I am looking for a lower-priced 1080p projector and came across the Sony VPL-VW50. I read the review (http://reviews.cnet.com/projectors-presentation-devices/sony-vpl-vw50/4505-3180_7-32069200.html), and their biggest complaint was the poor accuracy of color, especially red. Does anyone have this projector, and, if so, is the inaccuracy of primary and secondary colors as noticeable as Cnet says it is?

Thanks

I am looking for a lower-priced 1080p projector and came across the Sony VPL-VW50. I read the review (http://reviews.cnet.com/projectors-presentation-devices/sony-vpl-vw50/4505-3180_7-32069200.html), and their biggest complaint was the poor accuracy of color, especially red. Does anyone have this projector, and, if so, is the inaccuracy of primary and secondary colors as noticeable as Cnet says it is?

Thanks

I had one for a while, and I agree with their bottom line conclusion.

Funny thing, one of the reasons I got in on the JVC prebuy was that the Sony's colors were oversaturated to me.

Some guests loved them.

It is a very nice projector, and you might even like the over saturated colors. Some people do.

You really need to see one for yourself to answer this question properly.

Best Regards,
Doug

So Doug, You sold me an oversaturated lemon??
No wonder I've been seeing everything with a yellow tint.

Scott

So Doug, You sold me an oversaturated lemon??
No wonder I've been seeing everything with a yellow tint.

Scott

Make lemonade Scott, make lemonade. :)

Did you go poking around in the service menu???? :)

Do you have a cat that could be spraying your screen to match the dog that bombs your carpet??? :)

Seriously, it looked a little oversaturated, but not enough to make me try to adjust the color.

I really never saw a yellow tint. Are you serious, or just pulling my leg? I remember the whites looked pretty good. I only noticed the Reds and Greens, and I never bothered to try to fix it much.

I never saw Will Smith with a sunburn. (on the Pearl at least... :) )

I did tell you I would take it back if you were not happy. ( before my RS-1 arrived, up to a couple of weeks... had I only known) How many people give that guarantee on a used pj?

I still think it had a great picture. :) Hope you continue to enjoy it or find it a good home. We missed it all those months while waiting for the RS-1. There were quite a few times that I wished you had sent it back, or that I had never sold it.

And keep the cat away from teh screen and the lens. :)

Best Regards,
Doug

Doug,

I'm pulling your leg.

scott

Scott,

Whew! I would have hated to have sold you a POS. :)

Now that I have had the RS-1 for a little while, I do prefer it over the Pearl, but with the color issues still in the RS-1, I would not upgrade. It is just not worth the price difference, IMHO.

If the colors were right (and by right I mean that I did not feel the need to fiddle with them all the time [ which I have never felt the need to do before with any other display ] ) I would think it would be worth the price difference.

Back to the OP, all of this is my personal preference. It could be that the Sony is too saturated for you, or it could be that you like it that way.

I noticed it with the Sony but it did not really bother me. Most of the time I liked the colors. I had guests who really liked the colors and did not want me to try to do anything to turn them down, which is part of the reason I never tried to adjust the Pearl.

Questions that others can answer on this forum are things like, "Are the Pearl's primaries really over saturated and the secondaries really off?" Questions that cannot really be answered are the ones like, "Are the colors of the Pearl too over saturated for me?" We don't know how you will like it.

The Pearl is a very nice projector, as is the JVC, and a number of others out there are very nice as well.

Best Regards,
Doug

Thanks for the input. I'm just getting the basement finished where the theater room is. I guess I'll have to see how much the whole project will cost before determining a budget. I'd like to get the RS1 as I've seen good reviews on it that compare it with the Pearl, Optoma, and BenQ; and I really like the picture.

On mine, early on sometimes I would notice that on things like red traffic lights, or car brake lights, the color seemed to look slightly unnatural in intensity. But it was never apparent in things like skin tones. As the bulb has aged, either I've just gotten used to it, or it has been toned down somewhat.
I was watching the new remaster Bd of the Fifth Element, and one of the qualities that struck me, was how natural and un-pumped, all the colors looked in the film. In fact, sometimes, the color saturation looked downright mellow. Everything looks just fine to me. As always, the only fault I find with the pj is the color shading/uniformity- Only once or twice in over 500 hours of viewing has this been noticeable with color material. Unfortunately I do see it with B&W material, and I'm a huge old movie buff.

I honestly do like/love the pj and the LCoS tech overall, but I really miss the way B&W movies looked on my old DLP.

I honestly do like/love the pj and the LCoS tech overall, but I really miss the way B&W movies looked on my old DLP.


I agree. I have to watch Raging Bull on my 34" Sony or Plasma.

I have had a Pearl for about 6 months and I love it. Initially, the color points for both color space settings in the user menu were off, particularily in the red and green. Tweeking within the user menu got things much better. However, an ISF calibration really cleaned things up. While the color points are not perfect after the ISF (and frankly I have not seen many PJ's regardless of price that can be perfectly set up on the color space chart) the results are excellent. My advice is to look at a well calibrated Pearl. If you buy on, just figure into the price, the cost of a professional calibration. The Pearl is still less than the JVC including the calibration and if you scan the reviews on the JVC, many reviewers note color issues with that PJ as well, particularily out of the box. Other 1080p offerings such as the Mits and the Pannasonic don't match the black level or shadow detain of the Pearl or the JVC. BenQ and Optoma has the "rainbow" thing going on if you are susceptible to it and the Optoma is a bear to install...very limited placement options. I still am very happy with my decision and will probably keep the Pearl 3 to 5 years. By then, we will all probably be talking about laser or at least LED projectors with a minimum of 50,000 contrast ratio!! Good luck.

P.S. I wouldn't rely on one review of any projector. There are many out there on every model. Look at a lot and get a feel for the consistent comments. Samples vary as do reviewer's subjective opinions and even objective findings. Read enough to see consistencies then go see the unit itself if you can.

If you are worried about color accuracy on the Pearl, don't, as it can be calibrated close to perfect. The over saturation of red can certainly be fixed.
I would recommend getting it done by a professional.

The RS-1, by comparison cannot have its overaturation properly fixed via calibration alone, it requires an external processor box and a real expert who can combine the scaler/processor + pj to achieve equivalent calibration.
The RS-1 has its strengths as does the Pearl, and both have issues, but the Pearl can be calibrated closer to ideal without using a scaler/processer.