[BKnutson]

I just received my PLV-60 yesterday. I have followed the forum for the last 4 months and made my projector decision based on my interests (DVDs and future HDTV), budget (<$7000), and favorable reviews. With that kind of cash invested you can certainly appreciate the excitement one has when firing up the machine for the first time. However, my excitement quickly abated when I noticed a small blob just left of the SANYO title on the opening screen. This remained despite any source and was usually a yellowish discoloration. I read Thumper's description on how to fix this but his disclaimer at the end and his question about voiding the warranty at the beginning made me a little hesitant to rip open the top of my projector. I called the company I purchased the projector from and they indicated it would void the warranty. Well, after 8 hours I am still waiting for my call back from Sanyo (....we are currently talking to other customers....please leave message and we will get back to you as soon as we can).


My concern is that if many people are developing dust blobs at such at early stage who is going to pay for all of the return trips to Sanyo? I read about someone using a cloth to protect the fan intake but there is warning against this clearly stated in the manual.


Any other thoughts?


Brian

Newbie projector guy

 

[Dan G]

Dust blobs would drive me nuts too, unfortunately they are "par for the course" and I suspect neither Sanyo nor your dealer will do anything for you.


To reduce heat & oarticles, buy a Whisperflow Hushbox. I can;t wait to save enough for mine- I figure a $7000 projector is wortha good $400 cabinet.


Anyway, sometimes the dust can be "ejected" from the panel just as it was first attracted - during power on or off.

Dont start cycling your projector, but dont be surprised if it disappears some time.


I smoke like a chain underneath my XP21n and have never had dust... go figure.


dg

 

[Grant Smyth]

Try using a vacuum around the fan vents - this has worked on both my projectors.


Cheers,


Grant

 

[BKnutson]

Thanks for the ideas. I gather that there is no risk of damaging the LCD panels if I continue to watch the projector with the dust blobs visible? I am considering the hushbox but was hoping to avoid that with the LCD (a must for D-ILA due to sound considerations)


Brian

 

[JackB]

The fact that there is a "warning against this clearly stated in the manual" leads me to believe that Sanyo engineering is certainly aware of the dust problem and released the product anyway. What were they thinking? Unbelievable! Why couldn't they have spent more upfront engineering time and redesigned the cooling system to allow for heavier filters that would have solved the problem.


IMO anyone who buys one of these for home use should have their head examined; or be willing to attach a linen cloth over the three filter inlets and take a chance on warranty issues.

 

[smitty]

I probably do need to have my head examined, but I would not say it's because I bought one of these units. That's a little strong, don't you think?


As far as the warranty issue goes, when I spoke to Sanyo, they told me that a dust problem on a newly-purchased unit would be covered by the warranty, but that a dust problem on a unit that had been used for an extended period of time would not be. In my opinion, this indicates that cleaning the unit by yourself would not void the warranty. Also, the service tech indicated to me that the unit could be cleaned by taking of the top and blowing air on the panels, and he said to be careful if one did this not to tip the can such that some liquid is discharged. To me, this indicates that Sanyo knows there are going to be dust blobs, and they expect that many purchasers will take care of this themselves. Isn't this exactly what happens with the 10HT anyway?

 

[JackB]

Smitty,


Perhaps my comment was a little too strong but it was meant for those who haven't yet bought a Sanyo. I remember that you returned your Dwin because of the Rainbow effect. If I were you I would try the same thing with the Sanyo. Having to constantly clean the innards of the Sanyo just doesn't make sense.


Jack

 

[smitty]

Jack, I actually have the Sanyo on a 14-day return, which expires this weekend. I was hoping to try to resolve the screen door problem, which bothers me, with an IMX Processor, but it has not showed up yet. If I cannot confirm by seeing for myself that the IMX will solve the screen door, I may indeed be returning the projector for this reason. And the dust problem doesn't help. It is a very tough decision, as this unit has very nice features, and a very nice picture, except for the screen door or "graininess" as others have described it, and the dust issue. I hate to have the pay the extra $$ for a DILA and put up with the hassle, but I may have no choice. On the other hand, maybe the IMX, which Shawn Kelly was supposed to ship Monday via overnight delivery, will arrive tomorrow. (I can dream, can't I?)

 

[JackB]

I had an IMX on a Vidikron Crystal One before my current projector(crt). It softens the image a fair amount but worth a look.


Jack

 

[MikeP]

I hope you can wait until the IMX arrives. I've used IMX in the past and it does wonders for the screen door problem.


However, I didn't see any IMX specifically for the PLV-60 on their web page. Which one did you order?

 

[BKnutson]

Just thought I would update the status of my projector. I tried the vacuum with crossed fingers but to no avail. A day after my "initial" phone call, Sanyo did call back. They asked a few questions and sent me the information to return the projector via the Quick Repair Program. This is touted to be a 72 hr turnaround program and my projector is on its way. I will keep you posted if the QPR behaves as advertised.


In response to the state of my head, I feel that this is probably one of the most informed buying decisions I have made. I spent countless hours on this forum and other forums perusing the material available. The PLV-60 met all of my requirements including native widescreen format, XGA resolution (or WXGA), low fan noise, wide range of connections, good contrast, > 1000 ANSI output, <$7000 price, and operating costs less than D-ILA. The Sony 10HT or 11 HT would be options but the 10 has less contrast and less light output. The 11 has not been released and does not appear to have any breakthrough technologies and will be priced above the PLV-60.


At this point, the quality of shipping or manufacture may be an issue but not the quality of the machine itself. The dust blob was present on initial startup. It remains to be seen if dust accumulation is truly an operational problem. The machine itself otherwise works extremely well. I was quite happy with the resolution. I saw minimal screen door at 12' using non progressive DVD source (Playstation 2 to be exact) I plan on using an HTPC but my HT is 6 weeks from completion.

 

[smitty]

My dealer has kindly given me a 7-day extension on my trial period for the PLV-60, in the hope that I will get the IMX as soon as Shawn returns from INFOCOMM. So with any luck, I should be able to determine if the IMX works by next week, or whether the problem is "graininess" and not screen door, etc.

 

[kmartin]

smitty - Have you noticed any of the purple-ish tint problems several folks have mentioned? I know you said you tried a couple of DVD's and did not notice it, but I was wondering after further review whether that is still the case. The reason I'm asking is that I bought the Sanyo PLV-60 and am nearing my return time limit and have noticed the tinting on several DVD's (Gladiator, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). I switched to a prog. DVD and it was reduced, but not completely removed.


Other than that, I love the projector. Excellent colors, brightness, detail, black levels. I do not notice the screen door much (I sit about 13' from the screen (which is just an egg-shell painted wall right now). HDTV looks incredible - as you might expect!


kmartin


[This message has been edited by kmartin (edited 06-14-2001).]

 

[smitty]

I have not noticed the purplish tinting problem on any of the DVD's that I have watched. Maybe I would notice it if someone pointed it out to me or the projector's image was side-by-side with an image that was not tinted, but I really haven't noticed any such thing to date. To me, the colors look very natural and very real.

 

[Dan G]

I have a Sanyo XP21n.

I have been experimenting with some power regeneration devices (not the big ticket PS Audio devices), and to my eyes feeding the projector good clean power has made the image much smoother, contrast & colors better, and reduced screen door & pixelation to my eyes. Of course, to begin with I seem to not notice screen door as much as others.


I can try to post more comments as I use it more.

If anyone wants to drop by (I live near Boston, MA) to check things out, drop me a line.


dg

 

[Dan G]

I have a Sanyo XP21n.

I have been experimenting with some power regeneration devices (not the big ticket PS Audio devices), and to my eyes feeding the projector good clean power has made the image much smoother, contrast & colors better, and reduced screen door & pixelation to my eyes.


NTSC via Quadscan with a 96" diagonal looks really good.


Of course, to begin with I seem to not notice screen door as much as others.


I can try to post more comments as I use it more.

If anyone wants to drop by (I live near Boston, MA) to check things out, drop me a line.


dg

 

[smitty]

Mike, I ordered the IMX 933 because that seemed like it would fit based on my measurement of the outside diameter of the lens on the PLV-60, and also Shawn Kelly of Cygnus told me another customer had ordered that model for his PLV-60. I figured that if it did not fit, I could always return it (they have a 30-day return policy). I have still not received it, though, and if I don't get it today, I'm going to have to make some decision on the PLV-60 without determining what effect the IMX processor has on the image.

 

[HTbuff]

Dan G...

You said...I smoke like a chain underneath my XP21n and have never had dust... go figure.


When you die of lung cancer, can I have your projector? http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/wink.gif

 

[Thumper]

Hey guys,


Don't feel bad, the PLV-60 in the INFOCOMM shootout by day 3 had a nice dust blob just to the right of center screen!!!


BTW, the purple shift on the PLV-60 was very apparant in the Sanyo booth, not so apparant in the shootout.


Thump

 

[smitty]

Last night we were watching The Legend of Bagger Vance and there are several dark scenes. I noticed a dust blob right smack in the dead center of the screen on black scenes, which is a different dust blob then the ones I reported before. Then I went to an all black screen, moved the focus, and found about a dozen red, green and blue dust blobs, all in different spots then the blobs I see when I have the blue screen showing. I am assuming that this came from manufacture, but I don't really know. If it came from my use of the unit so far, it is clearly unacceptable, as I probably have less than 10 hours on the unit.