Sony And The Berliner Philharmoniker Present World-Class Classical Concerts On Connected Bravia HDTVs And Blu-Ray Disc Products

SAN DIEGO -- Sony today announced that owners of the company s Internet connected BRAVIA HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc"! players in the United States will be able to access premium performances of the Berliner Philharmoniker through the BRAVIA Internet Video platform. In addition to the US, the performances will also be available to Sony customers in Japan, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other European countries.

Based on the agreement with Berlin Philharmoniker, Sony will offer access to the archived concerts from the Orchestra s Digital Concert Hall, dating back to the beginning of the 2008/2009 season (approximately 60 concerts in total), via BRAVIA Internet Video. The concerts will be streamed in full HD high picture quality and stereo sound quality.

The agreement with the Berlin Philharmoniker adds the Digital Concert Hall, the orchestra s online service, to Sony s roster of BRAVIA Internet Video content. Streamed directly to connected select BRAVIA and Blu-ray Disc players, the service enables a worldwide audience to enjoy the orchestra s concerts with the touch of a remote control. Thanks to this collaboration, the orchestra will be the world s first cultural institution to deliver their artistic content to networked home entertainment products.

It s a wonderful opportunity for our customers to enjoy the concerts of the Berliner Philharmoniker from the comfort of their own home, said Norio Ohga, Executive Advisor of Sony Corporation. I am really excited that we re able to make a host of first-rate concerts accessible to BRAVIA and Blu-ray Disc owners across the world.

Olaf Maninger, solo cellist and board member of Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation sees this project as a great chance to embrace our worldwide audience. He said that the Orchestra is excited to continue the collaboration with Sony and believes that it makes a real difference to people to access concerts just with their remote control whenever they like.