Sony touts 4K Ultra HD TVs, prices 4K media player

I’ll admit to believing the 4K TV market was doomed when Sharp unveiled its 60-inch 4K TV which carried a rather heavy price tag of $31,000+.

And when Sony announced its very own 4K TVs at CES this past January I assumed the sets would be weighed down by similar (unrealistic) prices.

Well, Sony has  officially unveiled the price list for its 4K ultra HD LED TVs. And yes, compared to the other 4K sets on the market, they are raging bargain, which isn’t really something you can typically say about anything carrying the Sony brand.

As noted above, Sony unveiled its XBR-55X900A 55-inch and XBR-65X900A 65-inch 4K television sets during CES 2013, which are now available for online pre-order April 21. The 55-inch TV will sell for $4999 while the 65-inch hits the streets for $6999. Basically, Sharp’s 4K offering is about four times more expensive than the larger 65-inch Sony.

Along with announcing the price and ordering availability for those 4K television sets, Sony has also debutedd a 4K media player – dubbed FMP-X1 – along with K streaming video distribution service.

The media player arrives  bundled with 10 feature films and a number of video shorts in true 4K resolution for $699. The media player itself will be available later this summer. In the fall of 2013, the 4K media player will also clinch access to a fee-based video distribution service offering a complete library of 4K titles from Sony Pictures Entertainment and other production houses.

The filmsincluded with the 4K media player? Bad Teacher, Battle: Los Angeles, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Karate Kid (2010), Salt, Taxi Driver, That’s My Boy, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Other Guys and Total Recall (2012).