Thanks I did that and I got it 95% there. I will tweek it tomorrow after the football games.

Hmm, now I'm torn... have a pre-order in (Canada, we don't get them yet) for the panny @ $2599 + a free second bulb, but got an offer today for an Epson 8500ub @ $2490. I can still cancel the panny, since it hasn't come in yet, hence my conundrum.

- The projectors seem to compare pretty closely according to Art's review.
- I've got pretty much a batcave with a 120" 16:9 dalite high-power,
currently running a home-brew 1080p that's fairly low lumens (I'd guess
300-350), it has a decent picture, nice and sharp, but little dim, and the
fan is noisy, and I'm too lazy to replace it, so either one will be an
improvement. Not to mention that it's the size of a dog coffin (17"x17"x4'). :)
- Epson has the nicer warranty, 2 years with replacement.
- Don't need, and likely wont need the anamorphic features of the panny
- Epson replacement bulbs are cheaper ($199 vs $500ish?)
- Epson also has the $200 rebate, so it comes in even cheaper (any info on
this rebate, I've seen people talking about it, but is there a link
somewhere? I want to confirm Canadians can get it).
- Epson is probably overkill brightness for my setup, though I can probably
just run in eco mode all the time, even with some ambient light.
- Epson has longer bulb life.
- Epson has darker blacks
- Panny has better shadow detail, and is more "natural" looking from reviews
- Both have good placement, though for my room, it's not really an issue

It looks like from that list that the Epson comes out on top, for me, in my situation. I dislike canceling my pre-order for some reason, though I'm sure there are more people in line behind me that would gladly get one sooner. Am I missing anything that you panny fans can think of that would make me consider not switching to the Epson to save some money?

Thanks,
Chris

I've looked at screenshots of both and prefer the panny. But go ahead and cancel. I'm in line behind you.

I've looked at screenshots of both and prefer the panny. But go ahead and cancel. I'm in line behind you.

IMO, there are way too many variables with "screenshots" for them to be used as a criterion for PJ selection.

Steve

Supposedly Canada won't get the ae4000 until January....and then there might be another delay! Seems strange that first they say late November and then January! Perhaps too many dealers have overpriced AE3000's sitting around?

For the Epson rebate in Canada...just go to the Canadian Epson site and do a search on 8500UB

http://www.epson.ca/c2c_cmc_upload/pdf/8500UB-200(ENG)9724.pdf

I was under the impression that previous Canadian rebates were actually sent to the US and were US fund cheques. These rebates are in Canadian $$$ and go to New Brunswick.

I think that dealer you mentioned has a good price on the 9500UB as well, black, extra bulb and warranty...etc.

Hmm, now I'm torn... have a pre-order in (Canada, we don't get them yet) for the panny @ $2599 + a free second bulb, but got an offer today for an Epson 8500ub @ $2490. I can still cancel the panny, since it hasn't come in yet, hence my conundrum.

- The projectors seem to compare pretty closely according to Art's review.
- I've got pretty much a batcave with a 120" 16:9 dalite high-power,
currently running a home-brew 1080p that's fairly low lumens (I'd guess
300-350), it has a decent picture, nice and sharp, but little dim, and the
fan is noisy, and I'm too lazy to replace it, so either one will be an
improvement. Not to mention that it's the size of a dog coffin (17"x17"x4'). :)
- Epson has the nicer warranty, 2 years with replacement.
- Don't need, and likely wont need the anamorphic features of the panny
- Epson replacement bulbs are cheaper ($199 vs $500ish?)
- Epson also has the $200 rebate, so it comes in even cheaper (any info on
this rebate, I've seen people talking about it, but is there a link
somewhere? I want to confirm Canadians can get it).
- Epson is probably overkill brightness for my setup, though I can probably
just run in eco mode all the time, even with some ambient light.
- Epson has longer bulb life.
- Epson has darker blacks
- Panny has better shadow detail, and is more "natural" looking from reviews
- Both have good placement, though for my room, it's not really an issue

It looks like from that list that the Epson comes out on top, for me, in my situation. I dislike canceling my pre-order for some reason, though I'm sure there are more people in line behind me that would gladly get one sooner. Am I missing anything that you panny fans can think of that would make me consider not switching to the Epson to save some money?

Thanks,
Chris

IMO, there are way too many variables with "screenshots" for them to be used as a criterion for PJ selection.

Steve

You're probably right, but combined with the reviewers comments, that's all I have to go on. Plus, I want to do CIH, and the panny makes that a hell of a lot easier with lens memory.

You're probably right, but combined with the reviewers comments, that's all I have to go on. Plus, I want to do CIH, and the panny makes that a hell of a lot easier with lens memory.

That's all that I went on before I ordered my AE4k...not sorry that I did. Here is a screen shot that I did a couple of nights ago, goofing around. I have a terrible screen for this PJ but it still looks pretty good.

Steve

Can someone please help me with the Pannys Color Management feature.

I cant seem to access it. Its always greyed out in the menu... How can I access it.

Cheers
Vik

KongFan
All the dust blobs that I had on my PJs (and that I saw on my screen) were on the LCDs. But I must have said LCDs+Polarizers (these are in front of the LCDs). The image is formed inside the LCDs. These little position differences could explain the focus - defocus thing.
To clean the dust, first, you must find in wich LCD do you have the dust. Project Red, Green and Blue signals and see in wich color it appears.
Dismount the PJ (3 screws).
Open and clean the LCD with the dust problem = 10 min.
Mount it back and align it to the screen = this is the most time-consuming part.

Thanks, ferbal. I think you're probably right, and that most, if not all, blobs are in the vicinity of the LCDs/polarizers. My first one (of three), was on an AE700. It was way, way out of focus, and struck me as being quite far from the plane of the LCDs. Also, I couldn't clear it until I went beyond the LCDs and blew out some other areas. This made a lasting impression on me that debris could settle on some of the other elements, such as one of the mirrors in the light path, but I should be careful to not assert that it's the case.

Can someone please help me with the Pannys Color Management feature.

I cant seem to access it. Its always greyed out in the menu... How can I access it.

Cheers
Vik

Many of the menu options are greyed out if you do not have a signal being fed into the projector (ie your receiver & player are off). Run a movie or cable TV signal into the projector and the greyed out menus should become accessible.

Someone asked about HDMI cables. If you have a nearby Fry's Electronics, they sell a flat SIIG HDMI cable in various lengths. I am using the 12m (approx 40 ft) cable that I've run under the carpet to my 4000 with great success. The price is a few bucks more than the 35 ft flat Monoprice cable, the longest flat cable they sell and just a few feet too short for my installation. Fry's came to the rescue! You can see this item on frys.com as well.

Can someone please help me with the Pannys Color Management feature.

I cant seem to access it. Its always greyed out in the menu... How can I access it.

Cheers
Vik

I believe that these settings are disabled in either the Cinema 1, 2 or 3 or the Color 1, 2 modes, don't have mine yet as no Canadian dealers have shipped. Try Normal or Dynamic modes then they should no longer be greyed out.

Can someone please help me with the Pannys Color Management feature.

I cant seem to access it. Its always greyed out in the menu... How can I access it.

Cheers
Vik

advanced Menu.....Wojtek

I believe that these settings are disabled in either the Cinema 1, 2 or 3 or the Color 1, 2 modes, don't have mine yet as no Canadian dealers have shipped. Try Normal or Dynamic modes then they should no longer be greyed out.
Thanks..

I have been trying it in Color 1. Will try in dynamic like you have said.

Cheers
Vik

Hmm, now I'm torn... have a pre-order in (Canada, we don't get them yet) for the panny @ $2599 + a free second bulb, but got an offer today for an Epson 8500ub @ $2490. I can still cancel the panny, since it hasn't come in yet, hence my conundrum.

- The projectors seem to compare pretty closely according to Art's review.
- I've got pretty much a batcave with a 120" 16:9 dalite high-power,
currently running a home-brew 1080p that's fairly low lumens (I'd guess
300-350), it has a decent picture, nice and sharp, but little dim, and the
fan is noisy, and I'm too lazy to replace it, so either one will be an
improvement. Not to mention that it's the size of a dog coffin (17"x17"x4'). :)
- Epson has the nicer warranty, 2 years with replacement.
- Don't need, and likely wont need the anamorphic features of the panny
- Epson replacement bulbs are cheaper ($199 vs $500ish?)
- Epson also has the $200 rebate, so it comes in even cheaper (any info on
this rebate, I've seen people talking about it, but is there a link
somewhere? I want to confirm Canadians can get it).
- Epson is probably overkill brightness for my setup, though I can probably
just run in eco mode all the time, even with some ambient light.
- Epson has longer bulb life.
- Epson has darker blacks
- Panny has better shadow detail, and is more "natural" looking from reviews
- Both have good placement, though for my room, it's not really an issue

It looks like from that list that the Epson comes out on top, for me, in my situation. I dislike canceling my pre-order for some reason, though I'm sure there are more people in line behind me that would gladly get one sooner. Am I missing anything that you panny fans can think of that would make me consider not switching to the Epson to save some money?

Thanks,
Chris

I went with the panny because I wanted to CIH and I am very happy with it. But if were going to stay with a 16x9 screen I would have went with the Epson since is darker blacks would help on scope movies on a 16x9 screen. Also its greater overall brightness, cheaper and longer lasting bulb are an attraction as well.

Wanted to give some feedback to people who wanna purchase this unit.
I believe giving feedback on our experiences helps a lot of us to make up our minds before we buy something. I too have relied heavily on this forum to make a lot of purchases in the past.

I have clocked 12 hrs on the Pj.

Its an incredible projector. The first Pj I ever had was the Infocus X1 back in 2003. I then moved on to a Acer 5100, and then the Sanyo Z5 which was very good for its time.

I have 3 Panasonic LCD and Plasma Tvs, which I love. So the next step was the obvious one to try their Projectors. I initially wanted to buy the Sanyo Z3000 based on my past experience with the Z5. But the reviews and the hype bout the 4000 made me opt for the Panny.

Thankfully, this has been a huge leap ahead ..in terms of contrast, blacks, sharpness and the vividity of the images. The images projected are very life like.
Have seen a couple of Bluray movies- The International, Hancock,Inkheart.
2 Dvds too.
Bluray experience is mind blowing...crisp and beautiful images. The images are being projected onto a 120 inch screen.

I was a bit worried by the problems some people are facing with this Projector. But till now, fingers crossed I am enjoying my movies like I never had before. I can only hope it runs as smoothly as my Sanyo is running till today.

Will update you guys on the perfomance in due course. If someone wants some more info on my experience with this projector ..go ahead and ask..

Have a great weekend guys..
Cheers from Down under
Vik

Supposedly Canada won't get the ae4000 until January....and then there might be another delay! Seems strange that first they say late November and then January! Perhaps too many dealers have overpriced AE3000's sitting around?

For the Epson rebate in Canada...just go to the Canadian Epson site and do a search on 8500UB

http://www.epson.ca/c2c_cmc_upload/pdf/8500UB-200(ENG)9724.pdf

I was under the impression that previous Canadian rebates were actually sent to the US and were US fund cheques. These rebates are in Canadian $$$ and go to New Brunswick.

I think that dealer you mentioned has a good price on the 9500UB as well, black, extra bulb and warranty...etc.


and where did you get this information from, i have spoke to 3 different dealers who have all talked to there panasonic reps and they were told the units are shipping this week and should be available next week. I doublt you'll be able to walk into a store and pick on up unless you have a preorder, it seems the dealers will be recieving alot less units then ordered due to the supply and demand. Last year with the pt-ae 3000 people were spreading around the same rumors about them not being available untill Jan, i pre ordered a PT-AE 3000 last year and recieved it the first week of december, so it seems the PT-AE 4000 is on par with the 3000 for delivery. Also not sure if anyone elese has preordered form a canadian retialer but i've noticed a few retialers have also stated it comes with a extra bulb i know of 2 dealers that have confirmed this with panasonic, not sure if every dealer is going to get the same package. my dealer didnt mention a extra bulb but i also payed about 600 less then what the other delaers are selling for.

Has anyone used Western Digitals WD TV with the AE4000? I have WD TV hooked up to a 1.5 terra byte drive and regular tv and it works great. I does have HDMI outputs.

Also is there anyone in Connecticut that already has the AE4000?

david Sacco

and where did you get this information from, i have spoke to 3 different dealers who have all talked to there panasonic reps and they were told the units are shipping this week and should be available next week. I doublt you'll be able to walk into a store and pick on up unless you have a preorder, it seems the dealers will be recieving alot less units then ordered due to the supply and demand. Last year with the pt-ae 3000 people were spreading around the same rumors about them not being available untill Jan, i pre ordered a PT-AE 3000 last year and recieved it the first week of december, so it seems the PT-AE 4000 is on par with the 3000 for delivery. Also not sure if anyone elese has preordered form a canadian retialer but i've noticed a few retialers have also stated it comes with a extra bulb i know of 2 dealers that have confirmed this with panasonic, not sure if every dealer is going to get the same package. my dealer didnt mention a extra bulb but i also payed about 600 less then what the other delaers are selling for.

I was on a preorder list and was informed they would not arrive until January. Maybe that was just my dealer or perhaps because I was down too far on the list. The sooner the better!

and where did you get this information from, i have spoke to 3 different dealers who have all talked to there panasonic reps and they were told the units are shipping this week and should be available next week. I doublt you'll be able to walk into a store and pick on up unless you have a preorder, it seems the dealers will be recieving alot less units then ordered due to the supply and demand. Last year with the pt-ae 3000 people were spreading around the same rumors about them not being available untill Jan, i pre ordered a PT-AE 3000 last year and recieved it the first week of december, so it seems the PT-AE 4000 is on par with the 3000 for delivery. Also not sure if anyone elese has preordered form a canadian retialer but i've noticed a few retialers have also stated it comes with a extra bulb i know of 2 dealers that have confirmed this with panasonic, not sure if every dealer is going to get the same package. my dealer didnt mention a extra bulb but i also payed about 600 less then what the other delaers are selling for.

I was told in January as well now from my Canadian retailer. I preordered in early Nov.

humm call a few other retialers if u can not sure why there telling you that now, i'm heading over to my store where i pre ordered and get him to call his rep and see if there telling him any different now, but earlier this week my retialer was told from his rep there was some in vancover and were shipping out to my store this week

so after seeing the few posts talking about January delivery date i went over to my store where i ordered from its bascally across the street form where i work i figured if i went over and talked to the manager i'de have a better chance of finding out the proper info, so i got over there and told him that i've heard some people sayin January delivery dates, so he looked up the # for his panasonic rep and gave him a call i stood there wile he talked to the rep and the rep was suprised they he didnt have hte units yet he said they had shiped monday of this week out to all the stores, said each store was gettin 2-4 or more depending on how many preorders they recieved, so still no show on the device yet but he said there was a bunch of boxes out back and would call me if the projectors were in one of them if not it should be in early next week. it seems the only retialer thats seems to be saying Jan is one based out of Quebec, take the time and call some other retialers and see what they have to say for dates i have called retialers as far west as vancover and as far east as nova scotia and there giving dates of next week.

So it seems that each Canadian distributer got around 4 units perhaps? Explains why mine would be delayed as I was #16.

It will be interesting to see if everyone gets a free bulb. One guy I called said that he was unsure if the extra bulb was included or not.

Where did you get a price of $2599 +free bulb for the 4000?

Hmm, now I'm torn... have a pre-order in (Canada, we don't get them yet) for the panny @ $2599 + a free second bulb, but got an offer today for an Epson 8500ub @ $2490. I can still cancel the panny, since it hasn't come in yet, hence my conundrum.

- The projectors seem to compare pretty closely according to Art's review.
- I've got pretty much a batcave with a 120" 16:9 dalite high-power,
currently running a home-brew 1080p that's fairly low lumens (I'd guess
300-350), it has a decent picture, nice and sharp, but little dim, and the
fan is noisy, and I'm too lazy to replace it, so either one will be an
improvement. Not to mention that it's the size of a dog coffin (17"x17"x4'). :)
- Epson has the nicer warranty, 2 years with replacement.
- Don't need, and likely wont need the anamorphic features of the panny
- Epson replacement bulbs are cheaper ($199 vs $500ish?)
- Epson also has the $200 rebate, so it comes in even cheaper (any info on
this rebate, I've seen people talking about it, but is there a link
somewhere? I want to confirm Canadians can get it).
- Epson is probably overkill brightness for my setup, though I can probably
just run in eco mode all the time, even with some ambient light.
- Epson has longer bulb life.
- Epson has darker blacks
- Panny has better shadow detail, and is more "natural" looking from reviews
- Both have good placement, though for my room, it's not really an issue

It looks like from that list that the Epson comes out on top, for me, in my situation. I dislike canceling my pre-order for some reason, though I'm sure there are more people in line behind me that would gladly get one sooner. Am I missing anything that you panny fans can think of that would make me consider not switching to the Epson to save some money?

Thanks,
Chris

Where did you get a price of $2599 +free bulb for the 4000?
That's about the best deal you can get from a Canadian dealer. I was quoted that too (for pre-order only).

That's about the best deal you can get from a Canadian dealer. I was quoted that too (for pre-order only).

you can probally find a better deal that is a good one it seems most retialers that i called seemed to have the free bulb the ones that knew about it as for the others they said they would hae ot wait and see once there units arive maybe its a canadian thing that all the units are comming with extra bulb this year, the retialer in quebec made it sound like he was gettin the free bulb from panasonic because he was pre ordering so many units but yet when i called 2 other retialers they also said it was comming with a extra bulb, so maybe its just a standart this year guess we'll have to wait and see

you can probally find a better deal that is a good one it seems most retialers that i called seemed to have the free bulb the ones that knew about it as for the others they said they would hae ot wait and see once there units arive maybe its a canadian thing that all the units are comming with extra bulb this year, the retialer in quebec made it sound like he was gettin the free bulb from panasonic because he was pre ordering so many units but yet when i called 2 other retialers they also said it was comming with a extra bulb, so maybe its just a standart this year guess we'll have to wait and see

This is so sad, looks like you're already plumb out of punctuation up there in Quebec, and with winter just settling in.

I'm sure we could at least put together a shipment of periods for ya, maybe a dogsled could get 'em through?

Trade you for that extra bulb. ;)

Hi every one,

I live in montreal Quebec and I received my PT-ae4000 yesterday. Look's like they realy started shipping in Canada. I pre-ordered it in a store early November

Hi every one,

I live in montreal Quebec and I received my PT-ae4000 yesterday. Look's like they realy started shipping in Canada. I pre-ordered it in a store early November

ninjapoilu congrats on getting one so soon. Did yours come with a spare bulb and was it in the same box or a separate item?

I've got to say I don't like the "free bulb" ploy and I'd rather just save the cash. I tend not to put too many hours on the bulb anyway, and I have a sneaking suspicion that free bulbs thrown in by the manufacturer might be a way to get rid of sub-standard parts that aren't good enough to sell at full price. That's based on my one experience of a free bulb that turned out to make an annoying high pitched whine, and of course I didn't test it until it was too late to complain (won't make that mistake again).

No I did't get the free bulb. I did`t know about thees deals until I already ordered mine. I tried a couples of movies today. I was more than impressed with the image quality of this projector on my Grandview 100in screen, even without calibrating the PJ.

Hope you guys from Canada get yours soon ...

Pretty funny Bob,
and I live in the Great White North

Are we not allowed to mention dealer names or something on here? I too pre-order with the Quebec dealer (usually deals in Acoustics I've been told! :D) and have been now told Jan-Feb. Is there any place in Canada that I can get one sooner? I spent like an hour googling and phoning Canadian dealers and nobody had one they could sell me earlier than Jan-Feb. Can someone please PM me the name of the dealer if we're not allowed to post (what a stupid rule)?

Thanks,
Ted

Pretty funny Bob,
and I live in the Great White North

Well thanks, JMG, I hope it was taken in the spirit intended. Some of my best friends are Canadian. Or at least Albertan.

Fellow Canadians, I just picked up my 4000 tonight. She looks great, but have not had time to set up for a trial run. My retailer gave me a really good deal ( without extra bulb ). As far as could tell, the retailer only got 3 yesterday and they are now all sold as of today. I live in Kelowna, BC.

Hello Everyone, checking back in... You may remember me as the person who had the first failed AE4000, it would die after about 15min of use.

Well, VisualAPEX sent my replacement, and I finally got it hooked up last night. I gotta say I'm very happy with the replacement... Colors look fantastic, it's brighter than my old benq 7700 even in cinema mode, and the contrast is a HUGE improvement. Just fantastic!

The only minor issue I'm still working on? My 40ft HDMI cable doesn't seem to work with this projector. Luckily my backup component video seems to be working fine for 1080p, at least from my XBox... going to continue troubleshooting that one today.

--nw

Hello Everyone, checking back in... You may remember me as the person who had the first failed AE4000, it would die after about 15min of use.

Well, VisualAPEX sent my replacement, and I finally got it hooked up last night. I gotta say I'm very happy with the replacement... Colors look fantastic, it's brighter than my old benq 7700 even in cinema mode, and the contrast is a HUGE improvement. Just fantastic!

The only minor issue I'm still working on? My 40ft HDMI cable doesn't seem to work with this projector. Luckily my backup component video seems to be working fine for 1080p, at least from my XBox... going to continue troubleshooting that one today.

--nw

Is the cable connected BD player to AE4000 or is there a "switch/receiver" in the path? I had a similar problem with that cable length that was solved by direct BD player to PJ hook up. I can run my HDTV and HD-DVD player through a switch with same or greater cable length without a problem.

Steve

Is the cable connected BD player to AE4000 or is there a "switch/receiver" in the path? I had a similar problem with that cable length that was solved by direct BD player to PJ hook up. I can run my HDTV and HD-DVD player through a switch with same or greater cable length without a problem.

Steve

There is a receiver in the path right now, The direct connection is one of the first things I'm planning to try today. The connector on the cable has always been a little loose, so I'm going to also try jiggling it a bit to see if is is that simple.

--nw

There is a receiver in the path right now, The direct connection is one of the first things I'm planning to try today. The connector on the cable has always been a little loose, so I'm going to also try jiggling it a bit to see if is is that simple.

--nw


Well, I tried jigging the cable tons, to no avail. I tried hooking the HDMI directly to the cable box and blu-ray, with no luck. I tried hooking it to my old projector, and that worked... but won't do me much good. Finally I tried hooking the blu-ray directly to the projector with a 6ft cable, and that worked.

So I guess my current 40ft cable is too long to work with this projector. I'm not looking forward to snaking a replacement, but I guess that is the next step. My current cable came from bluejeans... Can anyone suggest a low-price but reliable cable that works over 40ft with this projector?

--nw

I'd suggest an HDMI restorer and that way it will work with your cable and a receiver. They typically cost $150-$500 depending on brand but well worth it to make your system work. A different cable may or may not work especially if you add a receiver or switcher.

Bob

I'd suggest an HDMI restorer and that way it will work with your cable and a receiver. They typically cost $150-$500 depending on brand but well worth it to make your system work. A different cable may or may not work especially if you add a receiver or switcher.

Bob

I am not sure what is HDMI restorer, but I would suggest to try one of the repeaters..
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041907&p_id=2849&seq=1&format=2
Wojtek

Well, I tried jigging the cable tons, to no avail. I tried hooking the HDMI directly to the cable box and blu-ray, with no luck. I tried hooking it to my old projector, and that worked... but won't do me much good. Finally I tried hooking the blu-ray directly to the projector with a 6ft cable, and that worked.

So I guess my current 40ft cable is too long to work with this projector. I'm not looking forward to snaking a replacement, but I guess that is the next step. My current cable came from bluejeans... Can anyone suggest a low-price but reliable cable that works over 40ft with this projector?

--nw
Is the BJC a Belden Series-1?

Steve

My 4000 seems to be more sensitive to the HDMI handshake than my 3000 was. With my Oppo blu-ray player I get a brief loss of picture approximately 15 minutes into a movie - doesn't matter if it is a blu-ray disc or regular DVD. The receiver continues to put out audio, but the picture flicks off for a second or two. So far, after 5 or 6 movies, it has done it every time, but just once per movie. I tried switching to a different HDMI input on the Panny but it didn't help. I played an HD-DVD movie (remember those?) last night on my Toshiba and voila, no loss of picture. I'm GUESSING that the handshake is a little stronger with the Toshiba. I'm using a 25' Monster Cable, and I've just ordered an HDMI repeater to see if that solves the problem, rather than stringing new cable in the ceiling. I really like the picture quality and features of the Oppo so I hope the repeater solves the glitch.

edit: The repeater didn't help. Rats. I tried my older Panny blu-ray player and the 4000 still flicked off briefly. Then I bypassed my Denon receiver and ran the Oppo directly to the projector.......it still flicked off. I don't know why the Toshiba didn't do it - maybe I just missed it, but I think I can safely say my particular 4000 has a strange flaw. It still does it just once, and within the first 10 -15 minutes. It is a pretty minor issue, but I find myself not really "getting into" the movie at first while I wait for the glitch to occur.

Dick Fogg

I’m using 2 SIIG 10 meter cables from my Oppo BDP, one to my AE4000 and the other to my old Samsung HDTV. The only handshake issues I get are when I fire up the TV w/o the power switch of the AE4000 on the AV signal to the TV cuts out every few seconds. Turning the AE4000 power on (lamp not need) stops this. Happens with both my Denon 2807 and Onkyo 3007.

I've had a lot of success with Octava HDMI devices (their 3x2 Cross Switch, no longer made, and their 4x4 Matrix Switch). These are inexpensive (relatively speaking), and they provide solid signal switching with few issues created for my variety of HDMI sources, receivers and displays. The only wrinkle has been an intermittent problem with audio on a signal coming form one of my HTPCs and going to a Yamaha receiver/Sony LCD combo. It's a rare problem caused by an unusual configuration. I've never experienced any other HDMI issues with this box, despite a variety of HDMI cable lengths (and some inexpensive HDMI cables, to boot).

The AE4000 is the first projector I’ve used HDMI with in my theater; prior setups have been component video... after about 20 hrs on the AE4000, the HDMI setup has been rock solid.

My video path is as follows:

Panny BD55 > 1M Dayton Audio Signature HDMI (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=181-734) > Yamaha RX-V3900 > 10M Dayton Audio Signature HDMI (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=181-739) > Panny AE4000

I went with HDMI on the AE4000 mainly to get 1080p and upscaled DVD, but if it starts to screw-up, I’ll switch back to component video in a heartbeat and be happy with trouble free 1080i.

Seems like more than 40'+- 5' is the problem length with HDMI BD player > AE4000. Will be interested to hear if a repeater solves the problem.

steve

A passive equalizer may or may not work. It can equalize capacitance issues but can't help if the voltage is the problem as it steals voltage from HDMI interface. Sometimes these cause more problems. A good Signal restorer will be powered. Here are some examples.

http://www.etherealhometheater.com/products.html
Look under HDMI accesories.

http://www.spectrumelectronicsolutions.com/hdmi.htm

Hope this helps.

Bob

Here is another link for info on powered repeaters:

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=5925

Steve

for anyone in canada looking for the pt-ae 4000, Visions in Kelowna BC has pt-ae 4000's instock.

just got off the phone with them and they have them instock i didnt ask the price because i have one preordered at visions in Calgary just waiting for it to arrive.

What about 35' lengths? Will I need a booster for that length?

I can't speak for the 4000 but I have used the 35' Monoprice cable with the Epson 7500 with not problem.

for anyone in canada looking for the pt-ae 4000, Visions in Kelowna BC has pt-ae 4000's instock.

just got off the phone with them and they have them instock i didnt ask the price because i have one preordered at visions in Calgary just waiting for it to arrive.

I just emailed them and the price I got was $2998. :(

I’m using 2 SIIG 10 meter cables from my Oppo BDP, one to my AE4000 and the other to my old Samsung HDTV. The only handshake issues I get are when I fire up the TV w/o the power switch of the AE4000 on the AV signal to the TV cuts out every few seconds. Turning the AE4000 power on (lamp not need) stops this. Happens with both my Denon 2807 and Onkyo 3007.

Can someone explain what Handshake is? I see it pop up regular here but no idea what it is.

Can someone explain what Handshake is? I see it pop up regular here but no idea what it is.

It’s the way a sending and receiving device hooked up by HDMI establish a secure connection. AFAIK it’s part of the copy protection scheme. This explains it better than I can:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdmi1.htm

What about 35' lengths? Will I need a booster for that length?

I am running 35' BJC "Belden Series 1" without a problem. This is a direct connect BD player to PJ. When I ran this same cable through an HDMI switch and a additional 10' of cable, there was a problem. I am running the HDTV and HD-DVD connected with 10' cables to a switch then 35' to PJ without a problem.

Steve

I am running 35' BJC "Belden Series 1" without a problem. This is a direct connect BD player to PJ. When I ran this same cable through an HDMI switch and a additional 10' of cable, there was a problem. I am running the HDTV and HD-DVD connected with 10' cables to a switch then 35' to PJ without a problem.

Steve

Thanks - that is how my BD player will be connected. I will be running another 35' cable through a HDMI switch for my Directv, my HTPC and OTA receiver feeds. These will not be 1080p so they may work.

I've had mine a couple of weeks, just got it setup on Thanksgiving, loving it so far. This is my first projecter and I'm wondering if there is an idiot's guide to these things....I've gotten my little knowlege from these forums. I put up a piece of gator board that is 2:35.1, I plan on painting it (another project :rolleyes:) , just haven't had a chance yet. Because I'm an idiot, I have yet to get an image to display at this setting? I just don't see a 2:35.1 in the menu, can someone please point me in the right direction?

Thanks

So I ran out to my local microcenter looking for an extender/amplifier. What I wound up finding was a Gefen "Super Booster", which is unpowered. Originally priced $106, it was marked down to $33.... and had a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy. So I gave it a shot.

First I tried hooking it it on the equipment closet side of the cable, and no dice... but when I added it to the projector side, a clean sharp picture appeared. SUCCESS! Even seems to work fine when the signal is run through my Denon receiver.

Finally got to sit back and watch a full movie on the projector, and I'm very happy. Next task? Programming my harmony remote. :)

Thanks for the support everyone!
--nw

You're probably right, but combined with the reviewers comments, that's all I have to go on. Plus, I want to do CIH, and the panny makes that a hell of a lot easier with lens memory.

The powered lens on the 4000 makes things so much easier, especially if your projector is ceiling mounted. Focussing is easy - the lens motor steps in very fine increments by just tapping the focus control on the remote. Hold the control in longer and it moves quicker.

I've now had the 4000 for nearly a week now and I am very impressed with the picture clarity. The clarity and sharpness of the picture is really evident on Blu-ray movies that were filmed using HD cameras. Picture quality is a real step up from the PT-AE900 I used to have (and the 900 was very good !). The pictures below were taken with just an Olympus 3MP pocket camera on a tripod (not a high quality DSLR) and give you a good idea of the picture quality the 4000 gives you. The pictures are from Crank High Voltage which was produced using Sony and Canon 1080P digital cameras. I paused the Blu-ray player to take the photos.


http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa284/missionman66/AV%20Forum/PB280009.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa284/missionman66/AV%20Forum/PB280007.jpg

Berry berry nice!

I've had mine a couple of weeks, just got it setup on Thanksgiving, loving it so far. This is my first projecter and I'm wondering if there is an idiot's guide to these things....I've gotten my little knowlege from these forums. I put up a piece of gator board that is 2:35.1, I plan on painting it (another project :rolleyes:) , just haven't had a chance yet. Because I'm an idiot, I have yet to get an image to display at this setting? I just don't see a 2:35.1 in the menu, can someone please point me in the right direction?

Thanks

You're not an idiot, it's simply not obvious. What the AE4000 does is provide a set of six lens memories. It's up to you to use the zoom, focus and position adjustment settings to create settings for 16:9 and 2.35 material and save them in lens memories. Name them something like "16:9" and "2.35:1". Then you can enable the auto zoom feature, and select the two lens memories you created. Once you've done that, the projector will see the presence or absence of black bars at the top and bottom and load the appropriate one.

See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17510238#post17510238) for a quick guide to setting up 16:9 and 2.35 lens memories. For my setup I also created a couple for 1.85 and 2.20 aspects. Many movies are in 1.85, and some of my favorites, like 2001, are in 2.20 aspect.

Note that pressing the Lens button twice will bring up the Load Lens Memory menu. I created a sequence on my Harmony remote to bring it up and select the next memory. However, you must also define a button to send the Return command in order to dismiss the menu once it's done--it ignores all commands while the PROCESSING message is displayed, and I don't know of a way to put a delay in a Harmony sequence.

I'm still debating whether to leave the auto zoom feature enabled. While usually convenient, especially for my wife, it can be annoying when it zooms in and out when you don't want it to. Would have been perfect if Panasonic didn't insist on flashing that stupid PROCESSING message in the center of the screen for ten seconds.

Would have been perfect if Panasonic didn't insist on flashing that stupid PROCESSING message in the center of the screen for ten seconds.

Lets put this on our wish list to Panasonic for next years PT-AE5000 please.
Give us the facility to turn on or off the "Processing" message. Default to "Processing" for those that need to be told PROCESSING, and in the advanced menu a section labeled "Processing Message" ON or OFF. Simple, just like the cinema, no screen messages when changing from 1.85 to 2.35;)

Thanks so much for the info Bob!

What is it that you don't like about the Mits HC5500?

I'm trying to decide between the HC5500 & the Panny AE4000. price diff would be about $600.

Don't get me wrong the HC5500 is great pj but I usually like to upgrade each year because of the new and improved pjs that come out...just the contrast ratio alone on the pt-ae4000u is worth the upgrade...the mitsu only has 14,000:1 contrast ratio while the new panny has 100,000:1.
plus all the new features on the panny and improved black level are huge selling points.
I would love to get the epson 8500UB but just the fact that it doesn't have electronic focusing is a big problem for me...I hate having to adjust focus manually. But then again I'm torn because I really would like to have the warranty that comes with the Epson and having the best in black level performance would be nice.

Question to "naturr" who was online November 7th. You mentioned a way to get UPS to not charge you duty when you brought your 4000 up to Canada. I was charged duty by UPS. Can you give me more detailed instructions so I can talk to them about it.


Couple of pointers for Canadians who are ordering this from the U.S. As someone pointed out in a previous post, there is no duty on projectors. It helps if you self-clear, and bring a printout from the duty guide with you.

I also never use UPS for shipping from U.S. to Canada. I won't deal with a vendor who ships only via UPS (same applies for eBay sellers) - they are notorious for charging high brokerage fees, and calculating duty incorrectly. So far I have shipped 6 projectors from Japan via DHL (4 for myself, and 2 for family), and I have never had to pay any duty, nor any brokerage charges.

Does anyone know if this duty law applies to Australia at all?

Regards,
Simon

As you know, sudden power off when PJ is hot is not good for the bulb.
I was wondering if any of you set up your 4000 with a UPS, and if so, is there a way to have the PJ go into shutdown if the power goes out.
I know I would remember to shut down the PJ should the power fail, but with family using the unit as well, when lights go out, they won't think, or even remember to shut off the PJ.
BTW, how bad is sudden power cutoff for the new 4000 units? Are we talking about blowing the bulb on the first of second plug pull, or is the bulb more resistant than that?

Mario

As promised few screenshots and a pic of my mounted pj
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5388.jpg

http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5389.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5391.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5394.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5398.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5414.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5413.jpg

Wojtek

What the AE4000 does is provide a set of six lens memories. It's up to you to use the zoom, focus and position adjustment settings to create settings for 16:9 and 2.35 material and save them in lens memories... For my setup I also created a couple for 1.85 and 2.20 aspects. Many movies are in 1.85, and some of my favorites, like 2001, are in 2.20 aspect.I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but it's the first time I've seen it (*six* lens memories!), thanks Bob. This is wonderful--I'd want to set all of 16x9, 1.85, 2.20, 2.35, and 2.40 into mine (is there a BD yet with 2.76? Guess the Panny's got one space left for it!).

I own a Mits 4900 today but my next PJ will definitely have this lens memory feature!

As you know, sudden power off when PJ is hot is not good for the bulb. I was wondering if any of you set up your 4000 with a UPS, and if so, is there a way to have the PJ go into shutdown if the power goes out.I think you just gotta tell the family "if you're gonna use this projector, you gotta remember to turn it off in a power failure!"

Might hurt the bulb, sure (I don't think so) but it's more the filters and lcds and electronics that you want the fan to run-on for, to cool them down, lest the residual heat from the lamp stays in the housing and damages these things...

Lets put this on our wish list to Panasonic for next years PT-AE5000 please.
Give us the facility to turn on or off the "Processing" message. Default to "Processing" for those that need to be told PROCESSING, and in the advanced menu a section labeled "Processing Message" ON or OFF. Simple, just like the cinema, no screen messages when changing from 1.85 to 2.35;)

I agree entirely Murray. As a software developer, I know why they probably did this: the projector is unresponsive to commands during lens memory load, and they wanted to indicate that. Makes sense when you're giving commands manually, but not for auto zoom.

What I would like to see in the AE5000 is a way to specify the extent of your screen for each lens memory. A "Screen Extent" setting would display a rectangle, the sides of which can be moved using arrow keys. You adjust the rectangle so it falls just outside the borders of the screen. The extent data is saved with the lens memory.

An improved auto zoom function would then load the lens memory whose rectangle best fits the current image, the smallest rectangle in which the current content will fit completely.

The electronic masking feature should also be enhanced so it is capable of fully masking all aspects, currently the mask range is too limited to do this for some setups.

And of course it should do all this without flashing any messages. This kind of feature would continue to differentiate Panasonic from the competition, who will no doubt begin to introduce automated zoom features.

In the projector menu for signal mode mine says 1080/60i what does others here say for signal mode shouldn't it be 60p?

In the projector menu for signal mode mine says 1080/60i what does others here say for signal mode shouldn't it be 60p?

It will say 60i for TV sources. For Blu-ray, it should say either 60p, or 24p if your Blu-ray player has a 24 fps mode.

It will say 60i for TV sources. For Blu-ray, it should say either 60p, or 24p if your Blu-ray player has a 24 fps mode.


Strange cause all i have is a blu-ray player hooked up it must be something goofy with my player not out putting something correctly? Plus the player even has 24fps mode and i have tried all of them from setting to auto to setting it to just 1080p, its a Kaiboer k300 media player so who knows whats up with this.

Strange cause all i have is a blu-ray player hooked up it must be something goofy with my player not out putting something correctly? Plus the player even has 24fps mode and i have tried all of them from setting to auto to setting it to just 1080p, its a Kaiboer k300 media player so who knows whats up with this.

Are you actually playing a movie, or just showing the title menu? I see 60i unless I actually have progressive content playing.

Are you actually playing a movie, or just showing the title menu? I see 60i unless I actually have progressive content playing.

Whoops i didn't even check while playing a movie let me do that and i'll get back.
I feel stupid now
Thanks Bob

Nope even when playing a movie it still says 60i must be this stupid player.

Ok i finally got it fixed and it's now out putting 1080p like it should what a pain in the ass player, need to upgrade that now.

Ok i finally got it fixed and it's now out putting 1080p like it should what a pain in the ass player, need to upgrade that now.

For what it's worth, ListenUp still has DVD-3800's for $579.

Steve

For what it's worth, ListenUp still has DVD-3800's for $579.

Steve

Only problem with that player is i can't play m2ts files by them selves from hard drives, i like to strip down the movie and dump it on hard drives cause i hate dealing with menus and other annoying things on discs.

For what it's worth, ListenUp still has DVD-3800's for $579.

Steve

The Oppo 83 is available for $499. Stellar reviews. If you're thinking about a new Blu-ray player for the 4000, you'll want to take a look at this one and its reviews before you decide.

Lets put this on our wish list to Panasonic for next years PT-AE5000 please.
Give us the facility to turn on or off the "Processing" message. Default to "Processing" for those that need to be told PROCESSING, and in the advanced menu a section labeled "Processing Message" ON or OFF. Simple, just like the cinema, no screen messages when changing from 1.85 to 2.35

I agree entirely Murray. As a software developer, I know why they probably did this: the projector is unresponsive to commands during lens memory load, and they wanted to indicate that. Makes sense when you're giving commands manually, but not for auto zoom.

What I would like to see in the AE5000 is a way to specify the extent of your screen for each lens memory. A "Screen Extent" setting would display a rectangle, the sides of which can be moved using arrow keys. You adjust the rectangle so it falls just outside the borders of the screen. The extent data is saved with the lens memory.

An improved auto zoom function would then load the lens memory whose rectangle best fits the current image, the smallest rectangle in which the current content will fit completely.

The electronic masking feature should also be enhanced so it is capable of fully masking all aspects, currently the mask range is too limited to do this for some setups.

And of course it should do all this without flashing any messages. This kind of feature would continue to differentiate Panasonic from the competition, who will no doubt begin to introduce automated zoom features.

I think those are both good ideas to send along to Panasonic for the next generation of this projector.

And as long as we're sending a wish-list to them to make this projector even better next time, how about a curtain trigger that recognizes when the projector's aspect ratio is changing and draws or closes the curtain at predetermined positions to accommodate for the change...kind of a "Curtain Position Memory" feature to partner up with the "Lens Memory" feature?

uh...and I suppose we ought to make sure Panasonic doesn't give us 10 seconds of flashing "CURTAIN DRAW POSITION CHANGE" reminders that can't be defeated in the menu for that one, too...

And as long as we're sending a wish-list to them to make this projector even better next time, how about a curtain trigger that recognizes when the projector's aspect ratio is changing and draws or closes the curtain at predetermined positions to accommodate for the change...kind of a "Curtain Position Memory" feature to partner up with the "Lens Memory" feature?
That would be a nice feature, but how would you communicate the desired position to the curtain controller?

The AE4000 has 12v triggers that can be associated with any of the six lens memories, that already gives you the ability to trigger masking and lower the screen, although it's only on/off, not variable settings.

That would be a nice feature, but how would you communicate the desired position to the curtain controller?

The AE4000 has 12v triggers that can be associated with any of the six lens memories, that already gives you the ability to trigger masking and lower the screen, although it's only on/off, not variable settings.

With 2 triggers one could build small circuit providing 4 combinations.
t1 t2
0 0
0 1
1 0
1 1

Better than 2 but still no 6 ;)

Wojtek

Has anyone yet determined what the maximum 2:35/2:40 screen size in a light controlled room might be with the PT-AE4000? This question is being asked with regard to actual practical experience and not the screen calculators.

Maybe we can start a poll on 16:9 and 2:35/2:40 screen sizes, type of material used and throw distances that are producing satisfactory results?

Opinions please?

Thank you.

Anybody know if one of these is on display in the greater Southern California region? Panasonic's website isn't particularly good at identifying their dealer network with respect to front projectors.
I'd like to see what this picture(or the new Epson 8500 for that matter) looks like in person.

Does anyone know if this duty law applies to Australia at all?

Regards,
Simon

For Australia, there is no duty as the projector has a VGA port. To ensure duty is not applied, ensure the customs shipping document says "Panasonic PT-AE4000U projector with VGA port". There will however be GST applied (around AUD260) as is the case with any import of goods over AUD$1,000. Fedex in Australia will call you to charge the GST to your credit card before releasing it for delivery to you.

Shipping is around USD180 by Fedex. Total delivered price is around AUD2800 based on current exchange rates (based on a USD1999).

The USA PT-AE4000U model is exactly the same as the PT-AE4000E model sold in Australia apart from the power cord. Any desktop PC style (ie IEC plug) power cord will fit the projector (available at Jaycar).

PM me if you want to know more.

With 2 triggers one could build small circuit providing 4 combinations.
t1 t2
0 0
0 1
1 0
1 1

Better than 2 but still no 6 ;)

Wojtek

Good point! 4 is enough for 1.78, 1.85, 2.2 and 2.35.

Not just automated zoom, but automated masking as well. How many theaters have that? :p

for anyone in canada looking for the pt-ae 4000, Visions in Kelowna BC has pt-ae 4000's instock.

just got off the phone with them and they have them instock i didnt ask the price because i have one preordered at visions in Calgary just waiting for it to arrive.

Thanks to this posting I have been able to secure a PT-AE400 for myself! So, thanks again! :) I went down to Visions (locally), paid for the projector (+$50 extra for shipping) and had them allocate me one of the Kelowna ones. I should hopefully have it in about 1.5 weeks.

Ted

where are you located? your local visions didnt have any? if your in the alberta the stores in calgary/edmonton are reciving there stock early this week just a FYI

Thanks to this posting I have been able to secure a PT-AE400 for myself! So, thanks again! :) I went down to Visions (locally), paid for the projector (+$50 extra for shipping) and had them allocate me one of the Kelowna ones. I should hopefully have it in about 1.5 weeks.

Ted

Has anyone yet determined what the maximum 2:35/2:40 screen size in a light controlled room might be with the PT-AE4000? This question is being asked with regard to actual practical experience and not the screen calculators.

Maybe we can start a poll on 16:9 and 2:35/2:40 screen sizes, type of material used and throw distances that are producing satisfactory results?

Opinions please?

Thank you.

I'm throwing 120" on a 2.35 cheap, matte white screen purchased off ebay from 15ft. So far I've got the lamp on eco mode and I"m fine with it, people are still blown away by the images. Now I do have all black walls, black cloth over the couches, and all surfaces within 5 ft of the screen are draped in black felt which I've spray glued to the walls. Suffice to say, there is precious little ambient light in this room.

Art, the guy who does the reviews of most projectors, would say I don't know what I'm talking about and he recommends a smaller screen ( I think 110" was the max he recommended on 16:9, which will have 25% more light than a 2.35 setup) but to my untrained eye, looks good.

where are you located? your local visions didnt have any? if your in the alberta the stores in calgary/edmonton are reciving there stock early this week just a FYI

I'm in Winnipeg and spent a good amount of time calling all the Visions stores working westward from here today. There is zero in stock at any central Canadian stores (they have not received any yet). The 'stock coming in soon' line is being repeated by all of them however. I do not trust this. I figure there is a 50/50 chance that they will not get their stock until mid/late Jan. or maybe even early Feb (2nd shipment). I decided to not risk it for the $50 extra to reserve and ship one in from B.C.

Ted

Has anyone yet determined what the maximum 2:35/2:40 screen size in a light controlled room might be with the PT-AE4000? This question is being asked with regard to actual practical experience and not the screen calculators.

Maybe we can start a poll on 16:9 and 2:35/2:40 screen sizes, type of material used and throw distances that are producing satisfactory results?

Opinions please?

Thank you.

I’m using a 134” diagonal 1.78:1 Carada Brilliant White projected from 19’ seating at 14‘-15’. When I project a 2.35:1 image it’s just a tad smaller than a 128” diagonal. I’m using cinnema-1 in eco-mode with 200 hours on it and couldn’t be happier with what I’m seeing. When I first turned it on it came up in normal filter and lamp mode and was way to bright for my eyes.

About Lens Memory and Auto Switching I made the video bellow that shows how they works in a 2.40:1 screen (74").

I´m talking in portuguese but you can see and understand ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HldH2Z5Hs0o

My 4000 is sitting on a shelf with about 6" of space between the intake vents and the wall. I have about 70 hours on the projector and have had no overtemp issues. My take on the spec is that 4" of clearance is required on all four sides. The more important factor is make sure that the intake vents are drawing room temperature air and not recycling the heated air that is exhausting from the front of the unit. I would also assume that you would take care in routing cables and ensure you are not blocking the intakes.
For the record, its a 20' throw onto a 106" Carada BW Criterion screen in normal mode, normal lamp and it looks jaw-dropping great. Unfortunately, the other picture modes are a tad too dim at this throw range so there may be a ceiling mount in my future.


Has anyone tried to make an extension to the back of the projector that goes from the fan intake out a foot or so to the side so that the projector can sit closer to the wall without pulling in heated air from the front?

Thanks for the links...My only comment is that in reading the first one, he used "canned" air..from my photography experience, this isn't good thing because the propellants can/will leave a residue on the panels. The 2nd link does mention to use a hand blower because of the problem with residue..to quote:

"DO NOT use canned compressed air or an air compressor/tank. Both of these can spit fluids out with the air, and if this hits a panel and leaves a spot, you'll probably want to replace your projector mount with a noose and mount yourself in place."

Steve

But wouldn't a hand blower be pulling in dusty air from the room and then blowing it, unfiltered, directly into the projector?? :confused:

Has anyone tried to make an extension to the back of the projector that goes from the fan intake out a foot or so to the side so that the projector can sit closer to the wall without pulling in heated air from the front?

THE ET-PCE2000 accessory might do something like that, but I've never been able to find good photos of what the rear and bottom look like:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/560167-REG/Panasonic_ET_PCE2000_ET_PCE2000_Cable_Cover_for.html
https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/projector/extranet/main/spec/specfiles/etpce2000.pdf

If Panasonic thinks this accessory is safe, I don't think you need to worry too much about how close the projector is to the wall.

But wouldn't a hand blower be pulling in dusty air from the room and then blowing it, unfiltered, directly into the projector??
There won't be much dust in the small volume of air you're moving with a hand blower (certainly a lot less than is already inside every projector, whether you have visible dust blobs or not). Sanyo actually include a hand blower with some models, along with special holes in the case so you can clean dust blobs without opening it up. I've tried it and it works well, and you actually have the PJ turned on and focussed on the dust while blowing so you can see when the individual pieces finally move (there are a lot of them and they can be stubborn, but you only need to move the largest ones. There will always be some small bits of dust left that aren't visible in normal use).

It would be nice to see Panasonic adopt a similar cleaning system.

Has anyone tried to make an extension to the back of the projector that goes from the fan intake out a foot or so to the side so that the projector can sit closer to the wall without pulling in heated air from the front?

I have mine right aginst the back wall, i cutout the drywall and was able to push the projector right aginst the wall. The other side of the wall is my office so i have also cut the drywall on that side and installed a cold air return wall plate so you dont see the back of the projector at all. this seems to work well plus i dont even hear the system running.

Has anyone paired this thing up with an A/T screen yet, either SMX or Seymour? I think they're both about 1.1 to 1.2 gain. I'm going to be using one of those screens at 115" wide 2.35:1, with a throw distance of about 17 feet, and I'm about a week or two from being ready to order my pj. My room is in the basement with the ability for total light control, so ambient light shouldn't be an issue. I've also been kicking around the Mits HC 6800 as an option as well. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as this will be the first projector I've ever owned, and to say I'm a bit confused is putting it mildly :).

About Lens Memory and Auto Switching I made the video bellow that shows how they works in a 2.40:1 screen (74").

I´m talking in portuguese but you can see and understand ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HldH2Z5Hs0o
Thanks for the demo video. That's the best demonstration of that feature I've seen so far.

And, no doubt about it, Panasonic needs to give users the option to defeat that incredibly annoying and unnecessary "PROCESSING" reminder in the middle of the screen on the next model. Or a firmware fix to eliminate it altogether on this model. I'll bet the first competitor to add the Lens Memory feature won't neglect to offer an opt out on that reminder.

Anybody know if one of these is on display in the greater Southern California region? Panasonic's website isn't particularly good at identifying their dealer network with respect to front projectors.
I'd like to see what this picture(or the new Epson 8500 for that matter) looks like in person.

I'm in San Diego. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

For all those Canadians out there, Panasonic has posted the Ae4000 on their Website. I also received an e-mail from Panasonic Support that they are now shipping in Canada.

I picked up mine in Regina, Sask today.

I'm trading up from a 3000 so I will post my views later once I have a chance to hook it up and burn it in so to speak.

I'm in San Diego. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

PM sent! Thanks - could be some work issues though:(

Guys,

I got my panny last wednesday. Loving it, first projector ever. Holy smokes is it nice. I cant seem to zoom out to make the picture fit my screen. Here are my screen measurements:
126 W
138.5D
58.5 H
The pj is 19' back.
Using the calculator pro, that gives me a screen ratio of 2.17. My initial plan was to get the biggest 2:40 screen, that's why my numbers are off. I thought I could just zoom out and fill my screen with a 2:35 or 2:40 content on my screen, but I can't seem to make it fit. Last night we watch UP and I had about 6" at top (black bar). Then we were watching football (16:9) and I still had the same 6" at top?

If I use the lens on the remote control it zooms out too much.

What am i doing wrong?

My other issue is blurr. Watching football, the close up of the players looked incredible, but when they pan out and show the players on the field or the stadium it looks really blurry. I also noticed some while watching UP on DVD.

I cant seem to find 2.35 ratio on the menu only 16.9 and high fit.

I appreciate any and all help.

Thanks in advance

This is some what a repeat of the question I put in the Bluray players section.

I wanna know whether I should let my Pioneer BDP320 upscale my DVDs or pass it source direct to the Panny for it to scale it using its inbuilt scalers.

What I really wanna know is who has the better scaler, the Pioneer bdp320 or the Panny 4000?

What do most of you guys do in here? Do you let the Panny upscale your DVDs for you, OR you let the Bluray Players do the upscaling ?

Thanks for your help.
Vik

Has anyone paired this thing up with an A/T screen yet, either SMX or Seymour? I think they're both about 1.1 to 1.2 gain. I'm going to be using one of those screens at 115" wide 2.35:1, with a throw distance of about 17 feet, and I'm about a week or two from being ready to order my pj. My room is in the basement with the ability for total light control, so ambient light shouldn't be an issue. I've also been kicking around the Mits HC 6800 as an option as well. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as this will be the first projector I've ever owned, and to say I'm a bit confused is putting it mildly :).

Same boat...first projector, SeymourAV AT screen, 130" diag, the PJ should be arriving this Friday or Monday...photos of the room in my sig

This is some what a repeat of the question I put in the Bluray players section.

I wanna know whether I should let my Pioneer BDP320 upscale my DVDs or pass it source direct to the Panny for it to scale it using its inbuilt scalers.

What I really wanna know is who has the better scaler, the Pioneer bdp320 or the Panny 4000?

What do most of you guys do in here? Do you let the Panny upscale your DVDs for you, OR you let the Bluray Players do the upscaling ?

Thanks for your help.
Vik

You really should do this simple experiment yourself FIRST. And then report your results and conclusions here! Then if you wish to ask your question, it could lead to a more useful discussion.

I wanna know whether I should let my Pioneer BDP320 upscale my DVDs or pass it source direct to the Panny for it to scale it using its inbuilt scalers.
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As you know, sudden power off when PJ is hot is not good for the bulb.
I was wondering if any of you set up your 4000 with a UPS, and if so, is there a way to have the PJ go into shutdown if the power goes out.

Mario

I've got a UPS installed for my projector, just for that reason. If you've got a ceiling mount you might have to do some electrical work in order to get the UPS power to it and remain code complaint (search around the Dedicated Theater Design & Construction forum for "power inlet.") As far as I know there's no direct way to have the unit go into standby, as it doesn't know the power went out! But you may be able to use the trigger input connected to the trigger output of an AVR that's NOT connected to the UPS. That way, when the power goes out the AVR quits, and that loss of trigger signal tells the projector to turn off. Just a guess, I haven't tried it myself.

As promised few screenshots and a pic of my mounted pj

http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5391.jpg

Wojtek

Those ARE some tasty screenshots! You mind if I have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down?

Edit: Sorry, the following procedure won't work as written, as kriktsemaj99 pointed out, using the H-AREA POSITION will crop some of the image. If you can't center your projector horizontally on the screen, then you'll have to live with the 16:9 image being off-center within your 2.35 screen.

Except for adjusting H-AREA POSITION, the rest may be helpful. When I get some time I'll write up a more general procedure for setting up zoom lens memory.

Alas, my face is red. :o

* * *

I had a PM request for help setting up CIH lens memory settings when the projector is not centered horizontally on the screen. Posting it here in case it helps others.

I haven't done this myself, since my 4000 is centered horizontally, but the procedure should be similar to the vertical positioning procedure (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17510238#post17510238) which worked for me. Please let me know if this procedure has problems and I'll edit.


First, Don't use the H-POSITION setting in the POSITION menu, leave it at zero. This is a global setting that affects all aspects, you don't want that. Instead, use H-AREA POSITION in the LENS MEMORY menu.

Display some 2.35 content with bright edges (press LENS button, then ENTER until input is shown). Zoom until image height matches the screen. Put four Post-It notes just outside the screen to make it easy to see overspill. Adjust H-AREA POSITION to get the image as close as possible to being centered, then back off a few points from the limit of 63 to give you room to adjust later.
Use the manual horizontal shift dial on the projector to finish centering the image. Leave the dial at this position from now on.
Fine-adjust focus, zoom and H-AREA POSITION until the 2.35 image fills the screen. Save the 2.35 setting in lens memory.
Now display some 16:9 content and zoom out to the size of the screen. Do not touch the manual horizontal shift again. See if you can center the 16:9 image using only the H-AREA POSITION setting.
If you cannot center the 16:9 image in the previous step, then the projector needs to be moved closer to the centerline of the screen. If that's not possible, rotate the projector slightly until the image is centered. If you do either of these things, then reload the 2.35 lens memory you created earlier and start over at step 1.
Fine-adjust focus, zoom and H-AREA POSITION until the 16:9 image is centered and fills the height of the screen. Save the 16:9 setting in another lens memory.


You may have to repeat the fine adjustments several times to get them right with various input sources.

I don't see how that can work. You can move a 2:35:1 image vertically because the black bars at top and bottom leave some room to move the picture area, but horizontally it's already filling the frame. Changing H-AREA POSITION will just cut off some of the picture (except for a 4:3 picture which has black bars at left and right).

I'm just hoping for powered lens shift on the AE-5000.

I don't see how that can work. You can move a 2:35:1 image vertically because the black bars at top and bottom leave some room to move the picture area, but horizontally it's already filling the frame. Changing H-AREA POSITION will just cut off some of the picture (except for a 4:3 picture which has black bars at left and right).

I'm just hoping for powered lens shift on the AE-5000.

Ah, you're right about that, thanks. H-AREA POSITION will simply crop the image, I'd never tried that. Only the manual shift will work.

But if you have manual lens shift already set up on 16:9 material before you even try to zoom to 2.35:1, then it will work w/out having to use H-shift. I did it and it worked fine.

All,

Pulled the trigger on one of these after seeing it in a local shop. It projects a very nice image straight out of the box (was watching Dark Knight)

I’m in a bit of a debate with myself now on the screen and would welcome any input people may have.

For a long, long time, I’ve wanted to go 2.35:1. I think I still do but I’m worried about resolution loss associated with lens memory and zooming for this kind of setup. My understanding is 16:9 material would be true 1:1 pixel mapping as the panel is 16:9? So I’m starting to wonder if I’d have more resolution (or the image would appear more clear/well defined) with scope material on a CIW setup vs CIH setup.

Could those using this projector with a CIH setup (or not) please convince me I need to go scope vs 16:9? Will I really notice the resolution difference with scope movies between a CIW setups and a CIH setup?

**EDIT: not explicitly stated, but this is my first projector and therefore I have no screen to test on (or I would!)

Cheers,
HTfanatic

there is No Way you can go wrong with the Panasonic 4000, with all the features and the high quality; no one can beat it; the Epson is very nice too but otherwise, no one is offering this kind of quality at that price

For a long, long time, I’ve wanted to go 2.35:1. I think I still do but I’m worried about resolution loss associated with lens memory and zooming for this kind of setup. My understanding is 16:9 material would be true 1:1 pixel mapping as the panel is 16:9? So I’m starting to wonder if I’d have more resolution (or the image would appear more clear/well defined) with scope material on a CIW setup vs CIH setup.

You still have 1:1 mapping when zooming because it's an optical zoom, not a digital zoom.

All,

Pulled the trigger on one of these after seeing it in a local shop. It projects a very nice image straight out of the box (was watching Dark Knight)

I’m in a bit of a debate with myself now on the screen and would welcome any input people may have.

For a long, long time, I’ve wanted to go 2.35:1. I think I still do but I’m worried about resolution loss associated with lens memory and zooming for this kind of setup. My understanding is 16:9 material would be true 1:1 pixel mapping as the panel is 16:9? So I’m starting to wonder if I’d have more resolution (or the image would appear more clear/well defined) with scope material on a CIW setup vs CIH setup.

Could those using this projector with a CIH setup (or not) please convince me I need to go scope vs 16:9? Will I really notice the resolution difference with scope movies between a CIW setups and a CIH setup?

**EDIT: not explicitly stated, but this is my first projector and therefore I have no screen to test on (or I would!)

Cheers,
HTfanatic

Once you go to a 2.35 screen its impossible to go back to a 16x9 screen:cool:

The projector is in what I thought would be it's final mounting location, shelf mounted to one side of the room in an adjacent rooms closet, using a 104inch diagnol that could still be zoomed up to about 112 if i had wanted to.
I suppose it's to be expected but using both the horizontal and vertical lens shift to this degree wrecked the focus uniformity on the pj. Only about 1/3 of the screen can be in sharp focus at any given time, have to lower the focus to compromise for the total screen and i am less than thrilled with the result. Had to double check this was the issue by moving it a foot and a half closer and projecting without any shift and sure enough it shot a beautifully focused image.. that was now way too small.
First projector, so even a soft 104inch image is nice to have.
I did some searching and the only other option seems to be ceiling mounting in a centered location without using the shift and using a seperate wide angle conversion lens. Some old posts around here led me to the navitar screenstar lens which seem like they would do the job just fine. Only problem is the screen star mini would be $650 and the screen star hd would be $1595 (msrps). Both would work with the .7" lcd panel in the panny according to the site. Anyone have any insight into how big of a difference the optics in the two lenses would have?

As promised few screenshots and a pic of my mounted pj
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5388.jpg

http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5389.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5391.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5394.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5398.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5414.jpg
http://voipman.org/ht_pics/IMG_5413.jpg

Wojtek

Nice pics. and screen shots, that looks great! Love to see more owners post some screen shots.

Thanks for the post.

So I’m starting to wonder if I’d have more resolution (or the image would appear more clear/well defined) with scope material on a CIW setup vs CIH setup.

Could those using this projector with a CIH setup (or not) please convince me I need to go scope vs 16:9? Will I really notice the resolution difference with scope movies between a CIW setups and a CIH setup?

Cheers,
HTfanatic

No matter which technique you use with the AE4K you will have exactly the same resolution. Even though you zoom the image to fill a 2.35 screen you will only be using the same image area on the LCD chips as you would if you were showing the 2.35 movie on a 16x9 screen.

The only thing you "really" gain with a CIH setup is that using a wider screen for movies and filling the screen without bars makes the movie "experience" more impressive.

Let me explain... if you have a 120" wide 16x9 (1.78) format screen and a 120" wide 2.35 in screen and you are showing a 2.35 movie... the image area is identical on the two screens... it is just that on the 16x9 screen you have black bars at the top and bottom of the image... but the image is identical in size and resolution.

What scope does for you is it makes the movie experience more "impressive" by going to the wider screen...... so that psychologically the movie experience is much "more impressive" than the TV experience. Those of us who use a 16x9 screen actually have a more impressive TV experience than we do when we watch movies... as the TV image fills the entire frame of the screen.

So we are talking really about psychology and presentation... we are selling the "sizzle" not the "steak."

Now the one caveat to this is that if your room is height limited then you can improve your movie experience by going to a 2.35 screen where your room height would not allow for the same width screen in the 1.78 format.

Same boat...first projector, SeymourAV AT screen, 130" diag, the PJ should be arriving this Friday or Monday...photos of the room in my sig

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the combination, and of course any screen shots you can provide :). That is the screen I'm probably going with as well. I'm not quite ready for it yet though.

So for those of you in Canada, like me, waiting for your pre-ordered Panny from a certain dealer who's price was mentioned in this forum... surprise, they've been cancelled... yay :(

Anyone else found a good price in Canada they'd care to share with me via PM?

Thanks,
Chris

With the AE4000 you have the same resolution watching a 2.35 movie on a 16:9 screen as a 2.35 screen. You lose about 25% resolution of the whole 1080P panel with this method but it is a LOT less expensive.

If you use a proector with an anamorphic lens you gain some resolution. Because the whole 16:9 panel is filled by stretching the image vertically and the anamorphic lens stretches it horizontally to make the 2.35 screen. So if you use an anamorphic lens you do use the whole 1080P resolution. But, this solution is more expensive.

Bob

With the AE4000 you have the same resolution watching a 2.35 movie on a 16:9 screen as a 2.35 screen. You lose about 25% resolution of the whole 1080P panel with this method but it is a LOT less expensive.

If you use a proector with an anamorphic lens you gain some resolution. Because the whole 16:9 panel is filled by stretching the image vertically and the anamorphic lens stretches it horizontally to make the 2.35 screen. So if you use an anamorphic lens you do use the whole 1080P resolution. But, this solution is more expensive.

Bob
Well, In case of Bluray material actual resolution is the same as there are no anamorphic disks in this format. Your statement is true if you use anamorphic titles in DVD format.
In case of bluray, what you "gain" or should I say do not loose is some brightness if you use an anamorphic lens, but on the other hand you add extra optical elements which will not improve picture quality....
Wojtek

You lose about 25% resolution of the whole 1080P panel with this method but it is a LOT less expensive.

If you use a proector with an anamorphic lens you gain some resolution. Because the whole 16:9 panel is filled by stretching the image vertically and the anamorphic lens stretches it horizontally to make the 2.35 screen. So if you use an anamorphic lens you do use the whole 1080P resolution. But, this solution is more expensive.

Bob

This is not quite true, Bob--if that is your real name. ;) Using an anamorphic lens will use the entire height of the LCD panels, all 1080 pixels, but it won't have increased source resolution.

2.40 aspect Blu-ray images are about 800 pixels high. Stretching those 800 pixels to 1080 will increase brightness by 25%, but it can't create resolution that's not there.

Also the stretched image can introduce artifacts on test patterns, although on normal images it's not noticeable.

Thanks for the demo video. That's the best demonstration of that feature I've seen so far.

Thanks.

Here you can see another video that I've made, now using two screens commanded by the triggers of AE4000. The sizes are 128" (2.40:1) and 100" (1.78:1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BkMkzk3P3w

The screens were made by a local brand: www.avaprojecta.com.br

Hey just wanted to let everyone know i just picked up my pt-ae 4000 today on the way home from work, i'm in AB canada and my retialer recieved 5 in today. I had one preordered so i stoped by and picked it up, i'm upgrading from the pt-ae 3000 so i'll let everyone know what i think of the difference between the 2 units after i've had time to play with the new one.

Is anyone else having issues with focus uniformity when using both horizontal and vertical lens shift? Just want to confirm if mine is a dud or not before I go through the trouble of mounting it differently.

Guys, I just got the AE4000 ceiling mounted. I appear to have geometry issues.. the top left and right are inward (trapezoidal) Why is it not rectangular out of the box? How can i fix this? Lens shift and zoom are not helping to correct this problem.

Guys, I just got the AE4000 ceiling mounted. I appear to have geometry issues.. the top left and right are inward (trapezoidal) Why is it not rectangular out of the box? How can i fix this? Lens shift and zoom are not helping to correct this problem.

That to me sounds like the projector is mounted too high for the location of your screen. I too am looking at picking up this amazing projector. What his the distance of the top of the screen from the ceiling, the distance of the projector lens from the screen, and the distance of the projector from the ceiling?

From what i have read, the ideal situation is to not use any correction if at all possible, rather just properly placing the screen and projector in relation to each other at the screen size you have. Its possible that lowering the projector or raising the screen may fix this problem..

Well ordered my 4000 unit should be here in a few days. Upgrading from panny ptl500u about 6 years old but still going strong. I cant wait to see the difference.

Guys, I just got the AE4000 ceiling mounted. I appear to have geometry issues.. the top left and right are inward (trapezoidal) Why is it not rectangular out of the box? How can i fix this? Lens shift and zoom are not helping to correct this problem.

If the keystone has not been accidentally set to something other than default, either the projector is too high or it's tilted. That is, the whole unit is too far up (unlikely, I think, unless your ceiling is very tall), or the projector is not level. If it's too high, you'll need to lower it. Otherwise, be certain the mount isn't angling the projector downward.

Guys, I just got the AE4000 ceiling mounted. I appear to have geometry issues.. the top left and right are inward (trapezoidal) Why is it not rectangular out of the box? How can i fix this? Lens shift and zoom are not helping to correct this problem.

Sound like the PJ isn't level and the light beam isn't perpendicular to the screen; downward angle. This can be corrected with the "keystone" adjustment but that would be a very last resort since it would negatively affect resolution.

Steve

That to me sounds like the projector is mounted too high for the location of your screen. I too am looking at picking up this amazing projector. What his the distance of the top of the screen from the ceiling, the distance of the projector lens from the screen, and the distance of the projector from the ceiling?

From what i have read, the ideal situation is to not use any correction if at all possible, rather just properly placing the screen and projector in relation to each other at the screen size you have. Its possible that lowering the projector or raising the screen may fix this problem..

Thankyou, sure enough i had too much tilt physically to the projector, raising it up fixed the problem.

Is anyone else having issues with focus uniformity when using both horizontal and vertical lens shift? Just want to confirm if mine is a dud or not before I go through the trouble of mounting it differently.

If you're using both horizontal and vertical shift, then the projector must be located far from the centerline of the screen.

That means the distance from the lens to the nearest corner is going to be much less than the distance to the farthest corner. So it's not surprising you can't get them both in focus.

This is not a defect in the projector, it's the nature of optics. If you really want to fix it, then you need to reposition the projector.

do any of the big online retailers like projector people or visual apex ship to canada if not doesn anyone know a place online that sells this projector and ships to canada

This is not quite true, Bob--if that is your real name. ;) Using an anamorphic lens will use the entire height of the LCD panels, all 1080 pixels, but it won't have increased source resolution.

2.40 aspect Blu-ray images are about 800 pixels high. Stretching those 800 pixels to 1080 will increase brightness by 25%, but it can't create resolution that's not there.

Also the stretched image can introduce artifacts on test patterns, although on normal images it's not noticeable.


Also as noted several times in the AE3000 forum, Cine4home compared the zoom v anamorphic lens option on the 3000 and found no relevant difference in brightness (with the zoom out brightness increases), optical or other performance areas and in some ways they preferred the zoom method with the 3000.

Hello there everyone,

We are just about to start building our new home. Much to my wife's disgust, it contains a dedicated home theater room with total light control. It measures 6.1 x 4.8 metres (yep, I am an Aussie). This equates to about 23.2 feet x 15.7 feet wide. The seating position will be about 15-17 feet from the screen. Ideally, as I can control the light (and love my movies B-I-G), I would love a 130 inch screen or even up to a 150 inch screen. Budget is about 2K for the projector. I already have purchased my Bowers and Wilkins in-walls, Rotel processor and amplifier and have an HD-DVD player (early adopter!) and a PS3 for my Blu-Ray source. My question is will the Panny 4000 be a good choice for this installation? Would I need a screen with a 1.1 or 1.2 gain or should I be OK at the largest screen size with a standard screen. Was also considering an acoustically transparent screen so that I could hide the front in-walls. Would this affect the performance of the projector?

Would welcome your feedback. To give you an idea, the last projector that I purchased was an Infocus LP340, which I bought for $7200 in 2001 (I can trace my wife's disgust back to this time!). Also, anyone know of a trustworthy supplier that will ship internationally at a reasonable rate. You guys are spoilt. I can guarantee that this projector will probably sell for over 4K here in Australia.

Thanks so much. Love the site!

Greg

We are just about to start building our new home. Much to my wife's disgust, it contains a dedicated home theater room with total light control. It measures 6.1 x 4.8 metres (yep, I am an Aussie). This equates to about 23.2 feet x 15.7 feet wide. The seating position will be about 15-17 feet from the screen. Ideally, as I can control the light (and love my movies B-I-G), I would love a 130 inch screen or even up to a 150 inch screen. Budget is about 2K for the projector. I already have purchased my Bowers and Wilkins in-walls, Rotel processor and amplifier and have an HD-DVD player (early adopter!) and a PS3 for my Blu-Ray source. My question is will the Panny 4000 be a good choice for this installation? Would I need a screen with a 1.1 or 1.2 gain or should I be OK at the largest screen size with a standard screen.
You didn't say whether you're considering a 16:9 or 2.35 screen. In either case, if you love your movies big, and your seating distance is 15-17 feet, I'd say you want the largest screen you can fit on the shorter wall.

I don't have any experience with AT screens, I sized my screen to allow just enough room for two B&W fronts on the sides. I have the AE4000, a 131" 2.35 screen (121"x51", 1.1 gain), and a seating distance of 13-14 feet. The image is not huge from that distance, in fact it wouldn't bother me if it was a tad larger.

With the AE4000 in Cinema1 mode and bulb in eco mode, it's plenty bright, if the room is completely dark. Although I find I prefer the much brighter Normal mode in most circumstances. I'd rather have the pop of the brighter mode than the accuracy of Cinema1, but YMMV. A higher-gain screen might help, but I was on a budget (have a wife too). ;)

If you have the funds, and don't need the lens memory feature, you might be happier with a JVC or other brighter/costlier projector.

But if you're considering a 2.35 screen (and you should), the AE4000 is an excellent choice. A 150" 2.35 screen should work nicely, and would give you a no-compromise 120" 16:9 image.

Hello Everyone, checking back in... You may remember me as the person who had the first failed AE4000, it would die after about 15min of use.

Well, VisualAPEX sent my replacement, and I finally got it hooked up last night. I gotta say I'm very happy with the replacement... Colors look fantastic, it's brighter than my old benq 7700 even in cinema mode, and the contrast is a HUGE improvement. Just fantastic!

The only minor issue I'm still working on? My 40ft HDMI cable doesn't seem to work with this projector. Luckily my backup component video seems to be working fine for 1080p, at least from my XBox... going to continue troubleshooting that one today.

--nw

Did you resolve this problem?

You really should do this simple experiment yourself FIRST. And then report your results and conclusions here! Then if you wish to ask your question, it could lead to a more useful discussion.

Thanks for your suggestion.
As far as my eyes are concerned, The pioneer BDP320 kills Pannys upscaling.
The difference is huge and infact I couldnt imagine I asked such a stupid question. The inbuilt scaler of the Panny 4000 sucks compared to the BDP320.

Vik

What is the cheapest you can buy this projector? I have looked online and everything I see is 2100++???

What is the cheapest you can buy this projector? I have looked online and everything I see is 2100++???

have you looked at the sponsor links at the top of this page? ;)

I have just been informed by Quebec Acoustic that Panasonic Canada has cancelled their pre-order allocation because of QA's "competitive pricing" :rolleyes: :mad:

Wow, just wow! You know what? As much as I want to get the AE4000 I won't be getting anything Panasonic for a long long time. I will go for a Sony SXRD for my first 1080p FP.

Panasonic Canada == EPIC FAILURE

I have just been informed by Quebec Acoustic that Panasonic Canada has cancelled their pre-order allocation because of QA's "competitive pricing" :rolleyes: :mad:

Wow, just wow! You know what? As much as I want to get the AE4000 I won't be getting anything Panasonic for a long long time. I will go for a Sony SXRD for my first 1080p FP.

Panasonic Canada == EPIC FAILURE

Lol are you kidding? I haven't gotten an email yet...

I have just been informed by Quebec Acoustic that Panasonic Canada has cancelled their pre-order allocation because of QA's "competitive pricing" :rolleyes: :mad:

Wow, just wow! You know what? As much as I want to get the AE4000 I won't be getting anything Panasonic for a long long time. I will go for a Sony SXRD for my first 1080p FP.

Panasonic Canada == EPIC FAILURE

Yeah, I dunno where the games are being played but same thing I got from them yesterday. They're offering to sell me an Epson 8500 instead for more $$$. I asked some questions related to the reasons QA gave for the cancellation, which they avoided answering in their reply.

For those of you who didn't get your cancellation yet, or for anyone else interested, here's the relevant start of the message, the remainder is just offers/prices to switch your order to various other projectors:

------------------------------------
Dear customers, ***Please keep this message confidential****

Panasonic Canada just informed us that they will not ship any of the PT-AE4000 projectors that we had on order with them to supply your pre-orders.

We were also told that Quebec Acoustic’s competitive pre-order deal we offered you earlier last month, was with a sales price considered "too low" by them, and was degrading the perceived value of their products!! In our understanding, Canadian laws are supposed to be protecting consumers against any kind of price fixing by manufacturers and/or retailers.

We explained to them that many of our customers that relied on us for their purchase would be impacted by their decision and we tried to convince them that this allocation decision should be revised in order to maintain customer satisfaction... seems like that didn’t work !

...
------------------------------------

Some of the questions to which they made no reference to in their replies:

1) Why keep this confidential? If Panasonic is playing games, people should know that.

2) How did Panasonic know what price you were selling them for? Or, conversely if you have to disclose that,
why didn't they know earlier?

3) You say they are not shipping you any… have they changed their price to you, or you just wont get
any right away? Can you not still turn around and sell them for the promised price when they DO ship them to you?

4) The pre-order price was offered by you, not Panasonic, and should still be honored, by you, in my opinion.
Those of us on the pre-order list have been waiting weeks for any word, and could have had this projector in
our homes sooner if we'd have ordered from the states, which many of us likely will do now.

5) The Epson is not necessarily superior to the Panasonic in a few areas (has no mid-range brightness mode like
the Panny, and does not have a gaming mode like the panny that reduces input lag (quite a measurable difference).
As well, your pricing on the Epson 8500 seems high, I had checked that projector out as well, and as recently as last
week had quotes a couple hundred dollars below yours, even before rebate. So now I feel like we've been inconvenienced,
and are being offered a higher price to make up for it. Lucky us!

Some of the questions to which they made no reference to in their replies:

1) Why keep this confidential? If Panasonic is playing games, people should know that.

2) How did Panasonic know what price you were selling them for? Or, conversely if you have to disclose that,
why didn't they know earlier?

3) You say they are not shipping you any… have they changed their price to you, or you just wont get
any right away? Can you not still turn around and sell them for the promised price when they DO ship them to you?

4) The pre-order price was offered by you, not Panasonic, and should still be honored, by you, in my opinion.
Those of us on the pre-order list have been waiting weeks for any word, and could have had this projector in
our homes sooner if we'd have ordered from the states, which many of us likely will do now.

5) The Epson is not necessarily superior to the Panasonic in a few areas (has no mid-range brightness mode like
the Panny, and does not have a gaming mode like the panny that reduces input lag (quite a measurable difference).
As well, your pricing on the Epson 8500 seems high, I had checked that projector out as well, and as recently as last
week had quotes a couple hundred dollars below yours, even before rebate. So now I feel like we've been inconvenienced,
and are being offered a higher price to make up for it. Lucky us!

Good questions!

EDIT: after I think about it a bit more... it is pretty normal for Panasonic Canada to charge a lot more than the US prices, i.e. price gouging. Just look at the Canadian pricing of their plasma and LCD TVs. Simply amazing isn't it? In essence, I can see Panasonic Canada to pull this trick on QA.

Hi Guys,

Richard from Quebec Acoustic here...
I can confirm this is true, not really confidential, Panasonic will not sell these to us at any price. !! And I am not going to explain in details here what happened since it does not make any sense to us. FYI, Panasonic knows because some customers told the price they got to other dealers, who in turns, told Panasonic. IMO, it is not their business to manage the November "one week" pre-order promo price we had for some of our chosen customers.

We are currently in the process of emailing our customers about that, it is a lengthy process. We will suggest the Epson 8500UB as a direct alternative. Of course we also have many other brands of projectors.

Thanks for your understanding.

Richard
Quebec Acoustic

Wow! I had noticed that the AE4000 had been removed from the QA website and I wondered if something was up!

However, this seems like blatent price fixing! I know of other people who purchased their projectors from other Canadian dealers at $2200 but only because they knew the dealer...so obviously there is some markup room there!

How can Panasonic Canada think that one dealer trying to generate some excitement about a product is undermining the value of their product. Maybe the fact that it can be purchased in the US for $2000 undervalues it in Canada!

Really bad form and mean to pull the deal at this point. It was a limited time preorder special and pulling it at the last minute just creates disgrunted customers.

MAybe the dealer that complained should have been complaining to Panasonic about the cheap pricing in the US and not the limited time preorder special from QA.

Everyone who bought an AE4000 from the US should email Panasonic and tell them where they bought and why! :mad:

Thanks for the help guys – I’m going 2.35:1.

One more quick question about screens, and that is, the whole high contrast grey vs white question.

I’ve talked to a few dealers that are recommending a high contrast grey screen as oppose to white. I understood grey screens were used more when digital projectors started making an appearance on the market as their contrast ratios were not what they are today. Also, they can give better results in a room with ambient light. I wonder if I'm missing something, or maybe should be considering one instead of plain white?

My room is completely light controlled and not finished (yet), so I’ll have full control on wall/ceiling/floor color (which I plan to be a non-reflective dark palette).

Do you guys feel I should be using a high contract grey screen or stick with white? Has anybody tried both with a Panasonic projector and had a preference? I saw the 4k on a white screen and was pretty impressed with black levels in ‘Dark Knight’ (and that was with some ambient light leaking in from the show floor).

Thanks again for the replies to my first question – this forum is really awesome for getting quick and detailed replies to questions!

Cheers,
HTfanatic

Thanks for the help guys – I’m going 2.35:1.

One more quick question about screens, and that is, the whole high contrast grey vs white question.

I’ve talked to a few dealers that are recommending a high contrast grey screen as oppose to white. I understood grey screens were used more when digital projectors started making an appearance on the market as their contrast ratios were not what they are today. Also, they can give better results in a room with ambient light. I wonder if I'm missing something, or maybe should be considering one instead of plain white?

My room is completely light controlled and not finished (yet), so I’ll have full control on wall/ceiling/floor color (which I plan to be a non-reflective dark palette).

Do you guys feel I should be using a high contract grey screen or stick with white? Has anybody tried both with a Panasonic projector and had a preference? I saw the 4k on a white screen and was pretty impressed with black levels in ‘Dark Knight’ (and that was with some ambient light leaking in from the show floor).

Thanks again for the replies to my first question – this forum is really awesome for getting quick and detailed replies to questions!

Cheers,
HTfanatic


With complete light control, go with white....it will give you more "pop".

Just ordered one today.

Panasonic, in my opinion, has become the leader in price gouging in Canada. If at all possible, I would encourage the pre-order customers of Richard's at Quebec Acoustics to buy any other brand of projector. I guess it is time for the buying public in Canada, to boycott Panasonic products.

We have been gouged for years and if these companies want to bully us Canadians, there are ways around it. A prime example, would be Canadians who ordered from Projector People in the US at the $1,999 US price, until Panasonic told them they couldn't sell to Canadians anymore. As stated in other threads, there is no duty on projectors. I downloaded the Custom Canada document that states this.

I have been lucky with all my AV equipment purchases in the past, as I have been able to get US or below US pricing, just by shopping around. The internet is a great tool, when it comes to pricing. You would be surprised of the amount of money you can save.

In closing, I would like to thank Panasonic Canada for making my purchasing decisions much easier.

In closing, I would like to thank Panasonic Canada for making my purchasing decisions much easier.

Yes, I will go for a Sony or an Epson for sure. Thanks, Panasonic Canada!

The max screeen size I can use in my HT room is a 141" wide 2:35.

Can anyone comment based on experience if a screen this large will produce a nice bright image with the 4K? If so what brand and gain screen are you using?

Thank you.

Yes, I will go for a Sony or an Epson for sure. Thanks, Panasonic Canada!

I hate the whole price fixing thing.

Over here in Australia I've seen the PT4000 is listed at over $6000AU so about $5500US. Let them play their games.. We'll just import.

Regards,
Simon

Hi Guys,

Richard from Quebec Acoustic here...
I can confirm this is true, not really confidential, Panasonic will not sell these to us at any price. !! And I am not going to explain in details here what happened since it does not make any sense to us. FYI, Panasonic knows because some customers told the price they got to other dealers, who in turns, told Panasonic. IMO, it is not their business to manage the November "one week" pre-order promo price we had for some of our chosen customers.

We are currently in the process of emailing our customers about that, it is a lengthy process. We will suggest the Epson 8500UB as a direct alternative. Of course we also have many other brands of projectors.

Thanks for your understanding.

Richard
Quebec Acoustic


Thanks for the response Richard, I understand this is frustrating for you too. Just wanted to clear the air for everyone, as it were. Still trying to figure out how I'm going to get my projector (or which one) now...

Any Canadian lawyers on here want to start a class-action price-fixing lawsuit for us? :)

Damn, I'd rather not give my money to Panasonic after this, but I just prefer it over the Epson... argh. Maybe I'll just wait till next year and see what happens. Suffer with my home-brew 1080 for a little while longer.

Visions offered me a semi-reasonable price on the Panny, if I get desperate. Ho-hum.

Maybe we could buy a shipment of AE4000s here in the states and trade them to Canadians for some affordable healthcare and prescription drugs? :rolleyes:

Sorry, I know how frustrating this must be. Can't say I've ever heard a kind word about Panasonic Canada.

So for those of you in Canada, like me, waiting for your pre-ordered Panny from a certain dealer who's price was mentioned in this forum... surprise, they've been cancelled... yay :(

Anyone else found a good price in Canada they'd care to share with me via PM?

Thanks,
Chris

I talked to my local dealer today about this so called cancel, he called his Panasonic rep just to be sure they were not going to get in any trouble for selling their units at a low price, I purchased mine way lower than the QA pricing, a bite more than the us pricing but in CND it didn’t come with a extra bulb but for the price I paid for a Canadian unit with a Canadian warranty I can but a bulb when needed. Anyway the Panasonic rep laughed and he said Panasonic wouldn’t do that, everyone who had preorders there don’t get mad at Panasonic because every other dealer is still getting units for a great price if there is any reason that Panasonic wont **** units to QA its probably something they did if he’s making money selling units at that price why would Panasonic care there making money too, I know of 2 other retailers that are also doing the unit with a spare bulb. I'm not sure why Panasonic would cancel orders it jus doesn’t make sense. the Panasonic rep also said that every retailer buys there units for the same price, there 2 pricing sets, sets of 2 or sets of 3 I won't post the retailer pricing but it’s a bit cheaper to buy them in bulk sets of 3. My view on it is that QA wasn’t making much money off their preorder price and after the first shipment Panasonic told him he wouldn’t expect anymore till Jan/Feb. it was already stated in a email he sent out to numerous people that the next units wouldn’t come until Jan/Feb. There seems to be allot of other Canadian retailers out there that are still receiving units and selling for a great price. It seems QA doesn’t want to lose the preorders and is trying to convince people that the Epson is better and still make a sale.

Just my 2 cents

Wow! I had noticed that the AE4000 had been removed from the QA website and I wondered if something was up!

However, this seems like blatent price fixing! I know of other people who purchased their projectors from other Canadian dealers at $2200 but only because they knew the dealer...so obviously there is some markup room there!

How can Panasonic Canada think that one dealer trying to generate some excitement about a product is undermining the value of their product. Maybe the fact that it can be purchased in the US for $2000 undervalues it in Canada!

Really bad form and mean to pull the deal at this point. It was a limited time preorder special and pulling it at the last minute just creates disgrunted customers.

MAybe the dealer that complained should have been complaining to Panasonic about the cheap pricing in the US and not the limited time preorder special from QA.

Everyone who bought an AE4000 from the US should email Panasonic and tell them where they bought and why! :mad:

a friend of mine at work last year bought the PT-ae 3000 from QA last year and he also had a preorder at visions, they couldn’t give him an arrival date so he kept his QA order and received the unit late November, his other unit from visions did come in until just before Xmas, during the whole process he called QA many times saying that he could get the unit much cheaper at visions, they wouldn’t believe him and said its imposable there selling it below cost, they even claimed to call the Panasonic and complain that this was happening, I was also in the process of looking for a device and decided to wait. In the end my friend got his unit form QA and when his other unit came in at visions I was able to buy it, we split the difference. The visions unit last year was $400 cheaper it seems visions was preordering units at a crazy low price also because by the time they actually had a stock of units around Xmas they wouldn’t budge as much on the price. I asked a manager about why it was much cheaper earlier and they claimed that anything you preorder they seem to give you a better price since basically it’s just passing hands and there giving their customer the best price possible, where when its sitting in their warehouse for months it’s all on borrowed credit so there paying interest. It all makes sense to me, They had their retail pricing on par or slightly under other Canadian retailers since they have a 60 day price protection if u find a lower price anywhere in Canada they will beat it by 5%. Anyway again just my 2 cents on how Panasonic isn’t going to stop retailers from selling their units, if some retailers are complaining maybe there just too greedy and are trying to pull a big profit on the units.

Hi Guys,

Richard from Quebec Acoustic here...
I can confirm this is true, not really confidential, Panasonic will not sell these to us at any price. !! And I am not going to explain in details here what happened since it does not make any sense to us. FYI, Panasonic knows because some customers told the price they got to other dealers, who in turns, told Panasonic. IMO, it is not their business to manage the November "one week" pre-order promo price we had for some of our chosen customers.

We are currently in the process of emailing our customers about that, it is a lengthy process. We will suggest the Epson 8500UB as a direct alternative. Of course we also have many other brands of projectors.

Thanks for your understanding.

Richard
Quebec Acoustic
But I don`t understand Richard,
I find this whole scenario a little bit fishy, like someone at QA or your Panasonic rep made a mistake and QA originally set your pre-order price too low or failed to factor in the cost of a "free" bulb. You are now faced with having to provide these at a loss or find a way out of these orders by offering alternatives. I ordered the Panasonic from you after much consideration about it`s competition, I don`t want a different brand, I have a sales agreement with QA to buy the Panasonic and to just say that Panasonic felt you were degrading the perceived value of their products does not satisfy me, nor should it satisfy others. I would still like some more answers to these questions
1) Why keep this confidential? If Panasonic is playing games, people should know that.

2) How did Panasonic know what price you were selling them for? Or, conversely if you have to disclose that,why didn't they know earlier? MORE TO THE POINT, why should they care? are they not getting their money from QA when you order them, you can sell at whatever price you choose, even at a loss!!!!

3) You say they are not shipping you any… have they changed their price to you, or you just wont get any right away? Can you not still turn around and sell them for the promised price when they DO ship them to you?

4) The pre-order price was offered by you, not Panasonic, and should still be honored, by you, in my opinion.
Those of us on the pre-order list have been waiting weeks for any word, and could have had this projector in
our homes sooner if we'd have ordered from the states, which many of us likely will do now. Except other posts state that this option is no longer available.

5) The Epson is not necessarily superior to the Panasonic in a few areas (has no mid-range brightness mode like
the Panny, and does not have a gaming mode like the panny that reduces input lag (quite a measurable difference).
CIH is a important feature to me.
As well, your pricing on the Epson 8500 seems high, I had checked that projector out as well, and as recently as last
week had quotes a couple hundred dollars below yours, even before rebate. So now I feel like we've been inconvenienced,
and are being offered a higher price to make up for it.
I would like to see the information from Panasonic that states their position on this.

Guys

Hoping to buy this PJ to upgrade my still running AE300 (yes 300, not 3000). One question; I have exactly 11' from the front of my AE300 lens to my 106" diagonal screen. At max zoom the image fills the screen. When I looked at a throw distance calculator for the AE4000 it wouldn't let me select distances less than 11'6". So:

1) Can this PJ still focus when exactly 11' from a screen, or does it have a minimum distance?
2) Can anyone tell me if at 11' from the screen the PJ can throw a 106" diagonal (92"x52") image?

much appreciated!

Guys

Hoping to buy this PJ to upgrade my still running AE300 (yes 300, not 3000). One question; I have exactly 11' from the front of my AE300 lens to my 106" diagonal screen. At max zoom the image fills the screen. When I looked at a throw distance calculator for the AE4000 it wouldn't let me select distances less than 11'6". So:

1) Can this PJ still focus when exactly 11' from a screen, or does it have a minimum distance?
2) Can anyone tell me if at 11' from the screen the PJ can throw a 106" diagonal (92"x52") image?

much appreciated!

My projector is 11' from my 106" screen. Looks great!
I can make my image bigger than my screen buti don't know if it is 110"

Awesome! Thansk Bujee, nice to have that uncertainty removed. Time to upgrade! :)

The max screeen size I can use in my HT room is a 141" wide 2:35.

Can anyone comment based on experience if a screen this large will produce a nice bright image with the 4K? If so what brand and gain screen are you using?

Thank you.

See my screenshots earlier in this thread. I am using Wilsonart DW 1.3 gain DIY screen; 144" wide 2:40. The pj operates in eco-mode plus cinema 1, no calibration as of yet, around 100 hrs.

Wojtek

Hi Guys,

Trust me that we would prefer getting all those AE4000 sales to happend for obvious reasons (we are not a non-profit organisation), than getting massive cancellations and mad customers. Quebec Acoustic has a very good reputation for excellent customer service. We are not fishing, and we never did. This falls on us in a very bad time just before Holidays. My sincere apologies for our customers.

Please understand that right now we have to handle a large load of calls and emails... but if anyone wants to discuss that over the phone, feel free to call me directly.

Regards,

Richard
Quebec Acoustic

My AE4000 will be delivered tomorrow. I'm wondering if the hole pattern for the mount is much different than my AE900 I replacing. Its a homemade mount using some pipe and a piece of Lexan.

My AE4000 will be delivered tomorrow. I'm wondering if the hole pattern for the mount is much different than my AE900 I replacing. Its a homemade mount using some pipe and a piece of Lexan.

Don't know the answer, but here's a link to the AE4000 CAD drawing that shows hole measurements:

https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/projector/extranet/main/products/ae4000/PT-AE4000.pdf

Please be advised that Quebec Acoustic is no longer an authorized dealer of
Panasonic products. This decision was not based on their pricing policies but
on numerous other factors which we are not able to discuss.
*********
OOOPS!!!

Steve

Hi Guys,

Trust me that we would prefer getting all those AE4000 sales to happend for obvious reasons (we are not a non-profit organisation), than getting massive cancellations and mad customers. Quebec Acoustic has a very good reputation for excellent customer service. We are not fishing, and we never did. This falls on us in a very bad time just before Holidays. My sincere apologies for our customers.

Please understand that right now we have to handle a large load of calls and emails... but if anyone wants to discuss that over the phone, feel free to call me directly.

Regards,

Richard
Quebec Acoustic
Well Richard, QA no longer has that excellent reputation.
Here is part of Panasonic Canada`s response to my email explaining their position, I have removed the dealers full name so as not to be blocked, but we all know who it is;

Thank you for your email to Panasonic Canada Inc.

Please be advised that QA is no longer an authorized dealer of
Panasonic products. This decision was not based on their pricing policies but
on numerous other factors which we are not able to discuss.

Please be advised that QA is no longer an authorized dealer of
Panasonic products. This decision was not based on their pricing policies but
on numerous other factors which we are not able to discuss

JMG, I think you should take a step back and try to look at this from other perspectives other than your own dissapointed one. I can understand the dilema that QA is now in, and your badgering them for something that isn't even in their control (from what we know, this was surely Panasonic's decision to not sell to them, not QA's decision to stop carrying Panasonic).

The big question is why? My guess, and it's just that a guess, is perhaps Panasonic did see how low they had them priced, and it was below a price they demand their resellers to charge. Now, I noticed a comment just up the page about how Panasonic has no say so in what their product is sold to the end user for, this is incorrect.

I have a vendor myself (I'm not even in the A/V business btw) that demands I sell their products with a certain markup. I ignore it if I feel like it, but I don't publish that I'm ignoring it. I'm not even sure it's legal here in the U.S. for my manufacturer to demand that of me, but it is printed in their distributor pricing catalog, so I'm guessing it is. They also say that if you sell below their demanded markup, they will remove you as a distributor.

It sure seems like something along those lines may have happened here to QA. I can't think of too many other reasons why Panasonic would all of the sudden quit selling to one of it's distributors, provided they pay their bills on time. Personally, I think it should be against the law for a manufacturer to be able to set the end user price, but apparently it may not be.

We probably won't get any answers out of QA for the time being, because they are no doubt trying to patch up their relationship with Panasonic, and they don't want to screw it up by bashing them online. We also can expect to not hear a thing about it from Panasonic, so we are left guessing.

JMG, I'm sure that you are dissapionted about your PJ preorder being cancelled, but QA has much bigger problems in this ordeal than you do. You can go down the road and get your AE4000 somewhere else, QA has nobody else to go to.

Oh and.. I do realize that Panasonics response says it was not based on their pricing policies. That usually means that's exactly what it was because of, but they don't want to say that (because they don't want us realizing Panasonic is controlling the end user pricing, or perhaps it's even a legal issue for them to do so).

Or it could be something else entirely, but unless QA tells us we won't know.

Or it could be something else entirely, but unless QA tells us we won't know.

My thought is that if QA is in fact no longer an authorized dealer, then they've got nothing to lose by spelling out all of the details right here.

I think it would be a bad idea for QA to spill the beans if they hope to once again becone an authorized dealer. Public venting of the situation wouldn't help his cause.

I was considering ordering the PT-4000 from QA but then this happened.

Just my $.02

Ronzai

Oh and.. I do realize that Panasonics response says it was not based on their pricing policies. That usually means that's exactly what it was because of, but they don't want to say that (because they don't want us realizing Panasonic is controlling the end user pricing, or perhaps it's even a legal issue for them to do so).

Or it could be something else entirely, but unless QA tells us we won't know.

Varrius, you got it quite right...
The reasons we told our customers is the only reasons we were told by Panasonic over the phone (between me and a Montreal Panasonic manager). But they cannot use that as a valid reason to cancel a good standing account... They will of course give an "Official" different story. Which we also have to hear.

Too bad a great relashionship has to end that way, because of one persons decision in management.

P.S. To whom it may concern at Panasonic Canada, please call us directly for some honest discussion. We are open to suggestions. Remember that we offered you to send all our customers orders directly at Panasonic so you can honor them directly. But this was not an options according to that same person.

Richard
Quebec Acoustic

Thanks for the update Richard. Are you listening Panasonic Canada, I'm switching to Epson, even though my first choice was the 4000.:mad:

JMG, I think you should take a step back and try to look at this from other perspectives other than your own dissapointed one. I can understand the dilema that QA is now in, and your badgering them for something that isn't even in their control (from what we know, this was surely Panasonic's decision to not sell to them, not QA's decision to stop carrying Panasonic).

The big question is why? My guess, and it's just that a guess, is perhaps Panasonic did see how low they had them priced, and it was below a price they demand their resellers to charge. Now, I noticed a comment just up the page about how Panasonic has no say so in what their product is sold to the end user for, this is incorrect.

I have a vendor myself (I'm not even in the A/V business btw) that demands I sell their products with a certain markup. I ignore it if I feel like it, but I don't publish that I'm ignoring it. I'm not even sure it's legal here in the U.S. for my manufacturer to demand that of me, but it is printed in their distributor pricing catalog, so I'm guessing it is. They also say that if you sell below their demanded markup, they will remove you as a distributor.

It sure seems like something along those lines may have happened here to QA. I can't think of too many other reasons why Panasonic would all of the sudden quit selling to one of it's distributors, provided they pay their bills on time. Personally, I think it should be against the law for a manufacturer to be able to set the end user price, but apparently it may not be.

We probably won't get any answers out of QA for the time being, because they are no doubt trying to patch up their relationship with Panasonic, and they don't want to screw it up by bashing them online. We also can expect to not hear a thing about it from Panasonic, so we are left guessing.

JMG, I'm sure that you are dissapionted about your PJ preorder being cancelled, but QA has much bigger problems in this ordeal than you do. You can go down the road and get your AE4000 somewhere else, QA has nobody else to go to.

i've talked to other managers at other retialers and panasonic doesnt set the price, i highly doubt that QA lost the pansonic name due to that, ive seen other places selling as cheap as 2200 for the same unit. but ya in the end just find another retialer theres lots out there who have units for a reasonable price. and if QA was selling it for lower then they were told well its there own fault to loose the panasonic, just the fact that they had a lower preorder price the first week then the following weeks dosnt seem right.
its not like they had the units instock and they had them onsale for a week.

Viper,
There are minimum advertising prices from almost every company i sold products from (not A/V related). I can sell for less, thats my call but i can not advertise it. Lost one line of products because of it. Not sure what Panasonic policy is, but wouldn't surprise me at all.
Since than, had to be creative and offer free shipping, bundles and such, but minimum pricing still stands. Wish this pricing BS would be illegal here, but since that means more GST and PST, good luck with that!
Maybe we should start another thread, this one going off topic :)

Looks like this has turned into a Canada pricing thread...

I keep checking back for updated reviews, opinions, screen shots, etc... I am still trying to make a decision between the Epson and Panny but this does not help.

Jon

Not that we are way off topic here is my say. As a small business owner can't say as I have ever had any supply say I have to sell it for a certain price. BUT that being said I know some of our suppliers do require that of some of the BIG BOX stores out their. But you have to realize that this is done to protect the small business that doesn't have the buying power of the large stores out their. Its not always so much that they buy it cheaper but they will take certain items and sell that at or below cost just to get you in the door in hopes you buy something else. So it is not price fixing but keeping the playing field level.

Can any owners comment on the black level difference between one of the cinema modes (cinema1, color1) - vs a brighter mode like "Normal". I have an AX100, and when switching from cinema1 to one of hte brighter modes like (vivid cinema) - the internal filter is removed and the black levels not only get brighter, but also take on a bluish tint which really bothers me, otherwise i'd regularly use vivid cinema. I'm curious how the black levels are in the brighter modes on the ae4000

Which picture mode is closest to the standard?

Projectorcentral says "Cinema 1" in their review but others say "Color 1"...

Which picture mode is closest to the standard?

Projectorcentral says "Cinema 1" in their review but others say "Color 1"...
both of those use the internal filter - my understanding is they are pretty similar. i'm curious how the modes without the internal filter look as far as black level...

Which picture mode is closest to the standard?

Projectorcentral says "Cinema 1" in their review but others say "Color 1"...

I use Color 1, and it's very accurate. I have an ISF calibrated Sharp 20000, and the color, to my eye, is no better than the Panasonic Color 1 setting, right out of the box (except for the color saturation, which I run at -4). I'm still shocked that this much projector comes at this low a price. There are some less than ideal things about it, but that's true of any projector on the market.

You didn't say whether you're considering a 16:9 or 2.35 screen. In either case, if you love your movies big, and your seating distance is 15-17 feet, I'd say you want the largest screen you can fit on the shorter wall.

I don't have any experience with AT screens, I sized my screen to allow just enough room for two B&W fronts on the sides. I have the AE4000, a 131" 2.35 screen (121"x51", 1.1 gain), and a seating distance of 13-14 feet. The image is not huge from that distance, in fact it wouldn't bother me if it was a tad larger.

With the AE4000 in Cinema1 mode and bulb in eco mode, it's plenty bright, if the room is completely dark. Although I find I prefer the much brighter Normal mode in most circumstances. I'd rather have the pop of the brighter mode than the accuracy of Cinema1, but YMMV. A higher-gain screen might help, but I was on a budget (have a wife too). ;)

If you have the funds, and don't need the lens memory feature, you might be happier with a JVC or other brighter/costlier projector.

But if you're considering a 2.35 screen (and you should), the AE4000 is an excellent choice. A 150" 2.35 screen should work nicely, and would give you a no-compromise 120" 16:9 image.
Thanks so much for letting me know your thoughts. I was thinking about the 150 inch option, which, as you say, would give me a great 120 inch 16:9 image. Was going to look on Seymour AV for the material. Looks like their prices are pretty good. Sounds like you have a great set-up.
Thanks so much for your reply.
Greg

Does anyone have a recommendation for a ceiling projector mount for a suspended ceiling that is reasonably priced, I have a drop ceiling in my basement. I appreciate any suggetions.

David Sacco

Which picture mode is closest to the standard?

Projectorcentral says "Cinema 1" in their review but others say "Color 1"...

Color 1 is regarded as the REC 709 standard meaning proper HDTV color and other technical spec ranges. It is also regarded as the best grayscale and seen as the "THX" mode used on other video projectors or displays.

MadBryan

I upgraded from the AE-900 to AE-4000 a few weeks ago and my ceiling mount did not fit at all. Three of the AE4000 holes were further apart than my mount plate was wide so I could not even drill it.

I just make a larger adaptor plate (used 1/4" x 8" oak board) and bolted it to my mount. Did not take long but had to find all the parts required (quick trip to hardware store).

The same size mounting bolts are used though.

They did the same with the 2000u color1 is what I use and find it great.

ive seen other places selling as cheap as 2200 for the same unit.

I would like to know where you can buy this for Canadian $2,200. Unless of course you are the son-in-law of the store owner, or have had a 25 year business relationship with him.

Ok just got mine setup, out of the box its a dang good pic. Just trying to figure out the 2:35:1 vs 16:9 thing. Does the movie have to be in 2:35:1 to view it in that format? Or can you have a 16:9 image and display it in 2:35:1?

You need a 2.35:1 screen to make use of the zoom feature. If you do then you can zoom a 2.35:1 source to fill the entire screen (the black bars would be above and below your screen frame). 16:9 material will be displayed in the centre of the screen with 'unprojectored' areas to the left and right. You could zoom 16:9 material to fill the screen but you would be cutting of the top and bottom of the image.

I recently received my Panny AE4000u. Blu Ray/Hi def content looks great. However, I have noticed something while looking at the PJ's menus, zoom/focus adjustment screen, and color bar pattern.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2922/img0683g.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6610/img0694oz.jpg

I find the second image the most intriguing, as it is not consistent.

Its almost like I can see ghosting of straight lines. Is this normal with this LCD technology? Any other owners see the same thing to a certain degree? This doesn't seem to affect image quality of content .. but how would I know for sure -- maybe I'm missing out on a better potential image.

Hi Burt, I'm getting ghosting as well, but was just figuring it was my source, which is only 480i and a long run of only average quality component cable... I've been trying to think where I can borrow a 1080 or 24p source to test/compare to...

Would be interested in hearing if anyone else sees the ghosting...

Just went and had a tutu and found I can reset the xbox to output to 1080 (never tried before since I didn't have anything that could display it) - wickedly sharper, was trying it with the lord of the rings dvd (so not a true HD source), but the best I can do at the moment, and I still have the ghost/bluring - particularly on dark scenes with light/white writing like credits etc...

Its not noticable during play, but just text type scenes..

Is this likely to be a projector issue? or introduced from the cable or source, I don't see it when I play to the TV, but its a lot smaller so not as easy to notice...

You need a 2.35:1 screen to make use of the zoom feature. If you do then you can zoom a 2.35:1 source to fill the entire screen (the black bars would be above and below your screen frame). 16:9 material will be displayed in the centre of the screen with 'unprojectored' areas to the left and right. You could zoom 16:9 material to fill the screen but you would be cutting of the top and bottom of the image.
Thanks.

I recently received my Panny AE4000u. Blu Ray/Hi def content looks great. However, I have noticed something while looking at the PJ's menus, zoom/focus adjustment screen, and color bar pattern.

I find the second image the most intriguing, as it is not consistent.

Its almost like I can see ghosting of straight lines. Is this normal with this LCD technology? Any other owners see the same thing to a certain degree? This doesn't seem to affect image quality of content .. but how would I know for sure -- maybe I'm missing out on a better potential image.

Burt, this is normal, I see exactly the same artifacts. The 3000 had them as well:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17419102#post17419102

I'm guessing it's the smoothscreen feature interacting with areas of contrasting color, but have never seen a definitive explanation. I don't see it in input sources; everything else is tack sharp.

Hi Burt, I'm getting ghosting as well, but was just figuring it was my source, which is only 480i and a long run of only average quality component cable... I've been trying to think where I can borrow a 1080 or 24p source to test/compare to...

Would be interested in hearing if anyone else sees the ghosting...

Just went and had a tutu and found I can reset the xbox to output to 1080 (never tried before since I didn't have anything that could display it) - wickedly sharper, was trying it with the lord of the rings dvd (so not a true HD source), but the best I can do at the moment, and I still have the ghost/bluring - particularly on dark scenes with light/white writing like credits etc...

Its not noticable during play, but just text type scenes..

Is this likely to be a projector issue? or introduced from the cable or source, I don't see it when I play to the TV, but its a lot smaller so not as easy to notice...

It's probably the source, DVD is very limited. Credits on Blu-ray discs are incredibly sharp. You need a Blu-ray player! :p

It's probably the source, DVD is very limited. Credits on Blu-ray discs are incredibly sharp. You need a Blu-ray player! :p

Those examples of ghosting Burt's presenting aren't from a DVD source; they're the projector's built-in focus screen and color bars. Those should be rock-solid with no ghosting, even with the "smooth-screen" technology. I have an old Panny PT-AE1000 with the same focus screen and it's sharp as a tack with no ghosting at all. I'd be concerned if I were you, but I'm interested in hearing other owners chime in. And I'm very surprised that Bob Whitefield posted that it was "normal" for the 3000 model; the focus-screen example is pretty extreme! Maybe something has radically changed since my good ol' 1000, but it seems like something's gone wrong somewhere. My ancient model does NOT look like that.

I currently have an AE-900 and am contemplating upgrading to the AE-4000 for Xmas. Can you let me know your thoughts on how much better the picture is with your upgrade. Also is the AE-4000 quieter than the AE-900? My AE-900 is located about 3 ft above my seating location, and I can definately hear it during quiet passages (which I'd love to remedy).

jcg

MadBryan

I upgraded from the AE-900 to AE-4000 a few weeks ago and my ceiling mount did not fit at all. Three of the AE4000 holes were further apart than my mount plate was wide so I could not even drill it.

I just make a larger adaptor plate (used 1/4" x 8" oak board) and bolted it to my mount. Did not take long but had to find all the parts required (quick trip to hardware store).

The same size mounting bolts are used though.

jcg,

I upgraded from the AE-900 to the AE-4000. You will find it has much better blacks (the AE-900's black was more of a dark gray); the colors are better, even out of the box; the focus is sharper and it is much brighter. The AE-900 was not really that good with HDTV but the AE-4000 with the CFI feature enabled is great.
As far as noise goes, I feel that it is quieter than the AE-900. In eco mode, you can barely hear it.
Overall, I am happy with it and I am sure you would be too.

Those examples of ghosting Burt's presenting aren't from a DVD source; they're the projector's built-in focus screen and color bars.
I know, I was responding to moonglow's comment about the credits on a DVD.

Those should be rock-solid with no ghosting, even with the "smooth-screen" technology. I have an old Panny PT-AE1000 with the same focus screen and it's sharp as a tack with no ghosting at all. I'd be concerned if I were you, but I'm interested in hearing other owners chime in. And I'm very surprised that Bob Whitefield posted that it was "normal" for the 3000 model; the focus-screen example is pretty extreme! Maybe something has radically changed since my good ol' 1000, but it seems like something's gone wrong somewhere. My ancient model does NOT look like that.
Well, I could be wrong. I assumed this was normal since I've never seen an AE3000 or 4000 that didn't look like this, but then I haven't seen many examples. Maybe it's a convergence issue.

Steel, how about posting a screenshot from your 1000 so we can see how it looks without the ghosting?

Anyone have a 4000 that doesn't have this ghosting? If so, would you mind posting a picture?

Thanks Bob and Dr Mo for the mounting info. Sitting here waiting on UPS is like watching water boil. I wont be able to hook it up till Sunday (ooo nevermind he's here)

Bob - Thanks for your input and for confirming that this is seen on your AE4000u as well... Steel says his AE1000 does not do this, but as you said Bob, you believe this to be a side effect of the Smoothscreen Technology. Does the older AE1000 have Smoothscreening?

Moonglow - Definitely pick up a BD player. They are so much fun. The ghosting/blurring on text might be due to slight panel convergence which is normal on these LCD pjs. Can you see it at seating distance?

If anyone else can confirm/deny or take screenshots to post'em that would be great!

I am currently debating between a new plasma or a projector. If I go with a projector I will be sitting 9 feet from the screen. What is the largest 16:9 screen size you would recommend? If the largest size is only 60- 65", would I be better off with a projector or getting a nice plasma?

My projector would sit above the top of the screen. If I wanted to make use of the auto zoom function...I would have to adjust the lens shift each time but the focus and zoom would be stored in memory correct?

I am currently debating between a new plasma or a projector. If I go with a projector I will be sitting 9 feet from the screen. What is the largest 16:9 screen size you would recommend? If the largest size is only 60- 65", would I be better off with a projector or getting a nice plasma?

IMHO you could easily do between 100-120" at that distance. I sit at 10' and my 2.35 screen is 110" wide. I wish I had done 120".

Size of the screen also depends on 16x9 or 2.35.

bought the 8100 under the BB deal, and after a week of evaluation, I'm thinking that the 4000 is still where I want to be, even for $800 more - BUT - lumens are an issue for me and I want to make sure I'm not missing something. PC reports that the 8100 in "Living Room" mode and the 4000 in "Normal" mode as being in the 9xx lumen range. Despite throwing a 144" screen from 17' I have found the living room mode on the 8100 acceptable for any time but the middle of a sunny day, when, frankly, no pj would really suffice (light walls, glass on 4 sides, shiny wood floor, painted screen). I have not had a real use for the dynamic mode of the 8100. All of these observations make me think that I won't be missing the brightness of the 8100 moving to the 4000 - Am I missing something? Can anyone confirm that the two modes are actually of equal brightness?

heck - while I'm at it - one other thing - I don't see digital noise on the 8100 EXCEPT when there is a cut (shift from one scene to another) where I see clear blocky pixelation every time. Is this just a compression artifact from my fios hdtv service (at a scene cut the decompression overhead jumps) that I just couldn't see with my dimmer ae900 or is there some video processing issue with the 8100 - Asking this here just because I'm looking to switch to the AE4000 and on the second one, comparing to my old ae900.

Responce to the ghosting issue:

The internal charter and color bar generator may not be of broadcast quality.

The real test would be to input the color bar information from a test generator or a test disk via blue ray. If it is still there the projector processing is definitely a problem. The indication would be enhancement over shoot on vertical edges. A good bandwidth freq. test will tell the truth here.

I am currently debating between a new plasma or a projector. If I go with a projector I will be sitting 9 feet from the screen. What is the largest 16:9 screen size you would recommend? If the largest size is only 60- 65", would I be better off with a projector or getting a nice plasma?

I agree with ejhuzy, even from 9', a big screen is desirable. The THX recommendation is that the horizontal viewing angle for the farthest seat be 36 degrees, and 40 degrees is preferred.

http://www.thx.com/cinema/builtTHX/screen.html

You would need a 92" 16:9 screen to get a 40 degree viewing angle from 9'. But for a 2.35 aspect screen (highly recommended), you would want a 115" diagonal 2.35 screen to ensure the 16:9 image remains 40 degrees.

http://www.displaywars.com/92-inch-16x9-vs-115-inch-235x1

Due to wall constraints, I have a 33 degree angle for 16:9 material, and 43 degrees for 2.35, and wouldn't mind if the 16:9 image was a big larger.

In short, a 65" plasma just won't cut it. Once you experience a big screen, you'll understand just how immersive and special it makes the viewing experience, and you'll never settle for a TV again.

I recently received my Panny AE4000u. Blu Ray/Hi def content looks great. However, I have noticed something while looking at the PJ's menus, zoom/focus adjustment screen, and color bar pattern.

Its almost like I can see ghosting of straight lines. Is this normal with this LCD technology? Any other owners see the same thing to a certain degree? This doesn't seem to affect image quality of content .. but how would I know for sure -- maybe I'm missing out on a better potential image.

This looks like an artifact either of image compression (such as jpeg) or image sharpening/edge enhancement. You often see such halos on compressed images (particularly simple ones like your test patterns which make the halos more visible) or when images have been sharpened (since changing the color a bit at the edges of things to enhance contrast is mostly what "sharpen" does). You can try it yourself -- just make a bar pattern in photoshop or whatever, and then save it as a low-quality jpeg, then reopen it and sharpen/sharpen edges. I guess the question is whether the test pattern stored in the projector has the halo already in it, or whether the projector is automatically sharpening it up a bit before projecting. You could test that by connecting your computer up and projecting your own (1920x1080) test pattern -- but if you do, make sure you've set all the projector's enhancement settings to their lowest settings (which may be below 0 in some cases, I don't remember for the AE4000).

Correct, you will need to reduce all enhancements on the projector. Again, use an external test pattern. A Muti-burst test pattern will tell it all.

This looks like an artifact either of image compression (such as jpeg) or image sharpening/edge enhancement. You often see such halos on compressed images (particularly simple ones like your test patterns which make the halos more visible) or when images have been sharpened (since changing the color a bit at the edges of things to enhance contrast is mostly what "sharpen" does). You can try it yourself -- just make a bar pattern in photoshop or whatever, and then save it as a low-quality jpeg, then reopen it and sharpen/sharpen edges. I guess the question is whether the test pattern stored in the projector has the halo already in it, or whether the projector is automatically sharpening it up a bit before projecting. You could test that by connecting your computer up and projecting your own (1920x1080) test pattern -- but if you do, make sure you've set all the projector's enhancement settings to their lowest settings (which may be below 0 in some cases, I don't remember for the AE4000).

I think you and azgard may be right, the internal color bars on the AE4000 might be stored as a JPEG, and we're seeing compression artifacts. Although it surprises me they would implement it that way. They still appear with sharpness and detail clarity at 0.

I tried the GetGray calibration DVD (don't have a Blu-ray calibration disc). It has very similar ghosting patterns, I assume they're MPEG compression artifacts. They appear both on the AE4000 and on my Samsung 244t computer monitor, so it's clearly not in the 4000.

AE4000 internal color bars:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1751.jpg

AE4000 internal focus pattern:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1756.jpg

GetGray color bars on AE4000:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1746.jpg

GetGray color bars on Samsung 244t LCD monitor:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1749.jpg

Not MPEG compression artifacts, as your looking at a test with no movement. More likely it is some type of enhancement. This appears as a ringing delay or overshot on a hard edge transition. It’s more noticeable on extreme transition between black and white.

Burt, this is normal, I see exactly the same artifacts. The 3000 had them as well:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17419102#post17419102

I'm guessing it's the smoothscreen feature interacting with areas of contrasting color, but have never seen a definitive explanation. I don't see it in input sources; everything else is tack sharp.

I have it also on the 2000u but not when showing a picture.

Not MPEG compression artifacts, as your looking at a test with no movement. More likely it is some type of enhancement. This appears as a ringing delay or overshot on a hard edge transition. It’s more noticeable on extreme transition between black and white.

Actually in PowerDVD I can see the GetGray test pattern is an MPEG-2 clip, 56 seconds long, that repeats continuously. Shows a data rate between 4 and 6 Mbps.

Thanks for looking into this more. I don't have much time to make a long post so I'll make this quick.

Knowing that you see the same effect on a computer monitor is comforting using the same content, Bob.

Well I do have the Blu Ray DVE cal disk! Managed to take some quick screenshots using a tripod.

Take it for what their worth ... but using the DVE Bluray disk and 1080p test patterns seems to "amplify" the effect more it seems.

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9518/img0703cq.jpg

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/5573/img0704.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3707/img0709xc.jpg

check for any sharpness enhancement settings.
see if that makes a difference.
I don't own this (yet) so I dont know what it might be called.

Regarding screen dimensions is safe to assume that buying the widest screen you can fit in your room is best assuming you are buying a manual screen where by you can always adjust the height of the screen. With the memory function your width can stay constant, with adjustments made only to the height of the image. Correct

David

JCG

I only have a few weeks with the AE4000 logged and for various holiday reasons, have only watched a few BluRay movies and a Vikings football game. Star Trek was the first and makes any projector look nice but GI Joe and Fast & Furious are the two that I have watched recently on both machines for comparison purposes. Terminator Salvation gets the nod this weekend.

Keep in mind that 1800 hours on the AE900 vs 20 hours on the AE4000 can account for some differences but here goes - both machines on Cinema 1.

The color is fuller and brighter on the AE4000, no question about it. The car colors in Fast & Furious are really bold and pop off the screen. I do not recall the same with the AE900 as the colors were there but a little flatter if I can use that term.

The display is brighter which causes me to notice more reflected light so I may have to address the walls around the screen now. I did not notice this much with the AE900. Also, the economy mode is actually quite acceptable whereas it was not with the AE900 (bulb life may have something to do with this)

The resolution is obviously better by spec and I actually noticed it in the closer up shots. I sit 12-13' feet from a 100" BW screen so it should not be real noticeable but it is better resolution, I just am not sure why or why I feel that way.

The unit is very quiet and I can not tell if it is on or off. I sit under it and it is maybe a 1'-2' forward of my seat. It does not even make the rev up noise when you turn it off. This was a pleasant surprise considering that the projector is quite a bit larger and I thought that the fan may be larger also.

In summary, the picture is better with better color and the noise is just not there. As stated before, the projector is much bigger and has a larger hole pattern so this needs to be addressed if you are using your current mount.

The number of new features is amazing even though I just leave it at Cinema 1 for Blu Ray with a few of the recommended settings here and have got the best results so far. You can spend hours messing with the AE-4000 but that does not get the movie watched. I will spend some more time over the holidays to calibrate it better but it seems to work well out of the box.

It is a very nice projector as many others have said and it is hard to imagine it being much better for the money. I think it is the proverbial $20 bottle of wine, you can spend a lot more but not get a whole lot unless you triple the price.

A few question before I order this baby:

1) Regarding screen dimensions is safe to assume that buying the widest screen you can fit in your room is best assuming you are buying a manual screen where by you can always adjust the height of the screen. With the memory function your width can stay constant, with adjustments made only to the height of the image. Correct

2) Where can I get cabling: HDMI, and component in 40foot runs without paying a fortune?

3) What inexpensive mounts are out there for this projector. What are other using? Cheif seems to be pretty pricey.

Thanks

A few question before I order this baby:

1) Regarding screen dimensions is safe to assume that buying the widest screen you can fit in your room is best assuming you are buying a manual screen where by you can always adjust the height of the screen. With the memory function your width can stay constant, with adjustments made only to the height of the image. Correct

2) Where can I get cabling: HDMI, and component in 40foot runs without paying a fortune?

3) What inexpensive mounts are out there for this projector. What are other using? Cheif seems to be pretty pricey.

Thanks Hdmi and component seem to be priced good and one of the forum sponsers monoprice.

A few question before I order this baby:

1) Regarding screen dimensions is safe to assume that buying the widest screen you can fit in your room is best assuming you are buying a manual screen where by you can always adjust the height of the screen. With the memory function your width can stay constant, with adjustments made only to the height of the image. Correct

2) Where can I get cabling: HDMI, and component in 40foot runs without paying a fortune?

3) What inexpensive mounts are out there for this projector. What are other using? Cheif seems to be pretty pricey.

Thanks

Check the site sponsors at the top of the page..I bought several excellent quality cables from BJC; Monoprice is less expensive and gets good reviews. There is a huge profit margin in cables; that is one reason why Best Buy and other retailers push cables with electronic purchases.

40' may be pushing the limit with HDMI and you may need to add a "booster".

Steve

Burt - can easily see the ghosting when seated (from about ummm 13 ft back)....

I went duh a bit when people started talking about the difference between the DVD source and the test images - hadn't stopped to think - the useful part is that I get it on both ... playing text from a DVD source (even upscaled to 1080) has the blur/ghosting and so does the projector test image (and menus)... which would seem to suggest that its the projector (or a common issue with the two image types?)...

Should I be contacting my retailer?

I got this projector today. First impressions: it is blurry! I have tried playing with the focus and sharpness while showing test patterns from the DVE Blu-Ray and the crappy focus pattern on the projector to no avail. I cannot make the menus on the projector look in focus. They always look blurry and have a kinda smear look to them up close. I have only 4 hours to decide if I want to return this to the projector people. Can anyone give any suggestions? For reference, at the moment I am using a 106" Hi-Power from 13 feet. I just sold my 1080UB in order to buy this projector and I am wondering if I made a mistake.

By the way, I am aware of the smoothscreen technology on this projector. But every review I have read has commented that this newest model is just as sharp as any other projector.

I got this projector today. First impressions: it is blurry! I have tried playing with the focus and sharpness while showing test patterns from the DVE Blu-Ray and the crappy focus pattern on the projector to no avail. I cannot make the menus on the projector look in focus. They always look blurry and have a kinda smear look to them up close. I have only 4 hours to decide if I want to return this to the projector people. Can anyone give any suggestions? For reference, at the moment I am using a 106" Hi-Power from 13 feet. I just sold my 1080UB in order to buy this projector and I am wondering if I made a mistake.

If in doubt, why not return it and try an Epson 8500? You'll be one of the very few who have examined both, and you can tell all of us who can't decide which looked better to you ;)

Seriously though, find all the enhancement controls you can and turn them all as low as possible, then hook up your computer and look at some text and some simple color patterns, and compare what you see to what you see on your computer monitor; also compare some 1080p trailers on the projector and your monitor. Ultimately, the question is whether movies and TV (not test patterns) look less sharp on the projector than what you want; "blurriness" in test patterns may just be sharpness enhancements that actually make video images look better. Let us know what you find!

So I had my wife view the projector for the first time just now to get her impressions. I only told her that I thought their might be a problem with the projector and I wanted to see what she noticed. I did not tell her what I thought was wrong. I put on a Blu-Ray and we watched for about 5 mins. I stopped it and asked her what she noticed compared to the previous projector. Her first words were: "It is not as clear". She then asked me if we were watching a Blu-Ray or a DVD!

So my wife, who could really care less about home theater even noticed the picture's blurriness. We tried turning up the Sharpness and Detail Clarity and it helped a bit, but still I think the image is unacceptable.

I am trying to decide if I should return it and try another 4000 or just get another projector. I really want to use the Lens memory features on the 4000, so I'm bummed.

I've always used the compressed air method with some precautions: do not shake the can, apply short bursts (try one first), and never tilt the can -nozzle up- (to get a better access, put the PJ on one side). I agree that the second method is safer.

Alternatively, you can use CO2 "cans" made specifically for such purpose.
SOmething like:
CO2 Dust Cleaner (http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ItemsDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&departmentId=10407&categoryId=10448&itemID=73917)

Wojtek

Burt, the ringing reminds me of scan velocity modulation common with CRTs. Unless it's a byproduct of Panasonics smoothscreen tech, I don't know what it might be on an LCD. It doesn't look like any kind of edge contrast enhancement that I've seen, but I would definately try to rule that out as the previous poster recommended by turning off all detail enhancements and reducing sharpness to 0. Also, I know it sounds obvious, but if you're coming from a 720p projector, make sure your BD player is set to output 1080p/24. It may to 1080p automatically, but you'll likely still need to manually activate 24p output.

If routing the HDMI signal through an AVR for audio prior to sending it to the display, many older AVRs may not support pass-through of 1080p/24. In most cases, if the AVR is the crutch, you probably wouldn't get a signal at all when feeding it 1080p. But, it's worth checking.

InPhase,

It seems that you have a defective projector. The focus on mine is sharp and clear. I am sure others posting here would say the same. If you want the lens memory functions, then return it and get another AE-4000. The 8500UB does not have that feature.

I got this projector today. First impressions: it is blurry! I have tried playing with the focus and sharpness while showing test patterns from the DVE Blu-Ray and the crappy focus pattern on the projector to no avail. I cannot make the menus on the projector look in focus. They always look blurry and have a kinda smear look to them up close. I have only 4 hours to decide if I want to return this to the projector people. Can anyone give any suggestions? For reference, at the moment I am using a 106" Hi-Power from 13 feet. I just sold my 1080UB in order to buy this projector and I am wondering if I made a mistake.

It's been awhile since I used the disc, but I believe DVE features a white on black geometry grid. Use that to check panel alignment. I've found that much over 1/2 pixel misconvergence will impact even perceived clarity. Some of the pix I've seen in this thread appear to have well over 1 pixel misalignment.

Misconvergence bothered me so much on the Sony Ruby (before I had it fixed), I decided then that I'd never buy another 3 panel projector that didn't incorporate user adjustable panel alignment unless reviews and user reports instilled a high level of confidence in the factories consistency in seating. I've been happy with the alignment feature on my current VW60. But it's been a couple years and the AE4000 has given me the upgrade bug again.

I'm still looking for more comparisons from people coming from 1080p SXRD like I am. Most of the glowing endorsements I've read seem to be from people making the leap from 720p. And the "professional" reviews I've read, while unanimously positive when compared to previous generation LCDs, have seemed a little too ambiguous, if not arbitrary in their testing and comparisons otherwise.

I think you and azgard may be right, the internal color bars on the AE4000 might be stored as a JPEG, and we're seeing compression artifacts. Although it surprises me they would implement it that way. They still appear with sharpness and detail clarity at 0.

I tried the GetGray calibration DVD (don't have a Blu-ray calibration disc). It has very similar ghosting patterns, I assume they're MPEG compression artifacts. They appear both on the AE4000 and on my Samsung 244t computer monitor, so it's clearly not in the 4000.

AE4000 internal color bars:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1751.jpg

AE4000 internal focus pattern:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1756.jpg

GetGray color bars on AE4000:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1746.jpg

GetGray color bars on Samsung 244t LCD monitor:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1749.jpg

Having owned a number of Panasonic DVD players (one costing more than this projector) and several of their BD players, I've never been impressed with the the clarity of their built-in menus. So, I don't know if we can read much into menu distortions on their projectors either.

Scaling is notorious for producing ringing in DVD. That's why EE looks more sever on DVD than BDs produced from the same dated master; the scaling used for downsizing the DVD amplifies any noise or ringing already in the signal, whether it be excessive pumping of edge-contrast, MPEG artifacts, or even natural grain. Ringing is even rather severe in the SD version of DVE due to the scaling that was used when creating the disc. The SD edition of Avia is much better, but you'd still have to scale it to 1080p yourself, so it's not much more reliable for evaluating deficiencies with the displays ability to preserve a full 1080p signal. The best way to confirm that any ringing is being produced by the projector alone is to feed it a 1080p/24 signal from a like calibration disc. The BD edition of DVE Basics has 1080p/24 patterns. Spears and Munsils disc should too, but I haven't seen that one.

I found a couple of PNG (lossless compression) test patterns to view using a computer on the AE4000. These don't have the inherent ringing/ghosting of DVD or Blu-ray discs that have MPEG compression.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/PM5644-1920x1080.gif
http://www.thefuturepast.com/colortest/originalcolorbars1080.png

BTW, patterns can be easily found using Google image search on 'test pattern', clicking options and specifying exactly 1920x1080 resolution.

On a computer LCD display, the color transitions are of course perfectly sharp:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1795.jpg


On the AE4000, we see the familiar ghosting pattern:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1760.jpg
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1761.jpg


So the ghosting is definitely real, this was a direct HDMI connection at 1920x1080, no scaling. I don't know whether it's an artifact of smoothscreen, or limitations of the optics, or a convergence problem. Note that sharpness and detail clarity were both set to zero. I normally have clarity at +2, it doesn't seem to affect these patterns anyway.

My AE4000 also has some subtle smearing which was discussed earlier in the thread, only visible with black-on-white or white-on-black text. It appears to be entirely an optical phenomena, since the direction of smear is different on the left and right sides of the screen. It was much worse when my projector was at the very top of the screen, lowering it a few inches improved matters. Having the projector centered precisely on the screen would probably reduce it even more:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1773.jpg


Here are some other screenshots showing a single-pixel test pattern:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1783.jpg
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1784.jpg


Is the AE4000 perfect? No, you can definitely find flaws on test patterns. But for non-pathological viewing (like, say, a movie), it looks pretty damn good. Especially for $2K. The 8500 might look a bit better, but lens memory is a killer feature that I'm not willing to give up.

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1781.jpg

So I had my wife view the projector for the first time just now to get her impressions. I only told her that I thought their might be a problem with the projector and I wanted to see what she noticed. I did not tell her what I thought was wrong. I put on a Blu-Ray and we watched for about 5 mins. I stopped it and asked her what she noticed compared to the previous projector. Her first words were: "It is not as clear". She then asked me if we were watching a Blu-Ray or a DVD!

So my wife, who could really care less about home theater even noticed the picture's blurriness. We tried turning up the Sharpness and Detail Clarity and it helped a bit, but still I think the image is unacceptable.

I am trying to decide if I should return it and try another 4000 or just get another projector. I really want to use the Lens memory features on the 4000, so I'm bummed.

My image is absolutely SHARP on BD its breathtaking and thats on a 120" and 140" screen! Its as sharp, if not sharper than any other projector I have ever owned and I change each year.

My image is absolutely SHARP on BD its breathtaking and thats on a 120" and 140" screen! Its as sharp, if not sharper than any other projector I have ever owned and I change each year.

What other PJs have you owned?

Bob,
How big is the image here? I think I may just have a horribly misconverged projector. Text looks smeared as if you wrote on a piece of paper with an ink pen and immediately rubbed your finger accross it. It makes my head hurt to look at the text on my PS3 XMB. What do you guys think? Can anyone with a PS3 take a close up picture of the text or the icons? I tried taking photos to show what I am seeing, but the photos would not come out. I am not a photographer. Thanks!



http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy58/whitefield/PT-AE4000U/IMG_1781.jpg

Bob,
How big is the image here? I think I may just have a horribly misconverged projector. Text looks smeared as if you wrote on a piece of paper with an ink pen and immediately rubbed your finger accross it. It makes my head hurt to look at the text on my PS3 XMB. What do you guys think? Can anyone with a PS3 take a close up picture of the text or the icons? I tried taking photos to show what I am seeing, but the photos would not come out. I am not a photographer. Thanks!

That image was about a quarter of the screen, 35x15 inches or so, roughly 500x300 pixels.

Are you using an HDMI connection from the PS3?

What do the internal test patterns look like? The same smearing?

How is the projector positioned with respect to the screen? Centered? Above or below?

Bob,
How big is the image here? I think I may just have a horribly misconverged projector. Text looks smeared as if you wrote on a piece of paper with an ink pen and immediately rubbed your finger accross it. It makes my head hurt to look at the text on my PS3 XMB. What do you guys think? Can anyone with a PS3 take a close up picture of the text or the icons? I tried taking photos to show what I am seeing, but the photos would not come out. I am not a photographer. Thanks!

I get the same smeared look and i'm waiting for Panasonic to call me back i think i might end up sending it in for them to look at, we need more people with this problem calling Panasonic so they know there is a problem and can figure out how to fix it or exchange it for a good one.

Okay. That image you have looks great to me.

HDMI from the PS3 connected (right now) directly to the 4000. Internal test patterns also look smeared. The projector is centered and aligned with the top of my screen.

That image was about a quarter of the screen, 35x15 inches or so, roughly 500x300 pixels.

Are you using an HDMI connection from the PS3?

What do the internal test patterns look like? The same smearing?

How is the projector positioned with respect to the screen? Centered? Above or below?

What other PJs have you owned?

PT-AE4000
Mitsubishi HC7000
Mitsubishi HC6800
Sony HW15
JVC HD950
Optoma HD20
Optoma HD82
Epson TW3000
Sanyo Z3000
Mitsubishi HC6000
++++++ the list goes on and on.........

Ok, here's my first attempt at putting pictures in a post. Wish me luck :P

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hnb76HrLES4/Swy7yqrwNnI/AAAAAAAAAB4/p6P4rQyyYYw/AE4000U_Focus_2.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hnb76HrLES4/Swy7y00whDI/AAAAAAAAACA/pOcIJs7WntA/AE4000U_Focus_1.JPG

EDIT: Oh good, that worked :)

Details about my setup:

Using Cinema 1 in Eco-mode for lamp
Distance from screen to projector is about 15 feet
Screen size is about 102" diagonal 16:9 (DIY Blackout cloth)
The focus seems pretty uniform throughout the screen area, but I didn't do a whole lot of checking.

Things look quite sharp from the seating area. With my old projector (AE900U), I had some pretty significant convergence issues. The AE4000U looks a LOT better to me. I was doing my best to keep the camera still, but I think I got some slight blurring that makes the pictures look a little less sharp than reality. These were taken with a basic Canon SD series camera.

I have some very minor convergence misalignment, but it seems to be just a fraction of a pixel off, so I'm not complaining.

My projector is not even close to this sharp! I would say that mine is worse than Doom's. His photos of the "Focus" word are earlier in this thread. Mine is even more smeared than his. This projector is definitely going back. I hope this is just a couple of bad projectors and not a trend with these. Are most people's menus as sharp as Sean's here?

My projector is not even close to this sharp! I would say that mine is worse than Doom's. His photos of the "Focus" word are earlier in this thread. Mine is even more smeared than his. This projector is definitely going back. I hope this is just a couple of bad projectors and not a trend with these. Are most people's menus as sharp as Sean's here?

Mine looks like Sean's..so the "problem" doesn't seem to be uniform across all PJs.

Steve

Thanks for the confirmation transpo. I will try another one of these.

PT-AE4000
Mitsubishi HC7000
Mitsubishi HC6800
Sony HW15
JVC HD950
Optoma HD20
Optoma HD82
Epson TW3000
Sanyo Z3000
Mitsubishi HC6000
++++++ the list goes on and on.........

Thanks. It's encouraging to hear that you thought the AE4000 to be sharper than the HW15 and JVC, since both are kin to the VW60 I'm currently used to. Though, I haven't seen the later and the review of the HW15 at projector central suggests its sharpness is questionable; that or the compentency of the reviewer is suspect. The reviewer states that pixel structure can't be seen on the HW15 even with your nose to the screen. When properly focused, pixel structure is clearly defined on the VW60 and visible from several feet away.

newbie here with this projector. just set one up today and at the top left of the screen there's a small what looks like blue light spot, almost like light leakage.. it's only visible when there's a dark image or on the bars of a 2.35 blu-ray. has anyone experienced this before and know of a fix? im not sure if i'm explaining it right, i should have taken a picture..

Thanks,
Chris

PT-AE4000
Mitsubishi HC7000
Mitsubishi HC6800
Sony HW15
JVC HD950
Optoma HD20
Optoma HD82
Epson TW3000
Sanyo Z3000
Mitsubishi HC6000
++++++ the list goes on and on.........

:eek:

Wow...just wow! How can you have owned all these projectors? Do you work for a store that sells them? Most of those are pretty current projectors...you must change more than once per year!