Five EISA Awards for Sony

The EISA judging panel has made no fewer than five awards for 2008 – 2009, across categories as diverse as Home Theatre, in-car entertainment and High Definition camcorders.

EISA Awards 2008 – 2009 have been given for the following products: European HD Flash Camcorder (HDR-TG3); European Home Theatre Receiver (STR-DA5400ES); European Camera (α350); European Lens (70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM); European In-Car AV Head Unit (XAV-W1).

“EISA Awards are enormously significant for us,” said Fujio Nishida, President of Sony Europe. “On the one hand, they mean recognition for the efforts of everyone involved with the products themselves; on the other, an independent endorsement from a highly respected source. Everything we do is ultimately geared to producing better products for our consumers, so to be honoured with five awards is welcome evidence that we are succeeding.”

EISA is the largest editorial multimedia organisation in Europe, with a membership of nearly 50 Audio, Mobile Electronics, Video and Photo magazines drawn from 19 European countries. This year’s award winners were selected after the deliberations of a judging panel comprising journalists and independent technical experts.

The 2008-2009 EISA Awards will be presented at a special Gala Event at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin, on August 29th, 2008.

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Notes to Editors – Background to this year’s EISA AWARD winning products from Sony Europe:

1 - HDR-TG3 High Definition Camcorder (EUROPEAN HD FLASH CAMCORDER 2008-2009): True 1920 x 1080 Full HD in your pocket. The world’s smallest Full HD camcorder features titanium construction for excellent durability, and stores up to 100 minutes of Full HD video, complete with 5.1 surround audio, on a Memory Stick Duo for ultimate convenience.

The EISA Judging Panel commented: “Sony’s HDR-TG3 is by far the easiest and most stylish way to make your own High Definition movies. As the world’s smallest Full-HD camcorder, the HDR-TG3 lets users capture any situation in any place at any time. Its elegant, ultra-compact, lightweight design is fashioned in precious titanium, and it fits easily into any pocket. With helpful ‘smart’ features such as face detection, and the bonus of 2.7-inch touch-panel display, this camcorder makes it really easy to achieve optimum picture quality. It will store up to 100 minutes of Full-HD footage with 5.1 surround sound on reliable, quick access Memory Stick Duo media.”

2 – a350 DSLR Camera (EUROPEAN CAMERA 2008-2009): Enjoy the benefits of DSLR but with a unique Live View capability with super-fast AF using the primary AF system. A versatile, tiltable LCD monitor means a new world of creative possibilities opens up, with breathtaking picture quality thanks to the 14.2MP resolution.

The EISA Judging Panel commented: “While the Sony a350 offers handy functions like image stabilisation and an anti dust system, its most impressive feature is the superbly designed Live View system. Thanks to a unique design, the camera can perform fast autofocusing in Live View mode using the camera’s primary AF system. This avoids the problems of secondary AF systems, and delays while the mirror flips out of the way. The tiltable LCD-monitor offers many creative possibilities for composition and unique angles of view. At such a reasonable price, this camera’s robust build and good image quality make it an ideal option for hobbyist photographers.”

3 – 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM Lens (EUROPEAN LENS 2008-2009): A high performance telephoto zoom lens with a minimum focal length of 1.2m for close-ups. Lightweight, easy to use and capable of fast, very quiet autofocus thanks to its SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) motor.

The EISA Judging Panel commented: “Whether you shoot portraits or wildlife, this new Sony zoom lens is an invaluable tool to use with your a DSLR camera. The lens is very light, providing fast and smooth autofocus through its SSM motor, while maintaining its manual focus ability. The focus lock button and the focus range selector in the left side of the barrel give the lens a professional touch and contribute to its overall ease of use. Optically, you can expect beautifully detailed pictures with an impressively even resolution across the image frame. Any limitations of the relatively small maximum aperture are more than balanced out by the reduced high ISO noise that is characteristic of Sony’s a cameras.”

4 – STR-DA5400ES Home Theatre Receiver (EUROPEAN HT Receiver 2008-2009): Engineered for high-end Home Theatres, this is the flagship of the Elevated Standard range of HD AV receivers. It combines 1080/24p support with a new audio codec to deliver outstanding audio/video performance for the HD era.

The EISA Judging Panel commented: “Fully-fledged but affordable HD AV receivers like Sony’s STR-DA5400ES are few and far between. In keeping with the Elevated Standard (ES) range’s illustrious heritage, the 5400ES is built and specified to a fabulously high standard. Features include HDMI blending, full Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio decoding, a second zone GUI, a proprietary auto setup/room correction regime and no further than seven channels discrete power amplification. Sony’s HATS interface for the low-jitter transfer of SACD data from compatible players is also included. All in all, this is one of the best performing and versatile HD AV receivers available, regardless of price.”

5 – XAV-W1 In-Car A/V Unit (EUROPEAN In-Car A/V Head Unit 2008-2009): In-car entertainment system with 7-inch screen offering both excellent video quality and a huge range of audio potential with multi-speaker support and compatibility with Super Audio CD.

The EISA Judging Panel commented: “For the best images on the move there’s nothing to beat Sony’s double-DIN XAV-W1. Its superb 7-inch LCD screen with 800x480 pixel resolution offers picture of unprecedented clarity and liveliness, clearly excelling the de-facto standards of mobile video. Impressive as a stand alone all-in-one unit, XAV-W1 can form the heart of a sophisticated in-car cinema system, thanks to its compatibility with Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II (and outputs for front, rear, sub and central speaker channels). Audiophiles won’t be disappointed too: this head unit not only reads CD, DVD, MP3, WMA, JPEG and DivX, but also offers compatibility with SACD to provide the most advanced mobile sound experience. Amazing video capabilities and true audiophile sound have hardly ever met in a single headunit before.”

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