My Sanyo Z2 2 cents... (1 Viewer)

[DuWayne]

My Sanyo Z2 Impressions

Lets start with the Specs:

Resolution
WXGA-H (1280 x 720)
Brightness
800 ANSI lumens
Contrast Ratio
1300:1
Uniformity
85%
No. of Colors
16.7 million colors
Aspect Ratio(s)
16:9
Display Type
LCD; 0.7” TFT Poly w/Micro Lens x 3 (16:9)

Compatibility
Data Signals
Native Resolution (1280 x 720 pixels) Also Supports SXGA, XGA, SVGA, VGA
Video Signals
The PLV-Z2’s wide 16:9 aspect ratio along with it’s (1280x720) resolution HD-proportional panels, Progressive Scan and 3-2 Pulldown system for DVD playback make it the perfect match for viewing 16:9 widescreen DVD movies (480i, 480p) and HDTV (720p, 1035i
Video Resolution
H Sync
15-80kHz
V Sync
50-100Hz
Dot Clock
100 MHz

Inputs
Component RCA (Y,Pb,Pr) x 1
Composite Video (Single RCA) x 1
DVI with HDCP (DVI (Digital Visual Interface) with HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection)) x 1
S-Video (Mini DIN 4-pin (Y/C)) x 1
RS-232 (Serial) x 1

Lens
Manual Zoom and Focus (1:1.3 zoom ratio) Short Zoom; F2.0-2.54 / f0.85-1.09
Image Size
31 - 200 inches diagonal
Throw Distance
3.9'-20.0'
Keystone Corr.
Digital Keystone Correction +/- 20°
Lens Shift
Manual; (Up/Down/Left/Right)
Proj. Methods
Front/rear, Desktop/ceiling

Items Included
Backlit I/R Wireless Remote Control, AC Power Supply Cord, Owner’s Manual, Composite Video Cable, 2 “AA” Batterieis

Remote Control
Backlit I/R Wireless Remote Control included

Projector Warranty
Three years parts and labor; 90 days lamp (original); 30 days lamp (replacement); Quick Repair Program under warranty


As there is a Great review for the Sanyo Z2 at Projectorcentral.com there is no need to to get too down and dirty with my review. There is one point in the review at ProjectCentral that I will disagree with. I would not suggest a “gray” screen with ANY low lumens projector. I suspect a 30% loss in brightness. Now to m thoughts:

Calibrations:

I was shocked after inserting my DVE 2003 for HDTV in my Samsung HD931 and notice that out of the box, the Z2 was almost perfectly calibrated. At least through the DVI input. I only changed the Sharpness, Brightness and Contrast.

My Settings: (DVI)

1/2 lamp power /w Aperture wide open
Sharpness:-7
Contrast: +4
Brightness:-3
Red:0
Green:0
Blue:0
Gamma:0

A great feature is the ability to store these settings in 1 of 4 memory queues. There are way more settings, but I list the more important ones.

My Screen size:

111 1/2" Diag.

Picture Quality:

I am absolutely satisfied with my picture; more so than my old LCOS (“old” LCOS is an oxymoron right?). Mind you , that I am satisfied while only projecting on to a Textured Wall. Blacks are fine, color is fine and brightness is fine with somewhat controlled lighting. I watched it at high noon and still can get a very descent picture to view. The only issue that I have came across while watching the Z2 with a lot of ambient daylight was with dark scenes. Other than that, all was fine.

Sound:

Not Applicable

Non-HD content:

Just as good as any other native 720p set converting an 480i OTA/SAT source. I did have to set the Sharpness setting to “0”; “-7” was a little too soft for the mentioned source. I am using the Component inputs for the DirecTv 480i source.

I will field any questions if you have them…

 

[Parker Clack]

DuWayne:

So how is the image quality with an OTA/SAT source? A lot of the FPTV and even the majority of the new DLP/LCD RPTVs don't display OTA/SAT very well at all. You pretty much have to use a DVD or higher resolution source to get a decent picture.

BTW, nice review.

Parker

 

[DuWayne]

I would say that it pretty much looks like my Philips 32" in my bedroom. or any other CRT... Now I say this meaning overall picture quality, and not Blacklevels and such. By this I mean what you put in, you get out. Noting specail, nothing loss. Just a much larger picture with the same quality as if it was a smaller screen. I checked for Macro-blocking by turning to CNN and watching the broadcast while the ticker is scrolling; all seemed fine.

I personally didn't like how my "fixed" LCOS handled my DirecTV 480i signal. the Pixel Plus didn't help either.

There are a few times that sceens seems a little out of focus, when there are sceens that are zoomed out far. But I think this is due to projecting this on a Textured Wall and not a Canvased Screen.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Are you going to put a screen in place at some point? How close can you move to the screen before seeing the pixel structure and how large is your projected image? This may be difficult to ascertain because of the textured wall but let us know.

 

[DuWayne]

My current Image is 94"W x 54"H which is a 111"D image.

With this size image, I am sitting 12' away and can't see any pixles. At 6' away and I look for them I can see the Pixles. (Who would sit 6' away with a 111" image?) At 7' I'm hard-pressed to see any pixles.

As far as getting a screen,,,If I were to never get a screen, it would be fine by me. I really do have a beautiful image now...Very Beautiful image. Everyone who has came by has said so. (I'm throwing a poker party next Friday, so there WILL be more opinions at that time. One of my friends want to go by an Material store Sat. to see if we could by some kind of Canvas. He said that he would only suggest this due to the fact that I have a textured wall with a high gloss paint coat. So the top parts of the textures reflex light brightly. (Which could equal to my sometimes out-of-focus look on small images)

As soon as I get my camera back, I will post pictures.

 

[Scott L]

What was your DVI source? Any over/underscan problems? Thanks for the review.

 

[DuWayne]

I may have not made it clear in my first post, but it was my Samsung HD931.

I haven't seen any over/underscan issues, I assume since the HD931 can output the native resolution of the Z2 (720p).

 

[Michael Simoni]

i have a question about the Z2...i know it is in 16:9 mode, but does it have the option to view in 4:3 just in case i would want to watch TV on it?

 

[DuWayne]

Yes you can force a 4:3 aspect. I use the "Full" setting, which will display everything in 16:9. The 3:2 Pull-Down looks great without a "squashed" looking picture.

 

[Curt Luther]

Hi DUWAYNE..
I have a question or two about the Z2. I will be buying a projector within a month or so and I was wondering if you have any screen door issues at all with yours. How far are you sitting from your screen? I will have three rows of seats with 8' first row and 11' second row and 14' third row with a 96" - 100" screen and I am concerned about screen door. What are you thoughts. I was also thinking about the Panasonic 500 unit as well.

Thanks
Curt

 

[DuWayne]

My third post in this thread should answer your questions. If you want a 100" screen, I suggest you give the Z2 a 13' throw.

With that said, no, you shouldn't have a problem with Screendoor Effects.

 

[Rob||Kur||]

I have the Z1 and I haven't seen any screendoor issues from about 12' away from a ~110" image on a blank wall.

The wall is a light grey-green and it still looks absolutely amazing. Much better than even my Sony Hi-Scan 53". I can only imagine what the updated Z2 would look like (basically the same projector with more resolution).

There wouldn't be much of a difference with DVD's since the native resolution of the Z1 is more than adequate for 480p, but the Z2 really shines on HD content.