BRAVIA

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BRAVIA is a Sony brand used to market its high-definition LCD TVs. The name is an acronym of "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All new Sony high-definition flat-panel LCD TVs in North America now carry the BRAVIA logo.

The name BRAVIA replaces the "LCD WEGA" brand name which Sony LCD TVs used up until Summer 2005 (early promotional photos exist of the first BRAVIA TVs still bearing the WEGA name).

Contents 1 Advertising campaign 1.1 Music 1.2 Parody 2 Product line 2.1 Japan Models 2.1.1 Discontinued Models 2.2 USA Models 3 Critical Reception 4 External links

[edit] Advertising campaign

The BRAVIA brand uses the slogan "Color like.no.other.".

The launch of the BRAVIA brand was supported by an advertising campaign featuring 250,000 brightly-colored rubber balls bouncing down a San Francisco street. The advertisement was made by former Danish photographer Nicolai Fuglsig.

Following on from the original advert, Jonathan Glazer directed the second in which a Glasgow tower block was covered in 70,000 litres of paint with the help of over 1400 separate explosions. This was filmed over a 10 day period in July 2006.

Additionally, Sony recently launched a consumer education web site [1] that aims to demystify consumers' confusion surrounding high-definition technology.

[edit] Music

The "Bouncy Balls" television and cinema advertisements are accompanied by the song Heartbeats, written by Swedish duo The Knife and performed by José González. The track became very popular on radio stations in the UK after it was released by Peacefrog Records. The advert helped his debut album Veneer reach #7 in the UK charts.

The soundtrack used in the beginning of the backstage video, Making of Sony Bravia Commercial, is Everything Is Alright by Four Tet.

The paint explosion advert is accompanied by music from Rossini's opera La gazza ladra.

[edit] Parody

A parody of this advert was run in the UK by Tango, a brand of soft drink. The advert was filmed in Swansea, Wales, UK and featured fruit in place of bouncing balls.

Circulating only throughout the internet, a video filmed by a clan features 64 players simultaneously hopping down a slope and over HMMWVs on the Sharqi Peninsula, a map in Battlefield 2. Instead of "BRAVIA - Color like no other" at the end of the original Bouncy Balls commercial, the clan's video read "Bunny hopping - Like no other".^[1]

[edit] Product line

The Sony Bravia product line includes the following television sets.

[edit] Japan Models

These models are available or announced as of April 2007.

• X2500 Series - All models support true 1080p via HDMI.

KDL-52X2500

KDL-46X2500

KDL-40X2500

• V2500 Series - All models support true 1080p via HDMI except for the smallest 32V2500 model.

KDL-46V2500

KDL-40V2500

KDL-32V2500

• S2500 Series - All models support 720p resolution using a WXGA panel.

KDL-46S2500

KDL-40S2500

KDL-32S2500

KDL-20S2500

• A2500 Series - All models are Rear projection TV that support true 1080p via HDMI.

KDS-60A2500

KDS-50A2500

[edit] Discontinued Models

• E1000 Series

KDF-50E1000

KDF-42E1000

[edit] USA Models

[edit] Critical Reception

CNET Reviews gave a rating of 7.7 to Bravia KDL-V40XBR1 with the following comment [2]:

The good: Deep blacks and detailed shadows for an LCD; three component-video inputs; slick styling.

The bad: Expensive; poor color decoding with heavy red push; only one HDMI input.

The bottom line: While not quite as good for home theater as the best plasmas, the expensive Sony Bravia KDL-V40XBR1 puts on a pretty face and delivers an impressive picture.

TrustedReviews gave KDLS40A12U an overall rating of 8 with following verdict [3]:

Sony has produced a great 40in high definition TV at a very attractive price. The image quality is excellent when fed with the right signal and the amount and variety of inputs is similarly impressive. Unless you’re dead set on a 1080p screen (and have very deep pockets in order to afford one), the KDLS40A12U will make an excellent companion for your HD Sky box and Blu-ray player when they arrive.

[edit] External links

• Sony Bravia - Most Recent Advert
• Sony Bravia Advert - "Exploding Paint" Website
• Sony Bravia Advert - "Bouncy Balls" Website
• Sony UK Site.
• Sony Bravia Advert - Behind the scenes