CEDIA 2011

Sony VPL-VW1000ES 4K SXRD Projector

Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 7, 2011

The biggest news at Sony's press conference today was the introduction of the VPL-VW1000ES, the world's first "affordable" 4K home-theater projector. With a resolution of 4096x2160, this baby produces up to 2000 ANSI lumens to fill screens measuring up to 200 inches diagonally, and new SXRD panels and Iris3 technology boost the projector's specified dynamic contrast to 1,000,000:1. Of course, it also does 3D, with full anamorphic capabilities in both 2D and 3D mode.

But what about 4K content? Sony claims to be developing a complete line of 4K products and working with the Blu-ray Disc Association on a 4K spec, but meanwhile, the VW1000ES includes an onboard 4K upscaler.

So how affordable is it? Sony would only say "less than $25,000." That's way less than the Sony and JVC 4K digital-cinema projectors (and Meridian's version of the JVC for ultra-high-end home theaters), which bodes well for a 4K future. The VW1000ES should be available in December, and you can bet we'll be putting it through its paces just as soon as possible.

COMMENTS
Jarod's picture
Submitted by Jarod on September 7, 2011 - 10:21pm

This pj has got me truly excited! Amazing!

JustinGN's picture
Submitted by JustinGN on September 9, 2011 - 2:35pm

Pushing 4K DCI into the home projection market is definitely a wise move, and a price point that's almost 80% lower than their last major 4K projector (arguably a prosumer/cinema model, but still) will help give it a strong foothold. Seeing as how JVC can't display native 4K DCI (it uses an intriguing "image shift" procedure with twin 120Hz images), Sony will also be alone for the early adopters market.

Going forward, I think you'll see flat panels and TVs continue to be 1080p/2K DCI, while Projectors make use of the wide and expansive screen canvas to display 4K DCI material and make a strong push for a dedicated theater room. The only thing holding them back is the lack of a 4K DCI standard for Blu-Ray, but that's easily rectified by (yet another) BD specification using BDXL discs, and where there's money to be made reselling Terminator 2 again, well...you know they're already preparing such a thing for CEDIA 2012.

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