Sony VPL-DS100 User Reviews

I have owned for 5yrs now. nothing has gone wrong. picture is excellent and easy of use is well, excellent. would like to get a replacement bulb while still available, but have almost 5oo hours on original.

Any Problems: none

I bought the unit "refurbrished" with the claim that the bulb was replaced (it had 80 hrs on it when I checked). The unit worked great for the first 3 months with no problems.

Any Problems: I had problems starting the unit. The shutter would open but the light would not come on. The problem was intermitted working sometimes and not other times. I bought the extended 5 yr warranty (good move on my part) ....2 weeks its still at SONY being looked at. I will keep you posted. BUT HOLD OFF on making this purchase.....the price on these units have DROPPED like a lead balloon...I THINK I KNOW WHY!!!!!

I think I am wrong and this is a good equipment but at my work we only got images one time tentatively following the instructions. Thank you Hildo

Any Problems: The above

After having tested more than 8 other brands of projectors both LCD and DLP, I have found this Sony VPL DS100 to be the best all-rounder as far as quality, clarity, image size and brightness goes. I have quite a bright entertainment area, lots of windows, glass doors, etc... I was a bit concerned about the image fading with the somewhat bright ambient light, but, not with this baby! She performed extremely well even with the light on in the projection room itself.

Any Problems: none

Bought for 1100 dollars tax included. Good overall picture.. Usual problems with dark movies.. I bought a 20 dollar foam core papersceen from an art sign store which helps the WHITES Pop... OVERALL EXCELLENT worth the money VIDEO GAMES are awesome

Any Problems: Dust filters..need cleaning lots.. its HARD to CLEAN the lens..the projector closes the door when you power off.

I´ve used it for the first time last sunday on my house in Brazil. For Home Theater use, it seems for me to be far bether than the first piece-of-junk LCD projectors I´ve already had, such as SHARP XV-35 , SHARP C100-U. I´ve noticed a few "pixelation" , but is ok , good colors , low noise. I´m still runnung on S-vhs input , until I build by myself an compenent video d-sub adapter. For the price ( US$1106,00) it a great cost/benefit choice. I recomend it , and if someone wants to exchange infos about this and other experiences, I´ll be glad to write! Cheers...

Any Problems: It´s brand new... Nothing till now...

I bought this projector beacuse of the low price tag at Costco.

Any Problems: With the first projector i've purchased, the lamp died after 20 hours of use. I returned the projector at Costco and they exchaned it over the counter, no questions asked. The 2nd projector was working ok for a couple of weeks, and then the image started to be unstable, moving by itself. I returned the projector to Cosco, and again, they exchanged it no questions asked. Now, i hope that the third projector will work fine. One thing i've noticed at Cosco, out of 8 projectors they had in stock, half of them where "repacks", suggesting that they have a lots of returned units.

i just connected this to my dvd player. with the correct, adjusted output from the dvd player, images look bright and the color balance is good. to get such a large movie image, this is the easiest way. the image quality is not as contrasty, not as bright, not as sharp as a conventional tube, but neither is a movie theater's screen. no 37 inch lcd is as big and does home theater like a truly large (50+ inches) screen. this is true home theater, not watching on a small screen. i've just watched parts of 10 or more movies just to see how great it is to watch a movie at home with a real sized screen. the projected image is much better than any rear projection because i do not have to view it at a certain angle. i do worry about the bulb life, but am sure that i will get maximum movie enjoyment while i use it. when adjusted correctly the colors and brightness are good for even a dimly lit room.

Any Problems: i rarely adjusted any settings on the projector itself, just the dvd player. you can even bump up the brightness on the dvd player.

Great cheap projector. I think is a better option compared with the Epson S1 and infocus X1. Nice image quality and good features.

Any Problems: Still no like the electric system for the lever and lens cap. What can you do in a power failure?

This projector is an excellent entry-level product in my opinion. I am astonished with the quality of the image using a computer or a DVD player with component video (progressive scan). There is no better choice if you have a tight pocket to spend with your home theater. Even using S-Video that come from one DirecTV receiver, the quality of the image is excellent. I used it roof mounted, with minimum keystone. The greater the keystone level is, smaller will be the image in the projected frame due the digital process. So, keep the keystone level under 5 (positive or negative) to avoid the almost black shade up or down the projected image. I think that this factor is common effect in any LCD projector sold today and not really being a DS100 problem. The fan is not noisy at all at its main speed but I suggest to increased the speed (this will also increase the noise level) setting in the menu that the you are using the projector above 1,500 m altitude - this is necessary to refresh the lamp system if a less denser atmosphere is found but, in hot days, this will keep the projector less hot. Great features: lamp life hour meter on menu, power saving (disables the lamp after 10 minutes with no signal input), preset memory for almost every signal and auto input search. The component cable is very easy to make. Do not spend huge $$$ with the Sony cable. The HD15 D-sub pins 1, 2 and 3 are the respectively the Pr, Y and Pb component signal. The grounds for each signal (shield cable connections) are respectively pins 6,7 and 8. Use separated 75 ohms coaxial cable with the same length for every signal and you are done. Other way to have a good component cable is doing a search at eBay - prices from 10 to 15 USD.

Any Problems: None. But exercise all menus in order to understand how the projector works. Sending a component signal at the first time, I got a nasty full green image, even if the Input-A was already selected. So, after 30 minutes spent with the innocent DVD player (Avayon DXP-1000), I found in the projector menu that under that entry (Input-A) the Component mode should be selected (obvious now...). The projector can't find automatically what kind of signal is being introduced in that port. There is a beautiful illuminated "SONY" label in the rear part of the projector that appears upwards when it is roof mounted - unfortunately it can't be inverted but can be turned off by menu.

I also purchased on instant rebate coupon for $1250 after coupon, twice now. Problems to follow later. Firstly for the dollar (Cdn funds)it was a killer deal even before the rebate. Very good picture for an sVGA projo, decent picture via s-Video jack, but WAY better via Computer's VGA connection. Component cable is another $100 from Sony, but you can get a vga-component cable even in US funds for WAY less than that. Neverless seeing what a VGA hookup was like I can surmise that an HDTV signal would be close to the same quality, maybe a little better. I can say to EVERYONE out there that running via Comp vga connection will make all 4:3 projectors really shine. In my case I was using WinDvd 6 Platinum, and with that $100 GEM you can adjust so many things even a buddies $12,000.00 Sanyo ProX projector couldn't do (his projo has 2 BNC connections, DVI, S-Video, component jacks and 3 1.3 inch lcd's in it), and with Windvd 6, I made, with the exception of resolution, and brightness, and contrast ratio, the colors look better on the Sony than via component HDTV signal from my Satellite. BUT...(read below)

Any Problems: With my first purchase of the Sony, I was projecting onto my wall, and although the picture was totally sharp in all corners and in the center, upon close examination of the pixels I notice that the red/green/blue lcd panels were not lined up to give a Convergence Demo a perfect + without blue and yellow showing off the cross, a cross that measured 2' by 2'. I also inverted the cross with a black background, and a white cross, and the cross was closer to a white-ish yellow than to a pure white. So 2 weeks later and a few emails to and from Sony, because of the return policy of C _ _ T _ O Wholesale I exchanged it for another brand new projo. Just my luck the second projector was even worse than the first. Even though I had bad luck with this model from Sony, another friend of mine has this projo, and his is perfect in a aspects. I am now looking at upgrading to the Infocus XGA LP540 for 2200CDN, and if all works out buy that one, and post a review soon. So that said, buy the Sony projo if this is the price zone you are looking at, but PLEASE check to see as soon as you open the box that the pixels line up, and you will have something to tease the Plasma purchasers about when you tell them what you paid for a 120" screen, and you bought a 600cc sportbike for the same money as their 50" with the money you saved.

I purchased at wholesale store for $1250 (canadian), surperb picture, great price, i'm still trying to find out what replacement bulb is worth, maybe couple hundered.

I purchased this projector over the web for $725. I am amazed by the ease of use. It practically sets itself up. It is very light and easy to use. The picture quality is Excellent. I like that it adjusts zoom and height by remote control. It is a wonderful value for the money and I recommend it to everyone!!!

Great Item !!!! I purchased Brand new for $750. It works great! great picture, lightweight, very easy to use menu. This is an excellent value for the money. I'm very happy.

Any Problems: none

I purchased this item was on sale for $700. the picture is superb, Projector is light weight and easy to handle. Brightness is great and the setup menu is easy to use.

Any Problems: none