Sony Ultra Short Throw Projector: Hands-On

sony-ultrashort-throw-projector-ces2014-demo-006 In a corner of Sony’s CES Booth, the company was demonstrating inspirational home electronics like a huge 147-inch projected 4K image, a projected table computer, or innocuous display art on the wall. While everything was interesting, the star of the show was this ultra short throw projector that can project a very nice 147 inch image on a nearby wall, from a distance of about 1 or 2 feet.

The design of this projector is neat and extremely attractive to those who like modern design: the projector takes the form of a cabinet that encases the electronics of course, but also provide some storage etc. Some modules seem to be optional if you need a smaller size, but this could basically be placed wherever there is a clean wall available and it will project an awesome-looking -enormous- image. The furniture piece also hides the audio system which sounded really good during the demo, but this could arguably be replaced by your own surround setup.

Of course, this is more about design than it is about image quality. Although the image looks great, a projector can’t beat a similarly sized TV in terms of image quality. Sony’s BRAVIA televisions will look significantly better. However, no television can be integrated in such a beautiful way. I worked in computer graphics for more than a decade and I love imaging and imaging device, and I’m having a very hard time to decide between the amazing design integration of this short-throw projector and the equally amazing image quality of the latest TVs at CES. In the end, I would probably go for the TV, but if budget would allow, I really want a room with this projector.

And this is where the problem lies: budget. At this point, this kind of setup is expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars ($40,000?), so my wallet has vetoed this option. I’m not sure how the cost breaks down, but the 4K projector is no doubt a big chunk of it. I would love to see Sony propose a 1080p version of this for a much lower price, but since the company is going all in with 4K, I doubt that a 1080p version of such a luxurious setup will appear. What do you think?