Video Projector

Platinum Award


Sony Qualia 004


$29,998

Sony calls it SXRD, for Silicon X-tal (crystal) Reflective Display. We called it a breakthrough in digital display devices. The Qualia 004 is expensive to buy and, with its 1000 hour, $3000 Xenon lamp, expensive to run. But no one ever said the state-of-the-art comes cheap. More importantly, the technology has now begun to trickle down to less expensive products in Sony's video lineup, products that may be even better than the 004 in some significant ways.

With its two lamp settings and three-position iris, the Qualia 004 is ready to product a great image on a screen of almost any type or (within reason) size. Black levels do remain the one area in which this projector could still be improved, but TJN was rarely distracted by the infamous gray haze that afflicts many digital projectors on dark scenes.

There's a smooth, grain-free, velvety look to the Qualia's image that can't be missed, thanks in part to its 1920x1080 native resolution. The projector will not accept a native 1080/60 progressive input, but is said to be compatible with 1080/24 (we had no 1080/24 sources on hand to test this).

The 004's colors are bright and rich, its motion lag non-existent, its gray scale calibrates beautifully, and its blacks were good—though not yet CRT-like. The projector's de-interlacing was a weak point when we tested it in mid 2004.

The projector easily showed the variations in different source material—even high definition. But the best sources—SD or HD—looked sensational, with a vivid three-dimensionality and a creamy smoothness that did not hide the Qualia's exceptional detail.

While the blacks from the best CRT projectors provide an immediacy that TJN has not yet seen from any competing technology, the Qualia 004 easily betters CRTs in other important ways—notably resolution and brightness. It clearly crosses that "looking out the window" threshold with the best high definition source material.

With new technologies coming on board, we expect to see an update of this projector before long. A new, smaller SXRD chip has been developed, and a dynamic iris feature is sure to make an appearance, as it already has in Sony's VPL-HS51 LCD projector (below) and new SXRD rear projection sets. www.ultimateavmag.com/news/082205Sony/

But for the here and now, the Qualia 004 remains the most impressive new video projector we've seen in years.


www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/504sony/

Gold Award


Sony VPL-HS51 Cineza


$3500

Sony pulls off a double play in our projector awards this year with this surprising little beauty. With the addition of Sony's Advanced Iris feature to enhance contrast, LCD projectors have grown up. Sony isn't the only projector manufacturer to use such a device. It will show up on more than a few new video displays this fall under a variety of creative names. But this projector provided TJN with his first exposure to this new technology, he was blown away by it. At last, here's an affordable LCD projector with black levels and contrast that can more than compete with the best that other digital display technologies can offer. It even made CRT die-hard TJN (almost) forget about the great blacks available from a good old 3-gun CRT.

While the Sony has its downsides (not the world's best gray scale tracking, some subtle remnants of the LCD screen door effect—the pixel structure—if you sit too close, and people reflexively saying "Bless You" whenever you say Cineza), this is, overall, one terrific little performer. It can even show its heels to more than a few far more expensive projectors. And audiophiles note: In the Low lamp setting (which is plenty bright enough as long as you use a screen of with modest gain like the Stewart Studiotek 130, and keep it less than 7-feet wide) this projector is the quietest we've reviewed since the day of the DWIN CRT.

As TJN concluded, "I'd urge anyone in the market for a digital projector priced below the stratosphere to take a close look at the VPL-HS51 Cineza. You'll be kicking yourself later if you don't."


www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/205sony/

High Definition Tuner of the Year


LG LST-3410A


$999

With the government mandate to include ATSC tuners in virtually all high definition televisions, the set-top HD receiver has become an endangered species. But this box from LG is one of the best. It not only has an outstanding tuner, but also a 160GB hard-disk recorder for up to 12-hours of high definition recording (or 120 hours of SD).

While other similar devices such as those from TiVo provide a bit more flexibility (like watching a prerecorded show while recording a live one), the LG requires no monthly fee. You can also archive programming from the LG to some D-VHS recorders via an IEEE 1394 interface. With your antenna connected to the LG's RF input, and your set connected its component, RGB, of DVI output, you're ready to go.


www.ultimateavmag.com/accessories/1104lg/

Television/Video Monitor of the Year


JVC HD-52Z575 D-ILA


$4495

Michael Fremer was seriously impressed by this 52-inch JVC high definition rear-projection monitor. It produced what were perhaps the best images he had yet seen on a microdisplay RPTV. The model he reviewed required an external set-top box to receive high definition programming; a newer version, the HD-52Z795 (and the 61-inch HD-61Z795—neither one yet tested) has a built-in ATSC tuner and CableCARD slot.

Employing JVC's D-ILA version of LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) technology—which JVC calls HD-ILA in its consumer rear-projection sets—the HD-52Z795 provides a resolution of 1280x720 from its three separate LCoS chips. Three chips mean no rotating color wheel and no rainbow artifacts. The tightly-spaced pixels also provide freedom from the "screen-door" look that bothers some viewers with other types of video displays, particularly LCDs. A weight of only 84 pounds and a depth of just 16 inches make it easy to maneuver.

But most important of all was the set's performance. MF found that it provided, "a surprisingly CRT-like picture compared to other fixed-pixel displays I've seen—I mean that as praise. The overall texture was silky, creamy, more believable and natural-looking than the crisp presentation of DLP sets I've seen. Images had greater 3-dimensionality, weight, and, especially, solidity than I'm accustomed to seeing from fixed-pixel displays. Transitions had a more natural flow, with fewer 'false contouring' artifacts, yet the picture was also sharp and detailed. . .Black levels, while not as good as a CRT's, were more than acceptable."

The set was not flawless—none are. But as MF, in his 2004 review, summed up, "When I take into account size, price, appearance, and overall performance, my conclusion is unavoidable: As a real product in the real marketplace of consumers and consumer electronics, JVC's HD-52Z585 is the best HDTV I've seen."


www.ultimateavmag.com/directviewandptvtelevisions/1204jvc/

Accessory of the Year


Logitech Harmony 676 Remote Control


$230

Logitech's Harmony line of remote controls is unique in many respects, but none more so than in the way they are programmed. You configure them through the Internet, on Harmony's website. With its huge database of customization options you can set up any Harmony remote to precisely match the needs of your system—and change them as needed. The appropriate software is provided for both Macintosh computers and Windows PCs.

Scott Wilkinson was most impressed by the Harmony 676. "The Logitech Harmony 676 boldly goes where no IR universal remote has gone before," he remarked, "far surpassing any such product I've ever tried—and I've tried quite a few. It's perfectly balanced and shaped for one-hand operation, providing ease of setup, excellent system integration, and logically placed and well-spaced buttons. Combine that with the SST power- and input-sync system and a fantastic tech-support team, and you've got the ultimate IR universal remote."


www.ultimateavmag.com/accessories/205logitech/

Budget Product of the Year


V, Inc. Bravo D2 DVD Player


$249

Behind this modest yet pretty face lurks a surprisingly fine DVD player. Stick with its DVI output and prepare to be amazed. See our DVD Player Gold award (above) for more details, or better yet, go the full review.


www.ultimateavmag.com/dvdplayers/904v/

Product of the Year


Sony Qualia 004 SXRD Video Projector


$29,998

Nothing has yet managed to fully replace a high-end CRT display to our eyes, but the QUALIA 004, also the winner of our Platinum award for the best video projector we've seen this year (see above for more details), comes awfully close. Sony has a breakthrough product here. This is one truly impressive machine.


www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/504sony/