The A9s LCD Projector Review
a9s LCD projector is designed for easy setup and operation. Its lightweight design and simplified control panel buttons make it a great choice for home or office use. Its built-in carry handle makes it convenient to transport.
Its input lag is excellent and similar to that of recent high-end 4k TVs. It also supports multiple input sources.
Picture quality
The A9s has excellent image quality, with crisp details in bright and dark areas. It can display a 4K signal, supports VRR, and has lower input lag than most modern TVs. It also has a wide viewing angle and better gray uniformity. It can also display a 60Hz signal for gaming content.
At ISO 1600 the A9s produces a clean and crisp image with good detail. However, noise does become a problem in flatter areas, and the Sony’s area-specific noise reduction can produce artifacts that make images look peppered and artificial. This is particularly evident on our red-leaf swatch.
The A9s has a great SDR peak brightness, which is consistent with other recent high-end OLED TVs. It also has a decent gamma curve and does a good job of eliminating black crush. However, it has a limited color gamut and cannot display HDR content. It is a good choice for casual gaming, but you may need to use the ’Game’ picture mode to get the best results. The input lag is very low, and it should work well with consoles.
Viewing angles
The viewing angle of an LCD projector is the range of angles at which a video image still appears sharp and clear. Viewing angles vary by model, but most have a very wide angle of view that makes them ideal for large rooms with multiple seating areas. Some also have advanced features such as 3D readiness and electronic keystone correction, which adjusts the picture for optimal viewing from any direction.
Viewing angles are a bit more important in home theaters than they are in cinemas because the viewing distance is much closer. Most people sit about 2/3rds of the way a9s LCD projector back in a theater which puts their eye’s at around 1/3rd to 1/6th of screen height. This makes the screen’s peak luminance a bigger factor in perceived image quality than it would be in a commercial cinema.
Image processing
There are two technologies vying for the video projector market: micromirrors and liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Both are producing high quality, affordable units that are suitable for most home and business applications.
In a typical LCD projector you’ll find a light source such as a bulb, laser or LED and an initial lens that focuses the beam and polarizes it latitudinal. This polarization increases the brightness by about 1.5x.
Next the beam passes through three LCD panels one for each of the primary colors red, blue and green. These are a combination of 3LCD chips that paint the video image on screen in a similar way to an inkjet printer does when it prints in color by mixing together its inks.
This multicolored image is then projected on a projection screen by the final lens. Some LCD projectors have a sealed optical path to prevent dust blobs from getting on the LCD panels and degrading the image. Others don’t and you’ll need to clean a filter often to maintain your unit in good working condition.
Brightness
Powered by Android 9 with 5000:1 contrast ratio, this projector delivers crystal clear images on a large screen. It supports HDMI, AV, USB, and audio interfaces for easy connectivity and versatile usage. Its lightweight and compact design makes it ideal for home theater setup.
The display has an SDR peak brightness of 668 cd/m2 and is bright enough to overcome glare in most situations. However, it might not be bright enough to compete with very intense glare. Like most OLEDs, it is susceptible to permanent burn-in of static elements on the screen, such as a channel logo or desktop user interface.
The HDR peak brightness is better, at 960 cd/m2. This is higher than what the human eye can perceive and should provide excellent image quality for fast-moving content. We measured the peak brightness of the display in its ‘Custom’ Picture Mode with a brightness setting of ‘Max’, a contrast setting of ’90’, and Color Temperature set to ‘Expert 1’. The display also supports HDR10, which further improves image quality and detail. Moreover, it has MEMC technology to eliminate jittery playback and provide smooth image rendering.
Sound
The dual 5 Watt speakers are quite good, producing home theater projector a full sound that’s very crisp without any distortion. They can also get quite loud, which is a plus for larger rooms or noisy environments.
The HT-A9 uses Sony’s Sound Field Optimization to calibrate the soundfield automatically, based on the position and size of your room. This is done by measuring the distance between the speakers and their height, using microphones built into each speaker. It can even adjust for asymmetrical speaker placement, which is great if your speakers aren’t placed perfectly on a TV stand or bookshelf.
The a9s is also able to remove judder from most external 60p sources, like a Blu-ray player, by setting the Motionflow to ‘Custom’ and Cinemotion to ‘Auto’. It’s also able to remove judder from some native 24p sources, including most movies and games by set the Smoothness slider to ‘0’. This is a feature that’s often missing from other projectors. The A9s is a step up from its nearest competitor in this regard, making fast-moving scenes look clear and sharp.