Big Picture Big Sound

If you're putting together a home theater on a budget, you may be looking at flat panel TVs and agonizing over LCD vs. plasma, but have you considered a front projector? It's the only way to bring home that true "big picture" experience, and prices have been coming down to the point where you can now get an HDTV-enabled home theater projector for for about the cost of a 37-inch to 42-inch flat panel. Case in point, Sanyo's PLV-Z4, a 720P 16:9 home theater projector, now available for under $1000 with a bonus ceiling mount and 92-inch screen.

Sanyo's excellent 3-chip LCD projectors have been a favorite here on Big Picture Big Sound for some time. Movies editor Joe Lozito uses a Sanyo PLV-Z2 in his own reference home theater, and Sanyo keeps getting better, as they have with the PLV-Z4, two generations newer. And now that is has been replaced in the line with the also excellent PLV-Z5, you can pick up the Z4 brand new, with a 3-year warranty for about a third of its original list price.

Here's the link:

° Sanyo PLV-Z4 with bonus Mustang ceiling mount and 92-inch screen - $999.99

The Z4's wide throw distance, whisper quiet fan, excellent color accuracy, flexible vertical and horizontal lens shift, full 720p resolution, widescreen aspect ratio and 7,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio make it an excellent choice for home theater use.

Sanyo PLV-Z4 (PLVZ4) Manufacturer's Specifications:

• Retail Price: $2999.99
  
• 16:9 Native Aspect Ratio
  
• High Definition Capable 1280 x 720 pixel resolution (720p)
  
• Supported Input Resolutions: 480i, 480p, 575i, 575p, 720p, 1035i, & 1080i
  
• Brightness: 1000 ANSI Lumens
  
• Rated Contrast (Dynamic): Up to 7,000:1
  
• 10 Bit Video Processing
  
• Manual Zoom/Focus
  
• Horizontal and Vertical Lens Shift with Standard Lens
  
• High Contrast Optical System and Twin Iris
  
• Screen Size Adjustable from 40" to 300"
  
• Net Weight 11.0 lbs
  
• Fan Noise 22dBA
  
• 15 Pin D-Sub, Data Input
  
• Advanced Menu and Color Temperature
  
• 1 HDMI and 2 Component Video Inputs
  
• Composite, and S-Video Inputs
  
• Size (HxWxD): 5.0 x 15.0 x 12.0 inches
  
• Throw Distance: 3.9 feet to 30.2 feet
  

Read more about how to select a home theater projector.

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