Sony - Premium 4K HDR Home Theater Projector - Black

ACTUALLY, I would give this an "overall" rating of 4.5 stars because it is more expensive than most all the other pixel shifting 4k projectors out there. Because when you are in the market for 4k and SO many projectors manufacturers say "4k" and are much cheaper, one begins to believe that this must be a high price point to pay. But the others are frankly deceiving the buyer. They are not projecting a 4k image natively but playing with a 1080 HD image -- they are using 2 megapixel chips and shifting them to appear like 4k. But the Sony 325 is NOT pixel shifting. It is true 4k. Every single pixel of your 8 megapixel (4k) image is thrown to your screen at the same moment without the micro lag of pixel shifting and slight refined detail that removes. It does not shift a mirror thousands of times a second to make the same scene appear 4k. Thus the extra $$$ in the Sony. But it still may come as a sticker shock to the undiscerning. Picture quality in a light controlled room is just stunning. Colors, clarity and detail are more amazing than I expected. I replaced a Panasonic PT-AE7000U which was a great 1080p projector in its day. It not only had lens memory but it AUTOMATICALLY adjusted to 2.35 aspect ration from 16:9 when the input signal was detected. I am kind of disappointed that the Sony 325 does not auto adjust nor does it even have a memory for keeping the adjustments you make. And yet it is motorized! A simple software addition would have accomplished this, but Sony left it out to separate this model from it's 10k cousin. But that said, it's 10k cousin has the same processor and this unit produces a beautiful picture! And even without memory, switching between widescreen modes is not really that difficult (3 or 4 quick button pushes and you are there --first world problems!). Set up is easy out of the box. Picture looked fantastic. But then if one wants, sub-screen focusing can be calibrated in small quadrants. So if your edges seem soft or your screen surface is not perfect, you can go in a re-focus just those areas to get your image perfect from side to side, top to bottom. Much more than just a universal screen focus adjustment. But give yourself about :45 min to accomplish this. I have attached a couple of photos by my iPhone. Mind you it is sooo hard to justify an image taken by a phone. Just know in real life, the clarity and colorimetry of these photos is 20x better. And finally, lets talk "lumens" of brightness. You will find pixel shifting projectors saying 2000 lumens, or 3500 lumens. And the Sony 325 is only 1500 lumens and costs so much more? From what I understand and have been told, Sony are purists. and perhaps honest. They measure the brightness of lumens with a meter back by the lens...but pointed to the screen! It measures the reflective brightness that your eyes would see! The other manufactures, often just aim the meter at the bulb from the screen and look directly at the lens. Have you ever stood in front of a projector and stared into it...its blinding. Reflected light is much more an accurate reading. Not sure how accurate all of that is, but if it is true, then no wonder my screen looks way brighter than my Panasonic ever did even though it had a higher lumen rating that the Sony 325 does. That is my take on it. If you get it...enjoy it!

The Sony projection picture is sharp, detailed and provides an excellent addition to our theater room. We are in the final stages of completing the room, but the Sony projector makes it all worthwhile!

Upgraded from the 40es to this 325es and is worth the jump! It may not be the new laser model but with a steep discount as open box item, the trade off was worth it .. great deal BB and great sales service

Amaxing picture quality. Contrast is superb, Its alsmost OLED level. The projector is also able to upscale 1080p content very well. Removing 1 star as thr brighness is not up to the mark,

I have other 4k flat screens and the picture on this projector in a light controlled room blows the flats panels away. Extreme detail is visible with lifelike motion in action scenes. It costs as much as some used cars, but since I plan to hold on to this for a decade and use it for the whole family it was a worth while purchase even at the high cost. You have to pay to play when it comes to a true non pixel shifting 4k projector.Sony continues to lead the way with the best TV tech out there.

Projector has to be staright in the middle. Cant be placed on the side of the room

First off let me start by saying that I come from owning many high-end tvs. I currently own a 75 inch Q90. This however takes the movie theater experience to another level. The colors are rich and vibrant with excellent black levels. Now it's no OLED, but the contrast still far exceeds that of any other projector I've seen even at premium theaters. I'm projecting this onto a 115" 1.0 Gain CineGrey screen from about 12.5 feet using a ceiling mount. Everyone who sees the image is impressed by the excellent detail and vibrant image. Don't let the 1500 lumens scare you away. If in a light controlled environment I still get groans from my friends regarding night-to-day transitions. I considered getting the JVC NX5 but decided on my previous experiences with Sony plus their outstanding image processing (and much cheaper replacement bulbs) and I'm not disappointed with my choice at all. --The next portion pertains to my experience with Best Buy obtaining this product-- The only issue I experience with this product was not anything to do with the product, but with how hard it was to get it from Best buy. I waited what ended up being over a month, drove 2 hours to be told it wasn't actually there, switched to online order to 2 days later be told that it wasn't available. This was a no fault of the team at my local store who did everything they could for me, but it still felt like a disappointment they told me it wasn't available when I could find multiple stores with it in stock. I spent many days on the phone trying to get these stores to ship it from me and fulfill my order as I know they can (prior employee of the company) without any help or effort being made. I eventually took matters into my own hands and set store pick up for one of the stores in Los Angeles and had a friend pick it up from there which was another fight because you couldn't add someone to the online order for pickup but eventually received the product. All this when several other competitors had it available with free two day shipping.

Great unit and installed in a breeze. Easy navigation. Only compromise is no lens memory