Sony Introduces 4K Laser Projectors With Outstanding Images, But It Will Cost You Money

Bleeding edge: Sony has unveiled three new home theater projectors this week, each boasting sharp native 4K images but smaller than their predecessors. Laser projectors occupy three completely different price tiers, but they are all several times more expensive than some 4K lamp models.

All three of Sony’s new 4K laser projectors support wide dynamic range and dynamic HDR amplifiers. These features should provide higher contrast when frame-by-frame HDR quality is set.

While these models limit resolution from 120Hz to 2K and don’t have variable refresh rates (VRR), they do have reduced input lag for gaming. Sony claims that at 60 Hz the projectors have a latency of just 21 milliseconds, while at 120 Hz it’s only 13 ms.

The lowest-end model is the $6,000 VPL-XW5000ES, which delivers 2,000 lumens of brightness. The next step up is the $12,000 VPL-XW6000ES, which has up to 2,500 lumens of light output and includes an Advanced Crisp-Focused lens for a more stable image over a larger area. The big dog of this line is the VPL-XW7000ES, which costs $28,000 and hits 3200 lumens at 4096 x 2160 resolution.

By comparison, the lamp and LED gaming projectors released by Acer last year support VRR and up to 240Hz at 1080p (or 4K at 60Hz) at a fraction of the cost of Sony’s newer models. Laser projectors provide improved image quality and last longer than incandescent lamps, but at a higher cost.

Sony plans to release all three projectors this summer.