Sony has launched three new 4K home cinema projectors, with one them boasting a dazzling brightness of 10,000 lumens – more than three times what you might expect from many flagship models.
"Sony has led the 4K projector market for nearly a decade, and we're thrilled to announce a new range of powerhouse models for our customers and CI dealers," said Mike Fasulo of Sony Electronics North America. "Offering a big screen, immersive viewing experience that delivers the creator's true intent is a core goal when developing our projectors, and these new models are no exception."
Before we get to the super bright offering, let's have a quick look at the other two projectors. The VPL-VW715ES is a lamp model, while the VPL-VW915ES uses laser technology, and both make use of Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) panels – Sony's liquid crystal on silicon technology – to deliver native 4,096 x 2,160 resolution images.
Both also feature a new image processor called the X1, which is based on the company's televisions and makes scene-by-scene analysis possible for optimum contrast when viewing HDR content. Sony also says that linking the light source and iris leads to further improvements in the dynamic range of contrast and brightness.
The processor can enrich 4K content on a scene-by-scene basis too, with upscaling from 2K and Full HD promising "close to 4K" image quality, and corner-to-corner clarity is made possible thanks to new digital focus optimization.
The VPL-VW715ES is built around a high-pressure mercury lamp, offers 1,800 lumens, 350,000:1 dynamic contrast, vertical and horizontal lens shift, sports HDMI, USB, Ethernet inputs, and comes with a remote. This model is available now for US$9,999.99.
The VPL-VW915ES comes in at $19,999.99, and features a 2,000-lumen Z-Phosphor laser light source. This model boasts infinite dynamic contrast where both the iris control and laser light source can be independently adjusted for "deeper blacks than ever, as well as bright, vibrant colors where needed."
Sony's flagship 4K SXRD laser projector is the VPL-GTZ380, which includes a new laser light source that adds a red laser diode to two different wavelength blue laser diodes, and a newly developed 0.74-inch native 4K SXRD panel for improved light stability. This combination results in that 10,000 lumens brightness figure, which should allow for movie showings even in well-lit rooms, together with 100 percent support for the DCI-P3 color gamut.
This model comes with an X1 Ultimate processor for scene-by-scene contrast adjustment, and an object-based resolution technology that identifies hundreds of thrown image objects and enhances their resolution individually. The projector employs 4K Motionflow to reduce blur when watching fast-moving content, and taps into a reference database to reduce image noise, and another for resolution upscaling to ensure optimum clarity. And there's a True Theater mode for movie watching at 24 frames per second.
There's no price given for the flagship model, but it's due for release early next year.
Product pages: VPL-VW715ES, VPL-VW915ES, VPL-GTZ380