Anyone hear of the Sony Pearl replacement?

BobMurdoch

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I'm going to purchase my first front projector in the next few months and have settled on the Sony Pearl as the best compromise between price and performance....

Anyone hear of a new model coming out soon to replace it or are they going to stand pat for Christmas 2007 and stick with the Pearl?

JoeSp and Hpman are still rolling with laughter with me embracing a Sony, but I've heard too many good things.....

I've got the room being built with NO windows (much to the wife's chagrin), but will it have to be real dark to get a good picture or can she read a book while I watch a movie?
 
I'm going to purchase my first front projector in the next few months and have settled on the Sony Pearl....
Anyone hear of a new model coming out soon to replace it...
Are you talking about the VPL-VW50 "Pearl"? Yes, the replacement for it was just announced at CEDIA 2007: VPL-VW60.
Sony's Bravia VPL-VW60: the SXRD black pearl with 35,000:1 contrast - Engadget
AnandTech: CEDIA 2007 - Day 1: Us vs. Monster Cable, Sony's New Projectors and Toshiba on HD-DVD
Lots of reports about it.

Any particular reason you picked Sony? The 1080p projector market gets crowded...
AnandTech: CEDIA 2007 - Day 2: 1080p Projector Roundup, High Def Players & Ferrari Sound

Diogen.
 
I've seen several reviews that praised it's all around performance and value for the dollar.....

Thanks for the heads up..... The Pearl came out last year at this time, so I had hoped they would have another one come out with improved performance vs. last years....

Actually the only thing I was really down about was the bright white color.... Making it black was a big improvement visually for me.... Glad to see they upped the lumens.... Contrast is way up too.....

I just hope they don't have bad luck with it..... The "Curse of the Black Pearl" headlines are too easy....
 
The 35K:1 CR is with the dynamic iris engaged. This is a bit misleading. Native CR is 7K:1 which ain't shabby but it isn't as good as JVC's RS-1 (also a tad more expensive).

I wish Sony would use better demo material than what they are using -- which is slow; low contrast "travelogue" type images which really doesn't help you with seeing the real performance of the projector.

Cheers,
 
hi guys
I am not meaning to troll...but I am anyways :)
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I purchased the Pearl last December and have loved it.I use a 133" Dalite High Power screen(2.8 gain) and with blu-ray the image is exceptional.Can be purchased from an authorized dealer for under $3300. Ron:D
 
Thanks.

I hope the newer model is as well received as its precursor.....

I like the black casing vs. the white (I'm going to mount it on the ceiling behind an 8'x8' recessed fiberoptic lit ceiling tile grid overhead.....)

I like the 10% boost in brightness...... Glad to hear the new one is quieter which seemed to be the only major beef against it. Both Home Theater magazine and Sound and Vision praised it for being a good all around performer (Yes the JVC did some things better, but other things not as well..... The Sony got praised as being a good choice all around when all aspects were considered. I'm probably going to pair it with the Stewart Firehawk screen that was designed to compliment it.

We are planning on finishing our renovation just before Christmas so my timeline should be fine in getting one shortly after its release at the end of this month....

When I'm done I'll finally have a new avatar with my finished theater.... The one I use now I saw in an ad in Widescreen Review several years ago.....
 
Here are the "Black Pearl" specs from Sony's brochure:

VPLVW60righttop_med.jpg


VPL-VW60
SXRD® 1080P BRAVIA® Home Cinema Projector

* Supports Full HD 1080p resolution with 3 SXRD™ 1920 x 1080 SXRD® Panels (0.61”)
* BRAVIA Engine™ full digital video processing system
* BRAVIA® Theatre Sync™ technology
* Panel Alignment Adjustment Function
* Anamorphic Zoom Mode for external lens support
- Up to 35,000:1 Contrast Ratio (with Advanced Iris Auto function on)
- ARC-F (All Range Crisp Focus) Lens
- 1080/24p Input Capable (digital)
- Ultra High Pressure Lamp (200W) delivers natural, accurate color
- Advanced Iris 2 Function (Auto, On, Off)
- Low Fan Noise (22dB)
- 1.8X Zoom
- Blanking function allows the user to add an adjustable black frame over unusable portions of the image
- Noise Reduction

Key Technologies

SXRD® 1920 x 1080p Full HD Panels SXRD® is a display technology developed by the legendary television engineers at
Sony to meet and exceed the demands of a High Definition image at its full 1080 line resolution. It is a 1920 x 1080p panel
characterized by several key benefits -- full HD resolution, smooth film-like image with minimal screen door effects, high
response times (2.5ms rise and fall), high contrast ratio with wire grid polarizers and high contrast plate and accurate color
rendition.

Advanced Iris 2 The latest evolution of Sony’s own Advanced Iris function uses algorithms designed to analyze the
histogram of each picture along with nonlinear amplification to dynamically adjust the iris for its optimum opening. The
result is a stunningly high contrast ratio of up to 35,000:1. Images in bright scenes are crisp and clear and black levels in dark
scenes are deep and detailed. A manual adjustment option is also available to fix the iris opening for specific image
conditions.

Ultra Quiet Fan An exclusive Sony-designed fan efficiently removes heat at a barely noticeable noise spec of 22dB.
Obtrusive fan noise is virtually eliminated to allow for flexibility in room placement.

ARC-F (All Range Crisp Focus) Lens A specially developed crisp focus lens was developed to take full advantage of the full
1920 x 1080 HD resolution that the SXRD panel device offers. It offers superior resolution and focus.

RCP (Real Color Processing) Real Color Processing allows the user to target specific colors on the picture and fine adjust
their color and hue without changing the overall picture's color and hue. For instance, the color of a strawberry can be fine
adjusted without impacting the skin tones. Or the blue in a sky can be adjusted without affecting the color of water. And
green grass can be adjusted without influencing the other colors in the picture.

BRAVIA Engine™ Video Processing System The VPL-VW60 BRAVIA® Home Cinema Projector uses Sony's BRAVIA Engine™
full digital video processor for crisp and clear images. Several special picture enhancement technologies are integrated into
the processor to create better gradations with more detail, enhance contrast, and dynamically improve color performance.

> Digital Noise Reduction Circuits: Reduces block noise and mosquito noise by using pixel-level filtering to reproduce a clean
and clear picture. And Motion Vector Noise Reduction reduces just the noise in the video signal for video further reducing
unwanted noise and blur artifacts.

> Digital Contrast Enhancer circuit: Improves contrast by enhancing all areas from dark to bright in parallel with texture control
providing a three dimensional picture.

> Color Reality signal processing enables the expression of all the colors of life in vivid detail for dark and bright scenes.
Details in dark areas of the picture are there, just like they are supposed to be.

Panel Alignment Adjustment Function The VPL-VW60 is configured with a function that compensates gaps in panel
alignment. It is possible to select R(Red) or B(Blue) to make adjustments based on G(Green), and to adjust the horizontal and
vertical direction by shifting full image of each color. A croshatch pattern is providede for this purpose. It is possible to
adjust each color by 0.1 pixel steps up to 1 full pixe. in each direction.3, 4

Anamorphic Zoom Mode The VPL-VW60 has an “Anamorphic zoom” mode in the wide modes to enjoy wider aspect ratio.
With this mode, it is possible to create a full 2.35:1 image just like a movie theater when usingcommercially available external
anamorphic lens.5

Features

General
Vertical Keystone: Yes
Standby Mode: Yes
High Altitude Mode: Off, On
Information Menu: Horizontal and Vertical frequency display
Acceptable Computer Signals: fH: 19 to 72 kHz, fV: 48 to 92 Hz, fV: 60 Hz
Input A: Auto, Computer, Component, Video GBR

Video
Video Processing: 10-bit processing
Comb Filter: Yes (3DY)
DRC® Palette Presets: Mode 1, Mode 2
Color System: Auto, NTSC, PAL, SECAM
Vertical Position: Yes
Wide Mode: Anamorphic Zoom / Wide Zoom / Normal / Full / Zoom
Display Technology: SXRD® Technology
High Definition: Yes (Full HD 1080)
Horizontal Size: Yes
Dot Phase: Yes
Picture Shift Function: Via Lens Shift: H +/- 0.65; V +/- 0.067
Title Area Control: Yes
Film Mode: Yes
Acceptable Video Signals: 15 kHz (RGB/Component) 50/60Hz, Progressive component 50/60 Hz, DTV (480/60i, 575/50i, 480/60p, 575/50p, 720/60p, 20/50p, 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 1080/60p - DVI and HDMI inputs only, 1080/50p - HDMI inputs only, Composite video, Y/C video.
Micro Display Type: 0.61” SXRD® chip (2,073,600 pixels per chip. 6,220,800 total pixels)

Convenience
Multiple Language Display: 15 languages (including English, French, Spanish, German and Chinese)
Power Save Mode: On, Off
Auto Input Search: Yes
Test Pattern: Yes
Image Flip: HV, H, V, Off
IR Receiver: Front & Rear, Front, Rear
Illumination: Off, On

Specifications

General
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Lens: fl 8.7 to 33.7 mm (x 1.8 zoom)/F2.54 to 3.53 mm
Projection Picture Size: 40" to 300" measured diagonally
Television Type: Front Projection

Video
Native Resolution: 1080p
Contrast Ratio: Up to 35000:1 (with Advanced Iris Auto ON)
Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Overscan: Yes
Inputs and Outputs
Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s): 1 (Side)
Composite Video Input(s): 1 (Side) Vp-p+/-2 dB sync negative (75 ohms terminated)
S-Video Input(s): Y/C mini DIN 4-pin type, Y (luminance): 1 Vp-p+/-2 dB sync negative (75 ohms terminated) C (chrominance): burst 0.286 1 Vp-p+/-2 dB (NTSC) sync negative (75 ohms terminated) burst 0.3 1 Vp-p+/-2 dB (PAL) sync negative (75 ohms terminated)
PC Video Input(s): D-Sub15 and HDMI (Side) fH: 19 to 72kHz / fV: 48 to 92 Hz / Maximum resolution (HDMI only): 1920 x 1080 fV: 60Hz
HDMI™ Connection(s): 2 (Side) Digital RGB/Y/Cb(Pb)Cr(Pr) with PC timing support1
Remote Network Connection(s): 1 (Side) RS232C: D-sub 9-pin (female)
RS232 Control: Remote Connector
Component/Progressive: DTV (480/60i, 575/50i, 480/60p, 575/50p, 720/60p, 720/50p, 1080/60i, 1080/50i), 1080/60p (HDMI), Composite video, Y/C video
12V Trigger Input(s): 1 (1 Side) Mini Jack - Power On: DC 12V, output impedance: 4.7 kilohms Power Off: 0V

Power
Power Consumption (in Operation): 300W
Power Consumption (in Standby): 8W; 0.5W in low mode
Power Requirements: AC 100-240V, 1.3-3A, 50/60Hz

Service and Warranty Information
Limited Warranty: Product Warranty - 2 Years Parts and Labor except the lamp. Lamp Warranty - 90 Days from date of purchase.

Dimensions
Weight: 24.25lbs (11kg)
Measurements: 15.55 x 6.83 x 18.56" (395 x 173.5 x 471.4mm)

Operating Conditions
Operating Temperature: 5°C to 35°C (41°F to 95°F)
Operating Humidity: 35% to 85% (no condensation)

Supplied Accessories
Remote Control (RM-PJVW60)
Instruction Manual
AC Cord
CD ROM (Image Director 3)
Lens Cap
Size AA (R6) batteries x2

Optional Accessories
Ultra High Pressure Replacement Lamp (LMP-H200)
Black Ceiling Mount (PSS-610)

Color: Black Metallic
UPC Code: 027242714960

1. For supported resolutions and timing please refer to user manual.
2. Limited to resolutions supported by both the PC and the Sony TV. See Sony TV users manual and PC documentation for supported resolutions
3. Depending on the adjustments made, the number of display pixel may decrease. Also, colors may become uneven or the resolution may change.
4. In color appear on the edge of the screen after making the adjustment, it is necessary to adjust the region of the picture to display with “ Blanking” in the Installation menu.
5. Anamorphic lens is not available from Sony.
 

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