Tag: Sony

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Tech Radar

Sony Bravia 4K TV deals can save you £200 – plus save on soundbars at the same time

John Lewis is an excellent go-to for 4K TV deals. They discount their premium models more than you might think, and you’re usually getting a stunning five year guarantee with this retailer as well. Add to that the regular bundle offers and you’ve got yourself a solid set of TV deals.  If you need to update your whole setup this week, John Lewis is offering some particularly enticing 4K TV deals. You can pick up the high end 49-inch Sony Bravia 4K TV for as little as £549 (was £649), but the bigger savings start rolling in with the 55-inch display. There’s a £200 discount on this model, which has been sitting at £799 for the vast majority of the year. Instead, you’ll find it available for £599 this week.  Not only that, but you’ll also find extra savings when you buy select Sony soundbars alongside this display. Save £50 on top of that discount when you buy a Sony HT-G700 Bluetooth Sound Bar (for £385) with promo code 83701589 – that brings the final price of both together from £934 to £884.  However, you can also save £100 if you opt for the more expensive Sony HT-ZF9 (usually £599). Use promo code Sony100 at checkout when both the soundbar and TV are in your cart. That brings the final price down to £1,048 rather than £1,148.  We’re rounding up these 4K TV deals just below, but you’ll find plenty more cheap TV sales in the US, UK, and Australia…Continue readingSony Bravia 4K TV deals can save you £200 – plus save on soundbars at the same time

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The Verge

Sony clears up when and how it’ll listen to recordings of PS5 voice chats

Sony has clarified more details surrounding a controversial new PlayStation voice chat recording feature, first mentioned in its recent 8.0 update earlier this week, after some users were led to believe the company would be actively recording and moderating conversations among private groups. In a new blog post published Friday, Catherine Jensen, Sony’s vice president of global consumer experience, admits the company “should have more clearly explained why this function was being rolled out.” Jensen now confirms Sony will not be actively listening in on voice chats whatsoever when the feature launches with the PS5 next month. “Its sole purpose is to help in reporting of inappropriate behavior, including actions that violate our Community Code of Conduct,” she writes. “Please note that this feature will not actively monitor or listen in on your conversations – ever – and it’s strictly reserved for reporting online abuse or harassment.” “Please note that this feature will not actively monitor or listen in on your conversations – ever.” Instead, the company says the feature will record the past five minutes of any private voice chat on a rolling basis. That way, if a user encounters harassment or anything they feel violates Sony’s rules around player behavior, they can submit up to a 40-second clip for Sony’s moderation team to review. That will include 20 seconds of the potentially offending behavior as selected by the user, with 10 seconds before and 10 seconds after the selected segment for added context. “These reports can be submitted…Continue readingSony clears up when and how it’ll listen to recordings of PS5 voice chats

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VentureBeat

Sony reveals Spatial Reality Display, a 4K screen with glasses-free 3D

Volumetric 3D displays are neither easy to produce nor common, as holographic imagery generally requires a mix of stereoscopic screen technology and unique optics, sometimes backed by high-speed eye tracking. Today, the display experts at Sony are throwing their hat into the ring with a new option called the ELF-SR1 — also known as the Spatial Reality Display — which is initially being targeted at professional users in content creation businesses, but with an eye towards future use in consumer-facing applications. Resembling a traditional computer monitor fixed on a 45-degree recline with a triangular frame, the Spatial Reality Display combines a 15.6-inch screen with a micro optical lens coating and an eye-tracking camera. While the display packs a conventional 4K resolution, the pixels are effectively split into twin 2K arrays for your left and right eyes, using live pupil tracking data and precision alignment of the micro-lenses atop pixels to deliver sharp, realistic 3D imagery. The results are digital 3D objects that appear to be floating right in front of the screen, and switch perspectives smoothly as your head and eyes move. In other words, if you can imagine computer-generated holograms coming to life and being viewable from whatever angle you prefer relative to the display, that’s what Sony is promising here. Apart from the laptop-like screen size, the only catch is that the volumetric imagery only looks optimized for an audience of one person at a time. Similar technology appeared in consumer form within Nintendo’s 3DS, but it was…Continue readingSony reveals Spatial Reality Display, a 4K screen with glasses-free 3D

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The Verge

Sony confirms the new PlayStation Store won’t let you buy PS3, PSP and Vita games outside those consoles

If you prefer buying older PlayStation games over the web or on mobile, you won’t be able to do that for much longer. Sony is sending emails to PlayStation gamers that confirm a revamped digital storefront coming between October 21st and 26th, which will remove users’ options to purchase games and DLC released initially on the PS3, PSP, and Vita from a mobile device or PC. Planète Vita originally reported the news last week, citing developer sources. The PlayStation web store will remove the option to purchase those games, and the mobile app’s update will be available on October 28th. Users will still be allowed to make new purchases for PlayStation legacy titles, but they will have to purchase them directly from PS3, PSP, Vita, or PS4 gaming consoles. However, it is important to note that this only applies to new purchases, and any previous purchases for any legacy PlayStation titles and downloadable content will remain accessible through your PlayStation account. Sony will also remove the ability to download apps, themes, and avatars for PS4 on both web and mobile, but they can still be downloaded on the console. The PlayStation Store’s wishlist feature is also being discontinued, so any wishlist items you have on there will be removed from your account. Here’s the full email in image form: Update October 15th, 6:38PM ET: Added confirmation from Sony via customer email. Source linkContinue readingSony confirms the new PlayStation Store won’t let you buy PS3, PSP and Vita games outside those consoles

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The Verge

Sony will let PS5 owners record their voice chats and snitch on fellow players

Some PlayStation 4 users who downloaded the latest 8.0 update got an unwelcome surprise this morning: their console informed them that Sony had the right to record their voice for moderation purposes. Here’s a couple examples: So apparently, in case y’all didn’t know this beforehand. But apparently the newest Sony update to the PS4 and will continue onto 5 will be recording your voice while in party chat. pic.twitter.com/T0VIbwIpZe — TSN | Ittarra BooOda : Still recovering (@IttarraOda) October 14, 2020 Initially, the update’s release notes contained no mention of voice recordings. But at some point today, Sony clarified what the messages meant in an update to its official blog post. Here is Sony’s exact language: Following this update, users are seeing a notification about Party Safety and that voice chats in parties may be recorded. Voice chat recording for moderation is a feature that will be available on PS5 when it launches, and will enable users to record their voice chats on PS5 and submit them for moderation review. The pop up you’re seeing on PS4 right now is to let you know that when you participate in a chat with a PS5 user (post-launch), they may submit those recordings from their PS5 console to SIE. To translate that statement, it seems that by joining a voice chat, even with the older PlayStation 4, your voice can be recorded and submitted to Sony for moderation by another user. This could certainly be invasive — in theory, anything you say…Continue readingSony will let PS5 owners record their voice chats and snitch on fellow players

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The Next Web

Sony reveals list of PS4 games that won’t work on PlayStation 5

Sony today finally clarified which, out of the thousands of PS4 games, won’t work on the PlayStation 5. Thankfully, the list is mercifully small, though even the games that work might have some problem. Still, if you’re getting the PS5 a month from now, there are only a handful of games you won’t be able to play. A PlayStation support article titled “Backwards compatibility” clarifies that the “overwhelming majority” of PS4 games will be playable on PS5. It also adds that some of the games will benefit from Game Boost, which will make them run at higher frame rates, but doesn’t specify which games those will be. According to the article, you should be able to pop your disc into the PS5‘s disc drive, or download it from your game library depending on which version of the console you have, and be able to play it. Here’s a list of the PS4 games that can’t be played at all on PS5: DWVR Afro Samurai 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume One TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 Just Deal With It! Shadow Complex Remastered Robinson: The Journey We Sing Hitman Go: Definitive Edition Shadwen Joe’s Diner There doesn’t seem to be a common theme with the games — some are VR games, some aren’t. Titles like We Sing are likely not going to be playable because the publisher would have to relicense their songs, while Afro Samurai 2 has been pulled from all game stores since its release. There…Continue readingSony reveals list of PS4 games that won’t work on PlayStation 5

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Tech Radar

PS5 hardware is finally revealed in this Sony teardown video

Sony has provided a comprehensive breakdown of the PS5 hardware in a new video published on the PlayStation Blog. In the in-depth teardown below, we get to see the internal components of the PS5, including the system’s fan, disc drive and motherboard. We wouldn’t recommend disassembling the console yourself, of course, despite how easy Yasuhiro Ootori, part of the hardware design division at Sony, makes it seem. The video also provides our clearest look yet at just how big the PS5 is in person. From a seated position, the PS5 easily towers above the shoulders of Mr. Ootori. Even though we don’t know his exact height as a point of comparison, it’s patently obvious that this is a gargantuan-sized console (it’s also one of the heaviest consoles of all time). We’re also treated to what might be the first ever look at the back of the PS5 in the teardown video. Sadly, there’s nothing we wouldn’t already expect. The PS5 has two USB Type-A ports at the back, a HDMI out port, LAN port and a AC IN connector. The usual stuff, then. The video goes on to show how the stand is removed when you’ve placed the PS5 in a vertical orientation, and how it needs to be attached when placing the console horizontally. It looks fairly straightforward, though you won’t want to misplace any screws.  A bay for an internal NVMe SSD is also revealed once the PS5’s white plastic sides are removed, which suggests storage will be…Continue readingPS5 hardware is finally revealed in this Sony teardown video

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Tech Radar

Sony Bravia TVs are up to £300 off at Currys this weekend

Sony Bravia 4K TV deals don’t come around too often. In fact, as one of the leading brands in high-end displays we rarely see discounts reaching the £300 savings we’ve spotted today. That means now’s the time to jump if you’ve been considering making a premium upgrade, as we’re seeing prices starting at just £499 right now.  That price comes courtesy of a £100 discount on a 43-inch Sony Bravia TV at Currys. However, if you’re looking for a little more screen space you’ll find the same model available in 55-inches for £150 less this weekend – coming in at £599 down from £749.  Those are some excellent Sony Bravia TV deals if you’re shopping in the mid-range category. However, we’re seeing even bigger savings hitting more premium models right now as well. You can save £300 on the KD55XH9296BU model, a 55-inch display with plenty of tech packed in under the hood. You’re paying under £1,000 for this £1,299 machine, then, an excellent price considering the power on offer.  We’re rounding up all of these Sony Bravia TV deals just below, but you’ll find plenty more TV sales here at TechRadar as well. This weekend’s best Sony Bravia 4K TV deals Sony Bravia KD43X7052PBU 43-inch 4K TV: £599 £499 at CurrysThe cheapest Sony Bravia 4K TV deal available today is this £499 offering on the KD-X7052 model. There’s a £100 saving at Currys right now, bringing the gorgeous 43-inch display down under £500. View Deal Sony Bravia KD55X7052PBU 55-inch…Continue readingSony Bravia TVs are up to £300 off at Currys this weekend

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Wired

Sony A8H 4K OLED Review: A Love Letter to the Home Theater

I have strong feelings about unboxing TVs. Before we even start to talk about Sony’s latest and greatest, let’s talk about unboxing. No matter who makes the TV, unboxing and setup is always a nightmare of unwieldy cardboard. Once you’re through that circle of hell, you’re faced with an ouroboros of plastic bags, nested together with all the elegance of a pile of swarming rats doing their best to form a rat king. Next up, you have to find the cables— those are often entombed inside a sarcophagus of shrieking Styrofoam. So when the Sony A8H showed up, I rolled up my sleeves, pulled out my boxcutter, and enlisted a family member to help me unbox and set the thing up. I should’ve been wearing a bullwhip and a fedora (m’television). What I didn’t expect was just how quickly and painlessly we’d get it done—about 15 minutes. I was dumbstruck. Surely we were missing something. This is a trick, I thought. Sony sent me a dummy TV and it’s going to shatter into a million snakes any minute. I waited, and waited. No snakes. It wasn’t even set up yet and I knew this TV was something different. The Set Up Photograph: Sony The TV is braced by a couple of Styrofoam end-caps in the box but the packaging is otherwise minimal. Once you pull it out of its protective plastic, just choose which stand configuration you want (tall enough for a soundbar, or shorter to hide cables), and pop…Continue readingSony A8H 4K OLED Review: A Love Letter to the Home Theater

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Tech Radar

Sony could soon eclipse Canon EOS R5 with new 8K powerhouse, rumors suggest

If the incredible Sony A7S III doesn’t pack quite enough shooting power for you, then you’ll be heartened to hear that Sony is possibly preparing a new A9 flagship that could even trump the 8K powers of the Canon EOS R5.   According to the pretty reliable Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony is preparing to launch a “new high-end camera in Q1 2021” that will shoot 8K/30p video “with no overheating”. The rumors’ source, which apparently also provided correct Sony A7S III speculation in the run-up to that camera’s launch, has also claimed that the incoming powerhouse will have a 50MP sensor and offer similar specs to the A7S III, including the same electronic viewfinder and autofocus system. Naturally, the rumored flagship is likely to be a Sony A9-series camera, possibly called either the Sony A9s or Sony A9 III, according to the speculation. This apparently means the price tag will be around $1,500 north of the Canon EOS R5, putting it somewhere in the $4,999-$5,499 bracket (around £4,300 / AU$7,800). Even with a heat dissipation system like the one seen in the Sony A7S III, though, the new Sony A9-series flagship will apparently still have some 8K limitations. According to Sony Alpha Rumors, it will be an “infant 8K mode” that won’t offer 8K/60p and will have some quality restrictions when recording internally, rather than to an external recorder. The Sony A9 II (above) is Sony’s current flagship camera for sports photographers (Image credit: TechRadar) Magic 8K ball So what…Continue readingSony could soon eclipse Canon EOS R5 with new 8K powerhouse, rumors suggest