The Sony VPL-VW10HT FAQ

Peter Finzels Sony VPL-VW10HT FAQ

I wrote this FAQ to describe my first impressions of this long expected projector. Of cause it can't be a real "FAQ", because just the first production samples of the projector were around when the text was written. So I selected the questions to describe in detail what I think are important features. The counter of the10HT showed 4 hours, when I got the set. Before taking measurements, the 10HT was always running for a minimum of half an hour. The projector was attached to a Pioneer 606 DVD Player with the choice of the new "Reference DVD" (625/50 "PAL"), the "Videos Essentials" and the "AVIA" (both 525/60 "NTSC") plus a lot of other DVDs via FBAS, S-video, YUV (more exact YPrPb) and RGB connection. Furthermore a PAL pattern generator, a Minolta precision lux meter, a (also Minolta) color analyzer and various video scalers and a PC were used. The big picture was throw on a 3,17 m (about 124 inches) wide 16:9-format Stewart Screen with StudioTek 130 fabric. This FAQ now represents the end of the test with 34 operating hours on the timer of projector. In the meantime the 10HT is away somewhere else in Germany :-(.

Some words to the history of this FAQ: It was originally written in German language and published at my homepage. Shawn Eyer contacted me, that he had run the text through the mill of an automatic translator at altavista.com so native english readers can share the information contained. Of cause the result was best descibed as "broken english" so I decided to work through the text and add a few corrections. So if you read something weird, it's for sure not from me, blame it on altavista :-) Here in Germany I publish a book about Projektors and I am a freelance writer for "AudioVision" magazine. If you are interested, you may have a look at my website at (only German language). Of couse I run my own home theater, which was the place where this test of the 10HT was made.

04.February 2000, Peter Finzel

What impression you get on the first glance?
As always with a Sony product: a very good impression. The control panel was taken from Sonys professional devices and is illuminable by pressing a key. The mains connection at the rear side is elegantly set back. The front a bit stange on the first glance, due to the "exhaust pipe" (thats what I call it). The whole projector is relatively large, and has a footprintof a medium sized pizzabox. Compared with others, presently available data projectors it is something near double size and weight. The reasons: it uses large panels (see "panel") and an noise-absorbing ventilation (see "as quiet...").

How well are the basic adjustments correct?
In the case of PAL material with a black offset of 0 IRE (Pioneer calls this "Cinema" mode) it tracks the PLUGE test pattern very well. Brightness and contrast remain on 50 respectively 80, the factory setting, you don't see this too often. I took the sharpness back from the basic adjustment of 50 to 35, because I had to discover double outlines. If you go up to 7,5 IRE black level (what is used in US), the brightness should be taken down to 35, in order to establish again optimal conditions. The remaining specification refers to the 0-IRE adjustment, because that is mainly used in Germany.

Is the pixel structure visible?
Sony used this time (in contrast to the predecessor W400) to a strictly right-angled arrangement that of pixels (called "Stripe" structure), while with the W400 every second line hat a offset of a half pixel ("delta"). However the structure remained completely invisible. According to my observations the pixels of the panel are hardly visible, if you are further away as the double display height (2H). But due to poor resolution of PAL and NTSC you should sit further anyway, best 3 to 4H.

How much light does the 10HT actually deliver?
ANSI lumens are not easy to measure, because many devices must be measured, in order to get a safe average value. Of cause only 10HT was here for the test, therefore I can only check its "mean lumens", measured according to the ANSI method with 9 test points in the all white picture. With the optimized adjustments for video, " cinema-black" mode and 6500K color temperature activated (as you will see, this is a good adjustment for video) I could get a reading of 396 lumens . If that sounds not much in the comparison with the factory specification of 1000 ANSI lumens, wait until the next topic, the projector will definitly achieve this value. But while delivering 400 lumens, the projector meets the correct color temperature very accurately, additionally the "Cinema black mode" reduces the performance of the lamp, whereby the light performance decreases around approximately 35%. A measurement with "cinema-black" in the "OFF"-position reads 590 lumens.

Is the VPL-VW10HT able to deliver 1000 ANSI lumens according to its specifications?
That happens not very often in the projector business: the Sony actually delivers more than the promised "kilo lumen", where a lot of other projectors fail to meet their specifications. However this is only achieved without "cinema black" and without regards to the correct color temperature. I got a reading of maximum lightoutput of 1250 lumens (mean value!) in the 16:9 mode. Of cause all adjustments where on absolute maximum, so it is not a recommendet setting. Another measurement under conditions similar to ANSI resulted in 840 lumens. But consider: during this measurement picture parameters were optimized for - let's say "computer presentation" with high contrast (only the gradation of the grey scale has to be fairly OK), "cinema-black " off, and color temperature dodn't matter. If you go for real optimized video adjustment, the light output remains with "cinema black" at 400 lumens and 600 lumens with lamp under full power.

What about the color temperature?
Short version: as well as never before with LCD. Long version: The VW10 meets the desired "colour of white ", which is for video pictures at 6500Kelvin better than all other LCD (and DLP -) projectors I've seen before. The "low" adjustment got the best reading on the Color Analyzer. With 100 IRE (white) I could measure color coordinates of x=0,314 and y=3,42 (which corresponds to 5500K, 6500K is x=0,313 and y=0,329). The slightly too high y-value reveals a bit too much green, but it is really close. Still better: the coordinates (aka the color temperature) remains constant over the gray scale. Sounds very theoretically, but can be seen in real life. Some displays get for instance bluish for bright scenes and turn to red or green tones in in darken scenes. But not the 10HT, if only all beamers were like that. Just a small warning: once you've spoted this error on - maybe - your present display, you can hardly ignore it any more. So better don't look to close :-). However good gray scele has its price: if you move the contrast past the 80'sl (70 is actually still better), the color temperature is out of control. As a matter of fact, lamp does not supply enough red, so that blue and green take over he picture. That is true regardless of "cinema-black" on or off.

What about contrast and luminace fall off to the sides?
The light is distributed very equally throughout the picture area - the darkest of the 9 testpoints is 96% of the brightest spot. That is extremly good, especially compared to CRT-Units being somewhere between 50-60%. Very few other projectors can draw even. The contrast can't follow, as always with LCD. For contrast there are basically two measuring methods: On/off and ANSI. The latter is measured with a test pattern with alternating bright and dark rectangles and stresses not only the panels, but also light scatterings in the optics. The VW10 achieves approx. 87:1, good for a LCD device. On/off measurement is not so exactly defined: some use a white picture with controls on minimum and a black picture with controls on minimum. If you do it the right way, you will get approximately 98:1.

Now, is the black level comparable with a CRT projector?
THE question most of you want know about. Sorry, the answer is a definite "NO". If you use the optimized video adjustment plus "cinema black" activated, I could still measure approximately 5.8 lumens while projecting a black picture. This is with is an amazingly high value! Just compare yourself in the table provided in my homepage: a Toshiba MT-1 has only 3.3 lumens, others LCDs are even lower (but most of them are worse on maximum light!). However, for a Sony it is typical: the VPL-S900 had a similarly high low light level with 5,6 lumens. What are the consequences: well illuminated, for high key scenes the VW10 does a extremly good job. If it gets darker, the VW10 just can't follow. It's definitely not, that you won't watch it any more, but who is accustomed to CRTs, will not accept ist. Despite this more grayish "black" the 10HT falls never short of picture definition in dark areas, which helps somewhat to ignore this shortcoming (if you can at all...).

Is the VPL-VW10HT actually as quietly as it was announced?
Switches it on the first time, and be shocked: the fan starts up like a hair dryer! However only quite briefly, then the rpm is reduced dramatically to a really bearable level. I am not quite sure whether the CPU-fan of my Notebook (on which I write this FAQ) or the 10HT is noisier - and my notebook has never disturbed me. But it is rather crucial whether "cinema-black" mode is enabled: without the fan switches a gear up. So "cinema black" is also "cinema-quiet"! I measured he following values: 37dB(A) in the "cinema black" mode and 39dB(A) without. His closest competitor is the Toshiba MT-1 with 39dB(A). For your information: all those readings were found not in a acustic dead room, but in my home cinema. So it is not a "official" value, but it can be compared with other readings, I got at the same place, same position, with the same measuring instrument. The 37dBA is at present the best result of all LCD and DLP projectors. Only a CRT (the BarcoVision 708MM) kept up with 37,5dB. Applause for Sony!

Inputs of the VW10HT
The input variety of this projector is a dream also for seen-it-all professionals: Video and S-video are standard, but two further ports equipped with 5 RCA-connectors are the stuff, high end video dreams are made of. They are called simply "A" and "B" and can be configured for RGB or YPrPb. These ports work with everything. Really everything, except three phase current :-) Whether a component output of a DVD Players, a HDTV Settop box or RGB from a PC: no problem, if the suitable adapter is within reach. Especially good for us Europeans: even RGB from a SCART (ever seen one in US?) socket works immediately. Holy straw bag (german idiom for something you would say "jeez"), there the Sony engineers really thought of everything. It's getting almost boring for the tester, if you cannot find just one hair in the soup. For different adjustments with different sources the VW10 offers six " video memories ", which hold basic adjustments such as contrast and brightness, plus display format and color temperature. By pressing on a numerical key of the remote each memory can be activated immediately. Newer than the operating instruction booklet are four "User" color temperatures, which can be adjusted only by the dealer in service mode.

Are the YPrPb-Inputs better than S-Video?
Yes! The picture improvements are subtle and maybe you will not notice them in the first five minutes, but the VW10 puts the higher color resolution of the component signal into a noticeably better picture. That may sound subjective, but with test patterns you can prove it. However you will need a colored multiburst, which is not to be found on the usual test DVDs like VE or AVIA unfortunately. I found one on the "Sonopress demo DVD" (not for sals, a collectors item...) and it turns out clearly: Color details are represented with components more clearly, with S-Video smear fine color details. Note: the advantage concerns only color. Sharpness in the sense of brightness details will not increase, because the luminance with YPrPb and S-Video are identically transmitted.

What does it mean that the VW10 can also process " progressive pictures " in the YPrPb format?
Under normal conditions YPrPb transport video signals with interlacing, as you know from video or s-video sources. Component is better, because the signals are not mixed. But YPrPb can also do better: because it can be used to transmit also signals without interlacing hence progressive. Those may come from a DVD Player with " progressive" output, from a Videoscaler (aka linedoubler) or from a HDTV decoder (not in Europe, as we do not have HDTV - wake up!!). The VW10 detects the formats 480p (NTSC after linedoubling, oder DTV), 575p (PAL after linedoubling), also 720p and 1080i (US HDTV). Because of known reasons, the latters can hardly be tested here. I managed to test 480p and 575p by attaching a Faroudja DVP-2200, which happens to produce just this signals at its output. Result: all worked immediately. The picture profits from the film mode of the Faroudja, but the combination is of cause unreasonable by the high price of the DVP. But a DVD Player with progressive components output - as long as its "De-Interlacing"-circuits operate as they should do - could be quite an advantage in repect to the integrated doubler of the 10HT. <30.3.2000> A friend of mine tried the combination of Toshiba SD-5109 and 10HT abd confirmed me that it works perfectly. But keep in mind - the pro-scan output of the 5109 is only active while playing 525/60("NTSC") DVDs!

How easy can DVD Players with Scart-RGB be connected?
Amazingly well! US-Readers may not be interested by the importance of this question (as there are no Players with Scart), but a lot of european players do have RGB-Outputs hidden in the Scart-sockets. "A" and "B"-inputs accept the so-called " 15k RGB" signal both with 50 and 60Hz picture frequency (or: PAL or NTSC) All what is needed: an adapter from Scart from the DVD Player to four RCA plugs. Three of it carry the RGB signals (from Scart 15,11,7), the fourth cable strangely needs the composite color picture signal of the Scart pin 19, which is connected to the socket marked with Sync/HD on the 10HT. Then set the respective input in the menu to "Computer" or " DTV-GRB", both adjustments work. There are options for adjustment the horizontal size, image position in addition, all display formats can be used (only in15K mode, not with higher scan frequencies!). Sony built into the 10HT a thing called "sync stripper", what extracts the sync impulses from the FBAS mixture. This is, how a true home cinema projector should be, because now the highest signal quality can be transported to the VW10 by each reasonable DVD Player. Advantage of RGB: the whole color bandwidth is used. Since the VW10 processes s-video signals very well, the difference to RGB is not too large, however with special test patterns you will see it (as with YPrPb). Fine color details and color edges are better defined, so it is well worth the effort.

How to link to a PC
Maybe you will call me crazy, but I tried the connectivity to a PC with the help of video equipment - to be more more exact I used (also Sony) DSC1024 digital scan converter. That permits fast changing resolutions, frequencies and syncs without the gracious help from Windows - so no need for rebooting, system crashing and other nice things. Anyhow: If you connect VW10HT to RGB signals with scan frequencies above 15KHz, its behavior changes suddenly. As soon as you set the input to "computer", the "display format" disappears from the menu. That means: no more 16:9 format (see next topic)! Contrast, brightness and color temperature remain adjustable, a new feature called "RGB Enhancement" is added. That is a kind of sharpness for RGB signals - with inevitably the double outlines arising. In the menu there are now input adjustments as phase, the horizontal size and the image position, but all work only inbetween the 4:3-limits. The 10HT displayed all resolutions the scan converter could produce. Up to SVGA you can select the native resolution or the internal scan converter option, that fills the 4:3-part of the Panel (that equals 1024x768, XGA). The adjustment "video memory" works also here, as dose the trapezoid adjustment. All resolutions up to 1280 times 1024 (these down-converted) were detected immediately, both with Composite Sync (connection with 4 cables) and "separate Sync " (5 cables).

Can you zoom the PC-Picture to 16:9 format?
Not easily. Of cause, current PC-Software is limited to 4:3. But when you use PC as DVD Player the full width should be usable. This is not very good news for all those with the intention of using a HTPC! I found only one work-around: use the adjustment "DTV-GBR " instead of "computer", and use a good videocard like Matrox G400, Elsa Erazor III (perhaps others) that are able to meets exactly the resolution of a defined DTV mode, thus 480/60p, 575/50p, 720p, 1080i. If you can simulate a suitable 16:9 desktop for Windows, your finished the job. With the "linedoubler" option activated on the DSC1024, I could simulate 480p and 575p, and with " DTV-GBR" the format selection. came back. Then use "full" select and voila - the panel is flooded! I also used a Elsa Erazor to simulaate 720x576 (that is "progressive" PAL), and it nearly (as always with PCS) worked. Maybe some hours finetuning (which I didn't have) and it would be perfect...

Is the trapezoid correction really usefull?
Very usefull! A common problem of many LCD projectors is that they must be set up on the height given by the manufacturer (usually lower or upper screen edge). A higher or lower position leads to distortions in trapezoid shape. Solutions for this problem can take place optically ("Lens Shift ") or by electronic means. The VW10HT uses the latter but a problem with this type of correction occurs, if the pixel count even is just sufficient, to show the resolution of the signal. If the trapezoid correction is activated, the resolution is reduced, because some pixels remain inevitably unused in the boundary regions. With other projectors, which have just enough pixel for the signal it hails artifacts. Not with the VW10: since it has many more pixels, than are necessary for the representation of NTSC or PAL (720x576) , the picture must be scaled up anyway, so there is enough work eraea left for the trapezoid correction. Nevertheless: Quality enthusiasts will rather set up the projector in the correct height (screen edge) and switch off the electronic correction. The balance area of the trapezoid correction is extremely large

Is the optics how flexible?
Sony set the red pencil here. Both zoom shot and focus are only manually operated. But honestly: a projector with so flexible format selection a manual zoom is all you need. The options for placing the procetor in the room by a biveb picture width are severly limited by the poor zoom range of (measured) 1:1,23 is very reduced. On the other hand, the optics are made for short projection distance. Without intervention by the digital trapezoid correction that the lens center should be on the height of the screen edge. The short distance is in most cases very practical, because then you sit behind the projector, whereby the warm air flow of the cooling fan is directed away from you. Last news: there are other lenses for change, especially one for long throw available. But wait for the price: more than 3500 Euros/Dollars!

How long does the lamp last?
That is one of the few questions, which one can hardly answer in a test (I hade the 10HT just 6 days at my disposal). During the last measurement (after a total of 34 hours of operation, 4 at beginning of the test), I found a decrease of about 8%, what sound quite a lot to me. Of cause it is very hard to measure, because small variations in mains voltage cause also some variations of light output. So I took a average of the first to readings, when the unit was brand new, and executed two more before I shipped the 10HT back to Sony. The resulting difference was about 7% in 30 hours. As it is not clear that that the light decrease is linear, it might not be true, but if it is, the light output would be at 50% after approx. 200 hours! I appreciate every comment anybody can give me about this topic. Sony itsself indicates the average life span in the manual with "cinema-black" as 2000 hours, for maximum lamp performance as 1000 hours. A back-up lamp is not very cheap with 1144 D-Marks (that is about 570 Euros or US-Dollars right now). Anyhow: "cinema black" again proves as very helpful, because it is a " long-live-the-lamp" mode!

Does the VW10 have a linedoubler?
Of cause! If an LCD projector has a panel with more than 240 of pixel in vertical direction, there has to be a linedoubler. The function of the linedoubler is to get rid of "interlace", or in other words, the interlaced video signals are transfered into a "progressively" scanned signal. So the question is not, whether an LCD projector has a doubler, but how well it works. There is still more: because more than 576 vertical (repectively 480 for NTSC) pixels are available, an additional Scaler is neccessary. This scaler takes the results of the linedoubler and boosts it to the full resolution of the panel. Additionally such a Scaler is very useful for the realisation of the various display format (16:9 anamorphic, 4:3, zoom, see below). The 10HT has both a doubler and a Scaler. The doubler has 2 operating modes (DRC-MF "x4" for moved pictures or " sequential " for static picture contents).

How good is the internal doubler?
Unfortunately is the handling of interlaced signals is not the strongest point of the 10HT. Sony used its "DRC" (Digitally Reality Creation) technique that is also built into US-HDTV rear projection sets upconverting standard NTSC signals. Compared to the best at present available linedoubler (Faroudja), the Sony de-interlacer shows indeterminable weaknesses. Moving diagonal lines are always accompanied by digital stair steps ("jaggies"). If slower pans over fine detailed structures result in something probably best described as a type of "pixelation noise". This error is definitly due to the integrated linedoubler of the VW10, because if you attach an external doubler with film mode, artefacts like "pixelation noise" and "Jaggies" are gone. According to this observation, the VW10HT may gain a lot of picture quality with the use of progressive output DVD-Players, because the internal doubler of the Sonys is not used.

Display formats of the VW10: the Scaler
Sony uses the very flexible scaler in the VW10 to cover all important formats for video presentation. Full: anamorphic format, the width is horizontal zoomed to the full 16:9 extend. Full through: somewhat unfortunately selected name, that means that the anamorphic format keeps vertically the original number of lines scales and is zoomed horizontally in such a way that the format is correct. However with NTSC input there is a small error, because it is scaled to 1,9:1 instead of 1,78:1. Since the panel is not filled with this mode, that error will hardly disturb somebody. Normal: 4:3-format, the extra pixels to the left and on the right of the 4:3 part is not used. Result: black strips on the left and on the right. Normal through: 4:3 format with the original number of scan lines ("Window boxed"). Zoom: Increases a 4:3 picture horizontal and vertically, so that the panel is filled. On the top and bottom, the surplus picture parts are lost Ideal for "Letterbox" movies. Subtitle: vertically differently zoomed, so that the bottom of the picture is not lost as much and subtitles can still be seen. Widezoom: strangely zoom in both directions, so more of a 4:3 picture can be seen, but distortions occur. Not 4:3, not 16:9, so better keep away from it.

How does the VW10 cut off in the direct comparison to a much more expensive CRT projector?
I had the pleasure to compare a VW10HT (14000 D-Marks worth) directly with a combination of a Seleco SVD800HD CRT projektor (27,000 Marks) plus a Faroudja DVP2200 video processor (19,000 D-Marks). Both devices were attached in parallel to the same DVD Player by S-Video connections (the Pioneer 606 is good for comparison tests, as it offers two S-video outputs!). Both projectors threw their pictures on a 3.17 meters wide Stewart 16:9 screen with StudioTek 130 fabric. Alternating the pictures from both projectors showed already the most substantial difference: muting the picture of the Seleco shuts off its light output completely. Not like the Sony: when you presses "Pic Mute", the screen is still slightly bluish. For that reason I used plan B: put on the lense cap. That is brute force, but it works. Apart from the picture, the Seleco is louder than the Sony with "cinema black" adjustment on. Now, "Video Essentials " chapter 17, chart 13 (Indian) shows clearly the better vertical resolution of the Faroudja Scalers in vertical direction. The resolution brooms are completely separated to the narrow end, while with the Sony the lines tough between the 300 and 400 lines. In horizontal direction the Sony is marginally better, because the brooms on the left and on the right are separated somewhat further. On the other hand the brightness award goes to Sony. The white of the Selecos tended to the greenish side. The Sony bright white is very accurate, but darker gray tones have a slightly greenish impact. Now step away to chapter 19 ("montage of images"): Particularly the initially dark scenes exhibit the too high black level of the Sonys. With many LCD projectors subtle nuances are lost in to high black level, that ist however never the case with the VW10. I could not find a single detail in the Seleco/Faroudja picture, which was not to be seen with the Sony. But the problem is located somewhere else: particularly the scene in the backyard the CRT-projector created an immense impression of depth, the picture of the VW10 just being - flatter. On the other side, bright objects seemed a bit sharper than on the CRT projector, for example the boat on the river a few pictures further. After all the test pictures, the real life comes in form of the relatively dark starting sequence of " Lethal Weapon IV ". Here the high black level disturbs more severly than with all the test patterns. If Riggs and Murtaugh go into cover behind the car, the picture misses all the "punch". The CRTs work much more precise and homogeneous. Further on to chapter 11 (beach walk), the pixel noise of the Sony is really annoying, a weakness of the integrated linedoubler. That is the domain of the Faroudja, he rules there sovereignly. Of cause there are coding artifacts (the approx. 6 megabit/sec. are too low to cover all the details in this scene), but pixelation noise is not present with the Seleco/Faroudja duo. Scene change: "Six days, seven nights " (code 2), chapter 3. A bright scene, no black problem for the Sony, which is almost an idea sharper than the Seleco. In horizontal and diagonal edges however clear doubling artefacts are showing up. More of it in chapter 4 (e.g. beach chairs) and chapter 8 (jagged wings). A genuine black problem occurs in chapter 16 (island lunch), there is incomparably more room depth in the CRT combination. Not easy to draw a summary. The advantages of the almost 50,000 Marks combination are of subjective nature, but undisputed they are there. It falls shorter on total light output, but the better room depth and the convincing rendering of the (unfortunately frequently occurring) dark scenes are a strong reason for genuine movie lovers (like me) to save their money more this expensive combination. Take a look on the other side: the Sony costs less than a third of the CRT and delivers image quality not so far away from that of the much mor expensive combination. Who can manage to live with a somewhat brighter black and a few artifacts from the de-interlacing circuit, makes a good business with the Sony. Do not forget: the doubling artifacts could be eliminated by a DVD Player with really good "progressive output" in the near future. But who wants to have the maximim film impact, still needs an expensive CRT-beamer and a very good (aka expensive) video processor. Is that not within your financial range, then the Sony is the best alternative so far. For simple CRTs with integrated doubler the VW10 is a hard competitor. The question is, whether one prefers the higher resolution of the Sony (already the 800 has difficulties to follow the resolution of the VW10) to the better black of the CRT. In addition also still the handling problem comes: an LCD device never needs an adjustment of the convergence.

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