Sony VPL W400Q

[ccmccm]

I have recently bought a second hand Sony VPL W400q as my first projector.

I initially hooked it up to the TV via an S-Video lead which worked fine except the picture was Black and White.

I did a bit of research and apparently this was due to the TV not supporting S-Video.

I then bought a Scart to component RGB lead in the hope this would give a colour picture. Since using this, the projector has not worked at all.

To get it to project you are supposed to turn the main power to the projector on, then the secondary power button on the projector. At this point the lamp should fire up and you get a blank screen until you put the power to the TV on and configure the input selection. This worked fine with the S-Video lead but now nothing is coming through and the lamp does not even project a blank screen,.

Does anyone have any experience of these that would be able to offer any advice?
Thanks in advance for any help.

[JonMarsh]

Well, it's possible you've had a lamp failure (how many hours on the lamp when you bought the projector? That info's available through the use menus).

I'd suggest unhooking your inputs, firing it up and going through the menus and checking lamp time -

I had a 400Q many years ago, but I don't remember all the details since then. The US versions were setup to handle standard interlaced component video, HD component video, GsBR RGB in interlaced NTSC/PAL or HD resolutions, standard composite video, and S-Video.

The only common signal you CAN'T put into one of these is 480P or 720P comonent. Didn't exist when this guy was designed.

BTW, you don't hook up your 400Q to the TV; hook it up to your DVD player, VCR, or tuner. S-Video should work OK, and only have a bit less color bandwidth than component. Since you're talking about SCART, I'm asumming you're in Europe (England?), and US models didn't have SCART connetors; just used BNC's for the component or RGsB inuts.

~Jon

[ccmccm]

Thanks for the reply.

I was told the lamp would need replacing eventually so Ill do as you suggested, was kind of hoping to not have to do it for a while yet though!

I am in the UK and had it originally running from the back of the TV via a SCART socket into the projectors S-Video input. That gave a Black and White picture, so I was assuming if I went from SCART on the TV to Component on the Projector I would at least get the same result and hopefully full colour?

BTW - this is the lead I bought

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5779853854

[JonMarsh]

That cable will not convert RGB into component. It will split the signal from SCART pin RGB to three RCA cable RGB.

Component signals have a luminance channel (the Y signal) (black and white in pure laymen's speak) and two color difference signals. In the projector, the color difference signals are sum/differenced to derive RGB to drive the panels.

Sync is usually multiplexed onto the luminance signal. If you feed the green signal to a luminance input (say, the luminance channel on an S-Video input, which is a DIN connector, not what you show here), you will get black and white, but no color. You should be able to use the remote if you're getting lamp operation to see the menus and select the right input combination regardless of what signal source you have connected, or even with none connected.

The Sony can be setup for RGsB, (RGB with sync on green) or component, both three wire connections to the BNC inputs. They aren't the same thing. The Sony expects the sync signal to be on the green in both cases.

It will NOT accept 480P component! Repeat- no 480P component (such as from DVD player). Hadn't been invented when the VPL-W400Q was developed, and isnpt supported by it.

Good luck- if you're not getting any light output at all, the bulb is the first thing I'd check.

~Jon

S-Video is through a DIN connector, has both a luminance signal and a chroma signal (well, that's how it works here in the US of A)

[ccmccm]

Jon,

Thanks for your reply.

It is a bit technical for my understanding but I greatly appreciate the time you have taken to post it!

To update the situation,

I Had no luck with the lead regardless of the source (TV, Freeview Box, X-Box) Even though the input setting was RGB (or RGsB) on the projector.

In the manual it shows the other BNC connector next to the RGB (labelled C-Sync) connected as well, which lead me to believe that the lead wasnt going to work even before reading what you posted.

Could you clarify a couple of points?

"Sync is usually multiplexed onto the luminance signal. If you feed the green signal to a luminance input (say, the luminance channel on an S-Video input, which is a DIN connector, not what you show here), you will get black and white, but no color. You should be able to use the remote if you're getting lamp operation to see the menus and select the right input combination regardless of what signal source you have connected, or even with none connected."

Does this mean that by using an S-video lead (DIN connector) and changing the input I would be able to get a colour picture? I seem to remember playing around with the input settings and the colour adjustment was still greyed out.

It will NOT accept 480P component! Repeat- no 480P component (such as from DVD player). Hadn't been invented when the VPL-W400Q was developed, and isnpt supported by it.

Does this mean that It will never project a picture sourced from a DVD player??! (A bit of an oversight on my part if this is the case!)


The only success I had with it was linking an X-Box, via the SCART plug at the back to Component SCART plugs at the front of the projector. Actually it was just the video part, but this did actually produce a picture. It was actually mainly Black and White apart from a couple of spots at the bottom of the screen. The colour adjustment had re-appeared and was useable so unfortunately it looks like ill have to replace the lamp.

Have you any idea how much I should expect to pay for a new lamp? I have done a quick search on the internet and come up with some in the region of £250-£350, (which is more than I was hoping to pay!), This may be a stupid question as you are in the US but any info you can give will be greatly received.

Many thanks
Steve.

[George Bellefontaine]

Hi, Steve. I'll let Jon answer the tech questions but very quickly, I'll add that any dvd player today will pretty much output an interlaced 480i signal as well as a 480p. You should be able to switch to either output. It would state this somewhere in your owner's manual.

Re: Lamps. I owned a 400Q for several years and replaced two lamps at a cost of $599 Canadian each.

Good luck with getting that old baby up and running. It was the first true widescreen lcd projector on the market and it had a honey of a picture for its time.