High Spec Upgrade for the Ultimate Movie Night

When a movie connoisseur approached integrator The Sound Counsel to upgrade his self-built dedicated home cinema, Nick Wearmouth – Director at The Sound Counsel – knew that there was one projector, as seen at AWE, that would fit the bill for this discerning client.

The Challenge

The homeowner wanted to take his cinema to reference level for a truly ‘wow’ experience. With the experts from The Sound Counsel on board, they revealed even greater potential for a show-stopping cinema by redesigning the existing layout and specifying high-spec products:

“The client was looking for a flagship projector and processor to crown his cinema, but the existing layout and equipment was holding back its potential. The room was to be all about the reference level experience with a TV-like image on a massive scale, where the current technology was falling short.

His existing and much-loved floor speakers were in the corners, with the central floor space free to accommodate the largest screen possible. We introduced the idea of a larger image accommodated by fitting new speakers and subwoofers behind the screen. This allowed a much better appearance to the room, but crucially a major lift in scale and performance for both the image and the sound.” Explains Nick.

The Crowning Glory

The Sound Counsel sourced a Sony GTZ-380 native 4K projector from AWE – this is Sony’s flagship model. Utilising three lasers to produce 10,000 lumens of brightness, this projector can achieve 100% DCI-P3 colour without the need for filters, so still at 10,000 lumens of brightness.

“With the Sony GTZ-380 we had no worries about maximising the image size. The customer was an existing Sony VPL-VW790 owner, but with a 4m wide screen being fitted we needed to go a step further to achieve the ‘wow’ he was searching for. A new 4m wide acoustically transparant projection screen allowed us to conceal new speakers and subwoofers behind, while improving the image quality in comparison to the previous screen. With the very high light output from the Sony GTZ-380 – the improvement was much greater than we had expected!” said Nick.

Sony delivers Silver Screen Perfection

With a Sony VPL-VW790 already this client already had a great projector for his home cinema. However, with the range-topping GTZ-380 installed, the experience really went up to a whole new level. The VPL-GTZ380 is the world’s most advanced laser projector, designed to faithfully display native 4K resolution (4096 x 2160) images, with no upscaling or pixel shifting tricks. The finest details are breathtakingly crisp and clear.

Why does the client love it? For a true cinematic experience, he can view movies in cinema scope format 2.35:1. This can then be easily switched to 16:9 for gaming or TV watching with the brightness levels allowing some ambient lighting, making it an ideal solution for multi-purpose cinema and gaming rooms.

“Our client is delighted with the results of his cinema upgrade, which has exceeded both of our expectations. The high specification of the Sony GTZ-380 projector has excelled the viewing experience to an unbeatable level – it’s the best projector for the home cinema market right now.

By inviting our client to experience the difference between this projector and his current – in a controlled environment at the AWE Reference Cinema – we could easily demonstrate the difference in picture quality. It was a hugely valuable exercise and meant that the client had no hesitation in accepting our recommendation.” Explains Nick.

The client concludes: “After the initial projector change, the next big revelation was the new screen. We were expecting a big improvement in audio quality, which there was, but the visual improvement was immense!”

To experience the Sony GTZ-380 Projector for yourself, book a demo at the newly upgraded Reference Cinema at AWE HQ in Epsom – visit AWE-europe.com to book.

AWE Kit List

Sony VPL-GTZ380 4K SXRD Laser Projector