VP-12S2 High-Definition DLP™ Projector
Marantz
entered the high performance DLP market with the introduction of their
first-generation VP-12S1. Since then, they've released their second-generation
VP-12S2 projector based on the HD2 DLP DMD™ with significant video
performance improvements, resulting in a higher contrast ratio (2600:1)
with deeper black levels. The chassis design of the VP-12S2 is similar
to its predecessor with all the interfaces including power on the rear
panel. The VP-12S2 also includes a DVI-D connector that's fully HDCP compliant
for protected digital content instead of the IEEE1394 connector used on
the earlier VP-12S1. The current model continues to use the Faroudja chip
set (decoder, deinterlacer and enhancer) for superb video performance
free of interlacing and motion artifacts with practically any video source.
The projector is fairly large measuring 16" wide and almost 19"
deep. At 26 pounds the unit is quite a bit heavier than any of the other
HD2 based projectors we've reviewed. The construction is solid with a
large lens assembly that includes a lens shift mechanism. The design of
the VP-12S2 lends itself well to custom theater installations with full
user control of the projector via the RS232 interface on the rear of the
unit.
DLP™ is revolutionary with respect to display technology. Pixels (1280 x 720) are individually controlled and determined by the incoming video signal. Each pixel toggles between two discrete states (on/off) and a high rate. In other words, the micro-mirrors don't tilt slightly, but rather tilt completely (12 degrees) from end-to-end. By varying the duty cycle (on-time versus off-time) and keeping the frequency fixed, the different levels of brightness or shades of gray are produced and synchronized with each of the three primary colors (red, green and blue) to create the picture. The end result is a beautiful, high contrast image, with no variation in picture size or geometry distortions found in CRT-based displays. Since there's no high-voltage to regulate as there is with the anode voltage in CRT displays, the picture is stable regardless of the APL (average picture level) changes that may occur. Furthermore, the picture continues to look good time after time with little degradation in quality. Unlike CRT-based displays, DLP™ projectors only require a lamp change after about 2000 hours of use. CRTs in general are prone to losing their ability to operate linearly over time, thereby degrading the image and color tracking.
The
custom optics used on the VP-12S2 is designed by Minolta and results in
an excellent picture. We received the long-throw version of the projector,
which actually has fewer optical aberrations than the short throw version.
The custom optics and mechanisms are double sealed to prevent light leakage.
This prevents dust from entering into the light path and degrading the
video quality. The VP-12S2 uses a 150-watt SHP lamp as a light source.
Single DLP projectors require an internal color filter wheel to produce
sequential red, green and blue images at a high rate on the screen. The
natural persistence in our vision integrates these sequential images and
produces a color picture on the screen. The faster the sequence, the easier
it is for our eyes to integrate the colors. One of the problem associated
with single DLP™ projectors is the "rainbow effect" often
seen when the color sequence becomes apparent during fast motion or when
the viewer's eyes move rapidly. Some people are more sensitive to this
effect than others. To minimize this problem, the VP-12S2 uses a new six-segment
color wheel (Red-Green-Blue-Red-Green-Blue) that runs at 9000 rpm. The
result is video projecting the RGB color sequence 300 times per second
or five times the 60-Hertz frame rate. These rapid sequences of colors
help reduce the "rainbow effect" phenomenon for the vast majority
of viewers. However, there are those who may still see a small amount
of this with video content.
Setup
We projected the VP-12S2 onto a 100" diagonal 16:9 Stewart FireHawk
screen mounted on a Luxus Deluxe ScreenWall. The Stewart FireHawk with
its gray coated screen works well with this DLP™ projector by increasing
the black level. While the FireHawk is known for its ability to resist
ambient light, we found the VP-12S2 performed best in a completely dark
room. We mounted the projector from the ceiling and positioned it to minimize
geometric errors. We did this to avoid using the built-in digital horizontal
and vertical keystone correction, as this tends to introduce undesired
artifacts. The lens shift adjustment located on the top of the chassis
is designed to provide full range shift from the top of the screen to
the bottom. This allows the projector to be mounted anywhere between the
top and bottom of the screen. The lens shift range is very similar to
the SharpVision XV-Z10000U projector we reviewed a while back. Zoom and
focus on the VP-12S2 are fully manual. The projector has a built-in crosshatch
pattern that activates when the user presses the Focus
button on the remote. This was a nice feature that made it easier to adjust
the focus from a distance. Due to the long throw lens requirements, we
had to position the projector about 20 feet from the screen, so it helped
to have another person provide feedback from the screen position while
the user tweaked the lens. We were able to get the geometry almost perfect
with a slight over-scan on the screen which was completely absorbed by
the VeLux material on the Luxus frame, resulting in a perfect looking
16:9 image from our seating position.
Connectivity
The rear panel of the VP-12S2 has a nice selection of inputs including
both analog and digital interfaces, which make it compatible with virtually
any video product. Composite and s-video inputs fully compatible with
NTSC, PAL or SECAM standards are provided. There are also component (YPrPb,
3 RCA jacks) and 15-pin D-sub RGB inputs. The projector supports computer
video up to XGA resolutions using the RGB interface. There's even a DVI-D
interface that is fully DVI/HDCP compliant for encrypted video content.
Additional connectors on the back of the unit include a pair of 12V triggers
for screen control options, remote control in/out connections and an RS232
interface for serial commands. Professional installers may also take advantage
of the serial interface for full control of the projector settings. There's
even a small light switch on the back that illuminates the rear connectors
so that it's easier to interface the video cables in poorly lit rooms.
Remote
The infrared remote supplied with the VP-12S2 is very small and not very
exciting. The buttons are tiny and there is no backlighting. In other
words, this projector has "Custom Installation" written all
over it. Who needs the remote when you have a Crestron or AMX system running
the theater? The IR remote had no problem reflecting off of the FireHawk
screen and hitting the IR detector on the projector. The remote buttons
are arranged logically, making it fairly easy to get used to. The top
right (red) button powers the projector ON while the top left button puts
it into STANDBY (Off) mode. The four buttons just below these are arranged
in a diamond configuration and used for navigation through the menus.
The COMPONENT, VIDEO, S-VIDEO and RGB buttons select the corresponding
video input on the back of the projector. The Aux
button located at the bottom of the remote actually selects the DVI-D
input. To the right of these is the MENU and ENTER buttons used to control
the menu interface settings. There are three setting for each of the four
viewing modes (Theater, Standard, Dynamic and User). The first three are
dedicated buttons highlighted in blue to make it easier to identify. Four
screen modes (Full, Normal, Zoom or Through) are available for optimizing
the picture based on the input format. The screen mode operates a little
differently depending on whether 16:9 or 4:3 screen format is selected.
This projector has excellent user control for the internal operation of the video processor. Under the Luminance menu there are controls for Detail Gain, Detail Threshold, Edge Gain and Edge Threshold for both horizontal and vertical processing. The Chrominance menu has adjustments for horizontal Edge Gain and Edge Threshold and for vertical Edge Gain. There are also Enhancement Gain and Chroma Delay controls in this menu. The Sub Menu has individual RGB adjustments for both contrast and brightness, which is needed for full color tracking calibration. Finally, the Miscellaneous menu has DCDi On/Off, Frame Rate Conversion control, Cross Color Suppression control and 3:2 Pulldown control.
Color Tracking
We
calibrated the projector using our Sencore VP300 video generator connected
to the 15-pin D-sub connector. Using 720p video in the RGB/HV mode, we
set the black level using the PLUGE pattern and checked the stair step
levels to ensure we had properly adjusted the display. Using the menu
settings we selected the 6500 °K color temperature and proceeded to
check color-tracking accuracy. Using our Sencore CP5000 All-Display Color
Analyzer, we measured the color temperature in 10 IRE increments starting
with 20 IRE. The 6500 °K setting was very close to ideal across all
measured IRE levels except the lowest levels. Using the Fine
Menu for adjusting the sub-controls for contrast and brightness,
we were able to fine-tune the color tracking to meet our 6500 °K requirements
across all IRE levels.
Display
Primaries
We measured the primary colors produced by the VP-12S2 using the ColorFacts
System from Milori Software. The system uses the GretagMacbeth Eye-One
Pro Spectrophotometer for color measurements. The CIE chart shows where
the ideal primaries are located with the smaller three points making a
dark triangle. The measured primary colors have the red, green and blue
markers connected together with the white triangle. Only colors inside
the latter triangle can be generated by the display. This projector produced
accurate flesh tones with deep reds and rich blues. Greens were not as
lush as I've seen on some displays, but still looked very good.
Faroudja Processing
It wasn't long ago that Faroudja only sold outboard processors for their
high quality video processing. Thanks to standardized interfaces and the
ability to implement large designs into ASICs, we can all enjoy this great
technology in products from various manufacturers. The VP-12S2 utilizes
Faroudja's patented DCDi™ Directional Correlational Deinterlacing
technology that includes their decoder, deinterlacer and enhancer chips
as part of its internal video processing. One of the common problems with
film-based movies on DVD is properly deinterlacing the video to eliminate
interlacing artifacts. The Faroudja video processor detects the 3-2 pulldown
sequence by storing multiple fields of video and determining the original
film frames. Once the original 24 fps (frames per second) film frames
are recognized and reconstructed, 60-Hertz video frames can be generated
with minimal artifacts. Faroudja's Cross
Color Suppression detects and corrects cross color artifacts
that often appear as 15-Hertz flashing colors or rainbow patterns. Advanced
motion detection selectively performs temporal filtering only where there's
no motion in the image. This technology works on all sources recorded
from a composite video signal. Faroudja refers to these algorithms as
their DCDi processing. The performance of this deinterlacer and scaler
was excellent. Very few artifacts from the deinterlacing and scaling could
be seen.
The 2-D adaptive comb filter and color decoder used in the Faroudja video chips performed well with the composite and s-video inputs. However, during the course of the review we primarily focused on the component, RGB and DVI interfaces. Our advice is to avoid the composite and s-video interface whenever possible. Luminance and chroma separation (from composite sources) always results in some artifacts and with this high-resolution projector you are almost guaranteed to see some of them. The s-video inputs looked better, but still require the color decoder to derive the component color signals. The picture didn't look nearly as good when compared to the component, RGB and DVI inputs on the projector.
Performance
We
really enjoyed watching a variety of high-definition material on this
projector. Using the component video inputs, we connected our JVC HM-DH30000U
D-Theater D-VHS VCR. The only 720p video we had on hand was Joe Kane's
Digital Video Essentials
that has some excellent video patterns for calibrating the projector.
All the other high definition content was in 1080i. All in all this setup
worked very well and demonstrated how well this projector can reproduce
black levels especially with the night racing scenes from The
Fast and The Furious. Shadow detail was certainly better than
we have seen on some projectors. We also tested DirecTV HD from our RCA
DTC100 using the analog RGB interface. We watched several movies on the
HBO HD channel and came to the conclusion that we didn't want to watch
standard definition anymore. The picture clarity makes it easy to transition
to high-definition and difficult to go back. We then moved to our Mitsubishi
HD-5000 high-definition receiver that has a DVI-D output. Using a new
30-foot high performance Transparent Audio DVI cable, we finally had a
digital source sending video data over a digital link to a digital projector.
The mere thought was very satisfying. The Tonight Show broadcasted in
HD here in Los Angeles has always looked great. The results were excellent
with low noise (except from the broadcasters) and excellent resolution.
While DVD resolution is considerably lower than HD material, the picture quality still looked very good. The internal scaler did a great job converting 480p to the native 720p resolution with minimal artifacts. Scenes from Shakespeare in Love produced accurate flesh tones with good color saturation. Dark scenes had impressive shadow detail while still maintaining deep black levels.
Conclusion
The Marantz VP-12S2 is a fantastic projector with impressive build quality
that produced a wonderful high definition picture from multiple sources.
Its ability to accept 1080i, 720p, 480p or 480i along with excellent built-in
deinterlacing and scaling, makes this projector an excellent choice for
any high-end home theater. The contrast ratio of the VP-12S2 is much better
than the first generation HD1 DMD projectors and when coupled with a high-performance
Stewart FireHawk screen, the performance is maximized. We were particularly
impressed with the color tracking right out of the box and happy to see
the controls to bring the grayscale dead nuts on 6500 °K once we calibrated
the display. One other aspect of this projector that I found desirable
was the reduced noise level. Out of all the projectors that we've recently
reviewed, the VP-12S2 was the least noisy.
- Kevin Nakano
Special Note: Marantz has just introduced the all-new VP-12S3 that incorporates the leading edge Texas Instruments HD2+ DMD™ chip. This new projector boasts an incredible 3800:1 contrast ratio. We hope to see this soon in our Product Review section.