Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary-2 Posted on October 11, 2011 By Art Feierman 1. Sony VPL-HW30ES Home Theater Projector Review - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Overview2. Sony VPL-HW30ES Home Theater Projector Review-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Highlights - Specs for Sony VPL-HW30ES - Sony VPL-HW30ES Special Features3. Sony VPL-HW30ES Home Theater Projector Review-3 - Sony VPL-HW30ES 1.6:1 Zoom Lens - VPL-HW30ES Projector 3D Capabilities - 3D Glasses (they are optional): - VPL-HW30ES Creative Frame Interpolation - CFI - smooth motion - Sony VPL-HW30ES Pixel Adjust4. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Physical Tour - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector - Appearance - VPL-HW30ES Control Panel5. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Physical Tour-2 - VPL-HW30ES Projector - Input/Output - VPL-HW30ES Menus - Sony VPL-HW30ES Remote Control6. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen7. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality - Sony VPL-HW30ES Out of the Box Picture Quality - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector - Flesh Tones8. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Black Levels & Shadow Detail9. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-3 - Sony VPL-HW30 Shadow Detail Performance10. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-4 - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: VPL-HW30ES Projector - Bottom Line - Sony VPL-HW30ES - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports11. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-5 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV and Sports12. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance - Sony VPL-HW30ES Brightness - Post Calibration: User "best" mode = 814 lumens13. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Pre-Calibration Color temp, Cinema Mode:14. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-315. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-4 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Sharpness16. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-5 - Sony VPL-HW30ES: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise17. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Calibration and Settings - Sony VPL-HW30ES Color Temperature - Sony VPL-HW30ES Basic Settings18. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Calibration and Settings-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - VPL-HW30ES User Mode - VPL-HW30ES RGB Settings19. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Projector Screens - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Screen Recommendations20. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Warranty21. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Competitors - Sony VPL-HW30ES vs. Epson Pro Cinema 9700UB and Home 8700UB - Sony VPL-HW30ES vs. Sony VPL-VW90ES and VW95ES - VPL-HW30ES vs. Sharp XV-Z17000 - Sony VPL-HW30ES vs. Runco LS522. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector - The Bottom Line23. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary-2 - VPL-HW30ES Color and Overall Picture Quality - The Very Bottom Line on the VPL-HW30ES projector:24. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary-3 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Pros and Cons - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Pros - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Cons - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Typical Capabilities25. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Specifications Like most of these projectors – if you like larger screens, you will be a bit underpowered for 3D viewing. Still, this Sony is the brightest around, other than some new LCD based 3D capable projectors we have not yet reviewed, notably, the Panasonic PT-AE7000, and the Epson Home Cinema 5010 (both priced slightly less), and the Epson Pro Cinema 6010 (slightly more). In past lives, older Sonys also had less lumens than those guys, but also had a more natural picture. Before it gets forgotten, regarding the Sony 3D glasses: People, your Sony’s going in a home theater. That means more than two people are watching sometimes. The good news, is that Sony has priced their active glasses fairly reasonably, at $129 each. $99 seems to be about the low price for glasses sold by the manufacturers, so not so bad. BTW, I still can’t believe there aren’t lots of 3rd party glasses out there yet for under $50, but now that we’re seeing some manufacturers grouping together so their glasses have interoperability, perhaps we will see some price drops in the not too distant future. I had dreamed of $29 or $39 glasses by this Christmas. If you’ve got a family, or like having friends over, you’ll need a couple/few more pair, so 3-4 extra pair of glasses costs can make a real dent in your wallet, if they are more expensive. By comparison, the competition prices their glasses from $99 to over $200 a pair. VPL-HW30ES Color and Overall Picture QualityI believe I’ve already stated this: The VPL-HW30ES is a well balanced projector. In terms of key factors such as brightness, color accuracy, picture naturalness, black level performance and shadow detail, the HW30ES does well in all areas. I’m not sure the HW30ES is the best at one thing in particular, at, or near its price range, but then, I’m pretty certain, that it isn’t even near the worst at anything. Color and naturalness seem to be the key strengths, while black levels (very good) and shadow detail (ok for the price range) are fine, they aren’t the bell ringers. A real strength are the dynamic controls which, when used, tend to be smooth, and less noticeable than most. The bottom line is that when you turn it on, like a Runco we reviewed, it just looks really good. No overt issues (except in 3D, and the brighter glasses modes). Just enjoyment. Fancy features include CFI for smooth motion. Sony names their CFI implementation as MotionFlow. It worked admirably on sports. As with almost all projectors, (even in the low setting) CFI is something I avoid when watching movies. It still is changing the “director’s intent”. I note that my college age daughter, most of her friends, etc. don’t seem to care, though about highbrow stuff like the director’s intent. The bottom line is you will get that digital look on movies. Your call. As someone once said: “Whatever floats your boat!” The dynamic (or manual) iris, has two auto modes, and manual. In Auto 1, the end result was very good black level performance on dark scenes, certainly at least average (which is very good), in this price range. The Very Bottom Line on the VPL-HW30ES projector: I like the natural look of the image on movie content, and also consider the projector to be a bit forgiving on lower quality content. That Sony VW90ES was last year’s flagship Sony projector. Previous Sony home theater projectors have proven popular. It often isn’t apparent to our visitors. As they are, per Sony, only sold by authorized local dealers, they aren’t as visible online as many projectors that are sold online. Certainly, there aren’t any dealer ads to keep the Sony name in the forefront of consumers minds when learning about projectors online. Sony, for example, has never advertised with us, so, other than the usual few reviews a year, they are fairly invisible on our site. No matter! Brightness of the VPL-HW30ES is typical, fine for 2D and basically adequate for 3D viewing on average sized screens. It is also slightly brighter than most of the competition we’ve reviewed as of this date (10/11), which helps with the 3D viewing. Placement flexibility is really good with 1.6:1 zoom and a good amount of lens shift. 1. Sony VPL-HW30ES Home Theater Projector Review - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Overview2. Sony VPL-HW30ES Home Theater Projector Review-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Highlights - Specs for Sony VPL-HW30ES - Sony VPL-HW30ES Special Features3. Sony VPL-HW30ES Home Theater Projector Review-3 - Sony VPL-HW30ES 1.6:1 Zoom Lens - VPL-HW30ES Projector 3D Capabilities - 3D Glasses (they are optional): - VPL-HW30ES Creative Frame Interpolation - CFI - smooth motion - Sony VPL-HW30ES Pixel Adjust4. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Physical Tour - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector - Appearance - VPL-HW30ES Control Panel5. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Physical Tour-2 - VPL-HW30ES Projector - Input/Output - VPL-HW30ES Menus - Sony VPL-HW30ES Remote Control6. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen7. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality - Sony VPL-HW30ES Out of the Box Picture Quality - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector - Flesh Tones8. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Black Levels & Shadow Detail9. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-3 - Sony VPL-HW30 Shadow Detail Performance10. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-4 - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: VPL-HW30ES Projector - Bottom Line - Sony VPL-HW30ES - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports11. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Image Quality-5 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV and Sports12. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance - Sony VPL-HW30ES Brightness - Post Calibration: User "best" mode = 814 lumens13. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Pre-Calibration Color temp, Cinema Mode:14. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-315. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-4 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Sharpness16. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Performance-5 - Sony VPL-HW30ES: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise17. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Calibration and Settings - Sony VPL-HW30ES Color Temperature - Sony VPL-HW30ES Basic Settings18. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Calibration and Settings-2 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - VPL-HW30ES User Mode - VPL-HW30ES RGB Settings19. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Projector Screens - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Screen Recommendations20. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector – Warranty21. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Competitors - Sony VPL-HW30ES vs. Epson Pro Cinema 9700UB and Home 8700UB - Sony VPL-HW30ES vs. Sony VPL-VW90ES and VW95ES - VPL-HW30ES vs. Sharp XV-Z17000 - Sony VPL-HW30ES vs. Runco LS522. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector - The Bottom Line23. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary-2 - VPL-HW30ES Color and Overall Picture Quality - The Very Bottom Line on the VPL-HW30ES projector:24. Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary-3 - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Pros and Cons - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Pros - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Cons - Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector: Typical Capabilities25. Sony VPL-HW30ES Projector Specifications Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary Sony VPL-HW30ES – Review Summary-3