anyone visually compared Pana AX200 w/other 720's?

I doubt the AX200 will "Blow away" the 720 myself..
I have neverseen the 720, but have seen many discussions about it,and I OWN the AX100, and TBO, while it has plenty of brightness, it's not that great otherwise...
Is the AX200 that different than the ax100?
I was under the impression it wasn't THAT different(except another HDMI, and a "Game" mode)...
IF they are the same except for that, I would THINK that the 720 would SMOKE it except for SDE....the AX100 is WAY over rated IMO.

I can't speak to the Epson but I own the PANNY AX200. Awesome picture, plenty bright and for 720 P WOW!! Projector People know their stuff and I had similar recomendations on the panny over the Epson by many industry execs.

HTH

Wow, muzz, these are pretty strong feelings againts the Panny PJ's, something I have never seen here on this forum. Really, "it has plenty of brightness, it's not that great otherwise..."???

The ax200 is a excellent FP.Those here who would knock it do not own or seen one.For setup ease'brightness'sharpness' it has no equal.

Well, I still haven't seen the AX200 in person, but if it's the same(If the panels, the smoothscreen, and the optics are the same in both) as the AX100 except the extra HDMI port, and the game mode, then I stand by my statement in regards to the Panny.

If they are actually different, well then of course all bets are off.

Edit: Maybe I'm being a bit harsh with the Panny, I mean it is a value PJ, that is very flexible, and as stated plenty bright.

I just wish there was a way to shutoff the "smoothscreen", IMO it softens the pic

The two projectors are different in their strengths and weakness but to say the Panny blows the Epson away is biased. If someone wants to say TO ME the Panny is much better fine but as a general stament its not like we are comparing 10K projector with visibly better optics to the Epson yeah maybe it would blow away the 720 but I've seen both and own a 720 and the difference comes down to personal prefreance more than some huge difference.

The Epson has comperable picture quality in my opinion. The Panisonic will be better if you have a close seating distance becuase of the smoothing. I could have gone either way but the epson was $500 cheaper and that was before the free bulb and $100 rebate in Canada so for me it was a no brainer that's nearly $900 in the difference (in $ and bulbs0 for a projector with comperable quality.

WARNING -- I recently purchased a Mits HC1500 from PP and they spent 20 minutes trying to talk me into the Panasonic. Even after I told them that I've seen the Mits and the Panny but preferred the Mits, they continued to push to the point where I almost hung up and went to another dealer. I've since heard from several others around here that they experienced the same thing. Having worked in the A/V industry in the past, I know that salespeople often get 'spiffs' from manufacturers which is essentially extra cash on top of commission rates, or a prize at the end of the promotion. I'm not saying that this is the case but given PP's push on Panasonic, I would not be surprised in the least.

That being said, the Panny is a nice projector...but certainly not better than some of its competition.

muff the ax200 smoothscreen does not soften the pic.I had 2 1080p that were no sharper than the ax200.Their is quite a bit of difference in the ax200 than the ax100.The ax200 has software that looks at every inch of the pic and constanly sharpens it.The ax100 did not have this.I had the ax100 and find the ax200 quite sharper.Many of the best reviewers consider the ax200 the poor mans 1080p.What the ax200 can't do is the best Black levels and contrast.Those are its biggest faults.Over all a killer FP for the money.

I use an Elite high contrast gray screen with my AX-200 and the black levels and contrast are amazingly good. Much better than on my previous Dalite matte white screen.

Here's what Projectorcentral.com had to say, and based on comments I've read, it's probably fair:


I went with the Epson because it was cheaper and because it has a better warranty and service policy. If you have any problems, Epson sends you a replacement whereas Panasonic makes you ship the projector and wait for it to be repaired.

That sums it up. It's what your requirements are.

If you need the lumens, AX200. Easy choice. If you don't need the lumens, then there are obviously other options out there and you need to weigh which options best suit you to make your decision.

i bought the Panny, but am having second thoughts. I am using a DIY BOC screen. Sitting 13 feet away from a 88" screen. Image is kinda washed out. Does not have the same pop that my friend's Optoma HD72 has. May be I need to tweak more.

It's your screen, projector setting, or a defective unit. I've seen the AX200 and while it's not as sharp as the Epson 720, it's certainly not washed out.


I'm 11 feet from a 92" screen. I see screen door on white and very light scenes. It doesn't bother me, but I do notice it when it happens. The AX200 obviously doesn't do this, but as you said, you have to weight the extra bulb option.

It's definitely not the screen. I have a 96" BOC screen and the image is anything but "washed-out". It's very sharp with excellent color reproduction. In essence, BOC is equivilent to a 1.0 gain screen.

I would say that he needs to do some tweaking. I've seen the Panny AX100 (not the AX200 yet) and it has the ability to produce those overblown plasma colors that many people seem to be looking for nowadays. In fact, Panasonic usually sets their projectors up with blown-out colors OTB so to hear someone complaining about a washed out image is odd.

[quote=KeithfromCanada;13525181]WARNING -- I recently purchased a Mits HC1500 from PP and they spent 20 minutes trying to talk me into the Panasonic. Even after I told them that I've seen the Mits and the Panny but preferred the Mits, they continued to push to the point where I almost hung up and went to another dealer. I've since heard from several others around here that they experienced the same thing. Having worked in the A/V industry in the past, I know that salespeople often get 'spiffs' from manufacturers which is essentially extra cash on top of commission rates, or a prize at the end of the promotion. I'm not saying that this is the case but given PP's push on Panasonic, I would not be surprised in the least.

That being said, the Panny is a nice projector...but certainly not better than some of its competition

I had a very similar experience. PP were pushing ax100 to me. I told them I had concerns about reliability as many people on the forum reported problems. They said there had been only like three reported instances of failure. I had counted over 20 just on the forum from different people at the time. They were really pushing the panasonic brand. I chose another company for that reason and am glad I ended up with the Epson just for reliability factor alone.

[quote=bubba27;13586776]
I had quite the opposite experience with PP. I went to them to purchase the AX200 (since I previously owned an AX100) and they sold me on the Mits 4900.

I've seen the AX200 side by side with the Sony VPLAW15. The 200 was noticeably brighter (though I don't know what modes they were in) and the SmoothScreen was really cool. SDE is hardly visible and the picture looks less "jaggy"... it's not blurry like some will have you believe.

That being said, Panasonic is a douche to Canadians (US only rebates, no plans on a Canada rebate version), and if you're lucky enough to find a place in Canada that sells it, it's probably listed at $1999. I could get a 15% discount professional organization discount, but even then it's only down to $1700...technically I could import that myself for less but the hassle (and duty and shipping, no warranty) isn't worth it, I figure it would come to about $1600 anyway.

That's why I went with the Epson HC 720, basically the 2nd brightest projector (next to the AX200) with the same zoom (needed the 2X zoom or I would have went with the BenQ W500), and a killer $100 plus free bulb rebate.

The HC720 looks amazing so far. I'm projecting onto a light green wall and it is awesome...probably still in big screen shock. Obviously it will only improve when I put up some BOC or white/light grey paint.

Yeah, it's a female dog trying to get one up here - WAY overpriced, or you have to pay 13% in duty to get it over the border. Criminal, almost...

I don't know what the obsession is with the AX200? The Epson 720 looks better - period! The only reason to consider the AX200 is if screendoor is an issue with your seating.

The AX200 is my first projector so I really don't have much to compare it to other than my 30 inch 720 HD slim-fit Sanyo.

That said. I'm still floored at the picture the Panny kicks out.

I bought the Panny specifically for March Madness knowing some people in the room would get stuck being closer to 8 ft from the screen (110"). The majority of people in the room were about 15 ft back (close to 22 people crammed into my Man-Cave). And I gotta tell you.....after our Jayhawks won the Championship. I think I may have sold 5 projectors for Panasonic.

Real quick review from this first time PJ owner.

HD is spectacular!!!!! Color is great. Sharpness is great. Black levels are great (thanks Black Widow creators), it's darn easy to setup and mount. I'm at 78 hours with no issues. I will admit I've stayed in Normal mode the whole time after reading about some folks having the dreaded flickering issues.

Haft to say to 1st timers on the fence. I'd recommend the AX200 to anybody. There might be projectors with better black levels. But you'll never see that dramatic of a difference as a 1st time owner to even notice. The Panny looks great. If your watching HD broadcasts. You'll swear your looking at a giant Plasma screen. Heck...I'm not even sure how 1080 pj's could look that much better than 720's. It looks that damn good.

Now I'm not the vidoephile that alot of guys on here are. But for those who want to watch sports with more than a respectable amount of light in the room and watch movies with the family. This thing rocks. My wife whom I had to beg and plead to let me get the PJ thinks the Projector is incredible. She was worried it would look like what you see at bars. Dull and blurry. Man was she she shocked. Now she's not that wild about not being able to turn it on and just use it like you would a regular tv. But in a way thats good. It just means my family will go WOW everytime it's on and really making it a treat.

Ok...I've babbled enough. After reading and posting on here for nearly two years before making the leap. I figured I had better get on here and post what I've discovered. I litererally got my pj installed hours before the Big 12 Tourney started so I haven't really done picture taking. I must do that soon to pay this site forward.