F-I-N-A-L-L-Y! Today was the day that I finally got the AE900U mounted and connected. All I can say is WOW! This thing has an incredible picture, and I haven't even "tweaked" it yet. This has been a LONG TIME coming for us (9 months) to get this room usable. SWEET projector, and sure happy with my choice.

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y! Today was the day that I finally got the AE900U mounted and connected. All I can say is WOW! This thing has an incredible picture, and I haven't even "tweaked" it yet. This has been a LONG TIME coming for us (9 months) to get this room usable. SWEET projector, and sure happy with my choice.

Mine has over 160 hours now and I still have not bothered with avia or the spyder2pro. Having fun just watching movies for a change.

Got home from Hershey this afternoon and the urge was too great not to oprn the PJ box.....so out it came.....thought about reading manual .... nah! That can wait :eek:

Well I just sat it on table and projected onto a coffee coloured wall, a few focus/throw adjustments and was amazed at the colour and the blacks......no tweaking and as say on a coffee coloured wall - and oh yeas loads of light coming in. Kids and Wife loved it too!

So gonna get that Behr paint and hopefully (weather permitting) do and outside movie at the weekend (quite a few weeks away for putting in the HT)

Been looking at mounts - my primary requirement is low-profile (PJ will be soffit mounted so no pole required) and easy connect/disconnect.

Prime candidate seems to be the "Chief RPA-U Universal Projector Mount CHIRPA-U" which retails around $180 (PM me if you have a tip for good source)

Anyone used this? Good or bad?

Any other recomedations?

Do I need to worry about panel burn in when watching movies that are in modes that have a black bar on the top and bottom of the screen?

I have read that people that watch SD TV in 4:3 have been having this problem. I have just been stretching SD TV to fit, but you can't seem to stretch--nor do I want to!--a widescreen fromat movie.

Thanks

Been looking at mounts - my primary requirement is low-profile (PJ will be soffit mounted so no pole required) and easy connect/disconnect.

Prime candidate seems to be the "Chief RPA-U Universal Projector Mount CHIRPA-U" which retails around $180 (PM me if you have a tip for good source)

Anyone used this? Good or bad?

Any other recomedations?


Glad you like the Panny, I could not resist either and sprung for mine a few weeks ago. I sent you a PM about my DIY mount. Works great since it will be in a soffit. Although I will be re-designing it soon.

Drew

I've owned 3 different LCD PJs and I've never seen any evidence of panel "burn" from watching 4:3 material, with side bars, or 2.35:1 movies, with black bars at the top & bottom. But then I don't watch any one format for more than 4 hours or 5 hours per session. Usually my viewing is a mixture of SD TV and widescreen movies.

I've owned 3 different LCD PJs and I've never seen any evidence of panel "burn" from watching 4:3 material, with side bars, or 2.35:1 movies, with black bars at the top & bottom. But then I don't watch any one format for more than 4 hours or 5 hours per session. Usually my viewing is a mixture of SD TV and widescreen movies.

Thanks Claus,

I appreciate the info. It seems you and I watch about the same stuff, so I should be good. My wife and I usually watch one movie at a shot, or we watch a couple hours of TV shows and then turn it off. My wife will be happy to hear this news.

Have a great night!

If you are only concerned about interference, not proper grounding, then try "false-grounding" by running the grounding wire from the outlet grounding screw to the grounding screw on the metal outlet box (you will probably have to drill a hole to attach a screw, or replace the box).

Although, it probably wouldn't cost too much to hire an electrician to ground a single outlet if you don't want to do it yourself. It's a fairly simply job when you already have all the passageways and openings cut and drilled. They will also have to ground the circuit breaker, but that just involves running a grounding wire to your main plumbing pipe or a grounding stake (proper grounding depends on your local building code). But then for future outlets you want to ground, you won't have to do it again. And these things will increase the value of your home.

Excellent info! I'm hoping this will take care of the slowly scrolling horizontal bars on the Panny, yes? I'm willing to pay an electrician for it, but if that's not the problem, then I'd rather not go through the hassle. If a ground is all I need, then I'm all in. GREAT advice, y'all.

Been looking at mounts - my primary requirement is low-profile (PJ will be soffit mounted so no pole required) and easy connect/disconnect.

Prime candidate seems to be the "Chief RPA-U Universal Projector Mount CHIRPA-U" which retails around $180 (PM me if you have a tip for good source)

Anyone used this? Good or bad?

Any other recomedations?

My response may feel a bit homely...but my Panny is shelf mounted on a $14 formica/plywood shoe-rack that is hanging upside down from my ceiling (14x24 from HomeD). It's got two shelves (one of which isn't req'd for install) and needed only 4 'L Brackets' to hang. Total cost: $16, or so. Then again, it doesn't have the sleek, hip look of the mounts I've seen on this msg board.

Save a couple of bucks here...spend them over there!

QUESTIONS:

1)My ceiling is 8'. I am `planning' on having a lo-profile mount on my Panny when I buy it later this summer. My screen will be 10'-11' away. 100".
It will start roughly 3 ft from the floor and go up to roughly 1 ft from the ceiling.

SHould I get a mount with more of a drop? OR is there enough shift for the Panny to line up with the screen when the projector is roughly 1/2ft above the top of the screen???

BEST screen for the $$ between $600-$800(prefer 100" 92" at the smallest!)??
__

Been looking at mounts - my primary requirement is low-profile (PJ will be soffit mounted so no pole required) and easy connect/disconnect.

Prime candidate seems to be the "Chief RPA-U Universal Projector Mount CHIRPA-U" which retails around $180 (PM me if you have a tip for good source)

Anyone used this? Good or bad?

Any other recomedations?

Check mountsandmore.com
That's where I'm looking right now.

Well my new home theater is up and running and I am loving it...

I have a few questions as I am new to the PJ world...

I have a 90" 16x9 screen and my AE-900 is set to 16x9. Do I need to worry about the possibility of burn in from balck bars on differing aspect ratios? The bars don't bother me as I like seeing thins in their oar, but I dont want to damage the pj.

Also--are people typically to get the image exactly in the border...I have to go slightly into the black border to get things exact. And then I have noticed that while movies are almost perfect in their positining. menus and such will fall outside the screen edges to varying amounts....is tha tnormal?

Thanks Claus,

I appreciate the info. It seems you and I watch about the same stuff, so I should be good. My wife and I usually watch one movie at a shot, or we watch a couple hours of TV shows and then turn it off. My wife will be happy to hear this news.

Have a great night!

Recently looking at Bars (if I were smarter I would have been *in* a bar) on my 700 I detected some image retention on the BLUE channel.

It does happen, though I question its permanence. My 700 has about 1500 Hrs on it so this might be a sign of a waning Blue polarizer. Running the unit on a white field for about 5 minutes eliminated it.

ted

Also--are people typically to get the image exactly in the border...I have to go slightly into the black border to get things exact. And then I have noticed that while movies are almost perfect in their positining. menus and such will fall outside the screen edges to varying amounts....is tha tnormal?

we-900? I'm assuming this is a typo and you mean your pj.

With that assumption in mind, is your source (DVD player et al) set to 16:9 as well? Do you have OVERSCAN ON? Menus should not stray.

As to burn in - note my earlier post. I do not think it is a major concern regardless of my experience. Others may differ.

ted

Sorry--i fixed the typo---

anyway I have a Toshiba sv-592 connected hdmi and it is set to 16x9. Overscan is off....

I fins this odd because in these instances the moveie itself is not straying...

what should I be using as an image to do the alignment with?

Glad you like the Panny, I could not resist either and sprung for mine a few weeks ago. I sent you a PM about my DIY mount. Works great since it will be in a soffit. Although I will be re-designing it soon.

Drew

Drew - got your PM and had seen your DIY mount. Looks great but I'm looking for something that will mount as close to the underneath of the soffit as possible and be real quick to dismont for use in the yard for neighbor hood movie nights.

Cheers,
Mark

Recently looking at Bars (if I were smarter I would have been *in* a bar) on my 700 I detected some image retention on the BLUE channel.

It does happen, though I question its permanence. My 700 has about 1500 Hrs on it so this might be a sign of a waning Blue polarizer. Running the unit on a white field for about 5 minutes eliminated it.

ted

Thanks Ted,

Just out of curiosity, what is the easiest way to run a "white field?"

Thanks.

Thanks Ted,

Just out of curiosity, what is the easiest way to run a "white field?"

Thanks.

Any uniform field should do. Since I've noticed this, my family has strict instructions to select an input to which there is nothing attached when pausing a viewing. In my case S-Video/Composite. Or you could run it without source turned on. With the 700 you can also project colour fields from within the extended menu. Barring all that there are calibration discs. Don't sweat this issue, turning it off should do the same.

ted

Sorry--i fixed the typo---

anyway I have a Toshiba sv-592 connected hdmi and it is set to 16x9. Overscan is off....

I fins this odd because in these instances the moveie itself is not straying...

what should I be using as an image to do the alignment with?

This is the DVD menus and not the *player* menus, correct? DVD menus shouldn't drift unless animated. If the player, then it might be player specific to avoid CRT/Plasma burn-in perhaps?

There are test screens in both AVIA and DVE that check for OVERSCAN/Pixel Mapping which can be used to check positioning.

ted

hmm..I have the Ovation Sound and vision disc and i do not believe it has this on there...

Any other choices?

This is the DVD menus and not the *player* menus, correct? DVD menus shouldn't drift unless animated. If the player, then it might be player specific to avoid CRT/Plasma burn-in perhaps?

There are test screens in both AVIA and DVE that check for OVERSCAN/Pixel Mapping which can be used to check positioning.

ted

Thanks Ted!

hmm..I have the Ovation Sound and vision disc and i do not believe it has this on there...

Any other choices?

Outside of AVIA (http://www.ovationmultimedia.com/avia.html) and DVE (http://www.videoessentials.com/) the GetGray (http://www.calibrate.tv/) disc which has been created by one of AVS's forum members might have what you need. It has been discussed here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=586139).

You could also try downloading one of the packages from this page (http://www.mooneyass.com/testpatterns/) to see if you can find what you need.

ted

Well, after having a Samsung 710 on order for > 5 weeks, I finally canceled it and got a 900U from AVS last week. Their Customer Service and Support are excellent, as most of you know! :)

Haven't played with the Avia DVD much so far. Right out of the box this little PJ throws a very, very nice image. Using the Low Bulb setting and Cinema 1 mode on HD material, the skin tones and textures on close-ups are excellent! Just amazing!

Although the zoom and focus adjustments are not motorized like on my previous PJ, they are very smooth and precise. The joystick-operated lens shift also works well. Additionally, the cooling fan noise is VERY low.

With (or even without) the current manufacturer's rebate, this PJ is an outstanding value!

Cheers!

Drew - got your PM and had seen your DIY mount. Looks great but I'm looking for something that will mount as close to the underneath of the soffit as possible and be real quick to dismont for use in the yard for neighbor hood movie nights.

Cheers,
Mark
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7818438#post7818438

built mine with an 8" pipe 2" diameter and two flanges - painted white.
Used 4m screws and washers and some 3/8 plexi - under $20 - very sweet

I ended up ordering the Chief RPA-U from here (http://www.thefinalclick.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=1548947).

Thanks all.

Damn Panasonic rebates! I sent it in middle of Feb and still havent gotten mine yet!! WTF! I called that number and they said it was approved and that I had to wait. Wait for what?

?

Damn Panasonic rebates! I sent it in middle of Feb and still havent gotten mine yet!! WTF! I called that number and they said it was approved and that I had to wait. Wait for what?

Wow, that sure seems like a long time...I just bought mine last week and got it sent in yesterday.

I got a letter saying my serial number was invalid. Called them today and they said it was a technical issue on their side. But from my conversation with Panasonic rebates, they told me the blockbuster gift card expiration date has been extended to April 07.

I'm considering the AE900 as my first projector. I'm a bit concerned with my throw distance of 17'. Room is relatively well controlled for light, but still has white walls, etc. (I may change this). I would like to project to about 96" or so.

Any thoughts on my chances of success with the 17' throw?

My Silver Screen painted wall is about 19' from my ae900 and I have yellow walls and a white drop ceiling, and think my 96" picture looks very good.


I'm considering the AE900 as my first projector. I'm a bit concerned with my throw distance of 17'. Room is relatively well controlled for light, but still has white walls, etc. (I may change this). I would like to project to about 96" or so.

Any thoughts on my chances of success with the 17' throw?

I think I'm at about 14' from a 8' wide 16:9 original Steward Grayhawk, looks great IMHO. Seems like there is plenty of zoom left in either direction.

I'm considering the AE900 as my first projector. I'm a bit concerned with my throw distance of 17'. Room is relatively well controlled for light, but still has white walls, etc. (I may change this). I would like to project to about 96" or so.

Any thoughts on my chances of success with the 17' throw?

I am at 16' and can project a very nice 120" screen as well as 96" screen, so you should have no problems.

Drew

Does the 900U support 480i input over HDMI and provide its internal deinterlacing? How about other PJs like Optoma H72 or Sanyo Z4 in this regard?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, all,

I received my new PT-AE900U last week and have been fiddling with it since it arrived. I'm throwing a 110" picture from 16" distance, ceiling mounted with the lens even to the top of the screen.

Using a PC with HDMI to the projector at 1280x720@60 with overscan disabled, I've noticed lighter pixel areas around the edges of text that seem to be artificially induced (pixel structure evident). Is this some sort of edge enhancement the projector is applying to the image? I can all but eliminate it if I reduce the sharpness setting to -5 or -6 (max), but it causes the image to greatly "soften". I've tried displaying a pixel-by-pixel checkerboard pattern to make sure there wasn't a problem with convergence; the image appears as it should, a grey field without any noticable rainbows or herring bone effects. My HS10 definitely had a sharper picture than the AE900U, although screen-door was visble at anything less than 8 ft. Is there a way to eliminate this edge enhancement without softening the picture?

Also, I'm throwing the picture on stretched light block-out fabric, and it does not appear as bright as my HS10 was, even when in "normal" mode. Were my expectations for brightness to high, or should this thing being generating more light?

Lastly, I find the focus/zoom adjustments VERY touchy, and miss my automatic zoom/focus adjustments on the HS10. Has anyone had issues where they've had to occasionally readjust the zoom/focus because it drifted?

Thanks

-spearsd

spearsd--

you sound disatisfied with the ae900. you probably should return it and move on to a different pj. just my impression. it is what it is, right out of the box.

QUESTIONS:

1)My ceiling is 8'. I am `planning' on having a lo-profile mount on my Panny when I buy it later this summer. My screen will be 10'-11' away. 100".
It will start roughly 3 ft from the floor and go up to roughly 1 ft from the ceiling.

SHould I get a mount with more of a drop? OR is there enough shift for the Panny to line up with the screen when the projector is roughly 1/2ft above the top of the screen???

BEST screen for the $$ between $600-$800(prefer 100" 92" at the smallest!)??X3

I came from a HS-10 as well and have similar feedback as you.

I have also noticed some slight distortion around the edges when viewing my windows desktop. The HS-10 was definitely sharper and easier to focus.

On the plus side, however I find the ae900's contrast significantly better, slightly brighter (maybe because the bulb is new), with better color, and significantly quieter.

Overall, I find it to be a nicer projector and worth the upgrade - especially considering the net cost. Of course, the AE900 is essentially 2 generations more current than the HS-10, so I would expect it to be nicer than the HS-10. Having said this, however, I wouldn't mind having a second chance at a Z4 or HS-51a.



Hi, all,

I received my new PT-AE900U last week and have been fiddling with it since it arrived. I'm throwing a 110" picture from 16" distance, ceiling mounted with the lens even to the top of the screen.

Using a PC with HDMI to the projector at 1280x720@60 with overscan disabled, I've noticed lighter pixel areas around the edges of text that seem to be artificially induced (pixel structure evident). Is this some sort of edge enhancement the projector is applying to the image? I can all but eliminate it if I reduce the sharpness setting to -5 or -6 (max), but it causes the image to greatly "soften". I've tried displaying a pixel-by-pixel checkerboard pattern to make sure there wasn't a problem with convergence; the image appears as it should, a grey field without any noticable rainbows or herring bone effects. My HS10 definitely had a sharper picture than the AE900U, although screen-door was visble at anything less than 8 ft. Is there a way to eliminate this edge enhancement without softening the picture?

Also, I'm throwing the picture on stretched light block-out fabric, and it does not appear as bright as my HS10 was, even when in "normal" mode. Were my expectations for brightness to high, or should this thing being generating more light?

Lastly, I find the focus/zoom adjustments VERY touchy, and miss my automatic zoom/focus adjustments on the HS10. Has anyone had issues where they've had to occasionally readjust the zoom/focus because it drifted?

Thanks

-spearsd

To the defense of the AE900U it performs great with Films and DVDs!
DLP might be a better choice for majority PC users

spearsd -- The edge effects could also be the result of the "peaking" being generated in your video card, if it's not set correctly. If there are artifacts generated in your PC, the AE900 will show them.

Watched ALIENS last night in the new setup--I am soooo happy :)

Check mountsandmore.com
That's where I'm looking right now.

You can also get great mounts on EBay for much cheaper.

This is interesting; this can happen with a digital video connection?

spearsd -- The edge effects could also be the result of the "peaking" being generated in your video card, if it's not set correctly. If there are artifacts generated in your PC, the AE900 will show them.

I have a question regarding extended running times of AE900.

Since I got the projector my mates want to have a Star Wars(all 6 episodes) night & a LOTR(all 3 extended editions) night. When I say a night it means more like half a day.

There will be breaks after each movie & also for meals & stuff. But is it ok if I run the AE900 for an extended period like ~14 hrs?
eg: Star Wars : ~2:15 hrs - break - ~2.15 hrs - break - ~2.15 hrs - break - ~2.15 hrs - ~2.15 hrs - break - ~2.15 hrs. On each break turning it off.

Have any of you guys done this?

I do this every football sunday!

Did any of you buy an extended bulb warranty? Some places (i'll refrain from naming them) offer an extended bulb warranty of 3 years for $99. Is it worth it?

There are lemon bulbs out there so it's got to be worth it..Not to mention some,like me, will use their PJ more than 2-3 hrs a day.

Thanks for the response. I just bit the bullet and ordered the Panny from projectorpeople. so far, great customer service! I also threw in the oppo dvd player.

now off to look at sound systems. :)

I also did buy the extended 3 yr warranty, and the bulb warranty. probably a waste of money on the three yr part warranty, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and i figured it's a reasonable trade off for the $400 rebate (which i understand may take me a lifetime to actually receive). I figured that the bulb will need to be replaced at least one time in three years, so the bulb warranty is worth it.

Sent my unit into Heartland on tues and should be here by the end of the day. Was wondering what to look for.

I also assume that I will have to adjust settings again.

Was wondering if anyone who has this projector is using the gray wolf screen with it and what there settings are.

Add me to the 900 club. Just ordered from Costco today and can't wait to set up my HT. It seems I have everything on order and am just waiting to receive stuff so I can begin the installs.

I have an electric drop down screen that has 12" of drop at the top. Given the option on the PJ mount, should I position the lense at 12" from the ceiling even with the top of the screen? I appreciate your feedback. Also, how is the unit at receiving IR commands bounced off the front of the room? I have a RF remote and may simply get the RF-IR system to control the PJ.

thanks.

Bouncing off the screen works pretty well for me. It's about a 30 foot round trip.

Got an interesting problem.... I put a new Diamond ATI video card in my pc and when it is set for 720p it doesn't fill the screen like my movies do. But the real issue is... a couple of days ago the area from the edge of my pc window to the edge of my screen started projecting green. I have no green tint or anything and this only when I am viewing my pc. I am only running the component out from my Autopatch 4YDM HD switcher to the component in on the AE900U. Any ideas?
tia,
Ron

Add me to the 900 club. Just ordered from Costco today and can't wait to set up my HT. It seems I have everything on order and am just waiting to receive stuff so I can begin the installs.

I have an electric drop down screen that has 12" of drop at the top. Given the option on the PJ mount, should I position the lense at 12" from the ceiling even with the top of the screen? I appreciate your feedback. Also, how is the unit at receiving IR commands bounced off the front of the room? I have a RF remote and may simply get the RF-IR system to control the PJ.

thanks.

I would position the lens at the top of the screen. The 900's lens shift does allow positioning up to 13% above the screen, but optical distortion (bowing at the bottom of the image) increases with the amount of lens shift that you use. A good rule of thumb is to keep the lens within the borders of the screen whenever you can.

The stock remote sucks wind. It doesn't work in my system when bounced off the screen from 10'. I have to point it directly at the projector. You should be fine with a RF - IR system. I use the URC 200/100 system, and it works perfectly.

Sent my unit into Heartland on tues and should be here by the end of the day. Was wondering what to look for.

I also assume that I will have to adjust settings again.

Was wondering if anyone who has this projector is using the gray wolf screen with it and what there settings are.

Good luck. First thing to do is to make sure that they fixed the problem! Panasonic diagnosed my problem as hardware related, so Heartland upgraded the unit's software, and nothing more. :rolleyes:

I sent my unit in to Heartland (for the second time) on May 9. Over two weeks ago Heartland told me that Panasonic was just going to replace the projector, and I've yet to hear from them. I've been without a projector for over a month.

I just got the Panasonic 900u as my first PJ. Great fun with big image size on my DIY silverscreen painted board. However, the picture playing a DVD using component cables and a few-year-old sony dvd player with progressive output was only 'so-so' quality compared to my amazing 50" pioneer elite plasma. I started to worry that front projectors are fun but not so great quality.

Then i connected my cable box with component cables and put on HBO-HD. All i can say is WOWWWW i am so glad i bought this projector! The problem is, i want to make my large DVD collection play well so i think i need to upgrade the old sony dvd player or get an unconverter or something. Can anyone help with advice/tips/suggestions for the best way to play my DVDs on the 900 panasonic? I realize it will never compare to HD cable, but there has to be something better for me. The DVDs look much better on my plasma than the new FP. I have read alot about the Oppo player?

Thanks from a semi-happy new FP owner. If i can get my DVD to improve than i will be giddy!

The oppo 971 is highly regarded, but if you don't like macroblocking go with the panasonic S77 (pretty sure that's the one)

mondaycurse,

the panny S97 is another one that comes with high marks too. Unsure of the macroblocking issue. Check this linkright here. (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all) This will show a lot of DVD players and what score that they obtained. The OPPO is at the top but the S97 and S77 are respectable as well. Hope this helps.

Regards,

RTROSE

Well the HT is far from ready but we just had our first outdoor movie with a few neighbors - I kept the audience small in case it was a flop :o but boy was it good!

I painted a 8'x4' sheet of MDF with Behr Silver Screen and used my panny with a Phillips HTIB and absolutely blew my neighbors away. The picture was superb! :cool:

The colors and the blacks were way above my expectations :D

Every one was asking when next showing was - and everyone loved out Reaper intro.

Now just gotta finish that HT :)

windrockwater -- There are a number of new DVD up-scaling players out there, see the DVD Players (Standard Def) forum. In addition to the Oppo 971 and the Panasnic S97, there are also the brand new Oppo 970 (an improved version of the 971) and the new Sony DVP-NS75H (which I bought - I needed good component outputs as well as HDMI, and the Oppo 971 component ouputs are not bery good). The NS75H was about half the price of the S97.

These new players have not been reviewed by "Secrets" (the link that RTROSE provided) yet.

Of these, I would suggest that the Oppo 970 would be the best, since it has newer electronics that fixes some of the problems that the 971 has. It has gotten some very good comments, see: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=682896. The Oppo support is second to none, which can be really worth it, if you do have a problem.

Enjoy your AE900 :D.

I would like to add my 2 cents to this wonderful thread. I went with one of the above sponsors and ordered the 900u on Monday, and on Friday it was at my office (thats with the free shipping). The extra 1 year warrentee for AVS members was a bonus.

I have been itching to buy a projector for some time now and was on the verge of buying the Ruby, as it seems that is THE projector to buy with a 10K budget. However, there are severeal other projects that have priority over my home theater, so I felt I would not be doing the Ruby 'justice' if it were not in a 'true' home theater (built in screen, chairs, wall treatments, etc, etc.). So I decided to get a projector to 'tie me over' for a few years (and they who knows, maybe 3 chip projectors will be under 10K). Well after 4 movies (Star Wars I, II, Incredibles, Nemo) as well as XBox 360 play the family is just blown away. In a most sub optimal way, I have the projector sitting on a stool, projecting on a bare wall, that is light yellow in color, that is uneven because of the plaster is not smooth but textured. I also have it projected at over 150 inches diameter. I can only imagine the image getting better witha proper screen and mounted on the ceiling, and being fed with better source material. My DVD player is the Proceed PMDT that only has component out, no progresive (but in its time it was the King of DVD players and still looks damm good). My other viewing screens are a 65" Mits RPTV, and 2 Hitachi 62" LCD's which arepretty nice, but without a direct A-B comparison, this projector is fantastic and the colors almost look better on the projector despite being 4 times bigger. My wife is already 'booking' the projector for her movies, and the kids have a long line of their DVD's they want to watch.

All I have to say is if anyone is on the fence about buying a projector such as this one, don't rake your brain over the decision making (I have a tendancy to do that) just get it ASAP, you will be happy. I am thinking of doing something loke 'Goo' for the screen for now, and this weekend I am going to see if there is a DIY mount for this projector. Lastly, I have a Centerstage CS-1 (I tried to get it to work with the Mits RPTV, but never could), and I wonder if there would be any benefit in using it to de-interlace and upscale every source (X-Box, DVD, eventually DIsh, Camcorder, another DVD player) or is the scaler in this projector good enough? If anything it would serve as a Video switcher and then I would only run 1 cable to the projector instead of 4-5. well of to see another movie, and happy fathers day to all the dads out there. :)

Hello..

I've done a great amount of reading and searching here on the Z4 thread and this monsterous AE900U thread. Most everything is point toward me picking up the AE900U for our bedroom. At this point the one thing that is nagging me is fan/iris noise, so I'm hoping someone could answer a few questions. Quiet/silent running is important to me, that's literally one of the main reasons why I chose the DWIN CRT that I use in the theater. So here are my questions:

1) I know the Z4 switches to a higher fan mode when it's put in ceiling mount mode. (Which you can then adjust in the service menus if you want). I read that the AE900U also has a higher fan mode in ceiling mount mode, is this correct and does it happen automatically?

2) If yes, can it be adjusted or changed?

3) Can anyone who has tried both the Z4 and AE900U comment on which is quieter?

4) I've read quite a few threads from people experiencing iris noise. Anyone want to take a guess at how common this is? I certainly understand the effect of a vocal minority if that's the case.

Thanks in advance... I'm hoping to order tonight!

As an AE900 owner, I've NEVER heard the iris or the fan during movies, even in quiet scenes (ceiling mounted, almost directly overhead my seating area).

Very happy with my AE900U (and I have a G1000 to compare it to).

The AE900U has a high/low bulb setting. The high setting causes the fan to run louder. Since I use low bulb setting for longest life (and there is little difference in brightness to my eyes) I get the quiet fan. When you turn the bulb off, the fan runs in high mode for a minute or two to cool the housing. I wish it just kept running in low mode. Perhaps everyone should bug Panasonic to give us an alternative shutdow mode.

My iris is very quiet, I don't even know if it's doing anything. :)

Get one, mount it, feed it a decent signal and be happy. I happen to get an Oppo 970 and 25' HDMI cable for father's day, so I'll be busy running an cable. :) :)

The AE900U has a high/low bulb setting. The high setting causes the fan to run louder. Since I use low bulb setting for longest life (and there is little difference in brightness to my eyes) I get the quiet fan.

Nice.. Viewing will only be at night and I have light control so I was thinking I could get away with a low/economy mode also. I take it that setting up the unit for ceiling mount use doesn't effect the fan noise then ? (like it does on the Z4)

Enjoy your new toy :)

jpooton -- If you're using it to project an image of 84" wide (96" diagonal) or less in a "darkened" room, then even the low lamp mode can be almost too bright. In a bedroom, you shouldn't even think about running it in the high lamp mode. The AE900 is one of the quietest PJs out there (if not the absolute quietest). It also does a good job of de-interlacing and scaling, and has a very nice picture right out of the box (better after calibration).

One thing you have to remember (especially with a DIY ceiling mount) is that you need to clean the air filter(s) every 40 hours (my recommendation - the manual says every 100 hours, IIRC) or once a week, whichever comes first (for convenience, it's easier to remember to do it that way). If you fail to do that you will reduce your lamp life and can wind up with "dust blobs" on the panels (and that requires disassembly to clean, professionally if still under warranty). Clogged air filters will make the PJ lamp run hotter and heat kills PJ lamps faster than anything (except for turning it on and off too often, if you've read this and other threads).

i agree. not much of a pro/phile, but i cant hear the 900 at all during viewing, and the cool-down mode is surprisingly brief. the 900 should be more than enough pj for a bedroom in every respect.

this 900 is amazing!!!! the cable HD signals are astounding!!

friend of mine dropped $1700 on a plasma, which works well for a lit room and all, but im already starting to feel bad for when he asks me to watch the superbowl at his house. watching the nba finals actually made my daughter dizzy as she stood in front of the screen. WOW!!!

When you want to leave the PJ on for a little while because you are coming back to it, what is the best way to leave it? Do you close the shutter? Do you leave up a blank screen say from an unused input?

Thanks!

Where is the best place to order one of these?

AVS forum members get a discount somewhere?

Where is the best place to order one of these?

AVS forum members get a discount somewhere?

VisualApex.com has the best deal out I think. Ask for the AVS promo which gives you an additional year of warranty for free. That plus the $400 and 40 free rentals make this PJ a no brainer.

I ordered mine from Projector People a forum member at the top of the page. They provided excellent service.

VisualApex was my primary pick...unfortunately, I probably won't have enough for it until the rebate period ends.

Does anyone know if the AE900 has the ability to shrink the image? I plan to place the projector 11 feet from the screen, but the projected image may overcome the screen since the screen I plan to use can't be too big.

Looking at the calculator (http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic_Home-PT-AE900U-projection-calculator-pro.htm) at 11' your diagonal options range from 55" to 109"

Is the image quality going to degrade if I use the zoom option?

I plan to get an 80", which requires a zoom of 1.48x at 11'.

If I buy the Panny AE-900, is the angle from the ceiling mount to the top of the screen critical to get a good image?

Here is the situation. I am considering installing a 96" diagonal screen size which is about 52" tall and about 18" above the floor. So the top of the screen will be roughly 70" above the floor.

I would like to ceiling mount the AE-900 at a distance about 12-14 feet back from the screen. The problem is I have a low ceiling (basement). I am hoping to box in the mount so the lens is about 7 feet above the floor, but the possibility remains the lens on the projector could be as low as 6 feet worst case depending on how the construction works out (nearly level with the top of the screen). Since the mount will be above the seating, I think I can live with it being that low, but would prefer it higher.

Will the image be affected if the lens is near level with the top edge of the screen? My contractor tells me I should be looking into a floor mount for the projector instead, he has seen problems getting the angle right on projectors. Everything I've read about the Panny says it adjusts well, would appreciate if others have installed it in a similar fashion.

TIA

Is the image quality going to degrade if I use the zoom option?

I plan to get an 80", which requires a zoom of 1.48x at 11'.

Thats pretty much in the middle of the range so I would imagine you will get a pefect picture - although I've not seen a bad picture on either end of the throw sacle :)

mltv - I think its desirable to have the lens near level with top of screen - thats pretty much how mine will be but I'm still tapping/mudding so not mounted yet.

Just finished installing a new projector mount (only $85 from Ebay) and I have to lower it slightly still. I'm a bit above the screen still and I think if you mount it level with the top of the screen you will be fine. Your contractor has obviously not used this projector before.

I ordered mine from Projector People. Even though they could not match the extra year of warranty from Visual Apex , they gave me a 3 year bulb warranty for free. I'm hoping that if anything goes after the first year it will be the bulb!

If I buy the Panny AE-900, is the angle from the ceiling mount to the top of the screen critical to get a good image?

Here is the situation. I am considering installing a 96" diagonal screen size which is about 52" tall and about 18" above the floor. So the top of the screen will be roughly 70" above the floor.

I would like to ceiling mount the AE-900 at a distance about 12-14 feet back from the screen. The problem is I have a low ceiling (basement). I am hoping to box in the mount so the lens is about 7 feet above the floor, but the possibility remains the lens on the projector could be as low as 6 feet worst case depending on how the construction works out (nearly level with the top of the screen). Since the mount will be above the seating, I think I can live with it being that low, but would prefer it higher.

Will the image be affected if the lens is near level with the top edge of the screen? My contractor tells me I should be looking into a floor mount for the projector instead, he has seen problems getting the angle right on projectors. Everything I've read about the Panny says it adjusts well, would appreciate if others have installed it in a similar fashion.

TIA

The perfect scenario is the projector lense is in the dead center of the screen. That being said consensus says that with the lense shift as long as the lense is within the screen boundaries you will be fine. Mine is pretty much at the very top of my screen and it works fine. There is VERY slight bowing at the bottom, but it goes into the felt boarder so it is not noticeable.

Ok I am testing out my Panny with a couple dvd players with the HQV disc and I noticed that when I am using my older sony 975 with the panny for some reason when I have the sony output 480i over hdmi it shows up on the panny as 1080i. I then went back to my comcast dvr and for some reason the dvr reset itself to 480i. What is up with that? I know hdmi is two way, so is it possible for everything in the chain to be vulnerable to the dvd player?

So the top of the screen will be roughly 70" above the floor.

... The problem is I have a low ceiling (basement). I am hoping to box in the mount so the lens is about 7 feet above the floor, but the possibility remains the lens on the projector could be as low as 6 feet worst case depending on how the construction works out (nearly level with the top of the screen).

Will the image be affected if the lens is near level with the top edge of the screen?
...
You should be fine. But I'd go with a ceiling mount personally.

I have a fairly low ceiling in my basement (7 1/2') and use a ceiling mount so it's about 6-9" before the top of the projector. I have the lens shift "joystick" pretty far down and there is a very slight bowing on the bottom but not too noticable.

Also I have the lens in the middle of the screen, not the projector center so there's no left/right shift.

Here's how it looks...
http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/19583/cat/501
http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/19582/cat/501

deleted - please ignore.
Grant

MLTV, I have mine about 3" above top of screen- scren size is 110" wide by I think 56" tall only have screen about 19" off the floor-- works good no bowing and I have some play in the horizonatl shift.

How does this projector work with a 2.35:1 screen?

According to the calculator, an image that satisfies the entire width of the screen will extend beyond the top and bottom, and an image that is contained at the top and bottom will not meet the screen's width.

Hi to all,
Happy to post in this thread since I am getting my AE900U tomorrow, I got it from Visual Apex,also got the $99 3 year bulb warranty.
For the size screen I want (110" diag) I decided to go with the blackout fabric, I got the fabric today from Joann's fabric store, I also been reading on screen DIY projects here and I feel I will be fine at building my own.
I been reading a storm here at AVS, and what an awesome resource this place is!
I also have been jumping back and forth to the DVD player threads, I think I am going to go for the OPPO 971H player

Question is for those with unpainted blackout fabric screens and this Panny PJ, how do you like your screen and what side of the fabric did you used,the rubbery side or the cloth side?

I think I should be able to do the 110" (54" by 96") since roll of fabric is 54" wide, I also have a bit of doubt about frame, will the fabric stretch some to be able to staple it to a 54" by 96" (viewable) frame or should I do the frame slightly smaller, lets say 52" by 94" to allow for stapling?

Txs for any feed back on this..
BajaCapt

Just got mine last night - but didn't get home until 10 PM so haven't had much time to "tweak".

However, I did get it hooked up and mounted on the ceiling. I have it in a dark room, mounted about 13.5' away on the ceiling. I do not have a screen - just a blank wall freshly smoothed and painted with flat white paint. I just upgraded from an InFocus 4805. First impressions----

1) The picture is much much bigger than the 4805. I was projecting about a 105" diagonal with the 4805 and this one goes to 134". It practically fills my entire wall.

2) When you go that big, you definitely notice a loss of brightness and PQ - more so than I remember with the 4805.

3) The lens-shift function is AWESOME. Although it did take me about 30 minutes moving the projector around and moving the lens shift around to get the image squared up.

4) The projector is silent. Absolutely silent. In low power mode, you honestly can barely tell it is on.

5) When you soft power down, the fan turns on in blast mode for about 1-2 minutes before it settles down. Kind of odd....

6) The picture is very, very bright - with no screen door effect but some pixellation here and there around graphics sitting 11" away. Nothing too major - and nothing completely unexpected with an image this large.

7) Also - after I turned it off I noticed an odd smell in the room. But I am assuming that is a "new projector" smell that will eventually dissipate.

I'll post more findings later - but happy so far!

Just got mine last night - but didn't get home until 10 PM so haven't had much time to "tweak".

However, I did get it hooked up and mounted on the ceiling. I have it in a dark room, mounted about 13.5' away on the ceiling. I do not have a screen - just a blank wall freshly smoothed and painted with flat white paint. I just upgraded from an InFocus 4805. First impressions----

1) The picture is much much bigger than the 4805. I was projecting about a 105" diagonal with the 4805 and this one goes to 134". It practically fills my entire wall.

2) When you go that big, you definitely notice a loss of brightness and PQ - more so than I remember with the 4805.

3) The lens-shift function is AWESOME. Although it did take me about 30 minutes moving the projector around and moving the lens shift around to get the image squared up.

4) The projector is silent. Absolutely silent. In low power mode, you honestly can barely tell it is on.

5) When you soft power down, the fan turns on in blast mode for about 1-2 minutes before it settles down. Kind of odd....

6) The picture is very, very bright - with no screen door effect but some pixellation here and there around graphics sitting 11" away. Nothing too major - and nothing completely unexpected with an image this large.

7) Also - after I turned it off I noticed an odd smell in the room. But I am assuming that is a "new projector" smell that will eventually dissipate.

I'll post more findings later - but happy so far!


Get yourself the high power screen and then you will regain all that brightness you lose when going big. I have the 139x78 HP which is very bright in low power mode. Love the pj. My CRT PJ has not been turned on since the 900 arrived from costco.

My ae900 should be here tuesday.My carada 110 bw screen will be here tomorrow.Can't wait.I trying to decide what my first movie will be.What would be your first pick.I'am thinking maybe starwars are alien are maybe a good war movie or Lawrence of Arabia.BUDDA THANKS

How does this projector work with a 2.35:1 screen?

According to the calculator, an image that satisfies the entire width of the screen will extend beyond the top and bottom, and an image that is contained at the top and bottom will not meet the screen's width.

Yes.
All can be dealt with - even if you choose to zoom only and mask. The zoom range is enough for that. There is no internal vertical stretch for > 480 source so you would need an external scaler for anything else (plus the anamorphic of course)

Questions re 2.35 will be better answered in the 2.35 forum.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=24

There are a few of us who utilize anamorphic lenses and scalers (for the requisite vertical stretch) with our AE 700/900's.

ted

For a first movie on the 900 you have to go with Chronicles of Riddick on HD-DVD. That will leave your jaw hanging.

My ae900 should be here tuesday.My carada 110 bw screen will be here tomorrow.Can't wait.I trying to decide what my first movie will be.What would be your first pick.I'am thinking maybe starwars are alien are maybe a good war movie or Lawrence of Arabia.BUDDA THANKS

Sadly all the pressings of Lawrence of Arabia are plagued with edge enhancement and or compression artifacts. I'd do any of the Alien films in the Quadralogy or any of the Star Wars films. Anchor Bay Entertainment's DVD's are almost always amazing if you like horror.

Elio

Yes they do have some artifacts but the scene's are breathtaking.Hopefully they will do a HD version soon with these new players.BUDDAHEAD

Just got my new projector, replacing my old Sony VPL-10HT. My OTA HDTV source is an RCA DTC-100 which only has a 15 pin VGA output for HD. When I hook this up to the projector, the image doesn't sync correctly. You can see it, but it is full of wavy lines. I don't see any adjustments in the menus to correct this.

Can anyone help?

P.S. DVD and other images look great

When I press the Menu button I get no options for the picture menu. The rows on the right side are blank. This is true no matter what input I select.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a fix?
Regards, Ron

When I press the Menu button I get no options for the picture menu. The rows on the right side are blank. This is true no matter what input I select.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a fix?
Regards, Ron

I think you need to be sending some video through from a source for the various inputs to show those menus. That way it can be customized for that input. If no video is going through it, there is nothing to adjust.

I think you need to be sending some video through from a source for the various inputs to show those menus. That way it can be customized for that input. If no video is going through it, there is nothing to adjust.

Thanks! That may be it. I'll check when I get home.
Regards, Ron

Ahhh, finally got it :D
Glad I been reading on this thread for a while so first thing first.
I just mailed the following to Panasonic Rebates.

1 filled rebate form
1 Invoice with purchase price circled
1 Original serial/model number label cut out from carboard box
2 photos of bottom of unit with the serial number clearly visible ( this last one is not requiered but by reading here, could definetivelly be usefull)

All this docs went out on certified overnight mail

Now to start working on making my screen, going for a 110 diagonal on BOC not painted for now, time will tell what else I come up with later in time.

Hope to post some pics later when all is set :cool:

Why is the photo required Capt.THANKS BUDDA

Why is the photo required Capt.THANKS BUDDA
If you notice I mentioned the photos of bottom of unit showing serial are not required, but upon reading on this thread I found out that several Panny 900 owners where not receiving their rebates because acording to Panasonic the serials were "invalid" or something to that matter... and from that, some folks mentioned they ended up sending a picture of the bottom of their PJs to probe the serial number was valid.
I figure why take chances and I went ahead and included a couple of pics with serial clearly showing, $400 is a LOT when you a HT enthusiast on a budget..
;)

Thanks Capt'Good idea.I hate rebates.BUDDA

I am new to this so please forgive my ignorance.

I read most of the Panny AE900 threads and it seems to be a Great projector. I am currently finishing my theater room and have not fully decided on the projector. From reading this site, the Panny AE900 seems like a projector of choice for many of you experts in the price range of >$3500. At this time my budget for a projector is around $5,000.

My questions is this: Is there a projector that provides a better picture than the Panny AE900 that is worth the extra money that I should consider? Will I get more enhancements in picture to warrant spending the extra money? My room size is 16' in length and I want a 100" screen.

Thanks to anyone for a reply.

I'm considering making the AE900 my next projector but have a few questions for those of you who already own one.

Have any of you exceeded 1000 hours on your original lamps?

Does an AE900 put out enough light for the following set-up?

a) totally dark room w/dark walls, celing and carpet
b) 142" Carada Brilliant White screen (1.4 gain)

I'm about ready to give up on my Toshiba MT700 due to lamp failures and am considering the AE900 as a replacement. I've averaged about 500 hours per lamp on my Toshiba and want a replacement that will get at least twice that (hopefully much more). Thanks.

Thanks! That may be it. I'll check when I get home.
Regards, Ron

That was the problem. Thank you Thunder7!

Regards, Ron

I am new to this so please forgive my ignorance.

I read most of the Panny AE900 threads and it seems to be a Great projector. ...

My questions is this: Is there a projector that provides a better picture than the Panny AE900 that is worth the extra money that I should consider? Will I get more enhancements in picture to warrant spending the extra money? My room size is 16' in length and I want a 100" screen.

Thanks to anyone for a reply.

The DLP projectors by Optoma and Infocus are worth consideration, for sure. Their main disadvantage, compared to the Panny, is no lens shift, so they must be mounted exactly. They are brighter and have better contrast, though. Their prices are slightly higher than the Panny, but nowhere close to your limit.

I just wanted to say I received my rebate yesterday. The pressure is finally off. Mailed it out on April 6th. Just to let everyone know the blockbuster card is good through April 2nd, 2007. I went to blockbuster the same night and they let me rent two movies on the card. I guess he didn't read the limit one on the back.

I'm considering making the AE900 my next projector but have a few questions for those of you who already own one.

Have any of you exceeded 1000 hours on your original lamps?

Does an AE900 put out enough light for the following set-up?

a) totally dark room w/dark walls, celing and carpet
b) 142" Carada Brilliant White screen (1.4 gain)

I'm about ready to give up on my Toshiba MT700 due to lamp failures and am considering the AE900 as a replacement. I've averaged about 500 hours per lamp on my Toshiba and want a replacement that will get at least twice that (hopefully much more). Thanks.

I am almost at 200 hours but I can confirm that on a 139x78 High Power in a light controlled room, you will have the neighborhoods largest plasma display. Its bright and beautiful.

Dave

I have the ae900 PJ mounted 4' high on the back wall about 13' from the 106" screen, and I am sitting 12' from the screen. I have a GW, which I will return because I hate the dingy colors and sparklies. I ordered a GW2, which I should receive by tomorrow, but I doubt that I will be satisfied. I like the improvement in darks and light rejection, but not the dingy colors.

I got 12" samples from DaLite and hung them from the top of the screen for comparison. I am debating between the MW, HCMW, VS1.5 (maybe too sparkly) and the HP screen material. I like the bright colors and shadow details on the HP material, but it looks overall too bright to me. I have a lamp on a table next to me, which I use occasionally when eating dinner and watching TV, and it seems to wash out the HP material more than the others.

I calibrated my PJ with the GW screen with DVE, then looked at the samples and tried dialing down the brightness and contrast so the shades of white in the gray ramps don't wash each other out, but it still looks too bright and washed out. Will the Dynamic Iris on the ae900 tone down the whites on a full-sized screen, or is the HP a mistake. I don't want to have to wear sunglasses or pay another $45 for a filter. I don't want it TOO bright.

Maybe I should try the matte white again (or the HCMW, which the guys in the ae900 tweaks thread seem to like), now that I finally figured out how to calibrate my PJ, and improved the ambient lighting situation (except for that lamp). I tried an 84" MW screen before I did all that, but it looked washed out (watching Narnia, so maybe that wasn't a good example - all snow!). Maybe Narnia would be even worse on the HP!

Has anyone out there with an ae900 wall mounted PJ and an HP screen tried calibrating contrast and brightness using the gray ramps with DVE without a filter?

VisualApex.com has the best deal out I think. Ask for the AVS promo which gives you an additional year of warranty for free. That plus the $400 and 40 free rentals make this PJ a no brainer.


I'm going to order today from VisualApex, how do you get the AVS promo when ordering online?

Also do I need these $100+ ceiling mounts> or can I get one of the $30 Ebay ones that seem to be the same?? any mount recommendations would be great.

I'm going to order today from VisualApex, how do you get the AVS promo when ordering online?

Also do I need these $100+ ceiling mounts> or can I get one of the $30 Ebay ones that seem to be the same?? any mount recommendations would be great.

For the AVS deal (2 yr warranty) go to this URL:

http://www.visualapex.com/avs/

I bought the $30 mount from Ebay (I think it was from MountDirect) in black and it works fine. It's pretty solid although the ceiling plate is a little thin so if you are working with the PJ's lense shift or focus it does wiggle a little, but once you are done with that it does not move. It's worth the $30 IMO, but if you have the $$ for a better one it would be nice to have it not wiggle while working with it.

ANYONE KNOW IF THEY ARE EXTENDING THE REBATE AGAIN??

My purchase won't happen before the end of the month as planned..sniff

ANYONE KNOW IF THEY ARE EXTENDING THE REBATE AGAIN??

My purchase won't happen before the end of the month as planned..sniff

I have a rebate form (pdf) from B & H Photo and Video with Sept. 30, 2006 on it.

I am not sure if this is just for B & H or everyone. I purchased from Visual Apex, before the June 30 deadline, so check with B & H for the last word.

Nice.. Viewing will only be at night and I have light control so I was thinking I could get away with a low/economy mode also. I take it that setting up the unit for ceiling mount use doesn't effect the fan noise then ? (like it does on the Z4)

Enjoy your new toy :)
Setting the 900 to "Ceiling" mode does increase the fan speed/noise, just like with the Z4. It doesn't matter that the unit is otherwise in low lamp/normal fan mode.

Do you think this would look good in a 19 X 14.5 ft room with a 106" Da-Lite Cinema Contour screen. I mean the calculator shows a distance of 21 ft . I really need some help!

How do you adjust the gains on the ae900 for red, green and blue with DVE? I tried using the reversed gray ramps, but it seems to be hit & miss, not very accurate. I have not found a good explanation for this procedure.

Correction, I meant How do you adjust the GAMMAS (low, medium and high), and also the Color Temperature with DVE? I tried using the reversed gray ramps for the gammas, but it seems to be hit & miss, not very accurate. I have not found a good explanation for this procedure.

Which filter would be best to tone down an overly bright HP screen while correcting the colors and maximizing the contrast ratio on a March, 2006 build ae900?

I just wanted to say I received my rebate yesterday. The pressure is finally off. Mailed it out on April 6th. Just to let everyone know the blockbuster card is good through April 2nd, 2007. I went to blockbuster the same night and they let me rent two movies on the card. I guess he didn't read the limit one on the back.
I also received my rebate today (6/26). I mailed the form and proofs in on April 28th. My Blockbuster card is also good through 6/2/07.

Planning to buy this projector, but had a few questions...

I have been debating between ceiling mount and installing in my back wall, kind of like a in wall cabinet. I would prefer the in-wall route...it would be 20.5' from the planned 106" screen. Is this too far?

Also, if I do this, I could not perfectly center it (left and right) on the screen. It would be about 3 inches right of center. Is this projector able to compensate for this much the way it can when you mount higher or lower than center? Any problems with being a few inches off L-R?

Height-wise it would be right at the top of the screen which I have gathered is not a problem.

Otherwise, I can go the ceiling mount route and place it nearly anywhere (centered and at a closer distance).

Thanks,
Mark

got mine today as well, but it only took about five weeks to get.

Planning to buy this projector, but had a few questions...

I have been debating between ceiling mount and installing in my back wall, kind of like a in wall cabinet. I would prefer the in-wall route...it would be 20.5' from the planned 106" screen. Is this too far?

Also, if I do this, I could not perfectly center it (left and right) on the screen. It would be about 3 inches right of center. Is this projector able to compensate for this much the way it can when you mount higher or lower than center? Any problems with being a few inches off L-R?





i cut a hole in my rear wall and made a box that is between two studs in a utility room that holds the PJ. It is 14' from 114" screen and is mounted off center about 8" with no problems.

I finally got my rebate and BB card today. I sent it in on Feb 22nd and they have been saying that they were waiting for a new batch of BB cards. I think that statement was true because the check was dated 4/24/06 and it has been in limbo since then.

I finally received my $200 rebate check today after 7 months and I forget how many phone calls and FAXes. This was the original $200 rebate that started in October - I mailed my rebate submission in early November. How's that for service?

chipguy008: Write a letter (real mail) to their head of marketting. Explain calmly, see what happens. Nothing but another 15 minutes of time and a stamp.

I am getting my 900 tommorrow....woohoo! Media room here I come! By the way is the Graywolf II 106" screen a good choice?

Thanks

Patrick

I'm going to order today from VisualApex, how do you get the AVS promo when ordering online?

Also do I need these $100+ ceiling mounts> or can I get one of the $30 Ebay ones that seem to be the same?? any mount recommendations would be great.

I got a $30 Ebay mount (actually $50) and it works perfectly.

I am getting my 900 tommorrow....woohoo! Media room here I come! By the way is the Graywolf II 106" screen a good choice?

Thanks

Patrick

I should be getting my 106" GWII screen today (after the Optoma factory screwed up and sent me the GW1 screen twice!). They shipped it UPS 2nd day for free (after calling customer service to bitch) thru Staples.com for $399 with tax and a $30 staples coupon.

I already tried 2 GW1 screens, and I really don't like them. Everything looks fuzzy and dingy, even at 4' PJ mounting height (in a hole I cut in the wall with a custom wood box - pretty cool installation).

The blacks are pretty good, and ambient light rejection is decent, but I keep looking at the texture - and the sparklies. The first one had a lot more sparklies, but both of them had spots that shine like stars frequently - very distracting and annoying!

I may end up with the HP, if it's not too bright, maybe with a filter. I'll post after reviewing the GWII (assuming they sent me the right screen this time!).

FYI

I got my rebate yesterday after sending it in the last week of April. BB card good through 4/07. Funny thing is it was dated 5/8/06.

Thanks for the replies, I ordered through visual A. yesterday with the extended warranty, just waiting for my shipping info now! Hope I made the right choice lol. Thanks for the feedback on the ebay mounts as well.

Thanks for the replies, I ordered through visual A. yesterday with the extended warranty, just waiting for my shipping info now! Hope I made the right choice lol. Thanks for the feedback on the ebay mounts as well.

You did....for the $$$ this projector will blow you away. Heck...for twice the money it would blow you away. Enjoy the heck out of your new HT and make sure you let us know how you like it when you get it up and running.

I'm considering making the AE900 my next projector but have a few questions for those of you who already own one.

Have any of you exceeded 1000 hours on your original lamps?

Does an AE900 put out enough light for the following set-up?

a) totally dark room w/dark walls, celing and carpet
b) 142" Carada Brilliant White screen (1.4 gain)

I'm about ready to give up on my Toshiba MT700 due to lamp failures and am considering the AE900 as a replacement. I've averaged about 500 hours per lamp on my Toshiba and want a replacement that will get at least twice that (hopefully much more). Thanks.
My 900 has just over 1000 hours on the original bulb.
I had a 1.0 matt white screen, 114" wide.
The picture was noticeably dimmer, so I put in my spare bulb and that fixed the dim picture of course. Then I started reading about the Da-lite HP screen and ordered one. Well, I put my old bulb back in and it was brighter than the new bulb with my old screen. This HP screen is really the best HT product I have ever bought. I don't know enough about the Carada Brilliant White screen to know if it will be bright enough for you as your bulb dims.

I plan on mounting my AE900 17' from the 100" screen. According to most things I've read there should be no problems. Does anyone think I will have brightness issues? The room has total light control with no windows.
Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,

I just set up my ae900 with a 110in Carada BW sreen.It is about 17 feet,No problem,The pic looks great allready with no major calibrating.I Know one thing allready this setup really show the difference in DVD'S QUALITY.Even the starwars DVD'S do not come close to the sharpness of my reference superbit Starship Tropper DVD,It Looks just plain better than all my other DVD'S.Proves that The AE900 is only as good as what it is fed.And it looks pretty good.BUDDA

My 900 has just over 1000 hours on the original bulb.
I had a 1.0 matt white screen, 114" wide.
The picture was noticeably dimmer, so I put in my spare bulb and that fixed the dim picture of course. Then I started reading about the Da-lite HP screen and ordered one. Well, I put my old bulb back in and it was brighter than the new bulb with my old screen. This HP screen is really the best HT product I have ever bought. I don't know enough about the Carada Brilliant White screen to know if it will be bright enough for you as your bulb dims.

Thaxx,
Might I ask you what has happened to the black level using the HP screen? I ask becasue after replacing our broken Sharp XV-S55U with an AE900, I subsequently fixed it and plan to use it again. However, the Sharp was on a 120" screen, so the black level wasn't that bad although due to the limitations of such an old projector, the contrast ratio wasn't very good.

However, when using the XVs55U on an 80" screen, the brightness is much better, but the black level is absolutetely terrible because of it. I'd asked this of others, not in relation to the XVs55u, but the AE900, because I use it on a 133" screen and the black level isn't that great. When I zoom the AE900 to, say, 100" or less, the black gets exponentially worse with a complimentary gain in brightness, and wanted to know peopls opinions of the AE900 black level on smalle sizes. I find that even with high contrast ratios, these new LCD's still throw out a lot of light when it's supposed to be an all black image. Just put your hand in front of the lense close to the projector.

What I notice with projectors that cannot output total black. obviously, the brighter the image, the worse the black level. But this directly relates to the screen size, such that the smaller the screen, the worse the black level. (I wonder in reviews when the measure black level, do they take it right from the lens, or from the screen.

Now, in relation to the HP screen with the AE900, you noticed an increase in brightness, which I assume was to be expected. What happened to the black level?

P.S. Thaxx, due to a random search, I came upon the thread from several years ago where you explained to me how to clean dust out of the Sharp. Thanks again for that, I still use that assistance to this day.

David Mendicino -- I have a 106" High-Power (HP) screen (92" wide) that I have used with 3 different PJs. All were shelf mounted at about head height - so I get the full gain of the screen (2.8 specified, not measured). Note: if the PJ is ceiling mounted, the effective screen gain drops to around 1.8 or so (because it's retro-reflective).

On my old L300U (Panasonic AE300, US version), it was just right because of the low output - around 200-250 lumens, low power mode, after calibration. I had no problems with the black level, in a darkened room.

With my MT700 (DLP PJ with a now dead lamp), it was way too bright without using an ND2 filter (the ND2 cuts the light output by 50%). Again, no problems with the black levels in the low power mode and ND2 filter and very good contrast ratio, CR.

My current PJ (temporary, cheap, for backup use) is a Mitsubishi HC3 (LCD) PJ with a low CR (slightly worse than the L300 was), it was still too bright. Once I put on a ND2 filter, the improvement was dramatic, with much better black levels. The HC3 did require calibration with DVDs to get the black levels to reasonable values, still a little "gray", but that is due to the 800:1 CR of this PJ. I found that AVIA or DVE would not give me good black levels with the HC3 because they use a 50% APL screen for Brightness and Contrast test patterns. I had to use the GetGray caldisc to get the correct black levels (it uses a 0% APL for the Brightness and a 100% APL for the Contrast test patterns).

I'm planning on getting the AE900 to replace the failed MT700. I suspect that it will also require a ND2 filter, with the HP screen, due to it's (low power) output being about the same as the MT700 was. With an extremely bright screen, like the HP (or small screens, 80" wide, or less), it is difficult to get very low black levels, without further reducing the PJ output with something like the ND2 filter.

NOTE: Most reviewers use a matte white screen that has a gain of 1.0, unless they say otherwise.

CT_Weibe,

Thanks for the reply. Regarding the reviewers screens, I was thinking more about the size than the material. To take it to the extreme, if you projected a 50" screen size, I would think that the black level would be really quite bad, as the inensity of the light would be highly focused.

I've actually be using an ND2 filter on both the AE900 and the XV-s55u (for it's smaller screen setup). I do find the decrease in brightness is not as detrimental as the subsequent decrease in black levels. However, I still find the black level with the ND2 to still be noticeable. I'm in a totally darkened room, and as I've suggested in other threads, I find that this must exagerate the lack of black level performance. When I'm in the room with an all black field, the screen is very bright. Admittedly, this is a matte white screen with no gain. Maybe a grey screen would be better.

I'm interested to know whether the high power screen affects black levels substantially because using an ND2 filter with it might give the compromise of good brightness while decreasing black levels.

I'm considering making the AE900 my next projector but have a few questions for those of you who already own one.

Have any of you exceeded 1000 hours on your original lamps?


Anyone??

Anyone??

See post #5131 at the top of this page.

Im sure there are heaps of best user settings in these threads for the 900, but would somone please lead me to one that has been proven by most. Im after what gives the best blacks in a dark room.
Many thanks in advance :)

Read the 900 tweak thread. It has lots of great information. MIkeSRC shared his settings with a few different filters. I used his settings with the 81C filter. The picture looks great.

Im sure there are heaps of best user settings in these threads for the 900, but would somone please lead me to one that has been proven by most. Im after what gives the best blacks in a dark room.
Many thanks in advance :)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=589234

See post #5131 at the top of this page.

Sorry, I missed your post. Thanks for the info. Anyone else?

Has anyone tried the 900 with a 106" HP screen and an 81EF filter? I am thinking of returning my GW for an HP. This filter was recommended by Rwestley, which does not reduce the output as much as the ND2 filter (which others recommended), but more than the 81C (see the beginning of the Tweaks thread).

Has anyone experimented calibrating with DVE or AVIA in Normal mode and in Cinema1 with the HP screen? I think Normal mode is brighter and has a better CR, but might be too bright with the HP screen, but good for the GW(???). Most people in the tweaks thread seem to be using HCMW, which is slightly grey and much dimmer than the HP, so I don't know how to compare settings. The HP sample seemed too bright and crushing white, but maybe Dynamic Iris will help with a full-sized screen.

Plus, I have a March, 2006 build, which is newer than what they were calibrating. The latest settings (Sept, 2005 build) were pretty far off with DVE on my PJ and a GWII screen. Every build has different weaknesses.

Reading the Tweaks thread is a bit of a chore - is there such thing as too much information? But not the information I was looking for!

Do some DVD players not work with the AE900.I just hook up a Brand new Toshiba dvd with HMDI cable and the ae900 will not read it.If i use componet cables it works but not with the HMDI.Whats up with that i wonder.BUDDA

UPS for PT- AE900 ?

Solim.

Can someone help me with connecting my HP laptop to my panny 900 to display web pages.

I conected the two with a 15 pin male to 15 pin male serial cable and I'm getting the blue windows background to display. The problem is that I have to move my cursor all the way over to the right and off the computer sceen to get it to show up on the projector. I've tried different resolutions on the computer, but that didn't seem to help.

Any thoughts?

It might be your cable. I have the toshiba HD-a1 hooked up the 900 via hdmi and have no problems. My cable is a 35' from monoprice.

Thanks Mick.I just bought the HDMI 12ft cable at best buy.It was $100.But it might be a lemon.Iwas going to get the HD player but Best Buy was out.BUDDA

Thanks Mick.I just bought the HDMI 12ft cable at best buy.It was $100.But it might be a lemon.Iwas going to get the HD player but Best Buy was out.BUDDA

If it's a lemon take it back. Actually take it back anyhow. $100 is a rip off for a 12' HDMI cable. You can get one at Monoprice for $24.24 for a 15' cable. I assume Best Buy sells Monster cables which are way overpriced.

i agree -- my hdmi from monoprice works just fine too. a lot less expensive. monster cable seems to be mostly hype.

David Mendicino,
So it seems we both have the same PJ's again years later. I still have my 55U but rarly use it.
As far as the HP goes, CT_Weibe pretty much said it all. Your blacks will be elevated especially with a smaller screen. But in contrast to how much whiter it makes your whites, I think the contrst is even or better with the HP.
One thing about the 900 I noticed is, the further you move it from the screen, the dimmer the picture is, at any given size. So if your room will accomidate it, and your picture is too bright with the HP, try moving your PJ to the back of the room.
I now have my PJ ceiling mounted just behind my back row of seating. It hangs down 33" from a 8' ceiling and my eye level is at 47 inches from the floor. So that leaves my eyes 16" from the lens level.

the projector came today, I can't wait to get my room finished now!! I shot it on the wall just because I had to see what it was like and that was a mistake lol. I still don't have my curtains up and the screen wall isn't finished. The room still has a lot of light in it.

Is there a way to adjust the bars at the top and bottom or is it like that because of the default settings? all I changed on it was the aspect button from 4:3 to 16:9.

Here is some screen shots:

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/spidey3.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/spidey2.jpg
this one I adjusted a little after I took the picture:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/spidey.jpg

Brad_66SS -- The black bars are there because the PJ has a 16:9 format (1.78:1 ratio) and the movie is wider (probably 2.35:1 ratio). The result is that there will be black bars on the top and bottom to fill out the rest of the frame. These ratios are the width of the movie divided by its height.

To say it another way, your AE900 only has 1280 horizontal pixels and 1280/2.35 (for example) = 544.7. Therefore, you will have 720 - 544 = 176 extra (black) pixels, 88 on the top and 88 on the bottom.

Brad_66SS -- The black bars are there because the PJ has a 16:9 format (1.78:1 ratio) and the movie is wider (probably 2.35:1 ratio). The result is that there will be black bars on the top and bottom to fill out the rest of the frame. These ratios are the width of the movie divided by its height.

To say it another way, your AE900 only has 1280 horizontal pixels and 1280/2.35 (for example) = 544.7. Therefore, you will have 720 - 544 = 176 extra (black) pixels, 88 on the top and 88 on the bottom.


Thanks, I knew about the different formats depending on the movie but never knew how the forumla worked or if the bars would change depending on format. Makes more sense now. Spiderman 2 was 2.05:1

Do some DVD players not work with the AE900.I just hook up a Brand new Toshiba dvd with HMDI cable and the ae900 will not read it.If i use componet cables it works but not with the HMDI.Whats up with that i wonder.BUDDA

Budda,

Some DVD players require you to turn on the HDMI connection. My Denon does. Check the manual.

Elio

Thanks, I knew about the different formats depending on the movie but never knew how the forumla worked or if the bars would change depending on format. Makes more sense now. Spiderman 2 was 2.05:1

I thought Spiderman 2 was 2.4:1.

the projector came today, I can't wait to get my room finished now!! I shot it on the wall just because I had to see what it was like and that was a mistake lol. I still don't have my curtains up and the screen wall isn't finished. The room still has a lot of light in it.

Is there a way to adjust the bars at the top and bottom or is it like that because of the default settings? all I changed on it was the aspect button from 4:3 to 16:9.

Here is some screen shots:

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/spidey3.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/spidey2.jpg
this one I adjusted a little after I took the picture:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/spidey.jpg

What's your throw distance?

My room will have less light light that your pics unless the kitchen light is on nearby. :rolleyes:

My throw distance in those pictures is about 12'-13' (estimate, I didn't measure) I'm still waiting for my ceiling mount. I just set it up on a box in front of my couch to test it out. It will be mounted above the couch at about 14'-15'. I measured the picture on the wall because I was curious and it was about 56" tall and about 98" wide, so just over 110" diaganol.

Here is a couple more shots at night when the room was dark. Again this is right out of the box no adjustments. It's just a textured wall painted Behr Ultra white. I can't wait to see what it looks like with a real screen.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/nemo.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/66chevyIISS/xmen.jpg

Brad, Looking good!

You may want to borrow a screen, or get a sample before buying. I had a da-lite screen and found that I preferred the picture on my Behr Ultra Pure White wall (I did remove the texture).

I'm up to about 700 hours and am still completely satisfied! This projector looks fantastic with an HD signal. Be sure to feed it something in 720p. You will be blown away!

I got my ae900 rebate, too! It only took about two months!

Well i turn on the projector and Toshiba DVD player this morning and the signal was fine thought the HDMI cable.Weird.Works great now.What makes me mad is i paid $300 for my older Denon 1600 which is a great player and has DVD AUDIOwhich i like alot.But the little Toshiba that i paid $60 for yesterday has as good a pic as the Denon.BUDDA

Mick does your new HD-DVD player show a better pic than a regular DVD player.And did you say that it does a good job on standard DVD'S.THANKS BUDDA

Been awhile since my last post...for those still on the fence about buying this pj, I can tell you now with 500 hours on my panny....boy it is still kicking! I just got Verizon Fios TV and has been the first time I was able to play HD content though the HDMI and simply said AWESOME! Regular 480 res is not worth playing on any LCD, I notice that edges around letters and numbers are pixelized. I still think that CRT's display low formats the best but was blown away when I play HD anything especially my MTV-HD concerts!

I noticed that the picture on this pj is better then some lcd tv's out there. I couldn't be happier with it. Unfortunately, the only thing I can gripe about was the huge price drop since I was one of the first to have bought this pj and have not been able to take advantage of all the goodies that Panny has dished out. Even more when the 1080 model comes out, the price on the 900 should drop even more. Oh well the price for paradise!

Here is an updated picture of the HT room with Bon Jovi in HD!


Enjoy,


Steve.

Budda my other player is the Pioneer dv-79avi. I use my Toshiba for both regular and HD
DVD's. My Pioneer just gets used for DVD-Audio and SACD music. I would say that the Toshiba is equal to or better than the 79 on upconverting regular dvd's.

I got my rebate and BB card yesterday. Sent in the rebate first week of May, so a little under 2 months to receive them. Not bad.

Thanks Mick.On a different subject.Having the projector now for 3 days'I am starting to see what it can do.I have notice that this projector is alot sharper withe the noise reduction off.I was amaze at the difference.My favorite settings are video- contrast +2 bright +3 the rest O-lamp low and NR OFF.The pic is film like with very sharp images.Totaly impress for a pic this size/THANKS BUDDA

Just ordered the Panny PT-AE900U from Costco (June 29 10:10PM est) and my email confirmation receipt indicates date placed for purchase is June 30, 2006. I hope the mail-in rebate of $400 is still valid as it indicates "valid for orders placed Jan 27 through June 30...". I hope it wasn't too late.

Any one have any idea if the rebate will be extended? Seems like they've been extending it for a couple months already. I'm hoping to have some things nailed down and order tomorrow, but in case I don't was just wondering if it may be available later.

Many thanks to all on this board. I learned a lot and decided on the Panny 900. 100% satisfied for $ vs performance.

First:
Bought my 900 from Projector People on 03/29.
Mailed rebate off 04/14.
Received check and BB card 06/24.
Card good until 04/02/2007.

Second:
My projector appears to be taking much longer than it use to for the blue warm up screen to come up (I left it on the default which displays the Panasonic logo). This just started happening this week. It seems like the lamp isn't firing up at 10-20 seconds anymore; it's now like it takes about 1 minute. First time I saw this happen a couple days ago, I thought the bulb was fried and it wasn't going to light up; then it did, but after much delay.

Mounted on shelf just higher than top edge of 106" Greywolf, about 14' back, using copious amounts of lens shift downward! Not quite at max amount, but not a lot left either. Has about 100-110 hours on it. Feeding it Directv HD TiVo HR10-250 via 10meter hdmi cable. Prog scan dvd via 50 ft component cable. AV Receiver's monitor out, so I can see the on screen menu for it, via 50 ft S-Video. All work great - no problems.


Questions::::
1) Anyone experience something similar, or have any info on this delayed lamp firing?
2) What is the avg length of time before you see the blue screen begin to appear (the bulb fire up)?

Just wondering now if I had a fast start before, and now it's normal, or if it was originally normal and now have a slow start.
Thanks,
zdude1

What's the best way to use all the different power down options to preserve bulb life? I usually "soft" power down first and leave it running if I'm going to turn it back on later. If I'm turning it off for the night, I'll soft power THEN hard power. If I'm turning it off for 30 min or so I'll use the shutter.

What's the right way to do this?

Can someone tell me if it is better to set the cable signal to 1080i and have the PJ down-convert to 720p or have the cable box set to 720p and match the PJ. I was wondering if there are any adv/dis for the best picture or is this adding to excess overhead for the PJ to handle.

Steve.

Many native 720P display devices convert an incoming 1080i signal to 540 lines before scaling back up to 720P. That introduces an additional conversion step compared to sending the same device a 720P signal to start with. This can degrade the picture somewhat, most times in the form of visibly 'softening' the image. As you might expect, some devices handle this conversion better than others.

Your STB's scaling ability comes into play as well, so your best bet is to try both and see which you prefer.

Hi to all,
As all here, I am very happy with my Panny,I only had it for a week, I don't have a screen for it yet, I am and building one. However I couldn't wait to see the picture so I went ahead and projected image on my living room wall... Ahhhh!! even tho my wall is a yellow textured wall, the image was absolutely awesome, right out of the box.
I played with the zoom for a while and I could get a very nice picture that was wall size, and that is a large picture, I estimate size to be over 140" diagonal, from a 17' trow distance in controlled light room, just amazed a the quality of the projected pict. With that said I think I am going for a painted wall screen (Goo or MM, still studying on that here, but if I am happy with a textured yellow wall, even just sanding texture and painting with a good UPW might do, I will give that a try first.

Ok, now for main reason of my post...
A few days back I was having problems with one of the breakers in my house, and it happened to be the breaker for living room/kitchen area, whenever I had the AC, the microwave and the toaster oven going at same time, the breaker would overload and pop, so I had to reset it frequently. I replaced breaker with new one and the problem is gone. However, last night I was showing my wife and kids (proudly) what our new Panny can do, I played the "The Corpse Bride" DVD. While it was playing I went to heat up a bowl of soup in microwave, and that got me thinking what could happen to the Panny lamp in the event of a blackout! :eek: So decided an uninterrupted power supply would be a great investment to go with the Panny.
Anyone here has a UPS to go with their Panny's? if so, what brand and wattage do you have? Any other recommendations on this?
Txs

I'm looking at APC J10 (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=J10) which is a conditioner/surge protector with backup.

Good price here (http://www.provantage.com/apc-j10~7AMPS033.htm) but they don't seem to sell the Black version.

Trying to find a short 2' or 3' Power cord for the PT-AE900U as don't like idea of coiling the 10' cord. Looks like it has a laptop type cord. Tried calling Panasonic but they just do replacement cords. Shortests I found was 6' on Monoprice.

http://images.monoprice.com/productimages/1309s.jpg

Anyone found a short cord (sorry but searched and couldn't find answer)

Trying to find a short 2' or 3' Power cord for the PT-AE900U as don't like idea of coiling the 10' cord. Looks like it has a laptop type cord. Tried calling Panasonic but they just do replacement cords. Shortests I found was 6' on Monoprice.

Anyone found a short cord (sorry but searched and couldn't find answer)

Why not cut the included cable 2' to 3' from the laptop type connection end and replace the wall outlet end with a new plug. You should be able to get one a a hardware store.

I've ordered the 6' cable and will probably end up just replacing the plug but from what I've seen in HD these plugs themself are pretty bulky/ugly.

I'm looking at APC J10 (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=J10) which is a conditioner/surge protector with backup.

Good price here (http://www.provantage.com/apc-j10~7AMPS033.htm) but they don't seem to sell the Black version.
Txs for reply,
I checked the link,that APC looks very nice, but I am looking for something under $150, $200 tops, found this one here (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/APC-UPS-Surge-Protector-BE750BB-/sem/rpsm/oid/98948/catOid/-13011/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) , and it is well under the $150. It handles 450 Watts and that will be more than plenty to handle the 180 Watts max on the Panny. It gives you an audible alarm when power goes out and keeps protected unit on for 11 minutes at full load after a blackout, or up to 19 minutes at half load, that is plenty of time to turn of PJ safely. I think that would be a franklin well spent ;)

As far as the short power cord you want, yep I would order the shortest one available from Panasonic and cut it to size desired, then go to home depot and or elsewhere and buy the best looking plug I could find, I figure as long as it is a black plug it wont be noticed that much, although I am not aware how you running your wiring.

Ok, back to work on HT, I had a large 150 gall fishtank where screen will go, let me tell you,this is a hell of a proyect here lol!, my wife keeps on giving me this looks :p Glad she puts up with my "ideas" and proyects. I think she is just a bit worried I made a huge hole in side yard for a koi pond and now I am rearranging entire , living room lol!! Ahhhh, life is amusing....
Cheers!

Any one have any idea if the rebate will be extended? Seems like they've been extending it for a couple months already. I'm hoping to have some things nailed down and order tomorrow, but in case I don't was just wondering if it may be available later.

I just checked the Panasonic web site, and the form has been updated (YET AGAIN) to extend the expiration all the way to September 30, 2006 ($400 rebate AND the Blockbuster rentals).

WOHOO! Good news for those stuck temporarily without one! :D

bobbybee -- I figured that they had to so that they could compete with the Z4. I'ts good news since I wasn't ready to buy until mid August.

BajaCapt -- I just checked the APC web site. It looks like it will support the Panny for about 19 minutes. The downside is that it takes 16 hours to recharge the battery and doesn't include voltage regulation (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE750BB).

The http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800BLK would be much better (better voltage regulation) and it's also under $150.

bobbybee -- I figured that they had to so that they could compete with the Z4. I'ts good news since I wasn't ready to buy until mid August.

BajaCapt -- I just checked the APC web site. It looks like it will support the Panny for about 19 minutes. The downside is that it takes 16 hours to recharge the battery (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE750BB).

Yep,you right, it does take a while to recharge,but I wouldn't really run the Panny on backup power at all, I just want to protect the lamp from a sudden blackout and not having the fan cooling it properly before shoting off. I went ahead and ordered it online for local store pick up,it really is a good deal for a hundred bucks. Got it at home already, I will install it tomorrow.
Still working on screen, I will post pics when done...

I did an edit while you were posting your answer. For what you want, it should work just fine. In case of one of our (rare) CA thunderstorms, unplug the APC & AE900, just to be on the safe side.

Quick question,

How long dose the fan normally run for when you turn the projector off ?

I just got a AE900 today and its my first ever projector. I had it running for about 3 hours for its first go and when i turned it off with the remote the fan only ran for about 1 minute then shut off and the PJ went into standby.

Is that normal?

Thanks.

I just got a AE900 today and its my first ever projector. I had it running for about 3 hours for its first go and when i turned it off with the remote the fan only ran for about 1 minute then shut off and the PJ went into standby.

Is that normal?

Thanks.

Yes, Thats in line with my experience as well.

Hi there i am from portugal and have a panny 900 since november last year and i want to buy a dalite screen high power. Here in portugal i dont have any who sales this!!!I have to buy in the US, can you tell me how can i contact jason from AVS, can he sent the screen to portugal?what sites i can buy that sent to my country?
Thanks guys, oh and sorry the bad english!!!
"Long live the panny 900.....with a da-lite high power screen!!!"

I have noticed that since I got my PJ back from hearland they did a optical block swapout. Now I see that my red is off by a full pixle or maybee more. It is distracting when white letters are on the screen. Basically looks like red is shifted to the right and the blue is shifted up. Anything that can be done in the service menu to help this.

BTW does anyone have the service menu?

This is probably a stupid question. I just recently set up my AE900. For now, I am shooting it onto my living room wall. For some reason, it seems i can't get the picture straight, even with the legs both fully in. The right side of the picture always seems to be slanted.

Are there any settings to help with this? Must the projector be shooting directly forward? Could it be a problem with the lens?

I'm kind of at a loss for what the problem is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know the size of the mouting screws. I want to do a DIY mount but I dont know the size and I really didnt want to bring the projector to home depot to test. I looked all over the web and manual and I cannot find it. Thanks all.

This is probably a stupid question. I just recently set up my AE900. For now, I am shooting it onto my living room wall. For some reason, it seems i can't get the picture straight, even with the legs both fully in. The right side of the picture always seems to be slanted.

Are there any settings to help with this? Must the projector be shooting directly forward? Could it be a problem with the lens?

I'm kind of at a loss for what the problem is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Try going to MENU->POSITION->KEYSTONE and make sure is at 0

Does anyone know the size of the mouting screws. I want to do a DIY mount but I dont know the size and I really didnt want to bring the projector to home depot to test. I looked all over the web and manual and I cannot find it. Thanks all.

The screws are 4mm, length would vary depending on your DIY mount, hope this helps.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

I'm not finding it. Is there a way to enable closed captioning for my projector? I had a bunch of people over, it was too loud for just the audio, would have been nice to have the closed captioning.

Closed captioning is not a product of the projector. It is a product of the input device (DVD player, Sat Receiver, etc.).

Is anyone having problems with motion blur with this projector?

I have got some really bad motion blur that is unwatchable. Could it be my DVD player? ( Pioneer DV-C503). Or is it more to do with the LCD technology in the projector?

I have only had the projector for 3 days and when watching The Fast And The Furious last night it was making me feel sick :( Other than that the projector looks FANTASTIC.

My DVD player ( Pioneer DV-C503) is getting a bit old news i guess. Its not progressive scan and it doesn't up covert either. Although i looks fine on a 42" RPTV i have. I am using Blue Jeans component cables.

This is the DVD player http://reviews.cnet.com/Pioneer_DV_C503/4507-6463_7-6899219.html?tag=sub

Will a better DVD player fix it? What would be a good DVD player match for this PJ ? Only have about $300 max to spend. That's if its even the DVD player ????

Thanks Guys ;)

Hi there i am from portugal and have a panny 900 since november last year and i want to buy a dalite screen high power. Here in portugal i dont have any who sales this!!!I have to buy in the US, can you tell me how can i contact jason from AVS, can he sent the screen to portugal?what sites i can buy that sent to my country?
Thanks guys, oh and sorry the bad english!!!
"Long live the panny 900.....with a da-lite high power screen!!!"Jason's contact informaton is: Jason Turk, Sales and Installation Manager, jason@avscience.com, Forum ID: Jason Turk, 315-538-9806 = Direct Line.

-----

This is probably a stupid question. I just recently set up my AE900. For now, I am shooting it onto my living room wall. For some reason, it seems i can't get the picture straight, even with the legs both fully in. The right side of the picture always seems to be slanted.

Are there any settings to help with this? Must the projector be shooting directly forward? Could it be a problem with the lens?

I'm kind of at a loss for what the problem is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.The PJ (all brands) needs to be pointing directly at the screen/wall. If the PJ is not square to the screen, the image will also not be square/rectangular.

-----
Timoxx4 -- Make sure you're not running the AE900 too bright (you should be running with the lamp at the low power, and in the "Cinema" mode). The brighter the picture the more persistance your eyes have (and you will see motion blur). I haven't heard that the AE900 has motion blur. I have noticed this with other PJs too (when they're set too bright).

NOTE: A newer DVD player may help (you should be using the component output, as a minimum), but I doubt it. However, if you're running the AE900 too bright, then a newer player won't help at all.

Hmm. Well i already have the lamp in low power mode. Didn't help with the motion blur. I have tried all the picture modes and they all have motion blur also. I have the projector setup as it comes default.

Projecting onto a 92" screen sitting 12 feet away in a totally darkened room.

I tried my Xbox 360 that i can use at 720p and that too shows the same motion blur.

It is really bad blurring with anything but a still image. It gets progressively worse the faster the camera pans.

Could it be possible that HDMI might fix it? I also am going from DVD player and Xbox 360 component into my Pioneer AVR component then on to the projector component input. Could this be the problem? Could the AVR be causing the motion blur?

It is really very noticeable. Are you sure the AE900 doesn't blur movement? How else can i setup my PJ for a fool proof non motion blur experience?

Timoxx4:

I have a similar setup as you and do not have the blurring issues you are talking about. I have a Samsung HD960 with HDMI direct to the AE900. Similar components are an XBox 360 running component to my Pioneer AVR (VSX-1014TX) then passing component from that to the PJ.

I don't know what model AVR you have, but does it by chance have any video settings within it? Maybe there is something set wrong. Otherwise I would strongly recommend trying things with the AVR taken out of the loop. Run either the DVD player or the XBox direct to the PJs component and see if the issue remains. If so, I would guess it's in the PJ if not, then probably the AVR. Let us know.

This is a bummer. I just went over 178 hours and I have started to hear the iris 'howling' noise. It comes and goes just like everyone else described, so this is the second projector going back to costco. The first went back for lcd panels being out of alignment.

Dave

I have noticed that since I got my PJ back from hearland they did a optical block swapout. Now I see that my red is off by a full pixle or maybee more. It is distracting when white letters are on the screen. Basically looks like red is shifted to the right and the blue is shifted up. Anything that can be done in the service menu to help this.

BTW does anyone have the service menu?

There is no way to adjust misconvergence. You have to send it back for repair.

Dave

A question from a newbie: I was wondering if using "vertical shift" would affect the quality or sharpness of the image...

My DVD player is the Proceed PMDT that only has component out, no progresive (but in its time it was the King of DVD players and still looks damm good).

I know this is from way back (I'm just perusing this thread now, after shifting from considering the Samsung 710 to considering the Panny 900), but the Proceed PMDT has progressive scan. It also has the option to purchase a scaler to convert 480i to 480p. I use both, and the PMDT has a much better picture than my Pioneer Elite DVD player did. Of course, the original price of the PMDT what three times the price of the Pioneer Elite, but I bought used.

This is a bummer. I just went over 178 hours and I have started to hear the iris 'howling' noise. It comes and goes just like everyone else described, so this is the second projector going back to costco. The first went back for lcd panels being out of alignment.

Dave


I have an AE900 manufactured in May 2006. It has intermittent flickering and Iris howling. Panasonic was unclear on the amount of time to repair the unit, so I am returning it to Amazon.com. They will send out a replacement and I have 30 days to send the defective unit to them (thank God, no down time!). All being said, I still think the panny has an amazing picture and even with the Iris howling it is way quieter than my old SP4805 fan and grinding color wheel!

Hey, Nrighton, Is your PJ ceiling mounted upside down? I have heard the 900 is much noisier mounted that way. Mine is wall mounted and I never hear it at all.

Hey, Nrighton, Is your PJ ceiling mounted upside down? I have heard the 900 is much noisier mounted that way. Mine is wall mounted and I never hear it at all.

I have mine ceiling mounted and I can't hear it at all......even sitting right under it.

Hi,
Just to start with i am a complete n00b when it comes to projectors. I have been looking around the net for a projector for gaming/movies and the ae900 seems to fit the bill nicely :)

I want to know a few things though. I plan to use it with my xbox 360 in a room that will project it about 5-6 metres from the wall. For this setup what screen would be best? I think it will be about 60% used for games 40% for movies. Also i plan to have the 360 where the screen is so how hard would it be to get a decent component feed to the projector? also there is some natural light in the room how much of an effect does that have on the projector?

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Closed captioning is not a product of the projector. It is a product of the input device (DVD player, Sat Receiver, etc.).

I used to turn on closed captioning on my "display device". Prior to my Projector, it was a Toshiba TW40x81 rear proj set. It was in the controls that I enabled the "display" of the closed captioning signal sent from the input devices.

so I figured there must be some switch on the projector controls?

Hey, Nrighton, Is your PJ ceiling mounted upside down? I have heard the 900 is much noisier mounted that way. Mine is wall mounted and I never hear it at all.


It is upside down and ceiling mounted. It is about 5 feet above the viewers head.

A few days ago, I started noticing the occasional "flicker"on my AE900, where the image would get perceptibly dimmer. Over the last few days, it's gotten worse, to the point where now the dimness is pretty much standard, and it will occasionally brighten for a few seconds.

I haven't changed any settings or anything, so I'm assuming that my bulb's about to go? I've had it since December, and there are 1,292 hours on it. Seems a little low since I've been running it on low power and high fan from the beginning, but what do I know.

Anyway, am I screwed? Is it new bulb time? Or is this something that I can fix?

Thanks.

Timoxx4:

I have a similar setup as you and do not have the blurring issues you are talking about. I have a Samsung HD960 with HDMI direct to the AE900. Similar components are an XBox 360 running component to my Pioneer AVR (VSX-1014TX) then passing component from that to the PJ.

I don't know what model AVR you have, but does it by chance have any video settings within it? Maybe there is something set wrong. Otherwise I would strongly recommend trying things with the AVR taken out of the loop. Run either the DVD player or the XBox direct to the PJs component and see if the issue remains. If so, I would guess it's in the PJ if not, then probably the AVR. Let us know.

Ok i just tried going direct from DVD player to the AE900. Still have motion blur :mad:

Its like in the end of The Fast And The Furious where Dom and Brian are racing eachother across the train track and its in slow mo. They dilebritly slow the action down and it looks like an extreme case of motion blur. Well that's the same sort of affect i am getting with ALL motion only not quite as bad as that scene :rolleyes:

Maybe its just the PAL version of the AE900 that dose this? I have the PAL version. Not the NTSC one like most of you guys would have.

Any other ideas as to what i can do?

Thanks guys,
Tim.

Seems a little low since I've been running it on low power and high fan from the beginning, but what do I know.

Anyway, am I screwed? Is it new bulb time? Or is this something that I can fix?

Thanks.

Run it on high power for about 8 hours and then switch it back. Let us know if this fixes it (it should). :)

I'll give that a shot and return with the results.

Thanks for the prompt reply!

Hi,
Just to start with i am a complete n00b when it comes to projectors. I have been looking around the net for a projector for gaming/movies and the ae900 seems to fit the bill nicely :)

I want to know a few things though. I plan to use it with my xbox 360 in a room that will project it about 5-6 metres from the wall. For this setup what screen would be best? I think it will be about 60% used for games 40% for movies. Also i plan to have the 360 where the screen is so how hard would it be to get a decent component feed to the projector? also there is some natural light in the room how much of an effect does that have on the projector?

Any advice would be appreciated :) For projection distance, use the projection calculator here: http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic_Home-PT-AE900U-projection-calculator-pro.htm (all the sliders are adjustable and will let you find the right combination). It also lets you switch between English and Metric units. You can go as small as a 92" (234 cm) diagonal screen and up (maximum size is limited by the AE900 brightness and your room size). A 106" (269 cm) diagonal screen would be real nice (it's what I have).

Any cable connections are not difficult (I don't really understand the reason behind that question). The component connections (a 3 cable connection) is the least quality connection recommended. Composite and S-Video are available, but are much lower in picture quallity. The other acceptable choices are PC (equivalent to component, but needs only 1 cable) and HDMI (all digital, also 1 cable). What you use will depend on what you want to connect. If you have more than one source (Xbox and DVD player and TV tuner), you will want to use more than one connection. You will have to decide which, and that will depend on what outputs they have available. I would recommend that you download the manual from the Panasonic web site. It will answer a lot of your questions.

Any natural light in the room will kill the black levels (it will "wash out" the image). If the light falls on the screen, it's even worse. The brighter the room the worse it is. This is the penalty you pay for a nice big image (it's true for any front projector) - it requires a dark room. Some light is not too bad, but in full sunlight it will be unwatchable. You don't have "natural light" in a movie theater, for example. I can watch my PJ, in the evening, before the sun goes down, but the windows in my room face to the North and East -- if it's too bright outside, I can close my heavy drapes which cuts out a lot of the light. The picture quality improves tremendously when it gets dark outside.

-----

I used to turn on closed captioning on my "display device". Prior to my Projector, it was a Toshiba TW40x81 rear proj set. It was in the controls that I enabled the "display" of the closed captioning signal sent from the input devices.

so I figured there must be some switch on the projector controls?I just did a search through my PDF copy of the AE900 manual, there is no "Closed Caption" control. Some displays, like your TW40X81, have controls which can override the "closed caption" function of the source, the AE900 does not have this capability. In the case of the AE900, seeing closed captions strictly depends on the settings in the source (DVD player, or cable/satellite STB, etc.).

-----

Ok i just tried going direct from DVD player to the AE900. Still have motion blur

Its like in the end of The Fast And The Furious where Dom and Brian are racing eachother across the train track and its in slow mo. They dilebritly slow the action down and it looks like an extreme case of motion blur. Well that's the same sort of affect i am getting with ALL motion only not quite as bad as that scene

Maybe its just the PAL version of the AE900 that dose this? I have the PAL version. Not the NTSC one like most of you guys would have.

Any other ideas as to what i can do?

Thanks guys,
Tim.Are all of your sources also PAL (DVD player, etc.)? There is one other possibility. On page 45 of the manual, "Adjusting the picture", there is a control called "Cinema Reality" (about 2/3 of the way down the "Picture" menu). This is turned ON by default (at least for US versions). You may need to change this control setting (at least try it and see what it does). This is a "cadence" control, and effects the decoding of 24fps/30fps processing. If that doesn't solve the problem, you need to contact your dealer or Panasonic to see if you can get the problem fixed (you should not be seeing motion blur to the degree you describe).

I used to turn on closed captioning on my "display device". Prior to my Projector, it was a Toshiba TW40x81 rear proj set. It was in the controls that I enabled the "display" of the closed captioning signal sent from the input devices.

so I figured there must be some switch on the projector controls?

The Toshiba RP set has a built in tuner which is part of CC. Your projector has no tuner and therefore no CC.

Are all of your sources also PAL (DVD player, etc.)? There is one other possibility. On page 45 of the manual, "Adjusting the picture", there is a control called "Cinema Reality" (about 2/3 of the way down the "Picture" menu). This is turned ON by default (at least for US versions). You may need to change this control setting (at least try it and see what it does). This is a "cadence" control, and effects the decoding of 24fps/30fps processing. If that doesn't solve the problem, you need to contact your dealer or Panasonic to see if you can get the problem fixed (you should not be seeing motion blur to the degree you describe).

Yes all of my sources are PAL. I live in Australia so that is the standard here.

And yeah i have tried that "Cinema Reality" thing both on and off with no difference what so ever.

The motion blur is not really all that extreme or anything but i think i am just rather sensitive to it or something. That plus the big picture makes it more obvious. I am starting to think that its normal and its just me :confused: God i hope not, lol.

Like with an Xbox 360 game running in 720P. If i load up a first person shooter game and just stand the character in one spot and spin round quickly while watching the horizon i can see mountains and trees blur across the screen. Depending on how fast you make them move they can grow a 1" to 2" wide ghost image of themselves next to them :eek: But that might be normal? I don't know because i have never had a screen this big before. It might just do it with all screens only i have never noticed it :confused:

Could it be the component input side of the projector maybe? Might have a slower refresh rate or something compared to the HDMI input? :confused: Just a thought?

A few days ago, I started noticing the occasional "flicker"on my AE900, where the image would get perceptibly dimmer. Over the last few days, it's gotten worse, to the point where now the dimness is pretty much standard, and it will occasionally brighten for a few seconds.

I haven't changed any settings or anything, so I'm assuming that my bulb's about to go? I've had it since December, and there are 1,292 hours on it. Seems a little low since I've been running it on low power and high fan from the beginning, but what do I know.

Anyway, am I screwed? Is it new bulb time? Or is this something that I can fix?

Thanks.


Ive been experiencing the same thing since yesterday. I have 380 hours on my bulb and use low power and low fan.

Ive been experiencing the same thing since yesterday. I have 380 hours on my bulb and use low power and low fan.
Well then, you should try the same thing that they recommended for me. I'm about 3 hours in to the recommended 8, and as far as I can tell, the problem has gone away.

I'm still going to keep running it in high power mode for a while before I switch back to low power, but it looks like it may have done the trick.

Of course, now that I've said that, I'm sure I've jinxed it...

In the Ae900 manual it says use low fan unless at high altitudes.I use high power lamp and high fan.I just like the colors better at high power.If the bulbs go out quicker so be it.Iwant the best pic possible.BUDDA

i just got my Ae900 last Monday...boy am i blown away!...this thing rocks...i cant imagine anything getting better (except for a bit more sharpness) but for the price..this thing blows.

Im just getting ready to mail my rebate....i have the UPC sticker from the box...but the rebate form is asking for the Serial Number. Does anybody know if the the Serial # is the one that starts with 2 Letters, 7 Numbers and another Letter? (SCxxxxxxxR)? i have mine already mounted and couldnt check the actual unit...Thanks. For the BB Rental card...is that a limit of 1 per rental?

In the Ae900 manual it says use low fan unless at high altitudes.I use high power lamp and high fan.I just like the colors better at high power.If the bulbs go out quicker so be it.Iwant the best pic possible.BUDDA


Gosh you know what, I do have the mack bulb replacement warranty so I might as well go high power.

I was wondering though. If I go high power do I need to set the fan speed to high as well?

For projection distance, use the projection calculator here (all the sliders are adjustable and will let you find the right combination). It also lets you switch between English and Metric units. You can go as small as a 92" (234 cm) diagonal screen and up (maximum size is limited by the AE900 brightness and your room size). A 106" (269 cm) diagonal screen would be real nice (it's what I have).

Any cable connections are not difficult (I don't really understand the reason behind that question). The component connections (a 3 cable connection) is the least quality connection recommended. Composite and S-Video are available, but are much lower in picture quallity. The other acceptable choices are PC (equivalent to component, but needs only 1 cable) and HDMI (all digital, also 1 cable). What you use will depend on what you want to connect. If you have more than one source (Xbox and DVD player and TV tuner), you will want to use more than one connection. You will have to decide which, and that will depend on what outputs they have available. I would recommend that you download the manual from the Panasonic web site. It will answer a lot of your questions.

Any natural light in the room will kill the black levels (it will "wash out" the image). If the light falls on the screen, it's even worse. The brighter the room the worse it is. This is the penalty you pay for a nice big image (it's true for any front projector) - it requires a dark room. Some light is not too bad, but in full sunlight it will be unwatchable. You don't have "natural light" in a movie theater, for example. I can watch my PJ, in the evening, before the sun goes down, but the windows in my room face to the North and East -- if it's too bright outside, I can close my heavy drapes which cuts out a lot of the light. The picture quality improves tremendously when it gets dark outside.




Thanks for the advice.

With regard to the cabling it was a case of the fact i was tired and didnt phrase my queries well enough. Its more to do with regards to length and setup i mean ideally i want computer and 360 underneath where my screen will be and have the projector (obviously) metres behind that location. Now the thing i have noticed is that the default cables with the 360 (the component one in particular) is quite short so is it possible to extend component cables? I mean how long can they be before there is a noticeable loss in quality?

I know there is hdmi but as far as i am aware there isnt a HDMI cable compatible with the 360? and again i dont know how far those can stretch either!

Anyway thanks again i am off to find that manual :)

Add me to the list of howling irises, and mine is quite loud. On a completely white image, it is noticable from 10' away with the sound pretty loud. It was like this straight out of the box :( Guess I'll have to send it for repair :(

EDIT:
shipped off to Heartland today for repair :( /sniff

I have just bought an AE900 and installed it last night. I have a question about greyscale levels using a DVI to HDMI adapter.

I have an Nvidia 6600PCIe card, Nvidia Forceware 84.21 drivers, Windows XP Pro, and Theatertek 2.3.

With my previous AE3000 on a VGA connection to the same hardware I left Theatertek's video controls for brightness and contrast at the default setting of zero and needed to make small adjustments to the AE300s controls to get black 16 and white 235 set right.

On the AE900 with DVI I don't have enough range on the projector controls, and so left them at zero and adjusted in Theatertek.

I found I needed brightness at about 20 and contrast at about -18 to get the levels near right.

This seems a large adjustment. Is this correct, or am I missing something?

Hi folks,
Got my AE900U today. Just a quick question, is there any significant PQ difference when using VGA as opposed to DVI/HDMI for my HTPC? Just wondering if I need to buy a monoprice hdmi switcher.

Hey Everyone,

I'm new here so take it easy on me, but I'm looking at finally jumping in and setting up a HT in my basement. I'm looking at buying the AE900U, but I'm wondering if I need anything else special with this. After reading through many different threads about home theaters every once in a while I read something about special lenses for projectors. Does this apply to the AE900u or not?
One other thing. The HT i'm going to build is a dedicated 'area', not a stand alone room. It'll be open to the other finished areas of my basement (i.e. bar & poker table area). I'm thinking of hanging my future AE900U 13-14 feet from the wall I'm going to project onto. The question is, do you think the AE900U will be bright enough for my application? The room (in theory)will be light controlled, but there will probably be some ambient light in the back ground.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Everyone,

I'm new here so take it easy on me, but I'm looking at finally jumping in and setting up a HT in my basement. I'm looking at buying the AE900U, but I'm wondering if I need anything else special with this. After reading through many different threads about home theaters every once in a while I read something about special lenses for projectors. Does this apply to the AE900u or not?
One other thing. The HT i'm going to build is a dedicated 'area', not a stand alone room. It'll be open to the other finished areas of my basement (i.e. bar & poker table area). I'm thinking of hanging my future AE900U 13-14 feet from the wall I'm going to project onto. The question is, do you think the AE900U will be bright enough for my application? The room (in theory)will be light controlled, but there will probably be some ambient light in the back ground.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Johnny...welcome to the forums. The AE900 does quite well with some ambient light. Just get a gray type screen that will give you some ambient light control and will help with black levels. I can run mine with a good amount of light and the picture still pops. Just make sure not to position the lights close to the screen. As long as they are behind you in the bar area and than have some wall sconces you will be fine. The special lenses are not necessary for most. These are for some who want a dedicated 2.35/1 screen for pure cinemascope movie watching. Otherwise you will have black bars on top and bottom of your normal 16/9 screen, but they are not distracting. Plus many DVD's and also HDTV are 16/9 (1.78/1). The other thing you will see some 900u owners talk about is a filter like the 81 series that some buy to help with black level. Some prefer it, some do not. I happen to think with the auto iris feature the 900u looks great without it. I have not seen one with a filter to compar though. If you want to run it with some ambient light though in a non dedicated room I would not get one as it may not be bright enough. The only thing you will need in addition to this great PJ is a mount for the ceiling or a shelf if you choose to shelf mount it, and a screen (or at lease a wall you can paint with one of the DIY paint formulas or Screen Goo.

I have just bought an AE900 and installed it last night. I have a question about greyscale levels using a DVI to HDMI adapter.

I have an Nvidia 6600PCIe card, Nvidia Forceware 84.21 drivers, Windows XP Pro, and Theatertek 2.3.

With my previous AE3000 on a VGA connection to the same hardware I left Theatertek's video controls for brightness and contrast at the default setting of zero and needed to make small adjustments to the AE300s controls to get black 16 and white 235 set right.

On the AE900 with DVI I don't have enough range on the projector controls, and so left them at zero and adjusted in Theatertek.

I found I needed brightness at about 20 and contrast at about -18 to get the levels near right.

This seems a large adjustment. Is this correct, or am I missing something?

This does sound excessive. I've read that more recent NVidia drivers remap Video Levels to PC Levels - which might be the source of your issues. The HTPC forum on AVS would be a good source for insight. I've not explored it myself so I cannot advise. I do believe there is a workaround, should this be causing problems. (I realize you indicated your setup on the AE300 did not do this, so it certainly does sound like the pj - unless you've changed drivers or upgraded TT recently). It is surprising that it would be out of range. Have you tried another media player to confirm that it is not the card?

What are you using as a calibration source?

btw "white" is 235. :p
ted

Ok i just tried going direct from DVD player to the AE900. Still have motion blur :mad:

From all that you have written, it does sound that part of the problem may indeed be you. I suffer from the same problem, and I know how frustrating it can be. I see motion blur in movie theaters, and this is one of the reasons I've stopped going to them.

However, it may not be all you. I've been told that motion blur sometime occurs when the video processor cannot keep up with the changes in the video frames. Panning causes more changes than most other situations, so it makes the blurring most obvious. It may be that the Panny has a problem scaling from PAL resolutions to its native resolution (just guessing) . Much of the problem may be solved by getting a good external scaler. Unfortunately, good scalers can cost as much as the Panny - or more. It would be an interesting test if you could get the NTSC version of 'Fast and Furious' to play on your system and see if it made a difference.

Could anyone tell me what these settings actually do. I mean increasing the value from say 68 to 75 actually does what physically. Is more better, meaning can I max them out or will that thow things off or ruin it. Is there a tradeoff to increasing them too high? I do notice that I had flicker on the green channel and it was set at 68 so I bumped it to 71 and can't really notice it, but I still have strange flicking going on.

Also what do you do to get rid of VB. Does increasing the flicker numbers increas VB as well. Thanks for anyone who knows all these settings.

Hi Johnny...welcome to the forums. The AE900 does quite well with some ambient light. Just get a gray type screen that will give you some ambient light control and will help with black levels. I can run mine with a good amount of light and the picture still pops. Just make sure not to position the lights close to the screen. As long as they are behind you in the bar area and than have some wall sconces you will be fine. The special lenses are not necessary for most. These are for some who want a dedicated 2.35/1 screen for pure cinemascope movie watching. Otherwise you will have black bars on top and bottom of your normal 16/9 screen, but they are not distracting. Plus many DVD's and also HDTV are 16/9 (1.78/1). The other thing you will see some 900u owners talk about is a filter like the 81 series that some buy to help with black level. Some prefer it, some do not. I happen to think with the auto iris feature the 900u looks great without it. I have not seen one with a filter to compar though. If you want to run it with some ambient light though in a non dedicated room I would not get one as it may not be bright enough. The only thing you will need in addition to this great PJ is a mount for the ceiling or a shelf if you choose to shelf mount it, and a screen (or at lease a wall you can paint with one of the DIY paint formulas or Screen Goo.

Jon,

Thanks for all the good info. Is there a ceiling mount you would recommend for the AE900u? I haven't decided if I'm going to do this or a shelf, but it'd be nice to know what's good so I can compare. I'm trying to keep this project reasonable since finishing the basement itself is going to be expensive......full bath, some tile (heated) for flooring and carpeting in other areas and building a bar (phase 2).
Sounds like I'll have to start a thread when I start.....

Thanks again.

Quick novice question Re: AE900-

Will the AE900 display 4:3 content fairly well? I was going to get an electric screen so I could adjust screen height for the 16:9, but I was reading something that gave me some cocerns re: 4:3 content on 16:9 projectors.

Thanks in advance.

-J

Jon,

Thanks for all the good info. Is there a ceiling mount you would recommend for the AE900u? I haven't decided if I'm going to do this or a shelf, but it'd be nice to know what's good so I can compare. I'm trying to keep this project reasonable since finishing the basement itself is going to be expensive......full bath, some tile (heated) for flooring and carpeting in other areas and building a bar (phase 2).
Sounds like I'll have to start a thread when I start.....

Thanks again.

I got mine on e- bay from mountdirect. They are only $29 and come in black or white. Sure there are better ones out there, but for the money I think it works quite well. You can find it under universal projector mounts. My PJ does move a bit from side to side if I am adjusting the focus or zoom, but once it's set you don't have to touch it anymore so it's not an issue. For a better one you have to spend around $100. I did not have a truss over the ceiling where I mounted it but I used 4 50 lb. drywall anchors so it is very secure.

Hi folks,
Got my AE900U today. Just a quick question, is there any significant PQ difference when using VGA as opposed to DVI/HDMI for my HTPC? Just wondering if I need to buy a monoprice hdmi switcher.

I was about to post that exact question. I love the Panny for SD DVD (using Component), but am eager to see what it does with an HD signal - I dont have digital cable or HD DVD/Bluray. I figured if I download some 720p trailers from Apple (I have a Dual 1.42 G4), I could get a taste of native HD. I set up a 720x1280 resolution and am running DVI out to VGA in. Would DVI to HDMI be a big difference in quality? And is my HD testing method wrong in the first place?
Many Thanks, DP

Quick novice question Re: AE900-

Will the AE900 display 4:3 content fairly well? I was going to get an electric screen so I could adjust screen height for the 16:9, but I was reading something that gave me some cocerns re: 4:3 content on 16:9 projectors.

Thanks in advance.

-J

If you've a 16:9 display you should utilize a 16:9 screen (unless you plan for Constant Height 2.35). 4:3 is displayed as a 4:3 window within that 16:9 area with black bars on either side (as it should be). This is assuming you do not use a stretch mode, in which case us OAR types will mock and ridicule you. :p

It works just like a normal 16:9 HDTV - just play, you will get it. (See ASPECT in your users manual). If you do not already have a screen find a blank space on a free wall.

I'm curious what you were reading that was of concern.

ted

Is anyone having problems with motion blur with this projector?

I have got some really bad motion blur that is unwatchable. Could it be my DVD player? ( Pioneer DV-C503). Or is it more to do with the LCD technology in the projector?



I haven't been following the thrust of this sub thread so forgive my intrusion.

Have you considered that motion blur can be source related, i.e. poorly encoded MPEG2? This is readily more noticeable at the screen sizes we utilize in FP.

To provide you an example: The first season of ANGEL reminds me of my youth (I watch it regularily ;) ) By the time the third season was released they had worked out their issues and I no longer feel stoned.

The rise time with these panels should be fast enough for the vast majority of properly encoded source. So I ask: Does this occur for source originally shot on 30 fps video (not 24 fps)? Do you have cable TV linked into your pj and do video (not film) sources create the same issues?

ted

Here is just another Rebate status update for anyone interested:

I called the Rebate Inquiry line: 866-795-3383 today (7/7/06)

They received my rebate request on 5/17/06

Stated that the rebate check and BB gift card would be mailed out my way in 2-3 weeks

I too have the "Iris howling" issue on my Panny. However, it almost entirely only happens when I'm using my HTPC (white web page backgrounds) and I have yet to notice it while watching DIRECTV/HD-DVD/XBOX. I normally turn it off (IRIS) when using it for HTPC purposes, but sometimes I simply forget or maybe I am just too lazy :)

I don't have a purchased extended warranty or anything like that on it...is this something that would be covered under the original manufacturer warranty? Just curious, both for myself and anyone else out there experiencing these issues...

[QUOTE=mikethewxguy]Here is just another Rebate status update for anyone interested:

I called the Rebate Inquiry line: 866-795-3383 today (7/7/06)

They received my rebate request on 5/17/06

Stated that the rebate check owards buying one with the rebate already removed from the price...that's just ridiculous! :mad:

Add me to the list of new Panny owners. I've finished 99% of my theater & the carpet was installed yesterday.

I was planning on waiting a month or two before I bought my pj, but I just couldn't help myself! By the time I was done, my credit card was smokin'. To go along with my new pj, I ordered a 110" carada BW screen, an oppo 971 DVD player, a new HD Tivo, a peerless ceiling mount, and an avia disk.

Now all I have to do is wait.

I have solved it... It was an known Nvidia driver issue causing video levels to be mapped to PC levels over DVI. The AE300 was running via VGA and didn't suffer it. I applied the registry patches discussed in the HTPC forum and it now maps correctly over DVI. My Theatertek and AE900 video controls are now set close to defaults.

I'm using a burnt DVD with calibration options for both black and white levels downloaded from one of the forum threads here somewhere. Can't remember where, but its a simple and accurate tool for this.

I won't get into the below black or peak white debate again. :o


This does sound excessive. I've read that more recent NVidia drivers remap Video Levels to PC Levels - which might be the source of your issues. The HTPC forum on AVS would be a good source for insight. I've not explored it myself so I cannot advise. I do believe there is a workaround, should this be causing problems. (I realize you indicated your setup on the AE300 did not do this, so it certainly does sound like the pj - unless you've changed drivers or upgraded TT recently). It is surprising that it would be out of range. Have you tried another media player to confirm that it is not the card?

What are you using as a calibration source?

btw "white" is 235. :p
ted

I haven't been following the thrust of this sub thread so forgive my intrusion.

Have you considered that motion blur can be source related, i.e. poorly encoded MPEG2? This is readily more noticeable at the screen sizes we utilize in FP.

To provide you an example: The first season of ANGEL reminds me of my youth (I watch it regularly ) By the time the third season was released they had worked out their issues and I no longer feel stoned.

The rise time with these panels should be fast enough for the vast majority of properly encoded source. So I ask: Does this occur for source originally shot on 30 fps video (not 24 fps)? Do you have cable TV linked into your pj and do video (not film) sources create the same issues?

ted

Yeah i have thought about that but haven't anything to try it out. I have tried my Xbox 360 and that did the same thing but that could also just be the game i was using.

I have tried many different DVD's i have and all are about the same. I think its either the 900's response time or its the actual DVD's themselves.

Dose anyone know the response time of the AE900?

Now i have been seeing this motion blur thing i can see it in everything i look at now. Even small CRT TV's. But it is worse the bigger the screen gets sadly.

One last question. If the AE900 response time is good then is there anything i can use to smooth out the DVD's picture and make motion appear smoother?

New, better DVD player?
Scalier? ( cant really afford one anyway)
HDMI cable?
Anything i don't know about?

Thanks guys ;)
Tim.

Could anyone tell me what these settings actually do. I mean increasing the value from say 68 to 75 actually does what physically. Is more better, meaning can I max them out or will that thow things off or ruin it. Is there a tradeoff to increasing them too high? I do notice that I had flicker on the green channel and it was set at 68 so I bumped it to 71 and can't really notice it, but I still have strange flicking going on.

Also what do you do to get rid of VB. Does increasing the flicker numbers increas VB as well. Thanks for anyone who knows all these settings.

I think the best thing to do with flicker is move it up until you see the flicker, then down until you see the flicker, and then put it right between the 2.

Use panel adjust the get rid of VB. Adjust each color until you see the least VB for the color. For my projector, I turned green panel all the way up, blue all the way down, and I think red all the way down too.

I still have a little VB, but less noticeable.

Hi folks,
Got my AE900U today. Just a quick question, is there any significant PQ difference when using VGA as opposed to DVI/HDMI for my HTPC? Just wondering if I need to buy a monoprice hdmi switcher.

There was some color difference on mine between HDMI and component, though I wouldnt say component was worse, just different. I got the monoprice manual switcher, works well. But I only have to switch it once or twice a week, so didn't go for auto switcher. Auto switcher not only costs more, it means 1 more power cord.

This is a bummer. I just went over 178 hours and I have started to hear the iris 'howling' noise. It comes and goes just like everyone else described, so this is the second projector going back to costco. The first went back for lcd panels being out of alignment.

Dave


How can you tell if the panels are out of alignnment? I have used panel adjust to get rid of most VB, but there is still some VB on the green panel. It gets better the higher the setting, but the setting stops at 17.

I've read another post of a guy who returned 2 that had VB, but they weren't better and 1 was even worse. So I'm afraid to return it, which could be a hassle and might end up worse.

I have a question about the remote. Is there a quick way that I am missing to switch devices on the remote, without having to press "source" and move the cursor? It would be great if there was some way to have one button switch to DVD, or have a button which cycles through.

J

I think the best thing to do with flicker is move it up until you see the flicker, then down until you see the flicker, and then put it right between the 2.

Use panel adjust the get rid of VB. Adjust each color until you see the least VB for the color. For my projector, I turned green panel all the way up, blue all the way down, and I think red all the way down too.

I still have a little VB, but less noticeable.

Do you know what those settings actually do? I will try it out.

I am now using high lamp and turned my iris off. I don't like the way the dynamic iris looks. Looks more natural when fast moving light and dark scenes are playing. I have the 3 year bulb replacement warranty so I figured it won't hurt.

I also have a graywolf screen and using 81c filter at the moment. Will probably try my 81ef later.

One last question. If the AE900 response time is good then is there anything i can use to smooth out the DVD's picture and make motion appear smoother?

New, better DVD player?
Scalier? ( cant really afford one anyway)
HDMI cable?
Anything i don't know about?

Thanks guys ;)
Tim.

I can't locate a source but I believe I've read that D5 panel respond (rise / fall) in the 12 ms range which should be enough unless you are unusually sensitive.

If it is Source/Scaler related you might solve it with a new player. Since you mention HDMI - what transport are you using? An upscaling player over DVI/HDMI at 720p *will* bypass the Panasonic's internal scaler. If you can purchase a unit with a refund guarantee it is certainly worth a shot. An HDMI cable in itself offers nothing with regards to your issue. HDMI is digital - it does not suffer from the issues of Analog transport methods.

Have you tried playback from a PC though vidcards can have their own issues.
Is NR OFF? Have you played with the SHARPEN control?

You also did not answer my questions with regards to original 30fps VIDEO source - not counting the XBOX here.

Ultimately you might be a sensitive guy. ;)

ted

I have solved it... It was an known Nvidia driver issue causing video levels to be mapped to PC levels over DVI. The AE300 was running via VGA and didn't suffer it. I applied the registry patches discussed in the HTPC forum and it now maps correctly over DVI. My Theatertek and AE900 video controls are now set close to defaults.



So my suspicions had some merit.
It is one of the reasons I have yet to upgrade the drivers for my 6600GT since it is only used for DVD playback.

As to the black level thing. I'm a VIDEO guy and believe it or not we *do* differentiate between Studio black and PC black. With new PC based systems we quite often deal with issues created by many PC people not realizing that the reference points *are* different for both systems.

ted

There was some color difference on mine between HDMI and component, though I wouldnt say component was worse, just different.

The component input expects rec. 601 colourspace, the HDMI being an HD transport is expecting rec. 709. There is different colour weightings between the two. SD colourspace on a HD input processes the video differently. Unfortutnately most Pj's and DVD players do not address this well.

ted

I picked up an AE900 from a dealer in Asia after reading all hte rave reviews of the projector. I happen to have an AE700 installed at my apartment in Paris and have been very happy with its performance, so I didn't think twice about buying the AE900.

Unfortunately, after setting it up and playing a few DVDs (Armageddon, Bug's Life, Godzilla) I found a few very distracting image artifacts that wouldn't go away after the usual brightness/contrast/gamma tweaks.

Specifically:
1) Ghosting around very high-contrast areas of the image, such as starting or end credits in Armageddon
2) "Dancing" pixels around areas of movement in the image, most noticeable in a Bug's Life and its areas of solid, smooth background color
3) No "screen door" black lines, it's true, but the image seemed to display even more pixellation than usual nevertheless.
4) I noticed that unlike with the AE700, the "Dynamic" image mode was unusable in a dark room. The AE900s higher contrast and brightness seemed to make the image extremely noisy and hard-edged. Seemed the setting would be usable only under fairly bright conditions.

I returned the unit and am now shopping around for a different devide, considering the Optoma HD72, Sanyo Z4, etc. But reading all the incredibly positive reviews from end-users and professionals, I wonder if I didn't get a "bad" AE900 somehow.

Now here's an important piece of additional info: I bought the unit from a dealer in Asia who is well reputed, but said he couldn't offer a warranty on it. I wonder if I got a bogus unit of some sort-- not an outright phony, since that'd be hard to build for the price, but somehow something that comes out of some Panasonic back door of rejected units.

Bottom line: Has anyone else seen these kinds of issues with the AE900? Wondering if I should just try again with a warranteed unit from a dealer in the US (where I'm visiting currently).

It sure sounds like you got a reject/returned unit (gray market unit). I haven't seen anyone say that they saw what you did (AE900 owners need to verify). I wouldn't by any PJ from anyone except an authorized dealer, and with a factory warranty.