Sony VPL-VW60 Home Theater Projector Review: Overview and Physical Attributes

Sony VPL-VW60 Projector Highlights:

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• 1080p native resolution home theater projector
• Almost identical to previous model - Sony Pearl VW50, including very flexible placement
• Very film-like
• Average lamp life
• Out of the box color is not good, needs serious adjustment
• Average brightness in "best" movie mode, below average brightness overall
• Flexible in terms of placement with 1.8:1 zoom and lens shift
• Black levels and shadow detail improve only slightly vs VW50, however they are better than any other sub-$5000 1080p projector tested so far
• An excellent projector value for those primarily seeking best movie viewing or for general use on small to medium sized screens

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Sony's VPL-VW60 home theater projector is definitely a serious contender in the market. Although priced about $1200 - $1700 higher than the "entry level" 1080p projectors, it has the picture quality to justify the cost difference, and then some. The VW60's real competion in terms of performance are all projectors listing for $6000 or more (that's at least 50% higher). Where the Sony is not stellar, is in brightness. It is barely average in its best mode, but when you need a "bright mode" with every last lumen a projector can muster, to tackle some ambient light, the Sony becomes one of the very least bright projectors out there. We'll go into this more in the General Performance Section when we talk about brightness, and also screen recommendations, and again, on the summary page of the Sony VS60 review.

Last year when I reviewed the Sony VW50 (often called "The Pearl"), I was most impressed. The Sony not only delivered excellent black levels and shadow detail (second only to the JVC RS1), but a gorgeous, overall, picture quality. It was one of the best projectors yet, and provided that "film-like" quality, when watching movies.