Sanyo and Panasonic have for years dominated the entry level High Definition LCD front projection market. This year is no different. Sanyo's Z4 and
Panasonic's AE900 are the highest selling High Definition front projectors under $3000.
All this is simply to say that you CANNOT GO WRONG if you choose either of these. Both projectors will provide years of outstanding picture quality while also setting up and installing in a heartbeat. Neither of these projectors can quite match the black levels of
BenQ's PE7700, but both of their color accuracy levels are better than the BenQ.
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For more info on DLP vs LCD please check out the link below
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Overall:
The Z4 is a solid front projection unit that provides a crisp picture and outstanding color. It currently sells for around $2000 online and can be installed on a Do-It-Yourself basis fairly easily.
Key Stats:
* 1000 lumens
* 7000 to 1 ON/OFF Contrast Ratio
* 720p Native Resolution (High Definition)
* 16x9 Aspect Ratio (Widescreen)
Key Installation Features:
* 2.0 manual zoom
* Vertical and Horizontal Lens Shift
The Big Matchup:
There are two other major players at this price range,
Panasonic's AE900and
BenQ's PE7700. I believe that the Z4 is easily a better purchase than the PE7700, however it is much tighter between the Z4 and the AE900.
All things being relatively equal the Z4 will provide what can only be described as a more crisp picture when compared to
Panasonic's AE900. While you may initially think that this is absolutely a good thing you would be wrong. It is a in fact a good thing only if you can sit far enough back from the screen. That is because the crispness is achieved at the expense of significant screendoor effect when viewed at a distance of closer that 1.5 times screen width. For example, if you want a 106" screen you much sit 13.5 feet away from the screen. Just not possible if your room is only 12 feet long.
If you sit closer than that you will likely be able to see individual pixels which makes if appear as if you are looking through a screendoor at the image. Not so good. Even if you have a big room this may not be for you if your kids like to lay on the floor in front of the projector when they watch movies because again they will likely end up too close.
Panasonic's AE900 does not have this problem. In fact Panasonic's smoothscreen technology enables you to sit far far closer to the screen without and visible individual pixels. The pixels appear to be "smoothed together" so that they are not visible individually. While this eliminated screendoor effect it also creates a somewhat "softer" overall picture. Not a deal breaker, but something to be aware of.
Conclusion:
The Z4 is a solid projector. It blows away anything on the market prior to last year, however I believe it is barely edged out by
Panasonic's AE900. It is a close enough contest though for me to admit that there are many people (including professionals) who disagree with me. In the end it will come down to whether you tend to sit far enough away from the screen.
