New Sony Projectors

Light sources have a dramatic effect on a video projector’s performance. Sony has two of the best, across both lighting technologies, lamp and laser…

VPLVW590ES

The Sony VPL-VW590ES is Sony’s top lamp-based, native 4K projector. There are more premium models in the family, but they feature laser light sources instead. This more traditional approach keeps the VW590ES relatively affordable, as native 4K projectors go, while still offering plenty of contrast and, according to Sony, stunning detail and rich, faithful colour.

The body is 50cm wide and weighs some 14kg making it suitable for either ceiling- or rack-mounting. There are two HDMI 2.0 ports and a single USB 2.0 port for your source material. The internet connectivity is for firmware and service only.

Picture throw of 1.5-metres to 7.6-metres is possible, with a 2.5-metre image possible at distances between 3.1-metres and 6.4-metres. It also allows the movement of the projected image up to 85 percent in each direction vertically and 31 percent horizontally. There is full motorization with shift, zoom and focus functions all managed from the easy-touse remote control.

The big news is the inclusion of the

‘X1 for Projector’ chip. It’s the same picture processor used in Sony’s Bravia

TVs, but optimised for projectors. This means it gets Sony’s ‘high-precision frame analysis’ for features such as Dynamic HDR Enhancer, Super Resolution and, of course,

Sony’s excellent 4K Motionflow motion processing.

The VPLVW590ES is priced at $11,999

VPLVW790ES

The 790 is a premium 4k projector model that is laser-powered at heart. The 790 has all the classic features of the 590 such as X1 technology, a Dynamic HDR enhancer and an SXRD panel.

That’s where the similarities end as the 790 has a massive light and colours output of 200lm thanks to its laser diode. It has adjustability of both iris control and laser independently and dynamically, to optimise light output for dark and high-contrast scenes. The end result is deeper blacks and almost infinite dynamic contrast, making every scene spring to life with detail and realism.

It also analyses every pixel of every image and then employs pattern-matching algorithms developed over years of movie production to enhance crispness without increasing digital image noise.

The VPLVW590ES is priced at $22,999