Sony announces its first curved UHD TVs

A month ago, the only way to get a big, curved-screen ultra-high-definition television was to hire the services of an artisan glassblower, but now, with the launch of Sony's Bravia S90, there's a host of different makes and models to choose from.

The-Sony-Bravia-S90-4K-Ultra-HD-television-Photo-AFP

A month ago, the only way to get a big, curved-screen ultra-high-definition television was to hire the services of an artisan glassblower, but now, with the launch of Sony's Bravia S90, there's a host of different makes and models to choose from.

Available in two sizes -- 75- and 65-inch -- the latest Sony TV set is only subtly curved, something the company claims was a conscious decision to enhance the immersive experience of viewing content without creating dead spots in the living room where the screen is difficult to see clearly or where the colors seem to fade into greys.

Like all TVs that market themselves as 4K UHD, the latest Bravia can take content and upscale it to fill the screen and offer the effect of ultra-high definition when it falls short in terms of resolution.

As well as a great image -- boosted by a system that enhances contrast and strengthens red, blue and green tones -- the set has a good speaker set-up that can control the angle at which sounds fill the room so that the audio track feels similarly immersive.

However the sound from flat-panel televisions is never as good as the image quality simply because there isn't enough space inside the set for proper deep speakers. Aware of this, Sony is also offering an optional standalone subwoofer that will seriously boost lower-frequency sounds.

But that's not the end of the neat features and tricks. The set has an integrated camera for using Skype and for watching programs with friends and there's a live Football mode that will let viewers keep up-to-date with how Twitter and other social media networks are reacting to the big game as it plays out.

Although revealed on Thursday, Sony isn't expected to confirm pricing or availability of either model until the IFA tech show in Berlin in September. However, expect the 65-inch model to cost around $5,000 and the 75-inch model to retail for roughly $8,000 so that they are competitive with similar models from Samsung and LG.