Sharp XV-Z15000

Sharp has just announced their latest home theater projector, the XV-Z15000, a 1080p unit using a .65" DMD with 30,000:1 Contrast Ration, 1600 lumens and a $2,999 price tag. Availability listed in March.

Here is the link to Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/07/s...tor/#continued

There is a motorized iris, no mention of whether it is dynamic or not, I would guess not from the press release. If it has a sealed light path (I don't see why it wouldn't) then I'll be very tempted upon it's release.

Jason Turk reports that this is projector appears to be an OEM piece (presumably from Infocus) with a large offset. As has been speculated elsewhere, that large offset must be why there is such a point of emphasis on the keystone adjustment available on the projector. But that also means that it's probably every bit the 1600 lumens claimed at its brightest setting since Infocus projectors have never been short of brightness.

The Optoma HD8200 is priced at $5000 according to HT Mag. The HD808 will be $3500, but it says no Dark Chip 3, which is strange, as I'd think they'd use the same chip if the new 1080p chip by TI is more affordable (and should be Dark Chip 4 I would imagine).


Jason Turk CES Day 1 Impressions: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1106276