Sony launches first Bravia LCD projectors

Sony has announced its first Bravia series projectors, here at its 2007 Tech Event today. The two 3-LCD models have been designed to use in normal lighting conditions - there's no need to sit in the dark to watch the movie, the company says.

Key to this ability is the Bravia projectors' 1300 ANSI lumens brightness, plus a brace of technologies that prevent light leakage, and improve contrast ratios - the flagship VPL-AW15, for example, features a High Contrast Plate in the LCD array, and Advanced Iris 2 which claims to deliver 12,000: 1 contrast. Sony has also developed a new projector screen - DynaClear which comes with a special coating that stops ambient light bouncing off the screen, so washing out the picture. We've seen it in action and it works really well.

Both projectors - the VPL-AW15 and the less well specified VPL-AW10 - are capable of displaying 720p high def images up to two metres across and are 1080p compatible - so you can use them with a Blu-ray player, or PlayStation 3 for example. Throw distance is a reasonable 2.3 metres. Naturally they both come with HDMI inputs as well as other connections.

Finally, both Bravia projectors come with Sony's own 24p True Cinema which has been developed in conjunction with the Sony Pictures film studio. The aim is to deliver a more natural, film-like image, enabling you to see the movie as the director originally intended.

Tech specs for Bravia projectors are given below:

VPL-AW15

• Panel: 1.9cm 720p (1280 x 780) LCD panel x 3
• Brightness: 1,300 lumens
• Contrast ratio: Up to 12,000:1
• 24p True Cinema: yes
• Lens Shift Function: yes (0.65V; 0.25H)
• Fan noise: 20dB (lamp mode low)
• Lamp: 165W Ultra High Pressure Lamp
• Lens: 1.6X zoom/focus ARC-F (All Range Crisp Focus)
• Advanced Iris: Advanced Iris 2
• High Contrast Plate: yes
• HDMI: yes

VPL-AW10

• Panel: 1.9cm 720p (1280 x 780) LCD panel x 3
• Brightness: 1,300 lumens
• Contrast ratio: Up to 6,000:1
• 24p True Cinema: yes
• Lens Shift Function: no
• Fan noise: 20dB (lamp mode low)
• Lamp: 165W Ultra High Pressure Lamp
• Lens: 1.6X zoom/focus
• Advanced Iris: Advanced Iris
• High Contrast Plate: no
• HDMI: yes