Sony's 1080p
VPL-VW40 projector has been quite intriguing ever since we realized its spectacular specifications sheet ended with a sub-$3,000 price tag, though many were fearing that it wouldn't look half as good as the doubly expensive
VPL-VW200. According to the eagle-eyed reviewers at
Trusted Reviews, those fears are completely unwarranted. More specifically, the SXRD-based beamer blasted out impressive black levels, an amazing level of detail / sharpness and not even a hint of that messy "screen door" effect found on rivaling LCD PJs. The only real knock was pointed at the less-than-flawless color reproduction and less-than-ideal brightness, but really, we get the idea they were stretching for any reason to believe this thing wasn't without an imperfection. Hit up the read link for the full spill -- but only if you don't mind being talked into buying one.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nfinity @ May 28th 2008 3:53PM
I'll stick with my Epson Cinema 1080UB thanks..less money, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast and picture out of this world.
EQC @ May 28th 2008 11:21PM
Wow...that Epson does seem like a nice projector from my quick Google search: 1080p, 3-LCD, dual HDMI 1.3...very nice, especially for the sub $3000 price I'm seeing.
I've been thinking about a projector for my future...I just wonder about the bulb replacement (so I'm hoping for LED bulbs, or maybe laser-based projection)...but if you don't mind my asking: how have your bulbs faired? How long do they last, and how much to replace?
Nfinity @ May 28th 2008 11:28PM
Don't mind.. the problem is that I got it fairly recently based on many reviews on AVS. I saw it in person and fell in love. I looked at the Sony ones as well the $5-$6k VW60 they seemed great based on some review but when I went my local higher end electronics installer Epson blew me away.
The only problem is that indeed the bulbs are more expensive.. around $400.. but they do last pretty well too, at least what they say.
I'll tell you, for example the VW60 Sony I looked at that was more expensive then the one mentioned here was still a bit off with colors and wasn't as sharp as I expected.
Panasonic AE2000 was my first choice because it was the cheapest and proven but when EPSON revised it's Epson Cinema 1080 with the UB version they literally killed off the sub $3000 market. I think it's absolutely the best projector for the money and easily competes with much much more expensive projectors. And it's not really because i got it, you can see people really praise it everywhere. It really is great, sharp, colors POP amazingly and blacks are excellent even with a bit light in the room.
GhostDoggy @ May 29th 2008 5:31AM
I stopped trusting those stores when they setup home theater projectors. I cannot county the number of times they claimed to be boutique in nature and then use out of the box condition instead of calibrating the factory units.
Worse yet is that I've seen instances where they connect a source using practically the worse method of connectivity in order to allow a competing projector product a better displayed edge.
Until I see something in-home, calibrated, in a light controlled environment where one can only utilize low-light contrast performance then comparison is rather moot.
BTW, isn't comparing LCD to LCoS a little strange? While LCD offers a color-punchy condition I wonder about the screen-door condition due to the inherent poor fill-factor of LCD compared to DLP and LCoS.
Xyzzy @ May 29th 2008 9:33AM
The one advantage the Sony has over the Epson is a sealed light path -- some people complain that dust can get in the light path producing dust blobs on the picture. Most people don't have an issue with that though -- I have a Panny AE700 that could also get dust blobs, but the picture is fine.
The zoom on the Sony pj sucks (as do all non-LCD projectors). My room is rather small -- so I can only mount the pj about 10' away from the screen. With the Sony, that gives me an 85" screen. With the Epson, I'll get a 100" screen. If the picture is anywhere near close, guess which wins?
I've been researching a pj upgrade for a few months and I keep coming back to the Epson. I want the Epson Pro because it's black (and includes an extra lamp), but the extra cost is quite high.... :(
daaper @ May 29th 2008 12:48PM
A quote from your projector review site you posted:
"The same goes for the VW40's 1.7:1 zoom, which can display a 100" diagonal 16:9 image from 10'2" to 17'6". That's plenty of leeway to adjust the projector to your room."
Just thought I'd point that out since you specifically mentioned its lack of zoom.
Xyzzy @ May 29th 2008 9:34AM
I forgot to include a link to Projector Central - my favorite pj review site on the net since they're very impartial and full of details.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/sony_vw40_review.htm
Xyzzy @ May 29th 2008 1:06PM
@daaper: Hmm, I wonder if I was looking at a different Sony projector when I got that 85" screen. I can't recreate it on the pj calculator.
Damn, now I have yet another pj to consider. *laugh*
daaper @ May 29th 2008 2:52PM
Ha, sorry about that. I know what you're going through. I just bought my first HDtv a few months ago and getting to the point where I felt confident enough to pull the trigger was torture...