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After 7 years it was time to say goodbye to my first widescreen projector, the Sony VPL 400Q. Sadly it was a projector with a lot of poor Sony quality control issues. After 2 months of looking at a cluster of dead pixels in the center of the screen, I sent it in for service. My son worked at the AV Commercial operation as a service tech but the PJ had to be sent to Sony in Ontario as the entire optical block had to be replaced. When they did this they left off a part that controlled air flow and after another 3 months I ended up with a cracked lcd panel. Back to Sony. When it came back there was a lot of panel misalignment but I just said the hell with it. I replaced the original lamp a couple of years ago and after about 200 hours the blue polariser started showing signs of wear. My son bought it from me. Since he was a Sony tech he will be able to replace the blue plate and perhaps do anything else that may help restore the old girl to its earlier days of glory. I really can't complain. I got a good many hours of movie watching out of her but after I added the NEC HT1000 to my HT I just found it difficult to look at the lower resolution of the Sony, with its poor 100:1 contrast ratio. So I have been thinking about a replacement for over a year and finally decided on this:
YAMAHA LPX 510 lcd projector.
I demoed it alongside a Panasonic AE700 and the Yamaha was an easy choice. Even though the 700 claimed a contrast of 2000:1, the Yamaha with probably truer 1000:1 actually looked better. It doesn't have a dynamic iris like the Panny and I am glad because these things with moving parts are potential problems ahead. The Yamaha in Cinema Black mode drops the iris to its lowest setting and the fan slows down accordingly. In total silence the Yamaha fan can be heard but is not annoying and during a movie the noise disappears.
I considered other dlp models but only the Infocus 5700 with its 1024 x 576 panels ( same setting I use on the NEC in widescreen) was priced reasonably. I also wanted to get up into the 1280 x 720 class so I eventually decided to go the lcd route. It doesn't hurt to have an lcd PJ alongside a dlp projector. That way if guests are bothered by rainbows or whatnot, I can always fire up the lcd. Thing is, the Yamaha looks so good in Cinema Black that it comes close ( but not quite ) to my NEC Ht1000. I considered the new Sony HS51 but didn't like all the issues I've been reading about. Sony just doesn't get it when it comes to QC. I also considered the Infocus 5000 but couldn't find a local dealer where I could demo it. Doesn't matter, the Yamaha is one quality piece of equipment. John Cushman reviewed it in the July issue of WS Review and everything he stated was true. This projector does not need to be calibrated. Now I will have to toss a coin to see which PJ to fire up everytime I want to watch a movie . Not a bad problem to have.
YAMAHA LPX 510 lcd projector.
I demoed it alongside a Panasonic AE700 and the Yamaha was an easy choice. Even though the 700 claimed a contrast of 2000:1, the Yamaha with probably truer 1000:1 actually looked better. It doesn't have a dynamic iris like the Panny and I am glad because these things with moving parts are potential problems ahead. The Yamaha in Cinema Black mode drops the iris to its lowest setting and the fan slows down accordingly. In total silence the Yamaha fan can be heard but is not annoying and during a movie the noise disappears.
I considered other dlp models but only the Infocus 5700 with its 1024 x 576 panels ( same setting I use on the NEC in widescreen) was priced reasonably. I also wanted to get up into the 1280 x 720 class so I eventually decided to go the lcd route. It doesn't hurt to have an lcd PJ alongside a dlp projector. That way if guests are bothered by rainbows or whatnot, I can always fire up the lcd. Thing is, the Yamaha looks so good in Cinema Black that it comes close ( but not quite ) to my NEC Ht1000. I considered the new Sony HS51 but didn't like all the issues I've been reading about. Sony just doesn't get it when it comes to QC. I also considered the Infocus 5000 but couldn't find a local dealer where I could demo it. Doesn't matter, the Yamaha is one quality piece of equipment. John Cushman reviewed it in the July issue of WS Review and everything he stated was true. This projector does not need to be calibrated. Now I will have to toss a coin to see which PJ to fire up everytime I want to watch a movie . Not a bad problem to have.
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