Customer Reviews

Sony VPLVW60 SXRD 1080p BRAVIA Home Cinema Projector

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was quite an upgrade for us. We replaced our Optoma HD70 with this projector. I tried the Optoma HD80 first (please read my review of that waste), but the placement limitations were so bad, I had to return it. We purchased this projector from Tweeter (sorry Amazon) for $3900.00.
After installing it last night, I played around with it a bit and fixed some display settings that were way out of control. For more on this and how to adjust your own, look up this projector on the projectorreviews website. Right out of the box the settings are horribly wrong, but with some slight adjustments, you can have a near perfect picture.
The projector itself has a number of great features including a mechanical lens for zoom, focus and vertical shift. Although I gave this projector 5 stars, there is still one area that needs improvement. Some kind of horizontal keystone would be a good thing, but it is such a small issue that it doesn't impact my evaluation.
There are ample inputs, but maybe 1 more HDMI would be great. It has 2, but this input is the way of the world now, and 3 would be better...but then I'd want 4...you get the idea.
The projector weight is 24.5 pounds. You may read different weights on different websites, but I weighed it myself and it is exactly 24.5 lbs. Just make sure you have a mount that is rated for at least 30 pounds that is installed correctly. This does not need to crash down on anyone's head at this weight.
Back to the performance...The colors are amazing one when calibrated correctly. We watched a New York Rangers game on MSGHD as our first test. The Rangers lost, but the projector scored a hat-trick! Blues were correct, white levels are near perfect, and the contrast ratio, thanks to the dynamic iris is stunning. Afterward, we played around with some Blu-Ray and HD-DVD at 1080p. Spiderman, Pirates 3, and Happy feet looked perfect. I can't stress enough that you need to recalibrate this projector to get a good picture. Sony should do a better job on giving you an accurate picture out of the box, but they just don't.
Lastly, the projector is almost perfectly silent. I could hear the PS3 and DirecTV HR20 fan much louder than the projector. Great job on this Sony!!
In closing, I would recommend this projector to anyone looking for a top-of-the-line-$5000-and-less unit. Shop it around though and get a good deal for yourself. Don't pay $5000 because you just don't have to. Enjoy!

As a new owner of a Black Pearl I would like to share my own impressions of the Black Pearl. We previously owned a VPL-VW50 Pearl. Sadly we had a lot of problems, it was a 4 1/2 month nightmare but SONY FINALLY offered to replace it with a VPL-VW60 Black Pearl.

We received our new SONY Black Pearl on Feb 12, 2008 and we have had a wonderful time setting it up and watching HD TV and 1080p upconverted movies via our OPPO 981-hd. I watched The Rocketeer and recordings of the new episodes of LOST in HD and they were spectacular. We have already put over 30 hours on the projector!

Before our VPL-VW50 went belly up we enjoyed viewing it on our 100 inch STEWART SST electriscreen. The Black Pearl is definitely MUCH MUCH sharper than the Pearl ever was. I was ecstatic when I saw how sharp it is compaired to the Pearl. As for convergence, I checked the convergence using the new "Panel Alignment" feature (Kudos' to SONY for including this) and our PJ was perfect right out of the box; boy was that a nice surprise and relief especially after all of the convergence problems we had with our previous Pearl. The colors when tweaked are much more accurate on the Black Pearl and the overall picture seems brighter and better. The blacks are much deeper and the contrast is outstanding.

As for the color of the new Black Pearl itself... the Black Pearl is, like it's name; beautiful and INTIMIDATING; Darth Vader's helmet comes to mind and the new pj remote is also excellent. Nice design, clean, stylish, EASY to use and the pj's newly added enhanced menu features are right at our fingertips.

The ongoing problems we experienced with the Pearl for 4 and a half months was a real headache... groan. But as soon as we turned on the replacement projector and compared it's picture to that of our previous SONY Pearl (VPL-VW50) I knew it was worth all of the trouble we had to go through in order to upgrade to the VPL-VW60. This projector is everything we have been looking for in a projector and much, much more! I do not see us needing to "upgrade" for a VERY long time because there is absolutely no reason or need to... what's the point? One more important point; the Black Pearl is whisper quiet on regular low fan mode, you barely know it is on.

As much as we enjoyed the Pearl, and it was a wonderful projector before it went belly up, I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to replace our defective projector with the VPl-VW60 Black Pearl. It blows it's predecessor away on so many levels, it is worth every penny and it is a keeper.

Anyone looking for a superb high def 1080p projector should put the Black Pearl(VPL-VW60) at the top of their list and... yes it IS worth swapping your VPL-VW50 for.

I replaced my 57" rear projection TV with this projector, and a 135" 16x9 screen with 0.8 gain. The image quality is amazing, movies are incredible on this projector. As a data projector, the image resolution doesn't go as high using the VGA port, but component can reach 1080i and HDMI can reach full 1080p at 60Hz. Light control is important, but not as important with other projectors I've played with. We're able to watch football games with the lights on, with an 18' throw.

I have had this projectors for 1 month and it has been working great. The picture is crisp and clear. Set up is easy. I don't know how long the lamp will last because my lamp is just a new one but, hopefully, it will last long enough for your money.

This projector truely is astounding. The image quality is fantastic! I attatched my VW60 to my Sony Vaio via an HDMI cable. I watch BluRay movies in full HD with absolutely no problems at all. When I surf the net, I'm looking at Amazon.com on my 118" desktop! All of this from the factory settings on the PJ! I look forward to seeing what a proffesional calibration would do for this sweet machine. Any improvement in the color or clarity of this already stunning picture is just bonus gravy. Another thing I was very impressed with is how quiet the cooling fan is. The PJ sits about 5ft directly over my head and even when the audio from my surround sound is muted, I have to struggle to hear the fan. I definately got what I paid for!

Replaced my Sony HS20 with this unit. The HS20 in it's time was voted by some pundits as the best unit in it's price bracket. After extensive research, I bought this unit in January and haven't looked back. Like the HS20, this VW60 was highly regarded among the pundits.

I paid slightly under $4000.00 for this unit and spent an additional $100.00 to get the unit professionally calibrated. Getting this unit cal'd is a must, as the colors coming out of the box are less then stellar.

I was able to hang this from the same bracket as my other Sony which was a big plus. Once I got it connected and started a high definition disc, the image thrown on my 106' screen was both immersive and 3D like. The contrast and colors simply blow-away the HS20 in every respect. This PJ is definitely top tier!

The downfall of course is the price. Like other electronic products, there's always something better coming out every year for less money. For this reason, I would suggest spending a bit less and getting another product ie: Panasonic AE2000 or AE3000, but if your gonna hang on to this for several years, ie: 4-5 years, then by all means buy this unit. You won't regret it.

This very well could be my last Sony video product I buy. I owned a CRT projector from Sony for 10 years and was amazed with the quality until the day we moved from that house. Surprisingly, things have changed at Sony. I purchased the VPL-VW60 in February 2009. When it first arrived and was installed things couldn't be better. I was surprised that within the first year the lamp required replacement. I was very surprised 90 days after that I replaced another bulb and filter...believed it to be because I bought a Chinese replacement. Spent the money for the Sony lamp and 90 days later...the 3 blinking lights of death came on. This time I had a repair facility in Dallas remove the projector and examine it. They, yet again, replaced the bulb and thoroughly cleaned the projector (though I was doubting that was the cause). Guess what...90 days later the 3 lights of death came back.

After the last repair issue I vowed to replace the projector if it happened again. Since it did...I went out and spent another $5k and bought a JVC. So far it is fine. My goal was to send the projector, out of warranty, and have it repaired by a certified Sony facility. This is where I completely lost all faith in Sony. Their published number for expedited Bravia Service of 239-768-7606 tried to tell me three times that the end user can repair the projector by replacing the bulb. I honestly thought I was going to jump through the phone the last time he said it. His name is Joey C2ZD (can only provide his ID number). I immediately requested a supervisor, waited another 20 minutes, and was not given one. I told Joey C2ZD that I did not want ANYONE to try to diagnose the issue anymore. I wanted an address to an authorized service center to send my $5K mistake and have it fixed (hoping to sell it and recoup some costs from my new projector). It took an HOUR AND A HALF for him to finally provide the information.

I'm not saying anyone is better than Sony. All I'm saying is that whey I owned my last projector the service was very professional and in the last 5 years their quality has disappeared and customer service has an obvious goal of annoying you until you hang up and throw the device in the trash can.


I feel better now. This was very therapeutic. Do yourself a BIG favor and stay away from this projector. I hope all Sony projectors have not gotten this bad and that someday soon they improve their customer service. Blood pressure medicine should not be a requirement for a Sony customer service call :)

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