Sharp XV-Z15000 Projector - Image Quality 8

More to the point, the Sharp really is excellent when it comes to the overall picture. It doesn't seem to have any particular weaknesses. Skin Tones, black level performance, shadow detail, are all at least very good. Adding to that, the image really does stand out - it's that "pop and wow factor" again. Yet, the Sharp XV-Z15000 manages to have a dynamic looking image, without ending up a little contrasty looking, (such as the Epson 6500UB).

In other words, it's the complete package, when it comes to overall Picture Quality and Color. Oh, there are projectors that are better, in this regard, but I can't really think of any that cost less, and most cost anywhere from "more" to "a whole lot more", and then some.

Bottom Line for Overall Picture Quality and Color Handling: Excellent, especially for the money!

Here's the same image - first, the Sharp, then the Optoma:

A mix of additional images to show off the XV-Z15000:

From the DTS Blu-ray test disk, consider these:

From the DVE-HD test disc:

And here are a few assorted, additional images, some of which can be found on other recent reviews:

Sharp XV-Z15000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports

❮ ❯

The measured 1100 lumens in Dynamic mode of the Sharp is enough to do a great job on my 128 inch Firehawk G3, with minimal ambient light, for my sports and general TV viewing. Afterall, it's brighter in "brightest" mode than my JVC, by roughly 200 lumens, and I get by. Like my JVC, though, there's not a whole lot of room to spare, if you have more ambient light. Actually, these images were taken with a fair amount of ambient, but in the testing room, on the Carada Brilliant White screen.

To put brightness in perspective, compared to the brightest competition (the Epson 6100 and 6500UB), those two are roughly 35% brighter, but that's at the mid-point of their zoom lenses. If you place the Sharp and an Epson at the same mounting point, that difference now becomes a little more than 50%.

Only the Epson's though are noticeably brighter, so compared to the rest of the field, the Sharp does better than most, even just a little.

Sports looks great. The image isn't quite as sharp and crisp as a couple of the DLP competitors, but is comparable to the rest, so no issue there. If you really like those Discovery HD type shows, with their stunning photography and want the sharpest, you'll do better, with, say the BenQ W5000, but as with most 1080p projectors, it looks sharp, just not "razor sharp" I really enjoy the Z15000 on my Blu-ray music videos and Palladia channel high def music videos. Colors are very rich, and that combines nicely with the great blacks. A few images for your consideration, off of HDTV:

The images above is from a Moody Blues Concert that has been broadcast in HD, and is also available on Blu-ray disc. This one was shot with minimal ambient light.

The three images below were taken with full lighting (two 65 watt recessed lights) on in the back of the room. As shown in the small images below them. For those football images, the projected image size was 100" diagonal, using a 1.4 gain Carada Brilliant White screen.

You can see the walls around the image above. The projector is bright enough that for the correct exposure, you can hardly see the wall. By the way, if you notice, the Sharp name is dim on the screen below. That's the startup screen. The picture was taken just a few seconds after powerup, before the projector was at full brightness (a minute or so).