Sony VPL-VW270ES owners thread

justin8571

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Hello,

Not sure if I'm allowed to start an owners thread but I couldn't find one so here goes! What's the worst that could happen?

Owned my 270 for a couple of weeks now having upgraded from an Optoma HD151X and personally I'm enjoying the visual improvements.

However, I can't say I understand the settings much. Some are relatively obvious but others less so. Even searching the manual or Google hasn't particularly helped. So, am I getting the best out of the machine or are there settings I should be tinkering with? I'd be very interested to learn from anyone else's experiences and I'm sure others new to the projector would be too.

One of the many things I'm yet to grasp is Reality Creation. Now I'm under the impression that the 270 upscales 1080P content as best it can to something approaching 4K. But, I'm still none the wiser if this happens automatically or whether I should be playing with settings. According to Google, but please correct me if I'm wrong, Reality Creation has something to do with upscaling. If so then this would appear to be on by default but then there are resolution settings within it. I had a bit of a fiddle but didn't know what I was doing and I couldn't see any obvious difference in picture quality so I gave up and decided to leave it alone.

One piece of information I can share with you so far is the 270's screen resolution when accepting an HDMI input from a PC. If I understand Sony's advert for the 270 on its website correctly, under Specifications, Display Resolution, it says Computer Signal Input, Maximum Display Resolution 1920 x 1080. With that in mind I was only expecting to get a 1080P resolution from my PC. Now, from my processor to the projector I use a 15m HDMI cable, apparently high speed 18Gbps and I've never experienced any issues at 1080P with my last projector. I did however get a few unexplained issues once I installed the 270 so I replaced the existing cable with a 15m Wyrestorm Active Optical HDMI Cable. Not only did this eliminate all the issues I was experiencing but the 270 now displays a 3840 x 2160 resolution from my PC and I'm still able to select Input Lag Reduction for gaming.

Anyway, I'd be really interested to hear from other owners as I'm keen to get the best out of the machine.

Thanks

Justin
 
I have a Sony 270 waiting to be unboxed in about 2-3 weeks!
Really excited and it's work / family in my way that has put this delay on me :(
 
I got the Sony 1000 Blu-ray player deal with it too :)
 
I have 150 hours on my 270, still experimenting, latest 3D. Calibrated 3D the other night, and made some tests today, a bit surprised to find that the 270 only refreshes each eye at 48hz, and when going to 3D mode the hight lamp mode lightoutput is reducet to 17fl vs 30fl in 2D mode, ill guess related to the refresh, and maybe some black frame insertion, a fast measurement true the glases gave me a 3fl reading, wich i decidet must be a error, as it dont look that dim, but i could be wrong.
 
Hello N51,

Looks like we got the same deal. It's my first 4k bluray player so I've nothing to compare it to but it received good reviews and I've certainly got no complaints.

Yes, work and family, it's a permanent juggle trying to make time for yourself when you're at the end of a long list of priorities! Been working nights for the past week so I've managed to find the time during the day (by limiting my sleep) to put some Atmos speakers in the living-room ceiling; absolutely worth feeling like a zombie for a few days to get it done though!

Found a very good flush ceiling mount for the 270 if you've not already got a mount of some description;-

Bracket for VPL-VW270 flush low profile - UK Home Cinemas

It was more than I'd planned to spend (£163) but having the projector sat flush on the ceiling is a nice look. Anyway, spoke to a guy called Richard from ukhomecinemas and he was very helpful.

One thing I forgot to mention on my original post is the 270's 1500 lumens. This figure really worried me as I don't have a dedicated theatre room, just a living-room with a white ceiling, magnolia walls and blackout blinds. I do however have a high-contrast grey screen which definitely helps in a living-room environment where I often have some form of lighting on. More often than not though I do have the blinds closed.

My previous projector was an Optoma HD151X which was great in its own right, I just couldn't hold out from UHD any longer. The Optoma apparently had 2800 lumens but I always ran it in eco mode which I guess was around 2500 lumens. I did get to see a 270 running in a room where they were able to open the blinds and also allowed me to bring my Optoma in to run side-by-side next to the 270. I can honestly say I couldn't see a difference in brightness between the two. The 270's been installed for a few weeks now and I have no complaints regarding its brightness whatsoever and I'm already running the lamp in low power mode.

I was however left a little confused by these lumens figures as 2500 vs 1500 sounds like a massive difference, to the point I almost didn't bother going to see the 270 running as I figured it would be a waste of time. Anyway, really glad I went to see for myself as I needn't have been concerned.

Still got no bloody idea on the projector's settings though! Had a little play earlier today but I find the manual to be a bit lacking in real-world descriptions for what each setting actually means/does. Half of me thinks why am I even bothering though as to me the image looks great out-of-the-box.

Anyway, good luck finding some time to get it all up-and-running! Come back once you have to let us know how it all went and what you make of the projector.

Justin
 
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I have 150 hours on my 270, still experimenting, latest 3D. Calibrated 3D the other night, and made some tests today, a bit surprised to find that the 270 only refreshes each eye at 48hz, and when going to 3D mode the hight lamp mode lightoutput is reducet to 17fl vs 30fl in 2D mode, ill guess related to the refresh, and maybe some black frame insertion, a fast measurement true the glases gave me a 3fl reading, wich i decidet must be a error, as it dont look that dim, but i could be wrong.

Hello,

Only managed about 55 on mine so far and have yet to try 3D. I can't pretend to understand what any of those figures mean but what do you make of its 3D performance, any good?

Thanks

Justin
 
The 270 is fairly simple to setup and calibrate once you gotten used to it, and if you want to go all in to nitpicking there is the Sony Image Driector3 software, but make sure to get it calibrated, as 50% of the potential gets unlocked if done properly.
 
Simple to you maybe!! I've never tried calibrating and wouldn't know where to start. Is the software you mentioned free, and more importantly idiot-proof, and would I need any special equipment?

Thank you

Justin
 
Simple to you maybe!! I've never tried calibrating and wouldn't know where to start. Is the software you mentioned free, and more importantly idiot-proof, and would I need any special equipment?

Thank you

Justin
Its free, and you need measurement equipment like a I1 display pro, and HCFR, but it takes quite some experience to get to the point where your able to actually make it look good, measurements dont tell it all.

If they all behave like my unit i do think it will perform fairly well just seting the basic settings right, like Rec 709 D65, 2.4 Gamma, and turn off every other settings like reality creation motion enhancement and so on.
If you run standard settings i think it will ad some contrast to set brightness at 51, its a bit funky how that works, you can test with a all black frame, and see if it gets darker when you toggel brightness from 50 to 51.
And contrast should be below 92 at high lamp, and think below 94 in low lamp, however i run it at low lamp 75 contrast, to get 14fl on a neutral gain 110" screen.

Grayscale will also depend how your screen push around the color balance, mine is perfectly neutral.
 
Stridsvognen,

Thanks for that, much appreciated. I'll have a fiddle and give your settings a go at some point tomorrow and let you know what happens.

Following your earlier post I searched the forum for calibration and found the Picture Perfect section. It explained some of the settings I've seen in the menu which was helpful but also mentioned a THX testcard often found with bluray discs, and showed how to adjust the contrast and brightness using the testcard. It was really interesting, nothing I've ever tried before on any TV or projector I've ever owned. Looks like I need to put some effort in to getting the best out of the machine. Can't wait to give it a try tomorrow.

Thanks again for your help

Justin
 
Hello again,

Am I correct in believing that the Sony VPL-VW295ES is the US version of the UK's 270? Having not been able to find too much about the 270's settings anywhere online I found somewhere that the 295 is the same unit with a different product number.

Anyway, I found a list of settings for the 295 on a website called Sound and Vision for SD & HD content, and another set for UHD/HDR10.

Sony VPL-VW295ES 4K Video Projector Review Settings

SD and HD UHD/HDR10
Calibrated Preset Reference Cinema Film 2
Reality Creation On On
Resolution 25 25
Noise Off Off
Cinema Black Pro
Contrast Enhancer Off or Low Low
Lamp Control Low High
Motionflow Off Off
Contrast 80-85 Max
Brightness 52-55 70-73
Color 50 45-50
Hue 50 50

Color Temp.

Gain Bias Gain Bias
R 1 -6 1 -10
G 0 -8 -1 -7
B -6 -6 -3 -11


Sharpness 50 50

Expert Setting

Noise Reduction Off Off
MPEG Noise Reduction Off Off
Smooth Gradation Off Off
Gamma Correction 2.2 to 2.4 ---


Color Correction
(SDR-N/A)
R G B
Hue -8 25 7
Saturation 2 50 4
Brightness 30 30 30
C M Y
Hue 27 37 0
Saturation 14 -36 -9
Brightness 30 30 30


Clear White Off Off
HDR Auto Auto
Color Space Auto Auto
Input Lag Reduction Off Off

Setup

3D Settings As needed
HDMI Signal Format Standard Enhanced
Dynamic Range Auto Auto
Panel Alignment --- ---
High Altitude Mode Off Off

I applied the settings for UHD/HDR10 to Cinema Film 2 mode as above and liked the result, definitely an improvement over Cinema Film 1 I'd been using with default settings. Skin tones appeared more natural for starters. I actually thought the default settings were perfectly good on CF1 until I compared them to the new settings on CF2 mode.

That's all I've had time for so far this week so I've yet to find time to try the SD & HD settings, although using my new UHD/HDR10 CF2 settings for SD & HD just looked washed out. Amazing really as I just assumed one set of settings would be good regardless of the format.

I also found settings for the 295 on ProjectorReviews;-

Sony VPL-VW295ES 4K Home Theater Projector Review - Calibration Settings - Projector Reviews

Now they go into calibration and explaining a bit deeper than Sound and Vision, and when I get time I'll try their settings but that won't be until next week some time. Anyway, if you're like me and have absolutely no idea on how to calibrate your 270 then I'm sure these settings will really help.


Justin
 
There is definatly settings in that obove list ill strongly recomend to not do, but then again you have no clue what the guy that invented those settings is tampering with, if he have the source setup right, or what screen material he uses, and how that effects the color balance, and last, do you have a clue how your screen material behaves.?

The projectors have tolerances from unit to unit, and changes over time depending lamp hours, so my best bet is that those settings will most likely make it worse than factory settings.
If you look long enough you will find that you wont find 2 recomendet settings list that is even close.

Please buy a Xrite i1 Display pro, and download HCFR, and try do a few simple measurements instead, and set your brightness and contrast using the proper testpatterns, so it has relevance to your setup.
 
Interesting stuff on the 270 :)

Mine will be taken out of the box in June!
 
if you are going to spend £5k on a projector and, like me, you are not a calibrating expert with lots of knowledge and experience and the kit then you should pay a professional calibrator £250 or so to come to your home and optimise your display

I have had 4 projectors calibrated over the last 10 years and all 4 have been excellent - happy to help if you want my experience with such services

you should have 100 hours or so on the bulb first

you should never look at someone else's calibration settings - that is maybe ok for a tv but never for a projector as your own room affects the image a great deal so that perfect settings in one room will be awful on the same PJ in a different room

welcome to projection - way better even than an OLED imo
 
There is definatly settings in that obove list ill strongly recomend to not do, but then again you have no clue what the guy that invented those settings is tampering with, if he have the source setup right, or what screen material he uses, and how that effects the color balance, and last, do you have a clue how your screen material behaves.?

The projectors have tolerances from unit to unit, and changes over time depending lamp hours, so my best bet is that those settings will most likely make it worse than factory settings.
If you look long enough you will find that you wont find 2 recomendet settings list that is even close.

Please buy a Xrite i1 Display pro, and download HCFR, and try do a few simple measurements instead, and set your brightness and contrast using the proper testpatterns, so it has relevance to your setup.


Hello again,

sorry it's taken me so long to reply, it's difficult between work and family stuff to get five minutes to myself.

Having said that, I have the afternoon to myself and I'm not at work until this evening so I thought I'd at least try to get my brightness and contrast settings sorted as you suggested. I'd read a couple of weeks back on the Picture Perfect guide of this forum (Picture Perfect TV setup guide) about a THX Optimiser found on "every THX certified DVD and Bluray." Well, I've got a number of THX blurays and I've yet to find this mythical optimiser on any of them. It's so bloody frustrating.

I've also seen mention on this forum of test patterns for HDR10 but I've such little understanding and it all looks so complicated, and that's before I've even worked out to download which particular ISO for which particular format (MP4 etc) to hopefully play in my bluray player, and do I need different test patterns for different sources (HD SDR, UHD HDR etc etc).

The same Picture Perfect guide then mentioned something that I thought would save the day, "Alternatively, if you own a Sony Blu-ray, enter the code 7669 whilst in the menu screen and you will see a series of helpful test patterns you can also use." Brilliant if your Bluray player has numerical keys I'd imagine, as the remote of my UBP-X1000ES doesn't have any.

I then read that Disney Pixar Blurays have a test pattern, one mentioned being Cars. Maybe in the US but not on my UK disc as I've looked at every part of the menu.

So, my quest for even the most basic of calibration isn't going particularly well and I've spent the last couple of hours getting absolutely nowhere. And I honestly wonder why I'm even bothering as to me the settings I've copied from the websites I've mentioned in previous posts look fine. I just need to find a calibration for idiots website that actually has a test pattern I can download, so that's what I'm heading off to look for!

And hang in there N51!!!

Justin
 
Ill say that the above listed settings would add lots of elevated black and leave no contrast back, but if your happy with that no need to adjust further, however ill strongly recomend you to hire a calibrator, or you just as well trade the projector in for something much cheaper.
 
as I said above (and agreeing with strids) it is a massive false economy to spend £5k on a top line projector and scrimp on £250 for a pro calibration

you are never going to see what it can really do in YOUR room fiddling about and using settings from someone else which may well be just plain wrong and certainly not right for your room

just my 5c worth but based on having owned 5 projectors over the last 10 years and most of those a lot cheaper than your sony
 
I should be ready to unbox and connect up in 2 weeks.

Yes I will be getting it calibrated from a reputable calibrator. As there is no way you spend a lot of money on a performance car and not pay a professional driver to guide you on a track day for example on car setup and driving.

Same with a projector, otherwise I believe you should spend on the cheap projector.
 
as I said above (and agreeing with strids) it is a massive false economy to spend £5k on a top line projector and scrimp on £250 for a pro calibration

you are never going to see what it can really do in YOUR room fiddling about and using settings from someone else which may well be just plain wrong and certainly not right for your room

just my 5c worth but based on having owned 5 projectors over the last 10 years and most of those a lot cheaper than your sony


I get your point but unfortunately it's not a case of scrimping, more prioritising.

I should really have waited until next year but impatience got the better of me and I ended up spending £10k on replacing my projector and pre-amp processor, as well as buying four atmos ceiling speakers and an additional power amp to supply them. It's all on 0% but it's still got to be paid off.

On top of this my wife is 40 in October and I'm taking her away on a cruise. I've already paid for the cruise but I'm still saving each month so we've got plenty of spending money.

On top of that I'm saving for a booked four night trip over Christmas to Lapland where we're taking the kids away. That's an absolute fortune by the way and I could have bought a really nice projector for that money but I will have that paid off by August.

Also, my father-in-law is self-employed and has been in hospital for the past few weeks so I'm helping them out financially.

So, with that lot in mind I was trying to save myself a bit of money until maybe I'm in a better position financially. The settings I used from that site no doubt aren't perfect but they're an improvement over default, they look pretty good to my untrained eye and they're free!

If I'm going to spend any more money on myself I'd be more inclined to do what Stridsvognen suggested, buy myself an Xrite i1 Display Pro or similar and learn how to calibrate myself. At least that way, when we decorate the living room next year with something darker than magnolia, I won't have to pay someone another £250 to spend a few hours calibrating to the redecorated room.

In the meantime I'll try and improve things on the cheap and learn what I can about calibration. Stridsvognen mentioned downloading HCFR and I see there are user guides available so I'll take a look at that to see what I can learn before taking the plunge and buying calibration equipment. And besides, I enjoy learning new things.

Justin
 
good luck with the calibration knowledge - I don't have the patience to learn how to do it and the right kit to do it properly will not be cheap either
 
I get your point but unfortunately it's not a case of scrimping, more prioritising.

I should really have waited until next year but impatience got the better of me and I ended up spending £10k on replacing my projector and pre-amp processor, as well as buying four atmos ceiling speakers and an additional power amp to supply them. It's all on 0% but it's still got to be paid off.

On top of this my wife is 40 in October and I'm taking her away on a cruise. I've already paid for the cruise but I'm still saving each month so we've got plenty of spending money.

On top of that I'm saving for a booked four night trip over Christmas to Lapland where we're taking the kids away. That's an absolute fortune by the way and I could have bought a really nice projector for that money but I will have that paid off by August.

Also, my father-in-law is self-employed and has been in hospital for the past few weeks so I'm helping them out financially.

So, with that lot in mind I was trying to save myself a bit of money until maybe I'm in a better position financially. The settings I used from that site no doubt aren't perfect but they're an improvement over default, they look pretty good to my untrained eye and they're free!

If I'm going to spend any more money on myself I'd be more inclined to do what Stridsvognen suggested, buy myself an Xrite i1 Display Pro or similar and learn how to calibrate myself. At least that way, when we decorate the living room next year with something darker than magnolia, I won't have to pay someone another £250 to spend a few hours calibrating to the redecorated room.

In the meantime I'll try and improve things on the cheap and learn what I can about calibration. Stridsvognen mentioned downloading HCFR and I see there are user guides available so I'll take a look at that to see what I can learn before taking the plunge and buying calibration equipment. And besides, I enjoy learning new things.

Justin

For the HCFR you will need a laptop with HDMI out, and preferable a Xrite I1 Display pro
https://www.amazon.co.uk/X-Rite-i1D...ay&sprefix=x+rite+,aps,170&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Its around 180£ and ill say it takes a few years of experience to get the hang of it to a point where you have basic understanding of how calibration works.
Dont think you will get there in 50 hours.

Just do me a favor, dont touch the brightness, leave it at its defoult at 50, and dont start adjusting the ofsett and gain without a meter to measure, you can not use other peoples settings, the settings posted earlier looks like someone have totaly messed up a 270ES, a huge part of calibration is also corecting for your screen material.

Ill recommend turning of all enhancement, and then set 6500K and 2,4 gamma and leave it at that as long as you dont have the experience and tools to calibrate.

If you got it all messed up already you should start with a factory reset.
 
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that was sort of my point Strids - if you are not going to commit to a proper learning process an "idiots guide" to calibration" is going to do more harm than good

I spend £250 on purchase to have my N5 calibrated by someone who has 25 years of experience and £000's worth of kit to come and do mine in situ and even then it took him 4 hours to do it

I have sat through this process 4 times and read lots of reviews so I have some idea what they are doing but that is a very long way from getting my own hands "dirty"
 
ill say it takes a few years of experience to get the hang of it to a point where you have basic understanding of how calibration works.
Dont think you will get there in 50 hours.

Haha, a few years to get the hang of it to a basic level?! I was definitely banking on the 50 or so hours, that much I can live with. So that's why people pay to get someone in to calibrate. But... I'm tempted to wait until Black Friday to see if I can get a good deal on an Xrite or similar, and then get learning as I've got to start somewhere and I'll enjoy the challenge.

I might have some time to have a play tomorrow afternoon, reset my settings and give your suggestions a go. I'm up for trying anything really. Yesterday when I had some time to myself I'd planned to adjust the brightness and contrast like you'd suggested in an earlier post but I couldn't find the THX Optimiser or similar on any of my discs. Is there anything similar you can recommend please to download perhaps or a test disc to buy?

Thanks

Justin
 

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