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Sharp's new 'value' home-theater projector: The XV-Z15000

Due to arrive in March, Sharp's XV-Z15000 is a Full HD 1080p projector that carries a relatively affordable list price of $3,000.

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Sharp's 1080p XV-Z1500 is available in March and carries a relatively affordable list price of $3,000. Sharp

The prices for 1080p front-projectors have gradually been coming down, and Sharp thinks it has a nice proposition for consumers in its new $3,000 XV-Z15000 projector that arrives in March.

This is a DLP projector that features a single 1080p DLP 0.65" DMD chip from Texas Instruments and what Sharp is calling "an unprecedented 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and high brightness in a price-competitive model."

The XV-Z15000 offers a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, a 24 Hz film mode, and a six-segment, six-speed color wheel. The press release adds that, "A powered iris switchover function gives the consumer enhanced control over brightness and contrast settings with the touch of a button on the remote control, providing flexibility in varying home theater environments with different lighting situations."

The XV-Z15000 includes Keystone Correction, which corrects spherical, cylindrical and trapezoidal distortion, as well an auto V-Keystone Correction button to "automatically activate in response to the installation angle of the projector."

You get two HDMI connections (version 1.3 with x.v.Color) and a RS-232C input for custom installations. Sharp claims the XV-Z15000 is whisper quiet.