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Sony VPL-HW45ES Projector - Hardware Tour 2

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Art Feierman
Sony VPL-HW45ES PROJECTOR:  HARDWARE TOUR Page 2: Sony Remote Control, Menus

Sony Remote Control

VPL-HW45ES-Remote-Control

Sony's Remote Control for the HW45ES has good range, good layout.

Sony's remote control for the HW45ES (not the same as the HW55ES'es) is a long well balanced remote control with a reasonably bright blue LED light when you press the button on the top left.

In the center position on the top row is the input selector.  The Sony has an auto sensing feature so it will search for  a live input source, but to switch manually (if there are two live sources), pressing that button once brings up the list of inputs. Each additional time the input button is pressed, it moves through the list to the next source. Power is the upper right button, in green.  As is most common, press once for on, twice for off.

Moving to the next section of the remote control, there are nine buttons for the 8 pre-programmed picture modes, and the last one is the User button (which we'll save the calibrated settings in).

Navigation is next.  The four navigation arrows are in a round formation.  They are surrounded by three other buttons, the bottom one is the menu.  The upper left has a test pattern for focus and overscan.  Opposite on the right is the Reset button. I always consider that to be in a strange place, but don't worry, pressing it once won't get you into trouble.

The next second has 9 buttons, including direct access to most of the image controls.  I'll just run through top row first, left to right:

Aspect Ratio, Motion Flow, 3D
Color Space, Color Temp, Color Correction
Gamma Correction, Contrast Enhancer, Reality Creation

That's about it, but for the three rocker switches at the bottom:  Sharpness, Brightness, and Contrast.  That covers it for the remote.  Next...

The next section has all the major and most minor menus.

Bottom Line:  One of the better remotes around.  In the past I complained about Sony remotes not having discreet buttons for each source, but since this projectors has only two inputs (both HDMI), you just press the Input button once, and to change to the other HDMI, press it again. Done, easy!

Sony VPL-HW45ES Menus

All of the menu pictures are from the older HW55ES. The two sets of menus are virtually identical, if not identical.  The one major issue difference is that the HW55ES (predecessor to the HW65ES) has the controls for the dynamic iris, which the HW45ES lacks.

Sony VPL-HW45ES Menus

Main Picture menu

Main Picture menu, the other main menus are displayed as icons on the left side

Picture - Calibration Preset menu

The various modes/preset calibration settings.

Picture - Reality Creation menu

Reality Creation - dynamic detail enhancement, first menu

Picture - Reality Creation ON menu

Adjust the "resolution" and the sharpness - I vary depending on content. The text changes back and forth about every second

Picture - Reality Creation Resolution menu

The slider goes from 0 to 100. 20-30 is probably the range that anyone critically viewing a movie would prefer. That said not a huge difference between 20 and 50. 50 on sports? Nice.

Picture - Motionflow menu

True Cinema is the "least intrusive" motion smoothing mode, suitable for movies - "if you must" mess with the "director's intent." I never use CFI for movies.

Picture - Expert Setting menu

RGB Grayscale menu

Adjusting Grayscale (to D65)

Setup menu

Function menu

Function - 2D and 3D Settings menu

3D Settings choice expands when in 3D mode, to include 3 brightness settings options for glasses and 3D depth.

Installation menu

Installation - Panel Alignment menu

HW45ES offers a full screen alignment. Higher end Sonys also offer fine tuning by aligning quadrants individually.

Installation - Panel Shift Alignment menu (close)

Installation - Panel Shift Alignment menu

Information menu

Shows lamp hours, serial number, current source resolution. As you can see, this is an HW45ES menu.

Bottom Line on Hardware and Menus

Evolutionary.

  • Less inputs than predecessors - now basically down to a pair of HDMI inputs.
  • Quiet operation
  • Good remote, yellow-orange back light
  • Vents out the front
  • Very small "micro" control panel on the side (above the inputs)
  • Lamp door on top (no need to unmount, to change)
  • Menus virtually unchanged

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