CES-2015 PR: Sony Expands its Full 4K Home Theater Line-up with New VPL-VW350ES Projector

[Ilya]

Sony Expands its Full 4K Home Theater Line-up with New VPL-VW350ES Projector

New Native 4K Projector Delivers Superior Image Quality to Wider Audience

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2015 (CES Booth #14200) – Sony Electronics unveiled today the new full 4K VPL-VW350ES projector, broadening its home theater projector line-up. The VPL-VW350ES is Sony’s latest product to deliver a true 4K experience, offering four times the resolution of Full HD with a 4K native resolution (4,096 x 2,160).

“With our 4K projection expertise, Sony is unrivalled in our ability to offer breathtaking image quality,” said Toshifumi Okuda, Sony Electronics Deputy President. “The VPL-VW350ES enables us to deliver the very best home cinema experience to even more of our customers.”

Outstanding Image Quality and Easy Connectivity

The VPL-VW350ES uses Sony’s 4K SXRDTM panel technology to achieve high resolution images without compromising deep contrast and fast motion capabilities. It also incorporates Sony’s exclusive TRILUMINOSTM technology, an enhanced optical engine design which gives rich color reproduction offering pure, bold colors. This works in conjunction with the projector’s 1,500 lumens brightness to engineer a wider color space for more vibrant tones and increased precision. Motionflow™ picture technology also delivers clearer images when watching fast-paced, sporting action. Additionally, the projector also comes with low latency mode for gamers, as well as a set of easy to control options for enhanced home automation capability.

The VPL-VW350ES supports the latest connectivity standards through HDMI 2.0** and HDCP 2.2, enabling users to enjoy the latest 4K content services from Sony, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.

Installation Friendly

The VPL-VW350ES provides added installation flexibility thanks to the projector’s compact size and front air exhaust cooling system, allowing for a wide range of set-up opportunities. The projector uses a powered 2.06x zoom lens with a wide shift range, which removes the requirement for additional platform extensions in ceiling mounts. A built-in RF 3D transmitter makes it easy to provide further adaptability with a strong wireless signal for wider coverage, 3D synchronization stability and coverage.

** YCbCr 4:2:0 / 8bit

Pricing and Availability

The VPL-VW350ES will be available starting January 2015 for under $10,000 at Sony stores and other authorized dealers nationwide.

VPL-VW350ES Main Specifications

• Display System: SXRD™ panel
• Resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160 up to 60p*1)
• Brightness: 1,500lm
• Reality Creation 4K Upscaling: YES w/ “Mastered in 4K”
• Lens Shift (Powered): V +85%, 80%H +- 31%
• Interface: HDMI x 2*2
• Dimensions (w/o protrusion): 19 ½ x 7 11/16 x 18 ¼ inches495.6 x 195.3 x 463.6 mm
• Mass: 31 lb / 14 kg

*1 YCbCr 4:2:0 / 8 bit
*2 HDMI Input 2 is compatible with HDCP 2.2

 

[Ilya]

So, here it is! The US version of the VPL-VW300ES. The least expensive Sony 4K projector to date!

 

[tigerfan33]

I would hold off to buy. At least till October....

 

[tigerfan33]

Few more things.
AVS will sell $7999 for now. Not sure how long.
Native color gamut is not much wider than REC-709.
Sounds like a great 4k projector if all you want is better resolution. As been discussed before, resolution will only be a small part of 4k when all said and done.

 

[teachsac]

No full HDMI 2.0 support. Pass.

S~

 

[jayn_j]

*2 HDMI Input 2 is compatible with HDCP 2.2

Only 1 of the 2 ports is HDCP 2.2? Is there some cost associated with this, where they had to limit the capability on a $10k projector? Backwards compatibility? I obviously need to do more research.

 

[Ilya]

AVS will sell $7999 for now. Not sure how long.

Sony offers $2000 discount through the end of February. So, basically $7999 is the initial list price.

 

[jayn_j]

A couple of basic CNET articles:
http://www.cnet.com/news/hdcp-2-2-what-you-need-to-know/

Your current gear is not 2.2-upgradable, but that's probably OK

There's no firmware upgrade that will get 2.2 working on a non-2.2 product. At least, not on a product that wasn't designed with at least some idea about 2.2. For the time being, as we've said, it's not a big deal if you're planning on sticking with 1080p.

Your current devices will work fine with new HDCP 2.2 devices, presuming you're not trying to send content with 2.2. As in, your current Blu-ray player will send 1080p to a 2.2-enabled receiver, or to a 4K TV, with no issues.

That says to me that the encryption/decryption and handshake are buried in silicon. Still, given that an HDCP 2.2 device can accept HDCP 2.0 material, why didn't Sony make both ports 2.2 compatible?

http://www.cnet.com/news/hdmi-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/

Sony seems to be saying that their chipset is good enough that they can get HDMI 2.0 with a firmware upgrade. Take that with whatever grain of salt you need

Software update?
There's some confusion right now as to whether HDMI 1.4 products (like all current Ultra HD TVs) can be upgraded via a simple downloaded firmware update. Sony is saying its products can do this, but HDMI.org says that's not universal. From HDMI.org: "Currently, there are no provisions for doing [a 1.x to 2.0] upgrade. Because of the new enhanced feature set, any such conversion would require hardware and/or firmware upgrades. If there are such conversions, it would come from the manufacturer. Please check with them directly." Emphasis mine.

Since the specification and bandwidth are based on the HDMI hardware chips inside the products, getting these chips to do more than they were initially designed to seems a challenge, and that's likely why HDMI Licensing is hedging. The group is not saying it isn't possible, just deferring to the manufacturers.

 

[teachsac]

What Sony did on their initial sets, except the very first 900As where they actually had to replace the board, was they came equipped with the HDMI 2.0 port and flashed the firmware once available. No way to go from the limited HDMI bandwidth to full bandwidth.

The other ports that are not HDCP 2.2 compliant are full bandwidth HDMI 2.0 ports.

S~

 

[Ilya]

Only 1 of the 2 ports is HDCP 2.2? Is there some cost associated with this, where they had to limit the capability on a $10k projector? Backwards compatibility?

I wonder if the non-HDCP port will be preferred for computer gaming?
I think one HDCP 2.2 port should be enough provided you have a compliant receiver. I almost never use the second HDMI on my current projector.

 

[jayn_j]

I wonder if the non-HDCP port will be preferred for computer gaming?
I think one HDCP 2.2 port should be enough provided you have a compliant receiver. I almost never use the second HDMI on my current projector.

Well, yeah.
My projector is mounted high on the back wall. I would need to move it and then re-align everything just to plug in to the other port. That's what receivers are for
Which leads to whether the other port would need to be used for gaming, since it would complicate the switching.

 

[Ilya]

Well, whatever the reason for not making one of the ports HDCP 2.2 compliant might be, I don't see this as an issue. In fact, personally, I don't see any real deal breakers here at all. Not perfect, but for me, this projector is strongly getting into the "good enough" territory, making it very hard to resist...

 

[dfergie]

Will get a loo later today, or tomorrow...