Sanyo PLV-Z4000

Sanyo is replacing its top-of-the-range 1080p tri-LCD projector, the PLV-Z3000 with the new PLV-Z4000.  At first sight, nothing has changed from one version to the next, but if you look a little closer, there have been a few updates.

Hardware & Handling: a flawless performance

This is an incredibly user-friendly projector, but that's no surprise, as it builds on the strengths of its predecessor, the PLV-Z3000.  It even goes further, reducing energy from 1.1 to 0.3 W on standby.  For more information on other aspects, we suggest you read the test of the PLV-Z3000. 

Here's a visual representation of how wide its lens-shift feature is.


There really is a lot of room for maneuver.  To get an idea of just how much, compare the coverage of the PLV-Z4000 to the Epson EH-TW2900 or the Mitsubishi HC6800.

Image Quality: very deep blacks and great noise handling


We measured black levels at 0.27 cd/m² against whites of 170 cd/m².  To put that another way, this projector isn't very bright when you leave the bulb in eco mode, but it can produce incredible blacks.  As long as you're in a completely dark room, the brightness is good enough, but we wouldn't have been against something a little brighter for the times when you're not.  Unfortunately, though, the choice is often between deep blacks and a bright picture.  Personally, we prefer a little more brightness along with blacks that are still deeper.

Managing video noise remains a particular strength of Sanyo's, and the results are impeccable.

Bright areas are well handled, with no overexposure of even the brightest zones.

Upscaling and 1080p: upscaling SD sources isn't this projector's real strong point, but if you're watching a DVD there's a simple solution: just choose a good DVD or Blu-ray disc player.  For non-HD digital TV, though, the solution is less obvious, and results aren't that great, but the growing availability of HD broadcasts should go some way to fixing the problem.  1080p video has plenty of details, but if you look at our Face-Off extracts carefully, there are green and purple chromatic aberrations around very highly contrasted areas.  That's a result of slightly misaligned LCD matrices.  Because both the PLV-Z3000 and the PLV-Z800 escape this defect, we can only assume that it's the manufacturer's fault.  Whatever the origin of the problem, it's almost impossible to detect when you're watching a film from a distance of two metros or more.

Sanyo left out 3D and included a very imperfect system for improving the fluidity of moving images.  A real shame on both counts.