Sony's 1080p VPL-VW40 projector set for January release

Feeling a bit bummed that Santa didn't deliver that swank new front projector you'd been asking pleading for? Trust us, it's for the best. Apparently, Sony is looking to release its VPL-VW40 to the masses at the end of January, and judging by the specs, it looks an awful lot like the discontinued VPL-VW50 -- save for the price. The BRAVIA SXRD PJ sports a 1080p native resolution, 15,000:1 contrast ratio, a 12-bit Panel Drive Full Digital Chassis and an ARC-F lens. Additionally, you'll find a couple of HDMI ports, VGA, RS-232 and composite / S-Video / component jacks. Granted, there's no little birdie giving us the inside scoop, but we'd bet that Sony gives this thing its fair share of floor space at CES -- particularly the oh-so-tempting $2,999.99 price tag.

[Thanks, Jordan]

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 27th 2007 9:15AM]

Oh my, it's been 45 minutes and I haven't seen a new post. I might have to go outside and get a life if they keep this up.

[Bucky @ Dec 27th 2007 9:37AM]

How dare you! If you stop looking, they die! Remember that Simpsons episode when all the mascots came to life?

[Ma2T @ Dec 27th 2007 9:38AM]

A decent 1080p projector at a decent price, that is tempting. I find the $20,000 so price tags of some PJ's so insane.

[Sandy @ Dec 27th 2007 10:02AM]

Probably means it'll cost about 2,999.99 pounds in Britain. That equates to about $6000. Yay!

[silverblackvoid @ Dec 27th 2007 10:12AM]

did you read the same post???

[Sandy @ Dec 29th 2007 5:12AM]

Yes, unfortunately work differently in Britain. I'll explain, everything costs 2 times as much as it does in America and 3 times as much as it does in Japan.

[applefreak @ Dec 27th 2007 11:00AM]

am I the only one who thinks that is ugly?

[NovaLand @ Dec 27th 2007 11:17AM]

Are you going to watch the projector or the movie?

[Peter Hamby @ Dec 27th 2007 12:11PM]

and how many lumens at least 3000 plz

[Andrew @ Dec 27th 2007 4:08PM]

Yeah, no mention of brightness anywhere. We need a bright home theater projector for the masses!

[Tim Sweeney @ Dec 27th 2007 6:21PM]

The specifications on the manufacturer's web page don't mention its light output (lumens). This seems to be common practice with projectors whose light output is disappointing. In my opinion, Engadget should refuse to mention any projector when the manufacturer doesn't clearly disclose its light output. It's deceptive to go into detail on relatively unimportant metrics like contrast ratio when the most essential stat is missing.

[Dandy @ Dec 28th 2007 9:47AM]

Well considering that Engadget put a link to their VPL-VW50 article which clearly states that model is 900 lumens and I can't imagine the VPL-VW40 being so much cheaper to have a higher lumen output than the VPL-VW50.