One of the overshadowed announcements from IFA 2008 is the Bravia VPL-HW10 HD SXRD Projector, a product Sony is hoping those with a small budget will pick up for big screen, cinematic features. It is fully 1080p capable with 2 HDMI inputs. Featuring a new and stylish design, triple-panel Sony SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display) and 8-stage image processing by the renowned BRAVIA ENGINE 2, this projector really packs a solid punch. The super-fast 2.5ms response time means silky-smooth motion reproduction, while a full screen panel alignment function allows you to eliminate any colored bordering at the edges of objects. The VPL-HW10 is equipped with the All Range Crisp Focus (ARC-F) lens that offers a 1.6x manual zoom and both vertical and horizontal adjustment.
Newcomers to the home projector scene will be surprised by the 30,000:1 contrast ratio. This device also supports x.v.Color, which is based on xvYCC, a new international standard for video that defines a color space nearly two times wider than the existing sRGB standard. Sony reports that the operating volume of this projector is only 22dB, which is very quiet in comparison to most projectors that offer similar features.
“Each element of what makes this projector so good is impressive enough in its own right,” says Josh Honda, Sony Senior Marketing Manager. “But it’s what happens when you bring them all together that really matters. Everything works together to give you the detail of Full HD with the clarity and smooth motion that are the hallmarks of a truly cinematic experience. And thanks to continuous engineering advances we can offer this for a price that makes HD available to a wider market than just the rich and famous.”
There is no immediate word at this time on pricing, and availability should be within the next month for most major markets. Sony Insider is assuming (not confirmed) that this will probably cost around $3,000USD at launch, but that is merely an assumption based on features and pricing of other similar projectors in Sony’s current range. Read more about the VPL-HW10 at Sony Europe’s press site.
Here is a helpful spec sheet for the detail-oriented:
