Beautiful all around picture
I've had a projection setup for several years now and this is my 4th projector. So while I'm not a real video expert I've gotten enough experience to have a pretty good take - and this Sony VPL-HW15 is a pretty sweet unit. I've long been a fan of LCOS technology (SXRD as Sony calls it) but until very recently it was out of my budget range. Past projectors have been DLP models starting with a couple of NEC business presentation units (rainbow city!) and then an Optoma HD80 one of first affordable 1080p models. The HD80 ran into problems recently so I decided to upgrade. This time I was actually able to compare units using the 3 major projection technologies in my home: LCD DLP and LCOS. The LCD unit was an Epson Home Cinema 8100 - not in the same price range so not a fair comparison and it did not fare well. The Benq W6000 was a much better unit overall and very bright but that brightness and a slower color wheel led to seeing a lot more color fringing or rainbows which I seem to be fairly sensitive to. So I tried the Sony and found a winner. It just has what I find a very "relaxing" picture - it may not be the absolute best at any one thing but it's very close on everything and just a very pleasing image to watch. Color out of the box is very good. Black levels may be a tiny bit off the best in class but not far. It's bright enough on my 100" screen in Dynamic mode that sports are easily watchable with light in the room. One feature I really appreciate is the pixel alignment utility that allows the red & green panels to be converged in 1/10 pixel steps. Coming from a single chip DLP model that had no convergence problems by its nature that is something I really like. The only minor weakness that I find (aside from lacking some features I don't need like anamorphic lens support or motorized lens) is that it's just a hair less sharp looking than a single chip DLP model but that also gives it a nice smooth less "digital" look that some find preferable anyway. The build quality and aesthetics are pretty nice too. The lens seems to be very good quality.
Strengths: VERY good color very good blacks enough brightness good lens pixel convergence feature lens shift quiet nice build quality and design
Weaknesses: Not as feature packed as some like the Panasonic AE4000 a little higher cost not quite as sharp as a single chip DLP
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