Revolutionizing Display Technology With Sony | AVNation Special

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Transcript:

Tim (00:01.71)
This is an AVNation special. My name is Tim Albright. I am your host. About a month or so ago, Sony Professional unveiled a brand new line of Sony Pro Bravia displays. And with us to talk about the very new line is our buddy, Mr. Joe Drury. Welcome, sir. Absolutely. So you guys did this right before ISE. Made a pretty big splash. Certainly those of us who went to ISE got to see these in person.

Joe Drury (00:20.899)
Hey Tim, thanks for having me.

Tim (00:30.326)
So if folks were not able to go to the show really quickly, what is the overarching or the key differences between the previous Pro Bravia line and the new ones?

Joe Drury (00:42.285)
Yeah, if I really had to sum it up with like three pillars that kind of prop up what the P-Series is, it’s enhancements to the quality, it’s enhancements to the usability, and then ultimately responsibility. So from a quality perspective, we’re now using our famous Deep Black Non-Glare across all three of these BZ-Series. Different elements of that.

We’ve added the XR processor to all the P-Series. This is our most robust processor that we have on the Pro side, allowing solutions to work better, as well as even a better picture than what we have currently. From the usability perspective, whether you’re the integrator or the end user, there’s been changes to make your life better. The new chassis.

standardized simplified user interface, VESA holes being centered, the new 43 through 65 inch models are now thinner across the board. And then, you know, from a responsibility perspective and something that’s very important to us is ethically producing displays, making them more efficient, more reliable, adding IP5X.

to the 40 and the 35 series. Really this is a huge evolutionary step for Probravia and it’s an absolutely exciting time to be a part of it.

Tim (02:19.302)
You mentioned a couple things there I wanted to dig into. First of all, how does the thinner part figure into the responsibility as well as the usability?

Joe Drury (02:30.883)
Well, more from a usability perspective, but there’s a responsibility aspect to it as well. Moving from a backlit technology on the 43 through the 65, we’ve moved to an edge lit. This has allowed us to go from 2.8 inches in depth to 1.8 inches in depth. This allows us to really kind of apply our product in ADA and other restrictive environments, allowing us to

make a display that is smaller, it’s easier to lift up. This also means that they’re lighter as well. So there’s a lot of aspects actually to being thinner than just being something pretty on a wall that is very beneficial to the end user as well as to the integrator who’s doing the install.

Tim (03:21.222)
One of the things that you guys had at ISE was you had a comparison of the new Probravia line with other, let’s say, competitor displays, and you had a power consumption meter on it. It was dramatic. Let me just put it that way. It was dramatic. So how does that, how does the power savings, how does that figure into Sony’s commitment to responsibility as well as sustainability?

Joe Drury (03:46.178)
Ultimately, we have this Road to Zero initiative at Sony, and this is by 2050. Our expectation for ourselves is that we will be net neutral when it comes to our carbon footprint. So what is the impact of our product as it’s being used in the channel by our customers who have purchased it? This is a huge part of that and very much a driver in what’s created what the P Series are.

There were a lot of interesting takes that the engineers made in order to create this. So for example, on the Pro side, we never had an edge lit display. So the engineers created a new proprietary way to address, for example, the heat flow. And they’ve done some other things, but we’re able to maintain the same brightness levels from in the P’s that we have in the L’s, enhanced picture quality.

But the energy savings are up to 31 % from generation to generation. And we do feel that this is an ethical obligation that we have to provide a product that is going to require less and last longer.

Tim (05:03.672)
You also mentioned the deep black non-glare. When you look at that, how does that compare with previous models of the Pro Bravia series?

Joe Drury (05:11.981)
Yeah, so currently right now on the L series that we have, we have one series plus another 98 inch model and they have what’s called the Deep Black Non-Glare. This is a Sony proprietary solution that provides 47 % anti-glare with a low reflection treatment. Now typically, we were a little late to the game when it came to high haze or anti-glare because picture quality is so important to us.

The typical industry standard to create this is something called surface ablation. It’s a microscopic sanding of the panel. And the intent is that where the light comes in, it’s going to deflect the glare away from the viewer. The problem is, is it’s that same panel that the picture comes through. So to have a industry standard anti-glare solution that came at the cost of picture degradation, such as color, contrast, saturation, viewing angle,

It was unacceptable to us. So we created Deep Black Non-Glare. For the P-Series, we’re going to continue on the 40-Series with the Deep Black Non-Glare, but we’re going to call it Deep Black Non-Glare Premium. And again, it’s still going to be the same treatment though, 47 % anti-glare with a low reflection. But then for the 30-Series and the 35-Series, we’re going to add something new for us. It lives off the same family of the

Deep Black Non-Glare, but we’re going to call this one Deep Black Non-Glare Standard. It’s not going to have the low reflection treatment that’s on the premium, but it will be a 25 % anti-glare solution. So we’re able to maintain the picture quality standard that we have with anti-glare solutions from the 30 all the way up through the 40. We think that ultimately when it comes to anti-glare solutions, if you remember in school,

there would always be those light switches up in the front of the class that the teacher would hit and, you know, okay, it’s time for the projector. We think that our customers, you know, the ones that are, I’m here in New Jersey, the ones that are in Manhattan with the billion dollar views, we think that it’s absolutely absurd that you go and buy displays and then you go and buy curtains with them, right? So the deep black non-glare solution, the whole idea behind it is the fact that

Joe Drury (07:31.009)
It’s going to work in the environment that the engineers, the architects, the customer intends for that space to be, and that you don’t have to work around it. And so really the whole P-Series is going to embody that philosophy.

Tim (07:45.922)
you’ve also re-engineered an entire electrical department’s design because you’re right in higher education especially there was an entire zone right above the where the projector typically with a screening typically was it was just that one zone right and you turn that off just so you could see the projector but now you know

Joe Drury (08:02.007)
Yeah.

Joe Drury (08:06.403)
That’s right. And you know, to the point that you’re making as well, you know, when we talk about, for example, up to 31 % energy savings as what we were talking about before, you know, that even impacts, you know, BTU requirements in the different environments that you have as well. So there’s impact across the board and it really depends on what degree, you know, down the road that you want to get into to really understand the impact of what these P series are going to have to the market.

Tim (08:37.674)
One thing that really is a hot topic right now, and has been actually for a year or two, and that is security on the network. 99 % of AV devices are some sort of endpoint on the network. How did Sony go about designing this new Pro Bravia series with security in mind?

Joe Drury (08:57.495)
Yeah, any security has to be multifaceted in order to really address all the concerns and the threats that are out there. I’m going to highlight a few of them. the most basic level, at the face level, the level that would affect the end user most directly, we address with Pro Mode. This is a Sony specific utility.

What it does is it allows you to set the behavior of the display however you want. So for example, if I want to shut off the HDMI inputs, I don’t have to worry about someone coming by and putting something in the display and running something on that. That’s not good, right? And we can adjust other types of behaviors when it turns on and off and all of those things. But from a direct threat perspective,

We allow the customer to choose exactly how the displays is going to behave and what types of inputs it will allow, whether that’s wired or wireless, and what it’s going to allow the display to show to their customers in their environment. Beyond that, when you go a little bit deeper and we talk about the software element of the displays, our integration with our operating system, which is Android.

which is made by Google. This is guaranteed to be serviced and updated and addressed by Google through the life of the display. This means that anyone can create a firewall or some sort of protection today, but over enough time, it’s going to be challenged, tested, and broken. having something, there’s no such thing as

being bulletproof, but creating something that is workable, addressable, and updatable, like the system that we have in open architecture, specifically for Google and the solutions that we have, this allows us to react and continue to have a strong stance on our displays and keep them secure for our customers.

Tim (11:14.254)
Well, and like you said, this is just one part of a multifaceted approach to security. But you guys have given both the integrators as well as the IT and the AV managers another tool to combat some of the security threats. Joe, really quickly, when it comes to total cost of ownership, because that is another aspect that, at least from the higher education standpoint, I’m hearing a lot, corporate is worried about total cost of ownership.

Joe Drury (11:26.819)
That’s right.

Tim (11:42.314)
Education though, they have tighter budgets, I put it that way. When you guys went into the design process and now you’re coming to market with it, how does the new version align with Sony’s commitment to lowering the total cost of ownership for the end user?

Joe Drury (12:00.857)
This is a really key part of what makes the P Series and how it fits into Probravia specifically. It was a focal point on how the P Series were engineered. when you look at total cost of ownership, we’re not talking about at the point of sale how much the display cost. We’re talking about the impact of that display in year three, four, five and beyond. So…

Depending on how you want to look at that, right? So in year five, how many times did I need to call services? And how much time did I spend on the call waiting for them? How many pictures did I have to send in order to get someone to come out and repair the display? And now it’s down. I mean, if we’re talking different environments, obviously the display has value in its use case. Any minute that it’s down is a cost.

No matter which way you you account for it That’s right

Tim (13:00.566)
or which environment you’re in, it’s cost, right? Whether that’s education or that’s corporate, there’s some amount of cost there if it’s down.

Joe Drury (13:06.485)
Absolutely. And so not only do we give peace of mind that adds to this total cost of ownership by having every pro bravia protected by advance replacement warranty. And then, for example, the 40 series, the 53 model, those come with a five year as standard. But it’s the reliability that goes well beyond what the warranty is. So it’s one thing from a business perspective to say,

these products are reliable enough that I can afford to put advanced replacement in five year on a display. what that’s really saying though is no one actually really wants a warranty. They want a reliable display. The warranty is just kind of the endorsement of that. But what I can say is that the reliability for Probravia, I believe, is the standard.

of what the industry is. I believe that we have the most reliable displays on the market. Our warranty reflects that. And this is a big part of the total cost of ownership. But then you have the other aspect. So we mentioned before, for example, now with up to 31 % energy savings. How is this saving on your energy bill? Are we counting for that when we talk about the total cost of ownership? Because we should. Did we have to install new AC units when we rolled out that hundred

display project because now we have new heating and BTU requirements. All of these different aspects account for it. I know it’s one of those things that’s really tough because it’s like, it’s just so easy to look, here’s the line item, this is how much I paid for it, and this is the standard. There’s so much more calculus that goes into really understanding what that purchase cost is. And that’s what we believe in, and we hear from our customers all the time.

that a more premium solution is cheaper in the long run.

Tim (15:13.389)
Absolutely. Joe, one last question here. When you look at this, what is one thing that an IT or an AV manager should know about this new

Joe Drury (15:23.787)
One thing, one thing that, boy, what is the thing that I like the most about my kid, right? Look. Okay, fair, fine. Whatever one should know about these models, these new peer series that are coming out is they are so myopically tailored to the environment that they were built for. I’m not gonna list.

Tim (15:32.813)
At least I didn’t ask you to pick a favorite kid.

Joe Drury (15:52.479)
all 18 bullets of what comes with the new ones. But every single one of them came as a result of our conversations with our customers and our partners. We built on all the things that we think makes a pro bravia, pro bravia, and we enhanced from that. And then we built on the areas that maybe weren’t our strengths. And we’re looking to build on that as we move forward. But we so genuinely believe in this product. We know that when you get the opportunity to see them,

You’re going to like what you see, but these are completely focused on our customers and I’m really excited about that.

Tim (16:34.423)
Well, Joe mentioned opportunity to see them. Sony is going around the country at different events, showing off their displays, certainly a number of places, including the Alamo E4 events, as well as Infocomm in June. Joe Jury, thank you so much, sir. I appreciate your time. How do people connect with you or connect with Sony?

Joe Drury (16:53.411)
Thanks Tim. Please connect with us. Our products can be found at pro.sony. Nice, and sweet. And of course you can find me on LinkedIn. I’m Joe Drury. I appreciated your time. Thanks Tim.

Tim (17:06.869)
Sony. For us for AVNation go by our website AVNation.TV that’s AVNation.TV find this program and a host of others all that and more at AVNation.TV.