Epson 1080UB or Sanyp Z2000?

No, One of my my friends has the ub and I the Z2000 by sanyo and I must say now that its been tweaked with, and set properly my sanyo looks better at 106". Out of the box the epson performed better but no more and I also Have 3 year warranty and he only one. But its really up to you. Some swear on the epson but I will always pick my Sanyo first, and its also much quiter.

On the other hand the Epson is a lot brighter then the Sanyo if needed during the daytime. Also with the dark scenes, the Sanyo cannot compare. Sanyo also does not support 1080p24, its all about how much you want from a projector. On a budget I would jump on the Sanyo, but if I had the extra cash I would get the Epson.

Actually sanyo does support 1080p24. and the sanyo you can and i do watch with lighting no problem, and the blacks do compare i seen it with my own eyes, the epson may still be brighter but it don't help unless you have direct sunlight in the room. Most people buy projectors for the basement though.

You would have to be an idiot of elephantine proportions to think that the Sanyo is in the same class as the Epson. But just don't take my word for it! Take a look at Art's review comparing the two here: http://www.projectorreviews.com/epso...b/proscons.php

I've seen the Epson first hand, but I haven't seen the Z2000. If the Sanyo is in the same class as the Epson for black level, then it's a STEAL for under $2000. From all the reviews I've read, it doesn't come close to the Epson for black level, which for me is incredibly important. If it were me, I'd spend the extra money and get the Epson. It's well worth the money. I was amazed how black the blacks were, and the sharpness and punch were surprisingly good.

Dan

As the others said, the Epson and Sanyo are not in the same class, and should not even be compared. The Sanyo debate about the 1080p24 seems to still be going. It accepts the 1080p24 signal, but most say it does not output the 24hz and does a 3:2 pull down on it or some other method that is around 60hz.

As Art said in his review, the Epson is nearly 3 times brighter.

Well, Johnifehr seen both units and I believe his feelings are not as questionable.

Also Epson is 3 times brighter than Sanyo BUT in its best mode. Butmuch less in the best cinema mode. (best cinema mode for Sanyo is brillian cinema with about 400 lum)

Also reading quoted & linked Arts comparison I don't see the reason why someone would be an idiot comparing these 2 units. They use same LCD pannels and Sanyo is much cheaper. Epson is better in terms of black & brightness but Sanyo is still an excellent projector, with higher build quality, some nice and unique design fucntions, excellent colours and is quiet. Arts is also mentioning about couple of other advantages of Sanyo over Epson. So the original question is a good one in my opinion.

The Epson warranty is two years, not one.

The epson throws a better image, but I have to say, I had great results with Sanyo customer service, i had heard all these horror stories but they serviced my Z3 free of charge the 3 years i had it and even replaced the lcd optic block and polarizers with 2 months left on my warranty. Epson is supposed to be good with customer support though.

How bad is the Epson 1080UB's purported misconvergence issues? Blown out of proportion or a real concern in picking a PJ?

Actually Art did put them in the same class and even said the sanyo is sharper and puts out an overall excellent picture, but figured the epson had better blacks, but comparing mine to my buddy I say not. As for the brightness my sanyo is more that bright enough I only use eco mode anything brighter just starts hurting te eyes.On top of that I got a free bulb, 300 mail in rebate and a free ceiling mount plus 3 year warranty, sorry but Sanyo wins.

Boy you sure know how to spin Art's review to justify your purchase...you state from Art's review that he figured the epson had better blacks[/i]??? How about getting the quote right although the Epson has much better black level performance" The Epson is renown for it's black level performance (hence it's suffix UB - Ultra Black). There is a reason that Art compares it to a JVC RS1 whose MSRP is twice that of the Epson's. Do you see anyone comparing the Sanyo to an RS1? No. That alone shows that the Epson is in a different class. Yes, I have seen both projectors properly calibrated in a bat cave and the Epson wins hands down. I would gladly pay the ~$500 difference for the upgrade in PQ.

P.S. If you compared your buddy's 1080UB to your Z2000 and thought that the black level of the Sanyo was better then either his PJ was not calibrated properly or you are attempting to justify your purchase. Say that the Sanyo is slightly sharper or is a better bargain but don't make ridiculous statements that it has a better black level than the Epson. No one will substantiate your claim.

You better keep reading if you are bookworm, read his z2000 reveiw, he praises the z2000 one eg is "Sanyo does a superb job. You really can feel/see the natural skin tone that is part of her face. Others just leave you feeling that it was intended to have the natural skin color be washed out. I can't recall any other projector that does it better, only possibly, the Sony VW50, and not even my JVC RS1 does these two images this well. Kudos!" Look z2000 was just compared to rs1. Plus I do not have to justify my purchase, I love it and money was not an issue I could have had either. The reason you see the z2000 not in direct contest with ub is that the ub came out well after the z2000, and it well outdid the normal epson 1080 hands down. Read Art's reveiw fully and the original question to this post, I'm just saying the ub does not nearly perform 1k better. Anyway I'm done I know what I know and I see what I see. Chow

From my own personal viewing, it does seem that the 24hz functionality does stop the judder.

To me, black level is incredibly important, as I said above. Here is what Art had to say about the 1080UB:

"Best in class black levels - superior to any sub-$3000 projector I've seen yet, and better than most under twice that price. "

Remember, at that time, he had already reviewed the Sanyo. The Sanyo is an excellent buy for the money. I don't think anyone would argue that.

Art also has posted his "Best in Class" 1080P projector ratings. In the sub $2000 price class, Art named the Panasonic PT-AE2000U as #1, and the Sanyo as runner up. In the $2000-$3500 price range, the Panasonic 1080UB was #1.

There is a sizeable performance difference between the two, but also a sizable price difference (roughly 50% more price for the Epson). The Epson should be a good deal better, and it is. They are both great projectors for the price though.

Dan

The Sanyo is a great deal and a worthy 1080P projector but if you take away the $600 rebate it is no where near as attractive relative to the competition. Personally I would take it over the AE2000 but it does not match up well with the Epson. With the superior blacks and the versatility the Epson's extra brightness provides it is really in a different class relative to the Sanyo. If money is not a concern relative to the prices of the 2 projectors I would not hesitate to recommend the Epson. On the other hand to get as good of a projector as the Sanyo at well below 2K after rebate is a great opportunity and one worth taking if your comfort level is at this price point.

you should probably wait, once those new projector announcements roll out the prices on the current stuff will drop, i think you only have a couple more months till the new stuff gets announced at least

some of the comments in this thread are asinine
How could these projectors not be in the same class when they are made with the EXACT SAME PANELS made by Epson?! I own the Z2000 and have not seen the Epson UB (I sent my Epson HC back because it did not do 1080/24 properly) It is extremly easy to tell that the Sanyo does 1080/24 properly with your eyes, it very obvious. I am not saying the that Epson is not a better projector, I dont know, havent seen the UB, but to say that someone is an idiot because they are comparing the two is stupid. These PJs are made with the exact same panels and there is a $1000 price difference so it makes perfect sense to get on here and ask for opinions on the two with stupid comments like that. Utlimately the PQ is likely pretty close, I have my Z2000 ISF calibrated and frankly am over the top please with the PQ

But they arent the same, the Epson has that polarizing filter similar to what the JVC's use and it supposedly makes the dramatic difference. I dont own either so I cant comment on my own personal viewings, I jumped off the LCD bandwagon and over to LCOS, but I loved my Z3 so Im sure the Sanyo is a great machine for the price.

Having seen both I have to say that the Epson 1080 UB offers over all better IQ than the Sanyo Z2000 (if you can get an Epson with no issues) . The Epson 1080UB is about the best LCD that I have seen , I was considering a 1080 UB purchase before I lucked upon my Sharp 12k mkII .

Just my $.02

-- Jason

I totally agree with you, and Art should do another reveiw with the brilliant and dynamic settings used in the tweak section here, cause its much brighter and way more contrastier, and very 3d'ish and makes better blacks and shadow detail. Many other reviews say its one of the sharpest 1080p projectors out there which again is very important to me cause isn't that the point of 1080p, to have crystal clear.

What disc (or other goodies) do I need to calibrate my new PJ on my own? I live in the toolies and having an ISF tech do it isn't an option

By the way, I am also having the TC's inner monologue. Reviews paint the Epson as a truly great piece of kit... but at $2800 vs. $1550 (after $600 in rebates), that's one monstrously different price tag for the same resolution... nearly DOUBLE the cost. I think the Sanyo is literally in a league of it's own for value. Even the Panasonic AE2000 is $2600 (Art erroneously lumped it in with the 'under $2k' section, but it ain't even close, even with the 'free' stuff like the useless - to me - rental card. Alas, Epson appears to be using the same bait, and I ain't bitin' ).

I'm sure the Epson beats it in most ways, but this is where you separate the videophiles from the masses. It is an incremental improvement (noticeable), but is it worth double the dough to the layman? I doubt it. That's like saying paying for the JVC at $8k is worth the dough over the $2800 Epson. I say no way, but then, I'm not really willing to pay 100% more for 10% more performance. We're rapidly approaching the point of diminishing returns at the Sanyo/Epson level, much less the Epson/JVC level.

I don't think Sanyo has a replacement warranty, but it's 3 years. The projector was rated very highly when it released last fall (almost one year old now, though), and I expect it's successor (PLV-Z3000?) to be introduced THIS fall.

I hear good things about Sanyo's customer service. I hear the opposite about Panasonic's, but, despite that, I own a truckload of Panasonic electronics, and they've all performed very well and very long for me, so I'm something of a Panny fan.

Overall, right now is right on the cusp of PJ's coming down in price for the next annual cycle, and I'm torn on upgrading my trusty Panasonic AE900 to 1080p. I do want a PJ that will be as 'future-proof' as possible, but am having a hard time justifying the whopping price difference between the Sanyo and the Epson.

+1.

I agree. I too, am having a difficult time justifying the extra $1250 for the Epson, or even the extra $1000 for the AE2000. Heck, I'm even having a hard time justifying the extra $550 for the BenQ W5000, over the cheaper Z2000. I'm sure the Z2000 isn't perfect, but take a short browse through the tweakers thread for the Sanyo, and it appears people have really dialed the thing in, reporting much better "pop" and performance of the Z2000 after liberally tweaking of the projector's settings.

It seems the Z2000 is at a price that a year ago, people were flipping out over having 1080p at that price point, in the form of the Mits HC4900. And here, we have a PJ in the Z2000, that I think most would agree, is better than the HC4900.

Bottom Line: the Z2000 is sitting at a price point that saves a person anywhere from $1250 to $500 in savings over the competing 1080p units. If budget is a concern for you, like it is to me, then the Z2000 is looking "mighty purty"!

Trust me guys the Z2000 is an awesome perforemer. After the tweaks it looks like a completely different projector.

ProjectorRookie,

Very well said... Everyone who posted in this thread should read his post again very carefully.

Personally, I just purchased a Z2000 after reading every review and piece of literature I could find on every pj south of the "out of my price range" RS1 & RS2. The bottom line is, all the reviews and opinions I've seen indicate that these pj's all perform very similar, with very minor plus's and minus's in each direction. It seems to me that most of you are splitting hairs here. We are talking incremental differences at best, likely only visible in side by side comparisons, but "not" an incremental price difference. A Z2000 for under 2g's with a free lamp and 3 year warranty is just plain stupid, and I mean that in a good way. If I had the extra dough laying around, I'm not going to lie, I may have opted for the AE2000 or 1080UB. The AE2000 for the extra features & the 1080UB for the incremental improvement in black level. But, to say these pj's are in a different class than the Z2000 is just pure ignorance.

Your argument is BMW or Lexus are only incrementally better than Hyundai or Kia, since both have V6 and get you from point A to B, while costing 2X+.

Epson is significantly brighter with better CR and overall PQ, and with recent rebates and free lamp the price difference is not huge. You get what you pay for.

I don't own either (happy with my VP4001 for now) but from my research, the Sanyo is suitable for smaller screens (less than 106") cos of the low lumens so this would be a deal-breaker if you had a bigger screen. I know it is in my case as I have a 120" WA screen ...if the 1080p desire pulls me over.

Frag

Your analogy is quite poor... It's all about what you need from your pj. A difference in birghtness may be important for some, in which case they may choose the 1080UB. The three year warranty may be more important to others, in which case they'll choose the Z2000. You can argue either way, as they BOTH have pros and cons. Have you even read the reviews??? I have not seen one review or comparison that says the 1080UB blows away the Z2000. In fact, Projector Central says the Z2000 is one of their favourite pj's of all time. They even compare it to the Sony VW60 of more than twice the price, saying it can produce an almost identical image after calibration. Again, I would likely choose the 1080UB if cost wasn't part of the equation, just simply for the incremental improvement in black level. But, like it or not, they are very comparable performance wise, based on the reviews of "most" publications and in large part, this forum.