Asakura: The next one is the world -class masterpiece projector "Qualia 004".
「QUALIA 004」こと「Q004-R1」"Qualia" is a project launched by President Nobuyuki Dei in May 2001, aiming for "manufacturing" that appeals to the human heart.The etymology is the sensory "Quarria", which means the power of the brain to feel the texture.Dr. Kenichiro Mogi, a senior researcher at the Sony Computer Science Research Institute, has increased its public awareness.As a brand, it started in 2003.In order to prepare high -quality and technical oriented high -end products, the "Quoria Certification Committee", which was set up in the company, was judged and gave a three -digit quoria number to the certified products.
QUALIAの発表会に登壇した出井伸之CEO(2003年当時)The fourth projector, which was planned, was not an exaggeration of the word epochmaking, but became a technical and cultural heritage that remains in the history of the projector and the history of video.
Qualia 004 is the first home SXRD projector that supports the full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080.The commercial DLP projector had a major impact on the industry with an overwhelming sense of resolution when the 720p panel was equipped.However, the highlights were not there, but I was amazed at the color reproducibility anyway, as well as the detailed drawing power that resolved the details.
At this time, I saw the evaluation element of the video in three stages, "Display/Reproduction/Expression".So, Qualia 004 has a lot of vocabulary in the image expression and deep "expression power".In addition to the reproducibility in line with the content video grammar, the projector clearly contributes to the intentions on the content side, and has a deep expression in collaboration.Therefore, it is impressive that the reproducibility of the emotional image was excellent.
In particular, the subtle colors of the dark part were really good, and they were reproduced with greatness.The S/N problem in the dark part seen in the transparent liquid crystal device is also unrelated to the SXRD device of the reflected liquid crystal (LCOS), which is one of the factors that gives the video a clear depiction.Looking at the human skin, it is overwhelmed by the surprising depth of intentional information in the skin color.Isn't this the first projector that can accurately capture contextual information behind the video?The white peak, which is deliciously reproduced, is also an important props that talk about the meaning of the image.
「QUALIA 004」に搭載されたSXRDSpecifically, although the contrast is slightly sweet and slightly black floating as a picture, it is approaching with the gradation, which is the feature of the LCOS device.Moreover, the picture of the picture is good.The DLP device was a bit slender and beautiful, the saturation was surprisingly large, and the color gradation was surprisingly large, while the DLP device was a little slender and beautiful.Was precise.The screen video so far is such a level that I do not remember.
The natural and wonderful color reproduction is due to the enormous effect of the Xenon lamp, which has the same color spectrum as sunlight.In particular, the drawing of red, orange, and Yamabuki colors was accurate, and when the flowers were reflected, many petals with slightly different colors were carefully drawn.At that time, there was no product that other companies claimed to use xenon lamps (it was also for business, not for home), but it is overwhelmingly different from what I have seen so far."Is this movie meaningful?" "Is the shooting director so elaborate ...?"
放熱フィンを備えたキセノンランプその一部が外から見えるデザインになっていた――In this time I stepped into the audio visual world.At that time, in the local Kansai, I charged the Qualia 004 at the innermost viewing booth from Shinsaibashi to Umeda, where the current Sony Store was located.I still clearly remember that the common sense up to that point has collapsed in a huge image of rich colors that I have never seen before.
Asakura: If you order, you'll want more sinking at the black pedestal level.Because the color element is very wonderful, it is a little imbalance.Even so, from the 3 -board type to LCOS, I have been watching all front projectors for more than 20 years at this time, even if I have never seen a fixed pixel projector with such a large amount of information.As much as it is.There are rare Sony products that I am impressed, but I thought this was really amazing.
Until the VPL-VW1000es, the first 4K projector for consumer life that appeared in 2011, Sony continued to be an image leader in the projector.In the subsequent projectors, plastic housing is the mainstream, and the greatness of the Qualia 004 is overwhelming just because the presence fades.The design, texture and texture are also wonderful.This is no exaggeration to describe it as "once every 10 years" without a hanging value.
Now, when you talk about this projector, you can't help but touch the failure that the Qualia brand committed.
In 1995, Sony has turned to IT and moves to a horizontal division of labor.Instead of entering the market even in companies without technical skills, it becomes difficult to differentiate from other companies and converge to cost competition.In exchange for share growth due to mass production effects, the unit price of the product falls.The destination is a general -purpose and commodity in economic terms, where similar things overflow in the market.
Therefore, Sony launches vertical integrated techniques and differentiates even in the digital era.In the flow, Qualia was launched as an IT -oriented antithesis that went too far.Mr. Dei was facing a high -end AV in the IT era with a fairly high aspirations.
High -end products that make use of unique ideas and state -of -the -art manufacturing in digital are absolutely necessary as a "cradle of technology".That increases the value of the brand, and the company itself.However, it is difficult to make "tomorrow's seed" by extending the normal work that repeats the same routine work.A dramatic technology is born in the ultimate development, which leads to a bold differentiation as a high end.That requires time, personnel and money resources.
――There is a mere combination of high -end components, the leap of a technique suitable for claiming a high end is not easy.The stoic head to the top is an absolute difference between "luxury goods" and "high -priced products", which is one of the grounds of the brand.
Asakura: That's right.The new technology that has been completed will be adopted and spread as the next generation standard.Regardless of technology or art, things that impress people will not come out easily unless you drop it from above.Qualia's business was a very technical strategic aspect of increasing the technology level of Sony as a whole with a “shower effect”.On the other hand, from the site, Qualia 004 has a solid budget for the development of a luxury projector, which was not easily recognized as a performance.
Such thoughts are wonderful.However, the actual situation of Qualia was that the product was mixed with cobblestones.This is a huge problem.
In the digital era, technological innovation is very fast, and new products appear one after another.Moreover, it occurs in the common “standard” frame.In such a situation, Qualia was high -end, the values of things, and a “project” that loves things.It is necessary to keep the charm as a brand for at least five years.Things that quickly become obsolete do not make sense to bear the Qualia brand.
However, although the LCD TV, which was given by the "Qualia 005", had a experimental challenge called the Sanprise LED backlight, the image quality was better for Bravia, which was released the following year in total.At that time, LCD TV was still a developing product category, where the Qualia brand should not be deployed.
「QUALIA 005」。左から46V型の「KDX-46Q005」、40V型の「KDX-40Q005」Audio products were even more problematic.The SACD system "Qualia 007" lacked the operation of the tray part, but lacked the essence of the audio, "the overwhelming impressive sound creation."The small digital camera "Qualia 016" caused a problem and product collection problem, greatly damaged the image of the Qualia brand.
SACDシステム「QUALIA 007」。デジタルアンプ内蔵のSACDプレーヤー「Q007-SCD」と、スピーカーシステム「Q007-SSS」で構成された小型デジカメ「QUALIA 016」In addition to the stray of the actual products, the business situation that has been getting worse will follow the Qualia brand.In the end, the brand ended in 2006 after Dei's retirement.
――Whor Howard Stringer, who was in the CEO in 2005, chose to run off for survival, but I think this was necessary for Sony at the time.
Asakura: On the other hand, products that can be said to be a great masterpiece for video fields, such as the Creation Box "Qualia 001" based on super -resolution technology, the SXRD rear pro -television "Qualia 006", and the Brown tube monitor "Qualia 015".There are many.Apart from the LED LCD TV mentioned above, Qualia's video products used digital technology and did places that other companies could never imitate.
クリエイションボックス「QUALIA 001」SXRDリアプロテレビ「QUALIA 006」ブラウン管モニター「QUALIA 015」SXRD, born from Qualia, was later dropped into popular products such as front projectors and rear pro."DRC", the center of Qualia 001, is a high -image quality circuit created by Tetsujiro Kondo.。Similar database -type up -convert is now a global standard means of high quality AI.This is also a big result.
In that sense, 004 is the most embodied product of Qualia's ideals.The significance of the high -end shower effect was very large in visual products.It is the best masterpiece of Qualia and the brand's greatest significance.
――It's true that the Sony projector that continues is the starting point of Qualia 004 in both pictures, colors and designs.
Asakura: Fortunately, the Qualia -like factor did not disappear from Sony.At that time, the AV amplifier "TA-DA9100ES" would fall under that.The high-end speaker "SS-AR1" has been produced for more than 10 years, which can still be purchased.
In 2012, Kazuo Hirai became CEO, and in recent years, "Signature Series", which is connected to the high-end walkman "NW-WM1Z", has gradually appeared.The harsh winter era was long, but Sony is definitely on a revival path.
