Marantz VP 12 S 3 Review 1

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[EQUIPMENT REPORT] TUT-

Marantz VP-1253

Robert Deutsch

As faithful readers with good memories will recall, I reported that after checking out various DLP and LCD
projectors, l settled on the l\'l{tlalll/ VP- 1 232 as providing the best overall perlormanee. and bought one to
serve as a reference in my home theater system. (See my "lake 2" of the \='"P-12.S'2 in the November 2003
issue, and the sidebar in my review of the Primare SP3 I .7 and A505 l\lk.ll in january 2004; see also Peter
Putman's original review of the \="'P- l 282 in I\"lay 2005A For the past year live been enjoying the VP-1252
a great deal. and whenever I saw demos of DLP or LCD projectors at shows and dealers, I felt ever so
slightly smug that the picture quality 1 was getting at home was better.

Alas, DLP is still a fairly rapidly evolving technology, and 'l'exas Instruments. manufacturer of the chips
that form the basis of all such projectors. has come out with a new chip, the l ll)2+. which supersedes the
lll)2 chip used in the \(P-12S2. .\--larantz has incorporated the Hl)-2+ into the new VP-IZSB, and made
some other changes as well. The questions are: Does the new projector represent a significant improve-
ment over the excellent \rP-l2S2? if so, what is the nature of the improvement?

Looking at the VP-l2S2 and the \="'P-1283#which I will henceforth refer to as S2 and SB-sidc by side. it
takes close examination to notice any differences in appearance. The S3 has a second set of component-
video inputs; there's a DVI logo in the front (the 52 had a DVI input as well, lacking only the logo); and
the button previously labeled Focus is now labeled Pattern. (Pressing this button projects a grid pattern to

I aid with focus; 1 suppose its possible that some consumers took it to be a kind of autofocus and complained
when they found out it wasrft.) The 9% uses the same farciudja video processing as the 82. and the review
sample. had the same long-throw lens (custom-made by l\linolta) that was avt-iilable for the 32. The price
is up by $500: $l2.999 for the short-throw version. S I 5,999 for the long-throw.

\c'\"'hile the S2 and the 53 look Virtually identical, there are some major differences inside. The most
notable one is. of course, the 83's HD2+ chip. This has the same number of micromirrors as the l'lD2
> DLP PROJ ECTOR (. l280><720l, but the mounting of each rnicromirror has been redesigned to have a smaller pivot post, so

that the dark area. or "din'iple," in the center of each micromirror is smaller. This is said to increase con-

trast (greater difference in brightness between the ()n and Off positions) and brightness (the On position
reflects more light). The second difference is the introduction of a seven-segment color wheel (compared

to six in the $2). The extra segment is dark green,

and is said to improve the reproduction of green
5 P E C I F | C AT I O N S and to reduce dither noise in dark scenes.

These design changes come from TI, and are

VP'1253 DLP video projector 0th outputs: 2/ DVDC triggers, RCS expected to be incorj'mrated into top-of-the-line

Light engine: Texas Instruments HDZ+ Digital (3.5mm mini) DLP projectors from all manufacturers. However,
Micromirror Device, 7-segment color wheel, Dimensions: 15.9" x 6.2" x 18.6" (WxHxD) .\v"larant'/. has (10m, much more to optimize the 83's
200W DC SHP lamp Weight: 28.7 lbs performance. The light source has been changed

Resolutionziz80X720 Price: $12999 from a l50\"\-"' AC-powered bulb to a 200W DC

3 °"tPti7O° ANSIlumens Marantz America,|nc. bulb. This should have the effect of increasing

Video inputs: composite, S-video, (630) 741'0300 brightness (although the 85's luminance rating is
2 component, RC B, DVl/HDCP www.marantz.com

still around 700 ANSI lumensl. and the DC bulb

0th" inputs: remote on RS'232CRC5 is said to be less prone to the occasional flicker

(3.5mm mini)

92 ULTIMATE AV | JULY/AUGUST 2004