I’m starting to research projectors. Dang…..I’ve got a lot to learn. I’ll be sitting about 11’ away from the screen, and I’m leaning toward a 106” diagonal screen. I think any bigger will be too big. I do not have HDTV available in my area, so DVD’s are as good as it gets for me. I don’t think HDTV will be available for several years either, as there just aren’t enough satalites in the air for Alaska yet, plus the mountains don’t help.

I had a budget of $1500 usd, but this review of the Sanyo Z4 has me thinking about upping that number. Figured I’d see what y’all think.

Here’s the review summery:

General Observations
As time goes on, home theater projectors keep getting better and less expensive. When considered in light of its overall price/performance proposition, the Sanyo PLV-Z4 is among the very best home theater projectors we have yet seen. Not only does it set a new performance standard for 720p projectors in its price class, it is the first LCD projector to truly challenge DLP as the leading technology for home theater video.
Moreover, the challenge is not just on relative price/performance, but on absolute performance. For the PLV-Z4 could be placed side-by-side with the most expensive high-end single-chip DLP projectors that are six times its price and hold its own in head-to-head performance. We dare suggest that in a shoot-out between the Z4 and any of the high-end DLP products wherein the models were not revealed to the audience in advance, the PLV-Z4 might actually be favored by some consumers for its exceptional contrast, deep color saturation, and image sharpness.
Thus we would say this to underscore the point: Currently the PLV-Z4 has a street price of about $2,200. If you are about to lay down $12,000 for a high end single-chip DLP home theater projector on the theory that the more it costs the better it must be, do not miss the opportunity to audition the Sanyo PLV-Z4. The Achilles' heel of single-chip DLP has always been color, and a side-by-side demo with the Z4 will illustrate in convincing terms why LCD is not dead. Heck, you might just save yourself $10,000.


The full review: http://www.projectorcentral.com/sanyo_plv-z4.htm

Hi Mike,

You may want to take a look at the Panny PT-AE900U as well. I was recently thinkng about a projector for the new basement room (in process) but ultimately decided on a 60" or 65" plasma instead.

I got a chance to see the 900 in action and it's pretty impressive. My decision was between it and the Z4, but I liked the 900. Take a look at the 900 review and the faceoff between the 900 and Z4.

Thank you Ray.

My take on the reviews is the Z4 would be a better choice for larger rooms while the 900 better for smaller rooms. Conversely, 1.5 or greater distance than screen size, the Z4 wins, and at 1.5 or less, the 900 wins.

The 900 also wins with standard 480p TV viewing as the Z4 has some trouble de-interlacing.

But the Z4 has a 3 year warrantee while the 900 has a one year warrantee.

For my situation, it would appear that the 900 would be the better unit.

About some it up?

The main difference when the Panny 500 and the Sanyo Z2 had their shoot-out was the abiltiy of the Sanyo to be easier to mount from a "non-center" mount. It lense could be manually adjusted, before you had to keystone correct digitally. The next generation Panny, the 700 had worse keystoning ability than the 500.

Now, with that all said I don't know if both models have the same feature set when it comes time to mounting and aligning the unit. But, I can tell you -- it take some time and patience to mount and get the "pitch and roll" and the angles and keystone perfect for your screen. (especially like mine -- which is a home made one.) When I buy my next projector, I will definately look into these features closer.

I love the Panny 500. You will probably not go wrong with either model -- especially when you get to High Def. You will not believe how great a picture these things project.

One more point, you don't need to spend any money on a screen. Wet sanded, perfectly smooth dry wall with a nice flat-white paint is all you need. (I spent months comparing pieces of expensive screen to my wall... very little -- if no difference at all)

Good luck with your projector choice. You're in for a lot of fun.

I have had the Z2 for over a year now, and it has performed flawlessly out of the box ever since. "Nickbuol" another member on this website has the Z3 and really likes it. I've got my eye on the Z4 as well, but would need to sell my Z2 first.

In regards to lens shift, it makes things very nice for setup. You want to avoid keystone and not use it if at all possible. In reality, it is very easy to make a mount and keep it level/square to the screen so you don't have to use keystoning.

i have a benq pb6200 its kind of older, but does 1080p great. and its only 900$ now.. well with in your price range, its a multimedia projector, not a HT projector.. didnt matter to me.. just have to get a special cable a vga cable, and get it spliced in to component video. guy on ebay sells 35' cables for like 70$.. just another option.. dont forget you could get a slightly older model, and save a bundle.

Regarding the AE900U warranty, maybe you can buy an extended warranty. I bought my AE900U from bhphotovideo.com, which seems to be quite reputable and respectable but with some of the best prices on the 'net. They offered a 2-year extended warranty for $70 from Mack (i.e. same terms as the 1-year warranty but extended to 3).

--Martin

Interesting comments about the painted wall vrs screens. A friend of mine bought an older Infocuc projector two years ago and just pointed it at the wall. It’s textured, high gloss and even has a receptacle in it. It looks great! He’s been meaning to smooth the wall and paint it with some of that special screen paint, but just hasn’t gotten around to it. That was my original plan as well, just paint the wall. But then I started reading forums and reviews and other sources, and they all pretty much said to go with a screen. I’d like to hear more about your comparative analysis. Building a screen isn’t something I really want to do. – The ‘HT room’ I’m building was going to be a bedroom. When I sell the home, I’d like the new owner to have that option and building a screen wall changes things.

I'll check that out. Thanks!

An ultra pure white flat paint will do just as good as most mfg. screens. My first screen was a Mississippi Mud over Silver Metalic which is one of the most popular found on AVSforum in the DIY Screen forum.

I'm currently using a Dazian fabric wich is a PVC matte white non-perf material stretched over a wood frame, 51" x 120".