Projector Reviews

<I>When our Photo Research PR-650 SpectraScan Colorimeter&mdash;the tool we use to calibrate most of the projectors we review&mdash;went into the shop for repair recently, not destined to emerge until mid January, a decision had to be made. The Sony VPL-VW100 is one of the hottest video products to hit the market this year. Do we wait until January to post our full review, or bring you what we have now&mdash;observations based on using the user controls, a test DVD or two, and experience with other well-calibrated displays&mdash;followed up later by additional details, including a full calibration. I decided on the latter, to bring you the information we have just as soon as possible, making this first-ever </I>Ultimate AV<I> two-part review that doesn't involve more than one product. Part two of this review can be found <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/206sony2/">here</A>.&mdash;TJN</I>

All videophiles are looking for the holy grail&mdash;a video projector that will blow everything else out of the water and cost next to nothing. Short of the industry adopting the business model used for computer printers (charging $100 for the projector and $4000 for a replacement lamp), that next-to-nothing price will likely remain a dream. But manufacturers are competing hard to make good home theater projectors much more affordable, if not exactly cheap.

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, we were introduced to HAL 9000—a plucky computer that likes long walks at night, organization, and things not named Dave. In 2010, we found out that we were going to need a bigger boat and that HAL had a sibling: Bob. Or it may have been Phil. It certainly wasn't Knight Industries Two Thousand. It turns out that four years after and five years before, a middle sibling has been discovered: PJ. (Lame, I know. I'm sorry.)

While separate projectors and screens are not for everyone, for many of us they define the essence of the true home theater video experience. A big-screen television is fine as far as it goes, and certainly appeals to a wide market. But nothing quite matches the thrill of watching a theater-like image on a really big screen in a darkened room.

While we've all been happily watching our 1280x720 digital video displays, manufacturers have been quietly working behind the scenes to bring us 1920x1080. Every display technology, it seems, has its own higher resolution displays in development. Some are even in stores as I write.

If you're familiar with the look of Yamaha's last two flagship DLP projectors, this latest version will definitely give you a case of d&#233;j&#224; vu. But that's true of the latest projectors from most manufacturers. The world of home video projection is moving too fast to design new cosmetics for every new model.

In my recent review of Fujitsu's remarkable <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/505fujitsu/">LPF-D711W LCD projector</A>, I commented: