Product Review
 

Marantz VP12S4MBL Single-Chip DLP Digital Projector

Part III

August, 2006

Kris Deering

 

Setup, Calibration, and Measurements

Setup of the Marantz was pretty simple but not without its issues. Some of the initial settings were a bit tricky to overcome. The first thing I did after I completed the installation was test for 1:1 pixel mapping with 720p material. I wanted to be sure that no unnecessary scaling was being done to the image. Marantz offers a "through" mode for the projector that bypasses scaling regardless of the input resolution. The projector did 1:1 mapping for both 480p and 1080i, but not 720p. I found this very odd since the native resolution of the DMD is 1280x720p. I contacted Dan Miller at Marantz and mentioned this and we cleared it right up by adjusting some of the size parameters in the setup menus. The projector is shipped with the size set for some overscan by default and once this is eliminated, it does true 1:1 mapping. I confirmed this with the built-in test generator in my DVDO VP30 video processor.

Another problem I found had to do with the projector's HDMI input, or more specifically the HDMI signal receiver chip inside. HDMI is the newest digital interface that allows for higher bandwidths than the slightly older DVI standard. It also allows for a wider variety of input colorspaces. DVI was limited to RGB information in the 8 bit domain. HDMI allows for YCbCr information (the standard colorspace of DVD and the new HD formats). Most DVD players output YCbCr 4:2:2 information from their HDMI output.

During my evaluation of the Marantz S4, I used the Denon DVD-5910 and the new Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player. Both of these players output YCbCr with a 4:2:2 sampling rate. Both also use video levels for their grayscale with black at digital 16 and white at digital 235, preserving the head and toe room of the reference Sony monitor used in mastering. The Marantz S4 (like quite a few other HDMI- based DLP projectors I've used) does not retain the proper video levels when it receives a 4:2:2 signal. Instead it remaps the input to PC levels and clips head and toe room. The only way around this is to do a colorspace conversion of the signal BEFORE it goes to the projector. This requires that either the source component has a way to convert internally or using an outboard video processor.

There are quite a few DVD players that will let you select which output colorspace to use, but I don't know of any HD playback devices that do. I have both the Toshiba HD DVD player and a JVC D-Theater deck and both output at 4:2:2. So to eliminate this clipping I did a colorspace conversion to YCbCr with my DVDO. This is actually a problem with the Silicon Image HDMI receiver chip, but it still affects overall video quality in my opinion. While using an outboard processor is a workaround, it is cumbersome, and if you are as staunch about a proper image as I am, this is something you may want to consider if you are looking at buying the S4. I am not sure if the chip can be fixed via firmware but I informed Marantz of the issue.

Calibration was quite easy with the S4. In fact, the S4 needed the least amount of calibration of any projector I've ever used. Darin Perrigo and I did all of the calibrations in the span of an afternoon using ColorFacts and several different light meters. Using a 100 IRE window and ColorFacts, we measured the red, green, and blue, and found that the lamp was running out of red before blue and green, which is the norm for UHP bulb projectors. We brought the blue and green gains down to match before we started our grayscale measurements. All of the calibration settings are available right in the main setup menus so no special menus were needed.

We set brightness and contrast using standard SMPTE color bars and a reverse gray ramp. We used the Theater gamma mode and measured an almost perfect grayscale right out of the box. With no adjusting at all, except the initial gains, the grayscale was flatter than most projectors we've spent hours calibrating.

Gray Scale (Color Temperature) after Calibration

RGB Levels after Calibration

Colorimetry was excellent, with the projector's color points falling just outside of the intended points. Using both REC 709 and 601 color bars the projector's color was perfect right out of the box with no adjustment.  With an RGB input signal the default brightness setting of 0 was dead, on but contrast needed to be upped to +8 to set whites to just below clipping. The reverse ramp on AVIA Pro is perfect for setting contrast with a digital projector and allows the user to see exactly when clipping or color distortion occurs as contrast is adjusted.

The reverse ramp is also a great tool for finding banding issues with digital projectors. Most DLP based projectors have been limited to 8 bit processing and 8 bit panel drivers. This causes banding and contouring in the grayscale ramp and during normal viewing. This has probably been one of my biggest complaints with DLP projectors in the past and one of the reasons I haven't been a big adopter of the technology. The S4 showed no signs at all of banding in the reverse ramp, with a perfectly smooth transition from black to white. I also used some scene selections that are usually quite difficult for digital projectors to test for banding. Near the opening of the film Dark City when the beautiful Jennifer Connelly is singing in the bar, the band is playing in the background with spotlights illuminating them. These spotlights normally show excessive amounts of contouring from the center out into the darkness. With the S4 the transition was extremely smooth and far more realistic.

After we calibrated the projector, we measured contrast ratios. For Full On/Off contrast ratio we used a 100 IRE full field window and a 0 IRE full field window. With the bulb in economy mode and the iris closed down, we measured about 2400:1 for contrast. This is a bit lower than some of the other DLP projectors we've measured in the past and could be improved with either a dynamic iris or a dual variable iris implementation.

Using an 8x8 checkerboard we measured ANSI contrast at an astounding 800:1. This is the highest ANSI contrast we've ever measured from a DLP projector (or any other type of projector for that matter). This contributed directly to the depth and dimensionality of the image. DLP is by far the best front projection technology in this regard and the S4 represents the pinnacle of what we've seen for ANSI contrast. With mixed material, blacks are very deep with an inky look. With the exception of absolute black outs I never once felt like the black level of this projector was disappointing, but I would like to see more On/Off contrast ratio for scenes that tend to be darker overall.

My chief complaint for this projector is probably gamma. The S4 has eight different preset gamma curves to choose from. Unfortunately the highest curve results in a gamma of about 1.9, which is pretty low. It comes out of black rather fast which tends to bring out more noise in the lower end, and that may distort shadow detail since there may be too much information brought out. I would have liked a custom setting for gamma or a curve closer to 2.5 to emulate the performance of a CRT a bit more. We used the Theater gamma curve for all viewing. It gave us a 1.87 gamma curve but also perfect linearity for color.

Viewing

Well enough with all of the test material, let's get onto real world viewing. I viewed several different sources with the S4, including DVD, HD DVD, D-Theater, and gaming with an Xbox 360.

For DVD I fed the projector 480i from the Oppo 970HD most of the time. The Gennum VXP did a great job processing the signal to 720p, and I enjoyed the image. I will admit I've been pretty spoiled these last few months with HD DVD so standard definition material just doesn't hold up as well anymore. Fine detail was preserved quite well though with tighter shots, and the ANSI contrast contributed to a very dimensional image despite the lack of inherent resolution with standard DVD. I was extremely impressed with the deep blacks in Ridley Scott's recent director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven. The film has a cooler look to it but lots of close-up shots, with wonderful detail and rich contrast. The S4 delivered the best image I've seen from an unmodified 720p display to date with DVD material.

But, the real potential of this projector was tapped with HD DVD. There is no doubt that HD DVD is the real deal when it comes to reference video material. The transfers from Warner and Universal so far have just been amazing, with detail that is pretty much unrivaled. The S4 made the most of the material, showing superb depth and contrast. I was blown away at how good blacks were in The Bourne Supremacy. The film has an extremely dark look to it with lots of highlights, and the S4 delivered the image with aplomb.

Detail and depth in The Chronicles of Riddick were astounding, literally giving me the feeling of looking through a window at times. Skin pores and small object detail were resolved perfectly, without a trace of scaling artifacts.

Conclusions

The Marantz VP12S4 represents one of the more expensive single chip 720p DLP projectors on the market, but its performance more than justifies the price. With its exceptional video processing, outstanding optics and rich contrast, it provides an image that is far beyond what most 720p projectors I've seen so far can deliver. Build quality is second to none, and the attention to detail really sets this projector apart. The VP12S4 gets my highest recommendation and is easily my reference for 720p projectors currently available.

 

- Kris Deering -

Associated Equipment:

- ColorFacts with Eye One (Beamer) color sensor
- AEMC CA813 light meter
- 78" diagonal StudioTek 130 projection screen

© Copyright 2006 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity

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