Sony Gives Pricing for 2018 TV Lineup; Dolby Vision Update Due Later in Year

Sony announced pricing and availability Thursday for 2018 55-, 65- and 75-inch X900F 4K HDR Ultra HD LED TVs it launched at CES. The X900F series’ 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme, said to have twice the processing power of its predecessor (see 1801090001), has object-based HDR remastering, Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR and dual database processing, said the company. X-Motion Clarity technology is designed to produce smooth action scenes with no loss in brightness, Sony said. The 55-inch ($1,499), 65-inch ($2,299) and 75-inch ($3,999) models will be Dolby Vision-compatible with a firmware update later this year, it said. The X900 Series is designed to be sold with the company’s HT-X9000F Dolby Atmos sound bar. The XBR-X850F lineup is priced at $1,999 (65-inch) and $3,299 (75-inch). Both smart TV series include Android TV and integrate Google Assistant voice control. Users press the mic button on the TV’s remote to ask Google a question or give a command. The TV works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa-based speakers, said Sony. Sony Android TVs were mentioned in a Wednesday Consumer Reports article on cybersecurity and data privacy tests the magazine did with smart TVs (see 1802070046). A Sony Android TV was the only model tested requiring users to agree to a privacy policy and terms of service to complete setup, said the report. Consumers have to click "yes" to Google agreements “even if they don’t plan to connect to the internet,” it said. The report quoted Sony as saying customers concerned about sharing information with Google don’t have to connect their TV to the internet and can use cable or broadcast signals. Sony responded to us after our Wednesday deadline that the company is committed to privacy, security and transparency for the collection, use and disclosure of customer data through its smart TVs. “Our commitment is demonstrated by making consumers aware, during the set-up process, of the Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Policies for the Google/Android TV operating system and Samba TV services, as well as the Privacy Policy for Sony smart TVs,” it said. Sony uses an optional opt-in process for acceptance of smart TV privacy policies, it said. The company “does not sell or share any personally identifiable information with third parties in order to allow them to target ads or otherwise market non-Sony products and services to Sony customers,” it said.