Sony had special press and installer meetings in New York in early February where we got a chance to see and discuss its 2016 home projector models as well as the latest UHD TVs with HDR/WCG capability. While all the products had been previously introduced at CEDIA or CES, Sony did reveal a few more details along with TV set pricing. As usual, image quality was top flight.
Our visit started out with an introduction to Sony audio products – a category I don’t usually associate Sony with. I was told that Sony actually makes some of the finest quality audiophile speakers costing tens of thousands of dollars for professionals and high end home theaters. They also have several lines or more normally-priced speakers, including wireless models.
The company was also highlighting its line of AV Receivers (AVRs) which debuted at Cedia. The flagship model, STR-ZA5000ES, features immersive sound solutions, Atmos and DTS-X, with the latter becoming available via a firmware update, noted Sony. The AVR includes 9 amplified channels for speakers, plus another two outputs that can be connected to a legacy stereo amp for two more speakers.
In home projectors, we spoke with product manager, Andre Floyd, who highlighted models revealed at Cedia and already shipping in the US. There are four models for 2016, with three offering native 4K resolution panels featuring Sony’s SXRD LCOS technology.
At the entry level is a 1080p model, the VPL-HW65ES, which became available in October for $3,999. It offers 1800 lumens and 120,000:1 of dynamic contrast using an iris. Sony does not specify the static contrast of the projector. This projector features IP control and is also 3D capable using RF synchronization.
The entry level 4K projector is the VPL-VW365ES available now for $9,999. This features 1500 lumens and 30,000:1 of dynamic contrast using an iris. It includes Sony’s Triluminos engine for “rich and accurate color reproduction” and MotionFlow picture technology which is intended to provide less blurry images when watching fast-paced, sports action.
The step-up VPL-VW665ES, available now for $14,999, has all the same features as the 356ES but offers 1800 lumens and 300,000:1 of dynamic contrast using an iris. The above three lamp-based projectors have a new lamp with a very impressive 6,000 hours to 50% luminance lifetime rating.
The flagship is the VPL-VW5000 (pictured) will be available in mid-February at $59,999. This is a laser-phosphor model offering 20K hours of source lifetime in normal mode (to 50% brightness?) and twice that in eco mode. There is periodic calibration to automatically adjust the color levels as the light source changes over time and fan noise is very low at less than 35 dB; 32 dB in low brightness mode. Dynamic contrast is specified as infinite as Sony can modulate the laser output down to zero for extremely low black levels.
All include Sony’s advance reality creation engine for scaling and control capability for major control providers. Floyd also noted that the VW5000 and the VW665 projectors are being marketed as High Dynamic Range (HDR) models. This means they have HDMI 2.0a connectivity and support the HDR-10 format standard. The HW65ES and VW365ES have an HDMI 2.0 port, but not the “a” capabilities needed for HDR signaling support.
HDR in a projector is quite different than in a direct-type LCD or OLED TV, however. The light source can be modulated with an iris and in the case of the VW5000, with the lasers as well. But this is a global dimming, not a zone-based dimming approach.
Sony said that they have modified their Reality Creation engine to change the tone mapping (range of gray levels) on a scene-by-scene basis and couple that with changes in the global light output. That is, when the scene is dark, they can move the tone mapping curve down to provide more shadow details while turning the iris or light source down too.
This tone mapping is done on HDR native content as well as SDR content. But what about color remapping? That depends upon the native optical color gamut of the projector and the incoming content.
For example, the HW65 has a Rec 709 color gamut while the VW365 and Vw665 have Sony’s “Triluminos” color gamut. This is never specified but Floyd noted it is between 709 and DCI-P3 with extensions in the red and green components. The VW5000 achieves full DCI-P3 color gamut.
SDR content played on the HW65 would have no color remapping, but it could be stretched in the other three models as their color gamuts are bigger than the 709 standard used for SDR content.
HDR content mastered with a P3 color gamut can play without color remapping on the VW5000 but would need to be compressed for the VW665. HDR content mastered in the 2020 color gamut would need to be compressed for both projectors.
For this later case, Sony says that it has a 2020 color gamut emulation built into these two models. That means they do not clip content colors that are outside of the native optical capabilities of the projector. Instead, they probably desaturate the color around this point and apply modified tone mapping to them. This preserves the fine detail shades, which would be lost if simply clipped. That means you can now see some texture and slight color variations in rich reds and greens. (CC)
