Sony VPL-HW15 Projector Review

Test Results

The large case has no light leakage issues and the fan proved to be near silent in operation, although we could occasionally hear the movement of the iris as it automatically adjusted. The Auto Iris feature opens up the lens in darker scenes to boost low-level detail and was responsive enough for us to leave it activated.

On paper, the VPL-HW15 doesn’t boast a high brightness level, as it’s rated at only 1,000 lumens, but we were able to view the Windows desktop and view film content with the lights switched on and the Dynamic preset enabled. However, you’ll want to minimise ambient light to achieve the best image quality.


Using the Cinema preset, the VPL-HW15 got off to a flying start, with all the colour scales in the Lagom tests rendered very clearly. The gradient test was smooth except for a faint hint of banding, but the black level test was spot on, clearly rendering each black square without any image noise at all. The test colours were also good – the red was slightly less vibrant than with the best DLP projectors, but the green and blue were glorious.

This carried over into our X3: Terran Conflict test, with the black level giving the space scenes a palpable sense of depth. Crysis was also impressive, and we actually felt that the bold Dynamic image preset mode suited the lush greenery of the island nicely.

A consequence of a good black level is usually good colours, and this proved to be the case. In our Blu-ray version of The Matrix after Neo and Trinity set off a bomb in a building to rescue Morpheus, the orange of the slow-motion explosions was simply sublime.

In the Cars DVD test, the colours were balanced and natural without being overly vivid, but it was the smoothness and lack of noise that sets the Sony apart from other projectors, particularly the DLPs.

When Gandalf illuminates his staff in the mines of Moria, the glow comes out of the dark, instead of the grey of some lesser projectors. The VPL-HW15 also did a great job of upscaling the 576p DVD to 1080p, with the Bravia Engine 2 earning its keep. The details on Boromir’s lapel and shield were also evident.

Conclusion

The Sony VPL-HW15 is quite keenly priced for a 1080p projector, so in the world of projectors, it’s relatively entry-level. However, it produces such excellent image quality it really is worth a second look.

The only off-putting thing is its large size, but if you can afford to have it permanently installed then the size of the unit won’t be much of a concern. The lack of a 12V trigger for an electronically-powered screen is also a bit annoying, and may push people towards the Panasonic PT-AE4000E, but if this isn’t an issue for you and picture quality is your primary concern, Sony’s SXRD-based projector is a great buy.

• Image Quality
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• 9/10

• Features
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• 9/10

• Value
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• -
• 9/10

• Overall
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• -
• 9/10

Score Guide