[JamesPA]

As a first-time projector buyer, I'm really looking forward to demoing a Sanyo PLV-Z1 soon, but one concern could prevent me going for it - the short throw.


In my setup, it is by far better for me to mount the pj on a rear shelf just behind where I sit. But this is going to produce an image size to viewing distance ratio of x1.6. Imagining the image size on my wall, it just seems to big to be comfortable.


An alternative would be to ceiling mount the pj, but then it's (a) much harder to cable, and (b) much more conspicuous. A "coffee table" solution is not practical for me since it would just be in the way.


AFAIK, Sanyo does not offer any alternative lenses - I'd love to be wrong on this. If not, are there companies who supply replacement lenses, just like there is in the SLR camera world?


I would have thought that most people would prefer to mount the pj behind the viewers, so wouldn't a longer throw lens would be better?


The Panasonic AE100 is about the same short throw as the Sanyo, so maybe it is becoming a trend.


Does anyone with one of these projectors actually mount it behind/above their viewing point? What's it like in practice?


I'd welcome all your thoughts and suggestions, thanks.


James

 

[kiomon]

I just got the Z1. It is REALLY short compared to my last projector. I have it placed on a shelf on my rack about 6.5 feet up. My couch is directly to the left of the rack. THe lens to screen distance is about 13'. I am making a 106" diagonal picture, maybe about 107' as I am overscanning a tad. The viewers eye are about 14' from the screen. I had to move my screen a full 2.5 feet forward to catch this PJ's throw. OTherwise the pic would have been huge. And there are not any optional lenses for this projector. Measure your room wisely before purchasing. The lens shift is great for being able to mount the unit above and off center, but warning this unit is LOUD when it spins up the fan to cool off in ECO mode. SO if you can get it above and away from the audience then do so.

 

[JamesPA]

Thanks for the honest info, Kiomon. I didn't know about the noise issue at all! (my pj will be 3' directly above the viewers heads!) I'll take a listen when I see a demo of it.


Interestingly, I noticed another thread in here re. people's viewing distances vs. screen widths. It seems a LOT of people are viewing at less than 1.5x screen width, so I think I should see for myself before deciding. I guess that most of the action in a movie takes place in the middle of the screen, so the sides are more for peripheral vision.


James

 

[sara]

MY friend cannot afford the hS10 so he is looking at the sanyo as it is cheaper.


His room is about the same size as mine so what kind of picture size will he get?


thankyou in advance

 

[andyZRH]

Quote:

Originally posted by sara His room is about the same size as mine

So, what's the size of YOUR room?


The Z1 seems to be missing from the throw distance calculator on Sanyo's website, but there's another calculator on projectorcentral.com:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection_calc.cfm


andy

 

[Herb]

Hi Sara,


I'm don't know how big your room is...but in my 10' wide room I able to throw a 77" picture with a PJ distance of 104" .


You are a teacher, right? Hopefully your math is better than mine So you could multiply .74 by the length of the room your friend will be putting the the PJ in.


Hope this helps. Heck, I hope it's right. I wouldn't want to be spreading disinformation.


Herb

 

[Steve13]

Please use this thread to post your questions about the new Sanyo PLV-Z1. If you already own this projector, please post your comments, reviews, etc. in the Z1 OWNERS forum.


Thanks in advance to everyone for trying to limit the number of individual threads for this projector!

 

[CAE]

There is something I do not understand in the way the PJ displays dvd image.

first of all the Z1 has three screen modes:

normal, full and zoom. The last two modes digitally modify the image and corrupt its quality.

Watching a couple of my dvds (they both are wide screen version) collateral damage and John of arc I notice that the DVD is not using the full screen but somehow is displayed using the 4/3 portion in the NORMAL screen mode.

I repeat the dvds are windscreen but the PJ uses only the 4/3 portion of the screen. So the image is surrender by 4 gray columns left right up an down

consequently to fully use the screen i have to select the ZOOM screen mode.

what is going on here? is there a way to fix the problem.

I am using dvd player with rgb.

 

[Herb]

CAE,


I took all my shots of my widescreen dvds in FULL mode. Looking at the icons in the menu, Normal appears as a 4:3 square in rectangle. That's how the icon is drawn. Full is the entire rectangle. So not having read the manual (no honey, we don't need to stop for directions...), I just assumed that Normal was Sanyo's name for 4:3 and Full was the full use of the 16:9 panel; Widescreen. And Zoom, was just that, zoom - to be avoided.


I might be wrong, but FULL looked pretty good and "right", not digitally zoomed looking.


Herb

 

[Ohlson]

The projecor is loud in full throttle mode and if it speeds up. In my normal operation it is quiet and not disturbing. I have never had it go up to full throttle mode on the fan myself. If it did it would be loud. I have my setup in the cellar were it is cool. However using it in a room with a temperature of 20-26 degrees Celsius I guess things change.

 

[rauer]

Quote:

Originally posted by andyZRH The Z1 seems to be missing from the throw distance calculator on Sanyo's website, but there's another calculator on projectorcentral.com:

Andy, I don't know which calculator you're referring to but it's definitely here:

http://web.sanyo.de/produkte_e/Projektoren/lenscalc/

 

[tc1unit]

I plan on connecting my computer to a projector via DVI. How does the Z1 handle computer games?

 

[Jim J]

there is no DVI input on the Z1

 

[landlocked]

Has anyone seen this dude with a 1080i signal?

If so, how did it look?

Dean

 

[tc1unit]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim J there is no DVI input on the Z1

Darn! I'll settle for VGA input.


So has anyone played a computer game on the Z1 yet? If so, how was it?

 

[wankman]

there is a new firmware dealing with the noise issue. I received mine on friday and it has the new firmware. No Probs with noise at all....so probably get the new firmware and the noise will be gone.

 

[HS10orPLVZ1?]

here is a question to PLV-Z1 owners. recently i wisited a local store and got a demonstration of the Z1 and I really liked it except for one thing namely some kind of artifacts that were apparent especially in light scenes with a lot of the same color. The disc that was used for this demo was LOTR so I don't think it was in the source. Further the projector was fed with an interlaced signal via component cable so the conditions was good. Have you noticed these artifacts as well. I found them really distracting but the guy in the store said it was caused by some interference with the power supply. I would be really glad to hear comments from Z1 owners on this since it is the only thing that keeps me from buying the Z1 instead of the much more expensive HS10. Please try to be as objective as you can though it can be hard when you already bought this toy.

 

[Galex]

wankman,


Please tell us more about the new firmware! How does one determine if the new firmware is installed or not (apart from not experiencing the fan noise problem)? Version number? Projector production date?


/Galex

 

[chhokevin]

CAE,


From the Z1's manual, you need to use FULL mode to watch 16:9 movie, even your DVD player has configured to give 16:9 output signal.


Kevin

 

[zta71]

CAE,

The grey bars on top and bottom edges mean that your dvd player is outputting a letter boxed image. Try to change the output setting of the player to 16:9 mode and use "FULL" with the projector.