Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance Posted on December 7, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Review: Sony VPL-HW55ES Home Theater Projector - Video Summaries - Basic Description and Sample Image Quality - Sony VPL-HW55ES earns Hot Product Award - Sony VPL-HW55ES Highlights2. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector Special Features - REALITY CREATION - Panel Alignment - 3D Performance3. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector Special Features 2 - TWO TYPES OF 3D GLASSES FOR THIS SONY - Sony Dynamic Iris: Cinema Black Pro - SONY Wireless HDMI Option - Sony Motion Enhancer - Creative Frame Interpolation4. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Hardware Tour - VPL-HW55ES Projector: Starting In The Front - Lens Controls - Sony VPL-HW55ES - Control Panel: VPL-HW55ES - Inputs and Connectors: Sony HW55ES Projector5. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Hardware Tour 2 - Sony Remote Control - Sony VPL-HW55ES Menus6. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector: Image Quality - "Out of the Box" Picture Quality - Sony VPL-HW55 ES Black Level Performance - Descriptions of the Images Above7. Sony VPL-HW55 ES Image Quality 2 - Sony VPL-HW55ES Dark Shadow Detail - Dark Shadow Detail Comparison - Hunger Games8. Sony VPL-HW55ES – Image Quality 3 - Overall Picture Quality and Color - VPL-HW55ES Looks Great on a Wide Range of Scenes - It's the Lighting! Looking "Right" Under Different Lighting Scenarios - Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector For HDTV And Sports9. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance - VPL-HW55ES Brightness - Color Temp For Best Mode - Pre Calibration - Post Calibration - Brightness and Color Temp: "Best" Mode: - Effect of the Zoom Lens on Brightness10. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance 2 - Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector - Sharpness - Comparative Images For Comparing Perceived Sharpness11. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance 3 - VPL-HW55ES Lens Throw and Lens Shift - Image Noise - VPL-HW55ES Picture Mode Comparison: Brightness and Color12. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Calibration Page - A Note on Brightness Measurements - Post Calibration Color Temperature - Grayscale Settings: RGB Adjustments - Adjustments Made to VPL-HW55ES General Picture Settings13. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector Review – Advanced Calibration Information - Why no CMS for the VPL-HW55ES? - Mike's Notes - Sony VPL-HW55ES Calibration Charts14. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector: Warranty - Warranty15. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector: Summary - More Sony VPL-HW55ES Image Examples - VPL-HW55ES Summary: General - Sony HW55ES Brightness16. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Summary 2 - Picture Quality - 3D Performance - The Sony VPL-HW55ES In Your Room - Sony VPL-HW55ES: The Bottom Line17. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Pros and Cons - PROs - CONs18. Sony VPL-HW55ES Full Specifications SONY VPL-HW55ES PROJECTOR PERFORMANCE VPL-HW55ES Brightness Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Brightness by Mode, Mid-zoom Mode Brightness (Lumens) Color Temp at 100 IRE Reference 944 6401K TV 944 6400K Cinema Film 1 944 6397K Cinema Film 2 602 5353K Game 1185 7275K Photo 612 5364K Bright Cinema 1044 7492K Bright TV 1044 7492K User 944 6402K As you can figure out from a quick look at the numbers above, while there are 8 different preset modes plus user, that there are really only 5 really different ones in terms of brightness and color temp. In other words, the first three look the same on the chart, but things like gamma, as well as other image functions have different default values, from otherwise similar modes. Mike, our calibrator, started with Reference, which he reported to be the most accurate mode, as the basis for his “best” mode calibration. That finished calibration was placed in the User mode! Our calibration page will give all the basic settings (Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, etc.), as well as the grayscale calibration putting Red, Green, and Blue in proper balance around 6500K across the IRE range from full white to dark gray (as low as our gear will go). Individual color calibration area of primaries and secondaries For our member subscribers, there’s an additional page with “advanced” settings, essentially the individual calibration of each of the primary and secondary colors. That’s not all, there are before/after CIE charts and other graphic info as well as a few comments from Mike, our THX certified calibrator. Color Temp For Best Mode - Pre Calibration Pre-Calibration Reference Mode IRE Range Color Temp (Kelvin) 100 (white) 6401 80 6445 50 6493 30 6593 Note that while there is a slight rise in color temp from the brightest whites to the darker grays, it is first of all rather slight. The range is less than 200K, and better still the range starts with less than 100K below 6500K, to less than 100K above. Tight, and that’s pre-calibration. Now let’s see (in even more detail – every 10 IRE) how the grayscale balance looks post calibration. Post Calibration - Brightness and Color Temp: "Best" Mode: Post Calibration Color Temp, by IRE IRE Range Color Temp 100 6414 90 6517 80 6504 70 6516 60 6506 50 6488 40 6474 30 6537 20 6516 The Sony VPL HW55ES measured a dazzling 964 Lumens calibrated! That’s the brightest of any serious dedicated home theater projector in it’s class, or even up to $10,000. For more calibrated brightness without breaking your budget, you’d have to go with some much lower end DLP projectors calibrated with TI’s Brilliant Color turned on. None of those are any match in overall picture quality. While projectors like the Epson 5030UB / 6030UB, and Panasonic PT-AE8000U may be 50%, or more, brighter in their brightest useable modes, those same projectors produce less than 700 lumens calibrated. That makes the Sony at least 40% brighter calibrated than those. That allows for a noticeably larger screen, if desired! Post calibration, the color temperature range improves from an already tight pre-calibration range of the Reference mode. And the balance between Red, Green, and Blue, further improves from already very good. This is about as nice as calibration numbers get, in terms of grayscale! Effect of the Zoom Lens on Brightness Zoom Lens Position Affect On Brightness Full Wide Angle 969 Mid-point on the zoom 944 Full Telephoto 844 Sony’s 1.6:1 zoom lens must be very well designed from the standpoint of maintaining brightness. While not as much range in the zoom as some (JVC 2:1, Epson 2.1:1), Sony’s 1.6:1 zoom has dramatically less brightness drop off as you place the projector further away from the same sized screen. Not that the drop is less than 15%. By comparison, those 2:1 type zoom lenses often lose up to 40% if you place the projector all the way back. True, the Sony won’t allow you to go as far back as those others, but it still has enough zoom lens range to even allow shelf mounting in a decent percentage of rooms. 1. Review: Sony VPL-HW55ES Home Theater Projector - Video Summaries - Basic Description and Sample Image Quality - Sony VPL-HW55ES earns Hot Product Award - Sony VPL-HW55ES Highlights2. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector Special Features - REALITY CREATION - Panel Alignment - 3D Performance3. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector Special Features 2 - TWO TYPES OF 3D GLASSES FOR THIS SONY - Sony Dynamic Iris: Cinema Black Pro - SONY Wireless HDMI Option - Sony Motion Enhancer - Creative Frame Interpolation4. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Hardware Tour - VPL-HW55ES Projector: Starting In The Front - Lens Controls - Sony VPL-HW55ES - Control Panel: VPL-HW55ES - Inputs and Connectors: Sony HW55ES Projector5. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Hardware Tour 2 - Sony Remote Control - Sony VPL-HW55ES Menus6. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector: Image Quality - "Out of the Box" Picture Quality - Sony VPL-HW55 ES Black Level Performance - Descriptions of the Images Above7. Sony VPL-HW55 ES Image Quality 2 - Sony VPL-HW55ES Dark Shadow Detail - Dark Shadow Detail Comparison - Hunger Games8. Sony VPL-HW55ES – Image Quality 3 - Overall Picture Quality and Color - VPL-HW55ES Looks Great on a Wide Range of Scenes - It's the Lighting! Looking "Right" Under Different Lighting Scenarios - Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector For HDTV And Sports9. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance - VPL-HW55ES Brightness - Color Temp For Best Mode - Pre Calibration - Post Calibration - Brightness and Color Temp: "Best" Mode: - Effect of the Zoom Lens on Brightness10. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance 2 - Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector - Sharpness - Comparative Images For Comparing Perceived Sharpness11. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance 3 - VPL-HW55ES Lens Throw and Lens Shift - Image Noise - VPL-HW55ES Picture Mode Comparison: Brightness and Color12. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Calibration Page - A Note on Brightness Measurements - Post Calibration Color Temperature - Grayscale Settings: RGB Adjustments - Adjustments Made to VPL-HW55ES General Picture Settings13. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector Review – Advanced Calibration Information - Why no CMS for the VPL-HW55ES? - Mike's Notes - Sony VPL-HW55ES Calibration Charts14. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector: Warranty - Warranty15. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector: Summary - More Sony VPL-HW55ES Image Examples - VPL-HW55ES Summary: General - Sony HW55ES Brightness16. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Summary 2 - Picture Quality - 3D Performance - The Sony VPL-HW55ES In Your Room - Sony VPL-HW55ES: The Bottom Line17. Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Pros and Cons - PROs - CONs18. Sony VPL-HW55ES Full Specifications Sony VPL-HW55ES – Image Quality 3 Sony VPL-HW55ES Projector – Performance 2