Sony VPL-VW915ES 4K SXRD Laser Projector Review - Hardware 2

Sony VPL-VW915ES 4K SXRD Laser Projector Review - Hardware 2: Remote Control, Menus, Audible Noise

The VW915ES includes Sony’s standard backlit projector remote control. Since it is larger than many projector’s remote controls, the buttons are larger and well-spaced. You can use dedicated buttons to quickly switch between the Calibrated Picture Presets. To make quick fine adjustments to the image, there are buttons to directly access many of picture quality settings in including MotionFlow, Color Temp, and Gamma Correction.

Have direct access to the HDR Contrast Enhancer via a dedicated button is especially useful when viewing HDR materials. It makes it quick and easy to switch between the High, Mid, and Low settings to adjust the look of HDR content.

Sony uses a common menu system across its full lineup of Home Theater Projectors. While Sony has not changed the look and feel of their menus in years, as new features and capabilities are added to Sony projectors, extra menu items appear to control them.

Of course, higher-end models projectors like the laser-based VW915ES have more menus because of more features. For example, VW915ES menus for Lens Memory which it supports, while the VW295ES does not.

Several on the settings like Contrast can be adjusted independently for SDR and HDR content. If the setting is different for HDR, the setting's name will indicate it for example (HDR) CONTRAST and HDR CONTRAST ENHANCER.

Just about everything relating to the picture and color is on the primary Picture menu. The Menu positions are adjustable (best to move them out of the dead center). The type is slightly on the small side, but not enough to be a problem at any normal seating distance. Overall, the menus are well thought out/organized.

Sony claims the VW915ES is a very quiet 24 dB which is quiet.   The fan is variable. Reduce the overall brightness of the projector and the fan noise further decreases.  We do not measure audible noise, but even at full power, it is significantly quieter than just about any other projector that has come through here in the past few years with the exception of the JVC NX7 I reviewed earlier.

The unit’s fan intakes are on the front flanking the lens and the units exhaust vents are located along the rear. This further reduces noise, if the VW915ES is mounted behind you, as it is in my room. Whether in a dedicated home theater, or a media room, it is very unlikely you will notice the nicely low-pitched background fan noise.