Sanyo PLV-80 W idescreen Projector - Image Quality-3

Posted on May 9, 2006 by Art Feierman

The two images above are good as a shadow detail test. The second (overexposed) image lets you see what details look like in the shed area on the right. You can find this same image on many of the other home theater reviews, for comparison.

So what we have here, in terms of the Sanyo PLV-80 widescreen projector, is a solution that can work extremely well in a home, for those seeking a projector that will do a decent but not exceptional job on movies, in fully darkened rooms. And you get a projector ideal for watching with some ambient light, notably sports, gaming, most television programming. (And who wants to watch football with a bunch of friends in a pitch black room). The Sanyo has enough brightness to do exceptionally well with modest lighting. I've known people who have put a plasma on the wall, and a drop down screen and projector in front of the plasma. They use the plasma for daytime viewing and the projector for movies at night.

A projector like the Sanyo PLV80 is probably a very good alternative to that two display solution!

PLV-80 LOTR watchfires

PLV-80 LOTR watchfires overexposed

PLV-80 for Business

That makes the PLV80 ideal for businesses needing a respectable amount (3000) lumens, for really good images in conference rooms, boardrooms, training rooms, churches, and so on.

In this regard, the PLV-80 really doesn't even have any competition, as there are no other widescreen projectors other than the older PLV70 with 2200 lumens or more that are under $12,995 list price (almost twice the PLV80), except for the company Eiki, who OEM's the PLV80 and sells it under their own name (with a $1000 higher list price).

Image quality on spreadsheets was excellent in native mode, with everything razor sharp. Colors were bright and accurate. The PLV80 does not suffer the problem of most DLP projectors of having very poor reds and yellows. Instead, the Sanyo PLV-80 has bright vibrant reds and yellows (as well as greens, blues, etc.) Most DLP projectors tend to have reds that look more like a red wine, and bright yellows tend toward a mustardy greenish yellow. DLP's when optimized for home theater give up a large amount of their brightness, and in doing so, are able to properly balance the colors. But when they go all out for brightness the problems with reds and yellows are obvious.

In addition the contrast is exceptionally good for a "business" LCD projector. Claiming 1000:1 in a world where most lcd projectors designed for business have between 350 and 700 to 1 contrast (most are 400:1 - 500:1), the contrast has to be considered superb for an LCD projector not designed specifically for home theater.

Color accuracy was also very, very good on business content fed through the analog computer port. This is a projector that would most likely meet the needs of companies extremely concerned with color accuracy, such as an architectural firm, graphic design company, perhaps even a post production house. The projector does perform very well (as mentioned on the first page), in theaters to show movie trailers and advertising.

So, if you have a business application, for a widescreen projector, need more than 2200 lumens, and don't want to spend $10,000, the Sanyo PLV-80 projector is not just the best game in town, but the only game in town.