OFFICIAL Sony HS50(51) thread - Page 181

Hello Gurus,
I am in process of connecting a Sony VAIO RC110G(Windows media center) with a DVI-D interface to VPLS-H51 projector with HDMI interface. I brought a 30 feet HDMI to DVI-D cable. This cabling will be permanent inside the wall cable and I want to get this right.
In addition, I am getting 3 other cables, S-video, HDMI-HDMI & Component Video between my Projector and controller.

Following are my primary goals:
- Watch DVD movies using DVD Driver on Sony media center PC and with DIVI-HDMI output to projector.
- Watch VoD programmes streaming from internet thru Sony PC using DIVI-HDMI output to Projector.
- Using the Dish rereceiver too connect my PC and then use its TV-Tuner to watch the channels using the projector and DIVI-HDMI interface.

Any caveats and performance issues with these?
I have not seen any article on connecting a HS51 to a sony PC on DIVI-HDMI. How much better is the performance here?

Should I go with a dedicated DVD player than using a windows media center from this powerful sony PC?

Hope this is the right forum as it talks about VPLS-H51
Thanks in advance and appreciate all the help provided.

Just use the Picture adj. menu, built into the display! Thas what I use, and its always avail.

-SOWK

Your picture will be much better from VGA, with a pc connected to it. As you can get 1:1 pixel mapping.

But others on here may tell you HDMI could offer as good a picture as VGA but only without the 1:1 mapping.

I would say try both, and report back to the forum.

If you try VGA, use these settings.

Contrast = 85
Brightness = 45
Bulb ouput = LOW
Color Temp = Normal or Kris's settings

You should have a great picture.


-SOWK

Greetings,


I also use the menu screen to adjust focus. It works like a charm.....


Regards,

Thank you. Cool idea.
I will order a VGA cable also. (hopefully 25-30 feet should not have any cable issue)
Will report back in a week or so.

Thanks,
Vijay

Thanks very much for the tip -- it's definitely much better than my previous approach TV Guide channel. I still don't feel like I'm getting it right -- I'm not that old, but I think my eyes aren't what they used to be because it gets pretty blurry after a few passes of trying to set the focus. I wish there was a test pattern made specifically for setting focus.

I use the menu screen as well, but also I use a small size binoculars so I can fine tune to exact focus.

On my HS20 I am able to stand with my nose on the screen and control focus with the remote . . .

I talked to Sony today and got a repair order. I am sending it down to Laredo soon... possibly tomorrow. I hope it comes back fixed or at least as good as it was when I sent it. *prays*

Ok, so I'm going to go ahead with the HS-51A. Any suggestions for Screens? I want a 106" manual roll down.

This is my set-up:

Viewing distance from Screen = 11 '

Ceiling mounted Sony VPL-HS51a = aprox. 6.5 ' - 7 ' off floor (not permanently mounted yet), directly overhead of viewing position (11 feet from screen).

Walls are currently white, but I'm going to paint them brown.

Ambient light is fairly well controlled. I have red curtains surrounding the screen.

I've auditioned the graywolf and a matte white, from optoma as well. I like the graywolf, but being ceiling mounted, the off axis viewing angle is an issue. I could lower my projector closer to eye level if I moved it further from the screen, thus bringing the sweet spot of the GW screen closer to the viewing position, but this is a less ideal setup, logistically.

What other screens are matched well with this projector, given my room set-up?

Thanks,

Drew

Stewart Studiotek 130 is a perfect match. Please note the 51A is not a very bright projector to start with, so don't try any gray or off-white screen. This is my 2 cents !!!

thanks for the reply, ac388. you say to avoid gray, but what if it has gain? wouldn't that actually help? the graywolf has a 1.8 gain. of course it's retroreflective, so projector position becomes a problem.

I use a Grayhawk RS (0.92 gain) with my HS-51 with fabulous results (tons of pop and brightness on HD source material)........BUT........I have good light control and my screen is only 82" diagonal.

The bigger the screen, the less bright the image, and the more you will need a higher gain screen to compensate. Hot spotting might be a concern, too with the higher gain screens.

Not sure why you are spec'ing such a large screen for an 11 foot viewing distance.....you will likely have issues with SDE with a 106" diagonal screen and an 11 foot viewing distance.

I'm sensitive to SDE, so my rule of thumb is to sit 2X the screen width away. My Stewart is about 6' wide, and I sit 11-12 feet away, and SDE is not an issue 95% of the time and the picture if very homogenous. YMMV of course, just my $0.02........

Further to my bulb popping issue (at 800 hours).

I sent my pj back to Sony for repair. They will not cover the bulb under warranty (so far) and want me to pay $350 for its replacement. They did a firmware upgrade on it (it already had the latest firmware that I was aware of) so I'll report back once I find out which firmware they installed on it. They did not tell me what was causing the ticking noise. I'm unsure as to whether or not the lens shift was addressed.

I've now been without my pj for 2 weeks and it's still sitting at Sony while I argue with them over who pays for the bulb. Since they advertise a bulb life of 2000-3000 hours, I said that 800 hours is gross misrepresentation. They have forwarded my complaint onto management for further review. Based on previous posts here, it sounds like they should replace it at no cost to me, but we'll see. Typically I'm pretty good at fighting for what I feel I am entitled to, but Sony is not leaving me with a very good taste in my mouth right now.

FWIW, I have a Sony HS20 firing at a Stewart Firehawk which is a "gray" screen. It's a 1.35, but the perfing reduces it by 11%. It's not a bright picture overall, but outdoor sceens do not lack lumens. And colors are stunning.

because i can, and because bigger is better right?

in all seriousness, i appreciate your input. i am actually considering a smaller screen just for those reasons...SDE, and I'm worried that the image will not be as bright on the larger screen (especially as this is not a high lumen projector).

that said, i did want to put in as large a screen as i could get away with, because after all, the big screen is sort of the entire point of a Projector based home theater.

i'm going to audition a 106" tonight, so i'll get back to you about wether i was bothered by SDE and light output.

btw, i'm currently using an hs51, but will be purchasing an hs51A. Is the 51A any brighter?

FWIW, I have a 92" wide 16:9 screen with the first row's viewing distance at .8x screen width. My second, and "primary", row is 1.2x screen width. I have a Sony HS20 and am using an IMX lens that completely - COMPLETELY - removes the pixel structure.

Many have discovered the hard way that bigger is not always better.

I prefer to "right size" the A/V system to the room, and that (naturally) includes the screen size and the viewing distance. My eval room is only about 12x18, so my "postage stamp" sized 82" diagonal screen is darn near perfect IMO in that room and does not cause any viewer fatigue even after several hours of watching.

While there are industry recommendations for viewing distance and screen size, it's also a personal preference issue - like the folks who like to sit in the front row of a movie theater, or (conversely) those that prefer the back row.

Besides the SDE concern, I personally find sitting too close to a big screen to be very fatiguing, and sitting at 2X the width just works very well for me personally.

While YMMV, if you do audition a 106" screen at 11 feet, you should spend several hours (minimum) with a variety of source material (SD, 480p DVD, 720p/1080i HD). After the newness of the big image wears off, you may find yourself noticing artifacts that will inevitably become distracting over time and reduce your long term enjoyment of the system.

I can't disagree with your position, but referring to it as "right size" is a tad condescending to everyone who "sees" it differently than you. If SDE is removed from the equation as it is with an IMX lens, then what is the limiting factor? Personal preference. Some prefer a more in-your-face experience. And generally, the audio sweet spot is an equilateral triangle with the L & R speakers being the front points. Sitting further back than that because one prefers a smaller picture takes one out of that spot and away from the magic of nearfield listening. But honestly, my .8x row *is* too close because one needs to turn one's head to see all the action. this is why I consider my second 1.2x row to be primary. But my room size was such that if I wanted two rows - and I did - the distances needed to be what they are. Smaller screen you say? IMO, the second row at 1.2x is PERFECT. But again, it's all personal preference.

Didn't mean to be condescending; I'm sorry it came across that way. Thought I was pretty clear about the screen size and viewing distance being a personal preference issue. The "right size" comment was right for me and I didn't mean to impose my personal preferences on the other poster. With that said, I have seen regret over the "too big, too close" phenomenon before, and simply recommended he demo that size/distance combo for several hours with different source material before committing.

Like I said previously, and you said above, some people like an "in your face" presentation and that's perfectly fine. I don't think the above poster will have an IMX lens on his HS51A and SDE might be a concern with a 106"/11 foot combo, and I just wanted him to be aware of that issue, too.

It was probably me, not you.


Demoing at length is a very good idea, and you are informing him of various factors that he should consider.

The "natural" size for my 13 x 21 room would most likely have been the 82" wide that I initially considered, but I found a local fellow AVS'er who had the 92" wide and visited his theater several times to check what various seating distances worked and came away with the feeling that the 92" would be fine in spite of conventional wisdom. The IMX was required to eliminate moire from my perfed screen, and the way it does that is by removing pixel structure.

Ed and Pepar...thank you both for all of your input. It is a great help in considering all of this. Ed, I took your "right size" as meaning the right size for the individual, so no worries about offending me. After all, that's why I'm here, to find the "right screen" for me. That may differ from someone elses "right screen", but getting other peoples opinion is invaluable. I also want to consider the experience my guests may have.

From the limited auditioning I've done, I think I am closer to Pepar's preference, in that I felt 1.5X would be pretty ideal. The width of the 106" diag, is 92", so that puts me just a tad less than 1.5X. So that is where I spec'd that size. Guess I shouldn't have been so flippant in my answer before.

Ed, viewing with different source material sounds like a great idea. I will definitely heed that advice.

Thank you both again, and I'll let you know what I decide.

-Drew

btw, Pepar, do you know if your HS20 has a higher lumen output than the hs51a?

Guys, has anyone had his bulb lamp exploded in HS51? It just happened to me last night... It made this pop sound and now bulb seems to be broken inside and has little pieces of glass.

I only had 600 hours on this bulb and less than a year. Does anyone know if SONY will replace this biulb for free?

Should I be concerned that there is possible something wrong with my projector? Or this is normal for lamp do explode like this? As far as I know my fans were working...

Drew,

My room is 14 x 22 and the Da-lite HCCV is 45x80 (92); I sit about 15-16 ft away; it's a hS51 in low light. W/ movie in th 2.35 mode, I could use a 100 inch screen.

Lenny

The published specs for the HS20 are 1400 ANSI lumens and 1300:1 CR. The published specs for the 51a, which has a variable iris are:

High Brightness:
ANSI Lumens: 1200
Contrast Ratio: **
High Contrast:
ANSI Lumens: **
Contrast Ratio: 10000:1

It looks to me that it's not apples-to-apples as they give a lumen spec for the "high brightness" setting, but no CR. And a CR spec for the "high contrast" setting, but no lumen spec.

You'll need to get comments from folks who've had both, or reviews where the comparison is made. Occasionally, I think the HS20's picture is a bit dim, but outdoor ad other bright scenes are not lacking. I've seen a 51 at a friends and was mightily impressed with the CR and black levels. And I am seriously considering a 51a myself - or whatever succeeds it - later in the year.

This is probably a way-out question, but does anyone know if the HS50/51 firmware (or board) can be upgraded to the HS51A/60 version?

I am, of course, interested in fixing the HDMI 720p cropping issue, and don't feel the need to buy the newer model when my current projector is mostly good enough.

Greetings,

This does happen on occasion however it is not normal. Contact Sony support and they will replace the lamp ( for free more than likely ). They may require you to send the unit in to ensure that there were no ill effects.

Good luck.


Regards,

Before i sent my HS-50 (european model) in for panel alignment my lens and lens shift was rock solid.

When i got it back i can manually move the lens sideways some mm's (= a lot on screen) but only in certain positions.
If i lens shift towards the outer boundary first and then dial it back some the lens is fixed again.
But if i dial toward the outer limits and stop then the lens is loose.

Must be some problem they have when doing the update of the panels.
Could be that if they tighten the lens shift to hard the panel alignment is affected i dont know.

At least now my panels are as close to 100% aligned in the center of the pictur as they can get.
In the corners it is still some minor misalignemnt 1/3 - 1/2 pixel so i guess it is either the opitics or the face that the spacing of the panel grid of the three anels is not 100% exact.

Anywat it is a LOT better then before when each pixel was shifter roughly 1 pixel off. And after calibrating it up I am very please with the picture.
Now i jsut need a good HDMI player to get rid of the minor component haloing and to get all the colours 100% spot on.
Then a screen that blocks ambient ligt better (night drapes but white walls = reflection problems) and having reviewed a bunch including firehawk, greyhawk and studiotek and a "secret brand" i am thinking of the firehawk or the "secret brand" that i unfortunatelly not are allowed to reveal by the manufacturer.

Its very close now and the picture is better than ever - hopefully HD-DVD or blue ray will enter the saloon this autumn and then i will start with the last part of the cinema to get everyhing dialed in.

Maybe its time for a HS-60 by then

Regards
Boogieman

I sent mine in on Friday for the lens shift adjustment. I'll let you know the results when I get it back.