I've recently gone through a number of dvd players- I'm not posting from home so I can't recall all the model numbers...anyways I've noticed that ghosting/jittery motion seems to vary between the dvd players that I've been trying lately. I've used an ancient 480i toshiba, that wasn't bad, a newer jvc that as middle of the road, an oppo 971h both with hdmi and component which was bad, a samsung dvd recorder that I got offa ebay for 70 bucks which was awesome, as well as my pc which was also excellent. Anyways here's my question, what glitch/artifact am I referring too? I don't often see this described in dvd player reviews, it doesn't appear to be dependent on digital/analog output, or interlaced/progressive...

Anybody know what I'm talking about? I'm finding that this is the most important aspect for me when determining the best standard def dvd player for my ae700.

Sounds like you are talking about edge enhancement. A kind of halo around dark objects against light backgrounds or vice versa. As far as the jittery motion part goes, I don't know. Are there any common titles where the problem exists?

Stace

Sounds like you are talking about edge enhancement. A kind of halo around dark objects against light backgrounds or vice versa. As far as the jittery motion part goes, I don't know. Are there any common titles where the problem exists?

Stace

it's not ee, I think it's more like lags in the lcd response time, jittery is probably the wrong term, it's basically that there are trails in fast motion and I'm not refering to judder/jidder/3:2 pulldown artifacts. It might just be lcd lag, but like I said in my earlier post, it seems varies from dvd player to dvd player. I also had a panasonic xp30 and s77, and they both had the image trails.

I can see it on most of my dvd's, but it's more pronounced/visible in high contrast scenes.

I guess I'm just gonna stick with my cheapo samsung dvd recorder, because it doesn't seem to suffer from this problem :)

almostgoth
I don't really follow why lcd response time is affected by the dvd player?
Seems like it has to be processing related.

I noticed the last movie session that the picture was much dimmer, so thought it time to install that replacement lamp. Much surprised when I saw the total lamp time was just 329 hours, but dim is dim, so I did the replacement.

Note that a new dust filter was included with the lamp..a nice touch.

I was able to follow the directions to reset the lamp time to zero, but noticed that a number of menu choices were "grayed out" and not accessible as they had been originally. This included Fan Control and Lamp Power. I would like to run in Low Power mode, but don't have a choice.'

Wonder what happened?

Bill

almostgoth
I don't really follow why lcd response time is affected by the dvd player?
Seems like it has to be processing related.

I don't think it's lcd lag, but that's the closest thing to what I'm trying to describe. Maybe I'm just crazy :) But I'm gonna pass up on an oppo 971h, panny xp30 and an s77 for my crappy samsung dvd reccorder.

I am thinking of buying a 120" 16:9 diagonal screen with 1.3 gain for my ae700...is this size and screen gain appropriate for the 700? Will be running it in a dark basement with little to no ambient light.

thanks,
Brendin

I am thinking of buying a 120" 16:9 diagonal screen with 1/3 gain for my ae700...is this size and screen gain appropriate for the 700? Will be running it in a dark basement with little to no ambient light.

thanks,
Brendin


I have a 700 with a 110" Dalite HCCV in a dedicated media room that is totally light controlled. I have an excellent picture. However, a 120 may result in a too dim picture.

1/3 gain?? Never seen a screen that dark before. I'm running a 2.35 aspect screen that 's a bit more than 120" diagonal and it's pushing the limits of the projector IMO. I'm using a self-made acoustically transparent screen that is probably 0.8-0.9 gain. FWIW.

I have to agree with pap. My screen is 120" 16:9 and it is probably pushing the limits of the AE700 and I have complete light control.

Stace

1/3 gain?? Never seen a screen that dark before. I'm running a 2.35 aspect screen that 's a bit more than 120" diagonal and it's pushing the limits of the projector IMO. I'm using a self-made acoustically transparent screen that is probably 0.8-0.9 gain. FWIW.

Sorry...typo.... 1.3 gain

My AE700 is now just under 2 yrs old and the lamp started to get dimmer a few days ago. Did the usual check and clean of the air filter and went into the diagnostic checks to see the operating temps and lamp info and all seemed ok. The lamp was showing about 924 hours so didn't think that it was going to go on me any time soon.

Started to think that the new NVidia drivers were stuffing up the brightness from the DVI to HDMI line so played with the settings in software to no avail.

Then last night while watching Idol the lamp suddenly popped. Just great, only managed to get less than a 1/3 of the minimum suggested lamp life out of it.

Call to the supplier confirmed that the warantee only goes for three months or a max of 500hrs.

Environmental conditions for the unit are all normal. No sources of excessive heat. No excess of dust or fumes.

Best local price I could find was $600 AUD delivered.

Then I read this post and someone mentioned far cheaper prices from ***************. Not wrong! I ended up paying $340 AUD with EMS delivery.

What I would also like to do is track down the bulb on it's own and replace the one on the unit which blew. No luck so far finding HS120AR10-4D. If anyone finds a supplier please let me know.

So all you guys having brightness issues and flickering, be warned, I think your bulb's days are numbered.

Just to reconfirm the lamp life reset, do I go to the lamp life entry on the menu and hold the enter button down for three or more seconds to reset the counter back to zero?

eheheh, you have a pm.

My first globe died at 800 hours, panasonic gave me pro rata so I paid $280 for the new one.
Mind you this was only after a LOT of jumping up and down, including letters to customer service managers.
The other thing was, even the pro rata was a rip off - they calculated it as if the lamp usage was at full lamp, even though almost all usage had been in low lamp.

Bastards.

I suspect the lamps that came with the units are designed to fail early. It seems to be a common story - first lamp dies early, pay Panasonic for a replacement, get decent life from the second.

My second is just about to go past the 2000 hour mark, starting to consider getting another and putting this aside for a spare.

Can this PJ be reprogrammed to run the fan longer during the "bulb cool down" period? Mine runs for only a couple of minutes. Maybe if the fan ran longer the bulb would last longer.

Just a thought.

Sorry...typo.... 1.3 gain

With a 1.3 gain I think you could run a screen that big. Keep in mind I run mine with a filter to aid blacks so that cuts output and I also run low lamp mode (mostly for sound level but also for lamp life). My room is totally dark and in fact walls and ceiling are black. I still think it would be pushing the limit of the projector, but hey isn't that what life is about sometimes :)

The best thing to do IMO is get the projector in your room and shoot a blank wall to get a sense of what size you want and THEN get the screen. I ended up going quite a bit smaller than I had thought I was going to.

Got the new bulb in and you can tell right away how dim the old one was getting in it's last few months of useage.

The new one is almost too bright for the room when you have a white dialog like IE set to maximised, even with the lamp set to low mode. Screen is about 2.2m wide so you'd think the overall brightness wouldn't be that intense. Shouldn't complain as my eye's used to struggle to focus on the screen when it was half the brightness it is now but now it all looks much sharper with higher contrasts.

Wish these bulbs could stay this bright for longer.

I wonder if there are any "not-so-obvious" factors that contribute to longer average lamp life? Mine has over 2000 hours on it but I have not noticed any significant problems yet. This is the original bulb for me, Japanese model, always cut power to unit after use, and I use the HIGH lamp mode with dynamic iris on. I already bought a replacement lamp just to have around for backup purposes but I intend to find out how long the original will last.

Got the screen and the picture looks better (brighter) on it than the wall I was using previously. I think I'll keep the 120" screen. I bought a motorized one off ebay for $169US including shipping. For the price you can't beat it. A great budget screen.

Anyone have an HD DVD player hooked up to the ae700? I'll be finishing my home theater in the next few months now that I've finalized the screen and am thinking HD would look really nice on the 120" screen. Thoughts?

Anyone have an HD DVD player hooked up to the ae700? I'll be finishing my home theater in the next few months now that I've finalized the screen and am thinking HD would look really nice on the 120" screen. Thoughts?

I have connected my Motorola 6416 via HDMI and watched Movie Central HD and it looks very nice on my 110" screen.

I bought this projector with under 600h and a defective lamp.
Today I got my new lamp and put it in.
After a short time i noticed a bit of plastic smell where the heated air comes out.
Is it normal? I checked the cables from the plug to the lamp that they do not touch the reflector. Has the lampt to be burned in?
Thanks

I bought this projector with under 600h and a defective lamp.
Today I got my new lamp and put it in.
After a short time i noticed a bit of plastic smell where the heated air comes out.
Is it normal? I checked the cables from the plug to the lamp that they do not touch the reflector. Has the lampt to be burned in?
Thanks

Yes that is normal. Mine did it from day 1 and it still does it (not as strong) 600 hrs later.

Mine also had that smell when new. It goes away pretty quickly.

I've read a lot of info. on the use of a 81EF B-W filter to help with black level ans contrast on a AE700. However, most of the post refer to using it in conjunction with a gray screen.
I recently bought a new AE700 ( my first FP) and a 84" 16:9 matte white screen with a 1.1 gain. Would using a 81EF filter help me obtain better blacks, shadow details and contrast, or will it only help with a gray high gain screen?

I have the filter on my AE700 and with a white screen it does a great job. Much better black levels. Obviously dims output a bit, but with that small a screen I'd say it's a great upgrade.

PAP,
I just ordered a 77MM 81EF filter from Adorama in NYC. I should have it in about 3 or 4 days. The cost was 62.00 including shipping and tax.

I have a friend that is a retired ISF calibrator. He tells me he'll do a complete calibration after I install the filter.

I'ed like to try tweaking the unit before he does anything. Could you tell me what setting you're using? I also have a copy of DVE.

I recently sold my 700, but I still have the filter for it...if anyone is interested shoot me a PM.

If I had only read this a few hous ago.
I just ordered a filter.

I used the settings described earlier in this thread. Haven't really tweaked it at all other than that. You set some of the colors a bit higher and then I just adjusted black level to preference. I've got AVIA and other setup disks but honestly I've never bothered with them for this projector I've been very happy with just the filter and settings as listed earlier in this thread. If you've got someone coming to ISF it, I'd just leave it at default or he'll have to undo most of what you do :)

Just received my B+W 81EF filter. I can't believe how fast I got it. I ordered it Wednesday afternoon and got today through the USPS. The people at ADORAMA are great to deal with.
Can't wait to mount the filter on my AE700 and have my ISF friend come over to do his thing.
I'll let you know how it turns out.

Hi,

Last night the nightmare began. I turned on the projector and ASAP light appeared, it shut down, then it began a startup procedure, and off again. Every so often a picture, a great picture would appear, then off again. This went on many times before I gave up. Today I cleaned the filter; it was dirty. That didn't work.

The bulb only has 1550 hours on it, but I tried my brand-new spare. DITTO. So, I opened the unit up and looked for anything loose or burned. I saw nothing. Has this happened to anyone else? Do you recall the fix? Lastly, how about service? I am in the Chicago area and worry about parts changers busting me. Is there genuine Panason factory service available for these units.

Thanks,

Mike

Try a search on "power supply". I have heard this described before as the power supply going bad.

Good luck

Stace

Yes, I had that problem too. Turned out the powersupply was going bad and getting worse. Ended up replacing it. Bulb was not, so guess what happens at 1600 hours (bulb dims after having at least 300 hours of random flickering that comes and goes)...I'm on a new one now.

Just curious, but for those who have had problems with your power supply...do you leave the mains turned on when not using the pj or do you turn of the mains when not using the pj? I have about 2100 hours on my bulb and haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood). It seems to be a little more dim than it used to. I have been turning off the main switch since I got the pj 25 months ago to prevent the banding problem as some had suggested.

Always turn it off after cooling down for 15 minutes. Low temperatures. No smoking. Inside a hushbox, with high fan low lamp to make the projector even cooler. Bulb 1 - 300hr, bulb 2 - 1700hr, bulb 3 - ongoing :) I've had so many issues with my PT-AE700 since I got it, I don't know if I'll ever get a Panasonic again. And the iris=NG that shows up every two months or so? Hm...at least it's behaving well now. Last Christmas I had it serviced for the third time, at least it's working well this Christmas :) And the TV's been collecting dust, need to do something about that someday C-:

Yeah - i recently had the same issue with my AE700 - only had 620h on it in low mode and i always disconnect power after projector has cooled down.
It was problem with power supply - to be conrete it was problem with electronics in it. One chip was replaced in service.
And i had another problem with electronics - another chip died in small board that manages inputs.

My power supply failed at about the the 2800 hr mark (out of warranty by a month - of course) They had to replace the power supply and a few other components. I leave it plugged in all of the time and always run the bulb on high.

looking for help/info
my bulb was on 3900 hrs from brand new whan i started to notice screen burn/image retention that would stay for a short while then gradually fade awayish.
I replaced the bulb for a new one this week but the problem is still there after reading around abit it seems like the blue panel is foobared has anyone in the uk had the optical block replaced on the 700 i assume that's what need repalcing??? to stop this blue patch on screen
Anyone know what it might cost for this or is it gonna cost too much and who do i contact a iv tried panasonic but they aint replied yet

cheers for reading

Well.. after two years of life my lamp gave out this evening. Has right aroud 850 hours on the bulb.

So, I'm going to see about getting one locally (not holding out much hope) but was curious about the lamp from the 900. Specification-wise they look the same... has anyone ever put one of these in their projector?

Well.. after two years of life my lamp gave out this evening. Has right aroud 850 hours on the bulb.

So, I'm going to see about getting one locally (not holding out much hope) but was curious about the lamp from the 900. Specification-wise they look the same... has anyone ever put one of these in their projector?

I have seen lately very cheap prices for AE700 lamp - PM me if you need info.

ok , I tried a seperate thread with no response so i will try here . When the bulb pops and there are small pieces of glass do you just vaccume it out ? Also , it seems there is very little play in fitting a new lamp . Any tips on making the switch easier ?

ok , I tried a seperate thread with no response so i will try here . When the bulb pops and there are small pieces of glass do you just vaccume it out ? Also , it seems there is very little play in fitting a new lamp . Any tips on making the switch easier ?

I just replace my lamp today. Not sure about the pieces of glass, but I was able to replace the lamp with no major problems.

Just make sure you get the lamp to slide into the top and bottom guides that are in the projector and you should be able to just push the lamp into place. If the lamp is lined up and in the two tracks (tracks are on the side with the screws in it on the lamp, top and bottom), then push down from the side with the tracks and the other side of the lamp that actually plugs into the projector should fall into place.

I practiced with my bad lamp a couple times to make sure I knew what I was doing. If yours isn't too messed up, try installing it a couple times to become comfortable with what you are doing. I too was nervous putting in a $350 lamp. Didn't want to break it!

Good luck, I'm sure you'll have no problems.

thanks Dave . I pulled it off . My lamp had popped meaning there were shards of glass . I used an electronics vacuum to clean the pieces out . SO far so good . But there is still a chance that small pieces may work into parts of the projector and cause damage .I would like to get through this lamp before upgrading as I do not see a really large increase in quality of newer products . I want to wait untill these products mature and it is worth investing 10 k or so for a product which will not be obsolete in a few years . I am thinking lasers will replace lamps in the near future and make projectors good for 10-20 years . For now I would rather spend money on other aspects of the theater ( seating , risers , audio , etc)

[QUOTE=EsotericTT@aol.c]Hi,

Last night the nightmare began. I turned on the projector and ASAP light appeared, it shut down, then it began a startup procedure, and off again. Every so often a picture, a great picture would appear, then off again. This went on many times before I gave up. Today I cleaned the filter; it was dirty. That didn't work.
**

Yep it just happened to me (approx 1000hrs usage). As I am working overseas, no service centers around (luckily) , I checked the forums here and ordered both the power supply and the ballast boards to be sure (approx USD220) from Prime Electronics Australia (I am an aus). Just replaced them last night (took me an hour) and it works perfectly now. I am not sure which of the two was faulty , but I thought for some extra 100 I'll take the safe path. All in all I saved probably a lot of time and stress and dust inside my projector (and possibly few hundreds dollars too)

Any way to update the firmware from Jap. to english? There also seems to be dust in my lens area. Is there a safe way of taking this apart? Thanks for any help. :)

just run into a problem with upscaling dvd's to my ae700

THought it was running great, then I looked into info on my DVD player and it can upscale to 1080i over component. And looking through info, a lot of people recon doing this with the lvd-2001 will give it a much better picture quality, rivaling only the top dvd players.

now I'm not saying this is the case, or not, just what I've heards.

Any I tried to test this theory, but ran into a slight problem, when I go through the p-scan modes my projector (ae700) only lets me select zoom modes when it is in PAL or 480i/480p, as soon as I select 720p ot 1080i, I don't have the function to zoom full screen ( ie will look verticaly stretched without an anamorphic lense) -I also have an anamorphic lense.

so it will have the grey bars above and below.

is there something I can select on the projector to allow incomming 720p or 1080i to zoom full lcd?...

just found some interesting notes on this review about the ae900:

"As is often the case, the available aspect ratios are restricted with 720p and 1080i inputs. If you are watching a DVD of, say, a classic film from your player's 720p HDMI output, you can access the projector's 4:3 mode only by switching the player's output to 480p or 480i (not all digital video displays will accept a 480i HDMI input, but the Panasonic will)."

from: http://www.ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/1105panasonic/

what I can't understand is why oh why did they do this?...

[edit] sorry for the extra posts, but I'm confussed... It appears to be quite a few projectors that dissable aspect ratio's in 720p or 1080i mode...

480p - 1080i upscaling via the DVD player...
and looking at the images I've just played through my DVD player (freezing frame and switching p-scan probably will result in a Higher quality picture) - just stretched with black basr top/bottom... :-(

Anyone know of a reasonable cost projector that DOES allow this (clarified by: input 720p or 1080i video and allow anamorphic aspect ratio selection - ir vertical stretch). As this would give a significant increase in picture quality going by what everyone says about.

looking for help/info
my bulb was on 3900 hrs from brand new whan i started to notice screen burn/image retention that would stay for a short while then gradually fade awayish.
I replaced the bulb for a new one this week but the problem is still there after reading around abit it seems like the blue panel is foobared has anyone in the uk had the optical block replaced on the 700 i assume that's what need repalcing??? to stop this blue patch on screen
Anyone know what it might cost for this or is it gonna cost too much and who do i contact a iv tried panasonic but they aint replied yet

cheers for readingI have this same problem, but I'm in the us. Who is the recommended vendor for such a repair, and what's the turn around time? I recall something that had to do with a heart. Can someone help me out?

I have this same problem, but I'm in the us. Who is the recommended vendor for such a repair, and what's the turn around time? I recall something that had to do with a heart. Can someone help me out?

Heartland Services Inc.

http://www.heartlandsi.com/

Heartland Services Inc.

http://www.heartlandsi.com/Thanks!!!

I just wanted to tell all that the info I recently found on this site was a God send. My 700 started the common off-on malady back in December. I purchased a power supply PCB for $104.00 and that solved the probem. DDung recently had the problem and I can only encourage him to check into this.

Flyerman posted a question that has bothered me from the start. How do you clean that lens? When I just look at it, it appears as if there is dust inside the lens itself.

Mike

Flyerman posted a question that has bothered me from the start. How do you clean that lens? When I just look at it, it appears as if there is dust inside the lens itself.

Mike


Ditto - it's about time I try to clean mine as well.

Mine has been like that since it was new. A long time ago, I decided to clean it when it's time to change the bulb. "If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna fix it." :)

Ok, I need some help. I only have about 400 hours on my ae700u and just today I noticed it starting to get lighter then darker while I was playing my x-box 360. It would just start to flash brighter then dark over and over. Not highly noticable, but if you leave it on one screen and stare at it you can see it doing this in random intervals. It's like if I were to adjust the brightness settings back and forth really fast. Really annoying. I'm running it in low lamp mode. Does anyone know what is causing this and what I can do to fix it? I tried doing a search, but there are just too many pages to filter out.

In December of 06, I had he ON/OFF syndrome with my AE700. I tried a new bulb and that didn't work. So, I replaced he power supply PCB @ cost of $104.00. All worked well now for 4 months.

Then about 2 weeks ago, I thought that whites looked a littel too green and went into the advanced menu and cleaned that up. It looked great, but I also noticed that when I used video calibration discs, I could turn the Contrast higher. I mean It formerly was at +1, but now, I could go to +6 and it looked pretty good. All in all a beautiful picture.

Last night after 3 - 4 hours of viewing, the lamp just cut out...Boom! The machine was running as normal, the fan was normal, the lamp just went black...nuttin'. I thought the lamp had just died. The preveous adjustments had made me think something is going on with that bulb. After all, it has 1850 hours on it. Why was I able to turn the Contrast so high? So, I went to shut the projector off. I pressed the power putton twice...you normally do that to shut it down. Instead of shutting down, the lamp turned right back on to a beautiful picture! Duh....

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?

Mike

Post Script: Day two, I watched the thing for 4 hours. No problems. However, I noticed that the first movie (B & W) had a bluish caste towards the center of the screen, but all was neutral at the sides. This changed with time. By the time, I turned it off, all was B & W. I have never seen this effect before.

Post Script 2: It is now a week later. I have watched the machine for an hour each night, and 4 - 5 hours last night. All was OK. Wierd, huh?

I have the same problem with mine, it's about 2 years old, and I have about 750 hours on it. When an image is paused, even for just a few seconds, it retains a ghost of that image for a few minutes!

Keep in mind I never paused anything for long. This is a new problem, and I'm not happy!

I always clean the filter every 100 hrs, as instructed.

Can you let me know what you find out about what the problem is and how much it costs to repair? I guess this problem is not covered by Panasonic?

Thanks,

looking for help/info
my bulb was on 3900 hrs from brand new whan i started to notice screen burn/image retention that would stay for a short while then gradually fade awayish.
I replaced the bulb for a new one this week but the problem is still there after reading around abit it seems like the blue panel is foobared has anyone in the uk had the optical block replaced on the 700 i assume that's what need repalcing??? to stop this blue patch on screen
Anyone know what it might cost for this or is it gonna cost too much and who do i contact a iv tried panasonic but they aint replied yet

cheers for reading

I have the same problem with mine, it's about 2 years old, and I have about 750 hours on it. When an image is paused, even for just a few seconds, it retains a ghost of that image for a few minutes!

Keep in mind I never paused anything for long. This is a new problem, and I'm not happy!

I always clean the filter every 100 hrs, as instructed.

Can you let me know what you find out about what the problem is and how much it costs to repair? I guess this problem is not covered by Panasonic?

Thanks,

Sergio,

I redid my video calibration a few times. I had the Contrast at about +6 when the problem first developed. I set it back to where I had it before, +1. Now, after several weeks, the problem simply went away. The pictures is great, and I think I must be at about 2100 hours. I wish more people would tell us how many hours they are getting.

Mike

PS. It took my a few hours to reply. The passwords and usernames were a nightmare. No matter what I did, this website would accept nothing.

Sergio,

I redid my video calibration a few times. I had the Contrast at about +6 when the problem first developed. I set it back to where I had it before, +1. Now, after several weeks, the problem simply went away. The pictures is great, and I think I must be at about 2100 hours. I wish more people would tell us how many hours they are getting.

Mike

PS. It took my a few hours to reply. The passwords and usernames were a nightmare. No matter what I did, this website would accept nothing.

Thanks Mike, I appreciate it.

What's the general concensus in this forum regarding turning the power off after use? (if there is a general concensus at all) Do you know?

I can't say I can tell the difference. I often turn the main power off because it inteferes with AM reception in my nearby AM/FM tuner. Last night, I checked my video setup and discovered that I had set the Contrast back up to +5. My impression is that the bulb may have dimmed and +5 compensated for it. Back in March I had those problems immediately after recalibrating the unit and setting the Contrast up. So, I turned it down. I guess that after some time, I mus have cranked it back up. Well with about 2100 - 2200 hours it looks very good. I used to be TV design engineer for Motorola and to put it another way, this is the best TV I ever saw in my life.

Do I remember correctly that if you were seeing the flickering issue that shilex mentioned in low power mode a possible fix was to return to high power mode for a few days and then switch back? I've been noticing that on mine over the past couple of days...not very distracting for anyone other than me. BTW, my bulb currently has about 750 hours on it.

Have searched in the forum but can't find any answers to this, I can't be the first one trying it out???

Panasonic 700 -> 8600GTS -> HDMI -> Vista

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Issue: No picture on the projector for output 1280x720 in 59Hz and 60Hz (1-1 pix)

1280x720 in 50Hz will give picture but interlaced (dark poor picture)


This must be a general problem for all of you that have/will upgrade to Windows Vista and use DVI/HDMI cable?

I have Nvidia drivers 158.24 and now also the beta drivers 160.x


Some ideas of what more to try?

I have the same problem.

Jim

This is my problem:

when i am running HD (rgb) out of my xbox360, i get some kind of horizontal scan line....Here (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01357wg6.jpg) is a picture of what it looks like....if i use the component output from my sony dvd the problem is gone, but i would love to use 1080i from the xbox360. any of you run with a xbox360 and know of this..or having no problem ??

I think your scan line is interference from a poorly shielded cable.

You have to check that you are in the same mode on your dvd player and your xbox for the results to line up. If your dvd player outputs 480p then you may have this issue only with 720 or 1080 output.

There is no sense using the 1080i output of the 360 on your 720p projector. I can only rationalize doing that if you have a 1080i tv you use the 360 on as well and find the resolution changing a hassle.

Are these projectors even worth having with lamps blowing at low hours and power supply problems?I bought a new lamp from a friend that upgraded and a projector with 300 hours on it from a forum member. I like the fact that it has a easy setup and a 2.0 throw on the lens....wow ,with my screen I can set the projector back 22'. My friend gave me his projector with all the problems ,so I might see if I can get it fixed to have a backup just in case the power supply goes.
If all goes to pot ,I'll have another projector in my long list of projectors.

I have 1500 on my ae700 ---THE LAMP IS STILL FINE---using it calibrated in NORMAL mode and the picture is very good. Am thinking of replacing with Z5 for the increased contrast but the picture still suprises me at how good this projector is. I have a friend with the Sharp Z3000 and must admit it is a better projector.

Am projecting on a 92" screen -----shelf-mounted at 14 feet.

What are sources you're using?i.e sd-dvd ,hd-dvd or blu-ray Is there any screen shots around for this projector I can go to?

For what its worth. I've had my 700 since Oct. 04 (first batch) with 3100 total hours. First lamp was replaced at about 2100 hours. All in high lamp mode. Never had a problem and still going strong. I took it down just this week cause I jumped on the Samsung 710 deal. ( I know the Samsung has had severe reliability issues but for the money I just couldn't pass it up.) the Panny has been a great first projector, and will make a nice used PJ for some one.

I replaced my original bulb (from March '05) a few months back after running my 700 for about 2400 hours, mostly on low power. It was still working, but had dimmed quite a bit. I've had no power problems or any other issues for that matter. It's been a fantastic product and will definitely rank as one of my all time best purchases.

I'll be happy to keep it until Panny has a 1080p version of their AX100U available for a street price of $1500. I'm still satisfied enough with my 700 that I won't be upset if this doesn't happen for another year or so.

I got 3800 hours on my first bulb and have about 2000 hours on my second bulb - it has always been run in high power mode. I have done the usual power supply board replacement once.

...2700 hours on my original lamp/pj which I got in the fall of "04. I have always used it in high power mode. I'm trying to make it to 3000 hours before I check into getting another lamp. No problems with the power supply as of yet (knock on wood). Of course, after almost 3 years I am still turning of the main switch after the fan stops. One day I would like to get a 1080p pj, but if I invest in another lamp I will probably wait a while.

By the way...when a lamp stops working does it explode or just not turn on anymore???

By the way...when a lamp stops working does it explode or just not turn on anymore???

the latter if you're lucky, the former if you're not.

Is the throw on the projector that long? My room is 14x25 ,and I would love to put the projector in the back wall with a anamorphic lens.

Tbase obviously it depends on what size screen and whether your lens is vertical compression or horizontal expansion. I throw about a 9 foot wide anamorphic image from around 17 feet or so. There are calculators online (google search) to calculate the throw with this or any other projector.

BTW, I'm maybe 2 hrs away from you. Cheers.

great to see there is some more OHIO HT guys around. At any rate....I'll see what this projector is about by the end of the week.

What is the best calibration setup for the AE700?

Depends on if you're using a filter or not (see earlier postings).

Try top of page 41 for some settings to start with.

What are sources you're using?i.e sd-dvd ,hd-dvd or blu-ray Is there any screen shots around for this projector I can go to?


I am using my AE700U with a Samsung BD P1200. I use cinema 2 mode and picture quality is awesome in 1080i. Anyone have tweaks to improve an already great picture? Thanks.

Levy :)

I thought I would post a general reply. I now have close to 2200 hours on my first bulb. I had a to replace the power supply board about 9 months ago. A few months back the thing went black. I freaked and shut it down. When I turned it back on it started work, and continues till now. I have no idea what caused that anomoly.

For the most part, I have used low power. However, when I switched to HDMI or whatever it is called to switch to the HD tuner, the default for my 700 was DYNAMIC. So I left it thus. I usually have a much bigger picture then (about 12 foot diagonal) and it looks pretty good. There aint enough HD worth watching. So, I doubt I am destroying the thing.

I am now noticing a little diming. Whereas before I was setting Contrast to+1, I now must set it to +10 for similar output. I am hoping to stretch this lamp out to 3000 hours. When I run out of Contrast, I will probalby try setting it to high power.

Mike

When my AE700 stopped at 4977 hours I was a bit bummed until I read all these threads about 500 hours etc. So I decided to order a bulb but then saw how expensive they were... the unit would not let me back in so I did the Power, Up, Down,Up, Down, Enter routine got back to the menu and reset the counter. Works fine so now heading out into uncharted waters of 5000+ hours.

WOW.. just looked up my invoice purchased this thing from VisualApex on 11/29/2004, but put most of the hours on it in the last 18 months as my five year old has figured out how to turn it own and leaves it on nearly 20 hours a day.

I was trying to figure out why my life span is so much greater, I have never cleaned the filter and it is as bright as it ever was, I run in a pitch black theater room in the low light mode. I am ceiling mounted and it looks like the air intake is from the back out the front, five inches behind the air intake blowing toward the air intake is a ceiling vent from the air conditioner. I am guessing that is the secret in my case, a very cool bulb.

I have decided to head out on the thin edge of never chartered, if you never hear from me again you will know the bulb exploded over my head.

cheers

Just an FYI - bulbs can be had cheaper. I paid around $250 for mine. My projector has around 1000 hours and it's been flickering a bit so I bought one just to ward off the growing desire to consider upgrading my projector - now having spent the money I'm locked in to another 2-3 years with my current projector :)

The cheapest I have seen is around $350. Where did you get yours?

Posting such information is not allowed I'm afraid, against forum rules. I got mine from Japan and just checked the website - cost is $250 plus shipping.

OK, I did the unthinkable. I bought a used PJ off eBay. I replaced the bulb and now it actually lights up again.

On running through setup and options, I find that the center of the image, extending to almost the top and bottom (but not the sides of 16:9), is a yellowish donut. Changing from picture mode to a different one doesn't seem to have a great influence.

If I had to guess, I'd say something (lens or LCD panel is clouded with smoke or dust or other airborne goo. Probably was used in a smoke-filled basement somewhere. The lamp timer had 3,089 when I reset it following bulb replacement.

Can someone point me in a direction of "thorough cleaning" instructions? As I haven't had it all open (yet...), I don't know that much about the guts. But I'm willing to learn.

I thought I bookmarked it, but I can't find it right now... but someone posted detailed pictures and instructions for taking the projector apart and cleaning the panels, with some searching of the forums I'm sure you will find the link. I also have the service manual pdf if you need it.

I thought I bookmarked it, but I can't find it right now... but someone posted detailed pictures and instructions for taking the projector apart and cleaning the panels, with some searching of the forums I'm sure you will find the link. I also have the service manual pdf if you need it.

I did search a couple of different ways, but I'll try again.

And I have a ratty printed copy of the service manual, but I'd like to get the PDF. Can you PM me?

If anybody knows where the instructions are that Gordo is referring to, I'm still seeking help.

Seems like it could be a cleaning issue, but maybe not. Sounds to me like the polarizer. Search for that in ae700 threads or other lcd threads. Warning: Depressing! I have not done anything with my polarizers since it is still pretty minor. Big yellow spot in the center would be different, though. Is it really bad?

Seems like it could be a cleaning issue, but maybe not. Sounds to me like the polarizer. Search for that in ae700 threads or other lcd threads. Warning: Depressing! I have not done anything with my polarizers since it is still pretty minor. Big yellow spot in the center would be different, though. Is it really bad?
Yeah, it's really annoying. I'll take some pictures tomorrow morning when I get to work (that's where I'm working on the PJ prior to bringing it home). Thanks for the polarizer tip - I'll look it up. I'm not afraid to rip the thing apart and give it an enema - I have a couple of 4805's that I experimented on.....

OK, I did the unthinkable. I bought a used PJ off eBay. I replaced the bulb and now it actually lights up again.

On running through setup and options, I find that the center of the image, extending to almost the top and bottom (but not the sides of 16:9), is a yellowish donut. Changing from picture mode to a different one doesn't seem to have a great influence.

If I had to guess, I'd say something (lens or LCD panel is clouded with smoke or dust or other airborne goo. Probably was used in a smoke-filled basement somewhere. The lamp timer had 3,089 when I reset it following bulb replacement.

Can someone point me in a direction of "thorough cleaning" instructions? As I haven't had it all open (yet...), I don't know that much about the guts. But I'm willing to learn.

Try the following link for a detailed description on how to disassemble pj and clean. I think it is actually an AE300 but probably similar enough.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572889&highlight=ae700+dust+removal

Stace

hello forum members.
I have a 700U model.
I cannot access the service menu and get the additional options with grid patterns etc.
Unlike other postings like Kristahl etc. I do not see anything that says service mode.
I have been able to get into the ext option menu but like i said earlier, service mode is not in there.

what do i need to do to get in there.
Also I have not seen anywhere in the menus of what Firmware version I have

thanks from :confused:rich

I'm not looking at my unit now but I believe you hold the select button for 3 sec over .... osd menu?

I can't remember but I bet you can't hurt it by holding select over the menu options.

what do i need to do to get in there.
Also I have not seen anywhere in the menus of what Firmware version I have

thanks from :confused:rich

You need to read the first page of this thread.

trader gordo.

Like I said in the above post, the menu on my unit does not appear as it does in all of the other posts i have read.
I do hold down the enter button for 3 seconds and I get part of a service menu but I do not get the options as shown on other posts. I have l;ooked through the other 83 pages of threads and do not see anything specific to the "U" model and the service mode.

THe option for service mode does not show up in the EXT options, neither does runtime prt, neither does HDCP1 or HDCP2

I have tried to hold down the enter button for up to 5 seconds for each of the options in my ext menu and none of them will bring me into a service mode or a page 2 of options.
I have searched in Google for help too but have not found the answer.

thanks

from a frustrated panny 700 owner

I have an AE 700 with 2700 hours that has developed a blue bloom on the lower half of the right-hand panel. This discoloration is evident even when a DVD is playing.

The AE 700 has been great, but I am inclined to upgrade to an AX 200. The cost of repairing the AE 700 combined with the cost of a new bulb at some time in the future would probably be at least half the cost of a new AX 200.

Is anyone thinking about upgrade paths? Thoughts or recommendations?

Mine has had some discoloration for awhile now, but it is not getting worse at a rate that makes me in a hurry to replace it. There are a lot of pj's out now that are really tempting, though. So many bargain 720p pj's and all the new 1080p models that are slowly coming down in price. I'm hoping to hold out until spring, but it is getting hard. If I had to pull the trigger now, I really can't say which way I'd go.

Mine has had some discoloration for awhile now, but it is not getting worse at a rate that makes me in a hurry to replace it. There are a lot of pj's out now that are really tempting, though.

I'm assuming that there's no way to reduce the discoloration through a tweak?

Nah, polarizers need replacement. At least that's what it sounds like. Anyway, you can't calibrate for this type of thing.
I have a small green blotch and some blue discoloration areas. That's two polarizers, plus a new bulb eventually, since I have two working bulbs with over 2000hrs. Too much dinero to sink into this rather than just move on. That said, I also have to say it still looks ok for the most part. I can hang with it a bit longer if I have to.

Nah, polarizers need replacement. At least that's what it sounds like. Too much dinero to sink into this rather than just move on. That said, I also have to say it still looks ok for the most part. I can hang with it a bit longer if I have to.

Sounds like you reached the same conclusion that I did. The cost of repairs likely could not be justified at this point in the life cycle.

The key feature that I liked in the AE 700 is flexibility of placement. I put it on a bookshelf in the back of an 18 foot room where it disappears when it is not being used. It is bright enough that we've replaced the living room television with it. I love the pan and zoom flexibility that makes this possible.

That leads me to the AX 200 ... same flexibility in placement as the AE 700, with an even brighter image. So it appears as though I might be able to lift out the AE 700 and drop in the AX 200 with a minimum of fuss.

Hello,
My Panny ae700 which I bought in beginning of 05 have died.
I think it´s the lamp, even though it only had about 900 hours..
I doesnt light up and I get the red led after a while.
It seems that I lost the servicemanual in one of my formats of the harddisk.
I need the manual to do some troubleshooting.
Can any1 here upload the manual for me?
I have a windows homeserver so its very easy.
Please PM if you could do this favor to me.
Thanks in advance.. :o
Thomas

tajjson, pm me with your email address, and I'll send it to you.

tlink
I'm thinking about the AX200 as well. Does it look like it will fit the same mount? I'd love to not have to move a thing. My ceiling is very hard concrete, and drilling it again is not an exciting proposition.

I just bought a Toshiba HD DVD A30. Should I set max resolution on the DVD player to 720P or 1080i? I thought the 700 did 1080i. Am I mistaken?

I just bought a Toshiba HD DVD A30. Should I set max resolution on the DVD player to 720P or 1080i? I thought the 700 did 1080i. Am I mistaken?


The way I understand it, the PJ accepts 1080i and then down converts the signal to 720p. I have all the inputs I am using set to 720p, the native resolution.

I hope that helped answer your question.

The way I understand it, the PJ accepts 1080i and then down converts the signal to 720p. I have all the inputs I am using set to 720p, the native resolution.

I hope that helped answer your question.

Ok but should I set the DVD player to 1080i and let the PJ do the down conversion or limit the dvd player signal to 720P. The dvd player lets you choose. I guess it is a matter of downconversion. Right now I have it set to 1080i. With 1080P source material does this mean that the content is downconverted twice. Once to 1080i on the dvd player and then 720P on the PJ.

Ok but should I set the DVD player to 1080i and let the PJ do the down conversion or limit the dvd player signal to 720P. The dvd player lets you choose. I guess it is a matter of downconversion. Right now I have it set to 1080i. With 1080P source material does this mean that the content is downconverted twice. Once to 1080i on the dvd player and then 720P on the PJ.

I have had this pj for a few years and found that the best overall setting for me is to outpout 1080i or 1080p from the source to the pj (from DVD or Blu-ray). The AE700 downconverts it to 700p (its max resolution).Much better than outputting 700p direct from the source (as conventional wisdom would dictate). Sharper pics, less artifacts (almost non existant in HD). Let you eyes be your judge.

Regards

Mériadec

I have had this pj for a few years and found that the best overall setting for me is to outpout 1080i or 1080p from the source to the pj (from DVD or Blu-ray). The AE700 downconverts it to 700p (its max resolution).Much better than outputting 700p direct from the source (as conventional wisdom would dictate). Sharper pics, less artifacts (almost non existant in HD). Let you eyes be your judge.


I should have added that I am going through my Yamaha 2600 that accepts up to 1080i. When I set dvd play to 1080P it only registers 1080i on the front of the player.

I need to play around with it this weekend I guess. I will see if bypassing the receiver does anything more/less.

RE 720p or 1080i, it does seem strange, but mine too did better with 1080i. Using the HQV disk it scored better. I'm pretty sure it depends on the source, though.

I guess I must be lucky, I have almost 4660 hours on my bulb. I already have a new bulb but I am not sure I should replace. Since al lot of people have blowouts at less than 1000 hrs, I am weary of changing my original. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I have scoured this thread for more info on this as I've seen screen discolorations mentioned over the last few years. My AE 700 has about 2500 hours on it's bulb. I also had the shutdown problem, which I cured by purchasing the appropriate replacement power supply PCB.

My 700 developed a bluish cast in the center. It is most visilbe with black and white pictures, and only in darker to medium bright areas. It never shows in bright sections. Actually, this happened to me about 6 months ago and lasted only two days, then dissappeared. Well, it returned and has stayed for week. Adjusting blue contrast in the advanced menue made a slight improvement, but I understand that I am compromising the whole picture a tad.

In previous postings only a short time ago, I saw the same problem discussed and the polarizers were mentioned. Supposedly cleaning them would help. Well, can I ask was there any success? Any experiences to be shared?

I have scoured this thread for more info on this as I've seen screen discolorations mentioned over the last few years. My AE 700 has about 2500 hours on it's bulb. I also had the shutdown problem, which I cured by purchasing the appropriate replacement power supply PCB.

My 700 developed a bluish cast in the center. It is most visilbe with black and white pictures, and only in darker to medium bright areas. It never shows in bright sections. Actually, this happened to me about 6 months ago and lasted only two days, then dissappeared. Well, it returned and has stayed for week. Adjusting blue contrast in the advanced menue made a slight improvement, but I understand that I am compromising the whole picture a tad.

In previous postings only a short time ago, I saw the same problem discussed and the polarizers were mentioned. Supposedly cleaning them would help. Well, can I ask was there any success? Any experiences to be shared?Where did you see that the polarizer could be cleaned? I have the same problem as you, and have been fighting an inner battle on whether I should have it fixed, or just write my AE700 off and replace it.

I saw an entry that may well have been in late 2004 or early 2005. This thread is super long and maybe should a new one started on maintenance & repair only. These machines are nice, but expensive to fix. Also, can we really find people who really know how to fix them. Anyway that thread referred to cleaning polarizers. There was a link on it to where a fellow described with photos the process of taking appart the projector and cleaning the polarizers. The only problem was that it was not the 700 projector. I think it was 300 something. Then I looked at the 700 manual and they show you two sets of polarizers. So, this is becoming ambiguous.

I do know one thing. That dissembly of this projector is not always as it seems. Taking the case appart was a real chore. I thought I was going to break something getting the cover off and on. You gotta figure out where to press and squeeze, etc., to get it off withoutbreaking it.

How stupid of me. It was on this page. Here it is again:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572889&highlight=ae700+dust+removal

It gives a good detailed procedure. Unfortunately, this is not exactly our projector.

How stupid of me. It was on this page. Here it is again:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572889&highlight=ae700+dust+removal

It gives a good detailed procedure. Unfortunately, this is not exactly our projector.That's my old projector. The guy I sold it to is still using it too. It's on it's 5th lamp, and still going strong. It's nothing like the AE700 though.

Looking at the parts list for the 700, it looks like the polarizers for it are in many parts. There are 5 part numbers listed for the blue, then 3 for the green, and 3 for red. I'm pretty sure my issue is with the blue, but I would have no clue on what I'm looking for.

On the bright side, the prices for these parts aren't bad at all. The most expensive part for the blue is $68.31. I may just send it in for repair now.

Nah, polarizers need replacement. At least that's what it sounds like. Anyway, you can't calibrate for this type of thing.
I have a small green blotch and some blue discoloration areas. That's two polarizers, plus a new bulb eventually, since I have two working bulbs with over 2000hrs. Too much dinero to sink into this rather than just move on. That said, I also have to say it still looks ok for the most part. I can hang with it a bit longer if I have to.
When you say polarizers, which do you mean? There are some that are called "incidence polarizer" and another group refered as "projection Polarizer."

Mike

I decided to get my hands on the 700 once again. It was due for filter cleaning. So, I blew out, vacuumed it, and finally just washed the sponge rubber part. While I was at it, I took out the lamp and blew it clean. I also blew out the compartment of what little dust there was. The result was surprising. The picture had a green cast to it. I had to go to the advanced menue to re-adjust the the the gray scale for a true black and white picture.

When I was done, all was OK. However, the bluish discoloration previously mentioned was still there. I made a compromise with blue brightness such that the bluish discoloration was a tad less and the rest of the image was a tad more sepiaish. All in all, a good compromise. Black and white pictures are still acceptable, but any more blue problems and it will need some more drastic action. You can't really see it on color pictures.

Which causes me to get back to Polarizer Cleaning. I am not sure which set of polarizers are those refered to in so many of the entries here, but notice one thing. I don't think anyone really said what to clean them with. The only thing the manual says about them is not to touch their surface. Anyone with some real experience with these items out there?

EsotericTT@aol.c
From what I remember it was the projection polarizer. I tried cleaning, but that didn't help. I could not figure out the right part number in the service manual.

Check this out too:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572889

Doh!
That's actually the link you already posted!

So I've been experiencing the dreaded blue blotches for a couple months now. It's located at the bottom left corner of the image, although it seems to be spreading slightly up and towards the center a little bit. It effects less than 10% of the screen, but it is a bit annoying. Is this a polarizer issue, and if so how much are we talking to fix? Thanks.

Assuming it is a polarizer...is it the blue one? This part perhaps:

TKGP5249 POLARIZING PLATE/IN(B) 56.42

My 700 has about 3300 hours on it (switched to the second bulb after 2300.)

Where I can order the polarizers online? I have the AE700 service manual and am willing to be the guinea pig and try to replace my blue polarizer. At this point it is so bad I have nothing to lose.

Well keep us updated if you find a fix, my projector just developed this problem now too. VERY disappointed in this projector and probably won't buy another Panasonic again ever. I also had the p-module replaced, a fan replaced, and the ballast replaced. People with the "blue blotch" have reported that the service centers say they need a new "optical block" which is prohibitively expensive (so expensive is simply isn't worth doing). But if you guys find out it can be fixed on your own for not too much money that would probably benefit a lot of people (myself included). I'm also very much familiar with taking it apart and replacing things :)

So, I've had my AE700 for about 3 years now. I just hooked it up again for the first time in about 18 months. Picture still looks great, although I'm having an issue that I haven't come across before. At seemingly random times, the picture will completely black out for about 1 second, then return to normal. It will do this as frequently as about 6 times in 1 minute, or as infrequently as once during an entire 2-hour movie.

It almost seems as if it is losing the signal feed, although I have swapped out DVD players which made no difference what-so-ever. It is definitely a projector issue, but I am unsure where to begin troubleshooting. Could this be caused by overheating?

I've done a search, but couldn't find anything related to this problem. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Never heard anyone discribe symptoms like that. You can begin troubleshooting by checking if it happens on other inputs or just the one input. Sounds like one of the boards could be dying, possible overheating, the need for fan replacement isn't that unusual.

I have about 2500 hours on my first bulb and a spare in a box. It is a shame, but I think that replacement of the bulb will probably do no good.

I called Hartland Service hoping to get some insights into what might be the problem and how to handle it. Unfortunately, the fellow I talked to said he was a service writer and not a tech, but that it was his opininion that they usually replaced the "optical block." I also called Projector People and their lead tech suggest that it was the LCD, but possible the polarizers. So, this is grim, indeed. There seems to be no one who can really give us solid info. I am still able to get reasonable color pictures, but the B & W are somewhat compromised, but can still be enjoyed.

I have attempted to attach a photo of an image projected by my Panasonic. About the middle third is discolored blue. I adjusted the Blue Brightness to reduces this a bit, but it lends a slightly yellowish tinge to what should be dark gray. The picture I have attached looks worse than the acutal image.

I have seen a lot of references here to "polarzers" and LCD elements, but I do not recall anything more specific. This thread goes on for several years and will take a lot of searching. There may be some hints to this problem that we have passed over.

Where this is going, I don't know, but it looks like I will one day take this thing appart and attempt cleaning things, but that is scarey as nobody can tell you how to clean the items. My simple dusting on the interior of the bulb compartment rendered a green image. At least I was able to adjust it back to what it was before. This experience indicates a lot of sensitivity to minor tinkering.

This is getting grim. I have been told that the cost of replacing the optical block is $1500.00. This is quite rediculous.

I think I saw references to being able to purchase this part somewhere in this long blog. Does anyone know of such a supplier and the cost?

I have just found this on the Internet. It looks interesting. He get's right up to the actuall cleaning then stops. The final destails are missing. For your info, here it is:

http://legolas.mdh.se/~dte96jbn/AE700/

Not the biggest tweeker around, but make sure it is not in fact your feed. You say it is definitely a PJ issue, but then you said you swapped the dvd player. Did you swap the cables as well and inputs as well? Did you try component/hdmi/ and composite?

I had the same thing happen to me in the past and it was a poor connection to the PJ.

PF

Don't recall mentioning DVD players, but the problem is the same on all souces: HD tuner, LD, NTSC TV, and DVD. Actually, all you have to do is turn the color off and look for a B & W picture. It is a B & W picture except in an area around the center. It takes on a bluish tint. You can see the image I left on a previous posting.

I called Panasonic service and a reputable dealer about finding the "optical block," so often referred to. They both said it was not available to individuals. They also estimated repair at $1,500.00. Not an option. I found a source for the optical block, Partstore.com. The price is : $764.16. I think that is still not an option.

Maybe cleaning as described in the article I referrenced in my previous posting will help. One thing that encourages me is that 6 months ago, I had a more intense version of this discoloration appear. In two days, everthing returned to normal. Solid state devices die; they do not come back from the grave. I hope to find time to clean the little puppy, also to do the following.

One last thing we could do is to contact the CEO of Panasonic with a well written explanation of our problem in this specific area and point out the quoted service price. This product appears to have a design flaw. It should be able to function normally under non-abusive operating conditions for the life of, at least, the first lamp. Even, should it fail, the cost of repair should, in no way, excede the cost of a new unit, i.e., $1,500.00 a lot more than $1,295.00.

I am getting ready to try some tricks, like cleaning the Optical Block using the instructions that I have already linked you to. I just bought a used 700 that has a turn on problem and has no bulb. I am going to use it for spare parts if necessary. One option I have is to put my spare, new bulb into it, and swap power supplies to see how it works. It may turn out to be the panacea. Anyway, some of you may already have given up on your 700s and may have a used/good bulb that you'd let go for a moderate price. If so, contact me at EsotericTT@aol.com.

Mike

Just curious but to all of the people who have had to replace their power supply, have you been turning off the main switch in the back after the fan stops? I am right at 3000 hours on mine (got it Nov. "04) and am about to get another bulb. I have been using this method since I got the pj 3 years ago. Knock on wood, but I haven't had any problems other than sending it in to Heartland for the free updates a couple of years back. I am hoping to get another 3 years out of it and then upgrading to a 1080p.

I have rarely turned that power switch off, and I had the problem after year. With he new supply I have gotten about as many hours as before. I recall one message here throught the years contending that there was a batch or ealy revision that had a habit of dying. So, I don' think that is a factor. Also, the behaviour of the new one was different in another regard. It wipes out nearby AM radio. When I want to listen to the AM band of my tuner, I must switch the PANY completely off.

I have about 2550 hours on mine. You possible made a good move in not buying a spare right away as some people thing their 700 has turned into a boat anchor on it's first bulb.

I did get some encouragement from a fellow at Projector People that Polarizers do get replaced there for closer to $300.00 and not the $1,500.00 for the whole optical block.

Now, please tell us about these free updates you got? Do you know what they were for and for which units? I mean are dates or sereal numbers involved? I obtained mine exactly when you got yours.

Mike

I can't remember exactly when I sent it in to Heartland but it was within the first year I know. Basically it was for a couple of firmware updates that fixed a couple of problems. I remember what two of them were. One was for some minor cropping via HDMI. The other problem occurred via HDMI as well. When watching a movie, the picture would turn into a static-like picture for just a flash of a second. It would happen 2-3 times during a 2 hour movie. The updates fixed these problems.

Hi there, the dreaded blue spotch has started to show up with my ceiling mounted Panasonic PT-AE700u in the upper left corner. After doing extensive research everywhere, especially here on AVSforum, I figured it was the blue polarizer, but I could not find any sort of guide. People said it was easy, but come on, when people here say it, it's very much different from a regular consumer saying it. Well, usually. It actually is very easy, but it is more difficult than replacing a graphics card. If you're organized with a clean workspace, though, it's fairly simple. So, I've self-diagnosed my projector to have a bad blue polarizer. How did I come to this?

1) Blue hazey spot.
2) Shrinks and grows over time (so probably not dust blob)
3) Not really noticeable on all white screen.
4) Very noticeable on all black screen. (the upper left is actually blue)
5) After about a half hour of 4:3 content and switching to an all black or blue screen, there are very noticeable ghostish lines. Almost like a burn in, except it goes away after a while of moving content.

So, here's a shot of my screen with no feed, so it's all blue. You can see in the upper left that it's a bit brighter. Sorry, but my camera doesn't take good pictures in the dark, and the haze is much more noticeable in real life.

http://www.reluctantflux.com/pictures/blue.jpg

It's a bit more noticeable with the service menu grey screen.

http://www.reluctantflux.com/pictures/grey.jpg

So I decided it was the blue polarizer so I went to go order one from Panasonic. So I head on over to Panasonic's part store (http://www.pasc.panasonic.com/ePartr/).

What do I find?

TKGP5249 POLARIZING PLATE/IN(B)
TEEC0036 POLARIZING PLATE/IN(G)
TEEC0037 POLARIZING PLATE/IN(G)
TKGP5247 POLARIZING PLATE/IN(R)
TKGP5253 POLARIZING PLATE/IN(R)
TKGP5246 POLARIZING PLATE/OUT(B)
TKGP5246-1 POLARIZING PLATE/OUT(B)
TKGP5252 POLARIZING PLATE/OUT(B)
TKGP5252-1 POLARIZING PLATE/OUT(B)
TKGP5245 POLARIZING PLATE/OUT(G)
TKGP5244 POLARIZING PLATE/OUT(R)

Uh. Ok. Weed out all the ones for the blue polarizer [marked with the (B)], and that leaves us with (1) IN plate, and (4) OUT plates!

Couldn't find any info on which one to use after extensive searching. Download and look at the service manual. They have "Projector Polarizers" and "Incidence Polarizer". Well...perhaps "IN" is short for "Incidence"...but OUT is not short for "Projector"... Soo...uh.... lets go with an OUT...and...we'll take the one with the highest #. Higher numbers mean more recent release, right? Sure. So I order the TKGP5252-1. Get it in the mail. Open up my projector, and swap it out with the corresponding blue polarizer on the LCD block, shown here:

http://www.reluctantflux.com/pictures/lcd.jpg
http://www.reluctantflux.com/pictures/bp.jpg

Put it all together and..........holy bee jebus! What a difference! The image is so much clearer, and the contrast is so much contrastier. But. Eff. Blue haze is still in the upper left! Sooo... when I took the LCD block out to replace the blue polarizer I did, I noticed there was another polarizer for each on the LCD block, but still attached inside the case. Are these the "Incidence Polarizers"? They seem much more complicated to remove, but if it gets rid of my blue haze, I'll venture forth. I took a lot of pictures and am going to write up a step by step guide on how to do this....except what I did didn't fix my issue, soooo, no reason to write it up just yet. But if you guys can help me and I can get it fixed, then people will know how to do it in ... THE FUTURE!

I should probably also mention that in the service menu, I notice the blue haze on the blue screen and slightly on the red screen, but not at all on the green screen. Could my red polarizer be going as well? Or is this looking to be more a prism block issue and I shouldn't spend any more money repairing.

Edit: After reading more, I found out that the purpose of polarizers is to block light. So if the blue is being visible on the red screen, then the polarizer is failing to block all of the blue, right? Well, just ordered blue polarizer IN from parts store cause panasonic is back ordered till at least 2/28/08! Hopefully the parts store isn't also back ordered since I chose overnight shipping. *crosses fingers*

Just wonderful. Back ordered at Parts Store, too. Here's hoping the order cancellation process is simple and easy.

My 3 year old 700 just developed the blue splotch issue in the upper right corner and Panasonic charges $130 just to look at it and diagnose the problem + the shipping. I figure the PJ itself is worth no more than $400-500 right now. Should I spend most likely that much or more to fix, live with the problem, or replace with a new PJ?

Anyone else in a similar boat? If so, based on what we've all liked about the 700 (brightness, ease of use, location flexibility, color accuracy), what would you buy to replace it? I'm thinking HC4900 or Z2000 (not another Panasonic) with the current rebates on both.

ReluctantFLU did a good job in getting thru some of this garbage. I live in Wheaton and maybe we should compare our projectors and experiences.

I am still trying to get my act together I bought a used 700 one EBAY with the turn off/on problem. Actually, it is 4 months newer than my first. I tested it in my lab on a 50" screen. I put in my brand-new spare bulb and managed to get it to light up long enough to see that the light output looked strong, the greys really were grey, not blue, but that the convergeance may be a tad worse than my old.

Today's experiment was to fire it up in my normal viewing room (120" screen) and see how it looked under normal conditions. Darn, the on/off problem came into play. So, the next experiment was to take that new bulb and replace the 2550 bulb in my old projector, and see if it affected the picture in anyway. Over the last few years, I have gradually had to turn bright down and contrast up. I set everything at zero. It was not a surprise to see that the blue tinge was still there. However, I was not prepared for the following:

The light output seemed dull. The color of whites seemed a tad off. So, I began to adjust contrast, brightness, and color balance via the advanced settings. I ended up where I was with a bulb with 2550 hours! So, the gradual dimming and color changes that I have been witnessing, apparently, had little to do with a bulb aging. It is other projector elements which caused these changes.

I also had the chance to speak to a dealer of high end projectors in California this AM. He told me that blue problems like this are almost standard with all LCD projectors, but that he advises customers to run the fan on high speed if possible. He thinks that in an effort to make these things run quiet that manufacturers are just letting heat kill these units. I performed another experiment. I ran the unit in "High Power," and noted the fan noise. I speculated that maybe running it in "Low Power" was false economy. Who knows? However, I then set it back to "Low Power," but set the fan speed to high fan speed for high altitudes. I noted that the fan speed increased, but not so much as for "High Power." It was not as obrusive sounding, but it definitely was providing more cooling. Something to consider if you want these things to live.

When I get more time, I will try blowing out all of the Optical Block as per that described at: http://legolas.mdh.se/~dte96jbn/AE700/

Just wonderful. Back ordered at Parts Store, too. Here's hoping the order cancellation process is simple and easy.

Just curious, how much did each cost? Definitely keep us updated, also would be helpful to know if both really need to be replaced, or only the second one you ordered.

I just notice what Rocytopps said about HDMI problems. I wonder if this is what I have been experienced. I have an HD tuner and it looks spectacular with the Panasonic. I also use the HDMI for the HD tuner. I have noticed something from the start. Every so often, I notice that spoken words loose synch with the picture. ASAP I notice this, the picture begins to pixlilate into many little squares, then, boom, back to normal. Everything is back in synch. This can happen 4 or 5 or moretimes in an hour. Sometimes less. I had thought that the problem was with my "B" stock, arefurbished, bargain-priced Samsung HD tuner. Now, I wonder if it is what Rocytopps experienced. So Rocytopps, please let us if there was audio synch problems and just what this modification entails. Do they post this info? How did you find out about it?

reluctantFLUX
nice try... Sorry it didn't fix it, I think I was going to try for the same ones, not the incidence polarizer. The parts list in the service manual made me weak. I couldn't find anything on the web to help me choose. I guess you found out for us. Hopefully someone has a clue.

Something kind of interesting happened to my projector today. We had a power outage that happened while the projector was turned on. 3 hours later power comes back up, I fire up the projector, and the picture looks better than it has in a long long time. Text seems sharper than ever. No more blue polarizer problem. OK, so maybe it will revert back to how it was any minute now, but I thought I'd mention it. Maybe there is some kind of crazy "shock therapy" that can help troubled old projectors?? If you've got nothing else to lose you might give it a try. Would not fire it back up right away if you do try this, let it cool (like I said, power was off for 3 hours in my case).

TraderGordo, check my post of 03-23-07. I had a similar, but no identical happening almost a year ago. The blue appeared, then went away. Now, almost a year later, the blue is back.

Something kind of interesting happened to my projector today. We had a power outage that happened while the projector was turned on. 3 hours later power comes back up, I fire up the projector, and the picture looks better than it has in a long long time. Text seems sharper than ever. No more blue polarizer problem.

The only thing that I can think of that might be the cause of this is capacitance build up across the polarizer. This *might* happen to machines that are left plugged in all the time and are therfore in a "standby" state if there is non-conductive voltage potential across the assembly.

My 700 exhibits image retention on its blue polarizer which can happen over the course of minutes - it is not permanent as it disppears after SHUTTER use or power off.

To test it out I will disconnect my box from the mains (i.e. it will no longer be in "standby" for a while to see if this has any affect.

ted

Hello All,

I'm experiencing the white flashes over hdmi with my ae700. My firmware is currently 1.03 I'm located in Toronto Canada and have been communicating with Panasonic Canada and Professional Electronics regarding the issue, and they are being communicative and helpful-but apparently they are unaware of or have no access to any firmware beyond 1.03 Now I know from this thread and others that 1.07 is the current/final? firmware and that it addresses the white flashes over hdmi issue. Can anybody-especially any Canadians confirm this for me? And if you got your firmware upgraded in Canada, where was the service done?

Thanks

Hello All,

I'm experiencing the white flashes over hdmi with my ae700. My firmware is currently 1.03 I'm located in Toronto Canada and have been communicating with Panasonic Canada and Professional Electronics regarding the issue, and they are being communicative and helpful-but apparently they are unaware of or have no access to any firmware beyond 1.03 Now I know from this thread and others that 1.07 is the current/final? firmware and that it addresses the white flashes over hdmi issue. Can anybody-especially any Canadians confirm this for me? And if you got your firmware upgraded in Canada, where was the service done?

Thanks

Its been a long time since I followed the AE700 discussions closely but I still do have one. It was purchased Nov.04 as one of the early ones in Canada. I had it upgraded to what was then the latest software about 6 months later if memory serves. If I recall correctly that update was to address issues with the HDMI port. Servicing was done by Panasonic but as you are aware servicing has moved down the road.

The firmware reads as follows from the Extended OSD/SELF CHECK Menu: R1.07 A1.03 P1.04

I believe this was the last firmware publicly available but I don't know for sure.
In that time I've run a CD Player, a PC with DVI to HDMI adaptor and currently run my PS3 over that transport. This is on a Blue Jeans 25ft run. I've had no HDMI issues.

If a JPEG of that screen, or other info is required I can send you one via email if you wish.

ted

Its been a long time since I followed the AE700 discussions closely but I still do have one. It was purchased Nov.04 as one of the early ones in Canada. I had it upgraded to what was then the latest software about 6 months later if memory serves. If I recall correctly that update was to address issues with the HDMI port. Servicing was done by Panasonic but as you are aware servicing has moved down the road.

The firmware reads as follows from the Extended OSD/SELF CHECK Menu: R1.07 A1.03 P1.04

I believe this was the last firmware publicly available but I don't know for sure.
In that time I've run a CD Player, a PC with DVI to HDMI adaptor and currently run my PS3 over that transport. This is on a Blue Jeans 25ft run. I've had no HDMI issues.

If a JPEG of that screen, or other info is required I can send you one via email if you wish.

ted

Please do...A jpeg would be most helpful-thanks in advance. I'm hoping to bring the 700 in on Tuesday for service. I contacted panasonic in the US and they were able to acknowledge that a firmware upgrade would solve my prob, but weren't able to find any information on what the current firmware version is, at least that was more info than panasonic canada had...it was only 3 years ago that I bought this pj...amazing that it is already getting difficult to service..maybe I should just stick to component :)

I had the firmware to my 700 upgraded at Heartland. Try calling them as they may still have it.http://www.heartlandsi.com/

Please do...A jpeg would be most helpful-thanks in advance. I'm hoping to bring the 700 in on Tuesday for service. I contacted panasonic in the US and they were able to acknowledge that a firmware upgrade would solve my prob, but weren't able to find any information on what the current firmware version is, at least that was more info than panasonic canada had...it was only 3 years ago that I bought this pj...amazing that it is already getting difficult to service..maybe I should just stick to component :)

I have your photo, how would you like me to get it to you? Post in this thread with JPEG attach or via Email? PM if you wish to go the Email route. I'm not a member of photo sharing sites and my wife utilizes our web space, so sorry about that. Let me know.

ted

I had the firmware to my 700 upgraded at Heartland. Try calling them as they may still have it.http://www.heartlandsi.com/

I spoke to heartland, and they did tell me to send it in. (although they weren't able to "find" it immediately) They did say an upgrade would help, but I'd like to avoid any shipping charges if at all possible, especially since Panny's main service centre here in Canada is 5 min from my work...sheesh you'd think I was asking them to rebuild the pj from scratch....

I just recently got my projector hooked up in the family room of our new home. We moved in a little over a year ago, so it's been in a box up till then. Prior to that, I had it in operation in our last house, but didn't put that many hours on it (sorry, I keep forgetting to check the specific number of hours it's got on it). Now that I've got it hooked up and working, I'm wondering if I should upgrade. I really want/need to use HDMI and I've got an old firmware, which means that I've got the white flashes (which I think I can live with) and the cropping (which is a bit more bothersome to me and isn't fixed via a firmware upgrade from what I understand).

Also, one of the big reasons I chose this projector originally was because of the long throw distance capability. With my new room, I'm guessing that most shorter-throw projectors would probably work. Upgrading could also mean moving up to 1080p.

I've been out of the loop, so a couple of questions:
1) What can a used, relatively low-bulb usage, AE700U fetch these days? Ebay came up with nothing when I did a search.
2) What are the popular $2000 or less projectors these days, and are they noticeably better are these than the AE700U in terms of contrast, brightness, etc.?

I just tried cleaning my optical block. I accidently picked the thing up without thinking and got fingerprints on two LCD panels. So, I used Kodak Lens Cleaner and a chamois swab to clean all 3 LCD panel faces. I used compressed air to clean the inside faces and the projection polarizers which are behind the LCDs. While inside the machine, I also blew out other easily visible projection parts, which may include the incidence polarizers.

After I reassembled the unit and checked it out, I noticed the following:

1) the contrast and brightness had improved significantly.

2) the blue discoloration I had previously notice center left, was still there!

This whole thing is very confusing. The service manual says that to replace an LCD, you must cut if off the block. Then they tell you to replace it and use screws, etc. However, there are no screws in the block. The manual also refers to convergence adjustments and adjusting screws. However, none of this exists. Does anyone know what that is about?

I am now contemplating taking out all polarizers, and cleaning them with chamois swabs and Kodak Lens Cleaners...and maybe the backs of the LCD panels too. However, some things are not really explained in the service manual, and many respondents here have not been specific enough. We need some clarifications.

reluctantFLUX has reported replacing projection polarizers, but left me with two important questions:

1) How do you replace them? The service manual is confusing in this. It says that they have adhesive tape on them, and it says to put adhesive tape on them. It also says to pull them out with tweezers. If this thing is put together with adhesive tape, how the heck to they ship them from around the world and have them stay in one piece? If the tape is that strong, can you really pull them off without damaging them?

2) He mentioned other polarizers inside the block. I can only find the projection polarizers that are just behind the LCDs. Is this a mistake or am I missing anything?

I recently replaced my AE700U with the Mitsubishi HC4900, and couldn't be happier. The HC4900 is better than the 700U in every area, except for maybe black levels. I'm not sure about the black levels, because I had a filter on my 700U, which I don't have on the 4900. When you factor in the $500 rebate, the 4900 was a no brainer for me.

Is anyone successfully using an HDMI switcher and/or splitter with the AE700? And, ideally, with a fairly long run HDMI cable to the AE700? I recently bought a Monoprice 4x2 switcher/splitter and a 25' 26AWG HDMI cable (which, it turns out, isn't quite long enough so it looks like I'll be buying a 30' 24AWG). The price was great, but the switcher/splitter isn't working well for me. I'm trying to figure out if the problem is with the switcher/splitter itself, the AE700, or HDMI/HDCP in general.

I'm debating between asking Monoprice to send me another unit (I don't think it's a defective unit), trying two separate boxes from them (a splitter and a switcher) instead of the all-in-one splitter/switcher, and giving up altogether (requiring me to manually swap cables in/out when I want to watch something on the projector).

Is anyone successfully using an HDMI switcher and/or splitter with the AE700? And, ideally, with a fairly long run HDMI cable to the AE700? I recently bought a Monoprice 4x2 switcher/splitter and a 25' 26AWG HDMI cable (which, it turns out, isn't quite long enough so it looks like I'll be buying a 30' 24AWG). The price was great, but the switcher/splitter isn't working well for me. I'm trying to figure out if the problem is with the switcher/splitter itself, the AE700, or HDMI/HDCP in general.

I'm debating between asking Monoprice to send me another unit (I don't think it's a defective unit), trying two separate boxes from them (a splitter and a switcher) instead of the all-in-one splitter/switcher, and giving up altogether (requiring me to manually swap cables in/out when I want to watch something on the projector).

I'm using a Monoprice HDX-501 with no problems. My cable length from the switch to the PJ is only 15 feet.

Good luck,

Bob.

I have your photo, how would you like me to get it to you? Post in this thread with JPEG attach or via Email? PM if you wish to go the Email route. I'm not a member of photo sharing sites and my wife utilizes our web space, so sorry about that. Let me know.

ted


Just an update on where I am trying to get my ae700 firmware upgraded from 1.03 to 1.07 to solve the hdmi white flash issue. I brought my PJ back into professional electronics this morning and got to speak with their head? technician.

He was adamant that I didn't need a firmware upgrade (because 1.07 doesn't exist) :( I showed him screen shots from Tvteds (thanks Ted) upgraded ae700 as as well as my own 1.03 to prove that my firmware wasn't the latest-and in a classic case of misdirection he started harping on the fact that I had accessed the service menu and wasn't a "technician". I'm not a confrontational guy and I don't wanna piss off the guys who will be servicing my pj in the future, but c'mon, this guy was overly defensive and was insulted because he perceived me to be questioning his knowledge of the ae700.

It aint rocket science, the hdmi issue is years old, and appeared to be quite common, and 1.07 (the solution) has been around for how many years?

He also seemed to recall that he had replaced my hdmi chip, which he hadn't-the receptionist was kind enough to read the report on file which confirmed that they had only replaced a couple of capacitors....

So he's gonna run my pj on a bench in the hopes that he'll catch the hdmi flash which only happens around once an hour...I hope he isn't looking at his shoes when it happens, or he'll put another 100 hours on my bulb-and then he'll probably recommend replacing the hdmi chip, cause 1.07 is something the Masons made up....

He was adamant that I didn't need a firmware upgrade (because 1.07 doesn't exist) :( I showed him screen shots from Tvteds (thanks Ted) upgraded ae700 as as well as my own 1.03 to prove that my firmware wasn't the latest-and in a classic case of misdirection he started harping on the fact that I had accessed the service menu and wasn't a "technician". I'm not a confrontational guy and I don't wanna piss off the guys who will be servicing my pj in the future, but c'mon, this guy was overly defensive and was insulted because he perceived me to be questioning his knowledge of the ae700.



Sounds like the same guy who replaced my power supply - didn't want to believe that the symptoms my machine exhibited had pointed to a power supply or a faulty ballast board.

Why should he care what menu tells you what firmware your machine has? As an owner you have every right to know what is in your device regardless of whether he thinks there is something "special" or "reserved" about this menu.

Have you considered contacting Panasonic customer service and complaining about the hard time he is giving you?

Unfortunately, the email exchange I had with Panasonic Canada when I was dealing with my firmware upgrade disappeared about a year ago along with a hard drive failure or you could have that too.

I'm quite sure there are posts hereabouts discussing this very issue which arose with the early units. One of the complaints re the HDMI select was the cropping though it was pixel mapped. The 1.07 software also added a useless OVERSCAN mode to help alleviate this though it was of no help.

I wish you luck and I hope though not confrontational, you are adamant.

ted

Sounds like the same guy who replaced my power supply - didn't want to believe that the symptoms my machine exhibited had pointed to a power supply or a faulty ballast board.

Why should he care what menu tells you what firmware your machine has? As an owner you have every right to know what is in your device regardless of whether he thinks there is something "special" or "reserved" about this menu.

Have you considered contacting Panasonic customer service and complaining about the hard time he is giving you?

Unfortunately, the email exchange I had with Panasonic Canada when I was dealing with my firmware upgrade disappeared about a year ago along with a hard drive failure or you could have that too.

I'm quite sure there are posts hereabouts discussing this very issue which arose with the early units. One of the complaints re the HDMI select was the cropping though it was pixel mapped. The 1.07 software also added a useless OVERSCAN mode to help alleviate this though it was of no help.

I wish you luck and I hope though not confrontational, you are adamant.

ted


I spoke with panasonic canada, they left a message that they had confirmed that 1.05 did indeed exist and that 1.07 should be coming out soon?? Anyways I suppose I should be thankful that they've confirmed that 1.03 is not the latest firmware...I'm beginning to feel like I'm Big Bird trying to convince everyone that Snuffelupagous (sp?) is real...lol

anyways...we'll see how this pans out

I'm curious about the Cinema Reality setting on the projector, and the whole 24 fps thing. I picked up a Samsung 1400 bluray player the other day and was fiddling with the settings. I ended up taking it back and now have a PS3 instead. Since they were the same price, I didn't think I could go wrong. My question is with either player, when I set the 24fps setting to ON, it would default back to OFF. It seemed the player wasn't compatible with that setting, even if I set the player to output at 1080i. If I have it set to automatic, on the PS3, and set the Cinema Reality, on the AE700, to ON, should I actually get the 24fps when it applies? Or am I missing something. I'm using an HDMI cable straight from the PS3 to the projector.

I'm curious about the Cinema Reality setting on the projector, and the whole 24 fps thing. I picked up a Samsung 1400 bluray player the other day and was fiddling with the settings. I ended up taking it back and now have a PS3 instead. Since they were the same price, I didn't think I could go wrong. My question is with either player, when I set the 24fps setting to ON, it would default back to OFF. It seemed the player wasn't compatible with that setting, even if I set the player to output at 1080i. If I have it set to automatic, on the PS3, and set the Cinema Reality, on the AE700, to ON, should I actually get the 24fps when it applies? Or am I missing something. I'm using an HDMI cable straight from the PS3 to the projector.

Cinema Reality is 3:2 pulldown mode for film source, i.e. it takes a progressive signal encoded as interlace (per DVD) and rebuilds the sequence see here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3:2_pulldown#3:2_pulldown) or even better (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/primers/the-dvd-benchmark/dvd-benchmark---part-5---progressive-scan-dvd.html) for more meaningful explanations. In other words it would have no impact on a 24fps signal which a standard DVD isn't.

The bigger issue however is that the 700 doesn't know what to do with a 24fps signal. It has to be fed a 50 or 60 fps source, interlace if you want the 700 to deinterlace, or progressive if your source is doing it.

ted

Hi all, I ran across the recent convergence discussion as I've finally been annoyed enough by the poor convergence on my AE700 to want to do something about it. I'm an engineer and used to do machining and fabrication so I have no fear of screwdrivers :D

Anyways, I remember reading this thread back when it was a wee 30 pager, but once I got myself all dialed in with my 81EF filter etc. I was stylin'. Well, most geeks can't leave well enough alone, so here I am again...

So about the convergence: my red panel is right and up just about one pixel (each) from blue and green, which are fine in respect to each other. It's not a huge deal in SD material (although it does lend a little softness to pristine-detail DVDs like Pixar materials - it's noticeable side-by-side with the sharpness of my 32" WXGA LCD TV hooked up to the 2nd output on my HTPC). Mostly though it's a huge downer for using the PC as a PC, and fringes on HD content with a lot of white (like watching the Red Wings drop 6 in a row :()

I got to reading the service manual I downloaded a couple years ago, and here's my take:


This whole thing is very confusing. The service manual says that to replace an LCD, you must cut if off the block. Then they tell you to replace it and use screws, etc. However, there are no screws in the block. The manual also refers to convergence adjustments and adjusting screws. However, none of this exists. Does anyone know what that is about?

It looks quite clear to me that they build the projection block as one piece for the sake of automated assembly, with the LCD panels held in place and the plastic of the block heated/molded/injected to the "pins" referenced in the manual. This makes sense as there's no way they perform manual convergence adjustment on every unit they crank out, for $1200 (not much over the cost of materials and R&D). The assembly is just built with extremely close tolerance machine tooling and relies on "if the panels are held this way by the machine, they are all lined up with each other because the machine is precision aligned."

So the next item is the replacement panels... it appears (logically and in the manual pictures) that the replacements come in a different mechanical package than the original factory-installed panel, and must come with (or require as an additional purchase) the flat bracket that bolts to the top of the projection block. This plate bolts to the block, then the "replacement style" LCD panel bolts to it. It's the combination of the bracketry on the replacement panel and the added bracket on the top of the block that provides the adjustment capability for aligning the new panel.

So, bottom line - there's no way to adjust the panel as built from the factory. You have to cut off the old one and bolt on a replacement with different bracketry. Alternately, some enterprising individual could fabricate his own bracketry such that you cut the panel off the block, attach it to the fabricated pieces, then bolt that to the block as per the Panasonic part, and adjust from there.

Worth it? Almost certainly not :(


2) He mentioned other polarizers inside the block. I can only find the projection polarizers that are just behind the LCDs. Is this a mistake or am I missing anything?

Look at sections 6.17 and 6.18 in the manual, there are also the 3 "incidence polarizers" contained in the analysis block, seperate from the 3 projection polarizers on the LCD panels.

As a random aside, do you have an Audi TT, or a twin turbo vehicle, or is the TT in your handle some other reference (initials)? I have/had both of the former, it's just funny to run into someone else at random :D

Cheers,
-Mark

On further study, I revise my previous post slightly...

Looking at the detail of the LCD/projection block attachment "pin" on p.33 of the manual, it looks like the pins are cast/molded as part of the block, and the LCD panels have substantially larger holes at each corner. During manufacture, that panel is moved into place by the assembly machine and shifted around until in the correct location (either by "precision location" as hypothesized, or with some sort of optical feedback) and when in the correct location the pins are cemented into the oversized holes in the LCD by the application of a fast curing epoxy or the like - something to fill the open space between the pin and the hole.

So what? This means the LCD panel itself probably IS the same between the original and replacement, the difference being method of attachment. One should be able to buy the two alignment brackets (p.34, Panel Adjuster & Base Plate), then carefully drill out the pin remnant and epoxy filler in the 4 holes in the LCD panel and attach it to the Panel Adjuster. Then proceed as per the manual for assembly and convergence.

I wonder what those brackets cost... damn incomprehensible parts list!

(I'll not double-sig my post this time ;))

And I'm a little OCD :D I swear I'll stop posting now...

I found the adjuster piece that bolts to the LCD elements, on Panasonic's part website (interestingly, it's not listed in the service manual).

TZSH04032 LCD ADJUSTMENT PLATE 22.62

It says it's not orderable online though, you have to call. Alternately, PartsStore claims it's a 2-3 day ship item (in stock?) and they sell them for $32.31. It's listed as "Test Tool" at PartsStore, I'm not sure what to make of that one.

No luck finding the "base plate" though. There is a part with the ever descriptive label "PLATE" and another "BASE METAL" but who knows on those. Frankly that plate would be exceptionally easy to fabricate up, the bolt pattern could be transferred from the projection block easily enough. The gotcha is knowing how thick it should be to hold the adjustment plate in the correct location.

Also bear in mind that you need the magic cable extension set TZSH07017 to be able to run the PJ with the top board off. That's a spendy $298 :( It's a shame you can't get "loaner" tools on full-value deposit like you can at Autozone. I'd be tempted to rig something up somehow...

Damn it sure would be nice to fix a single-panel convergence problem for about $30 in parts and some careful assembly work. Hell, for $100 you could have a fully-adjustable LCD block...

I spoke with panasonic canada, they left a message that they had confirmed that 1.05 did indeed exist and that 1.07 should be coming out soon?? Anyways I suppose I should be thankful that they've confirmed that 1.03 is not the latest firmware...I'm beginning to feel like I'm Big Bird trying to convince everyone that Snuffelupagous (sp?) is real...lol

anyways...we'll see how this pans out


Got my projector back today. Seems like the repair guys had to wait for Panasonic to come to their shop (they're right next door to each other) to show them how to upgrade a projector with firmware that doesn't exist to fix a problem that couldn't be fixed with firmware anyways. All this from the guy who claimed to know the ae700 like the back of his hand....ack..well at any rate, they didn't charge me for the upgrade, and tonight I'll watch an episode of deadwood, and I shouldn't be seeing any silly white flashes.... :)

Got my projector back today. Seems like the repair guys had to wait for Panasonic to come to their shop (they're right next door to each other) to show them how to upgrade a projector with firmware that doesn't exist to fix a problem that couldn't be fixed with firmware anyways. All this from the guy who claimed to know the ae700 like the back of his hand....ack..well at any rate, they didn't charge me for the upgrade, and tonight I'll watch an episode of deadwood, and I shouldn't be seeing any silly white flashes.... :)

Great to hear that. Keep us posted regarding the white flashes. One question. Will you have to re-calibrate the settings on the PJ? My PJ never had the update, but it only would flash about once every 2 to 3 hours. Sometimes, while watching it a shorter movie, it would not flash at all. I'm also glad there was no charge to you for the upgrade. Maybe, I will take, or send, mine to the shop.

Good info, thanks,

Bob.

1) What can a used, relatively low-bulb usage, AE700U fetch these days? Ebay came up with nothing when I did a search.


Well, that my friend is a good question.
I just upgraded to the Sony VW60 so I now have my filtered AE-700 up for auction on ebay, but I have no idea as to what it will bring. I don't have much experience in selling there, but some times I wish I would have tried selling on this site first, then resort to listing it on ebay if I didn't have any luck here. Oh well, I guess I'll know in a week or so. :)

Also, for anyone looking to replace the optical block I found it for $600 which seems to be the cheapest

http://www.vancebaldwin.com/products/?MSCTXFEC99VJY7A

$600... I doubt the projector is worth much more than that.

Great to hear that. Keep us posted regarding the white flashes. One question. Will you have to re-calibrate the settings on the PJ? My PJ never had the update, but it only would flash about once every 2 to 3 hours. Sometimes, while watching it a shorter movie, it would not flash at all. I'm also glad there was no charge to you for the upgrade. Maybe, I will take, or send, mine to the shop.

Good info, thanks,

Bob.


I haven't had to recalibrate my pj's settings, the flash did not wipe out any of my settings-and so far no white flashes :) At any rate as the ae700 get's older, it's going to only get more difficult to upgrade the firmware, so I'd reccomend getting it done if you haven't got the 1.07-sooner rather than later. Looks like BBspills has the DIY firmware upgrade figured out. That might be the way to go if getting your pj flashed requires shipping-or if the techies you're dealing with are numpties :P

Hey guys, here's the deal.

To recap. I had a blue splotch, and couldn't find any definitive information, so I decided to do some testing. My problem is a blue splotch in the upper left. If a still image is left on screen for a while (ten minutes or so) I get a temporary blue haze "burn in" of the image. This particularly happens with the black bars from 2.35 or 4:3 content. The haze would go away after moving images were displayed on it for a while, or if the unit was turned off for a while.

Since it seems that the job of a polarizer is to allow or block light, I figured seeing blue when I wasn't supposed to meant that my blue polarizers were going bad. Now, there's lots of IN's and OUT's on the Panasonic page. From what it seems, any of their IN's (incidence) polarizers will work for the incidence polarizer replacement, and any OUT (projector) polarizers will work for the projector polarizer replacement. So even though there's like 3 of each, any IN will replace your IN, and any OUT will replace any of your OUT. Just make sure you get the right color (which is signified by the R (red), G (green), and B (blue)). I just went with the ones that had the highest item number cause I figured those were the most recent revisions (can polarizers even have revisions? Whatever).

So onto replacing them. Your case is open, and the lens is pointing away from you. The optical block (thing with the ribbon cables coming out of it) has the OUT (projector) polarizer, and is attached with white double sided tape (reminded me of pipe threading material). Now, the replacement OUT polarizer I received did NOT come with any tape, so when I removed the OUT polarizer from the optical block, I tried to keep the tape on the optical block. Now, before you remove it, make sure you can tell which way the polarizer is pointing. I don't have the best eye site in the world, but I noticed one side had a second kind of layer that was raised from the rest of the polarizer. I made note of this for when I put in the replacement. Use tweezers, and be cautious. You can't put too much pressure while you're holding it, or you might shatter it....but, if you don't put enough, you can drop it like I did... That's ok, though. Just used contact cleaner (isopropyl alcohol) and a non-lint cotton swab to clean it off (which I also did to the rest of the polarizers and anything shiny inside that area). So yes, it's ok to use isopropyl alcohol on the inside. Just make sure to use non-lint material to do the wiping. Then I just inserted it and lightly pressed on the edges where some left over tape was to keep it in place.

As for the IN (incidence) polarizer, it's a more prolonged process. First off, I recommend removing the bulb for this. I think that's what made it a bit more difficult for me than it really should have been. The IN polarizers are the tiny pieces of glass (that look exactly like the OUT (projector) polarizers) basically right where you took the optical block out. The green is a cinch to replace since it's just held in by 1 or 2 tiny screws. The blue and red, however, take a bit more disassembly to do. So, continuing from where I still have the optical block out, that big black thing on the right of the machine (if the lens is pointed away from you) has like 3 screws near the bottom of the unit that you need to unscrew so you can pop that up, and then remove 2 screws on the large black plastic thing on the left which allows you to lift that up (and off? I dunno, I was only able to shift it just enough to remove the polarizer, but I think this was due to me not removing the bulb beforehand). So, you've got it apart enough that you can pull the one out, again, make sure which way it's "pointed". Then this one you can just drop right in, no need for tape.

There was no alignment necessary for the IN or OUT. They kind of just fit in. Just make sure they're facing the correct direction.

I cleaned again the isopropyl alcohol and put it all together. Turned it on, and the picture was much cleaner, with much more contrast, but I still had the blue haze. (Yes, I switched the IN and OUT at different times, but it was just easier to tell it like this). So, the blue polarizers were NOT my problem. But there you have it, the update. Sending it in is out of the question for me. And at this point, after putting $130 into it, I don't really feel like replacing anymore parts unless I am more confident that it will fix my problem. (And I was pretty confident this was going to fix it for me.) :confused:

While I had it open, I noticed that there are other, larger pieces of glass inside the projector. What are these?

I'm using a Monoprice HDX-501 with no problems. My cable length from the switch to the PJ is only 15 feet.

Good luck,

Bob.

I just added the monoprice HDX-401 hdmi switch with built in equalizer. No problems at all so far. I'm running a 35' monoprice hdmi cable, don't remember the guage. along with a 3' and a 6' hdmi cable from my Toshiba A-2 and soon to be purchased ps3.

only had problems with it
http://www.amazon.com/?%5Fencoding=UTF8&tag=blogger0f2-20

While I had it open, I noticed that there are other, larger pieces of glass inside the projector. What are these?

Dichroic mirrors/prism for splitting and integrating the three primary wavelengths. Incorrectly aligned mirrors (tilt / rotate) can result in poor uniformity.

See here (http://www.3lcd.com/explore/structure.aspx?revkey=0&sid=0&gd=2bb01a96-5f62-40c7-ae89-f7f07d101814&ct=633400488003650504&frm=/explore/papers&lnkid=2) for a diagram with some explanation.

ted

Both ReluctantFLUX and myself must have gotten to work on the same thing at the same time. We had almost idenitical experiences. My advice when working on them is to have an illuminated magnifying glass. Also, get some thin, white cloth gloves. These things are difficult to hold, especially with tweezers. I didn't use straight alcohol, but chose Kodak Lens Cleaner, which is mostly distilled water with little alcohol in it. Whatever you use be careful, cuz I did chip the edge of one of my ouput polarizers. All said and done, no damage was done, the contrast and brightnes improved, but the PURITY (TV engineering lingo for bluish or whatever tinges that are on part of the picture) was not changed.

That leaves other things to suspect. If it's an LCD, I think we re looking for real trouble. There are other polarizers and optics in the unit, but I think ReluctantFLUX has put that one to bed. However, I will never know till I check mine for problems...dust could easily be there and mimic LCD problems.

Another knowlegeable fellow has told me that these polarizers are made with organic material that do age with intense light and heat. He said that newer polarizers are made of inorganic materials and do not degrade. I think this is an important issue to persue for those of us who want to get reliable replacement products.

Oh and by the way, I wrote a respectful plea to the CEO of Panasonic USA explaining what has happened to so many of us with their projector, i.e., repair costing more than a new machine, the machine essentially dyine while still basically new. That was 30 days ago; not even a drop dead. All my experience with Matsushita have been difficult. They really think they are the best thing since sliced bread and don't care much about the customer except that the products not die before the waranty runs out.

Also, ETTsiAWD asked what the "TT" is for. Simple, I make TURNTABLES!

bbspills found the best price so far for the optical block. When I called around, I found it for $738.00. Now, if only that would really fix it...and not break again in approximately 3000 hours.

Also, I wanted to upgrade my firmware, so I triied

http://www.kristahl.com/

It's gone and dead. So, bbspills, can you give us some more info on this?

So it appears I can either order a blue LCD panel, the attachment plate, and install and adjust the convergence myself for about $350....or I could just buy a whole new optical block for $600 that should be convergically alligned (yes, i know convergically is not a real word), that has new blue, red, and green LCD panels for $600, that all I have to do is pretty much drop into the unit. So now the question is, pay $600 for the new optical block, pay $2000 for a new projector, pay $2000 for a new non-projector so i don't have to deal with this stupidly fast degradation of product, or just deal with the blue? Thoughts?

Esoteric, has anything changed for you? What's your next step?

I gave up trying to fix my blue problems and bought a used 3 chip DLP a couple of weeks ago for $2200. I don't miss the 700 at all! If you don't mind 720P, there's some great deals to be had at the moment.

So it appears I can either order a blue LCD panel, the attachment plate, and install and adjust the convergence myself for about $350....or I could just buy a whole new optical block for $600 that should be convergically alligned (yes, i know convergically is not a real word), that has new blue, red, and green LCD panels for $600, that all I have to do is pretty much drop into the unit. So now the question is, pay $600 for the new optical block, pay $2000 for a new projector, pay $2000 for a new non-projector so i don't have to deal with this stupidly fast degradation of product, or just deal with the blue? Thoughts?

Esoteric, has anything changed for you? What's your next step?

You can buy a new PT-ax200 for about $1299...and having owned the ae-700 and going to an Ax-100 I can tell you the upgrade is breath taking...Don't waste that much money on the ae 700.

Hi,

I wrote the CEO of Panasonic over a month ago and suggested that a $2,000.00 product should be repairable within 3 years of purchase. These are clearly now, when the dealer and Pany Service tell you outright that you can buy a new one cheaper.

So, I called Panasonic Tech Support and told them that I really wanted to file a product complaint. To my surprise, I was switched to someone else, and he took all my information. He also asked me to FAX in the sales receipt! That got my attention. It has been 2 weeks and all I know is that it "has been kicked upstairs for evaluation." Maybe, I'll get lucky. Pending the outcome, I will just sit and wait.

I suggest all of you who have experienced this problem, i. e., been told by Panasonit that it will cost more to fix it than to buy a new one, or been quoted $1,500.00, complain to Panasonic. You should, as I, mention that you have little motivation to purchase a Panasonic projector because they are not reliable. If you give them practical and sensible reasons for the complaint ,they will listen. Who knows what they will do about it. However, when they get a lot of complaints, it might motivate them.

I also am fairly confident that the problem is not the polarizers. I have examined them and do not see any discoloration to them at all. Yes, $600.00 is tempting, but it is a time bomb waiting to go off. Remember, if it does not work, you're out that money.


If they say go fly a kite, I will buy a new one. The dealer I went to said that the best projector for the buck is, by far, the PTAX200. If I buy it, I will definitely purchase a 5 year rock solid, extended warranty. Anything less is nuts.

When I learn of a projector that has a high probability of lasting a minimum of 10 years, trouble free, I'll probably replace my limping AE700. I don't feel like giving any more money to Panny.

A bit of positive news for some I hope. I have had the dreaded blue patch problem for a long time now. I finally got up the courage to disassemble my AE700 and check the optical block for dust. Sure enough there was obvious dust on each polarizer. I blew each on off (gently used a pipe cleaner to loosen some dust) and put everything back together. Wow! It looks like it did when it was brand new. I was convinced I had a burned polarizer. Here is a link (http://http://legolas.mdh.se/~dte96jbn/AE700/)to the instructions I used.

Good luck to all

Stace

Can you re-post the link you used to clean yours out? Mine has the same blue issue on the right side of the screen and I'm not able to spend money on a replacement projector yet.

Thanks!

Can you re-post the link you used to clean yours out? Mine has the same blue issue on the right side of the screen and I'm not able to spend money on a replacement projector yet.

Thanks!

Sorry, don't know why it didn't work. Here you go http://legolas.mdh.se/~dte96jbn/AE700/

Good luck,

Stace

You had doubled HTTP'd it.

Anyways, my bulb was reaching the 2700 hours mark, so I figured I'd put my unused spare bulb in. The picture is much brighter, but now the blue spotchiness is 20x worse. Currently looking for a new display.

How can Panasonic expect me to purchase a new unit if their newest units haven't even reached this long of a life?

do you think this take apart and cleaning thing will fix my ae700 problem?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=852101

i posted last year and no one ever replied to it. it sounds similiar to what you guys are describing, blue all over the place...

Do you have any sort of image retention, or does that blue stay like that the whole time. It LOOKS like it's your LCD panel (like mine, where it's a $300-$600 part to fix), but I could be wrong.

Do you have any sort of image retention, or does that blue stay like that the whole time. It LOOKS like it's your LCD panel (like mine, where it's a $300-$600 part to fix), but I could be wrong.

the image is all there, it is just tinted when it is normal video.

I have dealt with Panasonic for years. I even got layed off by them. They are real SOBs and difficult to deal with. Anyway, I gave it my best. I called them today to check on the status of my complaint on reliability. I had asked that they should offer some accomodation for these projecters, which are obviously not reliable. They gave me the big "fly a kit."

Well, you may think I'm crazy, but I'm going to go for the PTAX200. I will get a 5 year extende waranty thru VISA for $137.00. I bought a used 700 on EBAY that had the power supply problem. I repaired it and used my spare new bulb on it. It is beautiful. I am now using it, but with fan set to high speed. I will keep it as a spare. That leaves my orignal Pany. Well, I will spruce it up as best I can and put it on EBAY. See you in 5 years??

FYI, I followed the instructions on the link (which were great by the way). Afterwards, the picture did seem to pop more (only have 550 hrs on this bulb), but the blue splotches are still there (mine take up about the upper 1/5 of the picture).

I've considered selling mine on ebay as well, but would feel guilty if I don't disclose the problem. How much would you think to ask for a 3 yr old 700 with a pretty new lamp with this issue?

If I can't get more than a couple hundred bucks, then I'll just keep it as a spare or to use for "dive-in movie night"! ;)

I had the same experience with cleaning. It did improve the brightness & contrast, but left the problem. One can use the advanced menu to very carefully adjust the blue, green and red brightness for best comprise of blue problem. Mine looks swell with almost any color picture, but displays a "purity" (that's TV lingo) problem with B & W. It is almost tolerable. I will take some pictures of color and B&W projections and use Photoshop to make them look just like the projection. Cameras will never get it right. I will put the pictures in the advert and mention the B&W purity problem. I got a great one for $288.00, but it had no bulb. I had to put $107.00 into fixing it. So thats about $700.00 for a very good working one. If we get $300.00 to $400.00, I think we will be doing more than well.

Why are you guys spending all that coin for a "non fix"?!
I'm just living with it a bit longer until something special hopefully comes along...

We're talking about how much to sell them for on ebay to be fair given the blue haze issue.

I'd love to hear more specifics around how to tailor the color settings to minimize the blue haze. I calibrated mine using DVE HD-DVD version and the picture looked great until the blue showed up a couple months ago. :mad:

Doh!
Yeah, that's tricky. I have an impossible time selling stuff. I go on and on about every little detail of any problems. I always lose money on ebay.

Fortunately, I don't have the haze after 2.5 years. Personally, since I paid $2500 for mine I would rather give mine away to a church or some other organizition than sell it on EBAY for peanuts. Even with a haze, I am sure somone could use it and you can claim it on your taxes if given to a not-for-profit.

Selling something on EBay with a defect is asking for trouble even if you provide full disclosure.

After 3 years of use my bulb popped in my PT-AE700. :(
At 1000 hrs the bulb became noticably dimmer and then at 1050 hrs it imploded.
Luckly I found a brand new bulb on eBay for $200.00
Just like new again. :)

Nascar Dog
1000 hrs at 3 years? Yikes! Took much less than a year for me to get there. enjoy!
Diplomat
Good idea , maybe some VFW guys could use mine. Not for the tax thing, though, I might feel dirty later. I'm weird about that sort of stuff. Anyway, I have to replace it first. I'm hoping for 1080p<$1500 by fall?

anybody have a lamp for a ae700 for sale....new or low hours?

anybody have a lamp for a ae700 for sale....new or low hours?

Mine blew a couple weeks ago and I got lucky finding a brand new one on eBay for $200.00.
Take a look and you will see a few prospects.

Well now that I have replaced my bulb at 2900 hours, I believe I have a power supply failure. I bought my PJ in Nov. "04 and just 3 weeks ago I replaced the original bulb. It made a huge difference in the brightness and picture quality. I used the PJ for a couple of days and then haven't used it in 2 weeks. Today I go to turn it on at the main switch and I dont get the red light (LED). It won't turn on at all. Of course I checked all of the connects and wall socket...surge protector and everything works fine but the PJ just won't turn on. To those who have bought new power supplies, does this sound familiar? Can I replace this myself? I did replace my bulb myself. Also, where can I get a service manual and where is the best place to get the power supply part?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The only problem I have seen with power supplies is the on/off problem. However, this could be a variation of it. I got my replacements at Partstore.com. I think I paid about $107.00, and they came pronto.

I recently discovered that my 1.03 based PT-AE700 projector didn't work (as in image turned to HDCP-protect-snow after a few seconds) with my new HDCP compliant DVD-player using a number of HDMI cables. I tried updating it using the "LC80 Software update program" (from kristahl) with the A19 connector. While the upgrade was unable to start, it made the projector unable to go from standby to on. LED D1024 is no longer flashing, indicating firmware problem.

Is the LC80 program supposed to work with the A19 connector? Where can I find the official philips firmware flash tool? Does it require that the currently used firmware is correct? Is there another way to flash a dead projector?

Regards,
Henrik

Need some help:
I just purchased a new receiver (Onkyo TX-SR805). I connected my sources (Xbox 360, DishNetwork...) to the receiver via component cables, and have the receiver switch them to HDMI out. I noticed a faint purple band slowly rolling up the screen. Every other connection option I have tried does not produce this discoloration. See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13768092#post13768092) for the various tests connection options I have tried. I called Onkyo they said return the unit. I did. I just hooked up the replacement last night. Exact same issue.

The only thing I can think of is perhaps the Panny and the Onkyo don't communicate correctly? I did notice that the Panasonic shows 750/60 and the Onkyo says it's putting out 720/60, however I've seen that on other sources that don't exhibit the problem.

Does anyone have an idea as to what might cause this problem?

EDIT: HDMI ground loop issue. I was able to fix this by simply plugging the Dishnetwork box and the 360 into a separate power strip.

How do we get Tom Huffman from Rockville, MD to take a look at our Panasonic TH-50PZ800U forum. Some clear metrics in our forum would definitely help.

And, by George! It will be wonferfully appreciated!!!!!!

Hi,


Where can I get a Panasonic AE700 service manual ????





tks

Hi,


Where can I get a Panasonic AE700 service manual ????





tks

http://www.gordosoft.com/htpc/

www_gordosoft_com/htpc



Good. Very Good!!





Thanks ;)

Anyone know if this projector can be run at native resolution. Got a new scaler and it says I can custom set timing etc to drive the projector and therefore bypass the internal scaler.

Anyone? If I select 720p is that all I need to do? I know this thing is a dinosaur, but I'm trying to maximize it's life, esp. since I still have another bulb in the closet :)

Anyone? If I select 720p is that all I need to do? I know this thing is a dinosaur, but I'm trying to maximize it's life, esp. since I still have another bulb in the closet :)

You should be good to go.

Stace

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165188&page=2

I took my AE700 to bits and took pics. Thought some of you would like to see. Scroll to bottom, next page aswell.

:( I have to create an account to see them.

Hi

anyone knows where I could download the new firmware? the location at kristahl.com doesnt seem to work anymore. Maybe someone could also mail me that thing
klommooffe@gmail.com

thx

Does anybody happen to still have the firmware update program and the update (1.07)? I think I found a local service place that will sell me an 'official' update cable since they had a 'falling out' with Panasonic and no longer service their equipment.

I have the files on my PC at home if you still need them (and pictures how to get through the process).

Send me a PM if you need it.

If anyone is interested in my old AE700 for parts, PM me. It has a good (new) power module (p-module) and new ballast, and it works, but the blue polarizer is going (blue blotch on part of the screen). I also have two working bulbs, not sure of the hours on either of them but one I think only has a couple hundred hours, the other probably around 2000. There is probably no market for this, but if no one here is interested I'll try to sell it on ebay for parts (would hate to send it to a landfill).

If anyone is interested in my old AE700 for parts, PM me. It has a good (new) power module (p-module) and new ballast, and it works, but the blue polarizer is going (blue blotch on part of the screen). I also have two working bulbs, not sure of the hours on either of them but one I think only has a couple hundred hours, the other probably around 2000. There is probably no market for this, but if no one here is interested I'll try to sell it on ebay for parts (would hate to send it to a landfill).

PM sent.

Since quite a few people have sent me messages asking for the AE-700 firmware, here's a link to the zip file on my website:

http://www.goglen.com/post/Panny_PT-AE700_107_firware_and_pics.zip

http://goglen.com/post/PT-AE700_zip_contents.jpg

I'm still running the 700 - what kind of cable would it take to update the firmware and what does the new firmware do?

thanks.

The primary reason for the firmware was to eliminate the "white flashes" that was in the original shipping (1.03?) firmware that so many of us had.

Beyond that, I don't know of any other benefits, though I'm sure there are several since it is 4 versions past my original!

As for cable... well, it takes a special one. A PC serial port on one end and a VGA plug on the other to plug into the projector. I bought a custom-made cable from a fellow in Eurpoe, and lent it around AVS a bunch back in 2005. It sat in my theater for 2 years and about 5 months ago, I sold it to a fellow in Norway (unfortunately, my wife sent it "insured/sig required" - and it cost me more than I was paid :( )

Had I known that even the new Panny projectors still need the same cable... I would have kept mine!

Well my ae700 stopped working this week. It was working fine, then would not show any picture and I got no response from the power button and in fact would not show any LED lights at all when plugged in.

I therefore have an ae700 for parts, an extra bulb NIB, and one of the B&W KR-6 filters sitting here.

If anyone still using this projector and interested, PM.

I kinda feel like I am missing an old friend - this projector has been a good performer and definitely was quite a value for the dollar, but I wish mine hadn't died.

Well my ae700 stopped working this week. It was working fine, then would not show any picture and I got no response from the power button and in fact would not show any LED lights at all when plugged in.

I therefore have an ae700 for parts, an extra bulb NIB, and one of the B&W KR-6 filters sitting here.

If anyone still using this projector and interested, PM.

I kinda feel like I am missing an old friend - this projector has been a good performer and definitely was quite a value for the dollar, but I wish mine hadn't died.

You have a PM

Well my ae700 stopped working this week. It was working fine, then would not show any picture and I got no response from the power button and in fact would not show any LED lights at all when plugged in.

I therefore have an ae700 for parts, an extra bulb NIB, and one of the B&W KR-6 filters sitting here.

If anyone still using this projector and interested, PM.

I kinda feel like I am missing an old friend - this projector has been a good performer and definitely was quite a value for the dollar, but I wish mine hadn't died.

I can't believe I missed this post. If you still have the projector, I'd be interested in buying it for parts - I need at least one polarizer (probably the blue), and a bulb.

How many hours are on your old bulb?

Anybody tried one of these (AL?) lamps which are selling for about half the price of the Panasonic OEM replacement?

Anybody tried one of these (AL?) lamps which are selling for about half the price of the Panasonic OEM replacement?

Link?

My AE700 has also died as well. This has been a stellar performer. It needs a power module. Everything else is solid on the projector. I have the remote and even the original box. If anyone is interested in taking it off my hands, just PM me. I also have the cable to update the firmware as well.

My AE700 has also died as well. This has been a stellar performer. It needs a power module. Everything else is solid on the projector. I have the remote and even the original box. If anyone is interested in taking it off my hands, just PM me. I also have the cable to update the firmware as well.

You have a PM.

Hi all,
I have had a blue screen (of AE700 death in this case) on my PC while flashing the fw 1.07 and now the projector is unusable. It never goes out of stand-by and there is no way to establish connection either through DB15 or the internal A19... does anyone know how to recover from this (except buying a new one)?

Anybody tried one of these (AL?) lamps which are selling for about half the price of the Panasonic OEM replacement?

Link?

http://www.advancedlamps.com/Genuine-AL-ET-LAE700-Lamp-Housing-for-Panasonic-Projectors?m1track=nextag&utm_source=nextag&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=export_feed&osCsid=251bd8c482d40319064f02f17aecf203

Hello,

i just bought this old beamer from a friend of mine. And it has the initial FW 1.03 :(
It is connected via HDMI and shows the known symtomps (Flashes, Overscan).
So i'm trying to do the FW 1.07 update and i'm still searching for a -detailed- schematic about the cable.

I'm also searching desperately for these two files:
FirmwarePTAE700-Password-firmware.zip
Service%20pt_ae700s.zip

Especially for the 2nd, cause I've read that you can test your cable (connection) with this service tool.
The first file appears to be the file, Glen Graham already posted.

If anyone has these tools, it would be great if you could post it here or contact me via PM.

The "Kristahl" pages seem to have been disppeared a long time ago.

Any help is highly appreciated.

-------
UPDATE: I've just build my cable out of 4x 1µF capacitors, 1x max232, VGA female connector, D-Sub male connector and a 4,5V regulated power supply. -- No need for the tools anymore. Update already done successfully :-)

I'm trying to get my new Sony Blueray Disk Player 360 to work with my projector through the HDMI cable. It works fine with the component cables.

When I first turn on the player I see the splash screen and when it goes to the setup screen I just get a snowy picture. I know the project is getting the signal because I can see resolution in the setup menu. If I change the res it changes in the menu.

Panasonic support said to try and turn the Cinema Reality on to see if that would make a difference. When I went into the menu it is grayed out. Any ideal why? Any ideal on what else I could try to get these two units to shake hands?


Thanks for any help
Ken

PS My projector is running firmware 1.05. Maybe I need to update to 1.07?

I'm trying to get my new Sony Blueray Disk Player 360 to work with my projector through the HDMI cable. It works fine with the component cables.

When I first turn on the player I see the splash screen and when it goes to the setup screen I just get a snowy picture. I know the project is getting the signal because I can see resolution in the setup menu. If I change the res it changes in the menu.

Panasonic support said to try and turn the Cinema Reality on to see if that would make a difference. When I went into the menu it is grayed out. Any ideal why? Any ideal on what else I could try to get these two units to shake hands?


Thanks for any help
Ken

PS My projector is running firmware 1.05. Maybe I need to update to 1.07?

Cinema Reality works only with interlaced signals:
From Manual: CINEMA REALITY [S-VIDEO/VIDEO/525i(480i) and 625i(576i) signals for YPBPR signals/1125(1080)/60i and 1125(1080)/50i signals for YPBPR, HDMI and PC signals only]

Could You try another HDMI cable? (shorter is better)
Does the HDMI out of your BluRay Player works fine with other TV?
Your Sony has the latest firmware?

Cinema Reality works only with interlaced signals:
From Manual: CINEMA REALITY [S-VIDEO/VIDEO/525i(480i) and 625i(576i) signals for YPBPR signals/1125(1080)/60i and 1125(1080)/50i signals for YPBPR, HDMI and PC signals only]

Could You try another HDMI cable? (shorter is better)
Does the HDMI out of your BluRay Player works fine with other TV?
Your Sony has the latest firmware?

I did try the short cable that came with the player. It did the same thing.

I don't have another HD TV to try. I hoping to try everything I can before returning the unit.

The player doesn't have the latest firmware. I'm waiting on Sony to send me a disk (7 to ten days). I don't have broadband.

Thanks for the help
Ken

I did try the short cable that came with the player. It did the same thing.

I don't have another HD TV to try. I hoping to try everything I can before returning the unit.

The player doesn't have the latest firmware. I'm waiting on Sony to send me a disk (7 to ten days). I don't have broadband.

Thanks for the help
Ken

Perhaps you could use a computer at a library or something and use a USB-memory stick to download the firmware upgrade to? Saving those 7-10 days:)

Perhaps you could use a computer at a library or something and use a USB-memory stick to download the firmware upgrade to? Saving those 7-10 days:)

I thought of that when I was answering the earlier message.:o I'm going to give it a shot tonight.

Thanks
Ken

Perhaps you could use a computer at a library or something and use a USB-memory stick to download the firmware upgrade to? Saving those 7-10 days:)

Just to give a update, I upgraded the firmware on the DVD player with no luck. I'm going to give Panasonic one more try and then return the player if I can't get it to work.:mad:

Has anyone else connected a blueray player to the projector with any luck?

My projector is connected with the PS3 via HDMI. No problems so far. Just the flashes which are firmware related (1.03)
The PS3 automatically detects a max resolution of 1080i, but I configured it to use 720p only (since it is the projectors native resolution)

Good luck.

I'm trying to get my new Sony Blue ray Disk Player 360 to work with my projector through the HDMI cable. It works fine with the component cables.

When I first turn on the player I see the splash screen and when it goes to the setup screen I just get a snowy picture. I know the project is getting the signal because I can see resolution in the setup menu. If I change the res it changes in the menu.

Panasonic support said to try and turn the Cinema Reality on to see if that would make a difference. When I went into the menu it is grayed out. Any ideal why? Any ideal on what else I could try to get these two units to shake hands?


Thanks for any help
Ken

PS My projector is running firmware 1.05. Maybe I need to update to 1.07?

Just thought I would throw out a update of what I found. It was a capability issue. I took the Sony player back to the store and had them hook it up to a display model to make sure the HDMI was working. I exchanged the Sony for a Panasonic, hooked it up and it worked great:D.

Thanks to everyone that tried to help.

Hello,

I updatet My PT-AE700E from R1.03 A1.03 P1.04
to R1.07 A1.103 P1.04. I've done this Update to fix the problem with overscan on the vga port.

I connected the beamer to my pc with 1280x720 @60 Hz (europe). On the left side there are cut some pixels i think about 30 pixel. I thought this problem is fixed with the new option hd overscan on or off. But there's no change on my beamer with this option?

Can you please help me

Best Regards
faulesocke

Just curious. Does anyone still use the filter on this pj. And if so, do you use blu-ray as well. Comments, opinions?

PF

Just curious. Does anyone still use the filter on this pj. And if so, do you use blu-ray as well. Comments, opinions?

PF

I always use the filter. Don't want any dust bunnies in my PJ. :)
I use HD-DVD.

Hmm. I should have been clearer. I mean the lens/light filter that screws onto the lens itself. Probably at the begining of this thread it is mentionned. As far as I understand it, it levels out the color spectrum (decreasing one of the primaries I think... as the Panasonic 700 has some inherent colour issues... I think).

I have the filter but can't recall the modesl (lee?? something).

I'm sure someone can chime in, and give me some feedback.

PF

Is there anybody out there????

I almost pulled the trigger on the 4000 after seeing, but then decided on getting a new bulb. WOW!!!!! IMO the 700 is still a great PJ now with blu-rays and a new bulb.

I believe that the gradual dimming makes one forget how good this PJ actually is - 720 p.

When I saw the 4000 I thought way better, but now I realize I was comparing apples to oranges, and not referring to the resolution, but rather to the lamp output.

I am able to use the lens-filter again, and the contrast is very acceptable. Having saved 1700.00 was well worth it. Those who say the 4000 is a huge upgrade need to make the comparison with a new bulb, and I think the conclusion would not be so huge.

Thoughts from the PF

Is there anybody out there????

I almost pulled the trigger on the 4000 after seeing, but then decided on getting a new bulb. WOW!!!!! IMO the 700 is still a great PJ now with blu-rays and a new bulb.

I believe that the gradual dimming makes one forget how good this PJ actually is - 720 p.

When I saw the 4000 I thought way better, but now I realize I was comparing apples to oranges, and not referring to the resolution, but rather to the lamp output.

I am able to use the lens-filter again, and the contrast is very acceptable. Having saved 1700.00 was well worth it. Those who say the 4000 is a huge upgrade need to make the comparison with a new bulb, and I think the conclusion would not be so huge.

Thoughts from the PF

Happy that you are still enjoying your AE700 as much as I am. It will be 5 years next month that I have purchased this excellent front projector. I only watch movies, concerts, operas and special events on it. I don't use it for watching regular TV (even in HD). I now have watched 880 hours on it and it still delivers an outstanding picture. I keep it clean of dust, give it good ventilation and never power it off until the cooling fan has stopped. Thank you for telling us that it looks even better once the bulb has been replaced. Guess that I will stick with it until the forthcoming LED PJs reach a reasonable price point.:)

Regards,

Mériadec

Happy that you are still enjoying your AE700 as much as I am. It will be 5 years next month that I have purchased this excellent front projector. I only watch movies, concerts, operas and special events on it. I don't use it for watching regular TV (even in HD). I now have watched 880 hours on it and it still delivers an outstanding picture. I keep it clean of dust, give it good ventilation and never power it off until the cooling fan has stopped. Thank you for telling us that it looks even better once the bulb has been replaced. Guess that I will stick with it until the forthcoming LED PJs reach a reasonable price point.:)

Regards,

Mériadec

That's how I use my PJ. Occasionally I'll watch HDTV through it. I have a few more hours on mine. I am also waiting for LED.

Bob.

Is there anybody out there????

I almost pulled the trigger on the 4000 after seeing, but then decided on getting a new bulb. WOW!!!!! IMO the 700 is still a great PJ now with blu-rays and a new bulb.

I believe that the gradual dimming makes one forget how good this PJ actually is - 720 p.

When I saw the 4000 I thought way better, but now I realize I was comparing apples to oranges, and not referring to the resolution, but rather to the lamp output.

I am able to use the lens-filter again, and the contrast is very acceptable. Having saved 1700.00 was well worth it. Those who say the 4000 is a huge upgrade need to make the comparison with a new bulb, and I think the conclusion would not be so huge.

Thoughts from the PF

If you don't mind, did you buy a Panasonic manufactured lamp or was it aftermarket? I am asking because there appears to be 2 price levels if you do a search. (I have nothing against aftermarket, just curious).

If you don't mind, did you buy a Panasonic manufactured lamp or was it aftermarket? I am asking because there appears to be 2 price levels if you do a search. (I have nothing against aftermarket, just curious).


It was an OEM lamp. Bought in canada for 350.00. That's the cheapest I could find on this side of the border for an original.

Hi
I need to FW upgrade my AE700, does annyone know where i can get the cabel i need. Or where i can find the schematics for it, so i can make one myself ?

I recently updated my 700u to a 4000 and took my 700u to my HT showroom. I went from a shelf mount, to a ceiling mount setup. Now the picture image is 1.5" taller on the right side of the screen vs. the left. My throwing distance is about 12' onto a 100" 16:9 screen. Does anybody know the problem or any solutions?

Thanks,
Matt

Hey.."pinkfreud55"...Where on earth did you find an OEM lamp for $350.00 ??

I recently updated my 700u to a 4000 and took my 700u to my HT showroom. I went from a shelf mount, to a ceiling mount setup. Now the picture image is 1.5" taller on the right side of the screen vs. the left. My throwing distance is about 12' onto a 100" 16:9 screen. Does anybody know the problem or any solutions?

Thanks,
Matt

Any solutions please?

Hey.."pinkfreud55"...Where on earth did you find an OEM lamp for $350.00 ??


Either the price went up, or i am delusional. It is now listed at 400.00 (ask the guy if he had it cheaper).... sure I paid 350

PF

http://www.projectorlampexperts.ca/item_detail.aspx?LampProductID=3300

Sounds like you don't have it squared up and level to the screen.

Any solutions please?

PAP is right. Your PJ is not perfectly squared (horizontally and vertically) to the screen. Looking at the screen, the rigth side of your PJ is farther than the left side.
To correct this:
Turn a little your PJ to the left in order to get the same length on both sides (left and right).
Tilt the PJ to re-align the top.
Correct with lens shift and zoom.

Hey.."pinkfreud55"...Where on earth did you find an OEM lamp for $350.00 ??

330$ USD total cost (shipping, fees and insurance included) here: **********

**********

they are serious and fast.