Sony VPL-VW995ES 4K HDR Laser Projector Review (1 Viewer)

[Dave Upton]

Sony VPL-VW995ES is their newest flagship 4K HDR projector, it is a flagship level product in every respect. The 995ES comes to market at a time when display technology is better than ever and at what most would consider an astronomical asking price. In this era of 4K UHD Blu-ray, laser based projectors, OLED and an ever increasing selection of content, one could argue there has never been a better time to be a video enthusiast. I was an early adopter of 4K when I purchased the Sony VPL-VW675ES, a native 4K projector with a conventional lamp light source about 3 years ago. I’ve enjoyed my 675ES and its excellent image quality immensely, and despite the high cost it has been one of the most noticeable and worthwhile investments I have made in my home theater. When I was offered the opportunity to review the Sony VPL-VW995ES, I was thrilled. Not only does the 995ES improve incrementally on the models of previous years in obvious ways like using a 2200 lumen laser light source...

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[Robin9]

Thanks for this review (but shouldn't it be in a different forum?) I wish I could afford a projector as good as this.

 

[Dave Upton]

Thanks for this review (but shouldn't it be in a different forum?) I wish I could afford a projector as good as this.

I moved it- thanks for catching that.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I imagine the optical aspect will always be reserved for the uppermost tier of FPs. It's the other advanced tech built into such that will eventually trickle down to FPs us mortals can justify owning.

Well, of course, there's also the issue of having a dedicated HT room along w/ needed room treatment. And some of us do live in places where the real estate requirement might end up being waaay more costly than this FP, eg. many parts of the NYC area (outside Manhattan) have run upwards of $900/sq ft (to own, and maybe >=$4/sq ft to rent... at least 2x that in Manhattan), so a 400 sq ft HT room could cost >=9x this FP (even in the outer boroughs)... Maybe that's how I could justify it to my wife, LOL...

Meanwhile, I just ordered an Epson 5050UB for a solid, under-$2400 upgrade to hold me off til (reasonably affordable) FPs make the next big leap or two me thinks...

_Man_

 

[Worth]

...And some of us do live in places where the real estate requirement might end up being waaay more costly than this FP, eg. many parts of the NYC area (outside Manhattan) have run upwards of $900/sq ft (to own, and maybe >=$4/sq ft to rent... at least 2x that in Manhattan), so a 400 sq ft HT room could cost >=9x this FP (even in the outer boroughs)...

Yup. I'd love to have a true theatre room, but it's not happening unless I win the lottery...

Tiny Toronto shack on sale for $2.5 million

Location, location, location... and literally nothing else is what you'll get for $2,500,000 at 14 Grange Avenue in Toronto right now. A small, dil...

www.blogto.com

 

[Dave Upton]

I imagine the optical aspect will always be reserved for the uppermost tier of FPs. It's the other advanced tech built into such that will eventually trickle down to FPs us mortals can justify owning.

Well, of course, there's also the issue of having a dedicated HT room along w/ needed room treatment. And some of us do live in places where the real estate requirement might end up being waaay more costly than this FP, eg. many parts of the NYC area (outside Manhattan) have run upwards of $900/sq ft (to own, and maybe >=$4/sq ft to rent... at least 2x that in Manhattan), so a 400 sq ft HT room could cost >=9x this FP (even in the outer boroughs)... Maybe that's how I could justify it to my wife, LOL...

Meanwhile, I just ordered an Epson 5050UB for a solid, under-$2400 upgrade to hold me off til (reasonably affordable) FPs make the next big leap or two me thinks...

_Man_

It really does depend on your situation and perspective - but I think these halo products are just a bit too expensive for broad adoption. If this was a $10K projector, I'd be on the phone with @Robert_Zohn right now

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

It really does depend on your situation and perspective - but I think these halo products are just a bit too expensive for broad adoption. If this was a $10K projector, I'd be on the phone with @Robert_Zohn right now

Heh... but actually, what we really want is the new flagship big gun that @Martin Dew posted the other day: 10K lumens for HDR that might actually come close (enough) to competing w/ OLED, et al. And it *only* costs ~3x this one... and (give or take) ~1/3 of the cost of a 400ft HT room space here in Brooklyn, but it might actually be good enough to be my very last FP purchase, hehheh, so... time to convince the wife we cash out and move to the boondocks so I have plenty to spare on the rest of the HT even after getting that FP?

_Man_

 

[Dave Upton]

If you really want to go crazy, the Christie Eclipse is the way to go

I believe @ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE AV has seen it in person perhaps?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

If you really want to go crazy, the Christie Eclipse is the way to go

I believe @ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE AV has seen it in person perhaps?

Something to aim for?

Me (to wife): We'll never need another upgrade nor go to the theaters ever again!

Wife: Well, it's either me or that big ugly thing hogging up space and soaking our bank account.

@JohnRice: Well... only if you can still spend 3x that much on the audio side, including all the needed acoustic room treatments, and then, I'd gladly refer you to my lawyer...

Me: Hmmm... well, there's this other pretty nice one from Sony I'd also love that's normal sized and ceiling mount(conceal)able that also won't need another upgrade and only costs a fraction of the Eclipse. With the savings, we can even swing by Tiffany's for that bling-bling you've been eye-ing forever now in their XYZ Signature Collection and maybe some handbags and shoes on Madison Ave to boot on our way to the boondocks after closing...



_Man_

 

[JohnRice]

You got that right!!

 

[Sam Posten]

Here's the problem with these ultimate solutions. They fade in ultimatism faster than anything else. Sure you can preorder a solid gold PS5 right now, but that's gonna be a hell of a paperweight when the PS6 comes out. Gold Apple Watches series 1, top end projectors that can't do Dolby Vision, OLEDs that can't do high refresh, Receivers that can't do VRR. All destined to be dustbinned sooner than later. You can buy 8 generations of top end JVC high end consumer grade for one generation of commercial laser. Not in any sense worth it unless you can keep upgrading every or every other generation at the high end without even looking at your check book. Those people are out there and for them maybe this is bragging rights, but for the real world it's a huge no go.

 

[John Dirk]

Me (to wife): We'll never need another upgrade nor go to the theaters ever again!

Well, in practical terms for most of us here that's probably true about never needing to upgrade but, if and when the laser does die it cannot be replaced, so...

I've been a projector owner for over 10 years yet my wife still insists on an occasional visit to a commercial theater even though I believe mine is better in pretty much every category.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Well, in practical terms for most of us here that's probably true about never needing to upgrade but, if and when the laser does die it cannot be replaced, so...

Don't know how reliable/durable they actually are, but the Christie Eclipse Dave mentioned apparently has 30K hours life to 80% luminance. IF it doesn't die prematurely, it'll probably last ~8.5x as long as most FP lamps... and then some... because by then my eyes may well be a whole lot less critical than now -- we're talking maybe easily 17-20 years from now (at my family's current rate of use... w/out factoring we become empty-nesters some 6-10 years from now) before luminance drops to 80% (of its max 30K! lumens). And it supposedly rivals OLED performance (and exceeds it in some areas).

Can't seem to find a publicly available price quote for it though...

Anyhoo, tis just watercooler type shoot'n the breeze anyway...

I've been a projector owner for over 10 years yet my wife still insists on an occasional visit to a commercial theater even though I believe mine is better in pretty much every category.

My wife (and kids) almost never wants to go, especially ever since we went w/ FP... even though it's just an under-$1K BenQ -- and I just received delivery of an Epson 5050UB today.

_Man_