Sony VPL-DW240 Projector Review - Performance

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Art Feierman

Sony VPL-DW240 Projector Review - Performance: Brightness, Noise

Brightness

Brightness
Picture Mode	Brightness Lumens	Average Color Temp.
Vivid	2306	6579K
Dynamic	2191	7027K
Standard	1760	7081K
Presentation	2622	6141K
Blackboard	2331	6347K
Whiteboard	1900	7085K
Cinema	1156	5992K

Notes:

1. All brightness measurements were made with the zoom lens at the mid-point.

2. Factory default settings were used for all picture mode

3. High lamp mode was used for all measurement reported in the table

4. Middle lamp mode reduced the brightness by approx. 27% while low lamp mode reduced the brightness by approx. 35%.

5. Maximum zoom setting increased the brightness by approx. 2% while minimum zoom decreased the brightness by approx. 2%

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When displaying a full white screen test image, I found the brightness uniformity of the VPL-DW240 appeared very good as did the color uniformity. Also when displaying text and graphics images the focus uniformity was very good and also with good convergence of the red, blue and green colors.

Although Sony rates the maximum brightness at 3,000 lumens, I measured a maximum level of 2683 lumens, using Presentation picture mode and with the zoom set to maximum. Perhaps this is simply due to a sample-to-sample variation, especially dependent on the specific lamp being used. In any case, this is still a fairly bright projector and can compete will other manufacturer's projectors rated in the 3000 lumen range. Also this projector, due to its use of 3LCD technology, will have the same color brightness as the white brightness - more on why this is important can be found - HERE.

Noise

The specification sheet for the VPL-DW240 does not list the noise levels produced by this projector in the various operating modes. While we do not attempt to measure noise levels, I would estimate the noise (i.e., fan noise) produced by the projector in high lamp mode to be around 35 dB. This is a level typical for this class of projector. Noise in the lowest lamp mode was much lower and would estimate this at under 30 dB.