The new cutting-edge MASTER Series AF9 OLED and ZF9 LCD televisions from Sony mark a significant milestone in bringing the very best picture quality home by faithfully conveying the creators' intent.Sony Europe announced two new television series, both offering unprecedented picture quality by virtue of employing multiple proprietary technologies and solutions with the next generation Picture Processor X1 Ultimate at the fore. The new AF9 OLED and ZF9 LCD TVs arrive as the MASTER Series - a name Sony reserves exclusively for its highest picture quality TV models. Sony's goal is to create a television capable of displaying images that faithfully convey the content creators' full intent and as such the MASTER Series provides picture quality approaching that of a professional-grade monitor in a motion picture production studio. Having developed and followed a very strict set of product evaluation criteria by its most experienced picture quality engineers, Sony is confident the flagship MASTER Series delivers the highest quality picture possible in a home setting.
Both the AF9 and ZF9 MASTER Series models come equipped with a newly developed, next-generation Picture Processor X1 Ultimate. This processor plays a vital role in delivering the faithful picture in the MASTER Series. With a long history and expertise in developing professional cameras and monitors, Sony recognises that precision in the crafting of fine components of signal processing results in an immediately visible difference to the whole image. The Picture Processor X1 Ultimate can intelligently detect and analyse each object in the picture through Sony's new Object-based Super Resolution for exceptional accuracy and detail. Also, the Object-based HDR remaster has been notably updated and now allows each object to be remastered individually for better depth, accurate texture and all-in-all more realistic picture.
Sony has historically been working with the professionals. Together with Sony Pictures Entertainment, from making of a picture mode which meets the film creators' criteria in 2000 to the recent standardisation of HDR and bringing them into movie creation. For MASTER Series, in conjunction with Netflix, Sony is now introducing Netflix Calibrated Mode. This unique feature was specially developed to mirror the same picture quality as a studio evaluation master for television in order to preserve the artists' creative vision and intent. By clicking one simple menu setting, Netflix Calibrated Mode faithfully reproduces the visuals that help bring a story to life, and entertainment enthusiasts can now enjoy this experience when watching their favourite TV series, films, documentaries and more on Netflix.
Also, the MASTER Series is ready*1 for CalMAN , the industry-leading display calibration software from Portrait Displays. CalMAN is widely used by professionals as a tool to ensure quality control of the strict requirements demanded by content creators in broadcast, production, and post-production. CalMAN eliminates the struggle of maintaining the picture quality throughout the life of the TV.
Innovation in TV picture, sound and design
The flagship AF9 TV comes equipped with the Pixel Contrast Booster, which is Sony's original panel controller for OLED. It maximises the dynamic range by widening the area of colour reproduction at high brightness. Pictures are enhanced with extra detail and texture.
The AF9 OLED TV has top-of-the-line sound quality thanks to its new Acoustic Surface Audio technology. Acoustic Surface was first introduced last year with the critically-acclaimed A1 series followed by the AF8 this year. The improved Acoustic Surface Audio gets an additional actuator in the centre of the screen and an extra subwoofer channel, totalling to a 3.2 channel sound system. The additional centre actuator acts just like centre speakers hidden behind an AT (acoustically transparent) screen which are found in cinemas. With the three actuators and two subwoofers facing sideways, the AF9 creates a rich sound field that greatly enhances the viewing experience. Also, the AF9 has a centre speaker mode that allows the Acoustic Surface Audio to be used as the centre speaker of a home theatre system.
The AF9, with its OLED display, represents a masterful fusion of the viewing and listening experience. And all this condensed into a single slate - the screen, with only a stand in the back to hold it up. Its shape and materials are imbued with softness, with a rounded bezel and fabric-covered rear stand. These characteristics allow the AF9 to exude an emphatic visual presence, while also blending into its surroundings.
The ZF9 LCD TV's new X-Wide Angle ensures the picture retains its quality regardless of the angle from which it is being watched. It enables a wider viewing angle that reduces colour shifts when viewing the screen off-axis, so that the colours stay true no matter the viewer's position. Together with X-Motion Clarity , which minimises motion blur without sacrificing screen brightness, it helps the ZF9 overcome the usual challenges LCD panels face.
The ZF9's bezel has a black, speckled finish like that of a DSLR camera, which stands out against the metallic look of the rest of the TV. The minimalistic look extends to the stands, which are simply moulded in aluminium.
Both the AF9 and ZF9 series are based on Android TV , which lets you explore a world of movies, music, photos, games, search, apps and more. The Voice Search function makes it remarkably easy to find content, ask questions and control the TV. With Chromecast built-in, you can effortlessly send content from your smartphone or tablet to the TV, while access to Google Play allows you to enjoy your favourite movies, TV shows, and games on your TV.
Using the Google Assistant with both the AF9 and ZF9 wil
