Sony VPL-VW520ES

Spectacular picture quality ; Uniquely future proofed ; Quiet 'Eco' lamp setting ; Effective picture presets

HDR success only partial ; No 3D glasses included ; Expensive versus its predecessor ; Occasional convergence issues

Not content with being the only projector manufacturer to do true 4K resolution, Sony has also become the first home cinema projector maker to support high dynamic range playback. If you want the full 4K HDR home cinema experience, and can stomach the...

4K pictures look amazing; HDR pictures look even more amazing; good setup flexibility; good price for what’s on offer

Some crosstalk with 3D; runs rather noisily in high lamp mode; a little fiddly to set up perfectly; slow to warm up/cool down; there are brighter PJs out there

Yet these are minor bumps in the VW520ES’s road to next-generation glory. Even without HDR its 4K pictures are spectacular; throw in HDR on top and you’ve got a jaw-dropping sub-£10,000 cinema projector and a more than commendable upgrade on the...

Startlingly good picture all-round ; HDR and 4K ; Dead simple set-up

No 3D glasses ; Still a pricey option

A future-proofed projector with a license to thrill

Let’s get one thing out the way: the Sony VPL-VW520ES 4K is capable of producing some of the best looking pictures we’ve ever seen projected on-screen - it’s simply stunning. Native 4K content simply looks clean and crisp with gorgeous colour depth and...

Even taking the massive images and 4K tech into consideration, £8,800 is a lot of money to spend on a projector these days, and there are plenty of large and affordable 4K TVs around. That said, you’d still have to spend a lot to get anywhere near the...

The Sony VPL-VW520ES 4K is simply a stunning projector with top-notch quality that can barely be topped right now, it boasts crisp, clear colours and an incredible amount of detail - and is relatively well priced for what it can do. Around £9,000 is a...

4K native panels ; Excellent calibrated colours and greyscale ; Picture processing is very good ; Excellent black levels ; Good build quality

Expensive! ; Gamma is skewed unless you have it professionally calibrated with special software ; Mediocre 3D performance ; No 3D Glasses supplied ; A little noisy in full lamp mode

Let’s get that big fat elephant in the room out of the way. The VW520ES is identical in every way possible to the outgoing . The one difference is an HDR on/off/auto selection in the menu system. But as we have found out the Sony doesn’t read metadata...

Exquisite display quality ; Superb native HDR delivery ; HDR-upscaling of SDR content looks great ; Very bright ; Triluminos Display color enhancement ; Solid connectivity options

Slight overbalancing in bright spots with HDR upscaling ; Native HDR not as good as some 4K TVs ; Very expensive despite price decrease

If you have the money to buy it and are inclined towards a 4K home theater projector in your house, the Sony VPL- VW520ES is one excellent choice. It delivers a highly innovative package of features that creates a stunning visual experience. Its few...

Startlingly good picture all-round ; HDR and 4K ; Dead simple set-up

No 3D glasses ; Still a pricey option

A future-proofed projector with a license to thrill

Given that Sony has had several years lacking competition on 4K/UHD front projectors, we should be thankful that with the VPL-VW520ES they’ve done such a fine job of it. And furthermore, when other vendors do come on stream (TI’s UHD DMD chips are...