[Classy Tech]

I currently have an Epson HC2030, 11.5' from a 120" Elite Cinegrey fixed frame screen. Ive had the setup for about a year, and decided to upgrade to a Sony VPL-HW40ES.
One of my concerns, is with the Epson I have a brightness issue that appears in white or bright areas (makes them look sparkly). Not sure if its hotspotting or not, but before this screen I tried another (cheaper) brand that did the same but worse.
I have the Epson in ECO mode and using the living room setting. I also have an ND-4 filter taped over the lens which helped a bit more and made blacks appear darker at the expense of brightness.


The spot moves depending on where you are sitting, which makes me think it may be an issue with the projector. However, with the projector off, and the ceiling light turned on I can kind of see the same thing (a bright area reflection of the light that moves as you move).


Below are some pics that show it in bright areas, and dark pics that show how it looks other wise.




Will the new projector fix this, or could the screen be defective some how (don't see how when the other screen did it too but even worse)? Could it just be a placement issue, as its not mounted perfectly square to the screen?




Also, will the Sony be bright enough to be similar to playing on a LED TV in low lamp and game mode with moderate room lighting (1-2 45w tall floor lamps on either side of the screen)?

 

[AV_Integrated]

This sounds entirely like a screen issue. Hotspotting is almost always attributable to a poorly designed screen. I have seen several screens which have significant flaws in image quality, including serious hotspotting and sparkling issues which is what a flat white screen with minimal gain is always a good starting point. The black screens and grey screens are notorious for having sparkling issues due to the reflective properties of the screen itself.

I'm not aware of complaints of the 2030 having sparkling issues, especially as bad as what you are showing photos of, so I would fully expect this issue to continue with no matter what projector you end up purchasing.

The HW40ES is certainly capable of delivering very solid brightness, though any lights on in the room should be controlled for best results.

 

[Classy Tech]

This sounds entirely like a screen issue. Hotspotting is almost always attributable to a poorly designed screen. I have seen several screens which have significant flaws in image quality, including serious hotspotting and sparkling issues which is what a flat white screen with minimal gain is always a good starting point. The black screens and grey screens are notorious for having sparkling issues due to the reflective properties of the screen itself.

I'm not aware of complaints of the 2030 having sparkling issues, especially as bad as what you are showing photos of, so I would fully expect this issue to continue with no matter what projector you end up purchasing.

The HW40ES is certainly capable of delivering very solid brightness, though any lights on in the room should be controlled for best results.

I had originally went with grey to help out the lower end 2030 projector's black levels, and because I have a window to the left of the screen that is sometimes open.
I chatted with Elite, and they are issuing an RMA and suggested I switch to white. With the Sony being a better projector, I assume switching to white shouldn't effect the black level too much?
EDIT: I just noticed Elite's white has a higher gain (slightly) of 1.1 vs the Cinegrey 1.0. Wouldn't that cause more hotspotting?

Also, my current setup is 11.5' from the screen hanging from the ceiling. Using the calculator for the Sony, its looking like optimal distance for 120" is 14.5'. I can only go back another 1.5-2' at most. Will that be an issue? Unless I can somehow make a stand that bolts in to the frame around the window on that wall, then I could maybe go another .5-1' but not sure how Id be able to do that.

 

[ben38]

Your hotspotting issue is a combination of a screen with more gain than you need, and your throw being very close.
The Sony unit you're getting is a major step up in quality from the 2030. Since you'll be at the extreme wide angle end of your lens, brightness will not be an issue at all. A white screen should give you a more uniform brightness across your screen, but you may still have a hotspot just because your projector is so close. The good news is you'll probably be able to find a suitable setting on the Sony without needing a filter.
Before you go changing out your screen, get the Sony unit first and see if the hotspotting is still an issue with your old screen. I think you'll find a big reduction in your hotspot issue as the Sony is not as bright as the 2030, but has a more uniform brightness across its lens.
As for playing games with lights on: You can play with the lights on with good results, though you'll probably not see any black level differences from the 2030 until you turn the lights off. (That's where the Sony Hw40es beats the Epson 2030 by a mile.)

 

[Classy Tech]

Your hotspotting issue is a combination of a screen with more gain than you need, and your throw being very close.
The Sony unit you're getting is a major step up in quality from the 2030. Since you'll be at the extreme wide angle end of your lens, brightness will not be an issue at all. A white screen should give you a more uniform brightness across your screen, but you may still have a hotspot just because your projector is so close. The good news is you'll probably be able to find a suitable setting on the Sony without needing a filter.
Before you go changing out your screen, get the Sony unit first and see if the hotspotting is still an issue with your old screen. I think you'll find a big reduction in your hotspot issue as the Sony is not as bright as the 2030, but has a more uniform brightness across its lens.
As for playing games with lights on: You can play with the lights on with good results, though you'll probably not see any black level differences from the 2030 until you turn the lights off. (That's where the Sony Hw40es beats the Epson 2030 by a mile.)

Thanks that's what I was wondering. The calculator has my 2030 almost in the red for its current setup.
I decided for the Sony Im going to mount a shelf to the frame around the window on the wall facing the screen. This will put it as far back as possible, around 13.5'.


Elite screens said I wont have to send the current one back, so I can try both and see what works. I don't get how its high gain though when my current one is 1.0.

 

[AV_Integrated]

The Elite Cinegray material is well known for hotspotting issues. The white does not exhibit this issue nearly as much. I almost asked if you had an Elite Cinegrey screen.

A 'neutral' grey screen typically has a .8 or lower gain. This is when they don't use reflective material on the grey screen. But, white screens often can have a bit of added gain with very little surface change. The white screen is a significant step up from the Cinegrey.

 

[Classy Tech]

The Elite Cinegray material is well known for hotspotting issues. The white does not exhibit this issue nearly as much. I almost asked if you had an Elite Cinegrey screen.

A 'neutral' grey screen typically has a .8 or lower gain. This is when they don't use reflective material on the grey screen. But, white screens often can have a bit of added gain with very little surface change. The white screen is a significant step up from the Cinegrey.

Ok, makes sense. Sounds like Ill be getting a great upgrade all around. I also picked up some matte maroon-ish paint to paint the wall behind the screen, and going to make some masking strips for 2.35:1 content.

 

[Classy Tech]

I have a question about mounting the Sony as well. When I got the Epson, their site has a thing that calculated how high I needed it to be. Couldn't find anything like that on Sony's site.


The top of the screen is about 12" from the ceiling. So if I want the projector on a shelf normal side up, how low from the ceiling will it have to go?
Again, screen is 120", and its going to be about 13.5' away.

 

[Classy Tech]

The Sony helped a little bit (but was defective and is going back). The white material has no sparkle or hot spot, but has spots all over it that I cant get out.








Also when I got the grey, it was difficult to assemble, but not terribly so. Getting the white to fit was like needing all of Hercules strength in your finger tips, and took me and another person over 3 hours to do. I also managed to dislocate my thumb doing the forth corner (following the instructions perfectly). I emailed Elite explaining this and asking if there was something special I could do to clean it. If not, Im going to push for a refund or credit to swap out for a tab tensioned electric pull down model.