Sanyo PLV-Z3

Pros: outstanding video performance after calibration

Cons: 20% more luminance output, HDMI problems, medicore black levels

Summary: I'm honestly suprised by Cnet's rating on this particular projector. After properly calibrated, the video performance on this projector at a price to quality ratio is astonishing to say the least. Color reproduction and saturation is incredible, while cnet is correct in saying that the blacks are occasionally muddy. Sharpness is particularly good, and my plv-z3 does not produce the SDE as Cnet's reviewers have described. My model is projecting an image 100 inches diagonally, and from a 10 foot viewing distance, the SDE is minimal, if not entirely non-existant. Vertical banding is also non-existant. While the grey-scale is faithful for an LCD projector, the contrast still tends to be weak compared to, say, a panasonic PT-AE700U. While i compared these two projectors, i believe that the PLV-Z3 ulitmately triumps, because the AE700U's 500 dollar price difference is not justifiable. I would be happy to see a 20% increase in lumen output WITHOUT affecting contrast ratios, as well as a fix the HDMI's resolution dropoff. All in all, for 1500 dollars, this projector exceeds my expectations, and proves that DLP technology hasnt won the war on front projectors yet. If anyone wants more info on this unit, or the Panasonic PT-AE700U, feel free to contact me at krisr2005@gmail.com.