Posted on November 25, 2014 By Ron Jones
The VPL-CH375 is a new classroom and conference room projector from Sony. It has a bright 5000 lumens specification and Sony indicates this model is ideal for Education, Visitor Attractions and Museums, Corporate Presentations, and Public Sector. Sony also offers a less expensive (i.e., $2399) model VPL-CH355 with lower light output (4000 lumens). While certainly larger and heavier than “portable” business projectors, the VPL-CH375 is still compact enough that it can easily be moved between conference rooms or classrooms as needed and its high light output easily makes this model more capable of dealing with room lighting and/or larger screen sizes. Also it has WUXGA resolution (1920 x 1200 pixels) providing a much sharper image than what we have come to expect from those more common business projectors offering lower WXGA resolution (e.g., 1200 x 768).
The most similar recent Sony model that we previously reviewed was the VPL-FH30, that was reviewed in July 2013 (review – HERE). That earlier model had the same WUXGA resolution, with a somewhat lower 4300 lumens specification, also using 3LCD technology, but at a higher $4810 retail price. However, this VPL-CH375 gives up some capabilities, such as support for interchangeable lenses, that is found on the more expensive VPL-FH30.
The Sony VPL-CH375 is a high brightness (5000 lumen rating), high resolution (WUXGA – 1920 X 1200) 3LCD projector that is targeted for use both in a large venues (e.g., auditorium) or smaller conference rooms or classrooms where high brightness is needed to overcome significant room lighting. It includes the essential signal inputs for connecting to PCs (or Macs), video sources and networks. It also includes a connection for HDBaseT, which is gaining popularity for distribution of audio and video signals in commercial installations (business or education).
The VPL-CH375 is network connectable (through its wired LAN input or optional Wi-Fi) allowing for control of the projector, as well as monitoring the projector’s status, scheduled maintenance and problem notification remotely. One potential use of this projector would be for medical school training and medical imaging presentations, Sony has included a gamma setting that conforms to the grayscale requirements of the DICOM Sim. standard. This is gamma mode used to provide a clearer picture of X-ray images (see details in the Special Features section).
This projector review is included in our 2015-2016 Best Classroom Projectors Report, which is sponsored by Epson America.
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