Guys,

come see my write up on my project Projector...

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...&#entry10182469

I'm very curious how the Sony VPL-VW100 was dull and put you to sleep? I do not agree not because I own one, but it is because it is to me the best projection on earth money can buy yet, for the price, it puts some ultra expensive projections into pointless investment.

I've not tried as many projectors as many of you did, but through my experience, all aspects of this RUBY (western name) is superb to 3 guns projections, the blacks might not be as good, but come so close many will become lazy to compare.

first of all, the source is the main part to get any projector being reviewed properly. first look at the specs of this killer projector. it is a native resolution, yes, it is absolutely a true 1080i and 1080p projector. the auto iris is so perfect that I'm totally stunned by how good it can show the blacks. and, please, do not review this projector simply by just putting some dvd sources into it. believe it or not, even expensive dvd player (I mean players touches few RMk category) might not be a good source to get this projector to show its full potential.

further more, this projector is so future proof it can last many many years to come! again believe me or not, I've learned that getting a HTPC is one of the best source to get this gem to show off its potential. at first, I was using my new top Pioneer DVD player, and thought that it is pretty good. not at all, this newly bought player has been collecting dust right after I've got my HTPC. And the HTPC must be set to 1080p and must be recognised by the projector as 1080p (please do not ask how I do this). Watching HDTV will stunned anyone, again, I won't use the word impress, stun is better word (please do not ask me where to get HDTV sources too, it is not HD-DVD nor Blueray, but these sources are true HDTV format and can be only played from HTPC, with proper set up). I've quite some collections now of these HDTV movies and documentaries, like Lord Of The Ring, reference documentaries (which can turn your home theater to IMAX, I'm not exaggerating if you believe my review here), even the latest 2006 King Kong, just to name so few. You won't believe how well this projector can show off the power of HDTV if you see it for the first time, the King Kong is thrillingly sharp, again, all aspects of how a dreamer's projector should perform is close to perfect with this projector, some of my guesses described themselves watching a 160" screen HD LCD. Everything is so perfectly projected out that you will believe the projector costs RM350,000 instead of RM35,000. The black level is so good that DLP technology has been giving me an impression it has serious flaws in black level problem. Colour is really good too, as well as contrast and sharpness. I don't describe it as 'film like' what-so-ever, because it will convince many it is 'Imax like' with HD sources. This projector has 800 ansi lumen, but again, do not fooled by the value, I will not convinced even if it is compare to a 2200 ansi lumen DLP. 800 ansi lumen is already 1 time more powerful than the average 3 guns projector, with black level performance comes close to match (have I mention most of the DLPs, even the expensive ones, can't come close?).

ok, back to the point, I will review watching DVD is as impressive as watching HD. Again, I can proof that even the RM3500 Pioneer DVD player is really not good enough to compare playing from a HTPC (provided one knows how to set it up properly). technically I can't explain why here, but believe me, with proper source, this projector is as perfect watching DVD as to watching HD.

so far, I've not seen a projector with DLP projector can be as good at all. most DLP projectors (if not all) give us an impression it is seriously bright and with good color. But who care if it is twice or 3 times as bright if its black level is so poor? the brights are just too bright, and the black will be so black that it can never become a replacement of the old but still very good and expensive 3 guns projectors. Think of the way back, 3 guns projections are so deem compare to digital projectors. averagely 200 to 400 ansi lumen is how bright these old projectors are. normal DLP projectors can achieve so much more brighter, the lowest is 1200 ansi lumen I believed? some higher end home theater DLP has even 2800 ansi lumen and above. But do not fooled by these value alone first! 3 guns projectors have superb black level performance, you will not see it really that deem actually because the blacks level performance (extreme contrast area and shadows) is so much more capable than nowadays DLP. so far I don't think any DLP has 1080 HD resolution, even if it does, it is not really as native and as true HD resolution as the Sony does. I'm still extremely happy and proud to have these Sony. I'm not going into detail, but if one is doing some research about projection technologies, DLP seems not easy to achieve 1080 like the SXRD does. I've learned that DLP 1080 is like some kind of interpolation to me, that's why I said it is not as native as SXRD technology. Just to remind that this Sony comes with 3 SXRD chips!

as my conclusion here, putting HD source apart, watching DVD with this projector is superb in all aspects. please again, I would like to emphasize here, the source is extremely important before these projector can really shows up, same to others too, but not many will come close to it, especially to the price point. Did I mention this projector does look like a gem just by looking at it alone without switching it on? As you all know, this is Sony product design. And did I mention you need an Ultra Audiophile ears to hear its fan noise? Lastly, did I mention it is so much more heavy then it should look.

The only complain I have is the expensive replacement of the bulb, should be more than RM3k. And the bulb is not just actually a bulb by itself, but a big piece of solid chassis with the bulb inside. Also, the only problem (if this is a problem, but non so far) is where it is projecting a 160" screen instead of its recommended 138" max. I won't describe the draw backs here. Hope I share something valuable here.

thats farking long dude but very informative

my concern is usually how long this kind of projector lamp can last i mean hour ... coz most of the manufacturer are not mentioning the lifetime of this lamps in their website nowadays ....

i will be the type spamming the huge screen for sure, so information regarding the bulb lifetime would be really informative to all i guess

your particular units bulb cost around RM3k ... as expected i guess but how about the lamp lifetime and how about others

This post has been edited by jaya_pc87: Jan 27 2007, 01:13 AM

the Sony is a Xenon lamp, am not sure if it is the first or other projectors use xenon too, as far as I concerned it should last at least 2000 hours, maybe 3000. But this is not end of the story just by looking at how long until the bulb will be blown off actually! Technologically, digital projectors such as DLP and also this Sony's Xenon will drop to 50% of it's original brightness after just 500 hours cycle! so make sure we all as a buyer knows this fact. I'm not sure this is really a problem as this Sony is my first digital projector. But so far the sony is really bright on my 160". but as i mentioned before, how bright a projector can be is not totally important. black level is more to the game, at least to me. Even if it drops to 50%, I'm confident enough it will still be very good. 50% drop, 400 ansi lumen (out of 800 ansi lumen), it is still the brightest performance a 3 guns can do, well, this is my own assumption, so don't take my word serious by calculating this way, but this seems logic right?

take the most conservative way to calculate the bulb's life span, 3 hrs daily out of 2000 hours cycles, it lasts bout 2 years before your wallet is being hurt again. but who will really watch 3 hrs movie every single day? therefore, a normal usage, the bulb should last 3 to 4 years, this is very fair to me.



This post has been edited by precsmo: Jan 27 2007, 01:52 AM

Wah... talk so long... I also lazy to read.

Its great that you found your personal liking. Like others as well, we all have budget constraint... as well as our own likings.

As long as you are happy with yours, who cares about what other says...

well for me its not only for watching movie only , my tv series & anime ( not astro) which are also HD quality and playing either console or pc game all together should be more than 8 hours a day min

so on average i would be changing bulb once a year at least right?

Get a plasma or LCD instead. I think the lifespan is longer for these compared to a projector.

plasma n LCD have an ave lifespan of 60k hours, which is good for at least 10yrs

most of our averange projector have bout 2000 hours lifespan but some of the review rated the sony at 4-6000 hours lifespan due to its low lumen output but some other website says otherwise......i think the lifespan of the projector depends very much on the average daily consumption and also the environment it operates in......
to me personally i think the sony is very good......if compare to the the Sim2 i would say tat the Sony is much more appealing due to the contrast and black lever but the Sim2's picture is very real and film like but somehow the best projector to me is still the old school Tri-gun projector with a line doubler.....well ...its just my opinion though

If you look carefully on Sony projectors, they always either take out the Dynamic Contrast or the lumens... whichever is the bad black sheep, they will just ignore it so that you don't see their projector's weakness.

precsmo, thanks for the very good review. Please do not take my personnel comments as overly critical of the projector of your choice. You have a wonderful projector and I am glad you like it. Regardless of its price point, it just was not right for me. The pearl and the ruby that I auditioned was in proper darkened AV room using licensed DVDs over HDMI.... etc. The setup for the pearl and ruby was indeed best of the best of the best. Somehow it did not click with me.

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Added on January 28, 2007, 5:33 pmEpson TW700 First look/review

I finally got to see the Epson TW700. It was setup in a smallish AV room projecting a 80" diag screen. It was an unbranded matt white manual pull down screen. I viewed material from DTS and dolby test DVDs. The room was not completely dark, there was some light filtering in from the front of the store. I'll just call the lighting condition as "dim". The owner of the shop was very friendly and cordial, although the room shop was literally pack up to ceiling with AV gear, no sound was setup for my audition.... just video .

First off, the picture quality in terms of colour was very similar to the Panny, bright, vibrant and plenty of pop. I struggle to find the difference of the 2000lumen Panny against the 1600lumen of the Epson in their brightest modes.

The picture of the Epson is slightly sharper, and because of that the pixels are clearly visible from my seating position which is about 8ft from the screen, it was annoying. I am not sure if I can live with it. Just mske it less film like!!

During very bright scenes of the sky and snow I noticed that there was a colour uniformity issue with the LCD.... ie the snow was not uniformly white across the screen. Similar issue with Panny has been observed. I could not find a test pattern on the Epson in order to verify this over a white picture... its prolly there but hidden deep in the menu.

There was no bulb flicker. And the mode of the bulb is automatically switched between eco and normal by the colour mode you select. I thought this was a little inflexible. And in the most dynamic / brightest mode....the fan was noticebly noisy, not so for the Panny.

Finally, I found that on very fast moving scenes, the projected picture gets very choppy. While the Panny also exhibited some of this, it was slightly smoother than the Epson.

I thought that I would have been able to make a decision very quickly, in reality I have a lot of pros and cons to weigh between these 2 super projectors. I need to think about it and get back to you guys on which is the better projector for me. I'll do a pros and cons piece later on.

For people that have bought either of these projectors.... just enjoy what you have coz they are the best 720p for the money.

This post has been edited by jasonlky: Jan 28 2007, 05:39 PM

Bro Fusion, have u got your projector? How's it going? Hope everything's good.

will b getting it soon ....got problem at the moment cos the electrician came to check and he said that there is no beam on top of the plaster ceiling where i wanna place the projector......i m thinking of how to set it up now ....placing it on the table without hanging up is out of the problem cos its a living room and everyone walks pass the place when they go out or come in .....sigh ....headache .....

This post has been edited by Fusion: Jan 29 2007, 12:14 AM

No beam? Why do you need a beam?

need a beam up there cos u cant just mount the projector to the plaster ceiling ....the plaster is not strong enough to hold the weight of the projector ....u need to secure it to concrete or a beam so that it can support the weight of the projector.......

Ohhhh!!!! Plaster ceiling.........!!!!!

My mistake. I was wondering, what so difficult to mount onto the concrete ceiling.

Fusion, so which porojector are you getting? As for the setup, have you considered having on a shelf on the back wall? Either use a cabinet with shelves or hang a shelf on the wall. I think I shall do it this way, so I dun have the hassle of man handling the projector and the ceiling mount when I have to clean the lense, air filter or change bulb. The setup should be just as neat. Plus the added mobility has its advantages.

By the way you may want to check out computer shops as their prices are much lower than the electrical/electronics shops.

Good Luck

well ....d shelf is out of the way .......let me give u a brief idea of my living room.....if i use a shelf then d projector should b at d back of the room which is 24 feet away ....too far.....n the middle cannot use shelf cos it will b in front of a altar ....my parents is going to kill me

This post has been edited by Fusion: Jan 30 2007, 03:55 AM


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not really so. For projector, you only need to replace the bulb, that's not the life span of the whole projector, it's just the bulb.

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Added on January 30, 2007, 10:52 amso far I've not realized this yet, as i've mentioned, the source is real important. Also, when playing with HD contents, this projector will be a lead to most projectors, and this will be different story then. anyway, this projector is more for HD contents than DVD actually.

Sigh, I should have gotten the Superman Returns, Mission Impossible III and Jet Li's Huo Yuan Gia in HD-DVD, too bad due to the earthquake and submarine cable, it causes me big problem till now.


This post has been edited by precsmo: Jan 30 2007, 10:52 AM

Me too due to the earthquake and submarine cable, it causes me big problem till now......sad