Sony BRAVIA Projector 8 (VPL-XW6100ES) Review

Sony

BRAVIA Projector 8 (VPL-XW6100ES)

4K Projector

USD $15,999.99

The 4K Ultra HD standard was a watershed moment for home cinema. It was designed to evolve as technology grew, and ultimately achieve the format's full potential. The focus was on high-luminance displays such as monitors and televisions, and this has caused projector manufacturers headaches as they grapple with how to make high-luminance images look right on what are essentially low-luminance displays. But necessity is the mother of invention, and in this case, it has given rise to higher luminance projectors and better solutions for remapping high-luminance images to low-luminance displays.

For instance, Sony's projectors feature HDR Enhancer, which emulates the look of high-luminance HDR images on televisions and monitors. Not only has it undergone a significant transformation for Sony's newest VPL-XW6100ES 4K projector, but some new tricks have been added, too. Its Dynamic Tone Mapping now incorporates Sony's newest HDR Enhancer and a new HDR Tone Mapping function. The company says that its technology analyses images frame-by-frame, resulting in improved gradation and shadow detail over the previous series. It works in conjunction with a new XR Deep Black technology, which adds intelligent laser dimming.

Like previous models, the new VPL-XW6100ES is equipped with Sony's 0.61 SXRD chipset, which provides a native resolution of 3840x2160. This uses a new high-reflectance liquid crystal and a narrower pitch between pixels. The company says this results in brighter images and more stable black levels, while the new "Durability Enhanced Coating" preserves contrast and brightness over time. It incorporates a laser light source with a quoted lifespan of 20,000 hours and 2,700 lumens of brightness. Also featured is Sony's new XR processor, adapted from its Bravia televisions. It provides object-based super-resolution, which performs real-time upscaling, contrast enhancement, and noise reduction of objects.

It also features XR Triluminous Pro and XR Clear Image, which help the VPL-XW6100ES to achieve a quoted 95% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. XR Clear Image introduces Sony's Depth Mapping and Focal Point Recognition technology. The former enhances the depth of images; the latter enhances objects in the main focal point. The projector supports HDR and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG). It also supports HDMI 2.1 and 4K/120fps with a quoted Input Lag of 12ms (21ms 4K60fps), and has an Auto Low Latency Mode.

Featuring Sony's Advanced Crisp Focus Lens, the VPL-XW6100ES incorporates a Φ70mm Aspherical Front Lens and dual Floating Focus System with so-called Extra Low Dispersion Glass. The former is claimed to provide a broader focus area, while the latter avoids curvature in images that can occur when only a single lens group is used for focus, Sony says. This projector is IMAX Enhanced Certified, but unlike the company's other projectors – which support 3D with an external transmitter and glasses – the VPL-XW6100ES drops support for 3D. It is compatible with Control 4, Creston, Savant, and AMX and also works with remote monitoring systems such as OvrC and Domotz.

GETTING GOING

The VPL-XW6100ES shares the same chassis as the VPL-XW7000ES, so at 460x210x517mm and weighing 14kg, it's one of the smallest native 4K projectors on the market. Finished in matt black, its chassis features intake/outtake vents with a centrally mounted lens. Connections are located at the side of the chassis – giving installers a little more wiggle room – and include two HDMI (2.1) inputs, a LAN terminal, an IR IN terminal, a Remote terminal and a USB terminal for software updates.

The VPL-XW6100ES has a motorised lens with a throw ratio of 1:1.35-2.84, a vertical lens shift of +/-85 %, and a horizontal lens shift of +/-36 %. In a first for Sony, it adds Digital Keystone Correction, which is something to avoid if you want to get the sharpest image, but handy, nonetheless. Controls are also available for Digital Panel Alignment, which is a must to obtain the sharpest image from the projector. For the purposes of this review, the projector was connected to a Denon AVC-A1H AV receiver. Source devices included a Magnetar UPD-800 4K Blu-ray player and an Apple TV connected to the receiver. Images were projected onto a 100" (1.0 gain) Severtson Cinegray 16.9 screen.

Please read on if you want to learn more about how Sony's VPL-XW6100ES is measured and calibrated. Otherwise, feel free to skip the following section…

MEASUREMENTS AND CALIBRATION

The VPL-XW6100ES was calibrated for SDR and HDR playback with a Klein Instruments K10A colourimeter. This was then profiled against a reference-grade 2nm (hi-res) JETI 1501 spectroradiometer. A Murideo 6G pattern generator created test patterns for SDR and HDR, with 10% window patterns used for calibration light output measurement. Calibration software consisted of Calman Ultimate (2024) and Sony Projector Pro Calibration software. Further testing was undertaken with the 2023 Spears & Munsil HDR Benchmark disc.

There are ten selectable picture modes: Film 1, Film 2, Reference, TV, Photo, Game, Bright Cinema, and User and Imax Enhanced. In addition to basic controls such as brightness, contrast and colour, the projector has two-point grayscale controls, nine selectable gamma presets and a six-point colour management system. Cinema Film 2 produced 63 fL with default picture settings. Engaging Dynamic Laser in its Limited mode resulted in a negligible drop in light output while Full reducing light output to 61 fL. The projector was calibrated in Cinema Film 2 Mode for both SDR and HDR. After SDR calibration, I obtained a little over 40fL. While this number is a little high for my liking at 100", my screen is on the smaller side, and the extra brightness will sit well with larger screens.

Using Sony's Projector Pro Calibration software, the VPL-XW6100ES produced excellent greyscale accuracy with an average dE of 0.73. Gamma response was likewise excellent, adhering closely to the 2.4 curve. Colour accuracy remains Sony's strong suit, with an average dE of just 0.67 and a maximum dE of 1.86 with 20% saturation sweeps.

In HDR mode, the VPL-XW6100ES offers the same picture modes, with the option to choose a different laser setting, brightness and contrast levels. It also forces the colour space to BT.2020 with three EOTF options, namely Auto, HDR10/HLG, HDR Reference and HLG. In addition to HDR Enhancer, users can choose from three Tone Mapping options, with Mode 1 offering the brightest picture curve. Owners are free to choose which option to use, or should they wish a combination of both. Prior to calibration, the projector produced 92.9% of the (1976 uv) UHDA-P3 gamut and 92.88% of the UHDA-P3 Percent (1931 xy) gamut. With the laser in its default position of 80 and Dynamic Laser turned off, it produced 59 fL.

Download Calibration Reports

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

The VPL-XW6100ES projects bright images with solid black levels, producing a pleasing sense of dimensionality with both SDR and HDR material. The XR Processor further enhances dimensionality, while delivering more film-like images than Sony's other projectors.

Colour reproduction is accurate in both SDR and HDR modes. The sometimes-eye-catching colour palette is also thoroughly convincing, particularly with flesh tones. While it sometimes requires manual intervention in order to get the best HDR images, it rewards the viewer with lively HDR images that pop. The Wolverine's SDR transfer on Blu-ray clambered again to the top of my demonstration list, and the Sony produced bright and punchy images. Although it couldn't match the inky blacks of the JVC-NZ7, black levels were solid, giving images an excellent sense of dimensionality and depth. Skin tones were faithfully recreated, and Logan's ruddy tone was perfectly balanced and free of saturation – which can plague less colour-accurate projectors.

Moving to the clever little horror that is Abigail on Blu-ray, and the dark, broody mansion was displayed in all its glory; the dark images maintained depth without falling into a washed-out mess, which can befall displays with less-than-ideal black levels. It was apparent that the XR processor is also working here, as the VPL-XW6100ES had a distinctly different look to Sony's other projectors. For instance, as the limousine driver opened the door for the 'young' Abigail, there was a dimensionality and substance to objects I'm not accustomed to seeing. Whereas Sony's VPL-XW5000 and 7000 can sometimes appear overly sharpened or processed, this is not the case with this model. It straddles a fine line between adding definition to objects, while producing more film-like images than its predecessors – both of which are decidedly more TV-like in appearance.

I opted to throw the VPL-XW6100ES into the HDR deep end with the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray of The Meg. Mastered at 4,000 nits, it's a challenging transfer for any display and can produce washed-out, if not downright unwatchable images on some projectors. Yet, the Sony delivered an admirable performance. I observed some gradients clipping, such as the clouds and sun, as the chopper sweeps out over the ocean at the start of the film, which is not uncommon with this transfer. Switching from Tone Mapping Mode 1 to Mode 3 alleviated much of the clipping and produced a punchier image with more depth.

Likewise, with the sub's red emergency lights, I observed some clipping with the HDR Enhancer turned on. In fairness, though, there's a high degree of clipping in the same scene on my reference Samsung S95C OLED, albeit to a lesser degree. It's a fleeting thing and pixel-peeping at its best, but I found turning HDR Enhancer off and using Tone Mapping Mode 3 most closely matched the images on my OLED. Subsequently tweaked for HDR, the VPL-XW6100ES delivered beautiful images – as with SDR, they were bright and punchy, while colour reproduction was superb.

Although this projector cannot reproduce the full P3 gamut, its coverage extends well beyond the SDR colour gamut. Everything from the yellow poles in the rig and even the reds of Jack's sneakers produced bright, bold and pleasing colours. It wasn't just the bright colours that caught my eye though, as the steel structure's silvers and greys were thoroughly convincing, as were the emerald tones of the ocean.

With the HDR transfer of The Apprentice on Disney+, it was apparent that streaming is still a strong suit for Sony. The previous range of X1 processors provided some of the sharpest-looking streamed content I have seen, but they are short of a dedicated video processor such as the Lumagen or madVR. Although it doesn't have the TV-like sharpness of the X1 Processor, the VPL-XW6100ES produced a wonderfully nuanced and detailed image.

THE VERDICT

After the monumental leap forward of the VPL-XW5000ES and VPL-XW7000ES, the VPL-XW6100ES caught me a little off guard. While I was expecting an incremental upgrade from the Japanese manufacturer, it is, in many ways, a very different machine. It creates some of the finest HDR imagery I have seen from any of Sony's projectors, and HDR does indeed boost image contrast – albeit at the cost of some clipping in shadow detail and high-level gradients. Most viewers are unlikely to notice and will be more than happy with the images it produces.

The addition of three selectable tone curves further enhances HDR images, although occasional manual intervention is needed to get the best images. The latter is my major gripe with the VPL-XW6100ES, but if you don't mind this, it produces beautiful HDR images. Priced as it is, it begs the question of whether you should purchase the VPL-XW6100ES or spend a little more for the now two-year-old VPL-XW7000ES. Unless you need 3D playback or brightness, my money's on this superb new model.

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