More light for giant pictures in the home theater

If you want a really big picture at home, go for a projector with 4K resolution. Sony is presenting two bright 4K laser projectors for home cinema enthusiasts.

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Living room with projector and screen

(Image: Sony)

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Sony is presenting two new 4K projectors for home cinema and semi-professional movie theaters at IFA. The new VPL-XW8100ES replaces the previous VPL-XW7000ES model. Sony has placed the VPL-XW6100ES between it and the XW5000, which is still available. All three use reflective LCD panels in Sony's proprietary SXRD technology (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display), a type of LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon). They have native 4K resolution with 4120 × 2160 pixels and project the red, green and blue partial images onto the screen simultaneously. Unlike reflective DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors, this means there is no annoying rainbow effect.

The first important distinguishing feature is the brightness: the XW6100 achieves 2700 lumens with its laser diodes, while the XW8100 achieves 3400 lumens according to Sony. The second distinguishing feature is the new image processor compared to the previous models. This comes from Sony's TV division and has been adapted for the projectors. According to Sony, it is not worth developing processors just for projectors - the market is too small. Synergies have therefore been exploited here, as the image optimizations are the same for projectors and televisions. As a result, Sony has coordinated the names of the new model series with the TVs: The XW8100, like the TVs with this processor, belongs to Series 9, the XW6100 to Series 8.

The VPL-XW8100 is Sony's mirror model for semi-professional home cinema. Its SXRD technology brings images with 4K resolution to the screen and its laser LEDs create a bright 3400 lumens.

(Image: Sony)

As the XR processors were developed for TVs and 3D is no longer available there, the new Sony projectors also no longer support 3D. The projectors do support Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) when playing 4K at 120 hertz, meaning they can automatically switch to a low-latency mode with a latency of 12 ms. However, they cannot display variable refresh rates (VRR), although this function is now standard in the TV sector for high-quality devices.

According to Sony, the VPL-XW6100 4K laser projector brings 2700 lumens to the screen and produces colorful images for HDR playback. It is available in white and black.

(Image: Sony)

The four powerful image functions XR Dynamic Tone Mapping, XR Deep Black, XR Triluminos Pro and XR Clear Image ensure a cleanly color-coordinated display, just like in the TVs.

8K panels are not currently an issue for Sony in the home cinema sector, but the company is working on 8K for other applications – The manufacturer did not want to reveal what these are. 8K has not yet been able to establish itself in the TV sector, which is also due to a lack of content. Particularly high resolutions are only of limited use for video screens anyway. However, they are needed for autostereoscopic 3D, where the images for each eye have to be distributed into as many segments as possible in front of the display. A number of manufacturers are currently putting out feelers in this area and are also showing 3D monitors at IFA.

Sony points out that the phosphor laser light of the new projectors can now be dimmed down from 50 to 30 percent without affecting the colors. Sony also claims to have further improved the color gradation with dynamic tone mapping. Sony uses technology from its own camera range for the lenses in its home cinema projectors. The aspherical, curved lenses are made of plastic, while the conventional spherical lenses are made of glass.

Unfortunately, Sony has decided against using Dolby Vision for its projectors. In the TV sector, the manufacturer offers both dynamic HDR variants Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The company said that it did not want to be dependent on external metadata, but wanted to use its own. Sony may also want to save the license fees that are due to Dolby.

In view of the rather steep prices for the brand new home cinema projectors, however, this would be surprising: the XW6100 from the Series 8 is said to cost 16,000 euros, the XW8100 from the Series 9 a hefty 26,000 euros. The XW5000, which is still available and, like the new models, uses ultra-high-resolution SXRD panels, currently costs just under 4500 euros.

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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.