Sony has finally released the long-awaited Dolby Vision update for its high-end OLED and LCD TVs in the US but owners are reporting that Dolby Vision works only via streaming apps – not via HDMI.

Update 1.2.2018: Sony has delayed roll-out of Dolby Vision firmware in Europe. "We would like to inform you that the below announced firmware update will be delayed. Our engineers are still fine-tuning the firmware to ensure the best possible experience with the new release. We will update this article with a new update schedule as soon as possible." Source: Sony support
Update 22.1.2018: Sony has responded to the controversy
Update 19.1.2018: Oppo, the Blu-ray manufacturer, has added some color to the story claiming that Sony has implemented a new, lower profile that offloads the dynamic metadata processing to the player. Sony has yet to comment on the matter.

Disappointed owners
A little over a year ago, Sony announced that Dolby Vision support would be coming to its 2016 flagship Z9D along with its 2017 high-end OLED and LCD TVs. Owners have been eagerly awaiting the update that was scheduled for release in 2017 but was later postponed to this month.

The Dolby Vision firmware (version number PKG6.2818.0070NAA) was finally released today in the US for the A1 OLED, X93E, X94E, and Z9D. The European release is still pending. The releases notes states that the update "Adds support for Dolby Vision™ content".



Several Sony TV owners have gotten in touch with us to say that while the update works as expected via streaming sources such as Netflix, providing pristine Dolby Vision video playback, it does not appear to work via HDMI sources such as UHD Blu-ray players and Apple TV 4K.

It appears to be general problem when you read forum posts on a number of sites (1, 2, 3). No one can get Dolby Vision to work via HDMI.

After such a prolonged wait, this is of course very disappointing for owners. We have already reached out to Sony to learn what exactly is going on and will update this article as soon as we hear back.