Bill Cushman's review of the Sony VPL-HS51 has been posted in the subscriber only section of the Widescreen Review website. Maximum light output on-off CR with the lamp set on high, automatic iris on, and contrast set to maximum was 658 lumens and 5,834.1:1, respectively. The on-off CR and light output decreased somewhat when calibrated for optimal colour accuracy and gray scale tracking (~ 400 lumens and 4,000:1). The conclusion is that the projector is an outstanding value. It looks like Sony's on-off CR claim is pretty much verifiable which is remarkable. Way to go Sony and welcome back LCD.
Review for Sony VPL-HS51 up on Widescreen Review Site
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Cool. To bad most of us won't be able to read it..
The light output is what concerned me the most when I saw this at CEDIA. They were running it in high lamp mode for the demo, and when I asked to see it in low mode, they reluctantly switched it for me for maybe 10 seconds. But during that time, the picture quality AND brightness were notably degraded. The picture just looked absolutely dull.
There seemed to be a bug with the HS10 that when you use hi lamp mode, it burns the bulb out very quickly - so for my 2nd bulb in never used the hi lamp, and its lasted 3X as long and still counting. I'd be worried about buying the HS51 if it was only satisfactory with the full lamp mode.
The light output is what concerned me the most when I saw this at CEDIA. They were running it in high lamp mode for the demo, and when I asked to see it in low mode, they reluctantly switched it for me for maybe 10 seconds. But during that time, the picture quality AND brightness were notably degraded. The picture just looked absolutely dull.
There seemed to be a bug with the HS10 that when you use hi lamp mode, it burns the bulb out very quickly - so for my 2nd bulb in never used the hi lamp, and its lasted 3X as long and still counting. I'd be worried about buying the HS51 if it was only satisfactory with the full lamp mode.
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Yea, but full on - full off contrast ratio does not mean much;...does it? If the contrast is not so good with a checkerboard pattern, then what good is it? In real life use I doubt the Sony is much better than other units using the same LCD panels. I would rather have the Panasonic with its 5000 hour bulb and lack of SDE.
IB
IB
As you know, whether or not the low lamp mode will provide adequate brightness is based on several factors including size and type of screen, ambient light, and viewing preference. Given my size and screen the HS51 has inadequate light output. What I find encouraging, however, is the awesome on-off CR achieved. Epson was claiming a 9000:1 on-off CR for a Cinema 200 projector prototype that was modified for inclusion of the D5 chip and an automatic iris. The Cinema 200 with the D4 chip has greater light output than the HS51, and this will only be increase with the addition of the D5 chip which has a greater clear aperture.
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Mr. Cushman measured modified ANSI of 159:1 with the PJ's "Contrast" setting at 80 and 177:1 with "Contrast" set to 100.
| Originally posted by inky blacks Yea, but full on - full off contrast ratio does not mean much;...does it? If the contrast is not so good with a checkerboard pattern, then what good is it? In real life use I doubt the Sony is much better than other units using the same LCD panels. I would rather have the Panasonic with its 5000 hour bulb and lack of SDE. IB |
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He says this:
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| Originally posted by MRJAZZZ Scott B Did the reviewer mention any SDE or Vertical Banding issues? CHEERS, TC |
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| No vertical banding (fine vertical lines visible on light backgrounds) was present at any time. Screen door was visible on either an eight-foot or nine-foot wide image at my normal viewing distance of 17 feet. It was always visible on extremely bright images, but was rarely noticeable on most video. |
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If this were true then you shouldn't care about a projector having more than about 400:1 on/off (since black squares in the ANSI test will look very black at 400:1 and even CRTs don't go this high). However, if you had a projector that was 400:1 ANSI and 400:1 on/off then the instantaneous CR would be 400:1 in the traditional ANSI CR test and in the 10:1 range for images that were part 0 IRE and part 20 IRE (which is close to 2% over 100 IRE with normal gamma). And how did you get that name if you don't really care about absolute black level?
Try going to the beach and then walking down a dark street. The difference between these is mostly going to be represented by on/off CR, not ANSI CR. ANSI is also important, but when it gets high enough the room is more important to this than the projector.
With lens-shift I could see quite a few people using this projector with a High Power screen. I think the biggest weakness by far with this projector is going to be the pixels (SDE) and people will just have to deal with it in similar ways to what they do now with the Sanyo Z2, Epson TW500, Hitachi TX100, etc.
After seeing them at CEDIA I decided I would personally take the HS51 over the AE700 in a heartbeat. I got on a preorder list for the HS51 yesterday and will likely keep it as my 2nd projector (if it doesn't have a VB problem) for a while.
--Darin
| Originally posted by inky blacks Yea, but full on - full off contrast ratio does not mean much;...does it? If the contrast is not so good with a checkerboard pattern, then what good is it? |
Try going to the beach and then walking down a dark street. The difference between these is mostly going to be represented by on/off CR, not ANSI CR. ANSI is also important, but when it gets high enough the room is more important to this than the projector.
With lens-shift I could see quite a few people using this projector with a High Power screen. I think the biggest weakness by far with this projector is going to be the pixels (SDE) and people will just have to deal with it in similar ways to what they do now with the Sanyo Z2, Epson TW500, Hitachi TX100, etc.
After seeing them at CEDIA I decided I would personally take the HS51 over the AE700 in a heartbeat. I got on a preorder list for the HS51 yesterday and will likely keep it as my 2nd projector (if it doesn't have a VB problem) for a while.
--Darin
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Maybe his ink is watered down... 
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Or 3rd, or 4th, or 5th...
| Originally posted by darinp2 ...And how did you get that name if you don't really care about absolute black level? --Darin |
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| Originally posted by darinp2 ..and will likely keep it as my 2nd projector --Darin |
"Screen door was visible on either an eight-foot or nine-foot wide image at my normal viewing distance of 17 feet."
Ugh. This in itself may drive me to the AE700. I like to sit close, and am planning an ~8 foot wide screen at ~10.5 feet. From the reports on the AE700, there is no SD at that distance.
Ugh. This in itself may drive me to the AE700. I like to sit close, and am planning an ~8 foot wide screen at ~10.5 feet. From the reports on the AE700, there is no SD at that distance.
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at 17 feet ?? screendoor seems very high then.
on/off CR is stunning though.
on/off CR is stunning though.
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Just wait, we will have people saying they don't see any screendoor at 1.3x on this exact same model. And nobody will have been dishonest in their assessment. I think there are multiple reasons for this. Partially differences in people's eyesight, but even more importantly sometimes what people mean when they talk about this. Some people mention the point at which they can no longer pick out individual pixels or gaps, while others will mention where they can still perceive that there are gaps (or a mesh) even if they can't really focus on one gap. And some will use a static image while others will use moving images and also some will use the most difficult images (like a bright white area) while others will just use an average image.
--Darin
| Originally posted by Digital2004 at 17 feet ?? screendoor seems very high then. |
--Darin
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SDE disappears at 14 ft on my 8 ft wide screen with my Sony 10ht. So it must be personal perception... I hope .
| Screen door was visible on either an eight-foot or nine-foot wide image at my normal viewing distance of 17 feet. |
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isn't the resolution of the hs51 less than the 10HT??
if so, i'd expect the SDE to be more visible all else held constant.
| Originally posted by William Mapstone SDE disappears at 14 ft on my 8 ft wide screen with my Sony 10ht. So it must be personal perception... I hope . |
if so, i'd expect the SDE to be more visible all else held constant.
Darin,
I always appreciate your posts and insights about technology and image quality, both objective and subjective. If I recall, you had commented after CEDIA that you thought the Sony had a calibrated contrast ratio of around 4000:1. All I can say is "WOW!" You have yet again demonstrated both your competence and expertise in the world of display technology. As someone who would struggle to see the difference between 2000:1 and 10,000:1(much less be able to accurately pinpoint an exact number in between) I am truly impressed.
Just want to say "Thank You" for all of your contributions. I am fairly new to this hobby and have learned a great deal from your posts.
P.S. I do have 1 advantage over you........I am ignorant enough to still be able to enjoy a subpar image.....I'd bet you could probably pick out "problems" in your Qualia and HD2K images
Daniel
I always appreciate your posts and insights about technology and image quality, both objective and subjective. If I recall, you had commented after CEDIA that you thought the Sony had a calibrated contrast ratio of around 4000:1. All I can say is "WOW!" You have yet again demonstrated both your competence and expertise in the world of display technology. As someone who would struggle to see the difference between 2000:1 and 10,000:1(much less be able to accurately pinpoint an exact number in between) I am truly impressed.
Just want to say "Thank You" for all of your contributions. I am fairly new to this hobby and have learned a great deal from your posts.
P.S. I do have 1 advantage over you........I am ignorant enough to still be able to enjoy a subpar image.....I'd bet you could probably pick out "problems" in your Qualia and HD2K images
Daniel
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We'll thats a big endorsement for the HS51 in my book. I am deciding between the AE700 and HS51 and I think I'm now at: 75% toward the HS51 vs. 25% toward the AE700.
Do we know the lumen output of the AE700 when it was calibrated to 2000:1 CR?
| Originally posted by darinp2 After seeing them at CEDIA I decided I would personally take the HS51 over the AE700 in a heartbeat. I got on a preorder list for the HS51 yesterday and will likely keep it as my 2nd projector (if it doesn't have a VB problem) for a while. |
Do we know the lumen output of the AE700 when it was calibrated to 2000:1 CR?
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Let's not exaggerate the SDE problem. Here's Bill's full quote:
"No vertical banding (fine vertical lines visible on light backgrounds) was present at any time. Screen door was visible on either an eight-foot or nine-foot wide image at my normal viewing distance of 17 feet. It was always visible on extremely bright images, but was rarely noticeable on most video. Regular direct-view CRTs and plasma displays have much more screen door effect, so this observation should be kept in proper perspective. It only rarely distracted from the beauty of a smooth clean image. Sony has changed from the 1366 x 768 pixel panel used in previous models to 1280 x 720 pixels. This is only a small difference, but it results in a slightly poorer image on HDTV and makes screen door visible at my normal viewing distance."
"No vertical banding (fine vertical lines visible on light backgrounds) was present at any time. Screen door was visible on either an eight-foot or nine-foot wide image at my normal viewing distance of 17 feet. It was always visible on extremely bright images, but was rarely noticeable on most video. Regular direct-view CRTs and plasma displays have much more screen door effect, so this observation should be kept in proper perspective. It only rarely distracted from the beauty of a smooth clean image. Sony has changed from the 1366 x 768 pixel panel used in previous models to 1280 x 720 pixels. This is only a small difference, but it results in a slightly poorer image on HDTV and makes screen door visible at my normal viewing distance."
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