I'd guess that the cost is because of incredibly low yields. Every square inch of every panel has to be absolutely perfect to meet the reference standard which may mean there is a high panel rejection rate.
Probably both. It cost likely twice as much to make the high-end thing, but the demand means it can be priced stupidly with bonkers profit margins. I very much doubt, though, that a reference monitor like this is the same as a high-end TV with a firmware change. Although of course that has happened in the PC space with GPUs...I'd say the cost is because it's "professional". So they can charge silly money. Like in many other industries.
The Pro Sony is that good because it has been calibrated to death. Plus, if it's a Sony OLED panel (and not bought from LG for example), you'd have to factor in the small issue that Sony don't mass-produce OLED panels. Not sure where this panel is coming from, to be honest, but I see that happening.Probably both. It cost likely twice as much to make the high-end thing, but the demand means it can be priced stupidly with bonkers profit margins. I very much doubt, though, that a reference monitor like this is the same as a high-end TV with a firmware change. Although of course that has happened in the PC space with GPUs...
It could be that sony have more strict QC. So they only buy best of the best panel from LG
/hugs my newly arrived 49XE9005
This TV is SO GOOD! Incredible upgrade over my 6-7 year old 32" Samsung. I'm still to test many things on it [including PS4 Pro games], but damn, HDR demos [and 1st episode of Planet Earth 2] blew me away!
When I steal one of London-boy's private jets and sell it to the Albanian Mafia, then I'd get one as PC monitor. For Skyrim, of course.
The Sony OLED is not a manufacturing process that scales to larger sizes. If it did, Sony wouldn't be buying LG panels...
The reason it's expensive:
- cost to manufacture
- no economies of scale factor
- no subsidy for market share
- extensive manual tuning of each panel
- "professional" tax
Having seen the set in person at the shootout, yeah it's as close to perfect as you can imagine and we were fortunate to judge the other panels against it.
Is it a game changer? And miles ahead of what's possible in a consumer display? Not really. You'd have to appreciate the very fine details and know what to look for.
When I steal one of London-boy's private jets and sell it to the Albanian Mafia, then I'd get one as PC monitor. For Skyrim, of course.