Sony has unveiled two new home theater projectors that it claims usher in a new era of more affordable, higher-performance “true” 4K laser projection.
This is especially true of the affordability point of the new VPL-XW5000ES. The model will cost just £5,999/$6,000 (about AU$8,300) when it launches in the UK and US this summer (it hasn’t been confirmed whether the two new projectors will launch in Australia). This is about the same price as the current VPL-VW290ES (VPL-VW325ES in the US) it will replace, although it uses a Sony Z-Phosphor laser light source in place of the VW290ES/325ES’ traditional lamp lighting system.
Another new Sony laser projector, the VPL-XW7000ES, isn’t quite as eye-catching from a price point of view. Its £14,999/$28,000 (about AU$26,500) price tag when it launched this summer was actually more expensive than the launch price of the VW790ES (VW915ES in the US) model it replaced. And that predecessor was itself a laser projector, so Sony isn’t introducing a new laser projector here at the price it used to offer bulb-only projectors.
However, as we’ll see, the XW7000ES offers enough new performance features than its well-regarded predecessor to actually look like it might be very valuable for serious home theater installations (at least in the UK) ).
Sony VPL-XW7000 projector (Image credit: Sony)
Before diving into the more specific details of Sony’s new dynamic 4K laser projection duo, let’s quickly remind ourselves why using a laser in a projector might be a good idea. First, lasers can effectively deliver higher brightness and purer, more vibrant colors. The laser design also eliminates the environmentally harmful mercury element used in lamp projectors, and you don’t have to replace filters and lamps every few thousand hours of use.
Crucially, nowhere does a laser lighting system lose brightness and color accuracy as quickly as a light bulb. Sony claims the XW5000ES and XW7000ES have a light source life of at least 20,000 hours.That adds up to about 10,000 movie nights, unless the only movies you tend to watch are Titanic and Avengers: Endgame.
The XW5000ES and XW7000ES share several new technologies not found on their predecessors. For example, both feature new 0.61-inch SXRD imaging chips. These are by far the smallest native 4K “panels” in the home entertainment world, helping to deliver a sharper, more detailed picture.
The new SXRD chip also has higher light reflectivity and a flatter reflective surface than its predecessor, resulting in improved brightness, contrast, color accuracy and color gradation.
Sony also revealed that the new SXRD chips in the XW5000ES and XW7000ES are part of a new wide dynamic range optical system that also includes a smaller chassis (due to the smaller SXRD chip enabling Sony to shrink the entire optical system), high-density laser diodes , and a new cooling system to stop the projector from overheating. Again, it’s all focused on enhancing contrast and color volume.
The XW5000ES and XW9000E will also benefit from an improved video processor, an upgrade from the previous X1 For Projector chipset to the X1 Ultimate version, previously only available in Sony’s ultra-expensive (£80,000 / $80,000 / AU$100,000) VPL-GTZ380 flagship family using a movie projector. The X1 Ultimate system adds key features such as Digital Contrast Optimization, Object-Based HDR Remastering and Object-Based Resolution Enhancement to the sharpness-enhancing Reality Creation and key Dynamic HDR Enhancer features previously supported by non-Ultimate X1 processors.
If you’re unfamiliar with Sony’s current line of 4K HDR projectors, Dynamic HDR Enhancer uses clever image analysis and light control algorithms to increase the brightness of light parts of an image through signal processing, while adjusting light output to improve black levels versus dark parts of the picture. ‘s response. We’ve seen the wonders of this work in our previous reviews of the VW290ES and VW790ES – a feature that truly changes the fortunes of the projector world when it comes to delivering eye-catching HDR.
Both new projectors feature the new Triluminos Pro color engine, which is claimed to deliver up to 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut for commercial digital cinema applications. Also interesting is that both the XW5000ES and XW7000ES will feature the new IMAX Enhanced mode, which indicates that they have received official IMAX Enhanced certification.
When it comes to gaming, both the XW5000ES and XW7000ES have good news and disappointing news. Both dropped the measured input lag significantly to a very respectable 21ms for 4K/60p gaming, and 13ms at the 120P frame rate supported by the new projector. However, 120P frame rate support only extends to HD resolutions. The 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 port on the new projector can’t handle 4K at 120Hz or variable refresh rate.
Both the XW5000 and XW7000 will be available in black and white (Image credit: Sony)
Talking about the features and specifications of the two models, the XW5000ES claims a peak brightness of 2000 nits (one-third higher than the VW290ES), is equipped with 10 Φ54mm aspherical lenses, and has a throw ratio of 1:1.38-2.21. It does lose a feature the VW290ES enjoyed, though, as it switches to a manual lens shift system instead of a powertrain. The lack of motorized lens adjustment also means that the XW5000ES doesn’t support lens memory, so you can adjust multiple aspects of the projector’s lens settings to accommodate different aspect ratios with the push of a button.
While both the XW5000ES and XW7000ES have slightly angular looks and lightweight designs, the XW5000 is 30 percent smaller and 35 percent lighter than the VW790. The XW7000 is 20% smaller and 30% lighter than the VW790.
A key boost to the XW7000ES found that it boosted peak brightness to a powerful 3,200 lumens. That’s 60 percent brighter than its predecessor, the VW790ES, and enough to deliver an impressive 308 nits of brightness on a 120-inch screen.
Another key to understanding the XW7000ES’ high price is its very high-quality Advanced Crisp Focus lens. This motorized 13-element Φ70mm aspherical lens increases throw ratio to 1:1.35-2.84, offers a “floating” focusing system, and features more extra-low dispersion glass elements.
Use a larger lens to make the area of focus larger and improve sharpness in the corners and center of the projected image. Using more extra-low dispersion glass elements can reduce the color deviation of blue and red elements in pictures obtained with common projector lenses, thereby greatly reducing the potential loss of sharpness associated with color convergence errors. These are all key factors in ensuring you enjoy the maximum resolution impact from the XW7000’s native 4K SXRD optics.
The XW7000’s motorized lens also enables it to support the lens memory function, and finally, unlike the XW5000, it has a real-time color enhancement feature designed to enhance color saturation without making skin tones look unnatural.
So, how good are these two new projectors? Final verdict will have to wait until we get a full review of both models, but when we saw them in action at a recent demo session, they both looked pretty impressive, which you can see in our Sony XW7000ES And read all the relevant information in the hands of the XW5000ES – review.
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Check out our review of Sony VPL-VW290ES and Volkswagen 790ES
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