Sony launches two new laser projectors with full 4K resolution, HDR, and 120 Hz

With the VPL-XW5000ES and the VPL-XW7000ES, Sony introduced two brand new best laser projectors for home theater that offer full 4K resolution, HDR support, high brightness, and a maximum frame rate of 120 Hz at a comparatively low price.

Sony’s brand new VPL-XW5000ES best laser home theater projector is exciting because it offers powerful equipment for only around $6,000 – so the new model is at least $4,000 cheaper compared to the VPL-VW790ES, Sony’s cheapest and best laser projectors with a native 4K resolution to date. This model and the new VPL-XW7000ES use a laser as the light source and a 0.61-inch SXRD panel with a native resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels.

Their laser projectors are different in brightness. According to Sony, the cheaper model has 2,000 lumens, while the more expensive model has 3,500 lumens. Sony advertises both laser projectors with “Triluminos Pro” and promises that 95 percent of the DCI-P3 color space can be displayed. The powerful X1 Ultimate processor is designed to reduce image noise, increase the contrast of HDR content and make fine details more visible.

The massive price difference is mainly due to the manual lens of the VPL-XW5000ES, while the VPL-XW7000ES can control lens shift, zoom and focus automatically. You won’t find any smart features, so streaming services are only available via devices that are connected via HDMI. A bit of a shame: Sony uses HDMI 2.0 instead of HDMI 2.1 so that 4K content can be transmitted at only 60 frames per second, while 2K content can be displayed at 120 Hz. The latency should only be 13 ms in this mode.

Sony laser projectors prices and availability

• The Sony VPL-XW5000ES laser projector is available to pre-order on Amazon.com for $5,998, and it comes in Black and White color options. Shipping will start on June 3, 2022.

• The Sony VPL-XW7000ES laser projector is also available to pre-order on Amazon.com for $27,998, and shipping will start from June 17, 2022.

Sony grants a guarantee of three years or 5,000 operating hours, whereby the lasers are said to enable 20,000 maintenance-free operating hours.

Recently, Epson introduced the Home Cinema LS11000 4K projector with the laser light source and the new 4K image processing processor. It offers very high brightness, exceptionally good image quality, a great deal of flexibility, and costs $4,000.