Entered CNET Catalog: 12/11/2003
SKU: 0027242627062
Manufacturer: Sony Electronics, Inc.
Manufacturer description
Featuring improved lamp life and a quieter fan, Sony's VPL-HS20 CINEZA LCD Front Projector takes home entertainment to a higher level.Product summary
The good: Impressive color decoding with no red push; independent memory per input; high-definition-capable resolution of 1,386x788; solid connectivity.
The bad: Black-level performance not as good as that of DLP projectors; visible screen-door effect; some visible artifacts in dark source material.
The bottom line: Although not up to videophile standards, this budget model is among the best HDTV-capable LCD projectors we've tested.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 03/03/2004
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more. The VPL-HS20 won't win any industrial design awards. Shaped like a bulky horseshoe, it has a purple-and-white color scheme matches Sony's VAIO computers. The front of the unit sports a grille that camouflages the intake and outtake vents on either side, and a discreet Memory Stick slot also gets front-panel real estate. Buttons for power, input, menu access, zoom, and focus are mounted to the side.
Weighing just less than 12 pounds, this compact, lightweight projector should be easy to tuck away on the ceiling. If you leave it exposed, however, you'll appreciate the extremely quiet fan.
The remote is on the smallish side. Most of the principal buttons can be backlit, and we found it fairly intuitive to use. Sony's internal menu system is well designed and relatively easy to navigate. Thanks to new LCD panels, the HS20's native resolution of 1,386x788 is a bit higher than its predecessor's total of 1,366x768. It has more than enough pixels to display every detail of 720p HDTV material. This Sony can handle just about any source, from 1080i HDTV to VHS to computer desktops, and everything is scaled to fit the available pixels.
A Memory Stick port lets you easily view Memory Stick-based digital pictures on the big screen. Another convenience is Side Shot--Sony's name for digital keystone correction--which allows you to place the projector off-center relative to the screen. It's best to avoid using this feature, however, since it decreases resolution. The HS20 also features a power 1.20:1 zoom lens and power focus--although we would have preferred the ease of manual focus.
The HS20 has some notable picture-enhancing features as well. Selectable color temperatures include three presets: low, middle, and high. There are three preset picture modes--Dynamic, Standard, and Cinema--and three user modes that allow you to customize the picture and store it into memory. Aspect-ratio choices are extensive, including Full (anamorphic), Normal (4:3), Zoom (letterbox), Wide Zoom (for expanding 4:3 sources to fill the screen), and several others. Finally, Sony's cryptically named DDE (Dynamic Detail Enhancer) gives you the choice of Film, Progressive, and Off, which all affect the video processing. The Film setting should be used for DVD movies because it engages 2:3 pull-down for motion artifact reduction.
The connectivity options on the HS20 are also quite generous. The projector includes two kinds of digital video input, DVI and HDMI, both of which comply with HDCP copy protection. There's also one each of component-video, S-Video, and composite-video inputs, as well as one USB port for computer hookup. Finally there's a PJ Multi-Input connection that comes with a 33-foot breakout cable that terminates in component-video, S-Video, and composite-video connections. This is very similar to Xbox and Sony PlayStation configurations, and we recommend you don't use this for your high-resolution video sources such as DVD and HDTV. Save it for video games. Black-level performance on the HS20 leaves a bit to be desired. In fact, the projector can't do a true black, which also compromises the color saturation (the amount of color) of the picture. That said, the HS20's ability to deliver darker images represents a significant improvement over previous versions and is among the best we've seen with LCD projectors. It's still not as good as we expect from DLP projectors, but then again, this Sony costs a good deal less than DLPs with similar resolution.
The color decoder in the HS20 is excellent, exhibiting virtually no red push, and greens also look quite good. This is perhaps the HS20's strongest suit in picture quality.
The HS20's grayscale--its ability to produce a consistent color of gray from darker to lighter colors--was actually somewhat close to the NTSC standard in the low color-temperature setting. After calibration, we were able to get it much closer, but it still wasn't perfect: the unit measured 6,150 at the bottom of the scale and 6,650 at the top (6,500K is ideal).
We did notice the screen-door effect on this LCD, where it looked as if certain areas (usually bright ones) were covered by a faint grid. This effect can be reduced if the image is smaller or you sit further back. As we would expect from an inexpensive projector, the lens has some chromatic aberrations, which show up as blue and red fringing around white objects. On a large portion of the right side of the picture, red and blue were off by about one pixel. Finally, and most disturbingly, a large portion of the picture was missing on all sides, which is probably due to the internal video processing. We were unable to correct this.
The shuttle launch on Digital Video Essentials looked pretty good after calibration, and the restaurant sequence had good color saturation. The unit's less than ideal black-level performance causes color saturation to be a bit washed out, which is a real shame considering its excellent color decoding. The real acid test came with the new release of Alien, which is a very dark movie throughout. There was some lack of detail in most of the dark scenes.
After a separate calibration for HD material, we sat back to watch some of the DirecTV HD channels. Both the Discovery HD Theater and the HDNet channels looked good with bright material, but again, dark scenes revealed some visible artifacts and an overall lack of shadow detail and depth.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11out of 11 user reviews
Solid consumer product!
Pros: Easy integration with home theater components and video games like WII. Simple controls. Very good color quality. Quiet operation. Price per diagonal inch is better than comparable large-screen TV.
Cons: If you require dealer support, be careful in assuring that it will be provided. Our dealer provided almost no after-sale support, especially noted with bulb replacement. When we changed residences the dealer wouldn't even quote a re-install.
out of 11 user reviews
stunning video
Pros: theatre like quality...without the gum on the floor
Cons: poorly thought out remote
Do yourself a favour and take the unit for a test drive and then take it home. You won't be disappointed. Don't know how the editor here was able to give it a passable grade of 6.2. Another reputable projector site had this unit at the top of it's list within a given price range.
out of 11 user reviews
Projectors for Home Theaters = bad
Pros: Good for people on a TIGHT budget.
Cons: Projectors for home theaters are horrible in image quality until you get into the $15,000 + range with the Runco and other high-end brands. When compared to the video quality of an 82" Mitsubishi Diamond Series Integrated HDTV, there is absolutely no comp
out of 11 user reviews
Great Picture-Unequaled Value!
Pros: First rate picture DVI & DVMI inputs Easy Setup Great price Comes with 10m multicable
Cons: Remote needs individual input buttons Optical glass lens cover would be better Lacking Deep black-but close
out of 11 user reviews
Picture quality doesnt justify the price
Pros: It's nice hardware, no real problems, and the projector works well. Color is very good.
Cons: Performance just doesn't justify the price. While the resolution is slightly higher than Panasonic's L500U or Sanyo's Z2 (1280x720), the extra 11% isn't much, and instead, you lose the true 1:1 display of 720p sources (which probably includes the world o
out of 11 user reviews
Plug & Play w DVI, HDMI & computer hookup
Pros: Great image--I disagree with your review, no one who has seen my projector has seen any screendoor from more than 6 feet away. Indeed, I like it better than my neighbors $10K sharp DLP. Not as bright but sharper images. And of course the $7K in my pocket.
Cons: Maybe blacks aren't good as DLP but no rainbows and resolution is stunning. For the difference in price I got a Stewart sceen, four recliners, and cash for about 25 DVD's. Of course, your mileage may vary.
out of 11 user reviews
Best LCD HDTV Value for the money
Pros: You can always get better quality for more money. For under 5k, I think this is the best quality projector money can buy. Fantastic contrast, brightness, and image.
Cons: No Lens Shift. If you have a creative mounting situation, lens shifting makes it easier.
out of 11 user reviews
Fantastic for the money!
Pros: This product produces a picture worth two or three times its cost. It is not without its limitations as are all LCD projectors. However, when properly adjusted it produces a fantastic picture that demonstrates the viability of a low cost home theater.
Cons:
out of 11 user reviews
The reviewer is crazy
Pros: EXCELLENT internal processing... overscan should not be excessive. Surely something was amiss with the review sample or perhaps the reviewer. After calibration, contrast ratio close to 1000:1- plenty snap for a great picture. Higher contrast than HD1 DL
Cons: Although real contrast ratio after calibration is close to 1000:1, it still falls short of HD2 DLP projectors. Fixed Pattern noise and vertical banding that is common to all LCD projectors, although many have reported VB not to be an issue with the HS20,
out of 11 user reviews
Incredible HDTV
Pros: HDTV quality, connectors, lack of screen door (contrary to review). See avsforum.com and projectorcentral.com for more opinions.
Cons: High demand = low availability + uncompetitive price, uninteresting remote, panel alignment problems.
out of 11 user reviews
Amazing picture for the money
Pros: very easy to set up (side shot feature), quiet, excellent picture. For the money, there is no other projector that comes close.
Cons: picture was noticeably better after professional calibration.
