Sanyo PLV-Z4 Review

HDVTExpert Peter Putnam is the first to review Sanyo PLV-Z4. He writes that it is one the best LCD projectors he has tested although not without slight problems:

With a 480i component signal, I also spotted interlaced scan line artifacts with video material and film content transferred to video. The PLV-Z4 had some trouble picking up 3:2 cadences from the Realta disc, in some cases jumping in and out of film mode and then back again all within one second. Switching to 480p mode from my Panasonic RP56 DVD player fixed all of these problems immediately.

That said, the author suggests an external processor for interlaced ( 480i, 576i ) signals whereas "praises" HD material reproduction:

HDTV is where this projector really shines, and the 720p football clips from Fox and ABC were tailor-made for the PLV-Z3. In fact, I was actually able to see some MPEG encoding artifacts in the Fox Super Bowl broadcast (macroblocks in the football field). Once again, color quality was comparable to my CRT monitor, the difference being a little less contrast "punch" on the PLV-Z4.

This is the first review and in my opinion pretty much covers all the aspects that home theater enthusiast is interested. What cannot be decided from this review are things like lamp performance in terms of hours and brightness over time, electronic and mechanical quality. These things require time and a widespread usage to surface but I doubt that Z4 will have any horrible mass defect(s) since it is the 4th generation of the product. Other than improvements, I do not expect any new "development"


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Source: HDTVExpert