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Sanyo z20 projector central11/8/2023 Most viewers familiar with LCD projectors of the past will look at the Z4's image and say, "Wow, I can't believe that is LCD." We said this before of last year's models, but LCD has taken yet another leap forward, and it is all the more true this time. Furthermore, it can be set to generate a wide range of lumen output without seriously degrading contrast performance. In short, the PLV-Z4 offers the highest contrast we've yet seen from LCD, and indeed, contrast is higher than that of any DLP product anywhere near its price range. It is difficult to know where to start with this one, so I will offer a summary assessment, and follow with more detail on various issues. For not only does it respond aggressively to the success of last year's Panasonic PT-AE700, it is a direct challenge to every single-chip 720p DLP projector on the market. Evidently, someone at Sanyo decided to make a definitive strategic statement with this release. Though Sanyo makes fine projectors, the competitive strength of the Z4 is a large step beyond that which we have come to expect from Sanyo in years past. The PLV-Z4 represents a huge leap forward in performance and value over last year's PLV-Z3. The fact that it sells at a street price of about $2,200 makes it all the more remarkable. In short, before we even get to discussion of the image quality, we must point out that we've never seen a projector anywhere near this price range (or any price range for that matter) that is so loaded with features. Three year warranty-the longest home theater projector warranty currently available in the business, to our knowledge. For those who tend to leave the room and forget to power down the unit, this saves many hours of wasted lamp life. They can be opened to insert the nozzle of a manual squeeze-blower (included with the projector).Īuto-shut down: if the Z4 detects no signal on the active port for a period of five minutes, it automatically shuts down the lamp and closes the lens housing. There are three small holes in the bottom of the case that remain closed during normal usage. Over time, this minimizes the amount of dust that can settle on the lens.Ĭleaning system: Introduced on the Z3, the Z4 also incorporates a user-cleaning system to remove dust particles that may settle on the LCD panels. LCD panel adjustment to eliminate vertical banding, should it manifest itself in any given unit.Īuto-closing front panel: A motor-driven front panel opens to expose the lens during operation, and automatically closes when the unit is powered down. On-board color management system that allows selection and modification of individual colors on screen. Six preprogrammed operating modes and four memories for user-programmable custom settings. Six precalibrated color temperature settings. From that position the image can be raised or lowered vertically 150% of the picture height, or moved laterally 50% of the picture width in either direction. Long range vertical and horizontal lens shift: At neutral position, the centerline of the lens intersects the center of the projected image. This combined with the lens shift capability makes the Z4 adaptable to a wide variety of installation challenges. Very long 2.0x zoom range: The zoom range allows a 100" 16:9 image to be displayed anywhere between a 9.8 and 20.0 foot throw distance. Latest generation high-contrast 1280x720 LCD panels.ĭual iris system with wide range of lumen output to accommodate a variety of viewing needs. The PLV-Z4 is arguably the most feature-rich home theater projector ever brought to market in its price class. This is one of the most versatile products we've ever seen, in that it can be calibrated to accommodate a wide range of room and viewing environments. We would have liked to continue our exploration of its potential for another month, but it is time to stop and report what we know thus far. Sanyo's release of the PLV-Z4 constitutes this company's strongest product yet in the consumer home theater market, and we've had a great time getting to know it in the past couple of weeks. The fall release of the hottest new home theater projectors is coming to be an annual event, stimulated in part by the fall holiday buying season, and in part by the CEDIA trade show that takes place in early September.
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