Sony VW285ES Review

Kenn Muguna Avatar

Written by:

Updated 11:23 pm

Expert Rating

91

Despite being on the higher end of the price scale, the Sony VPL-VW285ES is a marvel for any movie enthusiast that wants to bring the cinematic experience right into their living room. Its 4K Ultra HD resolution is aided by other technologies such as its Triluminos Display, which brings out true-to-life colors and tones. If you’d like to see another high-quality, 4K, projector, take a look at our Acer VL7860 4K Projector review. The projector also supports the viewing of HDR content which makes it great for gaming, and has a lamp that grants up to 6000 hours of lamp life (in low lamp mode). Is this enough to rank it among the best projectors in 2020? Stick with this review to find out. If you’re looking for a slightly cheaper high performing projector, consider the BenQ W1500 instead. If you’re doing a presentation you’ll want to read our Logitech Professional Presenter R800 review.

Why We Like It – Sony VW285ES

The Sony VPL-VW285ES is a great choice for anyone that is looking for a home theater projector that is capable of playing High Dynamic Range content at a native 4K Ultra HD resolution. With a lamp life of 6000 hours, this is sure to be a long-term buy that’ll keep running for a while before you start doing any maintenance. For a slightly more expensive projector, take a look at the Acer H6517st review.

Pros
  • Long lamp life in eco mode
  • Quiet projector
  • High brightness at 1500 lumens
Cons
  • No Dynamic Iris to improve black scenes
  • No lens memory

Performance

Sony has gained a reputation as one of the brands that’s doing a lot to push down the costs of its high-quality 4K projectors, and the VPL-VW285ES Sony is one such example. But, if you compare Sony vs Epson projectors, you’ll see the big price difference. The home theater projector comes equipped with a brightness of up to 1500 lumens which is great for viewing even in ambient lighting, but not enough to compete with the Optoma HD29 Darbee at 3200 lumens.

Even though Sony didn’t disclose its contrast ratio, we could see that this UHD HDR projector had great black levels, as its black colors appeared deep and well saturated, even in the absence of dynamic iris (a feature that improves the handling of black scenes). The projector also has a motorized 2.6x zoom lens, which allows for easier adjusting of the picture according to your wall space.

Related: If you like this projector, you might be interested in our Sony VPL HW40ES Projector review.

Design

Like most Sony projectors, the Sony VW285ES comes coated in a dark grey finish, with the Sony Logo sitting well on its upper side. It doesn’t look as good as the BenQ TK800, but it does offer a whole lot more than its formidable competitor. Near the front of the projector’s side, we have a control panel that consists of a power button, an input button, a menu button, and a joystick for easier navigation. The projector also has a good range of input options, with 2 HDMI inputs that both support high dynamic range and 4K content, an RS-232 port, a LAN port for networking, a USB port, and an IR in the sensor for the remote control.

Value

One of the things that the Sony VPL-VW285ES offers as one of its best capabilities is its MotionFlow menu, which allows you to reduce the amount of blur and judder that you experience when viewing your content. In addition to that, you’ll also be able to determine how long your lamp lasts depending on the lamp mode that you choose. The low lamp mode allows you to go the longest period at 6000 hours, but it doesn’t come close to that of the Optoma HD143X at 8000 hours.

If this mode doesn’t give you enough brightness though, you can also go for picture preset modes such as Cinema Film 1 for the highest brightness level, and Cinema Film 2 for 4K content and HDR. There’s also a reference mode that provides a good baseline that you can use to compare and decide between the different modes.

Related: Also check out our Topvision Mini Projector review.

Sony VW285ES Wrap Up

This home theater projector may cost a bit more than most people are prepared to shell out, but it does deliver very sharp pictures due to its 4K UHD resolution. The projector is great even for day viewing, and could actually end up being an amazing substitute for your TV in the long run.

Kenn Muguna Avatar