Home > Consumer Reviews > Sanyo PLV Z4 - LCD projector - 1000 ANSI lumens - 1280 x 720 - widescreen - High Definition 720p

I purchased the Sanyo PLV Z4 LCD projector for my home theater which is in my newly-refinished basement. I had originally considered purchasing a big screen (55"-60") HDTV; however, when I looked in to the prices of the major brands (Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, etc.), I found them to be cost prohibitive.

I switched my focus to an LCD projector, and I began to research the major brands (Optoma, InFocus, NEC, etc.). Two specs came to mind- brightness and contrast ratio. The Sanyo PLV Z4 provides good brightness (1000 lumens-better than some, worse than others) and an excellent contrast ratio (9000:1). This high contrast ratio is what convinced me to purchase the Sanyo PLV Z4. Plus, since I bought it from an authorized vendor ($1600 on Ebay), it came with a free screen and a free replacement lamp (a $500 value).

My Sanyo PLV Z4 is hooked up to a switch box ($60 on Ebay) via a 20' HDMI cable (required for Hi-Def projection), which then splits and goes to my HD cable box and upconverting Oppo DVD player ($200 on Ebay). When I watch my beloved Red Sox lose to the Yankees in HD, you can practically see the tears in the eyes of the Fenway Faithful.

The audio is provided by a Harmon-Kardon AVR 635 receiver and is hooked up to a 5.1 speaker setup with a 10" Velodyne subwoofer. I installed a 106" (diagonal) 2.5 gain glass beaded Da-Lite pull-down screen at the other end of the basement, and it feels like I am at the movies.

Two films my wife and I saw recently, "The Island" and "The Lost City" looked and sounded fantastic on this system. "The Island," which has many special audio and visual effects, looked fantastic. "The Lost City," which is Andy Garcia's ode to pre-Castro Cuba, is filled with the sounds of Cuban jazz. The film looked great on the projection screen, and sounded better through the Harmon-Kardon receiver and vintage JBL speakers.

The Sanyo PLV Z4 provides an excellent picture and has two unique and useful features. First, it has an automatic cover that closes over the lens when the projector is shut down. Second, it has a side-to side picture adjustment to help place the picture just where you want it. This feature was critical when I intalled this projector, since it is mounted to a beam which is offset from the center of the ceiling in my basement.

If you consider the cost of a big screen HDTV ($3000 for a 46" Sony- which is less than 1/2 the size of my screen), add on the home theater ($2000), you are in for $5000. My system's picture is twice the size, and the sound is excellent. Admittedly, setup is a bit complicated, but you only have to do it once, and there is plenty of help available online.

Now, when I want to go to the movies, all I have to do is go downstairs.

I've owned a Z4 for about a year now and am still blown away by it. How can you not love a crystal clear 9' across picture? I have about 700 hours on the original bulb and it's still going strong. Here's some things you'll want to consider before buying a front projector, though:

- You MUST be able to control the lighting in the room a front projector is used in. You don't need a dedicated theater room like a basement or anything. I use mine in my living room and the drapes are enough. Just keep in mind that you won't be able to watch in a fully illuminated room like you can with a traditional television set. The darker the room, the better the picture. Ambient light is a huge factor.

- Your picture will only be as good as the signal you put into it. You'll want to invest in component cables(if not better). I used a composite cable at first. There's a huge difference with this big of a picture. Cost didn't sound like a big deal to me, until I realized I'd need 25' of component cable to go from the source to the projector. Painful, but worth it. Also, take a look at your DVD/Cable service. Again, your picture is only as good as it's input.

That said, I love this thing. There're a few concessions to be made with this setup, but I think it's worth it. A screen this size combined with a kicking audio system is truly an experience!

I purchased my PLV-Z4 from another online retailer and I have been absolutely pleased with the performance and bulb life. I've been running it for almost 3 years now and my only issue was that the lamp ballast blew out, but because of their 3 year warranty, I had it out and back within a week at no charge.

I would recommend this projector to ANYONE, as long as they have a viewing room that tolerates the 1000 lumens - it's not a sunlight or ambient light friendly lumen level, but it's awesome in a dark theatre...=)

I had a Panasonic PT-AE100 before so I was coming from a 480p projector to 720p. I cannot say how nice it is to have the lens shift and be able to place the projector off center and away. The automatic lens cover is great so you don't have to worry about misplacing a lens cap. There are ports on the projector that fit an air duster tube so you can dust the panels if you should get a speck or bit of dust on a panel. Also, it is quieter than the comparable Epson 720p projector which one of my friends has. On a side note, I have not seen any kind of banding artifacts that I've read other projectors occasionally have. I've had it for over a year and I'm still very happy with it and it's still working like a champ.

I prefer using this to my 42" 1080p LCD - the colors are much better as well as overall picture quality. I use this primarily at home in the living room for Bluray, HD DVD, and HDTV. On occasion, I take it to friends' houses for movies by the pool (I bring a portable projection screen) or video games.

When my old big screen decided to die, I decided I wanted to go with the full movie theatre experience. After about 2 months of research I decided upon the Sanyo Z4 and what a great purchase it was. I have the projector roughly 14 ft from the 121" HC Screen. The image quality is fantastic using the HDMI connection. I have it hooked up to the DishHD and a upconverting Sony dvd player. If you search around you can find great prices on HDMI cables that aren't the ridiculous price monster ones.