Sanyo PLC-XW60 Ultra-portable 3.6 lb XGA Multimedia LCD Projector with 2,000 Lumens

by Sanyo

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 10.4 x 2.9 inches ; 3.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0018O2WQW
• Item model number: PLC-XW60
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,153 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 1, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

If you are looking for a small, ultra-portable business projector that is easy to use, the PLC-XW60 is the projector for you. Sanyo is one of the largest LCD projector manufacturers in the world. For many years Sanyo has been a leader in projector technology with professional grade equipment. Now Sanyo brings this high level of technical expertise to you.

The Sanyo PLC-XW60 offers many advanced features at an affordable price. First you are getting true XGA video quality (1024 x 768) in one of the smallest and lightest LCD projectors available. At about the size of a notebook computer (10.4 x 4.7 x 2.9 inches) and weighing only 3.6 pounds, this projector makes it easy for you to transport it from room to room or carry it along on a trip. Stunning video quality and easy transportability make the PLC-XW60 a true office necessity.

The PLC-XW60 projector fills your screen with 2000 lumens of light and because of the short throw lens you also get a 100-inch image from just 8.9 feet away. Sanyo also incorporates ease of use functions like Auto Input Search which will automatically find the input in use, adjust the PC and do Keystone correction. There is also a Blackboard mode for use when the projection location is a color other than white and the quick start/power off function will get you started and packed up quickly without the wait for warm ups or cool-down periods. 

Product Description

If you are looking for a small, ultra-portable business projector that is easy to use, the PLC-XW60 is the projector for you. SANYO is one of the largest LCD projector manufactures in the world. For many years SANYO has been a leader in projector technology with professional grade equipment. Now SANYO brings this high level of technical expertise to you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice, capable, practical, ultra-portable computer projector..., August 19, 2009

By 

nagappa (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sanyo PLC-XW60 Ultra-portable 3.6 lb XGA Multimedia LCD Projector with 2,000 Lumens (Office Product)

I was looking for an ultra-portable projector with native XGA resolution for computer work. The Sanyo PLC-XW60 fit the bill with its compact size, light weight (3.6 lbs) and slim profile (2.2" height, excluding the protruding parts). It can easily fit inside most medium sized laptop cases in addition to a small laptop and all its cables. It can also be carried in the supplied compact carry-case.

Low price was a major factor in my choice of projector. But I was pleasantly surprised by the build-quality and the professional, attractive look of the little Sanyo, to which the picture on the website does not do justice. Despite being low priced, the little Sanyo does not look cheap.

Initial set up is pretty straightfoward in the default "Auto" mode, which automatically sets up the picture based on the input source and also corrects the keystone. The focus and manual zoom rings are very easy to use.

This projector uses state-of-the-art "3LCD" technology, and throws a bright, sharp picture, with excellent color saturation. I found the default color balance a tad too much on the green side, which was fixed easily by adjusting the video settings with the help of a third-party video-setup DVD. There are four user presets for saving custom video settings.

It is necessary to navigate through the advanced menu to optimize the picture, which is quite easy with the supplied remote. Unfortunately, the quick set up manual is pretty basic and you need to view the electronic version located the supplied CD-ROM to learn about the advanced menu features.

This projector excels in computer presentations (PowerPoint, documents or photograph slide-shows) with its 2,000 ANSI lumens, native XGA resolution and latest LCD technology. The pixel size and inter-pixel gap are small and the "screen door effect" is not really visible with the viewer seated 9' or more from a 100" diagonal screen.

This projector can also be used for home theater, with good but slightly less spectacular results. For best performance you should connect it to a DVD or Blu-Ray player with a component video cable and a third-party component video to VGA adapter. (I use one by Infocus). It does an excellent job of keeping up with fast action scenes, with no visible lag. Although the contrast ratio is only 400:1, I found the Sanyo quite decent in its ability to display black levels, especially after tweaking the contrast and gamma levels with the aid of a video setup DVD. Its ability to display black levels is a tad shy of the capability of my InFocus X1 Video DLP Projector (which has 2000:1 contrast ratio). The difference in black levels between the two projectors is actually not as discernable when there is a small amount of ambient light. However, the Sanyo PLC-XW60's colors were slightly over-saturated at low light levels, and I was forced to re-calibrate the color and tone settings to avoid unnatural skin tones. Although I have not verified this, the black levels of the Sanyo should be considerably improved with a "high contrast gray" projection screen which would reduce gain while improving perceived contrast ratio. Da-Lite, Draper and Elite offer high contrast gray screens.

3LCD versus DLP:
There is a raging ongoing debate between proponents of 3LCD and proponents of DLP technologies. In my opinion, formed from my experience with low and medium priced projectors, 3LCD technology typically renders slightly sharper images and better color saturation than DLP. 3LCD technology also does not suffer from the "rainbow effect" caused by the rotating color wheel present in DLP projectors. (Some 10% of the audience will notice this effect). This makes 3LCD a better choice for PowerPoint. For home theater applications, however, low cost DLP projectors have an advantage in that they impart a more natural rendering of color contrast at lower light levels than low cost 3LCD projectors. This is especially noticeable in low light and dark scenes (which are pretty much present in all movies). To my eyes, DLP projectors seem to impart a more 3D, film-like quality, as if you were in a real movie theater.

The bottom line is, if you need an ultra-portable projector for computer presentations that may be used in part for home theater, then your will find the Sanyo PLC-XW60 hard to beat for the performance at this price level. But consider looking at DLP if your primary need is for home theater.

Conclusion:
I highly recommend the Sanyo PLC-XW60 as a "best buy" for a portable, practical, native XGA projector. It is excellent for computer presentations, but can also double as a decent home-theater projector.

Pros:
- Compact, portable size and weighs only 3.6 lbs
- Versatile and practical. (Can be used to present to small groups or large gatherings, and double as a home theater projector).
- Native XGA resolution
- Professional appearance with good build quality
- Brightness is 2,000 ANSI lumens with decent (400:1) contrast ratio
- Excellent picture quality and color saturation
- Short throw lens, which lets you get a large picture from near the screen
- "Eco" mode, which reduces brightness to about 1,700 lumens, increasing the life of the bulb and considerably reducing fan noise.
- Automatic keystone correction
- Quick start and power-down
- "Blackboard" mode for projecting onto green backgrounds. Easy color adjustment to suit many wall colors
- LCD projectors do not have the "rainbow effect" which some people notice in DLP projectors

Cons:
- No USB port. Connection to the computer is via the supplied VGA (HD15) cable only. (See the back view for available connection ports).
- No "plug and project" capability. (Some new projectors have the ability play presentations directly from USB thumb drives or SD cards, with PowerPoint saved as JPEG)
- No S-video jack. You need the Sanyo S-Video to VGA adapter (model: POA-CAVGAS), which is rather expensive
- No HDMI port