Official Sony VPL-HW50ES Owners Thread - Page 31

Then you should wait till the projector warms up and put the picture in place.

I definitely see focus drift, so I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyone know where there's an HW50 on display near Los Angeles? Ideally north of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley somewhere? I've called around and can't seem to find one.

I'm leaning toward a JVC since nearly all of my use will be watching 2D movies in a blackened room, but I'm hearing Sony is catching up to JVC's black levels with this one... figured I should look at one before pulling the trigger. Thanks in advance for any tips.

In a german forum I was told that it's inherent in the encoding. So discs without this special code allow a player to squeeze. It could also be that when a 2.4:1 flag is set squeezing is prohibeted. If that's indeed so and if so why I could not verify yet. But this would explain why the Oppo can squeeze 16:9 content.

What could be helpful is to find a 2.4:1 disc which the Oppo can squeeze, than it's the encoding. If there are no examples than it might be a flag set by the 2.4:1 format.

As the HW50 is on top of my PJ wish list I have a question for a an owner:

Is anybody using his HW50 together with a PCH A400 media player?
Curious if a full 3D BD ISO is "switching" the HW50 into 3d mode. Over at the A400 forum my supplier (were I probably going to buy the HW50) is mentioning that a 3D ISO is playing in 2D on the Sony.
Other projectors are working fine with same A400 and are switching to 3D.

Just ordered the hw50 from AVS today. I was wondering where everybody is getting these 3d test patterns? Specifically the ones with L/R showing in the test pattern. I also ordered a monster ir->rf adapter + glasses and wanted to try my luck at reducing the ghosting as much as possible via test patterns. Are these built into the projector or is everybody using some external source? I have the disney wow disc for 2d, but I haven't got anything for 3d.

Also, can the projector be mounted via a 3point mount? I have a vantage point CGUPM12-S mount for my current projector and was hoping to just slap the sony on w/o having to worry about getting a new mount.

I mounted mine with an older Chief RPA U mount that had four "legs". The Sony only has 3 mounting points. I removed one of the legs and adjusted the 3 remaining to mount the projector. Works fine. Not sure about a vantage point.

As far as image or focus drift someone else mentioned that if the projector is not well ventalated they see heat wave like patterns in the image. I have not seen either image or focus drfit except maybe the first few days with the focus but I wonder if it could be heat related. The Sony is so quiet that perhaps in environments where it is getting hot this could be a factor (due to minimal cooling)? I also don't use any horizontal shift and just a small amount of vertical. If the lens shift is used at more extreme settings maybe this is a factor in any image drift? Just some thoughts.

I'm getting image drift - moves slightly from lower left to upper right as the projector runs for a while. Projector is centered on the screen, but is only using a 3" drop tube so image shift down is pretty extreme. Projector is completely open all around (except the ceiling which is 5-6" up from the bottom of the projector), closest wall (behind) is 3.5 feet away. it is not extreme (only a few pixels), but it would be a problem if you had one of those new 'zero edge' screens. It is heat related, as it starts in one location cold and then slowly moves to the final location as the unit runs for a while. It is not a major issue for me, more of an annoyance and I posted it mainly to see if it was 'normal' or if there was anything that could be done to mitigate it.

I don't think I've got image drift but I have noticed how sensitive my RPA Chief Mount is even when just using the horizontal and vertical lens shift knobs.  It seems like if I breathe too hard the projector will move slightly!  I don't know if it's correct or not but I've set my zoom to be just slightly outside of the screen width so the edge of the picture fades into the black felt border of my screen.  I lose a few pixels but at least I can set it and forget it this way.  This is my first projector so if anyone has any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah that was me, with the video, etc. Focus drifted quite a bit over time.

But now that I have it well ventilated, I haven't redone the focus drift test (shoot a close-up of the center of the projected image every 10 minutes for 90 minutes). I should do that. OTOH, now I notice that the image is pretty well in focus (to my eye) even when I turn the projector on.

So there might be less focus drift now. And, yes, I'm willing to bet it has to do with heat.

But there are many other factors. Lens shift, zoom, focus. For example, if you happen to focus in the middle of the 'sweet spot', perhaps the drift doesn't show up as visually perceivable. By changing the zoom, I bet you change the depth of focus; if you have more depth of focus, then the drift may not show up, etc.

Lots of variables. Best thing to do is focus after the projector's been on for an hour. Then next time you turn the projector on (next day or at least after it's cooled down completely), see if it's still in focus.

I run in low lamp mode, with cooling set to 'high', since even in that mode the projector's still really quiet.

P.S. Here's the video with the heat wave like patterns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ny8fmacU0g

Can anyone tell me where to get this Sony projector for a good price? Thank you.

Have you tried calling AVScience?

How does it move exactly? Something isn't installed right. I have the RPA Chief mount, and I don't think I can get the projector to move without breaking the projector or pulling the lag bolts out of the joist.

Thank you.

+1 - call AVS

I have a 9" drop and I could hang my 220 lbs from it with no issue. I think the problem I have is with the fine adjustment screws. I don't want to over tighten them but perhaps they are not tight enough? Just tightening the 4 bolts that mount the projector to the mounting plate affect the alignment pretty significantly. How do I tell how much lens shift I'm using? Seemed like I had to use a lot of vertical shift even though I'm within an inch or two of the top of the screen with a ceiling mount. Also, horizontal was off even though projector is within an inch of mid mount. Is there something to tell me where 0 is on these manual adjustments? Been doing this in the dark mostly so don't tell me there are tiny marks on the knobs?!

Hi, is there any major difference between hw50 and the older model hw30? Yeah I know there're reviews etc... but I'm interested in 2-3 main features that can be compared a considered. thx

Yes. It's going to be quite a bit brighter. Roughly 200 lumens considering both units are calibrated. It also has the Reality Creation software that the HW30 is lacking. This is an image sharpening software that works just like a Darbee Darblet. You'll also be getting a big boost in contrast as the HW50 has a dynamic iris that digs deeper. Apart from image differences you also get two pairs of 3D glasses included in the box and an extra lamp included.

They claim a redesigned optical path which is probably true since it uses the same bulb as the 30 but it is spec 400 lumens brighter. They could be running the bulb at a slightly higher power level. The spec'd contrast ratio is about 2x larger than the 30, but we all know the games they play with spec'ing these so I don't know if it is really better. The big one is the 50 has Sony's Reality Creation algorithm. This is basically a smarter image enhancing algorithm. Some people swear by them, but I question if they are really needed. It's hard to find one setting that fits everything. IMHO, one setting might make certain images look better but they may be detrimental to others.

But the biggest deal is that the 30 no longer comes with the 3D IR transmitter and glasses whereas the 50 has the transmitter built-in, comes with 2-pairs of 3D glasses, and an extra bulb.

The 50 is probably a better value if you can get well below MSRP today, but the 30 is by far no slouch. I have no regrets buying the 30 about a year ago. If I was buying today I would buy the 50 since it is probably about the same price as the 30 was last year.


The only real advantage of the 30 at this point is if you are going to do 3D there is no audible buzz coming from the IR emitter (or it is far enough away by the screen to not hear it).
Edited by Toknowshita - 1/9/13 at 12:11pm

I just received mine today from AVS to replace my HW10. So far, with just tweaking brightness and contrast and setting it to the reference mode - I'm really loving this projector! Convergence required a bit of adjustment, but across the screen it was pretty consistent so I didn't go into the zoned convergence at all. Brightness is way up over my old HW10, and the crispness of the image is very good as well. I'm putting some hours on it before I go through it with CalMan, but just viewing some movies and TV today - I've got nothing to complain about with image quality. I had AVS calibrate my HW10 before they sent it out when I bought it, and the new HW50 seems pretty close to that out of the box- though I'm not able to do a side-by-side since my old PJ is currently not functional. I really don't feel all that compelled to calibrate it, though I'm sure I will anyways.

Looks like I need to upgrade my receiver to get 3D from my PS3 to it, but I watched a bit of "Cars" with my son in simulated 3D and it looked pretty good. The IR emitter on the projector does make a bit of noise, but I haven't tried any adjustments on that yet. When it is running in 3D mode, I can't use my Harmony remote to control my Blu-Ray changer or receiver via my Russound panel (IR forwarding back to equipment rack in a closet). The Russound panel has its IR "activity" light lit constantly, so it is picking up the IR from the 3D emitter. Guess I may need to switch to either RF remote control or RF 3D glasses. I'm guessing that'd probably be an issue with any IR 3D projector setup, not just this one.

So far very happy! Thanks to Mike @ AVS for the great recommendation and purchase experience!

I am considering buying a sony50 es and replacing my sony 90es projector, i know that there will be big improvement in the 3d, but how about the 2d? will the 50es still outshine the 90es in 2d.my other option would be to pick up a second projector like the benq 7000 for 3d only. anyone have any thoughts on this?

Has anyone tried the PS3 glasses with their HW50?  When I was on the phone with Sony ES support to get my external emitter, I asked them if these glasses would work.  He said they'd been instructed to offer these as a "lower cost" solution to the glasses shipping with the HW50's.  Just curious if anyone has any experience with them yet?  They're only $20 on Amazon atm.

 

http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-3-3D-Glasses/dp/B00562O8U0

Is it normal to see flicker on bright image?

No, please complain to Sony. My replacement HW50 flickers. Every day. If you put it into high lamp then bring it back to low lamp, it disappears for a little while. But then comes back. I'm extremely sensitive to flicker, so it bothers me.

Sony needs to know there are a number of complaints of flicker. You're at least the 5th person to complain of flicker now on AVS (including me).

One of the reason I stepped up from Panasonic to Sony was to b/c I'd rarely heard of flicker issues with Sony projectors... go figure!

How can I complain to Sony? Call them? They probably have me send it in and take a quick look and say nothing is wrong. What's wrong with your first projector?

Be sure to turn off the film projection mode in motionflolw menu !

I have a few pairs of them. They work fine. They are definitely an inexpensive alternative to most others. Not the most comfortable, but neither are the Sony's that come with it.

Everyone in my family prefers the PS3 glasses over the ones that came with the projector. They seem to have better range and don't lose sync as often. I'm happy with them, especially for the price.

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