Panasonic PT-AE4000 MSRP $1999 - Page 69

I am not sure what is HDMI restorer, but I would suggest to try one of the repeaters..
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2
Wojtek

Is the BJC a Belden Series-1?

Steve

My 4000 seems to be more sensitive to the HDMI handshake than my 3000 was. With my Oppo blu-ray player I get a brief loss of picture approximately 15 minutes into a movie - doesn't matter if it is a blu-ray disc or regular DVD. The receiver continues to put out audio, but the picture flicks off for a second or two. So far, after 5 or 6 movies, it has done it every time, but just once per movie. I tried switching to a different HDMI input on the Panny but it didn't help. I played an HD-DVD movie (remember those?) last night on my Toshiba and voila, no loss of picture. I'm GUESSING that the handshake is a little stronger with the Toshiba. I'm using a 25' Monster Cable, and I've just ordered an HDMI repeater to see if that solves the problem, rather than stringing new cable in the ceiling. I really like the picture quality and features of the Oppo so I hope the repeater solves the glitch.

edit: The repeater didn't help. Rats. I tried my older Panny blu-ray player and the 4000 still flicked off briefly. Then I bypassed my Denon receiver and ran the Oppo directly to the projector.......it still flicked off. I don't know why the Toshiba didn't do it - maybe I just missed it, but I think I can safely say my particular 4000 has a strange flaw. It still does it just once, and within the first 10 -15 minutes. It is a pretty minor issue, but I find myself not really "getting into" the movie at first while I wait for the glitch to occur.

Dick Fogg

I’m using 2 SIIG 10 meter cables from my Oppo BDP, one to my AE4000 and the other to my old Samsung HDTV. The only handshake issues I get are when I fire up the TV w/o the power switch of the AE4000 on the AV signal to the TV cuts out every few seconds. Turning the AE4000 power on (lamp not need) stops this. Happens with both my Denon 2807 and Onkyo 3007.

I've had a lot of success with Octava HDMI devices (their 3x2 Cross Switch, no longer made, and their 4x4 Matrix Switch). These are inexpensive (relatively speaking), and they provide solid signal switching with few issues created for my variety of HDMI sources, receivers and displays. The only wrinkle has been an intermittent problem with audio on a signal coming form one of my HTPCs and going to a Yamaha receiver/Sony LCD combo. It's a rare problem caused by an unusual configuration. I've never experienced any other HDMI issues with this box, despite a variety of HDMI cable lengths (and some inexpensive HDMI cables, to boot).

The AE4000 is the first projector I've used HDMI with in my theater; prior setups have been component video... after about 20 hrs on the AE4000, the HDMI setup has been rock solid.

My video path is as follows:

Panny BD55 > 1M Dayton Audio Signature HDMI > Yamaha RX-V3900 > 10M Dayton Audio Signature HDMI > Panny AE4000

I went with HDMI on the AE4000 mainly to get 1080p and upscaled DVD, but if it starts to screw-up, I'll switch back to component video in a heartbeat and be happy with trouble free 1080i.

Seems like more than 40'+- 5' is the problem length with HDMI BD player > AE4000. Will be interested to hear if a repeater solves the problem.

steve

A passive equalizer may or may not work. It can equalize capacitance issues but can't help if the voltage is the problem as it steals voltage from HDMI interface. Sometimes these cause more problems. A good Signal restorer will be powered. Here are some examples.

http://www.etherealhometheater.com/products.html
Look under HDMI accesories.

http://www.spectrumelectronicsolutions.com/hdmi.htm

Hope this helps.

Bob

Here is another link for info on powered repeaters:

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=5925

Steve

for anyone in canada looking for the pt-ae 4000, Visions in Kelowna BC has pt-ae 4000's instock.

just got off the phone with them and they have them instock i didnt ask the price because i have one preordered at visions in Calgary just waiting for it to arrive.

What about 35' lengths? Will I need a booster for that length?

I can't speak for the 4000 but I have used the 35' Monoprice cable with the Epson 7500 with not problem.

I just emailed them and the price I got was $2998.

Can someone explain what Handshake is? I see it pop up regular here but no idea what it is.

It's the way a sending and receiving device hooked up by HDMI establish a secure connection. AFAIK it's part of the copy protection scheme. This explains it better than I can:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdmi1.htm

I am running 35' BJC "Belden Series 1" without a problem. This is a direct connect BD player to PJ. When I ran this same cable through an HDMI switch and a additional 10' of cable, there was a problem. I am running the HDTV and HD-DVD connected with 10' cables to a switch then 35' to PJ without a problem.

Steve

Thanks - that is how my BD player will be connected. I will be running another 35' cable through a HDMI switch for my Directv, my HTPC and OTA receiver feeds. These will not be 1080p so they may work.

I've had mine a couple of weeks, just got it setup on Thanksgiving, loving it so far. This is my first projecter and I'm wondering if there is an idiot's guide to these things....I've gotten my little knowlege from these forums. I put up a piece of gator board that is 2:35.1, I plan on painting it (another project ) , just haven't had a chance yet. Because I'm an idiot, I have yet to get an image to display at this setting? I just don't see a 2:35.1 in the menu, can someone please point me in the right direction?

Thanks

So I ran out to my local microcenter looking for an extender/amplifier. What I wound up finding was a Gefen "Super Booster", which is unpowered. Originally priced $106, it was marked down to $33.... and had a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy. So I gave it a shot.

First I tried hooking it it on the equipment closet side of the cable, and no dice... but when I added it to the projector side, a clean sharp picture appeared. SUCCESS! Even seems to work fine when the signal is run through my Denon receiver.

Finally got to sit back and watch a full movie on the projector, and I'm very happy. Next task? Programming my harmony remote.

Thanks for the support everyone!
--nw

The powered lens on the 4000 makes things so much easier, especially if your projector is ceiling mounted. Focussing is easy - the lens motor steps in very fine increments by just tapping the focus control on the remote. Hold the control in longer and it moves quicker.

I've now had the 4000 for nearly a week now and I am very impressed with the picture clarity. The clarity and sharpness of the picture is really evident on Blu-ray movies that were filmed using HD cameras. Picture quality is a real step up from the PT-AE900 I used to have (and the 900 was very good !). The pictures below were taken with just an Olympus 3MP pocket camera on a tripod (not a high quality DSLR) and give you a good idea of the picture quality the 4000 gives you. The pictures are from Crank High Voltage which was produced using Sony and Canon 1080P digital cameras. I paused the Blu-ray player to take the photos.

Berry berry nice!

You're not an idiot, it's simply not obvious. What the AE4000 does is provide a set of six lens memories. It's up to you to use the zoom, focus and position adjustment settings to create settings for 16:9 and 2.35 material and save them in lens memories. Name them something like "16:9" and "2.35:1". Then you can enable the auto zoom feature, and select the two lens memories you created. Once you've done that, the projector will see the presence or absence of black bars at the top and bottom and load the appropriate one.

See this post for a quick guide to setting up 16:9 and 2.35 lens memories. For my setup I also created a couple for 1.85 and 2.20 aspects. Many movies are in 1.85, and some of my favorites, like 2001, are in 2.20 aspect.

Note that pressing the Lens button twice will bring up the Load Lens Memory menu. I created a sequence on my Harmony remote to bring it up and select the next memory. However, you must also define a button to send the Return command in order to dismiss the menu once it's done--it ignores all commands while the PROCESSING message is displayed, and I don't know of a way to put a delay in a Harmony sequence.

I'm still debating whether to leave the auto zoom feature enabled. While usually convenient, especially for my wife, it can be annoying when it zooms in and out when you don't want it to. Would have been perfect if Panasonic didn't insist on flashing that stupid PROCESSING message in the center of the screen for ten seconds.

Lets put this on our wish list to Panasonic for next years PT-AE5000 please.
Give us the facility to turn on or off the "Processing" message. Default to "Processing" for those that need to be told PROCESSING, and in the advanced menu a section labeled "Processing Message" ON or OFF. Simple, just like the cinema, no screen messages when changing from 1.85 to 2.35

Thanks so much for the info Bob!

Don't get me wrong the HC5500 is great pj but I usually like to upgrade each year because of the new and improved pjs that come out...just the contrast ratio alone on the pt-ae4000u is worth the upgrade...the mitsu only has 14,000:1 contrast ratio while the new panny has 100,000:1.
plus all the new features on the panny and improved black level are huge selling points.
I would love to get the epson 8500UB but just the fact that it doesn't have electronic focusing is a big problem for me...I hate having to adjust focus manually. But then again I'm torn because I really would like to have the warranty that comes with the Epson and having the best in black level performance would be nice.

Couple of pointers for Canadians who are ordering this from the U.S. As someone pointed out in a previous post, there is no duty on projectors. It helps if you self-clear, and bring a printout from the duty guide with you.

I also never use UPS for shipping from U.S. to Canada. I won't deal with a vendor who ships only via UPS (same applies for eBay sellers) - they are notorious for charging high brokerage fees, and calculating duty incorrectly. So far I have shipped 6 projectors from Japan via DHL (4 for myself, and 2 for family), and I have never had to pay any duty, nor any brokerage charges.

Does anyone know if this duty law applies to Australia at all?

Regards,
Simon

As you know, sudden power off when PJ is hot is not good for the bulb.
I was wondering if any of you set up your 4000 with a UPS, and if so, is there a way to have the PJ go into shutdown if the power goes out.
I know I would remember to shut down the PJ should the power fail, but with family using the unit as well, when lights go out, they won't think, or even remember to shut off the PJ.
BTW, how bad is sudden power cutoff for the new 4000 units? Are we talking about blowing the bulb on the first of second plug pull, or is the bulb more resistant than that?

Mario

As promised few screenshots and a pic of my mounted pj









Wojtek