Introduction and features
While 2016 is set to finally usher in some long-awaited competition from new 4K DLP projectors, right now Sony is the only brand offering true 4K UHD projection for the home.
The latest of these Sony 4K models is the £8,800 VW520ES - but in this case the native 4K resolution is far from its only claim to picture quality fame. It also happens to be the first projector for the home capable of supporting the new high dynamic range (HDR) picture technology set to take the high-end AV world by storm in 2016.
In case you're not familiar with HDR, it's a picture technology that lets you enjoy a much wider brightness range than you get with the standard dynamic range home entertainment products we've been working with previously.
This makes images look more detailed in dark areas, more contrasty, and more punchy - especially as wider colour gamuts are also built in with the latest HDR specifications.
Design and connectivity
While the home for all this cutting-edge Sony tech isn't catwalk pretty, its vaguely elliptical sculpting, matt black (white is also available) finish and large, gold-accented lens surround give it an authoritative yet still attractive overall presence.
Not that you'll be looking at it much, of course; your eyes will be locked on the pictures it's producing on the other side of the room.
Connectivity is broadly in line with expectations, and includes two HDMIs, two 12V trigger outputs, an RS232 port to support integration into a home control system, and a LAN port to support network service updates.
The HDMIs are capable of playing 4K at 50/60 frames a second and supporting HDR - though there is a limitation. For while they support 10-bit colour performance with 24 frames a second 4K source material, this drops to 8-bit if you feed in 50/60Hz 4K source material.
One other little quirk of the VW520ES's specification is that its native resolution is actually 4096 x 2160 rather than the usual 3840 x 2160 found with 4K TVs. True cinema 4K, in the DCI standard, in other words!
This won't have any practical effect on your viewing, though, other than you seeing small bars above and below native 16:9 content.
Having mentioned aspect ratios, the VW520ES carries a lens memory feature so that it can adapt to different aspect ratios without the need for an external anamorphic lens system.
Other key specifications include a claimed contrast ratio - delivered via a dynamic iris/lamp system rather than natively - of 300,000:1, while brightness sneaks up 100 lumens versus the VW500ES to 1800 Lumens.
Sony won't be drawn on how much of the HDR-related Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) P3 colour spectrum the VW520ES covers, but the 10-bit colour support with 24p content should aid its HDR claims - so long as 1800 Lumens proves enough to unlock HDR's potential.
One last feature of the VW520ES to mention is that it supports 3D playback - though disappointingly for such an expensive projector, you don't get any free 3D glasses.
Picture Performance, Usability and Value
For the most part the VW520ES's pictures are nothing short of spectacular.
For starters that native 4K resolution makes itself count in every frame of a good quality 4K source (which at the time of writing means a selection of movie and sports clips stored on a resident hard drive!).
There's more visible detail in heavily textured areas and over well-defined lines than you get with either HD projectors or JVC's 'pseudo 4K' e-Shift projection technology, clearly revealing the benefits of having four times as many true pixels to play with when you're watching the sort of image sizes a projector is capable of delivering.
There's a generally crisper look to 4K content on the VW520ES than you see with JVC's e-Shift technology too, while there's no trace of the jagged edges or visible pixel structure that can appear with HD projectors at large image sizes.
While I was only able to get a few of my collection of HDR clips to play into the VW520ES (because, according to Sony's engineers, the failed clips didn't contain standard HDR image data), I was pleased to see that it delivered a palpable step up in image quality with the next-generation picture technology.
Dynamic
Stand-out colours, in particular, enjoy a potent boost in richness and saturation, and bright elements like stars, sparks and flames stand out from what's around them more dynamically than they do with standard dynamic range sources.
Also playing a part in the VW520ES's often spectacular pictures is its slightly improved contrast performance versus the VW500ES. Blacks look a little deeper and more neutral, while as we've already mentioned, the projector's brightness peaks look more explosive and extreme, especially with HDR content.
Another impressive aspect of the VW520ES's performance is its upscaling of high definition content to its native 4K resolution. Any issues with this upscaling - such as exaggerated source noise, excessive grain and dot crawl or 'ringing' around fine lines - would obviously show up pretty clearly on the sort of screen sizes you can get with a projector like the VW520ES.
The VW520ES's upscaling engine, though, is clever enough to add enough detail to make sure HD sources look at least something like 4K while also suppressing any noise an HD source may contain.
Not so dynamic...
While the VW520ES's pictures always look brilliant and sometimes - with HDR - uniquely mesmerising, there are a handful of issues worth mentioning.
First, the extra brightness range you get with HDR is not as pronounced on the VW520ES as it on some of the brightest HDR TVs I've seen. I guess 1800 Lumens just isn't quite enough - especially in the context of the 1700 Lumens you get from the standard dynamic range VW500ES - to deliver the maximum impact HDR is capable of.
Another point associated with the VW520ES's HDR performance is that you really need to set the lamp to its Normal setting to get the best HDR experience. Which causes a fairly steep increase in the projector's running noise - though to be fair, we're talking an increase from the almost silence of the Eco mode.
The next issue is that the VW520ES does not achieve the same black level depths you get with JVC's D-ILA projection technology. But dark scenes still look natural, engaging and full of detail on the Sony. Plus there's more detail in dark areas with HDR content than you see with SDR material.
The VW520ES is only a fair to middling 3D performer too, thanks to the way some crosstalk ghosting noise fairly often interferes with your enjoyment of the strong contrast, colour and depth performance the projector otherwise delivers with 3D content.
One final point highlighted by recent experience with Texas Instruments' single-chip 4K DLP solution is that the need to align three SXRD chipsets in the VW520ES can occasionally lead to some slight colour distortion - usually a slight infusion of purple - in areas of very fine detail. Though it's important to add that this issue is much easier to see with test signals than it is with 'real world' content.
While it's my job to point out these issues, though, I'd still say there are times, especially with 4K HDR content, when the VW520ES produces the all-round best picture quality I've seen on a sub-£10,000 projector.
Usability and value
The VW520ES is a little quirky in its presentation of some features, but the key points are that its remote control is easy to use, even in a dark room; it's pretty easy to set up and features motorized zoom, focus and image shift; and it has a number of genuinely well-considered and useful picture presets to keep things simple.
Though the number of people not having a £8,800 projector professionally installed and calibrated for them is likely rather limited.
The VW520ES offers a unique feature set and, at times, unique performance level for the sub-£10,000 projector market, making its £8,800 price arguably pretty reasonable. It's worth adding, however, that JVC's X5000 projector offers HDR playback and outstanding contrast for just £4,000 - though its 'e-shift 4K' technology is no replacement for Sony's real 4K deal.
Verdict
Sony continues to set the technological pace in the home projection world with the VW520ES, which combines a native 4K resolution with support for high dynamic range video for the first time in the domestic space.
As you might hope, this means it also by default delivers at times the best picture quality seen at the sub-£10k part of the projection market - though £8,800 is still a chunk of change for even a serious home cinema fan.
We liked
The VW520ES's picture quality is consistently superb - at times groundbreakingly so for this section of the home cinema market.
It runs quietly in Eco mode too, and on one level it looks fair value for its unprecedented specification.
We disliked
It doesn't feel like it has quite enough brightness to fully cash in on HDR however, and it's a pity that getting the best from its HDR potential means running the lamp on its noisier Normal setting.
There are occasionally minor colour alignment errors over fine details, and there's also evidence of crosstalk ghosting with 3D.
Verdict
If you can stretch your budget to £8,800, the VW520ES rewards you with the most future-proof specifications and, for the most part, best picture quality the home cinema world currently has to offer.
JVC has a couple of much cheaper projectors out there you might want to consider if £8,800 is just too much, but neither of those give you the full 4K enchilada that the VW520ES does.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1RI2xvv
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