming ability to calibrate HDR/WCG a second 2016 evaluation is a must happen event.

Likely just after CEDIA and in my retail showroom.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Yes. Considering Sony's new mid-year flagship entry and our upcoming ability to calibrate HDR/WCG a second 2016 evaluation is a must happen event.

Likely just after CEDIA and in my retail showroom.

Thats great news. I think people will be very excited to see this and see how the tvs perform. My biggest request, is that with the x9d and ks9800, is that you use 65" sizes so they are the same as the G6. Can't wait!

[Robert Zohn]

Good point Ray, I had thought to use the 75" Z9D so it matches the 75" 940D.

Maybe we'll have a second area where I can set-up all of the 65" models.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Good point Ray, I had thought to use the 75" Z9D so it matches the 75" 940D.

Maybe we'll have a second area where I can set-up all of the 65" models.

Good point, but I think people are more interested in how the Z9 compares to the oled, rather than the 940d. And since thr oled basically is only available in 65, a 75" Z9D would be mismatched to the oled. The best comparison will have the most controls between the tvs to make sure there is as little differences as possible for a true comparison. I'll ask around on avs and get there thoughts, I hope you'll at least consider it.


Also, others are curious if this will be a full shootout with sdr, motion, etc, or just HDR?

[Robert Zohn]

You are confirming my thoughts on having two display areas, one for 75" X940D, & ZD9, 77" G6 OLED, and 78" KS9800 and another area with the 65" class displays, like 65" Vizio's R series, G6 OLED, 65" Z9D, 65" KS9800.

Invite some of the good forum folks to participate here.

Hope you will consider the trip to NY!

[ZoetMB]

Initial pricing is $10,000 for the 75", $7000 for the 65".

[Robert Zohn]

Actually ^^ $1k lower for MAP, those are MSRP.

Just got my allocation dates for the 65" and 75" Z9Ds! August 8th for the XBR-65Z9D and August 30th for the XBR-75Z9D.

No exact date for the 100" Z9D, but likely 1st week of November, 2016.

Here's the Technical Specifications explained, download the .pdf here.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Actually ^^ $1k lower for MAP, those are MSRP.

Just got my allocation dates for the 65" and 75" Z9Ds! August 8th for the XBR-65Z9D and August 30th for the XBR-75Z9D.

No exact date for the 100" Z9D, but likely 1st week of November, 2016.

Here's the Technical Specifications explained, download the .pdf here.

Super exciting times.


Also, the idea of having 2 lineups for a shootout will be good. But I think both lineups should get equal attention.

When is CEDIA?

[Robert Zohn]

I received many calls and emails with many questions on Sony's new Z9D series and thought it would be a good idea to share some of the most popular questions and my replies here as many folks will likely want to know the same information.

Here's the four most popular questions from today:

1.......Q) # of local dimming zones and total amount of LEDs?

.........A) Talking about number of zones doesn’t make sense with this TV—there are
.........no zones because every LED is controlled individually. Sony will not disclose how many individual LEDs are being
.........used, but there are a lot of them, likely in the thousands.

.........Also worth noting, The Backlight Master Drive system is not just about the high
.........density of LEDs. However, it is also important that these LED’s are precisely controlled.
.........This is powered by Sony's new 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme. I've been told this new
.........processor has the firepower to handle the demands of Sony's new Backlight Master
.........Drive system to precisely control each individual LED.

2.......Q) VA or IPS panel?

.........A) The Z9D employees a VA panel similar to the X930D/X940D

3.......Q) Peak luminance in HDR mode?

.........A) Sony will not disclose the Peak or MLL, however, they have shared with me that the
.........peak luminance is much higher than any other HDR TV on the market. I'll be
.........measuring MLL and Peak lumens and report back here my findings.

4.......Q) % of P3?

.........A) Sony does not disclose the % of P3 on consumer TVs.
.........In fact, consumer TVs just list the color space at one
.........brightness point which does not accurate describe a HDR
.........TV’s color volume. Again, I'll be measuring the % or P3 at
.........all luminance levels to test for color fidelity at all luminance
.........levels and to accurately measure the average % of P3 at
.........all levels of brightness.

Today was a very busy day for me at Value Electronics and it was as much fun as I could take in one day.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

You are confirming my thoughts on having two display areas, one for 75" X940D, & ZD9, 77" G6 OLED, and 78" KS9800 and another area with the 65" class displays, like 65" Vizio's R series, G6 OLED, 65" Z9D, 65" KS9800.

Invite some of the good forum folks to participate here.

Hope you will consider the trip to NY!

Must have missed it earlier...but did you say the 77" g6?? I misread it earlier, I thought you meant the 65".

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

You are confirming my thoughts on having two display areas, one for 75" X940D, & ZD9, 77" G6 OLED, and 78" KS9800 and another area with the 65" class displays, like 65" Vizio's R series, G6 OLED, 65" Z9D, 65" KS9800.

Invite some of the good forum folks to participate here.

Hope you will consider the trip to NY!

Alright Robert i've been talking and getting thoughts from quite a few people over at AVS. between the 65/75 Z9D, it seems split. so I think your right with having 2 different lines up difference sizes. that should be the middle ground to keep everyone happy.

Theres also some chatter about using the Vizio R series again. According to Matt Mcrae (CTO of vizio), the hdr10 update should be ready next week for the vizio M and vizio P series tvs. He did not mention the R series at all. So what a bunch of people want to know, is if the P series has its HDR10 update, would it be possible to use the P series in the shootout instead of the R series, which would basically be handicapped once again. the P series offers 2 sizes, 65 and 75 and could technically be used in both lineups as well.

[steve1971]

No Dolby Vision and the price is a deal breaker for me. Like I told someone over on AVS Forum's I'm going to wait at least two year's before I even think of replacing my current 55inch W900A. So any thought's of replacing my tv are are gone. But the ZD9 looks good but not for the price they are asking for it. Just my opinion.