Projectors

It’s been quite a year for Sony. The Japanese brand has set new standards in the TV world, and introduced a whole new product category with its 4K TVs and projectors. And now it’s continuing this return to form with its latest mid-range projector, the VPL-HW50ES.

Those seeking the visual equivalent of fine-dining are traditionally best served at a 4K digital cinema. An eight-million pixel image, spread large and bristling with detail, is a feast for the eyes befitting the planet’s premiere cinemas. But now cineasts have another choice – they can invest in the first consumer 4K projector and have a Quad HD cinema all their own. Yet, without access to a 4K video source, is there any point in shelling out the best part of £17,000 to own one?

Not unlike Tony Curtis in The Boston Strangler, Sony continues to tighten its grip on the premium end of the home cinema projection market. Suave, good-looking and surprisingly cheap (in an admittedly expensive way), the VPL-VW300ES is the brand's fourth 4K/Ultra HD SXRD, and arguably it’s most compelling. 

With rival projection technologies struggling to get their 4K acts together, Sony has been quick to seize the next-gen initiative with its SXRD system, and having launched the stellar 4K-resolution VPL-VW1000ES around 18 months ago, it’s now out to blow your minds with the VPL-VW500ES.

While other brands have finally got their act together, for a long time Sony was the only game in town if you wanted a genuine 4K home cinema projector. The VW550ES is its latest 4K model, and its £9,000 price tag immediately reminds us that native 4K projection doesn’t yet come cheap. In fact, the projector hits the market with a ticket higher than its well-received VW520ES predecessor.

Thanks mainly to the 4K HDR experiences unlocked by its new X1 for Projector processing silicon, Sony has already wowed us with two of its current home cinema beamers, the mid-range VPL-VW590ES (see HCC #318) and step-up VPL-VW790ES (HCC #316). Can it complete the hat-trick with the high-end VPL-VW890ES? Or, put another way, is this £25,000 laser-powered behemoth really £12,000 'better' than the VW790ES?