Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Review Summary Posted on December 7, 2008 By Art Feierman 1. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Review - PLV-Z3000 Projector Highlights - Special Features - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Overview2. PLV-Z3000 Creative Frame Interpolation - PLV-Z3000 Creative Frame Interpolation - Full HDMI 1.3b support - Dynamic Image controls3. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Physical Tour - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Physical Appearance - Control Panel - Input/Output4. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Menus - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Menus - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Remote Control5. PLV-Z3000 Lens Throw - PLV-Z3000 Lens Throw - PLV-Z3000 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens6. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Image Quality - PLV-Z3000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - Image Quality7. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Black Levels & Shadow Detail8. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Black Levels & Shadow Detail – 2 - Shadow Detail Performance9. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Shadow Detail Performance10. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Shadow Detail Performance – 211. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Shadow Detail Performance – 3 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - Shadow Detail Performance - 312. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Overall Color & Picture Quality - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports13. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Performance - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Brightness14. PLV-Z3000 Color Tempurature Measurements (default) for Pure Cinema mode - PLV-Z3000 Color Temperature Measurements (default) for Pure Cinema mode - Effect of Zoom Lens Positioning on Brightness15. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Sharpness - Sharpness16. Sanyo PLV-Z3000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Sanyo PLV-Z3000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise17. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Calibration and Settings - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Color Temperature - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Basic Settings - Our final settings (numbers in parens are the default numbers)18. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Post Calibration Grayscale - RGB Settings - For a quick calibrate of Brilliant Color - For a quick calibrate of Dynamic19. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Projector Screens - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Screen Recommendations20. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors - PLV-Z3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB21. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors 2 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500, HC6500 and HC700022. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors 3 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z700 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. BenQ W5000 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB23. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors 4 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6100 - PLV-Z3000 vs. InFocus IN82 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300024. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Warranty25. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Review Summary - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - The Bottom Line26. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Cons - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Typical Capabilities27. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Specifications Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - The Bottom LineI must admit that I am not as impressed with the PLV-Z3000 projector as I had hoped. Still, when all is considered, including its status as the lowest priced of the ultra high contrast projectors reviewed so far, it is an excellent value. A better final calibration than we ended up with (not one of the easier projectors to calibrate), may well improve black level performance slightly, and more importantly, add a little more life to dark scenes. Using the Color Management section when doing a full calibration should eliminate much if not all of the yellow/green emphasis. Those are the three areas where this Sanyo comes up a a bit short of it’s most direct competitor, the Panasonic PT-AE3000. On the other hand, it provides more wow and pop on brighter scenes than the PT-AE3000, as well as several other competitors. Price wise, the Sanyo PLV-Z3000 costs more than most of the the “standard” (typical contrast) 1080p projectors, but not by very much, whereas all the ultra high contrast projectors are at least $400 more from the Panasonic, to the Epson UB (an expected close to $3000 selling price), not to mention Sony and JVC projectors, some costing upward of three times the Sanyo projector’s selling price. The Sanyo PLV-Z3000’s Dynamic mode, with its impressive 1400 plus lumens is one of the brighter projectors around, and it provides a more natural picture in terms of color balance, than most other projectors in their equivalent brightest modes. Below average brightness (326 lumens, calibrated) in its best mode – Pro Cinema, does limit screen size a bit, and I like the Sanyo, in most cases, best, with a 100 inch diagonal or smaller screen. The Sanyo PLV-Z3000 can go a little larger without going to really high gain screens, or changing the iris setting from -60 to, say -25 (which I used for most viewing in Pure Cinema mode). I can picture the Sanyo performing extremely well in a nice home theater, with a 100″ diagonal screen, and a light gray high contrast screen. It will deliver nice dark black levels (even if others are better), and excellent shadow detail when watching a movie, or produce a still good looking, four times brighter image for watching sports and HDTV in general. With a 100 inch screen, the Z3000, in Dynamic mode, really pops! I believe most folks, however, will favor Creative Cinema mode, for the better looking dark scenes, but users likely want to set the Lamp to full, to maintain brightness, and possibly adjust the iris setting upward from -20, to perhaps -10. In past battles between Sanyo and Panasonic, I tended to find the Sanyo to be favored by enthusiasts and purists. This time around, it’s the Sanyo that, I think has more appeal to the more general consumer. I’m talking about an owner that wants a really good picture, but won’t quibble about subtle differences, but demands for more brightness for viewing things like sports with some lights on, or other ambient light sources. 1. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Review - PLV-Z3000 Projector Highlights - Special Features - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Overview2. PLV-Z3000 Creative Frame Interpolation - PLV-Z3000 Creative Frame Interpolation - Full HDMI 1.3b support - Dynamic Image controls3. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Physical Tour - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Physical Appearance - Control Panel - Input/Output4. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Menus - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Menus - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Remote Control5. PLV-Z3000 Lens Throw - PLV-Z3000 Lens Throw - PLV-Z3000 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens6. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Image Quality - PLV-Z3000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - Image Quality7. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Black Levels & Shadow Detail8. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Black Levels & Shadow Detail – 2 - Shadow Detail Performance9. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Shadow Detail Performance10. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Shadow Detail Performance – 211. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Shadow Detail Performance – 3 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - Shadow Detail Performance - 312. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector – Overall Color & Picture Quality - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports13. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Performance - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Brightness14. PLV-Z3000 Color Tempurature Measurements (default) for Pure Cinema mode - PLV-Z3000 Color Temperature Measurements (default) for Pure Cinema mode - Effect of Zoom Lens Positioning on Brightness15. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Sharpness - Sharpness16. Sanyo PLV-Z3000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Sanyo PLV-Z3000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise17. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Calibration and Settings - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Color Temperature - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Basic Settings - Our final settings (numbers in parens are the default numbers)18. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Post Calibration Grayscale - RGB Settings - For a quick calibrate of Brilliant Color - For a quick calibrate of Dynamic19. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Projector Screens - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Screen Recommendations20. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors - PLV-Z3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB21. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors 2 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500, HC6500 and HC700022. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors 3 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z700 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. BenQ W5000 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB23. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Competitors 4 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6100 - PLV-Z3000 vs. InFocus IN82 - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300024. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Warranty25. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Review Summary - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector - The Bottom Line26. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Cons - Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Typical Capabilities27. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector Specifications Sanyo PLV-Z3000 – Warranty Sanyo PLV-Z3000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities