Sanyo z1 or Hitachi PJ-TX10?

[wixy]

Im looking at both of these, the key feature i need being the lens shift.

Key Specs:

Hitachi PJ-TX10

700 ANSI
800:1 contrast
Zoom: Manual, 2.08:1
28.0 dB (26 in quiet mode)
854x480 Pixels
2000 hours lamp

Sanyo PLV-Z1

700 ANSI
800:1 contrast
Zoom: Manual, 1.21:1
28.0 dB
964x544 Pixels
2000 hours lamp


As you can see on paper they seem pretty much the same except for the extra resolution of the sanyo.

The sanyo has a bigger throw (142 cm at 2m compared to 99cm at 2m for hitachi), however the hitachi can zoom to 199cm at 2m as opposed to 171 cm for the sanyo.

And if i throw at 3m (which i can if i move a lot of stuff around) the hitachis zoom gives it an even bigger image size than the sanyo.

So my questions are:

- Is the extra resolution of the sanyo really worth it? (it still loses lines in PAL)
- Will zoom affect picture quality?
- Which do you thing is better?


Cheers.

 

[Pete Delaney]

Ok,
I'll try not to be biased in any way. I have JUST got a Z1 and last night was it's first showing onto a magnolia wall whilst watching The Last Crusade on DVD. At a sitting distance of 1.7 times away from the screen 'chicken wire' was a non issue and I didn't soften the focus (I want a sharp image). I suspect the Hitachi would give a very similar picture. However, the Hitachi will run quieter, at times you do notice the fan from the Sanyo in low bulb mode, it's not a film spoiler, but at times I seem to notice it. Last is the price, the Hitachi is more expensive (Sanyo from Nexnix £700 inc vat). It's a close call, a quieter pj would be more desirable, but it comes at a price. Also Z1 does HD material very well, and when driven from a pc with 1:1 mapping, again it may have better picture quality
Considering I fed my Z1 with a CHEAP svid cable through an OLD non progressive DVD I was VERY pleased with my first night of true home cinema
This was out of the box veiwing ie no calibration or tweaking!

Oh and all my walls are magnolia with white ceiling which is not exactly ideal for picture contrast, even so it was more thanacceptable to me.

 

[Kramer]

I'd choose the Z1.

 

[Mr_Belowski]

Me too

 

[Pete Delaney]

Yeah me too! (good job I already did, phew!!)

 

[chilly]

Hi Wixy

I have to disagree, Ive had my PJ-TX10 for 6 weeks now after a demo of it along with a Z1 and a Panasonic AE-300, the Panasonic was awful showing untrue colours and bad screendooor, the Z1 was a little better but the throw ratio was nowhere near as tolerant, I have my Hitachi ceiling mounted from a distance of 10 feet on to a 72" draper lumina screen and the result is awesome, as a matter of interest I also demoed the Sim 20 and while the Hitachi is not ultimately as good it isnt far away.
The choice is yours but I would certainly not dismiss the Hitachi without looking first

 

[wixy]

i demoed the hitachi today, seemed not very bright in colours, the screen was at 92 inches. It was running s video.

It doesnt seem like the sanyo has much extra resolution, does it really make that much of a difference?

 

[chilly]

What was the light situation during your demo and was the unit in whisper mode, I primaraly use mine at night but daytime use with closed curtains produces an acceptable veiwing, the resolution is dictated by the feed source and not the projector, Just because a projector has a higher resolution does not mean you can view at this res with all feeds, If the unit was in whisper mode then the picture would not be as bright, running in whisper mode will extend bulb life but produce an inferior experience, bulbs are replaceable anyway.

 

[wixy]

because pal dvds have 576 lines and the hitachi only has 480, does this mean that some of the image is lost? so would nearly 20% of a 16:9 movie just be not able to be seen?

 

[chilly]

No, lines and pixels are not the same thing, pc monitors can happily run at 1600 pixels wide yet show a tv picture full screen, the only time when the z1 would benefit is with a svga input from a pc, no image quality would be lost with the Hitachi, both machines would show the same amount of lines

 

[Kramer]

Originally posted by chilly
no image quality would be lost with the Hitachi, both machines would show the same amount of lines

Granted both PJs will scale to fill the screen so yes, you'll see a full picture from both. In terms of resolution however, the higher res Z1 will have a higher quality picture (in terms of resolution anyway).

As well as higher resolution images, higher res PJs also provide smoother curves, less screendoor & a less pixelated picture overall etc. as the pixels are smaller & consequently "less square" from average viewing distances.

 

[PATRICKDORAN]

ive seen the hitachi and the z2 (which wud b supposedly better than the z1)
and the hitachi blows it away , and both were fed with exactly the same eqpt .
straight out of the box with no adjustments the Hitachi is
Great , i tried adjusting the z2 , but cud never get it to come near
the hitachi , i didn buy either as ther was a little screen door
effect with both , im goin to wait and but a screenplay 5700
or like .