Best in Class – $5000-$25,000 Performance Home Theater: Sony VPL-VZ1000ES

The Sony VPL-VZ1000ES was the Best Performance Award winner in the $8,000+ class in last year’s Best Home Theater Projectors Report, and it’s no surprise that this year, it tied for Best Performance Award with the Sony VPL-VW885ES. This $24,995 true 4K projector is a unique breed, with a laser light engine and ultra short throw design. Its 2,500 claimed lumens makes this projector just as at home in your living room as it would be in your home theater – just pair the VZ1000ES with a proper ALR screen and you’re good to go.

That the Sony VPL-VZ1000ES can be used in rooms with less-than-ideal lighting conditions is a major plus in favor of this projector. Media rooms, master bedrooms, living rooms and family rooms could all make use of the Sony, and with the ultra short throw design, the projector can sit on a low table or credenza within inches of the screen, tucked out of the way. If you got custom work done, the projector could even be hidden from view completely, set into a cabinet.

Speaking of 4K, it has all the trimmings – both types of HDR: HDR10 standard and HLG – Hybrid Log-Gamma, which is the newer HDR designed specifically for 4K streaming. This is a projector that also has no problem handling the P3/BT.2020 color space, rivaling the best of the other projectors tackling the same, for some of the richest, most intense colors you can get at home. That it has a laser light engine makes those colors even more vibrant and impressive.

The Sony’s black level performance is extremely good, but we expected no less. Black frames turn off the laser light engine, aiding in that regard. As for viewing, it has plenty of power for sports in moderate ambient light, even when used with a standard screen versus a UST ALR screen, which would be ideal. Art said the VZ1000ES is the best picture he’s ever seen in his theater, aside from Sony’s own VW5000ES, their $60K flagship. That’s high praise!

A thing to note is that, because the VZ1000ES is an ultra short throw, the ALR screen used with it will not be able to reject ambient light coming from the side, only light coming from above. This will be something to consider when using the projector in a living room or media room where there is ambient light present. In my reviews, I tend to tell people to pick up some blackout curtains if they find that their room is too bright for the projector – these curtains really do work wonders.