In a close-up shot, for example, the XR disc will focus on delivering realistic skin tone. But if the camera moves behind an actor, it will look for other elements, such as the way a sign is illuminated in the background, or smoke rising from the street. Although I’ve never personally seen one of Sony’s new TVs in action, the company was able to provide some bug fixes over a video call that showed exactly what the XR processor was focusing on. In a clip from Sully, it moved seamlessly from Tom Hanks’ face to the Times Square neon lights in another shot. And in a scene La La Land, I could see that the slide automatically detected Emma Stone’s face as the camera moved around her.
The Cognitive Processor XR will also help Sony’s 8K display, according to Kazuo Kii, the company’s global display and processing expert. Given the lack of content in the resolution, Sony’s 8K Master Series Z9J TVs (available in 75- and 85-inch sizes) will rely on XR scaling to help HD and 4K content take advantage of the extra pixels. The focus on cognitive intelligence is especially useful for 8K TVs, Kii says, because it allows Sony to focus the processing work on the parts of the image that matter. It needs an even more powerful processor to optimize an entire 8K screen in real time.
In addition to the Z9J, the Cognitive Processor XR will also power the company’s Master Series A90J and A80J 4K OLED TVs, as well as its X95J and X90J 4K LED set. All Sony sets this year also include Google TV as their built-in operating system, hands-free Google Assistant and support for Amazon’s Alexa. You can also look forward to HDMI 2.1, which means they will support 4K at 120 fps for next-generation game consoles, as well as eARC and variable refresh rates.
One interesting omission is Mini-LED, a display technology that Samsung and LG will introduce this year, following the adoption of TCL in 2019. It allows for smaller LEDs, which can dramatically improve the backlight illumination. Kii says Sony is researching the technology, but has yet to announce anything.
Like most TV announcements during CES, Sony has no pricing or availability details to share yet, but we expect to hear more this spring.