Is anyone using an IR to serial device like the Ocelot to get discrete commands (on, off, inputs, picture mode, etc.)?
http://www.appdig.com/adicon_new/ocelot_specs.htm

First post to this thread. We have a customer whos 900 will not take anything other then 1080i. We brought the unit in for testing and indeed it no signal from 480P or 720p. All inputs and I hooked up the acupel test gen and this thing will not take 720p.
Anyone else having this trouble.
TIA.

I don't remember the official number, if there is one, from the owners manual, but I'm sure that book height is plenty enough. Figure 10" as a minimum and you will be very safe.

THANKS, I appreciate your response. I was hoping that I wouldn't need to use a 10" shelf height. Does anyone know if it is safe to use a shelf height less than 10"?

" The noise is constant during bright scenes"

Weird, have you tried turning off the IRIS to see if that then goes away?

Are you in high lamp mode?

Shawn

One theory on this that seems to make sense is that the noise isn't coming from anything mechanical like the iris per se, but is actually wind noise caused by air currents generated by the fan. When the iris is wide open, it hits some sort of resonance (like blowing across the top of a pop bottle) that's noisy. If true, then it'd fit the symtoms of those who have a constant noise when in bright scenes (wide open iris). Anyway, just a theory.

-Sean

what is the minimum shelf spacing I can use to ensure that I provide adequate ventilation for the AE900?

I know one person said 10 inches, but that sounds like a lot to me. The projector vents in on the side and the fan out is in the front. So on the side is where you really need to be careful, if the side of your shelf are solid.

One theory on this that seems to make sense is that the noise isn't coming from anything mechanical like the iris per se, but is actually wind noise caused by air currents generated by the fan. When the iris is wide open, it hits some sort of resonance (like blowing across the top of a pop bottle) that's noisy. If true, then it'd fit the symtoms of those who have a constant noise when in bright scenes (wide open iris). Anyway, just a theory.

-Sean
I picked up the AE900 the other day and when I powered it up I had the same Dynamic iris noise. It is really irritating and my AE700 does not do it. Mine seems to get worse when the AE900 goes into blacks and it just comes and goes constantly. I called the dealer and he said that the AE900 dynamic Iris is different in the 900 vs the 700 and that they all make the hollow kind of grinding noise. I also called the engineer at Panasonic and he deferred to the tech at Visual Apex??? He didn't know his own product that well and Panasonic had NEVER heard of the Iris noise complaint.

I found that when you turn the Iris off the noise goes away. That ticked me off. Why have the Dynamic Iris if you can't use it even with the lamp in the economy mode? I told Visual Apex that they could have the unit back and even though the unit had less than 4 hours on it and it was less than a week old I would most likely be charged a restocking fee of 20 percent unless they found that the unit was really defective. Now, that REALLY ticked me off. I was lucky that the Panasonic field engineer told them they could send the unit back to Panasonic as defective or I might have had to dispute the charge on my MasterCard. I will NEVER deal with Visual Apex again but will use Projector People. They have a liberal no questions asked return policy of 1 week and 4 hours on the bulb you just send it back for a refund. No hard time like Visual Apex gave me.

I ordered a second unit from Projector People yesterday to see if maybe the first I received was just unusually noisey. I love my Panny 700 and would really like to stay in that family. If it is as bad then I may have to either build a baffle box or switch to the Sanyo Z4. Anyone have any experience with the Sanyo unit?

Anyone ever build a box to kill noise on a ceiling mounted unit? If so, I sure would appreciate some tips.

Mitch

THANKS, I appreciate your response. I was hoping that I wouldn't need to use a 10" shelf height. Does anyone know if it is safe to use a shelf height less than 10"?
There is not any particular clearance that works fine and just slightly less does not work at all. If you look at your installation and think "that looks tight" then it probably is. And heat can be a slow, silent destroyer of electronics; it will die sooner, but not immediately. It is best to have as much AIR FLOW as possible around the projector. Give 'er room to breathe!

Anyone ever build a box to kill noise on a ceiling mounted unit? If so, I sure would appreciate some tips.
It's called a "hushbox." Search this thread in particular and the projector forums in general.

Also check out out the following hushbox (http://whisperflow.ieasysite.com/albumwhisperflow_004.htm).
You could also make one similar to the ones they have shown ...

mitch thanks for the tip on visual apex. I was going to order from them. Let us know how the unit from Projector Peopleworks out.

Will do Mick!!

I have dealt with them before on the AE700 and they were great. When I went to purchase the AE900 their price was a little more but they have since lowered. Knowing what I know now it would have been worth the extra few dollars in the beginning just for ease and peace of mind. Lessons learned... :-)

First post to this thread. We have a customer whos 900 will not take anything other then 1080i. We brought the unit in for testing and indeed it no signal from 480P or 720p. All inputs and I hooked up the acupel test gen and this thing will not take 720p.
Anyone else having this trouble.
TIA.


Alan,
I went through 4 900's and did not experience the problem you describe.

All that I can tell you is that QC for this unit varies wildly.

I picked up the AE900 the other day and when I powered it up I had the same Dynamic iris noise. It is really irritating and my AE700 does not do it. Mine seems to get worse when the AE900 goes into blacks and it just comes and goes constantly. I called the dealer and he said that the AE900 dynamic Iris is different in the 900 vs the 700 and that they all make the hollow kind of grinding noise. I also called the engineer at Panasonic and he deferred to the tech at Visual Apex??? He didn't know his own product that well and Panasonic had NEVER heard of the Iris noise complaint.

I found that when you turn the Iris off the noise goes away. That ticked me off. Why have the Dynamic Iris if you can't use it even with the lamp in the economy mode? I told Visual Apex that they could have the unit back and even though the unit had less than 4 hours on it and it was less than a week old I would most likely be charged a restocking fee of 20 percent unless they found that the unit was really defective. Now, that REALLY ticked me off. I was lucky that the Panasonic field engineer told them they could send the unit back to Panasonic as defective or I might have had to dispute the charge on my MasterCard. I will NEVER deal with Visual Apex again but will use Projector People. They have a liberal no questions asked return policy of 1 week and 4 hours on the bulb you just send it back for a refund. No hard time like Visual Apex gave me.

I ordered a second unit from Projector People yesterday to see if maybe the first I received was just unusually noisey. I love my Panny 700 and would really like to stay in that family. If it is as bad then I may have to either build a baffle box or switch to the Sanyo Z4. Anyone have any experience with the Sanyo unit?

Anyone ever build a box to kill noise on a ceiling mounted unit? If so, I sure would appreciate some tips.

Mitch

1 of the 4 units I had wasn't as loud as the others (in terms of the howling iris), so you may have a 25% chance of getting a unit that runs quieter.

There are a number of dealers out there that offer a reasonable, no questions asked return period and a price matching policy. Why take a risk with VA at all???

Did you experiment with four units for yourself? If so, did you get them all from the same dealer or did you use four different ones? Like I say, I'd like to stay in the Panny family but my wife only likes it when I am the one doing the howling... :-)

If you used different dealers I sure would appreciate the names of one or two so that I can check with them as well. I need to finaluze any purchases by Tuesday when the rebate ends...

I hope they extend the rebate. My bonus does not come for another 10 days.

Did you experiment with four units for yourself? If so, did you get them all from the same dealer or did you use four different ones? Like I say, I'd like to stay in the Panny family but my wife only likes it when I am the one doing the howling... :-)

If you used different dealers I sure would appreciate the names of one or two so that I can check with them as well. I need to finaluze any purchases by Tuesday when the rebate ends...
Sooo, which is better - Four dealers each with a bum projector, or one dealer with four bum projectors?

Hi, I'm new here. And new to projectors.

I got my panny 900u 2 weeks ago and was very impressed with the picture (projected on drywall for now). However I'm not that impressed anymore lately. Looking at the picture in detail, it doesn't seem "sharp".

When using the Avia dvd to display test patterns, or even when just displaying the projector menu, there seems to be color bleeding (convergence?). E.g. the words in the setup menu will have a few pixels of what seems to be grey or green in them.

Avia's black test screen with a white raster on it will show 'bleeding' into the white raster on the left and bottom of the black squares. This looks to be like 1 or 2 pixels. The top and right of the squares don't have it. Please see this picture, where you can somewhat see a green line to the left and bottom of the square but not on the right and top.

http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=ok9504


I've both played with and reset the settings, but it won't go away. Is this normal or is something wrong? I see some mention of convergence issues in this thread but am not too familiar with what that means. It looks similar to what some people are describing though.

Thank you!

Stefan

.....I will NEVER deal with Visual Apex again.....

Mitch

I too will NEVER deal with Visual Apex again. With LESS THAN 1 hour use, I returned a dpl projector to them because of rainbows and the projector was too dark. They charged their unreasonable restocking fee anyway.

Hi, I'm new here. And new to projectors.

Avia's black test screen with a white raster on it will show 'bleeding' into the white raster on the left and bottom of the black squares. This looks to be like 1 or 2 pixels. The top and right of the squares don't have it. Please see this picture, where you can somewhat see a green line to the left and bottom of the square but not on the right and top.

Stefan

I think that's quite normal - don't forget you're feeding a signal (I don't know digitally or from analog source) that is coming from a 720*480 or 720*576 source and it is upscaled to 1280*720.

There's no way, using a source that is lower in resolution than the actual playback resolution, that you will see straight lines that are perfectly on/off to the single pixel. There's just no resolution in the DVD to do so.

To check for sharpness issues, there's currently no other way than to feed the projector 720p data from a digital source - try connecting a PC with native 1280*720 resolution and then you'll see the sharpness the projector is capable of.

However, run some regular dvd's with true-life material on it, it'll be plenty sharp to the eye!

I re-hooked up the Panny today after painting the last layer of screen goo and surrounding the screen in black velevet with black fabric all around. I must say it looks even better than before. I also have the glass in the window from the projector room and it still looks really good. I am impressed and when my HT is done I will show it off...

I just ordered my Panny 900 from ProjPeople and I'm very thrilled. I'm a returning customer because that is where I got the 500U. Their customer is the main reason I'm back. Never dealt with Visual Apex but according to past posts, they should take some tips from the folks at PP.
Look at this deal:

Panny 900 with 400 rebate.
FREE Avia disk.
FREE shipping.
Less the $1,850. Minus rebate, total less than $1,450. :D :D :D :D :D

Can't wait!

I had a dust blob on the lower right corner of the image. Only visible when the area was in black but Lordy it was annoying. So I took the Panny apart, blew it out with some compressed CO2 and now it's perfect again. Having the service manual really comes in handy for little things like this. I'm so darn happy with this new unit!!

Elio

So I took the Panny apart, blew it out with some compressed CO2 and now it's perfect again.

Wouldn't opening the unit void the warranty? I have a similar issue and am considering sending it in to Panasonic rather than do it myself.

Just wanted to post my experience. I had a bad lamp circuit which required replacement. The people at Visualapex were very helpful with trouble shooting to begin with. I sent my unit to Heartland Diversified in Kansas for warranty repair. The projector was signed for on the 21st at 10am and shipped back to me on the 23rd at 6pm (tracked it all the way through UPS). Check out there web site heartlandsi.com. There is a video on there Zip It program mainly for the Panasonic laptop line. Projectors are included though not in the video. If any one is still on the fence comparing projectors I would recommend Panasonic over the other companies because of my experience with my claim. The deciding factor for me to begin with on the AE900 was the lack of screen door, which I saw on $20,000 + projectors. Hope this helps someone out there.

Panny 900 with 400 rebate.
FREE Avia disk.
FREE shipping.
Less the $1,850. Minus rebate, total less than $1,450. :D :D :D :D :D

Can't wait!


They only charged you $1850.00 for the AE900? I thought they were doing me right by giving it to me at $1895 along with the Avia disk and free shipping... Dang! Who was your salesperson??

They only charged you $1850.00 for the AE900? I thought they were doing me right by giving it to me at $1895 along with the Avia disk and free shipping... Dang! Who was your salesperson??

I can't give you the name for fear I might get the person in trouble. It may have been a mistake on the sales person. But I don't care.
;)

Wouldn't opening the unit void the warranty? I have a similar issue and am considering sending it in to Panasonic rather than do it myself.

Hi,

There's no way of telling its been opened. Besides I didn't remove any of the boards. Just worked the extender tube on the air nozzle near the optical block and sprayed lightly. If you don't feel comfortable opening up electronics I don't recommend doing it. I'm constantly cracking open my electronics so I'm pretty fearless in that regard. Me and my trusty anti-static strap have busted open a whole mess of gear. And I used to be a camera assistant in the movies and once you've field stripped a Panavision Platinum 35 MM camera with a Q-Tip and an orangewood stick in the middle of the Everglades you tend to not be intimidated by much.... hehe

E

Did you experiment with four units for yourself? If so, did you get them all from the same dealer or did you use four different ones? Like I say, I'd like to stay in the Panny family but my wife only likes it when I am the one doing the howling... :-)

If you used different dealers I sure would appreciate the names of one or two so that I can check with them as well. I need to finaluze any purchases by Tuesday when the rebate ends...

I dealt with one dealer. It was Projector Solution.

3 years ago I used VA for my Panasonic 300U. I did call them first this time, but I wouldn't deal with them because they have changed their customer service policies. They no longer offer any kind of satisfaction guarantee. There is no point in dealing with them when so many other dealers offer a return period and price matching, so VA's low price no longer means anything.

Has anyone read the fine print on VA's extended waranty? Is it worth the paper it's printed on??

hello,

i have an ae900 hooked up via hdmi from dvi out on a htpc. i used to have a tv card with a remote but moved it to the server machine. i was wondering if i could use the ae900 remote to control things like zoomplayer or theatertek. anyone know if this is possible? i tried to search but couldn't find much info on the subject. also, i think there is a serial connection on the projector, would that be much good? i'd rather not have to deal with girder again, but maybe thats the only way to go.

it would be nice to simplify things rather than add a whole new remote into the mix. thanks for the help.

I think that's quite normal - don't forget you're feeding a signal


Thanks Yves! I was just worried that I might be missing a "fault" because I don't know what to look for as a newbie.

Thanks Yves! I was just worried that I might be missing a "fault" because I don't know what to look for as a newbie.
That is a condition which will pass soon, even faster if you hang out here. :)

Yea you will start seeing things that are not really there.

Hi there, rather than search all 125 pages, I was wondering if anybody is using the Panasonic with Xbox 360 and what their impressions are. I am about to pull the trigger on the PJ and may have a shot at getting a 360 and just wanted to see if there was anyone with firsthand experience

Hi there, rather than search all 125 pages, I was wondering if anybody is using the Panasonic with Xbox 360 and what their impressions are. I am about to pull the trigger on the PJ and may have a shot at getting a 360 and just wanted to see if there was anyone with firsthand experience


I actually just finished playing a little Fight Night Round 3 on my 360 using the Panny. The 360 and HD gaming are treated right with the AE900. HD gaming is outstanding with the Panny, and you will be thrilled with the results. A had a couple buddies over for some NBA 2K6/Call of Duty action, and they were so impressed that one of them went home and bought the AE900 last night. Not much more to say!

http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h_firmware_0220_download.html

Above is the link to the new Oppo firmware that will fix the image shift on the 900 projector and also the whole picture looks better!
It also fixes any audio sync problems with the 0 delay point set at +5.

Xbox360 + Panny 900 = ultimate gaming sweetness.
I've had both for about 2 months now and every time I get a new game I'm impressed all over again.

On the other hand: watching DVDs on the Panny with the 360 is a pain. I get a lot of artefacts (scaler issues?) that noone on this forum has yet been able to help me with.

I am planning to use a 96" screen. I will be seated at 10 feet and the pj will be 15 feet from the screen. The room is light controlled and painted dark gray-blue. Do you think that 96" is too big (I am concerned that having to move my eyes when watching will make it annoying after a while, past the wow factor)? Also with that size the screen will be 2" away from my bookshelf speakers on each side (they are on stands , 3.5 feet from the ground). I am trying to get a screen as big as possible, however I need a reality check from you guys - am I pushing it too much, in particular is the screen going to light up my speakers making them distracting (they are black). Is a screen covering 80% of the wall (width wise) going to look stupid (waf ...) when not using the PJ.

Thanks

I am planning to use a 96" screen. I will be seated at 10 feet and the pj will be 15 feet from the screen. The room is light controlled and painted dark gray-blue. Do you think that 96" is too big (I am concerned that having to move my eyes when watching will make it annoying after a while, past the wow factor)? Also with that size the screen will be 2" away from my bookshelf speakers on each side (they are on stands , 3.5 feet from the ground). I am trying to get a screen as big as possible, however I need a reality check from you guys - am I pushing it too much, in particular is the screen going to light up my speakers making them distracting (they are black). Is a screen covering 80% of the wall (width wise) going to look stupid (waf ...) when not using the PJ.

Thanks


I have pretty much the same set-up with a 92" diagonal screen. You'll be fine. No darting eyes or overly lit speakers. I have about a foot on either side of the screen and it looks great.

Enjoy!!!

Elio

I had a dust blob on the lower right corner of the image. Only visible when the area was in black but Lordy it was annoying. So I took the Panny apart, blew it out with some compressed CO2 and now it's perfect again. Having the service manual really comes in handy for little things like this. I'm so darn happy with this new unit!!

Elio

So eliocon, would you be willing to share that service manual (if it's in PDF or something)?

I too have a dust blob that I would like to get rid of. I'm not afraid of taking apart electronics since I had too on older equipment, but I would like the piece of mind knowing that I'm spraying the air in the right place.

Thanks,

Rob

P.S. What's an anti-static strap?

P.S. What's an anti-static strap?
Static electricity discharges can damage sensitive electronics. A wrist-strap is worn around the - ready? - wrist and has a wire that is connected to something grounded. This prevents discharge into the piece of equipment being worked on.

Static electricity discharges can damage sensitive electronics. A wrist-strap is worn around the - ready? - wrist and has a wire that is connected to something grounded. This prevents discharge into the piece of equipment being worked on.

Wow, I didn't know a wrist strap was for the wrist :eek: :eek: :D

Maybe I could just unwind a coat hanger and bite onto it and then just touch a heating register while I was working???!!! :p ;)

In all reality, could I just ground myself with a piece of wire connected to my watch while "servicing"?

Rob

Wow, I didn't know a wrist strap was for the wrist :eek: :eek: :D

Maybe I could just unwind a coat hanger and bite onto it and then just touch a heating register while I was working???!!! :p ;)

In all reality, could I just ground myself with a piece of wire connected to my watch while "servicing"?
Sure, you could sit on stainless steel loo, too. Whatever works to prevent static build-up/discharge. :)

I picked up the AE900 the other day and when I powered it up I had the same Dynamic iris noise. It is really irritating and my AE700 does not do it. Mine seems to get worse when the AE900 goes into blacks and it just comes and goes constantly. I called the dealer and he said that the AE900 dynamic Iris is different in the 900 vs the 700 and that they all make the hollow kind of grinding noise. I also called the engineer at Panasonic and he deferred to the tech at Visual Apex??? He didn't know his own product that well and Panasonic had NEVER heard of the Iris noise complaint.

I found that when you turn the Iris off the noise goes away. That ticked me off. Why have the Dynamic Iris if you can't use it even with the lamp in the economy mode? I told Visual Apex that they could have the unit back and even though the unit had less than 4 hours on it and it was less than a week old I would most likely be charged a restocking fee of 20 percent unless they found that the unit was really defective. Now, that REALLY ticked me off. I was lucky that the Panasonic field engineer told them they could send the unit back to Panasonic as defective or I might have had to dispute the charge on my MasterCard. I will NEVER deal with Visual Apex again but will use Projector People. They have a liberal no questions asked return policy of 1 week and 4 hours on the bulb you just send it back for a refund. No hard time like Visual Apex gave me.

I ordered a second unit from Projector People yesterday to see if maybe the first I received was just unusually noisey. I love my Panny 700 and would really like to stay in that family. If it is as bad then I may have to either build a baffle box or switch to the Sanyo Z4. Anyone have any experience with the Sanyo unit?

Anyone ever build a box to kill noise on a ceiling mounted unit? If so, I sure would appreciate some tips.

Mitch

Just a follow-up to this earlier post. I received my new (2nd unit) AE-900 today from PROJECTOR People and the Dynamic Iris makes ABSOLUTELY NO NOISE!!! The one that I received from Visual Apex had to have been defective even though the service department there told me that the noise was normal for that unit and something that I would have to live with OR pay their 20 percent restocking fee for returning it.

This new unit is about 20 percent quieter than my AE-900 both in low mode and when the AE-900 is in the High Lamp mode it makes about the same level of noise as the AE-700 in the low mode. I am sooooooo pleased and sooooooooo ticked off at Visual Apex. I'm especially happy that I did not take their word for it and keep a unit that was not working correctly. To think that they would not authorize a return for something that was that noisey that just makes my hair stand up (what little is left of it).

I am now off to purchase a second AE-900 from Projector People to replace my AE-700 in the basement. This thing is just GREAT!

Thanks for all of the advice that you guys forwarded on!!

A VERY happy Mitch! :D

Projector people are good for sure i got my ae700 from them after returning the first one and they were great about it-- sorry if i sound like a fan boy but when you treat people right they return for more buissness and they spread the word! jeff

Sorry, this has probably been talked to death, but how do you guys like the 900 compared to the 700? I am replacing my 700 with a 900 due to burn-in damage on the 700 (4:3 side bars) and I had to hurry my purchase to get the rebate that expires today.

How much better than the 700 is the 900? The reviews stated it was definitely an improvement, but is it anything I'm going to be able to notice without doing a side-by-side?

Sorry, this has probably been talked to death, but how do you guys like the 900 compared to the 700? I am replacing my 700 with a 900 due to burn-in damage on the 700 (4:3 side bars) and I had to hurry my purchase to get the rebate that expires today.

How much better than the 700 is the 900? The reviews stated it was definitely an improvement, but is it anything I'm going to be able to notice without doing a side-by-side?
No 4:3 burn-in? :D

Very funny. :)

Just a follow-up to this earlier post. I received my new (2nd unit) AE-900 today from PROJECTOR People and the Dynamic Iris makes ABSOLUTELY NO NOISE!!! The one that I received from Visual Apex had to have been defective even though the service department there told me that the noise was normal for that unit and something that I would have to live with OR pay their 20 percent restocking fee for returning it.

This new unit is about 20 percent quieter than my AE-900 both in low mode and when the AE-900 is in the High Lamp mode it makes about the same level of noise as the AE-700 in the low mode. I am sooooooo pleased and sooooooooo ticked off at Visual Apex. I'm especially happy that I did not take their word for it and keep a unit that was not working correctly. To think that they would not authorize a return for something that was that noisey that just makes my hair stand up (what little is left of it).

I am now off to purchase a second AE-900 from Projector People to replace my AE-700 in the basement. This thing is just GREAT!

Thanks for all of the advice that you guys forwarded on!!

A VERY happy Mitch! :D

So did VA charge you the 20% restocking fee??

Congrats on your purchase. At this price point you can't go wrong. You will be very happy with your new PJ. Did you mean VA rather than AV?? I too bought from Visual Apex and was very happy with their service, price, and the bonus warranty for us AVSers. It's the best deal out there IMO.

I also recently (2/14) purchased the AE-900 from Visual Apex and also purchased their 2 year extended warranty for $199. So what is this free bonus warranty you are talking about. Please let me know. Thanks a lot.

My concern is with so many of these units being returned to, Visual Apex, Projector People, Etc. are these units being returned to Panasonic or are they rotated stock? If they are being rotated at the dealer level this would explain the 20 percent restocking fee due to the number of returns on the same unit and why some have complained that their units looked used. By law returned projectors are to be shipped back to Panasonic to be sold as a refurbished unit or sold as is. Is Panosanic offering refurbished units on their website? A quick google seach did not return any AE900's refurbished units offered.

Personally I have mixed feeling of purchasing this unit and going through all these problems to locate that one projector that I can claim as a keeper.

How bad does LCD suffer from burn-in?

How long have you been using the PJ in 4:3 before it became visible?

Thanks!

I'm on the fence to replace a NEC HT1000 by a '900 - DLP > LCD scares me a little though... all this VB and burn-in stuff... how about stuck/dead pixel policy on the Pana's?

How bad? Pretty bad. I would say my Panny 700 is ruined, but I am picky.

I put a TON of hours on it though, and at least half of it was in 4:3. I don't know how many total hours because the hour counter got reset when I had to get it serviced last October, but I used it as my primary TV in a household with multiple people, so it was used for several hours on most days. I was already on my second bulb, so I had put a lot of use into it in a year.

I would say that if I had just stretched the 4:3 material to 16:9 everything would have been fine. I had no idea I was doing any damage until it showed up, and at that point it was apparently too late.

From what I have heard, the 900 is pretty much free of VB though. My 700 vary rarely showed it.

I've been visiting this forum since the Sanyo PLV-60 Projector was famous, but I never needed to post here because I had not had any problem until now.
I´m not new in the projectors field. I've had one 3-tube Seleco, two Panasonic LCD: PT-L300 and PT-L500 and now the Panasonic AE900, which is giving me troubles from the start.
I got the projector last Friday. It is connected via HDMI-DVI to an HTPC. Since then, I did ten startups, three failed.
When the bulb starts correctly, it first starts weak and soon it must blink again and start completely with the normal brightness. This does not happen in the failed startups: Instead of a bright screen, a very faint gray screen is displayed with no video. Even the projector menu will not appear if I press the menu button. The green LED is steady on, no warning LEDs are on. The fans sound normal. The only button that works is the on-off button.
I've replaced the batteries of the remote control. I tried also to use the controls on the projector.
The projector will start correctly, only if: once the projector is off, I disconnect all the cables, I wait a little and then try again.
Last night I disconnected only the HDMI cable and the projector did start correctly. Maybe this connection is causing the problem... To night I will try it again.
I’m going to keep it, a few days more. Maybe, the problem goes away. But, if the problem persists, I don't want to do that each time.
I’m living in Argentina and here there is no service for this projector, the vendor can send it to USA, but... It takes a lot of time!
My previous Panasonic projectors never gave me problems. But the AE900 is the best by far, the image is more 3D, with far better blacks and whites.
My unit has a good convergence and no dead pixels. The manufacture’s date is October, 2006.
Is there someone who have solved this problem?
Thanks for your help,
Fernando

So did VA charge you the 20% restocking fee??

They will not get a chance to. I disputed it on my MasterCard and I am not going to pay them a penny! Their attitude was take it or leave it unless they made a determination that the unit was really defective. Why should I have to put up with that when there are companies out there like PP that have a reasonable/flexible return policy?

Ferbal,

I believe your issue is directly related to the HDMI port and the handshaking between your attached component. It seems that some devices work well, and other devices have handshaking issues via the HDMI port.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

My concern is with so many of these units being returned to, Visual Apex, Projector People, Etc. are these units being returned to Panosonic or are they rotated stock? If they are being rotated at the dealer level this would explain the 20 percent restocking fee due to the number of returns on the same unit and why some have complained that their units looked used. By law returned projectors are to be shipped back to Panosonic to be sold as a refurbished unit or sold as is. Is Panosonic offering refurbished units on their website? A quick google seach did not return any AE900's refurbished units offered.

Personally I have mixed feeling of purchasing this unit and going through all these problems to locate that one projector that I can claim as a keeper.
You have nailed it - big time. Does anyone, suspicious or trusting, think that every unit returned to every dealer is dutifully sent back to Panasonic? If not, where do they go? Now another question has been added to the pre-sale dialog one should have with a vendor: Is your stock fresh and what is the build date? If they hem and haw or feign ignorance, move on.

I've been visiting this forum since the Sanyo PLV-60 Projector was famous, but I never needed to post here because I had not had any problem until now.
I´m not new in the projectors field. I've had one 3-tube Seleco, two Panasonic LCD: PT-L300 and PT-L500 and now the Panasonic AE900, which is giving me troubles from the start.
I got the projector last Friday. It is connected via HDMI-DVI to an HTPC. Since then, I did ten startups, three failed.
When the bulb starts correctly, it first starts weak and soon it must blink again and start completely with the normal brightness. This does not happen in the failed startups: Instead of a bright screen, a very faint gray screen is displayed with no video. Even the projector menu will not appear if I press the menu button. The green LED is steady on, no warning LEDs are on. The fans sound normal. The only button that works is the on-off button.
I've replaced the batteries of the remote control. I tried also to use the controls on the projector.
The projector will start correctly, only if: once the projector is off, I disconnect all the cables, I wait a little and then try again.
Last night I disconnected only the HDMI cable and the projector did start correctly. Maybe this connection is causing the problem... To night I will try it again.
I’m going to keep it, a few days more. Maybe, the problem goes away. But, if the problem persists, I don't want to do that each time.
I’m living in Argentina and here there is no service for this projector, the vendor can send it to USA, but... It takes a lot of time!
My previous Panasonic projectors never gave me problems. But the AE900 is the best by far, the image is more 3D, with far better blacks and whites.
My unit has a good convergence and no dead pixels. The manufacture’s date is October, 2006.
Is there someone who have solved this problem?
Thanks for your help,
Fernando
ferbal - either edit your post to make the text black or point us to the secret decoder ring.

I also recently (2/14) purchased the AE-900 from Visual Apex and also purchased their 2 year extended warranty for $199. So what is this free bonus warranty you are talking about. Please let me know. Thanks a lot.

They have special promotions that give you one extra year of warranty for free. I know they have one for AVS, but it is not really advertised very well. Audioholics.com has a great review of this PJ and a link that will take you to the Audioholics special page for VA that does have the same promotional deal. It is a separate SKU that has the warranty built in.

ferbal - either edit your post to make the text black or point us to the secret decoder ring.

Hi-Lighting is your buddy.

ferbal,

pepar has a point though - some of us use AVS White as our interface colours - yellow doesn't make it in this context.

ted

" Does anyone, suspicious or trusting, think that every unit returned to every dealer is dutifully sent back to Panasonic? If not, where do they go?"

Projector People sells 'demo' units pretty regularly. Fair bet the return units that aren't defective (or just needed a dust blob cleaning) end up there.

http://projectorpeople.com/projectors/demo-projectors.asp

Of course they sell them as demo units and knock down the price accordingly so I certainly don't see anything wrong with that.

Shawn

Ferbal,

I believe your issue is directly related to the HDMI port and the handshaking between your attached component. It seems that some devices work well, and other devices have handshaking issues via the HDMI port.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

I would agree. It sounds like an issue between the HTPC and projector. Others here may be able to help you sort it out.

The 900's HDMI sync is not as 'forgiving' as some. It briefly loses sync (and flashes purple) while playing back from a standard DVD player, so I'm sure that you can have bigger sync problems when a video card is not configured perfectly.

" Does anyone, suspicious or trusting, think that every unit returned to every dealer is dutifully sent back to Panasonic? If not, where do they go?"

Projector People sells 'demo' units pretty regularly. Fair bet the return units that aren't defective (or just needed a dust blob cleaning) end up there.

http://projectorpeople.com/projectors/demo-projectors.asp

Of course they sell them as demo units and knock down the price accordingly so I certainly don't see anything wrong with that.

Shawn

I agree, if its being sold as a demo then the buyer is taking a chance, but he or she knows its a used unit, but on the other hand if your buying new then it better be new and not a "used new" unit.

Buyers beware, ask the important questions,

Will I receive a new unit?
What month and year is the unit that I will be receiving?
What is your return policy once I receive a defective unit?
Who pays for return shipping?
Get the name of the sales person.


Make sure to tell them you want an unopen box from the factory...

It's just hard for me to believe that quality control at Panasonic is allowing so many units to be shipped as bad units. So this brings me back of the rotating stock at dealer level. If this is what is happening then the dealers have created this issue. Remember we live in a money driven world, if you don't have the stock on hand you can't make the delivery!!!

It be nice to track all units purchased and returned to see if units reappear weeks or months down the road.

...It's just hard for me to believe that quality control at Panasonic is allowing so many units to be shipped as bad units...

It's not hard for me to believe.

I've followed Panasonic since the AE300, and I've witnessed them go through same QC slump with every model. The first few shipments are generally fine, with only the expected number of defects. Then the early model reviews come in, demand skyrockets, and Panasonic seems to relax QC standards in order to keep up with demand. The mid-early adopters are the ones who get those units, and that started in about December, and will run until demand slows down in late Spring.

It didn't surprise me when I had to go through 4 900's to get a good one, based on having to go through 3 300's before I got the right one. I bought the 900 in December, and I purchased my 300 in March.

It is very curious, however, that we don't see any information at all on refurbs. Where the hell do they all go, because there should be a ton of them????

It's not hard for me to believe.

I've followed Panasonic since the AE300, and I've witnessed them go through same QC slump with every model. The first few shipments are generally fine, with only the expected number of defects. Then the early model reviews come in, demand skyrockets, and Panasonic seems to relax QC standards in order to keep up with demand. The mid-early adopters are the ones who get those units, and that started in about December, and will run until demand slows down in late Spring.

It didn't surprise me when I had to go through 4 900's to get a good one, based on having to go through 3 300's before I got the right one. I bought the 900 in December, and I purchased my 300 in March.

It is very curious, however, that we don't see any information at all on refurbs. Where the hell do they all go, because there should be a ton of them????

Projector People and VA have said that they have had very few complaints about these. VA said that only three people were bothered enough by the Iris sound to want them returned and I was one of them. Even the tech at VA says that his unit is noisy. I called him yesterday and told him that I felt sorry for him as my new one is sooooo quiet. VA thinks the noise is "normal"??

Mitch :eek:

I've heard that before. :rolleyes:

Actually, I think that some dealers have changed their return/DOA policies because of the high number of defects and idiosyncracies in the 900, but they would never admit it.

The dealer I bought my 900 from used to offer a "Buy Policy" featuring a 7-day, 10-hour return without restocking fee refund on any projector, and they didn't have a limited DOA policy. Now, they only offer an exchange for equal or greater value, straight returns incur a 20% restocking fee, and they will only exchange one DOA. After one DOA they now refer you to the manufacturer.

Do you suppose that was because I was the only one that had multiple defective 900's? ;)

I've heard that before. :rolleyes:

Actually, I think that some dealers have changed their return/DOA policies because of the high number of defects and idiosyncracies in the 900, but they would never admit it.

The dealer I bought my 900 from used to offer a "Buy Policy" featuring a 7-day, 10-hour return without restocking fee refund on any projector, and they didn't have a limited DOA policy. Now, they only offer an exchange for equal or greater value, straight returns incur a 20% restocking fee, and they will only exchange one DOA. After one DOA they now refer you to the manufacturer.

Do you suppose that was because I was the only one that had multiple defective 900's? ;)
Let's hope this is all flowing back up to the manufacturer in an "acid reflux-like" style.

Hi-Lighting is your buddy.

ferbal,

pepar has a point though - some of us use AVS White as our interface colours - yellow doesn't make it in this context.

ted

Thanks
My interface has yellow letters in a black background.
I've edited the post. Is it OK now?

Manufacture date on new unit?

Just a follow-up to this earlier post. I received my new (2nd unit) AE-900 today from PROJECTOR People and the Dynamic Iris makes ABSOLUTELY NO NOISE!!! The one that I received from Visual Apex had to have been defective even though the service department there told me that the noise was normal for that unit and something that I would have to live with OR pay their 20 percent restocking fee for returning it.

This new unit is about 20 percent quieter than my AE-900 both in low mode and when the AE-900 is in the High Lamp mode it makes about the same level of noise as the AE-700 in the low mode. I am sooooooo pleased and sooooooooo ticked off at Visual Apex. I'm especially happy that I did not take their word for it and keep a unit that was not working correctly. To think that they would not authorize a return for something that was that noisey that just makes my hair stand up (what little is left of it).

I am now off to purchase a second AE-900 from Projector People to replace my AE-700 in the basement. This thing is just GREAT!

Thanks for all of the advice that you guys forwarded on!!

A VERY happy Mitch! :D

Manufacture date on new unit?


January 2006

Well I was going to suggest to purchase the AE900 from Costco due to their retrun policy but they do not have the unit posted on their website any longer. Hmmm...

Thanks
My interface has yellow letters in a black background.
I've edited the post. Is it OK now?

byootiful.
Welcome to the forum (formally that is) btw.

ted

Hey everyone I just thought I would let you all know that on Projector People's website it says that panasonic extended the $400 rebate offer with the blockbuster card till the end of this month it was supposed to drop back down to $200 today, but the site says panasonic extended the $400 one until march 31st.

I would agree. It sounds like an issue between the HTPC and projector. Others here may be able to help you sort it out.

The 900's HDMI sync is not as 'forgiving' as some. It briefly loses sync (and flashes purple) while playing back from a standard DVD player, so I'm sure that you can have bigger sync problems when a video card is not configured perfectly.

Thanks Azeke and bubbawilly for your answers.
The strange thing is that, once the projector is functioning properly, if I switch from the PC monitor to the projector, the image comes without a delay. Then, I can see hours without any interruption or blackout. :confused:
Fernando

January 2006
That one seems safe enough from not being "recycled."

Hey everyone I just thought I would let you all know that on Projector People's website it says that panasonic extended the $400 rebate offer with the blockbuster card till the end of this month it was supposed to drop back down to $200 today, but the site says panasonic extended the $400 one until march 31st.

Heh, nice of them to tell me that yesterday as I was scrambling to determine if my 700 was permanently damaged so that I could still get in on the 900 rebate if I needed to replace it. :(

Oh well, I guess they figured they had me on the line to buy it because the rebate was expiring and if they told me about it I probably would have held off on the purchase.

I can't really complain. It is a great deal. I'm ending up paying a ton less for the 900 than I did for my 700.

Just plugged in my Panny. Moving over from the CRT department. All I can say is WOW.

No convergence, no focusing, no precise alignment, and the picture just running 480p is way better than the 480p CRT I was running.

Next step is to hook up the HDTV receiver, and see what that looks like.

One question - Is there any setting in the aspect ratio to allow the full screen 4:3 veiwing of SDTV, and the widescreen viewing of HDTV?


Thanks,

Ken

I need help. I think I have a lamp circuit malfunction after approx fifty hours.
I have just sent an email to the dealer and await a reply. This has happened before but I could always get the pj to work eventually but not tonight.

Any su :( ggestions.
Thanks
thequietman

Manufacture date on new unit?
I wish I had read your post sooner. I just got shipped the unit from Visual Apex today. Now Worried about your experience. Did you have to pay a restocking fee? Did they not offer to send you another unit? I'm glad ProjectorPeople sent you a good one. Good luck and keep your fingers crossed with my new Projector.It's my first projector and I really want things to go well.

Is there a manufacture date on unit? Could I tell if it is a refurb? If it loud it's going back!!

I wish I had read your post sooner. I just got shipped the unit from Visual Apex today. Now Worried about your experience. Did you have to pay a restocking fee? Did they not offer to send you another unit? I'm glad ProjectorPeople sent you a good one. Good luck and keep your fingers crossed with my new Projector.It's my first projector and I really want things to go well.

Is there a manufacture date on unit? Could I tell if it is a refurb? If it loud it's going back!!

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I ordered mine from them and they were great to work with. My boss also got one that had convergence issues and they sent another one out for him and he got it in three days. He sent the other one back with no restocking fee. Maybe Mitch just got a hold of one A-Hole from VA..... who knows? Always good to order with your credit card though so you can just dispute the charge. PP does sound like a pretty exceptional company, I just couldn't pass up the additional 1 yr of warranty.

Good luck...

Can anybody point me to a thread or website that tells specifically how to see VB?

I need help. I think I have a lamp circuit malfunction after approx fifty hours.
I have just sent an email to the dealer and await a reply. This has happened before but I could always get the pj to work eventually but not tonight.

Any su :( ggestions.
Thanks
thequietman
If it's been 30+ days since you bought it, you'll have to send it in for repair. Otherwise your dealer would swap it out. From my understanding at least, once the lamp circuit goes, it has to be replaced.

I had to swap out my first projector because the lamp circuit failed after a week.

I need help. I think I have a lamp circuit malfunction after approx fifty hours.
I have just sent an email to the dealer and await a reply. This has happened before but I could always get the pj to work eventually but not tonight.

Any su :( ggestions.
Thanks
thequietman

What are your unit's symptoms?

Occasionally, when I power on my unit after it's been dormant for awhile (a week or so), my blue background screen comes up with the bottom half slightly darker than the top. Kind of like the panels aren't getting the proper voltage??

Can anybody point me to a thread or website that tells specifically how to see VB?

Just curious why you would want to go out of your way to search for a flaw you would otherwise not notice. Wouldn't ignorance be bliss in this case??

I've had this PJ since Oct. and absolutly love it. I recently upgraded my DVD player to the Pioneer Elite 79avi. I am running component straight to the PJ with a 9 meter run. Does anybody else in here have a similar s/u? And if so what settings combination between the PJ and the player are you running. My screen is a 106" graywolf. Its a great screen for my room but I have some issues with the graininess of the screen surface. Thanks for any input!

REBATE QUESTION

and

CENTERING IMAGE ON SCREEN QUESTION

____________________________________________________________ ____________

I have noticed that a few people have "checked" on their rebate status. Is there a site online that allows for that or are you calling the 866 number posted on the rebate form?

Thanks for the advice on making copies and sending the rebate in by registered mail. At least I know for SURE that they got my rebate forms!

I have finally gotten my home theater set up! YAY!!! We are enjoying the projector but are also hopeful for the day when all tv is broadcast in HDTV. Wow what a difference in quality regular tv compared to HDTV is.

My only problem remains that I can not get the projector to fill my screen correctly. I have a really hard time adjusting the lens shift knob. It is hanging from the ceiling about 8 inches below the top of the screen but I always seem to have a little space on the left side or the right side and also just a slight bit on the bottom. Does anyone else have a hard time working that knob, and if so, how did you get around it. (the bar to the projector from ceiling mount moves a bit as I try to make adjustments so it's kind of a quess each time I adjust).

Also, there is a slight angle from top to bottom, kind of like a quadrilateral polygon shape (sorry I don't remember what that shape is called!) Is this what keystoning corrects? I thought by using lens shift knob and having the projector hang down from the ceiling would enable me to have a rectangular picture.

Thanks!

Skier-Girl

I need help. I think I have a lamp circuit malfunction after approx fifty hours.
I have just sent an email to the dealer and await a reply. This has happened before but I could always get the pj to work eventually but not tonight.

Any su :( ggestions.
Thanks
thequietman

thequietman
Please read my post (#3803, page 127).
Is this your problem?
I have only 20 hours in the lamp and my "workaround" is to disconnect the HDMI cable before starting the projector (and connect it latter, when the bulb is on).
Fernando

REBATE QUESTION

and

CENTERING IMAGE ON SCREEN QUESTION

____________________________________________________________ ____________

I have noticed that a few people have "checked" on their rebate status. Is there a site online that allows for that or are you calling the 866 number posted on the rebate form?

Thanks for the advice on making copies and sending the rebate in by registered mail. At least I know for SURE that they got my rebate forms!

I have finally gotten my home theater set up! YAY!!! We are enjoying the projector but are also hopeful for the day when all tv is broadcast in HDTV. Wow what a difference in quality regular tv compared to HDTV is.

My only problem remains that I can not get the projector to fill my screen correctly. I have a really hard time adjusting the lens shift knob. It is hanging from the ceiling about 8 inches below the top of the screen but I always seem to have a little space on the left side or the right side and also just a slight bit on the bottom. Does anyone else have a hard time working that knob, and if so, how did you get around it. (the bar to the projector from ceiling mount moves a bit as I try to make adjustments so it's kind of a quess each time I adjust).

Also, there is a slight angle from top to bottom, kind of like a quadrilateral polygon shape (sorry I don't remember what that shape is called!) Is this what keystoning corrects? I thought by using lens shift knob and having the projector hang down from the ceiling would enable me to have a rectangular picture.

Thanks!

Skier-Girl

Make sure to turn the shift knob counter clockwise to loosen it before you try and adjust. It can be a little fidgety, but perfection is possible with a little patience. Remember to tighten, or 'lock' the lever in position when you are done.

I use the background (blue) to align the image to the screen. Center the image as best as you can (with the top aligned at your top border). Don't forget that once the top is aligned, zooming out will fill the rest of the screen. Zooming doesn't change the top position, only the two sides and bottom.

Your geometry issue means that your projector isn't perfectly level and/or square with the screen. You'll have to make some adjustments with your mount in order to square things up. Using keystone correction is an option, but assuming your mount is adjustable, you'd be better off making your corrections there. I zoom the image in a bit, so that there is an equal amount of space between the image and my screen borders on the sides and bottom (makes the geometric irregularities easier to see when they're not spilling onto the border), and I adjust the tilt and pitch of the projector until the image is rectangular. Then you can zoom back out, and you're done.

REBATE QUESTION

and

CENTERING IMAGE ON SCREEN QUESTION

____________________________________________________________ ____________

I have noticed that a few people have "checked" on their rebate status. Is there a site online that allows for that or are you calling the 866 number posted on the rebate form?

Thanks for the advice on making copies and sending the rebate in by registered mail. At least I know for SURE that they got my rebate forms!

Skier-Girl

Earlier in this thread there is a site posted where you can check on your rebate. I believe it was http://www.panasonicconsumerrebates.com/ Plug your name in one of those rebates and see what comes up. It doesn't necessarily come up in the projector rebate. In my case it did not and I have all ready got my check. It took me about 8 weeks to get the check. The blockbuster card came with it.

Just curious why you would want to go out of your way to search for a flaw you would otherwise not notice. Wouldn't ignorance be bliss in this case??
I am just making sure that I do not have any problems. Apparantly VB appears more in certain cases. I don't know what I am looking for and where.
Does anybody have a link or post I can look at specifically?

I am just making sure that I do not have any problems. Apparantly VB appears more in certain cases. I don't know what I am looking for and where.
Does anybody have a link or post I can look at specifically?
VB is vertical banding, and is just that; bands running up and down. Most noticeable on uniformly lighter colored screens or sections of the screen - sky shots, for example. You may not want to thank me.

I was looking at things like the ice at the olympics to see if there were any bad pixels or discoloring, but I did not see any. I didn't see any bands either. Do I have to check each input individually? Is it possible there is no VB?

Is it possible there is no VB?
Yes.

I was looking at things like the ice at the olympics to see if there were any bad pixels or discoloring, but I did not see any. I didn't see any bands either. Do I have to check each input individually? Is it possible there is no VB?


I've had 2 units and neither had VB issues at all.

Elio

Without going through all the "tweak" sections and re-reading everything ever said, can someone answer a simple question for me? When using the "normal" color scheme and having everything set to 0, is there a real red push making skin look very pink and strange? Once I set the color temp to -2 or more and push the tint into the positive it looks OK, but I am concerned that I have to do that much.

Hey all.
We just picked up this projector and are loving it. A substantial change from the old Sharp XV-S55U we had prior.

I have three quick questions, that I could not easily locate using the search function.

1) (Answered) Does enabling low lamp mode disable the dynamic iris? I recall reading about some projectors where this was the case, and didn't know if this was the saem for the 900.
EDIT: After using my laptop, I can answer this already :) Even in low lamp mode, the opening and closing of nice, bright IE windows demonstrates that the iris does indeed work when in low lamp mode.

2) Barrel distortion. I notice that there is some barrel distortion in the image. Admittedly, the image is shifted substantially (the lens is almost at the top of the screen, and it is zoomed fairly high. Is this a normal function under these conditions?

3) Deinterlacing artifacts. When running my digital cable box through the projector, I'm noticing more deinterlacing artifacts than I did on our old VGA Sharp. Basically, more combing during fast movement. Is this a function of the higher resolution/scaling? The screen size for 4:3 material is basically identical.

Thank you for the help.

Also, for informative purposes, my unit was manufactured in in Jan, 2006, and while I may see very faint VB, it's pretty much non-existent in my case. Not anything like the shots i've seen.

A question or two regarding panasonic rebates...

Are they reliable? Also, this promotion is a $400 rebate and a $300 blockbuster rental card correct? Can the card only be used for rentals?

Also, someone said to send the rebates via registered mail (like 3 posts before this one). Will this ensure that they process it?

I am really considering this projector from projector people, but the $400 rebate is the only thing holding me back.

I finally found my rebate at http://www.panasonicconsumerrebates.com/. It was under "Panasonic $200 TV MIR PT52LCX65/PT61LCX65". Here is what it says.

Status: Check Payment
Check to be mailed within 8-14 weeks of received date
Retailer:
Date Entered: February 27, 2006
Check Number: 0
Current Dollar Amount: 400

I don't remember the rebate saying it could take as long as 14 weeks! :rolleyes:

Oh well. At least it looks like it will be coming someday. :p

Rebate appeats to be reliable, just takes lot more time than we expected. Blockbuster card is only for rentals. It is for 40 rentals, not a certain dollar amount. Rentals do not cost $7.50 where I live, so I do not know where they get the $300 amount. I got my card in late February, and all rentals have to be used by 6/30/06.

Hey everyone I just had a question about the warranty and stuff on the AE900U. I have already decided that this is the projector that I want the only thing I don't like is how it only comes with a one year manufacturer warranty. Do you think it would be worth it to purchase some type of extended service plan on it to protect it longer than just a year? Or would I be better off just taking my chances is it worth the extra money to buy an extended warranty on the panny?

Hey everyone I just had a question about the warranty and stuff on the AE900U. I have already decided that this is the projector that I want the only thing I don't like is how it only comes with a one year manufacturer warranty. Do you think it would be worth it to purchase some type of extended service plan on it to protect it longer than just a year? Or would I be better off just taking my chances is it worth the extra money to buy an extended warranty on the panny?


You can extend the warranty through Panasoinc. Go to their site to find out how.

All the Blockbuster rentals have to be used by June 30th???? That's crazy. Sorry, I do have a job and don't watch movies everyday. With the warranty being extended, one would assume they'd at least extend the Blockbuster rental time period to the end of the year. And I also agree...where do they get that $300 amount?

For anyone who's interested, I just received my 900 from VA and it has a manufactured date of February 2006. Hopefully it will be a good "batch". I have been lurking (stalking?) on this forum for around a year while I've been finishing my basement (or as my wife calls it - Tim's Apartment). Many thanks to all for their insight, knowledge, and guidance. Since I am still 2 to 3 weeks away from being done with my project, I'm sure I will be taking it for a test ride in our family room this weekend. This is also my first projector so as you can imagine I am very excited to see what this thing can do. Thanks again!

I've been watching my new pj since I got it, on Wednesday. Mounted it last night, and will spend the next three days in front of it (convalescing from surgery).

Watching Survivor and Idol in HD was awesome. I have a 8x6 screen that I am considering widening a foot on each side to fit in the 16x9.

Anyone watching theirs on a drywall screen painted matte white? I am now on parkland plastic, but am considering tearing that down and making it drywall. I wonder how it works.

Anyhow, here's to a great pj!

Ken

Georgia HT:

Found mine under that category too. Says
Status: Check Payment
Check to be mailed within 8-14 weeks of received date
Retailer:
Date Entered: January 31, 2006

I am still wating for the check...

As usual with a new release, we'll try and play traffic cop to keep it to a single thread for a bit. The 900 was supposedly received by 1 member today so I expect we'll have some good discussion soon.

-MP

I have 900 and I want to know how to connect 900 to cable/satellite signal to watch tv?

I have 900 and I want to know how to connect 900 to cable/satellite signal to watch tv?


you either need a STB (set-top-box) or a VCR (if the signal is analog) to watch TV through the 900...there is no tuner (digital or otherwise) in the projector

I've been watching my new pj since I got it, on Wednesday. Mounted it last night, and will spend the next three days in front of it (convalescing from surgery).

Watching Survivor and Idol in HD was awesome. I have a 8x6 screen that I am considering widening a foot on each side to fit in the 16x9.

Anyone watching theirs on a drywall screen painted matte white? I am now on parkland plastic, but am considering tearing that down and making it drywall. I wonder how it works.

Anyhow, here's to a great pj!

Ken

Survivors not in HD!

Survivors not in HD!

Well, maybe you can help me out. I could flip between HD broadcast and SD broadcast, and the PJ said one was in 1080i, and the other 480i.

The HD broadcast looked MUCH sharper, and it was obvious that it was much higher definition.

So when you say it isn't HD, do you mean that it wasn't in 16x9 format, even though it was broadcast in 1080i?

Let me know!

Ken

My rebate form was received by the processing company the first week of November (I sent it in trackable form). They are claiming my check was mailed February 3rd. I still haven't received it.

I called today, and they are stopping payment on the original rebate check. However, they said it will be 24 BUSINESS DAYS to process this and mail another one. :rolleyes:

Do I need to calibrate my 900? I've read an article and he stated that "Requires calibration out of the box ".
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/PanasonicPTAE900UProjectorReview1.php

Well, maybe you can help me out. I could flip between HD broadcast and SD broadcast, and the PJ said one was in 1080i, and the other 480i.

The HD broadcast looked MUCH sharper, and it was obvious that it was much higher definition.

So when you say it isn't HD, do you mean that it wasn't in 16x9 format, even though it was broadcast in 1080i?

Let me know!

Ken
From you decription I as assuming your using Directv.
Channel 388 will show on your pj as 480.
Channel 88 will show 1080 on your pj even if that particular show is not HD

Do I need to calibrate my 900? I've read an article and he stated that "Requires calibration out of the box ".
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/PanasonicPTAE900UProjectorReview1.php


i had my first look at a ae900 in action at andres electronics here in penticton at our local AV store and i was not impressed , i asked the sales rep if the p.j, was at manu specs(setup) with no tweaking and he said it was , they were running componet video into it and it was terrible(star wars), washed out weak colors and blurred out not a clean pic at all, mind you the sde at about 2 feet was not noticibly( a plus better than my 4805) so a proper setup is in big order with a setup disk(avia etc) is a must, my 4805 beat the pic from that panny hands down (blacks,color,sharpness etc) mind you it was at a AV store where they are pushing the p.j. and to heck with the quality. i paid less than half for my 4805 than what they were asking for the panny 900 so there has to be some tweaking on the 900 from what jason showed in his review of the 900 because out of the box it was not impressive. IMHO :)

From you decription I as assuming your using Directv.
Channel 388 will show on your pj as 480.
Channel 88 will show 1080 on your pj even if that particular show is not HD

Yes, I have similar occurrences with my digital cable. The HD channels for the major networks always have the higher quality signal, even when showing non-HD material. But Survivor is not actually broadcast in HD as far as I know.

Modawg73, apart from the difference in aspect ratios between HD Idol and SD survivor, you should be able to notice a huge quality difference between those two shows when viewing the HD channels.

Anyways. This projector is interesting. Has anyone done a side by side with the Optoma H78DC3 or H79? How far behind is it really with respect to black level? Sorry if it has already been posted. This is a very big thread. Perhaps someone can direct me to the proper page? :)

i had my first look at a ae900 in action at andres electronics here in penticton at our local AV store and i was not impressed , i asked the sales rep if the p.j, was at manu specs(setup) with no tweaking and he said it was , they were running componet video into it and it was terrible(star wars), washed out weak colors and blurred out not a clean pic at all, mind you the sde at about 2 feet was not noticibly( a plus better than my 4805) so a proper setup is in big order with a setup disk(avia etc) is a must, my 4805 beat the pic from that panny hands down (blacks,color,sharpness etc) mind you it was at a AV store where they are pushing the p.j. and to heck with the quality. i paid less than half for my 4805 than what they were asking for the panny 900 so there has to be some tweaking on the 900 from what jason showed in his review of the 900 because out of the box it was not impressive. IMHO :)

..and you just had to share this insight with us.

Would you like to know what a Qualia looks like on a studio set?
Looks like crap.
You tell me why.

Lessee....
Local AV store
Jason
Local AV store
Jason

Get the picture?

By the way - I thought Canadian schools were reasonably erudite - don't they teach grammar and punctuation out there?

ted

..and you just had to share this insight with us.

?

By the way - I thought Canadian schools were reasonably erudite - don't they teach grammar and punctuation out there?

ted

the question was does the 900 have to be calibrated , yes it does and as for education i guess we in the west aren,t as cultured as you jerks in the big smoke in toronto. :mad: :mad:

the question was does the 900 have to be calibrated , yes it does and as for education i guess we in the west aren,t as cultured as you jerks in the big smoke in toronto. :mad: :mad:
Yes, vtgt's question was does the 900 need to be calibrated, but you didn't really answer it. Your only possible addressing of the question was buried in the middle amongst a bunch of unflattering terms for the 900. You ended with IMHO, but I didn't see anything Humble about your opinion at all.

Hello,
I called to inquire about my rebate yesterday and was told that it would be several more weeks. One of the hold ups (supposedly) is that they are waiting for Panasonic to approve/ process a Blockbuster card that is good until late this year or early next year. I don't know if this is in recognition of the poor judgement they have used with sending cards that only allow a few months of usage or not. I sent my rebate on December 27.

Yes, vtgt's question was does the 900 need to be calibrated, but you didn't really answer it. Your only possible addressing of the question was buried in the middle amongst a bunch of unflattering terms for the 900. You ended with IMHO, but I didn't see anything Humble about your opinion at all.


well if my opinion doesn,t agree with yours thats just to bad, thats what i saw in my obsevations at the av store, BOO HOO...
wahhh..... what are you 12? all what i said that the calibration is nessasary for the panny 900 out of the box the pic was NOT impressive just as jason said. so if i offended your delicate sensibiltys in my critique of the 900 get over it :rolleyes:

I got a letter from the rebate place (thought it was a check when I got the mail so I was really happy). It said my projector number was already used and they were denying my claim! Geez! You can imagine how steamed I was. :mad:

I sent in the UPC with the cardboard still attached! Grr.

So I called them, waited on hold for a while, then talked to someone.

They said they entered it in twice and ignore the letter since the rebate will be coming. They also said they ran out of blockbuster cards and were waiting for a new shipment due to larger than anticipated response to the offer. We can only hope that the new batch has a later end date than June 30th!

So I wait some more. :(

Also went to the panasonicconsumerrebates.com I can not find the 900 on the list of products,only the 700 in the miscellaneous category. What gives?

I got a letter from the rebate place (thought it was a check when I got the mail so I was really happy). It said my projector number was already used and they were denying my claim! Geez! You can imagine how steamed I was. :mad:

I sent in the UPC with the cardboard still attached! Grr.

So I called them, waited on hold for a while, then talked to someone.

They said they entered it in twice and ignore the letter since the rebate will be coming. They also said they ran out of blockbuster cards and were waiting for a new shipment due to larger than anticipated response to the offer. We can only hope that the new batch has a later end date than June 30th!

So I wait some more. :(

Also went to the panasonicconsumerrebates.com I can not find the 900 on the list of products,only the 700 in the miscellaneous category. What gives?

Was this for the $200 or $400 rebate?

the question was does the 900 have to be calibrated , yes it does and as for education i guess we in the west aren,t as cultured as you jerks in the big smoke in toronto. :mad: :mad:


Yep,
I thought it might get to that.
Please keep benighted the politics out of this thread.
Since your attitude suggests insight, you might have added to your diatribe that Infocus PJ's out-of-the-box are *known* for their excellent calibration and reasonable reference to D65. Its one of their strengths. If you had added that, you *might* have had a point

ted

Yep,
I thought it might get to that.
Please keep benighted the politics out of this thread.
Since your attitude suggests insight, you might have added to your diatribe that Infocus PJ's out-of-the-box are *known* for their excellent calibration and reasonable reference to D65. Its one of their strengths. If you had added that, you *might* have had a point

ted


:) :)

well if my opinion doesn,t agree with yours thats just to bad, thats what i saw in my obsevations at the av store, BOO HOO...
wahhh..... what are you 12? all what i said that the calibration is nessasary for the panny 900 out of the box the pic was NOT impressive just as jason said. so if i offended your delicate sensibiltys in my critique of the 900 get over it :rolleyes:
Of course your opinion matters. But, if you want it to matter to anyone other than yourself, you might try expressing it without thoroughly dumping on the piece of gear in question.

I love a good argument, but since neither of you two are exhibiting one, how about going back to topic? I saw nothing wrong with Penticton102's expression of his personal observation. So.. unless there's some underlying issues between you two I didn't see any reason for TVTed to attack and denigrate another's opinion and experience. Let it drop. Everything written in here MUST be taken with a grain of salt approach and remember, the discussion is about an inanimate object: a hunk of metal and plastic. Outside the bedroom there shouldn't be any personal attachment to a plug in device. :D

I love a good argument, but since neither of you two are exhibiting one, how about going back to topic? I saw nothing wrong with Penticton102's expression of his personal observation. So.. unless there's some underlying issues between you two I didn't see any reason for TVTed to attack and denigrate another's opinion and experience. Let it drop. Everything written in here MUST be taken with a grain of salt approach and remember, the discussion is about an inanimate object: a hunk of metal and plastic. Outside the bedroom there shouldn't be any personal attachment to a plug in device. :D
My point is that no one should walk into a room of people and start bad-mouthing the piece of gear that most of them own. Expressing one's opinion is what the forum is all about, but purposely trying to push peoples' buttons is rude.

:)

Wow, this thread moves fast. Not to get in the middle of the prior debate, was anyone able to address my questiosn in the prior page? Or are those questions best left to the tweaks thread?

Thanks

I love a good argument, but since neither of you two are exhibiting one, how about going back to topic? :D

My opinion was expressed as follows:


Would you like to know what a Qualia looks like on a studio set?
Looks like crap.
You tell me why.

Lessee....
Local AV store
Jason
Local AV store
Jason


Too subtle?

I've no vested interest in the 900 but if you've read anything I post its usually backed by links, careful descriptions of the issues where possible or questions that are pertinent. To simply state that one looks better than the other without offering reasons - for example that Infocus units are some of the best precalibrated units in this price range or that the display room was suffering too much ambient light which wacks CR etc. is simply denigrating other's research and credibility. As my quote states, I trust Jason's opinions because I've seen the criteria which he brings to his evaluations. I should trust a drop in who appears to be panning a product without setting the ground as to why there might be such differences?

People log on to this thread to get opinions - and we are all entitled to them but anything that is simply opinion without a why is simply flotsam.

I'm done.

ted

2) Barrel distortion. I notice that there is some barrel distortion in the image. Admittedly, the image is shifted substantially (the lens is almost at the top of the screen, and it is zoomed fairly high. Is this a normal function under these conditions?

At this level there are many price related compromises - the quality of the lens is one. There just aren't enough glass elements to correct for this - particularly if you have a short throw and a large image. Lens shift will exacerbate these artifacts to a great degree. This shouldn't be noticeable in the majority of viewing situations. Masking is your friend here.


3) Deinterlacing artifacts. When running my digital cable box through the projector, I'm noticing more deinterlacing artifacts than I did on our old VGA Sharp. Basically, more combing during fast movement. Is this a function of the higher resolution/scaling? The screen size for 4:3 material is basically identical.

I suppose the increased granularity (fineness) of higher rez might make it more apparent but I doubt it. This is really a scaler issue.

Is this true of all source - Film as well as Video? Are you indeed feeding the 900 an interlaced signal - in which case the Panasonic's scaler is invoked and CINEMA REALITY (Inverse Telecine) would be on for 24p source. What transport are using. Component?

What is your player?

ted

I just got my 900U and have never used progressive output on my DVD player(which is not the newest one out there BTW). I was switching between the dvd players Interlaced and Progressive outputs and I noticed that the picture was brighter and sharper when the 900U did all the work and the DVD player did nothing but play the DVD.

I thought that if the DVD player did the progressive part before the signal transfer it would yield a better overall picture. Is this because my dvd player is old and the new dvd players have better "internals" for doing the progressive conversion, or are the 900U "internals" better than most DVD player progressive conversions.

This is for a regular DVD player, not an upconverting one.

I just got my 900U and have never used progressive output on my DVD player(which is not the newest one out there BTW). I was switching between the dvd players Interlaced and Progressive outputs and I noticed that the picture was brighter and sharper when the 900U did all the work and the DVD player did nothing but play the DVD.

I thought that if the DVD player did the progressive part before the signal transfer it would yield a better overall picture. Is this because my dvd player is old and the new dvd players have better "internals" for doing the progressive conversion, or are the 900U "internals" better than most DVD player progressive conversions.

This is for a regular DVD player, not an upconverting one.
Simply put, and there's really no need to complicate it, the 900's "internals" are better than your DVD player's. I would not say, though, that the 900's internals are better than most present day players'.

Greetings,
I'm about to pull the trigger on the PJ order for the new theatre room in the basement, and I'm curious if any AE900U owners are concerned by its 1 year warranty versus the 3 years given by its popular competitor, the PLV-Z4.

It would appear that they've very similar PJs in all technical regards, but this warranty item is a large difference. Should this concern me?

Of course your opinion matters. But, if you want it to matter to anyone other than yourself, you might try expressing it without thoroughly dumping on the piece of gear in question.



sheesh i guess i stepped on some toes comparing the pic from my 4805 to the 900 at the AV store , all what i,m saying out of the box the 900 could use some tweaking/adjustments THATS ALL, no big deal, lighten up a bit and have a beer or something its not the end of the world . cheers! :)

At this level there are many price related compromises - the quality of the lens is one. There just aren't enough glass elements to correct for this - particularly if you have a short throw and a large image. Lens shift will exacerbate these artifacts to a great degree. This shouldn't be noticeable in the majority of viewing situations. Masking is your friend here.


That's good to know. I guess I have the optimal situation for creating this distortion. I'm throwing a 10 foot wide picture from about 16 feet away, so it is zoomed, and yes, the lens shift is being used significantly. It's unfortunate that the"central" position of the lens is literally centered, instead of being offset already for top or bottom position. Alas, I can't really complain. Masking does work, but at 10 feet across, you can notice the bowing due to the maksing.



I suppose the increased granularity (fineness) of higher rez might make it more apparent but I doubt it. This is really a scaler issue.

Is this true of all source - Film as well as Video? Are you indeed feeding the 900 an interlaced signal - in which case the Panasonic's scaler is invoked and CINEMA REALITY (Inverse Telecine) would be on for 24p source. What transport are using. Component?

What is your player?

ted

I'm talking about the situation only when having the projector fed 480i from the digital cable box. I have no complaints for DVDs at all. It's "perfect". Simply from digital cable. It's most notable I find on cartoons. But again, I don't know if I'm simply looking for it now, or it's just more noticeable on the new projector. (Given that with the old one, there was no scaling going on because it was 640x480.)

Also, thank you for the response.

sheesh i guess i stepped on some toes comparing the pic from my 4805 to the 900 at the AV store , all what i,m saying out of the box the 900 could use some tweaking/adjustments THATS ALL, no big deal, lighten up a bit and have a beer or something its not the end of the world . cheers! :)


Hey there,

Just for giggles I was pretty darn happy with the picture from my Panny right out of the box. Tweaking it just made it all the better. I've never owned a monitor, whether it be CRT, flat panel or projector that didn't benefit from some tweaking. As far as the experience you had at your AV store it doesn't surprise me. I've seen some pretty amazing projectors rendered unwatchable by lousy set-ups, bright showrooms, cheap screens, poor hookups (Composite or S-Video as opposed to component or DVI/HDMI), cheap DVD players, and by customers having played with the projector and having mucked up one or more settings. I've had 2 900s and neither had a washed out picture or bland colors. I only replaced the first model because the color uniformity was off enough that is was distracting on black and white films. The second unit was perfect. Most of the folks here are pretty cool and rarely take things on a personal level. At least that's been my experience. Give the 900 another shot if you're really interested. I think it's an awesome product and a real steal for the price. And if you don't agree then go on out and find your bliss with another projector. It's just a big damn TV after all. No reason for folks to get all hot under the collar.

Elio

I'm talking about the situation only when having the projector fed 480i from the digital cable box. I have no complaints for DVDs at all. It's "perfect". Simply from digital cable. It's most notable I find on cartoons.


Yes - a difficult situation - is there a "P" output? This would avoid the 900's temporal processing. I've a 700 and I'm not a fan of the 700's internal scaler and I doubt the 900's is much better. Watch only Hi Def - that's a solution. ;) CGI or modern made for TV animation *would* be the most difficult - its visually *hard* material (bold colours, lines etc.) which comes at you primarily at 30 fps - a difficult situation for a scaler. Unfortunately poorer transport (S-Video, Composite) would be more forgiving as it would add a lot of filtering and noise to the source - I'd recommend Hi Def over HDMI. :p

!0 Ft, for 1.78 - yowsa - that's the width I use for 2.35 material - I run Constant Height at 51" high.

ted

Yes - a difficult situation - is there a "P" output? This would avoid the 900's temporal processing. I've a 700 and I'm not a fan of the 700's internal scaler and I doubt the 900's is much better. Watch only Hi Def - that's a solution. ;) CGI or modern made for TV animation *would* be the most difficult - its visually *hard* material (bold colours, lines etc.) which comes at you primarily at 30 fps - a difficult situation for a scaler. Unfortunately poorer transport (S-Video, Composite) would be more forgiving as it would add a lot of filtering and noise to the source - I'd recommend Hi Def over HDMI. :p

!0 Ft, for 1.78 - yowsa - that's the width I use for 2.35 material - I run Constant Height at 51" high.

ted

As for the first point, I am using s-video. We are using a Rogers Digital cable-box, non-hi def. There is no progressive output, unfortunately. Is this a scaler issue, a deinterlacer issue, or both (not that it's really a big issue at all), given that it appears to be deinterlacing artifacts. I thought that scaling and deinterlacing are two independent thigns. I could understand that our old VGA projector didn't seem to have any deinterlacing artifacts because no scaling was going on for SD material, makes sense to me. Oddly enough, when playing video games (specificall, SNES games...for nostalgic purposes), I don't really detect any deinterlacing artifacts, and that is even lower than 480i. And DVD's feed interlaced from our old(er) Sony DVD player (DVP-S715P) are fine as well.

As for the second, i'm loving the large size. The panny really does hide the pixelation, especially considering we're coming from an 8 foot wide 4:3 image from a 9 year old VGA projector. The difference in video quality is astounding. From the moment we got that first projector 9 years ago, the home theatre experience for me has always been to make the image as big as you can fit, within reason. Some would sa the 120" VGA was beyond it's reasonable visual quality. Obviously I noticed many of the flaws, but when you start watching the movie, they fade away, and you're left with an enormous picture that awes everyone and brings you into the movie. I'm loving it. I can't go any bigger due to room limitations, or I would. The room is light controlled, and the projector is sometimes overly bright, even with low lamp mode and "cinema 1", which is not an overly bright setting.

Has anyone else had a problem with VA. I am thinking about refusing delivery Monday and ordering from PP. Their return policy certainly seems more reasonable.

I will be ordering from PP on Monday. I hope I get a perfect one.

I ordered mine through VA. I believe they have the extended warrenty still at VA. No problems here. I had a great expereice with them.

MickB, I grew up in Brookfield and lived in Danbury for a few years as well. I don't miss the snow!

Bud

Is this a scaler issue, a deinterlacer issue, or both (not that it's really a big issue at all), given that it appears to be deinterlacing artifacts. I thought that scaling and deinterlacing are two independent thigns.

In the strictest sense you are correct, deinterlacing is a separate activity from "scaling". I view it as one - "scaling" as in temporal and spatial.

How is film based material coming from the setop, and do you have other than S as an output? With any source you consider "Video" based be sure that CINEMA REALITY is turned OFF in the 900. That's the only control on the Panasonic that I know of that might impact this issue. Others may know better. Does Roger's not provide better boxes? I don't have cable so I've no clue.

As for the second, i'm loving the large size. The panny really does hide the pixelation, especially considering we're coming from an 8 foot wide 4:3 image from a 9 year old VGA projector.
I sit about 1.3 for 1.78 material and with my setup 2.35 is of course a larger angle. I'm putting together a new screen that will be somewhat larger. I tell myself I'm preparing for 1920 x 1080. :) Smoothscreen was one of the reasons I chose the unit as I do like to sit close. Check your flicker tweaks as that does have an impact on the overall smoothness of the image the unit can project.

The room is light controlled, and the projector is sometimes overly bright, even with low lamp mode and "cinema 1", which is not an overly bright setting.

If you find the pj has some brightness to spare perhaps you might look into CC filtering as it *does* have its benefits. My 700 has had an 81EF from the week I purchased it.

ted

HELP!
I just received my 900, and hooked it up to a new Cablevision HD DVR box (SA8300HD). I connected them with an HDMI cable and set to cable box to HDTV (using the HDTV Setup Wizard). All I get on my screen is a full field blue (with a small "HDMI" in text in the upper right corner), and a periodically flashing HD image (for a fraction of a second each). I left the 900 on for about 10 minutes, to see if it would provide a constant image. It did not. Has anyone had the same, or similar experience? If so, can you please share how you resolved it? BTW, when I connected the 900 to my old DVD player via component cables, it produced a stable image.

HELP!
I just received my 900, and hooked it up to a new Cablevision HD DVR box (SA8300HD). I connected them with an HDMI cable and set to cable box to HDTV (using the HDTV Setup Wizard). All I get on my screen is a full field blue (with a small "HDMI" in text in the upper right corner), and a periodically flashing HD image (for a fraction of a second each). I left the 900 on for about 10 minutes, to see if it would provide a constant image. It did not. Has anyone had the same, or similar experience? If so, can you please share how you resolved it? BTW, when I connected the 900 to my old DVD player via component cables, it produced a stable image.

Unless your cable is overly long, it sounds like you are having HDMI handshaking issues. Contact your cable company, though convincing them that the issue lies with their box might be a problem.

ted

I am awaiting delivery of my 900 (set to be delivered on Tuesday) and so I am looking to get a screen this weekend. I can either mount the PJ to the ceiling (8.5ft) or put it on a shelf about 6.5 feet up. The distance to the wall is about 18 feet and I am looking for a 106 inch screen. The old lady is insisting on pull down (not ideal, I know, but there we are). Anybody have thoughts on a low cost screen? I saw that Costco had the Optoma Graywolf for pretty cheap, and the local CC had an Infocus 106 inch high contrast gray. Any suggestions for screen and PJ placement are greatly appreciated! :D
Dan
PS How long is the power cord on this bad boy?

Unless your cable is overly long, it sounds like you are having HDMI handshaking issues. Contact your cable company, though convincing them that the issue lies with their box might be a problem.

ted

Ted, thank for the quick reply. It's a 33' cable that I ordered from Monoprice, in advance of my receipt of the 900. I thought that I had read on this forum that this length is OK. Is there anything that I can do to overcome the handshaking issue (other than using a shorter cable)?

I'll contact my cable company, just in case they can do something.

I didn't consider connecting the HD cable box to the 900 with a component cable because I heard that I would get a better image with an HDMI connection. Is this true for the 900?

Ted, thank for the quick reply. It's a 33' cable that I ordered from Monoprice, in advance of my receipt of the 900. I thought that I had read on this forum that this length is OK. Is there anything that I can do to overcome the handshaking issue (other than using a shorter cable)?

I'll contact my cable company, just in case they can do something.

I didn't consider connecting the HD cable box to the 900 with a component cable because I heard that I would get a better image with an HDMI connection. Is this true for the 900?

Many have used longer Monoprice cables without issues so I would bet it is OK. If it is handshaking a shorter cable is unlikely to help as it is a communication issue between the HDMI transceivers in the units. It is true that some HDMI transceivers do not have the signal strength so you could try a shorter cable. Judging by past comments with this issue, the problem lies with your cable settop.

As to HDMI vs. Component, I fall in the HDMI camp but you might find a more than acceptable picture with Component. With that long a run, I'd recommend RG6 based cable.

ted

Many have used longer Monoprice cables without issues so I would bet it is OK. If it is handshaking a shorter cable is unlikely to help as it is a communication issue between the HDMI transceivers in the units. It is true that some HDMI transceivers do not have the signal strength so you could try a shorter cable. Judging by past comments with this issue, the problem lies with your cable settop.

As to HDMI vs. Component, I fall in the HDMI camp but you might find a more than acceptable picture with Component. With that long a run, I'd recommend RG6 based cable.

ted

Ted, thanks again. I'll exercise my cable company first, since I would like to use an HDMI cable. If they are uncooperative I'll try a shorter HDMI cable (would require a very inconvenient location of the cable box and probably a remote repeater). If that fails, then I'll have to use a component cable.

Is there any chance that a different 900 projector could solve this problem?

I am awaiting delivery of my 900 (set to be delivered on Tuesday) and so I am looking to get a screen this weekend. I can either mount the PJ to the ceiling (8.5ft) or put it on a shelf about 6.5 feet up. The distance to the wall is about 18 feet and I am looking for a 106 inch screen. The old lady is insisting on pull down (not ideal, I know, but there we are). Anybody have thoughts on a low cost screen? I saw that Costco had the Optoma Graywolf for pretty cheap, and the local CC had an Infocus 106 inch high contrast gray. Any suggestions for screen and PJ placement are greatly appreciated! :D
Dan
PS How long is the power cord on this bad boy?

I have he 92" Optoma Graywolf and it's a terriffic screen for the price. Ceiling mounted projector about 12 feet from the screen. I think the power cord is only 9'. It's pretty darn short for a projector.

Elio

HELP!
I just received my 900, and hooked it up to a new Cablevision HD DVR box (SA8300HD). I connected them with an HDMI cable and set to cable box to HDTV (using the HDTV Setup Wizard). All I get on my screen is a full field blue (with a small "HDMI" in text in the upper right corner), and a periodically flashing HD image (for a fraction of a second each). I left the 900 on for about 10 minutes, to see if it would provide a constant image. It did not. Has anyone had the same, or similar experience? If so, can you please share how you resolved it? BTW, when I connected the 900 to my old DVD player via component cables, it produced a stable image.

hi John ,Make sure the 900 is set to auto and that way it will search for the correct signal.If it just flashes hdmi it may be set to hdmi and looking for hdmi signal only.

I have he 92" Optoma Graywolf and it's a terriffic screen for the price. Ceiling mounted projector about 12 feet from the screen. I think the power cord is only 9'. It's pretty darn short for a projector.

Elio

I am now looking at the Optoma Graywolf and the DaLite High Power Model B (both manual). Will the Dalite be better at avoiding waves because of the extra weight? Also, my options for mounting are ceiling or putting a shelf on my rear wall about 6.5 feet up, any thoughts on which way to go? I would assume that the shelf will help me keep more of the gain (as oppossed to sending it into the ceiling) but I could certainly be of base with that assumption. Thanks! Dan

I am now looking at the Optoma and the DaLite High Power. Will the Dalite be better at avoiding waves because of the extra weight? Also, my options for mounting are ceiling or putting a shelf on my rear wall about 6.5 feet up, any thoughts on which way to go? I would assume that the shelf will help me keep more of the gain (as oppossed to sending it into the ceiling) but I could certainly be of base with that assumption. Thanks! Dan

I prefer ceiling mount. If the room is dark enough (and my room is pitch black) the small amount of light loss is not a problem. The brightness difference has really been minimal in my experience as the Panny is plenty bright. I had a Dalite roll-up screen that was MUCH wavier than my current Optoma. But manual screens are varied animals and each one has individual wave issues. So far the waves on my screen are barely noticable so I'm very happy. Had it for 4 months now.

Hope this helps.

Elio

In the strictest sense you are correct, deinterlacing is a separate activity from "scaling". I view it as one - "scaling" as in temporal and spatial.

How is film based material coming from the setop, and do you have other than S as an output? With any source you consider "Video" based be sure that CINEMA REALITY is turned OFF in the 900. That's the only control on the Panasonic that I know of that might impact this issue. Others may know better. Does Roger's not provide better boxes? I don't have cable so I've no clue.

ted

Ted, I believe the Cinema Reality fixed the issue. (As well, I did check the flicker and panel adjustments, and made a few minor adjustments already. Thank you for the advice though.)

I guess, getting into newbie territory, can I assume that most, if not all, material coming through my digital cable in 480i will be "video" based? I know it doesn't happen all the time, and I use animation to easily detect the issue. However, I was watching a movie on TV and also noticed the artifact. I don't know when the source is "film" or not, as the movie I just saw also had the effect.

I'm surpised it's set to ON as default for s-video and compositie video, if this is what happens when using video based sources. I also assumed that most 3:2 pulldown algorithms look for a specific flag. If this CR is always on when set to on, the artifacts must be caused by the scaler trying 3:2 pulldown on video sources.

In the case of the 480i input via compenent for DVD's, I have the cinema reality left on., and have noticed no issues as of yet. Will this be a disc by disc setting that I'll have to keep an eye out for?
Rgoers does have a hi-def box, but there isn't enough HD material out yet, and we don't watch enough tv to warrant the additional cost.

Another question, posted in the Tweaks thread but left unanswered: is there a way to disable overscan when inputing a 480i signal? The deinterlacer in the 900 is superior to that of the DVD player, but I would like to disable the overscaning if possible.

I just have received my new AE900 and here are my thoughts. I also have a Toshiba MT-700 (same as Benq PE7700 - DLP), as well as an old Sony 400Q. My screens are a 84 inch Dalite Cinema Vision and a 92 inch Grey Wolf. The Toshiba was calibrated by the seller. I set the AE 900 using settings in the AE900 tweak thread using CLK's settings for Cinema 1 and using the Hometheaterhifi review settings for Norma. I was lucky to get an AE900 that seems to work perfectly - no VB or iris noise (it is very quiet)

1. The pictures between the two are very similar. I think the Toshiba has better colors overall and slightly better shadow detail. The AE900 greens are a little hot, but I may be able to tame that with better calibration,but overall I see more variables on the color with the AE 900.

2. The sharpness between the two are very similar on good programs provided the HDMI input is used. I found the HMDI input on the AE900 to be notably sharper than component. The Toshiba is much better on nonHDTV though the HDMI. On DVDs, I found them to be similar as well except for the Montage on Video Essentials. On the AE900, some of the scenes (I am guessing video) are notably soft compared to the others (the film ones?). This was true whether through HDMI from a Denon 1920 or component through an older Sony 900V. Incidentally, using the Sony, the picture is much better at 480P through the Toshiba and 480i throught the Panasonic, in spite of the Faroudja processing in the Toshiba. Go figure.

3. The Toshiba has noticable dittering artifacts on dark scenes, much more so on DVDs than on HDTV. I was surprised that the AE900 is also a little bit noisy in the dark areas but not so annoying as the dithering. Interestly, the Sony has the least amount of noise of all three.

4. Both the Toshiba and the AE900are plenty bright (the Sony is hopelessly dim). The Toshiba is so bright I need a ND filter on the Dalite screen (I have not tried it on the Greywolf screen). With the AE900, I think I like the Dalite screen using Cinema 1 a little better. With the GreyWolf, I generally need to use Normal but Cinema 1 is ok for some DVDs. I am not 100% sold on the Greywolf. It is a litte dark , somewhat sparkly and a narrow viewing area.

5. I bought the AE900 instead of a PE7000 for two reasons. Overall, the Panasonic is a terrific buywith the rebates that were offered, especially since I am using it at my weekend location and thus will get less use. Without the rebates the choice would be harder with one of the lower-cost DLPs. However, my Toshibal has been repaired 4 times (4 bulbs, 2 color wheels one main board, one HDMI input and partridge in a pear tree) -- too much to risk another.

6. I bought it from Visual Apex. I found their service to be very good. I order it online on 2/28 to get the rebate and the 1-year additional warranty. I did not get an e-mail confirm, I called and the customer service person was very responsive- she verified that I would receive an invoice with the 2/28 date and that it would be shipped the same day. I received it on 3/3 ( I paid $45 extra for 2 day air). Their re-stocking fee is high but you have to weigh that against the extra year warranty the offered for free.

Hope this is helpful to anyone on the fence.

I would look into the Dalite Highpower Model C. I just hooked up my 900 and my Highpower 106" screen and its a fantastic combo. Even though there are a couple waves in the pull down screen, I cannot notice any of them when the projector is on. The Highpower material is known to have this awesome trait.

I just have received my new AE900 and here are my thoughts. I also have a Toshiba MT-700 (same as Benq PE7700 - DLP), as well as an old Sony 400Q. My screens are a 84 inch Dalite Cinema Vision and a 92 inch Grey Wolf. The Toshiba was calibrated by the seller. I set the AE 900 using settings in the AE900 tweak thread using CLK's settings for Cinema 1 and using the Hometheaterhifi review settings for Norma. I was lucky to get an AE900 that seems to work perfectly - no VB or iris noise (it is very quiet)

1. The pictures between the two are very similar. I think the Toshiba has better colors overall and slightly better shadow detail. The AE900 greens are a little hot, but I may be able to tame that with better calibration,but overall I see more variables on the color with the AE 900.

2. The sharpness between the two are very similar on good programs provided the HDMI input is used. I found the HMDI input on the AE900 to be notably sharper than component. The Toshiba is much better on nonHDTV though the HDMI. On DVDs, I found them to be similar as well except for the Montage on Video Essentials. On the AE900, some of the scenes (I am guessing video) are notably soft compared to the others (the film ones?). This was true whether through HDMI from a Denon 1920 or component through an older Sony 900V. Incidentally, using the Sony, the picture is much better at 480P through the Toshiba and 480i throught the Panasonic, in spite of the Faroudja processing in the Toshiba. Go figure.

3. The Toshiba has noticable dittering artifacts on dark scenes, much more so on DVDs than on HDTV. I was surprised that the AE900 is also a little bit noisy in the dark areas but not so annoying as the dithering. Interestly, the Sony has the least amount of noise of all three.

4. Both the Toshiba and the AE900are plenty bright (the Sony is hopelessly dim). The Toshiba is so bright I need a ND filter on the Dalite screen (I have not tried it on the Greywolf screen). With the AE900, I think I like the Dalite screen using Cinema 1 a little better. With the GreyWolf, I generally need to use Normal but Cinema 1 is ok for some DVDs. I am not 100% sold on the Greywolf. It is a litte dark , somewhat sparkly and a narrow viewing area.

5. I bought the AE900 instead of a PE7000 for two reasons. Overall, the Panasonic is a terrific buywith the rebates that were offered, especially since I am using it at my weekend location and thus will get less use. Without the rebates the choice would be harder with one of the lower-cost DLPs. However, my Toshibal has been repaired 4 times (4 bulbs, 2 color wheels one main board, one HDMI input and partridge in a pear tree) -- too much to risk another.

6. I bought it from Visual Apex. I found their service to be very good. I order it online on 2/28 to get the rebate and the 1-year additional warranty. I did not get an e-mail confirm, I called and the customer service person was very responsive- she verified that I would receive an invoice with the 2/28 date and that it would be shipped the same day. I received it on 3/3 ( I paid $45 extra for 2 day air). Their re-stocking fee is high but you have to weigh that against the extra year warranty the offered for free.

Hope this is helpful to anyone on the fence.
What extra year warranty for free? I ordeded 2/28/06 from Visual Apex and I did not see or was offered any free warranty on my AE-900

Even though there are a couple waves in the pull down screen, I cannot notice any of them when the projector is on. The Highpower material is known to have this awesome trait.

I would add the exact same thing about the Graywolf screen. I have an ever-so-small wave on the right side, which is completely non-visible during any kind of usage whatsoever.

It must be the high gain screen rejecting ambient light. Good trait, IMO. Seeing wrinkles in the screen would drive me crazy - and I'm not even a videophile ;)

What extra year warranty for free? I ordeded 2/28/06 from Visual Apex and I did not see or was offered any free warranty on my AE-900

Check back in the past few pages in this thread. It has been well documented.

Check back in the past few pages in this thread. It has been well documented.
Evidently, 'twas more documented here than by the vendor.

At 82 hours on my 900 I have a green spot, about 6 inches in diameter in the bottom left corner of the screen! Panasonic seems to think this is requires service, not warranty. $300.00 every 80 hours doesn't sound good to me!

At 82 hours on my 900 I have a green spot, about 6 inches in diameter in the bottom left corner of the screen! Panasonic seems to think this is requires service, not warranty. $300.00 every 80 hours doesn't sound good to me!
What is Panasonic calling it "cleaning service"?

At 82 hours on my 900 I have a green spot, about 6 inches in diameter in the bottom left corner of the screen! Panasonic seems to think this is requires service, not warranty. $300.00 every 80 hours doesn't sound good to me!
Aren't dust blobs "user-serviceable?"

Couple of Cabling questions related to my planned AE900U purchase and HT set-up:

1). Is there a cable length/signal degradation "rule" associated with Component Cable?

My home theatre layout will require approx 45ft cable runs from A/V centre to ceiling mounted AE900. Current plan is for VGA, HDMI and Component connection runs only. I understand from other postings that HDMI signal to cable quality relationship is not too distance sensitive up to around 50ft but have not been able to find any similar comments on impact of cable length for Component other than "buy better cables". I have no problem with this but other postings then talk about how more money buys you better cables...up to a point, after which price has less and less relation to performance gain.

I guess I am a bit confused as to what to look for as I can get 50ft of component cable at prices from about $25 Cdn (on-line) upto over $250.

2). I have read that watching SD TV from STBs is often better viewed through S-Video than component or HDMI connections for HDTVs. In other people's experience does this also apply to 720p AE900?

I ask because I will soon be laying the cable for the projector in the basement wall and if it makes sense, I will add S-Video and/or Composite to the current VGA/HDMI/Component run. If it isn't really necessary, I would rather avoid the cost and additional complications.

Thanks for any advice. :)

Couple of Cabling questions related to my planned AE900U purchase and HT set-up:

1). Is there a cable length/signal degradation "rule" associated with Component Cable?

My home theatre layout will require approx 45ft cable runs from A/V centre to ceiling mounted AE900. Current plan is for VGA, HDMI and Component connection runs only. I understand from other postings that HDMI signal to cable quality relationship is not too distance sensitive up to around 50ft but have not been able to find any similar comments on impact of cable length for Component other than "buy better cables". I have no problem with this but other postings then talk about how more money buys you better cables...up to a point, after which price has less and less relation to performance gain.

I guess I am a bit confused as to what to look for as I can get 50ft of component cable at prices from about $25 Cdn (on-line) upto over $250.

2). I have read that watching SD TV from STBs is often better viewed through S-Video than component or HDMI connections for HDTVs. In other people's experience does this also apply to 720p AE900?

I ask because I will soon be laying the cable for the projector in the basement wall and if it makes sense, I will add S-Video and/or Composite to the current VGA/HDMI/Component run. If it isn't really necessary, I would rather avoid the cost and additional complications.

Thanks for any advice. :)
I'm not sure there is a definitive study on signal degradation by distance. With analog, it degrades slowly, while digital is good as long as it's good and beyond that, no dice. Yes, of course, buy the best cable quality - conductor gauge, shielding, insulation - that you can find. If you look around, you can find companies who use high quality components (wire & connectors) and add a bit for labor. You can also find mondo expensive cabling that is no better, just fancier. Should the best you can find still not work properly, there are repeaters for both component and DVI/HDMI.

Ted, I believe the Cinema Reality fixed the issue. (As well, I did check the flicker and panel adjustments, and made a few minor adjustments already. Thank you for the advice though.)

Cinema Reality is Panasonic's version of reverse telecine (2:3) and at best its simply a flag reader as far as I can tell. ( I bypass it all by using my HTPC for most film source). I doubt it does any cadence detection should flags be mangled. This should all be straightforward assuming the flags are correct and well detected - not always true.

If you ever want to see what the flicker adjust does, simply throw it out of whack. It adjusts the timing on the panel clocks such that they are in phase. If they are out then you see scanlines. In my situation where my cellar cinema is impacted by seasonal changes, I need to keep my eye on it, or my picture is not as solid as can be. Any impact on VB here is really a byproduct as its the same subsystem that is resulting in the artifacts. I believe Panasonic has successfully addressed this with the 900 (peekaboo scanlines).

I guess, getting into newbie territory, can I assume that most, if not all, material coming through my digital cable in 480i will be "video" based? I know it doesn't happen all the time, and I use animation to easily detect the issue. However, I was watching a movie on TV and also noticed the artifact. I don't know when the source is "film" or not, as the movie I just saw also had the effect.

Here you are entering into a bunch of issues. A lot of production done for TV is shot on film but quite often is done at 30fps so 2:3 detect will not work. The deinterlacer would have to able to detect this and do a simple weave to reconstruct the source properly. Again its the capability of the deinterlacer - a simple flag reader can be easily confused by bad encoding or a bad edit. TV stations will cut some elements to bring it to time, allow for more commercial content or remove "questionable" sequences. So a deinterlacer that doesn't cadence detect (requires video field analysis and comparison) will do a poor job. Source shot on video also has temporal issues (fields at 1/60th second) and requires good deinterlacing - Faroudja based units are good at video deinterlacing.

Good background can be found here (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-part-5-progressive-10-2000.html)
if interested.

I'm surpised it's set to ON as default for s-video and compositie video, if this is what happens when using video based sources.

It's possible that most manufacturers feel that external sources will be primarily DVD which is more than likely film source.

In the case of the 480i input via compenent for DVD's, I have the cinema reality left on., and have noticed no issues as of yet. Will this be a disc by disc setting that I'll have to keep an eye out for?

I would leave CINEMA REALITY ON for DVD sources if you are sending interlaced output from your player. The vast majority of DVD's are film source - though you do run into the occasional DVD (March of the Penguins) which are shot at 30 fps and will give some older players a problem. DVD's generally are well flagged and most players are good enough to detect flags, More modern devices cadence detect as well and are able to grab the rhythm without the flags.

Rgoers does have a hi-def box, but there isn't enough HD material out yet, and we don't watch enough tv to warrant the additional cost.

I still use rabbit ears. ;)

Another question, posted in the Tweaks thread but left unanswered: is there a way to disable overscan when inputing a 480i signal? The deinterlacer in the 900 is superior to that of the DVD player, but I would like to disable the overscaning if possible.

I believe that OVERSCAN can only be turned On/Off only on 720 source. I venture that this is because the display scales *any* non 720 source to its panel resolution. In the case of 720 source it simply maps the input pixel for pixel (1:1 mapping) which then allows you to overscan the image if you wish. With 480 sources it would be the source unit that controls the overscan. For DVD's the best way around this would be a good upscaling player that outputs at 720p like the OPPO. The same could be said for cable boxes.

ted

Rickknyc, You said you purchased from Visual Apex and their restocking fee is high?

I just spoke to a salesman and he said you have 1 month to make sure the unit has no

problems. I didn't see a 1 year extended warranty. I did see a 2 year for $199. Which

I would go for. Anything I am missing, please correct me. I am seriously considering

this PJ purchase before 3-31-06 to get rebate. What is everybodys opinion of Visual Apex?

Where is the best place to purchase with the best policies? Thankx in advance. J.D.

Rickknyc, You said you purchased from Visual Apex and their restocking fee is high?

I just spoke to a salesman and he said you have 1 month to make sure the unit has no

problems. I didn't see a 1 year extended warranty. I did see a 2 year for $199.
This is the assessment I've seen others make. I've only seen one person say the extra year was included in the base price.

This is the assessment I've seen others make. I've only seen one person say the extra year was included in the base price.

That's because it is a special for avs'ers. If you go to the top of this page and click on VA's link you will see for yourself. Or you can go to visualapex.com/avs If you do not see the "AVS" in the link address, then you are at their "regular" site and not the "avs special site"

Hello,

Just spent most of the weekend watching the PJ. I probably have 40 hours on it since Friday. One question;

I thought I noticed that it's light output seemed significantly lower at the end of the evening. I had to turn the brightness up on Dynamic mode to +17 to get a good picture of my Robots DVD with only one light bulb on in the basement after sunset. It was probably on for 5 consecutive hours, and 10 hours that day. During the day, with lots of ambient light, I could see it fine on cinema 1 with no adjustments.

Anyone else experience this?

I see in the manual that if you have it on for over 10 hours at a time, you shorten the lifespan of the bulb. Is this why?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ken

That's because it is a special for avs'ers. If you go to the top of this page and click on VA's link you will see for yourself. Or you can go to visualapex.com/avs If you do not see the "AVS" in the link address, then you are at their "regular" site and not the "avs special site"
I stand corrected! :)

Don't really know if this question should be posted in the Tweak thread or this one (kinda confusing really). Ok, I've set up my AE900 and Oppo DVD Player. I removed the HTPC for now (I'm parting it out to create a media server for later installation). I am very impressed with my pq. I upgraded from AE100 & HTPC.

Here's are my question(s).

1. What is the general consensus for the Dynamic Iris. On or Off?

2. I have the Oppo in the 720p mode. Should I turn overscan on or off?

3. Better DVD for tweking pq, Avia or DVE?

That's it. I'll probably just try these options for myself while looking at the same reference material and then make my own decision, but I'd like the feedback. Also, I'll probably install a filter once I decide on a calibration DVD.

Paul

Hey guys,

Watching Casablanca from an Oppo (720p) to the AE900. Put it on Dynamic Picture mode and noticed something strange. At "Rick's" the smokey environment tints partially green. It's green smoke. I am sure it's color calibration, reduced the green using advanced mode, but it keeps a slight green look to it no matter what. Doesn't seem to affect it in the Cinemas, Normal, or Natural mode.
Anyone notice anything like this?

I have had a pretty underwhelming Panny experience so far, unfortunately - various problems including no color uniformity (tints of blue and magenta) and VB, have caused it to be sent back a few times. Waiting on Panasonic to decide if I can get a replacement unit, or will be playing the send it/receive/resend it game much longer :(

Anyone experiencing these issues? I am pretty sure I was cursed with one of the "bad apples" in the lot. Wondering how many of those are out there? Unfortunately it took me too long to notice the issue, and now have to deal with Panasonic directly.

On the Dynamic Iris question - I prefer not to use it most of the time, it does help the blacks, but on some movies, it feels like someone is in the back playing with the lights. When you have people over, it's almost embarassing, as it looks like the lamp light is going bad. At least that has been the case for me - could be my projector.

Thanks,
Anthony

Cinema Reality is Panasonic's version of reverse telecine (2:3) and at best its simply a flag reader as far as I can tell. ( I bypass it all by using my HTPC for most film source). I doubt it does any cadence detection should flags be mangled. This should all be straightforward assuming the flags are correct and well detected - not always true.

Here you are entering into a bunch of issues. A lot of production done for TV is shot on film but quite often is done at 30fps so 2:3 detect will not work. The deinterlacer would have to able to detect this and do a simple weave to reconstruct the source properly. Again its the capability of the deinterlacer - a simple flag reader can be easily confused by bad encoding or a bad edit. TV stations will cut some elements to bring it to time, allow for more commercial content or remove "questionable" sequences. So a deinterlacer that doesn't cadence detect (requires video field analysis and comparison) will do a poor job. Source shot on video also has temporal issues (fields at 1/60th second) and requires good deinterlacing - Faroudja based units are good at video deinterlacing.

Good background can be found here (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-part-5-progressive-10-2000.html)
if interested.


It's possible that most manufacturers feel that external sources will be primarily DVD which is more than likely film source.


I guess what I should've asked is if Cinema Reality is just 3:2 pulldown detection, why is it creating these deinterlacting artifacts in video sources?


I would leave CINEMA REALITY ON for DVD sources if you are sending interlaced output from your player. The vast majority of DVD's are film source - though you do run into the occasional DVD (March of the Penguins) which are shot at 30 fps and will give some older players a problem. DVD's generally are well flagged and most players are good enough to detect flags, More modern devices cadence detect as well and are able to grab the rhythm without the flags.



I still use rabbit ears. ;)



I believe that OVERSCAN can only be turned On/Off only on 720 source. I venture that this is because the display scales *any* non 720 source to its panel resolution. In the case of 720 source it simply maps the input pixel for pixel (1:1 mapping) which then allows you to overscan the image if you wish. With 480 sources it would be the source unit that controls the overscan. For DVD's the best way around this would be a good upscaling player that outputs at 720p like the OPPO. The same could be said for cable boxes.

ted

I was able to turn off overscan with a 480P source (i.e. the same DVD player just switched from interlaced to progressive). I guess the"interlacing" is what determines if you can turn it on or off.

Ted, thanks again for the detailed responses.

I guess what I should've asked is if Cinema Reality is just 3:2 pulldown detection, why is it creating these deinterlacting artifacts in video sources?

I keep telling myself I should include a dislaimer in my sig that says If you accept anything this Bozo suggests as bearing any resemblance to the truth you've only yourself to blame. :rolleyes:

This is a good question. I rarely deal with these issues as I use an HTPC over HDMI which handles my deinterlacing. A DVD player suffices for anything that I've real issues with. With that little bit of skating I can speculate thus:
1) the Reality circuit refuses to get out of the way and attempts to perform a weave which would be wrong with 60 field material as temporal artifacts would not be dealt with.
2) the Reality circuit senses its not necessary, goes home and leaves the deinterlacing processing to fend for itself. Being sired of witless parents its unable to fend for itself and makes a mess of things. (Video source deinterlacing is the most difficult stream to process)
3)The Reality is that Ted not know.

I've a HQV disc (link (http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm)), but I've never been able to crawl from the couch (intoxicants don't count) to actually check out these matters

I was able to turn off overscan with a 480P source (i.e. the same DVD player just switched from interlaced to progressive). I guess the"interlacing" is what determines if you can turn it on or off.

Ted, thanks again for the detailed responses.

See, there's need for that disclaimer again. You are very welcome, glad you've got the salt handy.

ted

Hey guys -

Just wanted to jump in and touch on our return policy before anything gets out of hand. Mods, I'm not here to promote us, just to clarify after seeing some of the comments on here.

Our policy has always been that if you have a performance issue with a Panasonic product, such as the 900U, within your first 30 days of ownership, we can handle the tech support up to and including replacing the unit if it is indeed determined to be defective. To do this, we have you send the defective unit back to us to be evaluated. (Yes, you do have to pay for the return insured shipping.) Once it has been evaluated and proven defective, we will send you out a replacement unit - a new-in box, manufacturer-sealed unit - free of charge. At that time, we will also credit back the amount of shipping for having sent the defective unit to us. So if your unit is defective, you will not be out of pocket for anything to get a replacement when all is said and done.

However, if your unit is determined to not be defective (and we have had some people in the past claim a defect when it turned out that they just did not want the item they purchased or the defect was determined to be another device in their setup other than the projector or display), we will not credit back the shipping fee and we will assess a restocking fee on the item, regardless of how little or how few hours on on there. This is a normal business practice.

An item that we sold to a customer as new has been returned with no defect. We cannot turn around and sell that item as new to the next guy in line. We have to take a deduction on the sell price of that product because it has been turned on and operated, whether it has 4 hours or 400 hours on the lamp. That is fair to everyone involved. We have never and will never sell an open-boxed item as new. If it has 1000 hours on it, it is clearly not new. If it has 1 hour on it, it is still not new compared to the factory-sealed, never-been-used model sitting in a box next to it.

It is fair to inform our customers that an item is open-boxed, should they want to purchase it. It is fair to sell that item below our regular selling price because it has been used. And it is fair to charge the person who originally purchased it because they used the item, even for only a brief period of time.

Now, as for the defects and what qualifies as defective or not, that is determined by our tech support department based on parameters laid out by the manufacturer. And believe me when I tell you that everything is tested fairly and thoroughly. We want you to have the product you ordered and will work to make sure that is possible.

Matt,
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen Open Box Z4's and 900's on your site (none are listed now), and unless my memory is failing me, the discount is generally about 5% and less.

It's your policy, and you are certainly entitled to set it as you see fit, but I'm a little curious. Why a 20% restocking fee when you resell for about -5%?

Now, as for the defects and what qualifies as defective or not, that is determined by our tech support department based on parameters laid out by the manufacturer.
Is there anything actually "laid out by the manufacturers" that a potential customer can read?

Edited: Beyond making the text red I've got bold, underline and italic to add.

For anyone who's interested, I just received my 900 from VA and it has a manufactured date of February 2006. Hopefully it will be a good "batch". I have been lurking (stalking?) on this forum for around a year while I've been finishing my basement (or as my wife calls it - Tim's Apartment). Many thanks to all for their insight, knowledge, and guidance. Since I am still 2 to 3 weeks away from being done with my project, I'm sure I will be taking it for a test ride in our family room this weekend. This is also my first projector so as you can imagine I am very excited to see what this thing can do. Thanks again!
Fubar,
MY PJ from VA will be here tomorrow. How does yours loook and SOUND?
Any problems. Good luck with your project.

I got my projector from VA on Friday...its feb 2006 batch. I have watched 3-4 movies so far and trying to get a hang of it (various knobs etc).

Yesterday when starting up it made a whisling noise (I was not there when I first got it)...it is kinda annoying but I'll give it a few days and see if it goes away.

I keep telling myself I should include a dislaimer in my sig that says If you accept anything this Bozo suggests as bearing any resemblance to the truth you've only yourself to blame. :rolleyes:

This is a good question. I rarely deal with these issues as I use an HTPC over HDMI which handles my deinterlacing. A DVD player suffices for anything that I've real issues with. With that little bit of skating I can speculate thus:
1) the Reality circuit refuses to get out of the way and attempts to perform a weave which would be wrong with 60 field material as temporal artifacts would not be dealt with.
2) the Reality circuit senses its not necessary, goes home and leaves the deinterlacing processing to fend for itself. Being sired of witless parents its unable to fend for itself and makes a mess of things. (Video source deinterlacing is the most difficult stream to process)
3)The Reality is that Ted not know.

I've a HQV disc (link (http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm)), but I've never been able to crawl from the couch (intoxicants don't count) to actually check out these matters



See, there's need for that disclaimer again. You are very welcome, glad you've got the salt handy.

ted

Too funny Ted. Your original answer was sufficient and helpful, as turning off the CR did fix the scna line issue I had. Anything more is just my own curiosity to know exactly what is going on.


I do still wonder why interlaced material cannot have overscan removed.

As for other people questions about sound, mine sounds "normal", I would assume. I can hear the fan noise. Oddly, when enabling or deactiving the dynamic iris, the noise does change, not so much the fan noise, but some background mechanical noise that is constant. Nothing that can be heard over even the most minor of sounds from the speakers.

In fact, there are times I don't know that i've turned it on if there is any other sounds in the room. I wonder how many people press the power button multiple times thinking they haven't turned it on.

EDIT: Regarding the sound, it is definitely linked to the iris being on, and linked to brighter scenes. It is definitly a mechanical sound, i.e. not just air, but almost a rumbling. This is similr to what was described by others earlier. Admittedly, it's not something I woudl really complain about, nor would my family care much about, given that our old sharp sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

I also checked white field uniformity. While I can see a slight difference from one side to the other, there is no aura of blue or magenta at all. In fact, it's not much different than what a full white field looks like on one of my CRT monitors. I find white field tests are hard on most displays. However, I have no actualy discolerations of grass, sky, etc, as others have complained about.

As for VB, after further investigation and active attempts to detect it, when putting up a solid grey field on my laptop, I can detect it. However, in normal viewing, even in clouds, sky, etc, it is barely detectable and I have to be actively looking for it.


Given that I'm not a projector expert, I can only say that i'm really pleased with the projector from what we came from. Admittedly, the absolute black levels are not necessarily that much darker than the old sharp projector (VGA xv-s55u), but obviously teh contrast is substantially enhanced.

Matt,
Thank You for the clarification on your policy at Visual Apex. Is there any way I can get the additional year warrenty? I will get my PJ Tues by UPS but I did not order it through the link on AVS forum

Anyone....?

Don't really know if this question should be posted in the Tweak thread or this one (kinda confusing really). Ok, I've set up my AE900 and Oppo DVD Player. I removed the HTPC for now (I'm parting it out to create a media server for later installation). I am very impressed with my pq. I upgraded from AE100 & HTPC.

Here's are my question(s).

1. What is the general consensus for the Dynamic Iris. On or Off?

2. I have the Oppo in the 720p mode. Should I turn overscan on or off?

3. Better DVD for tweking pq, Avia or DVE?

That's it. I'll probably just try these options for myself while looking at the same reference material and then make my own decision, but I'd like the feedback. Also, I'll probably install a filter once I decide on a calibration DVD.

Paul

Wow,

I know that this info. does not belong here but I have been hanging out in this thread as I will be purchasing the AE-900. I work for a major resort in Tucson and today one of the large professional projector companies in the world is displaying their entire line to vendors in three of our ballrooms.

Barco had a half dozen RLM 6+ DLP projectors on display that are 6500 Lumens, Another half dozen SLM 9+ DLP projectors that are 9000 Lumens, four SLM 12+ that is 11500 lumens, and the grand daddy of them all the XLM H25 that is 27,000 Lumens and priced at $200,000.00.

I also got to see every type of LED display they make from displays that looked to be 20+ feet across and seen in many stadiums throughout NFL, and NBA to truck mounted portable LED displays.

To say the least I was totally blown away at how bright all these projectors were in ballrooms that was under lots of house lighting while they tweak the equipment. What I would do to get my hands on a RLM 6+ DLP, but at $24,000.00 dollars is out of my league.

I hope that nobody gets mad for this post, but I now have seen what HD is all about on very large screens. Even having Whooping Cough and feeling like Sh-t I was totally blown away...

Below the Barco RLM 6+

http://www.barco.com/projection_systems/images/RLM-R6+_L.jpg

ugh I need to win the lottery....

:)

Do you happen to know what that mount is that the RLM is in, and where you get them? It looks like it has telscoping legs, which is the perfect solution to my masking issue if it would raise the PJ 8". Do you know if the company makes different form factors? I own an AE900.

Thanks!

-Tim

Do you happen to know what that mount is that the RLM is in, and where you get them? It looks like it has telscoping legs, which is the perfect solution to my masking issue if it would raise the PJ 8". Do you know if the company makes different form factors? I own an AE900.

Thanks!

-Tim

Tim,

The mount is part of RLM 6+ and sold with the projector. Yes you are correct that it does have telscoping legs. I will have my digital camera with me today and take some pictures of the projectors on display...

Is there anything actually "laid out by the manufacturers" that a potential customer can read?

Edited: Beyond making the text red I've got bold, underline and italic to add.
Apparently, that VA employee made a driveby posting and didn't stick around to answer the inevitable questions that his statement would generate. If a vendor is going to hang their hat on criteria "laid out by the manufacturers" to determine defectiveness, criteria that will potentially make a customer hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket, they should make that available in advance.

Fubar,
MY PJ from VA will be here tomorrow. How does yours loook and SOUND?
Any problems. Good luck with your project.
Glottidis,
I was able to do some testing over the weekend (DVD with component) and was very pleased just viewing it on my wall. I played parts of the usual suspects like Nemo, Gladiator, LOTR looking for any signs of VB, stuck pixels, color uniformity, etc. and saw NONE! My unit from VA was also whisper quiet, I really didn't hear the fan at all in low (did not try high) or have the "howling iris" as some others have mentioned. I will pick up a HD cable box this week and do some more testing. Since this is my first projector I spent a lot of time on these forums so I would know what to look for. It seemed to me that every thread had people with issues whether it was the Panny, Optoma, BenQ, etc. and it started to make me paranoid until I read a post that said something to the effect of "most people are to busy enjoying this projector to be posting on forums". That made a lot of sense to me - this is where a lot of problems are reported because people are looking for help. Hopefully I will continue to be pleased once I start to rack up the hours on this unit. Best of luck - I hope you are as pleased with your purchase as I am.

Hi all,

Never thought I would buy a projector without seeing it first, but as no dealers in the Seattle area carried the AE-900U, I made the leap. I ordered a package from Projector People, including the Oppo DVD player. The buying experience was good as my Projector People rep was very knowledgable and friendly. (I recommend calling them rather than ordering over the web for the best package price.)

I have the projector ceiling-mounted (low ceiling: 6' 6") and am using a pull-down 73" Draper screen. At that size, the picture is bright, vivid, and sharp--every time I see it, it blows me away. Let me repeat: this is an outstanding picture. NO pixellation of any kind--even practically putting my nose to the screen. We sit about 8 or 9 feet away. DVD player is connected via a 35-foot HDMI cable.

I have the Avia disc but have not run calibration yet. Colors look good; I do notice a slight yellowish cast to flesh tones but it's not bad and I'm sure calibration will correct this.

Fan noise: I would not describe the fan as whisper quiet--however, it is mounted 2 feet directly over our heads. Even with this setup, fan noise (in "normal" mode) disappears when the movie is playing, unless you're listening for it. In quiet scenes or with the sound muted, you can hear it, but it's not obnoxious and your brain just gets used to it. Far louder is the forced-air heating system that comes on occasionally in our basement!

Given all of the comments in this thread about problems, I expected my fair share. There are none, which is my reason for posting--just to give some voice to the customers who have had no problems with this projector.

One question--we watched the Wizard of Oz the other day and my daughter thought Dorothy "looked fat." It was displaying in 16:9 and I thought maybe it was supposed to be 4:3, but pressing the Aspect button on the projector remote only switched between 16:9 and and even more horizontally stretched mode. No 4:3 available. Any thoughts?

Pete

Costco is advertising the Panasonic AE900 again. If anyone is interested. They also have an amazingly liberal return policy.

Guys, with the continuing rebates and price cuts on this projector I've recommended it to a friend whos putting it in a new media room. I am an Optoma H31 owner, and since I watch mostly DVD's the time for me to upgrade isn't QUITE here yet.

I know the 900 can throw out a pretty equal CR to my DLP, stronger in some areas and lesser in others, but without reading 132 pages....some quick Q's:

1) What can my friend look at quickly to make sure he doesn't have a stinker of a unit...has the VB issue disappeared on most units (did it ever have it?)....any known issues to look out for quickly?

2) What is a good pairing for this PJ in terms of screen. I realize its not the brightest PJ around, does that mean something like an inexpensive greywolf would be a bad idea?

he thinks he wants to go fixed-screen, so something like a carada or a DaLite...just not sure which material is best. He'll be viewing in the dark.

Many Thanks everyone

Hi all,
One question--we watched the Wizard of Oz the other day and my daughter thought Dorothy "looked fat." It was displaying in 16:9 and I thought maybe it was supposed to be 4:3, but pressing the Aspect button on the projector remote only switched between 16:9 and and even more horizontally stretched mode. No 4:3 available. Any thoughts?

Pete

Wizard of Oz is indeed 1.33 ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/technical ).
First be sure that your player is set to communicate with a 16:9 or "Widescreen" display. The PJ would then be selected for AUTO.

ted

One question--we watched the Wizard of Oz the other day and my daughter thought Dorothy "looked fat." It was displaying in 16:9 and I thought maybe it was supposed to be 4:3, but pressing the Aspect button on the projector remote only switched between 16:9 and and even more horizontally stretched mode. No 4:3 available. Any thoughts?

Pete
i have the same combination as you... the oppo and ae900. you are most likely upconverting to 720p or 1080i with the oppo set to "Wide". unfortunately, the ae900 will not let you display 1.37 content correctly off a 720p or 1080i signal. you will have to switch to 480p on the oppo to enable the ae900 to display the right geometry. the alternative is to use the Wide/SQZ mode on the oppo but you will lose resolution.

Unless your cable is overly long, it sounds like you are having HDMI handshaking issues. Contact your cable company, though convincing them that the issue lies with their box might be a problem.

ted

Ted, I just wanted to thank you again for your advice. I contacted my cable company. They recommended that I bring in my current HD DVR box and swap it for a new unit. I did, and the new one works with my 33' HDMI cable.

Matt,
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen Open Box Z4's and 900's on your site (none are listed now), and unless my memory is failing me, the discount is generally about 5% and less.

It's your policy, and you are certainly entitled to set it as you see fit, but I'm a little curious. Why a 20% restocking fee when you resell for about -5%?


bubbawilly -

Open box items on our site range in cost depending on the use and/or physical wear-and-tear on the system.

I won't get into a huge discussion of why businesses - particularly electronics companies - charge the restocking fees that they (and we) do. I will say that 15% to 20% is the standard restocking fee for electronics, industry-wide.

Is there anything actually "laid out by the manufacturers" that a potential customer can read?

Edited: Beyond making the text red I've got bold, underline and italic to add.


pepar -

Not much, unfortunately. I believe Panasonic will give you a full copy of their warranty if you request it from them. I can look into this a little further. If you want to PM me with contact info, I'll see what I can find.

Matt,
Thank You for the clarification on your policy at Visual Apex. Is there any way I can get the additional year warrenty? I will get my PJ Tues by UPS but I did not order it through the link on AVS forum

James -

Please contact our Customer Service department to see what could be done.

bubbawilly -

Open box items on our site range in cost depending on the use and/or physical wear-and-tear on the system.

I won't get into a huge discussion of why businesses - particularly electronics companies - charge the restocking fees that they (and we) do. I will say that 15% to 20% is the standard restocking fee for electronics, industry-wide.

I worked for Apple Computer in retail and the 10% restocking fee we charged was the same amount we reduced the product when is was re-sold.

Much like the is the case in the law, that which is the standard practice may not necessarily be what it should be.

However, I would think that such discussions do not belong in this thread, as actual questions and discussion about the projector get bumped.

I finally got this projector today and hooked it up a few minutes ago.

I'm using component cables, and the picture isn't that sharp. I'm hooking this up to an Xbox 360. Is there anything I need to do to enable the projector to display the 1080i feed? Any settings for sharpness or anything of the like?

Thanks.

i have the same combination as you... the oppo and ae900. you are most likely upconverting to 720p or 1080i with the oppo set to "Wide". unfortunately, the ae900 will not let you display 1.37 content correctly off a 720p or 1080i signal. you will have to switch to 480p on the oppo to enable the ae900 to display the right geometry. the alternative is to use the Wide/SQZ mode on the oppo but you will lose resolution.

Something doesn't quite jibe here, so indulge me a bit and see that I don't get run over by a train of thought.

Any 720p source on the 900's HDMI input *should* be mapped 1:1, i.e. the scaler is bypassed. In other words it is transparent to the input.

1.33 (pillarbox) source is *not* anamorphic, the black columns are encoded into the video.

If both of these are true and the player is setup such that it is talking to a 1.78 display - which makes sense if it is set to output 720 then *it* would be the one responsible for sending the correct geometry to the 900.

Are we sure that it is the fault of the 900? Can you convince me otherwise?

Are there any other users of upscaling players who have had this issue with pillar-boxed (1.33) material?

ted

PeteBmr
My apologies, I didn't read clearly that you were feeding 720p over HDMI where AUTO doesn't apply.

Ted, I just wanted to thank you again for your advice. I contacted my cable company.

John,
You are very welcome. I'm mostly relieved I didn't get myself into trouble. ;)
I'm glad I was of some assistance and am happy that it was a relatively painless fix.

ted

i got my rebate today and much relieved as web site said no pay on phone they said not to worry. i submitted dec 30 so apx 9 week wait . the blockbuster card does expire 6/30 and only one rental a day i guess ill need to go to blockbuster almost every day to manage to get rentals before they expire. and if you want a game rental you cant even keep them the rental period if you want to take advantage of the full value. i wonder if any body getting card with extended dates

I don't know who the "NUT" is selling a 900 for under $1025, but your nuts if you don't do it.
Provided you can see it's performance first.

Received my $200 rebate check and Blockbuster card today. Submitted Dec 15 so that makes it 11 weeks or so. Happy to have the check; the Blockbuster card expires 6/30/06. :mad: More importantly, the AE 900 is running great, superb image on my Carada 118 inch BW Criterion screen. 274 hours; no complaints.

I am very ready to buy AE900U I have read its native resolution is 1280x720..

Q1: Can any verify that WINDOWS DESKTOP displayed via this projector
at res 1280x720 looks NATIVE clear.

Q2: I noticed on the tech specs this Projector can display 1920x1080
Compressed? Will windows desktop display this large res?


I would love some tests ATI or NVIDIA displayed directly to this projector
Windows Desktop pics? what res can it do.

I am truly a true Res guy and I wont to use this in 1920x1080 windows desktop.

Thanx.

I am very ready to buy AE900U I have read its native resolution is 1280x720..

Q1: Can any verify that WINDOWS DESKTOP displayed via this projector
at res 1280x720 looks NATIVE clear.

Q2: I noticed on the tech specs this Projector can display 1920x1080
Compressed? Will windows desktop display this large res?


I would love some tests ATI or NVIDIA displayed directly to this projector
Windows Desktop pics? what res can it do.

I am truly a true Res guy and I wont to use this in 1920x1080 windows desktop.

Thanx.

check the HTPC forum...I had it hooked up to my laptop @ 1280x720 and it looked fine...watched some WMHD and some QT-H.264HD....I don't think it will display a 1920x1080 (I think it will say out of range)...of course, I only tried it with a VGA cable...it might be different with a DVI-to-HDMI cable

I am very ready to buy AE900U I have read its native resolution is 1280x720..

Q1: Can any verify that WINDOWS DESKTOP displayed via this projector
at res 1280x720 looks NATIVE clear.

Q2: I noticed on the tech specs this Projector can display 1920x1080
Compressed? Will windows desktop display this large res?


I would love some tests ATI or NVIDIA displayed directly to this projector
Windows Desktop pics? what res can it do.

I am truly a true Res guy and I wont to use this in 1920x1080 windows desktop.

Thanx.

Fixed pixel devices scale their input to their native panel resolution so you will always have scaling artifacts. With source such as a O/S desktop you would want the sharpest possible - scaling will defeat this. What is satisfactory for imagery is unlikely to satisfy with text.

Scale and seating angle will also impact on your perception. A smaller image will be brighter and will appear sharper. If you sit close to your desktop you might see display artifacts.

Any good modern video card should be able to output 1920 x 1080 so source will not be a problem - but you run up against my first point.

This is the wrong price point for what you are after, unless like me, you are satisfied with a 1280 x 720 desktop over HDMI which I find satisfactorily sharp - though my 700 *does* have some convergence issues which are not apparent with imagery. I also add that there seems to be units that do ship that are not as sharp as others.

ted

Fixed pixel devices scale their input to their native panel resolution so you will always have scaling artifacts. With source such as a O/S desktop you would want the sharpest possible - scaling will defeat this. What is satisfactory for imagery is unlikely to satisfy with text.

Scale and seating angle will also impact on your perception. A smaller image will be brighter and will appear sharper. If you sit close to your desktop you might see display artifacts.

Any good modern video card should be able to output 1920 x 1080 so source will not be a problem - but you run up against my first point.

This is the wrong price point for what you are after, unless like me, you are satisfied with a 1280 x 720 desktop over HDMI which I find satisfactorily sharp - though my 700 *does* have some convergence issues which are not apparent with imagery. I also add that there seems to be units that do ship that are not as sharp as others.


ted

I believe that you are not going to be able to send a 1080P signal to this projector and that it will resolve the image. 1080i, yes. 1080P, no.

Hey I'd just like to thank everybody on here for all their help in getting me to decide what projector to get. My AE900U should be in either today or tomorrow I ordered it through projector people on monday.

Guys, I'm bumping my own request for info from a page or so back..can you give me some major caveats to look out for in fresh out of the box 900's, and also give me a suggestion for a screen material, something that can be fixed.

Is Dalites HCCV a nice pair? Punch up the lumens while enhancing the blacks? What about the Carada Greys...??

I'd say an inexpensive Greywolf might do the trick but they want it permanantly mounted, no pull downs. And no DIY's.

Was this for the $200 or $400 rebate?

$200 rebate. Sent in December 26th.

I got the AE900 yesterday and after putting the kiddies to bed I got it hooked up via a 15ft HDMI cable to a Toshiba upconverting DVD player (the one from costco) through my Panasonic XR70. Just putting it up onto my beige wall was impressive. I will be getting my screen in the next day or two, a DaLite model B in Matte White. I may switch it out for the HIPower based on how good it looks when lights are on in the kids portion of the basement. All that I can say is that while I am sure some tweaking will be in order over the next few weeks (months, years!) it looked damn good straight out of the box on an off color wall. SW EIII, the space battle that opens it looked AMAZING. The new Harry Potter could definitely have been brighter, though, not having seen it in the theater I am not 100% sure how bright some of the scenes were suppossed to be. One thing, when watching the Harry Potter DVD (widescreen) there were black bars at the top and bottom. When I watched Episode III (full screen) there were no bars at all. Any advice on what this might be? THIS THING ROCKS!

Something doesn't quite jibe here, so indulge me a bit and see that I don't get run over by a train of thought.

Any 720p source on the 900's HDMI input *should* be mapped 1:1, i.e. the scaler is bypassed. In other words it is transparent to the input.

1.33 (pillarbox) source is *not* anamorphic, the black columns are encoded into the video.

If both of these are true and the player is setup such that it is talking to a 1.78 display - which makes sense if it is set to output 720 then *it* would be the one responsible for sending the correct geometry to the 900.

Are we sure that it is the fault of the 900? Can you convince me otherwise?

Are there any other users of upscaling players who have had this issue with pillar-boxed (1.33) material?

ted

Thanks, Ted and cygnet74. I found this on Oppo's website:

Q: My 4:3 content is being stetched. Why is that and how to fix it?
A: The OPDV971H automatically stretches 4:3 content to fit a widescreen display if the TV Display in the General Setup menu is set to Wide. For the best possible playback of 4:3 content, set the TV Display to Wide/SQZ.

and this from the manual:

Wide/SQZ – 16:9 TV Wide/Squeeze Mode. Choose when the display is 16:9. 16:9
materials will be displayed in its native aspect ratio, and 4:3 materials will be displayed with black borders on both sides to maintain 4:3 aspect ratio.

The manual doesn't say anything about Wide/SQZ causing loss of resolution. So I assume Wide/SQZ is the best way to watch 4:3 content, not switching the rez to 480p.

You know, Oz stretched to 16:9 really looked pretty darn good--it was hard to tell that anything was wrong.

I got the AE900 yesterday and after putting the kiddies to bed I got it hooked up via a 15ft HDMI cable to a Toshiba upconverting DVD player (the one from costco) through my Panasonic XR70. Just putting it up onto my beige wall was impressive. I will be getting my screen in the next day or two, a DaLite model B in Matte White. I may switch it out for the HIPower based on how good it looks when lights are on in the kids portion of the basement. All that I can say is that while I am sure some tweaking will be in order over the next few weeks (months, years!) it looked damn good straight out of the box on an off color wall. SW EIII, the space battle that opens it looked AMAZING. The new Harry Potter could definitely have been brighter, though, not having seen it in the theater I am not 100% sure how bright some of the scenes were suppossed to be. One thing, when watching the Harry Potter DVD (widescreen) there were black bars at the top and bottom. When I watched Episode III (full screen) there were no bars at all. Any advice on what this might be? THIS THING ROCKS!

different movies have different aspect ratios....movies shot in HD are typically 1.85:1 (very close to 16x9)...some are shot at 2.35:1 (more cinescope stuff, i.e.: film)...when the aspect ratio is greater than 1.85:1, then you're going ot have black bars on the top and bottom, When its 4:3 (or 1.33:1), then you're going to have bars on the left and right...just the way it works

I believe that you are not going to be able to send a 1080P signal to this projector and that it will resolve the image. 1080i, yes. 1080P, no.

Yup! I should have been clearer - had a discussion once with another who claimed it was possible and I too, strongly disagreed.

I should have said any vid card capable of 1080i.

ted

The manual doesn't say anything about Wide/SQZ causing loss of resolution. So I assume Wide/SQZ is the best way to watch 4:3 content, not switching the rez to 480p.

You know, Oz stretched to 16:9 really looked pretty darn good--it was hard to tell that anything was wrong.

Thanks for clarifying, I just couldn't see the display being the culprit. As to the loss of rez - that would be a good question for the DVD forum.

I use an HTPC mostly so these issues are not something I see, but a good upscaling player is on the horizon and the OPPO is on my short list.

ted

Guys, I'm bumping my own request for info from a page or so back..can you give me some major caveats to look out for in fresh out of the box 900's, and also give me a suggestion for a screen material, something that can be fixed.

Is Dalites HCCV a nice pair? Punch up the lumens while enhancing the blacks? What about the Carada Greys...??

I'd say an inexpensive Greywolf might do the trick but they want it permanantly mounted, no pull downs. And no DIY's.

so far my impressions of samples i saw in my setup ceiling mount 18 foot back screen apx 126 diag

firehawk best good colors blacks whites but there is fall off out side viewing angle best ambient light
studiotek good colors punch viewing cone blacks better w firehawk

hccv 2nd best almost same as firehawk but a little less so but wider viewing angle
cinema vision good punch but blacks not as good as hccv
carada bw nice punch good colors but at expense of black not so good ambient light
classic white ok all respects gray i don't have but in pictures i saw it would be to dark at my screen size

seversten gray low gain sample good blacks but to dark w. color shift of whites and skin tones

So HCCV looks like a good pairing then....?

using my ae900 just 2 nights ago.

I just turned it on tonight and it starts the green light flashing with a very brief fan sound... then the light just stays flashing- no picture.

I have turned it off, unplugged the cord entirely and waited, read all I could in the manual and online and turned it back on, same exact thing.

brief fan, flashing green light continues, and it never comes on.

anyone seen this?

I will call PP tomorrow if I can't find anything.. it's less than two months old.

Thanks for all replies! :)

using my ae900 just 2 nights ago.

I just turned it on tonight and it starts the green light flashing with a very brief fan sound... then the light just stays flashing- no picture.

I have turned it off, unplugged the cord entirely and waited, read all I could in the manual and online and turned it back on, same exact thing.

brief fan, flashing green light continues, and it never comes on.

anyone seen this?

I will call PP tomorrow if I can't find anything.. it's less than two months old.

Thanks for all replies! :)


Sounds like a faulty lamp circuit. Mine is in being serviced for the exact same problem. It seems like there are many with the same issue. Take it back to your retailer for a replacement.

I am very ready to buy AE900U I have read its native resolution is 1280x720..

Q1: Can any verify that WINDOWS DESKTOP displayed via this projector
at res 1280x720 looks NATIVE clear.

Thanx.


It was answered before, but I would add: don´t forget to set in the menu, OVERSCAN to off. Then you will get a sharp picture.
Fernando

Ok, I have scoured this thread for an answer to my problem, but it seems I'm the only one that has it.

Therefore, I must be doing something stupid.

I have my 900 connected to a HTPC just as my Sanyo XW-15 was.

When I played a widescreen DVD on the Sanyo, a 1.85:1 movie filled my home-made screen perfectly 16:9

When playing a 2.35:1, it had the bars top and bottom and I just screened them off, but the image was in proportion. (nobody scrunched vert or horz.)

But for some reason with the 900 set to 16:9, the 2.35:1 movies fill the width of my screen fine, but the image is scrunched vertically. So heads look like horz ovals.

The only way I can fix this is to set the 900 to 4:3 aspect and then zoom way in to fill the screen perfectly. But what do I have a 16:9 format PJ for if I have to do that?

It works that way, but I don't want to have to enlarge the image so dramatically to view it (quality loss, etc)

Why is it compressing the 2.35:1?

P.S. I have no options available to fill or zoom according to the manual when using the VGA input, (which I am)

using my ae900 just 2 nights ago.

I just turned it on tonight and it starts the green light flashing with a very brief fan sound... then the light just stays flashing- no picture.

I have turned it off, unplugged the cord entirely and waited, read all I could in the manual and online and turned it back on, same exact thing.

brief fan, flashing green light continues, and it never comes on.

anyone seen this?

I will call PP tomorrow if I can't find anything.. it's less than two months old.

Thanks for all replies! :)

There have been (among other things) some power supply/lamp circuit problems with the 900. You'll have to deal with Panasonic service since you've had the unit longer than 30 days.

classic white ok all respects gray i don't have but in pictures i saw it would be to dark at my screen size


Say what???

I have my 900 connected to a HTPC just as my Sanyo XW-15 was.

When I played a widescreen DVD on the Sanyo, a 1.85:1 movie filled my home-made screen perfectly 16:9

When playing a 2.35:1, it had the bars top and bottom and I just screened them off, but the image was in proportion. (nobody scrunched vert or horz.)

But for some reason with the 900 set to 16:9, the 2.35:1 movies fill the width of my screen fine, but the image is scrunched vertically. So heads look like horz ovals.

The only way I can fix this is to set the 900 to 4:3 aspect and then zoom way in to fill the screen perfectly. But what do I have a 16:9 format PJ for if I have to do that?

It works that way, but I don't want to have to enlarge the image so dramatically to view it (quality loss, etc)

Why is it compressing the 2.35:1?

P.S. I have no options available to fill or zoom according to the manual when using the VGA input, (which I am)


I've a 700 currently driven by an HTPC over HDMI but did utilize VGA initially, so references might be slightly different as the 900's menus have been rearranged somewhat, so bear with me.

Is your vid card set to output a 1280 x 720p output?
Have you been into the POSITION menu and made sure the selection is set to AUTO? (this aligns the PJ's panel clocks with the incoming card clock such that it maps 1:1)

What software player are you using (I use ZoomPlayer + ffdshow abd Dscaler5 as my codec). My 700 is set to 16:9 to receive a 1280x720p signal from a NVidia 6600GT card. After doing the POSITION/AUTO setting the pj is mapped 1:1 and takes what the PC sends it transparently. All aspect control is done by my software player (Zoomplayer).

Your Sanyo was a 1024 x 768 (4:3) unit and if that is what you are sending it then the Panasonic is remapping that to its 16:9 panel. To maintain transparent ASPECT, source and display should be the same. I think you should check your vid card settings. If you are unable to source 1280 x 720p from your PC either you need a driver update or a new card. A possible workaround would be to output a 16:9 rez that your card is capable of and let the 900 rescale it. This of course would not be ideal as there is multiple scaling going on.

ted

Hi guys,

Just took plunge and purchased my AE900. Wanted to thank the contributors to this thread for helping me make up my mind :) ....for a while it seemed the more I researched, rather than clarifying things, the more questions it only prompted :confused: .

If anyone from Canada (especially Ontario area) is considering buying one and wondering about what sort of deal they might be able to get, feel free to PM me for my experience.

I'm in process of ordering my screen this week. Most likely 104" 1.85 Carada CCW fixed screen. This is the largest size my room can accommodate comfortably. Will be ceiling mounting the PJ in 100% light-controlled room.

Couple questions regarding installation (planning to do myself :eek: ):

1). Throw Distance: I've seen the Projector Central Calculator specs for throw distance, but would like some real life experience. Seating area will be approx 13ft from screen. Would like to keep projector throw distance in 15-16ft range (ie. behind rather than over viewers). Also going further back is not really desirable unless will make major difference in PQ.

In people's experience, is there a more ideal throw distance or will things be fine at a 15-16ft range? Any comments on how much of a difference, shifting throw distance by a foot or so in either direction, makes?

2). Lens Height: When mounting the PJ, is there an ideal height alignment between screen position and lens level? My reading in this forum seems to suggest there is an ideal height relationship range but I confess to being confused about this?

3). Ceiling Mount Recommendations: Panasonic has a mount for the AE900U for $129Cdn ($112US). Wondered if this will be sufficient for what I would need or are there better, more flexible options for the AE900U out there?

Thanks.

I've a 700 currently driven by an HTPC over HDMI but did utilize VGA initially, so references might be slightly different as the 900's menus have been rearranged somewhat, so bear with me.

Is your vid card set to output a 1280 x 720p output?
Have you been into the POSITION menu and made sure the selection is set to AUTO? (this aligns the PJ's panel clocks with the incoming card clock such that it maps 1:1)

What software player are you using (I use ZoomPlayer + ffdshow abd Dscaler5 as my codec). My 700 is set to 16:9 to receive a 1280x720p signal from a NVidia 6600GT card. After doing the POSITION/AUTO setting the pj is mapped 1:1 and takes what the PC sends it transparently. All aspect control is done by my software player (Zoomplayer).

Your Sanyo was a 1024 x 768 (4:3) unit and if that is what you are sending it then the Panasonic is remapping that to its 16:9 panel. To maintain transparent ASPECT, source and display should be the same. I think you should check your vid card settings. If you are unable to source 1280 x 720p from your PC either you need a driver update or a new card. A possible workaround would be to output a 16:9 rez that your card is capable of and let the 900 rescale it. This of course would not be ideal as there is multiple scaling going on.

ted

Thanks very much for the reply.

While I was waiting for opinions, I think I realized at some point that I must have suffered a stroke or something for not remembering the Sanyo (DUH!) was 4:3

I had been watching 16:9 with the bars screened off for so long, I started thinking I had a native 16:9 PJ!

I will immediately adjust my video card when I get home, slap myself, and try to forget this ever happened.

Thanks for the help!

Thanks very much for the reply.

While I was waiting for opinions, I think I realized at some point that I must have suffered a stroke or something for not remembering the Sanyo (DUH!) was 4:3

I had been watching 16:9 with the bars screened off for so long, I started thinking I had a native 16:9 PJ!

I will immediately adjust my video card when I get home, slap myself, and try to forget this ever happened.

Thanks for the help!

I bet you've a wife and kids. ;)

*Do* go through the POSITION/AUTO setup that I mentioned - it is important in adjusting the PJ's clock phase to the incoming VGA providing proper pixel alignment.

Good luck - do let us know of success or tribulation.
ted

I bet you've a wife and kids. ;)

*Do* go through the POSITION/AUTO setup that I mentioned - it is important in adjusting the PJ's clock phase to the incoming VGA providing proper pixel alignment.

Good luck - do let us know of success or tribulation.
ted

I'll do that. Yes, I have distractions that prevent me from devoting my life to tweaking. I'm afraid I spent a couple weeks getting my original setup just right and haven't looked back till now.

In fact, the wife pretty much is of the opinion that I should have kept right along not looking back.

On that note, I have to say, after getting the 900u, the most amazing revelation I had was in just how nice a little PJ my Sanyo XW-15 really is.

Sure, at 300:1 contrast on the Sanyo, the Panny definitely wins, but is it 10 times better? Nope. 5 times? Nope. I'd say twice as good.

I try to measure upgrade improvements in terms of "spousal acuity" Sure, I'LL notice, but the real test is will she?

I think she will, but it will be in the form of:

"Yes, it seems a little better, but the other one was very nice too"

The things that will justify my purchase more than black levels and color will be:

Noise: Man, my Sanyo sounded like a Electrolux with a cat stuck in it compared to the Panasonic. If fact, the thing is so quiet, now the stupid HTPC fan is bothering me and I never heard it before!

Smooth: Although a bit soft, (I'll get used to it), I love the theatre-like picture. It's more like looking at a 35mm slide than a computer monitor image.

Lens shift: Although I shouldn't have to move it a lot, it sure is nicer than having to screw and unscrew the nuts and bolts of my DIY ceiling mount.

Things I don't care for:

Stupid proprietary power cord. Why can the entire free world use a standard cord and Panasonic insist on that three pronged special? There can be NO reason other than if you lose it, Panasonic might get a few sales of power cords. The beancounters probably figured on 2.3459012 % of owners will lose them and have to get replacements.

Zoom ring: Again, shouldn't have to move it, but you can't adjust it from the inboard side of the PJ, only the outside. Too crampt and you tend to bump the focus when adjusting.

New projector paranoia: Worrying, hand-wringing, hoping, praying that I got a "good" one, that it will hold together, that I don't get the 50 hour lamp blow, that dust blobs stay away, that VB never rears its ugly head, etc, etc.

And having to insure and require signature for the original UPC barcode for the rebate so I don't get the "Not responsible for items lost in mail" excuse for no redemption.

Call me a cynic, but just how much does Panny save on $400 rebates a year on "lost" UPCs?

Personally, I think the rebate concept is a scam anyway. Like an idiot I once spent the time to fill out and send in a rebate for $1 on a bag of charcoal I bought!

I got a letter six weeks later saying they couldn't redeem because I forgot to circle the item on the receipt or some such nonsense.

There have been (among other things) some power supply/lamp circuit problems with the 900. You'll have to deal with Panasonic service since you've had the unit longer than 30 days.

Man, you are right about that, according to PP I have to pay to ship and insure it to Kansas to a place called Heartland under Panasonic- the dealer says they can't do anything.

Panasonic or the dealer won't send a loaner or replace it, and if anything happens in shipping I have to deal with the shipping company, so I guess I'll cross my fingers...

Panasonic did refer me to an engineer to call to see if there was anything else that could be done, but he looked at his repair documents and said it was a very unusual problem and to ship it to Heartland and eat the shipping cost and risk, which is less than buying a second one. <Argh!

I can't think of much else you could have for less than 2 months go completely dead and not get a replacement or at least not have to pay even more to get something fixed while your warranty ( and movie card) is trickling away.

Mine threw a great picture, but this lack of customer service is PAINFUL!

Extreme, extreme bummer.

No movies for me, no movies for me, no movies for me :( :( :(

Sounds like a faulty lamp circuit. Mine is in being serviced for the exact same problem. It seems like there are many with the same issue. Take it back to your retailer for a replacement.

I asked for a replacement today on the phone with the dealer and they are saying that they can't do anything, that their agreement with Panasonic says that they cannot replace it after thirty days, end of story.

Personally, I am pretty upset. I understand that ordering one and sending it back after set-up and watching the Superbowl was all you were going to do when you ordered has to be dealt with, and so that was ok, knowing that there was an hour limit on the "try before you buy" part.

However, I HAVE A DEAD PJ. It's not that I just don't like it, or am fickle, or really really picky, THE PJ DOESN"T WORK AT ALL.

ARGH!

Sorry, I know it's not you and I appreciate the reply. Any tips on getting it replaced would be awesome.

I am sorry about yours. Did you send yours to Heartland or somewhere else? Did you try and get a replacement first?

Just wanted to post my experience. I had a bad lamp circuit which required replacement. The people at Visualapex were very helpful with trouble shooting to begin with. I sent my unit to Heartland Diversified in Kansas for warranty repair. The projector was signed for on the 21st at 10am and shipped back to me on the 23rd at 6pm (tracked it all the way through UPS). Check out there web site heartlandsi.com. There is a video on there Zip It program mainly for the Panasonic laptop line. Projectors are included though not in the video. If any one is still on the fence comparing projectors I would recommend Panasonic over the other companies because of my experience with my claim. The deciding factor for me to begin with on the AE900 was the lack of screen door, which I saw on $20,000 + projectors. Hope this helps someone out there.

Thank you for the post. How much did it cost you to ship and insure it? Did you use the original box?

Greetings,

Boise,
I have generally heard that Heartland is fast and good, as Kris Staff reported above. As to shipping costs, its mostly how fast you want to get it there. A 3 day UPS or FedX from anywhere in the country is probably about $20-$25 + insurance, I think you are looking at about $7.00 insurance if UPS and more like $10, with Fedex. Of course it depends where you take to ship. Various mail box type places can increase the cost significantly.

My guess is that Heartland will pay freight back, but don't recall. Most manufacturers for warranty repairs tend to pay the return freight and ship the same way you sent it. If you do 2nd day, they do second day...etc. But you can find out when you next talk with them.

Future buyers, If you are really concerned about the service issue and cost issue like Boise, the only real solution is to buy from someone who will take products back, pretty much no questions asked. And to the best of my knowledge that works out about one place - Costco. They used to carry the 700u (typically about $200 higher than the usual online dealers). I don't know if they have the 900u.

Alternately there are two other products - The Epson Cinema 550 which is more expensive, but has a 2 year warranty with overnight replacement, and they pay freight both ways.

With the Sanyo Z4, I believe that they treat them like their business projectors, but I can't swear to it. If that's the case, they will not provide a replacement or loaner, but will pay freight both ways and promise no more than 3 days at the factory, and say it's typically one day at the factory.

Or, of course, buy from a local dealer who will agree up front to provide you a loaner if your unit goes down and has to be serviced. (Although, they'll still probably charge you any freight costs they would incur. -art

Hi guys,

Just took plunge and purchased my AE900. Wanted to thank the contributors to this thread for helping me make up my mind :) ....for a while it seemed the more I researched, rather than clarifying things, the more questions it only prompted :confused: .

If anyone from Canada (especially Ontario area) is considering buying one and wondering about what sort of deal they might be able to get, feel free to PM me for my experience.

I'm in process of ordering my screen this week. Most likely 104" 1.85 Carada CCW fixed screen. This is the largest size my room can accommodate comfortably. Will be ceiling mounting the PJ in 100% light-controlled room.

Couple questions regarding installation (planning to do myself :eek: ):

1). Throw Distance: I've seen the Projector Central Calculator specs for throw distance, but would like some real life experience. Seating area will be approx 13ft from screen. Would like to keep projector throw distance in 15-16ft range (ie. behind rather than over viewers). Also going further back is not really desirable unless will make major difference in PQ.

In people's experience, is there a more ideal throw distance or will things be fine at a 15-16ft range? Any comments on how much of a difference, shifting throw distance by a foot or so in either direction, makes?

2). Lens Height: When mounting the PJ, is there an ideal height alignment between screen position and lens level? My reading in this forum seems to suggest there is an ideal height relationship range but I confess to being confused about this?

3). Ceiling Mount Recommendations: Panasonic has a mount for the AE900U for $129Cdn ($112US). Wondered if this will be sufficient for what I would need or are there better, more flexible options for the AE900U out there?

Thanks.


If youre the LEAST bit handy, dont buy the mount. I built one using a ball type speaker mount (Wal-Mart 7.97) and a section of plastic cutting board that I shaped with a jig saw. The moutn capacity is 10 lbs which is more than enough for the Panny. I spent 20 bucks total after picking up a few small bolts at the HW store. Works great.

My Throw distance is 14 feet away to a 96" screen. It is just forward of the viewer but out of the fieled of view, you have to look up to see it. Love it.

My panny 900, severtson 106" screen and oppo97 dvd are on their way, just had a few quick questions:
Here's are my question(s).

1. What is the general consensus for the Dynamic Iris. On or Off?

2. I have the Oppo in the 720p mode. Should I turn overscan on or off?

3. Better DVD for tweaking pq, Avia or DVE?

Hakim

Deleted the "where to buy" posts.

Please don't post anymore.

Thanks,

Mike

Anyone else notice that the Panasonic Rebate site has changed?

Where do we find the status of our rebate now??

Thanks, Ted and cygnet74. I found this on Oppo's website:

Q: My 4:3 content is being stetched. Why is that and how to fix it?
A: The OPDV971H automatically stretches 4:3 content to fit a widescreen display if the TV Display in the General Setup menu is set to Wide. For the best possible playback of 4:3 content, set the TV Display to Wide/SQZ.

and this from the manual:

Wide/SQZ – 16:9 TV Wide/Squeeze Mode. Choose when the display is 16:9. 16:9
materials will be displayed in its native aspect ratio, and 4:3 materials will be displayed with black borders on both sides to maintain 4:3 aspect ratio.

The manual doesn't say anything about Wide/SQZ causing loss of resolution. So I assume Wide/SQZ is the best way to watch 4:3 content, not switching the rez to 480p.

You know, Oz stretched to 16:9 really looked pretty darn good--it was hard to tell that anything was wrong.it unsqueezes by pulling out lines of resolution, much the same way a dvd player downconverts an anamorphic dvd for a 4x3 display when set to 4x3/Letterbox mode. you can see this removal of lines of resolution most apparent on text. take a look at subtitles on 4x3 material using Wide/SQZ. they will look "chunky". switch back to Wide mode and you'll see they are substantially smoother, although now formatted to 16x9.

hak1906, good luck getting your questions answered. There are so many conversations on this mega thread that it sometimes feels like you are whispering in a loud room (we really should be able to create separate threads for separate questions).

Here is my third (and final) attempt at getting mine answered:

Ok, I've set up my AE900 and Oppo DVD Player. I removed the HTPC for now (I'm parting it out to create a media server for later installation). I am very impressed with my pq. I upgraded from AE100 & HTPC.

Here's are my question(s).

1. What is the general consensus for the Dynamic Iris. On or Off?

2. I have the Oppo in the 720p mode. Should I turn overscan on or off?

3. Better DVD for tweking pq, Avia or DVE?

That's it. I'll probably just try these options for myself while looking at the same reference material and then make my own decision, but I'd like the feedback. Also, I'll probably install a filter once I decide on a calibration DVD.

Paul

Curious, I'm seeing activity recently in this thread: What is your ae700u lamp life? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=564606). Has anyone had any problems with their lamp yet on their AE900? I have about 220 on mine and seems to be fine. Also, is it the same lamp as the AE700?

Bud

Try this URL for the rebate
http://www.checkmyrebate.com/panasonic/RebateLookup.ASP

hak1906, good luck getting your questions answered. There are so many conversations on this mega thread that it sometimes feels like you are whispering in a loud room (we really should be able to create separate threads for separate questions).

Here is my third (and final) attempt at getting mine answered:

Ok, I've set up my AE900 and Oppo DVD Player. I removed the HTPC for now (I'm parting it out to create a media server for later installation). I am very impressed with my pq. I upgraded from AE100 & HTPC.

Here's are my question(s).

1. What is the general consensus for the Dynamic Iris. On or Off?

2. I have the Oppo in the 720p mode. Should I turn overscan on or off?

3. Better DVD for tweking pq, Avia or DVE?

That's it. I'll probably just try these options for myself while looking at the same reference material and then make my own decision, but I'd like the feedback. Also, I'll probably install a filter once I decide on a calibration DVD.

Paul

Why not try polls?

hak1906, good luck getting your questions answered. There are so many conversations on this mega thread that it sometimes feels like you are whispering in a loud room (we really should be able to create separate threads for separate questions).

Here is my third (and final) attempt at getting mine answered:

Ok, I've set up my AE900 and Oppo DVD Player. I removed the HTPC for now (I'm parting it out to create a media server for later installation). I am very impressed with my pq. I upgraded from AE100 & HTPC.

Here's are my question(s).

1. What is the general consensus for the Dynamic Iris. On or Off?

2. I have the Oppo in the 720p mode. Should I turn overscan on or off?

3. Better DVD for tweking pq, Avia or DVE?

That's it. I'll probably just try these options for myself while looking at the same reference material and then make my own decision, but I'd like the feedback. Also, I'll probably install a filter once I decide on a calibration DVD.

Paul

1. on
2. off
3. i have avia but dve will work. many have both

digital_dilema, I live in Frisco, where they just opened a new stereo east and have four projectors. Where do you look at projectors at, if you do? I got to Best Buy, Home Theater Store, Stereo East, Tweeters, Home fidelity (tollway and Parker), of course none of these have a Panny 900 or z4.

digital_dilema, I live in Frisco, where they just opened a new stereo east and have four projectors. Where do you look at projectors at, if you do? I got to Best Buy, Home Theater Store, Stereo East, Tweeters, Home fidelity (tollway and Parker), of course none of these have a Panny 900 or z4.

If you do find a place that has the Panny in Frisco, let me know. I'm up there every weekend.

Frisco Texas, not San Francisco.

Frisco Texas, not San Francisco.

You won't, most likely. Not enough margin built in. I was surprised to see the H72 being shown at Starpower last weekend. It's not there anymore. It was just a weekend show. Just read here and read the reviews and pull the trigger. Otherwise you'll go crazy trying to figure it out. Besides, if you think about what your time is worth and how little of it there is, if you search and search and shop to squeeze the last penny out of a deal, what do you gain?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ashmanmedia
I am very ready to buy AE900U I have read its native resolution is 1280x720..

Q1: Can any verify that WINDOWS DESKTOP displayed via this projector
at res 1280x720 looks NATIVE clear.

Thanx.



It was answered before, but I would add: don´t forget to set in the menu, OVERSCAN to off. Then you will get a sharp picture.
Fernando




Overscan off is the only way to go. The picture is MUCH clearer. I am using my HR10-250 (HD Tivo) for HDTV using the HDMI input with overscan off. I am using my HTPC for DVDs using the PC (VGA) input. For some reason, I can't find the overscan on/off in the menu. Does anyone know where it is?

Does anyone know what the other selections in the service menu do?
525i ?(I think that is what it was), hdmi hot -on/off and initilize.
Not at home right now, so I think those are the other choices besides
flicker and panel adjustments.

NEver did see a reply to this guy's question. Anyone have a clue? I'm curious as well. I can take some well-educated guesses, but it sure would be nice to hear the facts.

Thanks,
Tim

I received the AE900 yesterday from Projector People. I hooked it up via a 20 component cable to a Pioneer 79avi DVD player 480i. My screen is HIPower 106" dia. It looked great straight out of the box. The Star Wars Episode 3 space battle that opens it was jaw dropping. Ran it for 8 hours last night. Can't wait to try the HDMI cable with the Pioneer upconvering to 720P.

I have the 81C filter and will try it with Mike's settings and calibrate with Avia. Out of the box no problems with the projector. It is quiet and could not see any stuck pixels, dust blobs, VB or panel alignment problems.

Thanks to everyone on the form for helping me make the decision to by this projector. It is a nice step up from my Optoma H30. I never thought I would buy an LCD projector. I love it, no rainbows.

You can make your own if handy, but I got the Chief RPA ceiling mount. They also have one that is universal, so it can be reused if you buy another projector in the future (RPA-U). Seems like Chief is highly recommended by many people, and I can concur after purchasing one for my 900. My ceiling height is 9 feet so I also got the 18inch extension pole. Ideal mount height is centered on the screen (no lens shift at all), but with ceiling mounting the maximum is 13% of the screen height. For example a 114" diagonal screen has a screen height of 56 inches. That means you can be at most about 7 inches above the top of the screen. I would try to stay away from that extreme, and mount at least same level as top of screen or lower.

Hope that helps and I'm sure others will chime in also.