Sanyo PLV-Z3000: Bottom Line Sharpness

Posted on December 7, 2008 by Art Feierman

Sanyo PLV-Z3000: Bottom Line Sharpness

All considered, I recommend you don't concern yourself about sharpness with the PLV-Z3000. When watching it, the only time you will question its sharpness, is when the content isn't sharp. Standard TV and DVDs will look soft, but it's their lower resolution. HDTV 1080p content will look really great (sharp wise), as will Blu-ray movies. The film based movies will not look as sharp as the digital HDTV content, as the original film that movies are shot with, add a certain softness to the image (due to film grain, etc.), as always.

Even if you are a total sharpness freak, the Z3000 should please you. That's definitely true if a typical production unit is just a little sharper than this sample, as expected.

Light Leakage

Very clean. No noticeable light leakage from the lens. There is some light from the venting, but it is very muted, you are not likely to have an angle to see it, if ceiling or shelf mounted. Light leakange is just not an issue!

Image Noise

The Sanyo performs well, using the HQV HD test disc. Jaggies were handled very well, mosquito noise was a little better than the average projector.

Audible Noise

The Sanyo PLV-Z3000 projector is very quiet. In its low power eco-mode, the Sanyo claims 19 db, making it one of the very quietest. At full power, the noise level increased more than most, but it's still quieter than most projectors. It's definitely quieter than any of the 1080p DLP based projectors I can think of, and also quieter than the likes of the Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB. Noise in either mode should not be a problem for owners.