Sony VPL-HS3…Hot Value

The Sony VPL-HS3 is a great little projector that offers a good combination of contrast and brightness at a decent price, but it is not without its problems. The introductory price of the VPL-HS3 was a low $1500 US in the early winter months of 2003. It garnered enough attention for Sony to continue production into April 2005.

The VPL-HS3 offers a great deal of options and can be a very functional projector for those who need to place their projector close to the screen. The VPL-HS3 has a short throw lens that allows you to be as close as 4 feet away from the image.

If you do not have the space to place your projector out of the way or mounted into the ceiling, placing it in front of your audience will be just as effective with this machine. While on the topic of lenses, the VPL-HS3 allows you to change lenses so that you can customize to your preferences.

The brightness of this projector is quite good, although there are some television sticklers that will argue otherwise. Do not listen to them, the VPL-HS3 provides plenty of lumens with 1200 ANSI and is good enough so long as you are cutting out at least some of the daytime ambient light.

The lumens are amplified through a 150W projector lamp that apparently lasts for 3000 hours. From what I have heard, this projector lamp does not last nearly as long and you will have to consider having a spare lamp handy, preferably one that is not original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

Contrast is very good on the VPL-HS3 with admirable black levels that can be put to the test and high grade color saturation. The resolution is also pretty good although some owners have attested to see a minor screen door effect occurring since it really only delivers 858x484p. It does allow for compression up to 1280x720p and is a native 16:9 aspect ratio projector.

The audible noise on this projector is a tricky one since on paper it specifies that it is 28db. After using the projector for some time, around half an hour, you will notice that it starts to work a little bit harder and will start to make more noise. This can be a little annoying since you will notice a relative change part way through your movie. Recommendations are to use economy mode.

The VPL-HS3 provides all the inputs including HDMI for the digital lovers. Overall, most people who own them love them despite their minor problems.