Sanyo PLV-Z60 720p 3LCD Home Theater Projector Review: Overview-2

Posted on September 30, 2008 by Art Feierman

Sanyo has just started shipping the PLV-Z60, with first shipments arriving at dealers in a day or two. Most of the attention, and most of the new home theater projectors launched in the last year, have been 1080p. That said, there is still a strong, but smaller (than 1080p) market for these low cost 720p projectors.

Click to enlarge. So close

Sanyo has just started shipping the PLV-Z60, with first shipments arriving at dealers in a day or two. Most of the attention, and most of the new home theater projectors launched in the last year, have been 1080p. That said, there is still a strong, but smaller (than 1080p) market for these low cost 720p projectors.

While 1080p projectors start right below $2000, 720p projectors start below $1000 (DLP models) while most 3LCD home theater projectors - like the PLV-Z60, are priced around $1299. Rebates are common and can lower the price significantly on some of the more expensive 720p projectors.

Click Image to Enlarge

The PLV-Z60 is a classic 3LCD projector, with great placement flexibility. It uses two iris systems, one on the lamp, to help it achieve very good black level performance for a 720p projector. Let's get started:

Sanyo PLV-Z60 Projector Highlights:

Click to enlarge. So close

Good, but not great out of the box color accuracy
Calibrates very nicely for extremely good color
Below average brightness limits Z60 to medium to smaller screens
Good black level performance, improved over the Z5
Excellent placement flexibility - manual wide range zoom and lots of lens shift

Click Image to Enlarge

Only 720 3LCD projector that comes with ability to remove possible dust blobs
Extensive color management controls
2 HDMI inputs are 1.3, with 24fps and Deep Color support
Excellent 3 year warranty, with fast turn-around
Very quiet operation (22db in eco-mode)- not the quietest, but quieter than most
Remote rather small and a bit cramped, but very functional
Very good value proposition