As I made my way through the freezing January evening to the secret location of the launch in the heart of Shoreditch. I was filled with anticipation as the Sony BRAVIA Worlds First launch was promising to be a good night.
"Guests will be treated to the awe-inspiring unveiling of these TV’s (the World’s thinnest (ZX1), the World’s fastest (Z4500), The World’s first wireless technology/picture frame TV (EX1) and the World’s first OLED technology TV (XEL-1), with the help of a mind-blowing, interactive and unique light installation featuring a one-off short film, while celebrity DJ Henry Holland and ‘Filthy Dukes’ spin the decks."
Giles Deacon & Henry Holland DJ at the Sony Bravia TV Launch - London, Shoreditch
On entering the large warehouse area I immediately noticed 3 colour beams projected across the warehouse turned out that this was part of artist Paul Cocksedge's specially commissioned installation. The concept created by Paul Cocksedge, titled 'R.G.B' shined a red, a green and a blue light separately from one side of the venue. All three lights meet at a white dot upon which the four new BRAVIA LCD televisions will hang above. The light concept is based on R.G.B lights within televisions.
Henry Holland rocking out at the Sony Bravia TV Launch - London, Shoreditch
Above the white dot - hanging from the ceiling was the reason we were here:
The ZX1 - the World’s thinnest TV, seriously no wider than your finger (if your finger is under 9mm wide).
The Z4500 (with Motionflow) - the World’s fastest TV. This cranks out 200Hz and means that the screen refreshes the pixel rate faster than any previous TV ensuring a smoother picture. Although the benefits of this beast were not immediately clear I suspect that watching a Blu -Ray action film of Sky HD sports the difference would be appreciated.
The EX1- the World’s first wireless technology/picture frame. After some discussion I discovered that this meant that hi def images (& sound) could be sent from a “media” box plugged into your source to the TV. No more HDMI cabling :)
The XEL-1 - the World’s first OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology TV. OLED technology uses materials that emit light on their own and don’t require a backlight. Currently this ultra thin TV (3mm) is only 15 inches big but packs a noticeable higher picture quality (also more eco friendly). Hope the picture quality stays when they rollout the larger screen sizes. OLED is expected to be the next level in the evolution of TVs.
The TVs were showingBafta-winning film-maker Tal Rosner's short film “World First”, featuring historical moments captured on television including footage of the first man in space and the first Miss Universe contest.
The evening was set to the ambient soundtrack that Giles Deacon & Henry Holland were outputting from decks for most of the night. Their play list seamlessly transitioning from cutting edge remixes through to experimental trance.