17
Sony VPL-GTZ380 Review

Sony VPL-GTZ380 Review

True Score

79
81
2

Experts

83
0

Consumers

Product Awards

GR Certified

Expert Rankings

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 is a premium projector designed to offer the ultimate movie-watching experience at home. However, it doesn’t support digital keystone correction.

Product Snapshot

Overview

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 is a top-tier home theater projector first announced in early 2021. The projector’s 10,000-lumen brightness rating allows it to go toe-to-toe with some of the best projectors on the market, and its three-laser system allows it to achieve 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color scale for vivid HDR, HDR10, or HLG content at full brightness, and also avoid any rainbow artifacts.

The projector also has a decent 16,000:1 contrast ratio, a throw ratio of 0.85:1 to 1.09:1 for a 600” image size at maximum, and it can achieve a 21.5ms input lag measurement courtesy of its Input Lag Reduction feature. The projector can also handle up to 4K 120Hz signals with great motion clarity.

Consensus

our Verdict

Designed to offer an unforgettable home theater experience, the Sony VPL-GTZ380 stands out from its competitors thanks to an impressive 10,000-lumen brightness rating and impeccable color quality. The native 4K home theater projector is compact and lightweight and can render HDR, HDR10, and HLG content. Shadow detail is very good courtesy of a 16,000:1 contrast ratio that places it in the top 10% of projectors in its category, and colors are also quite accurate right out of the box courtesy of a 100% DCI P3 color space coverage that earns it a top 20% spot on our certified tested list. The motorized lens and generous horizontal/vertical lens shift capabilities make installation relatively easy, but there’s no support for digital keystone correction.

The projector’s noise output ranges between 33-39 dB, which is quiet enough not to cause disruptions when enjoying your favorite movie. Regarding lamp life, the projector lasts up to 20,000 hours with regular use, but it doesn’t support digital keystoning.

Reason to Buy

  • Exceptional brightness
    • The Sony VPL-GTZ380 home theater projector has a 10,000-lumen brightness rating, which places it in the top 10% of projectors in its category. As a result, images remain sharp and accurate whether used in a bright or dim room.

  • Impeccable image quality
    • Images on the Sony VPL-GTZ380 are sharp and vivid thanks to a 16,000:1 native contrast ratio, 4K resolution, and superior color accuracy, with 100% coverage of its DCI P3 color scale. It ranks in the top 10% of our certified tested list.

    • The projector also supports HDR, HLG, and HDR10 content formats for higher picture quality.

  • Low input lag
    • Manufacturers claim that the GTZ380 can achieve a 27ms input lag on 4K signals, down from a default 73.1ms measurement, which is great for responsiveness when casually gaming.

Reason to Avoid

  • No support for digital keystone correction
    • The GTZ380 does not support digital keystoning.

Sony VPL-GTZ380 Specs

3D Ready3D ReadyYes
Aspect RatioAspect Ratio1.89:1
BrightnessBrightness
Contrast RatioContrast Ratio16,000 : 1
DepthDepth29.92"
Digital KeystoneDigital KeystoneNo
Display TechnologyDisplay TechnologySXRD
HDRHDRNo
HeightHeight10.31"
Integrated SpeakersIntegrated SpeakersNo
Light SourceLight SourceLaser
Light Source LifeLight Source Life20000 hrs
Max DistanceMax Distance765"
Max Screen SizeMax Screen Size300"
Min DistanceMin Distance130"
Min Screen SizeMin Screen Size100"
No
Noise LevelNoise Level39 dB
PortablePortableNo
Refresh Raten/a
ResolutionResolution4096 x 2160
Smart FunctionalitySmart FunctionalityRemote, USB
Sync TechnologySync Technologyn/a
TV TunerTV TunerNo
ThrowTypeThrowType1.49:1 to 2.91:1
Video InputsVideo InputsUSB
WeightWeight112"
WidthWidth22"

All Specs

Test Results

SDR Brightness (nits)0
HDR Brightness (nits)0
SDR Brightness (Lumens)9,020
HDR Brightness (Lumens)0
SDR Color Temperature (K)0
HDR Color Temperature (K)0
Contrast Ratio (x:y)0
Color Gamut % (DCI P3 uv)102.4
Color Gamut % (Rec. 709)0
Color Gamut % (Rec. 2020)0
Color Gamut % (BT.2020)69.3
Color Gamut % (BT. 709)152.8
Input Lag (ms)73.1

All Tests

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Product Comparison

Sony VPL-GTZ380 Review

Sony VPL-GTZ380 Review

Sony VPL-PHZ61 Review

Sony VPL-PHZ61 Review

True Score

79
NR
93
87

Ranking

#

17

/

28

#

30

/

28

#

3

/

28

#

8

/

28

Market Context

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 is a top-tier home theater projector first announced in early 2021. The projector’s 10,000-lumen brightness rating allows it to go toe-to-toe with…

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 is a top-tier home theater projector first announced in early 2021. The projector’s 10,000-lumen brightness rating allows it to go toe-to-toe with some of the best projectors on the market, and its three-laser system allows it to achieve 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color scale for vivid HDR, HDR10, or HLG content at full brightness, and also avoid any rainbow artifacts.

The projector also has a decent 16,000:1 contrast ratio, a throw ratio of 0.85:1 to 1.09:1 for a 600” image size at maximum, and it can achieve a 21.5ms input lag measurement courtesy of its Input Lag Reduction feature. The projector can also handle up to 4K 120Hz signals with great motion clarity.

The Sony VPL GTZ380 has a much better 4K output resolution than the Sony VPL PHZ61, which has a Full HD resolution. It also supports…

The Sony VPL GTZ380 has a much better 4K output resolution than the Sony VPL PHZ61, which has a Full HD resolution. It also supports HDR10 content, which the PHZ61 does not. However, the PHZ61 has a much higher static contrast ratio of 500000:1 compared to the GTZ380, which has a 16000:1 contrast ratio. If you’re interested in discovering what else the PHZ61 offers, read our Sony VPL PHZ61 review.

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 has a brightness rating of 10,000 lumens, which is much better than the Sony VPL-FHZ85W, rated at 7,300 lumens. However, the FHZ85…

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 has a brightness rating of 10,000 lumens, which is much better than the Sony VPL-FHZ85W, rated at 7,300 lumens. However, the FHZ85 allows for both horizontal and vertical digital keystone correction, which the GTZ380 does not. We’ve covered the FHZ85 in our Sony VPL FHZ85W review if you’d like to learn more about it.

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 has a brightness rating of 10,000 lumens, making it brighter than the JVC DLA-NZ7, which is rated at 2,000 lumens. However, the…

The Sony VPL-GTZ380 has a brightness rating of 10,000 lumens, making it brighter than the JVC DLA-NZ7, which is rated at 2,000 lumens. However, the Sony VPL-GTZ380’s 16,000:1 contrast ratio is inferior to the 40,000:1 contrast ratio of the JVC DLA-NZ7. Also, the NZ7 can upscale content to 8K resolution, while the GTZ380 cannot.

3D Ready

Yes

No

No

Yes

Aspect Ratio

1.89:1

16:10

16:10

17:9

Brightness

6400 Lumens

2200 Lumens

Contrast Ratio

16,000 : 1

∞:1

400,000:1

Depth

29.92"

16.3"

19.5"

20"

Digital Keystone

No

Horizontal & Vertical

Horizontal & Vertical

Yes

Display Technology

SXRD

3LCD

3LCD

D-ILA

HDR

No

No

No

HDR10, HDR10+, Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG)

Dig Deeper

Sony VPL-FHZ85W Review →

JVC DLA-NZ7 Review →

Score Card

E

Expert Score

81

*.75

We place a 75% weighted value on Expert Test Scores

C

Customer Score

83

*.25

We place a 25% weighted value on Customer Scores

True Score

79

Expert Score Breakdown

  • Projector Reviews
    77.15

    Category Trust Score

    NR
    As expected, when it comes to HD and 4K SDR content, the Sony GTZ380 is… read more

    By:

    Phil Jones
  • Projector Central
    64.75

    Category Trust Score

    92
    I have been lucky in my work to have seen some stunningly accurate, high-contrast projected… read more

    By:

    Rob Sabin

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