Panny AE900 Official Thread- Please post here! [Text View] - Page 7

bubbawilly

11-16-05, 01:56 PM

I'm waiting for this before I buy, and I need to order from a place in Japan.

Also, what are the chances of getting a Panasonic unit with a dead or stuck pixel???

didn't I hear about Panasonic having a zero-bad-pixel guarantee? Would that be for Panasonic Japan too?

Sorry about the last minute questions, but I have been researching frantically for a month to get an HD display for my xbox 360 party, and unfortunately, my school grades are suffering now. More time on PJ's and LCD's than school work.

Just a guess here, but I'm speculating that Panasonic eliminated the solid color screens in the extended menu so that it would be much more difficult to spot dead pixels. I'm not condeming them for this, because what matters is whether any dead pixels affect the actual image, not some test screen. The same applies to spotting flicker on solid color test screens, vs detecting it in an image. A very limited number of dead pixels would be difficult, if not impossible to detect under normal viewing conditions.

That said, my unit has about a 3" square block of stuck green pixels. That's a lot of pixels at 1280x720 resolution. It isn't detectable in a full screen image, but because of where they are located, it is visible in the bottom black border of any source with wider than 1.78 aspect (virtually everything but Disney). I don't know what Panasonic's policy is on this, but I know what my dealer's policy is.

My wife asked 2 questions when I asked her what she thought about the image. First was "is the image bowed," and second was "what is that green glow?"

MikeSRC

11-16-05, 02:20 PM

That said, my unit has about a 3" square block of stuck green pixels. That's a lot of pixels at 1280x720 resolution.

Yow, that's a lot for sure! I think that would fall under anyone's warranty policy. Thankfully, I haven't found any on mine.

Technaught

11-16-05, 02:31 PM

I don't understand why you need a separate DVD player, and moreover, why do you have it connected to AE900 with S-video, when you have your PC already connected via DVI.

As you will read in the user's guide, the features this decoder has are at par with some of the better upscaling standalone DVD players.

Onastov,

Thanks for the heads up. I am in the process of building a HTPC and never really thought about using this one for anything other than games etc. I didn't know if the 9600 Pro had enough horsepower to put up a quality DVD image. I will give it a try today.

Thanks,

Technaught

PiNPOiNT

11-16-05, 02:39 PM

Can anyone please PM me somewhere that i can purchase a 900u from the states, that will ship to canada?

Thanks

{Godlightsoul}

11-16-05, 02:47 PM

What are you asking re: response time? Rate of decay for fast moving scenes?
pretty much, yes.

I know lcd monitors commonly have response times of say 8ms or 12ms or 16ms (eek!). I was wondering if anyone knew the response time of the .7" lcd in the projector- and I want to know because response time is directly related to decay of fast moving scenes, and I plan to use the PJ for 70% xbox 360, 30% movies

DenisT

11-16-05, 02:57 PM

Can anyone please PM me somewhere that i can purchase a 900u from the states, that will ship to canada?

Try AVS, the sponsors of t his forum. See the AVS now carries the AE900 thread which is about 6 down from this one. I bought an anamorphic lens from them a few years back.

You should also look at the posting rules. The people who sponsor this forum run a business and fund the forum from their profits.

HoMac

11-16-05, 03:23 PM

ae900 runs really hot. I'm in a closed room and now there's no problem, but in summer?
I don't know what to say, willdao. But it's hotter than what I thought.

I am building a delicated theater in the basement. I am thinking to buy an AE900u (or later) and I have concerns about the heat it generates as well. My room is 14'W x 19'L x 7.5'H. Do you think the heat would get to the point when I have to open the door gasping :eek: for cool air during a 2/3-hour movie? The room is around 70F year-round. Need I build a hushbox with air vent to the outside?

Mike-

tubaprde

11-16-05, 03:56 PM

Hello, Anyone able to reply to this? thanks!

I'm in the market for my first pj and have narrowed it down to the optoma h31 and at 2x the cost, the ae900. I love hidef on 720P DLP's that i've seen (the h79) but I can't afford one of those. My question: For those who've seen both pj's in action, which has better black levels, contrast, shapness, 480p & 720p images.
I would assume that the pj would tie in most everything except hidef images b/c the 900 is native 720p, but on the other hand the h31 looks pretty darn good when it downscales a 720p signal. Bottom the line: is the panasonic worth 2x the money? Or should I save my money, get the h31, and buy a 720p 2 years down the road when they're much cheaper?

Any thoughts and first hand experiences are greatly, greatly apprieated! Thanks everyone!

(P.S. every DLP that i've seen looks really nice to me, even the cheaper ones (hc3 and h31). Also, the only LCD pj that i've seen was the h51, and i must say, i hated the screen door effect and lack of black levels...--but then again i only saw a 480p image on the LCD.)

bubbawilly

11-16-05, 06:25 PM

I am building a delicated theater in the basement. I am thinking to buy an AE900u (or later) and I have concerns about the heat it generates as well. My room is 14'W x 19'L x 7.5'H. Do you think the heat would get to the point when I have to open the door gasping :eek: for cool air during a 2/3-hour movie? The room is around 70F year-round. Need I build a hushbox with air vent to the outside?

Mike-

I have two concerns based on where you live. First, you will most definitely need to run the fan on high based on your altitude (per the manual). Depending on where the projector is mounted, the high fan noise may be distracting (it is to me).

Second, the high fan will exaust more heated air in the room, and it will heat the room up during a 2 hour movie. Whether it will be uncomfortable is an individual preference.

I'm not quite sure how you could build a hush box with a vent to the outside when the projector vents to the front, but I suppose it's possible with a little ingenuity

tvted

11-16-05, 06:57 PM

I'm getting 146 in Normal mode and 150 in High. Anyone else want to check this? Just select "Self Check" in the service menu.

Mike,
Are you aware that in their inifinite wisdom Panasonic decided that lower numbers mean *higher* temps? Thus your 150 in "High" mode is indeed *lower* than the 146 in Normal mode. Intuitive huh? :rolleyes:
:)
ted

Oriphus

11-16-05, 07:00 PM

thanks for your response oriphus.... !

i must point out that noise has been a concern with mine, especially since i had to get the first ae900 replaced due to an ongoing whining sound.

on the other hand, i also want to point out that this is a really good projector, especially if you are a first time projector owner, your socks will be blown off by this thing.

krlock2

I agree with those sentiments that if you are a first time owner or have had a basic LCD or DLP projector in the past, this really will impress you. Im not as impressed as i thought i would be with this over the AE500, but im still very pleased I upgraded.

As for the noise, yes my whines a good bit on start up - sounds like something warming up? It eventually fades away after a few minutes, but was a concern to me at the start after the problems you said you had.

Powerful amount of heat comes off it and its certainly not dead quiet. Its pretty quiet and in low fan mode, even with the projector 4 feet from me with the exhaust pointing in my direction, its virtually silent when there are movie sounds on, but hit mute or go through a quiet scene and it can be heard. Its not annoying, but i just want people to be aware that if they are within 4-8 feet of the projector, particularly if rear mounted, then they will probably hear it ever so slightly.

Chris

Oriphus

11-16-05, 07:02 PM

My wife asked 2 questions when I asked her what she thought about the image. First was "is the image bowed," and second was "what is that green glow?"

lol - definitely a problem there mate if the wife picks it up...

MikeSRC

11-16-05, 07:03 PM

Are you aware that in their inifinite wisdom Panasonic decided that lower numbers mean *higher* temps? Thus your 150 in "High" mode is indeed *lower* than the 146 in Normal mode. Intuitive huh?

Yes, willdao clued me in about it and then I found the post discussing it, which I linked to here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6542824&&#post6542824). Apparently, 255 equals "zero". Go figure. :rolleyes:

tvted

11-16-05, 07:05 PM

I'm looking for a theater-like field of view, and it looks like the Panasonic is the way to go.

Music to my eyes.

Too many don't realize that 1.5 is the *minimum*recommended viewing distance for a THX approved theatre (the back of the bus). Certainly nowhere near my preferred 1.2 - and I would go closer if the limitation in the source wasn't evident. Heck I'm about 1 with 2.35 material.

This stuff of 2 and 1.5 started *because* of SDE and other artifacts.

ted

Oriphus

11-16-05, 07:14 PM

oh...also...anyone know how to get into the service menu settings?

Thanks
Chris

willdao

11-16-05, 07:18 PM

Music to my eyes.

Too many don't realize that 1.5 is the *minimum*recommended viewing distance for a THX approved theatre (the back of the bus). Certainly nowhere near my preferred 1.2 - and I would go closer if the limitation in the source wasn't evident. Heck I'm about 1 with 2.35 material.

This stuff of 2 and 1.5 started *because* of SDE and other artifacts.

ted

Oh, great point!...which is why smoothscreen is DEFINITELY a deal-maker, for me! I, too, prefer to sit closer than 1.5 (whether at home or in the local cineplex, where it's also tough to get a good field-of-view in the smaller "cracker-box-sized" rooms). Great point, and one that few folks know!

willdao

P.S. Also, I have a wireless keyboard with a built-in mouse...if "convergence" is really gonna happen, then one HAS to be not much more than ~1.0 times the screen width to be able to see smaller text sizes...the Panny makes this possible...

johnbe

11-16-05, 08:21 PM

I did what I thought I would never do and that is buy an lcd projector. Crt and then dlp have always been my personal preference. Just got off the phone and ordered one and it is suppose to be here Friday. The AE900 of course. Now I am thinking of mounting it on the back wall. Mainly because I do not want to buy a ceiling mount for it. Does anyone have a picture of the type of shelf they are using to hold either this or the 700. Or at least a good description. I need a quick idea. Thanks.

InPhase

11-16-05, 08:59 PM

Can someone list all the things that one should immediately do with the 900 before spending too much time tweaking with Avia or DVE? For instance, I have turned the sharpness all the way down, put it in Cinema 1. In particular, could someone give directions on getting into the service menu to do the flicker tweak? (I have not seen any VB on my projector, but I've heard that this could make the picture more stable?)

InPhase

11-16-05, 09:03 PM

Also, just for those who may be wondering, the Panny is a wonderful projector. I am coming from an X1 to this. I purchased the Oppo DVD player with it and the image is fantastic. (720P from the Oppo) The smooth screen does NOT blur the image. The biggest problem right now is that my source (DVD) is not up to the task. I can definitely see the limitations of DVD with this projector. I can't wait for Blu-Ray to get here! :)

calibos

11-16-05, 09:09 PM

Yes, willdao clued me in about it and then I found the post discussing it, which I linked to here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6542824&&#post6542824). Apparently, 255 equals "zero". Go figure. :rolleyes:

LOL. Followed that link and the link within that post and arrived at one of my own posts over at avforums from a year ago. :D

I mentioned in that post that I wondered whether Panasoinc had dramitically improved cooling with the AE700 because the guy had panel temps of 150 while mine were 90-95 on my AE300, or had Panasonic changed the numbering scale but kept the higher number/cooler temp theme. Well anyway I can confirm that they haven't now that I have my AE900. They are still using the exact same number scale that they have used in all AE series PJ's since the AE100. My ambient temps have been the same on my AE100/300 and now my 900. ie. 175-180 in Winter and I assume my 900 will follow the trend of showing Summer ambients of 165-170.

The big difference is the Panel temps. Can't remember what my AE100 temps were but my seasonal AE300 panel temps were 90-100. My 900's temps are 150 and putting it into highfan only 'lowers' the temp to 155. WOW! Thats some cooling improvement. Seeing as my AE300 was going stong with 9970 hours with only the slightest hint of blue poloriser degradation as of the time I dropped it (DOH!) with temps of 90-100 in permanent high fan, I think its safe to assume that I can happily leave my new AE900 in low fan from now on with its temp of 150.

The only way I can see there being a problem is if my AE300 panel temps of 90-100 were erroneous. Any AE300 ex owners in this thread remember what their AE300 panel temps used to be?? ie. if other AE300 owners temps were in the 150's and I was getting wrong readings all along then that would mean there hasn't been a dramatic improvement in cooling with the newer models and maybe I should stick my 900 back into high fan to cope with my 9 hour a day PJ usage(family of 6 using PJ like a TV)

thaxx

11-16-05, 09:14 PM

Calibos,
I don't know about the 300 but my 500's temps are...
Temp 1...........87
Temp 2.........173

bonorden

11-16-05, 09:50 PM

I can't find a Panny AE900 anywhere in Houston to purchase...I'd much rather see it for myself before I buy one. I was able to see a Sony HS51 and it looked very good to me...how does the AE900 compare to the Sony?

Wakefield103

11-16-05, 09:54 PM

For those ceiling mounting their 900's:

What ceiling mount are you using? I have tried looking for the Panasonic recommended ET-PKE700 all over the web and have not found anyone selling it. I even looked on the AVS sponsors web sites. Does the type\brand of mount really matter?

Different question:

Has anyone ever flipped their projector upside down and placed it on a shelf? I have a wall that is just to the right of where I plan to put the projector. If I flip the projector upside down, the lens will be very close to the center of the screen (horisontally). If I keep the projector right side up, I will have to use the horizontal lens shift.

My 3 options are:
- Keep right side up and use horizontal lens shift.
- Flip upside down and place on a shelf
- Mount using celling mount inside a makeshift shelf

Wakefield

rboster

11-16-05, 10:36 PM

Wakefield:

I'm using the Chief universial Digital projector mount. It took about 20 mins longer to install on the projector vs the chief mount that is made for the AE700/AE900, but knowing that I would be able to use on the next projector (universal), it was worth the little trouble.

Ron

PS: Not a cheap solution from mounts and more, but worth it IMHO

Joseph S

11-16-05, 10:57 PM

I'm leaning towards a AE900 to replace a Z2.

1) Does the AE900 have discrete remote codes for power on and off?
2) Does it have discrete remote codes for the inputs? (My Z2 has a code for Component/S-vid/composite but nothing for DVI which I need. It also lacks the ability to alternate HDCP/PC Digital DVI settings.)

tubaprde

11-16-05, 11:05 PM

sup all? do you know if the ae900 has better black levels than dlp dc2 pj's like the 4805 and h31????

tubaprde

11-16-05, 11:21 PM

Hello Everyone,

After reading both projectorreview.com and projectorcentral.com reviews for the ae900, one important discrepancy became apparent...check this out:

"However, when shooting some images side by side with BenQ's popular (another Hot Product Award winner), PE7700 projector, one can see that the true black level on the Panasonic is not quite as "black" as the 2500:1 contrast ration BenQ home theater projector. " ---this is from projectorreviews.

..Then seen here, an almost opposite commentary from projectorcentral:

"The AE900 delivered a deeper overall black level than the PE7700. It also produced better detail in heavily shadowed scenes. For example, dark scenes in Heat that were clear and detailed on the AE900 appeared, in comparison, to be muddy and indistinct on the PE7700."

Ok, you know what my question is by now right--who is right? Which pj has better black levels? Could it be that these to reviewers were using different screens and that could explain the discrepancy? I'm new to this stuff but I'd like to know if panasonic's 900 delivers good enough black levels. I've seen optoma's h31, with the dc2 dlp, do you it's black levels are better? If so, i'd save a grand by buying that instead...]

THanks for the help! Peace out!

HTX^2steve

11-16-05, 11:45 PM

120 hours on the lamp and still going....I think I have watched every dvd movie that I had and all the people on my block. So.....anyway I do have a multi-meter with a temp probe on it and I have my fan on high so those who care at the grill I see temps of 133F. If you can imagine myself with people watching the movie and me recording temps on the PJ. We are all sick pj techies!

Steve.

Furious

11-16-05, 11:58 PM

MikeSRC

11-17-05, 12:09 AM

oh...also...anyone know how to get into the service menu settings?

Thanks
Chris

Go to "OSD" under the "Option" heading in the menu. While on "OSD", push and hold down the "Enter" button on the remote until the service menu appears (about 5 seconds).

tubaprde

11-17-05, 12:14 AM

hey MikeSRC, do you have any coments/answers to my questions I posted a few replys up from this one? Thanks!

MikeSRC

11-17-05, 12:15 AM

LOL. Followed that link and the link within that post and arrived at one of my own posts over at avforums from a year ago. :D

...and you're still a hero for posting it. :D

The big difference is the Panel temps. Can't remember what my AE100 temps were but my seasonal AE300 panel temps were 90-100. My 900's temps are 150 and putting it into highfan only 'lowers' the temp to 155. WOW! Thats some cooling improvement. Seeing as my AE300 was going stong with 9970 hours with only the slightest hint of blue poloriser degradation as of the time I dropped it (DOH!) with temps of 90-100 in permanent high fan, I think its safe to assume that I can happily leave my new AE900 in low fan from now on with its temp of 150.

The difference may be due to the AE900 (and 700's) regulation of the lamp output along with the dynamic iris. I'm still not comfortable with the heat that's generated to the exterior of the unit on "Normal", but it may not make any measurable difference on lamp life. Only time will tell.

MikeSRC

11-17-05, 12:24 AM

hey MikeSRC, do you have any coments/answers to my questions I posted a few replys up from this one? Thanks!

My personal opinion is that the AE900 (after calibration) has black levels roughly equal to the 4805 and H31 (or any other DC2 DLP projector). However, in a previous post you said you didn't find the black levels of the HS51 to your liking and I don't think the AE900 is better than that. So, I'm not sure that you'd find the AE900 to be any different.

Kadath

11-17-05, 12:27 AM

Can anyone please PM me somewhere that i can purchase a 900u from the states, that will ship to canada?

Pretty sure B&H will, www.bhphotovideo.com

Sam

tubaprde

11-17-05, 12:44 AM

Thanks for your promt post mike! Yes, I didnt like the hs51 because of the screen door effect and black level. On the otherhand I saw the hs51 image on a crappy screen and a 130" image at fry's--not exactly the best setup that would do the pj justice. On the other hand, I saw the h31 (dc2) in optoma's black room with a great screen--so in all, a very different setup when compared to the hs51 that i saw.

Another thing that projectorreviews' mentioned is that they believe the ae900 is at least as good as most HD2+ (dlp) pjs' out there. If this is the case I'd think i'd love the ae900 because I saw a 7205 (incfocus hd2+) at a store the other day and was really impressed by that image (it was a dvd, so 480p). But, the salesman said that we were viewing the 7205 on a $1500 stewart firehawk screen...i wonder if that makes a big difference? And last... sigh... i found out today that no retailer sells the ae900 in stores where you can acutally test them out for yourself...i guess i won't get to see what it looks like until i buy one!

Thanks again for your help Mike!

ac388

11-17-05, 12:58 AM

chayto

11-17-05, 01:06 AM

Ok...so unit number 3 has 5 damn dead pixels minimum. No more Panasonic for me ever again, this is ridiculous. To anyone who is curious, set your background color to black and then turn to an input that isn't being used. Look for green dead pixels as I've had at least 9-10 green stuck between the last 3 units. These are worse than B grade LCD panels that we are offered by our LCD manufacturers at work.

Very disappointed as the overall product was fantastic and the best LCD I've tested in the last 3 years (Panasonic 100-900/Sony full line up to HS50/51, Yamaha LPX5XXX series). I think I am done with LCD as well, as I am now 4/20 I believe. Sorry to bring everyone down :(

Wow, sorry to hear that ! Given the very few reports of dead pixels, that's amazingly bad luck. Or maybe you're getting projectors returned by others ... Maybe your dealer has something to do with it. Is he an authorized Panasonic dealer ?

As I am about to pull the trigger myself, I was wondering what happens to those PJs that are returned with less than 10 hours ?
The dealer I was going to go with doesn't do that satisfaction guarantee with less than 3 hours on the bulb that they used to have and the explanation I got is that they only want to sell brand new products. Does that mean that some dealers sell those PJs that have been returned as new ?

Furious

11-17-05, 02:52 AM

All brand new units bought via the company I work for and 1 unit exchanged direct with Panasonic. Just three bum units in a row, could be luck of the draw/from the same production run. Nonethless I just don't have the time/patience to keep going on exchanging. What miffed me is that these were the first units I have every had pixel issues with for LCD front projo. I used to get to test pretty banged up dealer samples and never had a single issue.

The hour limit thing is a pure arbitrary way to limit returned units. This is one of the times when it can be advisable to go with a big box/mainstream retailer who has a 30 day return/refund/exchange policy or a good indepedent dealer who is more focussed on customer service.

Wow, sorry to hear that ! Given the very few reports of dead pixels, that's amazingly bad luck. Or maybe you're getting projectors returned by others ... Maybe your dealer has something to do with it. Is he an authorized Panasonic dealer ?

As I am about to pull the trigger myself, I was wondering what happens to those PJs that are returned with less than 10 hours ?
The dealer I was going to go with doesn't do that satisfaction guarantee with less than 3 hours on the bulb that they used to have and the explanation I got is that they only want to sell brand new products. Does that mean that some dealers sell those PJs that have been returned as new ?

Oriphus

11-17-05, 04:10 AM

Go to "OSD" under the "Option" heading in the menu. While on "OSD", push and hold down the "Enter" button on the remote until the service menu appears (about 5 seconds).

Thanks Mike, appreciated.

Chris

scotty144

11-17-05, 08:05 AM

I downloaded the manual and it states that if you are ceiling mounting the 900 you need the approved bracket....does this mean that it cannot be shelf mounted upside down?

rwestley

11-17-05, 08:29 AM

Scotty 144 --You can get may ceiling mounts. Check Ebay, it is the same mount as the AE700.

rwestley

11-17-05, 08:34 AM

Furious, I guess you are one of the unlucky ones. It is strange you have had such problems with dead pixels. I just tried my unit by turning the screen to black and I found no dead pixels after carefully looking. Regarding heat it seems that the AE900 is no hotter than the 700 was. I would use the projector in an open space with good airflow in the back and I don't think anyone will have a problem.

Regarding contrast and black levels in comparision to the 700. The 900 is seems much better. It is close to the AE700 with the use of the 81EF filter. I am using Mike's settings as a start. I do hope that Mike and others post their settings using a filter on the tweak thread. I don't have the equipment to do the tests and I would hope that with tweaks the black levels and contrast can be even better with not too much loss of light output.

rotelryu

11-17-05, 08:41 AM

Hi all,

Just wanted to comment on some concerns being expressed by potential AE900 buyers about the smoothscreen (allegedly!) softening the picture.

Yesterday I watched the Incredibles, Princes Mononoke and SW 3. The image is razor sharp! :eek: Better than any projector I have owned or tried thus far(ae100, z1, hz3 and ae700). Especially with the incredibles, you really had the feeling of "looking out of a window" and being able to pluck (?) the characters of the screen.
If the dvd transfer is up to par, then there is absolutely no reason to complain. It's just an honest projector: garbage in, garbage out.

For an optimal sharpness set up: Go to the colour management option (in the advanced picture settings menu) and select "cursor". You can easily fine tune the sharpness (with the focusring) if you concentrate on this cursor(crosshair).
Also, please disable any keystoning! It makes all the difference.

scotty144

11-17-05, 08:53 AM

Scotty 144 --You can get may ceiling mounts. Check Ebay, it is the same mount as the AE700.

I would like to use my current setup for my AE300. I am just concerned that upside down shelf mounting is not reccomended for the 900.

PiNPOiNT

11-17-05, 09:14 AM

Anyone know if the blockbuster rental coupon is valid in canada if the projector is purchased in the states?

Also, does the rebate work for canadian's who purchase from the states?
*edit*(I just called the number on the rebate form, and the lady clairfied that in fact, they will NOT send the rebate money up to someone in canada who ordered from the states)

bubbawilly

11-17-05, 10:04 AM

You're not going to spot "dead" pixels readily on a black background. A dead pixel, on any one of the 3 color panels, will not pass light, thus it will present as black. Granted, it will be a slightly deeper black than your typical background, but still very hard to see unless you have a whole bunch of contiguous stuck pixels. Even then, you wouldn't know which panel (or panels) was the culprit, since all three colors contribute to the color black.

The best way to check for dead pixels is to put up solid color screens from each of the panels. Any dead pixels will be very apparent, even on the relatively dark, blue panel. A gray screen works as well, but again, you may not know what the offendeng panel is unless you can figure out which color is 'missing.' Panasonic used to make this easy by allowing the user to toggle through the flicker screens, which were solid red, green and blue. Now the projector must be fed a source in order to toggle through the individual colors, and unless the source is of solid intensity, you do not see a solid color, rather an image in one particular color.

"Stuck" pixels are a different matter. A stuck pixel refers to a pixel that is stuck in the open position, meaning that pixel's color, red green or blue, will be present at all times at full intensity, whether it is called for or not. These cannot be spoted in their native screens, rather they are detected in blended colors when the offending pixel's intensity greatly exceeds what is called for.

I have a very large block of stuck green pixels that presents as a glowing green square on an otherwise black background. I haven't calculated how many are stuck, but a 3" square means a whole bunch when you consider that the individual pixels are what, maybe 1/8" each? Red may show up okay on a black background, but probably better on lighter blended colors, as would blue. I doubt that you could spot a few stuck blue pixels on a black screen.

nastyboy

11-17-05, 10:17 AM

I downloaded the manual and it states that if you are ceiling mounting the 900 you need the approved bracket....does this mean that it cannot be shelf mounted upside down?

I currently have my ae900 upside down on a shelf due to my room layout = less lense shift / adjustment.... :)

Downside-have to use remote to turn unit on and ability to address issues if unit fails (flashing lights)

willdao

11-17-05, 10:21 AM

LOL. Followed that link and the link within that post and arrived at one of my own posts over at avforums from a year ago. :D

I mentioned in that post that I wondered whether Panasoinc had dramitically improved cooling with the AE700 because the guy had panel temps of 150 while mine were 90-95 on my AE300, or had Panasonic changed the numbering scale but kept the higher number/cooler temp theme. Well anyway I can confirm that they haven't now that I have my AE900. They are still using the exact same number scale that they have used in all AE series PJ's since the AE100. My ambient temps have been the same on my AE100/300 and now my 900. ie. 175-180 in Winter and I assume my 900 will follow the trend of showing Summer ambients of 165-170.

The big difference is the Panel temps. Can't remember what my AE100 temps were but my seasonal AE300 panel temps were 90-100. My 900's temps are 150 and putting it into highfan only 'lowers' the temp to 155. WOW! Thats some cooling improvement. Seeing as my AE300 was going stong with 9970 hours with only the slightest hint of blue poloriser degradation as of the time I dropped it (DOH!) with temps of 90-100 in permanent high fan, I think its safe to assume that I can happily leave my new AE900 in low fan from now on with its temp of 150.

The only way I can see there being a problem is if my AE300 panel temps of 90-100 were erroneous. Any AE300 ex owners in this thread remember what their AE300 panel temps used to be?? ie. if other AE300 owners temps were in the 150's and I was getting wrong readings all along then that would mean there hasn't been a dramatic improvement in cooling with the newer models and maybe I should stick my 900 back into high fan to cope with my 9 hour a day PJ usage(family of 6 using PJ like a TV)

calibos,

I think it was your initial experiences with the 700's temps/counter-intuitive number scale that I, too, ended up drilling down to, probably through a different series of posts, too, I'll bet...there are many paths to Nirvana :D

As MikeSRC says: a kudos for getting the info to the boards in the first place! Thanks!

willdao

nastyboy

11-17-05, 10:47 AM

I did have a HS50 n AE900 on loan in my apartment for a few days. If you calibrate them correctly, there is quite a difference on the black level between the two(HS50 is better) . However, the major difference is the video noise level on the Panny which really bothers me a lot after seeing how clean Sony is.

Then again, it may not be a fair comparison, since there is quite a price difference between the two.

I upgraded to the ae900 at no added cost. I have being trying correctly to describe what you have just stated. Video Noise = animated "grain" that is very distracting, not an issue with the ae700!

Only happens during certain scenes of movies / tv shows depends on source. Is this a lighting issue during making of the film / show that is amplified by the iris of the projector? Can this be tweaked / fixed.

Sitting 11'.5 feet away from a 74" diag screen viewing dancing grains is a downer and makes the upgrade to the 900 feel like a step backwards.

The following attachments is an examples of what is stated above:
off attachment you can see the video noise
on attachment no noise / reduced.

Zoom into sky area to see difference
The above attachments are examples and not from the output of the ae900

rwestley

11-17-05, 10:47 AM

Bubbawilly, thanks for your information on checking for dead/stuck pixels.

willdao

11-17-05, 11:20 AM

I upgraded to the ae900 at no added cost. I have being trying correctly to describe what you have just stated. Video Noise = animated "grain" that is very distracting, not an issue with the ae700!

Only happens during certain scenes of movies / tv shows depends on source. Is this a lighting issue during making of the film / show that is amplified by the iris of the projector? Can this be tweaked / fixed.

Sitting 11'.5 feet away from a 74" diag screen viewing dancing grains is a downer and makes the upgrade to the 900 feel like a step backwards.

The following attachments is an examples of what is stated above:
off attachment you can see the video noise
on attachment no noise / reduced.

Zoom into sky area to see difference
The above attachments are examples and not from the output of the ae900

I wonder whether using a filter (see 900 and/or 700 tweaks threads) to increase contrast also will have the secondary effect of helping with this noise? Esp. given the relatively small screen size you're using (i.e. you have some brightness to play with). Just a thought...anybody else with actual experience (lol) want to chime in, here?

Oriphus

11-17-05, 12:11 PM

I upgraded to the ae900 at no added cost. I have being trying correctly to describe what you have just stated. Video Noise = animated "grain" that is very distracting, not an issue with the ae700!

Only happens during certain scenes of movies / tv shows depends on source. Is this a lighting issue during making of the film / show that is amplified by the iris of the projector? Can this be tweaked / fixed.

Sitting 11'.5 feet away from a 74" diag screen viewing dancing grains is a downer and makes the upgrade to the 900 feel like a step backwards.

The following attachments is an examples of what is stated above:
off attachment you can see the video noise
on attachment no noise / reduced.

Zoom into sky area to see difference
The above attachments are examples and not from the output of the ae900

To me, with very limited experience, that looks like a source problem. I have gotten images like that when using poor source DVD's. Play LOTR III Return of the King and look for the noise. If its no apparent, then play that DVD again. If its apparent there, then source will be the issue.

It is strange that you dont notice it on the AE700 mind you....

Chris

htimst

11-17-05, 12:53 PM

Just got my 900. Working on room setup now. Very excited. Thanks to information on this forum.

calibos

11-17-05, 01:14 PM

calibos,

I think it was your initial experiences with the 700's temps/counter-intuitive number scale that I, too, ended up drilling down to, probably through a different series of posts, too, I'll bet...there are many paths to Nirvana :D

As MikeSRC says: a kudos for getting the info to the boards in the first place! Thanks!

willdao

Hey, I was so dedicated to the cause that I held a lighter close to the intake fan on my old AE300 with the self Check screen ON to see which number changed (TEMP 1, TEMP 2) and in which direction it changed.

Should have thought that one through more though because I ended up with a melted filter!! Luckily I had a spare. :D

Scotty144.

I have my AE900 shelf mounted upside down too in exactly the same position as my AE300. I'm sure you already had spacers to lift your AE300/900 up a cm. Anyway like I posted earlier my ambient temp readings are exactly the same on my 900 compared to my 300 and my panel temps are significantly lower on my new AE900. If anything I reckon its even safer to mount your AE900 in the same spot, than it was for your AE300.

Steve Burke

11-17-05, 01:15 PM

Yesterday I watched the Incredibles, Princes Mononoke and SW 3. The image is razor sharp! :eek: Better than any projector I have owned or tried thus far(ae100, z1, hz3 and ae700). Especially with the incredibles, you really had the feeling of "looking out of a window" and being able to pluck (?) the characters of the screen.

I find that the image quality of DVDs are too poor to use to check for sharpness, were you watch HD versions of the above. I believe the so-call Incredibles HD transfer is really an upconvert, and not much better than the DVD.

DenisT

11-17-05, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by nastyboy
I upgraded to the ae900 at no added cost. I have being trying correctly to describe what you have just stated. Video Noise = animated "grain" that is very distracting, not an issue with the ae700!

Only happens during certain scenes of movies / tv shows depends on source. Is this a lighting issue during making of the film / show that is amplified by the iris of the projector? Can this be tweaked / fixed.

Oriphus
To me, with very limited experience, that looks like a source problem.

I am using the AE900 with the Pany S77 DVD player upconverting to 720p over HDMI. I saw lots of bad stuff on movies. Edge enhancement where there is (are) a shadow(s) of edges was the most distubing to me. I also saw some splotchy black, was this the dreaded macroblocking? But I saw none of these on T2 Extreme, Underworld or other DVDs condidered as reference material or live football in HDTV. This combo is soo good that it shows flaws in DVD transfers big time probably because of the better contrast, color saturation and 720p digital connection. The bad stuff was not noticable on my Z2 probably because it was incapable of showing it. I think most DVDs were mastered to look good on smallish (less than 40 inches) CRT TVs and RPTVs that would not show the flaws. Superbit editions were made for our BIG screens.

So flash up the AE 900's blue screen, if there is no snow, then the problem is upstream. Then flash up the screen from your DVD player and see if there is snow on it.

LENNY 2112

11-17-05, 02:06 PM

Yea, I have to agree with DenisT on this and I have a 480p projector. I'm using My Panny S97 to upconvert to the H31 (which looks better in720p over 480p for some reason) and you really can tell what is and is not a good transfer.

calv1n

11-17-05, 02:42 PM

chayto

11-17-05, 02:50 PM

Just make sure you download the ATI drivers (not the Nvida ones he's linked to) as your running a ATI 9600 it won't be liking the NVida drivers he's suggested. The ATI catalyst drivers are just as good imo so enjoy.
cheers
He was linking to the nvidia mpeg decoder, not the display drivers. It should work on the ATI cards and should be of better quality than the ATI decoder (TheaterTek comes with the nvidia decoder).

{Godlightsoul}

11-17-05, 03:28 PM

well, I waited until almost the last minute. Ordered my AE900 from a forum sponsor- one with a satisfaction guarantee. my pj is supposed to ship today, and be here Tuesday- the same day I get my xbox 360 (which the entire reason behind buying a 720 PJ). Just in time for my xbox release party!!!

Hope I get a good one!

hemster

11-17-05, 03:44 PM

hemster

11-17-05, 04:04 PM

Help.. trying to figure out if I can mount the Panny on a shelf at the back of the room.

Room length = 24 feet. Looking for a 120" wide picture in 2:35 format. Will this work with the zoom on the Panny?

Will use my Oppo. As I understand it, the Oppo will upconvert DVDs from 480 to 720p which should look great.

n0s

11-17-05, 04:05 PM

I am about to buy the AE900 but here is my dilema: The screen will be about 83" Diagonal, and i will have the projector ceiling mounted about 9.5 feet from the screen, i will be sitting about 12.7 feet back so about x2.1 screen width back. Do you guys reckon that the image from the AE900 will be too bright for me at that size and only mounted 9.5 feet back???

Thanks for any input
n0s

rwestley

11-17-05, 04:08 PM

n0s, you can use the low lamp setting. I don't think you will have a problem. I have a a small room with a 92" 16x9 screen and the picture is fine.

n0s

11-17-05, 05:17 PM

MikeSRC

11-17-05, 05:27 PM

I doubt it will be too bright if you use Cinema 1 and low lamp. I'm only getting around 300 lumens with those settings.

archf

11-17-05, 06:40 PM

nOs, the larger problem may be screen placement. Unless you drop the pj quite a bit off the ceiling, your screen will wind up fairly high on the wall. I have the same problem and I calculate the bottom of the screen at 43 inches off the floor if I have the pj 6 inches off the ceiling which leaves me looking up at the screen.

n0s

11-17-05, 06:48 PM

MikeSRC

11-17-05, 06:57 PM

my cieling is low as its a basement, say maybe 7.5 foot high so the projector will be mounted about 4 inches from the cieling, and i hope to project the image about 10 inches down from the cieling, it hink it should be ok.

Tha would require the lens to be 6" higher than the top of the screen. Maximum lens shift for that screen height will only give you 5.3" above the screen. Even if you can make it work, I would still hang the projector a little lower if possible as using maximum vertical lens shift causes some convergence issues and bowing of the bottom of the image.

artimp

11-17-05, 07:23 PM

MikeSRC or anyone-- HELP...can this projector do the 2:35 well and what lens best for not too much softening????I know people have asked but I can't find answers in here. Thx for any suggestions you can give.

tvted

11-17-05, 07:33 PM

I believe the so-call Incredibles HD transfer is really an upconvert, and not much better than the DVD.

Don't know what you mean by upconvert but the Digital Master would be considerably higher than 720 x 480.

DVD is indeed good old SD, but The Incredibles is, without a doubt, one of the best transfers available.

ted

boykster

11-17-05, 07:37 PM

Hey all,

Edit----cable doesnt look like it will work.......

My projector just came in today....so no time to fiddle with serial control yet...i still need to finish up my wiring and get my mount (comes tomorrow)!

Cheers,

Rich

tvted

11-17-05, 07:44 PM

Anyone use an AE900 with a Horizontal Expansion lens for 2:35 setup? How's the picture? Too blurry? How does the smoothing affect PQ? I've heard that the Prismasonic lenses will not work with the Panny because the Smoothing creates a bad picture through the lens.

Thanks for your help in advance.

I use a 700 over HDMI from an HTPC with a H1000 Prismasonic - no issues for me, and the 900 has been reported by some to be sharper.

As to the 900 having issues with the Prismasonic - this has been questioned over on the 2.35 forum and Anssi has said he will pursue it further. Frankly the idea that Smoothscreen would somehow interact with the lens to create issues makes no sense. I suspect a bad unit (some have been reported as soft).

At least one user has reported that his 900 has no problems with the Prismasonic lens.

Why not join in- ask a question or two of Anssi.

ted

AlexPN

11-17-05, 07:53 PM

LENNY 2112

11-17-05, 08:00 PM

Anyone have any Screenshots we can drool over? As soon as I sell my H31 I'm going to buy either the Panny or the Z4 because I can't handle RBE anymore, I just hope the picture quality is as good. Keep up the reviews this forum has been and always will be the best AV forum!

hemster

11-17-05, 09:22 PM

Thanks tvted. You give me encouragement. I was thinking if the 900 won't work then why not go with a 700 which doesn't do Smoothscreen.

I will ask Anssi about the 900.

rwestley

11-17-05, 09:23 PM

n0S, I woul choose the Panasonic in your situation. The Sony is a great projector but in a small room you will experience Screen Door Effect.

Hemster, the 700 also has smothscreen.

thaxx

11-17-05, 09:52 PM

Hemster, even the 500 has smothscreen

hemster

11-17-05, 10:00 PM

Oh ok... thanks for putting me straight. I will ask Anssi about the use of an anamorphic lens with the 900 as my perferred combo is the 900, horizontal lens and a scaler or HTPC.

xxThe Deanxx

11-17-05, 10:23 PM

I ordered the ae900u should arrive monday. Currently I have a Dalite screen that's 96" diagonal BUT it's 4:3. I actually have ti rolled up for widescreen movies as I don't really open it all the way up?
Any problems you can forsee, can this screen get me by for a while. I was happy with it with an X1.

bubbawilly

11-17-05, 11:04 PM

Help me!
I want to connect my pana900 to the receiver (hdmi 1.1). Which HDMI should I choose?
I want to be ready for the PS3, 1080p and hdmi 1.2. Can you help me?
From those:
http://www.supersonido.es/productos/productos-ver.asp?id=2024&idCategoria=12
http://www.supersonido.es/productos/productos-ver.asp?id=1470&idCategoria=12
http://www.supersonido.es/productos/productos-ver.asp?id=1776&idCategoria=12
http://www.supersonido.es/productos/productos-ver.asp?id=2036&idCategoria=12
http://www2.dvigear.com/hdmi1metershr.html

Thanks!

Choose whichever length you need. Just get a high quality cable, with quality connectors. The first link looks to fill the part.

The HDMI spec affects only the source, any switching device, and the display. As tough as HDMI is to pin down, the one thing that hasn't changed is the cable, and it won't change. There is talk of a more secure connector, but it will be backwards compatible with current connectors/cables.

willdao

11-18-05, 01:52 AM

I am using the AE900 with the Pany S77 DVD player upconverting to 720p over HDMI. I saw lots of bad stuff on movies. Edge enhancement where there is (are) a shadow(s) of edges was the most distubing to me. I also saw some splotchy black, was this the dreaded macroblocking? But I saw none of these on T2 Extreme, Underworld or other DVDs condidered as reference material or live football in HDTV. This combo is soo good that it shows flaws in DVD transfers big time probably because of the better contrast, color saturation and 720p digital connection. The bad stuff was not noticable on my Z2 probably because it was incapable of showing it. I think most DVDs were mastered to look good on smallish (less than 40 inches) CRT TVs and RPTVs that would not show the flaws. Superbit editions were made for our BIG screens.

So flash up the AE 900's blue screen, if there is no snow, then the problem is upstream. Then flash up the screen from your DVD player and see if there is snow on it.

DenisT,

I agree. If the source is less than stellar, you surely can't blame "the messenger," i.e. the PJ. Granted. And, from the reviews, the processing of the 900 is, for example, perhaps better than rivals (I'm thinking of the Z4...don't know about the rest, yet). But, given the ubiquity of bad sources--e.g. standard def. TV, badly mastered DVDs (or, rather, deliberately "enhanced" with edge ringing, BAH!), etc., is there any way to delimit such at the PJ? My wondering whether a filter--e.g. that MIGHT be employed for further contrast enhancement--might also have a salutary effect on source-related noise (or even PJ/D5panel/processing noise?) is still a question I'm wondering about...or, might there be other "tweaks?" In other words, given that you'll have less than stellar sources from time to time, how do you mitigate the effects such that the end result might be more pleasing?

I mean, while we're all waiting for high-def 5" discs, ubiquitous HDTV programming, etc.? Actually, now that I think about it: given that well over 50% of us get our TV via cable, and that cable already is up against its already limited bandwidth limits, without fiber-to-the door (or giving up BS shopping and other crud-but-revenue-generating Bubba Six-Pack channels)...heck, our cable can only get WORSE as they try to cram ten pounds more mud in a five pound sack (hint: the allusion is to a Dolly Pardon quip when she once broke a bra-strap onstage, predating Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction by decades!).

(I dunno. I'ts late, I'm drinkin' beer, put up with me, will y'all? Oh, no. No! Maybe, gasp! I'M BUBBA SIX-PACK :D ) (The horror, the horror!)

Ah, bah!

Just thinkin'. Drinkin' and thinkin'. My Thanksgiving holiday started earlier today...to quote Keb Mo', not necessarily in context, "I'm a dangerous man!" :rolleyes:

"Unleash my brain farts on well-meaning tech forums/I'm a Daaaa-eengerous Man!") :p

willdao

Oriphus

11-18-05, 04:20 AM

Well 83" is quite abit smaller then 92", basically im trying to decide between the AE900 and Sony HS60, i can afford to choose either, and the HS60 is slightly dimmer, and better blacks but cant decide if it (HS60) would be too dim for me seeing as i like a relativley bright picture.

Wont be a problem - im projecting from 9 feet onto a 77" screen in low lamp mode. Its actually a beneft since it allows you to use a light reducing filter even on low lamp mode, to get a deeper richer image.

Chris

rotelryu

11-18-05, 05:06 AM

I find that the image quality of DVDs are too poor to use to check for sharpness, were you watch HD versions of the above. I believe the so-call Incredibles HD transfer is really an upconvert, and not much better than the DVD.

That why I mentioned in my post that you could check the sharpness with the help of the internal menu of the pj (i.e. the cursor of the colour management). ;) Once sharpness is optimally calibrated, there is no doubt that even SD transfers (dvd) can look stellar. There are several examples of very good transfers(LOTR ext editions, SW II&III, incredibles). Not something I would easily refer to as "poor image quality".

On a side note: isn't the pj always displaying in its native resolution(1280*720), disregarding the source? Whether you choose an upconverting dvd player (like the oppo) or just through the internal scaler? Being not to technical myself: would this also affect image sharpness (esp. with high quality SD transfers)?
Just as a clarification: I'm in no way suggesting, or under the impression, that SD can look as good as HD.

steph_beer_me

11-18-05, 07:13 AM

I'm just about to pull the trigger on an AE900 but I have a lens shift question. Due to room constraints, I have to ceiling mount at a height of 82", the top of my screen will be at 62" (my screen height is 45"). That puts the lens about 20 inches above the top of my screen. I don't need horizontal shift. I think the AE900 has a max lens shift of 1 full screen height.

Am I going to be OK here with these contraints and not have to sacrifice image quality?

nastyboy

11-18-05, 08:29 AM

Jay Mitchosky

11-18-05, 08:32 AM

I think the AE900 has a max lens shift of 1 full screen height.
Vertical range is 0.63 screen heights above neutral, or center. Half a height (0.5V) is required to get from midpoint to top edge of screen, which leaves 0.13V above the screen, or 13% screen height. This assumes no horizontal shift which limits the available range of both. And it is also a theoretical max as the image is reported to bow at the shift extremes. I had originally misinterpreted the Panasonic chart and thought it had much more shift then this; at face value the diagram appears to indicate 0.63V is available above the screen edge, but in reality the values shown are relative to screen center.

At 45" screen height that would allow you (based on spec) just shy of 6" shift above the top screen edge to lens center, but in reality would need to be less then that (don't know by how much) before bowing occurs. Say 4" max shift above the screen before bowing (might be less), plus the depth of your mount (it's 1 3/4" for example with a Chief RPA mount and Panasonic bracket) and another say 1 - 1 1/2" from the bottom of the projector to the center of the lens. So that's about 7" of shift and hardware height, leaving another 13" or so for you to make up with a pole. This is the same scenario I faced and asked above for pictures of installations to get a feel for a dropped projector. Any closer to the ceiling and bowing may/will become a factor, and closer still would force you into a keystone situation which is to be avoided at all costs.

86Duke

11-18-05, 08:51 AM

A couple of unrelated questions -

Not-noob-question - Got my ae900 earlier this week. DVD via 50' hdmi cable works fine, but cable box input via same cable flashes (blank, picture, blank, etc.) Edit - cable works fine - it was just the cable box performing initial download from the cable company. Everything's good now.

Super noob question - Do people actually put the dust cover back over the lens between uses? Since it's manual, and I'll be mounting it on the ceiling, and putting the lens cover on threatens to mess with the focus, my gut tells me to just leave it off and dust the lens as necessary.

steph_beer_me

11-18-05, 09:53 AM

At 45" screen height that would allow you (based on spec) just shy of 6" shift above the top screen edge to lens center, but in reality would need to be less then that (don't know by how much) before bowing occurs. Say 4" max shift above the screen before bowing (might be less), plus the depth of your mount (it's 1 3/4" for example with a Chief RPA mount and Panasonic bracket) and another say 1 - 1 1/2" from the bottom of the projector to the center of the lens. So that's about 7" of shift and hardware height, leaving another 13" or so for you to make up with a pole.

That's what I was afraid of. The issue I face is that my room is not a dedicated home theater, it's also a rec room for a 2 and 4 year old. In order to protect the projector, I want to tuck it up against an I-Beam which runs the width of the room. I do not want the projector to hang below it. Unfortunately, in between that mounting position and the screen is a heating duct which runs parallel with the I-Beam. That is why the top of the screen must be 20" below the lens of the projector. Is tilting the projector downward (at it's close to ceiling mount) an option here? If not, would a Sanyo Z4 (or Z3) have more vertical lens shift and be a better choice?

mrPEPE

11-18-05, 10:11 AM

bcatwilly

11-18-05, 10:18 AM

If not, would a Sanyo Z4 (or Z3) have more vertical lens shift and be a better choice?

I have a very similar situation room wise and children wise :) I just purchased a Z4 that should work fine, and I really love it.

bubbawilly

11-18-05, 11:48 AM

That's what I was afraid of. The issue I face is that my room is not a dedicated home theater, it's also a rec room for a 2 and 4 year old. In order to protect the projector, I want to tuck it up against an I-Beam which runs the width of the room. I do not want the projector to hang below it. Unfortunately, in between that mounting position and the screen is a heating duct which runs parallel with the I-Beam. That is why the top of the screen must be 20" below the lens of the projector. Is tilting the projector downward (at it's close to ceiling mount) an option here? If not, would a Sanyo Z4 (or Z3) have more vertical lens shift and be a better choice?

Jay's calculations are right on. You may be better off with the Z4, because it does have the shift range that you need. Be aware of the potential for optical distortion, however. In my experience, the image starts to bow quite noticably at any point from 2/3 of the available shift on the 900, not just at the extreme as has been reported. I imagine using even more shift on the Z4 would result in increased optical distortion. Whether it bothers you only you can decide.

Jay Mitchosky

11-18-05, 01:19 PM

That is why the top of the screen must be 20" below the lens of the projector. Is tilting the projector downward (at it's close to ceiling mount) an option here? If not, would a Sanyo Z4 (or Z3) have more vertical lens shift and be a better choice?
Tilting will distort the image into a trapezoid which will require digital keystone correction. This wastes pixels and introduces artifacts. Not a good option. The Z4 allows 1 height above neutral, or half height above screen. That's 22 1/2" which will get you flush. From what has been posted on the net most of that is usable before distortion occurs. The shift range has me favoring the Z4 over the 900.

DenisT

11-18-05, 01:41 PM

Willdao
given that you'll have less than stellar sources from time to time, how do you mitigate the effects such that the end result might be more pleasing?

That is a problem. I am going to try different settings to try and get rid of some of the worst of the edge effects. I have sharpness on the AE900 and S77 set as low as they can go. I found that this was the best using the sharpness test pattern on Avia. I will do some experiments and post the results.

Nastyboy
Flashing up the AE900 and the DVD-S97, switching it on, do not have any issues regarding video noise, vertical banding yes, but no noise. VB not noticeable during viewing.... NR option in the menu, on / off has no effect..

1. Have you set sharpness to its lowest setting on the AE900 and DVD player if it has one?
2. Have you done a calibration with VE, Avia or THX optimizer? If yes go to 3
3. How about on a reference DVD? One of the ones shown here.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=372989&page=2&pp=30

If you still have snow, maybe someone else has some advice.

byancey

11-18-05, 02:48 PM

Hey all,

I think I found a source for the 8-pin mini-din -> DB9 serial cable, for much less than the $45 that panasonic wants. I found the exact part number for as little as $28 at a few sources, just search by part number, but here's a site with a "generic" one for $6.99

I can't confirm for sure that it will work (dont have one yet) but the pinout looks good.
http://www.pccables.com/cgi-bin/orders6.cgi?action=Showitem&partno=70810&rsite=70810

My projector just came in today....so no time to fiddle with serial control yet...i still need to finish up my wiring and get my mount (comes tomorrow)!

Cheers,

Rich

I'm not sure that the generic cable above will work. I tracked down an interesting document on the web that gives some insight into the internal wiring of the ET-ADSER cable. The document details how to connect an SP Controls SmartPanel to a Panasonic PT-LC76U projector. Granted, it's not the same projector, but it is the same cable, and the document gives a wiring diagram for connecting the SmartPanel to the projector using the ET-ADSER cable as well as how to connect it using a standard 8-pin mini-din. Comparing these two diagrams gives you a pretty good idea of the internal pin-mapping of the ET-ADSER.

http://www.spcontrols.com/downloads/smartpanel/app_notes/Panasonic%20PT-LC76U%20(Rev%20A).pdf

Based on that document and the pin-out diagram in the AE900 users manual, here's what I came up with:

ET-ADSER
DIN8............DB9
1......IC
2......IC
3 (Rx)..........3 (Tx)
4 (GND).......5 (GND)
5 (Tx)..........2 (Rx)
6......IC
7
8

If you take a look at the pin diagram of the Generic RS-232 cable over at pccables.com, you'll notice that the Rx and Tx are inverted relative to the ET-ADSER (among other differences).

That said, I'm thinking that there should be enough information here to construct a cable. I'm thinking of doing that myself, however, there are still a few things I'm not quite certain about. Perhaps someone else will have a better idea on these.
Pins 1, 2, & 6 (designated with IC in the above diagram), are documented in the PT-AE900 manual as "Connected Internally". I'm assuming this means that those 3 pins are actually tied together inside the cable, but this is not completely clear to me. Seems this could be used to loop-back some of the control signals to the UART to override H/W flow control (RTS to CTS, for example). Note that the SmartPanel documentation simply leaves these pins out when connecting to the PT-LC76U, so perhaps they are not required on the AE-900 either.
There's really no information on the DB9 side of the cable and whether some pins need to be tied together to override the H/W flow control on that end. Looks like the SmartPanel does not require such a connection, but that doesn't mean that a PC won't. If I do need to loop-back any pins on the DB9, which pins?

Any thoughts or other comments on the above?

Thanks.

--
Bryce

boykster

11-18-05, 03:44 PM

Bryce,

I was afraid of that when I first found the cable, that there might be a descrepancy between the TX and RX pins on the cable. Depending on how you look at it however, it may still work. If you then connect the adapter to a "null modem" cable rather than a straight thru cable, it will work fine :p

As far as the IC pins, I have built cables before with IC designated pins and in different cases have actually connected them, and in others, left them unconnected.

If the panasonic projector is anything like my panasonic plasma, and I bet it is very similar as the command sets are almost exactly the same, all that needs to be connected are the TX, RX, and GND pins, and the rest of them are simply ignored. I have proven this by using a DB9-> RJ45 adapter on each end of a cat5 cable to connect my plasma, and I only "wired up" those 3 pins, and everything works great.

In that pdf you posted, if you look at the second diagram on page 5, it clearly shows that all you need to connect (for that projector) is these 3 lines as well. I actually already have the parts I need to construct an adapter, so I'm probably going to give it a go sometime this weekend.

byancey

11-18-05, 04:28 PM

Ahhh. Good to hear you have some first hand experience on the serial connections from other Panasonic products. I suspect you are right about only needing Tx, Rx, and GND pins connected. I just picked up an old used MAC mini-din serial connector and a DB9 serial cable from a local electronics store for $1 each. I plan to dissect them and assemble my own mini-din to DB9 serial connector this weekend. I'll post the results here.

Thanks.

--
Bryce

steph_beer_me

11-18-05, 04:34 PM

Tilting will distort the image into a trapezoid which will require digital keystone correction. This wastes pixels and introduces artifacts. Not a good option. The Z4 allows 1 height above neutral, or half height above screen. That's 22 1/2" which will get you flush. From what has been posted on the net most of that is usable before distortion occurs. The shift range has me favoring the Z4 over the 900.

I think what I need is a telescoping projector ceiling mount that could contract when the not in use and expand when in use. Is something like this readily available at a reasonable cost? Is this practical?

DrA

11-18-05, 06:43 PM

A couple of unrelated questions -

Not-noob-question - Got my ae900 earlier this week. DVD via 50' hdmi cable works fine, but cable box input via same cable flashes (blank, picture, blank, etc.) Is this certainly a signal strength problem that would be solved with an hdmi booster? The cable signal is 1080i, vs. 720p from the oppo, but I can't find anywhere on the PJ where you set signal input type (other than hdmi vs. component, of course). Did I miss some other setting having to do with handshaking between the PJ and the cable box?

Super noob question - Do people actually put the dust cover back over the lens between uses? Since it's manual, and I'll be mounting it on the ceiling, and putting the lens cover on threatens to mess with the focus, my gut tells me to just leave it off and dust the lens as necessary.

I had the same weak signal problem with my directv HDMI receiver and panny 700 and infocus 4805 before that. I solved the problem by mounting the receiver on the ceiling mount with the projector. Now I use 3 feet hdmi instead of 30 feet. Make sure you have a 1 or 2( for DVR) cables from the satellite to the ceiling and a digital audio coax back to your audio receiver. You also need a phone line or a good wireless phone jack up there.

n0s

11-18-05, 08:31 PM

Gonna pick up an AE900 on monday, seeing as itll only be about 9.5 feet from the screen projecting a 85" diagonal image i think i can use a filter to increase picture quality and still have a bright picture, what you guys reckon, should i go down the filter route, if so, which one?

calibos

11-18-05, 09:00 PM

DrA

11-18-05, 09:54 PM

Screen shot test [IMG]

Here is a picture of my Ae900 in action. High definition TV through HDMI cable..120 inch 16 x 9 screen.

the colours are much deeper and richer than my old projector

photo taken using a mobile phone (or cell phone as u guys call them) camera
Nice shot. Must be new sony 2 megapixel phone. I can't see SDE zooming it in PS.
We need more screen shots. Let everyone take some hi res shots remember you have to resize it to 800x600 but you can have up to 499,000k pics which is a lot of info. don't forget to turn off the flash :) I promise to post many pics after I get mine next week.

byancey

11-18-05, 10:34 PM

Kadath

11-18-05, 10:42 PM

No noises like that on mine, its dead quiet.

Sam

Jay Mitchosky

11-18-05, 10:51 PM

I think what I need is a telescoping projector ceiling mount that could contract when the not in use and expand when in use. Is something like this readily available at a reasonable cost? Is this practical?
Drop down mounts are available, but they're pretty pricey. Given the importance of ceiling mounting to you are you sure the 900 is the right projector for your application? The Sony HS51 and Sanyo Z4 both offer more vertical offset (but the Z4 also has the long throw) as an example. All these projectors will deliver stellar, albeit different, images. These differences aren't likely to be relevant to you without the benefit of side-by-side comparison.

byancey

11-19-05, 12:15 AM

I was paying so much attention to the pin-out diagram on page 66 of the manual that I didn't see the full cable specification on page 68. It's all in there. :)

Well, my DIY cable works. I now have full serial control of my AE900. Not bad for $2. :D

One note of warning if you try building your own cable though. Be aware that the mini-din pin diagram in the manual is for the pin locations on the projector port (female). I had assumed the diagram was for the male end of the connecting cable, so I had several pin connections inverted the first time around.

--
Bryce

smithmac_99

11-19-05, 12:43 AM

How do I know which signal output will give me the best pq? My Dishnetwork receiver has settings for 1080i, 720p, and 460p? Not sure about the 460p? number, it may be off a bit. My HD channels look awesome, but my SD channels are not so hot. Any suggestions?

Kadath

11-19-05, 02:05 AM

Anyone have any Screenshots we can drool over?

Well, dunno if these are drool worthy or not, I have been trying VERY hard to get some decent snaps off of my set up, and am not happy with it so far, but these are among the best of the bunch. Any quality issues are the fault of the photographer and not the awesome 900U.

The projector itself, shelf mounted with a DIY design using $20 in Home depot parts:
http://static.flickr.com/26/64693769_4823a213fe_b.jpg

Willy Wonka:
http://static.flickr.com/25/64693627_c0236cbb8d_b.jpg

Star Wars:
http://static.flickr.com/29/64693480_0d982af6d0_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/24/64693424_de7ab72be9_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/33/64693911_d9a7d3dcbb_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/26/64692849_4ce5e12747_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/33/64693325_b5c14a9e84_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/32/64693529_eca1cd0d19_b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/31/64693822_e771db3a59_b.jpg

Sam

Kadath

11-19-05, 02:10 AM

My noobish opinion is that you should try to set the dish in a 'passthrough' mode if you can. It will send all the channels in whatever native format they come in to their facilities (ie abc in 720p, NBC and CBS in 1080i) and SD in 480i, and let the scaler of the 900U handle the conversion duties.

Sam

rwestley

11-19-05, 06:58 AM

xxThe Deanxx

11-19-05, 09:32 AM

Evan of projector central has just published an article giving his personal views on both the Z4 and AE900. The article could help the fence sitters in making a decision.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/720p_projectors.htm

He prefers the Z4 for himself because of the extra sharpness and the fact that he sits 1.7 back from the screen so SDE is not a problem for him. If you have a medium to large room the Z4 is a great choice. In a small room or if you sit close to the screen the Panasonic AE900 may be better choice he states because of lack of SDE. What ever decision one makes should depend on one's situation and needs. The great thing is that there are two fine projectors available at a fair price.

Great analysis and for me, I sit a bit closer because of the way my room is so this is good news.

On a related note, how soon do you guys think I will be able to go before getting a screen upgrade bug? Right now I have a 4:3 pull down Da Lite screen that's 96 inches diagonal.
Will that get me by for a wile. It's just the regular natte screen.

Kadath

11-19-05, 11:02 AM

William L Carman

11-19-05, 11:08 AM

I am using a Panasonic 900 with a Sony 975 upconverting DVD player. I would like to be able to try 480i over HDMI, in order to see if the projector might do a better upconverting job than my Sony.

The problem is, after going into the Sony's set-up menu and setting it to output 480i over HDMI, according to the projectors menu, it is receiving 1080i. Does anyone have an idea of what I might be doing wrong?

willdao

11-19-05, 12:09 PM

[QUOTE=DenisT]That is a problem. I am going to try different settings to try and get rid of some of the worst of the edge effects. I have sharpness on the AE900 and S77 set as low as they can go. I found that this was the best using the sharpness test pattern on Avia. I will do some experiments and post the results.

Hi, Denis, and thanks. The S77 is one of the units I've been thinking of buying (used, via ebay), so your particular experiences are noteworthy, for sure. (Aside: Man, how many DVD players does one have to own, in the end? I'm at a current count of five, all total, although I've actually owned more! Sheeesh! This crazy hobby!)

Looking forward to your posts--e.g. "before and after"--for purposes of contrasting them, assuming we can tell via posted digital photos and the forum's size limits. Knowing you (via your sensibilities among your myriad excellent posts--yes, I keep track of and appreciate such!), I'm sure it'll be a worthy effort on your end, and therefore on ours, so, much thanks for your careful study.

willdao

EDIT: It just dawned on me that you did not say you were going to post pics--my "bad inference." If you can, of course, do so, but we also will appreciate just as much your own, reliable interpretations! Thx. :cool:

willdao

11-19-05, 12:22 PM

My Greywolf 92" is gonna last me years, I cant see a compelling need for me to get a 'better' screen than this. In your case, going from Dalite to Greywolf might be a 'quality' step down but it would get you out of the nasty 4:3 world. I think pairing a native 16:9 pj with a 4:3 screen would be very distracting.

Sam

Sam, Will here. Understanding that this isn't he "screen forum," but also understanding that almost anything goes in this 1500+ Panny 900 forum:

Can you say, briefly, what your actual experiences with the 900 and the Greywolf have been? I don't, particularly, have need for such, myself, but may know of others for whom this might be an option...thanks!

Oh. Maybe talk about (please) ambient light rejection, whether the "beads" are distracting (a long-time prob. with glass-bead screens, from my knowledge that's admittedly several years old), hotspotting, etc. How big is your screen, too? &etc.

Thanks,

willdao

VEF214

11-19-05, 12:30 PM

I have an AE900 coming in the mail; I ordered a screen with it--without much research, I wanted to have it for the holidays. The screen is identified by AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service) as:

Izumi 80" Floor-Type Screen for LCD Projector
Price...$339.00
Lightweight, self-standing floor-type screen is height adjustable in four steps. Offers quick and easy setup; adjusts to compact size for storage. 16:9 wide screen.

Sizes:
* Screen: 39¼"H x 69¾"W
* Overall: 51 3/4"-65 7/8"H x 78 1/2"W x 3 1/2"D
Weight: 9 lbs. 14.4 oz.

The AAFES website is very sparse on detail -- fabric? finish? reflectivity?

The frame for the screen looks very similar to at least one Da-Lite model.

I can't seem to find any information on Izumi screens on the web, other than some Japanese/Korean references (which I can't read).

Is Izumi a major manufacturer, sold under other names?

Any information would be much appreciated. I'm kinda hoping it's a good screen & that the 16:9 is true. Some screens with similar dimensions seem to be 4:3. AAFES sometimes isn't the best for accuracy. Bottom line: will the screen fit the AE900?

Best regards,

VEF214

alan2005

11-19-05, 01:17 PM

I received my AE900 on Friday! :D Here are my opinions / observations, based on being a first time projector owner:

Initial setup: I set the Lamp Mode to low (high is barely brighter so I don't see the need to waste bulb life). I also set the Fan to High (since I am above Panasonic's suggested elevation to switch to high). The fan is very quiet! Low was nearly inaudible unless I put my head right to the unit. It was a little louder in High mode, but still much less than some people are suggesting. No fan whining either.

Picture quality: Awesome!!! Cinema 1 seemed to be the best preset for me, but I tweaked it a bit with an AVIA disk and made the contrast/black levels a bit better. I saw no hint of VB, no noticeable dead or stuck pixels (although I haven't gone searching for them), and no SDE until I got right up on the screen.

Screen commentary: I'm projecting onto a 106" Greywolf, and for the money, it's great! The texture of the screen is noticeable during really bright scenes, but it's livable considering how well it does in ambient light. I can have the room bright and still have a pleasing picture.

Issues: Edge enhancement was an issue on a DVD or two. However, I'm also using a 5 year old DVD player over component. I have an Oppo on order and it should arrive on Monday, so I'll report back if the Oppo and HDMI cable make a difference. Currently, the edge enhancement is most noticeable around white letters. Quality DVDs, such as SW AOTC, showed little to no edge enhancement problems.

Major Problems: None, except my friends may never leave...

Summary: Wow! Amazing! Awesome! Can you tell I'm happy with it? It's one of the best purchases I have made in a long time and have no regrets.

Alan

Kadath

11-19-05, 01:52 PM

Sure Will. The greywolf is an awesome value for the money as a budget screen. The glass beads have never been distracting for me. The ability to use this screen with some ambient light was a big 'plus' for me in its purchase, but by no means is this screen usable with direct light from outside shining on it, you need to go to the $2k+ black screens for that. I am VERY happy with the screen for my setup and cant imagine that of all the things I could possibly upgrade, that this will be the one I change any year soon.

Sam

DenisT

11-19-05, 02:09 PM

Alan 2005
Currently, the edge enhancement is most noticeable around white letters. Quality DVDs, such as SW AOTC, showed little to no edge enhancement problems.
I don't think that white letters in the titles count. I get them on most movies. White letters in the movie are another thing. I saw some edge enhancement in SW ATOC, but none in T2 Extreme Ed, Underworld and Lara Croft - Cradle of life. Crank all sharpness settings in the PJ and DVD player to the lowest possible. Try doing you evaluations with some of these reference DVDs.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...89&page=2&pp=30

Willdao

Thank you for the comment. I have a couple of digital cameras (another money eating hobby) and can take some pics.

Man, how many DVD players does one have to own, in the end? I'm at a current count of five
I also have 5 kicking around the house -- hey we have HDDVD to look forward to. How many players will we need to get before finding the right one. How do you get rid of players with no progressive scan, up-sampling, HDMI or than won't play everything (SACD, DVD-A etc.) ?

rwestley
Evan of projector central has just published an article giving his personal views on both the Z4 and AE900. The article could help the fence sitters in making a decision.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/720p_projectors.htm
He prefers the Z4 for himself because of the extra sharpness and the fact that he sits 1.7 back from the screen so SDE is not a problem for him. If you have a medium to large room the Z4 is a great choice. In a small room or if you sit close to the screen the Panasonic AE900 may be better choice he states because of lack of SDE.
There is another factor other than perceived sharpness and SDE. I prefer the AE900 at any distance because of the more "film like" picture that it produces, but that's just me.

dinode

11-19-05, 04:49 PM

I've been reading through all these posts and threads an I would like a clarification on the 900 scaling.
Is the sharpness of the image closer to the Z4 when an outboard DVD player does the scaling to 720p rather than letting the projector's scaler do the job?

This is the deciding factor for me as I like everything about the 900 except I prefer a razor-sharp image.

willdao

11-19-05, 04:52 PM

willdao

11-19-05, 05:41 PM

Let's throw a party: my 101st post. (Sheesh, only took two years!)

Just happened to notice. Nope, don't go there, I swear I wasn't counting! (I mean, who cares!)

willdao

11-19-05, 05:43 PM

Bump.

Oh! Here we are now at 102! :D

(Oh, 'Poet, jes kiddin', swear!)

willdao

11-19-05, 06:04 PM

And nobody even chuckled? Threw tomatoes, or anything?

MikeSRC, calibos, Madpoet, say something appropriate!

I'll duck! :p

boykster

11-19-05, 06:14 PM

Well, my DIY cable works. I now have full serial control of my AE900. Not bad for $2. :D

One note of warning if you try building your own cable though. Be aware that the mini-din pin diagram in the manual is for the pin locations on the projector port (female). I had assumed the diagram was for the male end of the connecting cable, so I had several pin connections inverted the first time around.

--
Bryce

Excellent...glad to hear it works! I havent' built my cable yet but i'm gettin there. Because of distance I have to route the cable, I am again using DB9-> RJ45 adapters (with my soon to be built diy adapter) so I'm not there yet.

I actually just got the projector and screen up last nite and had the premiere showing (Happy Endings..not a bad movie). So far I'm thrilled with the projector. My theater previously had a 42" panasonic plasma, but having an 85" screen is much more enveloping.

Re: the graywolf talk with the AE900...I concur...this is a great screen for the money. I DO see the glass beads occasionally on bright scenes, but they're not distracting. Blacks and whites are very good so far....as is ambient light rejection (of course it looks even better in total darkness).

Anyway,

Rich

LENNY 2112

11-19-05, 08:50 PM

Has anyone opted for the extended warranty from the Dealer you bought the 900 from? Are these "Extended Waranties" worth the price of the rebate (typically $200) or is it just a catch?

Sankar

11-20-05, 03:08 AM

I finally got to play with the replacement AE900 tonight. My first unit had a convergence problem ... the replacement is not perfect either but much better. The fan noise on the new unit is higher than the old one ... the original one was for all practical purposes silent. Only when I went really close could I hear the "whoosh". With the new one, I can hear it (in normal mode) from the front side about 3 feet away in a silent room. In my seating position (slightly behind and about 3 feet below the PJ) however, its inaudible ... even in a silent room. Not an issue whatsoever.

I'm projecting onto a DIY 120" screen I made using simple blackout cloth. Running in Cinema 1 with Avia calibration of Brightness and Contrast and colors done as I posted here earlier. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6419873#post6419873) Using component cables and feeding DVD via SDI through an iScan HD at 720p. HD cable also goes through the iScan as component. No DVI/HDMI yet.

I have a light controlled room. I watch from around 14-15 feet.

The images are bright, vivid and colors are well saturated. Folks, those of you who are sitting on the fence and waiting ... just do it. This is an incredible machine! I've watched a marathon session and did not want to leave the room. :D :D No rbe headaches, yay!! A HUGE plus for me since I get throbbing headaches with even the 5x DLPs. The images are sharp and yet filmlike as others have reported. NO SDE WHATSOEVER. I have not detected any stuck/dead pixels or VBE so far. No iris noise either (but the sound was on). I could detect the effect of the iris operation in a scene where it was dark and they had a large bright sign flashing in the middle. Whenever the bright sign came on, the surrounding region got a bit brighter (not by much, but detectable). When the sign went off, it got darker again. But then I was looking for this + you are supposed to be looking at the sign and not the dark region around it! If you do that, you'd never notice. Not an issue for me ... period.

I've ordered an 81C filter (as recommended by CKL) to try with the dynamic mode to eek out that extra pound (not ounce ;)) of contrast, but even as it is, it's damn good. Fleshtones and details are amazing ... a downside is that very soon my wife will get suspicious at the intensity with which I view the women on the screen.

This is without question a great purchase. And as others have said ... once you've seen a large FP in a light controlled room, everything else will be classified as "small" or "large" "TVs".

xxThe Deanxx

11-20-05, 11:17 AM

My Greywolf 92" is gonna last me years, I cant see a compelling need for me to get a 'better' screen than this. In your case, going from Dalite to Greywolf might be a 'quality' step down but it would get you out of the nasty 4:3 world. I think pairing a native 16:9 pj with a 4:3 screen would be very distracting.

Sam
Thanks for the reply Sam. I don't know if it's a quality step down or not, I just have a Da-lite matte and this weekend I picked up the Grew Wolf HD grey screen. Mind you now I don't have the AE900 yest but the difference between the screens is mind blowing. The Grey Wold makes such a huge difference in my room it's amazing.

In fact, I'm so impressed that I am wondering why I upgraded. Please tell me there will be an even bigger jump up with my new PJ and I'm just a noob who doesn't know any better.:D

InPhase

11-20-05, 12:17 PM

I have been using my AE900 with an Oppo DVD player for about a week. The Oppo is set to output 720p with TL and CSS off, but with NR on Low (also brightness is set to -3 as per the Oppo thread). I used Avia to calibrate the projector which only needed minor adjustments from the Cinema 1 mode. The image is gorgeous. For those that see some edge enhancement, please turn the sharpness ALL the way down on the AE900. If you stand near the screen with some white lettering on it (eg. credits or preferably the sharpness pattern from Avia) you can see the difference it makes.

With this projector I'm noticing things that I have never seen before in movies that I'm familiar with. For example, the detail in scenes in Star Wars Ep. II is just fantastic. I can see things in the background that I've never noticed before.

DenisT

11-20-05, 04:01 PM

For those that see some edge enhancement, please turn the sharpness ALL the way down on the AE900. If you stand near the screen with some white lettering on it (eg. credits or preferably the sharpness pattern from Avia) you can see the difference it makes.

As I mentioned earlier, if you have a sharpness control on the DVD player (eg. S77), turn it down as well. The sharpness conrolled by these settings is very artificial and you don't loose any actual sharpness.

InPhase

11-20-05, 05:09 PM

DenisT - I agree. The Oppo's sharpness setting is OFF.

SirJohnFalstaff

11-20-05, 05:58 PM

Well I just set up my AE900 last night and boy am I thrilled with it. Great picture, easy to use for a first-time projector owner like me, and so simple to set up perfectly. I'm able to use the low-lamp setting and I have a hard time even hearing the fan at all! I'm using an Oppo with a DVD to HDMI cable and the two work great together. The macro-blocking I noticed on Batman Begins is not gone, but it's definitely tons less noticable than on my old projecton TV.

shelly

11-20-05, 06:12 PM

I;m still considering the 900but have a concern about the remote.

Thomas Norton in his review on the Ultimate AV site states

"...in order for the projector to receive commands, the remote had to be pointed directly at the sensor on the front of the projector. It wouldn't respond when I pointed the remote at the screen (as it does with most projectors) or at the back of the projector (the only sensor is on the front). Fresh batteries didn't help."

As my projector would be mounted on a high shelf several feet above and a few feet in front of my seat, how would I be able to send commands through the remote if this is true?

I would have no choice but to bounce the signal off the screen or front wall, as the remote sensor is located on the front of the pj. My current pj has sensors on the front and back, and both can be active together.

Shelly

scotty144

11-20-05, 06:28 PM

You definitely need to point the remote at the front of the projector.

jstein

11-20-05, 06:49 PM

I am thinking about upgrading to the AE900 from My Sony 10HT, which does have a rear remote receiver. If I do get it, I will also pick up an infrared remote control extender. From a little Googling around, they are not expensive.

SirJohnFalstaff

11-20-05, 07:04 PM

My 900 is a few feet behind where I sit and by pointing the remote at the screen the signal bounces back to the projector no problem. This is true of my Yamaha amp also. The Oppo doesn't work this way, though.

shelly

11-20-05, 07:45 PM

Well, it seems like I would not know about the remote until I tried it in my room. Not sure I want to take tthe chance unless I go the remote extender route, which I had not thought of.

Shelly

jstein

11-20-05, 07:56 PM

The problems is not knowing until you try the remote in your setup. Initial setup is the worst time to have a finicky remote. So, while I don't usually frequent stores like BestBuy, I might just see if they have an extender. That way I can have it handy if I need it, and if I don't, I can easily return it.

I have just packed up my 10HT for a repair estimate (it started ghosting). And if as I suspect the repair charge is >= to the unit's value, I will be getting either the AE900 or possibly a Sony HS51. The AE900 certainly has price on its side. My only concerns are the possibility of VB (which I haven't seen on the 10HT) and the AE900's DI possbily being a bit more onery than the HS51's. I am currently leaning toward the AE900.

Hopefully, the AE900 will work with my 106" diagonal DaLite High Power screen. I like a brighter image than theater standard, but I do have my limits. I suppose I could put an ND filter on it if need be.

cmwmjt

11-20-05, 08:56 PM

cmwmjt

11-20-05, 09:16 PM

http://www.ausmedia.com.au/panasonic_ae700_vs_ae900_review.htm <== and this has lead me to be even more confused.

jumpy27

11-20-05, 09:26 PM

I am tossing up getting the AE900, but these little reviews concern me :

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic_Home-PT-AE900U-user-reviews.htm <== the AE700 seems to have been more highly rated by people than the AE900

I am considering either an AE700 or the AE900, I can get an AE700 brand new through work a few hundred dollars cheaper.

However the premature bulb death issues are a worry, also I get the impression the AE700 is a bit flaky with connecting to a PC?

If you look closely at the 22 opinions, 2 of them are from disgruntled AE700 owners and NOT AE900 owners. And the latest 2 look like they were written by the same person with different last names. So I wouldn't put too much emphasis on these ratings. It is still early in the game.

{Godlightsoul}

11-20-05, 09:31 PM

Hopefully, the AE900 will work with my 106" diagonal DaLite High Power screen. I like a brighter image than theater standard, but I do have my limits. I suppose I could put an ND filter on it if need be.
keep in mind that the calibrated lumens for the AE900 is about 300-525 depending on Normal Cinema1, Cinema2, ect. search the thread for details.

{Godlightsoul}

11-20-05, 09:37 PM

http://www.ausmedia.com.au/panasonic_ae700_vs_ae900_review.htm <== and this has lead me to be even more confused.if you search the thread, you will find that someone claimed that ausmedia.com trying to get rid of their AE700 units and as soon as they sell out of the AE700, there will be a new review up telling how the AE900 is sooooo much better than the old AE700.

If it's true or not, I do not know.

cmwmjt

11-20-05, 09:37 PM

If you look closely at the 22 opinions, 2 of them are from disgruntled AE700 owners and NOT AE900 owners. And the latest 2 look like they were written by the same person with different last names. So I wouldn't put too much emphasis on these ratings. It is still early in the game.

You make a good point there, I guess im just been totally pedantic, just I need to settle my mind before buying, im like that with any purchase.

The other thing that was attracting me to the AE700 is we have them sitting in stock, so I dont have to wait.... I guess that's a pretty bad reason though.

Now what's with this whole overscan issue when running a PC into the projector? If i'm running 1280x720 from a PC straight into either HDMI or RGB, I assume that the complete frame will appear.

rwestley

11-20-05, 09:52 PM

I know this has been point out before but I will say it again. Put new batteries in the remote. The batteries that come with the remote are not the best and may be causing the problems described. I have used this remote with new batteries and I have had no problems. The batteries that come with it are low cost batteries. Who knows how old they are.

shelly

11-20-05, 11:07 PM

Sankar

11-20-05, 11:53 PM

The blue plate on my 10HT is shot and Sony gave me a $5000 estimate to replace he entire prism block. When I told them that I could get a new HS51 for under $3000, they said that they knew and didn't think it would be worth it have the repair done.

Great to know that they put the customer first. :)

Shelly

Look at it this way ... they did NOT tell you that at first. In fact they showed enough respect to your independence, maturity and wallet to actually provide you with the $5000 choice ... even though they did not believe it themselves! That's respect! Doesn't it give you a warm and fuzzy feeling?
:rolleyes:

jstein

11-21-05, 12:14 AM

shelly, I fully expect that the repair will cost more than the 10HT could possibly be worth (say $1000 with the bulb near the end of its life). You can see the problem I am having on this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=603661&highlight=10ht) thread.

If my problem is an optical/LCD problem, game over. If my problem is a board problem, game over. About my only hope is that the problem is caused by a marginal connection on an edge connector or internal cable and that while they board swap to debug the problem, they effectively fix the problem.

I have mixed feelings about the 10HT going out after five years of minimal use (I don't watch TV on it and it has gotten perhaps three movies a week of use in the five years I have had it). I am near the end of my third bulb. The first two were always run at high ouput, so that makes for less than 3,500 hours of use or $1.50 an hour not including the three replacment bulbs I purchased (one sat in a closet for six months, then blew after like 100 hours).

Anyway, I guess it is worth the $90 or so it will cost for round trip shipping and the $26 estimate fee. At the same time, I wonder why I am bothering. A knowledgeable friend suggested I not return it in its original box as he has heard from a few folk that Sony will throw the box away and return it with jerry rigged packing in a vanilla cardboard box.

What I am looking for in a replacement is simply something that is cost effective and overall an improvement over the 10HT. This is why I am strongly leaning towards the AE900. If my 10HT will have had a useful life of only five years, am I going to spend like $8K for a Ruby? No way - let others fund the R&D this time around. Even the NEC 9PG Xtra I paid $5k for had $1,500 of residual value after several years of use.

Given that the AE900 appears to be more HTPC friendly than the HS51, that makes my choice fairly easy. At least I will be spending less than 40% of what I spent on the 10HT.

Good luck to you with your new PJ. And on the positive side, I did enjoy the 10HT while it lasted and not being a non-CRT PJ newbie this time around should make for a less neurotic buying experience.

{GLS}, thanks for the output info.

cmwmjt

11-21-05, 03:04 AM

Finally tested out a AE900 today, very impressive.

I was just shocked that I could sit in front the screen and almost not see a pixel.

Also could not see any apparent vertical banding on this AE900

Also it was almost dead quiet, I was in a sound room with the music turned right down, and you could only just hear the projecor if you were right under it.

Definately sold on an AE900 now.

rwestley

11-21-05, 07:13 AM

I previously owned a AE700 and while the VB was not great I could still notice it. On the AE 900 I have found it hard to notice any VB and the Smooth Screen seems even better. This could be because of the D5 panels. Blacks are also much better out of the box. It is possible that the Z4 will give a slightly sharper picture out of the box but the Lack of SD on the Panasonic was very important for me since I am using the projector in a small room and my first row of seats is about 1x2 the screen size. I have also noticed that the fan noise is a little lower on the AE900. I had the 700 tweaked using Brad Bissells's filter settings so the picture difference is not that great. I do plan to try a filter on the 900. For those interested see the AE900 tweak thread.

cmwmjt

11-21-05, 08:00 AM

How does smooth screen actually work?

Oriphus

11-21-05, 08:44 AM

Does anyone else notice a crackely/clickity noise coming from their 900's. Almost like a geiger counter if thats a good analogy?

Its really starting to get on my nerves. Its there in all Lamp and fan modes. Sometimes it seems like its constant and sometimes its intermittant......and when its really bad and constsnt, if I turn dynamic Iris off it lessens quite a lot but not completely. The fact that the iris menu setting affects the noise should indicate its the iris thats making the noise and yet surely if I turn the iris off the noise should disappear completly??

Anyone else have this noise on their 900's?

Yes, definitely notice it mate. Whe i turn the unit on it gives a real whinning noise and lasts for about 5 minutes, though it lessens over this time period until it eventually subsides away. The fan is always audible, even on low mode, though it is very very quiet and not a problem. When there is any change in the picture, particularly in brightness, you can hear the "crackely/Clickity" noise that you mention quite clearly in a quiet scene. I presum it is the Dynamic Iris.

I personally think that the Quality Control was left aside in this machine and the mass-production took over instead. The amount of people with small nigly problems is quite real. However, at the price i paid for it brand new, its certainly still worth every penny....

As for peoples remote control issues. The remote works fine with fresh batteries. The ones that come with it have probably been lying about for a good while. I can point mine in any direction, though off the screen works the best, and i have no problems. I have however, just ordered a Logitech Harmony 885 because it looks awesome and should replace my LCD Marantz control which cost a lot more.

Chris

LKA

11-21-05, 10:51 AM

Please bear with me as I am a newbie here and have just received my first projector. Actually this is my first HD experience. May I say WOW! HD is great, DVD with the OPPO is very good, but SD is lousy. I expected SD to be pretty bad, so it doesn't bother me.

I have had the unit for about a week and am very happy with the exception of the color. The color is very off and I haven't been able to adjust it to my satisfaction. For example, on HD cable and DVD lips look purple or blue. The colors do not appear very deep or bright. When I adjust to get brighter colors, everything looks yellow.

Part of my problem may be that I have yet to use a screen. Currently it is just projected on the wall (builders paint). I was holding off on getting a screen until I determined which size would work best. Know I am thinking about using Goo paint so I can adjust the screen size depending on what I am watching. Has anyone used Digital Grey Light Goo with this projector?

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to achieve better color or is my problem just the lack of screen?

I appoligize if this has been discussed before, but this thread is so large that my search did not come up with much on this topic?

Also, which disc is best for calibrating the 900?

Michael A

11-21-05, 11:01 AM

rwestley

11-21-05, 11:06 AM

Welcome LKA

You problem may have something to do with the color of the wall and the mode you are using. Try cinema 1. You don't say how the unit is connected. For best results use HDMI.
The AE900 is usually very good out of the box. That is one of it's strong points.

You might want to check out the AE900 tweak thread and try Mike's settings.

Regarding a screen the Grey Wolf seems to be a good buy according to many.

The DVE or AVIA are both good calibration disks.

LMJohnson

11-21-05, 11:28 AM

How does smooth screen actually work?

I have not seen a definitve answer, but it is probably double refraction.
http://edafologia.ugr.es/optmine/intro/doblerew.htm

Liam

boykster

11-21-05, 11:30 AM

First impressions after a weekend:

Okay, well I got my AE900 setup on friday evening, paired with a DIY/GrayWolf screen ~85" diagonal. Projector is mounted at ~14' using a bit of vertical lens shift (not full) and I don't see any distortion (yay!). Seating is at 8.5' and 12', and room is totally light controlled.

Initial impression -> WOW! I have no issues with sharpness, loud fan noises, or clicking as others have reported. I think I can hear the iris, but its not a clicking sound, but more of a whoosh as the fan changes speed...not at all noticable from my seat however, I have to be right next to the pj to hear it and it has to be dead quiet.

I DO have a slight hint of VB....I haven't tried to tweak it out yet (haven't even really messed with the menus yet). I didnt notice it until I watched my 3rd movie (Stealth -> terrible movie, but good visuals) in some cloud scenes you can't miss it. My wife didnt' notice it though, and I'm not going to point it out to her especially if I cant tweak it out. Its not bothersome to me though, more like "Oh, so that's what VB is..." It was so momentary and faint on my pj that its definately not a deal breaker.

Cheers,

Rich

LMJohnson

11-21-05, 11:33 AM

...For example, on HD cable and DVD lips look purple or blue. The colors do not appear very deep or bright. When I adjust to get brighter colors, everything looks yellow.

Very odd - try holding a sheet of white paper up to the screen where these "blue lips" are and project onto that. That should tell you if the paint on the wall is causing the problem.

Liam

WSeattleGuY

11-21-05, 11:58 AM

I'm curious to know if the HDMI cable improves your sharpness. I am using component and can put in a HDMI, but that will require removal of the wall trim to get to the conduit I had put in the walls for this purpose. If the improvement is marginal at best, I'd rather just stay with component.

I would say there is little or no improvement in quality from component to HDMI on my machine. I am only able to compare HD because I don't have HDMI out on my DVD player. I am not using a high price cable, just a 15' from monoprices. The sharpness looks very minimally increased (you absolutely would not notice it without side by side or switching back and forth multiple times) and the noise also increases slightly. I wouldn't bother going through the hassle to "upgrade" cables unless you have a reason other than improved picture.

rwestley

11-21-05, 12:24 PM

Oriphus

11-21-05, 12:52 PM

There is usually only a slight difference between HDMI and component. Your 15' cable is fine. You might notice a little more detail. I like it because It is a pure digital source. I also have an Oppo upscailing dvd player and there is a bigger difference using HDMI

My Marantz, probably like all DVD players, will only allow me to upscale when using the HDMI connection anyway, so if anyone has an upscaling player, and if they think it will do a better job than the projector, then HDMI is the way to go.

As for Macro-blocking, im yet to have a problem with this, but i dont know about others?

Chris

Oriphus

11-21-05, 12:54 PM

I have not seen a definitve answer, but it is probably double refraction.
http://edafologia.ugr.es/optmine/intro/doblerew.htm

Liam

Lost me on that one....im no physicist so im afraid i cant follow those details, but i wouldnt mind hearing exactly how it works from a laymans point of view.

Chris

Sankar

11-21-05, 01:31 PM

I would say there is little or no improvement in quality from component to HDMI on my machine. I am only able to compare HD because I don't have HDMI out on my DVD player. I am not using a high price cable, just a 15' from monoprices. The sharpness looks very minimally increased (you absolutely would not notice it without side by side or switching back and forth multiple times) and the noise also increases slightly. I wouldn't bother going through the hassle to "upgrade" cables unless you have a reason other than improved picture.

Thanks for following through! :)
The picture I see with component is amazing (and sharp) ... so I will not bother for now.

Did you also sense that the colors etc were very similar? If so, we can assume that the calibrated settings posted by MikeSRC et al for their hdmi input would also apply to their component inputs.

Each time I watch this PJ I get this goofy grin ... wonder why ... ;)

rwestley

11-21-05, 02:15 PM

I have not done any tests with my Oppo or Panasonic 97S comparing 480p with 720P. I have watched several films on the Oppo with the latest firmware at 720P on the AE900 and the picture is as close to HD as one can get unit HDDVd's and equipment come out next year.

alan2005

11-21-05, 04:08 PM

Guys,

I have just received my first pj which is of course an AE900. When the optical path is cranked up there appears to be an incredible amount of either extremely small dust particles (can't make out filaments) or flaws in the elements. We're not talking one or two or even a few dozen; we're talking what appears to be hundreds. Is this normal? Is it an issue? Does the unit have a sealed optical path? Comments? Thanks,

Michael A
Cypress, Tx

Michael,

I noticed the "extremely small dust particles" in my optics as well. I don't have an answer since I too am wondering if it's a problem with the lenses, or dust on them. Either way, I can't say my picture is suffering from them so far. Currently my picture looks great!
Can other people check for "dust particles" on their lenses?

Thanks,

Alan

MikeSRC

11-21-05, 04:20 PM

William L Carman

11-21-05, 05:12 PM

For those of you still worried about the sharpness available from the 900U, I have a suggestion.

If you have a powerful enough computer, feed it with one of the Microsoft Windows Media 9
high-def. DVD's. The picture is incredibly sharper than almost anything I see coming from my Scientific Atlanta 8000HD box from Cox Cable.

I can personally recommend "Fighter Pilot, Operation Red Flag" or "Coral Reef Adventure."
They both look fantastically detailed from the Panasonic!

AlexPN

11-21-05, 05:13 PM

My Marantz, probably like all DVD players, will only allow me to upscale when using the HDMI connection anyway, so if anyone has an upscaling player, and if they think it will do a better job than the projector, then HDMI is the way to go.

As for Macro-blocking, im yet to have a problem with this, but i dont know about others?

Chris

Which Marantz do you have? Is the macroblocking very noticiable?

calibos

11-21-05, 05:33 PM

..................I can personally recommend "Fighter Pilot, Operation Red Flag" or "Coral Reef Adventure."
They both look fantastically detailed from the Panasonic!

I can't find the Fighter Pilot clip William. Can you post a link? I see they have a new Titanic clip however which I am downloading now.

WSeattleGuY

11-21-05, 05:36 PM

SANKAR

I PM'd you.

alan2005

11-21-05, 05:53 PM

I wouldn't worry much about small dust particles. I've seen small particles of dust or lens imperfections in the lens system of every projector I've had. The only thing you can do is keep the exterior clean. Small particles should never affect the image.

Mike,

Thanks for the response. I figured it wasn't anything to worry about. I just thought I'd mention that I have the particles also. Like I said, the image the projector throws looks great to me...

On another note, would you guys suggest doing a dead/stuck pixel test? Or is that one of those things that if you don't see it, it's best not to look. I've already watched a few movies and haven't noticed any anomalies. I'm thinking that even if I do have a couple problem pixels, it might be best to let sleeping dogs lie...

Alan

Oriphus

11-21-05, 06:33 PM

Thanks for following through! :)
The picture I see with component is amazing (and sharp) ... so I will not bother for now.

Did you also sense that the colors etc were very similar? If so, we can assume that the calibrated settings posted by MikeSRC et al for their hdmi input would also apply to their component inputs.

Each time I watch this PJ I get this goofy grin ... wonder why ... ;)

Colours are very very different. I calibrated with Component, hooked up the HDMI and was shocked at the difference, way off...

Oriphus

11-21-05, 06:53 PM

Which Marantz do you have? Is the macroblocking very noticiable?

I have the Marantz DV7600 and there are no problems with macroblocking that i can see. All-in-all its a great performing DVD player for the money...

startover

11-21-05, 07:25 PM

Hi All,

I have had the 900 for three weeks now. Very happy with picture quality on HD channels. Not quite thrilled with the resolution for non-HD. Am projecting on to a white wall.

Given that the HD channels are working quite well, can I expect an improvement in picture quality for non-HD channels from using a Da-Lite screen for example?

Thank You.
---

kami

11-21-05, 07:55 PM

Sankar

11-21-05, 08:09 PM

Do you guys think the AE900 is worth an additional 500 bucks over the AE700? 500 bucks is a fair amount of money to me, just so you know. Just want to know if the improvements are really that great.

I use a 90 inch screen in a light controlled room

Want to upgrade from my trusty X1.

That is a call unfortunately only you can make in the end. I'd however say that if spending the $500 here means something like, "I cannot get new tires to replace the bald ones in my car ahead of this winter" ... go for the AE700. In every other case including, "Hmm ... maybe I should buy that $500 bottle of wine for Thanksgiving night" ... the answer is quite likely, "It depends".
I have the 900, but I'm told that a well calibrated 700 with filters could look very similar...

mdbones

11-21-05, 09:05 PM

Mike - It would probably work better if you plan to put the projector on a low table in front of the couch. With an 80" diagonal screen you could place the projector anywhere from 8-16 feet from the screen. If you place the projector off to one side 40" from the screen centerline - it will not work. Horizontal offset is only 1/4 of the screen width. If when placing the projector this close to the screen, the image is too bright then you can use a neutral density filter to lower the brightness. However, with your limitations, I would be looking at plasma monitor that I place anywhere in the room. The cost of AE900, cables and screen may make the cost of 50-inch plasma screen comparable?

Thank you very much for the reply sorry I fell of the face of the earth for a bit there. I actually have been considering the 50-inch plasma but it doesn't have the BIG feel I am trying for :D . I have been trying to do my homework without asking repetitive questions but as this would be my first projector I am a little nervous. If I were to use a ceiling mount I can achieve about 13' of throw. Using the projector central calculator it looks like I would have to go to a screen that is larger than the wall I have. My front wall is about 8 1/2 feet then I get into door frames and such. ie 92" is about as big as I can go with the speakers that I have...Any thoughts would be great.

And hey a 50" plasma isn't the worst bail out plan :rolleyes:

jstein

11-21-05, 09:17 PM

Kami, I agree with Sankar. It really is a personal decision made harder by the inability for most to A/B the two projectors. That leaves you dependent on reviews and the experiences of others in deciding whether it is worth the $500.

Is it really a $500 difference? Are you taking into account the $200 rebate on the AE900? Have you checked all of the AVS sponsors to see what their price is on the AE900? Let us remember to not discuss actual dealer pricing.

Also, if you are getting your AE700 price off of a price search engine, there are three things I would recommend you keep in mind. One, is to double check the price at the vendor's website to make sure it agrees with the price on the search engine. Two, is to be cautious about vendors who have no track record, or who do not have say a four out of five star rating or better. Three, is to check the warranty page of low priced vendors. I have seen some sites where the warranty/info pages inform you that most of the products they sell are not covered by manufacturer's warranties.

I have found on price search engines that if the lowest price is more than a tad lower than other prices, there is often something wrong (refurb, no manufaturere warranty). While I believe in shopping price, the rock bottom price can be penney wise and pound foolish if the vendor does not have a good reputation.

Lastly, check the vendor's return policy to see if they will exchange a defective unit during sayy the first 30 days. While I haven't checked all of the AVS sponsors, I know that at least one of them will exchange a defective Panasonic Professional projector during the first 30 days. I believe that the AE900 falls into this category, while the AE700 does not, but I am not certain.

In summary, shopping for the best value on a product is not always the same as shopping for the lowest price.

kami

11-21-05, 11:17 PM

Oriphus

11-22-05, 03:46 AM

Thanks guys...

Actually the pricing I am referring to is Canadian. I doubt that $200 rebate applies here.

The prices are from the same dealer (very few 700's left in stock), and they are close to me so I would be picking it up in person. Also they come highly recommended from other canadians for projectors.

I don't really have a way to A/B them. I am willing to tweak if necessary though...did plenty of it with my X1.

On the comment that a PT-AE700 can look very like a PT-AE900 when the 700 is tweaked to the max and uses filters such as the 81C and 81EF and other similar taste dependent filters, then it can definitely be very similar to an out of the box 900 in terms of picture quality and contrast. In fact, the colours would probably even look better, though i doubt the contrast would.

However, it begs the question as to why you would not tweak the 900 to the same extent and use filters with it. If you would do it with a 700 then surely the same would apply to a 900, and if so, then the 900 would begin to look a fair bit better than the 700 again and the gap between the two models would once more widen.

Personally, i did not find as big a gap between the AE500 and the AE900 as i had hoped, really in terms of contrast. However, I have my AE900 fully calibrated and have an 81c Cokin filter attached, and now you can see the difference very clearly. Colours are warmer, blacks are not as blue/grey as they were without the calibration and filters, they are deeper and darker. Not sure the contrast has changed much, in fact the contrast range has range probably stayed the same with the overall brightness of the movie reduced, but i prefer the darker image on darker films, and if i want to, i can remove the filter for films that dont require it.

All-in-all, the 900 is a step up on the 700, but again, as with everything in life, it will come down to the financial abilities of each individual. If you would rather have $500 in your pocket for Christmas, and a very good projector, go for the AE700 and do your best with filters/tweaks. Remember that you will have a better home theatre set up than 99% of your country irrespective of whether its a 900 or a 700 and that no doubt it will still continue to impress your mates. In your situation I would probably be tempted to go for the AE700 rather than the AE900 if $500 is important (which it is) to yourself.

Chris

krlock2

11-22-05, 04:59 AM

Yes, definitely notice it mate. Whe i turn the unit on it gives a real whinning noise and lasts for about 5 minutes, though it lessens over this time period until it eventually subsides away. The fan is always audible, even on low mode, though it is very very quiet and not a problem. When there is any change in the picture, particularly in brightness, you can hear the "crackely/Clickity" noise that you mention quite clearly in a quiet scene. I presum it is the Dynamic Iris.

I personally think that the Quality Control was left aside in this machine and the mass-production took over instead. The amount of people with small nigly problems is quite real. However, at the price i paid for it brand new, its certainly still worth every penny....

As for peoples remote control issues. The remote works fine with fresh batteries. The ones that come with it have probably been lying about for a good while. I can point mine in any direction, though off the screen works the best, and i have no problems. I have however, just ordered a Logitech Harmony 885 because it looks awesome and should replace my LCD Marantz control which cost a lot more.

Chris

hi calibos and oriphus.... from your names, it sounds like you both stepped out of jason and the argonauts!!! in any case, they have a nice ring when said together....

"CALIBOS and ORIPHUS!!!!!! Attack!! Attack!!!"

oh well excuse that moment of madness. i just wanted to say that i can also hear the noise that you describe, and your analogy is a good one. it does somewhat annoy me, but i guess not too much since i havent turned off the dynamic iris yet.

in your later post Oriphus, may i point out that the Samsung HD950 does offer upscaling over Component once an easy hack has been applied. Given the results over both HDMI and component, I actually preferred the component image, as it had marginally less noise, on my setup.

krlock2.

tony123

11-22-05, 08:16 AM

Don't rip up walls, etc. to switch from componant to HDMI. I preferred componant, and at best would understand someone having a slight prefference to HDMI. Nothing significant.

Oriphus

11-22-05, 08:39 AM

calibos

11-22-05, 08:54 AM

hi calibos and oriphus.... from your names, it sounds like you both stepped out of jason and the argonauts!!! in any case, they have a nice ring when said together....

"CALIBOS and ORIPHUS!!!!!! Attack!! Attack!!!"

oh well excuse that moment of madness. i just wanted to say that i can also hear the noise that you describe, and your analogy is a good one. it does somewhat annoy me, but i guess not too much since i havent turned off the dynamic iris yet.

in your later post Oriphus, may i point out that the Samsung HD950 does offer upscaling over Component once an easy hack has been applied. Given the results over both HDMI and component, I actually preferred the component image, as it had marginally less noise, on my setup.

krlock2.

Calibos was the from Clash of the Titans. I remember trying to come up with a name and it just popped into my head. Hadn't seen Clash of the Titans since I was a kid. In fact when I came up with the name I didn't know where I had heard it either. I had to google it myself! :D

I wonder is ORIPHUS from an old sword and sandle Homer mythical epic or has he just Hellenicised the spelling of orifice to make it sound like it comes from an old sword and sandle Homer mythical epic . :D

Which is it Oriphus because I aint getting no links to some ancient greek myth when I google your name!! :D

As for the issue being discussed. I am going to wait till another poster in my dedicated iris noise thread reports back on what his service centre said/did with his Pj before I decide whether to send my PJ to my local service centre for repair or back to my online retailer for replacement. Either way it looks like i will be PJ'less for a few weeks. Grrrgggghhhh!! :mad:

startover

11-22-05, 09:19 AM

Oriphus

11-22-05, 09:23 AM

Hi All,

It would great if someone could respond (thanks in advance):

I have had the 900 for three weeks now. Very happy with picture quality on HD channels. Not quite thrilled with the resolution for non-HD. Am projecting on to a white wall.

Given that the HD channels are working quite well, can I expect an improvement in picture quality for non-HD channels from using a Da-Lite screen for example?

Thank You.
---

Certain screens can be employed to hide artifacts in the image and some will show them up. If you look at a Da-Lite HCCV screen (High Contrast Cinema Vision) it may help you eliminate the problems you are experiencing with DVD. Also, the DVD player you use and the cables can be part of the overall problem.

As for Oriphus the name, its original and unlikely to be used by any one else. If you search in Google all it brings up are my many posts on various other forums over the years lol. Sorry to disappoint you that there is no thought behind the name :D

LMJohnson

11-22-05, 09:33 AM

Lost me on that one....im no physicist so im afraid i cant follow those details, but i wouldnt mind hearing exactly how it works from a laymans point of view.
Chris

Basically the crystal splits the image into two images. The offset and direction of the images will depend on the properties of the crystal, it thickness and orientation and so on. If you could choose the crystal correctly you could make two overlapping images of each pixel where the overlap would be the same size as the inter-pixel gap, and then angle it to fill the horizontal and vertical gaps.

Liam

Michael A

11-22-05, 11:22 AM

1) Page 26 of the manual: "A rattliing sound may be heard when the power is turned on, and a tinkling sound may be heard when the lamp is turned on, but these are not signs of malfunctions".

To be sure---but one wonders how bad it has to become before it is a sign of malfunction.

2) No dead/stuck pixels on mine that I have found------yet.

Regards,

Michael A
Cypress, Tx

rboster

11-22-05, 11:41 AM

Hi All,

It would great if someone could respond (thanks in advance):

I have had the 900 for three weeks now. Very happy with picture quality on HD channels. Not quite thrilled with the resolution for non-HD. Am projecting on to a white wall.

Given that the HD channels are working quite well, can I expect an improvement in picture quality for non-HD channels from using a Da-Lite screen for example?

Thank You.
---

I would contact Da-lite and ask for screen samples...they will send some to you for free. They will have some adhesive on the back and you can mount them on the wall. It isn't a perfect way to demo...but it's better than guessing. Use a mix of scenes...blue skies, dark shadows etc. This will give you a mix of what you can expect. My three screen choices are High Contrast, HCCV (high contrast cinema vision) and CV(cinema vision-which is what I have). It will depend on your room conditions, light control and personal preferences. There is an existing thread on 900 in the screen forum...you should read that too.

Ron

DenisT

11-22-05, 01:35 PM

Hi All,

It would great if someone could respond (thanks in advance):

I have had the 900 for three weeks now. Very happy with picture quality on HD channels. Not quite thrilled with the resolution for non-HD. Am projecting on to a white wall.

Given that the HD channels are working quite well, can I expect an improvement in picture quality for non-HD channels from using a Da-Lite screen for example?

Thank You.
---

Non HD, standard def TV over cable looks terrible on my 27 inch LCD TV. It is especially bad for hockey, where all the action is against a white background. I tried all the outputs from 480i though 1080i and all the progressives. It lloks OK on my 19 inch computer monitor. It was never meant for high def big screens. Other cable providers may have a better signal.

Std def DVDs look awesome.

William L Carman

11-22-05, 03:40 PM

Calibos: Sorry for being late replying to your post. I usually only go on my computer once a day.

"Fighter Pilot Operation Red Flag" is not a clip available on Microsofts web site, it is one of the double disc sets sold by Image Entertainment. (The first disc is a standard NTSC version of the IMAX movie that can be played in any DVD player. The second disc is the high -def. version playable on a Windows Media Player 9 series computer.)

I purchased this from DVD Planet. Hope this helps!

Technaught

11-22-05, 05:10 PM

I picked up my X-Box 360 this morning and hooked it up to my AE900. It looks fantastic. I was able to play Project Gotham Racing 3 at both 720p and 1080i. The clarity of the both the cars and city backgroupnds were great. It was really amazing. I'll have more info after I get to play it for a while (when I get home from work that is.)

If you plan on getting one, out of the box it's set to SD. There's a switch on HD Component cable that you have to switch to HD first. To my surprise the cable has both component and composite cables on one end and the proprietary X-Box 360 interface on the other end. I've never seen a cable that has that a switch for component or composite. After you switch the cable to HD, you then have the options of 480p, 720p or 1080i.

I know there are quite a few people on these forums that purchased the AE900 for Xbox 360 gaming goodness..... You won't be disappointed. :D

Technaught

Kadath

11-22-05, 05:54 PM

Oriphus

11-23-05, 04:29 AM

Basically the crystal splits the image into two images. The offset and direction of the images will depend on the properties of the crystal, it thickness and orientation and so on. If you could choose the crystal correctly you could make two overlapping images of each pixel where the overlap would be the same size as the inter-pixel gap, and then angle it to fill the horizontal and vertical gaps.

Liam

Thanks Liam, i have a better graps of it now.

Chris

LENNY 2112

11-23-05, 11:07 AM

Any 900 with Panny S97 DVD player impressions? I love the 97 on my Optoma, I'm hoping it is amazing on the 900.

Paul Klassen

11-23-05, 11:29 AM

I have finished calibrating(I am no expert however) my 900 in both Cinema 1 and Normal mode. First general observations:

VB - I see none, friends see none and will not look for it ever again!

SDE - None Duh! :D

Noise - Fairly quiet, have to be within a couple feet to hear it.

Problems - None, ie no stuck pixels, noisy iris, fan etc....

Now on to picture quality after calibration. I used CKL's settings for Cinema 1 and Normal then adjusted brightness and contrast using DVE grey step scale(CKL's adjustments were way to high for brightness on my unit) .

This unit is installed in a 100% light controlled room using a 110" wide white Screen Research screen with 0.95 gain. All connections are HDMI from a Denon 3910 to a Denon 4806 to the projector. Upscaling to 720p is done by the 3910.

Cinema 1 - With lamp on high the picture looks excellent, great contrast, colors, detail etc. As far as brightness on my 110" 0.95 gain screen it seemed adequate and if I had no other option(ie Normal mode) would be satisfied with it. However once the bulb ages I predict I would become concerned if I wanted any ambient light at all in the room.

Normal - With lamp on low the picture as far as color and detail was similar to Cinema 1. However brightness, contrast and "punch" was greatly improved. Switching back and forth from Normal to Cinema 1 makes Cinema 1 seem too dark in comparison. I was worried about brightness when I bought this projector as I had no Screen Research screen to test it on at the dealer. My worries are completely gone in Normal mode with lamp on low. I switched to high lamp and of course the picture was brighter but in my opinion not required, this will give me an option as the bulb ages to keep the level it has now in low lamp mode.

No regrets with this projector at all.

Paul

rboster

11-23-05, 11:35 AM

Paul: Nice write up. I'm not surprised by the brightness issue using what I assume it a standard type "gray" screen, like a da-lite high contrast screen material.

I went from Sanyo PLV 60 (very bright proj) with HC screen material to a Yammy LPX-510 and thought the HC material was too dark image....switched to HCCV (CV=cinema vision) and it was a good fit with the Yammy and the Panny AE900 in the darker/better black cinema modes.

Ron

Paul Klassen

11-23-05, 11:53 AM

Sankar

11-23-05, 12:08 PM

Could someone with the ability to calibrate grayscale also post their settings using the component inputs please ... for those of us who are staying with that input?
Thanks! :D

mrPEPE

11-24-05, 08:14 AM

Anyone here got a perfect picture setting and have stuck to it ?

Care to share ?

Eg: Natural pic mode

Contrast ?
Colour ?
Tint ?
Sharpness ?

sniffer66

11-24-05, 10:25 AM

As good as my current Panny AE700 is, I'm hoping the AE900 does fix one annoying problem.

Vertical banding is practically nill, VERY faint. My problem is whenever the camera pans around, the image becomes noisy. Almost as if my screen is dirty and needs a good wash. I have no waves on my tensioned screen, besides waves are not my issue. It's only when the camera pans (regardless of whether I'm watching HD from my HDMI-out DVR cable box, or HDMI-out from my upsampling DVD player).

This "dirty-screen" effect whenever the camera pans is what has me wondering. Does the AE900 fix this problem?

p.s. it's not screen door, or vertical banding. Is this called motion dithering?

WHOAH !!

I've juts read through about 20 pages trying to find out if someone else has this issue on their 900, as I do !!
Its awful via HTPC-DVI_HDMI @720p on my SD satellite picture, almost invisible on SD DVD from my HTPC and not there at all on HD WMV's

So Im assuming its source related - can I tweak it out ?

willdao

11-24-05, 10:35 AM

Just quick Happy Thanksgving wishes for everyone on this thread!

(And now back to your regularly scheduled house-cleaning drudgery...small price to pay for gluttony and football in high-def on the Panny, right? :) )

willdao

Jason Turk

11-24-05, 01:23 PM

Could someone with the ability to calibrate grayscale also post their settings using the component inputs please ... for those of us who are staying with that input?
Thanks! :D
Check out my thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=607546

I have done calibration for HDMI and component.

Scott B

11-24-05, 01:37 PM

Hey Jason,
Did you stick with Cinema 1, or did you calibrate Normal as well. The Normal mode post-calibration is reported to provide much greater light output as well as somewhat higher contrast than Cinema 1.

Jason Turk

11-24-05, 01:45 PM

I just did the Normal mode. My thinking....1. it was horrible out of the box. 2. To me, "normal" is the common mode name I would use. 3. I didn't mind the other modes as much so I didn't want to adjust them in case I wanted to change them.

I have loads of brightness, and even am running in Low Lamp mode. I have all the settings I did in a word document for anyone interested. It is $29.95 and if you act now, I'll throw in a free toaster. :) Kidding of course....no toaster. :) It's free! Drop me an email.

Scott B

11-24-05, 02:28 PM

Hey Jason,
Did you use the screen offset for the Silverstar when you calibrated with the Progressive Labs analyzer?

jimson

11-24-05, 04:19 PM

Happy Turkey Day. Wondering if you guys have any advice. First of all my setup:

Panny AE900 (of course)
Oppo DVD (DVi->HDMI)
Motorola HD Cable from Comcast (HDMI)

In order to keep all (well the two most important) signals into the Panny at 720p I have opted to manually switch my HDMI input until I can afford the DVDO or a $500 HDMI switch. I don't want to settle for 480p :) I have found, after calibrating with AVIA, that Cinema 3 looks best to me. That is for DVD content, HD and SD cable signals. I am running +6C and -5B with Dynamic Iris off and NR on.

Right now I am project against a slightly off-white wall and plan on putting up a DIY screen once I choose which approach (Sintra + Goo, Do-Able, Behr, Glidden, etc.) I know this will help a bit.

Questions:

Since this is my first PJ I am ignorant about lamp and fan issues. Obviously running "Lamp Power - High" looks better but I would assume that it kills the bulb faster? Do I need to run the Fan on high as well when running the lamp on high? The "Fan - Normal" is really quiet, which I love. But I'm sure there is a good reason for having the "Fan - High" option. Does it allow you to run the PJ longer before it gets too hot?

Secondly, I am confused about the Dynamic Iris and Noise Reduction. I understand that DI will attempt to compensate for changes in room lighting and NR will attempt to remove artifacts from the signal. Do most people leave these off or on? And why can't I access Cinema Reality in the menu?

Lastly, should I be using a different preset like Normal instead of Cinema 3? Is this entirely personal preference? Video and Dynamic look awful to me.

Thanks for your help!

Paul Klassen

11-24-05, 06:17 PM

Well I thought I would just say that I had the HD SAT installed last night.

The picture is of course outstanding but that was expected.

One thing to note however was that compared to my DVD input I had to move the brightness up about 23 points. My settings now are exactly the same as CKLs in Normal mode for HD. DVD setting are exactly the same except for the lower brightness. I have the setting stored as memory 1 and 2 for HD Sat and DVD.
Thanks again CKL :)

Gotta get back watching the game :D

Paul

cohagen

11-24-05, 08:10 PM

Hello,

Some people asked for some pics. I just finished building a DIY screen. Really pleased with everything. Took some pics that can be found here:

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/7529746

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

radee

11-24-05, 09:52 PM

Looks great cohagen,

Any more details on your DIY screen?

RCN_Moose

11-24-05, 11:56 PM

Just wanted to add my voice to the happy crowd of 900 users. Just picked mine up and got it running today and I have to say it is amazing. Projecting on a 100" DIY Screen (RS-MMM) and the colors and detail just blow me away. Even SD channels look good, although not nearly as nice as HD.

And, no hint of VB, no dead pixels, and the fan and iris are so quiet I had to put my hand over the exhaust vent to max sure it was working.

Best purchase I've made in a long time.

Fred

cohagen

11-25-05, 12:18 AM

Looks great cohagen,

Any more details on your DIY screen?
Thanks! Just followed primary black out cloth instructions linked to from the FAQ of the DIY Screen forum of this site. Cost me about $50 total and 6hrs of work. I'm not the best carpenter though so it is probably not the best example! :D However the cloth ended up being flawless on the front of the screen which is what counts I suppose. Very pleased with the results but not an a/v guy so would not know how this compares to a real screen.

I must say I am totally addicted to my projector, this being my first. I've worked in IT for over 10 yrs, have always enjoyed computer video games, and always dreamt of owning a projector. Also had never really watched HDTV. So it's been quite an experience! To come home and watch "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" on HD Movie channel. Wow! Plus I had never owned a DVR before either! I'm totally blown away by all this technology that I have for whatever reason held off on checking out. Projector, HDTV, and DVR. 158 hrs and counting!

ABCD

11-25-05, 03:23 AM

rotelryu

11-25-05, 04:04 AM

I've got the same thing with mine, although the "howling"sound isn't really disturbing to me. I always supposed, reading the other posts (regarding the (audio)noise of the projector) in this thread, that it has something to do with the operation of the Dynamic Iris.

cohagen

11-25-05, 10:37 AM

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say if you hear any significant noises coming from your AE900U at any time other than when you turn it off and the fan really winds up, I think you have a problem. I never hear anything when it is running, and I run on high fan mode 3 or 4 ft behind me.

I definitely visually notice the Dynamic Iris when I am using the computer and have a black background and then open up an IE window to google (all white), or vice versa. However, I don't really recall hearing it.

ABCD

11-25-05, 11:51 AM

I just upgraded from the AE700 to the 900, and based on HD content only, the differences are significant. The blacks are definitely blacker, the contrast is better, the peek-a-boo scan line effect is no longer noticeable, and the vertical banding is much improved. The picture does appear to be noisier, but I will have to spend more time with it to determine whether it is due to the content.

However, I am running into a very strange problem. Whenever I display a very bright scene (such as Windows Explorer which is almost completely white except for the letters), there is a loud wind howling sound from the projector. When I switch to a very dark scene (such as an interior scene from the Godfather), this sound almost completely disappears. If the scene brightness is in between, then so is this sound. And if the scene changes between bright and dark, then this sound changes accordingly.

It has nothing to do with the movie's sound track, because I turned off the audio receiver.

I am feeding the 900 from an htpc via VGA. The noise is not from the computer, because it is located in another room.

Does anyone know why this is happening?

I used the projector some more, and there appears to be 2 types of sound: the basic fan noise, and the wind "howling" sound.

I run mine on low lamp and normal fan, and the basic fan noise is definitely louder than on the 700. Not by much, but it is noticeably louder.

The "howling" sound increases in intensity as the picture brightens, but against a black picture, it is barely noticeable. I find this distracting, but I will have to use the projector some more to determine if I can live with it.

Except for the sound level, the 900 is an improvement over the 700 in almost every way.

Mike Kow

11-25-05, 03:34 PM

I have just purchased the AE 900 and can't believe how awesome the picture is straight out of the box. Whether I'm viewing HDTV or a DVD, it's incredible! I'm shooting the projector into a Da-Lite 119" high contrast white matte screen.
That said, I'm also hearing the click-clack noises that are coming from the 900. It doesn't matter if the setting for the lamp is low or high, it happens every so often. I also need to point my remote directly at the unit for it to work, and I've replaced the batteries several times. The fan in my 900 doesn't really bother me and seems to be a steady whirr a few minutes after it starts up. Of course, this is my first front projector and I'm still in the clouds about how good it looks, so I'm not too critical of anything that may be amiss. I would still like to know about the clicking noises so I know if I should send it in to be repaired.
As a side note, thanks to all in this forum for your invaluable info which led me to purchase the AE900. Reading all of the ins and outs about a product is very helpful before you make a major purchase. Thanks!

Mike

pcaulfie

11-25-05, 03:41 PM

rwestley

11-25-05, 04:13 PM

The Panasonic rates their lamp at 3000 hours in low mode. There are not time limits given by Sanyo. There are people who have had lamp failures at 500 hours or less and others have lasted over 3000 hours. I would suggest keeping the projector in a area with as little dust as possible and good ventilation. Clean your filter often.

Rustlex

11-25-05, 04:33 PM

Kris Staff

11-25-05, 07:25 PM

I've had the 900 for a week now. The picture is great with no SDE from 1x screen width back. Advise to first time projector owners would be to go where ever you can to make sure you are ok with certain amounts of SDE and also rainbows from DLP. Project your image on to the wall in order to find the size you like, then buy or make a screen. The Smoothscreen was the deciding factor for the Panasonic.

Thanks to everyone who also posted their impressions of this projector.

AlexPN

11-25-05, 09:16 PM

Sankar

11-26-05, 12:56 AM

And of course, NEVER touch the bulb with your hands!
... especially when its hot ... ;)
but you are right ... the oils from your hands can cause different rates of expansion etc leading to premature bulb failure (and worse, explosion)

{Godlightsoul}

11-26-05, 01:41 AM

my xbox 360 on this projector is so AWESOME, I'm jealous of myself!

eliocon

11-26-05, 09:39 AM

I've had my AE900 for a month now. I seem to have a convergence issue with the unit. Blue and red ghosting just about lines when I display a crosshatch pattern and a very distinct green edge on the left hand side of flesh tones. I called Panasonic expecting them to make me bring the unit in but they are sending a tech OUT to my house. I was amazed. I'll update this post on Monday the 28th and let you know how it goes.

Elio

madbrain

11-26-05, 10:04 AM

Can we really expect up to 5,000 hours of lamp life in low mode? Or even 3,000 in normal? I realize there are many factors to lamp life (cleaning, etc), but the only way I'm going to get a new PJ and not replace the lamp on my Sanyo Z1 (BTW which just exploded at 1055hrs), is to convince the wife that I won't have to replace the bulb every 1,000 hours. I think I like what the Z4 has to offer but she doesn't feel confident we won't have the same "heated discussion" every two years about whether to replace the bulb or upgrade . The Panny might fit my setup a little better with the small to medium size room, 74" screen and 11 foot seating position. I think I can make the sale if the consensus is the Panny lamp has a better shot of lasting longer than the Z4 lamp. Or even the reverse.

Unfortunately, the projector manufacturers don't offer much in the way of bulb warranties :-( The original bulb is warrantied for 90 days, and replacement bulbs are 30 days. This is true of both Sanyo and Panasonic. I had to replace the bulb on my Z1 5 times in 2.5 years - once every six months !!! I paid for the projector twice ... This is a very high expense. In the end Sanyo repaired my PJ and replaced most everything inside, but no free bulb because it was out of warranty (few bulbs are going to fail before 30 days are up ...). IMO this is the big catch with projectors.

I'm in control of my own finances - no wife to tell me what to do - but I have to say, $1.6/day in bulb expense is simply unreasonable. There should be a better predictor of the bulb expenses. If there was, you would think the manufacturers themselves would offer a longer warranty on their bulbs !

I suppose one way to look at it would be to factor the cost of a few replacement bulbs into the original projector purchase, and maybe even buy a few upfront so you never need to have the discussion with your wife at all. But there is unfortunately no telling how many will blow up as there are so many factors involved.

So one can only make guesses. If I had to make one, I think the Z4 with its automatic lens cover and holes for cleaning up dust has a better chance of having a longer lamp life over the AE900 . But it's only a guess. There is no statistical data available. Both PJs are too new to have anyone with bulbs dying yet. The Z3 already had the holes for cleaning up the dust - it would be interesting to see the data on its bulb life vs the AE700, if any useful data could be found ... Also, the bulb cost seems to be about $50 lower on the Sanyo than on the Panasonic, from what I have seen.

I'm personally torn because I want the smoothscreen of the Panasonic (I have a very small room with a big screen due to the Z1 limitations), but I would like the blower and lens cover of the Sanyo Z4, and the quick Sanyo turnaround on repairs and 3 yr warranty. I think I'll wait for this last Z1 bulb to die to make my decision, though . It seems the street prices keep falling a few hundred every two weeks, maybe they'll be free by then ;) This bulb is doing better than all the others before.

rwestley

11-26-05, 10:10 AM

The Panasonic may be the better choice for a small room because of the lack of SDE. The filter on the Panasonic is very good, in fact much better than the Sanyo filter. Panasonic owers have reported very few dust problems. With the current rebate you could buy a extended service and bulb contract that should give you peace of mind.

zirqua

11-26-05, 10:46 AM

my xbox 360 on this projector is so AWESOME, I'm jealous of myself!

So it is that good?! Man, I cant wait till I get my 360...

Capek

11-26-05, 11:18 AM

Is there one dvd player that people accept as the best combo to go with the ae900, for under $300?

jimson

11-26-05, 11:54 AM

From what I've read, either the Panasonic DVD-S97S or the Oppo OPDV971H

zgraen

11-26-05, 02:35 PM

Hi everyone :) . Been following the forum for a long time now but have never actually made a post. I figured now would be a great time. I purchased the AE-900 about two weeks ago and have been staring at it in its box in my bedroom since then. Since my theater room isn't quite finished, I figured I would wait until it was done before I hooked it up. Last night I couldn't wait any longer and decided I just had to try it out. Since my friends were coming over to hang out I thought it might be nice to have our first official movie night at the house. I hastily set up the projector on a tv dinner tray about 11' from an extremely bright white wall in my living room. I wanted the best picture I could get from the second I fired it up so I decided to hook up the trusty old d-vhs player. I wanted to see if I could tweak it a bit before the company arrived so I popped in The Time Machine and let her rip. When the picture popped up, I nearly #$%^ on the couch. The picture was amazing. With the picture set on the cinema 2 preset, the picture just popped of the wall. For those worried about a soft picture with this pj, don't worry. The picture is sharp as a tack and yet has a smoothness more akin to lcos than lcd. The colors were vivid and seemed very accurate RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. SDE.......no such thing with this hog. In fact, the grid was completely invisible to me unless I stood right up against the screen. The only problem I ran into was that my hd-dvr would not show a picture through hdmi to the projector. I'm not quite sure why. After several long hours of playing, I decided to hook up the dvd player to see how it would look. Again, outstanding. DVD's with good transfers looked excellent yet poorly transferred DVD's looked like crap. With this projector, what you put in is what you get out. I'm so excited to get this baby calibrated! I am ordering my 81ef filter this weekend. Anyway, sorry to be so long winded but I just wanted anyone who may be on the fence about this projector to not worry about any shortcomings this projector may have. It is easily worth the money I spent and puts out a picture I think anyone would be proud to have. Happy holidays and happy projecting to all. :D

zgraen

11-26-05, 02:41 PM

Oh, I forgot to mention. The projetor has absolutely no signs of vertical banding on any of the material that I was viewing and dead pixels were also a non-factor. Great job panasonic on a wonderful pj.

jumpy27

11-26-05, 04:58 PM

From what I've read, either the Panasonic DVD-S97S or the Oppo OPDV971H

What advantage is there to using an upscaling DVD player over a standard progressive scan DVD player? Is the scaler in these two DVD players better than the one in the projector itself? I have been wondering about this for a while. Thanks.

Scott B

11-26-05, 06:19 PM

The video processing IMO is sub-par in the Panny 900, especially in comparison to my previous Epson Cinema 500. Jaggies, line twittering, etc. If you can feed it a 720P signal it will be much happier.

Kris Staff

11-26-05, 07:59 PM

I was afraid you were gonna say you knocked over the tv tray. Good review.

rrunner102

11-26-05, 08:32 PM

Hi,
I noticed a few rainbow like colors on the credits(white text) after the movie on my AE 900. previously I had an epson home 10 and did not notice it, has anybody else experienced this.

Thx

tubaprde

11-26-05, 08:54 PM

Ok so from what i've read about upscaling dvd players, the s77 and the oppo sound like the best matches for the panny ae900u pj. --My question: which one is better? They're about the same price, I've read that the oppo only sends a HD signal through its DVI out only (sending only a 480i out through its component..could be a minus if you're saving your DVI/HDMI input on the PJ for something else like your cablebox--just a thought.)

What do you all think about the disadvantages/advantages b/w these two dvd players and this projector??

rboster

11-26-05, 09:01 PM

What advantage is there to using an upscaling DVD player over a standard progressive scan DVD player? Is the scaler in these two DVD players better than the one in the projector itself? I have been wondering about this for a while. Thanks.

I mentioned this earlier in the thread....but I have compared the OPPO sending a 790p signal direct and a 480P via my Pioneer 59avi and letting the pj upscale and you are best to let the dvd player or ext. scaler do the processing vs the Panny. I am feeding a 480i signal from Pioneer via HDMI to a DVDO HD scaler to the Panny for a great pic. I'll be testing a VP30 with a SDI feed in the next couple of weeks to the Panny.

Ron

jumpy27

11-26-05, 10:06 PM

I mentioned this earlier in the thread....but I have compared the OPPO sending a 720p signal direct and a 480P via my Pioneer 59avi and letting the pj upscale and you are best to let the dvd player or ext. scaler do the processing vs the Panny. I am feeding a 480i signal from Pioneer via HDMI to a DVDO HD scaler to the Panny for a great pic. I'll be testing a VP30 with a SDI feed in the next couple of weeks to the Panny.

Ron

Did you use the same cables for both?

rhitch

11-26-05, 10:24 PM

On the comment that a PT-AE700 can look very like a PT-AE900 when the 700 is tweaked to the max and uses filters such as the 81C and 81EF and other similar taste dependent filters, then it can definitely be very similar to an out of the box 900 in terms of picture quality and contrast. In fact, the colours would probably even look better, though i doubt the contrast would.

However, it begs the question as to why you would not tweak the 900 to the same extent and use filters with it. If you would do it with a 700 then surely the same would apply to a 900, and if so, then the 900 would begin to look a fair bit better than the 700 again and the gap between the two models would once more widen.

Personally, i did not find as big a gap between the AE500 and the AE900 as i had hoped, really in terms of contrast. However, I have my AE900 fully calibrated and have an 81c Cokin filter attached, and now you can see the difference very clearly. Colours are warmer, blacks are not as blue/grey as they were without the calibration and filters, they are deeper and darker. Not sure the contrast has changed much, in fact the contrast range has range probably stayed the same with the overall brightness of the movie reduced, but i prefer the darker image on darker films, and if i want to, i can remove the filter for films that dont require it.

All-in-all, the 900 is a step up on the 700, but again, as with everything in life, it will come down to the financial abilities of each individual. If you would rather have $500 in your pocket for Christmas, and a very good projector, go for the AE700 and do your best with filters/tweaks. Remember that you will have a better home theatre set up than 99% of your country irrespective of whether its a 900 or a 700 and that no doubt it will still continue to impress your mates. In your situation I would probably be tempted to go for the AE700 rather than the AE900 if $500 is important (which it is) to yourself.

Chris
Well put Chris. I think this sums it up quite well.

eliocon

11-26-05, 10:42 PM

Hi,
I noticed a few rainbow like colors on the credits(white text) after the movie on my AE 900. previously I had an epson home 10 and did not notice it, has anybody else experienced this.

Thx
My AE 900 has a pretty distinct convergence issue that creates a slight rainbow effect as well. The panels all seem to be slightly off. I mostly notice it on the left side of faces where there is a distinct green edge about one line width. The right side of faces seem to have a red line about one line width. I also have a green line one line width at the bottom of the screen. If you have any movies with a desert background these edges really stand out. Also the two sun section in Star Wars New Hope will show these lines as well. Check it out. Panasonic is sending someone to my house on Monday, the 28th, to check out my projector. I'll update the board after the visit from the tech. I'm really surprised that Panasonic is sending someone. I couldn't even get my dealer that I bought an extended warranty from to come out.

Elio

Croc

11-27-05, 04:51 AM

jumpy27

11-27-05, 05:02 AM

i had sanyo Z4 and mitsu 3000 at my home - they were brought for comparison with my pany 900.
the source was campridge audio DVD with dvi output and the screen is my DIY 2.60 m wide (roughly 120" diagonal) using da lite cinema vision fabric.
calibariton was done using avia. 3000 was the only one calibrated a day earlier using progressive labs sensor.

Z4's picture is far from 900 league - even with both iris' closed black level is quite poor.
since both iris were closed picture became quite dim and not nice to watch.
Z4's menu system is awfull.

900's picture was very good and highly enjoyable. obvisouly - blacks are far from CRT standard but moovies look very good.
we couldn't see any evidence for Z4 sharper picture.
only in one scene we THINK that 900 presented a but less shard edges of one of the objects.

mitsubishi is also very good. blacks are definitely better but this not day and night difference during moovies. shadow details were a bit less good than 900.

since differences between 900 and 3000 were IMO not very big and keeping in mind that 3000 was calibrated and 900 not - i don't see a reason to pay 50% and go for 3000.
the real diaspointment was the Z4 - after all those raving reviews it presented such a poor blacks..........

This review just proves that the Z4 has to be calibrated out of the box to look good, whereas the AE900 looks very good out of the box. There are many who will state that a calibrated Z4 looks as good or better than the AE900. Those who like to tweak will buy the Z4; those who don't will buy the AE900.

Scott B

11-27-05, 07:05 AM

The 900 looks pretty good out of the box in Cinema 1. On my large screen, the 900 looks much better in Normal mode which does require significant calibration efforts.

Croc

11-27-05, 08:48 AM

This review just proves that the Z4 has to be calibrated out of the box to look good, whereas the AE900 looks very good out of the box. There are many who will state that a calibrated Z4 looks as good or better than the AE900. Those who like to tweak will buy the Z4; those who don't will buy the AE900.

do you mean more than "avia calibrated"?
a normal user don't have means to do a sensor calibration.
i know there is a store in Germany that charges 100 euro for Z4 calibration with a sensor.

still, Z4 menus are so not intuitive and difficult to use ............

Mr. MX

11-27-05, 09:43 AM

I have AE900 + BBKDV971H (same as Oppo) + Lindy HMDI 10 m cable and unsolvable problems with wrong signals. I've tried TV Type setup as "auto" and "PAL", but dvd player keeps giving 60-signal instead of 50. I've tried this with 720PSCAN and 1080ISCAN - still the same.

So, my DVD player is in NTSC mode all the time > converts the PAL signal to NTSC > twitchy & scratchy panning etc. My firmware is 1022.

Is this problem fixable - new firmware soon? I've heard bunch of same kinda problems with Oppo-AE900 combination.

I'm planning to change Oppo to Panasonic S97, if this bug is permanent.

emul8ter

11-27-05, 10:02 AM

Cant wait to pick up a AE900. Im relatively new to projectors. My first projector was a budget DLP model, and while I was very pleased with the picture, the rainbow effect was starting to drive me nuts. Looks like it will be hard to go wrong with the AE900.

controller2k

11-27-05, 12:25 PM

I also got a 360 at midnight last night and can confirm that Perfect Dark Zero and the new 'blades' style dashboard with Jeff Minter's awesome music player look absolutely mindblowing. Hell, the included free game Hexic or whatever it is looked fantastic and thats a tetris clone!

Sam

I too have the 360 running on the 900. WOW. This PJ blows away my Z2 for gaming, mostly because of the signifiantly increased contrast and much better blacks. (Oh yes, and that the 360 games are all 720P - you NEED this kind of resolution when playing games on huge screens. It makes the 360 games look worlds better than the Xbox 1 games, given the same basic level of graphics. ... And then the graphics blow away the Xbox 1. But I digress)

Other thoughts after a few weeks with this machine:

Movies (DVDs upscaled to 720P and HDTV both) look even better than games. I am blown away by this unit; I am amazed to hear that even better pictures are possible from projectors because this unit's picture is absolutely amazing. The dynamic iris/lamp/gamma combo really -works-!

I also sit 1X distance from the screen, and often less than that. The smooth screen in this unit is pretty much necessary in my installation. Again, amazing.

The air filter is significantly better than the Z2's... much better. Easy to clean. Very happy there.

Fan noise at high is not bad at all - quite quiet - , especially compared to the LOUD jet engine fans in the 360.

The bulb is rated for 2700 hours at high/dynamic where the Z2 was rated at 2000 hours at high (and hurt contrast as a result). I therefore run it at high which is borderline "too bright" but has great contrast. I am looking forward to good bulb life with this. That said, I will pick up a spare after 90 days just to have a servicable spare on hand in case something happens.

I had a spare for my old Z2 and I never touched it in a year and a half; I had 700 hours on that unit.

When I calibrated with DVE, in Cinema 3 mode, I had to make hardly any adjustments. Amazing coming out the box like that.

VB is nonexistent - to - very rare. No bad pixels either. I don't get visions of pattern noise or lines or "grain" anymore when watching shows due to the lack of VB and the Smooth Scren anti SDE tech.

Panasonic hit a home run with this unit, really.

Greg Matty

11-27-05, 04:01 PM

i had sanyo Z4 and mitsu 3000 at my home - they were brought for comparison with my pany 900.
the source was campridge audio DVD with dvi output and the screen is my DIY 2.60 m wide (roughly 120" diagonal) using da lite cinema vision fabric.
calibariton was done using avia. 3000 was the only one calibrated a day earlier using progressive labs sensor.

Z4's picture is far from 900 league - even with both iris' closed black level is quite poor.
since both iris were closed picture became quite dim and not nice to watch.
Z4's menu system is awfull.

900's picture was very good and highly enjoyable. obvisouly - blacks are far from CRT standard but moovies look very good.
we couldn't see any evidence for Z4 sharper picture.
only in one scene we THINK that 900 presented a but less shard edges of one of the objects.

mitsubishi is also very good. blacks are definitely better but this not day and night difference during moovies. shadow details were a bit less good than 900.

since differences between 900 and 3000 were IMO not very big and keeping in mind that 3000 was calibrated and 900 not - i don't see a reason to pay 50% and go for 3000.
the real diaspointment was the Z4 - after all those raving reviews it presented such a poor blacks..........

Your input is greatly appreciated. I still don't know whether to go Z4 or Panny 900 as people swear by and at both projctors. You are quite convinced the blacks on the Z4 are so poor and of course others think they are fine. This is turning into a difficult decision to make . . .

Do you have your 900 ceiling mounted by chance? My biggest requirement is that I can ceiling mount the PJ say six inches below the ceiling and have the projected image drop two feet from the ceiling. All this mounted about 13' from the wall. That means I need the vertical shift to move it down eighteen inches below the PJ. I have seen all the specs on vertical shift but it would be so much nicer if someone just says, "Yeah I have my 900 ceiling mounted and it works perfectly."

Greg

nataraj

11-27-05, 10:09 PM

Do you have your 900 ceiling mounted by chance? My biggest requirement is that I can ceiling mount the PJ say six inches below the ceiling and have the projected image drop two feet from the ceiling. All this mounted about 13' from the wall. That means I need the vertical shift to move it down eighteen inches below the PJ. I have seen all the specs on vertical shift but it would be so much nicer if someone just says, "Yeah I have my 900 ceiling mounted and it works perfectly."

Greg

I think that would be difficult ... you might be using all of the vertical shift. How wide is your screen ?