Sony has announced that a new streaming platform – Bravia Core – will come in addition to any new purchase of a Sony Bravia XR TV this year in North America. The streaming service allows users to watch movies in a quality that is similar to what you’d find on 4K Blu-ray.
The service uses a mix of “Bravia XR technology, Pure Stream and IMAX Enhanced” to deliver video streaming at up to 80 Mbps. For comparison, Netflix’s 4K streaming on the Premium plan recommends speeds of around 25Mbps, and Disney Plus recommends the same.
The streaming platform comes pre-installed on whichever Bravia XR model you purchase – including both 4K and 8K TVs. Users can stream a selection of Sony movies, though the titles available vary depending on availability and the TV model which you buy. The website showed titles such as Spider-Man: Far From Home and Jumanji: The Next Level.
You can watch the official announcement video for the service below:
To watch the movies, viewers must redeem ‘credits’ that they cash in to watch a movie. Customers will receive either five or ten credits when they purchase the TV and register for a Bravia Core account online. These credits can then be traded for either five or ten movies – with one credit representing one movie. If customers wish to watch more, then they can buy more credits.
4K UHD picture quality can be enabled in the Settings menu, and once it’s on it will stay on for future films that are watched via the platform. The TVs which come with Bravia Core installed at the time of writing are:
- Bravia XR Master Series Z9J 8K LED
- Bravia XR Master Series A90J
- Bravia XR A80J OLED
- Bravia XR X95J
- Bravia XR X90J 4K LED
Users can register for the service from 24 February 2021. The promotion for free credits is currently set to end on 23 February 2022 – though Sony has specified that this date could change at any time. Currently the service is only available for customers in the USA and Canada, and there’s been no word on if it will come to international customers.
Bravia Core is by no means a challenger service for the big streaming giants due to its limited library and credits system, but it will allow users to get the most out of their UHD TVs and allow them to recreate the cinematic experience at home. You can read more about Bravia Core on the Sony website.
For more CES 2021 TV news, take a look at LG’s line-up getting Google Stadia and GeForce Now, as well as TCL bringing Google TV to its new range.
Author: Hannah Cowton, Senior Staff Writer
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She's also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.