Sony’s latest attack on the living room is its new 4K, HDR, ultra-short throw, home theatre projector that will give up to a 120” screen with a 2.2-metre throw.
The VPL-VZ1000ES s is an ultra-short throw, native resolution 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR), laser light source projector
At six inches from the wall from the wall, it will project 100” 16:9 image at 2500 lumens – perfect for sitting on the old TV stand/sideboard. (Top shown with short throw lens)
Toby Caillard, Product Manager, Home Theatre Projector, Sony Australia Professional Solutions Division, said “Up until now home cinema enthusiasts have needed a dedicated room for watching projected content; this isn't always ideal since not everyone has the luxury of extra space to accommodate an extra-large screen. The new VPL-VZ1000ES changes this dynamic completely, providing an enchanting 4K, HDR, home theatre experience up to 120" in your existing living space.”
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It is comparatively quite small - 925 x 494 x 219mm x 35kg – it is 40% smaller its predecessor and will be cheaper on arrival in April 2017. Sony uses some wonderful marketing terms so let’s demystify them.
- It uses 3 x .74” SXRD panels (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display), one each for RGB (red, green, blue – white is provided from the laser light) which is its own video projection technology, essentially a hybrid of DLP and LCD.
- It has a Z-Phosphor laser light engine (a trademarked name for its laser diode light source) and that means cooler running and longer life – up to 20,000 hours than a traditional halogen light source.
- It has Sony’s Triluminous colour and Motionflow (I think that is the 2.5ms pixel refresh rate) that also insert extra frames for smooth motion
- Native 4K – yes that means 4096 x 2160 x 3 pixels – a total of 25,542,080 that will also display 2K, HD and down to VGA. It will handle up to 60fps and use its super-resolution Reality Creation 4K to upscale content
- HDR (High dynamic range) means it has the electronics to use metadata from HDR content to add detail to shadows and bright areas
- It will project in 3D, 2K (1920 x 1080) – you will need 3D glasses
- 2500 lumen on high lamp mode – many will not need this in darker rooms.
- It has a powered focus and zoom (x1.02) and lens shift lens. Contrast is essentially infinite as the SXRD are pixels individually switchable.
- It has 4 x HDMI ports (hook up an AV AMP, PlayStation, etc.), Gigabit Ethernet (no Wi-Fi), Remote (RS-232), IR in, USB 2.0 (500mA) and is HDCP 2.2 compatible
- Sound produced is 24dB – acceptable in a room
- mounted in front rather than behind the viewers - no issues with shadows or obstructions from ceiling lights or fans
- A suitable, hi-res drop down screen is recommended but it will work on walls etc.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, 2017 prices of US$25,000 were mentioned plus the cost of a good AV AMP, speakers, screen etc. But remember that a 100+” UHD TV could set you back more than US$100,000.
Most reviews were gobsmacked, effusive even, in complimenting it for colour, clarity, HDR definition, 4K crispness, and just the brute size of the image.
