So I purchased the Panny last week and it is sitting in the box waiting for the theater to be finshed (Install is next Tuesday). Just saw Art's review at Projector Reviews of the Sharp Z3000. Here is my problem. I can get the z3000 locally and at a comparable price to the panny. While the Panny is via online. Should I return the panny and get the Z3000 since it seems to be just as bright with a sharper picture and minus all the issues that are arising with the panny? Or is the panny really that bright that it will blow away teh sharp.. I want my pitcure to pop!!!

I am projecting from 11' to a 103" screen. Projector will be ceiling mounted. Some ambient light will occur. Will be using a Vetec Pearl Bright screen. Rainbox's are not a problem since I already have a 50" rear DLP that is three years old and have never seen a hint of RBE.

Is the Sharp that good of projector that Art's reviews says???

If you read that review very closely Arts really likes the sharp.But it does cost more,But if you can get it at the same price as the ax100 then it might be a better deal.But it is new also and more than likely has a few quirks also like all FP.The big thing for me would be no lens shift which is a must for me and most.BUDDA

At 768 resolution there is some room for vertical shift. Also Sharps typically have low offset and quality built are excellent. If indeed it is near the price of ax100 you should look into it. At least you get a very reliable DLP machine.

So I purchased the Panny last week and it is sitting in the box waiting for the theater to be finshed (Install is next Tuesday). Just saw Art's review at Projector Reviews of the Sharp Z3000. Here is my problem. I can get the z3000 locally and at a comparable price to the panny. While the Panny is via online. Should I return the panny and get the Z3000 since it seems to be just as bright with a sharper picture and minus all the issues that are arising with the panny? Or is the panny really that bright that it will blow away teh sharp.. I want my pitcure to pop!!!

I am projecting from 11' to a 103" screen. Projector will be ceiling mounted. Some ambient light will occur. Will be using a Vetec Pearl Bright screen. Rainbox's are not a problem since I already have a 50" rear DLP that is three years old and have never seen a hint of RBE.

Is the Sharp that good of projector that Art's reviews says???

Neither is a slouch. You could however save some scratch looking into the Sharp DT-500. It's basically a z3000 minus the 2nd iris. Got a Costco membership?

Thanks guys. I just like the idea of buying it local that way if anything does go wrong the store will take care of it from me.

I am a little wooried about the offset. I am ceiling mounting and my ceilings are 8.5 ft high. the top of the screen is going to be roughly two feet from the ceiling. I attached a picture of the screen wall. The screen will fill up most of the dark brown area (the upper half) with the top of the screen being about even with the bottom of the arch.

I want to avoid a long tube dropdown system but willing to take 6" inches or so. Not sure how offset and that works.

Since I am giving the local installer a lot of business with all of my other equipment he is giving me a nice break on the price of the Sharp (sub 2K). He does not carry the 500 so I think I will stick with him and get the 3000. Several months ago he told me about the 3000 but I could find little information on it on the web. Then Art did his review on the 3000 and then all the recent postings about issues with the Panny gave me cold feet about my purchase of the Panny.

As for Costco, no membership yet, have Sam's Club. But they broke ground a on new Costco close to home so will switch upon opening. Do they carry the projectors in-store????

Should I return the panny and get the Z3000 since it seems to be just as bright with a sharper picture and minus all the issues that are arising with the panny?

Just as bright? Panny advertises 2000 lumens while this Sharp is only advertised at 1200 lumens. If you have ambient light, this is definitely something to consider.

FJ

brboulder - costco has a few projectors in the store, but most of their HT projector line is only online. However their indefinite satisfaction guarantee applies and you can return an online purchase for complete refund (including shipping) to the local store. I'm fairly certain the DT-500 and XV-Z3000 are identical except for the 2nd iris in the Z3000, so feel free to head down to the DT-500 for a little more info.

Also, if you could ask your installer for the service menu access code to the Z3000 that would help us out quite a bit.


FJ - if you look at these two reviews you'll see that the XV-Z3000 measures pretty close to the AX100U. Amazing but Sharp actually seems to quote D65 lumens and can actually go a bit brighter than rated - roughly 1400 lumens. In what Art seemed to think was a usuable mode on the AX100U, he estimated 1800 lumens (why he didn't measure I don't know). Most manufacturers pretty much blatantly lie on their specs, so it's always good to look for actual review measurements when possible. In an extreme example some plasma mfgs measure contrast by sending no signal to the unit or even taking the front glass off, and most pj mfgs are ethically no better.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/Sharp/XV-Z3000/performance.asp
http://www.projectorreviews.com/Manufacturers/panasonic/PT-AX100U/performance.asp

FWIW, I have the Z3000, and have been pretty happy with it. Not that I have a lot of experiance with DLP's. I got mine from Magnolia A&V (Seattle area) on a thanksgiving door buster, it was about 30% under mail order, and I just couldn't pass it up. Sure made springing for the extended waranty easier, and it's local.

I spent a lot of time screwing around with mounts as I was trying to get max performance out of a 106" hp screen. I started out with celing mount, then toyed with wall mount just behind the seats. Found that to be too loud, and a bit too bright even with the highest contrast seting, finally went with hight rear wall mount with an apex articulating mount I got for really cheap on ebay.

I wanted to avoid keystone adjustment as it is software baised, and as I understand, it uses up some resources and can lead to more artifacts. Also, It straightens the sides by clipping the picture, so even fairly small keystone adjustments leave the picture smaller than you would expect. In a room with limited throw distance, and a really big screen, I found that I couldn't do any keystone adjustment without having white on either side of the image. Remember too, increasing throw to inlarge a cropped pic will result in a dimmer overall image as some of the pixles are not used.

If you are going to hang with a 6" tube, and about 2" more for the center of the lense, then ideal screen offset would be about 7 3/8" or about 15 3/8 total. There is a software based picture shift of about 1.75" up or down, which gets you to about 17" drop. Adding 7" aditional drop will result in very noticable keystoning.

I was amaised on mine how precise I had to be in hight to avoid needing keystone adjustment. My final adjustment was about 2" and resulted in zero keystoning. I think it's the short throw of the projector, combined with the eye's ability to notice almost any error in keystone, given that the masking on the sides is straight. I supose if you had a fixed screen, you could use black masking to match a small keystone error, and it would probably not be noticable.

Bottom line, mount the screen as high as you can, then try the projector from where you want it, before you run perminant wires and screws. I understand the sharp is not as adjustable as some other projectors, and I did a lot of tweaking on position before it came out just right. I am very happy with the results though.

Best of luck!
Ken

How adjustable is the Sharp 500? Can I get a ~100" picture from 14'?

How adjustable is the Sharp 500? Can I get a ~100" picture from 14'?

According to this, no. 100" would be around 10-11 ft. Short throw.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/SharpVision-DT-500-projection-calculator-pro.htm

How adjustable is the Sharp 500? Can I get a ~100" picture from 14'?
Easily. It's a short throw PJ. GOTO Projectorcentral and use their PJ calculator.

This is straight out of my ZV-Z3000 manual,
Asuming that they use the same optics as the 3000, the throw range for a 100" picture is 9'11" to 11'6", so no, 14' is too long. Asuming I did the math right, you will end up with a pic range of 122-141" at 14' throw. All of this is asuming you don't have any keystone adjustment. As I mentioned, keystone adjustment will shrink the picture very quickly, and I supose could be used in a pinch to shrink the screen, but I would just move the projector forward, it will result in a much nicer, brighter pic.

I sold an AE900 to move up to the z3000, and I couldn't be happier. I consider the move a significant upgrade in PQ. I too paid less than I would have paid for the 100.

Even if brightness was equal between the Ax-100 and the 3000, the 3000 would still have a great deal more pop and depth due to the superior contrast/black level. The 3000 has noticeably lower black level and higher contrast when in high brightness mode than the 900 has in its best theater mode, and the 3000 has to be pushing 800 theater optimized lumens at that. In medium contrast mode the 3000 renders black, and it is better than twice as bright as the 900. In high contrast mode it's still 150 lumens brighter than the 900, and the contrast/black level is second to none. Needless to say, sharpness is worlds better than the 900.

I keep reading about the z3000 having a second iris compared to one in the DT-500. I've had the 3000 for 2 months now, and I've yet to find a second iris. :confused:

If you look through the lense (from the side, it will damage your eyes from straight on, esp at close range) And shift from high brightness to med contrast and high contrast, you will see something shift across, just behind the lense. I assume this is the iris they are talking about. I don't pretend to understand exactly how a smaller iris will increase contrast, but the results are there.

I went from an old 3 gun projector to the 3000, and wow, I had no idea how much these had improved. Everyone is talking about lumens, which is fine for an office presentation, but for movies, contrast is where it's at! At night, in my dark white walled room, I use nothing but high contrast mode. During the day, with the white mini blinds on the 10ft X 4ft picture windows on the side, it's a little blown out, even in high brightness, low bulb mode, but it is usable. I may look for some other blinds, which will def improve the situation.

One word of warning, the default settings are for bright bulb with dynamic picture, by far the worst setting, makes the colors crawl. Usable only in extreme conditions. This is what the sales people had it set to. Made it look like an over driven LCD. Is there a conspiracy amongst sales people to keep us from buying DLP's???

Ken

Everyone is talking about lumens, which is fine for an office presentation, but for movies, contrast is where it's at! At night, in my dark white walled room, I use nothing but high contrast mode. Ken

Ken,

I've been looking at the DT-500, which apparently does not have the high contrast mode due to lack of that second iris. However, a couple of 3000 owners on other threads have suggested that they never use the highest contrast mode as it is too dark. You obviously have a different impression, so I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on the high contrast mode vs. the "mid" setting.

Many thanks!

Tim

If you have a fully darkened room, and a reasonable screen size (under 110") the high contrast mode is very usable, especially while the bulb is fresh. If you're buying this because you need a light canon, the high contrast mode might indeed be a bit dim.

If you have a fully darkened room, and a reasonable screen size (under 110") the high contrast mode is very usable, especially while the bulb is fresh. If you're buying this because you need a light canon, the high contrast mode might indeed be a bit dim.

Thanks--Don't need a light canon, as I am in a fully dark room, though the lumens are nice for watching HD sports in ambient light, but that's not what the high contrast mode is for anyway. I've currently got a BenQ 7800, which is only rated at 800 lumens (220W bulb vs. 275W on the 3000/DT-500), so the 3000 sounds like it would be both brighter and better contrast. However, while it would be nice to have, given that the 3000 is about $1k more than one can get the DT-500 at Costco, I'm not sure the high contrast level is worth the significant step up in price.

I have a high power screen, I am a bit out of the optimal cone of brightness, having the projector high. I got it mainly for the lack of ripple in a roll up screen, off axis light rejection, and a modirate bump in the brightness. That being said, the high contrast mode is very usable for me in a dark room with white walls. I do notice the wall directly behind the projector is noticibly brighter from the retro reflective screen. If my wife would let me paint the back wall black, I am sure the pic would look even better.
Fat chance.. :rolleyes:

As far as I can tell, the iris is changed for each contrast setting, so the 500 may only have the max brightness/ low contrast setting, which at least on the 3000 is noticibly less contrastly than the others, and which I would only use in a partilly lit room. I like black blacks, which is what I get with high contrast, but mid contrast is noticibly better than the bright. A darker screen would probably help, but then your light output would suffer when you needed it. When I am fooling around with settings, and I go back to high contrast, I initially think that it's too dark, but then I sit down and watch it for a while, and I like it. If there is much light in the room, then mid contrast is better.

I would be interested in seeing what a 500 would test for contrast if a filter were added over the front. Might be a low cost contrast boost??? it seems odd that just adding an iris would result in a 1K$ bump, about twice the $$$. I suspect that there's more diferences than just the iris, but stranger marketing decisions have been made.

Hey guys thanks for all the input.

I sent back the Panny 100 today so I don't have to worry about the light flicker or green/red tint that almost every member in the Panny 100 forum is experiencing.

My local installer has nothing but good things to say about the Sharp saying it is one of his favorite projectors and he has been installing from 20 years.

Install is set for a week from today. Just received my Kef IQ7 yesterday and they look amazing. I am pairing those with a Kef Iq6 center channel. My four surrounds are all Speakercrafts AIM8 three's.

the screen is a Vutec PearlBright 103" .

Will post impressions and pics next week.

Someone should start a Sharp Z3000 forum.

There wasnt always such a large price difference - its been closer to $300. The recent price drop is probably to clear inventory and make room for the DT-510. The Z3000 is not supposed to be sold by mass retailers so you havent seen the equivalent price drop there.

Just noticed this post. wow what a question. In my book this is not even close. PQ wise the Sharp is superior to the Panny in every aspect. Seriously dun believe in all those "auto-iris" gimmicks of the LCDs. The native contrast of a DLP has a huge difference. The LCDs just look flat with poor shadow details. Brightness? LCDs can claim whatever they want but the actual image with proper colors look dimmer, because the higher CR of the DLP has a perceived "brighter" look. (Moreover the sharp is an unusually bright DLP). After watching long enough u will know. The only advantage LCD has right now is price and maybe lens shift. Dun forget the maintenance issues of LCD (u r supposed to clean the filter every 3 months, and that doesn't guarantee u there won't be dust blob.) And yes after long usage the LCD color panels will run. This is through my personal experience not from that TI study. I for one will never consider a LCD PJs again, unless something revolutionary happens.

As far as I can tell, the iris is changed for each contrast setting, so the 500 may only have the max brightness/ low contrast setting, which at least on the 3000 is noticibly less contrastly than the others, and which I would only use in a partilly lit room.

I would be interested in seeing what a 500 would test for contrast if a filter were added over the front. Might be a low cost contrast boost??? it seems odd that just adding an iris would result in a 1K$ bump, about twice the $$$. I suspect that there's more diferences than just the iris, but stranger marketing decisions have been made.

I too have a hi-power screen for the same reasons, and also find that with my ceiling mounted pj i would get the best viewing by standing through the film so goes.

As far as the iris is concerned, the DT-500 has an iris, but apparently doesn't have the second iris of the 3000. Interesting question about what a filter would do.

There wasnt always such a large price difference - its been closer to $300. The recent price drop is probably to clear inventory and make room for the DT-510. The Z3000 is not supposed to be sold by mass retailers so you havent seen the equivalent price drop there.

I hadn't heard about the DT-510 until you mentioned it, but did some quick searching. The PR from Sharp doesn't really show any differences between the 500/510, 3000/3100, except for the fact that the lumens have dropped from 1200 to 1000. I did not see any note of DC3, and the contrast numbers are the same.

the mangnolia stores at best buy have this projector for the same price as costco has on the Dt500

Can you find that online at Best buy's site or only in store. I checked the magnolia section of best buy and they only listed the Sony Pearl or Ruby.

the mangnolia stores at best buy have this projector for the same price as costco has on the Dt500

I find this hard to believe given that the cheapest price from a reputable dealer online is well over $2k.

RJR2345 is right. The 3000 is MASSIVELY discounted at Magnolia right now. There price is far cheaper than any I have seen online.

RJR2345 is right. The 3000 is MASSIVELY discounted at Magnolia right now. There price is far cheaper than any I have seen online.

Very interesting...will have to give them a call tomorrow. Thanks

I'm pretty sure Magnolia is clearing out the z2000, not the z3000.

According to the manual, the DT-500 has only high brightness and high contrast iris settings. It lacks the medium setting of the 3000. Perhaps high contrast on the 500 is the equivalent of medium on the 3000. That would explain the different contrast rating.

I can tell you first hand that medium contrast on the 3000 is exceptional when compared to LCD. It's even better than my BenQ 7700 was in its best theater mode. And, let's put to rest now that high contrast on the 3000 is dim. I don't consider nearly 400 lumens dim.

I was in Magnolia yesterday and it was the z3000 at one & half K



I'm pretty sure Magnolia is clearing out the z2000, not the z3000.

Then it's a no brainer. DarkChip 3 performance for less than a budget LCD.

My Magnolia had the z2000 at that price last weekend.

I'm not a 100% sure, but I don't think the z3000 is a DC3? :confused: Just a damm good PJ!!

Z3000 is DC2.

I'll have to check out Magnolia tonight and see what they have.

I was just about to buy an epson projector from Japan (that would be a better fit for my room due to throw/lens shift)

However, I think I can make this DLP work in my room, unlike the Mist or the Optoma HD70.

Best Buy always mails out 10% off coupons and I have on on my desk that starts Friday.
So If nothing else, that would come close to covering the restocking fee if I don't like the PJ.

I just sold a Sharp Projector and it worked flawlessly for years.

Damn, and I was really sold on that Epson!

That pricing is what my local dealer was offer me. Gosh, I thought I was getting the deal of the century. Either way, it is still a great price and if the projector works in your room I like the idea of buying from Best Buy better than ordering from Japan. I too looked at the Epson 700 but was worried about international warranties and such.

Plus Best Buy is always running No interest for 12 or more months so you can get it and a good Screen and make payments over a few months to help lessen the impact.

I'm heading there tonight. If I remember, I think they have one on display, if so they'll probably have a sale if it looks good to me.

If they don't have it on display I might be tempted to buy and also an epson 700 and see which I like better.

I'm not a huge fan of DLP rainbows, but I admit the blacks are generally better on DLP, and I value Arts opinions on his review at ProjectorReveiws.com

Just got back from Bestbuy.

They are 1499 on close out.

All they had was the demo unit.
The bulb timer was at 50 hours, however, theres no way to know if the timer had been reset. I can say that at that store, I've been in the room a few times and never seen the projector on.

The 10/12% coupon does not apply to close outs.

30 day return policy.

Screen door on the 6 foot wide screen was visible back at 8-9 feet. I was surprised by that, being a DLP.

Picture wasn't 'bad', but I was not blown away by it either.
Played with the different iris settings -

overall the picture appeared to lack 'pop'
Unfortunately, it was shown on a grey screen - this probably did very little to help the colors and vividness.

I decided to pass on it, since they did not have the box nor manual, and I wasn't impressed by the picture.

Good news was that I did not notice a rainbow on it at all - that was nice.

I just re-read the review on the Sharp on Hometheatermag.com and am a little concerned with the light output on the high-contrast setting. They measured over 6,000 to 1 contrast ratio with black being an amazing .001 but an all white was only 6(foot lamberts or something like it). To my limited knowledge, that's not much light at all. By bumping up the light, you'll loose a lot of the contrast advantage, putting this unit closer to the rest of the lower priced dlp's. Is that enough light for a pleasant movie viewing experience, or will it be too dim? Of course to fully apreciate this contrast ratio, one must have a fully darkened room. Maybe a high gain screen would help.

I'm not a 100% sure, but I don't think the z3000 is a DC3? :confused: Just a damm good PJ!!

It's not, but it performs like a DC3.

It did not amaze me with brightness at Best Buy today- the bulb had 50 hours on it (assuming the timer was never reset)

All in all, the picture always looked washed out, even when we had all the lights out.

Turning on some lights in the room, the picture of course still looked washed out, but in my opinion, it was unviewable - just based on the picture quality, not based on the brightness - ie if there was a news story on and you wanted to watch it during the day, you could easily watch it, it just wouln't look as good as a $500 lcd tv, much less a plasma.

6 FTL onto a 87" wide screen is way too low no matter how you look at it. I am surprised that they did not complain about low low top lumen. Perhaps a misprint!
In the review somewhere else it says it is capable of 27 FTL on hi lamp. It is hard to say where the discrepancy is.

J
overall the picture appeared to lack 'pop'
Unfortunately, it was shown on a grey screen - this probably did very little to help the colors and vividness.


something is wrong abt this unit. The z3k has the highest CR measured for any DC2 DLPs. And that should give u the "pop" feel. the german cine4home review called it "CR miracle". Also the brightness. It's definitely a bright PJ. mid iris is the one I find most pleasing on a 130" screen.

you could easily watch it, it just wouln't look as good as a $500 lcd tv, much less a plasma.

What kind of projector do you have?

I've asked a friend who just went had 4 different projectors to go to a best buy near him and have a look to confirm/deny my findings - my Friend had an optoma 7100 and was blown away with it - projectorreview.com said the Z3000 was similar.

plus at best buy the screen was 3 cieling tiles wide so I assume thats 72 inches or so.

Unfortunately, my expectations may be unrealistic.

I happily owned a Sharp C30 projector for 5 years.
we bought a new plasma tv and the C30 looked aweful overnight.

At Bestbuy, the drop down screen was right next to a Panasonic Plasma, so the difference in colors was very apparent.

So when I say It lacked 'pop' I mean there was nothing I could do to the picture to even approach that plasma, yet that is what I am after visually.

So Combine that with it being a demo, no box, or manual, no use of the 12% weekend discount coupon, and the inability to use my existing projector window at the rear of the room, and I felt I should pass and go with my original choice... (TW-700 LCD with offset and 1-2.1x zoom)

I've asked a friend who just went had 4 different projectors to go to a best buy near him and have a look to confirm/deny my findings - my Friend had an optoma 7100 and was blown away with it - projectorreview.com said the Z3000 was similar.

plus at best buy the screen was 3 cieling tiles wide so I assume thats 72 inches or so.

Unfortunately, my expectations may be unrealistic.

I happily owned a Sharp C30 projector for 5 years.
we bought a new plasma tv and the C30 looked aweful overnight.

At Bestbuy, the drop down screen was right next to a Panasonic Plasma, so the difference in colors was very apparent.

So when I say It lacked 'pop' I mean there was nothing I could do to the picture to even approach that plasma, yet that is what I am after visually.

So Combine that with it being a demo, no box, or manual, no use of the 12% weekend discount coupon, and the inability to use my existing projector window at the rear of the room, and I felt I should pass and go with my original choice... (TW-700 LCD with offset and 1-2.1x zoom)


Ah ha... I just posted a reply to your first message guessing either 1. you never had a front projector before, or 2. the projection screen was right next to a plasma or other direct view smaller display.

I then saw your profile and photos on your home page with the front projection screen so I changed my original post :)

Anyhow, I think its a bit of an optical illusion when you see a bright direct view display right next to a front projection setup in a not perfectly dark setting. Typically your eyes will adjust to the front projection setup and it will seem just as good as other displays as long as you don't have one of those in the same room :)

beestea -

I had a projector before - a pretty old one- thats what has me a bit bummed out here - After we got our new plasma (upstairs) I sold my projector (basement) It was 5 years old, and I figured that almost anything must be better than that (and it probably is).

however, like I mentioned, I've got expectations that it looks comparable to the plasma upstairs. I've also got expectations that I can play some video games with my kids and not have to sit in the dark. It's important to me that the 'theater room' not feel like a dungeon, and I have tried very hard to use colors that are not too dark as to make the room depressing.

When I saw the Z3000 today, It reminded me of my old Sharp Projector - there were a lot of good things about that projector so thats not necessarily a bad thing, but I sure didn't want to spend $1500 to get what I already had (It'll be the last time I sell what I have before I have a replacement!)

6 FTL onto a 87" wide screen is way too low no matter how you look at it. I am surprised that they did not complain about low low top lumen. Perhaps a misprint!
In the review somewhere else it says it is capable of 27 FTL on hi lamp. It is hard to say where the discrepancy is.

The projector is capable of high lumen output, but under those circumstances, the contrast ratio is dropped to the 2000:1 range or so, far from the 6000:1 when putting out the extremely low 6 FTL.

Strange how the review's primary focus is on the high contrast ratio, but doesn't emphasize that it is only acheived with such a low light output.

Regardless, the projector sounds like a great product, especially at the price people have been getting them for recently. Maybe a compromise has to be reached with iris settings to raise black level a couple notches to increase brightness, yet hitting contrast ratios of approxiamately 4000:1, which is very good.

I was in Magnolia yesterday and it was the z3000 at one & half K



I'm pretty sure Magnolia is clearing out the z2000, not the z3000.

I concur...I purchased my projector at Magnolia for the mentioned price, and it is in fact the z3000...same price as the dt-500 is listed for at costco, I believe. I'm not sure if it's available regionally or nationally, because it's not listed on the website. You have to go to the store.

beestea -

I had a projector before - a pretty old one- thats what has me a bit bummed out here - After we got our new plasma (upstairs) I sold my projector (basement) It was 5 years old, and I figured that almost anything must be better than that (and it probably is).

however, like I mentioned, I've got expectations that it looks comparable to the plasma upstairs. I've also got expectations that I can play some video games with my kids and not have to sit in the dark. It's important to me that the 'theater room' not feel like a dungeon, and I have tried very hard to use colors that are not too dark as to make the room depressing.

When I saw the Z3000 today, It reminded me of my old Sharp Projector - there were a lot of good things about that projector so thats not necessarily a bad thing, but I sure didn't want to spend $1500 to get what I already had (It'll be the last time I sell what I have before I have a replacement!)

Your expectations are not too high however, you seem to have placed the plasma image as your ideal. If you talk to an ISF calibrator, you will quickly find out that when they tackle a plasma (and many of the new LCD and DLP RPTV's), they spend most of their time taming oversaturated colours.

If you are looking for an image that is 'natural' (ie you see it as it was shot with high contrast and accurate colours), most PJ's (DLP and LCD) can do that when they are properly calibrated. If you are looking for your colours to "pop" off the screen, then you are probably better off with a plasma set.

NOTE -- Don't get the intent of this message wrong...some people are far happier with colours that really "pop" off the screen and could care less if it is "accurate".

Keith, you're probably right - I'm sure the Plasma is not ISF perfect. But it sure looks good!

I've got to do something in the projector end of things, cause I don't have anything to watch in my home theater right now.

I've seen projectors before that impressed me so maybe I was just thrown off by the plamsa best buy had under the scree. Honestly, a white screen would have been better too. I really wasn't impressed with the stuart. It had bands running from left to right in 3 places on the screen. I thought it was the projector so I asked the guy to retract the screen and sure enough the banding moved with the screen.

Anyhow, I'm sure the Z3000 is a good deal and will be great for someone. If a few more factors had been in it's favor for my needs I would have given it a try.

- Jack

It has been mentioned here before, most sales floors are not set up for projectors. There's almost a conpiracy to push people away from them. The rooms are too bright, the screens are too dark, they are displayed next to smaller, brighter plasma sets, and so on.

On a sales floor, your eyes will nearly always pick brighter as better, thats why nearly every set you look as has the brightness cranked up, the colors look overdriven and unnatural. I was amaised when I started shopping for our latest set. All the LCD's showed nature programs that looked like they had been shot on another planet. The greens looked like something from Springfield's Nucular plant.

What I want from my home theater is an experiance as close to a movie theater as posible. That means real colors that pop only when they would in real life, not faces that look like they are detached from the head, and radioactive lawns. These effects are fine on a ~40" screen from 8ft or so, by the time you hit 50" they start to look a little freakish. On a 106" screen in a dark room they look silly and will cause eye strain in short order.

Lupy said ,
It has been mentioned here before, most sales floors are not set up for projectors. There's almost a conpiracy to push people away from them. The rooms are too bright, the screens are too dark, they are displayed next to smaller, brighter plasma sets, and so on


Correct . The Salem NH Best Buy has so much light in the room that anyone looking at the front projection unit will dismiss it offhand .I asked for a look with the lights turned off and the room still had enough light from the main floor to read a newspaper .I have no idea how they plan to sell units with this kind of presentation

Magnolia/BB is a terrible place to evaluate a front projector.

I got a 3k (the demo unit w/ 45 hrs) from my Magnolia in-store last night. Just over $1K. No remote. It was so screwed up (keystone etc.) on the display floor that serious evaluation was not possible. I took the chance that in the appropriate environment it would be a great upgrade from my WVGA LCD.

It is.

Absolutely beautiful. With the new bulb I'm running low bulb high contrast at 120" and it is just right. I can see that in a few hours it'll be too dim, and have to go up to high bulb.

Again, really clean picture on this PJ. An absolute steal at these closeout prices, even compared to the Mits 1000. (and no horrid offset - this makes a fine table mount from about 15' for the 120" or so image (I haven't measured it yet).

Oh, I'm projecting on a Behr Silver Screen wall. Not that I need the gray surface any more.

Many thanks for the tip on finding this at BB/Magnolia, I had been waiting for a price drop or B&M with decent price on something like this for some time, and grabbed the last new-in-box. (They claim 15% restock fee won't apply if I don't like it, despite the clearly displayed policy)

Of course when I got there with my mind finally made up to get the Z3000, they pointed out that the Z12000 display was for sale for only four hundred more :eek:

What a monster that Z12000 is, and seemed to good to pass up at 1/3 price, except that it's huge and requires more light control and throw length than I have... oh well. btw, thay had the z2000 display on clearance for <1k.

-TomM

As i said in an earlier post, I would comment on the z3000 after getting it up and running. Well here is my review..in laymen terms

My room is a mixed use room in our basement that opens to a kids play area so I can watch football and the kids at teh same time. I am throwing from around 11.5 ft onto a 103" screen, ceiling mounted on a 8.75 ft ceiling.

First impressions...

Very happy. I have a Samsung rear projection unit upstair and I can get the z3000 to give me a similar picture in terms of brightness with some lights on.

If I put on the lights in the playroom, almost no effect on picture quality. I am even able to but on flood lights that are positioned above my couch 12 feet away from screen and has very little impact on PQ...thus Superbowl party is offical on.

those results are using the dynamic picture mode, eco bulb, and high brightness. I could squeeze some more brightness by putting buld on high but....

ONE WEAKNESS - fan noise. Since I live in the Denver area I need to have fan on high for the high altutide. If fan is on high and full bulb, the fan noise is audible and somewhat distracting. However, high fan and eco bulb it is barly audible and the same with low fan and full bulb.

Watching movies last night, King Kong HD and Barnyard standard with 90% of lights off, I was able to go to a lower brightness setting (natural) and picture still popped of the screen.

The pitcure from the HD DVD King Kong was amazing.

Lastly, played XBOX 360 - Gears of War and NHL 06. Both looked amzing. Gears is a little dark so I set up the memory settting for video gaming and played with the brightness and contast. After some adjustments was very happy.

Overall, I was very worried about what projector to get. I had ordered the Panasonice PT100 with its 2000 lumens but returned that ot the online seller after reading about all the issues it was having. After seeing the review of this projector on Projector Reviews, I decided to get it since the company doing my install carries it thus I am able to get a 5-year warranty with 3 bulb replacements for $500 buck additional.

I have no regret. they 2 guys doing the instal loved the projector and its overall picture quality and its reliabilty.

I paired the projector with a 103' Vutec Pearl Bright Screen. I also got the Marantaz 7001 and am rinning the xbox 360 with HD DVD player add on and a dish network HD reciever through the receiver then onto the porjector via HDMI.
I have the Kef's IQ7 tower speakers for my left and right, with their IQ6c as the center channel. the four surround speakers are Speakercraft Aim8Three's. together this system which ran me about 10K looks and sound just as good as my uncle's system which he had installed two years ago for around 20K.

TomM wish I lived in MA I'd grab that 12K in a second. The 3K is a bit short throw for me, I have to table mount it - I could wall mount the 12K.

brboulder, thanks for the review. This projector is plenty bright!

I'm near Denver, and I've never used high fan mode on any of the four different models of projectors that I've owned, even though all recommended it. I'm currently using the z3000 in normal fan mode with the lamp in eco mode. No problems at all.

I suppose this could cost me a few lamp hours over the long haul, but I never keep a projector long enough to worry about it. I couldn't handle this baby in high fan mode!

I am using Panny AX100 and loving it except the color uniformity problem...

I can't make up my mind between these 2 projectors. I currently have a Panny AE700 so if I get the AX100, the installation will be a lot less of a pain. I'm just wondering if the image on the Sharp XV-Z3000 is THAT much better. HELP!!!! ;-)