The announcement of Sony’s 2024 TV lineup this past Wednesday came with incredible excitement, but many might have noticed that it was missing a new QD-OLED model — and that’s for good reason.
Instead of launching a whole new set, last year’s Sony Bravia XR A95L QD-OLED TV is getting a full software makeover with several 2024 enhancements. These include Prime Video calibrated mode and Voice Zoom 3, both of which will be added to the A95L in a firmware update later this year.
These two features will allow the A95L to stand out alongside Sony’s new Bravia 9, Bravia 8, and Bravia 7 series TVs, which all leverage the same upgraded XR processor. The Sony Picture Core app will also be updated on A95L sets to include select Crunchyroll content.
This isn’t the first time Sony has refreshed a prior year’s flagship TV, as seen with 2021’s A90J OLED that flowed into 2022’s lineup, and even the Sony Bravia A90K OLED TV. If the trend continues in the future, Sony could move to keep its newest Bravia 9 in the running come 2025 as well.
The A95L gets a dialogue boost
Sony is updating its beloved A95L QD-OLED TV with some exciting new features found on its new lineup, including Voice Zoom 3 and Prime Video calibrated mode. These software enhancements should allow the A95L to keep up-to-date alongside its new brethren in the Bravia 9, Bravia 8, and Bravia 7, as well as maintain a healthy position among the best TVs.
Voice Zoom 3 is a highly convincing new AI tool made by Sony that allows its speakers and TVs to enhance dialogue audio. You’ll be able to set the requisite levels of the AI tuning to your liking in the TV settings and via the Bravia Connect app, enhancing vocal clarity on everything from movies to podcasts.
The AI enhancer will be able to work across a variety of audio formats, including 5.1 surround sound, 2.0 stereo, and even Dolby Atmos, or any other object-based audio. Thus, nabbing a well-rounded option among the best Dolby Atmos soundbars or one of Sony’s 2024 speaker systems for your A95L would be a smart addition.
Auto-calibrations for Prime Video
Prime Video calibrated mode takes a similar approach to Sony’s previous Netflix calibrated mode yet furthers it with some new major distinctions. As the name suggests, the feature essentially reads the type of Prime Video content on screen and automatically adjusts the picture to better suit everything from color temperature, motion smoothness and brightness.
This adaptive system, which currently will only be available for Prime Video on Sony TVs and comes standard when launching the app, will use eight existing presets set across both OLED and LCD models among Sony’s 2024 TV lineup. No content across Prime Video is wasted, either, as the full range of Amazon’s library will be processable by the calibration.
One thing to note, though, is that while Prime Video auto calibration will be enabled while playing Dolby Vision content, the feature won’t actually be doing anything as the TV will be using Dolby’s processing. The mode will, however, work in both SDR and HDR10 content, according to FlatpanelsHD.
Sony has not yet confirmed when to expect either feature on its A95L QD-OLED TV, only a tentative Summer 2024. Look out for any upcoming Sony firmware updates in the next coming months.