CompleteCoverage: CES 2013
As part of a push to jumpstart the new 4K format, Sony
announced that it would launch a 4K movie download service in the summer of
2013 and that it would begin selling a number of Blu-ray that had been sourced
from 4K masters.
Details were skimpy on the new download service. Sony
provided no information on pricing, the number of titles or what kind of
compression it might use to reduce the lengthy times needed to download the large
high-resolution files.
Sony executives noted that they are already involved in
producing 4K films with their F65 camera and that a number of films had already
been shot in 4K or, as is often done in theatrical production, mastered in 4K.
The new "Mastered in 4K" series of titles slated to be
released in the spring of 2013 would include The Amazing Spider-Man, Total
Recall, The Karate Kid, Battle: Los Angeles and The Other Guys. These titles would be
sourced from 4K masters and made available at high-bitrate 1080p resolution
that can be played on existing Blu-ray players.
Because of the lack of 4K content, the set's abilities to
take existing HD content from Blu-rays or broadcast and then up-rez them to 4K
will be a key selling point.
Sony also touted its TV technology in a number of other
product launches, including the new Xperia Z mobile phone. It has a 5-in. HD
1080p display, a S4 Pro quad-core processor, a 13 megapixel fast-capture camera
and 4G LTE capabilities.
The company also stressed new features that make it much
easier to transfer content from one device to another through its "One Touch"
technologies.
