How does the Sim2 CSX 1080p compare to the VW200? Were the reasons why VW200 owners went with Sony over the Sim2 price?

How does the Sim2 CSX 1080p compare to the VW200? Were the reasons why VW200 owners went with Sony over the Sim2 price?

Taps microphone to ensure switched off. Turns to lawyer and whispers, lawyer whispers back. Turns back to questioner......................."I'm sorry, I don't recall" :D:D

"Ah, the 6th amendment ..." 8)

The VPL-vw200 is one half the price of the the C3x1080. The C3x1080 is brighter, more suitable for a screen larger than 120 inch diagonal (1.76). The T2 lens in the C3x is somewhat better than the one in the Sony but I would characterize both lenses as superb. The deinterlacing and scaling is better in the Sim2. The Sony has some neat tricks bult in, such as black frame insertion and motion enhancement, yada yada.

C2C focus. I love the abbreviation. Most don't put up a lens evaluation test pattern such as found on Kane's DVE. If people used such a test on their RS1, it would not make them happy.

Thanks all for the input, it does help, helped with my first PJ. Could be time for an upgrade...

No in Love! ;)

How does the Sim2 CSX 1080p compare to the VW200? Were the reasons why VW200 owners went with Sony over the Sim2 price?

Mark gives a good appraisal. Im a C3X1080 owner and its not without ist compromises. 3 chip DLP has a real slam and impact that is quite special.

This is a machine specific thread so I wont piss on anyones popcorn.:D

If people usedsuch a test on their RS1, it would not make them happy.


.... and this is relevant how? Cromatic aberation or what is the problem?

No projector or projector technology will be free of some areas where performance could be better. Suppose your projector hass some bright corners during a black field. In real life, nobody will notice it except you in those very limited times when you will be viewing a black field. Better to enjoy than to obsess. Hell you are not perfect and people love you despite your flaws. As long as a flaw is not fatal, you are good to go.

On the mark, Mark (ugh, bet you never heard that before).

Last time I checked, not too many people spend the evening watching test patterns on their hometheater. Stuff that conceptually bothers me about the VW200 is rarely visible when actually watching movies. I am now pretty much done tweaking and plan to start enjoying. At whatever point my Radiance scaler gets its production software I will likely have an ISF calibrtation done.

Simon

Sharpness, especially in the corners.

My VW200 arrived today ... can't wait to set it up.

Simon. If you hang with FP CRTers, you'd spend a lot of time watching test patterns and the same DVDs over and over and over chanting look at them blacks.

My VW200 arrived today ... can't wait to set it up.

Keep us posted. Welcome to the club:)

Awesome! Another member! :)

My VW200 arrived today ... can't wait to set it up.

I'm still waiting on mine. It's been shipped from Sony, but it hasn't arrived at the dealer yet. :(

OK guys, I've made up my mind and I'm changing my Pearl for the VW200 instead of the JVC RS2 as I have a dark dedicated room. My only concern is regarding the auto iris in the 200 that seems to be too much agressive according to some reviews.

Anyone has compared RS-2 against VW-200 or at least has something to say about these two pjs...

Where can I find a good guideline to initialy set the VW200 to a dark room

I have to wait for the Sony Brazil to import and deliver it to me in a couple of weeks but I hope to join you soon.

My only concern is regarding the auto iris in the 200 that seems to be too much agressive according to some reviews.

Yes, I think you should be concerned. To date I have not seen an auto iris that was convincing. I'd see how the VW200 perfomrs without the iris. That's what I'd base my choice on. I have not seen the VW200 yet, but I am certainly curious.

I have to admit I am still liking my Manual Iris mode set at 92. To me that keeps the most consistent black level for all of my movie viewing...

OK guys, I've made up my mind and I'm changing my Pearl for the VW200 instead of the JVC RS2 as I have a dark dedicated room. My only concern is regarding the auto iris in the 200 that seems to be too much agressive according to some reviews.

Anyone has compared RS-2 against VW-200 or at least has something to say about these two pjs...

Where can I find a good guideline to initialy set the VW200 to a dark room

I have to wait for the Sony Brazil to import and deliver it to me in a couple of weeks but I hope to join you soon.

Also, make sure you have the lumens you need for your image. This is not a bright projector..

i'll keep reporting the same thing. Setting an iris depens on the screen size and gain you have and the lumens you want to end up with. it is sheer idiocy to suggest that there is something masgic with a particular iris setting over a range of 0 to 100 steps because some reviewer CHOOSE IT FROHIS SCREEN SIZE AND GAIN at the bulb brightness point he did the review at. Cranking in an iris will diminish the amount of light hitting the scree. It will reduce the amount of light hitting the screen when no light should be hiting the screen (black) and thus improve the blacks. How blackmust the blacks be to be acceptable toyou? Tome, on my screen the iris needs to be closed alot more than from 100 (open) to 93 tomake the black acceptable. Others thing gray is inky blacks because the brights are so bright the dymanic range of your eyes makes them appear blacker than they really are. Joe you know what I mean. Come on! the reviewer had a tiny screen compared toJoe or myself anbd he set the iris to give what black level he was will to accept. Do the hand puppet with black bars on your 93 setting.Not that black Eh? Set it to 10 and repot basck. but you will lose considerable brightness. i like it at about 18. but that's me and my HT. You are different and your HT is different. Screen, throw,how good a black pit, yada yada.

That said, i do not find there tobe much of a problem with the auto iriis. if you are sensitive to brightness compression and want to fixate on a say a star field (bright pinpoints on a black background) you can say see, its too agressive. But in actuality in 99% of viewing situations you want notice any compression, just blacker blacks.

I do sometimes watch with the manual iris almost set t0 18 0r so (0 is to the maximum step it can be closed to, which obviously would not be fully closed). I have a crt mounted above the Sony and tha settings dims the beast down and improves the blacks and makes it more closely approximate the image from my CRT. the images from my CRT and various digitals are not close to being the same and I normally prefer the CRT for long viewing sessions. However, if I only had the Sony, I could be quite happy, it is a fine machine and quite suitable for screens of 1.3 gain say up to 120D 1.78. Most digitals are excessively bright by current say 12 to 13 ft lambert standards and I think many will find for long viewing purposes, them to be tiring on ones eyes However, like a boom box, you can turn them trebles up and fry your ears but it ain't right.

Having done some experimenting here is what I have found regarding how the iris works.

Using Iris 1 or 2 produces the same black level as Manual iris closed down to max with the benefit of keeping the kick of the upper end.
Using Manual Iris clamped down also clamps the upper IREs.
Minimal use of Manual Iris does show benefit over Iris off giving you improved black level & avoids detection of any Iris breathing.

Same with Film mode. Choosing between film mode 1 dim ,2 dimmer or 3 dimmest does not improve black level. Black level remains the same between all 3 setting.
The reduced brightness comes at the expense of the upper IRE.

Setting Manual Iris to min brightness at the same time as choosing Film mode 3 = black level as using Iris 1 or 2 with Film mode off.

I agree with most of what Alan says. I am not at all bothered by a little brightness compresssion from time to time. I normally watch in auto iris one or two depending on what I am watching. But I do find that manually close to minimizing the iris opening does give better blacks as evidence by hand puppet level on black bars. the auto iris can't close the iris anymore than you can manually. the manual setting keeps the blacks constant, something the auto iris can't always do based on its sensors and algorithyms. You do lose the high end brightness but sometimes when your eyes are tired fom watching 9 hours of sports,not such a bad thing.

Alan G. You are a good man!

So, in a real dark room with no ambient light. Using a 1.0 gain white 102inches screen. Mounting the pj in the ceiling 12ft away from this screen as I am using my Pearl today, The VW200 is the way to go for 15K.

This pj is in another league from RS-2 despite the auto iris debate.

The color precision from xenon lamp, the interpolation of black frames and 120Hz frame rate make the extra bucks worth spending.

Any really good review by now in the press you can point or...

Fine Mark, I will try it like that to. :) I have done some A/B comparisons with about a dozen folks or so and they like it Manual at 92 the best. I admit I have never tried it at 18 though... I will give it a go... :)

That is way to dark for my taste. I actually discovered I like Manual at 97 better. :eek:

Its not what I like which is dependent on my screen size, my screen gain, a black level which I find to be adequate to me, and a brightness level that I also find acceptable. Bulb age enters it too as well as throw distance and room characteristics (black pit). My settings are irrelevant to what some others (including you my friend, Joe0 prefer. That's all I am saying.

I know. I am not around the 300 hour mark. Also, I am using a crystalio II to tweak the picture somewhat...

To test the MotionFlow 120Hz video processing, we repeatedly played back the opening scene in the diner on the Blu-ray transfer of The Departed. Motionflow on Low and High changed the look of the pan across the counter from filmic to cartoonish. In Chapter 5 of The Italian Job, serious artifacts were introduced around Mark Whalberg's face when it was engaged. These two scenes were enough to convince us to leave this hyped video feature set to "Off" with the VPL-VW200.(CNET Review)

Do you agree with his review? How are you guys using these new gadgets that seems to be a great feature?

Yesterday I saw a 42" Samsung LCD TV with LED elements that also had 120 hz tech in it. They played a Harry Potter scene with lots of fast action and I was very impressed. It may have looked more video like, but it was also extremely sharp.

vemanoel welcome to the forum. I sent you a PM.

Ian

Did you see any benefit to LED as far as noticeable contrast increase?

Ian

Did you see any benefit to LED as far as noticeable contrast increase?

While I didn't watch for that long, I have to admit I was pretty amazed by what I saw. I saw some footage of Times Square at night and lights looked like real lights - built into the TV! Also saw scenes of a woman in darkness with a spotlight on her and a plate of fruit and the contrast was very impressive.

Saw some scenes of Batman Begins and black level was outstanding.

Again, only viewed for short amount of time - for all I know this could be akin to a hearing a sound system that has treble and bass boosted and fools you into thinking it sounds good only to discover a few minutes later that it sounds very wrong and you're missing midrange etc.

... These two scenes were enough to convince us to leave this hyped video feature set to "Off" with the VPL-VW200.(CNET Review)

Do you agree with his review?

This feature may be intersting for sports (though I doubt it will actually solve all the problems with motion blur there), but other than that, I think one should just forget about it.

As I posted many times over we really like MotionFlow for sports and animated movies. For regular movie watching we do not use it...

The sony VPL-vw200 manual says this feature should normally be set to OFF. I find that on video sports it makes for a better picture set to low.

I agree. The picture is sharper. And the close ups of the cheerleaders! :eek:

I gat my machine back tomorrow. Its been on loan for a couple of weeks. The loanee prefered the extra brightness provided by his C3x1080 though he prefered many elements of the Sony. Actually his kids liked the extra brightness of the C3x1080.

Anyone compared the RS2 to the VW200? Price not withstanding, I would be interested in your comments.

There is already a thread dedicated to that topic... :)

I found it after I started the thread. Sorry. My Bad.

I just got my VW200 (thank you Craig at Theatermax) and am in the process of setting up my theater. I am considering an anamorphic lens and a wide curved screen. I am considering a schneider lens. Has anyone tried this, and any advice?

I just got my VW200 (thank you Craig at Theatermax) and am in the process of setting up my theater. I am considering an anamorphic lens and a wide curved screen. I am considering a schneider lens. Has anyone tried this, and any advice?

Not using the Schneider lens, but I am using a Panamorph lens with a flat screen and the VW200 performs very nicely. I was a bit concerned that the better lens in the 200 would be mitigated a bit by the use of an add-on anamorphic lens, but I do not not see any degradation in sharpness. The Schneider is an excellent lens with optics likely a bit better than the Panamorph. Incidentally, IMO if you have an adequate throw and masking, a curved screen is not absolutely necessary.

I just got my VW200 (thank you Craig at Theatermax) and am in the process of setting up my theater. I am considering an anamorphic lens and a wide curved screen. I am considering a schneider lens. Has anyone tried this, and any advice?

+1, same exact setup I'm working on!

I just got my VW200 (thank you Craig at Theatermax) and am in the process of setting up my theater. I am considering an anamorphic lens and a wide curved screen. I am considering a schneider lens. Has anyone tried this, and any advice?
I have a vw200 and just got the Schneider morphic lens last week. My pj has a throw of 13' for a 130" 2.35:1 screen. The optic's are great but there is a good amount of pin cushion with the short throw. I have a Stewart cine-w 130 curved screen coming next week which should take care of the pin cushion.

My VW200 finally showed up today. Yay!

My VW200 finally showed up today. Yay!

Congrats:)

We just finished watching American Pie DTHEATER and it looked the best we've seen. Amazing details with excellent colors. DTHEATER still holds up to this day! ;)

Hey guys,

I have a VW200 and it is my first real projector. I got the projector before I purchased the screen as I understand that typically you should cater the screen to the projector you are going to use. With this in mind do any of you have any recommendations for screens for the 200? Also, what kind of material is best to use?

I figure I would need something with a decent gain rating as it is somewhat of a low output projector. Should I go grey or white? Grey screens like the greyhawk help out blacks considerably from what I understand.

I suppose what I'm asking those who own the VW200 is, if you could go out and purchase a screen right now, which one would YOU buy?

Note: I really can't mount anything on the walls, so I was looking at vertical rising screens. Can you still have one of those and give off the quality home theater vibe?

I really appreciate any help you guys could throw my way.

Thanks,
Nick

Can you have a floor standing screen? Can it be fixed? Wha size are you considering? What aspect ratio? What throw distance is available? What is your viewing environment? Light control, dark walls?

I was considering a floor ascending screen (despite their higher price). I was thinking of something in the 100" to 125" diagonal size in HDTV aspect ratio. At the moment I have the projector going to a pure white wall at a throw distance of roughly 16 feet. My viewing environment is not totally light proof, but at night for the most part it is dark. Everything is on dimmers.

Any suggestions? Who makes the most high quality screens in your opinion? Is there an alternative to a floor ascender that is portable (I'm renting now but who knows if I still will be in a year - so I will need to make provisions for my future home - read: not a permanent installation) that isn't too obtrusive?

Thanks for the quick reply.

-Nick

Hey guys,

I have a VW200 and it is my first real projector. I got the projector before I purchased the screen as I understand that typically you should cater the screen to the projector you are going to use. With this in mind do any of you have any recommendations for screens for the 200? Also, what kind of material is best to use?

I figure I would need something with a decent gain rating as it is somewhat of a low output projector. Should I go grey or white? Grey screens like the greyhawk help out blacks considerably from what I understand.

I suppose what I'm asking those who own the VW200 is, if you could go out and purchase a screen right now, which one would YOU buy?

Note: I really can't mount anything on the walls, so I was looking at vertical rising screens. Can you still have one of those and give off the quality home theater vibe?

I really appreciate any help you guys could throw my way.

Thanks,
Nick

I looked at a lot of screen material in the last 6 months while waiting to get my 200. The Stewart Firehawk G3 and sst are great matches for the 200.
Vivid colors, outstanding contrast and stand up better than anything I have seen with some ambient light. The firehawk sst was developed especially for Sony PJ's.

Chris

My Vutec SS/Carada Masquerade combo give me the best of both worlds. ;)

I looked at a lot of screen material in the last 6 months while waiting to get my 200. The Stewart Firehawk G3 and sst are great matches for the 200.
Vivid colors, outstanding contrast and stand up better than anything I have seen with some ambient light. The firehawk sst was developed especially for Sony PJ's.

Chris

Only problem, I think, would be the ftL you can get. I.e., I don't think this combo will restrict one to a screen of only moderate size.

Firehawk is probably correct for the viewing conditions. Should be fine for the screen size in question, Throw is within range but for better contrast, not maximum brightness. The most economic Stewart solution would be a couple of floor stands to hold the frame. Stewart sells them as an option. Not too expensive. Probably a 110D screen and the stands would MSRP for about $3K. If you want super high gauin and all the negatives associated with screen gains higher than 1.35, don't ever screw around with Silver Star. Get a concave magnifying mirror :)

... If you want super high gauin and all the negatives associated with screen gains higher than 1.35, don't ever screw around with Silver Star. Get a concave magnifying mirror :)

Mark, I don't know why you have such negative feelings about high gain screens. Yes, they do have some qualifications: e.g., with the Dalite HP, you need to be able to mount the pj not far from eye level, and the viewing area needs to be not (far) outside the edges of the screen. But if these conditions are satisfied--and they often are for many rooms--there are really no 'negatives associated' with this screen, and in fact many positives.

Mark 1.35 gain would be fine for me, I'm sure that would pump up the brightness enough in the highlights for me to deal with the (relatively) low output of the projector. My question is this, if I am projecting it now on a flat field of white (painted wall) will the projector screen at 1.35 give me noticeably brighter fidelity? Obviously I want to do this right, but I'm trying to make sure I get the right item for the job and that I am satisfied with the (expensive) purchase.

Again, I appreciate everyone's help here. Buying a screen is tough as few retailers have all the screen materials set up for demo, and none have a 200 setup for viewing with those screens.

-Nick

Not all high gain screens are equal - provided you follow the rules - eg retro reflective screens need to be directly behind you - angular relfective ceiling mounted and above

Take a look in the "screens" forum, there are a lot of very happy DaLite HP users as well as the Vutec Silverstar. The Silverstar in particular doesn't suffer from most of the most serious shortcomings of the average high gain screen.

Get some material samples and try each out yourself. Don't invest in a screen unless you've seen how it performs in your own viewing environment :)

I just set up my VW200 tonight (replacing a VW50) ... first impressions are very positive and I am looking forward to fine tuning things ... will also have it calibrated in March.

With regards to screen material, I have a 2.35 Stewart fixed screen with Studiotek 130 material ... I cannot mount a screen on my wall since there is a large window behind it (covered with blinds and curtains). To solve this problem, I ordered T stands from Stewart ... they work great and allow for a change in screen height if needed ... the screen sits approx 7 inches from the wall.

My screen is 110.5 inches wide (for 2.35) and the throw distance is approx 16.5 feet.

Unfortunately, I'm off on travel the next four days and can't participate in these screen discussions. gotta pack and get some sleepfor an early flight. But there is no free lunch with a passive device. gain screens one way or another focus the light shined on it toward some point. one can't shine x amount of light on a screen and get 6 times that light back uniformly across the screen. I simply do not like what silverstar dioes to the PQ. One could get 6 times the light in some viewing area in front of the screen at the expense of diminished light elsewhere. Hotspotting is in effect a reality in every gain screen.There are a bunch of factors including viewing position and distance but for normal HT situations you can go to a gain of 1.3 or so and not see hotspotting.

Screens should be chosen for the application to be used in. There is no universal right answer. rejecting off axis light, improving black levels, supplying NEEDED gain. The Sony is not dim. It has close to the the brightness associated with most 1000 ANSI projectors, though it is a little less. what most of us fear is that the type of bulb that sony uses tends to dim quicker than most competing bulbs. It however is a more accurate bulb. None of us have any bulb age data uet from the Sony. But I think it wrong to choose a high gain screen to deal with afuture dim bulb, better to replace the bulb. That and to only use the projector for the screen sizes it is designed for. And that is a max of 45 sq feet or a little less. One should select a gain that will give your reallife foot lamberts of about 13. A 110D 16.9 1.3 gain would get this. Anything larger would require more gain. a 2.35 screen containing a 16/9 image of a 110D, will get one about 10 ft lamberts with a 1.3 gain. As an old CRT guy used to 7 ft lamberts, 10 would be fine for me and would give one the lower end (10-12 ft lamberts) of the film industry standard. Nevertheless, if I can get it, I think 13 ft lamberts is ideal. I'll chime in late this week. Have fun guys.

I thought that the even the ISF had changed its recommendation to 20 ftL (from its previous ~ 12). Anybody know more definitely?

Do the Sony CineAlta 4K have that much of a better picture than a VW200?

I thought that the even the ISF had changed its recommendation to 20 ftL (from its previous ~ 12). Anybody know more definitely?

Joel Silver is indeed extolling the virtues of 20fl.

Many are beginning to see that itro 20fl without the use of high gain is the ideal.

Despite the great image, the VW200 can only light a small screen or high gain needs to be resorted to.:mad::mad:

For those who don't mind high gain screens, ignore the above

Joel Silver is indeed extolling the virtues of 20fl.

Wow! It’s great to see ISF/WSR experts exhibiting the leadership and knowledge which most everyone else has known for years. :o

BTW are they still primarily installing analog component video too? :(

Do you own a VW200 or do you just enjoy reading your own posts?

CM: I certainly agree that it is very useful and helpful to have dealers/salesperson participate in these threads. They add a lot of info, and I've certainly learned a lot from posts from such persons. It is, of course, always wise to know where people are 'coming from', and I think the dealers etc. who contribute here have been good in acknowledging their situation. But I also think it useful to ask them questions about various points of view that don't seem to jive with one's own experience. In this process I usually learn something, or at least understand the basis for such opinions more clearly.

CM: I certainly agree that it is very useful and helpful to have dealers/salesperson participate in these threads. They add a lot of info, and I've certainly learned a lot from posts from such persons. It is, of course, always wise to know where people are 'coming from', and I think the dealers etc. who contribute here have been good in acknowledging their situation. But I also think it useful to ask them questions about various points of view that don't seem to jive with one's own experience. In this process I usually learn something, or at least understand the basis for such opinions more clearly.

Totally agreed. I've had many examples of good impartial advice from salesmen on here.

posts deleted: stop the bickering

All this just follows the wisdom of others far wiser than I: there simply is no such thing as a perfect projector! At $100K you have to accept trade-offs, so you certainly will at $15K. I am very happy with my VW200, and while I may be perfect, my projector certainly is not.

We settled in today and watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind Blu ray and was very amazed how well the night scenes looked with all those stars. Exceptional detail with great black level... Now just planning the Super party next weekend. Can't wait! :)

So, I've heard Mark's opinion on the Silverstar and high gain output screens, and I can understand how the shimmer and viewing cone might bother people who are sensitive to it. I want to direct this question to all people who are using the VW200 with high gain screens (particularly at large sizes). At the moment with the throw I have (16') I do find the screen (or "wall" if you will) to be a bit dim, and I was hoping to add a little zest into the picture. But there seems to be a polarized response on the silverstar front. Is everyone with a high gain screen and a VW200 happy with their picture? Or do you feel that you guys are blowing out highlights (highlight detail is pretty important to me) or introducing chromatic aberration?

I'm a Motion Picture HD Imaging Engineer by trade (mainly for movies)... I watch HD video all day on set and I am VERY sensitive to picture abnormalities. Understandably I want the best looking picture I can get for my HT setup at home. I want the most punch I can get at the biggest size I can get (much like everyone else I guess). I LOVE the VW200's picture and color accuracy, but I wish I could get a bit more brightness out of it without sacrificing highlight detail. Is a High output screen for me? Joe, with your VW200 are you completely happy still with your SS? Would you consider a greyhawk or a white screen? Do you see a lot of the shimmer they talk about in the screens forum?

Please excuse me if this belongs in the screen forum, but I wanted to ask just the VW200 owners in the house.

I'm really close on purchasing this thing, and I have to do the research before I slap down 4-6k on a screen.

Cheers,
Nick

I'm a Motion Picture HD Imaging Engineer by trade (mainly for movies)... I watch HD video all day on set and I am VERY sensitive to picture abnormalities.

You seriously need to demo.

I work with HD broadcast people very regularly and have recently been involved with some RED ONE work and the attendant HD post. In every critical professional screening the guys I've worked with will NEVER go above 1.3 gain.

pm me if you need more info. You will certainly have different viewing criteria to most HT users.

I'm working with the RED ONE right now, funny enough.

You will certainly have different viewing criteria to most HT users.

Yes, but 10 bucks says my wife has the EXACT same criteria:D More contrast!!!

Nick,

I demoed the 200 on Saturday on a 92" diagonal Firehawk. The image was extremely dim - even with the iris disabled. Felt like I was watching 10 foot lamberts (just a guess). My friend and I were shocked because we've seen the Ruby on this screen and it looked good.

Unless there was something wrong with the one I saw (it only had 6 hours on the bulb) I think a HP would be necessary unless you were going with a very small screen.

I would not change my screen. I really like being able to leave the lights on at half level and still see the picture perfectly. For example, this SuperBowl Sunday will be a great time for that! I think you do need to see some demos. Just remember a lot of the factors are determined on how far back you will sit. Front row is around 12 feet. The back around 18 feet. My screen is 120.5". And let's face it the VW200 is not the brightest PJ out there so having it paired with a SS really helps hide that. I have over 300 hours on my PJ and the image is still plenty bright. And if I had to do it over again I would still get the SS. Of course I would also add the Carada Masquerade Masking System again to. :)

Nick,

I demoed the 200 on Saturday on a 92" diagonal Firehawk. The image was extremely dim - even with the iris disabled. Felt like I was watching 10 foot lamberts (just a guess). My friend and I were shocked because we've seen the Ruby on this screen and it looked good.

Unless there was something wrong with the one I saw (it only had 6 hours on the bulb) I think a HP would be necessary unless you were going with a very small screen.

It is ultra dim. Great image but tiny screen or high gain needed.

I'm working with the RED ONE right now, funny enough.

You might be able to change the xenon lamp to the next highest Perkin elmer lamp and get 400 more lumens out of the projector. You would probably have to change the monitoring resistor. You might be voiding the warranty by doing this?

Going with a Da-lite high power might be a very good compromise. I have one and do not notice the artifacts everyone complains about in this forum although their are enthusiast on both sides of the issue. Its a retro-reflective screen so it should not and far as I can see does not have the hotspotting you will see on a high gain reflective screen.

the Xenon lamp is the perfect spectral source for projectors but it is extremely inefficient.

Questions for you.

Do you think the LCOS projectors create an image which is more like film than
DLP? What do you like and don't like about both technologies and the images they project ?

How many ftlamberts do you have on the screen when viewing you HD images?

I will viewing a VW200 on a ten foot screen in the coming weeks and will give a totally unbiased opinion. I doubt that it can't properly light up a 92" inch screen. There is no way ot should cost the price that it doesn't. I have a fuuny feeling that it will light up a 8 ft screen no problem and hopefully do a good job on the 10 ten ft.

Is there a possibility to control the input setting directly without toggling the input button? I am looking for a solution to program a macro with my Pronto Pro NG.

I will viewing a VW200 on a ten foot screen in the coming weeks and will give a totally unbiased opinion. I doubt that it can't properly light up a 92" inch screen. There is no way ot should cost the price that it doesn't. I have a fuuny feeling that it will light up a 8 ft screen no problem and hopefully do a good job on the 10 ten ft.

That is gain dependant. In best mode with 1.3 gain on 10ft wide 16:9 screen you will get about 8fl brand new. A few hours will drop this to under 5fl.

The PJ develops just over 300 lumen in best mode when brand new, dropping to itro 200 very quickly

Those figures have also been independently checked as true and accurate.

I will viewing a VW200 on a ten foot screen in the coming weeks and will give a totally unbiased opinion. I doubt that it can't properly light up a 92" inch screen. There is no way ot should cost the price that it doesn't. I have a fuuny feeling that it will light up a 8 ft screen no problem and hopefully do a good job on the 10 ten ft.

I just replaced the bulb on my Ruby a few days ago and tomorrow I will pick
my VPL VW200 and do some comparison and try to take some pics.
I will not fall for the 300hs dimming anymore like I did with the Ruby the lamp holds brightness beyond 800hs

You shouldn't. I am over 300 hours and am still very happy with brightness....

Maybe you right after all I just sold my beloved Ruby to a member here. I will take your word.
PS - Joe do you run the 200 on high altitude? I remember when some people here including myself sent the Ruby for convergence alignment they all comeback on high altitude mode fan.

Do you think the LCOS projectors create an image which is more like film than
DLP? What do you like and don't like about both technologies and the images they project ?

How many ftlamberts do you have on the screen when viewing you HD images?


I'm going to try and answer this question without straying too from the idea of the forum, which is a HOME theater forum. I spoke to the head engineer at Technicolor Digital on the Sony Studios Lot today as well as had a conversation with someone from EFilm. These are premiere post facilities where quite a lot of movies are graded and posted (Spiderman 1,2,3, etc).

He told me that all projector rooms at Technicolor are setup for 14FL, with the dictation that all Digital Cinema Masters (in accordance with the Digital Cinema Initiative "DCI" spec) must look good at 14FL.

They are using Greyhawk screens at 1.3 gain in their facilities, but they are moving over to 1.0 gain screens as we speak. However, with this in mind it is important to note that they are utilizing 2k and 4k DLP projectors that have high output, so screen gain is not necessary.

They do have two rooms that purely output dailies and preview screening copies of films whose screens are setup to 16FL but that is only for internal dailies screening and is there because they are using a film print emulation table built into their projector which lowers the white point somewhat.

He said with all certainty that 20FL would skew the intended gamma of the picture and is not recommended.

When they grade film for film output it is at 16FL (open gate).

The DCI spec for ALL movies screening digitally is 14FL.

That info comes directly from a leader in the industry whom I respect greatly, who was one of the head technicians for Industrial Light and Magic for many years.

Personally, I only use a CRT monitor on set for monitoring (as it still is the only monitor that gives me true blacks). Post standard for CRT is 30FL, but we adjust that to match the DI grading rooms of the post facilities CRT monitors - which in many cases for cinema output is 28FL.

When I do 3-D work (like U2 3-D) we go for a higher screen FL (18-20FL) to compensate for the extra glass the viewer is wearing (polarized glass or active LCD glasses).

Hope that helps without getting us too off track. :)

Cheers,
Nick

Nick,

Thanks for the information. It really was asked in a home theater spirit because I was trying to determine where I should set the brightness on my home screen for optimum viewing

I am assuming when they set the brightness it is with a 100 percent white APL target.

Theo

Removed my post as you explained better the FL caveats and variables for film, but there are differences for domestic use, as Mike alludes to.

The DCI spec is actually under review atm with regard to a long term shift to 20fl

Open gate film and Digital cinema figures are legacy performance limited to below gate flicker threshold. The effect on the Gamma reflects this too.

The RED ONE material i mentioned was screened after conversion for domestic use at 20fl and cinema use at 14Fl. The post facility also viewed HD transfers at 20fl

Hope this helps.

PS will have the info you asked for later today.

Guys

I have now set up 2 of the VW200's on Firehawk G3's, one at 123" and one at 120" and I have to tell you, for my customers and I, this is the right combo.

I have always felt this way on the VW60 and yes on the 200 it still applies.

The colors are spectacular , the Whites and Blacks are amazing as well.

I am very impressed with the 200 so far and apparently Joe R and the rest of you guys that got them from me are happy also.

Has anyone done the Schneider Sled and Lens combo and a 2:35 screen yet ?

I think I want to do this with my next install.

GO SONY !!!

Thanks
Craig

Guys

I have now set up 2 of the VW200's on Firehawk G3's, one at 123" and one at 120" and I have to tell you, for my customers and I, this is the right combo.

I have always felt this way on the VW60 and yes on the 200 it still applies.

The colors are spectacular , the Whites and Blacks are amazing as well.

I am very impressed with the 200 so far and apparently Joe R and the rest of you guys that got them from me are happy also.

Has anyone done the Schneider Sled and Lens combo and a 2:35 screen yet ?

I think I want to do this with my next install.

GO SONY !!!

Thanks
Craig

How large a G3 FH do you think is possible with the VW200?

Craig Im running the Isco 3 with the Cineslide (http://www.cineslide.com/) and love it :)

Craig Im running the Isco 3 with the Cineslide (http://www.cineslide.com/) and love it :)

I never had time to set up exactly, but was able to get a great image with no problem with the ISCOIII.

Guys

I have now set up 2 of the VW200's on Firehawk G3's, one at 123" and one at 120" and I have to tell you, for my customers and I, this is the right combo.

I have always felt this way on the VW60 and yes on the 200 it still applies.

The colors are spectacular , the Whites and Blacks are amazing as well.

I am very impressed with the 200 so far and apparently Joe R and the rest of you guys that got them from me are happy also.

Has anyone done the Schneider Sled and Lens combo and a 2:35 screen yet ?

I think I want to do this with my next install.

GO SONY !!!

Thanks
Craig

Craig
I have the 200 with the Schneider Cine Digatar Anamorphic lens and Kino- Torsion mech. Schneider has a bracket that connects the lens and Kino-Torsion to a Chief pj mount and pan bracket. I am using 130" 2.35:1 Stewart Firehawk G3 Cine-w screen. My throw is 13' so I needed the curved screen to remove pincushion effect. The picture is beautiful, very happy with the combo!

Chris

Craig
I have the 200 with the Schneider Cine Digatar Anamorphic lens and Kino- Torsion mech. Schneider has a bracket that connects the lens and Kino-Torsion to a Chief pj mount and pan bracket. I am using 130" 2.35:1 Stewart Firehawk G3 Cine-w screen. My throw is 13' so I needed the curved screen to remove pincushion effect. The picture is beautiful, very happy with the combo!

Chris

Hey Chris,
You, by chance, wouldn't happen to have a pic of your pj/lens assembly?

Thanks Graig, now if I only could get my hands on the FH-G3.:D

Hey Chris,
You, by chance, wouldn't happen to have a pic of your pj/lens assembly?


Gary

Here are some pics of the Schneider- 200 combo.

100908

100909

100910

I like this set up better.:)

I like this set up better.:)
Your setup looks like manual lens removal?

Your setup looks like manual lens removal?

This not my set up, is from a member here. my is this one
I do like your set up, those lens is nice and small.:)

Gary

Here are some pics of the Schneider- 200 combo.

100908

100909

100910


Thanks for the shots, that is one slick setup. PM sent

I do not run the 200 on high altitude.

This not my set up, is from a member here. my is this one
I do like your set up, those lens is nice and small.:)

Your pic looks like your pj enclosed on all sides except the front? I would think it might hold a lot of heat if that was the case. My 200 dumps a lot of heat out the back end.

Your pic looks like your pj enclosed on all sides except the front? I would think it might hold a lot of heat if that was the case. My 200 dumps a lot of heat out the back end.

My system has two separate cooling process..

at the very back there is a heat sensor the trigers a exhaust fan almost instantly after the PJ goes on it seats about 8 feet away from the enclosure.
There is absolutely no noise.
the second sensor is tripped by a higher temperature which trigger the the central HVAC fan.

I also keep the projector(VPLVW200) at hight altitude mode as I suspect that is best for it and the lamp.
I remember many users of VPL VW100 that sent the PJ to be adjusted or repaired comeback from the Sony Toledo TX on hight altitude mode.
Here is where I got one of them.
http://www.activethermal.com/System_1.htm

Todays the BIG day around here! And yes I am talking about Superbowl Sunday. With friends and family coming I have been setting up all day yesterday. I have my special Superbowl XLII and football helium balloons strategically placed along with my nice big NFL football field cover in front of the screen. Our official NFL cake is here and ready. The popcorn machine is anxiously awaiting. My fatheads are out. Madden on the 360 ELITE is ready for pregame entertainment. The beer and cocktails are ready! And my lighted signs all mention Superbowl XLII. And not to forget I also have my special autographed Troy Aikman and Joe Buck popcorn bowl on display! :D And what does all of this have to do with the VW200? Nothing of course. But when the game starts nothing else will matter and the MVP will be the Sapphire. As Mark mentioned I am an Eye-Candy Extremist so I plan to make sure the VW200 excels today. With everybody downstairs I am pondering if I should plan to put it in high altitude mode? I do plan to have the game on in my Wife's bar to help with traffic and also upstairs on my new Panasonic 1080p plasma. Wherever the guests go they should be able to get a 50 yardline seat! :eek: I just hope we get a good game. Some of my guests have not seen the VW200 yet. I can't wait for their reactions. The commercials should be really cool with MotionFlow on. And yes close-ups of players, coaches, fans and cheerleaders ;)should also be nice. I am willing to bet Fox is bringing their best HD cameras. So if your watching the game have a good time. I probably won't be able to post back until after or tomorrow. Superbowl Sunday's are fun but a lot of work. Just like the Holidays! :eek:

Prediction: Pats 14 Giants 17

Just kidding! I was waaay off... Good thing I don't gamble! :eek: :D

First post here, take it easy on me!

For those of you that have a 2:35:1 screen. Do you think the VW200 has adequate light output for a 130" diagonal screen? We will watch some 16:9 but mostly movies. I have received mixed answers on this topic from Sony and Stewart Filmscreen. Sony says it should be OK, Stewart says it won't be bright enough. Go figure?!?

Any info appreciated.

It depends on your screen - what gain? If you have a high gain screen, it will be fine. If it's a low gain, it will still be OK, just not as bright. Do you have light controlled conditions? If so, even better.

Most likely Stewart G3 which is a 1.25 gain. Totally light controlled room and throw distance will be about 19'.

First post here, take it easy on me!

For those of you that have a 2:35:1 screen. Do you think the VW200 has adequate light output for a 130" diagonal screen? We will watch some 16:9 but mostly movies. I have received mixed answers on this topic from Sony and Stewart Filmscreen. Sony says it should be OK, Stewart says it won't be bright enough. Go figure?!?

Any info appreciated.

I just replaced a new VW50 with a VW200 ... I am using a Stewart Studiotek 130 (1.3 gain) 2.35 120" diagonal screen (110.5" wide).

I only have about 10 hours on the VW200 ... my initial impressions are that it is less bright than the VW50 ... although I think this perception is likely due to the improved blacks on the VW200. I am very pleased so far. My throw distance is 16.5 feet.

Since I just received the PJ, I have not yet owned it long enough to see any impacts of aging on the bulb ... I think 130" diagonal would be a stretch to light adequately (assuming 1.3 gain) IHMO.

I saw it on a 92" diagonal Firehawk and it was very dim (with only 6 hours on the bulb). I would suggest a screen with higher gain.

I could go to a slightly smaller screen but the main reason to opt for a CIH set up is for VISUAL IMPACT. The room is 14'x19' and currently has a 16:9 110" Stewart StudioTech 130 onto which the VW200 is currently being used. Light output is decent right now and the screen perforated.

I will be placing the front 3 speakers behind the screen once again so the 2:35:1 will also be perforated.

I guess my main concern is that I have read/heard bad remarks as to the light output of the VW200 and I want to make sure I am not shooting myself in the foot.

First post here, take it easy on me!

For those of you that have a 2:35:1 screen. Do you think the VW200 has adequate light output for a 130" diagonal screen? We will watch some 16:9 but mostly movies. I have received mixed answers on this topic from Sony and Stewart Filmscreen. Sony says it should be OK, Stewart says it won't be bright enough. Go figure?!?

Any info appreciated.

Absolutely My is 128 diagonal Carada 1.3 2.35-1
I use to have VW100 before.

The word to describe this PJ (200) is sharp.

First post here, take it easy on me!

For those of you that have a 2:35:1 screen. Do you think the VW200 has adequate light output for a 130" diagonal screen? We will watch some 16:9 but mostly movies. I have received mixed answers on this topic from Sony and Stewart Filmscreen. Sony says it should be OK, Stewart says it won't be bright enough. Go figure?!?

Any info appreciated.

I have the Sony 200 with a Schneider anamorphic lens. I am shooting onto Stewart Cine-W 130" Firehawk G3 curved screen. We had 20 people over for the Super Bowl yesterday. I stretched the ball game out to a scope format, everyone was blown away by the quality and vibrance of the picture. Try to find a dealer that has VW200 and Firehawk combo after you see the demo you will not be disappointed.

crpisani-

So are you using Sony's internal "stretch" function to acheive the proper ratio or an external processor? Somebody told me the Sony just zooms the picture for a CIH system and isn't as good as an outboard processor.

What do you think?

crpisani-

So are you using Sony's internal "stretch" function to acheive the proper ratio or an external processor? Somebody told me the Sony just zooms the picture for a CIH system and isn't as good as an outboard processor.

What do you think?
I am using the internal anamorphic mode which stretches the movie without clipping the sides. This feature is new to the Sony vw200 and vw60. There is a wide zoom mode function on the 200 which expands the picture on all 4 sides which would probably be used to stretch a scope movie to fill a 16x9 screen.

Is there anyone or place to demo this? I am in Central Coast Ca. I am still smarting from h79 and Immersive Simmetry purchases but after reading this entire thread in one sitting I am considering upgrading my theater again....this pj sounds intriguing... and I dont know if I can wait for lasers or???

I saw it on a 92" diagonal Firehawk and it was very dim (with only 6 hours on the bulb). I would suggest a screen with higher gain.

I am still looking forward to seeing this projector. Is is not brighter than the VW60?

crpisani-

So are you using Sony's internal "stretch" function to acheive the proper ratio or an external processor? Somebody told me the Sony just zooms the picture for a CIH system and isn't as good as an outboard processor.

What do you think?

The Sonys will zoom in "zoom" mode - but there is also an "anamorphic zoom" which uses the full panel height - you can then use a VC lens to squeeze the image.

You don't need an outboard processor - although I do find my Crystalio 2 improves the source significantly, especially for SD vs 'stock' DRC

Is there anyone or place to demo this? I am in Central Coast Ca. I am still smarting from h79 and Immersive Simmetry purchases but after reading this entire thread in one sitting I am considering upgrading my theater again....this pj sounds intriguing... and I dont know if I can wait for lasers or???

I live on the Central Coast also. Good luck finding anyone who has current model projectors to demo at retail. I searched around and couldn't find anyone who didn't have last years models at best.

I decided to rely on specs. and personal/professional testimony, and then buy from AVS. I bought the VW60, knowing that Jason and Rich would do what it takes to be sure I was satisfied.

I'm 120 hours into my projector, and well beyond my in house tweaking phase. The picture is great and the experience is even better.

I finally got mine completely installed, powered up, aimed, zoomed, shifted, and focused. It took me a while to get the mount properly installed, and I discovered that one of the two HDMI cables I pulled didn't survive the installation - it's non-functional. Argh.

Fiddled a bit with some of the settings, and watched some familiar stuff. Wow! I'm glad I stepped up to the VW200! It's quite impressive. A huge difference between standard DVD and the new formats, but it still makes my DVD collection quite watchable. The network access feature is way cool, too. I've made good use of that.

My room is dark, and totally light-controlled. That's a good thing - this projector does not seem to be suited for typical bright living spaces. My initial settings reduced the light output pretty dramatically over the out-of-the-box defaults, but the detail in blacks is absolutely excellent.

Ugh. In this business you need to be very careful about the some bodies who tell you something.


As far as vertically stretching a 2.35 movie to use the whole 16 x 9 chip (3 chips actually) the Sony will do this stretch and no external box is necessary to do it. FACT

Once the image is expanded vertically to use the whole chips it must be expanded horizontally the same amount to restore the proper geometry.This is done by placing a satretcher lens in front of the Sony lens. If you stretch it vertically eklectronically in the Sony, why then would you want to compress it vertically? Simply don't expand it in the first place.

G3 stands for a generation of fabric. Third generation. It means nothing without knowing the name of the fabric. That is Firehawk G3 or Studeotec 130 G3. There is no Stewart fabric with a gain of 1.25. Firehawk G3 has a gain of something like 1.18 while Studeotec 130 G3 has a gain of 1.3. Brightness is a question of how much you want. In an ideal room, 13 ft lamberts is often considered the ideal for film. Simply take your screen height in inches and multiply it by the width of the screen in inches. Forget about the diagonal measurement. Assuming your dimensions are in inches, divide by 144. Ta DA you now know how many square feet your screen will be. The Sony is rated at about 900 ANSI lumens. In real life, set up at a throw distance that will maximize brightness and using the vertical stretch to fill the entire chips for 2.35 movies and a horizontal stretch lens, you will get about 375 lumens for a normal scene viewed on your screen So divide 375 lumens by the sq footage of your screen and then multiply by your screen material gain and you get the brightness in foot lamberts. Assuming you get 12 or 13 you will be plenty bright. Many could live with less but 10 ft lamberts should be the lower limit I would think. Plug in your numbers and tell us what you get.

The one major knock on this projector is, IMO, the auto iris. What was Sony thinking? :confused: No matter which setting I used, the results were disappointing when the iris was in play. I finally ended up setting it to manual, and got a consistently beautiful picture.

I still prefer the Manual setting... :)

The one major knock on this projector is, IMO, the auto iris. What was Sony thinking? :confused: No matter which setting I used, the results were disappointing when the iris was in play. I finally ended up setting it to manual, and got a consistently beautiful picture.


Yes I agree, I prefer auto iris off but I did find that motion flow set to high for the Super Bowl game worked great.

With Motionflow on High what did you have the auto iris at? 1,2 or Manual?

With Motionflow on High what did you have the auto iris at? 1,2 or Manual?

I leave auto iris off and set my picture mode to dynamic. It gives a little punch for sports events. I have a 130" 2.35:1 screen, that is the largest screen I would recommend someone use with the vw-200. I have calculated that the 200 is producing between 11 and 12 ft lamberts with this size and gain screen.

The Sonys will zoom in "zoom" mode - but there is also an "anamorphic zoom" which uses the full panel height - you can then use a VC lens to squeeze the image.

Not to nitpick here, but the use of a VC lens gives you a 'constant width' setup, not a 'constant height' setup.

Just me, but I have never really seen the point of a VC lens as you end up with a picture the same size as the original active area of the letterboxed image. There is no true resolution gain, and any light gain from full use of the displays pixel count is negligible frankly.

IMO, if you are going to go with an anamorphic lens the HE type is significantly preferable.

Simon

The one major knock on this projector is, IMO, the auto iris. What was Sony thinking? :confused: No matter which setting I used, the results were disappointing when the iris was in play. I finally ended up setting it to manual, and got a consistently beautiful picture.

Interesting! I actually find the auto iris to work quite well. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

Same here. I really do prefer it in the manual setting though. I will admit that I have not spent much time with it off... Maybe I will play around some later and see...

Thanks Mark-

I assume your remark on the Stewart G3 material was aimed at me. I forgot to put Firehawk G3 in my post. It does in fact have a gain of 1.25 (check Stewart's website) but I have decided to go slightly smaller on the screen which I feel will give me the picture "pop" I am looking for. I would get a little over 11 fl on the 130" diag 2:35:1 so that is my reason for going a little smaller.

Interesting! I actually find the auto iris to work quite well. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

Have you tried any "outer space" material, where there is a starfield on black background? That's where I noticed the problems the most. The iris closed down so much that the stars dimmed into obscurity.

Have you tried any "outer space" material, where there is a starfield on black background? That's where I noticed the problems the most. The iris closed down so much that the stars dimmed into obscurity.

Yes, played Contact and a couple of the Star Wars movies to try to get a sense of the brightness compression from the auto iris, and while it is noticable, it does not bother me all that much. The benefits I get from most other kinds of scenes offsets, for me at least, the negative from occassional views of star fields.

Now if you spend more time than I do staring a video of star fields .....

I am interested in adding support for the Sony in ControlCAL. I don't have one and would need someone to help test ControlCAL with Sony support.

I believe it uses the same control codes as the VW60.

Is anyone interested? Post in the ControlCAL thread or PM me if interested.

Thanks in advance... :D

One Page Calibration Screen for Mitsubishi Projectors (HC1500/HC3000/HC4900/HC5000/HC6000):
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w288/THESoulPimp/ControlCAL/ControlCAL_Main.jpg

So I see there still aren't to many new owners posting here lately. If anyone is interested in getting a VW200 and need a good referral feel free to PM me. ;)

There aren't many owners of this PJ yet, but here is my two cents...
Coming from the Ruby I thought I was not going to be impressed but I truly am. forget the iris hight or low motion flow or no motion at all, this projector really through a amazing picture on my screen, the colors the sharpens the blacks are just incredible.
I don't care how bright a projector can be, the second you add ambient light the picture deteriorates. Digital projectors like the Commercial theater has to be in a control environment period.
You want watch a game with lights on? get a 106 plasma instead.
I am truly happy with the VPL VW200 this is a keeper for a long time I can't imagined anything better at this price rage.
and so this is my one cent, I'll give the other after I play a little with my baby.:o

I guess it helps having a SS because we watched the game with the lights on at least at half or maybe even a little more. The picture still looked excellent. Good points Angeli662... :)

I saw it on a 92" diagonal Firehawk and it was very dim (with only 6 hours on the bulb). I would suggest a screen with higher gain.
Correct observation. Here are the max aged bulb screen sizes for SMPTE 12fl:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13014417#post13014417

I am now at 365 hours! :eek: We watched the Superbowl with half lighting. I watched some of Apocalypto in HD from DirecTV yesterday and the amount of detail was just astounding. I could not believe how well it looked. I am using a newer HD DVR from them but still it looked great as did Fight Club in HD... I am still more than happy with my VW200... I am not even thinking about another PJ... :)

Six hours and dim on a small positive gain screen is simply an indication of something being wrong with the Ht, set up, or projector. my screeen is 110'D 1.78 Studeotec 130 and the projector is bright motion flow film 3, gamma 1, cinema mode, professsionalblank enhance or whatever its called off, auto iris 1. About 25 hours on the bulb.

Every time joe posts, remember he has a Silver star screen. That screen would make a candle seem bright. So I think his brightness/bulb observations must be taken with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, for the rest of the week i will be burning in and playing with an RS2 so I won't be accumalting hours on my Sony. The RS2 is a nice machine but the colors need serious correction which can't be done without an externally processor with the right CMS stuff and the RS2 is just not as sharp as the Sony. The Sony is a keeper for me as a back up to my CRT. Seriously, switching back and forth with the CRT and the Sony, it was difficult to prefer one over the other. Sure there were obvious differences but nothing that made anyone prefer one over the other. usually when a digital is switched out for my CRT everyone says ah.

Yes Mark I am with you on the RS2 - JVC's colors are always Bizarre.. We never understood it but we see heavy green , when sony looks so natural and nice :)

Hi,

Happy new owner of the VW200 here!
Can somebody tell me what the various Gamma settings are about (i.e. Is the off setting supposed to be closer tho 2.2 or the gamma 1 which is the standard setting in Cinema mode)?

Thanks

Nick

I prefer gamma 3 for sports and gamma OFF for movies...

I prefer gamma 3 for sports and gamma OFF for movies...
Thanks Joe,

Already tried your settings. It seems that Gamma 1 gives a more pleasant and bright pic vs Gamma off which is slightly darker but with more punch.
It's just that in my Ruby before, Gamma Off was the standard setting from Sony where now with VW200 it is Gamma 1 (if you press the reset button you will see that it resets to Gamma 1), so perhaps Sony have made some changes in how they set up their Gamma curves in the 200 vs 100.

Nick

I had the 100 as well and they did do some modifications with their gamma settings. Off does look much more alive then 1...

Not to nitpick here, but the use of a VC lens gives you a 'constant width' setup, not a 'constant height' setup.

Just me, but I have never really seen the point of a VC lens as you end up with a picture the same size as the original active area of the letterboxed image. There is no true resolution gain, and any light gain from full use of the displays pixel count is negligible frankly.

IMO, if you are going to go with an anamorphic lens the HE type is significantly preferable.

Simon

Wrong! You over fill the screen and then you do an electronic stretch and then you compress with a VC. Because you are at a maximum zoom position ,you produce more light and because you are manipulating the image at vertical lower field angle you get a sharper image.

The vertical compression lens will almost always produce a sharper image and the maximum lumens on the screen

I have Elizabeth The Golden Age HD DVD on right now and I have to say the picture is very detailed with stunning visuals and colors. This title should be used as a nice reference disc! ;)

Wrong! You over fill the screen and then you do an electronic stretch and then you compress with a VC. Because you are at a maximum zoom position ,you produce more light and because you are manipulating the image at vertical lower field angle you get a sharper image.

The vertical compression lens will almost always produce a sharper image and the maximum lumens on the screen

Funny, I experimented with both a few years back and got subjectively better performance from the HE lens - all without having to fuss around with zooming.

VGI. Lee S. told me the Columbo analogy he told you. :) Fairly accurate but Columbo wore better cloths but I smoke better cigars. :)Hell. Columbo wore better clothes than Lee S. too.

Mark, he had me laughing hysterical.. He is funny as hell and seems to experience the same crazy things in life that I bet you and I probably have experienced as well.

I think you and I met once years ago in Aerials Room at Mirage, I am almost positive.. Was it you or the partner ?

Craig

couldn't tell you. I haven't been to a CES in about 4 or 5 years. I go to Cedia instead. I did go to about 2o straight years of CES though so it depends on how many years ago. I just don't remember.

I just tested one...I'm not doing a review, but I got just shy of 29000:1 contrast and about 548 lumens. Not a light cannon, but decent for normal theater applications. Of course this is with a brand new lamp, I imagine with Xenon lamps it will dim a decent amount.

So what this means kiddies is with a 110" D 1.3, one would get about 20 ft lamberts and assuming 1/3 bulb aging, about 13 ft lamberts. With a 123 D 1.3, One would get over 15 when nw and with bulb aging about 10.5 ft lamberts. Still with digital projection standards. With a large screen one might be tempted to go with a new bulb a little quicker say after 26% loss. But we have no bulb aging data yet. Reportedly, this model should not dim as rapidly as the older one. Who knows?

Ok enough, lets have some fun here, for all the Vw200 owners.
I decided to go into the service menu - just like the VW100 enter - enter - left - up - yes - go down to devices - first thing is iris 0, I put into 1. try it and let me know what you think.

Angeli

What does it do ? I wont be able to try it for a few days ? Is it a good one ?

I will try it this afternoon to.... Thanks Angel! :)

Angel

When you go into the service menu and you adjust the iris setting the changes affect iris 1 & 2. In order to have the changes effect iris off you must change that digit from 0 to 1. Any changes with that number at 1 now effects the overall brightness with iris in off position. When you are in the service menu and you change that number to 1 you will see the picture get brighter that is because you are now in iris off mode. Always set it back to 0 before exiting the service menu. Hope this helps.

Angel

When you go into the service menu and you adjust the iris setting the changes affect iris 1 & 2. In order to have the changes effect iris off you must change that digit from 0 to 1. Any changes with that number at 1 now effects the overall brightness with iris in off position. When you are in the service menu and you change that number to 1 you will see the picture get brighter that is because you are now in iris off mode. Always set it back to 0 before exiting the service menu. Hope this helps.

Thanks Alan, I remember when I had the VW100 never save the changes:) I did notice the picture got a lot brighter and didn't noticed any drop on the black level.
I was hoping the service menu setting was similar to the VW100 so I could try your/Darin light canon, but nothing resembles the VW100.
Have you try anything else?
PS Like you new screen.:o I want one:D

I asked yesterday why a pj that was receiving such rave reviews here and elsewhere was selling at steeply discounted prices. There is a new unit for sale on this forum at a huge discount as well as a slightly used one, at a similar price.

I know that we are not supposed to talk about prices other than MSRP but VW200s were offered for sale well below MSRP on this forum.

My question was an honest one seeking a better understanding of the crazy pricing that we all see. Why was it censored? :mad:

I asked yesterday why a pj that was receiving such rave reviews here and elsewhere was selling at steeply discounted prices. There is a new unit for sale on this forum at a huge discount as well as a slightly used one, at a similar price.

I know that we are not supposed to talk about prices other than MSRP but VW200s were offered for sale well below MSRP on this forum.

My question was an honest one seeking a better understanding of the crazy pricing that we all see. Why was it censored? :mad:

you know your question can be honest, but yet still against forum rules.

msrp's are over rated and most of the time over inflated.

later.

kansashick,

It looked like maybe it was going to be turning into a pissing match over dealers and prices they sell stuff for, etc.

To get to the spirit of your question, basically competition between manufacturers and dealers is what drives those prices down.

If you contact AVS or any other dealer .. there is an MSRP that is a suggested retail price, a MAP which is the Minimum (allowed b manufacturer) Advertised Price, and then there is the "street" price.

Street price is usually a bit less than MSRP and less than MAP. What you have seen on the forums and on the internet is "street" pricing, that may or not be what the manufacturer had in mind but for the most part dealers arent supposed to use this forum to sell their goods to members as it can lead to pissing matches with other dealers as what was appearing to start to happen here.

There are places on the forums where dealers can advertise their items for sale and you can look there for some of the street pricing or you can PM Jason or others and Im sure they will be happy to share with you.

I dont think that was as much censorship of you as it was making sure that the powers at be didnt want this to potentially get out of hand with a couple of valued retail members of the forum.

I asked yesterday why a pj that was receiving such rave reviews here and elsewhere was selling at steeply discounted prices. There is a new unit for sale on this forum at a huge discount as well as a slightly used one, at a similar price.

I know that we are not supposed to talk about prices other than MSRP but VW200s were offered for sale well below MSRP on this forum.

My question was an honest one seeking a better understanding of the crazy pricing that we all see. Why was it censored? :mad:

WELL COME TO THE TECHNOLOGY WORLD.

I bought my VPL VW 100 for $ two months later it went down 30%
I was one the first to get a Iphone here in NYC a week later the price dropped 200.00
I also was one the first to get the XA1 HDDVD I paid well over 1K now you can't give it this thing away.

I didn't pay much more for what those units (demo or new) in this forum.
but I would if I had to.
I personally don't want to wait for prices to go lower I WANT NOW.
and if something better comes along, I will not be upset if I can't afford
and take my frustration in a forum sight.:rolleyes:

That's the point. I love my 200 and can really be satisfied for 2 to 3 years with it. I get the best colors I have seen to date, great details, 1080p/24, Motionflow for sports, Film Projection Mode for movies and terrific Contrast with great Black Levels... What else can I ask for? Not to mention the Sapphire is a really exceptional looking piece and I still really like that Sony lighted logo... :)

Cut the crap. You've told us all that before and we believe.

Three years is longer than most marriages last. :)

What we really want want to know is whether your sex life has improved because of your VPL-vw200 purchase. :)

Cut the crap. You've told us all that before and we believe.

Three years is longer than most marriages last. :)

What we really want want to know is whether your sex life has improved because of your VPL-vw200 purchase. :)

If the answer he replies is "Yes", holy crap I am buying a dozen of them!!!! :D

The adult material sure looks better. :D

I have been playing with this thing...I am quite impressed. I love the motionflow...I wish more units had that.

Try it with an adult title... It is really like being there! :eek: :)

Joe, can you post some screenshots for us to see? 8)

Doh!

Joe, can you post some screenshots for us to see? 8)

Yes and no butt pimples :eek:

Cut the crap. You've told us all that before and we believe.
Three years is longer than most marriages last. :)
What we really want want to know is whether your sex life has improved because of your VPL-vw200 purchase. :)
Like I said, its stuff like this which make AVS a great read. I hope people don't think I'm nuts when I tear up and begin laughing at 4:00am.
I apologize for taking advantage of any insecurity, but at times it's just too tempting. Each post makes my day.
Seriously, by all means, please do continue.


Note to Moderator: its all good clean fun so please let these posts stand. Its fascinating and I want to hear more. :)

From what everybody tells me is that screenshots don't mean a thing... I will see what I can do here soon and maybe get some posted...

Well you shouldn't judge a projector by screenshots alone, but, they are a lot of fun.

i have not read this tread but this info i have to post.

the new issue from the germany magazin "video" is out
and i read it at gas station today.

there is a test of the vw200 inside.
they claim that the unit have a 137000:1 cr. in auto1.

yes you read right 137000:1 on off cr.
the say that the double check the measurment but found no error
in the measurments.

i think that number is not right because i am sure if this pr. have a true bigger than
100000:1 cr. sony will marketing that for sure.

from all what i know the vw 200 will have in auto iris1 about 25000:1 cr.

I thought latest measurements were 33,000 to 1. Anyway, I would love to read this review. Did it say anything else compelling?

Joe, This is the CR # with the auto iris engaged, correct?

i have not read this tread but this info i have to post.

the new issue from the germany magazin "video" is out
and i read it at gas station today.

there is a test of the vw200 inside.
they claim that the unit have a 137000:1 cr. in auto1.

yes you read right 137000:1 on off cr.
the say that the double check the measurment but found no error
in the measurments.

i think that number is not right because i am sure if this pr. have a true bigger than
100000:1 cr. sony will marketing that for sure.

from all what i know the vw 200 will have in auto iris1 about 25000:1 cr.

I wonder if that is a type O on their behalf.
I could see 37,000:1 but 137,000:1 is a crazy number that if true will shake up the industry.
Im sure we will hear more as the publication gets some exposure. This will surely cause some controversy.

I know it looks amazing but 137.000 to 1? :eek:

My guess is with Alan. It should read 37000:1 which is reasonably in line with other numbers.
W.Mayer
I thought you were going to say the magazine had news about a 4k Sony. :)

37,000 to 1 is more like it... I have been messing around with the rest of the adjustments that I haven't so far. Like DCR, NR and a few others. I have always used my crystalio II so I never messed with the other parameters. I am shocked at all these extra tweaks you can make... They really put a lot into this PJ...

5 tried to search for that article, but only found this.

http://www.video-magazin.de/home/ratgeberartikel/pixel_premiere.155284.htm

5 tried to search for that article, but only found this.

http://www.video-magazin.de/home/ratgeberartikel/pixel_premiere.155284.htm

That looks more like a sub woofer!

:D:D:D:D
It really does, according to the translation it has 2 kilowatts Xenon lamp,:cool:

:D:D:D:D
It really does, according to the translation it has 2 kilowatts Xenon lamp,:cool:

And 10,000 lumens. Holy crap.

Yeah we heard that rumor. Alan and I discussed it a bit. I tested a brand new unit fresh from Sony and got ~29000:1. I messed around to see if there was any way to get it higher, but nothing really made a huge impact.

In addition...if Sony really could acheive that (and they might be able to for all I know), why wouldn't they implement that into a new model? I mean, if it is true, wouldn't this completely cause chaos amongst those who already own it. Just my 2 cents.

if jvc would combine a adaptive iris (like the sony works)
in the rs2 with arround 25000:1 cr. nativ
such a number over 100000:1 is possible for sure.

yes mattias still waiting for the 4k pr. demo from barco.
since weeks they tell me everytime when i call them
"oh tomorror we will have the dates for your demo at home":mad:

i give up so far and wait for them to call me.

Sorry for not following this CR thing exactly. But the Sony line show is next Tuesday through Thursday in Las Vegas. The US projector people will be there but usually the HT projectors are not on demo like they are at Cedia.

Is there a specific question or are there specific questions you guys would like answered? If so, please couch it for me and I will ask it.

I can't think of any off hand... :) Just kidding... ;)

Yeah we heard that rumor. Alan and I discussed it a bit. I tested a brand new unit fresh from Sony and got ~29000:1. I messed around to see if there was any way to get it higher, but nothing really made a huge impact.

In addition...if Sony really could acheive that (and they might be able to for all I know), why wouldn't they implement that into a new model? I mean, if it is true, wouldn't this completely cause chaos amongst those who already own it. Just my 2 cents.

I don't think theses companies are throwing all their eggs on to the same basket.
at once.
I do believe they are hiding something in their products, like the Iphone nothing is unbreakable.

Indeed...I just think that they would save it for a new model which they could either a. sell more of or b. raise the price.

I am not following what you guys are talking about. Is there a question hiding in here someplace? Or are we just criticizing a possible reviewer mismeasurement?

Neither for me...I wasn't there so I don't know if it was true, done wrong, etc... My point is that I think Sony would be crazy to make such a drastic change "mid" life cycle on a current model. If it is true it is going to cause a stir with current owners...

So there is a question! Did Sony make any post release date changes to the VPL-vw200 to increase on/off CR?

As an ex lawyer, I am going to ask the judge of this kangaro court if I can treat Jason as a hostile witness. :)

Bingo.

Just got the Sony transition sheets in advance of the show. No change in specs or pricing for the VPL-vw200. CR with auto iris listed as 35,000. ANSI lumens 800.

Case closed. Type O...

Mark, please ask them when they are finally going to make a Qualia 004 class projector available.....

Vern

They won't leak that. I doubt any US employee reeally knows anyway. The VPL-vw200 in many ways is better than the 004 but of course the optics were better in the 004 and the machine was much higher bulb wattage and ANSI lumens.But that's about it.

If the Japenese desin guys are there I'll attempt to ask them but i know all they will dois smile and maybe say they are working on it.

A few months ago I got a VW-100, after having used a 1272Q for many years. I'd like to pose a question to the VW-200 owners that previously had the 100. Joe and Alan are certainly in this category, as well as others I'm sure.

In my experience so far with the Ruby, I'm happy with the light output (I'm at ~350 hours now), generally happy with the blacks (though a little better would be appreciated), and overall satisfied with the CIH result using the Panamorph 380, Carada BW 120, and the Lumagen HDP for the vertical stretch. What continues to annoy me several times during the course of a movie, though, is the motion blur. In most movies, there is at least a handful of times that I'm taken out of the movie and forced to think about whether the video system is working correctly because everything onscreen goes blurry for a moment.

I've been following along with the various features of the 200... DFI, motion flow, 120 Hz, etc., and the different contexts in which 200 owners seem to favor their use. What I'm curious about, though, is to what degree does the appropriate selection of these new features specifically eliminate the sensation that the whole world goes out of focus once a pan shot gets beyond a certain threshold speed?

Hi everyone,

I guess I'm in the same situation as many, hesitating between a vw200 and an RS2. I've read most if not all professional reviews written in English and French for those PJ and I still can't decide.

Price wise I can get a *used* vw200 with 200 hours and mint condition for the same price as a new RS2.

PJ will be in a non dedicated room, dark wall behind the screen, but white ceilling and right wall, left wall with windows, curtains but difficult light control, however I will watch most of my movies during night time and keep my 1080P LCD for day useage, PJ will be ~20 feet away from screen.

Screen is matt white, 1.2 gain, 16:9, base is 118 inch, 135 inch diagonal.

I plan on watching 40% HD and 60% SD mostly DVD.

Do you think the VW200 will be bright enough for my setup, I must say this is my major concern.

Thx

(and please excuse my English)

That is too big a screen for the VPL-vw200 at that screen gain. Neither is the RS2 bright enogh if you want bright. Coming from CRT land, in my Ht I could live with the brightness of either but given your priority there are better choices. For about the same price, I would go with the Marantz 15s1. And you and anybody else can buy Alan's demo VPL-vw200 projector (see for sale above), why don't you just say it. :)

Well I don't want anything particulary bright, this will be my first projector and I must say it's been years since I saw a projector, back then I found the technology to be to restrictive and went for LCD/Plasma TV, so I want something that will look good, not necessarly bright just good.

Again I don't know much abour projector but I find hard to belive that PJ in this price range are not able *work* on a screen base which doesnt seem *so*big.

Now I have a *tight* budget and I want the best setup possible for the money, like anyone else I guess, yes it's Alan's projector, we have been excanching Emails and I'm supposed to give him a final answer by the middle of next week and for this kind of money I want to take the right decision. I don't think I'd consider any other projector beside vw200 and RS2 after all the reviews I heard they seem to be the best.

My open box is my personal 200 I personaly bought from a dealer. I wanted to be one of the first on the block:)
Great machine in many ways.
I recently picked up a 9" CRT to compliment my digital experiences. What an eye opener.
Im also using a RS2 right now putting it through its paces. Im always changing projectors in my home cinema.
The 200 is at the top of my list and one of my all time favs:)

Me. The VPL-VW200 is at my top of the list too. But at 800 ANSI lumens or so and 1.2 gain it is probanly not bright enough for a width of 118 inch 1.78 screen. That's one wide screen. The limit for that size and gain is about 107 inches wide. I would really limit it to about 96 inches wide.

I have just completed the same drill as Mr Gouger is going through. Playing with an RS2 and a 9 inch CRT but I have had the CRT for years. And like Alan, I also have a VPL-VW200.

The CRT holds its in own in most regards but the digitals are brighter. In some ways the CRT is still king and not just in black levels. I'll stated it, I wonder if Alan will. The 200 can hold its own with the CRT except in black level and then it only bothers you in comparison when watching really dark stuff. The RS2 while better than the Sony 200 on really black stuff just doesn't match the Sony or the CRT on most things. The viewing panel at my house really think the CRT and the 200 are about equal on most film blu ray material. The digital is brighter and more uniform across the screen in direct comparison, but switch and your eyes adjust and the CRT looks great and a little smoother.

This is for a non color adjusted via the Lumagen RS2. That will come next and maybe make the RS2 alot better to the viewing panels's eyes. The color disparity really tilts the balance right now to the CRT and 200. The sharpness of the CRT and the 200 is close, The RS2 is soft.

Mark, you are saying that 118 will be pushing it for a VW200, will that be the case with an RS2, that's the question, if the JVC can handle it Ill go for the JVC if not then Ill go for the Sony, I read it has a better color accuracy than the JVC.

The sharpness of the CRt and the 200 is close, The RS2 is soft.

Even for static objects you think the CRT is sharper then the RS-2? I know that CRT doesn't loose any resolution during motion and thats why it appears more detailed then Lycos. But for static pics, like browzing web I though digital would have better definition and easier on the eye.

I don't use it for static viewing.

A screen that is 118 wide compared to say 107 inch wide has a square footage area 20% greater than the smaller screen. 54 sq ft cccompared to about 44.5. In real life under real life viewing content you would get about 9 ft lamberts on the larger screen vs about 11 ft lamberts. That's why I stop with about 107 inches wide with 800 to 900 ANSI machines. For your size and gain, you would be better off with a Marantz 15s1 even over the more expensive marantz 11s2. It is 150 ansi lumens brighter For real life viewing, i assume about 1/2 the ANSI rating for calc purposes. In real life after some good bulb wear, I am being a little optomistic. Wanting brightness, replace your bulb a little more frequently than recommended.

I dont find the RS2 soft in anyway. The VW200 does add some slight ringing like the VW100 did. I do not know if this is giving the Sony an advantage where people see it as sharper. The RS2 if you drop the sharpness does not add ringing but it does drop high frequency information if you lower it to much. Setting its sharpness to + 10 and its fine.
I do not see any issue at all with ether lens. They get the job done.
I love the features on the Sony and the convergence. I also prefer the colors of the Sony. Both are great projectors and the end user will have to pick and chose depending on budget and features.

I plan on doing a very detailed post on CRT verses digital but Im a few weeks away.
I have learned a lot revisiting CRT. It has pointed out several weakness in digital that I never noticed before and we have a ways to go not just in black level. Im speaking for from a movie watching standpoint.
CRT clearly handles 8 bit much better then any digital in many ways. I have always hated 8bit and cannot wait until we advance past this limitation.

Alan. I am very sensitive to ringing and that is one of the main reasons I prefer the Lumagen's scaling vs the competition.

I have done a lot of A/b comparing between various digitals and there is something about a real good lens vs an average lens that just presents better PQ to me. I really don't know why or how or even how to describe the difference. But its there. A firmness or solidarity. I relax more, start watching and enjoying vs being unsatisfied, I wish I couod articulte it better but the machines with great lenses, the Marantzes, the Sony 200, the Qualia, the better Sims, say the 380 on up, they all do it for me. The only commonality is a better lens. I could be wrong and I certainly consider you to be a very qualified unbiased viewer. Your mother should be proud. :)

Mark your chi/karma is more in tune with lens then mine grass hopper :)

Im now seeing what you've been enjoying for all these years with my CRT. I think you have MP mod Marquee? I know your eyes have been trained to a high standard & you know what a good picture looks like:)

[QUOTE=cR4p;13205293]Hi everyone,

I guess I'm in the same situation as many, hesitating between a vw200 and an RS2. I've read most if not all professional reviews written in English and French for those PJ and I still can't decide.

Price wise I can get a *used* vw200 with 200 hours and mint condition for the same price as a new RS2.

PJ will be in a non dedicated room, dark wall behind the screen, but white ceilling and right wall, left wall with windows, curtains but difficult light control, however I will watch most of my movies during night time and keep my 1080P LCD for day useage, PJ will be ~20 feet away from screen.

Screen is matt white, 1.2 gain, 16:9, base is 118 inch, 135 inch diagonal.

I plan on watching 40% HD and 60% SD mostly DVD.

Do you think the VW200 will be bright enough for my setup, I must say this is my major concern.

Thx

Here is my 2 cents
I was I proud owner of the VW100 and now the 200
my current screen is a Carada 126 diagonal but it is being replaced by the
Fire-Hawk G3 135 diagonal.
Now you ask me why I am going with a larger screen without consult with some expert here?
It is vary simple nobody could answer that question. Unless they have the same setup, area, light control, (floor, walls and ceiling coverings) etc...
Now I came with the conclusion that a 135 diagonal with work perfectly for me by just keeping my Carada screen and zooming the PJ image back and forth and personally I could not see any dropping in brightness at all.
Considering my VW200 is about 15 feet from the screen with a very good anamorphic lens and my walls are covered with midnight blue ultra suede
and same shade ceilings etc you soon can understand even-though you my have the same equipment but everything else is not.
Mark has a good point though, for your set up : white celling and walls is a no no for this VW200 or any other even with a 3000lms LCD.
you need to have a complete light control to truly appreciate what the VW200 can do.

Also by using vertical stretch and an anamorphic lens you get quite a bit more light when watch 2.35 or greater on that screen.

My comments go to a 118 wide 1.78 with inly 1.2 gain. Throw in some bulbing aging. You weon't get 12 to 13 ft lamberts which I tink would be ideal for movie watching in a decent room. Be fine for constant height 16 x9 with side bars on a scope screen. of that width.

Angeli,

I bet that is going to look awesome on that Firehawk. I love what the grey screen does to blacks, and you wont even need dynamic iris with your 200. Congrats. 8)

I would use gray screen only where I need to use the pj with some ambient.

Angeli,

I bet that is going to look awesome on that Firehawk. I love what the grey screen does to blacks, and you wont even need dynamic iris with your 200. Congrats. 8)

thanks, and just when I thought it couldn't get any better.:o

Price wise I can get a *used* vw200 with 200 hours and mint condition for the same price as a new RS2.

Have you been in contact with AV Science for their price on the RS2?

There isnt a comparison for me with the grey and white screen with my 11S2, either. I think people just summarilly dismiss grey screens and wrongly dont give them much of a chance.

I put my BW back up for a few hours then after watching a little bit of content on it I had to put my HCG back up. It put out a much better picture.

There isnt a comparison for me with the grey and white screen with my 11S2, either. I think people just summarilly dismiss grey screens and wrongly dont give them much of a chance.

I put my BW back up for a few hours then after watching a little bit of content on it I had to put my HCG back up. It put out a much better picture.

Mike, I fully accept that you like deep blacks above everything else, but you must realize that not everybody is of that persuasion. Thus it would be politic to add the customary IMO to the last sentence; it is not an absolute (as little is in this hobby!). Bill

I really like my 120.5" SS with the VW200. This is a great combo! :)

Bill,

I had the "for me" in the first paragraph which should hopefully let people understand that these are for my personal tastes.

Too much need for being PC, though. I think if more people tried the grey screens, as with many who tried ND filters, more people will like them more than the whites.

The HCG at iris 3 looks better to me than my BW at iris 1, with similar brightness.

@VW200 owners

I'll be visiting a friend next weekend who has a VW200 to play with. But "out of the box" he is not very impressed with his PJ. So he asked me to help him get the most out of this baby.

What would you recommend? What are the best tweak-settings to start with?

Thanks!

I prefer adding IMNSHO. It normally for most posters would be a lot more acccurate than IMHO.

@VW200 owners

I'll be visiting a friend next weekend who has a VW200 to play with. But "out of the box" he is not very impressed with his PJ. So he asked me to help him get the most out of this baby.

What would you recommend? What are the best tweak-settings to start with?

Thanks!

So many factors come into play. Screen size, room conditions, source?

Also what has he compared it to. Did he mentioned where he felt the projector was lacking.

As far as tweaks nothing really worth mention at this early stage. I feel the projector has so much flexibility to with all its features that maybe he just has not visited all the different setting possibilities avail.

Everyone here are most helpful and glad to make some suggestion but more detail would help us a lot.

Thank you!!

My colors were excellent out of the box. I did of course tweak some but this is the first report I have heard of someone who was not impressed with the 200. Was he sending in 480i only and not HD? :eek:

@VW200 owners

I'll be visiting a friend next weekend who has a VW200 to play with. But "out of the box" he is not very impressed with his PJ. So he asked me to help him get the most out of this baby.

What would you recommend? What are the best tweak-settings to start with?

Thanks!

I agree with JoeRod - If you friend is NOT HAPPY with the
VW200 - I'd look seriously at his sources.

I agree with JoeRod - If you friend is NOT HAPPY with the
VW200 - I'd look seriously at his sources.


Well, he has a RS1 and a RS2 - amongst some others - with a Stewart screen but I don't know any more details.
He just said that he was a bit disappointed on first sight.

We spent some time calibrating the VW100 I used to have... After calibration the VW100 was a real good one, until my RS came along :)

Now he needs some help setting up the VW200. Like Auto Iris on or off and the like...

@VW200 owners

I'll be visiting a friend next weekend who has a VW200 to play with. But "out of the box" he is not very impressed with his PJ. So he asked me to help him get the most out of this baby.

What would you recommend? What are the best tweak-settings to start with?

Thanks!


Make sure he turns off all the lights and the window blinds, too.

Make sure he turns off all the lights and the window blinds, too.

Be sure of that!
:D

Hi
First post guys but been checking this thread since the beginning. (Big up to Joe:))
So my vw100Ruby's coming down either Friday or Monday depending on when my vw200Sapphire gets here.
One tweak I did on the Ruby-probably mentioned long ago on the forum so apologies for bring it up again-was to change the setting for Display Engline> 01 De/Sub Cont in the service menu from its initial setting (0 or 1, I cant recall) to 6. Certainly increased the light output IMHO. Did you guys do this also and have you tried it on the 200
I used Alan's 'light canon' trick :) too but felt I got a more acceptable result light-wise from this.
Appreciate your comments.

So far I have not attempted it. I am now at 426 hours and my lamp has settled down to a comfortable level. I have been in the sevice menu (same entry as the VW100) and the menu is different. I am not sure I want to poke around in there without being 100% alert. I may try a little and as always I will write down the default settings. Congrats and you will love your VW200! :)

yup-really looking forward to seeing the improvement of it over the 100 (which I really like I may add). Joe did you ever try this tweak previously on your 100? Did you feel it worked for you?
Thx

Oh yeah, I did Alan's Light Cannon Trick. I used his settings along with a couple of other member's settings. I ended up settling in the middle. :) I was happy with the results. With the VW200 I just don't think I need it yet. The VW100 did have a noticeably dimmer picture after a few hundred hours (or 200- can't recall)... Even my Wife asked me if the lamp needed changing one night during a movie. So far with the 200 it still seems bright enough. Of course my SS screen helps but I have always had the same screen.

Sorry-misunderstanding. I meant: Display Engline> 01 De/Sub Cont in the service menu change its initial setting (0 or 1, I cant recall) to 6. :)

Sorry-misunderstanding. I meant: Display Engline> 01 De/Sub Cont in the service menu change its initial setting (0 or 1, I cant recall) to 6. :)

I have not heard of this one. Im guessing that changes the contrast default. Boosting that may be no different then turning up the contrast in the user menu but I know most of us run contrast around the max end of the scale so your tweak may give more headroom. The Sony for some reason does not bloom even at 90 or 95% contrast. Let us know if you try it if you see any benefits:)

will do-thx Alan

I made a mistake by changing the settings menu factory in the Iris and I lost my file of my basic settings.
If you could give me all the parameters of the basic settings of the iris

Thanks

In trying to read all I can get my hands on about the 200, the one thing that doesn't really make sense to me is the reports of using the convergence adjustment. What I've read is that people must make the adjustment using an internally generated test pattern, but that after adjustment the end result with external source material (also a test pattern, I presume) can be worse than before the adjustment. Does anybody have any real explanation for this? Are those reports mistaken in some way? What is the actual experience of 200 owners in this regard?

working in the service menu.....

I have done many times now if I want to get the image brighter, it is very simple, and you can easily see the difference, just don't save it.

I have not heard of this one. Im guessing that changes the contrast default. Boosting that may be no different then turning up the contrast in the user menu but I know most of us run contrast around the max end of the scale so your tweak may give more headroom. The Sony for some reason does not bloom even at 90 or 95% contrast. Let us know if you try it if you see any benefits:)

Alan I was the one that tried that, it has something todo with the display engine you only have two choices 0 and 1 0 being the default setting and 1
you can switch back and fourth the blacks stays the same but the rest of the picture gets substantially brighter.

I sure do seem to have the knack for eliciting the chorus of crickets when posting a question. ;) Do no 200 owners have any insight or experience on the convergence adjustment issue that TJN noted in his review?

I haven't had to adjust mine. My convergence is spot on. If it ain't broke don't fix it. ;)

I haven't had to adjust mine. My convergence is spot on. If it ain't broke don't fix it. ;)

SAME HERE. my is spot on, I am so glad I don't have to; like I did my VW100.
and I had to sent to Sony and cost me $350.00 to ship to them.
This beast is perfect right out of the box.;)
It is a plug and play.

Thanks. :) I'm about to pull the trigger on a 200, and am hoping strongly that when it arrives it also is dead on without correction. Always preparing for contingencies, though, I couldn't help trying to understand just what the deal was with TJN's report that the correction performed against the internal pattern didn't carry over to an external source.

I think Alan said he tried some tweaking just to exercise the feature... maybe he'll jump in to report whether he noted the same discontinuity between the results with internal vs. external test patterns.

I'm getting a little anxious for this... I watched the 'Timecop' hd-dvd tonight and there were just a pile of blurred pan shots noticeable on the Ruby.

I wonder if the service engineers have used the digital feature to get it spot on for you ;)

In trying to read all I can get my hands on about the 200, the one thing that doesn't really make sense to me is the reports of using the convergence adjustment. What I've read is that people must make the adjustment using an internally generated test pattern, but that after adjustment the end result with external source material (also a test pattern, I presume) can be worse than before the adjustment. Does anybody have any real explanation for this? Are those reports mistaken in some way? What is the actual experience of 200 owners in this regard?

Have you confirmed that the memory in use at the time of convergence is the same as the memory in use when inputing your source?

Have you confirmed that the memory in use at the time of convergence is the same as the memory in use when inputing your source?

It's not apparent from the published review ( http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/1207sonyvw200/index1.html ) whether TJN inadvertently ended up switching memories in the process. That could possibly explain the apparent error.

FINALLY - Sapphire arrives! Now who can I get to help me to quickly install it and watch the footie on HI-Def tonight haha

FINALLY - Sapphire arrives! Now who can I get to help me to quickly install it and watch the footie on HI-Def tonight haha

Your in for a treat. Enjoy:)

It's not apparent from the published review ( http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/1207sonyvw200/index1.html ) whether TJN inadvertently ended up switching memories in the process. That could possibly explain the apparent error.

My unit had excellent convergence out of the box but I was looking for an excuse to try out the convergence just as an exercise to see how well it worked. It is true you have to use the internal
convergence pattern provided by Sony. There is no way to switch to an external source during the process. I did find however what I saw on the internal pattern mirrored my external pattern. I did not see any issues that caused any concern. Im sure there may be slight differences between machines making it possible someone may disagree but from my experience I felt it delivered the goods.

My unit had excellent convergence out of the box but I was looking for an excuse to try out the convergence just as an exercise to see how well it worked. It is true you have to use the internal
convergence pattern provided by Sony. There is no way to switch to an external source during the process. I did find however what I saw on the internal pattern mirrored my external pattern. I did not see any issues that caused any concern. Im sure there may be slight differences between machines making it possible someone may disagree but from my experience I felt it delivered the goods.

Thanks Alan.

The more I think about it TJN's observation w.r.t. the convergence just seems nonsensical. Why have the feature at all if it doesn't translate to external source material? The only wild theory I can come up with is that it's a placebo feature (makes you feel like you're adjusting something and really doing nothing, betting that you'll think the end result is better nonetheless.) Even I don't believe that Sony is such an evil company to waste time on such nonsense.

From what little I've had an opportunity to play with the machine auditioning so far, the VW200 seems to exhibit a degree of macro-selections, where you set one mode and it cascades down to reset other settable characteristics to the default setting for that mode, even though you might have manually tweaked that particular characteristic. I didn't notice this sort of thing on the VW100 previously. With limited exposure, of course, I could be mistaken... there's just soooo many things that can be adjusted.

Anybody can see misconvergence and complain to Sony about it. Sony makes use of a nice trick to make the grid appear as perfectly converged making all complainers silent. No more returns because of misconvergence. But as the reviewers and the manual warns, the trick can cost some resolution and sharpness especially at a 0.5 correction where two pixels are used (1/2 of each plus the space in between) to make one R or B line. The benefits of 0.1 or 0.2 corrections look good.

Anybody can see misconvergence and complain to Sony about it. Sony makes use of a nice trick to make the grid appear as perfectly converged making all complainers silent. No more returns because of misconvergence. But as the reviewers anfd the manual warns, the trick can cost some resolution and sharpness especially at a 0.5 correction where two pixels are used (1/2 of each plus the space in between) to make one R or B line. The benefits of 0.1 or 0.2 corrections look good.

As you know, the grid in the VW200 is probably used for focus and image alignment as the color of the lines are green.
If you want to know the convergency of yours you really have to look a picture
or titles.
My for example is dead on. I would not messy with this feature, I think Sony got it right on this one.

Not true re the patterns. There are convergence test patterns that pop up when you enter the convergence menu and make the appropriate entry. This is where to look to see how good your convergence is. Looking at a green grid alone tells you nothing how red or blue grids are converged to it.

Not true re the patterns. There are convergence test patterns that pop up when you enter the convergence menu and make the appropriate entry. This is where to look to see how good your convergence is. Looking at a green grid alone tells you nothing how red or blue grids are converged to it.

Very true. but as you said if Sony made a test pattern to look perfect, the best way to check is looking else where, like titles and a projected image, Don't you agree?

Looking at a green grid alone tells you nothing how red or blue grids are converged to it.

That would silence the complainers. ;)

I know that when I was just mashing the buttons finding my way around the menus on Sunday I also landed on the screen that was just showing the green grid, so there's something about how the menus / interaction is designed that makes you work a little bit to display the grids together to see the errors.

It also wouldn't be the first time that a japanese design team simply decided to conceal information from the user that they think isn't going to make them happy. For example, the information display / GPS Nav on my Honda Pilot is really the same display hardware that is used in the equivalent Acura, except that in the Pilot they disabled the fuel mileage computations.:confused:

The adjustments s do get rid of misconvergence. A grid is a grid. You need the seperate grids viewed in twos to do the convergence. The pixels are what makes the picture so if you make things perfect with the whatever 245 zones they have, you shouldn't see any misconvergence in titles yada. However, you might then notice some loss of resolution or sharpness along areas comprised of shifts of .5 pixels or .4 pixels over. If you do see some misconvergence along letter edges etc, then by all means adjust it out with the adjustments. If you don't, don't make adjustments even if you see some misconvergence in the grids. All it will do is slightly lower image quality if you ccrank in say over .3 adjustment to any grid line.