Sanyo PLV-Z2000 Home Theater Projector Review

Overview

Well, it’s about time. The PLV-Z2000 is about a year late, compared to the competition. Just about everyone else in the home theater projector game has had a projector out since last fall, or winter. Sanyo has finally decided to join the party. This first attempt at an affordable 1080p home cinema projector, turns out to be a very good one. I should note, however, that Sanyo, like Sony, seems consistent, in that their projectors tend to be less bright than almost all of the competition. Also, as is typical with LCD projectors, they give up more lumens to get their best picture, relative to their brightest, than do competing DLP projectors.

PLV-Z2000 - All considered, a most enjoyable projector to watch

We’ll get into the details throughout the review, but perhaps most importantly (along with the low price point), is the watchability of the PLV-Z2000. I logged over 40 hours of viewing, including a couple hours of watching it side by side with the Optoma HD8000 (essentially, the same as their HD80). Most impressive. The Sanyo is just one well rounded projector, easy to watch and enjoy, and that, along with the price, is why it deserves our Hot Product Award.

Editor’s note: Look out for our 1080p comparison summary, in January ’08, once we have 4 additional 1080p projector reviews finished. That piece should feature 8 1080p projectors between $2000+ and $7000.