Sanyo PLV-Z4 vs. Toshiba MT700 (Benq7700)
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12-11-2005, 5:11 PM
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| Member | Sanyo PLV-Z4 vs. Toshiba MT700 (Benq7700) Sanyo PLV-Z4 vs. Toshiba MT700 (Benq7700) I spent 2 hours doing a comparison between the Sanyo PLV-Z4 and the Toshiba MT700 last week at NexNix, with my wife, and finally made a purchase. (Thanks Kevin at NexNix by the way) I thought some of you might be interested in our comparison between the Z4 and MT700 as I noticed that some of you are trying to decide between these 2 projectors (or the Z4 vs the Benq7700) I take the Toshiba MT700 and Benq7700 as being basically the same machine. We have sat through a few demos of more expensive DLP projectors but because we were not hugely impressed and from reading a lot of reviews as well as following this forum for a few months, we decided we would drop our budget lower. Another factor in this decision was that the technology is moving so fast. The movies we used... 1. Star Wars 2 Attack of the clones (where the camera pans across the baby clones at 43:58 to 44:19 (particularly 44:07 to 44:19), is very challenging for all the projectors we have seen demoed) 2. Lord of the rings 3 (extended) (first scene on disc 2 where Leggolas fires his arrow and the ghost army takes over the ship is a good for contrast and detail levels within black/dark areas) (and then into the spider caves in the next chapter for mist and lots of greys and blacks) 3. Sin City (particularly the scene at 16:06 to 16:30 - watch the shading on Lucille's legs) 4. Shrek 2 (looks fantastic on any projector but the switch of view at 9:19 to the arial view of the carraige going over the snow is a good test of how well the projector keeps its detail with very bright images) Our distance from screen was about 1.5-1.7 times screen width. I do not remember the make of the screen or the DVD player, but I remember the DVD player was about £800. Connection via component No sound OUR COMPARISON Colour Any differences were so subtle we could hardly notice them. Both projectors’ colours were superb to us SDE None at all on the Z4 VB None at all Image noise Negligibly more on the MT700. But I mean a tiny amount. No noticeable fizzing in large flat areas of white with either Sharpness The Z4 image was slightly sharper, cleaner and easier on the eye. A nicer and more natural image Contrast Slightly better on the MT700, of course. But it was slight. We both find some DLPs often have too high contrast. Space scenes, or other totally dark scenes, were not as good on the Z4 as the MT700, but that is the only time it was an issue. In normal scenes the contrast ratio difference was very nearly unnoticeable RBE and eye strain Neither of us has ever noticed RBE. We used to borrow an HP DLP from work regularly, but we would sometimes both suffer from tired eyes or mild headaches after watching a movie. Both the Z4 and MT700 struggle when there is a lot going on coupled with a lot of movement (watch the clone factory scene in Star Wars attack of the clones at 43:58 to 44:19 (particularly 44:07 to 44:19)). I can only describe the difference between the images from the two projectors (in this case) as: a “stuttering effect” with the MT700 vs. a “loss of focus effect” with the Z4. I also noticed on the MT700 some nasty effects which I have seen on DLPs many times when there is movement or panning (it may be RBE though I am not sure): In Sin City, particularly the scene at 16:06 to 16:30, watching the shading on Lucille's legs, on the MT700 I could see a nasty effect where the shading looks 'stepped' or 'double' (similar to when you turn the number of colours down on a PC monitor; and what was ‘smooth’ shading in a picture looks ‘stepped’. This simply wasn’t there on the Z4. High Def We watched some high def from a PC on both projectors. Though there is less pixelation, especially noticeable with movement, I cannot say that it was hugely better than standard def. Both projectors do a superb job with standard, and we only notice pixelation when there is increased compression coupled with a lot of movement. CONCLUSION We both agreed that the Z4 was the nicer image to look at, was more natural, and was more forgiving when the faced with difficult sources. We would be less likely to ever suffer from tired eyes after watching the Z4 because of how it resolved movement, shading and panning with busy scenes. These two factors meant more to us than “slightly nicer space scenes (or totally dark scenes)”. So, you guessed it, we bought the Z4. (I must say though that both projectors are stunning, and the differences were pretty subtle to us.) THE SANYO PLV-Z4 AT HOME Set up was pretty much instant (Kevin did a pixel check for us before we took it away) Projector is fixed to our lounge ceiling Screen is 70” wide (can’t remember the make) Denon DVD2200 DVD player Denon AVR-3803 (all my sources go through this) Connection via component Image looks as good as it did at NexNix. If not better. My 2 ½ year old sat through the whole of Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, with us, quite mesmerised (he has never done this with the TV). (Watching a film on the projector is much more of a family event; a much more shared experience than just having the TV on. This is a good enough reason to buy a projector on its own). No VB, dead pixels, or SDE. NTL cable digital (UK TV) on the Z4… Looks fine, though rather pixelated. I think the interlaced-to-progressive converter on the Z4 does a reasonable job (it also has 3 settings). PC on the Z4… VGA connection from Radion 9700, set at 1280x720. Looks great, but I loose some of the picture at the far right (from approx where the date starts on the taskbar). I have played with a lot of settings to get a full picture but not suceeded. Anyone managed to fix this? Photos look stunning. Really 3D and lifelike. Games great too. XBox on the Z4 Looks and works fine, though quite pixellated (a limitation of the Xbox, not the Z4) Settings I have played a lot with the picture settings (incl advanced) and I don't think I have been able to really improve the picture much from the default cinema ones. This may be something to do with my setup (I have tried Rone's settings, but may have used the wrong ones). Brightness… Is absolutely fine during the day when there is quite a lot of light seepage into the room (but our lounge is north facing). Db noise... We almost do not notice the projector at all, it is that quiet. Negatives with the Z4… The screen setting options do not appear to ever give a full width picture without slightly cropping some of the picture (with UK DVDs). I do not know if this is the case with high def 1280x720 source. Thanks for helping us over the last few months with all your great threads.  |
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12-11-2005, 6:30 PM
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Well done on an excellent review and 1st post  Nice to see someone doing their homework and taking critical DVDs to view, and knowing the potential problems of each type of PJ!!  |
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12-11-2005, 6:54 PM
| #5 |
| Senior Member  |
Jaxton, Hi and welcome to the forums...... That's got to be one of the best posts (first or otherwise) we've had here in quite a while..... shows a lot of insight and a great analysis of how to go about judging/reviewing a projector before buying , very useful for the many newcomers passing through here.You've really done your homework and I'm glad you're happy with the outcome - a testament to the benefit of demo'ing before you buy. Sean G. |
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