The new Bravia Core streaming service will initially only be available on Sony’s 2021 XR TVs. With such letters, the Japanese manufacturer will mark its products, which embody the most advanced audio and video technologies.
The available catalog will also initially be limited to films from Sony Pictures.
Sony also noted that Bravia Core will, among other things, showcase the latest films that have just been released. True, for this you will need to provide so-called vouchers (5 or 10, depending on the TV model). At the same time, all XR TV buyers will have access to the Unlimited Streaming catalog, which contains more than 100 Sony Pictures films, the list of which will expand over time. As for IMAX Enhanced, about 50 titles will be offered in this format initially. Additionally, viewers can enjoy behind-the-scenes filming in the Studio Access catalog.
Blu-ray UHD Equivalent Quality
However, the most compelling aspect of this project is the quality of the streaming video. If you have a good connection, you can watch 4K HDR movies at speeds up to 80Mbps. Sony called this technology Pure Stream.
“Bravia Core is the first service to use Pure Stream technology, making the quality of received programs almost equivalent to UHD Blu-ray,”
In comparison, Netflix recently cut the average bitrate of 4K movies in half to 17.2Mbps, depending on the scene. Until recently, the lead in this parameter belonged to Apple TV + with a bitrate of more than 40 Mb / s for streaming 4K video. Sony also promises to double this figure, comparing it to Blu-ray UHD quality.
As for 4K HDR10, this format will be available at variable bitrate. In this case, the sound track will be limited to DTS Digital 5.1 quality, which does not reach the Blu-ray standard.
However, if Sony delivers on its promises of the Bravia Core, it could cause quite a stir in the video streaming market as other providers are forced to take on this bold challenge. The Japanese have also called their new service future-proof, perhaps hinting at the introduction of 8K content.