My upgrade to the Sony HS51......Woo Hoo !!

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

Last week I upgraded from the Sony HS10 LCD front projector to the HS51. I have to say that the differences are not subtle. The HS51 takes LCD to a new level entirely. The HS10 is a fine piece and offers excellent picture quality with both DVD and HD source material. The HS51 with it's excellent contrast/black level create images that are much more dynamic and three dimensional. Colors are vibrant and detail is amazing.

I have it connected with a Denon DVD3910 connected via HDMI set at 720p, and A Scientific Atlanta 3250HD high def. cable box. I am using Ram Electronics Rev 2 HDMI cables along with a Gefen 2x1 HDMI switcher. The unit runs dead quiet and is virtually undectecable even during the quietest movie scenes. It is ceiling mounted and paired with a Da-lite High Contrast Cinema Vision ( gray ) 1.1 gain screen.

The units most detectable shortcoming is with SD ( standard definition ) sourced material. I have a Pioneer DVR 810H-S recorder with Tivo plus service. I am running a 24' S Video cable to the HS51. Image quality with recordings set at the High quality ( one down from the best ) is fair but it was cleaner with my HS10.

Overall a tremendous value and one well worth considering if you are thinking about a front projector.

You can click on the " My Home Theater " link in my signature which will take you to my web page. There are pics of my setup there. I will taking some screen shots this weekend and loading them up. The ones there currently were taken of my HS10.

:sn

[George Bellefontaine]

Congrats on the upgrade, Ralph. Here's to thousands of hours of happy viewing. :T

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,


Thanks much George !

[Kens1]

Beautiful home theater you have there. Congrats on the new projector.

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

Thanks Ken. It is an ever changing thing. I am lucky to have a supportive wife and it's great that it is something the whole fmaily can enjoy.

[Claude D D]

Great projo for the money.Like you said,very quiet.What a breeze to set up with the lens shift. :T I've played around with one at work and was quite impressed.It's gotta be one of the best looking pictures to come from a LCD projo.Enjoy.

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

Thanks Claude ! I am doing just that ( enjoying that is ) :T

[pkh]

Hi Ralph,

I am considering the HS50 also. I am using 11HT with filter now and my only concern is the brightness of HS50. There are many reviews saying it is pretty dim to acheive the magic black level. How is it compare to your HS10? Thanks.

[Burke Strickland]

There are many reviews saying it is pretty dim to acheive the magic black level.

The HS50/51 is not as bright as its immediate predecessors. However, with controlled ambient light and the right screen, it still produces a sufficiently bright image to yield a sensational viewing experience.

The DaLite High Power retro-reflective screen was "made" for the Sony VPL-HS50/51 even though its availability predated the HS50/51's introduction by several years. If you are not familiar with the High Power screen material, it is high gain (2.8 ), but being retro-reflective (meaning the light projected onto the screen is bounced back at the same angle it arrives), it does not exhibit hot-spotting and blur from light scatter that other high gain screen materials suffer from.

The Sony VPL-HS50/51 is a remarkable performer and an excellent value. Unlike some popular competing models it does not suffer from vertical banding and of course being LCD rather than DLP, it has no rainbows. With the high gain of the High Power screen, you get a sufficiently bright picture, and since it is the HS50/51, you get incredible contrast as well.

Like any major purchase it is advisable to get a preview demo before buying or serious return privileges. But if you set it up properly in a light-controlled room, and feed it reasonably good images, you will probably wish you had gotten it sooner. It's a keeper!

Enjoy,

Burke

[pkh]

Thanks Burke,

On paper my 11HT is rated at 1000 lumens and HS50 at 1200 lumens. I only use low lamp mode with filter so the actual number is much less. If the 1200 number is any real indication then I have no worry and buy it straight away.