Over the past few years no manufacturer has done more to promote the benefits of 4K video than Sony. Using its vast resources, the company has pulled together a cohesive marketing effort throughout its divisions to develop and educate the consumer and professional A/V industries on the many benefits of UltraHD.
Taking a look at its most recent efforts to promote 4K at the annual CEDIA Expo, it could be said that Sony hit a home run. During the show Sony announced its 1080p VPL-HW65ES as well as its 4K VPL-VW365ES, VPL-VW665ES and VPL-W5000ES projectors. These products cover a range of price points ($3,999, $9,999, $14,999 and $60,000 each, respectively), and the company states it developed these products to support its dealers.
In meeting with company officials during the show, Sony states that its emphasis on the custom electronics market is important and it values its position as a market leader as a developer of technologies such as 4K.
Underscoring its commitment to both installers and 4K, Sony says the VPL-VW365 and VPL-VW665 replace its VPL-VW350ES and VPL-VW600ES projectors. Highlighting the new generation projectors is VPL-VW665, which brings HDR (high dynamic range) compatibility to a price point that is widely more approachable for consumers.
Stepping up its 4K product line to true cinema quality levels is Sony’s VPL-VW5000ES. This product created the biggest product buzz on the entire CEDIA show floor. Throughout the event, lines for the VPL-VW5000 demos wrapped around the company’s booth. Reports from dealers that sat in on the demos said it was one of the best 4K demonstrations they had ever seen. The 5,000-lumen, SXRD-based laser-light engine product’s low maintenance requirements were highlighted by many as providing tangible benefits to consumers and dealers. Sony notes the VPL-VW5000ES covers the full DCI-P3 color gamut. Through its calibration tools, the company points out the projector can “emulate the BT.2020 color space.”
Given all of the hype associated with the projectors, it was easy to overlook one other important announcement from Sony. At CEDIA Sony also announced the availability of its PC-based Projector Calibration Pro software. According to Sony, this software supports dealers’ ability to fine-tune a projector’s performance through a simple-to-use interface. Sony explains setup configurations can be saved to a file and dealers can use these files for other projects or to recover lost settings.
