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[BinaryPork2737]

Is that really the title you went with? Is that seriously not something a mod put in the title?

I thought this was going to be a joke thread, I'm so confused. No really. Why?

 

[RustyNails]

Sony is associated with quality when I was growing up. My dad preferred Sony products because he said they are always genuine and last forever, and the competitors (like Sanyo) were cheap imitators. It has been since ingrained in my head that Sony = Quality, and after owning Sony products myself and seeing that their TVs and cameras are always cutting edge (although a little pricey), I have absolutely no qualms saying Sony makes excellent electronic consumer goods.

 

[Bigfoot]

Like you said, that was the past! Right now connecting Z2 to my PC for file transfer is literally copy and paste!

They may be getting better but they still do it. I would own a Vita if it supported SD cards instead of whatever ridiculous format it currently has. The Vita isn't that old.

 

[Four_Chamber]

You guys be sure to not forget to add the TM symbol so you can get paid.

This thread feels really weird

I'm happy they're selling off their laptops- I had a Vaio that was a pain in the ass over the majority of its lifetime. The battery randomly died two years into owning it and I had to buy a replacement. Thing was overpriced like hell too in retrospect.

Don't see anything special with Sony TVs nowadays though. My first LCD (20 inch) was a Sony- it was great then but I think the market has caught up quite well. I don't see a strong need to pay Sony's premium for them.

My OG PSP is still a wonderful piece of technology though- easily my favorite piece of Sony hardware ever made.

 

[Cipherr]

Is that really the title you went with? Is that seriously not something a mod put in the title?

I thought this was going to be a joke thread, I'm so confused.

The only reason people find this weird is because Sony is a console manufacturer and this forum has a Gaming side. People love to talk about companies with incredible design, and Sony is very well known for well made electronics. Its really not that big of a deal to find someone thats a big fan of their stuff. They have a loooooong history of really good design.

 

[elfinke]

The RX100 is such an amazing piece of gear, and if I was buying a DSLR this year, it'd be one of their A series for sure. Their camera division is really on a roll.

They're giving away PS4's with a range of their TVs at the moment too, tempting me to sell the old Panny plasma and grab one of the X-range UHDs.

 

[BinaryPork2737]

The only reason people find this weird is because Sony is a console manufacturer and this forum has a Gaming side. People love to talk about companies with incredible design, and Sony is very well known for well made electronics. Its really not that big of a deal to find someone thats a big fan of their stuff. They have a loooooong history of really good design.

Oh no, I get that. Sony's made some quality products over the years.

I'm talking about the title of the thread.

 

[vivftp]

Wish I had more money to dump into some of these Sony higher end products. Wouldn't mind that 79" 4k TV that's coming, but it's still a bit too pricey for me

Hope they manage to get CLED to cost reasonable prices, then they could have an alternative to OLED at least.

 

[encephalon]

I like my TV and will be looking to buy another Sony TV in Japan.

Spoiler

Especially if they quit manufacturing them soon.

 

[Chromax]

I love Sony products. Tempted to pickup one of those cameras for my trip in a few weeks.

 

[BumbleB]

"pretty good" doesn't cut it. And it shows, looking at Sonys fiscal status is proof in the pudding. When your insurance business arm is outperforming your electronics division, "pretty good" is pretty bad.

I think that time got the better of Sony and not being a bleeding edge hardware company got the better of them. Samsung in 2014 is what Sony was in the 90s. Sony is a company that makes decent hardware but lost all of its pizazz over time and I'm not sure they'll ever win it back. Old men running the company like old men from the 90s is the single worst thing for Sony.

Fire the geezers, hire 30 somethings as execs and take some risk. I would like to call out that the PS4 is a sign of change, but I see no sign that Sony as a whole will follow that trend. I hope so though, I enjoy Sony products but in a post PC world ... the market leaders are the ones generating massive marketing hype behind their products. That just isn't Sony at all.

 

[Fusebox]

That RX100mk3 looks like a good replacement for my Fuji X10.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

Never forget. Sony's robotics division did incredible work, just look at how beautiful this piece of electronics is. Their robot dogs also played significant roles in academia a.i. research.

 

[x3sphere]

Their TVs are nice, but they don't push bleeding edge tech anymore which is disappointing.

LG is only one that is coming out with OLED sets this year. I don't know who Sony expects to sell its $8k flagship TV to other than brand loyalists when LG is coming out with a 4K OLED for $2k more. If I had that kind of money to drop of a TV I'd be getting the LG no question.

 

[Acrylic7]

Loving my z2.
And these headphones are GOAT in terms of price perfomance durability.
MDR V6

I have these. The ear cushions are worn beyond fuck but they work perfectly.

 

[JordanN]

Dat Sony viral marketing.

Spoiler

I've stated my neutrality to companies so I have to call out this thread too

Wont deny though PS4 is my favorite product ever. Vita has a nice design but I'm disappointed by Sony's handling of the software.

Besides consoles, I have become acquainted with their cameras. I also have headphones from them that are surprisingly, indestructible.

 

[KZObsessed]

I still have a 40" 1080p Bravia from 2006/07, really low input lag and brilliant picture. I'll use it until it dies, though by then Sony will probably be out of the TV business.

My favorite product of theirs is PS4. Perfect design and engineering. Such a great system.

 

[Pankratous]

I wish people supported Sony more because I genuinely believe they make the best of everything, and are the most experimental.

Their major downfall is marketing, pricing and availability. Z2 is a good example of bad availability - everyone wanted it but then they announced it was coming out months later after the competition and only through very few avenues.

 

[Sec0nd]

It's a shame that the A7S won't have internal 4k recording capabilities. Otherwise it would've been the best video camera out there without spending tens of thousands of dollars.

 

[IISANDERII]

For example: waterproof phones and tablets, does anyone really care?

Hell yes. I have a Tablet Z and frequently use it near water, for example I play sports a lot and long, hot showers afterwards help stretch muscles and relax joints and it's a great time to browse gaf, reddit and especially porns!

 

[FrozenCell]

Pure awesomeness

 

[DD-11]

Does anyone know the difference between the W829B and the W800B? Images of the TV look identical, wondering if it's just a regional naming difference.

 

[lawful]

Everything non Playstation Sony makes is made better by Samsung or Sharp or Cannon. Even their movies suck. And to be honest the PS4 is all hype and no substance. My cellphone does more than a PS4 does.

 

[darkwing]

Does anyone know the difference between the W829B and the W800B? Images of the TV look identical, wondering if it's just a regional naming difference.

It's regional, the packaging just says W8B, at least in my country

Great TV btw

 

[Oersted]

This thread, including lots of avatar pics, surely show that many Gaffers are heavily emotionally attached to Sony. Nothing wrong with that I hope, but is pretty funny that we never see such threads about LG, JVC, Canon, Panasonic and Co. Probably because these never have been in gaming.

On "topic", they got nice products. But I honestly have problems to recall a product where they are clearly better. But they are still participating in the lead, which is nice.

 

[Radec]

Still rocking this..

Planning to move to the new RX100 this year since i've been shooting less and less now.

This thread, including lots of avatar pics, surely show that many Gaffers are heavily emotionally attached to Sony. Nothing wrong with that I hope, but is pretty funny that we never see such threads about LG, JVC, Canon, Panasonic and Co. Probably because these never have been in gaming.

So what's stopping anyone from making threads for LG, JVC, Canon, Panasonic and Co.?

 

[Oersted]

So what's stopping anyone from making threads for LG, JVC, Canon, Panasonic and Co.?

Erm, nothing? I just speculated why there is a lesser interest in doing so, not about something is stopping someone. It is fine that this thread exists, would be fine if another one happened. I just wondered why there is a higher interest in celebrating the Sony brand.

 

[MIMIC]

I bought a pair of Sony earbuds back in 2008, and accidentally left them in a cup milk (I don't know how this happened, lol....I blame my roommate) and they only JUST stopped working earlier this year.

Never had a pair of earbuds last that long with that much frequent usage.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Their TVs are nice, but they don't push bleeding edge tech anymore which is disappointing.

LG is only one that is coming out with OLED sets this year. I don't know who Sony expects to sell its $8k flagship TV to other than brand loyalists when LG is coming out with a 4K OLED for $2k more. If I had that kind of money to drop of a TV I'd be getting the LG no question.

65" vs 55", OLED brightness fades after about a year, the Sony has full-array local dimming (OLED like blacks), they are probably using the 65" IGZO panel from Sharp's Sakai 10G plant. While the underlying tech may be LCD, PQ after the first year will be comparable because of the local dimming LED tech. In the first year the OLED TV will hold the advantage, but peak brightness will fall very quickly because LG's WOLED tech essentially cranks blue OLEDs up to 125% giving them a much shorter life. It's part of the reason why Samsung went for RGB OLED rather than the easier White OLED with colour filter that LG use. They don't want to returns from high end buyers complaining that the product they paid $10k for has degraded very quickly. OLED isn't ready for mass consumers, the only version of it that is ready (Sony's trimaster series) is reserved for broadcast professionals and only comes in sizes 10"-25", though a 32" 4K one is set for release later this year with a $40k price tag which I think we can agree is not suited for regular consumers.

The $8k 65" TV is the only really smart move Sony have made this year, there are enough buyers out there looking for FALD 4K sets, and Sony are the only one who have provided it, and most of these guys will pay whatever is necessary for a FALD 4K TV because they know there won't be another one, possibly ever again.

I've been eyeing up an X900B for my living room, but it's bloody sold out. It got mega reviews everywhere so far and it's the same price as Samsung's curved 4K. Though I would prefer the X900B without the speakers, but the 850B isn't available here and probably uses a lesser panel like last year's 850. I don't understand why Sony didn't make the speakers detachable with clamps and flush glass front panels to minimise and gaps. I don't get the thinking, anyone who is going to spend £2.5k on a TV probably has a home theatre set up and decent speakers, no need to give them extra ones and jack up the price by £300. Same stupid decisions by the same stupid company, despite all of the awesome products in the thread.

 

[Fezan]

65" vs 55", OLED brightness fades after about a year, the Sony has full-array local dimming (OLED like blacks), they are probably using the 65" IGZO panel from Sharp's Sakai 10G plant. While the underlying tech may be LCD, PQ after the first year will be comparable because of the local dimming LED tech. In the first year the OLED TV will hold the advantage, but peak brightness will fall very quickly because LG's WOLED tech essentially cranks blue OLEDs up to 125% giving them a much shorter life. It's part of the reason why Samsung went for RGB OLED rather than the easier White OLED with colour filter that LG use. They don't want to returns from high end buyers complaining that the product they paid $10k for has degraded very quickly. OLED isn't ready for mass consumers, the only version of it that is ready (Sony's trimaster series) is reserved for broadcast professionals and only comes in sizes 10"-25", though a 32" 4K one is set for release later this year with a $40k price tag which I think we can agree is not suited for regular consumers.

The $8k 65" TV is the only really smart move Sony have made this year, there are enough buyers out there looking for FALD 4K sets, and Sony are the only one who have provided it, and most of these guys will pay whatever is necessary for a FALD 4K TV because they know there won't be another one, possibly ever again.

I've been eyeing up an X900B for my living room, but it's bloody sold out. It got mega reviews everywhere so far and it's the same price as Samsung's curved 4K. Though I would prefer the X900B without the speakers, but the 850B isn't available here and probably uses a lesser panel like last year's 850. I don't understand why Sony didn't make the speakers detachable with clamps and flush glass front panels to minimise and gaps. I don't get the thinking, anyone who is going to spend £2.5k on a TV probably has a home theatre set up and decent speakers, no need to give them extra ones and jack up the price by £300. Same stupid decisions by the same stupid company, despite all of the awesome products in the thread.

Zomg can you shed light why even selling great and making awesome product Sony is bleeding so much money.
e.g I have never seen any one with Samsung laptop but i have seen tons of vaios yet sony division was losing so much money . Similarly i haven't seen one guy with LG Sharp or Panasonic non plasma tv all have either Samsung or Sony but Sony is the only one bleeding so much money

 

[longdi]

Everything non Playstation Sony makes is made better by Samsung or Sharp or Cannon. Even their movies suck. And to be honest the PS4 is all hype and no substance. My cellphone does more than a PS4 does.

Besides them killing their Spidey movie license (fuck off Orci!), I disagree with the rest of your statement. Kaz may have failed to stop the bleeding$, but under his stewardship Sony has consolidated and reinvigorated their engineering talents!

I created this topic to bring up awareness about Sony's recent outputs being their strongest in many years. Hence if you are looking for that next home electronics, please do consider researching what Sony has to offers atm. The much hated Sony tax and proprietary formats are not even a concern these days imho.

 

[longdi]

65" vs 55", OLED brightness fades after about a year, the Sony has full-array local dimming (OLED like blacks), they are probably using the 65" IGZO panel from Sharp's Sakai 10G plant. While the underlying tech may be LCD, PQ after the first year will be comparable because of the local dimming LED tech. In the first year the OLED TV will hold the advantage, but peak brightness will fall very quickly because LG's WOLED tech essentially cranks blue OLEDs up to 125% giving them a much shorter life. It's part of the reason why Samsung went for RGB OLED rather than the easier White OLED with colour filter that LG use. They don't want to returns from high end buyers complaining that the product they paid $10k for has degraded very quickly. OLED isn't ready for mass consumers, the only version of it that is ready (Sony's trimaster series) is reserved for broadcast professionals and only comes in sizes 10"-25", though a 32" 4K one is set for release later this year with a $40k price tag which I think we can agree is not suited for regular consumers.

The $8k 65" TV is the only really smart move Sony have made this year, there are enough buyers out there looking for FALD 4K sets, and Sony are the only one who have provided it, and most of these guys will pay whatever is necessary for a FALD 4K TV because they know there won't be another one, possibly ever again.

I've been eyeing up an X900B for my living room, but it's bloody sold out. It got mega reviews everywhere so far and it's the same price as Samsung's curved 4K. Though I would prefer the X900B without the speakers, but the 850B isn't available here and probably uses a lesser panel like last year's 850. I don't understand why Sony didn't make the speakers detachable with clamps and flush glass front panels to minimise and gaps. I don't get the thinking, anyone who is going to spend £2.5k on a TV probably has a home theatre set up and decent speakers, no need to give them extra ones and jack up the price by £300. Same stupid decisions by the same stupid company, despite all of the awesome products in the thread.

FALD sounds good! It is crazy at the beginning of the heightened HDTV competition, everyone was offering backlit local dimming on their flagship models, and Sony ones were the best. Then of course the Korean brands started pushing for slimmer and curvier (yuck!) edge-lit designs, forcing Sony to follow and we had to endure what 4 years of poor blacks and uneven back-lighting. It is good to hear the Japanese (PannySony) are developing for FALD! Kuro must live! Sony must live!

Btw IGZO panels i heard have poor contrast levels, even worse than IPS. I hope Sony will go back to using AMVA panels, the ones that have 3000-5000:1 real contrast levels.

 

[Winterfang]

I had only owned 1 Sony product that wasn't an overpriced heap of shit.

I don't think it was this one, just a similar low end version.

 

[erpg]

Thier laptops suck

I loved their laptops. What bugs me is that they bar official drivers and you have to go through their update software. The newest Intel HD drivers have been out for 3 months and aren't on their site yet.

 

[Dega]

Smaller, more powerful and it has integrated PSU. Sony engineering skills are something else.

PS4 teardown reveals beautiful design, integrated PSU, a case modder’s dream

Uh, there is a damn good reason for the XBO design/configuration and it's not lack of skill or experience.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Zomg can you shed light why even selling great and making awesome product Sony is bleeding so much money.
e.g I have never seen any one with Samsung laptop but i have seen tons of vaios yet sony division was losing so much money . Similarly i haven't seen one guy with LG Sharp or Panasonic non plasma tv all have either Samsung or Sony but Sony is the only one bleeding so much money

Samsung employ Koreans and buy parts from companies using North Korean labour from the Kaesong industrial park. Sony employ mostly Japanese assembly with a few factories in Eastern Europe and Mexico that screw a few things together and they buy parts from Sharp and AUO who do not have access to cheap North Korean labour. That's the basic problem. Sony can't make money on TVs while they buy Japanese or Taiwanese components and build them in Japan in their own assembly plants. If they got rid of all their QC for components and bought from whoever was cheapest (like Samsung for their lesser models) and had them made by Hon Hai or Pegatron in China then Sony could easily make money from TVs, but it would mean 30-40k job losses in Japan. Something Sony has resisted for 3-4 years now despite 10 years of losses adding up to 800bn yen ($9.8bn with the correct exchange rates applied rather than this year's).

As for Samsung, the current thinking is that they no longer make money with TVs because of huge failed R&D in OLED and having to sell plasma TVs at below cost. They recently merged their TV division with their mobile displays division which is insanely profitable and sells displays too Samsung Mobile (AMOLED), Apple (iPad Retina) and a whole host of Chinese phone and tablet brands. It is not possible to tell whether Samsung currently make money from TVs, excluding the failed OLED R&D it is possible they have baseline profitability, but it's probably not very high because of extreme commiditisation by Chinese brands.

FALD sounds good! It is crazy at the beginning of the heightened HDTV competition, everyone was offering backlit local dimming on their flagship models, and Sony ones were the best. Then of course the Korean brands started pushing for slimmer and curvier (yuck!) edge-lit designs, forcing Sony to follow and we had to endure what 4 years of poor blacks and uneven back-lighting. It is good to hear the Japanese (PannySony) are developing for FALD! Kuro must live! Sony must live!

Btw IGZO panels i heard have poor contrast levels, even worse than IPS. I hope Sony will go back to using AMVA panels, the ones that have 3000-5000:1 real contrast levels.

IGZO is the underlying technology, the panels can be used with IPS, AMVA or PVA. IGZO replaces the aligned-Silicon TFT panel. It is not related to picture quality, but to response times and lag more than anything else, as well as power usage to some degree. Sharp made IGZO panels are ASV afaik, and the latest AUO IGZO panels are AMVA. Both technologies have native contrast of around 4000:1 which can be boosted 20-100x with FALD depending on the number of zones and quality of the LEDs (RGB vs White).

As you may have realised, I wrote a very long report about this for work a few years ago before Kaz became CEO and both Panasonic, Sony and Sharp (Japan Inc. as we call them) all had to exit TV manufacturing and panel production. Only Panasonic have done that properly and they have turned the business around. Sony and Sharp are still in trouble, one currency shock could wipe both of them out IMO. Sony's $10bn reserve could dwindle very quickly if the yen began to strengthen towards 85-90 vs USD.

 

[biggersmaller]

Don't forget '80s Sony:

 

[thechristoph]

I had a Sony bookshelf stereo in the 90s that was the shit. 5 disc changer, mic in and out (used it as a bass amp in a pinch), but what really made it awesome was how it would intelligently dub tapes from CD. You told it you had a 90 minute tape and you wanted X tracks from CD1 and Y tracks from CD2 and it would arrange them in a way that minimized empty space on the tape. Neato stuff, kids.

 

[nib95]

Indeed. But I think some of their prices are just too high for this economy, and add to that, they don't spend nearly enough on marketing the way for example Samsung and Apple do.

 

[Oveja Negra]

To me, Sony always has been the king when it comes to electronic design. They just have that special people extremely talented to make products that looks sophisticated, elegant yet fully functional.

Back in the days (80's and earlier) everything from them were top notch, after that only their premium line had that touch, the rest were still great, but not at "Holy crap!!!" level.

I think one of the reasons why you see threads like this one is because Sony used to be the best at pretty much everything. Sony was the one pushing the technology to levels that pretty much none other company was (Matsushita being the exception), so I think they still deserve the praise they get.

Having said that, you can't live looking at the past and it's undeniable Sony became sloppy at making new tech. Also, they lacked the vision to anticipate where the world tech were going. I mean... as some other have pointed out in the past, Sony should have been the company that created the iPod and latter... the iPhone. That speaks a lot of the lack of direction within the company.

I really wish them the best cause I think they still have a lot great minds there with an impressive amount of patents under their belt, but I don't know if they will turn around the situation. Their financial status it's not the best, also... the competition with other manufactures is tougher than ever (decades ago it was only other japanese brands, today it's also Korean).

Just to finish, some of my favs designs:

Man, that last one looks so badass!!!!

 

[purnoman3000]

A world without sony would be a poorer world for it. They still have amazing r&d and engineering. They're camera division is lights out, the Playstation is on a great trajectory. They just need to get more share back in tv and mobile (tablets, phones)


.

 

[mekes]

Bump for any camera heads in this thread.

Really tempted for that RX100 mark 3 in the OP. What kind of plus points are there for the fact that it will have a processor that is 3x quicker in the BIONZ-X? How will that translate in to every day use with the camera?

It would be a lot of money for me to lay down on a camera since I've only used mobile phone cameras for the past 10 years. Never had an expensive camera before. But I do want one that I can easily slip in my pocket.

 

[Two Words]

Sony's problem is that the competition has caught up so much at a more competitive price that in many areas it is not worth paying a premium to get a Sony.

 

[Reallink]

Smaller, more powerful and it has integrated PSU. Sony engineering skills are something else.

PS4 teardown reveals beautiful design, integrated PSU, a case modder’s dream

The design and component (choices) are better, but the actual build quality is inferior to the Xbone. The matte plastic they used is shittier than a milk jug's and commonly displays uneven/discolored molding faults, then of course there's the rubber ripping DS4 sticks, the power/eject buttons that are too small and often unresponsive, the uneven wobble, etc... PS4 is by far the worst build quality I've seen out of Sony in 30 years of buying a wide variety of their products.

 

[vivftp]

Zomg, if you're still paying attention to this thread I just wanted to ask if you've heard anything CLED related. I'm guessing it's either dead, or still very far away from seeing the light of day.

 

[samven582]

I wish people supported Sony more because I genuinely believe they make the best of everything, and are the most experimental.

Their major downfall is marketing, pricing and availability. Z2 is a good example of bad availability - everyone wanted it but then they announced it was coming out months later after the competition and only through very few avenues.

Whats sad its not even out in the US

 

[Minus_Me]

The Sony PS-F5 Portable record player. Still trying to find one.

 

[vivftp]

Well here's Sony's 2014 Mobile strategy:

http://www.xperiablog.net/2014/05/24/sonys-mobile-strategy-laid-out/

As a Canadian, I'm really hoping they go full speed ahead on trying to grab marketshare in North America. Also, I do hope they do away with this stupidness of making certain devices carrier specific. I wanted the Xperia Z Ultra and my carrier is Rogers, but it was a Bell exclusive. I wound up buying it unlocked from Sony and love it, but wish they would make all their devices available on various carriers.

Looking forward to what the next Ultra phone has. If it winds up being a bigger version of the Xperia Z3, then I'll jump on that in a heartbeat.

 

[Faithless]

The Sony PS-F5 Portable record player. Still trying to find one.

My god, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. Why don't they still make them!? Jesus Christ.

 

[thesuperfunk]

I will always have a soft-spot in my heart for Sony products.