Sony CES 2021: New BRAVIA XR TVs Could Be The Best Option For PS5 Owners

Pictured: Sony A90J Credit: Sony

Ahead of the official opening of CES 2021, Sony has announced their new BRAVIA XR TV lineup, and boy, is it exciting. Not only is Sony getting onboard with features like 4K 120Hz, Variable Refresh Rate, eARC and HDMI 2.1, which is necessary for getting the best out of Sony’s new Playstation 5, but there’s also something new. Cognitive Intelligence.

The new BRAVIA XR TVs are powered by the new Cognitive Processor XR, and Sony says this new system goes beyond traditional signal processing, and even artificial intelligence analysis that most TVs nowadays have.

Sony claims that the processor can do more than just analyse picture elements like colour, contrast and detail, but instead being able to cross-analyse a bunch of elements at once to adjust each individually and provide the best outcome.

The processor also allows for “Sound-from-Picture Reality”, which Sony claims will “align the position of the sound with the images on the screen to offer a uniquely lifelike experience.” similar to what Samsung has stated their new Neo QLED TVs will offer.

With Google TV launched late 2020, Sony will be offering Google TV instead of Android TV with the BRAVIA XR lineup, which means that if you’ve been streaming off a Chromecast device, you’ll be able to get the same experience and updated user interface directly from the TV.

Credit: Sony

There are five models in the BRAVIA XR line, the X90J, A80J, Z9J, A90J and X95J. The Z9J and A90J are the two Master Series TVs in the lineup, featuring an 8K LCD and 4K OLED display respectively.

These TVs will also have features the others do not, such as an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the TV’s white balance according to the environment, and the A90J comes with an aluminium heat shield that will actually allow the OLED panel to have brighter output.

When the Playstation 5 came out, TVs and monitors in the market that supported HDMI 2.1 were sorely lacking, which was essential to really being able to get the best visual performance out of the PS5. Well, Sony has solved that issue. Sadly though, Variable Refresh Rate and Auto Low Latency Mode will only be available through a future firmware update and not right out of the box.

The full announcement can be watched above or on Sony’s YouTube channel, where clips of each individual TV announced can be found. Availability and pricing are yet to be announced.