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ADVICE- 4k Projector for a new studio

Carlos Prio

Carlos Prio

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Hello Guys,

Completely out of the game with projection and any advice on a 4k projector for our studio's lounge area would be greatly appreciated??? I need a high end (but not crazy) general use projector for our studio's lounge area. We want to be able to run cuts, grade samples, etc...and really have a great visual experience. If I was going to give you a budget I would say $10k +/- $5k. Projection size and lumens?? The biggest and brightest for the money!
Cheers red brothers!!
prio
 
I’ve researched this a bit and recently ordered the Sony VPL-VW325. At $5500 it’s seemed like to best picture out there but at 1500 lumens it for pretty dark theaters, controlled lighting. The other good option in the LG HU810PW laser. It’s twice as bright and better suited for brighter lit areas. The LG doesn’t have quite the same picture quality or blacks but if you are in a bright environment your not gonna have really great contrast anyway. It’s $3000 so it’s saves you some bucks. The Epson 5050 is a good looking picture but uses pixel shifting technology so it’s not ‘true” 4K.
 
Hello Carlos-- I'd suggest projectorcentral.com as a resource. (I myself used it quite a bit when shopping for a projector years ago.) For your use, you probably want to look at both the "home theater" and "large venue" sections, both of which have options in your price range. (The home theater section has a listing of their top 10 $5k+ projectors-- that might be a good place to start.)
Another good place to research and post questions is the "display device" section of avsforum.com.

The big thing, as you probably know, is the trade-offs between brightness, image quality, and cost. How much control do you have over light in your lounge area? Will users need-- or want-- to have a "living room"-like experience, with a significant amount of ambient light? Or can you go to a "theater"-experience, with all lights off and, ideally, room treatments (dark color scheme, etc.) that serve the purpose of getting the best and most accurate image? For your budget, I think you'll find great options for impressive and enjoyable presentation-- but the questions about light control probably will be a big factor in how accurate the image is, and therefore how much you might want to rely on this projector for your grade.

One other interesting thing to consider is the projection surface, especially if a significant amount of ambient light will be present in the space. You can get screens that add gain to the image, and also "ALR" screens that reject light from non-projection angles.

Good luck, and let us know where you wind up.
 
If you want true 4K, then Sony is still the only game out there in a reasonable price range. Lots of great features even on their lower end 4K projectors, but you will pay more to get higher lumens. If this is for a studio environment, I will assume that lighting is well controlled and/or the room is adequately dark. So the big question is what screen size and aspect are you shooting for? I would also recommend a 16:9 aspect projection screen. I went with a 21:9 screen in my screening/coloring room because I had the extra width available and was height-limited. I'm still rocking a Sony VPL-VW600ES 4K that's now almost 8 years old and it still holds up very well. Did my first bulb change on it a year ago. I know of some people who have had these units die on them over the last year or so and repairs are very expensive or even not possible to get the parts. My anticipated lifespan when I installed it was 8 to 10 years, so I'm happy with how it's turned out. Its biggest shortcoming is no HDR support, HDR just wasn't a thing back then. I'm glad it has HDMI 2.0 w/ HDCP 2.2 support so I can still connect the latest stuff. Also it has no native support or detection for 2.35:1 / 21:9 wide aspect so I have to manually hit the button to have the projector refocus. IMO, not worth it in most settings.

Projection screens are an important factor too. But you can get a good screen for not much money, especially if you're not trying to be acoustically transparent or use the screen to mitigate unwanted light.
 
Sony vs JVC.

Sony vs JVC.

Went through 3 iterations of Sony's "home theater" projectors over the last couple decades. My VPL-VW600ES had a good run, but after 5 years it developed a radical alignment problem that was well beyond the manual trim capacity. After some research, I chose JVC, the DLA-RS2000 (NX5 on the consumer side) for around $6K. I have a 110" Stewart FireHawk screen that does some ambient light suppression. Great screen, but spendy.

The JVC has amazing black levels - but to appreciate them you need a dark room. Thanks to the deep blacks, the JVC has contrast ratios sufficient for HDR without having to pump out monster lumens. The advantage is a smaller, quieter, less power hungry, lower heat projector vs a "big gun" unit. The disadvantage is having to keep ambient light very low. In the price range you're looking at, the Sony uses what I consider weak optics - their higher end PJs are a different discussion. Having watched many hours of 4K material on both the Sony 600ES and the JVC RS2000/NX5, the JVC has clearly superior optics. To be fair, this perception might be impacted by the Sony's panel alignment issues with thermal drift.

Proper HDR content on the JVC looks fantastic with excellent chroma linearity and I find the lower lumen level easier on my eyes. +1 to AVS forum for more real world info.

Cheers - #19

BTW - until JVC ditched their pixel shifted "faux K" units, I considered Sony the only viable PJ in this segment.
 
Thank you for all the info!

Thank you for all the info!

Thank you for all the info! Will update you on my decision and how it turns out.

Cheers brothers!!

Prio
 
Probably worth comparing a calibrated JVC-NZ7 ($10k : 4k Laser : 2,200 lumens), JVC-NZ8 ($15K : 4k Laser : 2500 lumens : inc filter to make colours on par with Sony) in October (when distribution begins) to Sony's offering - and take into account TCO over the life of the machine.

AJ

Edit : Sony definitely have an 'answer' to the JVC-NZ8 .. but it might cost $20k more .. in which case the JVC-NZ9 should also be considered ($25K : 4k Laser : 3000 lumens : inc filter to make colours on par with Sony : a touch more contrast : 20,000 hours until brightness is 50%).
 
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Laser based projection tech has been a bumpy ride due to sparkling issues. Some people hardly notice it, others can't "unsee" it. Advise you spend a little time with any laser PJ you're considering to see for yourself. As you might imagine, manufacturers have continued to iterate their laser offerings to reduce the artifact. The latest models may be much better. With COVID we haven't had the usual opportunities to see them at NAB, CEDIA, etc. FWIW, I do think lasers are the answer - just in need of more refinement and more realistic price points.

Cheers - #19
 
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