Sharp XV-Z20000 projector, General Image Quality

Posted on October 18, 2013 By Art Feierman

Sharp XV-Z20000 Sharpness

The XV-Z20000 scores big in the sharpness category. Of all the 1080p projectors so far, only the Mitsubishi HC5000 tends to look a touch sharper. Because the Mitsubishi is LCD, it’s pixel visibility is just barely below conciousness, which I believe tends to make it seem sharper than it is. (It doesn’t reveal any more detail, but gives the feeling of “razor sharp”.) Although I did not have the opportunity to have the XV-Z20000 here at the same time as the BenQ W10000 and Optoma HD81, both which are very sharp, based on my viewing compared to the JVC RS1, I suspect the Sharp is at least as sharp as the BenQ and Optoma, and maybe a touch sharper.

Bottom line is that the Sharp XV-Z20000 lives up to its name – Sharp! Compared to the JVC RS1, I do not believe that the Sharp is actually revealing more detail, but it does feel just that little bit sharper when viewing, (supported by my test images) from my close seating position. For my extended viewing, I had the Sharp filling about 110″ diagonal of my 128″ Firehawk G3, and I sit exactly 11 feet back (measured from eyeball to screen). Even that distance to a 110″ image is considered a little closer than average. When I move to my back row of seating – about 20 feet to the 128″ screen, there is no way to tell a difference at all. (Ok, here’s a side note for you: I purchased new eye glasses last week. Both of my eyes are corrected now, to 20/15, and with both open, I can read most of the 20/10 line without error. As a result, I have better vision than the vast majority, and even considering that – the differences between these better 1080p projectors are most subtle!)

JVC_RS-1