Projector Central just hooked up the Sony VW50, affectionately dubbed "The Pearl" and they've come back with some positive results. But it ain't the king.

Sure, it is one of the only 1080p projectors coming in at less than five grand. But the image is softer than they'd like at full res. What it's great at is shooting a contrasty image (15,000 to 1 ratio), having deep black levels, and being vewy vewy quiet. Oh, its a bit portly, and without a horizontal lens shift, you have to place it dead center to your screen or deal with digital resizing of the picture (blurry time).

So, it earns second place in their rankings for 1080p sets under $5k.

I know you're dying to know which they liked more. Jump!

Suplise!

Mitsubishi's HC5000 looks like the better deal.

It's sharper, and brighter. It has less contrast, but has a sharper image. It comes in a few hundred cheaper at ~$4500. And has both vertical and horizontal lens shifting for placing the projector off center, and still getting an even image. It does not have a snappy nickname like the pearl, however. –Brian Lam

Sony VW50 Pearl [Projector Central]
Mitsubish HC5000 [Projector Central]

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