Sony VPL-HW30ES review

There was very little to complain about at the projector’s default settings, but there was still a little room for improvement using the comprehensive menu options. The sensibly laid out remote control provides complete control over all the important functions, so you won’t have to reach for the controls on the projector itself. The controller also lights up, so you’ll be able to find the right button even when the lights are off.

As we expected, the HW30ES shone when it came to 3D playback. Every scene we tried popped out of the screen – the effect was almost cinema-quality, with hardly any noticeable cross-talk, but we did spot a few issues. Because you have to wear active shutter glasses, you’ll need to turn off all the lights in the room before watching, as the glasses can be particularly sensitive to ambient lighting at their standard refresh rate, leading to flicker. Interestingly, the all-important 3D transmitter dongle connects to the projector with an Ethernet cable rather than wirelessly – this could get messy if you don’t have a way of channelling cables around your room, particularly if you want to ceiling-mount the projector.

You can buy the HW30ES without the 3D kit bundled with the package we reviewed, but this will work out as more expensive once you’ve bought the 3D accessories. The kit comes with two pairs of USB-rechargeable active-shutter glasses, a mains adaptor to juice them up after a film session, and the 3D transmitter – you’ll just need an inexpensive network cable and you’re good to go.

Unless you take your movies very seriously, it’s difficult to justify spending over £3,000 on Sony calls an ‘entry-level’ home cinema product – the HW30ES certainly isn’t aimed at the casual viewer, and you should really only consider it if you have a large room and dedicated sound system to make the most of the experience. However, if that sounds like you, there’s little doubt that this is one of the best projectors we’ve seen all year.