Customer Ratings & Reviews

My wife got this for me for my 40th birthday and I couldn't be happier. We reviewed many different units before settling on this one. These included the Epson 5030UB, Epson 3020e and a few others. I have a Playstation 3 hooked up to it and am projecting it onto a 100 inch powered screen. The picture is AMAZING!!! We have this in a room that has a fish tank with LED lighting, so some ambient light is unavoidable, but it seems to have very little negative effect. I have not changed any of the default Cinema 1 settings, as they seem to be perfect for the room that it is in. The picture is sharp and crisp. Whites are very white and blacks are deep black. If you are doing your homework, like we did, be sure to give this projector a second and even a third look!!

This projector was chosen to replace an older unit in a dedicated home theater. It was selected for features, color reproduction and picture quality. It excels in all these areas.

Before owning the Sony VPLHW40ES, I had the Epson 5030UB. They are both great projectors, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The key is to determine what is most important to you and then select the projector that best fits what you are looking for. In terms of picture quality, they are both excellent. Both produce very sharp images and brilliant colors. Because of the fact that the Epson has a Dynamic Iris, it provides deeper blacks than the Sony; if blacks is what you are looking for, the Epson does a slightly better job. However, I believe that the Sony provides a marginal smoother flow, feature that I value more than deeper blacks. In terms of noise levels, the Sony is quieter than the Epson. When they are in the low light setting (image still plenty bright so that is the mode that I used most of the times), none of them are bad, but the Sony is almost silent. The issue is when a high-light level setting is selected; at that time, the Sony still pretty quiet (it will not disturb you watching a movie) but the Epson's fan is significantly louder and can interfere with the dialog or low-music scenes in the movie. This will occur every time that you watch 3D since the projector will go to high-light automatically to produce brighter images. Also, because of the dynamic iris in the Epson, is possible to hear movements and adjustments made by the projector (similar to the noises that a hard drive makes while looking for information). The Sony does not have that issue. In terms of features, they are both very similar. The Epson has a few more adjustments that I did not find to be critical. In terms of 3D, they use different technology; the Sony uses IR (infra red) and the Epson uses RF (Radio Frequency). I have read that the prefer technology is the RF since supposedly avoids loosing the signal to the glasses. I did not try the 3D on the Epson projector so I can't comment on how it performed. However, I can comment on the 3D capability of the Sony and I can say that works great. I am using the Playstation 3 3D glasses ($10 at Amazon) and they work great. No matter where I sit in my media room (12 X 16), I have never lost connection between the projector and the glasses. For me, the low noise level was the most important factor to pick the Sony over the Epson. After a few weeks, I don't believe that I would remember the slight differences in picture quality or the smoother flow of one over the other; however, I believe that I would still notice Epson's higher fan noise in every movie that I watch going forward.

Out of the box picture is awesome, can calbrate but not necessary. Upgraded from a Sanyo PLZ-4 projector. Color, sharpness, brightness, quietness and black levels are all awesome. Watched Avatar in 3D and everyone who saw it couldn't believe how great it looks. Easy installation.

This projector is amazing! I had a Runco CLT-610, but after years of use, the color wheel failed. Was told that the repair would be upwards of $2k. Time to upgrade. Did my research and was tempted by an entry level 4k projector, but didn't want to spend the $10k-$20k+. Decided on the VPL-hw40ES. I won't go on about the contrast and accurate color and brightness. All of those were great right out of the box. I always thought the Runco was lacking in brightness. The Sony blows it away. The ONLY con for me is the keystone adjustment. I have the projector mounted on the ceiling 17ft from my Stewart Firehawk 130", 2.35:1 screen. Unless I am missing something, even with the keystone adjustment maxed out, the image is still a trapezoid, narrower at the top of the image than the bottom. I took the anamorphic lens from my Runco and placed it in front of the lens on the Sony, and it filled out my screen perfectly without any keystoning. Sony recommends placing the projector even with the center (vertically) of the screen. This wasn't practical for my home theater, so I will need to permanently mount the anamorphic lens in front of the Sony lens. BTW, I have no regrets that I did not get (nor could I afford) the 4k UHD projector. My whole family is thrilled with the new projector and we have already spent countless hours watching regular TV, live sports, and HD movies. Great value for the price (street price $1999 as of Jan 2015).

Tried Panasonic 8000. Lens memory was awesome, but convergence drifted quickly. The result was a blurry image with no way to correct by the user. Epsons are too noisy, and the picture and color accuracy was not competitive to the Sony. Only question centered around going with the 40, the 55, or the 4K models. Trying all I went with the 40 for the combination of performance, value, and widely available 4K content being a couple years away. 158 inch screen at 16.5 feet is extremely sharp. Color accuracy excellent. Very quiet fan. Get it now, and upgrade to 4K in the future with the money you save.

I thought my old Pro8100 was a light cannon but this one is much brighter. Set the lamp on economy mode and turned the brightness down. The picture is great right out of the box and I haven't taken the time to calibrate yet. Easy to set up and the fan is not noticeable.

This projector is fantastic! In its price point there are really only a couple competitors to it, the main one from a manufacturer that rhymes with stepson, now I spent alot of time researching both and found that the sony fit my needs more than the stepson. The sony doesn't have a dynamic iris but to be honest the black levels are really quite good. I'm a big believer in ultimate image quality (within reason, we could all spend way more $ on a projector for ultimate image quality) and have been very pleased with this projector. I have watched many blu ray movies on the projector, spent countless hours streaming content and played games off of the ps4 ps3 and xbox. My only issue with the projector is, well even as I write this I can't think of any issues with it. Sure it could have better contrast ratio etc but I'm quite happy with the image it puts out especially for the price range.

Awesome quality, compatible with PS3 3D glasses. I have Sony 55 inch XBR 3D TV, PS3 monitor, and bought this HD projector. They are all compatible with my PS3 3D glasses and no need to get new glasses. The colors are vibrant, awesome black levels, full 1080p HD quality, the 3D is amazing. With a 150 inch projector screen and 3D, it is like I have a mini IMAX theater in my living room.

I spent months reviewing, auditioning and researching projectors for our theater. I couldn't justify 10K for a decent entry point into the 4K market, but this 1080P projector delivers such an immersive visual experience right out of the box that the 8K premium for a UHD projector would seem like a complete waste of money. There is a new version of this projector coming out in May 2016. It's supposed to rewrite the playbook on 1080P projectors from Sony. That said, I couldn't be happier with this purchase. Everyone that comes over to view it can not believe the contrast, color reproduction, depth and sharpness of the picture. My only advice for those looking at projectors, make sure you have the throw distance required, and mount the projector parallel with the ceiling using the built in lens shift to dial it in. This projector is significantly better than the Epson competitor.

Picture quality and depth is exceptional. Brilliant colors.

Love this project clear picture, quiet operation and easy setup.

great projector The picture is great and easy to set up

I am using this on a 120" screen from 19 feet which is at the limit of the adjustment range and have no complaints. Stunning color. Very good black levels. Crisp full HD picture. The unit works perfectly with a Harmony Remote. No issues shutting down (my old pj would sometimes restart). Highly recommended.

This is an amazing projector for the price! I researched and viewed other projectors for more money and they don't even come close. I'm using 110in screen and my family and I love it great picture quality , easy set up and has 3D built in so need to purchase extra equipment other than 3D glasses if you are in the market for a projector and don't to spend 5k + then you want to go in to best-buy and check it out.

I love it. Perfect for living room or movie room super bright and super quiet. Most of my friends thinks it's a 4k projector I have it matched with a black diamond screen zero edge 92"

This projector has brought theater quality to my theater room. It is a beast for sure, and is incredibly hefty and heavy, but the picture quality is worth it. The blacks are so dark and the whites are so bright. I haven't noticed any color shifting or rainbowing or any issues with picture at all.

Good picture and color. Images are very clear and I would reccomend this projector to others.

Very clear and works great on a 110 inch screen. Easy set Also great playing PS4 call of duty !!! NO LAG TIME AT ALL

This projector shows quality pictures. It is the first time I bought a projector and it is a great buy.