May 11 - 2:20pm EDT   The PlayStation Network (PSN) currently accessible by users of Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console that lets them download games, movies, songs and other multimedia content may soon make its way to other hardware from the electronics giant, company CEO Howard Stringer revealed in a recent interview. Bringing the Internet and downloadable content into family living rooms will be made possible by integrating the PSN into Sony Bravia HDTVs, for example, with Sony Ericsson handset owners and PlayStation Portable gaming console users also benefitting from a version of the interface. [full story]

March 19 - 4:35pm EDT   Sony Europe on Thursday unveiled its RHT-G series of TV stands that feature integrated surround sound speaker systems. All share three HDMI inputs and are compatible with BRAVIA Sync for one-remote control of both the TV and the stand. The three models in the range accommodate Sony or third-party TVs of various sizes, with the entry-level RHT-G550 meant for TVs sized at between 32 and 40 inches. This 3.1-channel model contains three midrange speakers and a subwoofer which combine to produce 330W of power. [full story]

March 2 - 10:40pm EST   Uncharacteristically launching TVs outside of CES, Sony on Monday night unveiled the BRAVIA W5100 series. The refresh is a deliberately lower-cost option that brings the same Internet features as the Z5100 and XBR9 but without the expensive panel technology. Any W5100 set can access Flickr and news widgets through Yahoo's industry-wide interface when connected over Ethernet. They can also tap into Amazon VOD, YouTube or Sony's internal movie and music services to stream video. [full story]

March 2 - 4:45pm EST   Sony has recently announced the upcoming release of two new series of Bravia HDTVs in Japan, the W5 and F5, with the majority sporting 240Hz panels. They center on a FeliCa RFID tag reader built right into their remotes that lets owners pay for Video on Demand and other multimedia purchases using their cellphones. The W5 TVs are available in 52-, 46- and 40-inch models, while the F5s can be had in 46-, 40- and 32-inch sizes. All have full 1920x1080 high-definition resolution, except for the 32-inch KDL-32F5, which tops out at 1366x768 pixels and has a 120Hz panel. [full story]

February 26 - 4:55pm EST   A recent HD Guru report claims to know the release dates and pricing information for much of Sony's 2009 HDTV lineup first introduced at this year's CES. The new-look L-series models will be available in 22-, 26-, 32- and 37-inch sizes, all with 1366x768 (720p) resolutions, a built-in ATSC/QAM tuner and 8,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for the smallest model and a 13,000:1 ratio for the other four. Bravia Sync and Bravia Link compatibility is included, as are 1080p 60/24 inputs and Energy Star 3.0 compliance. They will be priced starting at nearly $500 for the KDL22L4000, $550, $600 and $800, respectively. [full story]

January 13 - 8:40am EST   Sony may be on the verge of recording its first practical loss in 14 years, sources for CNN say. The company is believed to be recording an annual loss equal to about $1.1 billion attributed directly to the poor world economy and its effect on the Japanese Yen, which has strengthened at the expense of Sony's primarily international business. As sales have dropped, the company and others have been pushed to discount electronics and thus reduced Sony's practical income. [full story]

January 8 - 6:40pm EST   Sony has based its BRAVIA introductions at CES around three core series that each promise a different focus. The company's attention centers on the VE5, a new line that pushes low power consumption above all. A new hot cathode fluorescent lamp, or HCFL, lets Sony illuminate the screen but consume 40 percent less power on average than a cold cathode lamp TV. The screen also has a true power-off switch to avoid draining energy on standby and has both motion and light sensors to automatically dim the screen when no one is watching or night allows a darker picture. [full story]

January 5 - 2:00pm EST   Amazon.com announced on Monday that it has teamed up with Roku to offer Amazon Video On Demand video service via the Roku Digital Video Player. Roku already streams movies from Netflix and will now give its users access to more than 40,000 movies, including new releases, and TV shows offered by Amazon.com. Other than via the Roku player, Amazon's VOD service can already sync with PCs and Macs, TiVo set-top boxes and Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video Link. [full story]

December 9 - 8:20am EST   Sony on Tuesday revealed that it would cut a total of about 16,000 employees from its workforce to guard itself against the "acute downturn" in the world economy. The company is officially eliminating about 8,000 positions worldwide in its core electronics business but is also known to be dropping a similar amount from its part-time and temporary ranks. The cuts to permanent employees represent about 5 percent of Sony's total regular workforce of about 160,000. [full story]

November 19 - 9:20am EST   Sony today added support for Slacker radio to its BRAVIA Internet Video Link for its HDTVs. The addition lets users tie an existing Slacker account to the link and stream their customized radio channels; Sony doesn't say whether users have access to the full favorite, ban or skip controls from the web or the Slacker G2 but implies users will have to configure stations away from the TV. [full story]

October 14 - 11:35am EDT   Sony today made good on a summer promise by becoming one of the first to premiere a major movie rental on a networked video hub rather than releasing it simultaneously with or after its physical release. Owners of the company's Internet Video Link for its BRAVIA HDTV sets will have the option of downloading a rental version of Hancock from October 28th, or nearly a month before the November 25th street date. This will include both a 720p HD stream as well as both high- and low-bitrate 480p versions for those with slower connections. [full story]

September 4 - 7:20am EDT   Sony today announced new US additions to its BRAVIA line, including two new 1080p projectors, a 240kHz frame rate 52-inch LCD TV, and a 40 inch LCD set measuring only 9.9mm (0.4 inches) thick. The VPL-VW70 and VPL-HW10 projectors are based on SXRD and both support 1080p HD, including a native 24 frames per second rate for film. Sony claims the BRAVIA Engine 2 is new and reduces unwanted noise while enhancing the colors. [full story]

September 3 - 11:10pm EDT   Amazon tonight launched the finished version of Amazon Video on Demand, the streaming version of its online video service. The official launch moves beyond the beta stage and lets any Mac or Windows PC purchase, rent and watch movies and TV shows directly from the browser, bypassing the Windows-only nature of the company's Unbox software. It also delivers a beta version of a promised link to Sony's BRAVIA TVs equipped with the Internet Video Link add-on and gives the TVs the same purchasing and renting privileges as a computer. [full story]

September 2 - 4:35pm EDT   Electronics giant Sony on Tuesday unveiled its newest BRAVIA TV for the Japanese market, the 4-inch XDV-W600. The portable TV can be taken to the bath thanks to its IPX7 and IPX6 waterproof rating, enabling it to withstand water depths up to 3.3 feet for up to 30 minutes. While in the bath or elsewhere, users can view content from its built-in 1Seg TV tuner or about 10 hours of content recorded onto its 2GB of internal memory as well as listen to FM radio programming. [full story]

August 28 - 3:35pm EDT   Sony's home theater introductions at Europe's IFA show have been rounded off through the launch of a BRAVIA projector and a matching BRAVIA Theatre Blu-ray home theater. The HW10 front projector is part of Sony's latest SXRD-based lineup and is designed for relatively high-end home theater setups with native 1080p, 24 frames per second output and a contrast ratio as good as modern HDTVs at 30,000:1. It further supports x.v.Color (Deep Color) video and is matched by a more recent BRAVIA image processing engine that allegedly maintains detail without the screen door or moire effects that often result from a sharper digital picture. [full story]