Two weeks ago, I enjoyed a night of being wined and dined by the good folks from SONY as they unveiled their new BRAVIA line of TV’s.
I’ll tell you a secret. Having been a tech writer and editor for more than 10 years, I’m at my most uncomfortable self writing about anything to do with A/V products. Not because I don’t understand flat screen TV’s or audio — it’s more about trying to describe in words an experience that’s best felt when you’re there. How do you write about 3D? How do you write about 7.1 surround sound? You can shove a thousand words to your reader and he still won’t get it.
I’ve been piecing together what seems to be Sony’s grand plan for bringing a great consumer experience in Manila’s next generation entertainment: 3D.
Last month, I attended the side by side media launch of Sony’s new BRAVIA line that boasts a milieu of features in design. But what excited the industry the most is definitely the next step in visual entertainment, which is 3D television for the new line of Sony Bravias. Each Bravia comes with two sets of 3D glasses, and if you’re unaware you’d think Sony is in the market for making great looking shades. You’ll need to be within 7 feet in distance to enjoy the 3D experience as moving any further away distorts what you see on screen.
For the demo we were shown Killzone, Sony’s Gears of War competitor and the 3D effect looked as how you’d expect — gorgeous. I’m still not sure how gamers will adjust to hours and hours of gaming with three dimensions (eye strain?). But I see no reason why it would not make gaming, especially with shooters, more engaging!
Today, I got a media invitation for the official launch of Sony’s Playstation (LOL) which means, among other things, full support of Sony for the Philippine market. This is a first in a long decade and a half of console gaming as we all know that piracy cripples this aspect of the industry, especially in Manila where we thrive in 100 peso games from your local flea market. This isn’t so with Sony as Blu-ray hasn’t been pirated and access to PSN (Sony’s online gaming network) is free.
During the press conference for the Bravia, we were told that the road map for 3D technology will definitely extend to the Playstation 3. A mere firmware update will allow you to enjoy 3D gaming, as long as you also have a 3D television. Correct me if I’m wrong but apparently this part of the technology is hardware dependent and has little to do with the games themselves.
