1080p Comparison Report - Image Quality7

Click to Enlarge. So close. Guess work time again, since I still haven't received the VW70. Consider though, that the VW70's lower cost sibling was described as "excellent" in this regard. The older VW60 that the VPL-VW70 replaces, was described as: "Overall performance on skin tones is excellent. To further improve on what I saw on the screen - which rivals any under $10K projector I have worked with, you'll need a professional calibrator with more skills than I possess. On the other hand, I seriously doubt if any but the most hard core crazed, will be disappointed." Keep in mind that review pre-dates the IN83, which I don't believe the VW60 could match. Still, I expect excellent skin tones from the VPL-VW70.

Men In Black - Mitsubishi HC7000

Click to enlarge. So close. In this section, I'll discuss the combination of black level performance and shadow detail as one. Overall, some of these projectors do a little better (after normal adjustment), than others, in terms of shadow detail. That said, I consider those differences to be rather minor. Of far greater concern, is the black level performance. Often, after calibration, it is the black level performance that really separates these projectors from each other, far more so than other attributes. Thus - to a large degree, great black levels continues to be the quest for the "holy grail" of projector performance. Note, for those of you not familiar, the old CRT home theater projectors (from years ago), due to CRT technology, do essentially perfect black levels. All these fixed display projectors (3LCD, DLP, LCoS), by comparison, cannot produce a true black, so the quest to get as close as possible, still dominates home theater projector design.

I'll be referring to what I call "ultra-high-contrast" projectors quite a bit in this section, so a quick warning: I'll start referring to those as UHC projectors from time to time, to save keystrokes.

The DVE-HD test disc, projector: Sanyo PLV-Z700