Essential Install Home Cinema Insight June 2017 | Page 11

Home Cinema Insight | Projectors With HDR
What Is An HDR Projector
And How Does It Compare
To An HDR TV?
There’s no end of discussion surrounding HDR and the benefits
it brings to consumers through a better contrast ratio and
deeper, richer colours. But the majority of industry stakeholders
have only been discussing what HDR means for users who
want a traditional display, such as a TV. Over the last few
months there has been much talk surrounding HDR support
on projectors, with many manufacturers promising many of
the immersion benefits, but without the need for a traditional
display. Can a projector really promise those benefits when they
can’t even meet the Ultra HD Premium specification that is there
for traditional displays? Well, Jordan O’Brien finds out. .
Projectors are inherently flawed when compared to
traditional displays, as they are incapable of
the same extreme brightness or contrast
levels offered by a flat-screen TV. While
OLEDs have largely been known to have
low brightness, their contrast levels
have always been incredibly impressive.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for
most projectors, although that’s not to say
that the claim of an HDR projector isn’t worth
the marketing material it’s written on – because
where it actually counts, HDR projectors shine.
Testing 4K HDR projectors next to their SDR
counterparts, it quickly becomes clear that the difference
in quality is evident. That’s not to say that an HDR
projector will be able to take on an HDR display, but there
are many benefits to having a projector – including a
larger screen size – all of which add to the immersion. The
HDR effect simply amplifies that.
Currently there are only a few HDR projectors on the
market, including two from Optoma, one from Sony,
one from JVC and one from Epson. Of course, that’s
not a comprehensive list, with other manufacturers also
promising HDR with their models.
The biggest proponent of HDR on projectors has
arguably been Sony, whose VPL-VZ1000ES ultra-short
throw projector stole the show at this year’s CES. This
laser projector has thus far been well-received by the AV
community, although it’s been designed to make needing
a dedicated home cinema room a thing of the past.
Given Sony’s pricing structure for the VPL-VZ1000ES,
which stands at £22,000 in the UK, the company is
clearly still targeting a market that will typically go for a
dedicated home cinema, but the company believes that
its compact system does all the heavy lifting. Of course, a
decent sound system will still need to be paired with the
projector, but the hardware itself is simply meant to sit
beneath a projection screen and get on with its job.
When Sony announced its projector at CES 2017,
some were skeptical that HDR would make a massive
difference. Thankfully, Sony put the HDR technology to
June 2017 | 9