Problem Sony srx 515 convergency r g b

[Edward Torres]

Hello, good morning, friends.

I'm having problems with my SRX 515. The white tests are displayed without any problems, but I have yellow spots when projecting content. I bought a blue LoS chip to correct the problem, but I'm having trouble with convergence between the three colors. Does anyone know how to sync them?

[Sascha Roll]

Sorry to say, but there is absolutely no way to properly adjust this in the field.

[Carsten Kurz]

What does the image look like with the normal non-3D lens?

[Ioannis Syrogiannis]

As far as I remember, one could reach the PRD-001 of the 320 while on and with the lamp lit. That window on the left side (opposite to the inputs) played a part on that. But that wasn't the case with the 515/0 T-Core. And those levers were probably fixed with something.
I admire your audacity, to go and replace the top formatter on that, but I never remember Sony replacing anything smaller than the entire T-Core, when it came to that. So, it seems weird that you got a part number and ordered something like that from them.
In any case, you will probably need to have access to the T-Core while the lamps are on (from the top...?) and it would also have been easier to work with a 2D lens. At this state, I wish all the best of luck. If you find the time, "keep us on the loop".

[Marco Giustini]

You replaced the blue chip? I didn't know it was possible. I thought the issue was with the optical path, not the chip. Interesting. Has Sony told us lies all these years?

In any case we were told the chips were glued to the prism so physical convergence was not possible.

If you replaced the LCOS, you're probably the most qualified person to understand what can be done. The only convergence that Sony allowed on those machine was the electronic one. I'd imagine Sony had tools to do convergence at the factory which were not shared with the field. It might also be that convergence was done on test benches with special light sources and not inside the projector. Who knows.

PLEASE get rid of the 3D lens, you cannot possibly adjust convergence using a 3D lens. There is no need for 3D lens anyways nowadays so remove it and put it a box

Good luck!

[Stefan Scholz]

You did replace the chip? It is possible to take a good green chip from another T core with dead blue chip. You have to swap the polarizers though, from the green to the blue.
You can install the modulator then.
But, the exact position of the reflector panel toward the optical prism unit is then adjusted in the factory. Look carefully, and you can notice, the modulators are soldered into the holder. So what do the factory guys do? They seem to have a special optical bench, align the chip, and once the convergence is achieved, solder it into the holder.
Taking another chip from another machine will eventually lead to a 20 to 30 pixel offset. You may correct for +/- 2 or 3 pixels electronically.
Then first step is to use the proper 4K lens. You may be able to bore the screw holes of the carrier a little bigger, and start playing and try to achieve a close convergence that is within the electronic control range. If you are lucky, carefully tighten the screws, and hope convergence stays.

Do your 3D setup of this infamous piece of crap lens afterwards.

But normally the correct procedure is to order a refurbished T-core, done in a qualified workshop. I am aware of prices asked these days, so my recommendation is, buy a new RGB laser with Ultra High Contrast lens, and be happy. There's no future in the Sony units these days. Spare parts are increasingly difficult to get, and lamps will also be a problem.

[Edward Torres]

You did replace the chip? It is possible to take a good green chip from another T core with dead blue chip. You have to swap the polarizers though, from the green to the blue.
You can install the modulator then.
But, the exact position of the reflector panel toward the optical prism unit is then adjusted in the factory. Look carefully, and you can notice, the modulators are soldered into the holder. So what do the factory guys do? They seem to have a special optical bench, align the chip, and once the convergence is achieved, solder it into the holder.
Taking another chip from another machine will eventually lead to a 20 to 30 pixel offset. You may correct for +/- 2 or 3 pixels electronically.
Then first step is to use the proper 4K lens. You may be able to bore the screw holes of the carrier a little bigger, and start playing and try to achieve a close convergence that is within the electronic control range. If you are lucky, carefully tighten the screws, and hope convergence stays.

Do your 3D setup of this infamous piece of crap lens afterwards.

But normally the correct procedure is to order a refurbished T-core, done in a qualified workshop. I am aware of prices asked these days, so my recommendation is, buy a new RGB laser with Ultra High Contrast lens, and be happy. There's no future in the Sony units these days. Spare parts are increasingly difficult to get, and lamps will also be a problem.

Hello, thanks to everyone for your prompt responses, updating is exactly as you mention, the position is millimetric affecting the convergence but all that can be moved electronically and the problem is finding the position and twisting it in some way, it will be my task next week

I had tried with green and blue, but it seemed like it was soldered at an established height that already showed the color through the space that had already been generated until it looked blurry.

[Stefan Scholz]

Hello, thanks to everyone for your prompt responses, updating is exactly as you mention, the position is millimetric affecting the convergence but all that can be moved electronically and the problem is finding the position and twisting it in some way, it will be my task next week

I had tried with green and blue, but it seemed like it was soldered at an established height that already showed the color through the space that had already been generated until it looked blurry.

You are dealing with 2160 and 4096 image reflectors an a surface of aprox. 2 sq inches, which need to be convergent and parallel to the light axis of the prisms.
Some tough adjustment, you need a lot of patience. It a sub sub millimeter thing.
One other tip, the heat compound to the Peltier coolers dries over time. Advise, replace it before beginning to adjust. Eventually dry heat compound is one reason for early degradation.

[Marco Giustini]

I'm still puzzled that the issue is NOT in the optical path? I remember taking out R320 engines where there was a clear degradation in the glue between prisms on the blue path. On the 500 series this is not an issue anymore but the blue chip fries instead?

Heat compound, I'd imagine Sony must have installed the best possible paste available or even something special if that would cause projectors to fail? It might not be as simple as just installing some MX4.
Would phase change pads be an option here? They don't fail over time.

[Christos Gartaganis]

Sony once again has withdrawn from the cinema exhibition market, similar to their exit about 20 years ago with the SDDS digital sound system.It appears they anticipated the limited lifespan of the SXRD panels in advance. Given the nonexistent technical support from Sony and the high cost of spare parts, I don't think it's worth anyone's time to deal with their maintenance.

[Marco Giustini]

It appears they anticipated the limited lifespan of the SXRD panels in advance

If they were planning that, I don't think that worked very well! I believe more or less 100% of their projectors required an engine change when still supported!

[Ioannis Syrogiannis]

[Way off topic]
I, on the other hand, think that Sony is not taking into account the environmental stress and difficulties that a system may undergo.
They build their prototypes on a well-controlled environment and expect that to be the case for the consumer.
And therefore, the heat problems on 320, the pollution problems on 515, the uniformity issues, the fixed convergence (yes, it's not the only company that does that), the (almost) fixed focus plane, the limited lens shifting ability, the LED treatments, the limited ability to intervene and the maximum secrecy about everything.
Those machines are/were marvelous out of the box, their pioneering high resolution (on 3D as well) and high contrast were great selling points. The "It's a SONY!" motto did make sense. Yet, following up with the disadvantages was not their strong suit. Where other companies came with newer hardware versions and incorporation of their experience to the "next generations", Sony seemed to rather build a new miracle, instead of taking into account the reality of the cinemas and build up from the old one.

The failure of their laser generation, or the direct view cinema screen that they showcased, the surface of which was reflecting the ambient light, are indications that they can create technology, but they have trouble creating reliable products for the long term, to accommodate the client.

It would make sense to either continuously support and develop, up to the point of establishing the reliable product that would win the market, or (additionally) allow third parties in the "game", giving them the tools to fix what is broken or innovate were there is room for that.
Yet, Sony seems to "throw the towel" every single time.

I suppose that is big corporation strategies and decision making for you.

[Marco Giustini]

Later in the 500 series Sony introduced some update packets to change the temperature the SXRD imagers were being kept at. The packages were to be selected and manually installed depending on the temperature of the projection room! That would - in their opinion - increase the lifespan of the imagers.

"But some booths don't have AC and might be colder in winter and warmer in summer, what package do I select?"
"Then you need to go back and upload a different package when the season changes"



Same - as you say, Ioannis - for the lack of motorised lens shift, assuming that all projectors were perfectly centered around the world!

Indeed after the big 320 failure where optics had to be cleaned periodically, I was shocked to see the 500 series did NOT have a filter in front of the optics - no, that piece of foam does not qualify as "filter", that's to keep bugs out!

If temperature was really THE issue with the SXRD chips, maybe a water cooling loop might have been a solution?

Wasn't aware of the LED screen failure!

[Ioannis Syrogiannis]

Well, that is giving maintenance and support work to do, then. Thoughtful!

Yes, sorry I didn't write that "LED" thing better.
The LED-510 board and the condensation that wouldn't allow the projector to power up. Not a frequent problem, and a documented fix came up eventually, but another case where environmental conditions were not taken into account and you would be left scratching your head...

[Marcel Birgelen]

If temperature was really THE issue with the SXRD chips, maybe a water cooling loop might have been a solution?

You probably know that SXRD is an LCoS technology with some Sony-specific optimizations. Where DLP is a "Pulse Width Modulation" technology, this is essentially a "Light Valve" technology. The thin layer of Liquid crystals on top of the mirrored surface of the SXRD chip is allergic to two things all other LCD technologies are also allergic to: heat AND UV light.

I've never understood the choice for HPM lamps, afaik, they put out far more UV light than a xenon light source of comparable intensity, all the while the LCoS based technology being far more susceptible to UV damage than DLP.

All SXRD machines I've seen, including some being actively used in semi-professional home-cinema setups, have suffered severe performance degradation over time and I'm certainly not the only one pointing that out.