The Bravia Cam is essentially a camera with microphones that will attach to the top of your Sony TV. As of now, it works with all 2022 Bravia Models — across OLED, Mini LED and LED — and will be a plug-and-play solution. Once installed and powered on, it can be used to control your TV with gestures, adjust the picture quality or sound depending on where you are sitting and turn off the TV to conserve energy, among [1] other features.

Figure 1. Sony Bravia TV Cam

Figure 1 shows interactive webcams for your TV are nothing new. TVs have been using them for ambient light reaction for a while now and for gaming they stretch all the way back to the likes of the PS2’s classic but slightly inconsistent EyeToy. But, Sony’s Bravia Cam seems to be bringing something new to the table, allowing you to control a huge number of factors on your TV.

The Bravia cam allows you to control your TV with gestures, adjust the sound depending on where you are in the room, adjust the picture quality or simply turn the TV off to conserve power when you leave the room. [2] It can display prompts if someone gets too near to the TV and, like most smart tech these days, you can mute it if the idea of a microphone in your living room is giving you the creeps.

At first, the Bravia Cam will only be available to use for video chatting, but Sony said a firmware update will add all the other features.

You can physically turn off the camera and its built-in mic. Sony said the mic is not always listening, and no private data is stored on the camera, the TV, or Sony’s servers. You can even clear the camera’s data via your TV’s settings.

The Sony Bravia Cam will be bundled with select models of Bravia TV, including the new Z9K Mini LED and A95K QD-OLED sets. It'll be available separately for the A90K, A80K, X95K, X90K, X85K, and X980K Series TVs. Pricing will be announced closer to its release later in 2022. [3]

Finally, there's actual video calling. Sony's Bravia range has already supported that with other cameras, such as the Sony ZV-1 and RX10 II, and [4] third-party webcams like Logitech's BRIO, C920, and C920s. Now, the Bravia Cam can be used with third-party chat apps, too.

References:

1. https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/sony-bravia-cam-ces-2022/index.html
2. https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/future-tech-ces-2022/
3. https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/news/sony/159569-sony-bravia-cam-lets-you-gesture-control-and-video-chat-from-your-new-tv
4. https://www.slashgear.com/sony-bravia-cam-watches-you-watching-tv-04705326

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Sony Bravia TV cam, Anatechmaz, pp. 166