Sony was careful to include front projectors in its CEDIA introductions today and introduced two new models that step up the image quality of 1080p in custom home theaters. Topping these, the VPL-VW85 has a high 120,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and a 120Hz refresh rate to bolster performance in fast-moving scenes; it's mostly intended for dark rooms with 800 lumens of brightness. It's also partly intended for pro installations and has relatively flexible lens shifting, an RS-232 serial port for home automation and a comparatively high 1.6X zoom factor for when the projector can't sit in an ideal position close to the screen.

Just below the VW85, the VPL-HW15 has a more modest 60,000:1 contrast ratio and regular 60Hz updating but makes up for this with a brighter 1,000-lumen picture.

Both have two HDMI inputs and one each of component, RCA and VGA to attach to digital, analog and PC sources. Sony ships the pair in October and prices the VW85 at $8,000 and the HW15 at $3,000.