Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary-2 Posted on February 8, 2011 By Art Feierman 1. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review2. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review-2 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Overview3. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review-3 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Highlights - Specs for Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Sharp XV-Z17000 Special Features - 3D Projector features4. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review-4 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Black Levels and 3D - XV-Z17000 Color Management5. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Appearance - XV-Z17000 Control Panel6. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour-2 - Input/Output - XV-Z17000 Menus7. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Remote Control - Sharp XV-Z17000 Lens Throw8. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour-4 - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens9. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality - Sharp XV-Z17000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Flesh Tones - Sharp XV-Z17000 Black Levels & Shadow Detail10. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-2 - What is all this fuss about black levels?11. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-312. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-4 - Shadow Detail Performance13. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-5 - Sharp XV-Z17000 - Overall Color & Picture Quality14. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-6 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports15. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance - Sharp XV-Z17000 Brightness - Pre-Calibration Measurements16. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-2 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Sharpness17. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-318. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-4 - Sharp XV-Z17000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise19. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Calibration and Settings - Sharp XV-Z17000 Color Temperature - Sharp XV-Z17000 Basic Settings - RGB Settings20. Sharp XV-Z17000 – Projector Screens - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Screen Recommendations21. Sharp XV-Z17000 – Competitors22. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Warranty23. Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - The Bottom Line24. Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary-2 - The Very Bottom Line on the XV-Z17000 projector: - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Pros - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Cons25. Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary-3 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Typical Capabilities The Very Bottom Line on the XV-Z17000 projector:could definitely live with this projector. I’ve been watching it for days, and most of that in 2D. If it is in your budget range, and you want to be right here, enjoying 3D, at the beginning of the latest 3D revolution, it’s an attractive solution. If it has a serious weakness, (besides the non backlit remote), that would be its very limited placement flexibility due to a combination of limited zoom range 1.15:1), short throw lens, and no lens shift. At least the fixed lens offset is moderate. Still, it should ceiling mount fine in most rooms, it’s just going to dictate where! As I have been writing this summary, I had on Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on Blu-ray.. Once again, skin tones looked excellent, the few, cool space scenes had very respectable darks, and the picture had a lot of wow factor. The difference between the Z17000, and other favorites of mine, like the Epson 8700UB, however, is that with this projector I can put on the glasses, and enjoy the Prince’s Trust Rock Concert (with Clapton, Queen, Dame Edna…) or explore outer space with the Universe in 3D. I, who watches/listens to a lot of music videos, am really enjoying the 3D experience. Really! I must complain though, Sharp needs lighter, more comfortable glasses. Theirs aren’t the worst around, but at CES I did see some reasonably light and comfortable models with some LCDTVs. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical CapabilitiesClick to enlarge. SO close Click Image to EnlargeSharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Pros Really good “out of the box” picture quality It only gets better with calibration – excellent skin tones 2D black level performance is very good – a typical ultra high contrst projector Image has very good sharpness – razor sharp in the center, although some softness in the corners. Very good 3D compatibility Projector lamp can be changed without unmounting the projector (door is on the front, accessible when the lens cover is protecting the lens (and killing power) Very good warranty – 3 years, with 90 days on the lamp Very good menus, very good remote (good range) Support for an anamorphic lens Definitely a very good 2D projector, and a very acceptable 3D projector for a what is a reasonable price, for this early on, in terms of 3D projector products. Click Image to EnlargeSharp XV-Z17000 Projector: ConsClick to enlarge. SO close Lacks creative frame interpolation – smooth motion Remote control is not back lit! (That’s embarrassing on a $5K home projector) Average to below average lamp life, and therefore, higher cost of operation Limited color temp adjustment controls (but, in fairness, it calibrated beautifully without more controls) Very limited placement flexibility Sharpness – interestingly, this sample unit almost looks out of convergence – if this was a 3 chip LCD or LCoS I’d say that the red pixels were almost 1 pixel shifted to the right. I do not recall this on the older Z15000 so this may be a minor abbaration tied to being a sample unit. Although adequately bright for 3D, More brightness is always a good thing Click Image to Enlarge 1. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review2. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review-2 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Overview3. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review-3 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Highlights - Specs for Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Sharp XV-Z17000 Special Features - 3D Projector features4. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Review-4 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Black Levels and 3D - XV-Z17000 Color Management5. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Appearance - XV-Z17000 Control Panel6. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour-2 - Input/Output - XV-Z17000 Menus7. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Remote Control - Sharp XV-Z17000 Lens Throw8. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour-4 - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens9. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality - Sharp XV-Z17000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Flesh Tones - Sharp XV-Z17000 Black Levels & Shadow Detail10. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-2 - What is all this fuss about black levels?11. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-312. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-4 - Shadow Detail Performance13. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-5 - Sharp XV-Z17000 - Overall Color & Picture Quality14. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Image Quality-6 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports15. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance - Sharp XV-Z17000 Brightness - Pre-Calibration Measurements16. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-2 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Sharpness17. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-318. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-4 - Sharp XV-Z17000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise19. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Calibration and Settings - Sharp XV-Z17000 Color Temperature - Sharp XV-Z17000 Basic Settings - RGB Settings20. Sharp XV-Z17000 – Projector Screens - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector Screen Recommendations21. Sharp XV-Z17000 – Competitors22. Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Warranty23. Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - The Bottom Line24. Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary-2 - The Very Bottom Line on the XV-Z17000 projector: - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Pros - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Cons25. Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary-3 - Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector: Typical Capabilities Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary Sharp XV-Z17000 – 3D Projector Review Summary-3