X1 PROCESSOR FOR PROJECTORS

Sony has always stressed that superior processing separates its 4K video displays from the competition. No matter what content you’re watching – HDR movies, HDTV broadcast, or even web videos, it’s the video display processor that analyzes, cleans, and refines the image.

It takes more than specs and fancy parts to guarantee exceptional picture quality. The quality of the 4K panel, DCI-P3 color filters, dynamic iris, and laser source are less important than how they are used. Many projectors/TVs with “better” specs are outperformed by a lesser-equipped display with a better brain.

Quality components are the ingredients and the video processor is the excellent recipe that extracts their maximum performance for an optimal viewing experience.

HDR is growing in popularity. However, it is exceptionally challenging to reproduce HDR content on a projector. HDR content contains information that far exceeds a standard home theater projector’s capabilities, so a massive leap in video processing horsepower is required.

In 2016, Sony introduced the flagship Z9D flat-panel TV with a powerful new processor called the X1. In 2020, Sony began introducing projector models that feature a version of that X1 processor optimized for projectors.

Thanks to that X1 processor’s power, Sony 4K Home Theater projectors feature their exclusive Reality Creation technology that analyzes HD, 4K, and HDR content frame by frame to enhance detail, colors, and detail.

The Reality Creation powered by the X1 processor ensures that Full HD is upscaled close to 4K quality. Theatrical films must be compressed to fit on a 4.7GB Blu-ray disc. Sony claims their decades of experience making movies combined with their deep understanding of MPEG compression allows them to restore content removed to fit on the disk intelligently.

Every pixel is analyzed and matched to a picture patterning database compiled over a decade expertise to enhance colors, contrast, and textures.

Of all the benefits of the X1 processor, the most notable is the Dynamic HDR Enhancer feature which dramatically improves the look of HDR content. Thanks to the Dynamic HDR Enhancer, Sony’s newest home theater projectors can analyze HDR content scene by scene for precise dynamic tone mapping. This enhanced HDR feature analyzes each scene to deliver the best contrast performance when viewing HDR content, making the bright scenes brighter and the dark scenes darker.

In addition, on a laser-based Sony projector, the X1 processor combines scene-by-scene HDR tone mapping with a dynamic iris and precisely modulated laser light source to deliver an even bigger improvement in HDR reproduction.

In addition to a rated brightness of 10,000 lumens, 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, and a 16;000:1 native contrast, the flagship Sony VPL-GTZ380 is also equipped with an even bigger brain. The X1 Ultimate processor is likely the most powerful video processor ever used in a home theater projector.

Originally designed for Sony’s state-of-the-art Master Series LCD and OLED flat-panel televisions, the X1 Ultimate processor adds two additional processing features. 

First, is Object-based HDR Remaster which analyzes and adjusts the colors and contrast of individual objects on the screen. So, while some projectors can adjust contrast frame by frame, this is accomplished along a single contrast curve. The X1 Ultimate adjusts each object in each frame individually using multiple contrast curves per frame. This results in greater depth, richer textures, and an even more realistic HDR image. 

For even better 4K upscaling the X1 Ultimate allows Dual Database Processing. Two powerful image improvement databases work together, dynamically improving images in real-time. 4K X-Reality PRO™ upscales images to near 4K clarity while a second database cleans the picture and reduces on-screen noise. 

By combining high-quality components with powerful processing, Sony continues to improve the HD, 4K, and HDR image quality of their home theater projectors.