Sharp XV-Z20000 1080p Home Theater Projector Review – General Performance1

Posted on October 18, 2013 By Art Feierman

Sharp XV-Z20000 User Memory Settings

Sharp has the Memory setting option for Picture mode, and also for gamma, etc. As a result you can just modify existing settings, or save a new one, as needed. Best I can tell, you are limited to just one new preset. but the manual is almost worthless. There is no mention if the projector will recognize different sources, so that a different group of settings can be saved for each device, or failing that, for each input. I must apologize, as I didn’t explore this further. I will try to update!

Sharp XV-Z20000 Remote Control

The XV-Z20000’s remote control is a very good one. First off, it has plenty of range. No problem in my theater even with a bounce off the screen totalling almost 30 feet.

The Sharp XV-Z20000 projector remote control.From the top, on the right is the power on button, and on the left, the off button (press twice). Sharp refuses to label it Off, instead chose Standby. I assume that the logic is that the projector is still on (lamp and most electronics off, but, the infra-red sensors are alive so that the remote can power the projector on).

Immediately below, on the right is the Menu button. Nice, by itself, easy to find without looking for it, or moving your hand. Next comes the four arrow keys for navigation in the usual circular layout, with a center Enter button. Below that, on the left, is the Return button which moves you back out from sub-menus to main menus, to menu off. I would call this a right handed person’s remote, as the Return button is high to the right, and as your thumb sweeps an arc lower, it naturally moves to the left. This will probably drive left-handed people a little crazy, but, fortunately, I’m not one of them. (And if that’s the biggest complaint left-handed people have with the XV-Z20000, then, they too will be thrilled with their choice).

The next block of buttons are for the seven sources, including the two HDMI’s and the DVI-I.

Below that, are three rows of three, covering everything else. These are going to be hard to memorize or access without looking. Most notably, down the right, the three buttons are Picture Mode, Contrast and Brightness. Picture Mode lets you toggle between the various modes, while the other two, let you adjust using the left and right arrow keys.

At the top middle of the three rows is the aspect ratio control, and I like the choices there. You can toggle between them. Besides the usual 16:9, and 4:3, there is a “dot by dot” – one to one pixel matching (thus, a 720p source would only use 1280×720 of the 1920×1080 pixels, for a smaller image). There is also a 14:9 (about half way between 4:3 and 16:9), and something I am most pleased to see, which is a smart stretch mode, for those that want to use the full screen with a source that is not 16:9. The Sharp has an aspect ratio to support an anamorphic lens, for those that want to do full 2.35:1 Cinemascope on a Cinemascope screen, without letterboxing.

There’s also an Auto Sync, for computer signals an RGB vs Component toggle button, and on the lower right, is the Iris control. Next to it, is an Input button, which calls up the input menu, to select a source. Whether that is really needed, since there are direct buttons for each source, I just don’t know.

Finally, at the bottom is a night glow Light button. The remote’s backlight is nice and bright (I hate dim ones). The light stays on for about 5 seconds (but stays on if you push another button before then). Five seconds is a bit short, but livable.

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Sharp XV-Z20000 Lens Throw and Lens Shift

As mentioned in the Overview, the XV-Z20000 has a pretty limited zoom range of only 1.35:1. Fortunately, the throw range is what I would describe as medium, and as a result, many who want to will be able to shelf mount in the rear of their rooms, but many others will not.

For a 100″ diagonal screen (16:9) measured from the front of the lens, to the screen surface, the closest it can be placed is 13 feet, 2 inches, and the furthest, 18 feet, 2 inches.

The Sharp offers only vertical lens shift. The range is good, and typical of many home theater projectors, allowing the lens/projector to be even with the top of the screen surface, the bottom, or anywhere in between. Again, good for shelf mounting. Those who are ceiling mounting, with a high ceiling room, will which it had more range, so that the Sharp projector wouldn’t have to hang as far down on a pole. By comparison, most of the other 1080 projectors have a bit more range. The BenQ’s have the same amount, the Optoma has no lens shift at all.

Sharp XV-Z20000 SDE and Rainbow Effect

The Screen Door Effect (SDE) is a non issue, with a typical DLP 1080p projector, at normal seating distances. If you sit close you might be able to see a bit of pixel structure in titling, and an occasional large bright white area. Overall, I consider SDE not to be an issue.

Here’s a closeup of the DTS logo, the thumbnail shows you about 20% of the whole image, and clicking on it brings up a large version of a very, very small portion of the screen:

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As the XV-Z20000 is a classic single chip DLP projector, it uses a spinning color filter wheel. As a result a very small percentage of the population can detect rainbows. The rainbow effect is most visible are dark scenes with a fast moving white or near white object moving across the screen, or a fast moving very dark area moving across a bright backdrop.

I am slightly sensitive to rainbows, but, as is typical for a 5x color wheel DLP projector, I rarely see them. No one seems to know what percentage of the population is sensitive, but it is probably somewhere between 1/2% and 5%, and most likely toward the lower end of that range. Of the many dozens of people who have been in my theater, only 3 of them ever noticed rainbows. (I never ask until after they are done viewing.)