Sony | Panasonic | Samsung | Toshiba | Philips

Sony Bravia LCD TV

BRAVIA is a Sony brand used to market its high-definition LCD televisions as well as front and rear projection TVs. The name is an acronym of "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All new Sony high-definition flat-panel LCD televisions in North America now carry the BRAVIA logo. The BRAVIA brand is also used on mobile phones, including the FOMA SO903iTV, developed by Sony Ericsson for NTT DoCoMo.

The name BRAVIA replaces the "LCD WEGA" brand name which Sony LCD TVs used up until Summer 2005 (early promotional photos exist of the first BRAVIA TVs still bearing the WEGA name).

Like other high definition television lines the various Bravia models differ in capability as well as screen size. Display capability depends on which high definition outputs are supported, and the input signal supplied to the television. Bravia televisions can display video from a variety of sources. The quality of the picture depends on the quality of the input.

The coax connector can receive regular television broadcasts, cable, and VCR/DVD output and will also receive and decode whatever high definition content is available on broadcast or cable television. Most high definition television which is broadcast is in the lower resolution high-definition formats.

Other traditional VCR/DVD outputs such as S-Video or Component video deliver the traditional television resolution that is no better than the resolution displayed by traditional television.

The HDMI input delivers the highest quality signal to the television and produces the highest quality high definition television picture, to the limits of the capabilities of the television. However, all HDMI has the HDCP content protection system built-in and this will degrade resolution of the display should the HDCP detect the presence of an unauthorized device. This limits the devices which deliver high definition TV content to those which are unable to record or otherwise duplicate protected content.

A VGA style computer connection is available, however the resolution of the video signal received from a computer may be limited to resolutions below the capability of the television depending on the capabilities of the computer's graphics card.

Purists will want to adjust the display on installation. The default configuration artificially enhances the color and contrast of the image to produce a more eye-catching, "vivid", display. This is easily done via a menu selection.

The BRAVIA brand uses the slogan "Color like.no.other.".

Screenshot of a BRAVIA advertisement
Glasgow tower block, the day after filmingThe launch of the BRAVIA brand was supported by an advertising campaign featuring 250,000 brightly-colored rubber balls (real, not computer-generated) bouncing down a San Francisco street. The advertisement was made by former Danish photographer Nicolai Fuglsig. The idea was originally a segment of The Late Show with David Letterman in 1996 where it was filmed rolling bouncy balls down the same street. Fallon the advertising agency involved with the commercial denied they have ever watched the episode, and claimed this as a coincidence. Following on from the original advert, Jonathan Glazer directed the second in which a Glasgow tower block was covered in 70,000 litres of paint with the help of over 1400 separate explosions. This was filmed over a 10 day period in July 2006.

Additionally, Sony recently launched a consumer education web site [1] that aims to demystify consumers' confusion surrounding high-definition technology.

Music
The "Bouncy Balls" television and cinema advertisements are accompanied by the song Heartbeats, written by Swedish duo The Knife and performed by José González. The track became very popular on radio stations in the UK after it was released by Peacefrog Records. The advert helped his debut album Veneer reach number 7 in the UK albums chart.

The soundtrack used in the beginning of the backstage video, Making of Sony Bravia Commercial, is Everything Is Alright by Four Tet.

The paint explosion advert is accompanied by music from Rossini's opera La gazza ladra.

Parody
A parody of this advert was run in the UK by Tango, a brand of soft drink. The advert was filmed in Swansea, Wales, UK and featured fruit in place of bouncing balls.

Circulating only throughout the internet, a video filmed by a clan features 64 players simultaneously hopping down a slope and over Humvees on the Sharqi Peninsula, a map in Battlefield 2. Instead of "BRAVIA - Color like no other" at the end of the original Bouncy Balls commercial, the clan's video read "Bunny hopping - Like no other".

Alternate advertising
In the JDM advert, many people went to a carnival dancing in special clothes. The background music's genre was Salsa

Useful Resources