Sanyo PLC-SU25…Double Feature Lamp

If you are in the market for a slightly older projector, that is about to dip down in price, keep your eyes on lookout for the Sanyo PLC-SU25. When it made its debut in 2003, the SU25 was priced at $3000 US. Its run came to a screeching halt in early 2004 and since has become a little more accessible to average buyer.

A friend of mine picked one up earlier this year for only $1100 US, so this should give you an idea of what is happening on the projector market these days. If you don’t necessarily need the best projector with all the latest features, and simply want to get good use out of it for football season, then the SU25 could be for you.

You will probably get the best use out of this projector by using it for television and particularly sports, as its contrast isn’t the best in its class. Fortunately, it is a bright projector with a few tricks up its sleeve giving you enough features to keep the sports fan happy.

Let’s start off by announcing its 1750 ANSI lumens, enough power and brightness to light up a room. But you better be sure that you are cutting out as much ambient light as possible so that you can still see Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs, rip into the end zone and win it for the home team.

The brightness of this machine is powered by a 180W projector lamp, an efficient lamp that still can provide the best of both worlds. To keep your wallet happy, this projector lamp will last up to 4000 hours, so long as you use eco-mode. But who uses eco-mode anyway? We’re going to be watching in daylight!

It is HDTV compatible, and let me tell you, I was over at my friend’s house, and he has a High-Definition projector, and it makes all the difference in the world. So those of you who don’t have HDTV, you really don’t know what you are missing. Of course, most television stations do not offer HDTV, or at least all the time, but for sports, you are going to want to take advantage.

Surprisingly, it does come with a DVI-I input, and if you have been struggling to find a decent priced projector that offers this rare feature, you better jump on board. The SU25 offers a native resolution of 800x600p, but it can be pushed to 1280x1024p, and its aspect ratio is a standard 4:3. For a projector that only puts out a contrast ratio of 400:1, it delivers quite a crisp image and from what I’ve heard, there really aren’t any major problems.

The SU25 also has incorporated a short-focus lens, which allows you to place your projector close to the screen without compromising clarity. Pretty low noise level at 36db and this projector is a pretty good buy!