Sony is renewing BRAVIA as a brand for watching movies to enrich the ultimate home cinema experience. With the expansion of streaming services, watching movies in the comfort of the home has gained in popularity. Sony’s wide variety of products such as digital cinema cameras, professional monitors, and professional headphones have been widely utilised by film production professionals, allowing the company to deeply understand the cinema industry and the intention of filmmakers and content creators. New BRAVIA further enhances the sense of reality of cinematic content and delivers outstanding picture and sound quality at home to enjoy films with much of the same magic of the big screen. By unifying TVs, soundbars and other home audio technologies under a single brand, Sony aims for customers to have a one-stop destination to enjoy that ultimate cinematic experience of dazzling picture quality and evocative sound as the filmmaker intended. The matching features and design of BRAVIA TVs and BRAVIA Theatre home audio products make it easier for consumers to choose and combine a complete home entertainment package for an outstanding cinematic experience.

BRAVIA Theatre: immersive cinematic audio for watching movies at home

Sony has unique, extensive experience in the film industry, ranging from professional cameras and monitors to film production and distribution. Building on those strengths, for its newly announced BRAVIA Theatre home audio product line-up the company has focused on the differences between the viewing environments at the cinema and at home, working on various initiatives to provide the same immersive audio to the home setting. The acoustics of a cinema is precisely designed, and the sound emitting from a large number of speakers placed on the ceiling and walls creates a localised sound field, providing the audience with an overwhelming sense of immersion. With BRAVIA Theatre, you can enjoy the same kind of acoustic cinema experience at home.

“Building on the decades of operating at the heart of the professional film production equipment development as well as film production and distribution, Sony is in a unique position that allows it to utilise its unparalleled film industry, professional equipment, and consumer electronics experience with its pioneering BRAVIA TVs and BRAVIA Theatre home audio devices” – said Yoshihiro Ono, Head of Home Entertainment Business Unit, Sony Corporation. “We’re excited to launch the new BRAVIA TV and BRAVIA Theatre home audio products that usher in new exciting features, elevating the way you can watch films at home to new heights” – added Yoshihiro Ono.

Key technologies and features of the 2024 BRAVIA Theatre home audio products

・360 Spatial Sound Mapping

Utilising Sony's proprietary 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology¹, multiple phantom speakers are generated in locations where there are no actual physical speakers, such as above or to the side. This enables a 360 spatial sound experience that is optimised for a specific home setting, with a wide sound field that surrounds you with audio from various directions mirroring the cinema experience, without having to install physical speakers on the ceiling or walls. Previously, both a soundbar and rear speakers were required to generate phantom speakers – with the newly released BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9 and BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8 you can enjoy 360 Spatial Sound Mapping using just a single soundbar. Also, BRAVIA Theatre Quad can realise wider surround sound with 4 slim speakers.

¹ Not available in BRAVIA Theatre U.

・Sound Field Optimization

BRAVIA Theatre Products² are compatible with the Sound Field Optimization, which automatically adjusts and tunes each speaker based on the layout of your room to help find the optimum location to place your system to feel the impact of cinematic sound at home.

² Not available in BRAVIA Theatre U.

・Acoustic Center Sync

Acoustic Center Sync integrates your sound system such as a soundbar with the TV so that the sound precisely matches the action on the screen, bringing a cinema-like setup home. In cinemas, speakers are placed directly behind the screen, which has numerous small holes, and the sound emitted from it is passed forward so that the dialogue and sounds overlap with the image projected onto the screen and are heard from the correct position. When you combine BRAVIA TVs³ and BRAVIA Theatre products⁴, the Acoustic Center Sync function fuses the sound of the TV's speakers and the soundbar seamlessly, creating a cinema-like experience where the sound appears to come directly from the TV screen.

³ This feature works with the new BRAVIA 9, 8, 7 series TV models, as well as other older Sony TV models. More information: https://www.sony.net/hav_faq.

⁴ Except BRAVIA Theatre U.

・Voice Zoom 3™

If you combine BRAVIA Theatre home audio products⁵ and compatible BRAVIA TVs⁶, Sony’s new Voice Zoom 3⁷ recognises human dialogue through an AI algorithm and amplifies or reduces its volume so even small dialogue sounds loud and clear.

Settings for Voice Zoom 3 and the BRAVIA Theatre audio product line connected to BRAVIA can be operated using the new BRAVIA Connect App (formerly Home Entertainment Connect App) without displaying the menu bar on the TV screen while watching a movie⁸.

⁵ Except BRAVIA Theatre U.

⁶ BRAVIA 9 series, BRAVIA 8 series, BRAVIA 7 series, and BRAVIA 3 series models, as well as other compatible older Sony TV models. More information: https://www.sony.net/hav_faq.

⁷ Available via a future firmware update.

⁸ Compatibility feature of the BRAVIA Connect app requires a forthcoming software update for the TV unit.

・Optional speakers

By adding a wireless subwoofer or rear speakers⁹, you can enjoy powerful deep bass and enhanced surround sound. Equipped with a powerful 180mm driver and a passive radiator to deliver 300W of deep bass sound, the SA-SW5 or the SA-SW3 subwoofer can be placed anywhere with wireless connectivity. SA-RS5 is a pair of rear speakers that have a built-in battery and up-firing speaker and does not need to be connected to a power source, which makes it possible to have it placed in a variety of locations. You can also experience a much clearer and wider sound experience of 360 Spatial Sound Mapping with rear speakers.

⁹ BRAVIA Theatre Quad cannot connect to a rear speaker. BRAVIA Theatre U cannot connect to a subwoofer or a rear speaker. More information: https://www.sony.net/hav_faq.

・BRAVIA Theatre U

Sony’s new neckband speaker delivers immersive sound that surrounds your ears for open-air yet personal listening. You can experience immersive cinema at a high volume without having to worry about your surroundings and enjoy enveloping Dolby Atmos® sound when paired with Sony’s compatible BRAVIA TVs¹⁰ with 360 Spatial Sound. Connect two BRAVIA Theatre U speakers to a single TV or other devices using the Speaker Add function. Each viewer can enjoy clear, immersive surround sound with the freedom to adjust the volume to a preferred level.

¹⁰ BRAVIA 9 series, BRAVIA 8 series and BRAVIA 7 series models, as well as other older Sony TV models. For a personalised Dolby Atmos® experience, a compatible BRAVIA TV is needed. Some BRAVIA TV series may require a transmitter. More information: https://www.sony.net/hav_faq.

・Compatible with IMAX Enhanced¹¹ and Dolby Atmos®:

BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9, Bar 8 and Quad not only support industry-standard audio technologies including Dolby Atmos® immersive audio and DTS:X®, but also have IMAX® Enhanced certification.

¹¹ IMAX Enhanced will be available via a future firmware update and requires SA-RS5 or SA-RS3S (For BRAVIA Theatre 9/8) as rear speakers and SA-SW5 or SA-SW3 as a subwoofer.

IMAX: “We’re excited to bring audiences an unrivaled cinematic experience in the home and beyond with Sony’s new BRAVIA IMAX Enhanced certified TVs and BRAVIA Theatre home audio products,” said Vikram Arumilli, SVP and GM, Streaming and Consumer Technology at IMAX. “IMAX Enhanced is designed to preserve and enhance filmmaker’s vision and intent, and Sony's expanded device offering adds more ways for fans to experience the power of IMAX through some of the most iconic films hosted on the platform.”

Dolby: “Storytelling is at the heart of everything we do at Dolby,” said Mahesh Balakrishnan, Vice President of Consumer Entertainment, Dolby Laboratories. “With Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, creatives have a wider set of tools to work with so audiences can experience their stories exactly as they envisioned. Through the combination of Sony best-in-class engineering and Dolby’s industry leading innovations, consumers can enjoy truly cinematic Dolby experiences on their favourite Sony BRAVIA and BRAVIA Theatre devices.” ​

Environmental initiatives

Sony has set forth an environmental plan called Road to Zero, which aims to achieve zero environmental impact through its business activities and product life cycles by 2050. To contribute to this vision, BRAVIA and BRAVIA Theatre will pursue innovations that provide the best viewing experience with high picture and sound quality and a premium design, all the while contributing to reducing environmental impact as described below.

Reducing virgin plastic usage:

The choice of material affects sound quality in particular. Sony has spent years developing a unique recycled plastic that is both environmentally conscious and conducive to creating high-quality audio products. BRAVIA Theatre home audio products use unique recycled plastic¹², enabling Sony to reproduce superb acoustic performance whilst reducing the use of virgin plastics. The fabric used in the BRAVIA Theatre home audio products is recycled from PET¹³ bottles. The material was carefully selected for optimum sound quality, design, texture, and colour.

¹² Usage of recycled plastic: BRAVIA Theatre Quad / BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9： approximately 55%, Bar 8: approximately 50%, BRAVIA Theatre U: approximately 40%.

¹³ Polyethylene terephthalate.

Commitment to accessibility

Sony aims to contribute to an inclusive society through its business, increasing accessibility to enable those with diverse needs to use its products. BRAVIA and BRAVIA Theatre develops products with accessibility in mind so that all customers can enjoy the movie experience, regardless of disability or age.

To help visually impaired set up BRAVIA Theatre home audio products¹⁴, a raised square frame on the package indicates a QR code¹⁵ for the BRAVIA Connect app¹⁶, which offers screen reader support. Tactile dots on the back panel of BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9 and 8 indicate the eARC HDMI terminal for connecting to a TV.

¹⁴ Except BRAVIA Theatre U.

¹⁵ QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED in Japan and in other countries/regions

¹⁶ Updating the mobile app to the latest version is required. There may be instances where the voiceover does not correctly read out content due to certain features or screen elements.

BRAVIA Theatre models, prices, release dates, and more information (click the below product name to be redirected to the product page with details)

The above BRAVIA Theatre home audio products are available to pre-order now directly from Sony in select countries in Europe – to check local availability, please visit www.sony.eu.