Sony BRAVIA SXRD HD Home Theater Projector

...

is the sheer size and weight of the VW40. It's a significant increase in both size and weight from the HS51 and I had to modify my home built ceiling mount to ensure it could handle it. It's over 24lbs while the HS51 was less than 13lbs.
My reasons for choosing this model over the 1080UB include a couple of main factors. First, I've become accustomed to Sony projectors and I liked the similar features/connections/menus/etc. Secondly, the Sony is an SXRD (LCOS) projector vs the 3-LCD Epson. It has a sealed light path, so the need for a frequently replaced fine particle air filter is largely eliminated as is the danger of getting "dust blobs" in the picture. I've also heard some reports of convergence problems on the Epson. Otherwise, the performance of the projectors is very similar, with the Epson having a slight edge in maximum light output as well as black level, however both are so much better than the previous generation that the difference between them seems minor.
So far I'm very pleased with the projector's performance, however, since it only comes with a 1-year warranty and my HS51 needed a warranty repair after more than 1 year I went ahead and got the extended warranty on this one, and would probably recommend that others do the same. As such you may want to factor that in to the total cost when comparing this unit with other models that may come with longer standard warranties (I believe the Epson has 2 years). I think you can even add the warranty to a refurbished unit if you want to make up for some of the extra cost, and Sony sometimes has an extra 10% off coupon for refurbished products.

Sony BRAVIA SXRD HD Home Theater Projector

...

is the sheer size and weight of the VW40. It's a significant increase in both size and weight from the HS51 and I had to modify my home built ceiling mount to ensure it could handle it. It's over 24lbs while the HS51 was less than 13lbs.

My reasons for choosing this model over the 1080UB include a couple of main factors. First, I've become accustomed to Sony projectors and I liked the similar features/connections/menus/etc. Secondly, the Sony is an SXRD (LCOS) projector vs the 3-LCD Epson. It has a sealed light path, so the need for a frequently replaced fine particle air filter is largely eliminated as is the danger of getting "dust blobs" in the picture. I've also heard some reports of convergence problems on the Epson. Otherwise, the performance of the projectors is very similar, with the Epson having a slight edge in maximum light output as well as black level, however both are so much better than the previous generation that the difference between them seems minor.

So far I'm very pleased with the projector's performance, however, since it only comes with a 1-year warranty and my HS51 needed a warranty repair after more than 1 year I went ahead and got the extended warranty on this one, and would probably recommend that others do the same. As such you may want to factor that in to the total cost when comparing this unit with other models that may come with longer standard warranties (I believe the Epson has 2 years). I think you can even add the warranty to a refurbished unit if you want to make up for some of the extra cost, and Sony sometimes has an extra 10% off coupon for refurbished products.

Sony BRAVIA SXRD HD Home Theater Projector

...

is the sheer size and weight of the VW40. It's a significant increase in both size and weight from the HS51 and I had to modify my home built ceiling mount to ensure it could handle it. It's over 24lbs while the HS51 was less than 13lbs.


My reasons for choosing this model over the 1080UB include a couple of main factors. First, I've become accustomed to Sony projectors and I liked the similar features/connections/menus/etc. Secondly, the Sony is an SXRD (LCOS) projector vs the 3-LCD Epson. It has a sealed light path, so the need for a frequently replaced fine particle air filter is largely eliminated as is the danger of getting "dust blobs" in the picture. I've also heard some reports of convergence problems on the Epson. Otherwise, the performance of the projectors is very similar, with the Epson having a slight edge in maximum light output as well as black level, however both are so much better than the previous generation that the difference between them seems minor.


So far I'm very pleased with the projector's performance, however, since it only comes with a 1-year warranty and my HS51 needed a warranty repair after more than 1 year I went ahead and got the extended warranty on this one, and would probably recommend that others do the same. As such you may want to factor that in to the total cost when comparing this unit with other models that may come with longer standard warranties (I believe the Epson has 2 years). I think you can even add the warranty to a refurbished unit if you want to make up for some of the extra cost, and Sony sometimes has an extra 10% off coupon for refurbished products.