Sony VPL-VW100

By Philip Wong
Jan 23, 2006

If you think Sony's asking price is steep, we reckon you haven't come across InFocus' S$29,999 (US$21,347.04) ScreenPlay 777. We have to admit the Sony does has an edge over the latter with its tantalizing 15,000:1 contrast ratio and future-proofed full High-Definition resolution. Well, this is just some of the goodies you can expect from the Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) technology.

Design
It is not difficult to figure out why the VW100 is christened the "Ruby". Endowed with diamond-like cuttings all round, the chassis resembles the precious gem from afar. A tri-tone color scheme and a lighted Sony logo also add to its visual cue, deflecting criticism over its 496 x 175 x 574mm bulk which is colossal compared with the average home theater projector--a debatable case if it's pitted against other 1080p models.

	Three different modes of controls are available for the VW100. (Click for larger image)

The various settings of the projector can be manipulated in three different ways. For starters, there is a spring-loaded flap by the side which retracts to unveil a set of metallic control buttons and a five-way navigation joystick. Besides that, a built-in network port allows remote interface via a PC's Web browser replicating all controls onscreen--a value-added feature targeted at custom installation. Last, but not least, there is the ergonomic remote control which is decked with generously spaced and backlighted buttons.

Sony's user menu has just about every configuration necessary to customize the projector's picture quality. At your finger tips are the standard brightness, contrast, color, hue and sharpness settings. This is in addition to a set of advanced options which include a six-color adjustment (dubbed Real Color Processing), black level adjustment and gamma correction. The latter can be further fine-tuned to your satisfaction using the bundled Image Director software running off a PC connected to the projector.

Each tailored set of configurations can be stored in any of the three user-defined picture modes and is applicable only for the specific video input in use. To facilitate image focusing and magnification, the VW100 also offers built-in test patterns for on-the-fly adjustment even without active video signals--a far cry from the crude correction using the onscreen menu and projected image.

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