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The Sony FHZ285W is a compact projector suitable for brightly lit conditions that is easy to use and maintain. Unfortunately, its lack of WiFi support limits its wireless connectivity.
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Table of Contents
Product Snapshot
Overview
The Sony VPL FHZ285W is a high-end projector first introduced into the market in early 2022. The projector has a 3,918-lumen brightness rating for SDR content, and while this might not quite match up to what the best projectors have to offer, it doesn’t require a dark room. Because of its self-cleaning dust filter, the projector is pretty easy to maintain, and it also features three 0.76-inch LCD panels for sharp imaging.
The projector has a 20,000-hour lamp life when used in standard mode, but this increases up to 30,000 hours for those who opt to use it in Eco mode. It can project an image up to 600” in size, allowing for horizontal and vertical digital keystone correction.
Consensus
our Verdict
Touted as the industry’s smallest and lightest 3,918-lumen projector, the FHZ285W is a compact pick that’s an excellent buy for business or school use. Thanks to a self-cleaning dust filter that removes accumulated dust every 100 hours, the projector doesn’t require a lot of hands-on maintenance, and it also has a reasonably low output noise of 38dB in standard mode and 36dB in eco mode. The projector’s high color accuracy can be attributed to its 95% coverage of the DCI P3 color scale, and since it has a three-panel LCD design, it is not prone to any rainbow artifacts.
The FHZ285W also stands out with its generous lens shift range of +70%, and its 1.6x zoom works great thanks to its throw ratio of 1.39 to 2.23:1, especially for large rooms. Here’s a breakdown of short throw vs long throw projectors and what’s the difference. Unfortunately, the projector doesn’t have WiFi connectivity.
ReasonS to Buy
Good brightness rating
The FHZ285W projector’s 3,918-lumen brightness rating for SDR content places it within the top 40% of projectors within its category and makes it great for business or at-home use in a moderately lit room.
Sharp image quality
The FHZ85W also has a 4K60P input that displays images that are quite close to 4K quality, thanks to Sony’s Reality Creation processing technology.
The projector offers high color accuracy, with its 95% DCI P3 color scale coverage.
An infinity-to-one contrast ratio makes blacks appear deep and dark with impressive shadow detail, and it also reproduces colors accurately out of the box courtesy of its wide color gamut.
Easy to use
The FHZ285W is easy to install as it is quite compact, and since it also has a built-in light sensor, it can adjust its light output according to room conditions.
Additionally, the projector has a self-cleaning dust filter for hassle-free filter cleaning.
Reason to Avoid
No WiFi connectivity
The FHZ285W doesn’t support WiFi connectivity, so owners can only make wired connections to the projector.
Sony VPL-FHZ85W Specs
3D Ready
No
Aspect Ratio
16:10
Backrest Width
18"
Brightness
–
Contrast Ratio
–
Depth
19.5"
Digital Keystone
Horizontal & Vertical
Display Technology
3LCD
HDR
No
Height
6.6"
Integrated Speakers
No
Light Source
Laser
Light Source Life
20000 hrs
Max Distance
630
Max Screen Size
600
Min Distance
74.4"
Min Screen Size
40"
Noise Level
36 dB
Portable
Yes
Refresh Rate
n/a
Resolution
–
Smart Functionality
No
Sync Technology
n/a
TV Tuner
No
ThrowType
1.39:1 – 2.23:1
Video Inputs
HDMI 2.0
Weight
29 lbs
Width
–
Yes
–
All Specs
Test Results
These are the most important criteria to test for Projectors based on our comprehensive Testing Methodology.
SDR Brightness (nits)
0
HDR Brightness (nits)
0
SDR Brightness (Lumens)
3,918
HDR Brightness (Lumens)
0
SDR Color Temperature (K)
0
HDR Color Temperature (K)
0
Contrast Ratio (x:y)
0
Color Gamut % (DCI P3 uv)
0
Color Gamut % (Rec. 709)
0
Color Gamut % (Rec. 2020)
0
Color Gamut % (BT.2020)
0
Color Gamut % (BT. 709)
0
Input Lag (ms)
0
All Tests
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The Sony VPL FHZ285W is a high-end projector first introduced into the market in early 2022. The projector has a 3,918-lumen brightness rating for SDR…
The Sony VPL FHZ285W is a high-end projector first introduced into the market in early 2022. The projector has a 3,918-lumen brightness rating for SDR content, and while this might not quite match up to what the best projectors have to offer, it doesn’t require a dark room. Because of its self-cleaning dust filter, the projector is pretty easy to maintain, and it also features three 0.76-inch LCD panels for sharp imaging.
The projector has a 20,000-hour lamp life when used in standard mode, but this increases up to 30,000 hours for those who opt to use it in Eco mode. It can project an image up to 600” in size, allowing for horizontal and vertical digital keystone correction.
The Sony VPL-GTZ380 projector has a 10,000-lumen brightness output, which is brighter than the Sony VPL-FHZ285W, which has a 3,918-lumen output for SDR content. Also…
The Sony VPL-GTZ380 projector has a 10,000-lumen brightness output, which is brighter than the Sony VPL-FHZ285W, which has a 3,918-lumen output for SDR content. Also worth noting is that the FHZ285W projector uses 8-bit color processing, while the GTZ380 uses 10-bit processing,. Here’s our Sony VPL GTZ380 review if you’d like to learn more about it.
At 3,918 lumens, the Sony VPL-FHZ285W gets much brighter than the Hisense PX1 PRO, which has a 2,220-lumen brightness rating. Also, the former has a…
At 3,918 lumens, the Sony VPL-FHZ285W gets much brighter than the Hisense PX1 PRO, which has a 2,220-lumen brightness rating. Also, the former has a 20,000-hour lamp life that is slightly lower than the 25,000-hour lamp life promised by the PX1 PRO when used in standard mode. See what else the Hisense projector offers by reading through our Hisense PX1 PRO review.
When used in Eco Mode, the Sony VPL FHZ285W has a 30,000-hour lamp life, which is superior to the JVC DLA NZ8’s 20,000-hour lamp life….
When used in Eco Mode, the Sony VPL FHZ285W has a 30,000-hour lamp life, which is superior to the JVC DLA NZ8’s 20,000-hour lamp life. Also worth noting is that the VPL FHZ285W uses 8-bit color processing, while the JVC projector uses 10-bit. Check out what else the JVC projector offers by reading our JVC DLA NZ8 review.
