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Sharp XV-Z2000 DLP Home Theater Projector
I started evaluating a Sharp XV-Z2000 (MSRP $4,495) in our
showroom for possible use in lower end theater systems. I was excited
to check it out because it is one of the lowest priced projectors out
there using Texas Instruments' HD-2+ DLP imaging chip. Other units
using this chip do a pretty good job displaying quality video.
In this case, the XV-2000 was playing on a rather small screen, only
37" x 66". Typically it would probably be a 45" x 80" screen. We were
using a NAD T-534 DVD player with 480i component as a source, and
letting the Sharp handle the scaling & deinterlacing internally. This
turned out to be a rather BAD IDEA!
It was very soft. It didn't so much have the traditional motion artifacts
you typically see with a poor scaler / deinterlacer, just a very soft
focus. This particular unit was delivered with a fingerprint on the
inside of the lens. We were initially concerned it was causing the soft
image. The internal menus were pretty sharp, which usually
eliminates an optical focus issue. It was bad enough we felt we
couldn't sell it.
Upon switching to progressive video from the DVD player, we were all
pretty surprised. It was like a totally different unit. The detail was
actually very good. After grabbing Joe Kane's Video Essentials for a
basic setup of the black level, contrast & color, I was even more
surprised. It actually had a surprisingly good image! It needed a fair
amount of adjustment on the tint control, which seems to be rare
these days. After the tint adjustment, the color palette looked pretty
darn good. The black levels were better than I expected as well, when
using the lower iris setting. I didn't use our Sencore, but the greyscale
looked to be pretty good out of the box. I'll use the analyzer and
check it some point.
There was a little rainbowing, but I am fairly sensitive to that anomaly
and the others in the room didn't notice it. Another thing, the projector
was really quiet. I didn't get out the Db meter, but it was much quieter
than a nearby Vidikron Vision 60 D-ILA projector and most other DLP
projectors I've heard (that's alot). It does have a bit of light spill out of
the case, however. It looked to have plenty of light output, but I will
evaluate it on a larger screen soon.
I am interested to see if the image qualities I noted on the smallish
screen translate to something in the 45 x 80 or 52 x 92 size range. As
of this moment, this little Sharp definitely gets my vote for a good,
HDTV capable projector at a pretty modest price point. I'm sure it's
only a hint of more great, low priced projectors to come our way in the
near future.
Steve Faber
showroom for possible use in lower end theater systems. I was excited
to check it out because it is one of the lowest priced projectors out
there using Texas Instruments' HD-2+ DLP imaging chip. Other units
using this chip do a pretty good job displaying quality video.
In this case, the XV-2000 was playing on a rather small screen, only
37" x 66". Typically it would probably be a 45" x 80" screen. We were
using a NAD T-534 DVD player with 480i component as a source, and
letting the Sharp handle the scaling & deinterlacing internally. This
turned out to be a rather BAD IDEA!
It was very soft. It didn't so much have the traditional motion artifacts
you typically see with a poor scaler / deinterlacer, just a very soft
focus. This particular unit was delivered with a fingerprint on the
inside of the lens. We were initially concerned it was causing the soft
image. The internal menus were pretty sharp, which usually
eliminates an optical focus issue. It was bad enough we felt we
couldn't sell it.
Upon switching to progressive video from the DVD player, we were all
pretty surprised. It was like a totally different unit. The detail was
actually very good. After grabbing Joe Kane's Video Essentials for a
basic setup of the black level, contrast & color, I was even more
surprised. It actually had a surprisingly good image! It needed a fair
amount of adjustment on the tint control, which seems to be rare
these days. After the tint adjustment, the color palette looked pretty
darn good. The black levels were better than I expected as well, when
using the lower iris setting. I didn't use our Sencore, but the greyscale
looked to be pretty good out of the box. I'll use the analyzer and
check it some point.
There was a little rainbowing, but I am fairly sensitive to that anomaly
and the others in the room didn't notice it. Another thing, the projector
was really quiet. I didn't get out the Db meter, but it was much quieter
than a nearby Vidikron Vision 60 D-ILA projector and most other DLP
projectors I've heard (that's alot). It does have a bit of light spill out of
the case, however. It looked to have plenty of light output, but I will
evaluate it on a larger screen soon.
I am interested to see if the image qualities I noted on the smallish
screen translate to something in the 45 x 80 or 52 x 92 size range. As
of this moment, this little Sharp definitely gets my vote for a good,
HDTV capable projector at a pretty modest price point. I'm sure it's
only a hint of more great, low priced projectors to come our way in the
near future.
Steve Faber
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Sharp Vision XV-Z2000 DLP projector
Mini Review
Mini Review
1 Touch Movie.com