Optoma – with its brand new UHD51A 4K UHD projector, is one of the first projector manufacturers to offer up a smart projector design for the mainstream of the market. This projector is 4K capable using the the smaller/less expensive of the two 4K UHD resolution DLP chips.
The secret sauce – if you will, the smarts – is supporting Alexa (and also Goggle Assistant) which I’ll go into at length in this review. Optoma put their “home theater” color wheel in this projector, but still manages to claim 2400 lumens, more than other 4K UHD projectors with similar wheels. (Hint, the UHD51A did not meet its brightness claim, but is comparable to the competition).
The UHD51A is $1699 list price, be aware, also that it has an almost identical twin, the UHD50, this is only $1399. With the UHD51A, it’s those smarts that you are paying for, with the difference in list price. (I suspect the selling prices will be closer to each other).
Optoma UHD51A Specs
Price
$3199
Technology
DLP
Native Resolution
3840x2160
Brightness (Manufacturer Claim)
2400
Contrast
500,000:1, 500000:1
Zoom Lens Ratio
1.30:1
Lens Shift
No
Lamp Life
4000 hours
Weight
11.8
Warranty
2 years
Overview
Meantime, with the UHD51A, you should expect a very sharp image on 1080p and lower resolution content, and even sharper with 4K content. There is little difference in sharpness at normal seating distances between projectors using the two different chips, and they are all very close in sharpness to the least expensive true 4K projectors (but not high end ones). In the world of more expensive lenses (lenses costing a lot more than this projector), you might buy a little more sharpness, but you also get more clarity – a clearer image (as if a film was removed from in front of the image).
The feature set is better almost all of the other 4K UHD DLPs in the price range, but that’s fair, as it is one of the most expensive using the 1920x1080x4 pixel shifting chip.
The difference between the two relates to the smarts and Wifi. The UHD51A comes with the wireless module which is not available for the UHD50. So you are getting the smart tech, and the wireless to make it work. And of course the wireless has other uses besides Alexa... If you don’t need the fancy, the UHD50 will save you enough money for a very good 4K Blu-ray UHD player, or a couple of years of Netflix subscription.
Photo of 4K UHD content - Passengers - on the Starship Avalon, image is very crisp and sharp without any major edge sharpening artifacts
Very good skin tones are no problem for the UHD51A projector - post calibration.
Rich and vibrant outdoor scenes are a strength of the UHD51A projector
The Blacklist - 4K UHD content streamed from Netflix
1080 resolution sports look just fine. CFI works nicely, image sharp, but no match for 4K content.
3D and smooth motion – a.k.a. Creative Frame Interpolation are both found on the UHD51A, add the WiFi to that, and the modest amount of lens shift, and without looking further, you have the best equipped of the 4K UHD DLP projectors (that using the smaller, less expensive chip). Now I would have loved to see a good dynamic iris, but you can’t have everything at this price point, considering this is the pricing range for “entry level” 4K content capable projectors.
The images in this player start out with some 4K content from Blu-ray UHD movies (Passengers, Ghostbusters, Journey To Space, followed by some 1080p and 1080i content (movies and HDTV). The last image is 4K content streamed from Netflix (Red from The Blacklist), which looks great in 4K although not HDR content.
4K content from Journey To Space - stunning approaching Mars
Still a very impressive projector from Optoma so let’s get this review moving forward with the quick list of Highlights, then the Special Features... -art
Highlights
4K UHD resolution (the smaller, of the two DLP chips) Large pixels, but achieves 4K UHD by pixel shifting: 1920x1080 x4
Supports HDR (high dynamic range), and larger color space
Smart – Alexa compatible – Google Assistant too
2400 claimed lumens with a “home theater” RGBRGB color wheel
1.3:1 manual zoom lens
Comes with Wifi module (plugs into one of the 3 USB ports
Modest amount of lens shift (15%)
CFI for smooth motion
Built in speakers (5 watt x 2)
3D
Built in media player plays 4K videos
Control slideshow using Alexa commands
For those not needing Wifi or Alexa type smarts you can
The WUXGA resolution VPL-PHZ10 projector is one of Sony’s two newest laser projectors. These LaserLite models are billed as the first affordable laser projectors for business and education. The other model is the VPL-PWZ10 which is very similar, but lower resolution of WXGA (1280x800). Both have some impressively high list prices, but Sony reports that these two new laser projectors should street price right around $3000 for this PHZ10, while the PWZ10 should street for about $2199. The lower cost PWZ10 should start shipping in August while this model, the VPL-PHZ10 is scheduled to ship first - in June, in line with the Display industry’s big Infocomm show).
For our review we were provided with an engineering sample of the VPL-PHZ10 projector. As such, we understand there will be a number of minor changes, and fixes. Still, this sample performed extremely well on all the usual types of content. The feature set is impressive, and virtually everything seems to be fully functional on the demo, although we, as usual, do not test LAN networking.
OVERVIEW OF THE VPL-PHZ10 PROJECTOR, AND POSITIONING
I was particularly interested in bringing in one of these Sony laser projectors early, because I see them as serious players in the education marketplace, especially higher ed and specialty (such as museums), and wanted to review in time for our May annual Best Education Projectors report (this is a link to last year’s).
This review is focused on the VPL-PHZ10, but a shorter “First Look” review for the PWZ10 will also be created, that one will just consider the differences, and how that relates to the competition, but will reference this review for more details (no point in duplicating all the content where both projectors are indentical. For example – both have exactly the same menus, and remote control.
Let’s continue this overview, then get into the highlights of the projector, and then turn the pages for
A closer look at a number of special features.
A Tour of the hardware and menus
Picture Quality, including color handling, black levels and general related
Performance – our measurements for brightness in the various modes, and “light engine” settings (Standard, Medium, Low)
Summary, including, overall value proposition, competition, Pros and Cons
It was the early info on these projectors, which I received under NDA (non-disclosure agreement), that inspired my Feb 2017 article on “Affordable laser projectors” Publication of that article was delayed slightly until the official Sony announcement of these projectors, so I could talk about them in the article.
Until now, for the most part, street prices on laser projectors have been upward of $5000, making $2199 and $3000 street prices a major game changer. It should be noted that unlike most far more expensive laser projectors, these two Sonys have a good range zoom lens, but no optional lenses. That helps keep the price tag down.
The question is how well these models will do, in taking business from even lower cost, non-laser projectors with similar features other than the light source. My article touches on that a bit. In fairness, there are relatively dim LED projectors out there for far less (small affairs often called pico or pocket projectors, but the brightest of those top out at 1000 lumens these days. There’s also Casio, who has made “affordable solid state projectors” for more than half a decade. The Casios cost well less than the Sonys, but although a good bit brighter than the pocket projectors, they tend to measure in the 2000 lumen range or less – still a good bit less than most lamp based projectors.
The short version is, here are 5000 lumen projectors with networking, some features that are typically found only on laser projectors, but otherwise, these models look very much like typical lower cost fixed install projectors.
Sony, which uses all three technologies (DLP, 3LCD, LCoS) depending on the class of projector chose 3LCD for these two models. We’ll circle back to that, later, when defining and comparing to the competition. Suffice to say, if you go with one of these, you are definitely paying a premium for the laser light engine, BUT – when all else is pretty equal, you may be surprised by how little extra. Think less than $1000 more than a lamp based equivalent – but the lamp models will have some limitations, lack some features that are more practical on solid state projectors.
SONY VPL-PHZ10 HIGHLIGHTS
Manual Zoom lens: 1.45:1
Vertical and Horizontal lens shift ( Vertical: unequal +20% to 55%), Horiz: +/-10%
Size and weight – 19 lbs, roughly 20 inches wide – a bit large for portable use, more typical for fixed install, or room to room
20,000 hours at full, 14,000 at constant brightness? Or use medium power for 20,000 at constant 4500 lumens claimed
HDBaseT – allows HDMI, command and control, audio to be run over long distances on inexpensive CAT cable
Relatively quiet
Self cleaning filter (every 100 hours)
360 degree operation (common in museums, digital signage.)
Pocket sized remote control (no laser on board)
Built in 16 watt speaker
OK, time to turn the page to explore some of these features in greater detail.
The HD91 is the first reasonably serious, LED light source projector for the dedicated home theater or cave. It absolutely needs to be calibrated, but after that, the picture is pretty impressive.
