Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Physical Tour

Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector - Appearance

The XV-Z17000 is finished in a shiny black, with a silver lens barrel. Basically its a medium sized boxy projecto, but less tall than most.. Fortunately, black is the “color” you want for a plain looking projector. I don’t think there’s any chance that this Sharp projector will win any design awards. But it looks nice, and fairly clean (too many warning messages…)

The Sharp projector case design is one that they also use for business and education projectors It sports a couple of features not normally found on home theater projectors. One such is the recessed handle on the left side (looking from the back). Another feature is the auto keystone correction, and there are some fancy image rotating features as well. You aren’t likely to use any of those, but, they are there.

Looking from the front, the manual 1.15:1 zoom lens is near the right side and recessed. Focus and zoom are done by rotating the appropriate rings on the lens barrel. It’s a bit tight in there for those with big hands, but, hey, if you are ceiling mounting, you only have to set the zoom and focus one time. Meantime, that 1.15:1 means minimal placement flexibility. Further, the throw of the projector is short. I had to slide the table I use for viewing in the main theater, closer to the screen than I’ve had to with any of the other 4 home theater projectors reviewed since the move to the new room.

There’s a sliding door that will close to cover the lens. The projector cannot be powered up with the door close!. I think the lens door is mostly a waste, for most people who buy the XV-Z17000, and mount it. I say that because it is manual. I just can’t imaging people stretching or getting out a step ladder everytime you power up or down, though maybe if you are going away on a vacation. So, while the door when closed will keep dust and spiderwebs away, few will bother, it’s just too inconvenient. Of course very few projectors have doors to begin with, so no real loss although two real competitors, the Sanyo PLV-Z4000 and their low cost Z700 do have motorized doors that close when you power down.

XV-Z17000 Control Panel

Click to enlarge. SO close

It’s a pretty typical control panel. The usual three indicator lights: Power, Lamp, and Temperature, located toward the left (looking from the rear). Next is the power switch – once for On, twice to power down. Next comes four buttons: Auto/keystone correction (you really don’t want to be using keystone correction if possible), Resize (aspect ratio), Picture mode (ie. Dynamic, Movie 1, etc.), and the Menu button. To the right is the usual menu navigation controls, up/down/left/right in a round configuration, with the Enter button in the center. To the lower left of the ring, is the Return button. The Up arrow button doubles as an Input selector, when you are not in the Menu mode.

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