(^38) [ April May 2019 [soundandvision.com
built-in tone mapping when viewing
HDR content. This feature does clip
black and white slightly but also
modulates the gamma to provide
a much punchier-looking image
that’s more like what you typically
see with a flat-panel TV. I found that
the High seing provided the best
overall subjective performance,
but viewers can obviously season
to taste.
PERFORMANCE
Anyone who knows me knows I
can go on and on about measure-
ments and how projector A
compares to projector B based on
numbers, but I also love just siing
back and marveling at the image
quality that modern day projectors
deliver. Having a projector like the
VW995ES to view 4K/HDR on Ultra
HD Blu-ray, streaming apps, and
games with proved to be nothing
short of a delight.
Everyday use of the projector
was also a delight. The remote is
large, backlit and easy to navigate
and direct access to the picture
modes and lens positions made it
easy to watch things exactly the way
I wanted to. Sony’s projectors have
always been known for their chassis
design and quiet operation and
the VW995ES was no exception.
The character of noise was slightly
different than what I heard with the
VW885ES, but both were equally
unobtrusive during operation, even
at full laser output. If I really listened
for fan noise I could make it out in
the quietest passages of movies,
but it was never an issue that took
me out of the moment.
Another common complaint I
have with projectors is the amount
of time it takes to synch when
a change in the video signal is
detected, which results in a blank
screen as it locks on to the new
format. The Sony clocked in at
around 6-10 seconds (more oen
near 6), making it one of the faster
designs I’ve used.
When I reviewed JVC’s
DLA-RS4500 a few years ago, I
commented on how its laser light
engine coupled with a reference-
quality lens delivered an image that
needs to be seen to be believed. It
was truly like looking at a massive
flat-panel TV with tack-like sharp-
ness down to the pixel level, and a
sense of image stability that’s rare
for projection. The Sony VW995ES
is the closest another projector has
come to recreating that experience
for me. Sony is known for digital
image “enhancements” including
its Reality Creation, but I honestly
found that these were rarely, if
ever, needed to deliver sensational
images on the new projector.
I spent the bulk of my time
watching Ultra HD movies, either
spun on an Oppo UDP-205 disc
player (output in Source Direct
mode) or streamed with an Apple
TV 4K. Ultra HD Blu-ray delivered
the beer experience by far, but
it’s also amazing to see how far 4K
streaming has come in the last few
years. Sure, you see occasional
compression noise, especially in
darker scenes, but even the fussiest
videophile would probably be
happy with the image quality I was
geing on my 11-foot-wide screen.
The VW995ES really shined
when viewing some of the latest
Ultra HD Blu-ray releases such
as the surprisingly fun The Meg.
This disc, one of my go-to options
for evaluating HDR performance,
infinite as expected. Introducing the
single-pixel paern dropped the
contrast ratio to just under 18,000:1
in Limited mode and 19,000:1 in
Full mode. So, outside of engaging
the projector’s Full dynamic laser
dimming mode (which creates a
complete blackout with no light
appearing onscreen), the best
contrast performance one can
expect from the VW995ES is just
under 19,000:1. And once you get
below a 2 percent image level, even
the dynamic contrast numbers
line up with the native contrast
measurements.
Overall, I was quite pleased with
the subjective contrast perfor-
mance of the VW995ES, which, due
to its lower black levels, delivered a
richer-looking image than I experi-
enced with the VW885ES. Contrast
was rarely was an issue, even with
very difficult material. The effect of
projector’s dynamic system can
still be a bit jarring during transi-
tions to and from black when the
Full dynamic dimming is used, but I
found that mode to be preferable to
using Limited mode, or turning off
dynamic dimming altogether.
I highly recommend using the
projector’s Contrast Enhancer
function if you’re going to rely on its
test report
FULL-ON/FULL-OFF
CONTRAST RATIO: 19,000:1
Measurements were taken
in a variety of conditions with
the bulk using the Reference
preset. The gamma preset
was 2.4. All calibration was
done with the dynamic laser
disabled and the contrast
ratio measurements taken
in a variety of modes as
noted. Calibration work used
a Colorimetry Research
CR100 colorimeter profiled
to a Jeti Specbos 1211 spec-
troradiometer via CalMAN
2018 from Portrait Displays
(w w w.spectracal.com). All
viewing and measurements
were done on a 140-inch
diagonal 2.35:1 Stewart
Studiotek 100 screen (1.0
gain).
Full on/off contrast was
measured with a Minolta
T-10 meter at 4 inches away
from the lens face. I tested
the projector at various
laser levels using a range of
dynamic laser seings.
RGB tables were captured
from a CalMAN 2018 calibra-
tion workflow. SDR calibra-
tion was measured with REC.
709 and BT.1886 targets.
The REC. 709 color gamut of
the VW995ES was nearly spot
on, with no value exceeding
a Delta E of 3. No color
management system adjust-
ments were needed aer the
grayscale was dialed in, with
all colors measuring below
a dE of 2. Luminance and satu-
ration values throughout the
inner gamut also proved very
accurate.– KRD
Test Bench
DIMENSIONS: (WxHxD, Inches): 22 x 8.8 x
19.5
WEIGHT: (Pounds): 49
VIDEO INPUTS: HDMI (2), RS-232, IR,
Ethernet, USB
Specs
SONY VPL-VW995ES LCOS PROJECTOR
"Having a
projector
like the
VW995ES to
view with
was nothing
short of a
delight."
antfer
(Antfer)
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