No consumer-focused home cinema projector manufacturer has more experience with both native 4K resolution and laser lighting than Sony. I've known this for a while, but I still wasn't prepared for the performance prowess of its £12,000 VPL-VW790ES. This is a premium beamer that's capable of leaving your jaw on the floor.
The VW790ES story starts with two new features not available on its VW760ES predecessor: a Dynamic HDR Enhancer, and the X1 for Projector processor based on (but not the same as) the X1 Ultimate processor found in Sony’s high-grade TVs.
The Dynamic HDR Enhancer is essentially a dynamic tone mapping system that analyses every frame of an HDR source so that the projector can continually judge the best combination of laser light output and iris opening provided by Sony’s so-called Dual Contrast Control system.
In other words, the VW790ES can brighten bright areas with signal processing while simultaneously dimming its light source to create more convincing dark areas – all potentially within a single frame. This sounds like something local dimming on a TV would do, even though local dimming on a projector isn’t actually possible.
The X1 for Projector processor drives the Dynamic HDR Enhancer – but it doesn’t stop there. Additional tricks include a ‘Super Resolution’ sharpness and detail booster, which claims to use pattern-matching algorithms derived from a vast image database to enhance picture crispness without exaggerating source noise, and is fantastically effective at upscaling sub-4K content.
The VW790ES sports the 4,096 x 2,160 native resolution we’ve come to expect from Sony’s ‘true’ 4K projectors, while claimed peak brightness is 2,000 Lumens (just as on the previous VW760ES model).
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Xmas 2020 من Home Cinema Choice.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Xmas 2020 من Home Cinema Choice.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
AV Avenger
You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May
Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney
Forty years on from the movie's cinema release, Anton van Beek ponders what might have been if things had gone a little diff erently during the making of Return of the Jedi…
Feedback
Got an axe to grind? Need to comment on current tech? Want to share your knowledge with our readers? Team HCC is here to help
M&K Sound V12
TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Steve Withers
Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded
This well-specified Dolby Atmos soundbar may have a mid-range price tag, but you'll soon want to spend more, cautions Steve May
Short and sweet
Marantz's compact AV receiver returns with a new look and boosted features – Jamie Biesemans slips it into his AV rig
Discreet delivery
A slim, stylish Scandinavian on-wall system impresses Mark Craven with its handling of the sweet stuff
One project, two rooms
Dan Sait reports on a custom install where a JVC PJ/ Atmos system is joined by a stylish media den
THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD
Three of his movies have taken over $2billon at the global box office, he's pioneered SFX and 3D technologies, and he's been to the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean. That's James Cameron by the way, not Anton van Beek
System selector!
Given three similar budgets, Mark Craven, Steve May and John Archer assemble three different AV setups focused on movies, streaming and gaming