AV & Presentation

Sony Debuts High-Light-Output LCD Projectors

• By David Nagel
• 04/20/10

Sony this week unveiled two high-light-output 3LCD projectors designed for medium to large venues, including classrooms and auditoriums.

Unveiled Tuesday, both of the new installation projectors offer a resolution of 1,024 x 768 (XGA) and use Sony’s Bright Era technology. The higher-end VPL-FX500L uses a dual-lamp design (with an estimated combined lamp life of 8,000 hours when lamps are used alternately) and sports a brightness rating of 7,000 lumens. It also offers lens shifting capabilities that allow for up to ±96 degree vertical and ±64 degree horizontal shift, depending on the lens used, without the need for keystone correction. It does not ship with a lens but is backward-compatible with some existing Sony lenses.

The VPL-FX30 is designed for medium venues and classrooms and provides a brightness of 4,200 lumens. It includes a 1.6x optical zoom lens standard.

Sony has not yet revealed pricing or further details for the new projectors. The 4,200-lumen VPL-FX30 is expected to ship in June. The 7,000-lumen VPL-FX500L is expected to ship in July. Further information will be available here.

About the Author

David Nagel is editorial director, education for 1105 Media's Public Sector Media Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal. A 22-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at or follow him on Twitter at @THEJournalDave (K-12) or @CampusTechDave (higher education).