Well I guess it's time to start an official thread for this projector. In my opinion, this is one of the best 'bang for buck' projectors out there. Here are a few links to some of the reviews, blogs, and Sanyo:

Sanyo:
http://us.sanyo.com/Home-Theaters/PLV-Z60

Manual:
http://us.sanyo.com/dynamic/product/Downloads/PLV-Z60_OwnersManual-16189822.PDF

Blog:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/blog/2008/09/30/sanyo-plv-z60-720p-home-theater-projector-a-first-look/

Reviews:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/sanyo/plv-z60/index.php

http://www.projectorcentral.com/sanyo_z60_projector_review.htm

http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_c/Sanyo_PLV-Z60.html

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/sanyo-plv-z60-lcd

Negative reviews:

http://www.projector.com/reviews/sanyo/plvz60.php

I've done some testing with HCFR and I will post my results soon.

Here are my latest HCFR measurements and settings. Hopefully, everyone is familiar with HCFR for calibrating, if not check it out here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12928563#post12928563
Please note that my settings, as with all displays, will probably not match your results. Differences in screen types and subtle differences in manufactured electronics as well as environments make everything different. You know the typical calibration disclaimers. And, I might add, that I am not anything certified (ISF, THX, ..etc). I am more of a calibration hack who loves to get as much out of the display as I can. I ask a lot of questions over at the calibration forum and I try to learn as much as possible. Please feel free to share any other HCFR files.

For the calibration, I turned off all of the iris settings. Now I'm rethinking that because I seem to get a better gamma when I use the setting auto1 for the lamp iris. Here is my post in the calibration forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15665838#post15665838

Can someone post some screenshots ? :D

I'd love to but I haven't got my camera back yet.
I'm going down to do a little calibrating this morning to get ready for the game tonight.
I've been going to do this for the past couple of days but I get down there and throw in a movie and I'm done :)
I just sit and enjoy the picture and the movie (no calibrating gets done)
I printed out the owners manual last night and read it this morning to get familiar with all the menu's so I'm ready as I'll ever be.
I'll let everyone know how I make out.( unless when I turn on the projector there is a good movie on or something )

I'll try to get some before I take it down.

Thank you for establishing an "official" Z60 thread. I got mine last week and so far, am very happy and impressed. I have it set up on a 92" 16:9 screen painted on the wall with Behr's "silverscreen" (non-tampered). Turned out Great!!

I do have one thing that is annoying me a bit, though. While watching HDTV (OTA), and especially during the football game, the distant, in focus objects seem to be in standard def and not very clear, especially when moving. Also, the background of Jay Leno's Tonight Show literally blinks on and off when the camera is moved ever so slightly. I was wondering if there is any specific setting that may help reduce this effect. I do understand that since it is an LCD projector and does not have 120Hz refresh, images in motion will be blurrier than other TVs or style projectors. Thanks for the insights.

While watching HDTV (OTA), and especially during the football game, the distant, in focus objects seem to be in standard def and not very clear, especially when moving. Also, the background of Jay Leno's Tonight Show literally blinks on and off when the camera is moved ever so slightly. I was wondering if there is any specific setting that may help reduce this effect. I do understand that since it is an LCD projector and does not have 120Hz refresh, images in motion will be blurrier than other TVs or style projectors. Thanks for the insights.
What signal are you sending to the Sanyo? Digital (HDMI) or analog (component)? And what resolution? 1080i or 720p?

What signal are you sending to the Sanyo? Digital (HDMI) or analog (component)? And what resolution? 1080i or 720p?

I'm sending a 720p signal to it over HDMI from a Panasonic DVD recorder / VHS player / digital tuner (lot's of functionality, but doesn't do any of them very well... another topic). I was watching NBC, which I understand is 1080i. Maybe I should send 1080i to the Z60 and let it figure it out? Thanks.

I'm about to buy a screen for my Sanyo PLV-Z60 and would like to hear other's recommendations or warnings.

My HT room is completely light controlled.
Walls are painted a flat "dark cavern" (Behr 790F-7 - very dark brown/gray)
Sample at-http://www.behr.com/Behr/home#vgnextoid=6bd8ea6621ca5110VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD;chan nel=EXPLORE;view=14).
Ceilings and baseboards are flat white.
Rug is an commercial type, multi-color brown.

I'm looking to purchase a 106" screen.
I was pretty set on purchasing a Matte White screen, but was starting to consider a High-Contrast Matte White screen (from Da-Lite).
I figured since our projectors are supposed to have good contrast already, and the light can be totally controlled (a basement room with NO windows), that simple Matte White would be the most appropriate choice... though "High Contrast" Matte White has me curious... a "Matte White" screen that somehow has gray in it to give better black levels "without sacrificing white levels"??? Seems like a contradictory claim... matte white, but has a gray base material???

Anyway, thoughts, opinions, recommendations, and warnings are appreciated. Thanks!

I'm still using my 92" black out cloth screen I made for my SP4805.
To me it looks gorgeous.
I just got my camera back today so I'll take some picks tomorrow and post them.
I'm in a dedicated basement theater. Completely light controlled with dark blues and burgundy.

I have my z60 playing output from my ps3 onto an elite ezframe 100" screen. I noticed on the top and bottom of the video there is a small bar, about 3~4cm all the way across. Is this something wrong with my projector? The bar is the same color as what is being displayed on the screen, and if I resize the picture the bar moves with the edge of the picture. Its very odd to say the least. I tried to overscan the image, but that didnt seem to help. Any ideas?? Also what is a good calibration for the z60? I don't have any of the fancy calibration disks, but all my blacks seem to be a grayish color and not a nice dark black. I know I won't get black blacks, but they shouldn't be gray :(

Top and Bottom:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7375/topandbottomdr5.jpg


Any ideas? It happens on bluerays too :(

EDIT: I notice in the picture it appears whitish, but thats just the camera picture, in reality it is almost the same color as the video being displayed just a little bit off.

I'm sending a 720p signal to it over HDMI from a Panasonic DVD recorder / VHS player / digital tuner (lot's of functionality, but doesn't do any of them very well... another topic). I was watching NBC, which I understand is 1080i. Maybe I should send 1080i to the Z60 and let it figure it out? Thanks.
To me it seems like it might be a deinterlacing problem. Do you have a blu-ray player or hd dvd? Have you tried checking with HQV disc? Try 1080i. The projector may do a better job than the panasonic.

I have my z60 playing output from my ps3 onto an elite ezframe 100" screen. I noticed on the top and bottom of the video there is a small bar, about 3~4cm all the way across. Is this something wrong with my projector? The bar is the same color as what is being displayed on the screen, and if I resize the picture the bar moves with the edge of the picture. Its very odd to say the least. I tried to overscan the image, but that didnt seem to help. Any ideas?? Also what is a good calibration for the z60? I don't have any of the fancy calibration disks, but all my blacks seem to be a grayish color and not a nice dark black. I know I won't get black blacks, but they shouldn't be gray :(
This looks it might be a scaling issue. Does this happen with SD discs and Blu-ray discs?

I'm about to buy a screen for my Sanyo PLV-Z60 and would like to hear other's recommendations or warnings.

My HT room is completely light controlled.
Walls are painted a flat "dark cavern" (Behr 790F-7 - very dark brown/gray)
Sample at-http://www.behr.com/Behr/home#vgnextoid=6bd8ea6621ca5110VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD;chan nel=EXPLORE;view=14).
Ceilings and baseboards are flat white.
Rug is an commercial type, multi-color brown.

I'm looking to purchase a 106" screen.
I was pretty set on purchasing a Matte White screen, but was starting to consider a High-Contrast Matte White screen (from Da-Lite).
I figured since our projectors are supposed to have good contrast already, and the light can be totally controlled (a basement room with NO windows), that simple Matte White would be the most appropriate choice... though "High Contrast" Matte White has me curious... a "Matte White" screen that somehow has gray in it to give better black levels "without sacrificing white levels"??? Seems like a contradictory claim... matte white, but has a gray base material???

Anyway, thoughts, opinions, recommendations, and warnings are appreciated. Thanks!
Here's what Art with projectorreviews had to say about screens:

PLV-Z60 Projector Screen Recommendations
Considering the low lumen output in best mode, and the better than typical black level performance for a 720p projector, I have to recommend a white screen surface, and for many of you, one with some gain. Screens like Carada's Brilliant White (only available in fixed wall), or pull-down, motorized or fixed wall equivalents from Da-Lite, Elite, Draper, Grandview, Stewart, etc. with gains in the 1.1 to 1.4 range are probably the best choice. Of course if you are going with less than 100" diagonal and have some side ambient light issues, then you might want to consider a light gray high contrast surface, which will help with some of that side ambient light.

If you will not have folks sitting far to the sides, then some may even want to choose a higher gain screen, such as a 1.8 gain. I'm definitely not big on gains higher than that, because of the unevenness of illumination from left to right, if you are not sitting extremely close to the center.
Mine's a Draper matte white (I think) and I'm pretty happy with it.

I posted it happens on blurays too :(

I finally got a minute to take a couple of pictures.
They are not very good, I have an old 3.1 megapixel.
The actual picture from the Z60 looks much better then these pics.

I posted it happens on blurays too :(
I know. That's why I asked if it happens with Standard Definition discs, too. I'm guessing it does. I don't think I have any more thoughts about what it could be.

This looks it might be a scaling issue. Does this happen with SD discs and Blu-ray discs?

I finally got a minute to take a couple of pictures.
They are not very good, I have an old 3.1 megapixel.
The actual picture from the Z60 looks much better then these pics.
Lookin' good!:)

thanks for the pics,

can I request pics of the actual unit? i'm trying to visualize how bit it would look against the wall or celling.

thanks folks,

bye

I'll take one in the morning and post it for you.

To me it seems like it might be a deinterlacing problem. Do you have a blu-ray player or hd dvd? Have you tried checking with HQV disc? Try 1080i. The projector may do a better job than the panasonic.

Thanks angryht. I do not have a blu-ray player yet and do not have an 1080p source to send it, yet. No HQV disc either. I'll try the 1080i setting on the Panasonic and see how the projector handles it. On another note, my budget Insignia 720p 26" LCD TV handles "The Tonight Show" just fine.

Also, to chime in on the projector screen front, I painted a 92" 16:9 screen on my wall with Behr "Silverscreen", no additives. $9 /qt. Can't beat it for value and it looks awesome. The 2" black flok tape I bought from Goo was 4x as much, but nothing really out there in black velvet tape for cheap. Anyway, that's my two bits.

I finally got a minute to take a couple of pictures.
They are not very good, I have an old 3.1 megapixel.
The actual picture from the Z60 looks much better then these pics.

Thanks, not bad. can imagine the actual quality is much better.

Here are a couple pics of this baby mounted.
I moved it up a foot from where I had the SP4805 to get more FL.
I think I'm at 17 or 18fl now.
I have to repaint that area and put the rubber grommet back for the cables.
I pulled the M1 cable out and replaced it with an HDMI.

A big thanks "mrpergo" for the photos, it look a bit bigger than I tought. Not sure if I should show them to the girlfriend...she is not very positive on having that on the celling/wall

I'm working hard and I will soon be part of the z60 owner family..

all the pics are welcome, Thanks

I have a Panasonic BD30 connected to my Z60 and I can't get 24 fps to work. I have seen lots of reviews that say it supports 24 fps. However, I cannot find anything from Sanyo in the specs or in the manual that specifically says it can do 24 fps. Does anybody have this combo? Is anybody else running 24 fps from a different source. It seems like most are using a PS3 with no problem. But I can't seem to get it to work with my BD30.

Thanks for any help.

I have a Panasonic BD30 connected to my Z60 and I can't get 24 fps to work. I have seen lots of reviews that say it supports 24 fps. However, I cannot find anything from Sanyo in the specs or in the manual that specifically says it can do 24 fps. Does anybody have this combo? Is anybody else running 24 fps from a different source. It seems like most are using a PS3 with no problem. But I can't seem to get it to work with my BD30.

Thanks for any help.

Did you try the panasonic menus, or the sanyo menus? projectorreviews.com states twice that z60 supports 24fps via hdmi. if both machines support it, it may be something you missed.

Did you try the panasonic menus, or the sanyo menus? projectorreviews.com states twice that z60 supports 24fps via hdmi. if both machines support it, it may be something you missed.
I tried both. The Sanyo menu doesn't have anything related to 24 fps. The Panasonic menu has a separate setting for 1080p and 24 fps. It will allow me to change it to 1080p, but when I try to change to 24 fps it does not recognize that the Sanyo is capable. I think it's an HDMI handshake issue (or maybe a forced 24 fps issue) but I'm waiting for Panasonic to respond to my emails. I'm kind of scratching my head but I was curious (and I've asked it before elsewhere) if anybody else has this combo.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I was under the assumption that although the sanyo would receive a 24fps signal, it still displayed it at 60fps, instead of a multiple of 24. Again, maybe I'm mistaken.

The Sony S-350 w/ video output to 1080p and 24fps set to "ON", outputs 24fps to Z60.

The Z60 clearly indicates it is getting 24fps inputs (from its on screen information menu). The Sony S350 player is also indicating 24fps output. So for anyone interested, yes, 24fps works between the Z60 and S350 with the above setting. Also 24fps works only for BD, not SD.

However, I don't know if the Z60 really displays the final screen image @24fps or convert it to 60Hz internally? Does anybody have information on this? Or does anybody have an easy way to measure the screen refresh rate? (e.g. I am thinking of something like taking screen shots with a Camera w/ shutter speed set to 1/30...)

I found that with SD, my S350 BD player does a better job at upconverting th 480p to the native Z60 720p than the Z60 itself.

However, I haven't noticed much difference in downconverting from 1080p to the native Z60 using either the S350 BD player or the Z60 projector. So it looks like the Z60 is doing the decent downconverting job. Maybe it is because it is easier than upconverting...

I've only watched a few BD discs with my eyes. Can anybody share there experience on this? i.e. for 1080p BD disc, is it better to have the BD player output 720p or 1080p to the Z60? Or it does not really matter.

I understand that 24fps is only available on 1080p output. But that's a different topic.

Thanks!

I have also posted this to the official HD65 thread so if you are subscribed to both, this might be a repeat.

Expert opinions sought for the following issue:

Executive summary: I just took delivery of a Sanyo PLV-Z60 and not sure if I should keep it or return it in exchange for an Optoma HD65 due to brightness.

I recently built a home theater. I have never had a home theater before and therfore am not used to projectors in general - so my perceptions of projector brightness could just be how they are, or perhaps I would enjoy a brighter projector like the HD65.

I read all the reviews and in the end, decided I would get either the Sanyo or the Optoma. The sanyo had rave reviews in all areas except 1 - brightness. The Optoma had rave reviews in all areas except 1, installation flexibility. When I found the Sanyo on sale somewhere for $800 combined with the current $100 rebate and 3 year warantee, I went for it. Basically, since I have a 100% light controlled, basement installation, I figured the brightness issue would not be relevant. Last night, watching the first movie since installing, "Batman Returns," I found some scenes dificult to see detail in dark areas. Maybe this was just a poor example because it is a dark movie in general. My wife and kids thought it was fine. I later watched an NBA game and it looked great but not like watching my rear projection screen TV in my family room. Also, if there is any light on in the room at all, its almost unwatchable.

So... The question is: Do I just need to get used to how projectors look - or will I see a discernable difference with the Optoma HD-65. Perhaps I'm asking the wrong group because this is an Optoma group but I would appreciate your opinions.
Thanks,
Fredster4

I have also posted this to the official HD65 thread so if you are subscribed to both, this might be a repeat.

Expert opinions sought for the following issue:

Executive summary: I just took delivery of a Sanyo PLV-Z60 and not sure if I should keep it or return it in exchange for an Optoma HD65 due to brightness.

I recently built a home theater. I have never had a home theater before and therfore am not used to projectors in general - so my perceptions of projector brightness could just be how they are, or perhaps I would enjoy a brighter projector like the HD65.

I read all the reviews and in the end, decided I would get either the Sanyo or the Optoma. The sanyo had rave reviews in all areas except 1 - brightness. The Optoma had rave reviews in all areas except 1, installation flexibility. When I found the Sanyo on sale somewhere for $800 combined with the current $100 rebate and 3 year warantee, I went for it. Basically, since I have a 100% light controlled, basement installation, I figured the brightness issue would not be relevant. Last night, watching the first movie since installing, "Batman Returns," I found some scenes dificult to see detail in dark areas. Maybe this was just a poor example because it is a dark movie in general. My wife and kids thought it was fine. I later watched an NBA game and it looked great but not like watching my rear projection screen TV in my family room. Also, if there is any light on in the room at all, its almost unwatchable.

So... The question is: Do I just need to get used to how projectors look - or will I see a discernable difference with the Optoma HD-65. Perhaps I'm asking the wrong group because this is an Optoma group but I would appreciate your opinions.
Thanks,
Fredster4
Have you adjusted the black and white levels using AVSHD or THX disc?

^ You've been angry since 2004?

^ You've been angry since 2004?
Yep. You've been dead since 2007?

Actually 2006. I got stuck in the d*mn 9th circle of h*ll for 6 months. :D

Fredster, try calibarating with AVIA disc, it did a really great job with my Z60. Use a "USER" slot so the other presets will stay the same. you can change the bulb to full or half power, also if you keep the iris open the image should be brighter but then the constrast suffers a bit..
I watched "Desperado" in hdtv few days ago and it look just great after calibration.

Fredster, try calibarating with AVIA disc, it did a really great job with my Z60. Use a "USER" slot so the other presets will stay the same. you can change the bulb to full or half power, also if you keep the iris open the image should be brighter but then the constrast suffers a bit..
I watched "Desperado" in hdtv few days ago and it look just great after calibration.

Wolverin, would you mind posting your post calibration settings? I tried calibrating my Z60 with an old Video Essentials disc, but for some reason I didn't seem to be able to come up with suitable settings for a good image.

Wolverin, would you mind posting your post calibration settings? I tried calibrating my Z60 with an old Video Essentials disc, but for some reason I didn't seem to be able to come up with suitable settings for a good image.

Yes, I will check and post as soon as I can.

ok, hee are my settings with AVIA :

bri -2
con -1
col +11
tint 0
col temp low3
red +16
green 0
blue -8
sharp +2
lamp at 50%
gamma 0

** dont forget to press 'store' after you change it or it will not be saved. tell me if it worked for you.

Thanks Wolverin. I'll try those settings tonight. I have a couple of more questions that might help with the adjustments. First, which preset did you use when you made the adjustments. Also, what kind of screen are you using? I'm using a matte white with no gain. One more question. From your response to Fredster4, it appears that you have your iris set to be completely open. Is that right?

Thanks for your help. It's really appreciated! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Yes, I will check and post as soon as I can.

ok, hee are my settings with AVIA :

bri -2
con -1
col +11
tint 0
col temp low3
red +16
green 0
blue -8
sharp +2
lamp at 50%
gamma 0

** dont forget to press 'store' after you change it or it will not be saved. tell me if it worked for you.
Woah....that seems like a pretty high value for color. Is that from using the blue filter method?

Well, so I tried to alter the Dynamic preset, which now seems better to me then what I did before. in that preset I basically changed :

iris closed
bright -1
color low1
lamp at 50%

also try to change the gamma and the black settings in the advanced menu as you see a movie you like to get to results which appeal to you.

Fredster, try calibarating with AVIA disc, it did a really great job with my Z60. Use a "USER" slot so the other presets will stay the same. you can change the bulb to full or half power, also if you keep the iris open the image should be brighter but then the constrast suffers a bit..
I watched "Desperado" in hdtv few days ago and it look just great after calibration.

Thanks Wolverin. After reading a few more reviews, it's clear that I would be premature if I sent the Sanyo back without calibration. I have to get my hands on an Avia disk because I can't afford an Eye-One. After watching movies and sports on the Sanyo for a few days, I am absolutely in love with it. The piture looks awesome. Now that I've gotten used to it, I can't believe I waited until I was 48 to set up a home theater. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a movie buff, sports buff, etc. I am addicted! So I am going to plan on keeping the Sanyo and going through the calibration process. The quality of the image is incredible. I watched the academy awards last night on a 100" high definition screen, and I am in awe of the picture quality I can get in my own home, not to mention sound.

Thanks Wolverin. After reading a few more reviews, it's clear that I would be premature if I sent the Sanyo back without calibration. I have to get my hands on an Avia disk because I can't afford an Eye-One. After watching movies and sports on the Sanyo for a few days, I am absolutely in love with it. The piture looks awesome. Now that I've gotten used to it, I can't believe I waited until I was 48 to set up a home theater. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a movie buff, sports buff, etc. I am addicted! So I am going to plan on keeping the Sanyo and going through the calibration process. The quality of the image is incredible. I watched the academy awards last night on a 100" high definition screen, and I am in awe of the picture quality I can get in my own home, not to mention sound.
Fred, what is your source (blu-ray, hd-dvd or upconverting dvd)? You can use a THX disc to get fairly close. Also, the AVSHD is a free download and works on blu-ray and hd-dvd.

Well, I've tried your settings wolverin. I like how the blacks look, but, for me, the whole picture just has too much red push. I'm still playing around with your settings though. If I can get the red under control, then I will have an excellent picture.

I've also played around with the other presets and, even though I didn't use a calibration disc, I think I have a pretty good image using creative cinema with these four changes:

Bri -1
Sharp -7
Transient Improvement Off
Color List List 2

I'm very pleased with these settings, although I reserve the right to still tinker:) Keep in mind I didn't use a calibration disc. I tried to get somewhere close to the pure cinema settings as far as color goes, but still have the extra brightness of creative cinema. It was all done by eye, but I think it looks pretty good. Anyway, maybe it can be helpful to someone.

Hey, I thought while I was at it, I would share another setting I came up with based on the pure cinema preset. I made just 3 changes to it. They are:

Sharp -7
Lamp A1
Lamp Iris Auto 1

That brightened the picture without much affect on the color

Well, I've tried your settings wolverin. I like how the blacks look, but, for me, the whole picture just has too much red push.
That brightened the picture without much affect on the color

Frankie, the red coloration is probably due to the lowest color temp setting. See what happens if you change it to higher value.

Thanks wolverin. I thought of that too. I'll try it tonight and see how it turns out.

Have any of you guys seen a blur issue with the sanyo plv z60??
Im thinking about getting one.

Have any of you guys seen a blur issue with the sanyo plv z60??
Im thinking about getting one.
Do you mean motion blur? I think a lot of that has to do with the source you are feeding it.

Have any of you guys seen a blur issue with the sanyo plv z60??
Im thinking about getting one.

Nothing here. what exactly do you mean?

the motion blur that happens in fast movie scenes, or action scenes.

Do you mean motion blur? I think a lot of that has to do with the source you are feeding it.
So if I use a blue ray movies I should be fine?

the motion blur that happens in fast movie scenes, or action scenes.

Do you mean motion blur? I think a lot of that has to do with the source you are feeding it.
So if I use a blue ray movies I should be fine?
Well, not entirely. It also depends on the blu-ray player. There are a few different video artifacts that can occur for different reasons. Jaggies, which are a sign of poor deinterlacing, can make things appear a bit blurry. Also, if the blu-ray player does not recognize the 3:2 cadence, there will only be half of the resolution during motion. I know that my Panasonic BD30 does a great job with blu-ray content but not as good with SD dvd's. The PS3 does a very good job with both. The HQV benchmark blu-ray disc allows you to test sources and displays: http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm I'd also caution you not to believe the hype of 24 fps. They have not yet perfected it so there are still some atifacts. This article explains some of that: http://www.projectorcentral.com/judder_24p.htm This projector apparently accepts 24 fps but it depends on the source. I have contacted Sanyo and their official position is that the PLV-Z60 does not support it. I told them that several people on AVS have reported that the PS3, as well as other Sony's, will work with 24 fps but most do not recognize it. I have a PS3 but I have not connected it the Sanyo. So, the question to you, Shark, is, what is your source?

Angry, I have my z60 connected to a PS3 (and a Toshiba HD-DVD player). I've always had the 24fps set to automatic, but last week I thought I would experiment. I set the PS3 to always output 24fps. Then I put in the Blu-ray of Dr. No and watched the opening sequence where the busiiness men in Jamaica are sitting around playing cards. The Sanyo recognized the 24fps signal, but there was tearing in the image. So, I switched the PS3 24fps mode back to automatic and, voila, the tearing was gone. This was the first time I have ever seen tearing before. So I now know what that looks like.

Shark, as far as any "blur issue" with the z60 is concerned, I have not noticed any. Could it be that what you are seeing is motion blur as others have mentioned? I've seen it sometimes on my different displays, so I'm used to it and, therefore, doesn't bother me.

Angry, I have my z60 connected to a PS3 (and a Toshiba HD-DVD player). I've always had the 24fps set to automatic, but last week I thought I would experiment. I set the PS3 to always output 24fps. Then I put in the Blu-ray of Dr. No and watched the opening sequence where the busiiness men in Jamaica are sitting around playing cards. The Sanyo recognized the 24fps signal, but there was tearing in the image. So, I switched the PS3 24fps mode back to automatic and, voila, the tearing was gone. This was the first time I have ever seen tearing before. So I now know what that looks like.
Does the Sanyo indicate that it is receiving a 24 fps signal when it's in auto or always 24 fps when you hit info (on the PJ).

Shark, as far as any "blur issue" with the z60 is concerned, I have not noticed any. Could it be that what you are seeing is motion blur as others have mentioned? I've seen it sometimes on my different displays, so I'm used to it and, therefore, doesn't bother me. I think it's also important to realize that during fast camera pans, there will be blur in the movie theaters (even digital).

Does the Sanyo indicate that it is receiving a 24 fps signal when it's in auto or always 24 fps when you hit info (on the PJ).

When the PS3 is set to auto the projector indicates that is receiving a 60fps signal when I hit the info on the PJ.

I think it's also important to realize that during fast camera pans, there will be blur in the movie theaters (even digital).

That's a good point.

Hey guys,

I just purchased this projector and I am really excited to try it out. This is my first venture into the projector world. Do you think it is worth getting a Mack bulb warranty for this projector?

Do you think it is worth getting a Mack bulb warranty for this projector?
What the heck is that?

When the PS3 is set to auto the projector indicates that is receiving a 60fps signal when I hit the info on the PJ.
So, what you're saying is, when it's set to auto, it ends up not doing 24 fps, likely because of the tearing. When it's set to 24 fps, it tears. Does the Sanyo indicate 24 fps when you set the PS3 to 24 fps (not auto)?

So, what you're saying is, when it's set to auto, it ends up not doing 24 fps, likely because of the tearing. When it's set to 24 fps, it tears. Does the Sanyo indicate 24 fps when you set the PS3 to 24 fps (not auto)?

Angry, the Sanyo does indicate 24fps when you force that output in the PS3, but it does tear noticably, especially on fast pans/camera sweeps. If you set it to auto it defaults to 60fps.

Bstephenson,

It really depends on how many hours you expect to put on the pj in the next 3 years. If you only use your projector for a couple hours a month it might not make economical sense to buy a bulb warranty. I use my projector for several hours every single day so I bought a Mack warranty from Brian at Tapeworks. I don't expect to need it for several months yet so I can't say how painless/painful the process is.

What the heck is that?Google sez:
http://tapeworkstexas.com/mack_warranty_bulb_only.html

This projector just showed up on my radar screen. The biggest gripe from the projectorreviews.com review seemed to be the lumens. Heh, 1200. I've been watching my ae100 for 6 years now which maxes out at 700. I think I can tolerate 1200 :D

Plus it looks like I can get it, after rebate, for $200 less then what was my first choice, the Panasonice AX-200.

Anyone here ever have the opportunity to compare them personally?

This projector just showed up on my radar screen. The biggest gripe from the projectorreviews.com review seemed to be the lumens. Heh, 1200. I've been watching my ae100 for 6 years now which maxes out at 700. I think I can tolerate 1200 :D

Plus it looks like I can get it, after rebate, for $200 less then what was my first choice, the Panasonice AX-200.

Anyone here ever have the opportunity to compare them personally?
For me, it was the price that cinched the deal. I upgraded from a 1024x768 native, so this was a definate upgrade. If you have complete ambient light control, this projector is a tremendous bang for the buck value!

Angry, the Sanyo does indicate 24fps when you force that output in the PS3, but it does tear noticably, especially on fast pans/camera sweeps. If you set it to auto it defaults to 60fps.

Thanks Nillaz. Angry, what Nillaz said is exactly right. He just said it much better than I did.

Thanks Nillaz. Angry, what Nillaz said is exactly right. He just said it much better than I did.
Thanks for the clarification(s), guys.

I've been watching my ae100 for 6 years now which maxes out at 700. I think I can tolerate 1200 :D

If you get the z60 I think you will be very satisfied. I just recently upgraded from the panny ae300. Big difference! I will echo what has been said about the light issue. If you can control the ambient light you should be fine. The z60 puts out a fine picture. You can tweak it for more brightness if you need to. Just look a few posts back (posts #40 & 46) to see what settings some of us have come with.

I ordered the Z60. The $200 savings over the AX-200 is what swung it for me. I figure in 2 or 3 years when 1080p becomes more prevalent I'll be looking for a 1080p projector and I won't feel so bad.

With the current $100 rebate (through the end of March), this guy is about $250 cheaper then the panny ax200.

But, I am not sure if it will be bright enough for my family room.

The room has one large window, on the back wall. I am going to put shutters over this window, hopefully this weekend. I could also add roller shades to this window, if I needed, to completely block out the light.

But, I have a door opening, with no door, in the left front corner, and a 1/2 wall opening on the right front corner. To the right is the breakfast room and kitchen. These rooms have windows and french doors with no treatments, on the far wall.

I could put black velvet or something over the door opening, this would help reflections too.

Room has yellow walls, white ceiling, and light colored carpet.

So, if I get the Sanyo, would I only be able to watch the projector at night?

This was my original plan, but it would be nice to be able to watch during the day sometime, especially sports on the weekends.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Randy

Well, not entirely. It also depends on the blu-ray player. There are a few different video artifacts that can occur for different reasons. Jaggies, which are a sign of poor deinterlacing, can make things appear a bit blurry. Also, if the blu-ray player does not recognize the 3:2 cadence, there will only be half of the resolution during motion. I know that my Panasonic BD30 does a great job with blu-ray content but not as good with SD dvd's. The PS3 does a very good job with both. The HQV benchmark blu-ray disc allows you to test sources and displays: http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm I'd also caution you not to believe the hype of 24 fps. They have not yet perfected it so there are still some atifacts. This article explains some of that: http://www.projectorcentral.com/judder_24p.htm This projector apparently accepts 24 fps but it depends on the source. I have contacted Sanyo and their official position is that the PLV-Z60 does not support it. I told them that several people on AVS have reported that the PS3, as well as other Sony's, will work with 24 fps but most do not recognize it. I have a PS3 but I have not connected it the Sanyo. So, the question to you, Shark, is, what is your source?

I just have an onkyo 704 dvd player, and am getting a ps3 if the price is brought down to $300 I heard a rummer it was going to happen in April.

Angry, I have my z60 connected to a PS3 (and a Toshiba HD-DVD player). I've always had the 24fps set to automatic, but last week I thought I would experiment. I set the PS3 to always output 24fps. Then I put in the Blu-ray of Dr. No and watched the opening sequence where the busiiness men in Jamaica are sitting around playing cards. The Sanyo recognized the 24fps signal, but there was tearing in the image. So, I switched the PS3 24fps mode back to automatic and, voila, the tearing was gone. This was the first time I have ever seen tearing before. So I now know what that looks like.

Shark, as far as any "blur issue" with the z60 is concerned, I have not noticed any. Could it be that what you are seeing is motion blur as others have mentioned? I've seen it sometimes on my different displays, so I'm used to it and, therefore, doesn't bother me.

I have not gotten the z60 yet that is why i as asking about the motion blur. I know LCD's are infamous for that sort of stuff. I might pull the trigger by the end of the month till then ill keep reading the thread. :)

With the current $100 rebate (through the end of March), this guy is about $250 cheaper then the panny ax200.

But, I am not sure if it will be bright enough for my family room.

The room has one large window, on the back wall. I am going to put shutters over this window, hopefully this weekend. I could also add roller shades to this window, if I needed, to completely block out the light.

But, I have a door opening, with no door, in the left front corner, and a 1/2 wall opening on the right front corner. To the right is the breakfast room and kitchen. These rooms have windows and french doors with no treatments, on the far wall.

I could put black velvet or something over the door opening, this would help reflections too.

Room has yellow walls, white ceiling, and light colored carpet.

So, if I get the Sanyo, would I only be able to watch the projector at night?

This was my original plan, but it would be nice to be able to watch during the day sometime, especially sports on the weekends.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Randy

Not exactly the answer you are looking for, but my posts here might help. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15919164#post15919164

Not exactly the answer you are looking for, but my posts here might help. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15919164#post15919164

Hi
Thanks for the reply. I actually already saw those pictures, but since I don't have a projector, it's kind of hard for me to judge how much light is hitting the screen, compared to what I have.

I am kind of leaning towards the w500 right now, I think the Z60 would be fine if I had a dedicated, dark room, but I am worried it will put out enough lumens for my room.

Randy

Randy,
I guess it will be more useful to you to see them both presenting in a store with ambient light conditions. bring a movie you like and judge with your own eyes. at home we got the Z60 and its great. the room is white walled, with controlled lights and the picture quality is really great after some basic calibration.

My Z60 came a day early :)

I plan on mounting upside down, anyone know the mounting screw size/tread count?

My Z60 came a day early :)
Congrats!

I plan on mounting upside down, anyone know the mounting screw size/tread count?
6mm

I believe I used 6mm screws.

Never mind, Angry beat me to it. :)

Congrats!


6mmThanks and sorry, I'm not really good at this part of life...

6mm is the width?
I think there are different (not sure of the terminology) thread sizes, threads per inch maybe? Any idea?

I think I just got a 6mm machine screw. The 6mm is the width. I think it's a m2x6mm.

Edit: Actually, I think it's not M2x6mm because that means a 2 mm diameter. I am pretty sure you need a 6mm diameter and the length will depend on what you are mounting to. I think the pitch of the thread is just the typical metric machine screw.

Sorry for the confusion.

My Z60 came a day early :)

That's great! Let us know what you think.

That's great! Let us know what you think.First impression w/o any tweaks or calibration is very positive. Now that I have the screws I'll need to remount it.

First impression w/o any tweaks or calibration is very positive. Now that I have the screws I'll need to remount it.
Since the projector is much bigger then my old one, my homemade mount won't work. I decided to buy this one (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082803&p_id=3875&seq=1&format=2). Anyone have any experience with it? Certainly is a good price and seems to be well reviewed.

I was wondering if you guy lean toward a grey or white screens when using the z60. I have a relatively short throw distance and can moderately control ambient light that comes in from the side. I know the z60 is not a light canon and was worried that the grey might make it too dark to enjoy. Thoughts?:rolleyes:

There's lots of info about screens over at the screens area. I would encourage a look at that. I think the usual rull of thumb is: if you are competing with some ambient light, get gray.

I got mine yesterday and I am extremely impressed. This is my first projector and it is amazing. I was playing the demo for Killzone 2 and it was giving me motion sickness because I am not used to a screen that big, but it was awesome.

I got mine yesterday and I am extremely impressed. This is my first projector and it is amazing. I was playing the demo for Killzone 2 and it was giving me motion sickness because I am not used to a screen that big, but it was awesome.
Welcome to the WOW FACTOR, BABY! The only problem is that you'll never be able to play games or watch movies on a regular TV, even if it's 50+ IN! :D

Does anyone know of a list somewhere which details how the various settings impact bulb life?

Does anyone know of a list somewhere which details how the various settings impact bulb life?
I think the manual is the only thing that talks about it:
Lamp control
This function allows you to change the brightness of the screen.
Use the Point 7 8 buttons to select the desired lamp mode. You
can also select the lamp mode by pressing the LAMP CONTROL
button on the remote control.
Normal . . . . . Normal brightness.
Auto 1 . . . . . The brightness according to the input signal.
Auto 2 . . . . . Less bright and lower-sound than Auto 1.
Eco . . . . . . . Lower brightness reduces the lamp power
consumption.
The lamp mode is automatically switched to “Eco” under no signal
input.
Sanyo doesn't even really hint at the length of time it should last, see reviews on the first post. Since I have light control, Eco was my choice. I think the best guess would be around 2000 hours and a little more if you use Eco. But that's just based on other projectors using similar bulbs.

Since the projector is much bigger then my old one, my homemade mount won't work. I decided to buy this one (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082803&p_id=3875&seq=1&format=2). Anyone have any experience with it? Certainly is a good price and seems to be well reviewed.

I had this one while I had my z60 and it worked nice. The only thing I will recomend is to make sure you tighten all of the screws that secure the angle of the mount. Otherwise your projector will droop over time. Other than that, I'm not sure what more you would want out of a mount! Worth every penny!
Shaun

I had this one while I had my z60 and it worked nice. The only thing I will recomend is to make sure you tighten all of the screws that secure the angle of the mount. Otherwise your projector will droop over time. Other than that, I'm not sure what more you would want out of a mount! Worth every penny!
ShaunThanks Shaun - for $15.00, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

I got mine yesterday and I am extremely impressed. This is my first projector and it is amazing. I was playing the demo for Killzone 2 and it was giving me motion sickness because I am not used to a screen that big, but it was awesome.

Yep, you've entered a whole new world and once you're here, there's no going back to the old.:)

Just curious. What size is your screen?

What size is your screen?

I decided to go with about a 106" screen. I am using the behr silver screen paint and it looks great.

This thing is so much fun, I ordered the DVE disc to calibrate it a little, I tried the AVCHD disc that is on here but I have no idea how to use it.

I decided to go with about a 106" screen. I am using the behr silver screen paint and it looks great.

This thing is so much fun, I ordered the DVE disc to calibrate it a little, I tried the AVCHD disc that is on here but I have no idea how to use it.
Did you read the .pdf file for the AVCHD disc? It helps but the DVE is pretty inclusive and helps to explain a lot if you are new to calibration.

Is the lamp iris noisy in the "auto 2" high speed setting?

Is the lamp iris noisy in the "auto 2" high speed setting?

I never hear it. Projector is mounted 4-5 ft. directly above my head, and most watching is done at a moderate volume level (~-30 db).

On the other hand I can hear the iris adjust when I switch between factory/user presets. It makes a distinctive sound for about 1 second while it switches modes and then I never hear another thing.

Have any Z60 owners compared Blu-Ray DVD's to SD DVD's?

I'm trying to decide if the increase in resolution is worth both the money to buy the hardware and then the DVD's. The SD DVD's I've watched so far look pretty darn good.

I know the HD audio is supposed to be much better as well, but I'm not sure my less then golden ears will notice.

Have any Z60 owners compared Blu-Ray DVD's to SD DVD's?

I'm trying to decide if the increase in resolution is worth both the money to buy the hardware and then the DVD's. The SD DVD's I've watched so far look pretty darn good.

I know the HD audio is supposed to be much better as well, but I'm not sure my less then golden ears will notice.

I personally think Blu-Ray is worth every penny, especially on the typical size screens we see here in the projector threads. That's not to say DVD's look bad by any means, but the increase in resolution with BR adds a sharpness I just can't get on SD-DVD. The hard part is saying whether or not it's worth the expense as everyone's budget varies greatly.

If you don't consider yourself to have a golden ear I wouldn't worry about the audio so much. For most people it's certainly not going to be a night and day difference. In most cases I think it is more detailed and dynamic but the most common thing I've heard from friends when I A/B DVD and Blu-Ray in my house is that Blu-Ray's uncompressed audio usually seems to be mastered a few db's higher than good ol' Dolby D.

I would agree with Nillaz. Yes, there is a difference and it is much easier to see with a larger screen. Also, the source makes a pretty big difference. A good upconverting SD dvd player, e.g. Oppo, will get you much closer to blu-ray quality. The audio is something that is often overlooked with blu-ray. I think it's worth it but I can see if someone was mostly watching SD dvd's, they may not think so. And, of course, every budget is different.

I, too, will say that, yes, there is a difference. I, personally, think that it is worth the upgrade. However, everyone is different. If you are satisfied with DVD, then upgrading may not be the best thing for you to do right now. The following story maybe of some use.

Last night we had a friend over and we started to watch Casablanca in HD. (It was on an HD-DVD not blu-ray, but the quality is the same). About 10 minutes into the movie, the disc froze and I couldn't play anymore of the movie. So, I just grabbed my trusty SD-DVD of Casablanca and we continued watching the movie. Could I tell a difference between the HD and the SD-DVD version of Casablanca? Oh, yeah! Did I enjoy the movie any less because we had to finish watching it in Standard Definition? The answer is no. Even though the HD version, to my eyes, was much sharper and clearer, the upconverted SD version still looked good.

So, DVD's, can still look good and much enjoyment can be had from them. But, BD ups the ante. it gives a much more film like image and can provide a better sound experience (if you have the right equipment). I think that if anyone is interested enough in movies that he has a projector and a large screen, then, yes, it probably would be worth the upgrade.

But it really is up to you and your budget. For me, it was worth the upgrade.

Thanks everyone for your responses to my Blu-ray vs SD DVD question.

I'm keen on the PS3 as it may be able to replace computer I have currently set up to stream music to my theater as well as play DVD's. Some of it's network capabilities are all intriguing.

I see other NW enabled Blu-ray players are starting to become more popular as well.

I think I'll keep my eyes on Blu-Ray HW and see what happens.

I had this one while I had my z60 and it worked nice. The only thing I will recomend is to make sure you tighten all of the screws that secure the angle of the mount. Otherwise your projector will droop over time. Other than that, I'm not sure what more you would want out of a mount! Worth every penny!
ShaunI got the mount and installed. You were right on with the angle screws, they needed some help. Of course the screws they provided to mount the projector were the wrong size but I had already purchased ones for my homemade mount but the head wouldn't go through the top hole so I had to buy more and the screws to mount the plate to the legs required serious effort to get in and I stripped the lag bolts putting the mount into the studs but with some gentle persuasion and some appropriate language, it's done. :D

I have had my Z60 for about a week now. It has exceeded my expectations so far.

I have it projecting on a 92" Da-Lite High Contrast Cinema Vision screen from about 10.5' away. The image is brighter than my PT-AE900U ever was. And about ten times quieter. I have it on a shelf about 4 to 5 feet above my head and never hear it.

I have found that I am happy with Creative Cinema with these settings

Brightness: -2
Contrast: +1
Color: +2
Red: +7
Blue: -1
Lamp: 50%
Sharpness: -1
Gamma: +1
Transient: Off
Dyn Gamma: Level1
Black Stretch: Level2
Color List: 2
Lens Iris: Auto1

With these settings I can watch with 2 or 3 lights operating from the side of the screen and only sacrifice slightly with black level. With lights off very good black but definitely far from a true black.

I've been watching Heroes streaming in HD over Netflix on my 360 and it looks absolutely fantastic. The colors especially during the scenes in India make my eyes want to explode. Awesome.

Sidenote: Really impressed with the quality of HD content that Netflix is streaming. Not available on all Movies/Shows but for those that are it's definitely worth the watch.

I've got my Z60 plugged, via HTMI, to a Marantz 5003. I have my Directv box also plugged into the 5003 via HTMI.

I'm going to be doing some playing around down the road, but I thought I'd comment and ask....

When I switch between HD and SD channels there is a 10 second delay where the screen goes blank. Interesting that when going from HD to SD, the SD picture appears for a very brief time before the screen blanks.

Has anyone seen a similar thing?

How would it fare mounted at 12.5' with a 1.3 gain 96" Stewart Firehawk? I currently have an Infocus IN76 that I am having difficulty with, and I am looking for a replacement. I definitely like a bright image, and that is one thing I have always had a problem with concerning my setup... even though the specs state that I should have a bright setup, it never seemed to have enough pop in econo mode.

I've got my Z60 plugged, via HTMI, to a Marantz 5003. I have my Directv box also plugged into the 5003 via HTMI.

I'm going to be doing some playing around down the road, but I thought I'd comment and ask....

When I switch between HD and SD channels there is a 10 second delay where the screen goes blank. Interesting that when going from HD to SD, the SD picture appears for a very brief time before the screen blanks.

Has anyone seen a similar thing?

I've had a couple friends comment about stuff like this with various equipment over the last couple years. It sucks but I guess some gear simply doesn't play nice together over HDMI. The most common things I hear are either the screen blanks for an excessive period of time or turns green. Thankfully I don't have this issue with my DirecTV box, but then again I have different gear in the HDMI chain. I'm actually pleasantly surprised how quickly it adjusts from HD to SD.

Hey all! This is my first post. I have been hanging around here for a while, and decided to post. I have a Sanyo z1 and have been happy with it over the years. I have a dedicated theater with total light controll. Yesterday I pulled the string a purchesed the z60 from Visual Apex for just over $700 (that includes rebate). I am syched!! about the upgrade. I was at a friends house last week and he had the Panasonic ax200 and it looked great. It started me thinking about my 6yr old projector. His room is not light controled, with several large windows in his basement. I don't think I need that many lumans. Coming off my z1 with 700 lumans. I'm sure I will be happy with it. When I do get to ripp open the box I would like to have everything I need to be WOWED! I have a Kenwood VR6070 reciever that does not have hdmi. ;-( So I will be using Componenet cabels until I get enough cabbage to get a new receiver. Also going to have a Motorola DCH6200 Hi def cablebox hooked to it with component also. Should I get a ps3 or a dedicated BR player? I do like the opions you have with the ps3. Also what is the best way to calibrate the z60? Thanks in advance for the help.

Oh! One more thing will the z1 ceiling mount work with the z60? Thanks!

I would say get a PS3 so that you can stream files from your PC and Netflix. The ps3 is a very good media player. Much better compatibility with containers than the 360.

Netflix streams good HD quailty for those films that qualify.

Thanks! Neals. What do you mean about containers?

A container is basically the file format or extension.

the hd content usually encoded in mkv files can played easier on ps3 than say a 360.

If you download a mkv file it is easy and quick to convert it to a vob or mp4 file which essentially changes the file format without encoding the video and keeping the audio intact whether DD, DTS, AC3, or whatever type it is. All those types are capable of using the same codecs but just changing the file types. I think the PS3 may play mkvs directly now but I don't have one so I'm not sure.

A 360 won't play mkvs or vobs and will only play mp4s with 2.0 sound.

And since PS3 has wifi built in, it's a snap to connect to your network and stream.

Thanks for that AV lesson! Sounds like the ps3 is the winner.

Just bought a PVL-Z60 and it has a stuck blue pixel right top center of screen. It is extremely annoying. Called Sanyo...their policy is no warranty
repair unless it has three or more stuck/dead pixels. This really sucks!! I called Panasonic and they said they would repair a unit under warranty for any number of stuck/bad pixels. I am considering returning it under the 30day return policy and getting a Panasonic projector instead. Beware of Sanyo's stuck pixel warranty before you purchase. It is a shame. I really liked the performance.

That stinks about the dead pixel. I just bought mine the other day and fortunately i did not seea any dead pixels. This is the first of heard of this problem. I thought it only happened with the lcd tv's. Good luck. I was totally amazed at the quality. I see no need for 1080. I am building a dedicated theater and there will be no windows, light, etc.. So i guess i made a good decision on this projector for $718.00..

Just bought a PVL-Z60 and it has a stuck blue pixel right top center of screen. It is extremely annoying. Called Sanyo...their policy is no warranty
repair unless it has three or more stuck/dead pixels. This really sucks!! I called Panasonic and they said they would repair a unit under warranty for any number of stuck/bad pixels. I am considering returning it under the 30day return policy and getting a Panasonic projector instead. Beware of Sanyo's stuck pixel warranty before you purchase. It is a shame. I really liked the performance.


great, thanks....now i'm worried!!! LOL

Mine is in the UPS truck comming from my local ups centre....it a matter of minutes/hours until I have mine!!

I had one dead/stuck pixel on my laptop...I had one on my sony PSP....damn, i just hope my projector won't have any!! (and to me, it' the projector that matter the most!!)

Sorry about the bad pixel! I got my z60 the other day. I'm very happy with it!
I'm comming from my z1. Wow! Much brighter. I hae not tweeked it yet, looks very good out of box. I bought a ps3 for it. I have not been spending much time in my theater latley duee to the fact that I have a 42" Samsung 1080 in my family room. I think this is going to change!!!!:D

Let me know what settings you guys come up with for the z60. The only bad review this projector got was really bad. Either the guy is blind or he has a grudge against sanyo.

Let me know what settings you guys come up with for the z60. The only bad review this projector got was really bad. Either the guy is blind or he has a grudge against sanyo.

lol I'm guessing you're talking about the Anthony Marsh's review at projector.com? I agree that the Z60 isn't perfect (I have yet to see a projector that is) but yeah he was pretty rough, to the point where I thought maybe he had an extremely defective unit for review. :)

Just bought a PVL-Z60 and it has a stuck blue pixel right top center of screen. It is extremely annoying. Called Sanyo...their policy is no warranty
repair unless it has three or more stuck/dead pixels. This really sucks!! I called Panasonic and they said they would repair a unit under warranty for any number of stuck/bad pixels. I am considering returning it under the 30day return policy and getting a Panasonic projector instead. Beware of Sanyo's stuck pixel warranty before you purchase. It is a shame. I really liked the performance.

That's ridiculous! Have you contacted your dealer? They might have more pull than an end user calling into Sanyo tech support...

"I'm guessing you're talking about the Anthony Marsh's review at projector.com? I agree that the Z60 isn't perfect (I have yet to see a projector that is) but yeah he was pretty rough, to the point where I thought maybe he had an extremely defective unit for review."

Yup, that the one.

Yeah I love this projector so far. It has blown away my old PT-AE900. I would recommend it to anyone looking to spend under 1000 on a projector.

But if you don't turn down the sharpness on most sources especially SD sources then you will get a lot of artificial noise and jaggies. But just drop the sharpness down a bit and it's got a great crisp picture with amazing colors.

I would discount that review, check all the other reviews. Have not found a bad user review yet.

that's a nice unit, just some quick comments on the unit. Will give more details and pics later:

my current setup:
dvd player: marantz universal dv6400, 480p, component
games : xbox 360, 720p, component
screen: 92"dia, everview (electric) gray, .8 gain.
sit under the unit, at 16' from screen

-color is good
-video processing is fast, perfect for gaming (vs my crt hd tv, using rockband video game delay lag tools)
-motion blurr for a ACL is pretty good,
-I wish "black" baclground would been deeper but i guess it's the compromise at that price (anyone willing to help?).... dark area detail are really good.
-run cool
-pretty quiet but I sit just under it, I can ear it (if i work hard) in quiet sections of movie/games.


I will get back with more details later, after basic calibration.

anyone notice a difference between the "lamp mode" option? i switch between then and i see no change.

Yes I have and they are working the issue. I sent the unit back to Sanyo under their warranty repair program. We will see what happens. I will keep you guys posted.

I have a MAcbook Pro hooked up to my PLV-Z60 projector (DVI-HDMI) and it looks terrible. The image is muddy and pixilated. Do I have to purchase another device like Roku? Is there any workaround with my computer so I can watch DVD quality? Does a Wii help at all.

Crashkup....what resolution do you have your Macbook set to, and what size is your screen? What is the source you are sending to the pj.....i.e. a DVD in the drive, netflix stream, youtube clips, etc.? Is it pixelated all the time or intermittently? We need more info.

Nillaz, thanks. Sorry I was not detailed enough.

I have a 15" Macbook Pro. The screen is 120". I am not sure what resolution I have the MAC set at. I'll look into it. What is the preferred setting if I am outputting for my PLV-Z60? I was experimenting with Netflix stream and that is where I was running into trouble. It was awful with "Return of the Mohicans." I saw some improvement with "Serenity," but half the picture goes black with no detail. If I lighten up to get detail, the whole image gets milky. Coming off my DVD player everything looks great on the z60. But I do like to be able to watch some things streaming from Netflix.

That's ridiculous! Have you contacted your dealer? They might have more pull than an end user calling into Sanyo tech support...

After calling ProjectorPeople about the issue they were extremely helpful in getting Sanyo accept the unit under warranty. I received an RMA number and sent it back overnight shipping. I had the unit back at home in 4 days. All shipped paid by Sanyo. The faulty LCD panel was replaced! I am very impressed with Sanyo's responsiveness. One of the reasons I purchased the PLV-Z60 was the three year warranty and it is good to know that Sanyo stands behind it.

Now having watched it over the weekend (without the blue pixel starring me in the face) I am impressed with this unit. Having migrated from a Sony VPL-VW12HT I a very impressed with the PLV-Z60 picture. The picture is sharp and has plenty of brightness for my 15'x10' room and DIY screen. The amount of adjustability this unit has is incredible. I will proabably be tweaking them for some time. For the money I think this is a great projector.:)

Nillaz, thanks. Sorry I was not detailed enough.

I have a 15" Macbook Pro. The screen is 120". I am not sure what resolution I have the MAC set at. I'll look into it. What is the preferred setting if I am outputting for my PLV-Z60? I was experimenting with Netflix stream and that is where I was running into trouble. It was awful with "Return of the Mohicans." I saw some improvement with "Serenity," but half the picture goes black with no detail. If I lighten up to get detail, the whole image gets milky. Coming off my DVD player everything looks great on the z60. But I do like to be able to watch some things streaming from Netflix.

The native resolution of the Z60 is 1280 X 720 @ 60 Hz, and I would recommend setting your Mac to that to avoid unnecessary scaling. The Z60 will accept other resolutions/refresh rates but myself and some others have noted visible tearing/artifacts in fast moving scenes.

Netflix SD streams are hit and miss due to a bunch of different factors, plus they are usually a bit soft to begin with. I also find shadow detail to be a bit lacking even with Netflix HD feeds. Unfortunately there's not much that you can do on your end to mitigate this....you can't bring out shadow detail that simply doesn't exist in the feed due to compression. I don't recommend increasing the brightness setting on your pj. It'll just wash out the image as you've already discovered. Plus, at 120" you are already at what most of us would consider to be the outside threshold for screen size with the Z60. Netflix streaming is awesome for what it is, but at this stage in the game you just have to accept it's shortcomings. Wish I could give you better news. :(

Oh, and I'm assuming that there isn't anyone else on your network sucking up all your bandwidth while you're trying to stream from netflix. For example, in most cases someone in the next room bit-torrenting like crazy while you're trying to watch a movie will destroy your video stream very very quickly.

I’m getting a good download speed. The image looks great on my 24” monitor, all kinds of detail in the shadows. Doesn’t drop off into black. This makes me feel like it isn’t just the compression. I was experimenting by watching Serenity simply because it has a reputation of being a good-looking Watch Now sample. The DVD’s look great at 120”. I’m going to check that the computer is set at 1280 X 720 @ 60 Hz.

I’m getting a good download speed. The image looks great on my 24” monitor, all kinds of detail in the shadows. Doesn’t drop off into black. This makes me feel like it isn’t just the compression. I was experimenting by watching Serenity simply because it has a reputation of being a good-looking Watch Now sample. The DVD’s look great at 120”. I’m going to check that the computer is set at 1280 X 720 @ 60 Hz.

I'm curious to see your results. BTW I just got done testing with Last of the Mohicans. I'm guessing it's a coincidence, but it also looked like utter garbage through my HTPC and the Z60...all kinds of pixelation all over the place. I then tested it again via my XBR and 360 in the bedroom. Still looked bad, but their was a definite improvement.

I'm curious to see your results. BTW I just got done testing with Last of the Mohicans. I'm guessing it's a coincidence, but it also looked like utter garbage through my HTPC and the Z60...all kinds of pixelation all over the place. I then tested it again via my XBR and 360 in the bedroom. Still looked bad, but their was a definite improvement.

I'm going to try to check it out tonight -- at the moment I have too much light for working on it in the daytime. I'm curious to see what resetting the lines correctly will do. But I feel I have something, somewhere, that I should be able to tweak. The drop off in image quality from monitor to projection is just too great -- and FAR more pronounced than off the DVD. In the areas that I can see, it's pretty good. but a good 65% of the screen falls right into black.

Does anyone know if there is any difference between watching off Explorer or Safari (or Firefox)?

I'll post when I see what happens. is there any way to know which Netflix are full HD or do I have to keep watching the opening of Serenity over and over?

BTW -- the PLV-Z60 on my 10' X 7" screen looks surprisingly good off a DVD.

man i thought 2.35 to 1 was a narrow screen.

but 10 feet by 7 inches.

is that the new wall scroll vision?

man i thought 2.35 to 1 was a narrow screen.

but 10 feet by 7 inches.

is that the new wall scroll vision?

I have to watch through anamorphic glasses and a cereal box, but after that it looks great.

man i thought 2.35 to 1 was a narrow screen.

but 10 feet by 7 inches.

is that the new wall scroll vision?

Actually, I think I saw this demo'd at CES. I believe they were calling it ticker-tape-o-scope. :D

Actually, I think I saw this demo'd at CES. I believe they were calling it ticker-tape-o-scope. :D

That's lol funny!

so...this thread is about dead but hopefully someone can still give me an idea of roughly how long their lamps have been lasting.

Any ideas on lamp life and LCD life (before it starts to degrade)? I can't seem to find that anywhere online.

so...this thread is about dead but hopefully someone can still give me an idea of roughly how long their lamps have been lasting.Not dead, everybody's just too busy watching stuff on their projectors:)

Any ideas on lamp life and LCD life (before it starts to degrade)? I can't seem to find that anywhere online.
Typical is 2000 for normal operation and 3000 for econo mode. Probably a good idea to calibrate a couple times a year to make sure white and black levels are still set correctly. Not sure about LCD life but the warranty is 3 years, one of the longest around.

so...this thread is about dead but hopefully someone can still give me an idea of roughly how long their lamps have been lasting.

Any ideas on lamp life and LCD life (before it starts to degrade)? I can't seem to find that anywhere online.


My Z1 and Z3 have about 2000 hrs. on their bulbs and were going strong when I retired them. I live in a cool, dust free place and think this accounts for their long, trouble free lives but if you live in a warm, dusty place, your milage may vary considerably.

You're not going to see many comments about lamp and panel degradation because many of us replace our PJs long before these things happen. With the Z60 price hovering just above $700 there's even less reason to hang on to it when it begins to fail.

To answer your question Jordo I'm about to roll 1100 hours on my Z60. It has dimmed a bit but is still plenty acceptable. No panel degradation to speak of at this point.

Has anyone had any issues with excessive noise in the picture. I have had the Z60 for a few months and notice a lot of noise in darker scenes. I did not get this with my SP4805. I have used DVE to calibrate; but the noise remains regardless of the brightness/contrast settings. I am probably going to get an ISF calibration, but I don't wan't to spend the money if the noise is a persistent problem.

Has anyone had any issues with excessive noise in the picture. I have had the Z60 for a few months and notice a lot of noise in darker scenes. I did not get this with my SP4805. I have used DVE to calibrate; but the noise remains regardless of the brightness/contrast settings. I am probably going to get an ISF calibration, but I don't wan't to spend the money if the noise is a persistent problem.
What's the source? Blu-ray or SD dvd?

it is DVD. I have the Oppo 981HD. I was using a Denon DVD-1600 with my old projector. I have heard such good things about the Oppo that I hadn't considered it to be a potential source of the noise. Of course, the Denon 1600 is one of the best DVD players ever made. Maybe one of my settings for the Oppo is off...

Maybe one of my settings for the Oppo is off...
That's the only thing I can think of, you've got the best sources (in terms of de-interlacing) that you could hope for. I'm not sure about scaling, though. Maybe double check (I'm assuming that you are running through a receiver) the settings on the receiver. Make sure that's not muddying things up, too. Are you sending out 1080i or 720p?

I am actually going straight from the Oppo to the Sanyo. I only have one source, so no need to feed it through the receiver (also my receiver does not support HDMI).

What about: Are you sending out 1080i or 720p?

Sorry, I missed that in your post. I was outputting 720P to the Z60 and have since tried 1080i. Switching to 1080i has improved the picture somewhat (less digital noise and less jaggies). I would have thought that the Oppo would be the better deinterlacer, but it appears that the Z60 is better. Neither are as good as my old Denon though. I have gone re-through all of the settings on both the Oppo and the Z60 and I can't find anything that would be causing this.

Well I got my Z60 a couple weeks ago and I'm very impressed. I'm going to be building my own screen (with lots of help from people in DIY section here). I'm just wondering if anyone has any calibrations they would like to share. I've already seen the few in here, but I'm just looking to see if anyone else has some as well. Once I get my screen built I'll be posting my settings as well but it's always nice to compare different calibrations and go from there rather than starting from scratch. (I also have the AVIA calibration disk that I'll be using once my screen is built)

I am rarely impressed by customer service these days. But the Sanyo projector service hotline just did what few can do.

We just purchased our first projector and haven’t gotten around to putting together our permanent set-up. But, in our excitement to experience our projector, I brought out the Christmas lights extension cord and ran wires all over our den (not pretty, but effective).

However, after the first couple minutes of watching our first movie, we noticed that the beautiful PLV-Z60 picture was marred by a continually scrolling purple bar.

Well, this afternoon I finally got around to calling the dreaded service hotline. I found the number very easily on the Sanyo website, and to my surprise, I only had to select from one option set. To further my amazement, an actual person answered on the first ring.

I gave the rep an extremely vague description of the issue, and he immediately replied that it sounded like electrical interference. He suggested I try a different outlet. That was an easy test, and amazingly, exactly the fix.

In a world of bottomless phone options menus, and service reps who's only job, it appears, is to transfer the customer around until he gives up, Sanyo's customer service is a welcome change. I am almost looking forward to another problem, just so that I can call them back.

I got mine in less than 2 weeks! This compares very favorably to the 6 month wait coupled with several weeks of pestering that it took to get my $10 rebate form Apricorn. The final Z60 price of $714 has got to be one the best video bargains ever.

When I use my Macbook Pro DVI out to HDMI from my laptop DVD player or laptop hard drive to my projector (Sanyo PLV-Z60) I lose all detail in the blacks and the falloff into detailless black happens quite swiftly -- in an average situation maybe 40% of the screen is black -- in a dark room, it's all black. This does not happen when I play DVDs from my standalone DVD player. I've played with brightness and contrast on both the projector and the laptop. Also, going DVI-HDMI to my 24" monitor looks perfect.

I have the Macbook set at 1280X 720 at 60 hz.

Any idea how I may fix this?

In case anyone else encounters this issue, I don't think it is possible to use a DVI-HDMI playing from a computer. There is a VGA plug specifically for computer in. I used a DVI-VGA plug and now it's looking much better.

When I use my Macbook Pro DVI out to HDMI from my laptop DVD player or laptop hard drive to my projector (Sanyo PLV-Z60) I lose all detail in the blacks and the falloff into detailless black happens quite swiftly -- in an average situation maybe 40% of the screen is black -- in a dark room, it's all black. This does not happen when I play DVDs from my standalone DVD player. I've played with brightness and contrast on both the projector and the laptop. Also, going DVI-HDMI to my 24" monitor looks perfect.

I have the Macbook set at 1280X 720 at 60 hz.

Any idea how I may fix this?

When I use my Macbook Pro DVI out to HDMI from my laptop DVD player or laptop hard drive to my projector (Sanyo PLV-Z60) I lose all detail in the blacks and the falloff into detailless black happens quite swiftly -- in an average situation maybe 40% of the screen is black -- in a dark room, it's all black. This does not happen when I play DVDs from my standalone DVD player. I've played with brightness and contrast on both the projector and the laptop. Also, going DVI-HDMI to my 24" monitor looks perfect.

I have the Macbook set at 1280X 720 at 60 hz.

Any idea how I may fix this?Go adjust "HDMI Setup" on the Z60 to "L2" (enhanced) for the HDMI input that you are using. See page 37 of the owner's manual.

hi guys, i'm in the market for a $1k or less projector and I'm highly considering purchasing the sanyo plv-z60 as I can get it for $800. However the Panasonic AX200U is also available for about $1k. Occasionally (few times per summer) I will be bringing the projector outside during a picnic to watch a baseball game and maybe a movie in the early evening when there is still some sunlight. Would the Panasonic but enough of an upgrade (if at all) to justify the extra couple hundred bucks?

thanks for any suggestions/replies/thoughts! And if you know where to get them cheaper please let me know!
Rob
:o)

It very well could be the settings on the macbook, maybe when it sends out the signal it does so at different settings (since it's considered a second display), or some other underlying circumstances. Any other source on a PC, like a new nvidia or ati videocard should have no apparent difference from any other source, short of the material being displayed. The ultimate question, I would think, is whether or not that macbook is HDCP compliant. Not that the copy protection matters, but it seems like there was some kind of shift in the videocard tech that made DVI-HDMI more compatible when they took on the HDCP compliance. I know I've had problems with older video cards that boast higher than 720p resolutions that when using an adapter seem to produce a terrible picture. That may be why your macbook works fine on a monitor. It uses the DVI connection. Just a stab in the dark, and obviously late, but I've spent some time with HTPC's, so thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did try the enhanced. It made a slight difference but the image is still quite bad. And as far as I can tell the enhanced is the only change I can make for the HDMI input. DVDs played from the Macbook on a TV also look fine. It's only on the PLV-Z60 that I have this issue.

Go adjust "HDMI Setup" on the Z60 to "L2" (enhanced) for the HDMI input that you are using. See page 37 of the owner's manual.

Hey guys Im a little late here but I picked up a Sanyo Plv z60 for under 780 bux recently and with the savings bought a Da-lite HighPower model "B" for
$290 something (free shipping)since I wanted an extra 12" of black cloth attached to it.

I figured that has to be one of the best bang for your buck combination for the money.
Low lumen projector but with the screen is an awesome combo in my opinion

Wondered if any of you are running your projector with the HighPower screen?

My screen wont be here for about a week so im still running with the Optoma
1.0 gain Matte screen which was a bargain for under $89 bux 100" on Amazon

I'm trying to resurrect this thread. No posts for a month.
Man we are watching a lot of movies I guess. I have almost 50 hours and Ive only had it a week.

Anyone notice that even after calibration the reds and green still need a little boost? Or is it just me?

...By the way I calibrated using the Sound and Vision home theater DVD
which is made by AVIA. you can search it on Amazon they still sell it there
if you don't know what im talking about.

Not sure how it compares to other AVIA calibration but it has given me amazing results in the past.

Just not as happy with the colors im seeing on standard Definition DVD's

grass is dull and reds are flat/fadded looking.

Fixed the color issue.
It was My PS3 color settings that needed some changes.
Had them set to automatic.
Big mistake...
Changed to: RGB and wow. color is rich Red, Green, Orange, Blue.
Works great if you are sending your signal via HDMI from the PS3

Changed my PS3 settings on DVD upsampling to: off
Any of you guys running your standard Dvds without upsampling them further than 480P? Any further looked very grainy to me. I haven't like the
Upsampling results i was getting with the PS3 on the Z60 especailly on a 100+" screen. Z60 has an extremely sharp image to begin with and I found it helpful to turn: off the Transient Improvement in the Advanced settings like some suggested and this helped to smooth out the image to a more natural level.

Any Z60 settings that you guys are using that are worth mentioning?

Fixed the color issue.
It was My PS3 color settings that needed some changes.
Had them set to automatic.
Big mistake...
Changed to: RGB and wow. color is rich Red, Green, Orange, Blue.
Works great if you are sending your signal via HDMI from the PS3

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...wrong answer (for proper video playback, anyway).

The proper settings for the PS3 video playback are HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13993113#post13993113).

To get BTB and WTW:
Limited = on
Superwhite = on
DVD/Blu-Ray = YPrPb

If you turn limited off, BTB/WTW are clipped and video levels 16-235 are stretched to PC levels 0-254. If you turn superwhite off then BTB/WTW are clipped and only 16-235 are sent to the display (0-15 and 236-254 contain no data).

There are lots of discussions in the Display Calibration Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=139).

Changed my PS3 settings on DVD upsampling to: off
Any of you guys running your standard Dvds without upsampling them further than 480P? Any further looked very grainy to me. I haven't like the
Upsampling results i was getting with the PS3 on the Z60 especailly on a 100+" screen. Z60 has an extremely sharp image to begin with and I found it helpful to turn: off the Transient Improvement in the Advanced settings like some suggested and this helped to smooth out the image to a more natural level.

Any Z60 settings that you guys are using that are worth mentioning?
I would check here too: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=931796#video

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...wrong answer (for proper video playback, anyway).

The proper settings for the PS3 video playback are HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13993113#post13993113).



There are lots of discussions in the Display Calibration Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=139).


I would check here too: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=931796#video

Im not so sure about those settings, RGB has a Larger/Largest color gamut.
I am running the super white on setting.

The grainy image I was speaking of was from the PS3 taking the 480P image and multiplying it several more times to fill the 720P space.
The interpolation looked terrible and grainy. I found it much improved to turn off the PS3 upsampler.
I tried both Normal and Full screen before coming to this conclusion. that off was best for a projected image.

You guys will have to play with it yourselves to see what is right. Just sharing my experience.

Also last thing I just figured out last night.............. If your using HDMI
(Referring to the Sanyo Z60 here)
Go into
settings > HDMI setup and change the settings from L1 to L2 and
watch the contrast increase substantially.
According to the manual page 37
L1 is for standard video equipment and
L2 is for Enhanced video equipment

I guarantee you will love the improvement especially on standard DVDs if your using HDMI

Im not so sure about those settings, RGB has a Larger/Largest color gamut.
I am running the super white on setting.

The grainy image I was speaking of was from the PS3 taking the 480P image and multiplying it several more times to fill the 720P space.
The interpolation looked terrible and grainy. I found it much improved to turn off the PS3 upsampler.
I tried both Normal and Full screen before coming to this conclusion. that off was best for a projected image.

You guys will have to play with it yourselves to see what is right. Just sharing my experience.

Also last thing I just figured out last night.............. If your using HDMI
Go into
settings > HDMI setup and change the settings from L1 to L2 and
watch the contrast increase substantially.
According to the manual page 37
L1 is for standard video equipment and
L2 is for Enhanced video equipment

I guarantee you will love the improvement especially on standard DVDs if your using HDMI

This reminds me that it might be a good time to revisit the settings on my 360....gave up on it a while back since it wasn't remapping colors correctly over HDMI and crushed blacks badly. Since the summer dash update came out perhaps I can dial in my settings a bit better. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm just tweaking the heck out of this Sanyo / PS3 combination here.
I play my movies on Creative Cinema BTW and
the above L1/L2 comment was in reference to the Sanyo HDMI Settings.

Back to PS3 settings:

I looked into the settings for about an hour or so trying multiple combinations and I have to stick with what I said before. The RGB is better looking from every movie I tried and I TRIED believe me.

RGB with no Limit via HDMI gave me better blacks and better contrast in combination with the above stated L2 setting on the Sanyo HDMI settings
The other YCrCb..Blah blah what ever it is washed out my black levels and flattened out my green and reds.
I dont think the superwhite funtion is active unless your in YcrCB mode.
Not sure.

RGB is giving me better flesh tones and not that washed out look.

If you guys want my complete settings list I can muster it up Starting with the PS3 settings for starters.
Let me know, Its a pain but Ill do it if someone is having trouble with their colors.
Keep in mind I did use a calibration disc to start with. So if you haven't done that you may want to for starters. I bought mine a few years ago and it has been worth every penny. Under $20Bux

Im running my z60 with a PS3 as you may have noticed by now and what Im doing is using Blu Ray 1080P and displaying it at 1080i on the Z60. In my opinion I was getting an almost blurry picture converting to 720P on the z60 so I switched my settings.

To me it made sense because its easier to display something by simply dividing the 1080P source in half to 1080i. That way there is no interpolation to cause blurriness.

Comments?
Maybe I need to tweak a setting or two. Better suggestion?

- Justin

RGB with no Limit via HDMI gave me better blacks and better contrast in combination with the above stated L2 setting on the Sanyo HDMI settings
The other YCrCb..Blah blah what ever it is washed out my black levels and flattened out my green and reds.

Keep in mind I did use a calibration disc to start with. So if you haven't done that you may want to for starters. I bought mine a few years ago and it has been worth every penny. Under $20Bux

L2 is correct to be able to pass BTB and WTW for calibration. That's a good catch and everybody should set to L2. RGB is still incorrect for video playback. It may look better to you but it is incorrect.

I changed to those settings and they didnt look good versus mine.

Limited = on
Superwhite = on
DVD/Blu-Ray = YPrPb

But then it finally "clicked".
I haven't calibrated with these new settings yet.
After that the blacks were not washed out and looked good.

Colors were similar to mine and yes there was more contrast.

Thanks for your persistence angryht

For standard DVDs Im going to try using the WinDVD 9 software to see if it will do a better job than the PS3.

I checked it out on a CRT Monitor of mine with WinDVD 9 and it did an incredible job but I noticed that you have to have a very Fast Processor for it otherwise it lags and has Lip Sync issues

Blowing the image up over 100" needs all the help it can get. And the PS3 just isn't cutting it for me.

Update*
The Z60 wont allow any resolution higher than 480X640 through VGA so DVD playback through PC is not an option

Is there a way to disable an input on the Sanyo Z60? I would like to only use one of my HDMI inputs.

Is there a way to disable an input on the Sanyo Z60? I would like to only use one of my HDMI inputs.Can't you just use one of the inputs? I don't think you need to disable anything. Maybe I'm not understanding the question.

The only way his question makes any sense is if he wants to use 1 HDMI port and at least one other type of connection, but doesn't want to have to cycle through the unused inputs via the projector itself. The remote has those half-assed pseudo discrete inputs so you can (almost) go directly to the input you want, but if you use the input button on the projector itself I believe you have to toggle through all inputs.

Either way, no you can't disable inputs with the Z60. Sorry I can't give you a better answer.

My Panny PT-AE900U died abruptly and their warranty sucks, so I decided to go with the best warranty in the business... thus, my new Z60 should be here Thursday. I didn't see much discussion in this thread regarding screen surface.

Anyone have a chance to compare this projector on a high contrast gray vs a high-gain white surface? I have a Draper HC Gray screen in my living room where I have some, but not total, control over ambient light, mostly from the side of the screen. I'm curious how this would look if I went to white with a 1.1 to 1.3 gain.

Sources are primarily movies and TV shows from DVD and BR, as well as video games and Netflix from XBox 360 (and possibly a PS3 down the road).

Thanks!

I went with the Da-Lite High Power 106" 2.8 gain screen after owning a Matte 1.0 gain screen.

Ill never go back. I cant even think of anything Id rather have.

10,000:1 Dynamic contrast isnt much compared to the more expensive projectors and the High Power screen give the projector a 3X more expensive appearance after calibration and changing a few settings.

I posted a Q on this forum, but will post here as well.

Just got my Z60 mounted 12" away with a Elite Screens 100" white screen. I am using S Video for my Dish Network Standard (waiting on HD) and cannot get near the clarity of my 32" LCD Vizio. A little confused here. I am on 'dynamic' with base settings. Advise?

Bozeman

I posted a Q on this forum, but will post here as well.

Just got my Z60 mounted 12" away with a Elite Screens 100" white screen. I am using S Video for my Dish Network Standard (waiting on HD) and cannot get near the clarity of my 32" LCD Vizio. A little confused here. I am on 'dynamic' with base settings. Advise?

Bozeman

You need to get an HD source and a HDMI or component connection. SD cannot look clear blown up that large.

I posted a Q on this forum, but will post here as well.

Just got my Z60 mounted 12" away with a Elite Screens 100" white screen. I am using S Video for my Dish Network Standard (waiting on HD) and cannot get near the clarity of my 32" LCD Vizio. A little confused here. I am on 'dynamic' with base settings. Advise?

Bozeman

A bit of playing with the settings may help a little bit, but you most likely won't see any major difference. Keep in mind that you are taking your image and blowing it up from 32" to 100"....this is the equivalent of over 9X the screen real estate of your current Vizio! Unfortunately, the artifacts you get from scaling are also increased dramatically, so the problems that weren't nearly so noticeable before now probably seem larger than life.

I agree the best thing is probably just to wait for your Dish HD box. You will be much happier once you have it!

no pics:(

AcademyDL what setting are you using? I think I'm going to upgrade my screen as well. I have a Black-out cloth DIY screen I've been happy with , but I want to upgrade. Is the differance that big? Thanks for any help in advance!

When I use my Macbook Pro DVI out to HDMI from my laptop DVD player or laptop hard drive to my projector (Sanyo PLV-Z60) I lose all detail in the blacks and the falloff into detailless black happens quite swiftly -- in an average situation maybe 40% of the screen is black -- in a dark room, it's all black. This does not happen when I play DVDs from my standalone DVD player. I've played with brightness and contrast on both the projector and the laptop. Also, going DVI-HDMI to my 24" monitor looks perfect.

I have the Macbook set at 1280X 720 at 60 hz.

Any idea how I may fix this?

Having just bought a Sanyo PLV-Z60 and owning a MacBook Pro, I became quite worried while reading this type of complaint from users. I had managed to connect the projector to my computer via a DVI->VGA adapter, and although the colour was reasonably accurate, I couldn't get it to work at 1280x720. I figured why not risk it and try a DVI->HDMI cable...

Well, I experienced horribly dark colour when I first used the DVI->HDMI cable to connect the projector to my MacBook Pro. I managed to "fix" the problem (I'm completely satisfied with the colour now) by (on my Mac)...

going into the display preferences for the projector,
going to the "Color" section, and
changing the display profile.

Initially, the selected profile was "Sanyo PLV-Z60," a name matching the projector. I changed it to "sRGB" and experienced dramatically improved colour. I've since calibrated the profile in my Mac in the same "Color" section; if you try to calibrate the profile, be sure to use the "Expert mode" -- otherwise, it's useless.

FYI: I also changed one HDMI setting in the projector that I believe some other posters mentioned. When I did that, it also improved detail in both the bright and dark colours.

Now, I have beautiful 720P output coming from my MacBook Pro (17", mid-2006) projected on my wall by a beautiful projector. :)

Hi guys, hoping you can help me here. I've purchased one of these about a month ago and its been great but since day one, there is a slight high pitched noise that comes out o fit. I'm not sure if its from the FAN or electronics but its maybe around 8 or 10Khz. Its loud enough that on quiet passages, you can hear it if you know what you're listening for.

Can anyone else tell me if theirs makes this high pitched noise? I see in a review of the PLV-Z5, that they commented on a high pitched noise so not sure if I'm just senstiive to it and hearing it or what.

I'm intent on keeping the projector so if this is a design issue, I'm willing to live with it. I might make a box around it lined with sound deadening foam, and then have one 120mm intake fan and one 120mm exhaust fan. Hoping this can dissapate the heat while cutting the noise.

But I'm still curious to see if others are making this high pitched noise (mostly heard from the exhaust fan side).

Thanks guys :)

A few people here using the Z60 with Macs of various kinds - perhaps someone could help me with an issue.. :confused:

Colours/contrast and such I think I have more or less under control (though may look at calibration products quite soon anyway as it's not looking as good as my 17" 2006/white-acryilic iMac screen), and have 1:1 pixel mapping sorted; the issue is I'm getting some sort of ringing effect, particularly with text.

Have tried turning off sub-pixel font smoothing on the Mac side, turned off every option that looks like it has to do with edge enhancement etc but it's still there - becomes apparent with letter combos like ol, Pl etc where a curve is adjacent to a straight part of a letter - what happens is the straight part has lighter pixels where the curve is near it, if that makes sense.

Anyone else seeing this? (for consistency's sake, try the menu where you choose a desktop background - look at the words 'Plants' and 'Solid Colors' ('Pl' and 'ol'))

Overall this makes text not as nice as it should look on an LCD-based display :(

Also of course, any ideas how to solve this? (perhaps something in the service menu?)

A few of my settings that I thought might be relevant to all this:
connected by: HDMI -> DVI cable
HDMI setup: L2
Auto black stretch: off
Contrast enhancement: off
Transient improvement: off
Sharpness: -7
(turning sharpness all the way down helps a bit, but the effect is clearly still there)

Just a little background first...I had a Z2 for over 5 years and loved it... it had about 2800 hrs on the lamp and it was still going good, but, I started to develop the dreaded blue smear. It started on the left on the screen and slowly started creeping up the bottom. I then picked up a used Sony HS51...and coming from the Z2 it was a beautiful picture! It was also my first experience working with a dynamic iris, and I can say the improvement in blacks, especially from my Z2 was dramatic. All in all, the Sony was a terrific little projector, but I read in forums that it also suffered from the blue smear. After further research I found that ALL organic LCD panel projectors will eventually have this issue due to the blue polarizer slowly getting fried by the heat over the years. So I was left with a dilemma. Take a chance and hold on to the used Sony?.. or get a new projector knowing with my current budget I had to stay at or under a grand. I really, really wanted to go 1080p this time around, but with my setup, lens shift is a must, and the $999 DLP's would have been just too difficult to fit in my room. I also wanted to get inorganic panels if I could, but only the higher priced 1080p LCD's offered this. And in higher priced I meant anything $1500 or more, and that included PJ's like the Sanyo z3000, 1080p, z700, and the Panasonics as well. Sooo....with all of that being said, I decided on the Z60, and I am so very glad I did. Although it still has inorganic panels, with the 3 year warranty in place, Im betting that I'll at least be able to go another 4 years or so before its an issue. Also, Ive had the chance to view several 1080p projectors, and although Im sure they would enable me to sit closer and give me better black levels, I really dont feel like Im missing much. I have a 92in screen (with room for a 100in) and Im sitting about about 14ft back. The Z60 is mounted on a shelf off the ceiling, about 10 ft back, and the picture is outstanding! There is PLENTY of brightness and punchiness, in ALL picture settings. Even with several overhead lights on, the vivid or brilliant setting is more than enough when needed. When sitting in a darkened room, I stay in creative and sometimes pure, and most times in eco mode. I really think that the low lumen issue Ive been reading about this PJ has been overblown. Maybe if youre projecting 120 or more from a further distance this will be an issue, but if you have a light controlled room ( and you should) even with a little ambient light, there should be no issues. Ive been viewing 1080p blu ray content and Ive been blown away! Ive read through the forum and tweaked my settings a bit and so far I have been thoroughly satisfied. Maybe its because I came from a Z60 and a hs51, ( both were said to be low on lumens) but , with my setup, I have no issues. I will gladly keep this PJ through the 3 year warranty with no regret..and by then Im sure Ill be able to snag a great deal on a 1080p unit, OR, I may not...even so, Im more than satisfied with what I have...and for under $670, WITH shipping, I think I got the bargain of the year...but thats just my two cents!...

Good couple of cents (or maybe sense in these economic times). This is definately a bang for buck projector. I've been using eco mode since day one and I am extremely impressed. Ambient light control is a must!

I've found that even in eco mode, as long as its indirect light, you can still get a great picture. Of course if you have light shining directly on your screen, light cannon or not, your picture will suffer. I had a Z2 for over 5 years, and it had a 800 lumen rating, of course much lower in real world use, and I still had a very usable picture with ambient light. I think folks make too big of a deal with these light issues. Of course I do understand it has a lot to do with your application and viewing environment. My setup is in my basement with only one small window to deal with during daytime viewing, so I pretty much have very good light control. Also, my screen is just 92in (amazing latley how I feel that 92in is small!) so Im sure 120 or more would be a bigger issue. But still, even with that, the Brilliant and Vivid settings seem strong enough to compensate.

Question...my blu ray player has a setting to output at 1080p/24, but its disabled and Im not able to select it. It says that you can only select the resolution that the unit youre sending it to can display. I know the z60 can take a 1080p/24 signal. What am I doing wrong? How can I enable that?

Question...my blu ray player has a setting to output at 1080p/24, but its disabled and Im not able to select it. It says that you can only select the resolution that the unit youre sending it to can display. I know the z60 can take a 1080p/24 signal. What am I doing wrong? How can I enable that?
Your blu-ray player needs to be able to 'force' 24 fps. Also, the Z60 does not officially support 24 fps. See previous posts, there have been a few phone calls to Sanyo to confirm. When I forced it with my PS3 to test it, there was a lot of tearing. My Panasonic (BD 30) does not allow forcing 24 fps so it's greyed out (not available). Don't believe the 24 fps hype!!

Ok..makes sense now..mine is also greyed out so I assume I cant "force" it either. From what Ive been reading looks like Im nor missing anything.

On a different note...have you ( or anyone else) noticed that the whites seem to be overly bright...maybe even a little crushed? Ive tried several different settings to reduce it but none seem to help. Im running in pure cinema and eco lamp, with minor tweeks.

On a different note...have you ( or anyone else) noticed that the whites seem to be overly bright...maybe even a little crushed? Ive tried several different settings to reduce it but none seem to help. Im running in pure cinema and eco lamp, with minor tweeks.
Do you have the HDMI setting to L2. This will allow you to see blacker than black and whiter that white for calibration. Have you done any calibration/setup with a test disc from say a THX disc or the AVS (free) disc?

Well..to be honest with you, Im a long time user of DVD Essentials and I evwn have the Blu-ray version...Ive just been too lazy to use it! Ive been using the eyeball test and using some of the settings Ive seen here in the forum. Ive had issues with components in the past that crushed whites with HDMI, but I'm seeing it here even with component connections. I have both connected so I can switch between the two. To answer your question, Im using L1 for my HDMI connection. And I know..I should stop being lazy and go through the calibration...its wild because I used it all the time for my old TV's...

Does the PLV-Z60 use organic or inorganic panels?

Chris

THe Z60 uses organic panels.

I've had the Z60 since July and I'm LOVING it! It's amazing that such quality can be achieved at this price. Anyway, I just wanted to share my settings that I'm very pleased with:

Started with Brilliant Cinema:

Brightness -2
Contrast +1
Colour +6
Red +8
Green 0
Blue -5
Sharpness -1
Lamp Control Econo Mode
Gamma +1
Progressive L1
Lens Iris -22
Lamp Iris Auto2
Auto Black Stretch L2
Contrast Enhancement L1
Transient Improvement OFF
Colour List List 2
Dynamic Gamma Auto1
Advanced Menu 2 Everything at 0
Overscan +2
Horizontal/Vertical 0
Fine Sync +10
Total Dots 0

These settings are intended for a room with ambient light control.

This model has been discontinued now and with 1080p projectors so inexpensive, of course the closeout price on this is has to be very low. I haven't compared the inexpensive 1080p projectors although I believe the picture quality from the $1,000 1080p projectors would be preferred but none of the $1,000 1080p projectors I have seen have the setup flexibility this projector has. I can't find even one of the $1,000 1080p projectors that works well in my home theater. Offset ratio or throw range is wrong with all of the ones I looked at and none of them have lens shift. This projector works nicely in my home theater so I can wait a lot longer for a 1080p projector than I had planned. I do have a 42" 1080p LCD display so I won't completely be left years behind.

Chris

Is it difficult to find replacement lamps for discontinued projectors two or three years after they've stopped manufacturing them?

Is it difficult to find replacement lamps for discontinued projectors two or three years after they've stopped manufacturing them?

I am going to say it will be very easy for this one. First of all, it uses the same lamps as the two previous models, the PLV-Z4 and PLV-Z5. Secondly, the stupid organic panel LCD projectors often don't last long enough for a second lamp. I am using a PLV-Z3 and lamps are still easy to find for it.
Getting more than 3,000 hours and needing a second lamp isn't nearly as easy.

Chris

what is a good website to purchase a replacement lamp online for a
Sanyo PLV z60.

i am new to the projector world and need some advise.

What is your take on OEM replacement lamps.

PLEASE HELP!

what is a good website to purchase a replacement lamp online for a
Sanyo PLV z60.

i am new to the projector world and need some advise.

What is your take on OEM replacement lamps.

PLEASE HELP!

I think the Sanyo lamps are great and last a long time based on my experience with the PLV-Z3. I purchased mine on eBay and used Bing cashback.

Chris

I need some help/advice with my new projector...

I have a Sanyo PLV-Z60 720P projector. It is 6 months old and has maybe 50 hours on it tops (only used for movies). I always use it according to the instructions (warm up, cool down, etc) and I keep it covered and unplugged when not in use. This was my first projector.

Anyway… I recently noticed that the picture quality has diminished a bit. Hard to explain, but it does not have the hi def “pop” that it once did. The colors appear a bit washed out. It is nothing dramatic, but definitely noticeable to my eyes. So I am bummed.

I checked all the settings, restored the factory defaults. I tried changing the source to make sure it was not the Blu-ray player, etc. Cleaned the lens. Tried different movies, etc with no luck.

I am at a loss here, but I am a noob when it comes to projectors. With less then 6 months and 50 hours on the bulb, I have a hard time believing it could be the bulb. Any thoughts?

On a side note, I am using a Da-Lite hi-power screen and I have the projector mounted at eye level.

I never calibrated the projector to begin with, I just set it to "Brilliant Cinema" and everything looked great, lots of "pop" and I was very please. Then all of a sudden, the picture looks almost standard def and I am like, "what happened?"

I appreciate any input !!

MOUNTAINPARK....Actually, it could be the bulb, but not because there is something wrong with it. Its a known fact that the bulb will change with usage and especially in the first 100h. They recommend never spending alot of money on calibration until the first 100h have been burned n the bulb especially for this purpose. Now, you may have been happy with its "out of the box" image and now that the buld has been used, it has changed from what you were used to...the best advice is trying to play with the settings and see if you can get an exciting image again. Alot of people will buy AVIA disk for proper calibration....and in fact, you may have had a poor qualibrated image to begin with and never knew it, although I am a firm believe that a viewer should be his own judge as to what looks good....

I am going to ceiling mount the PJ. I plan on a Silver Fire painted screen on Acrylic Mirror with a diagonal in the 92"-96" range.

My ceiling height is 9'.

I don't want to make any compromises when it comes to:

Throw distance
Zoom
Lens Shift
Keystone

So what are my best (realistic) options for this? I would like the bottom of the screen to be ~36"-39" from the floor if at all possible.

I believe my throw will be ~11'. I just need to figure out how low it should hang.

Thanks in advance.

This model has been discontinued now and with 1080p projectors so inexpensive, of course the closeout price on this is has to be very low. I haven't compared the inexpensive 1080p projectors although I believe the picture quality from the $1,000 1080p projectors would be preferred but none of the $1,000 1080p projectors I have seen have the setup flexibility this projector has. I can't find even one of the $1,000 1080p projectors that works well in my home theater. Offset ratio or throw range is wrong with all of the ones I looked at and none of them have lens shift. This projector works nicely in my home theater so I can wait a lot longer for a 1080p projector than I had planned. I do have a 42" 1080p LCD display so I won't completely be left years behind.

Chris

Well considering that I picked mine up for $659 with two day shipping I believe it competes nicely, given the price.

Not everything revolves around just resolution. The PLV-z60 has great color, good blacks, and good contrast. Those along with resolution make for a great projector.

I would rather take a 1280X720 with those traits, than a 1900X1080 with only mediocre traits. Besides my current movie collect is 99% DVD's.

Well considering that I picked mine up for $659 with two day shipping I believe it competes nicely, given the price.

Not everything revolves around just resolution. The PLV-z60 has great color, good blacks, and good contrast. Those along with resolution make for a great projector.

I would rather take a 1280X720 with those traits, than a 1900X1080 with only mediocre traits. Besides my current movie collect is 99% DVD's.

I have been happy with the image quality using 720p LCD projectors but 1080p projectors including projectors with performance easily equal to this one are now very inexpensive in some cases. The Sanyo PLV-1080HD was closed out at some stores recently and I believe it is basically identical to this one, same lumens, same contrast ratio, except the resolution is 1920x1080. Both use organic panels which I believe will often result in a rather short life span based on my experience. At the price the two Sanyo projectors can be purchased for, it might make sense to buy one anyway to use for a few years.

Chris

Just got a new Z60 today and hooked it up. I've been using a Sony 1272 CRT projector for the last 8.5 years so obviously this is a very different technology. I've got the pj sitting on a shelf about 16' from my 92" 16:9 screen. I fired it up, switched to Pure Cinema and changed nothing else (yet). So far I've tried various blu-ray - Narnia:LWW, Cars, Kung Fu Panda and Planet Earth.

So far, I'm blown away! It's way better than I even expected. I had been considering spending another $500 on a 1080p unit - either the Sanyo Z700 or the Epson 8100. I'm glad I saved my money. At that screen size and my usual seating distance, I can't make out any pixels. And it looks razor sharp with amazing color and detail that I never saw before. I've seen various reviewers commenting on how the brightness is lacking on this unit and that is probably true compared to other similar technology pj's. However, coming from a 7" CRT projector, this may as well be the sun shining on the screen. :D I love it!

I've had my PLV-60 for about 3 months with 67 hours on it. I believe as long as you have good light control in your room, this pj can really shine. I realize 1080p would probably be an improvement. But I am anticipating that when I do need a new pj, it will not only be 1080p, but hopefully they will have gotten the 3D techonology bug free and then I will get a new 3D pj at that time (along with a new player).

good thread...gonna get mine this week, hopefully by wednesday or thursday. gonna mount it on the ceiling onto a shelf (normal side up...not upside down..) about 14 feet back onto a 120" screen....pretty excited...

I hear alot about calibrations dvd's....where can i get one or would someone like to loan me theirs if i pay shipping both ways

Here's the free one: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496

I realize 1080p would probably be an improvement.
Meh!

Here's the free one: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496

thank you

Greetings

Anyone know why the PLV-60 might have excessive fan noise? I'm running mine in eco/cinema mode (or whatever they call the low power mode) and the fan is running pretty much full tilt.

This projector has a little over 100 hours operation time in the 18 months that I've owned it. The fan has always been a loud in this projector............... from day one. The measured noise is in the mid 40 dB range 3' from the projector. Other than the fan noise I've been very pleased with the projector.

thanks
JohnG

Greetings

Anyone know why the PLV-60 might have excessive fan noise? I'm running mine in eco/cinema mode (or whatever they call the low power mode) and the fan is running pretty much full tilt.

This projector has a little over 100 hours operation time in the 18 months that I've owned it. The fan has always been a loud in this projector............... from day one. The measured noise is in the mid 40 dB range 3' from the projector. Other than the fan noise I've been very pleased with the projector.

thanks
JohnG

That's way too loud. I think you've got a defect. The specs here (http://www.projectorreviews.com/sanyo/plv-z60/specifications-id1795.php) show 22 dB. If you are measuring 40 dB, something is wrong. I would contact Sanyo.

from day one. The measured noise is in the mid 40 dB range 3' from the projector. Other than the fan noise I've been very pleased with the projector.

thanks
JohnG

Mines whisper quiet from sitting position. Call Sanyo.

OK, so I just tried to turn on the PLV-z60 and the door opens and the fans start but about 5 seconds later the power and warning LED turn RED. The manual just states that this combo of solid red LED's:
"The projector detects an abnormal condition and cannot be turned on. Unplug the AC power cord and plug it again to turn on the projector. If the projector is turned off again, unplug the AC power cord and contact the dealer or service center for servicing and checkup. Do not leave the projector on. It may cause an electric shock or a fire hazard."

Is this projector "dead" and not revivable............... or like Billy Crystal said in The Princess Bride": "There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive."

This projector is just shy of 2 years old and only has ~200 hours on it. Anything I can do.............. got to put that EE degree to some good use once in a while.

Thanks
JohnG

Did you unplug and plug back in?

Looks like you need to call Sanyo.

Did you unplug and plug back in?

Looks like you need to call Sanyo.

Yup.

I'll give Sanyo a call and see if their 3 year warranty actually works. :confused:

thanks
JohnG

Try to google PLV-Z5 (very similar model)thermal reset fix, unplug unit, its 6 screws, remove cover, push the reset button, replace cover....good luck!

Let us know what happens. With only 200 hours, they better treat you right!

Try to google PLV-Z5 (very similar model)thermal reset fix, unplug unit, its 6 screws, remove cover, push the reset button, replace cover....good luck!

Thanks, that's good to know.

I talked with someone at the Sanyo Chatsworth repair facility this morning.

Since the the unit has <200 hours I'm going to give it to them for a look see. The unit was pretty noisy anyway.................. ~45+db when running in eco mode so it needed some attention anyway. This will be a good test of Sanyo's service. I was planning on upgrading to the new 1080P projector.............. before this issue with my current project. :confused:

thanks again for the reset switch suggestion
JohnG

i bought PLV Z60 in Dec 08. about 2 yrs now. approx 875 hrs on the lamp. i don't know if lamp has dimmed in last 2 yrs, but i am extremely satisfied with the pj so far. i am feeling the upgrade itch on pj. so my questions are..

1- if i upgrade, i plan to go for Epson 8100 or 8350 pjs. will i see a huge improvement over Z60 on watching bluray? worth spending 500 more?

1- going by my expected usage, i will hardly be at 1500 hrs in next one yr, i.e. after 3 yrs of usage. will anything else will be a problem in say another year? or will the picture quality degrade significantly?

2- i use the pj as per instructions, have it in a temp-controlled relatively dust-free room. is there anything more i can do to avoid picture degradation?

3- officedepot and staples etc sell dust-busters in a bottle. is it ok to use it from say 10" on my projector interior? or should not do that?

Thanks, that's good to know.

I talked with someone at the Sanyo Chatsworth repair facility this morning.

Since the the unit has <200 hours I'm going to give it to them for a look see. The unit was pretty noisy anyway.................. ~45+db when running in eco mode so it needed some attention anyway. This will be a good test of Sanyo's service. I was planning on upgrading to the new 1080P projector.............. before this issue with my current project. :confused:

thanks again for the reset switch suggestion
JohnG

Update: Sanyo has fixed the projector. Will pick it up next week. Curious to see if they'll tell me what the problem was.

Update: Picked up the projector and it now works. It's still quite noisy with a measured sound amplitude of ~45 dB. The fans are loud on this unit. :-(

cheers
JohnG

Plv z60 Projector the lamp replace led was flashing, on top of the unit. I replaced the lamp with a new one. It appears to be perfect; however, the lamp replace led is still flashing.I disconnected the power, replaced the lamp, opened the door with the remote and the light still doesn't come on..followed by the door shutting..on its own and then the lamp replace light starts flashing again. Is the board damaged or another reset I am not aware of?

Plv z60 Projector the lamp replace led was flashing, on top of the unit. I replaced the lamp with a new one. It appears to be perfect; however, the lamp replace led is still flashing.I disconnected the power, replaced the lamp, opened the door with the remote and the light still doesn't come on..followed by the door shutting..on its own and then the lamp replace light starts flashing again. Is the board damaged or another reset I am not aware of?

Did you do a lamp counter reset?

From the manual (see also the first post)

Turn the projector on and press the MENU button to display
the On-Screen Menu. Select the Setting Menu with the
Point ed buttons. Press the Point 8 button to access the
submenu items.

Select Lamp counter reset and then press the the OK or
Point 8 buttons. “Lamp replacement counter reset?”
appears. Select [Yes] and then press the OK button.

Another confirmation dialog box appears, and select [Yes] to
reset the Lamp replacement counter.

Hi all. I have had my z60 for 2 years now and it has been great. However, I decided to try hooking up my old pc to use as a video streamer / surfer. The image quality is poor (blurry) for text. I have graphics card set to default 1280 x 720, 60 hz, but image just does not look very good. Is there an optimum setting for viewing text? I have even increased default font size to 120 dpi which helped. I suspect that fine detail like text and icons just may be too small when projected onto a large screen.

Pc is XP, graphics card is nVidea 5700. It's old stuff, but works good.

Thanks in advance.

I've noticed that the text on mine is a little dodgy too. I have older equipment as well but I haven't explored a solution.