Sony has developed a system that allows a streaming service to adjust the picture settings on your TV at home based on the type of content or even the title you are currently watching.

This technology is already integrated into Sony's Bravia Core app – the company's movie streaming service featuring Sony Pictures titles – on 2021, 2022 and 2023 high-end 'Bravia XR' OLED and LCD TV models, when set to Bravia Core Calibrated Mode.

During a presentation in Tokyo, Japan, FlatpanelsHD saw a live demonstration (no photos allowed) of the technology and its implementation by Sony's engineers. As an example, when streaming a Spider-Man movie, the Bravia Core app subtly adjusted specific picture settings, such as contrast. Similarly, these settings were automatically modified again when streaming Venom.


 The Bravia Core app in 2021-2023 Sony high-end TVs. Photo: Sony

It works by having the streaming server transmit a data signal along with the video stream that the Sony TV can recognize and act upon. Sony confirmed to FlatpanelsHD that, at this time, picture settings in the user-facing settings menu, including MotionFlow, can be automatically adjusted.

The feature is optional, and Sony stressed that it does not intend to take control away from the TV user.


Will Tom Cruise approve?
Sony's presentation aimed to showcase the technical capabilities of the technology and the company said that it is currently in discussions with streaming services and content creators to determine how, or if, to use it more broadly.

These discussions include Netflix with whom Sony already has a partnership for the 'Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode' in high-end OLED and LCD models. As of now, Netflix has not integrated this technology into its app.

It is not entirely clear to us what the potential benefit of this novel approach is, but in theory it is already possible for, say, Tom Cruise to automatically turn off motion smoothing on your TV whenever you play one of his movies.

You may recall that in 2018, Tom Cruise along with director Christopher McQuarrie released a video urging consumers to turn off motion smoothing on their TVs, which we have embedded below for your reference.

Or maybe this technology can be useful in a more general way in the future to automatically change the TV's picture or audio mode based on the type of streaming content, such as sports, movies or games – similar to how HDMI 2.1 ALLM can automatically switch in and out of a TV's Game mode when you play a video game. Sony said that changing the picture mode is not possible in the current implementation.

We will have to wait and see where it takes us, but do not be surprised if you see a modern Sony TV automatically adjust the picture settings based on the movie you play on the Bravia Core app.


I’m taking a quick break from filming to tell you the best way to watch Mission: Impossible Fallout (or any movie you love) at home. pic.twitter.com/oW2eTm1IUA
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 4, 2018