Sony reference-grade OLED monitors

Sony has unveiled two master-quality OLED displays offering a noticeable improvement on its Trimaster LCD range, and a huge reduction in bulk.

The reference-grade BVM-E Series were shown at BVE in 17- and 25-inch sizes, and are claimed to "incorporate groundbreaking processing and imaging capabilities designed to give digital production professionals a true replacement for CRT in critical evaluation applications." When you see the OLED display next to the LCD model, the improvement in handling dark images, especially, is very evident.

"These new monitors are the next step up in professional displays providing end users with the highest picture quality ever seen, well above any other existing display device," said Daniel Dubreuil, Senior Product Specialist, Sony Professional Solutions Europe (pictured above with the 25-inch model). “This is breakthrough technology for applications where visual performance and accuracy are paramount, offering an unbeatable combination of image reproduction, colour accuracy, reliability and stability.”

The new displays boast several new features designed for professional master monitoring. Claimed to be the first monitors to deliver full HD resolution OLED panels with 10-bit drivers, they use a newly developed Sony Professional Display Engine to produce deep blacks (better even than a CRT), high dynamic range, blur-free motion, and accurate picture reproduction. They also boast a much wider colour gamut, even in low light portions of the picture, where LCDs and CRTs narrow significantly, and improved standard definition scaling, thanks to a new algorithm not available to the BVM-L series.

They also use new Super Top Emission technology that improves the colour quality, and offers a higher contrast ratio than conventional OLED displays.

The monitors have a new chassis design, with a lighter, much slimmer chassis, for a smaller footprint, and reduced power consumption.

Standard inputs include 3G/HD/SD-SDI, HDMI and DisplayPort. Four slots are available for use with a choice of five BKM input boards.

The 25-inch BVM-E250, which is aimed at colour grading and high-end monitoring, will be available in May. The 17-inch BVM-E170, which is aimed at camera control or OB use, will be available in July.

By David Fox