I am using a Panasonic XP-50 via component to my AE900. I have been noticing a problem that seems related to the black level setting on the XP-50. I currently have it set to the "lighter" option which seems to result in a flashing on the screen. I thought this might be related to dynamic iris. I turned off DI and it had no effect. If I change the XP-50 to the "darker" option on black level then the flashing ceases, but the blacks are completely crushed. When I bring up the THX optimizer Brightness Setup test, I cannot see the "THX" at all no matter how I adjust the brightness. I am wondering if this is a problem with my DVD player or potentially with the AE900. What do you think?

Put the setting on the XP-50 back to the "lighter" mode. This would usually be labeled "normal" or "video". Then readjust brightness/contrast.

The flashing is probably the bulb. Put the lamp setting on High for awhile and see if it goes away.

Yes that is correct. The Yamaha only has one HDMI out. The Yamaha does audio/video switching depending on what input I select and sends that source out the HDMI output. It is all set to do it automatically by default so there is really nothing to configure. It's pretty easy and will make more sense when you look at the back of the receiver.

Thanks Jon! :)

I was under the impression that both Dolby HD and DTS HD (the new modes) ONLY work via HDMI 1.3. Anything you'd get over a TosLink or Coax digital connection will be downmixed to DD 5.1 or the DTS equivalent. You won't be getting the uncompressed, higher bitrate surround track.
Maybe we need to put this another way.

1) Analog has all the sound of the uncompressed tracks. You can decode in the player (since new firmware has allowed this) and use the 6 channel analog outputs to your receiver.

2) PCM is another, more generic, form of uncompressed audio. It is not new, your CDs have had it for decades. You can decode from Dolby TrueHD to LPCM, which is then output via HDMI.

Neither case uses SPDIF connections, that is true. And you are not wrong about needing 1.3 to natively transfer these new codecs. But there are other methods for now. Either one you use, you are not losing any bits. (assuming the converters do their job well)

Now, 2 issues. I don't think any of the 1st gen players in either format have good compatibility with DTS-HD. But no disc has this yet, so it shouldn't necessarily bother you for now. And, the 2 rear channels will be lost since the current players only do this in 5.1, but none of the current discs have 7.1, anyway. So, that's a wash.

I searched this thread, but could not find this issue...

I am running a dvd player and a HD cable box through my receiver to my ae900 via component cables. When I view my cable box, the image is slightly larger (maybe a 1/2" on every side?). It just makes it impossible to adjust the screen size when 1 source is larger than the other. Any ideas?

I searched this thread, but could not find this issue...

I am running a dvd player and a HD cable box through my receiver to my ae900 via component cables. When I view my cable box, the image is slightly larger (maybe a 1/2" on every side?). It just makes it impossible to adjust the screen size when 1 source is larger than the other. Any ideas?I just got my 900 and noticed the "overscan" defaults to "on". I wonder if that might be causing your problem.

Looks as though the rebate has been extended to October 31.
So, those on the fence may remain there.

I just got my 900 and noticed the "overscan" defaults to "on". I wonder if that might be causing your problem.

My understanding is that overscan just crops the picture - it shouldn't actually effect the screen size...

My understanding is that overscan just crops the picture - it shouldn't actually effect the screen size...

:confused:

Are you saying that changing inputs is actually changing the area that's lighted on your screen? I think you better check that again.

That is exactly what I am saying...When you view a DVD, the projected image fits perfectly on my 106" graywolf. When you switch the input to HD Cable, I have about 1/2" projected onto the black surrounding my screen. Both sources are connected via component cables to my Denon Receiver and from the receiver to the projector using component cables. Seems very odd to me as well. Could it have something to do with my dvd player being 480P and my cable box being either 720P or 1080i? Just guessing at this point...

Zoom the picture in slightly so that you can see the actual border on the screen and double check this. AFAIK, the only thing that can effect the actual lighted picture area is the manual zoom on the lens.

Apologies if this is covered somewhere in this thread. It's a little long. :D

I'm feeding a 720p50 signal to my AE900, but it shows 720p60. Does that mean that the panel refresh rate is locked to 60Hz?

I believe others have tried feeding 720p24/50/75/etc. and gotten the same 720p60. What does it mean?

Apologies if this is covered somewhere in this thread. It's a little long. :D

I'm feeding a 720p50 signal to my AE900, but it shows 720p60. Does that mean that the panel refresh rate is locked to 60Hz?

I believe others have tried feeding 720p24/50/75/etc. and gotten the same 720p60. What does it mean?

Mine shows 720p60 whether I feed 720p60 or 720p72. I'd assume that if your PAL sources look good then you are probably getting 720p50.

I know mine is doing 720p72 as if I watch a video source (30fps) the judder is terrible.

Thanks cpcat. I'm getting a good picture, but I swear I'm getting judder when I watch SW:ANH Death Star attack scene (PAL). Maybe there is a problem with that scene.

The odd thing is that I've read that a display of 720p50 is possible with a directly connected PAL DVD player (I'm using a Crystalio VPS2300 VP).

My friend is thinking of going with the AE900, but he would have to install it from a vaulted ceiling. What is the longest exstention pole you can get for a ceiling mount?

~Josh

Sorted. Turns out the 60Hz timings from my Crystalio didn't migrate particularly well to 50Hz and the AE900 defaulted to 720p60.

Timings for 1280x720 for the AE900:

HFP=452
HSW=40
HBP=212
VFP=3
VSW=5
VBP=22
Hz=50 (or 50.12 for the Crystalio)

Works a treat! AE900 now displays 720p50. Also, it will quite happily switch between 720p50 and 720p60 when I change from a PAL to NTSC source.

The ceiling mount I got (< $100) can be extended by normal pipe from a hardware store. I didn't need to extend mine as my ceiling is only 10 feet high. I fashioned a wooden block to match the slope of ceiling to keep the base of the mount level.

Hello All,

My panny 900 is a little over a year old!!! The hours read 1805 but now there

a red blinking light on the hour read out. Does this mean it's time to change

the bulb. Or something more serious thanks in advance for your help.


PannyOwner

Hello All........................Does this mean it's time to change the bulb. Or something more serious thanks in advance for your help.

Yes if you have been running the AE900 in High Lamp mode (2000hr Lamp life). No if you have been running it in Low Lamp (5000-6000 hour Lamp Life).

Mine has been in Low lamp from Day 1 and my readout started flashing red at 1800 too. Still flashing now at 3800hrs.

Yes if you have been running the AE900 in High Lamp mode (2000hr Lamp life). No if you have been running it in Low Lamp (5000-6000 hour Lamp Life).

Mine has been in Low lamp from Day 1 and my readout started flashing red at 1800 too. Still flashing now at 3800hrs.

3800 hours! Wow! Given that you've had your projector less than a year, that's over 10 hours per day ... every day! :) You are enjoying this toy aren't you! ;) ;) :D

3800 hours! Wow! Given that you've had your projector less than a year, that's over 10 hours per day ... every day! :) You are enjoying this toy aren't you! ;) ;) :D

Everytime I quote my hours in a thread about bulb life or bulb hours I always get this :D Same with my old AE100 and AE300. "You've got 9970 hours on a 2.5 year old AE300!! OMG" :D

Once again, I have to clarify that there are 6 people using it for an hour or two each a day. No point in turning it off in between. :D I am not a 700kg behemoth that requires a crane to get me out of the house!

POINT TAKEN LOL

Thanks for the info

I have about 500 hrs on my 900 and the pic menu seems to be gone. When using the pic button to toggle through cin 1, cin 2, cin 3, video, etc. a small menu for the picture mode used to appear in the upper right hand corner. Now nothing comes up when I toggle through the varrios pic modes. There is no mention of this in the manual and I have not been able to get it back. Any thoughts? Thanks.

I have about 500 hrs on my 900 and the pic menu seems to be gone. When using the pic button to toggle through cin 1, cin 2, cin 3, video, etc. a small menu for the picture mode used to appear in the upper right hand corner. Now nothing comes up when I toggle through the varrios pic modes. There is no mention of this in the manual and I have not been able to get it back. Any thoughts? Thanks.

This is a setting in the menu system called OSD. It's set to OFF right now. Turn it back ON, and whoala :)

Thanks jberylec

Every once in a while when I turn on the projector the fan starts up but the bulb does not turn on. It stays like this for about 30 secs then kicks into high fan mode like a normal shutdown. When this happens I unplug it from the outlet for about 2 minutes then start it again and it will usually start up then. Sometimes I have to play with it a few more times unplugging etc to get it to come on. The bulb only has 230 hours on it and when it does come on there is nothing wrong with it at all. When problem occurs hte bulb light flashes red which indicates a problem with the lamp circuit. Has anyone else had a problem like this?

I had the same Issue with mine got replacement @ store I purchased from. If you don't have ability I suggest take it in for service.

I had the same problem, but before I had the chance to send it in for a repair, the problem disappeared. I've used the PJ about 800 hours since the magical healing... :)

Yo jberylec,
I know you and I became 900 owners at about the same time.

I hope yours is providing lots of enjoyment.

Mine died last week. At around 50 hours, bulb blew in the middle of a thursday ESPN game.

I was very pleased with its quality while I had it.

Costco is picking up the tab on the return. I have the new AX100 on the way from them now. (They didn't show the 900 available anymore).

I didn't wanna spend thee xtra money but I'm sure I'll be pleased with it.

Its really weird, it was ceiling mounted in open space from a MonkeyMan mount.

Oh well, just wanted to share the occurance. Your opinion of the 900 helped push me to that order and I'm glad I did.

After the bulb blew, I turned back on the refurb PJ406D from Viewsonic that I had gotten as a replacement for my broken 501.

It is a DLP and I can't believe how much worse it looks than the 900 did.

It looked better than my old 501. Then it hurt at first to start watching the 406D, knowing how much better pictures could be and how flat they now look.

If this 100 is what people say it is, I'll have to be thrilled.

One thing I'm afraid of, this occurence has put me at the front of the upgrade curve. I like to stay one step behind for cost savings on non premium models. Now, If I upgrade again in a couple years, I'm afraid that second tier at that time wont be good enough because of what my eyes will then be used to.

Every once in a while when I turn on the projector the fan starts up but the bulb does not turn on. It stays like this for about 30 secs then kicks into high fan mode like a normal shutdown. When this happens I unplug it from the outlet for about 2 minutes then start it again and it will usually start up then. Sometimes I have to play with it a few more times unplugging etc to get it to come on. The bulb only has 230 hours on it and when it does come on there is nothing wrong with it at all. When problem occurs hte bulb light flashes red which indicates a problem with the lamp circuit. Has anyone else had a problem like this?


I have this exact same problem. I have an outlet up in the ceiling that is wired to a switch and i have been turning power completly off to the unit after the cooldown and it has not happend since the. Mine started doing it around 230 hours. if i leave it in standby and try and turn it on it does this but if i take power away it will come back on. Hopefully it stays this way as i am passed 90 days for the lamp warrenty and i can't afford a new one right now :(

The start up problem will continue. Mine got to the point where it would take up to 10+ tries. I doubt any combo of switching the main power or unplugging it will work forever. I got mine replaced and no matter how I shut down or start up it comes on every time.

Dont kid yourself, get it repaced before your warranty is up.

The start up problem will continue. Mine got to the point where it would take up to 10+ tries. I doubt any combo of switching the main power or unplugging it will work forever. I got mine replaced and no matter how I shut down or start up it comes on every time.

Dont kid yourself, get it repaced before your warranty is up.

When you got yours replaced did you just get a new unit or did the do any kind of repair work on it and send it back to you? I am just curious to see if this is a unit problem or something related to bad bulbs. If its just a bulb i will wait it out, but if its a unit problem i will get it taken care of ASAP.

Why take a chance? Get 'er done. ;)

I can confirm that the 900u will not take a 1080p signal through VGA or Component after trying with the Xbox 360 for anyone who was wondering.

I can confirm that the 900u will not take a 1080p signal through VGA or Component after trying with the Xbox 360 for anyone who was wondering.

That's funny... when the latest 360 update unlocked the 1080p, we tried it too... no go ;)

First - thank any and all for help in choosing my pani 900 - it has been awesome so far, setup in January and with 1100 hours am already happy with bulb life, everything else is great. More on happiness below, meanwhile:

QUESTION:
I have an elderly living here and wanted to use subtitles on regular COMCAST (digital cable) and could not figure out how. When I calle COMCAST they told me that it had to be set on the TV - but since I don't have a TV and only a PJ they said it had to be set there - but I cannot find any reference in the manual. Anyone know anything about this, and if (as I suspetc) it is not a feature on the pani, if there is a work-around? Comcast also says that SOME boxes offer sub-title filter switching but they don't have one "in my area". Is this a catch 22??

Back to the PJ and a/v setup for anyone who cares about real workd "results". The PJ is basically fantastic - not a light cannon but enough to work well most of the time and so far only in low-lamp mode. I did have very poor standard TV performance which I assumed was just "normal" because of all the reviews, but a few weeks ago someone showed me how to check the output of the comcast box (by holding down "menu" when starting up the box I beleive) and I found that the HD was set to 1080i (I switched it to 720p and seemed better to me but could be subjective) and the non-HD was set to 480i. When I changed standard to 480p, the improvement on standard stations was HUGE, even noticable to my wife who does not seem see much of what I point out. Also, there was a super anoying crawling horizontal line that started at the bottom of most standard stations and crawled to the top then repeated itself continually seen mostlin in dark scenes, and from what I can tell this is now GONE!!!! WHHHOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Further, the PJ seems to better interpret the aspec ratio since I made those chances, and for some reason reading the "info" no longer requires me to change aspect ratios. Who knows....

SCREEN wise, I am not happy with my choice. Let me change that, my Dalight screen (matte I believe) is great on replay from anywhere and bright enough, but after months of consternation I chose a non-tensionsed screen (as the tensioned was almost $2,000 at best price and non-tensioned only around $800 for the electric which I got). The screen has already developed angled wavyness from each side down toward the bottom center that cause any movement scenes of static elements to ripple which is very anoying to me (no-one else seems to notice but I sure do!). I HIGHLY reccomend a fixed or tab-tensionsed screen to anyone wiht a question, even have thought of trading this in for a cheap tensioned screen, but not yet - overall it looks great (when retracted!), works awesome (electric scrolling), and does the job perfectly other than the ripples.

SURROUND SETUP: Pioneer 1015 is AWESOME, OPPO Upcoverter I love so much that now half my friends own one, SIB-CUB Focals with B/A Center work really well together. Use component switching and componenet for most everything accept the OPPO where I use the up-conver over HDMI which seems to provide a deeper richer picture though for some reason is not as bright.

Thats it for now - thanks again everyone.... and for your help on subtitles...

Anybody has a problem wi th a small section of the display going blurry or looking smudged?

Anybody has a problem wi th a small section of the display going blurry or looking smudged?

The obvious to check is finger prints or dust build up on the outside of the lens. The not so obvious, is the dust build up inside the PJ.

Have you been cleaning ur filter?

The obvious to check is finger prints or dust build up on the outside of the lens. The not so obvious, is the dust build up inside the PJ.

Have you been cleaning ur filter?


I think it's the latter. No - I've neglected the filter (forgot to tell you the truth). I just cleaned it before reading your post though. Peering into the lens in high light it does seem there are some particles behind the exterior lens.

Solution?

I think it's the latter. No - I've neglected the filter (forgot to tell you the truth). I just cleaned it before reading your post though. Peering into the lens in high light it does seem there are some particles behind the exterior lens.

Solution?

The particles you are seeing could very well be the pixels that make up your image. Maybe turn off the projector and use a flash light to look into the lens at an angle, those "particles" probably wont be there ;)

I think dust is more likely to be built up on the LCD panels :(
This projector doesn't have an easy way to clean those, unfortunetly.

The particles you are seeing could very well be the pixels that make up your image. Maybe turn off the projector and use a flash light to look into the lens at an angle, those "particles" probably wont be there ;)

I think dust is more likely to be built up on the LCD panels :(
This projector doesn't have an easy way to clean those, unfortunetly.


That sucks. What's it going to cost me to take it in for service?

driftinj. You may want to read this post.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=738942

I can confirm that the 900u will not take a 1080p signal through VGA or Component after trying with the Xbox 360 for anyone who was wondering.
The manual claims compatibility with 1080p24 over component or HDMI. Doesn't the 360 only output 1080p over VGA? What is the output frequency from the 360, 60Hz?

Might work with a different source.

deleted

The manual claims compatibility with 1080p24 over component or HDMI. Doesn't the 360 only output 1080p over VGA? What is the output frequency from the 360, 60Hz?

Might work with a different source.

No the 360 ouputs 1080p through Component or VGA neither work. Now it could be a timing issue, but it wont work with the 360 at least. Hopefully they release a HDMI cable sometime in the future.

driftinj. You may want to read this post.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=738942


Thanks ferbal. I did that procedure (removed the cover blew air in the holes by the LCD panels) and I still have the same problem. No change whatsoever

Can anyone tell me if you can play video games on projectors without the possibility of burn-in happening? I'm interested in getting a PS3, but would hate to mess up my Panny.

Thanks in advance!

This is an LCD projector. They are not subject to CRT burn-in. Nor are DLP or LCOS projectors.

How good is the AE900 with feed by S-Video from a Dish Network receiver? And even more, how much better is the picture with a Component feed from a Dish satellite receiver?

How good is the AE900 with feed by S-Video from a Dish Network receiver? And even more, how much better is the picture with a Component feed from a Dish satellite receiver?
I just got a subscription to Dish Network which includes 2 HDTV receivers, one for my bedroom and one for the living room where I got my panny. The HDMI input on panny already taken by my OPPO 971H so I set up the DishNetwork receiver via component inputs on panny. The picture is just outstanding, just beautifull.
Last sunday was first time I see my NFL games on it and it just made all my efforts and work of buying the panny building a screen etc etc worth it. The HDTV from Dish Network receiver via component and set at 1080i to go along with my custom made 146" diagonal screen and a 7.1 surrond sound set up, believe me, it makes even crappy games like last night's Monday Night Football Seahawks-Raiders worth watching! :D

Thanks capt.....that makes my mind up for me. With the rebate currently offered, I cannot pass up the lowered price on the panny 900.

How good is the AE900 with feed by S-Video from a Dish Network receiver? And even more, how much better is the picture with a Component feed from a Dish satellite receiver?

My non-videophile opinion on my AE900 driving a Dalite Video Spectra 106" screen from 13 feet:

SD satellite via either s-video or HDMI: Unwatchable
SD DVD via component: Pretty good
HD sat or OTA broadcast via HDMI: Excellent. The Seahawks-Raiders game on ESPN last night was amazing (the picture not Oakland's offense).

After having it up and running only a couple of months, it's obvious to me that a 720P projector driving a 106" screen begs for a HD signal. So much so that it will likely push me into a HD disc machine of some variety.

This is an LCD projector. They are not subject to CRT burn-in. Nor are DLP or LCOS projectors.
Spiky. If you read this treads:

LCD "burn-in"
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=650324

DLP “burn-in” (image retention)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=722334

maybe you change your mind. :) Fernando

My non-videophile opinion on my AE900 driving a Dalite Video Spectra 106" screen from 13 feet:

SD satellite via either s-video or HDMI: Unwatchable
SD DVD via component: Pretty good
HD sat or OTA broadcast via HDMI: Excellent. The Seahawks-Raiders game on ESPN last night was amazing (the picture not Oakland's offense).

After having it up and running only a couple of months, it's obvious to me that a 720P projector driving a 106" screen begs for a HD signal. So much so that it will likely push me into a HD disc machine of some variety.

Correct me if I am wrong, because I am just a noob, but at 13 feet, the projector calculator shows the diagonal at 67" for the AE900. So that means you are zooming twice the recommended diagonal...perhaps that is why your picture is terrible?

Correct me if I am wrong, because I am just a noob, but at 13 feet, the projector calculator shows the diagonal at 67" for the AE900. So that means you are zooming twice the recommended diagonal...perhaps that is why your picture is terrible?


I don't think so. That distance is right near the THX 'recommended' viewing distance (~1.5 x screen WIDTH ~ 1.3 x screen DIAGONAL), and there is "0" SDE from that distance. I'm not too far from the center of the calculator on the Visual Apex site for that matter, either.

I think de-interlaced NTSC broadcast signals just don't look very good on a 106" screen because the format was designed for 13 inch CRTs 60 years ago.

But if anyone has advice how I can get great pictures from broadcast/sat SD, I'm all ears. :)

I don't think so. That distance is right near the THX 'recommended' viewing distance (~1.5 x screen WIDTH ~ 1.3 x screen DIAGONAL), and there is "0" SDE from that distance. I'm not too far from the center of the calculator on the Visual Apex site for that matter, either.

I think de-interlaced NTSC broadcast signals just don't look very good on a 106" screen because the format was designed for 13 inch CRTs 60 years ago.

But if anyone has advice how I can get great pictures from broadcast/sat SD, I'm all ears. :)

So if I project from 14 feet onto an 80" diagonal I should get a pretty good pic with component?

I read in the reviews that the panny 900 has pretty well zero SDE no matter how close to the screen you are.

You picture should be VERY nice Kloseau. I am proyecting on a 146" diagonal from about 18 feet and it looks awesome, even on partial light.
I havent really done any tweaking to my Panny, only thing is I use Dynamic Iris, all else is pretty much as out of the box settings...
Heck, my Panny looks as good or even better than my Hitachi 43FWX20B 43", and that one is fully calibrated...
On another note, I just reached my first 100 hours on my Panny, so time to clean the dust filter :cool: I suspect I will be putting a lot more hours now with the Hi Def set up in living room, up till then I was using Panny for DVD movies only. It's ok, I also got the 3 year lamp warranty for $99 that Visual Apex was offering when I bought my unit, dont know if the still offering it :D

You picture should be VERY nice Kloseau. I am proyecting on a 146" diagonal from about 18 feet and it looks awesome, even on partial light.
I havent really done any tweaking to my Panny, only thing is I use Dynamic Iris, all else is pretty much as out of the box settings...
Heck, my Panny looks as good or even better than my Hitachi 43FWX20B 43", and that one is fully calibrated...
On another note, I just reached my first 100 hours on my Panny, so time to clean the dust filter :cool: I suspect I will be putting a lot more hours now with the Hi Def set up in living room, up till then I was using Panny for DVD movies only. It's ok, I also got the 3 year lamp warranty for $99 that Visual Apex was offering when I bought my unit, dont know if the still offering it :D


Haja: How is the picture difference between HD channels and regular channels on Dish? Are the regular channels still crisp and gorgeous through Component?

Haja: How is the picture difference between HD channels and regular channels on Dish? Are the regular channels still crisp and gorgeous through Component?
Well, how could I explain this... Let's put it this way, I used to be OK with the SD channels on my Hitachi 43", I suppose because I been used to it for years and had nothing better to compare it too. But now, even in this Hitachi TV I can't stand SD anymore :p , in other words, once you watch HDTV it really is a pain to even try watching SD. This difference is a LOT more emphasized on the huge screen I project on from Panny. I mean it looks decent, but is just dont bother watching any SD channels at all. I mean my locals come in HDTV from Dish Network, I got the Silver HD package which includes Discovery, Rave (awesome concerts here!), HGTV, ESPN HD (for Monday Night Football), and a buch of others.. so no more SD here.
I friend of mine who I suppose is not as descriminating of picture quality as I am, didn't seem to mind the SD channels (on the Panny) when I was showing him the set up, but was definetively impressed with the Hi Def.
So, in my opinion, the SD channels are "watchable" but thats it, and they definetively have no real place in this large projection screens. It is kind of like watching an old black and white tv show from the 50's in your plasma TV, just different times and new tech got to match each other...

Well I have no choice but to watch the SD channels as my Dish receiver is not HD and as of yet I will not be getting a HD receiver. The channels are pretty good on the business VT48, but lots of screen door, so I am sure it will be a HUGE improvement with the 900.

Well I have no choice but to watch the SD channels as my Dish receiver is not HD and as of yet I will not be getting a HD receiver. The channels are pretty good on the business VT48, but lots of screen door, so I am sure it will be a HUGE improvement with the 900.
You should be fine with SD on a 80" diagonal screen, remember mine is 146" so SD degrades nearly twice as much on account of stretching image so much to fill screen.
If I turn zoom lens on Panny to project an image of aproximately 80" I see a huge improvement on picture quality on SD channels, very watchable indeed.
in the mean time, both companies, DirecTV and Dish Network have pretty cool deals, heck, Dish Network let's ya have one free HDTV receiver and if you add a second one you only pay $6 a month lease fee on it (such as I do), you dont need to buy any of the equipment at all, so they really are making it easy, they want bussiness :cool:
You will love the Panny ;)

Look, below a couple pics, first one on HDTV, second on SD:
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1677/pannyscreenhdtvux1.jpg

And below on a SD channel:
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1143/pannyscreensdmt7.jpg

The pics are only so you get an idea, also notice that HD is on 16:9 aspect while SD is on 4:3.
Also the shots look even more blurry on account of motion of whats playing,hard to freeze it perfectly, but it is just so you get an idea.
The SD channels are not too bad, and I am sure will be lots better on a 80" diagonal
I still got a lot to work to do on my Living Room\Theater area. I will paint walls dark grey and also put black carpeting. I got blackout fabric to go with the theater drapes my wife making for us. I aready had couches upholstered on a black velvet type fabric. But picture looks good and bright even on partial ligh! ;)

Looks great! Nice setup! The only thing I am concerned about with the 900 is that Pannys seem to have a lot of technical problems like burning bulbs early and pixels dying.

Here's how the NEC VT48 looks on my screen with SD via S-Video (from the sat to the DVR to a video adapter (because I don't have a long enough cord yet) then to the projector). I am positive the Panny will look eons better. What I wonder is should I pay the $$ for the 900 or go for a cheaper projector like the H31, seeing as I don't have to have a big screen.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/klouseau/fz6/mash.jpg

Agred that covering that tile and painting those walls a flat darker color will be much more improvement than just about anything, no need to do black, dark reds, blue or greens do the trick just fine. instead of blackout material, which can be more expensive than regular curtains by itself try synthetic materials such as DuPonts' UltraSuede. I made my curtains out of it and they work perfectly in the brightest of days. i used a color called Lipstick (a cherry red) but Wine or burgundy are also available as well as all the other colors you could desire. Takes direct bright sunlight or a flashlight held directly against the back to see a faint red glow from the fabric. I picked mine up from a discount company called Boca Bargoon. Blackout curtains would've cost 4x more.

Kloseau
What I wonder is should I pay the $$ for the 900 or go for a cheaper projector like the H31, seeing as I don't have to have a big screen.

I got no experiance with the H31 and I love my Panny so my advise here would be absolutely biased toward the Panny :p , but I my advise would be if you can afford the Panny, go for it, it trully is a great deal for the money. It took me about 2 and a half months to get the $400 rebate from Panasonic, but I got it, and I am also still renting a load of dvd's on the blockbuster free rental card :D

Driver
instead of blackout material, which can be more expensive than regular curtains by itself try synthetic materials such as DuPonts' UltraSuede.
I got a great deal on the blackout fabric from this fabrics place called Joann's, the regular price for the "White budget blackout" is $5.99 and they had a 50% off for any online order so I paid $3.00 a yard for it! :D I think that was a great deal, heck I got a roll of it, I even got some spare to do some drapes for our master bedroom...
Txs for the idea on that Dupont stuff, I am going to check it out anyways, I might find some use for it anyhow.
On another note, last night we (wife, kids and even our chihuahuas) saw the animated film "Cars" , I know it is suppose to be a kids flick but I enjoyed the hell out of it, the animation is breathtaking and the surround track is among the best I heard this year! It looked just beautifull in the Panny :D
Again, txs for the ideas and advice, those are always welcome.

$3 a yard is what I paid for the UltraSuede at Boca. Bought enough to do 8 panels (width of the material at a 8 foot height). Cars was a good good movie.


And contrary to the previous report I've heard nothing about Panny's going through bulbs prematurely. My brothers AE700 and my AE900 are working fine with nearly 1000 hours apeice.

$3 a yard is what I paid for the UltraSuede at Boca. Bought enough to do 8 panels (width of the material at a 8 foot height). Cars was a good good movie.


And contrary to the previous report I've heard nothing about Panny's going through bulbs prematurely. My brothers AE700 and my AE900 are working fine with nearly 1000 hours apeice.
That sounds like a great deal on that fabric.
I did a google search for Boca Bargoon, got a couple of hits but couldn't find the Ultrasuede in any of them. Did you get the awesome deal at your local Boca store? or did you order online? I would apreciate a link to it if one is available. I am interested since I still havent bought the color part of the drapes, only the blackout and a that price ($3 a yard per 8' wide roll) sounds like a too good to refuse deal!
Txs

I bought it when they were shutting down the local store in Austin and combining it with the one in North Dallas/Plano. Their other stores (the first ones) are mainly in Florida. Bought it in person, their website sucked. bocabargoons.com has since been revised though. Their site shows a store in Hayward and another in Scottsdale. I'd call them. Let us know how it goes.

I am having a hard time with my gamma settings and brightness/contrast.

What are some of your settings?

I just can't get this thing to look as good as I know it can look. It's either too dark or totally washed out. When I set the "low gamma" too low, all the dark colors look black. When I set "low gamma" too high, the picture is too bland.

Where will I find the best AE900 Screen Calculator to establish my Throw Distance and my Image Offset for a new 16:9 / 2.35:1 ceiling mount install on the AE900?

Where will I find the best AE900 Screen Calculator to establish my Throw Distance and my Image Offset for a new 16:9 / 2.35:1 ceiling mount install on the AE900?
Try here (http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm)
then just enter manufacturer, model etc and there ya go

I'm having what appears to be vertical banding on very white scenes with my 900. It's brand new and looks great most of the time. In particular ridger racer 6 on the 360 has a very bright intro which shows banding badly.

Anybody else have this?

Hi finally finished my HT room and have just put up my pany 900e but having a few problems. Projecting onto a DIY BO 100" screen from approx 11 feet away, celing mounted.

1) Can't get the image square in the screen! I'm using a fair amount of lens shift, the screen is square, put up level. And the projector is level. projector seems square to the wall to. Can sort of get it a bit better using keystone and overscan but it's still not square! Help pls

2)using a xbox and xbmc to upconvert dvds via component, some dvds seem to give horizontal lines on some sceen changes, never noticed this before when watching it on the TV. what is it.

3)streaming HDTV samples from the net using MCE and my other xbox360 to the projector via component and the picture looks no where near as good as it does on the PC, is this because component?

Thanks

I'm having what appears to be vertical banding on very white scenes with my 900. It's brand new and looks great most of the time. In particular ridger racer 6 on the 360 has a very bright intro which shows banding badly.

Anybody else have this?

Does the VB go away after the PJ has warmed up (at least 1/2-hour)? If not, you'll want to go into the service menu and adjust the flicker. Just search on flicker tweak in this thread.

-Sean

...

2)using a xbox and xbmc to upconvert dvds via component, some dvds seem to give horizontal lines on some sceen changes, never noticed this before when watching it on the TV. what is it.

...



Do a search in this thread for "peekaboo scan lines". I get these too when I'm feeding the PJ 480i source material (SD or regular DVD) that has been upconverted to 1080i, usually between scene changes. The fix is to either upconvert to 720p or turn off the Cinema Reality processing.

-Sean

Just got the AE900 up with a Dalite 133" 16:9 screen and am having a problem with regular channels on Directv.

On the HD channels and on my DVD (oppo) picture is perfect.

On regular tv the top and bottom of the picture is chopped off. Did I miss an adjustment?

Anyone?

Hello!

I have owned my pt-ae900 for just about a year (i got it for last christmas - hoho!), and I was abs. totaly. blown away by the quality of the image..... just up until a few weeks ago when I noticed that the picture was kind of blurred.. first I didn't pay to much attention to the problem , so a few weeks went by with average usage, just until today when i walked up to the screeen to see what the blur was about, and then I got a mild stroke.

the picture says it all:

I can't post it in here because the system won't let me for some reason.... but its attached!

I'm totaly down. please someone point me in the right directon - (what to do in my case).
- if you see the picture above, you can clearly see that I have abs. no whites anymore.
- the warranty is still ok , I checked i have 2 years
- the panny was mounted upside down on a very very strong mount i had built specially for my ae900
- i cleaned it every month (or week) and have been very cautious not to get in contact whith anything.

so my questions:
- is this covered in the warranty
- what can I do
- what should I do
- what I should NEVER do (ok I think i got thatone figured out)

waiting for any TIPS, thanks

Same problem I'm having. Mine's going into Heartland this week before my warranty runs out.

Rob

Same problem I'm having. Mine's going into Heartland this week before my warranty runs out.

Rob

Hi Rob!

I took mine back to the shop I got it from... they hummed ;) and said they will send it to panasonic for checking... I'm currently at 1960 hours with my first lamp and according to the panasonic site the LCD is covered under warranty for 2000 hours of usage. I'm rather skeptical about this ordeal as I'm in an Eastern European country -> Hungary .. and they have a "way" of handling customer support problems. Well see...

So keep me updated on your story as I'm interested to hear from you about what timeframe you are getting the issue resolved, and what the Official Panasonic Blah Blah Blah will be on this subject.

heads up!

btw, i replaced the panny with a 32 inch telly that weighs about 60kilogrammes and has a screen like a football. well my gal wasn't really impressed about the upgrade ;)

Has anyone tried a ceiling mount for the Panny using the ceiling mount from monoprice? Currently running at around $16-17, I'd certainly rather pay that than the $100 at Lowe's...

Does anyone know how many lumens the 900 puts out in the Normal picture mode with the lamp on High?

I searched for awhile here and at review sites, but no luck.

I'm trying to gauge how the JVC RS1's brightness compare; based on some experiments I did, 50% more lumens would make me very happy.

The JVC is supposed to put out about 525 L in low lamp mode, so I'm hoping to hear that the 900 puts out 350 L or less in Normal/High

Thanks

Noah, Check the AVBuzz review from the 1st page of the AE900 tweak thread.

Moe

Oh yeaqh, I forgot about that one - thanks!

Has anyone tried a ceiling mount for the Panny using the ceiling mount from monoprice? Currently running at around $16-17, I'd certainly rather pay that than the $100 at Lowe's...

I use the MountDirect mount off of eeebay. Didn't see one from monoprice. It is a little wobbly at the top but supposedly they have corrected than since I bought mine. Still though once it is up and you have adjusted everything there is no need to mess with it so for me it is a non issue. It's very solid other than that though for the $$$ ($29.99). No plans to upgrade it.

Has anyone ever bought a Refurb AE900? These are supposed to be refurbed by Panasonic. You can get one for just over $1000.00- I'm really tempted.

Thanks,

Scott

My ae900 is starting to flicker, especially in low lamp mode. It improves in high lamp mode. I have maybe 300-400 hours on the lamp. I will try leaving the high lamp on for a while and see if that clears it up, but I am a bit concerned. It is not mounted upside down or anything.

I posted a ModeLine previously, but I didn't realize until a few months ago that X wasn't running in full 1280x720 resolution. I did some more experimentation and tuning using xvidtune and alignment against HDTV signal via HDMI. Here's my latest config:


Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Panasonic"
ModelName "PT-AE900U"
Option "DPMS" "true"
# From the User's Manual, page 62
HorizSync 30.0 - 70.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 87.0
# From the the User's Manual, page 62 the dot clock must be < 108 MHz
ModeLine "1280x720" 74.52 1280 1312 1368 1676 720 724 730 750 +hsync +vsync
EndSection

SKoprowski -- You can get a new one for that price from one of the AVS Forum Alliance Members (see the top of each AVS Forum page).

Does anyone have a modeline for 1080i? I have the same modeline as above (I have been running it for about 6 months with no troubles), but I am looking to try 1080i (If it can be done.)

Here is my setup if anyone is interested

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Panasonic PT-AE900U"
Option "DPMS"
HorizSync 30-70
VertRefresh 50-87
ModeLine "1280x720" 74.25 1280 1320 1376 1650 720 722 728 750
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "Videocard vendor"
BoardName "nVidia Corporation NV37GL [Quadro FX 330/GeForce PCX 5300]"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Panasonic PT-AE900U"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x720"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Thank you in advance.

I have had my AE900 for about 4 months (400 Hours or so) but recently the colors (blues and greens) seem to drop off randomly. If I turn the projector and the video source off and wait a few minutes and turn them back on the color seems to come back. Has this happened to anyone else? Any suggestions?

Has anyone had success using the standard warranty from panasonic regarding the "flickering" issue? If so, coulld you please post or PM me your experiences.

Mine doesn't do it too bad - just occasionally in "Low Lamp/Power" mode...

I'm considering contacting Panasonic about this today - but thought I would check here first if I should even waste my time trying anything like this?

How has your guys experience been with the AE900U and the PS3? Mine looks pretty damn good! Are you setting it to max resolution of 1080i or 720p? So far they look pretty identical to me and bluerays downressed to 480p even holds its own and looks great but noticably less detail of course!

Sam

How has your guys experience been with the AE900U and the PS3? Mine looks pretty damn good! Are you setting it to max resolution of 1080i or 720p? So far they look pretty identical to me and bluerays downressed to 480p even holds its own and looks great but noticably less detail of course!

Sam

Are you using the Japanese PS3? Why I ask is because in my understanding the NA model will not downscale to 720p but will only source 1080i when driving a display that is not 1080p capable. This info is per http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9097584&&#post9097584
and another
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9008403&&#post9008403

That aside, how do you feel about BR compared to a reference quality upscled DVD? I ask because I plan to but a PS3 to drive my 700 unitl I upgrade my pj. Do you feel the PQ differences are worthwhile?

ted

Yes, my PS3 on my Panny 900u plays at 1080i even when I have the PS3 set to 720P.
(Of course the Panny is downscaling the 1080i to 720P internally for display.)

I also have a Toshiba HD-A1, which I also play at 1080i as this is known to have the best picture on that unit even on a 720P display due to a scaling issue in the player.

I think many Blu-Ray titles look great, but HD-DVD has many more titles that are worthy to watch and many of them look better than BR discs (albeit very slightly, and probably not noticable on a screen smaller than 60").

As for upscaled DVD vs BR.. .it depends. My Toshiba HD-DVD is an amazing, amazing upscaling unit (most people agree), bettering even the 1,000 dollar Blu-Ray dedicated players. Some DVDs even look HD... they really upscale that good.

Comparing an excellent DVD to a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc however shows the HD formats to be much clearer... as if the DVD version had a layer of vasoline on the lens.

At a glance, however, I think many average people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a quality DVD upscaled on a good player and a basic BD or HD-DVD. This is especially true the smaller the screen.

The inverse for a larger screen... my 106" most people can see substantial differences in an A/B comparison.

I plan on ceiling mounting my Panny this weekend but can't seem to find the menu option to invert the pic like my 4805 had. Can anyone point me to the correct menu screen.

...

I also have a Toshiba HD-A1, which I also play at 1080i as this is known to have the best picture on that unit even on a 720P display due to a scaling issue in the player.

...

As for upscaled DVD vs BR.. .it depends. My Toshiba HD-DVD is an amazing, amazing upscaling unit (most people agree), bettering even the 1,000 dollar Blu-Ray dedicated players. Some DVDs even look HD... they really upscale that good.

...

FYI, the 720p scaling issue with the HD-A1 was fixed in the latest firmware. After the firmware upgrade, 720p looks awesome on my Panny 900. I'm with you on the upscaling of the HD-A1 - I'd say it beats my Oppo, which I really liked.

-Sean

I plan on ceiling mounting my Panny this weekend but can't seem to find the menu option to invert the pic like my 4805 had. Can anyone point me to the correct menu screen.

Option menu

Desk / Ceiling

So I just got off the phone with someone from Heartland. It appears that they cannot make the VB and convergence problems any better with trying 2 new optical blocks.

The guys at Heartland had a couple of Panny engineers at the facility and they were looking at my machine so they could see the problems that they (Heartland) are up against. Seems as though they are getting (some) optical blocks that are not as good as the one that are being put in at the factory. Mine was off by about 2.5 or more pixels to the lower left and had some severe VB cropping up on the left 8" of the image.

The guy at Heartland said after trying 2 new optical blocks, that the picture was no better and on one it was worse. They also stated that my unit (after the engineers from Panny looked at it) was on the fringe of being acceptable/unacceptable by factory specs. Needless to say, they are buttoning up my PJ with the original parts and sending it back. They said someone from Panny would be contacting me at the first of the year (long vacations for those service techs I guess) and deciding if it can be fixed or if they will issue me a new PJ. They guy at HEartland said Panny is pretty good about making things right, so we will see.

Rob

I have a AE900U, ceiling mounted, 350 hours old and noticed a blue (like airbrushed) spot in the corner on dark sceens. It's about 3" slightly rounded on a 109" screen. I've read that maybe the polorizers or even dust blobs can cause this? Any suggestions on how to remedy this. Take apart and clean? The rest of the screen looks good. I see in with any input or source I give it.

I have a 3 year warrenty on it from GE so maybe that's an option. I just wnated to see if anyone had any suggestions before I did that and potentially be w/o my PJ for a period of time.

Thanks

Bob

I have a AE900U, ceiling mounted, 350 hours old and noticed a blue (like airbrushed) spot in the corner on dark sceens. It's about 3" slightly rounded on a 109" screen. I've read that maybe the polorizers or even dust blobs can cause this? Any suggestions on how to remedy this. Take apart and clean? The rest of the screen looks good. I see in with any input or source I give it.

I have a 3 year warrenty on it from GE so maybe that's an option. I just wnated to see if anyone had any suggestions before I did that and potentially be w/o my PJ for a period of time.

Thanks

Bob

That's exactly how my AE700 started to go. If it is the same problem, it is the blue LCD panel starting to destroy itself. In my case the problem only got worse over time and the projector was unwatchable. The AE700 was out of warranty and wasn't worth fixing. Ended up buying a 900 with 3 year warranty just to cover this problem if it ever happens again. (apparently it is quite common for the blue panel to go on LCD projectors) My guess is that you will have to send yours in for warranty repair.

Thanks DV8. It was wierd, I was watching a movie and at the end it just popped up, never seen it before. I'm going to call GE and see what can be done, I'm sure they'll fix it. Only 350 hours though, seems like a short time to start going out like that.

DV8, how many hours on you 900 so far? Any issues? Mine was great until now :-(

Bob

Thanks DV8. It was wierd, I was watching a movie and at the end it just popped up, never seen it before. I'm going to call GE and see what can be done, I'm sure they'll fix it. Only 350 hours though, seems like a short time to start going out like that.

DV8, how many hours on you 900 so far? Any issues? Mine was great until now :-(

Bob

I have 545 hours on the 900 so far and no issues at all. I am quite sensitive now to the blue schmear problem I had with the 700. The problem didn't show up in the 700 until after 16 months and 1500 hours though.

That's good to hear. I called Panasonic, mentioned the issue and he said he would work with me on the warranty sine it was only out 1 week over a year. I then called GE with my extended warranty and when I talked to the repair place, he had me check a few things like dust and when the blue spot appears. I opened the PJ, blew it out the best I could and the spot is still there. I only notice it on a black screen, it's in the letterbox area so that's always black. When it's in a full screen movie I don't see it at all, even in a dark scene. The color is great in that area.

Ok, not I turn off the shutter so all I get is a black screen with no signal and the blue spot appears!!???!!. I did notice a suspect looking speck of dust "within the lense" that's in about the same spot as far as I can tell to where the blue spot is on the screen. Is there a way I can blow out the lens? I can't seem to get in there at all but somehow dust got in it looks like.

To me, with the results above, it appears not to be a panel issue but more of a contamination issue? If I see the blue when the shutter is closed what does that mean? Did you get any of these similar results with your 700?

thanks

- bob

For people experiencing blue circles and discolouration, try turning the panny off completely. Dont leave in standby mode, so the red light is off. This fixed mine.

I'm having a problem with mine, its the left, right and top borders of the picture. they all have a strip that is darker than the rest of the screen. Here are a couple of screen shots to show the problem.

shot of display (http://members.shaw.ca/solitice/screenshots/DSCF0751.JPG)

Close up of the problem on the left side of the screen (http://members.shaw.ca/solitice/screenshots/DSCF0748.JPG)

Has anyone seen this with their 900 before? Any ideas on how to fix it? I know that the issue is coming from the projector and I just replaced the bulb and saw no improvement.

Dean

I'm having a problem with mine, its the left, right and top borders of the picture. they all have a strip that is darker than the rest of the screen. Here are a couple of screen shots to show the problem.

shot of display (http://members.shaw.ca/solitice/screenshots/DSCF0751.JPG)

Close up of the problem on the left side of the screen (http://members.shaw.ca/solitice/screenshots/DSCF0748.JPG)

Has anyone seen this with their 900 before? Any ideas on how to fix it? I know that the issue is coming from the projector and I just replaced the bulb and saw no improvement.

Dean


Without looking at the pics I was going to say you probably had the beginnings of blue polorizer heat damage. However after having looked at the pics it looks like the borders are perfectly straight lines!! To me that looks like some part of the optical assembly has gone out of alignment. I'd be talking mirrors, polorizers, bulb Prism (real name escapes me. Its the etched faceted piece of glass right in front of the bulb)

Have you bumped the PJ. Could you have knocked the bulb prism out of alignment when replacing bulb. Have you taken out polorizers/LCD block to de-dust etc etc.

Have you bumped the PJ. Could you have knocked the bulb prism out of alignment when replacing bulb. Have you taken out polorizers/LCD block to de-dust etc etc.

This pj was just shipped to me from the previous owner so the bump could of happened during shipping. Bulb went straight in and out with no issues, and the problem was there before I changed the bulb. I haven’t touched anything else yet, wanted to make sure that it didn't void my warranty first before taking more apart. It does have a slight convergence problem where the red is to the right and up about 2 pixels. Should I look at sending this thing in for warranty?

For people experiencing blue circles and discolouration, try turning the panny off completely. Dont leave in standby mode, so the red light is off. This fixed mine.

This is the method that I practice each time I use it. Actually Panasonic recommends this. It supposed to help with vertical banding problems too which I had when I first got it, not I don't see them at all. Another Panasonic recommendation is to not supply a signal for the first 5 minutes after the PJ is turned on, supposed to help with vertical banding again. I follow these recs and have had no issues at all. I'm still amazed at the picture quality every time I watch it.

As for the blue spot, Panasonic as well as I believe it's a dust particle in the lens assembly. I can actually see a large particle in the lens in the same approximate spot as the blue spot on the screen. I'm checking to see if I can send it in for a deep cleaning to Hartford, will find out on Tuesday, it's still covered under the 1 yr warranty.

That's exactly how my AE700 started to go. If it is the same problem, it is the blue LCD panel starting to destroy itself. In my case the problem only got worse over time and the projector was unwatchable. The AE700 was out of warranty and wasn't worth fixing. Ended up buying a 900 with 3 year warranty just to cover this problem if it ever happens again. (apparently it is quite common for the blue panel to go on LCD projectors) My guess is that you will have to send yours in for warranty repair.
It's not common for the blue LCD panel in a LCD projector to go bad.
It is common for the polorizers to go bad.
With only 350 hours on his PJ it is very unlikely it is the polorizer.
Try using the focus ring to see if the blue spot can be defocused and focused.
If it can be, chances are it is just a dust blob.

Anyone here have a PS3 connected to the AE900U?

I am awaiting my PS3 and am trying to figure out if the AE900U will accept the following and which will look best:

1) 1080p at 60fps
2) 1080i and convert to 720p
3) ???? and convert to 720p

Right now I understand that the owners manual for the AE900U does not state it accepts a 1080p 60fps signal. Anyone try that with either the PS3 or other device like a DVD upscaling player?

Also for now the PS3 does not have 1080p 24f enabled but it may soon? That seems to be the best option for our projector.

Anyone using that resolution with either the PS3 or another device like a scaler?

I have one. It won't do 1080P and you MUST have 1080i enabled for BluRay HD movie playback, otherwise it'll default to a SD 480P signal. Why it won't output our native 720P I don't know...

how come then when I run mine at 1280x720 I get a black bar along the right side?
Has anyone found 1280x768 to be satisfactory - i.e., fills the entire screen w/o noticable loss of of res?

I just received the VGA cables to my xbox 360 for Christmas. I have had it hooked up through the component cables for a while and ever since changing it over my picture seems to be a lot duller. Also, I noticed that my screen appears shifted to the left about 6" (on my 100" screen) and up about 1-2". I have the 360 set to 720 and the projector is saying the same. Does anyone have similar problems when using vga to the panny?

I used auto-setup to fix the offset problem but did not completely work, from there I adjusted the V-position. Will this effect my picture at all or my projector in the long run like keystone does?

Also does anyone have settings for the 360 via VGA or experienced similar results when switching between the component and VGA.

Thanks for anyone who responds. This is my first time posting on AVS but have been a long time viewer.

Set you xbox 360 to 1080i. Let the PJ take care of the downscaling.

I have one. It won't do 1080P and you MUST have 1080i enabled for BluRay HD movie playback, otherwise it'll default to a SD 480P signal. Why it won't output our native 720P I don't know...

Driver:

Thanks. The owner's manual states that the projector will accept 1080p 24f but it does not mention 1080p 60f. Given same I wonder if and when Sony allows or does the update for the Playstation 3 to do 1080p 24f it if will work.


Anyone here with a 1080p 24f source using same with the AE900 who can comment?

My AE900 after 340 hours has very light dark bars when view 16:9 material. These light black bars are located where there would be black bar if I were watching 4:3 material.

Is there some way I can fix this without sending it into the shop?

There seems to be lots of quality issues with these LCD's PJ, maybe I should try DLP next time. This is my second AE900, the first one got sent back due to massive color blotches (right out of the box).

I have 100 hours on my machine (9 months old) and at about 96 hours we were on hour or so into a movie and boomba, power failure, I kind scrambled to wave some air at the machine to cool it but... Well since then I have had trouble, turn unit on and the green light flashes than the lamp light flashes red, sometimes leave it for a bit and pj comes on other times I turn main power off and turn unit back on it workss, other times it works normall right off the bat. I guess I will have to send it in for repair, wondered if that had happen to anyone else with their AE900

anyone know what this means. im having same problem. thank you in advance

Set you xbox 360 to 1080i. Let the PJ take care of the downscaling.


If i set it to 1920 x 1080 it (xbox360) defaults to progressive which cannot be downscaled by the ae900. Anybody have any clues to this issue or answers to any of my questions?

If I have a totally light controlled room, can someone tell me why I wouldn't buy the AE900U over the new AX100U? It seems that the cost savings would far exceed any other benifits the new model will give me...help...I must be missing something.

If I have a totally light controlled room, can someone tell me why I wouldn't buy the AE900U over the new AX100U? It seems that the cost savings would far exceed any other benifits the new model will give me...help...I must be missing something.

Comparing the two, I'd say the 900U. Based on AX100 reviews, it's better. Not DRAMATICALLY better. I have the 900U and I'm not biased, but when I compared the specs, the 900U is very close. Now, if they both COST the same, then I'd go for the latest model.
The only way I'd upgrade is probably 2-3 models from now.

Can I still buy the PT-AE900u new?

Can I still buy the PT-AE900u new?

You have a pm.

Moe

You have a pm.

Moe

Can someone tell me or PM me a reputable dealer I can get the 900u from for under $1200. I already have one but my co-worker wants one and doesn't want to pony up for the 100u.

http://www.froogle.com

anyone know what this means. im having same problem. thank you in advance

I had this same problem that i posted about several pages back. unit would turn on and then kick itself off and the lamp light would flash, if i took power completely away it would turn on fine but leaving it in standby mode would cause this. i sent mine in for repair and on the sheet they sent back with it the listed repair was they replaced the ballast. so if you have this problem send it in before your warranty is up.

Has anyone found 1280x768 to be satisfactory - i.e., fills the entire screen w/o noticable loss of of res?
I really put some honest effort in trying to get 1280x720 via VGA on the 360 to work, but no matter how much I tried I couldn't get the leftmost portion of the screen to show up (~25-30 pixels wouldn't show up, rough guess). I'm currently using 1280x768 and don't notice any resolution issues (and I'm pretty OCD about it). The settings that work well for me are:
H-Position = +34
V-Position = -11
Dot Clock = 0
Clock Phase = -4

I have a black and white checkerboard 720p video clip that shows very slight bluring at 1280x768 compared to 1280x720, but in games and movies it's not noticeable at all.

I'm having a problem with mine, its the left, right and top borders of the picture. they all have a strip that is darker than the rest of the screen. Here are a couple of screen shots to show the problem.

shot of display (http://members.shaw.ca/solitice/screenshots/DSCF0751.JPG)

Close up of the problem on the left side of the screen (http://members.shaw.ca/solitice/screenshots/DSCF0748.JPG)

Has anyone seen this with their 900 before? Any ideas on how to fix it? I know that the issue is coming from the projector and I just replaced the bulb and saw no improvement.

Dean

I was just about to make a comment regarding my projector, trying to figure out the best way to word it and low and behold the exact same problem. It most likely happened about 300-400 hours of operation I am now at 560 and it seams to be getting darker or more noticeable. My year is up but I have a 3year extended warranty. I will try to post pictures later.

Here is a photo of my projector mount.

Here is a photo of my projector mount.

What for be dat do-hicky in front? LOL

A question for the people that switched from the Infocus sp4805 to the AE900. How do you guys feel the two compare as far as brightness, colors, black levels and overall image quality while viewing HD sources and DVD? I am considering making the switch to the Panny but am a little worried that it might not be a drastic change between the two to warrant the change. Any info would be appreciated.

Seriously somebody... What is that rig in front of the lens and what is it for?

Wilson, It is a Prismasonic H1200M Anamorphic Lens. I had two 1/4" thick pieces of aluminum cut to fit into my drop ceiling grid. I drilled and tapped the holes and then painted the aluminum black. The spacers for the lens are nylon available at most hardware stores.

rghinton - Did you make the mount as well or purchase? How do you have the power cord routed? Through the ceiling w/flange around hold and then down to power?

Also, how are you enjoying the lens setup? Do you keep it in place all the time? I wanted to do something like this, but decided it would have to wait for another day. Thanks!

hi guys, im a newbee here

have been an avid reader for ages and my knowledge on AV products has been boosted heaps all because of you

anyway, i have just acquired myself a NEW but old stock ae900 about 1.5 months ago. starting 2 weeks ago, it has been developing a problem. somehow, it is ghosting(?) now, in all movies, regardless burnt or original dvds. it's not the same ghosting like on the old crt tv when you had bad reception, it's more like when you set-up your mouse you can set it up to leave (shadow) trails, it's like that.
the most noticable is when it's on fast motion scenes.

the projector has only done 70 hours max so far and it wasn't like this the first time i used it, it was perfect, picture was spot on, no motion lag, no ghosting/trails. all the equipment stays the same, nothing changed. i have replaced the DVI cable with the HDMI adaptor with brand new, thinking the previous cable and adaptor was the guilty party, but no. it's still the same, ghosting and a bit of motion lag. have tried to run it via power filter/conditioner, and still no good. check the DVI cable and it's not anywhere close to power cable (wouldn't matter anyway since my DVI cable is fully shielded with gold plated ends).

dvd player is oppo 971 and it's connected direct to the projector (via 10m DVI cable), not going through the receiver.

i'm stuck now.. i can't think of anything else..

i would really REALLY appreciate any help..

thanks

also, when i go to the menu, i can not turn on or off my "cinema reality" function. how can i do this ?

A question for the people that switched from the Infocus sp4805 to the AE900. How do you guys feel the two compare as far as brightness, colors, black levels and overall image quality while viewing HD sources and DVD? I am considering making the switch to the Panny but am a little worried that it might not be a drastic change between the two to warrant the change. Any info would be appreciated.

The change is drastic. Fortunately.

You see that SDE on your 4805 even when you sit at the optimal spot? Its gone. Which means you can sit much closer this time without seeing that. Its sharper, more detailed and better colors. Pretty much every aspect of the PQ is much better BUT its a big BUT because the AE900 is shipped with non industry standard grayscale setting (D6500K) and the factory settings are waaaaay off. You can calbrate this yourself by using AVIA or DVE so it can be closer to the standard.

One more thing to add is the noise generated by this two PJs. The 4805 gets louder the longer you use it. That medium pitched humming sound you hear is the colorwheel spinning that will get worse and becomes a high pitched buzzing sound. The AE900 however is DEAD SILENT. You have to place your ear close to it to hear the fans working. The 4805 noise calls attention to itself effectively eliminating the movie watching experience.

Don't get me wrong I love the IF4805 for the first 6 months I owned it but after the dreaded color wheel noise showed up, thats the end of it. Took me another 6 months to decide my next PJ and I have been satisfied and enjoying my HT again with the AE900.

I might just put up a comparison thread with pictures showing the difference in PQ between this hugely popular PJs. I don't recall anyone here at AVS doing that.

I was just about to make a comment regarding my projector, trying to figure out the best way to word it and low and behold the exact same problem. It most likely happened about 300-400 hours of operation I am now at 560 and it seams to be getting darker or more noticeable. My year is up but I have a 3year extended warranty. I will try to post pictures later.

This makes a few of us now that are experiencing this problem. I have been watching all my 4:3 material (Anime) in 'Just" mode. This might be helping as it seems there are little strips in the light black bars now these little strips are areas that have returned to normal or maybe they were always there when the black bars formed and I'am just now noticing them. My black bars are light they not that bother some so I hate to send it in when given the quality of these AE900 it will probably have some major issue before I reach 800 hours of operation.

dumoon, I purchased the mount from ebay. If you do a search for mount and PT-AE900U you will find this mount for sale. It is quite reasonable. The cords are routed through 2 plastic grommets into the ceiling. The grommets are normally used on a desktop to route computer cables through the desktop. I really enjoy the lens. It is in place all of the time. You can select anamorphic or bypass. My rear seats are 20' from my perforated screen. I experimented with screen width before I made my perforated screen. 10' was too wide. It was like setting on the front row in a theater. My screen is 8' wide and 41" high and it is the perfect size for my seating distance. All of the DVD or HDTV pictures are the same height whether the picture is 1.33, 1.78 or 2.35 aspect ratio. I have a Samsung DVD player DVD-HD960 which will do vertical expansion. With the smoothing technology of the projector, the lens that I am using and the Samsung DVD player, I think that the picture looks like film. I have never seen a better picture in any video store no matter what the cost. I am totally 100% satisfied with my setup. The lens may seem a little expensive but the Samsung player and the projector are such a deal that the total package is a real deal. I also have a Samsung DVD-HD841 which works just as well as the DVD-HD960. My projector is about 15' from the screen. I have the lamp setting on low. The picture is too bright if I set it on high. My room is totally dark. It is in the basement and I have no windows. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Has anyone ISF calibrated this display ? Did you find it worth the effort ?

I would be interested in what settings people are using currently. I have been using only slight variations to the normal mode on high lamp setting since 10/05.

I realize there is a DIY screen section, but has anyone come up with a simple paint mixture to brighten up the 900? I recently purchased a 32" inch lcd and have a hard time watching my projector now because it seems dim comparted to the flat panel.

I would be interested in what settings people are using currently. I have been using only slight variations to the normal mode on high lamp setting since 10/05.

I realize there is a DIY screen section, but has anyone come up with a simple paint mixture to brighten up the 900? I recently purchased a 32" inch lcd and have a hard time watching my projector now because it seems dim comparted to the flat panel.

I have to agree. I just got a 37 inch LCD and now I can't watch any SD on the Panny. I still like it for HD sports and movies but SD is out of the question now!

Flashes on Bulb
My Pj only has 445hrs on it all in low-mode. It has performed better than I expected. That is until a couple of weekends ago . WIth so few hours I did not expect to see any issues until after the 2000th hour, but things have changed. I'm now seeing subtle flashes. They start out as suble, but then get progressively worse. I read in this forum that if I change from low to high-mode this resolves the issue. I have found this to be only a temporary_fix.
Has anybody experienced this before?
Have you determined a permanent solution?
Is my problem going to get even worse?

Thanks to all

I had the same problem with flickering on my 900. I cleaned the filter and left the lamp on high for a few weeks and it went away. Make sure the filter is clean!

I had the same problem with flickering on my 900. I cleaned the filter and left the lamp on high for a few weeks and it went away. Make sure the filter is clean!


Iggymama,
I left mine on high for several hours. I will go for a couple of weeks as you indicate and see what happens. Thanks

Check the Lamp and Temp indicators to see if they are red or flashing. If the Temp indicator is red (too much heat), clean your filter right away! I used a shop vac to suck out all the dust - it worked great. Then leave it on high for a few weeks. Should clear it up.

Check the Lamp and Temp indicators to see if they are red or flashing. If the Temp indicator is red (too much heat), clean your filter right away! I used a shop vac to suck out all the dust - it worked great. Then leave it on high for a few weeks. Should clear it up.

Will do.

I had similar problem and my lamp just blew out. I had cleaned the filter over the holidays when it was 500 hrs. Piss me off b/c it had been on low all this time. I called cps and they gave me a run around saying that I need to contact Panasonic. Pana said that since I had it from May, they will only cover the lamp up to 3 mos in. I am going to try cps again in the morning.

That sux! Did you keep the filter clean? Is the PJ well ventilated? That could cause overheating. I've got just over 500 hours on mine. I hope mine doesn't blow out! What are they now, $400?

Good luck with cps!

I just bought a new projector (Panasonic AE900) and Onkyo s790. I am having some issues getting the old xbox connected. (Yes, just an xbox, haven't upgraded the game console yet). Anyways, I'm just using component cables.

Connected from xbox to receiver using video 1 input (3 component cables). I then ran 3 more components from video 1 out to the projector video inputs, but I can't get any picture. If I run from xbox directly the 2 audio components to the receiver and 1 video to the projector I only get a black and white picture.

I have played around with the projector inputs, but haven't figured it out yet.

Please Help?

You need to go in the xbox and switch the type of component signal it feeds out, YPbPr vs RGB or something like that I think. It's a switch on the back of my HD Tuner.

Longtime listener, first time caller. :D Glad to be a part of the AE900 club. Will read this thread intently. :)

I tried doing a search on this thread, but at 197 pages, it's hard to sort through all of the info. Anyway, I'm finally going to upgrade my current projector (Panny AE100 with 1750 hours...that's right, an AE100!) to the 900 but have a question regarding connections. Will the AE900 still receive a true 1080 signal from the VGA port, or are you forced to use either component or HDMI? My video card does not have an HDMI output and it's going to be all I can do to buck up the extra dough for the 900. I'd really like to be able to keep my setup as it is with VGA. Will this be possible?

Will the AE900 still receive a true 1080 signal from the VGA port, or are you forced to use either component or HDMI? My video card does not have an HDMI output and it's going to be all I can do to buck up the extra dough for the 900. I'd really like to be able to keep my setup as it is with VGA. Will this be possible?

The VGA will look great at 1280 x 720 which is the resolution of the projector...

Excellent! I thought I had read something a while back that you could only get true HD res from the 900 via HDMI or component. Now, I just need to sell my AE100 and find a good deal on a 900!

Thanks again!

It may be true HD resolution but you are going, at least with HD, from a Digital to an analog conversion on the VGA connection then back to digital in the projector. Same for Component too I think. Best to keep the path all digital the entire way if possible. Why not use HDMI/DVI to the projector?

Because I don't have a video card with HDMI/DVI outputs and buying the new projector will be strain enough on the pocketbook. I wish I could upgrade both at the same time, but it's not going to be possible. At least I can get the better projector first and then be on the lookout for a good deal on a video card with HDMI/DVI outputs.

Hi guys,

I have almost 500 hrs on my Panny and it just started a habit of sometimes during watching something it turns itself off and the light flashes and it comes back up again .
The whole process takes almost 2-3 minutes but it does it maximum 2-3 times and then it never goes off for that watching time.

Thanks in advance.

Hi guys,

I have almost 500 hrs on my Panny and it just started a habit of sometimes during watching something it turns itself off and the light flashes and it comes back up again .
The whole process takes almost 2-3 minutes but it does it maximum 2-3 times and then it never goes off for that watching time.

Thanks in advance.

sounds like the filter could be dirty.

Thanks chuckken,

I checked and cleaned the filter and it still went on.
The interesting part it started first on hdmi input and then went on to comp. and vga input as well.

I thought it was related to my new HDMI Dvd player but unfortunately not.

It has been good so far but now you never know when it will turn off while watching something.

Thanks chuckken,

I checked and cleaned the filter and it still went on.
The interesting part it started first on hdmi input and then went on to comp. and vga input as well.

I thought it was related to my new HDMI Dvd player but unfortunately not.

It has been good so far but now you never know when it will turn off while watching something.
Try unplug the projector and/or disconnecting the HDMI cable between uses. Hope it helps.

Hi guys,

I have almost 500 hrs on my Panny and it just started a habit of sometimes during watching something it turns itself off and the light flashes and it comes back up again .
The whole process takes almost 2-3 minutes but it does it maximum 2-3 times and then it never goes off for that watching time.

Thanks in advance.
Maybe is this your problem?
MrFent said ( post #2914 - thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=719857&page=98&pp=30 )
"...Usually when the iris fails, the projector will shut itself off roughly 30 seconds after it starts up. People didn't have this problem with the PTAE700's and 900's, because the firmware in both of those models didn't tell the projector to shut itself down whenever the iris failed (and trust me, the irises fail just as much with the 700 & 900.) People are noticing the iris fails a lot more now, because Panasonic wrote the AX100 firmware to have the unit shutdown whever there is a failure. I've been told that Panasonic recently made some improvments to the iris, so hopefully there won't be as many failures in the future. Until then, if your AX100 is shutting down shortly after startup, and your self-check shows an iris error, send it to Heartland. "

Hi guys-

Just replaced my bulb on the ae-900. about twenty into watching a program I smelt something burning. I got up and there is no question it was the projector. It was hot. This can't be normal. ALthough I have never checked to see how hot these things get before the smell. What are some things that may cause this?

Hi guys-

Just replaced my bulb on the ae-900. about twenty into watching a program I smelt something burning. I got up and there is no question it was the projector. It was hot. This can't be normal. ALthough I have never checked to see how hot these things get before the smell. What are some things that may cause this?

Did you accidentally disconnect the fan?

Chris

Hi guys-

Just replaced my bulb on the ae-900. about twenty into watching a program I smelt something burning. I got up and there is no question it was the projector. It was hot. This can't be normal. ALthough I have never checked to see how hot these things get before the smell. What are some things that may cause this?

One day when shutting down, had no fan. Next time I tried to boot up and it would not turn on. The power supply went out (microprocessor melt I think) and I don't know if the fan stopped before shutdown ...it wouldn't rev up like normal but that could be because of the power supply. The bulb was not harmed apparently and Heartland fixed it super fast...I had no projector for 4 days. Now its runs great again.

Just check if your fan is on and see if it scales from slow to very fast when you shutdown at the end of a viewing session. Power supply and/or fan issues can precipitate short bulb life due to overheating.

One day when shutting down, had no fan. Next time I tried to boot up and it would not turn on. The power supply went out (microprocessor melt I think) and I don't know if the fan stopped before shutdown ...it wouldn't rev up like normal but that could be because of the power supply. The bulb was not harmed apparently and Heartland fixed it super fast...I had no projector for 4 days. Now its runs great again.

Just check if your fan is on and see if it scales from slow to very fast when you shutdown at the end of a viewing session. Power supply and/or fan issues can precipitate short bulb life due to overheating.


Fan works fine. In fact I no longer have this problem. Only for the first hour of the new bulb. I have read that there is a "new bulb smell" Like burning plastic that goes away. It most likely was that but I will be watching for any other warning signs

Hi everyone,

I've got an AE900 with about 2,481 hours on it. Lately, I've been noticing that the top middle portion of the screen is starting to brown a little. It's very apparent in scenes where there's a huge, bright, uniform sky shot; everything is blue except for this section in the top middle that's very slightly brown/yellow. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be? Lamp? One of the LCD panels? What can I do to fix it?

My questions pertains to this projector and the PS3. I currently have the Xbox 360 connected via the component cables and have the X-box output at 720p so there is no issues, but I am thinking of getting the PS3 as a blu-ray player, but there seems to be some issues with the PS3 only able to output either 1080p or 480p. If that is the case, and since the native resolution of this projector is 720, and it cannot accept 1080p, will everything get down converted to 480p? If that is the case, then I do not want the PS3 yet becaue that woul dbe no better than regular DVD.

My questions pertains to this projector and the PS3. I currently have the Xbox 360 connected via the component cables and have the X-box output at 720p so there is no issues, but I am thinking of getting the PS3 as a blu-ray player, but there seems to be some issues with the PS3 only able to output either 1080p or 480p. If that is the case, and since the native resolution of this projector is 720, and it cannot accept 1080p, will everything get down converted to 480p? If that is the case, then I do not want the PS3 yet becaue that woul dbe no better than regular DVD.

I was wondering on the same issue, just a little searching on google gave me a positive answer, it seems Sony took care of this via a firmware update, below is a cut and pste from the article I read in Endgadget.
" In addition to the updates related to the Blu-ray player, firmware 1.30 includes the following.

Selecting video output resolution has changed, allowing you to choose all the resolutions supported by the TV. The video will automatically be displayed at the maximum resolution possible, according to the following order: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, Standard (NTSC).
Backup utility has been added as a feature under System Settings, enabling you to back up your PS3's hard disk data to storage media or restore data from storage media to the hard disk.
USB peripherals designed for PlayStation®2 titles, including steering wheels and flight sticks, can now be used when playing PlayStation 2 games on the PS3 system.
To install the latest system software on your PS3 system, you can select the System Update feature, use a PC to download the update data and transfer it to the PS3 system through storage media or a USB mass storage device, or install it using update data included on a game disc. Further details are available at http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Network/Updates/default.html."

I went on to the Sony PS3 site to check it out and it looks like a go. Also at the PS3 site is stated that the latest PS3 version 1.54 or later dont need the firmware update since it is included.
But go a head and do little reading on your own, I am also ready to purchase a PS3 ans checking this out, good luck. ;)

Thanks for the reply. I knew that there were rumors of an update, and then I heard that they were not going to make that update (for whatever reason as there were rumors that Sony only wanted 1080p to justify the difference with PS2 or something like that). I will definately check out the Sony site. Thanks.

Addendum: upon further reserch I found this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=763633

And this is what the update 1.3 does: What has been fixed: the system has given a higher priority to 1080i signals so, if available, the console will default to 1080i over 720p. This means that if your HDTV supports 720p, and a game's native resolution (like Resistance: Fall of Man) is 720p, it should display fine in that resolution. If the native resolution is 1080p (NBA07, the XMB interface, Blu-ray movies) and your set supports 1080i and 720p, the console will automatically default to 1080i due to the higher preference, regardless of what your preference is. If you disable the 1080i output so everything will play in your preferred 720p, your Blu-ray movies will drop down to 480p. We're not really sure what problem this update was intended to fix or why the resolution hierarchy isn't user selectable.

So then my question is how is the picture quality when the PS3 downscales from 1080p to 540p (1080i) as now we have just lost half our resolution and then the Panny has to upscale back to 720p?
Seems somewhat redundant? plus 1080i is 30fps and 720p is 60fps so with action movies/fast games and a 120" screen (which I have) where is the HD?

Hi everyone,

I've got an AE900 with about 2,481 hours on it. Lately, I've been noticing that the top middle portion of the screen is starting to brown a little. It's very apparent in scenes where there's a huge, bright, uniform sky shot; everything is blue except for this section in the top middle that's very slightly brown/yellow. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be? Lamp? One of the LCD panels? What can I do to fix it?Any help on this one?

I am getting a dark arc area on the left side of my screen on solid light screenshots. I am due to replace the bulb but I am leary that it might be a panel problem. Any ideas?

I have a new Chief RPA-225 custom mount for Panasonic 900AE for sell. If interested send me a PM for pricing. I never installed this mount changed my mind on projector.

New bulb usually gives off a burning smell.
Hi guys-

Just replaced my bulb on the ae-900. about twenty into watching a program I smelt something burning. I got up and there is no question it was the projector. It was hot. This can't be normal. ALthough I have never checked to see how hot these things get before the smell. What are some things that may cause this?

I'm not sure if this is the same problem gdemery(#5892, pg 197) has, but my ae900u has 577 hours on it and the picture now flashes from normal brightness to very dark about ever 3 seconds. While this is occurring there's a noise from the projector like that of a turn signal from a car. The noise also continues while the cooling fan is running after powering down. I've only ever ran it in low power. The lamp and temp lights aren't on. Figures my warranty ran out only a few weeks ago. I'm going to try the high mode fix but I'm not holding my breath. Anyone have experience with this problem?

Greetings,

I have a Panasonic AE900U that has a problem I can't figure out when watching HDTV with MythTV (Knoppmyth). I am 99.99% sure it's not the projector.

When I run the recommended modeline from the MythTV Modeline Database (http://mythtv.org/wiki/index.php?title=Modeline_Database&redirect=no), about once per second I get a split second hesitation or stutter in the picture. It is mostly noticed a slight horizontal shift of the image. Very noticable when watching say a NASCAR race in HD or when a camera pans left or right.

I'm using the VGA input connection from my computer. When I play a game in Windows XP @1280x720 - 60hz everything is nice and smooth as is when I play a DVD thru the component (YpBpR) input at 480p. Maybe something about my Nvidia FX5200 that does not like this modeline??

Here is my monitor section of my xorg.conf file:
#Section "Monitor"
# Identifier "Monitor0"
# VendorName "Panasonic"
# ModelName "PT-AE900U"
# Option "DPMS" "true"
# # From the User's Manual, page 62
# HorizSync 30.0 - 70.0
# VertRefresh 50.0 - 87.0
# # From the the User's Manual, page 62 the dot clock must be < 108 MHz
# ModeLine "1280x720" 74.52 1280 1312 1368 1676 720 724 730 750 +hsync +vsync
#EndSection

If I plug in my NEC 97F CRT monitor and set the correct mode for that monitor, playback is nice and smooth in HD from Knoppmyth. So I know it's not the hardware in the computer.. Right?? Then I plug the projector back in and comment out the 'ModeLine' line the projector switches from 720p into XGA85 mode and the hesitation goes away, however the HDTV image then does not fill the screen vertically.

Help

My questions pertains to this projector and the PS3. I currently have the Xbox 360 connected via the component cables and have the X-box output at 720p so there is no issues, but I am thinking of getting the PS3 as a blu-ray player, but there seems to be some issues with the PS3 only able to output either 1080p or 480p. If that is the case, and since the native resolution of this projector is 720, and it cannot accept 1080p, will everything get down converted to 480p? If that is the case, then I do not want the PS3 yet becaue that woul dbe no better than regular DVD.

No, it was not between 480p and 1080p. It was for older TV's that had 480p and 1080i only..no 720p.

I have a PS3 hooked up to the Panny with Component and it will display 720p.

Help Please. I am building my first Home Theater. I own the AE 900U, and am just finishing my theater. I have just barely purchased the seating that I will need, but it takes up more room that I was expecting. According to projector central projection calculator with my 120 inch Elite 1.0 gain screen, and a throw distance of 14 feet. My best viewing is from 12 to 19 feet. I am going to have two rows of theater seeting, and the larger than planned seating is going to put the back row right at 19 feet, but the center of the front row seats will be right at about 11 feet. Should I be looking to trade the screen down to a 106? Or will being a foot too close not be a big deal

mwh350,
I wouldn't worry about the front row being a foot too close. Those are general figures and not specific for the AE900. Because of the smoothscreen technology you don't get screendoor. That is why I chose the AE900 (one of the reasons). You can sit much closer than you can with most projectors because of it. Also, for me, having two rows gives you the option to sit up close and get a more "big movie screen" effect or sit back and have a wider view. Most of the time with movies, we sit in the front row, which is only about 7 feet back from my 98" screen. Still looks great!

My set up is similar. I have one row at 13 ft. away from a 119" screen. I think you will get the best of both worlds with two rows. I actually prefer the picture from about 16-17 ft. away but you loose the feeling of the giant screen just a little. Smooth Screen is great, but I feel 11 ft. is as close as I would get.

On the other hand some friends and family can't seem to get close enough.

Thanks for all the Responses. Furniture and Carpet will both be in July 11, 2007. I feel confident not canceling my second row of chairs after the replies. Thanks for your help, and I will post again when I have actually watched a movie from that front row of chairs.

So I'm around 1800 hours on the bulb and its starting to get noticeably dim...its still very watchable but at what point should I be thinking about switching out the bulb for a new one?

I now use the settings for Cinema 1 from the tweak thread and at over 1300 hours it is getting a little dim.If I switch to Cinema 3 it is MUCH brighter,but way off.Has anyone dialed in settings for Cinema 3 to make it more accurate and bright?If not, at what point do you replace the lamp?I am trying not to spend to much money on the AE900 because I'm going 1080P arter Cedia!John

I just passed 5000 hours on the original bulb.
I had to reset the counter.
At 4996 hours it auto turned off after 10 minutes.
I thought that was supposed to happen at 3k hours.
I also had the replace bulb banner top left for a long time.
Obviously I've been using low power from day one.
After resetting the counter, stays on and all is well.
I have a new bulb but I'm going to see how long this one lasts.
It's still plenty bright.

I just passed 5000 hours on the original bulb.
I had to reset the counter.
At 4996 hours it auto turned off after 10 minutes.
I thought that was supposed to happen at 3k hours.
I also had the replace bulb banner top left for a long time.
Obviously I've been using low power from day one.
After resetting the counter, stays on and all is well.
I have a new bulb but I'm going to see how long this one lasts.
It's still plenty bright.

haha HOLY CRAP...I've been using the Higher Power just because I didn't like the picture from the low power...5000 hours? wow

Kind of like seeing how far you can go on a tank of gas eh? What a challenge! So I have to ask...how is the brightness? How is the picture quality overall?

I use the PJ only at night. Bright room.
It's fine in a dark.
I'm sure it's not as bright as the new bulb would be.
But HD-DVD and Blu-Ray look great.
I'm going for the record.
The only thing that concerns me is the manual says there is more of a chance of the bulb exploding after 3k hours.
My first LCD pj was a Sharp 640x480 and that bulb lasted 10 years.

So when you guys started getting up over 800-1000hr mark, did you notice the PJ taking a little longer to "strike" the bulb.

When I turn the PJ on, the green light will flash for 15-30 seconds and then the screen will come up as opposed to the 3-5 seconds it took when it was new. The red light NEVER comes on, just a little longer for the PJ to fire up.

I DO clean the filter regularly and I have ample ventilation, so those are not a concern.

Rob

So when you guys started getting up over 800-1000hr mark, did you notice the PJ taking a little longer to "strike" the bulb.

When I turn the PJ on, the green light will flash for 15-30 seconds and then the screen will come up as opposed to the 3-5 seconds it took when it was new. The red light NEVER comes on, just a little longer for the PJ to fire up.

I DO clean the filter regularly and I have ample ventilation, so those are not a concern.

Rob

yeah mine has taken longer to turn on...but not that much longer...its at full brightness in 20-30 seconds even with ~1800 hours on the bulb...it might be a few seconds slower

I have a small "white" spot on the bottom a little left of center. It is about the size of a baseball (on a 110 inch screen). It can only be seen on a completely black scene in a movie. It isn't real "bright" but just enough to bother me. The new NIN-Beside You In Time is my favorite HD disc right now and much of it is dark scenes so it is more prevalent with this title. This is only my second front projector so I am no expert with them. Anyone know what is causing this? TIA, Eric

I have a small "white" spot on the bottom a little left of center. It is about the size of a baseball (on a 110 inch screen). It can only be seen on a completely black scene in a movie. It isn't real "bright" but just enough to bother me. The new NIN-Beside You In Time is my favorite HD disc right now and much of it is dark scenes so it is more prevalent with this title. This is only my second front projector so I am no expert with them. Anyone know what is causing this? TIA, Eric

Sounds like a dust-blob...maybe...do a search in this thread for dust blobs and see if it sounds the same

Sounds like a dust-blob...maybe...do a search in this thread for dust blobs and see if it sounds the same

thanks

why is it that when I run the 900 in HDMI, I am compelled to view dvd's in 16:9? s-video allows for other aspect ratios, but HDMI doesn't seem to. am I doing something wrong? (manual has no answer that I can find.)

thanks, M.

why is it that when I run the 900 in HDMI, I am compelled to view dvd's in 16:9? s-video allows for other aspect ratios, but HDMI doesn't seem to. am I doing something wrong? (manual has no answer that I can find.)


This is by design, and is common on most viewing devices with HDMI inputs. The DVD player is happily sending out an Aspect Ratio switching flag to inform the viewing device to switch to 4:3 or 16:9 as necessary... unfortunately it's sending it over SCART... Who uses SCART these days? hmm.

Your best bet is to see if your DVD player has a button on its remote (or worse in the player menus) to manually switch the aspect ratio.

Word of Warning: I have an AE900E, and after 1 year of watching 50% 16:9 and 50% 4:3 (with left+right black bars) I noticed with 16:9 material a significant 'dulling' of the areas where the black bars were during 4:3 playback. I stopped switching to 4:3 (I can, as I'm using component), and watched EVERYTHING* in 16:9 - after 6 months, the dulling has finally gone. :)

(* Alyssa Miliano in Charmed in the wrong ratio becomes seriously over-endowed! :eek: )

-Jar.

Thanks for the advice! Very helfpul.

I have to say, I am still puzzled by the 'flag' the dvd player is meant to be sending to the viewing device. It seems as though I am always having to set it manually, even when using S-video.

I will take your advice and avoid this, and try to figure out a way of switching on the dvd player. Might have to get a new one.

Funny thing is, the Oppo EV-981 that I was interested in, for possible multi zone use, only provides HDMI, no component. So I will buy the older model, which offers both. Crazy.

Thanks again! -- m.

I'm in need of a new bulb . I have 2100 hours on mine it it is getting dark and some times won't even turn on .

So where is the cheapest place to get a replacement ? Seems $350 is what I can find .

Also the filter what is the best way to clean it . Or do you just replace it as well ?

I'm in need of a new bulb . I have 2100 hours on mine it it is getting dark and some times won't even turn on .

So where is the cheapest place to get a replacement ? Seems $350 is what I can find .

Also the filter what is the best way to clean it . Or do you just replace it as well ?

I purchased a lamp for my PT-L500U and it came with a new filter. You should be cleaning your filter according to the manual. With my 500, that is every 100 hours of use and it is very easy.

Chris

I use a 2 gallon wet/dry vac with a clean nozzle to suck the dust out of the filter. Works great! 2100 hours with never properly cleaning the filter? If only the AX100 was that reliable!

I have had the 900 for about 2 years now. About a week ago the picture dimmed and after various times of watching the unit would shut down with no fan noise on it's own. The lamp light would blink. I checked the bulb usage and it was at 2680. I purchased a new bulb and installed it. The first night I was using it the unit ran fine for about 3 hours then did the same thing. It shuts off with no warning and the lamp light blinks. I have reset the usage so I assume that is not causing it. I have also gone into the maintenance menu and everything is listed as OK. I assume it might be overheating but then wouldn't the temp light flash instead?

That sounds like it could be the same sticky iris failure that many have had on the AX100, causing the unit to shut down after a minute. My ax100 failed after only a few months.

If that's the case I will take the unit back to c*stc*. I thin kit's covered for longer than the standard since I bought it before they changed their warranty this year. I might have a bulb with only 3 hours for sale soon.

Lucky you. If you have the box and all the accessories, you have a much better chance of a full refund. They are getting pickier about returns lately.

I saved everything. I had the 4805 from there and it lasted about 1 year and refused to turn on. I took it in and got a full cash refund on the spot.

I think they have to honor all returns/refunds before they changed policy this year but I do not know for sure.

Look at your receipt. If it's the new policy, it will state that projectors must be returned within 90 days of purchase. Otherwise, you're good to go! Have fun!

Hi All,

Hoping to get some help here before sending my projector in for service: I got home from work today, turned it on, and there are vertical lines running down the screen. If I turn my inputs off, and the projector defaults to it's blue screen I am unable to see any of these lines. However, if I press any of the input buttons, I can see the same evenly spaced lines on the input "icon" that displays on the screen. The lines seem to be red in color -- when Sports Center goes to a screen full of their red graphics I can only see the lines in the white text.

Thanks for any thoughts,

-Josh

Bought it almost 2 years ago. Long before the policy change. In act one of the selling points on the website was that their warranty extended the standard manufacturers.

Hi All,

Hoping to get some help here before sending my projector in for service: I got home from work today, turned it on, and there are vertical lines running down the screen. If I turn my inputs off, and the projector defaults to it's blue screen I am unable to see any of these lines. However, if I press any of the input buttons, I can see the same evenly spaced lines on the input "icon" that displays on the screen. The lines seem to be red in color -- when Sports Center goes to a screen full of their red graphics I can only see the lines in the white text.

Thanks for any thoughts,

-Josh
Just a small thought.......try a new cable from your source.....or...if you are running component, try hdmi or vice versa. Good luck

I will try -- but, as I said, the lines are projected on the GUI, and input graphics (that display when you switch sources) -- so I believe it is not dependent on the source. Very sad. Anyone need a lamp for this PJ with ~300hrs? Think I'll be in the market for another used projector now.

Thanks for the input,

-Josh

I have just under 2000 hours on my Panny 900 and I have a problem that the projector goes black for a second or two every so often when I am connect via my HDMI cable. I tried switching to the component cables and the probem is not there. Since it works fine via component I assume the cable coming into the cable box is fine. Also I switched out the cable box and the problem still exists so I know the cable box is not the problem. That leaves either the HDMI cable (Blue Jeans) or the projector. Is there a way to test them to see which is failing? I don't have another HDMI device and the run of cable is quite long so it would be expensive it but a new one on speculation.

Anyone had this problem?

I did purchase an extended warranty with Mack.

Thank you...Mike

drunkenjack: check out ********** dot com for a replacement bulb for this projector. Just got one 2 weeks ago for about $250 delivered. Took about 5 days to get to me.

Starting to not feel to happy about my purchase.
I replaced the bulb about 2 weeks ago and noticed immediatly that there was a spot in the dead center of nothing, no picture/blurry garbage. Is it dust? did i miss a calibration step somewhere?

So I just connected my PS3 via HDMI and tried to set it to 1080p. It displayed it, buy it didn't fit the projected image - everything was too big and went off the edges of the image.

I was searching for more info about this in this thread and the PS3 thread over in the Bluray section. What's the verdict about 1080p and the PS3? Does it work with this projector or is there an issue with the Panny 900 or PS3?

Mark

P.S. - I hope the next version of the 1080p Panny is cheaper and even better.

The 900 only does 1080i.

So I just connected my PS3 via HDMI and tried to set it to 1080p. It displayed it, buy it didn't fit the projected image - everything was too big and went off the edges of the image.

I was searching for more info about this in this thread and the PS3 thread over in the Bluray section. What's the verdict about 1080p and the PS3? Does it work with this projector or is there an issue with the Panny 900 or PS3?

Mark

P.S. - I hope the next version of the 1080p Panny is cheaper and even better.

This projector will do 1080p/24. It is weird because if you just tick 720p and 1080i in the PS3 menu and play a blu-ray movie it will show in 1080p/24. Not sure why, but it does.

You are right...I stand corrected. Sorry about the misinformation.

Have you compared 1080p to 720p on Blu Ray? Do you notice any difference?

I was initially under the impression that it couldn't do 1080p/24 as well, until I saw something about it here in this forum. A quick check in the manual confirms that it can indeed accept 1080p/24 via HDMI and component.

So if I leave 1080p unselected in the Bluray system menu it will still output 1080p? My projector menu says 1080i, though. I'm confused. Does the projector natively display 24 frames or does it convert it to 30 frames?

BTW, it still looks good at 1080i (scaled to 720, of course).

Mark

Starting to not feel to happy about my purchase.
I replaced the bulb about 2 weeks ago and noticed immediatly that there was a spot in the dead center of nothing, no picture/blurry garbage. Is it dust? did i miss a calibration step somewhere?

My guess is dust without seeing a picture of it. If you can take a picture and post it you should get some opinions as to the cause.

Chris

It sounds like a dust problem and needs cleaning. It is very easy to clean the AE900 I had to do it last week. You must remove the cover first and stand the projector on its side on something flat. Use a can of compressed air keeping the can flat so that no liquid goes into the projector. Spray the air into the areas near the three orange ribbon connectors which are for the LCD's. Be careful when you do this and spray on all sides of the ribbon connectors. Clean the filter, replace the cover. This worked for me and it was very easy.

You might want to search this thread for instructions on how to clean the AE500 with pictures. It will help with the AE900.

This projector will do 1080p/24. It is weird because if you just tick 720p and 1080i in the PS3 menu and play a blu-ray movie it will show in 1080p/24. Not sure why, but it does.
After a bit of playing around with my PS3 I found out that as long as I have "forced 1080/24p" selected the PS3 will output 1080/24p for 1080/24p movies. The projector shows 1080/24p in the menu. BTW, this is with firmware 1.9 which added forced 1080/24p.

I cannot select 1080p in the display settings as it effectively zooms the image so that information is beyond the edges of the display. I have selected only 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

Mark

Does anyone know the cheapest and reliable place to get a replacement lamp for the AE900?

~Josh

Does anyone know the cheapest and reliable place to get a replacement lamp for the AE900?

~Josh

You can look at auction #130134882037 for the best deal I could find and read feedback for the seller and see if you agree.

Chris

Does anyone know the cheapest and reliable place to get a replacement lamp for the AE900?

~Josh

Use www.pronto.com (a search engine). (I think this is ok to post this....if not I'm sorry).

The lamp is ETLAE900. Good luck

I ordered mine from Provantage.com. Just search for ET-LAE900

price and shipping were reasonable, and provantage is a trustworthy vendor.

You are right...I stand corrected. Sorry about the misinformation.

Have you compared 1080p to 720p on Blu Ray? Do you notice any difference?

Sorry for the delay in response. I have been on vacation and just getting settled back in. Me personally, I don't see a huge difference. But then again I don't have the best eye for this.

I got my Panny at the beginning of last week. I did a lot of reading beforehand in this forum to help me make the desicion. I am really happy with it! I got a 92" Greywolf II to go with it (getting the II was a nice surprise!). Next up an Oppo DVD player!

Only issue is a problem getting my PC to detect the projector through the monoprice 5x1 hdmi switch, but I posted about that elsewhere already.

I'm happy to join the community! Go Panny!

Have you found any more information about this? I am using the rev 2.5 4x1 HDMI switch and it does not work with my HTPC with a DVI->HDMI or HDMI->HDMI cable. I have the MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH which has HDMI and DVI outputs. It works perfectly in Windows XP when the HDMI cable (35ft 24AWG monoprice) is directly connected between the HTPC and the AE900. During boot I do not see the BIOS but I don't really care about that. Once I add the switch my HTPC no longer detects a Monitor device (i.e. Monitors just says "Default Monitor" instead of "AE900"). I also have a 7600GT with DVI outputs and it behaves the same way. At the moment it seems as though I may have wasted money buying the MSI VGA because it didn't help :(.

On a side note, the Xbox 360 Elite takes about 20 seconds to display video when I have it connected through the switch. It boots up instantly without the switch. My Oppo DVD player works flawlessly through the switch.

EDIT:

I found that short 6ft HDMI cables on each side of the switch did not resolve the issues. I also tested using an LCD monitor with a DVI-HDMI cable as the display and that does work with my Xbox and HTPC through the switch.

Could the Panasonic PT-AE900U be violating some requirements of the HDMI specification or is it more likely an issue with the Monoprice 4x1 rev2.5 HDMI switch?

I'm depressed!
I've had my AE900U almost two years now.
I just changed the bulb about a week ago.
I turned it on at sundown and the screen is all red!
Tried to adjust the panels, I can't even see the numbers for the red one.
Everything black is red, white is orange. Looks awful.
Anyone know where to send it in for repair?
Thanks.

Check your cable connections. Maybe one of your component leads isn't pushed in fully.

Check your cable connections. Maybe one of your component leads isn't pushed in fully.

Using HDMI.
It doesn't matter anyway.
With no input at all the screen is bright Red.
Yesterday the screen flickered a few times and went blank.
I turned it off and then back on it was ok but flickered a few times while watching.
Now it's not flickering anymore but all red though.

What's the place everyone sends their pj to?
Homeland I think?
I'll call Panasonic I guess on Monday.
No big screen movies this weekend, bummer!

Sorry for the delay in response. I have been on vacation and just getting settled back in. Me personally, I don't see a huge difference. But then again I don't have the best eye for this.

Anyone else tried this? I'm just wondering if it's worth having 1080P sources for this projector over 720P/1080i sources. I would have originally figured no, but you guys have me curious now.

Anyone else tried this? I'm just wondering if it's worth having 1080P sources for this projector over 720p/1080i sources. I would have originally figured no, but you guys have me curious now.My personal (and in this case very subjective) opinion is that the PT-AE900U looks a tad bit sharper when the PS3 is outputting 1080p24 compared to 720p or 1080i. This is for 1080p BD.

Chase

You send them to Heartland. Good Luck!

Using HDMI.
It doesn't matter anyway.
With no input at all the screen is bright Red.
Yesterday the screen flickered a few times and went blank.
I turned it off and then back on it was ok but flickered a few times while watching.
Now it's not flickering anymore but all red though.
What's the place everyone sends their pj to?
Homeland I think?
I'll call Panasonic I guess on Monday.
No big screen movies this weekend, bummer!

Not sure if it's your case. Maybe in the movements when you changed the lamp, one or more of the ribbons that connect the LCD panels to the mainboard could be loose. Check this: change the screen setting from "ceiling" to "desk" (or vice-versa) and see if that make some improvement. If so, you will need to open the PJ and secure the ribbons locks. The locks that fix the ribbons to the mainboard seems to be a little weak.
If your PJ is in warranty, better send it to repair.

Not sure if it's your case. Maybe in the movements when you changed the lamp, one or more of the ribbons that connect the LCD panels to the mainboard could be loose. Check this: change the screen setting from "ceiling" to "desk" (or vice-versa) and see if that make some improvement. If so, you will need to open the PJ and secure the ribbons locks. The locks that fix the ribbons to the mainboard seems to be a little weak.
If your PJ is in warranty, better send it to repair.

I tried to flip the screen from ceiling to desk, still red.
The projector is out of waranty.
Where exactly are these ribbon locks?
Can I access them from the bulb access door?
I tried to open the case. Not so easy.
Something is caught. I removed all the screws.
I must be missing something.

I tried to flip the screen from ceiling to desk, still red.
I tried to open the case. Not so easy.
Something is caught. I removed all the screws.
I must be missing something.

I'm having almost the same problem. 1.5yrs old, out of warantee, today I see thin black horizontal lines every 8 pixels or so on the green plane. I'm probably going to have to send it in and pay a fortune. Yikes! To open the case undo the screws on the bottom. Undo one screw on the back panel at top center. Unscrew the lens aiming lever all the way and you can pull it right off off. Now the top comes off easily. You'll see three ribbon cables around a center. :eek: DELICATE! CAREFUL! The connectors unlock with tiny black things on each side. If one was insane one could perhaps unlock, pull the ribbon out, put it back, relock, in hopes it was a loose connection. BUT DON'T. DELICATE! CAREFUL! :eek:

Probably you are caught on the lens shift joystick....unscrew that and you should be good.

Since it is pretty obvious a bunch of you have opened your Panasonic projectors I was curious if you could answer something for me. I have a slight convergence issue and I believe there are 3 small screws (one for each color plate) that allows you to correctly align them. Is this true and have any of you actually attempted to adjust this?

eddieb187

- Where exactly are these ribbon locks?
See this picture
http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ae500ribbonslocksxc2.jpg
This AE500 projector is simmilar to your AE900. The picture was posted by Calibos in this thread (cleaning panels tutorial):
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123489&pp=15&page=2
(post #28)

-Can I access them from the bulb access door?
no they are in the other side.

-I tried to open the case. Not so easy. Something is caught. I removed all the screws.
Unscrew the lenshift knob

As Lepton said, the ribbons are very delicate. So CAREFUL.

eddieb187
Did you solve your problem?
Did you find the cause?

eddieb187
Did you solve your problem?
Did you find the cause?

No. I called Panasonic support.
They didn't seem to think it was a loose ribbon.
They said the red panel probably went.
Not really worth fixing if that's the case. Too expensive.
I'd rather spend that $ on a 1080p projector but thought it best to wait and see what happens after Cedia.
I'm interested in the Mitsubishi HC6000.
I was hoping the AE900U would last me until then. Not.
I'll still try to crack it open it again when I get some time.
I'll sell it if I can fix it. It's a great projector, had it 2 years now.

I bought an Epson HC400.
The $500 rebate was too good to pass up.
Now I can take time my looking for the best 1080p deal.
Thanks for your help.

I ordered mine from Provantage.com. Just search for ET-LAE900

price and shipping were reasonable, and provantage is a trustworthy vendor.

You can also buy it from eBay seller, buyfromjapan, who has over 5000 feedback and a 100% rating (pretty incredible, really). The price is less than $250 shipped.

I have a slight convergence issue and I believe there are 3 small screws (one for each color plate) that allows you to correctly align them. Is this true and have any of you actually attempted to adjust this?

How many pixels does your unit misalign?

Have you looked at the service manual?

If you look at the tweak thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=589234&page=47) you'll find a message stating that the panels are glued to the circuit board and cannot be easily adjusted. This seems to make some sense as if the adjustment was electronic, why should it be "hidden" inside the unit?

How many pixels does your unit misalign?

Have you looked at the service manual?

If you look at the tweak thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=589234&page=47) you'll find a message stating that the panels are glued to the circuit board and cannot be easily adjusted. This seems to make some sense as if the adjustment was electronic, why should it be "hidden" inside the unit?

The alignment is not the same over the entire picture. The top right seems to be aligned within specifications but the lower left is misaligned by about 1.5 pixels for blue and 2 pixels for green, in different directions. This is only obvious when using my HTPC with the general MS Windows environment. I was hoping for some sort of adjustment based on "turning a screw" because I assumed it was not an electronic mechanism. I'll read through the tweak thread to see what other people have done. I am also going to do some research to find the service manual because I do not have it. Thanks!

Is this the highest resolution I can expect my PC to recognize over HDMI/DVI?

Is this the highest resolution I can expect my PC to recognize over HDMI/DVI?

I assume you mean the highest resolution that you can set for your PC's video output? If so, that depends on many things. Your video card, video driver, and operating system are the biggest influences. My HTPC can run resolutions up to 1080p and beyond without issues. I run the output at 1280x720 (720p) to match the native resolution of the projector.

I am using the latest 8800GTS cards with 640MB. So you think I should be checking the driver for my card then? I am running vista. I don't think the AE900 has drivers does it?

I am using the latest 8800GTS cards with 640MB. So you think I should be checking the driver for my card then? I am running vista. I don't think the AE900 has drivers does it?

There is no display driver for the AE900. It works as a standard "digital monitor" that Windows XP has. I am not sure if Vista is the same in this respect but it probably is. The latest Nvidia drivers work for me. Make sure you go into the Nvidia setup application and tell it that your display should be treated as an HDTV. Then select 720p as the format.

I'm thinking of trading my Panasonic 50" plasma to a gentlman for his AE900. We put a brand new lamp in last night while he was over, and I tried it out on my off-white wall. The picture was really good but not great. I sampled scenes from a few blu-ray discs and some HD-DVDs. My room only allows me to view an 80" or so image. Would a screen noticelby improve the brightness and clarity of the image?? By what percentage??

Thanks,

Marc.

Hi guys

I recently bought a Panasonic 900U and I have some questions about it.

First and ugliest: I see rainbows in text. Specially on white text over black or dark colors.

I am using computer connected through HDMI, 1280x720 resolution, everything as it shoud be done... but the problem is still there.

I attach some pictures so you can see the problem.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4927/dsc03363qp1.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc03363qp1.jpg)

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8098/dsc03369nz7.th.jpg (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc03369nz7.jpg)

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2158/dsc03370ov4.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc03370ov4.jpg)


Is it normal on this projector?

I just came from a viewsonic DLP and I didnt have this kind of troubles. It was perfect for using with my computer... and this panasonic hurts my eyes!!!

Please, some help.
Sorry for my english, Im from Argentina and Spanish is my native lang.

Thanks you all.

Would a screen noticelby improve the brightness and clarity of the image?? By what percentage??


yes...and yes...the screen will reflect back more of the light than a flat-white wall..by what percentage, you would need a screen and light-meter to know that ;)

yes...and yes...the screen will reflect back more of the light than a flat-white wall..by what percentage, you would need a screen and light-meter to know that ;)


Thanks for the reply! Locally, I'm actually able to get a better price on a higher gain screen than a matte-white one. I'm going to be using it in a room where it won't always be totaly dark. Would a Optoma Panoview GrayWolf II screen with a 1.8 gain work well with the 900U, or would it be TOO reflective?? The projector will be mounted in a bookshelf in back of the seating area and all seating will be directly in front of the screen. Any opinion is greatly appreciated!

Marc.

First and ugliest: I see rainbows in text. Specially on white text over black or dark colors.

Is it normal on this projector?

I noticed the same issue when I first got my projector. This "rainbow" effect as you call it is officially known as a mis-alignment leading to a convergence issue. This occurs when the RGB plates are not aligned perfectly. The specs on the projector allow for a +-1 pixel shift for any color as far as I am aware. On my projector one of my colors is off by about 2 pixels in some parts of the screen. If you move the OSD around on the screen you should be able to see the convergence change between different areas of the screen. It is possible to adjust this but it is not a simple matter, and that is the reason why I have not attempted it yet.