Sony VPL-HW50ES - Competitors 3

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Art Feierman

Sony VPL-HW50ES vs. Panasonic PT-AE7000 and PT-AE8000

Well, I haven't had a chance to review the PT-AE8000 despite having seen it close up at my place briefly. The PT-AE8000 is an upgraded PT-AE7000, with a few extras, and more brightness, but we'll save that comparison for the PT-AE8000 review when it arrives.

Let's consider the PT-AE7000 vs. the Sony HW50 projector.

Once again, as with the Epson 5010, we have a lower cost projector (LCD) that is a direct competitor.

Sony VPL-HW50ES vs. Runco LS5

The Runco LS5 is the evolution of Planar's old 8150 projector. With Planar owning Runco for the last couple plus years, the LS5 has some really good image processing. The picture tends to look right.

The thing is, the same could be said for the Sony, as far as color accuracy, and overall picture. Also the Sony will have the black level advantage and a longer warranty.

To rationalize the Runco at almost twice the price, isn't extremely difficult, it will likely still have that feel of a bit more pop to the image that DLP's do so well, and the whole point about Runco has been about service and support, with a very highly trained group of local integrators/dealers.