Here is a side-by-side comparison of the Sanyo PLV-Z4 (left) and a D4 panel projector of the same resolution (right)

DVD: Elizabethtown
Being a member of a DVD rental-by-mail program helps me to include some of the more recent films on my reviews. Elizabethtown was not the best quality transfer I've seen in a while. While it didn't have excessive edge enhancement, it seemed as if the DVD transfer from film was somewhat lackluster (perhaps the guy had something better to do that night). It did have some good color, however, and I was able to use it to see how well the Sanyo handled black levels and lots of real world film detail. This is a good example of how HQV scores don't have much effect on picture quality. Since I was feeding the Sanyo digitally upconverted 720p video from my Denon DVD-3910 source player, there was no deinterlacing being performed by the projector. What I was focusing on was color and its ability to render intricate objects in motion and relatively deep blacks. While I have seen deeper blacks from an LCD projector, the overall picture quality was more than satisfactory and I was looking forward to a better DVD to check out sharpness and detail (which seemed to vary by scene in Elizabethtown ).

DVD: Flightplan
The Flightplan DVD was a home run. It had a TON of dark scenes and a decent transfer quality that gave me a lot of detail to look at, especially with facial close-ups and clothing. The first thing I noticed was that the post-calibrated Sanyo was able to peer into the darker parts of the picture without losing resolution or appearing blocky. There was also no graininess in the deeper blacks. Dark areas of the picture had depth and retained detail 舑 a visual characteristic that I have seen other projectors do a lesser job at reproducing. Sharpness and fine detail, once I got a reliable DVD to base my real-world opinions on, was phenomenal. This is possibly one of the better projectors I've seen in terms of picture clarity and optics.

Misc HDTV via Digital Cable
We watched plenty of HDTV programs including CSI: Miami, House, and a recent favorite of ours, Bones . I was unable to watch the Oscars this year (or the "Hollywood self-love-fest" as I call it), but the sampling of shows I did see gave me clear examples of the picture this projector is capable of producing. Consistently color was impressive, blacks and whites were full of detail and sharpness and detail were above average. Screen door effect during practical viewing was nonexistent at my seated position.

Conclusion

I believe I may have already said everything there is to say about the Sanyo PLV-Z4. This projector is practical in price, flexible in its functionality, and robust in its capabilities. It can reproduce blacks well for an LCD projector (though it did not strike me as a "DLP-killer") and it can put out color as well as some LCoS displays I've seen. The real strength is in being able to put forth a great amount of sharp picture without significant screen door effect. I was able to watch and enjoy this projector from a very close proximity and only by truly straining my eyes could I pick out the screen door (and I just had my eyes checked, they're fine). The Sanyo is a tough competitor and I now know what all the fuss has been about - it's warranted.

Sanyo PLV-Z4 LCD Projector

MSRP: $2995

About Sanyo North America
SANYO Group's corporate philosophy is the guiding principle in accomplishing the key management policy of ensuring products and services that are indispensable in creating harmony between people and the environment. SANYO's priorities are: Customer Satisfaction and Harmonizing with the Environment. SANYO's digital technology and core competence (the source of our competitiveness) supply the products and services that generate joy, excitement, and impact.