Sony VPL-VW520ES 4K Projector Triumphs at IFA 2015

Sony has launched three new SXRD projectors at the IFA 2015 consumer electronics trade show in Berlin this month, namely the VPL-VW520ES, VPL-VW320ES and VPL-HW65ES. Featuring native 4K resolution, the VW520 and VW320 are direct successors to the critically-acclaimed VPL-VW500ES and VPL-300ES respectively; whereas the 1080p HW65 will replace the outgoing VPL-HW55ES.

Sony VPL-VW520es

The star attraction in Sony’s new projector lineup is undoubtedly the VW520ES which comes with support for high dynamic range (HDR) content. Key specs include 1800 lumens light output, 300,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, HDMI 2.0a and HDCP 2.2 compliance, although we were slightly disappointed to be told that it’s still using a 10Gbps HDMI chip that’s limited to 8-bit 4K@60p/50p 4:2:0 chroma, instead of a full-fat one with 18Gbps throughput. The Japanese manufacturer refused to be drawn on DCI-P3/ Rec.2020 coverage, but explained that VW520’s onboard processing can make a good fist of gamut remapping.

Sony’s projector demonstration room at IFA was extremely well-designed, with velvety dark material covering the entire ceiling, walls and floor to minimise contrast washout from reflective surfaces. As a result, black level looked wonderfully inky – never once did we wish that “Gee, the blacks could be darker” throughout our brief demo, nor did we notice any major light pumping artefacts or any sign of the DI (dynamic iris) in action on the Sony VPLVW520ES.

But the first thing that immediately grabbed our attention was the sheer amount of “pop” and detail on show from a native UHD (Ultra HD) source. We were treated to a short clip from Blacklist, and at a sitting distance of 3m from a 120in+ screen, the many close-ups of faces simply blew us away. All the facial pores, wrinkles and even makeup were palpably visible – there’s absolutely nothing obscuring the pristineness that shone through unscathed from the content to the screen and then to our eyes.

Blacklist

The Sony VW520’s light output was impressively bright even on such a relatively large screen (by the standards of British and European homes). When combined with the deep blacks, the resulting dynamism and contrast in mid-bright and bright scenes was just a sight to behold, infusing every frame with a breathtaking sense of vibrancy that elevated our big-screen viewing experience to a giddy level.

Moving onto HDR, and the effect was subtle rather than obvious. We did a back-and-forth comparison between SDR and HDR snippets of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and saw increased detail and gradation particularly in brighter highlights. However, if you’re expecting a “dazzling lightning” impact as delivered by Samsung’s SUHD TVs (especially the top-end JS9500 series with full-array local dimming), you may be left disappointed.

Spiderman

Interestingly, the HDR clip was served from a Sony 4K Media Player that had yet to be updated to HDMI 2.0a, and so a user menu [HDR] setting needed to be enabled on the VPL-VW520ES to apply ST 2084 EOTF (electro-optical transfer function) to the video. Out of curiosity, we engaged [HDR] for the SDR version of the Spidey flick, which only served to mangle the picture in terms of blacks and shadow detail.

HDR setting

Of course, we’ll need to spend quality time with a review sample in our test environment before passing full judgement, but from we’ve seen at IFA, Sony is onto yet another winner with the VW520 which will go on sale in October at €9,999. UK price remains unconfirmed at this time of writing, but we’ll update this article as soon as we receive further info.

6 comments

  1. Hi,

    Thanks for your impressions!

    Sony seem to have confirmed to other reviewers that the 10.2gb/s was a typo/mistake and that the 520ES supports the full 18Gb/s bandwidth, therefore 4:2:0 4K/60p in 10bits and more, not 8bits.

    Please could you double check this with Sony and let us know, as it’s a bit confusing if what you heard was from Sony and not from the press release / brochure.

    Thanks!

  2. @Manni: I was given the demo by a Japanese senior product manager whose native language is not English, so things may have got lost in translation.

    My gut feeling is that the VW520’s HDMI 2.0 chip should be 18Gbps – I’m not aware of a 10Gbps chip that can be updated to HDMI 2.0a, but that’s gleaned from the TV side of things.

    I will clarify with Sony, but of course it’ll be better if I can test it myself.

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  3. Hi Vincent,

    Thanks, a final confirmation would be much appreciated. Steve Withers from AV Forums confirmed after checking with Sony that the 520ES was able to handle 4K/60p in 4:2:0 10bits, which is only possible with an 18Gb/s chipset, but a clear confirmation from Sony that 18Gb/s chipsets are implemented in the 520ES would be best, ASAP as the confusion on a key selling point is spreading.

    Failing a quick confirmation from Sony, when are you hoping to be able to test one?

  4. I’d also definitely like to know if it’s 18gbps.

    But the tidbit about being able to force the projector into HDR mode and do the EOTF processing on the computer and just sending a 10-bit Deep Color signal, is indeed very exciting. Windows 10 allows 10-bit windows desktop use if you drop down to 422 chroma at the top of your refresh rate, but if I was playing a game at, say, 1080p 120hz, then there’s enough bandwidth left over from an 18gbps chip to send 10-bit HDR in 444 chroma. This is all terrific stuff.

    I’m very excited that HDR is coming to projectors now, this might be my next purchase, so long as it accepts 120hz 10-bit at 1080p and 10-bit 422 at UHD 60. (not to mention 8-bit 444 because lots of Sony 2015 TVs don’t even accept that, for shame).

    It’s too about about not supporting P3 colorspace, but I believe rec 709++ and HDR would be still plenty awesome enough, given the fact that HDR makes colours look more saturated given the massive increase in colour volume that it can play with. Not to mention there’s always the possibility of using a filter to get P3, but at the cost of lumens. However, with a high-gain screen and an anamorphic lens, it might still be bright enough.

  5. Hello Vincent,

    Any news from Sony about a confirmation for the presence of an 18Gb/s chipset?

    Thanks!

  6. Hello Vincent,

    Unfortunately, Sony have confirmed a 10.2 Gb/s HDMI interface in the 320ES/520ES: https://www.avforums.com/article/ifa-2015-first-look-at-sony-vpl-vw520es-projector.11892

    As far as I’m concerned, that’s the 520ES off my list, no P3 and no 18Gb/s in 2015 is simply not acceptable with UHDTV and UHD bluray around the corner.

    So it will be a JVC X7000 this year for me :)

    Thanks again for your help in trying to get to the bottom of this.