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110 Home Theater / November 2003 • www.hometheatermag.com
GEAR GUIDE
detection for film-based material,
good color decoding, and a nice
features package. It’s also competitively priced and, as such, is an
excellent value in its category.
The Model 40 has a compact,
squarish design with a white finish.
It measures 4.75 inches high by
15.75 wide by 13.625 deep and
weighs a reasonable 15 pounds.
The unit has a very solid feel,
which indicates good build quality.
The lens is offset slightly from the
center of the pro-
jector. Some of
the remote’s most
commonly used
buttons are also on
the top of the unit,
such as power,
menu, input, enter,
exit, and the arrow keys
for navigation within the menu
system. Heat is vented through
the front of the projector, and
there’s virtually no light leakage
from the lamp.
The remote control, while not
backlit, is fully illuminated by glowin-the-dark buttons. The remote
does offer discrete access to all of
the projector’s inputs, aspect ratios,
and memories, which is very
important to a custom installer
who’s trying to integrate these
functions into a Crestron or AMX
touchpanel control system.
The connectivity suite, which
is located on the projector’s rear
panel, is fairly comprehensive.
You get one 480i-only component
video input with RCA connections,
plus a set of RGB inputs with H
and V sync; if you use only the R,
G, and B inputs, this connection
doubles as a high-bandwidth component video input that’s capable
of displaying 480i/p, 720p, and
1080i sources. Of course, the obligatory composite and S-video inputs
are also here (one of each), as well
as a DVI input with HDCP copy
protection for use with the new
crop of satellite and cable HDTV
receivers. Finally, Vidikron provides an RS-232 port for integrated
control systems like the abovementioned Crestron and AMX
touchpanel systems.
The Model 40 has few, if any,
consumer-type features, but that’s
to be expected with any front projector. However, it does offer a
few notable picture-enhancing
features, including a nine-point
system for calibrating
the gray scale that
gives the professional
installer and/or video
technician unprecedented flexibility in
this important setup
area. You also can set the gray
scale and all other picture parameters for each input separately. A
total of 21 separate memory locations gives you more flexibility
than you’re likely to ever need in
terms of optimizing the picture for
all video and computer sources.
For added versatility, you can
choose either a short-throw lens
(1.38:1 to 1.63:1), or, for an additional $1,000, you can opt for the
long-throw lens (1.83:1 to 2.40:1).
DLP projectors have become all the
rage in the front-projection home
theater arena, thanks in large part
to the 1,280-by-720 chips that hit
the market a little over two years
ago. These chips raised the bar in
picture quality for
affordable high-end front projection. Vidikron, a front-projection
home theater pioneer, was recently
purchased by Runco International
and has launched a new line of
DLP projectors.
The company’s Vision Model 40
is a one-chip DLP projector with
a native resolution of 1,280 by
720, and it’s based on the secondgeneration HD2 (or Mustang)
DMD chip. Compared with the
first-generation chip, this one definitely delivers better black-level
performance and a higher contrast ratio. The Model 40 has solid
video processing with 3:2-pulldown
Vidikron Vision Model 40
DLP Projector
Possibly the best value in high-resolution
one-chip DLP projectors.
by Kevin Miller
A. The Model 40 has
a 1,280-by-720 reso-
lution and utilizes
the HD2 chip.
B. Take your pick of
connection options,
including a DVI input
with HDCP.
A
B
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The Model 40 has five colortemperature settings: 0, 1, 2, 3,
and 4. Of course, it also offers
several aspect ratios: 4:3, letterbox, anamorphic, and Intelliwide.
Vidikron designed the Intelliwide
setting specifically for blowing up
4:3 material to fill a 16:9 screen,
and it does so with a minimum
amount of picture distortion,
unlike many other similar implementations of this sort.
I evaluated the Model 40 using a
Panasonic DVD-RP91 progressivescan DVD player in interlaced
mode and Dish Network’s HD
satellite feed on a 72-inch-wide
Stewart Studiotek 130 screen. I
obtained maximum contrast at a
setting of +18, which is about
two-thirds of the way across the
menu’s sliding bar, before clipping or white crush set in. This
produced an amply bright
picture (see the measurements box for our measurements using the
Photo Research PR650).
Prior to calibrating the
gray scale, I measured
6,150 Kelvin at 30 IRE
and 5,975 K at 80 IRE.
This is quite close to the
broadcast-standard color
temperature of D6500.
The top end of the gray
scale had a distinct
magenta hue that I was
able to completely eliminate with gray-scale calibration. Post-calibration,
the Model 40 measured a
very impressive 6,500 K
(x=0.313 and y=0.328) at 30 IRE
and 6,450 K (x=0.314 and y=0.327)
at 80 IRE. It’s clear that Vidikron
made a serious effort to calibrate
this projector’s gray scale, but I
should note that your screen size
and material will play a key role in
achieving a linear, accurate gray
scale. Your service technician will
need to calibrate the whole system,
which includes using your DVD
player for the best results.
The Model 40’s color decoder
is pretty accurate. After I set the
color and tint with SMPTE color
bars, I reduced the color level
four clicks (from 34 to 30), as skin
tones looked a little too red on
the “Montage of Images” section
from the Video Essentials test
DVD. The Model 40’s video processing is quite good. As I looked
at the opening sequence of Star
Trek: Insurrection, 3:2 pulldown
was clearly evident, as the projector rendered the bridge railing,
canoes, and rooftops pristinely. The
bouncing ball in Video Essentials’
Snell & Wilcox Zone Test Plate
test pattern was also
exceptionally clean.
My review sample’s
short-throw lens had
some minor chromatic
aberrations. Red was
out by approximately
one pixel, mostly in the
horizontal direction. The
lens also appeared to
have a slight barrel distortion at the top of the
picture, which shows
up as a very slight horizontal pincushion error.
This was only visible
on 2.35:1 material like
Training Day. That said,
the lenses on all of the
latest-generation onechip DLP projectors exhibit some
chromatic aberrations, and the
Model 40’s are certainly not the
worst I’ve seen. In fact, with regular DVD and HDTV sources, I
was hard-pressed to see these
issues from my viewing position,
which is roughly 10 feet from the
screen. I also commend Vidikron
for offering both a long- and shortthrow lens option for added flexibility. In my room, I would have no
choice but to opt for a short-throw
lens, even with my relatively small
72-inch-wide screen.
If you look at the spec sheet,
you’ll see that the company claims
Vidikron Vision Model 40 DLP Projector
GEAR GUIDE
112 Home Theater / November 2003 • www.hometheatermag.com
C. The remote offers
discrete input and
aspect-ratio buttons
that glow in the dark.
5000
5500
6000
6500
7000
20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
IRE
Color Temp - Before
Color Temp - After
Color Temperature
Blue
Green
Red
Vidikron Red
Vidikron Green
Vidikron Blue
D6500 K
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
DTV Phosphors
D6500
Color Temp - Before
Color Temp - After
HT Labs Measures: Vidikron Vision Model 40 DLP Projector
The top chart shows the Model 40’s gray scale relative to its color
temperature at various levels of intensity, or brightness (20 IRE is dark
gray; 100 IRE is bright white). The gray scale as set by the factory, in the
2 color-temperature mode, measures slightly blue across the gray-scale
range. After making adjustments using the Photo Research PR-650, the
gray scale measures extremely well, within 80 Kelvin of D6500, the accurate color temperature, across the entire range. This is a slight improvement compared with the already-good performance before calibration.
The bottom chart shows the gray scale (or color temperature) relative to
the color points of the display’s red, green, and blue color-filter-wheel
segments. Green (x=0.311, y=0.574), red (x=0.656, y=0.338), and blue
(x=0.144, y=0.070) are slightly off those specified by SMPTE. Green is
somewhat undersaturated, while red and blue are slightly oversaturated.
This means that the display will reproduce most of the colors available in
the system. The light output was approximately 13 foot-lamberts (on a
6-foot-wide Studiotek 130 screen). A brighter image is possible at the
expense of gray-scale accuracy. The display has excellent DC restoration and a good color decoder. The Model 40 displays approximately
480 lines (per picture height) with NTSC sources and, using our Leader
LT-446 HD generator, is capable of resolving DTV signals out to the
limits of the 1,280-by-720 chip.—GM
Vidikron Vision Model 40 DLP Projector
Color Temperature
C
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that the Model 40 is capable of
950 ANSI lumens and has a contrast ratio of 1,600:1. Since Vidikron
is now owned by Runco, they’ve
adopted Runco’s Cinema Standards
Measurement System (CSMS)
specification standards, which are
more realistic in terms of lightoutput and contrast-ratio ratings.
In film, we measure
light in foot-lamberts, so
Runco has decided to
include foot-lambert
measurements in their
specifications, as well as
real-world ANSI-lumen
specifications after
proper calibration. This
is the first time I’ve ever
reprinted even a portion of a manufacturer’s spec sheet, but it’s
worth illustrating, as it represents
real information that will aid in
your home theater’s design. If you
look closely at the spec sheet,
you’ll see the CSMS specifications
under “Light Output”: home theater
calibration: 480 ANSI lumens;
17.9 foot-lamberts (ft-L). Under
“Contrast Ratio,” the CSMS spec is
a much more realistic 148:1. The
company takes it one step further
by recommending a screen size
between 72 and 96 inches wide,
even though the projector can project images up to 200 inches wide.
I have to hand it to Runco/Vidikron
for taking this bold step. I’ve long
been frustrated with video-display
manufacturers’ marketing departments for boasting ridiculous
light-output and contrast-ratio
numbers. When you measure
these two specifications in an
actual home theater environment,
it becomes crystal clear that virtually all of these published specifications are totally bogus.
After I’d completed a full ISFstyle calibration for both NTSC
and HDTV sources, I sat back
and watched a variety of DVDs
and HDTV material. Chapter 31
of Charlotte Gray, still one of my
favorite reference DVDs, had great
snap and detail, plus very good
color saturation. In the beginning
of this chapter, a train travels
through the French countryside,
and there was some visible lowlevel noise. This noise was more
prevalent in darker scenes, such as
the love scene between Charlotte
and the young British officer in
chapter 4. In fairness to Vidikron,
I’ve seen this low-level noise on
virtually every one-chip DLP projector, and I attribute it at least in
part to DLP technology. Part of
the problem could also be in the
video processing.
Chapter 4 of Training Day looked
excellent. Denzel Washington’s
black car looked really black, which
is a testament to the Model 40’s
excellent black-level performance.
DLP still can’t do black like a CRT,
and it probably never will. However, the new HD2 chip takes DLP
performance to another level. I
dare say it takes DLP to an acceptable level for 99.9 percent of home
theater enthusiasts.
HDTV from my Dish
Network satellite feed
looked mostly awesome.
Bright scenes looked
really good, but darker
scenes were plagued by
low-level-noise problems.
In particular, I watched Armed
and Dangerous on the HBO HD
channel and Harlan County War
on Showtime HD. I fired up my
reference Runco DTV-991 for a
quick comparison, and I found
the material to look quite clean
through this CRT projector. Unfortunately, I was unable to evaluate
the Model 40’s HDTV performance
using its DVI input. However, I’ve
had enough experience in the field
calibrating digital displays using
both the component video and
the DVI inputs, and I don’t doubt
that the DVI input looks a lot
cleaner than an analog component
connection on a digital display. I
suspect that HD material would
have looked a lot better using the
Model 40’s DVI connection.
Vidikron looks strong again.
Their Vision Model 40 is a very
respectable player in the 1,280-by720 one-chip DLP-projector category. Good video processing,
black-level performance, and color
decoding all add up to excellent
performance. There’s no doubt
that the Model 40 does a lot right,
and it’s a truly impressive DLP
projector, especially when you
consider its price. At $8,995 with
the short-throw lens and $9,995
with the long-throw lens, the
Model 40 is one of the most reasonably priced DLP projectors in
its class, making it one of the
best values in its category.
Vidikron Vision Model 40 DLP Projector
GEAR GUIDE
114 Home Theater / November 2003 • www.hometheatermag.com
Vision Model 40 DLP Projector $8,995
With the Long-Throw Lens $9,995
Vidikron
(510) 324-5900
www.vidikron.com
Dealer Locator Code VID
• Good video processing with
3:2-pulldown detection for
film-based material
• Excellent flexibility for setup
and optimizing picture quality
for all sources
• Great value for the dollar
HIGHLIGHTS
Vidikron Vision Model 40 DLP Projector
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