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Official Sony VPL-VWPRO1 (VPL-HW20) Owner's Thread

75K views 381 replies 74 participants last post by  canyon_ 
#1 ·
Finally have an Sony VPL-VWPro1, so thought of starting a Owners thread and add settings and questions.


The projector is very similar to VPL-HW15. But VWPro1 comes with an additional box (spare lamp). I will be posting more photos and etc.


Sony VPL-VWPRO1 General Features


Acceptable Computer Signals : fH: 19 to 72kHz, fV : 48 to 92Hz, Maximum resolution 1920x1080 fV 60Hz

Enhanced SXRD Panels : Minimizing the pixel gap from .25 µm to .20 µm, improves brightness and contrast while reducing screen door effect.

Three SXRD 1920 x 1080p : Micro-display panels support Full HD 1080p resolution for an impressive combination of vivid color, film-like image quality, and high-definition brilliance. Enjoy cinematic-quality images.

200W Ultra-High-Pressure Lamp : A 200W Ultra-High-Pressure Lamp delivers natural color with a brightness of 1300 ANSI lumens2.

BRAVIA Engine 2 : BRAVIA Engine 2 fully digital video processor uses a collection of unique Sony algorithms to significantly reduce noise, enhance overall image detail, and optimize contrast so every scene produces sharp, vibrant, life-like images.

Advanced Iris 3 : The Advanced Iris 3 function provides up to a 85,000:1 contrast ratio1 by optimizing both dark and bright scenes to produce deep black levels with stunning details.

24p True Cinema : 24p True Cinema technology provides a direct connection to 24p video sources so you can avoid conversions and enjoy films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second).

x.v.Color : x.v.Color technology3 takes HD color expression to new levels. When connected to x.v.Color capable video sources, such as select Sony camcorders, the VPL-VWPRO1 can display nearly twice as many (1.8x) viewable colors as the existing RGB color standard, resulting in more natural, life-like images.

Deep Color : By combining a 10-bit processor with 10-bit SXRD panels, the VPL-VWPRO1 can create and display 64 times the level of color expression of 8-bit projectors, resulting in smoother color gradations and helping to avoid a paint-by-numbers look.

ARC-F (All Range Crisp Focus) Lens : A specially developed ARC-F (All Range Crisp Focus) lens takes full advantage of the SXRD panels to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution with superior clarity and focus.

Noise reduction functions : The VPL-VWPRO1 features noise reduction functions that analyze scenes in real time to identify various types of noise and reduce unwanted artifacts, such as mosquito noise and block noise, without compromising the video signal.

Panel Alignment function : A Panel Alignment function enables pixel alignment to within 1/10th of a pixel5, making it possible to shift the entire picture to adjust for color gaps and produce a brighter, clearer, and more detailed picture.

1.6x Zoom Lens : A 1.6x zoom lens provides a short focus distance and takes full advantage of Sony® SXRDTM technology to provide superior resolution and focus.

Adjustable Lens Shift : Adjustable Lens Shift provides vertical and horizontal adjustments of the picture position expanding the projector's placement and installation options without distorting image quality.

Ultra Low Fan Noise 22dB : Exclusive Sony-designed fan delivers efficient cooling and whisper-quiet operation (22dB).

HDMI Inputs x 2 :The VPL-VWPRO1 BRAVIA SXRD 1080p Home Cinema Projector offers two HDMI inputs (up to 1080/60p capable) that deliver uncompressed digital video over one cable (cable sold separately).

Various Analog Inputs : The VPL-VWPRO1 features various analog inputs including YPbPr Component, S-Video, Composite video, and a PC input (D-sub 15-pin) for easy connection to a wide variety of video sources.

RS-232C connectivity : RS-232C connectivity enables operation of the projector using a home theater automation controller.

BRAVIA Sync : BRAVIA Sync gives you one-touch access and control functionality other over BRAVIA Sync compatible equipment using the projector's remote and on-screen display5.

RCP (Real Color Processing) function : RCP (Real Color Processing) function allows adjustment of specific colors on the picture without changing the overall image's color and hue.

Functional Cosmetic Design for Home Theater : The VPL-VWPRO1 features a sophisticated yet functional design, with a dark exterior that coordinates well with home theater environments.
 
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#52 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rgathright /forum/post/0


Since some reviews from actual owners are coming in this is now on the top of my list along with the JVC HD250. Hopefully there will be some direct comparisons done between the two. I have usually stayed away from the Sony projectors due to the brightness and cost - I have 4 Sony HDTV's.


Did AVS give a good deal on this projector (not asking how much)?

Brightness is no problem with this PJ in my opinion. Very vibrant image, even with modest ambient light. As far as price, I felt like AVS provided excellent value whether for the JVC 250 or Sony Pro 1. Price differential between the 2 was in the ballpark of the Sony extra bulb value, whether comparing MSRPs or AVS prices.


Bottom line, I highly recommend calling them and I shop around for both price and service.
 
#53 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joesyah /forum/post/19777348


This projector is also on my short-list...I've taken the JVCs off.Some of the latest reviews rank this unit ahead of the JVC RS40 in 2D image. So assume the HW-20 would compete well against the HD250. Nice review Krane! It's either this one or the Epson 21000r now. Just waiting on the reviews comparing both before I pull the trigger. There's no where to see them in-person around here. I'll just have to go on a leap of faith.

FYI, I think this unit suffers from the same bright-corner problems as the previous HW15 (which I briefly owned). There is no way I could live with that. For me, it totally ruined star fields and any other material with black backgrounds. I have also read the new Epsons suffer from the same problem. It seems like a universal design issue with all LCOS projectors with only recent JVC models being immune.
 
#54 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wizziwig /forum/post/19781049


FYI, I think this unit suffers from the same bright-corner problems as the previous HW15 (which I briefly owned). There is no way I could live with that. For me, it totally ruined star fields and any other material with black backgrounds. I have also read the new Epsons suffer from the same problem. It seems like a universal design issue with all LCOS projectors with only recent JVC models being immune.

Interesting - anybody able to confirm this issue with the Sony? Screenshots?

Thanks
 
#55 ·
Sony costs slightly more due their pricing structure; JVC is a better value IMHO. This might explain why the JVC is on back order.


As I said in the other JVC thread, we've finally got choices among LCoS projectors. Bring on the competition, so the prices would be more in line with the "new normal" economy.
 
#56 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Butler /forum/post/19781201


Interesting - anybody able to confirm this issue with the Sony? Screenshots?

Thanks

Common knowledge. See review here: http://www.avforums.com/review/Sony-...or-Review.html


Extracts from above review here:


"They only slight niggle I had was absolute image uniformity where there were signs of brighter corners on show with darker scenes, but this is just a small niggle and given the price point it is far from a deal breaker."


and here:


"Cons

...

Some signs of light corners in black out conditions less obvious in brighter rooms but at cost to contrast performance"
 
#57 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by dragonbud0
Sony costs slightly more due their pricing structure; JVC is a better value IMHO. This might explain why the JVC is on back order.
According to Jason, the JVC is on backorder because they initially had a part problem that has prevented them from shipping the volume they wanted to ship. It is NOT primarily a value/demand issue (at least according to Jason).


As far as comparative value goes, the price differential is typically $350-$400, but the Sony comes with an extra bulb. I can't say which projector is "better" for me, much less for anyone else since I haven't compared them in person. However, Jason indicated to me that despite a few pros and cons for each, he felt they were very close in terms of overall quality/performance/features.


If you believe that and assume both projectors are equally "good" then the "value" difference is not very much once you factor in the extra bulb. While in general, I would favor saving the money and having the flexibility to decide when (or if) to buy my next bulb, the overall value was close enough for me that I picked the Sony due to the important feature of being "in stock".
 
#59 ·
I've looked at the two competing models


JVC gives you more flexible placement options (motorised lens shift and zoom)

JVC have better native contrast and better blacks


Sony have a more accurate color gamut (can get very close to Rec.709)

Sony have sharper lens and therefore a shaper picture

Sony does fast motion handling a bit better
 
#60 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by geometrician /forum/post/19785893


....... However, Jason indicated to me that despite a few pros and cons for each, he felt they were very close in terms of overall quality/performance/features.


If you believe that and assume both projectors are equally "good" then the "value" difference is not very much once you factor in the extra bulb. While in general, I would favor saving the money and having the flexibility to decide when (or if) to buy my next bulb, the overall value was close enough for me that I picked the Sony due to the important feature of being "in stock".

Coming from Mitsubishi HD1000, the "ïn-stock" Sony certainly seems to be a significant upgrade. Let's see what deal I get from Jason.

Now, thinking ahead on the projector's placement, for a ceiling-mount set up, what's the vertical offset for a given image size? Is there a formula to determine the distance from the lens' center to the top of the image, for a given image width or height? Could someone estimate for me the offset for a 90" diagonal screen? thanks
 
#61 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by 703 /forum/post/19786398


I've looked at the two competing models


JVC gives you more flexible placement options (motorised lens shift and zoom)

JVC have better native contrast and better blacks


Sony have a more accurate color gamut (can get very close to Rec.709)

Sony have sharper lens and therefore a shaper picture

Sony does fast motion handling a bit better

How was the brightness comparison between the two? I am leaning toward the Sony right now, but the brightness level could be the deciding factor. I like the motorised lens shift and zoom, but I would only use it once for the initial setup, so could deal with the manual instead of motorized.
 
#62 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by 720p /forum/post/19783218


Common knowledge. See review here: http://www.avforums.com/review/Sony-...or-Review.html


Extracts from above review here:


"They only slight niggle I had was absolute image uniformity where there were signs of brighter corners on show with darker scenes, but this is just a small niggle and given the price point it is far from a deal breaker."


and here:


"Cons

...

Some signs of light corners in black out conditions less obvious in brighter rooms but at cost to contrast performance"

Missed that somehow, thanks.
 
#63 ·
The lumens values at D65 for the JVC X3 and the sony HW20 are the same.


For example SONY HW20


Mode Lampe HIGH D65 : 900 lumens

Mode Lampe NORMAL D65 : 562 lumens


JVC X3


LAMPE high without iris : 898,3 lumens

LAMPE norma without iris : 562,8 lumens
 
#64 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rgathright /forum/post/19787135


How was the brightness comparison between the two? I am leaning toward the Sony right now, but the brightness level could be the deciding factor. I like the motorised lens shift and zoom, but I would only use it once for the initial setup, so could deal with the manual instead of motorized.

Brightness about the same at D65. For the Sony, make sure it can work with your room dimensions. As the zoom is lower (1.53:1) than the JVC (2:1) and lens shift is smaller range as well.


As for brightness overtime, the JVC's lamp does seem to drop off over time, not sure if the Sony will be better or worse in this regard.
 
#65 ·
I believe both of these will work with my setup. The projector would be about 16' from a 133" (16:9) screen. The center of the screen is about 18" below the projector (which will be ceiling mounted). Horizontally the projector will be centered with the screen.
 
#67 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rgathright /forum/post/19788617


I believe both of these will work with my setup. The projector would be about 16' from a 133" (16:9) screen. The center of the screen is about 18" below the projector (which will be ceiling mounted). Horizontally the projector will be centered with the screen.

The lens of the Sony is approximately even with the top of the screen in my current setup (about 27 inches above the center of a 110" diagonal 16:9 screen) and is slightly off center horizontally. I still have some wiggle room left in the lens shift as well. You will certainly have no issues with placement with this projector since you are much closer to screen center and have a larger screen. (The JVC is even more flexible.)
 
#69 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by josesol /forum/post/19795909


Is there any image degradation by using the lens shift? could someone inform what is the vertical offset for a 90" or 100" diagonal image? thanks

I originally set the projector up on a stand and used minimal lens shift. In my current setup, I am using most of the lens shift capability. While a pro may be able to detect some image differences, I can't really detect any with a critical amateur eye.


As far as offset goes, for a 100 inch (16:9) screen (~49 inches high), you should have approximately 31 7/8 inches of vertical shift, meaning the center of your lens could be up to 7 3/8 inches above the top of screen (assuming zero horizontal shift), but that leaves NO room for error. Multiply by .9 for a 90 inch screen. In general, I recommend trying to get the center of lens no higher than top of screen.
 
#70 ·
Geo, thanks for the screens!


How do the blacks look to you, how about fade to black scenes, etc.?


Good to hear about the uniform blacks. Personally, I own a Sony A3000 Sxrd TV (uses 120hz sxrd panels), and the blacks are completely uniform. Never noticed the slightest bit of bright corners in 3 years of owning it. So I think it is incorrect to assume Sxrd is plagued by this issue. Maybe it was in the past, but so was JVC (HD1).
 
#71 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xavier1 /forum/post/19797481


Geo, thanks for the screens!


How do the blacks look to you, how about fade to black scenes, etc.?


Good to hear about the uniform blacks. Personally, I own a Sony A3000 Sxrd TV (uses 120hz sxrd panels), and the blacks are completely uniform. Never noticed the slightest bit of bright corners in 3 years of owning it. So I think it is incorrect to assume Sxrd is plagued by this issue. Maybe it was in the past, but so was JVC (HD1).

Those screen-shots look very good. Definitely no bright corner issue there - and it's usually more obvious in photos than in person.


Like convergence, the bright corner issue varies from unit to unit. Not enough reports yet to know what's typical for these projectors. Let's hope most of them look like the one above.
 
#72 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xavier1 /forum/post/19797481


Geo, thanks for the screens!


How do the blacks look to you, how about fade to black scenes, etc.?

I'm not an "expert" by any means, but blacks look very good to me. When I look at say the pupils of someone's eyes, they look really deep black compared to the surrounding color. Admittedly I'm using auto iris, but I have not had one moment of distraction from iris-induced brightness changes. The Inception title shot is essentially almost like a fade to black and it looks pretty dark. Not sure whether it helps give you a better idea, but I would say that in my opinion, this projector on a fade to black looks more like "off black" than "dark grey" if that makes sense. Certainly there is some slight bit of light in the room on a fade to black and it does not look as dark as the velvet trim borders of my screen, but that level of black is not realistic from any projector I have ever seen.
 
#73 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by geometrician /forum/post/19803491


I'm not an "expert" by any means, but blacks look very good to me. When I look at say the pupils of someone's eyes, they look really deep black compared to the surrounding color. Admittedly I'm using auto iris, but I have not had one moment of distraction from iris-induced brightness changes. The Inception title shot is essentially almost like a fade to black and it looks pretty dark. Not sure whether it helps give you a better idea, but I would say that in my opinion, this projector on a fade to black looks more like "off black" than "dark grey" if that makes sense. Certainly there is some slight bit of light in the room on a fade to black and it does not look as dark as the velvet trim borders of my screen, but that level of black is not realistic from any projector I have ever seen.

As they say, you cannot project black



But your impressions of the picture sound very good. Also good to hear that the DI is very quick, but this is usually a Sony strongpoint anyways. Great purchase, may look into this PJ as well for 2D.
 
#74 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by geometrician /forum/post/19796258


As far as offset goes, for a 100 inch (16:9) screen (~49 inches high), you should have approximately 31 7/8 inches of vertical shift, meaning the center of your lens could be up to 7 3/8 inches above the top of screen (assuming zero horizontal shift), but that leaves NO room for error. Multiply by .9 for a 90 inch screen. In general, I recommend trying to get the center of lens no higher than top of screen.

thank you for the explanation. Is there a PQ degradation if a little vertical shift is applied? I'm not sure yet if I could manage to have the lens leveled with top of screen. thanks, Jose
 
#75 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by josesol /forum/post/19809583


thank you for the explanation. Is there a PQ degradation if a little vertical shift is applied? I'm not sure yet if I could manage to have the lens leveled with top of screen. thanks, Jose

Let me be clear, to use ZERO lens shift, the lens will need to be exactly in the CENTER of the screen, NOT level with the top. If you put the lens even with the top of the screen, you will need to use quite a bit of lens shift (around 24.5 inches for a 100 inch screen). If your lens is higher than the top of the screen, you will need to use more than 24.5 inches of shift, but the MAX shift is slightly less than 32 inches. Thus, if you need to go a couple of inches above the top of the screen you should be OK, but I would not go more than 4 or 5 inches above and that is assuming you will be exactly centered horizontally on the screen (you want to leave a little margin for error). My experience is that the lens shift does not introduce signficant picture quality degradation even near the extreme end of the shift.
 
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