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Well, I am really shocked (and delighted) to start the New Sony VW200 thread. This PJ represents a few firsts for me. For one as far as I know I may be the first (end-user) to get the U.S. version VW200. It also is the first Sony flagship PJ I have ever owned. And finally it is (or most likely will be) the first STICKY thread I have ever had here at AVS!
This starting post is very preliminary because I obviously need much more time to evaluate. As I unwrapped it though I could tell it was a very high end product. It was pretty impressive. I have previously owned the VW100 and as many of you know the VW60 "Black Pearl" as well. The remote (pic 3) is very nice. It screams high end when it is in your hand. The color of the Blue Ruby is very impressive. I like its elegant look. And I am pleased to say I also got back my beloved "lighted" SONY logo! It's the little things that count.
So enough of the boring stuff. How does it look? I turned it on and jumped right into some of last nights NFL game between the Cowboys and Packers in HD. I predicted the score of 37 to 24 in favor of Dallas so I was almost right!
Anyway, setting the FULL MOTION to HIGH yielded great results. It is hard to explain the look. It is very smooth looking almost like they are running right in front of you!
Not an ounce of motion-blur which I really am sensitive to. The coolest aspect of this feature is no matter how fast the action got the picture remained SHARP and CLEAR. I love this feature for football in HD and will definitely work with it a lot this Sunday! Speaking of SHARPNESS, well it really does have plenty of it. I would say the VW60 is very close to it though but I would still give the edge to the VW200 with its MOTIONFLOW. As for colors, I really liked how the colors looked on my VW100 even a little more than the VW60s. Well, I am happy to report I got them back and then some. It is like they combined the punch of the VW60 and the richness of the VW100 and came out with the VW200. As for brightness, I would say the VW60 and VW200 are about the same. Of course I just turned on the 200 so I will have to wait a little bit to know for sure. My 120.5" Vutec SilverStar was lit up though! I should also mention this PJ is also very quiet to. I could not even tell it was on!
Now for my favorite subject. HD DVD and Blu ray titles. This PJ is very close to CRT as I am willing to bet many soon afterwards will agree with me. The inky blacks were very deep. I have been planning to get the Carada Masquerade Masking System but quite honestly I do not think I will need it (but will still most likely try one). Watching a few titles from each format I found the MOTIONFLOW being set to LOW yielded excellent results. The fast moving action scenes do NOT get blurry whatsoever. It is really nice having a constant SHARP picture. I am still playing with the Black Frame Insertion features so more on that feature later. My convergence was also spot on or as good as it gets. The panel alignment adjusting for convergence is innovative (zone convergence) and very advanced on the VW200.
So now here comes the $14,999.00 (or possibly cheaper STREET price) question. Is it worth it? I would have to say if you have the means and do not want to wait for cheaper PJs next year (or possibly the year after) to come out with 120hz MOTIONFLOW features then the answer is YES. The answer could be YES if you enjoy watching a lot of sports. So far my movies seem like they will be vastly improved as well. The scaling in the VW200 is also top notch. I am still debating if I even need my crystalio II anymore!
This PJ is better and does separate itself from the mid level PJs. But by how much depends on each individual's needs. I really liked the Black Pearl as many of you know
. I liked it so much I wanted to see what the DIAMOND could do. Now that I have I really feel like I could definitely keep this PJ for a couple years and not give another thought about what is coming out in 2008! And that is coming from someone who upgrades every few weeks!
Again, I apologize for not going into more detail I will gladly post more soon. I bet other new owners will chime in soon.
I really am excited at the level of performance Sony has taken their new flagship to. If anything this will lead to more performance for less in their future mid level PJs. I am seeing a level of SHARPNESS under all viewing conditions I have never seen before. And the amount of detail is astounding. I am now heading back into the "lab" so I can get to "work" testing more material...
Thanks Craig! Your level of service was excellent and I would not hesitate a second in the future to purchase from you again!
My latest settings as of July, 2008!
Iris is set to Manul with Contrast at 92.
I use Gamma Off for movies (Gamma 3 for sports)...
Depending on title Motion Flow is either OFF or on LOW (for cartoons or animated movies)...
Black Level I leave on LOW for movies and on HIGH for sports.
Color Temp I like it on Custom 2 (the Gain is higher for all 3 colors)...
Color Space is on Normal for movies and Wide for sports. Sometimes I do like Wide for some movies...
Brightness, Color, Hue are all left at 50...
Sharpness is at 40...
Film Projection is a tough one. Some movies and sports look "cool" with it on 3 (or low setting) while many times I leave it OFF.
Obviously there is not a correct way to have your settings. They are mainly subject to each owner's taste. And of course different screens should yeild different results...

Well, I am really shocked (and delighted) to start the New Sony VW200 thread. This PJ represents a few firsts for me. For one as far as I know I may be the first (end-user) to get the U.S. version VW200. It also is the first Sony flagship PJ I have ever owned. And finally it is (or most likely will be) the first STICKY thread I have ever had here at AVS!

This starting post is very preliminary because I obviously need much more time to evaluate. As I unwrapped it though I could tell it was a very high end product. It was pretty impressive. I have previously owned the VW100 and as many of you know the VW60 "Black Pearl" as well. The remote (pic 3) is very nice. It screams high end when it is in your hand. The color of the Blue Ruby is very impressive. I like its elegant look. And I am pleased to say I also got back my beloved "lighted" SONY logo! It's the little things that count.

So enough of the boring stuff. How does it look? I turned it on and jumped right into some of last nights NFL game between the Cowboys and Packers in HD. I predicted the score of 37 to 24 in favor of Dallas so I was almost right!


Now for my favorite subject. HD DVD and Blu ray titles. This PJ is very close to CRT as I am willing to bet many soon afterwards will agree with me. The inky blacks were very deep. I have been planning to get the Carada Masquerade Masking System but quite honestly I do not think I will need it (but will still most likely try one). Watching a few titles from each format I found the MOTIONFLOW being set to LOW yielded excellent results. The fast moving action scenes do NOT get blurry whatsoever. It is really nice having a constant SHARP picture. I am still playing with the Black Frame Insertion features so more on that feature later. My convergence was also spot on or as good as it gets. The panel alignment adjusting for convergence is innovative (zone convergence) and very advanced on the VW200.
So now here comes the $14,999.00 (or possibly cheaper STREET price) question. Is it worth it? I would have to say if you have the means and do not want to wait for cheaper PJs next year (or possibly the year after) to come out with 120hz MOTIONFLOW features then the answer is YES. The answer could be YES if you enjoy watching a lot of sports. So far my movies seem like they will be vastly improved as well. The scaling in the VW200 is also top notch. I am still debating if I even need my crystalio II anymore!



Again, I apologize for not going into more detail I will gladly post more soon. I bet other new owners will chime in soon.


Thanks Craig! Your level of service was excellent and I would not hesitate a second in the future to purchase from you again!

My latest settings as of July, 2008!
Iris is set to Manul with Contrast at 92.
I use Gamma Off for movies (Gamma 3 for sports)...
Depending on title Motion Flow is either OFF or on LOW (for cartoons or animated movies)...
Black Level I leave on LOW for movies and on HIGH for sports.
Color Temp I like it on Custom 2 (the Gain is higher for all 3 colors)...
Color Space is on Normal for movies and Wide for sports. Sometimes I do like Wide for some movies...
Brightness, Color, Hue are all left at 50...
Sharpness is at 40...
Film Projection is a tough one. Some movies and sports look "cool" with it on 3 (or low setting) while many times I leave it OFF.
Obviously there is not a correct way to have your settings. They are mainly subject to each owner's taste. And of course different screens should yeild different results...



