With the Sony Bravia 9 TV series released in 2024 (click on the Sony K-65XR90 reference to discover the exhaustive test of the product by the AVcesar editorial team) and based on an exclusive Mini [abc]LED[/abc] backlighting system, the Japanese manufacturer gave serious indications on its TV strategy: focusing on the development of Mini LED technology in general and on its Mini LED XR Backlight Master Drive technology in particular. If we add to this the non-renewal in 2024 of the Sony A95L Oled TV series, the choice to invest in [abc]LCD[/abc] technology by developing its own patents for the years to come, to the detriment of [abc]Oled[/abc], became more and more significant (see our news Sony TV premium 2024, heading for Mini LED to the detriment of Oled?).
Sony TV Mini LED RGB XR Backlight Master Drive, unprecedented image quality££££
The upcoming announcement of a TV series RGB Mini LED therefore appears to be a logical next step for Sony: the use of the Mini LED XR Backlight Master Drive backlighting with [abc]RGB[/abc] sauce. In addition to being in line with the trend of the last CES show in Las Vegas last January, where the firms Hisense, TCL and Samsung all unveiled their RGB Mini LED prototypes (Samsung used the name Micro LED but it is indeed a Mini LED specimen in its operation, that is to say non-self-emissive), Sony has the advantage of seniority over the three brands mentioned. The Sony 46X4500 RGB LED reference was in fact presented by the brand 17 years ago, in 2008 (with Sharp's XS1) before being abandoned the following year (see our news (UPDATE) CES 2025 review: AI everywhere, the return of TV technologies and the rebirth (again) of LCD). There is no doubt that during these 17 years, an eternity in terms of technology, the process has progressed enormously. To the point, according to our source at NHK (Japanese public television), of offering an image of infinitely superior quality to that of the best Oled screens of the moment. Another good news, the prices of these screens are expected to drop drastically in the next three to five years...
Sony TV Mini LED RGB XR Backlight Master Drive, 85" and 98" on the way££££
To return to the next Sony TV RGB Mini LED series, two diagonals are currently planned: 98" (249 cm) and 85" (216 cm). Another clarification, these televisions will benefit from a WHVA coating for a wider viewing angle. Their availability, depending on various components not yet finalized (particularly on the processor side), is expected at best at the very end of the year, if not at the beginning of 2026. Namely, the exact references are not yet known at the time of writing these lines: will they adopt the name Bravia 10, this potential name having appeared for the first time in the summer of 2024, or another name to highlight the new embedded Mini LED XR Backlight Master Drive technology? Answer in a few weeks.
