Sony VPL-vw1000 - Page 133

So with the power out last night (game delay) we decided to have some fun. I passed out my 3D glasses and we watched the Halftime show and the kickoff return TD in 3D. It looked pretty cool and everyone liked it. The 1000 does a pretty good job with 3D conversion.

I also have a 1.9 aspect ration screen and love it. Everyone that sees mine in action, even the initial skeptics, agree. It is a good combo for 2.35 and 1.85: 1 movies. You lose so little on regular TV that it doesn't matter.

ChopShop,

You may want to play around with a friend's or dealer's 1080P projector and image size before pulling the trigger and deciding on a projector and screen size. For example, my old JVC RS1 looked great on a eight foot wide (110" diagonal 1.78:1) screen at viewing distance of about 11.5 feet and even a bit closer. However, when I was building my new theater and waiting on the 1000, I painted a wall with a DIY screen paint, just to play around with image size, etc. For a 12 foot wide screen, the pixel structure on the RS1 became very evident from 12' back, which is where I planned on and currently sit. With the 4K projector, pixel structure isn't really perceptible visible at 2 feet back at this screen size. At the sizes you are thinking about, you'll need to be sitting with your eyes well over 15' back to not be distracted by the pixel structure. Personally, I think you would be better served with a beautiful, slightly smaller image from the 1000 and a closer seating distance. With the 4K, you can really sit pretty close and get a very cinematic experience. With 1080P, you are really limited on the screen size. Before this type of investment, you really owe it to yourself to see it for yourself. Go to any AV dealer and simply have them blow the image up much larger than the screen and check it out. I went with the Sony over the Lumis Solo for this reason - the Lumis would fill a bigger screen, but you can't sit near as close. Plus, I find that DLP's pixelation becomes apparent sooner than LCOS. If 3D is much of a concern, the extra brightness of the Lumis is a big benefit. I find 3D brightness at the bottom end of acceptable with a 1.3 gain ST130. 2D is gorgeous, even at low lamp mode.

You may also poll the 4K guys to share there screen width to seating ratios. I bet most sit close or wish they could sit closer with this projector.

Thanks for the advice

I read the first line and my imagination ran wild. Then I read the rest. Phooey.

When we were younger and the power went out, we had fun and I mean fun. Maybe that's why my wife made me buy a standby power generator for the house. Now the power comes right back on if the grid fails and I have a much lesser type of fun.
Edited by mark haflich - 2/6/13 at 7:53am

anybody has information, news that confirm this?
up to you this is still a good time to buy this projector or you would wait official announcements concerning the possibility of this upgrade to new hdmi 1.5/2.0?
do you think next September will be announced a new (4k)laser projector from Sony at ifa/Cedia?

Given what is going on at Sony it is hard to predict anything and long time sources of help and information are drying up.

There is no written guarantee or oral guarantee of an update board though people in positions of authority said that such a board would likely be offered. Sony did it for the Qualia 004.

It would make sense to design, produce, and offer for sale and installation a new board until a new HDMI standard comes out AND (a BIG BIG AND) chips are manufactured from that standard. That takes time and I am guessing (GUESSING) such board is about 2 years out from now, GUESSING


A laser projector, who knows? We could expect it by Cedia but its Sony and who knows. This is a company with last year's loses in the billions, undergoing massive repreated rounds of layoffs, and not just closing divsions and exiting sectors, but cutting now meat (not fat) in divisions it is still operating in. It is selling off its major real estate holdings to offset losses and have some money for R&D and out year operations.

Sony makes lots of money in its HE division. Hollywood. Smashing sucesses but no where near enough to offset the losses in the hardware division. So they cut the hardfware staff to the bone and start an exit. I think Sony will be out of the hardware business in a very few years. Will some hardware survive? I dunno. They need to keep manufacturing commercial theater projectors and consumer machines seem to be profitable and directly related. Sony is hanging its hat on selling phones, wanna take that bet, would anybody invest in sony and camaras area way of making money. OK. But if I remember corretly total camera sales are decreasing worldwide because they are built into phones. Watch the Sony press conference from CES. Like that business plan?
Edited by mark haflich - 2/10/13 at 1:47pm

I have every confidence conditioned on company survival a new input board will be offered. Just not for a while until the HDMI standard is finalized and chips become available. That believe is one of the rasons I bought the 1000ES and I am very happy with my purchase and the support Sony has given me. I highly recommend the purchase of the projector.
Edited by mark haflich - 2/6/13 at 7:52am

Piggybacking on Mark's comments, I wanted to add that no one really know when the new HDMI standard is going to be released. The new standard was supposed to be decided upon before the end of 2012, but that obviously didn't happen. The last I heard was that the new standard would be done by "Q3 2013" and I'd take that with a grain of salt-- there's a good possibility that it'll get delayed again.

And even if a standard is created soon, keep in mind it still takes months for the hardware to follow. I'd be really, really surprised if the new specs and hardware dropped by September.

That's why all these people talking about a 4K PS4 (running games in native 4K, not just UI) are a little funny...

Lol

Sorry to get your hopes up. We had family over so it wasnt one of our crazy Saturday nights!

Just disconnect the generator battery for a while....

You have to be kidding. If the generator won't start my wife will blast me for not keeping its battery up. Once the battery charger housed in the transfer switch failed and the generator didn't start during a mid winter storm. No power for 14 hours I figured out what went wrong and now have a portable batterry, the ones used for starting cars etc, and use it for starting the generator if its battery fails. All disconnecting would get me is a screaming wife and a trip into the cold. to jump start the generator. Nope. The solution would be a new young portable wife.
Edited by mark haflich - 2/8/13 at 8:52am

Speaking of new young portable Wifes, mine has been watching Pitch Perfect almost everyday with her girlfriends on the 1000ES!

Hi Ben,

I finally have my Erskine Group design in hand and am trying to put all the pieces together..........the room is 25ft X 17ft X 10ft. The plan has the first row a little over 12 ft and have planned to use a screen near 12ft but now am reconsidering.........maybe 11ft. EG spec-ed 114 inch wide 2.37 Stewart Perf-ed Studio Tek.

Sounds like you are happy with the large screen..................I too am considering going 1.91 but how big I'm still questioning. At the local theater, with 100ft measuring tape in hand.......1.0 to 1.25 is my preferred seating distance. Sounds like I'm in the ball park.

Can you give specific details on varying content as I hate black bars ............prefer the screen to float in the air. Once again, lazy...........what are your screen dimensions once again and can you be descriptive with content and black bars. Pretty please..............

Pardon me for jumping in, but I can give you my experience and preferences:   for HDTV, I display a 17:9 pic (using all the 1000's pixles) on a screen 136"W x 72"H, viewing from ~ 11 ft away.     I admit that at first this seemed too large (or too close) for me, but after a while I now find it extremely comfortable, and immensely immersive.     No black bars, and with ProtoStar material on surrounding wall and ceiling, the pic does indeed 'float' in a black space.

Thanks,

Your dimensions are close to what I'm considering................going 1.91 ratio, I'd be looking at 132" X 69". Getting this screen and projector set up correctly is a big pain in the ...........

Just a little concerned with an odd ball screen.

I also used a DE design. My room dimensions are almost identical(25 deep including area behind screen x 17 x 11) to yours but I have an equipment room at back of the theater where the projector is located. I'm glad I didn't go with a larger screen especially with this projector. My projector is at max throw and is getting a bit dim with high hours on the lamp. Dennis recommended a 10ft. wide Stewart 130 G3 cinecurve. I decided to go with 11 ft wide and I'm glad I did. I sit in my front row and for me the screen is plenty large(opinions will vary on this). If I had it to do over I would skip the cinecurve and go with a flat screen the same size.

I'm even more oddball!    My screen is actually 144" wide, and I insert an 8" wide (72" hiigh) masking panel inside the screen frame for 136x72 (17:9 HDTV); for 2.35 pics (i.e., BD's), I remove the panel and zoom to have a 144x61 pic.    (I wanted the widest pic my room could hold for 2.35, but didn't want my HDTV pic to be restricted to this height.)

 

My Sony 1000 is at min throw distance (i.e., a few ft behind my head, and just above it, on a stand), and even more imp is that the screen has HP2.4 material.    Brightness is thus excellent!

I was talking about my old lamp(around 1800 hours). I have the Texas Tapeworks lamp warranty so I was going for the 2K hours before replacement. Anyway I turned the projector on just after my last post to watch a basketball game and POW. The first lamp I've ever had explode.

I still have my 11S2 so I had to set it up. It has a new lamp and looks to be about the same brightness as the old lamp in the Sony. Glad I didn't sell the Marantz.

So,

You are 1.91 ratio at 11 ft?

Thanks for the pick....a confidence builder!

I smell a Red Ray dealer in the making...

No, my screen is 2.35:1. I don't think DE would recommend a 1.91:1 ratio screen but I could be wrong.

Red doesn't have dealers. They sell direct only. I did preorder a Redray.

Screen aspect is a preference, not a dictated absolute. And with masking and the right screen size unmasked, you can have it all.
Edited by mark haflich - 2/12/13 at 7:22pm

Do you have a build thread? Your room looks like my plans - riser, seating, beam ceiling with the lights in the beams, HVAC soffit around the room. Do you have an AT screen, or are your speakers below the screen behind fabric? DE recommended 12' wide for me, and I asked for 13'. I'm regretting that somewhat since it eliminated so many projector options. I could probably use the the Sony if I went with a HP screen, but it's frowned on for the room acoustics. I thought about stacking two, but that brings a lot of headaches.

I think Dennis just punches in room size and his computer spits out the plans:). I don't have a build thread but my theater is built just like my plans for the most part. I have three Aerial 7Ts behind the AT screen which also has the auto masking. I think a 12' screen would still be OK in
my room but I don't think I would be happy with this projector. For 12' wide screen I would want the Lumis with the long throw lens. I think the Sony would be OK it I mounted my projector overhead(near throw) but I prefer the projector outside the room.

I'm not sure but I think I would prefer the Lumis anyway but at this point I'm sticking with the Sony. As I mentioned above I just blew the lamp in the Sony and started using my Marantz. I'm really liking the DLP look. The depth in the picture is just better although the blacks aren't as good. As you can see from my picture, my theater is kind of a black hole and the ANSI of the Marantz is quite obvious.

Many want absolute answers to questions that simply don't have absolute answers. Many ask others what they did somehow thinking that will get them the right answer. The majority answers often will not be the correct one or the best one for you. It depends on what you want. For example, say what's better for a 1000ES, a 1.78, 1.89 or here a 1.91. The difference between 1.89 and 1.89 is meaningless. So you orverzoom a smidge. In real life, no meaningful difference.

Given that 4K will likely turn out to be 3840 x 2160, a 1.78 if no masking may be a better option that a 1.89 which is 4096 x 2160.

turls is a great source of advice. lots of hands on experience and dealing with unusual set up parameters.

Remember with a 1.3 gain, you need a minimum of a 1.3 throw based on the 1.78 size that fits within a higher aspect ratio screen size. If you go under 1.3, you may get hotspotting. Generally longer throws are better PQ wise but it costs you light.
Edited by mark haflich - 2/11/13 at 11:13am

If you are at near minimum throw that could still work. I just had a recent post in this thread about my experiences.

What's the most recent software? Want to see if I have it...

Not sure, but there's no way to upgrade short of sending the unit in AFAIK - no internet based firmware updates. Maybe serial (is that the remote port), but I don't think anything has been distributed that way to date...