While Sony may have lost its lead in computers and tablets, the company remains at the forefront of professional projector technology and its $3,200 LaserLite VPL-PHZ10 is a breakthrough device that combines a laser light source with an ingenious self-cleaning filter. In fact, it’s as close to a maintenance-free projector as we’ve see and is a winner for medium-sized places of worship.
With its self-cleaning filter and laser light source, Sony’s VPL-PHZ10 is the closest thing we’ve seen to a maintenance-free projector.
At 19 pounds and 5.0- by 20.0- by 13.8-inches, the VPL PHZ10 is a lightweight compared to the 60-pound Canon LX-MU800Z. It’s easy for two people to install it in a nook, shelf or with ceiling mounting hardware. It has two height-adjustable legs upfront and six attachment points underneath arranged in groups of three for mounting with the lens or the projector’s body centered.
Sony sells a $179 compact ceiling mount, although generic hardware worked just as well.Happily, the $3,200 VPL-PHZ10 produces super-sharp Wide-UXGA resolution that handles HD programming extremely well. Sony also makes a VPL-PWZ10 that puts out Wide-XGA images and cuts the upfront costs by $800. Both are rated at a 500,000:1 contrast ratio and should be more than enough to light up a mid-sized temple, church or mosque.
What’s inside (and out)?
Inside, they both have Sony’s latest Z-Phosphor laser light source, which starts with a powerful solid-state blue diode laser that’s converted to white light with a rotating phosphor disc. This beam is split into its red, blue and green components with a series of mirrors and aimed at individual 0.76-inch LCD panels for the primary colors. The final image is sent to the screen via the projector’s output lens.
The laser light engine allows the projector to be set at any angle, so it’s just as good for special effects, like aiming a welcome message on the entrance’s floor or ceiling, as it is for filling a screen with the day’s text or video of the choir. The big payoff though, is that instead of having to change the projector’s lamp every 2,000 or 3,000 hours of use, the VPL-PHZ10 is rated to deliver 5,000 lumens for 20,000 hours. That’s the equivalent of more than 25 years of the projector being used for 15 hours a week.
If you use the projector’s Constant Brightness setting, the VPL-PHZ10’s sensor continually monitors and adjusts its output to keep the illumination steady. This, however, reduces its output to 4,500-lumens and a lifetime of 14,000 hours. Still, that’s nearly 18 years of use. The VPL-PHZ10 follows this up with something competitors lack: an automatic filter cleaning mechanism that shakes the filter element every 100 hours to remove accumulated dust and dirt. Rated by Sony to last the same 20,000-hours as the light source, you can set and forget the VLP-PHZ10.It, however, does without the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. The VPL-PHZ10’s lens is protected by a clear-glass shield, has a throw ratio of between 1.28:1 and 1.88:1, and maxes out with a 25-foot image. It can project a 16.7-foot image from between 18.2- and 26.8-feet, depending on how the zoom is set. The good news is that the entire VPL-PHZ10 projector costs $3,200, about what a mid-priced lens goes for.The projector has a manual 1.45X zoom and the expected horizontal and vertical keystone correction. It adds image shift mechanism so that you can get a squared-off image without having to mount the projector in exactly in front of the screen. There are knobs hidden behind a panel above the lens that move the image horizontally and vertically. Unfortunately, you can’t lock them in place. In addition to its three picture modes (Dynamic, Standard and Presentation), the VPL-PHZ10 has three color temperature settings. It lacks the ability to use high-performance video processing boards, but its Reality Creation image-enhancement chip has a sophisticated noise filter and raises the output’s contrast to add subtlety to slight brightness variations. It works best by adding detail and definition to areas in shadow.
The VPL-PHZ10 has all the needed ports for connecting to today’s AV gear. In addition to audio and USB ports, the system has a plug panel with connections for two HDMI lines as well as a composite video jack and a VGA connector. At any time, you can display networked HDBaseT video over the institution’s wired network; there’s an $89 WiFi option that uses its USB port.
On the right side is the projector’s basic control panel, with a power switch, Menu key and a button for cycling through its inputs. Next to it is a “T” control for navigating through the Menu, but you’ll find that your head is a little too close to the VPL-PHZ10’s exhaust grille.Most will prefer to use the VPL-PHZ10’s small remote control. It has lots of shortcuts, from Blank and Mute keys to a volume adjustment for its 16-watt speaker. However, it lacks backlit keys for working in the dark. The projector’s set up was quick and easy, thanks to its three test patterns that help get the image just right. It has an Auto Pixel Alignment key for when using a VGA input. It’s a snap to navigate through the VPL-PHZ10’s practical menu. Its categories range from Function (including volume control) and Connection/Power (networking and display settings) to Operation (with Constant Brightness and Eco settings) and Installation (for tweaking the projector’s settings and remote-control settings). There’s also a useful Information section that includes seeing how many hours the projector has been used for. If the projector is networked, all the Menu selections are available to a connected computer by typing the projector’s IP address (listed in the Connection/Power section) into a Web browser.
The VPL-PHZ10 has all the needed ports for connecting to today’s AV gear.
It also works with Crestron RoomView control software.The VPL-VHZ10 is a quick starter with a full image on-screen in 15.6 seconds, just a second off the Canon LX-MU800Z’s time. It took just 2.9 seconds to shut itself down. Overall, the VPL-PHZ10 worked well with a Lenovo PC, DVD player, live video feed and a Gefen 8-way HD switcher. In its highest brightness Dynamic mode, the VPL-PHZ10’s output had a greenish-blue cast to it that makes people look a bit ghoulish but is just fine for text or graphics. The Standard and Presentation modes are much better at showing realistic flesh tones, particularly if you set the color temperature to the Low (warm) setting. The projector filled the screen with 5,210 lumens of light, just above Sony’s specification, which drops to 4,850 lumens when the projector is set for Constant Brightness. From edge to edge, the VPL-PHZ10 has excellent sharpness, but had a dull spot in the upper left corner. Even after it’s been running for hours, the projector’s exhaust didn’t get above 117-degrees Fahrenheit and its fan topped out at 45.5dBA, a little louder than the LX-MU800Z’s 45.1 dBA.
Overall Assessment
Overall, the projector used 380-watts, less than half that of the LX-MU800Z’s 821-watts, but the LX-MU800Z is significantly brighter at 8,200 lumens of light. At idle, the VPL-PHZ10 consumed 11.4-watts. It all adds up to estimated annual expenses of $36.50 if the VPL-PHZ10 is used for 15 hours a week and electricity costs the national average of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. In other words, it costs half as much to use as the LX-MU800Z and is one of the most efficient projectors in its class.With a five-year warranty that’s good for up to 12,000 hours of use, Sony stands by the projector with class-leading coverage. All in all, the VPL-PZ10 has the power and price tag to put up a bright and sharp image while reducing a house of worship’s projection expenses dramatically.
