Sony VPL-HW65ES projector: a second wind on all features

Sony VPL-HW65ES

– The latest in a series of serious Full HD projectors, which after two years has replaced a well-deserved veteran of the market

VPL-HW55ES. What does the new model offer? First, the new “brains” represented by the processor

Reality Creation, inherited from the older 4K projectors. A powerful processor implements the technology of frame interpolation, noise reduction, etc. at a new level, significantly faster performing a large amount of calculations “on the fly. 3D fans will be happy to know that now

Sony

It uses radio-synchronization of 3D glasses, and the synchronizer is already built into the projector and it is not necessary to buy. Besides additional options, such as firmware upgrade via USB and network control, the new projector offers excellent basic characteristics – luminous flux of 1800 LMA and dynamic contrast of 120 000:1.

Overall

Sony VPL-HW65ES

Retains all the advantages of the previous version that sold well, but was deeply upgraded to modern standards. By the way, the novelty price is not so low, but it is typical for Full HD projectors segment – about 320 thousand Dollars.

Test measurements of the projector

Sony VPL-HW65ES

Projector

Sony VPL-HW65ES

: a second wind to all functions

Picture quality

Theoretical estimation

The competition in the segment of Full HD projectors is very high now, though there are not so many competing companies. That is why any innovation, any service, if it appeared for one brand, is immediately cloned by other vendors, but with its own “sauce”.

Sony VPL-HW65ES projector combines serious basic performance with a wide and flexible image adjustments. We get not only the projector capable of reproducing high-quality, deep reference picture, but also a lot of settings, allowing you to adjust the image to individual preferences.

The powerful processor allows to realize perfectly such resource-intensive technologies as Contrast Enchancer – contrast enhancement system, and Motionflow – this beautiful name from Sony means frame interpolation: the process by which intermediate frames are formed and inserted into the video stream, smoothing motion artifacts, first of all – “twitchiness” of movements in Pinocchio effect style.

The unique Reality Creation 2 feature which Sony first introduced in the VPL-HW50ES. Let me remind you that Reality Creation can create an extraordinary picture from the initial Full HD image, the quality of which is very close to the real 4K resolution.Now the process of climbing to a virtual 4K has become even more rapid and can be flexibly adjusted

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from 1 to 100. But the installers don’t recommend playing too much with this wonderful feature – there’s a risk to get a plastic, artificial picture, if the initial video signal is of too low quality.

Black level is another pinnacle that all manufacturers fight for. Sony VPL-HW65ES projector, having received a more powerful processor, has evidently strengthened its positions in this parameter, but it is hardly the only leader in image contrast. Although Sony’s color engine, designated SXRD, is capable of generating very deep shades of black, it is still a digital technology that is by no means universally recognized as superior to other brands’ analog alternatives.

Impressions from practical use

The surprising question is what you need a projector for? Clearly, to watch movies on the big screen: watch at home, like in a movie theater. To meet this need, I found 9 factory settings – for just about everything. Let’s name the whole list at once:

Movie 1 is ideal for the highly dynamic and crisp images typical of positives.

Cinema 2 is better at reproducing saturated and colored images.

Vivid Film will be in demand for watching movies in bright lighting conditions.

The sample is suitable for playback of the image by default – without any adjustments.

TV shows the best television programs, including sports events, concerts, etc.

Bright TV can be turned on to watch TV programs, sports in bright lighting conditions.

Photo is ideal for projecting stills and music photos taken with a digital camera.

Designed for gamers who play games with well-modulated colors and short response time.

Custom mode allows you to adjust the image quality to suit individual preferences and save these settings. The default setting is the same as the Sample mode.

We will get acquainted with all the factory settings in more detail in the test part of the review. But for now let’s choose Sample as the base mode, as it shows the picture “as is” without any software tweaks.

Static images

For a visual assessment, let’s open up a couple of pictures. The motive is simple – you can leisurely estimate the picture quality, walk up to the screen and look at it far and wide. For evaluation we have chosen pictures with saturated colors as much as possible: they are pretty rare in films, so if the projector passes such a hard test on the selected photos then the quality of the picture will be close to ideal.

Let’s start with the color gamut. Because the projector has an extended color gamut Sony’s is x.v.Color , we viewed this photo in both regular and extended RGB.

The difference is really noticeable. When you turn on the extended color gamut, sunset colors become as vivid. It’s very important that there was no clipping in the most saturated areas: that is, the saturated areas don’t look flat, without all the variations in light and color.

Also no complaints in the standard RGB, but of course, after the extended one I’d like to say that everything is relative. In short, everyone will choose an option to their liking and everyone will be happy.

Despite a respectable light output of 1800 lumens, the projector offers a rather high contrast of 120,000:1 albeit dynamic . So there’s nothing wrong with conveying detail in the light and dark areas of the image on this unit either. You can see all the fine details of the texture of stones, which look like burnt pages of a thick folio.

Tone transitions also look natural. Throughout the transition of shadows to mid-tone, and in some places to a quarter tone, which is represented on the stones, we do not observe areas with low contrast. It happens sometimes when the gamma curve of the projector has an irregular shape.

Color temperature is okay, although it seems a bit warmer than the value on the menu. Everything looks natural, the grass has a cool, like this foggy morning, hue, and the fog illuminated by the sun is gently warm.

Nevertheless, the picture is not without disadvantages.

At the edge of very contrasty areas, if you get close to the screen, you can see chromatic aberration. See the picture as it is without processing and noise reduction. . However, do not be frightened: if you put your nose to the screen and sit down to watch at a normal comfortable distance, such artifacts are practically not noticeable.

At first I thought that the reason for such abberation had its roots in the RGB matrices, which “in three beams” work on the picture. But a detailed analysis of other episodes showed that almost nowhere is there any stratification of the image by basic colors blue, red, green , so it is either Chubais to blame, or not the most expensive optics in the lens, which is much easier to improve than high-tech matrices.

Dynamic 2D images.

Now let’s take a test drive by watching a movie. First let’s check how Reality Creation 2 works in practice. By enhancing this function, you can see how textures become clearer and noise disappears in the image. But if a little too much, the picture in the course of the movie becomes like a cartoon. I was able to determine the following through experience with a particular film: the value of 35 is a threshold value, beyond which I could not see anything decent.

With Motionflow, things are a bit more complicated. I’m not a fan of such “enhancers” of images, as they often cause artifacts. But Sony managed to kill two birds with one stone by eradicating existing artifacts and not creating new ones. Several setup options are offered to the user:

Impulse: conveys the original image quality. It creates the effect of a movie theater image, when the picture can flicker.

Combination: Reduces motion blur while preserving image brightness.

High anti-aliasing: smoother motion on the screen. This setting is especially useful for watching movies.

Low anti-aliasing: also provides smoother motion on the screen for normal use.

True Cinema: With this setting, images e.g., movies at 24 frames per second are reproduced at their original frame rate.

After checking all these modes in the case, we can conclude: Sony technology works, and works really well. The declared effect is fully visible to the naked eye. Personally I was impressed with True Cinema and Low Anti-Aliasing modes: they improve the picture and new artifacts don’t appear.

We were pleased with the Contrast Enchancer function. The technology is really effective and thoughtful. It is obvious that it works with contrast not only globally immediately across the entire field of the frame , but also locally, increasing the contrast of individual areas of the image.

Contrast was mostly enhanced by darkening the midtones and some of the darker quarters. This avoids shadow clipping, where details can become indistinguishable. In addition, the light tones won’t fade further, excessively whitening the frames, which would surely spoil the impression of a cinema-quality, fairly light-balanced picture.

We couldn’t ignore the iris. What is the situation with natural rather than dynamic contrast? It’s gorgeous! Running into the measurement test I can say that the contrast with the screen size of more than three meters was as much as 5200:1! This is a very high score. So, those people who don’t like artifacts that sometimes appear due to dynamic iris can safely turn it off and be sure that the quality and depth of the picture practically will not suffer.

3D picture

3D glasses synchronized with the built-in transmitter quickly and immediately, which, by the way, is not always the case with other projectors. To get the maximum effect, I put a special demodisc, full of scenes where everyone is flying out of the screen and spinning around in a wild dance. Powerful color rendering avoids the fading of the image, which is often the case with weaker projectors. I didn’t notice the double vision that projector owners often complain about. That is why we can recommend Sony VPL-HW65ES for 3D amateurs.

Thus, we personally got acquainted with an excellent workhorse for a home theater, capable of providing high-quality and contrast images on a sufficiently large screen. Though on the closer look the picture is not devoid of small drawbacks, but on the big screen everything looks very natural and alive.

Key functionality

In addition to the already mentioned Motion flow, Reality Creation 2 is a very effective service Contrast Enhancer, which intelligently and almost without side effects increases the contrast of the image, adding depth to it. The system of matrix convergence is very useful: if it happens that RGB matrixes get separated from each other in the projector, you don’t need to go to the service center. Matrix alignment can be achieved quickly and easily at home. Of course, the flexible installation, which consists of a system of lens shifts, also facilitates the work of the installer.

Flexible color and image management system.

As we already found out, the VPL-HW65ES projector offers 9 factory presets. The color temperature settings are also wide, and users are presented with five presetting cells. The temperature can be adjusted not only according to personal preference, but also to the ambient light conditions or the color of the walls, if it replaces the screen.

Gamma settings are just as flexible and variable as color temperature.

You can select the value from 1.8 to 2.6 in increments of 0.2, or play around with the four custom cells. Such a small step between settings allows you to find the exact value. Especially when it comes to non-ideal conditions, such as in a lit living room.

Unfortunately, the choice of color spaces is not so great, only one of known is offered – Rec709. Nevertheless, if we add Motion flow settings to this functionality we get the widest range of image adjustment and fine tuning to our taste.

Package, appearance and installation

Package Contents

The scope of delivery is standard, for a projector and includes:

1. Remote control

2. Batteries for it

3. Power cord

4. Operating instructions on CD-Rom

5. Quick reference guide

Case ergonomics

Externally the projector is similar to previous models, the only difference can be identified only by markings and connectors.

On the case there is a smooth curve of the upper part and brutal angular forms on the sides.

Powerful and therefore hot lamp, requires serious cooling. Air for cooling is sucked in at the back and front under the lens and blown out through two front and side grilles. The air comes out hot – heat dissipation efficiency is high.

Although the ventilation system is extensive and encircles the entire case, it is very quiet, really quiet. The ultrabook that was brought in for the test was noisier.

The bottom part of the case is interesting. There are two threaded feet to level the projector and a rear monopod, which is a curved and fixed height and slope beam. Control by “third” point is automatic, which greatly speeds up the process of adjusting the projector to the installation site.

The housing itself is made of both matte and glossy plastic, with the upper part, which usually becomes the dust collector, being glossy. Wipe it gently to avoid unnecessary scratches.

Connectors and connectors

All connectors are centered at the bottom side. There is an opinion that this placement is more comfortable than the back. Unlike its predecessor, the VPL-HW65 lost its analog interfaces.

Now the set is like this: HDMI 2 INPUTs – Digital RGB/Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr, Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr – Component type phono, INPUT A – Mini D-sub, 15-pin RGB , REMOTE – RS-232C, D-sub, 9-pin socket type , IR IN – mini jack, 3D SYNC – built-in IR transmitter or via RJ-45 TMR-PJ2 external IR transmitter or usa transmitter .

There are two wheels on the top of the body to control the lens shift. Twist nice and elastic, no complaints. There are two indicators between the wheels: on and warning of various malfunctions.

The zoom and focus rings are on the lens itself. The rings are quite stiff and tight, so it’s a pleasure to rotate and there’s almost no risk of accidentally misaligning the settings.

The lid to the lens is manual. Automatic shutters are available in more expensive models.

In the middle of the white side panel are the controls, which include a power button, menu button and source selection button, as well as the navigation button selector . Sleek, understated and tasteful. Nothing extra.

Remote Control

The remote control is traditional for Sony – big, beautiful, convenient. It doesn’t have a bunch of different buttons. Everything is clearly divided into sections: in addition to the backlight, source selection and ON/OFF, there is also a presets selection block, navigation block, image settings block white balance, gamma, etc. , etc.d. and t. p. And finally, a block of basic settings – sharpness, brightness, contrast. The only drawback with the remote control is that if you hold it in one hand, you can’t reach all the buttons with your thumb. You will have to work with two hands

Additional accessories

The projector implies the use of new 3D glasses. They are much more compact and lighter than their predecessors. There’s even a nose hold system – so the size of the nose doesn’t matter anymore. It remains to add that the glasses are very comfortable. After 30 minutes of watching 3D, the sensation is still good.

Installation

With its x1.6 zoom, vertical and horizontal lens shift, the projector is quite easy to install.

There’s no keystone correction on this projector. And that’s correct. If you buy an expensive piece of equipment, install it without a hitch. By the way, the manufacturer deliberately does not allow the user to put the projector with a tilt, which can disrupt the cooling system and cause damage to the device.

When setting up the projector as a “home” don’t forget to provide a minimum clearance of 30 cm on both sides of the case and from the back panel. Length of the body is 46 cm, if you plan to install it on a shelf, the lens should be 76 cm from the wall, which exceeds the depth of an ordinary bookshelf. So, when dealing with installation of the projector you should think with your head or assign such responsible work to the specialist.

To calculate the image size and distance from the screen, it is best to use the native projection calculator from Sony, available at the link – projection-sim/projector_sim.swf .

The projector is able to project a 3 meter image from a distance of 3.6-5.8 meters. Of course, the closer you set the projector, the brighter the light output will be – by about 20 percent. Below is a table of ready calculations for the most typical screen sizes.

Projected image size	Projection distance
Diagonal	Width x Height
80 inches 2.03 m	1,77×1,00	2,40 – 3,83
100 inches 2.54 m	2,21 h 1,25	3,00 – 4,79
120 inches 3.05 m	2,66×1,49	3,61 – 5,76
150 inches 3.81 m	3,32 h 1,87	4,52 – 7,20
200 inches 5.08 m	4,43 h 2,49	6,04 – 9,61

Horizontal lens shift of +/- 25 percent of the projected image width and vertical shift of 71 percent, which makes the projector much easier to mount on the ceiling. Keep in mind, however, that it is not possible to use the maximum shift positions at the same time.

Conclusions

The Sony VPL-HW65ES projector is not a bad choice for a serious home theater projector. It can provide picture quality that will be comparable to Hi End. The obvious advantage of this device is the combination of flexible image settings and high-tech features such as “Reality Creation 2”, “Contrast Enhancer”, “Motionflow”.

– excellent image quality

– A wide range of flexible image customization options

– Realistic contrast enhancement and interpolation systems

– Different installation options.

– The quality of the lens could be better

– no analog connectors

– no gamma dot correction.

Test measurements of the projector

Sony VPL-HW65ES