Sony Vpl-vw50: New, Lower-priced And True Hd

[The_Preacher1973]

Well there are at least 26 of us HD-DVD owners & afaik about 3 BluRay owners on this forum so exploiting it's potential is not going to be difficult (over 100 HD titles available now per camp).

Actually it's 65 for Blu Ray and 97 for HD-DVD - pre orders don't count!

[djOS]

Actually it's 65 for Blu Ray and 97 for HD-DVD - pre orders don't count!

Ah semantics!

[RodN]

Link to review at Projector Central - http://www.projectorcentral.com/sony_vw50.htm

Can't wait now

Although this is a concern

Yes but there are very good points in there too. It's a very good review that should be read in its entirety. Always damned compromises curse it hehehe

[Trigg]

Yes, what did excite me when viewing was the lack of SDE, the vivid colours and the fantastic blacks - I consider these very important and possibly can be a trade off for the lack of sharpness. And it craps all over my PTAE700.

[djOS]

Imo opinion displays that are too sharp lack the film quality image that many of us prefer.

[Foggy]

Imo opinion displays that are too sharp lack the film quality image that many of us prefer.

Yes, this is definitely a preference thing. I lean the other way toward sharpness as I find it gives more depth for a more 3D image.

[laurie]

After all these years my Sony VPL-VW10HT may still have life left in it with HD dvd not sure what resolution I can get on component from a HD player!!

cheers laurie

[norpus]

After all these years my Sony VPL-VW10HT may still have life left in it with HD dvd not sure what resolution I can get on component from a HD player!!

cheers laurie

1080i form the hddvd ro BR over component should look nice on the Sony, assuming it can handle 1080i - otherwise will look just about as good using 720p from the player

[Jliang70]

Yes, this is definitely a preference thing. I lean the other way toward sharpness as I find it gives more depth for a more 3D image.

I am leaning the other way but brightness is important for me. Sony's projectors offerring in the past few years tend to be a little dimmer ( OK in light control environment) but with very good contrast and black level. Video processing is a weak aspect in sony's overall package despite some of the reviewer repeatedly claim Sony's internal deinterlacer/scalers perform very well. Reviews of VW50 from Projectorcentral and avs indicating that no external scalers were used during the test and this is where I feel Mitsu HC5000 and Optoma H81 have the advantage over VW50, in my opinion video processing capability of a projector plays a critical role in producing the final projected picture. This is why I am looking forward to Norpus review of VW50 this weekend will give us some indication where the weakness really is.

[Spearmint]

Imo opinion displays that are too sharp lack the film quality image that many of us prefer.

It all depends on what you are viewing. Overly sharp is not a good thing for close-up of peoples faces/skin IMO, I realise in most cases we are looking at larger than life images although in real life we generally do not see this amount of detail in peoples skin. The eyes now that’s a different thing so possibly they are going have to use some shallow depth of field in future to keep the eyes sharp and some softness of the skin.

[laurie]

1080i form the hddvd ro BR over component should look nice on the Sony, assuming it can handle 1080i - otherwise will look just about as good using 720p from the player

norpus yeh thanks mate my Sony can accept 1080i it states HD:1100 Lines what ever that means! RGB is 1368x768 and TV:720 lines again confused BUT I just read up a bit and there is a circuit in all player that can stop 1080i from component ICT Image Constraint Token flaged on the disc if they want to and it will then down convert back to SD!!

Another video "gotcha," and one that HD-DVD shares with Blu-ray, is analog downconversion. When linked via an all-digital HDMI connector, HD-DVDs can be displayed at high-def resolution (720p or 1080i). But to prevent the possibility of pirates making a perfect high-def copy, studios can encode their discs with an image-constraint token (ICT), a software flag that can be activated at the discretion of the movie studio publishing the disc. When activated, it tells the player to downconvert its output resolution to 960x540 when played through the analog component-video outputs, which lack the robust digital copy-protection of HDMI. The result: anyone with an older HDTV--one that lacks an HDMI or HDCP-compatible DVI connection--can lose as much as 75 percent of the maximum possible HD-DVD resolution at the whim of the studio executives. Audio capabilities are similarly curtailed from their theoretical potential, although--as with the 1080p issue--the culprit here is more technical than political (more on that in the Performance section). Thankfully, the image-constraint token remains more a threat than an actuality--it apparently has yet to be implemented on any HD-DVDs yet released--but it remains an issue worthy of consideration for anyone with an older HDTV.

cheers laurie

[cwt]

After all these years my Sony VPL-VW10HT may still have life left in it with HD dvd not sure what resolution I can get on component from a HD player!!

cheers laurie

Laurie ; Ive got a vpl-vw10ht too; soon to be replaced with a pearl. According to page 26 of the manual the 10ht can take a 1080/48i signal which is a multiple of 24 frame hd dvd discs.Not too sure about future compatibility but fingers xsed

ps If you switch to rgbhv instead of component laurie;you can adjust the rgb enhancer ;the size [horizontal] and shift [great for tv overscan].I think the 1100 lines is the maximum input - everything is scaled to 768/1366.Hope this helps

[norpus]

I am leaning the other way but brightness is important for me. Sony's projectors offerring in the past few years tend to be a little dimmer ( OK in light control environment) but with very good contrast and black level. Video processing is a weak aspect in sony's overall package despite some of the reviewer repeatedly claim Sony's internal deinterlacer/scalers perform very well. Reviews of VW50 from Projectorcentral and avs indicating that no external scalers were used during the test and this is where I feel Mitsu HC5000 and Optoma H81 have the advantage over VW50, in my opinion video processing capability of a projector plays a critical role in producing the final projected picture. This is why I am looking forward to Norpus review of VW50 this weekend will give us some indication where the weakness really is.

We may be able to test what deinterlacing looks like on a NTSC sd dvd direct from player at 1080i versus with the vp30

[laurie]

Laurie ; Ive got a vpl-vw10ht too; soon to be replaced with a pearl. According to page 26 of the manual the 10ht can take a 1080/48i signal which is a multiple of 24 frame hd dvd discs.Not too sure about future compatibility but fingers xsed

ps If you switch to rgbhv instead of component laurie;you can adjust the rgb enhancer ;the size [horizontal] and shift [great for tv overscan].I think the 1100 lines is the maximum input - everything is scaled to 768/1366.Hope this helps

thanks cwt yeh the pearl looks very good

cheers laurie

[TommyGNR]

TommyGNR...........a question if you don't mind. What size thread is on the Pearl lens for those who wish to use ND or CC filters?

Thanks!

I'm not sure, the has been wrapped up and boxed in preparation for tonight so I can't check right now.

Link to review at Projector Central - http://www.projectorcentral.com/sony_vw50.htm

Although this is a concern

The most noteworthy flaw in the VW50's image quality is that it is softer than the competition. We noticed this in the demos at CEDIA, and were discouraged to find the same problem in our production unit. In our view, the primary rationale for investing premium dollars for 1080p resolution is to get the sharpest picture possible. If you don't care about maximum clarity and detail, one of the new 720p projectors for 1/3 the price will deliver most HD source images with close to the same high resolution quality as the VW50. We do not know the source of the softness in the image--it could be the lens, something inherent in the SXRD chips, something in the video processing, or some combination thereof. But the fact is that other 1080p products in this same price range are able to deliver noticeably sharper images, both with SD and HD material

That review seems to confuse sharpness and detail. The pearl can resolve much more detail than a 720p projector. It has over twice as many pixels as a 720 unit. That review also states that there is no horizontal lens shift, which is completely incorrect. All they had to do was read the manual People on AVSForum don't seem particularly pleased with the review.

We may be able to test what deinterlacing looks like on a NTSC sd dvd direct from player at 1080i versus with the vp30

From what I have ascertained from limited testing thus far is that the pearl's deinterlacing of film content is as you would expect a simple weave. It's the scaling from the VP30 as opposed to the pearl that will be of interest.

[Trigg]

We wait in anticipation!!

[norpus]

We wait in anticipation!!

How do I say this... (without mrs norpus hearing ... )

I want one!!

Sources tried were 1080i HDDVD (Batman begins), 480i dvd via HD-A1 upscaling to 1080i, Denon 3910 576i dvd into vp30 to 720p. On all sources the Pearl had the edge.

The extra resolution is a treat - on 480p, 576i through vp30 at 720p and certainly at 1080i

The black levels are great - within a whisker of crt

The in-scene contrast is excellent

The sharpness is there - no softness I saw - in fact the 720p dlp was softer

The brightness was there

The looks, build quality and operation/menu was all top class

A superb machine and well worth the asking price of 6.5K odd

The only department I had the feeling the 720p dlp had perhaps more detail in the shadows and the dark areas (lapels), but I would gladly trade that for all the rest. This is one awesome machine

We were standing at 1/2 screen width and still seeing abrilliant picture with little/no pixellation. At 1/2 a screen width 1.2m (Couldn't do same with the 720p dlp)

The 720p dlp is a fantastic image no doubt about that, the Pearl is simply better.

I can see this selling like hotcakes when others see it

Thanks Tom and Nobby for coming around - we agreed it was fun to see a bleeding edge product so soon after launch here in Australia. (just make sure you give it the good oil with a feed mainly of BR or HDDVD Tom - it deserves it)

[Foggy]

Thanks for the report and writeup norpus, and thanks to Tommy for bringing his new bundle of joy around

I must go and check one out now, as it sounds like it's an improvement over the Ruby.... not that I can see myself upgrading just yet

[Jliang70]

How do I say this... (without mrs norpus hearing ... )

I want one!!

Sources tried were 1080i HDDVD (Batman begins), 480i via HD-A1 upscaling to 1080i, Denon 3910 576i into vp30 to 720p. On all sources the Pearl had the edge.

The extra resolution is a treat - on 480p, 576i through vp30 at 720p and certainly at 1080i

The black levels are great - within a whisker of crt

The in-scene contrast is excellent

The sharpness is there - no softness I saw - in fact the 720p dlp was softer

The brightness was there

The looks, build quality and operation/menu was all top class

A superb machine and well worth the asking price of 6.5K odd

The only department I had the feeling the 720p dlp had perhaps more detail in the shadows and the dark areas (lapels), but I would gladly trade that for all the rest. This is one awesome machine

We were standing at 1/2 screen width and still seeing abrilliant picture with little/no pixellation. At 1/2 a screen width 1.2m (Couldn't do same with the 720p dlp)

The 720p dlp is a fantastic image no doubt about that, the Pearl is simply better.

I can see this selling like hotcakes when others see it

Thanks Tom and Nobby for coming around - we agreed it was fun to see a bleeding edge product so soon after launch here in Australia. (just make sure you give it the good oil with a feed mainly of BR or HDDVD Tom - it deserves it)

Thank Norpus for the review, I have made my decision and I will call Trevor and if he can provide me with the same or lower price as what Tom get I will be getting a new projector.

[norpus]

Thank Norpus for the review, I have made my decision and I will call Trevor and if he can provide me with the same or lower price as what Tom get I will be getting a new projector.

That is good news. I know you will be happy with that decision jliang

I can see a small run on these from forum members next week

[Samhain]

That is good news. I know you will be happy with that decision jliang

I can see a small run on these from forum members next week

I rpedicted the shadow detail.... but I am surprised at the level of the rest of ur findings... I am keen to get my eyes on it now! :-)

Thakns Norpus! :-)

[laurie]

We certainly love our top flight projectors, and now there is a new kid coming to town. This sleek black baby will be released in November at a price point that is at last realistic for a 1080P projector. Those of you in the knowledge loop will know that the few DLP 1080 devices that have been released into Australia have been hovering at the 25K plus price for some time now. There have been the Sony LCOS devices with their overstated contrast ratios and potential colour degradation issues available at the $12995 type price but they were always a stop gap awaiting the arrival of DLP virtues combined with that magic resolution....

hmmmm that's from a Melbourne Hi-Fi site seems they don't like Sony

Link To Article

cheers laurie

[Jliang70]

hmmmm that's from a Melbourne Hi-Fi site seems they don't like Sony

Link To Article

cheers laurie

That is because they are selling Marantze which can buy you 2x VW50.

[RodN]

How do I say this... (without mrs norpus hearing ... )

I want one!!

Yes indeed what a great projector

Some points from my perspective:

- Contrast ratios were the best I've seen on a digital that's for sure - it was quite bright that surprised me from what people had been saying.

- Colour - oh the colour - these things just have beautiful evenness of colour, spot on.

- Resolution - well on this I had my doubts if we would be able to see a difference in resolution but it sure was there - the pearl image had a noticable increase over the benq in detail which surprised me as 720p is pretty close to 1080 when you think about it.

- The resolution also made the image sharper than the DLP - not sure about sharpness vs other 1080 projectors but this one was sharp.

- Black levels were nice enough - I'm spoiled as I own two HD CRT's in the house but as far as digitals go it had the best blacks I've seen - not quite there with CRT yet in this front though.

- Build quality is also top class, it's a lovely looking unit that is quiet as a mouse - also very extensive menu functionality, as we all love to tweek this has endless tweaking options.

So overall it was a beautiful picture that was immediately noticeable as 'true' HD. The colours were lovely and overall pic quality was pretty much impossible to fault. For the 6.5 range it's just a pearler, pun intended!

[zorg1503559539]

very nice guys great review. here is hoping they come down a bit in price by March next year and we get a good auction result hehe