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(Credit: Crave UK)

BERLIN--We're here at IFA at the Sony press conference, where Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer reckons the "3D train is on the track--and we're the ones to drive it home." 3D is Sony's big push, but we're more interested in the announcement of a movie-download service for PS3 and PSP, via the PlayStation Network.

Sony has announced its first 3D-compatible Bravia LCD TV, to arrive in 2010. It promises a high frame rate and 1,920x1,080 pixels per eye to give what Sony describes as "high-definition, high-quality 3D images." 3D-enabled Blu-ray players are set to follow and even the PS3 will be involved.

We're shown the trailer for 3D movie "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," which includes burgers falling from the sky straight at the camera.

From the sample footage shown off here, live football looks like rubbish, unless players run right up to the camera, but games and nature programs look great in dimensional triplicate.

After Sony's recent restructuring, Sir Howard on Wednesday also unveils a new global motto for the company: "Make Dot Believe." Who's Dot? Sir Howie's grandma back in Wales? Oh, hang on, sorry, it's "Make.Believe."

PlayStation Network's video-delivery service for Europe will allow you to download and rent moviefilms to PS3 and PSP, and transfer them between the two.

PSN has all the major studios on board: Sony, Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount, Disney, MGM, Lionsgate, and local networks. It'll kick off this November.

Netflix compatibility coming soon

Netflix streaming will be coming to online-enabled Sony Bravia televisions this fall.

Once enabled via a software update, the Netflix feature will give Bravia sets access to the same 12,000-title catalog of Netflix streaming movies and TV shows that's available on a growing number of devices, including the Xbox 360, Roku Player, and all recent Samsung and LG Blu-ray players and home theater systems.

Compatible Sony TVs include the XBR9 series, the Z5100 series, and the W5100 series. However, a wider variety of sets can access the Netflix feature by adding the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link, an add-on accessory that currently costs about $200.

In addition to Netflix, Bravia Internet Video-enabled products currently support content from Amazon Video-on-Demand, YouTube, CBS (the parent company of CNET), and a variety of lesser-known online video providers. (For an overview of the pre-Netflix Bravia Internet experience, check out our recent slideshow.) Recent additions include Demand Media (videos from Golflink.com, Livestrong.com, and eHow.com) and ON Networks (programs such as Golf Tips, Play Value, and Beautiful Places).

The addition of Netflix will certainly go a long way to ameliorating our decidedly less-than-enthusiastic experience with the Bravia Internet Video features. (That said, remember that Netflix and Amazon video can be added to any TV with the $100 Roku Player.) Moreover, we hope that the fact that Netflix and Sony are now partners means that we'll eventually see Netflix added to Sony's Blu-ray players and, eventually, the PlayStation 3 (which currently only supports Netflix via the third-party Play On software).

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link (or "BIVL," as we call it around here) is getting two more content partners: Slacker and Howcast. Slacker is the online streaming music service (similar to Pandora and Last.FM), while Howcast is a help and how-to Web site. Both will be available for free on the Sony IPTV accessory, which streams digital audio and video to compatible Bravia TVs. They join free channels available from YouTube, Wired, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, and CBS (CNET's parent company), among others content partners.

Unfortunately, we gave Bravia Internet Video Link low marks when we reviewed it in October, and the new content isn't enough of a killer app to change that evaluation--it's still not a recommended purchase. The good news? Anyone interested in Slacker and Howcast content can access it straight from their respective Web sites (as linked). Slacker is also available on a variety of other portable and home devices as well, including Blackberrys and--perhaps--the iPhone (coming soon).

Related coverage:
Read the full review of the Sony DMX-NV1 Bravia Internet Video Link

Read the CNET editors' take of the Slacker Web Player

Slacker-compatible hardware compared

The video-streaming product category is getting crowded. There's the Apple TV, Vudu, Xbox 360, Netflix Player, and PlayStation 3, not to mention the traditional video on-demand services from cable and satellite providers. Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link (also known as the BIVL) is fighting in the same space, but it starts out with one significant handicap--it only works with newer Sony Bravia LCDs.

If you don't already have a Sony Bravia LCD and don't want to buy one, don't worry about it, as you're not missing much with the BIVL. While it does differentiate itself significantly from its competition by offering lots of free content, we felt like we got what we paid for--most of the content was lackluster. More annoying was the sluggish interface, which was only made worse by haphazard organization of the program material. It wasn't all bad news, as the BIVL did reliably stream the video clips we selected, and the recent addition of Amazon's Video On-Demand service makes it more appealing. But, at the end of the day, almost everyone will be better off with one of the aforementioned alternatives, all of which offer better user experiences.

Read the full Sony Bravia Internet Video Link review.

Sony's Wireless Link Module (DMX-WL1)

(Credit: Sony)

The Bravia Internet Link is getting some siblings. Sony is adding three new accessories to its product line: the Wireless Link Module (DMX-WL1), the DVD Link Module (DMX-DVD), and the Input Link Module (DMX-SW1). Like the Internet Link, the new "Link" accessories are also designed as modular add-ons to specific current and recent Sony Bravia flat-panel LCD TVs. By snapping onto the TVs backside, they should still allow for a reasonably thin profile.

The $150 Input Link Module adds four HDMI inputs to compatible Bravias, while the $200 DVD Link Module adds a "built-in" upconverting DVD player to the mix. But it's the $800 Wireless Link Module that's the highlight of the new line. The two-part system includes a wireless video transmitter and a receiver (the latter of which snaps onto the back of the TV). Put the transmitter near your equipment rack, plug in up to five HD sources (four HDMI inputs, one component), and they're wirelessly transmitted to the TV for distances up to 65 feet (according to Sony). Video sources are limited to 1080i resolution, however, and it's unclear if there's any compression or lag (the latter is a big frustration for gamers). The Wireless Link Module is scheduled to hit in October, while the other two are already available.

Are any of these worth buying? ... Read more

Sony's new support Amazon VOD

(Credit: Sony)

Sony announced on Thursday that Amazon Video On Demand, a service that offers immediate access to commercial-free and hi-def content from Dailymotion are now available through the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link. Sony says it will make tens of thousands of premium movies and shows available for you to stream onto your TV screen over the Internet.

Amazon announced Video on Demand in July as a rebranding of its Unbox service.

Amazon users can purchase or rent movies and TV shows through the Bravia Internet Video Link's interface or from Amazon's Web site and begin watching the streaming content on a Bravia television. The Bravia also allows users to manage purchases or rented content by supporting Amazon's "Your Video Library" feature.

Dailymotion, on the other hand, offers HD and standard free content, including videos from across Dailymotion's comedy, extreme sports, news, music and independent film channels.

Amazon Video On Demand and Dailymotion channels add another two to the existing services supported by the Bravia Internet Video Link lineup, including: YouTube, CBS, Yahoo, Sports Illustrated, blip.tv, CondeNet's Style.com, Men.Style.com, Epicurious, Wired.com and others.

Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link module is currently available for $300. The module requires a broadband Internet connection and is compatible with the majority of Sony's line of 2007 and 2008 Bravia televisions.

Sony's 200Hz Z4500, on display at IFA, isn't a radical-looking TV. Indeed, it appears to be essentially the same as the excellent 40W4000. Click on the image above to see more Sony sets being shown at the Berlin show.

(Credit: Crave UK)

After Sony's press conference at IFA trade show in Berlin, we at Crave UK took a quick look around the company's booth and snapped some of the new Bravia TVs expected to be delivered by this holiday season.

The most interesting product is the ZX1, a 9.9mm-thick LED "backlit" LCD TV, which takes a new approach to TV design, and means that there's plenty of scope to reduce the depth of the TV. This is achieved by having the backlight at the side and using some clever and top-secret jiggery pokery to diffuse and distribute the light.

The announcement that Sony would be producing a "Motionflow" 200Hz television in the near future, called the Z4500, was an interesting one too. Here in Berlin there's a huge and mysterious advertisement on the side of the Sony Center claiming that "everything would be clear." In reality, we don't see much of an advantage to 200Hz over 100Hz, especially given the magic number is 120Hz anyway--because this is the rate to properly do 5:5 pulldown.

Sony managed to get a good reception here at IFA, and even some laughter over its new Starship Troopers Blu-ray, but that's a story for another time. Click on the image above for more pictures of the new Bravia goodness.

Editor's note: These new TVs are made specifically for Europeans. But don't feel left out: Sony and others will likely have plenty of news of U.S. models to share at next week's Cedia.

Related story

Panasonic puts plasma TVs on a diet

(Credit: Sony)

Ever since flat-panel TVs began adorning walls, manufacturers have assumed that they should be treated like fine art--even to the point of disguising the sets as paintings or antique mirrors. We tend to think that even the most doltish burglar would see through this subterfuge, but maybe we're just optimists.

Sony apparently disagrees, or perhaps it truly thinks that some of its latest LCD TVs deserve to mingle permanently with museum-quality oils. Available on the U.K. market in screen sizes of 26, 32, and 40 inches, the Bravia E4000 includes a "Picture Frame Mode" that will automatically display one of six "artistic masterpieces" when the TV is turned off. Or you can load your own photos through its USB connection, though please refrain from displaying gigantic wedding photos for the sake of all involved.

The guts of Sony's OLED displays

(Credit: Tweak TV)

Kevin Miller, a contributing editor for CNET, was recently invited to Japan by Sony for a weeklong trip to show off some of the company's new HDTV technology. Among the highlights were Sony's new 4K by 2K projector, the SRX-R220, its new line of Bravia, and the XBR flat panel LCD HDTVs, a new proprietary wireless HDMI technology, called Bravia Wireless Link, and some updates on its new OLED displays.

Sony demonstrated its new Bravia XBR8 series televisions, due stateside this fall, adjacent to Samsung's LN-T4681F and Pioneer's PDP-4280HD from 2007. Kevin said that "the blacks on the new XBR8 series look to be the best of any LCD that I have seen to date by a good margin." Sony chalks up those deep blacks to its Triluminous technology, which utilizes LEDs that can be dimmed independently across the screen, instead of the standard fluorescent backlight that remains constantly turned on. Sony also exhibited what the company calls Motionflow Pro, a step up from its standard MotionFlow technology available on current models like the KDL-46W4100. We expect to review the XBR8 models as soon as they're available.

Coming closer to reducing the tangle of cords often associated with modern home entertainment systems, Sony also showed off its wireless HDMI technology. This will allow users to house their components in a closed cabinet, eliminating the need to run several wires through the wall to the television. The specification currently only supports 1080i though, although Sony is working on a 1080p version.

Lastly and probably the coolest item on Kevin's itinerary was all the OLED goodness. While Sony has a 11-inch model on the market, the XEL-1, priced at a whopping $2,500, it plans to invest $220 million in 2009 to further bring down the price and to develop larger screen sizes. Eventually the company wants to integrate the displays into "rolled goods, like window shades that drop down, covering your window to turn [it] into a TV."

We could see ultrathin OLED displays used in a number of applications. How about animated advertising on the side of skyscrapers, sans the low-res neon light bulbs, similar to what's seen in the movie, Bladerunner? Or what about digital, animated clothing, a built-in monitor for your office desk, or a flexible video-esque newspaper that can be folded and snugged into your pocket?

Clearly the possibilities are endless--but what do you think? Will this technology catch on (if the price comes down) and really revolutionize our lives, or is this just more hype from Sony?