Sony VPL-VW1000ES Projector Calibration and Settings 2

Best Mode Brightness: Lumens at 100 IRE:           1176 @ 6814K 

Brightest Mode Brightness:  DCI uncalibrated:  1368 lumens @ 6858K   

Please remember, we are not attempting to find the brightest measurements possible, for we could adjust this projector for more lumens at the expense of color fidelity.  Also we measure at the mid-point of the lens’ zoom range.

Bottom Line:  Calibrating costs this Sony less than 100 lumens.  You could say that “Best” mode is Reference mode, calibrated, while Brightest mode is Reference uncalibrated.  Switch to DCI color space and you can buy still another 100 lumens, but color balance does shift, as DCI has a wider gamut, especially green, than REC 709.

Mike had this to say after finishing his measurements and calibration:

This is probably the first projector I’ve seen where the brightest mode was arguably also the best mode.  Reference mode, which puts out over 1200 lumens, has a decent RGB balance.  By contrast, the dimmest mode (Cinema Film 2) is only 330 lumens and has terrible RGB balance, with an overabundance of green.  Reference mode calibrated quite well, with an average Delta E of 1.2, rising above 3 only at 100 IRE. 

As usual, Sony provides a range of color spaces that tend to make using a CMS unnecessary.  BT.709 is just about right on the Rec. 709 standard.  Color Space 1, 2 and 3 expand the gamut to varying degrees, with Wide 3 being the largest gamut of the three.  There is also an even wider DCI color space, which is designed to conform to the new DCI standard.

As I understand it, DCI is the color standard for the cinema projectors. It is a wider gamut which allows for a better, more dynamic picture. It would be great to finally see DCI made available to home cinema.  We shall see what becomes of it.  Projector owners, don’t feel bad, our home projectors typically generate better blacks and contrast than any of the cinema projectors.