Panasonic PT-AE4000 MSRP $1999 - Page 96

I am about to pick up the 4000. I will be using at 136" 2.35 screen from Carada and the projector will sit 17' from screen mounted to the ceiling. My ceiling is 10' and the top of the screen will about 3' below the ceiling. How low do i need to mount this pj? A mount with an extension arm? And suggestions on a mount?

Thanks,

steven

Thanks for your input and screen recommendation. I will look into the fibreglass/pvc material.
Unfortunately it is as bad in person as in the photo and as hard as I try not to focus on it, there is always at least one scene in every movie where it smacks me in the face. I will call the dealer where I purchased the projector before I contact Panasonic to see if they can step up with a replacement, but I won't hold my breath as I now have 60 hours on the bulb.

I noticed the loose cover as well. It is a snap on cover which has some play.

Thank you. I a very excited. I want to hook it up already but I dont have a screen. I have to order my Carada 110" screen tomorrow.

Oh so your top was loose also. Did you try to tighten it or did you leave it as is?

Oh really, ok so I wont worry about it or touch it. Kool thanks.

I want a screen already. I have a light tan wall. Can I project on that or should I just until I get my screen from Carada in about 6 days?

For lens memory to work properly, the center of the lens should be no higher than the top edge of the screen. If above the screen, it can't shift between 2.35 and 16:9 without manual adjustment.

Some people have placed it higher, but then the projector must be angled down towards the screen, which introduces some distortion. Ideally you want the projector mounted level, and avoid any keystone adjustment.

Is that a 2.35 screen? If so, I suggest you make absolutely sure you can't possibly fit a larger one. If it's a 16:9 screen, I assume you can't make a 2.35 work?

The cover is fine, seems to be designed that way. I was tempted to peek inside, but figured I'd just be tempting the dust blob gods.

Do you guys with mounting experience suggest that I ceiling mount or table mount it. I have a audio rack that is about 4 feet high. I am not sure which is better. It will be placed about 15-16' from screen of 1.4 gain 110"

It will be a 16:9 screen, i was thinking about getting a 2.35 but I watch more HD content than 2.35. and the 2.35 is nice to have but it is also like 8" narrower. I guess a 2.35 would fit. why wouldn't it? I will be sitting approx 10' from screen.

Curious to know what is the largest screen anyone is using with this projector...anyone doing more than a 150 diagonal (either 1.78 or 2.35) screen and care to comment? I will probably go with 150" 1.78 high power, but tempted to push it just a bit more to 155" (which is the absolute max my wall allows, making it wall to wall, and the bottom of the image would be almost floor level--luckily just one row of seats).

egads! use the darn wall already!
you'll miss too much waiting for the screen. image will look pretty darn good on a light colored wall.

and when the screen gets there it'll be even better!

This seems a little odd--I wonder if the "dust blob" problems are related in any way i.e. a loose cover and a couple of controls on top near the optics are making for dust entry points.

That is the perfect response I wanted to hear. Thanks.

I just have to remove the shelving, throw out the xmas tree that sitting in front of it and move my computer desk. It should be up tomorrow evening after work. I already know Monday is going to drag now that I have the 4000 waiting for me to fire it up.

If you watch mostly 16:9 content, then it makes sense to get a 16:9 screen. A 110" will be plenty big from 10 feet.

Yea I know right, probably to big. I was going to go for a 106" but the 110 is just $30 more. Probably not much of a difference in 4", or is there. lol...

Both of my Pannys (AE700, AX200) had that same problem, and, by appearances, to the same degree. Though it was rarely visible in a color image, it was witheringly obvious in a black and white one. Oddly, since neither site always, or even usually, brings it up, both Art Feierman & Cine4home (if I recall correctly) referenced the issue, actually giving the AX200 high marks, with screen shots to prove it. Naturally, then, I was extra rankled to find my own AX200 repeating what I'd endured with my 700, and I've assumed it's a luck-of-the-draw issue. I think most of the more saavy PJ folks believe this to be essentially a convergence issue, in which the LCD panels are not entirely, pixel-for-pixel uniform with each other, so they can't really be perfectly aligned other than to reconcile the central area of the image, pushing the poorly converged areas to extremes. This results in bluish/greenish areas opposite, in any direction, from magenta areas, sometimes with a lot of one on one side, and less of the other opposite, depending on how centrally the converged area is located. For what it's worth, I've read so many comments by now on the subject from Panny owners that I've come to believe Panasonic PJs are particularly susceptible to the problem. I'm sorry to see it's persisting in the 1080 models (yours is the third report of it I've seen on the 4000). After so much time spent grimacing through every black and white viewing, I'd be very interested to learn which, if any, brand(s) do consistently well in this regard. Naturally, it's a non-issue for single-panel DLPs.

Just started construction on my HT, can't figure how far back from the screen I should leave my outlet/hdmi for the projector. I am going to have 125" 2.35 1.5 gain screen. The panasonic info shows 12'6" (Min Wide) to 18'9" (max tele)
What's the difference in modes? The projection calculator shows 17'3".

What distance gives me the best picture/brightness?

I also assume I should want to mount the pj at the same height as the top of the screen?

The closer the projector is to the screen, the brighter the image, so unless there are other constraints, move it almost as close as possible. Be sure to leave some room for adjustment, though, so maybe about 13 feet.

If you already have the projector, I would test it first to ensure it will zoom adequately from that distance. The calculator may not be entirely accurate.

Ideally the projector is centered vertically on the screen, but that's rarely possible when ceiling mounted. You want the projector lens no higher than the top of the screen, and if you can move it lower, even better. Depending on your room and seating, this may require moving the projector back so it doesn't interfere with viewing.

I am going to go with a Da Lite HP screen 110" diagonal and I will sit about 10 ft away as well, so it sounds like we are on a similar path at least as far as distances and screen sizes. I have some ambient light issues since it is my living room turned media room, but my ceiling and front wall is a very dark green. I live alone so I mainly view most BD's, tv and game alone. THe light issue and being able to use the sweet spot is the main reason I am going with the High power screen

I have a stand with my components in it that sits about 5 ft off the ground and the top shelf I could put the projector. That would put it 15 ft from the screen. My ceiling is 8ft high and the room is 18long x13w.

I could put the projector on a table that is a few feet closer to the screen and right behind me. Fortunately I have a few options to get the projector in line with the screen to take advantage of the HP gain.

Dear CochiseGuy and JHouse, i do thank you for your advise. However, since money is not an issue and it is not the college fund eirther, i am person how believes in a near to perfection and for this i am ready to do whatever is necessary. Though you have given an honest opinion however, i am still confused and would like to know

1. Is the difference between ax200 and ae4000 a lot in terms of numbers, like 15 to 20 or 18 to 20?

2. How about the sharpness. No matter what people say i am not really pleased with the sharpness of ax200 due to their smooth screen technology and thus it is producing a soft image and not the sharp one. I dont care if i can see a pixel or not but sharp image is a very important factor which is the basic criteria of a blu-ray i.e., to have sharp vivid image. So please let me know that have panasonic improved sharpness in ae4000 over ax200? or both images are same as far as sharpness is concerned.

3. Brightness ofcourse in ax200 is more then ae4000 so how do you feel while watching blu-rays. I use normal mode in ax200 as cinema 1 and 2 are extremely low in brightness which is like having 2000 lumens projector but using 550 lumens, its not fair not to use rest of 1450 lumens!!

4. Automated functions are not very important to me as in ae4000, i am fine with ax200 manual functionalities concering adjustments, etc.

5. Contrast in ax200 is 6000:1 while in ae4000 it is 100,000:1, it should make a lot of difference, right, so please check and avdise that really it makes a huge difference in contrast. I feel that blacks are already black enough in ax200. Please comment.

If there is anything else i am missing in comparison as far as picture quality is concerned, please let me know.

Is there any possibilty that anyone of you can take picture from both projectors's image and post over here for comparison and to know obvious difference.

Many thanks once again.
Salman

Yes we are on the same path I think almost identical. I got my 4000 today and I just hooked it up on a tan wall and it looks decent, but not neat is full potential. I am actually sitting now as i type this 9' from screen but sitting back in recliner is about 12' and the projector is on my audio rack at about 14.5'. I think the BW carada 1.4 gain screen will be perfect. I have blue painters tape on the wall for a 106" screen but i think ima go with 110" no big difference really, just $30. The colors on this tan wall look off so its hard to say how good it is but is is nice as is an viewable. I have dark walls and ceiling ad controlled lighting. I am going to order my screen tomorrow. Ima post some pics i took of how it look now in normal mode.

I have a question about screens related to using it with the Panny 4000.

The screen I want to get is the Da-lite 110" diagonal HP. It is a manual pull down. My ceiling is 8ft high. I will be sitting about 10 ft from the screen since my room is 18x13. If I understand correctly, the case the screen is in is about 6 inches from the ceiling to where the top of the screen starts? Is that correct?

If the screen is 54" in height, plus the 6 inches of the frame I am now 60 inches from the ceiling to the bottom of the screen. That puts the center of the screen at about 60 inches from the floor if the screen center is at 27 inches. THat is fine since I want to have the 4000 at the center of the HP screen to maximize gain and efficiency of the HP screen.

The issue I am having is that my eyes are about 40 inches from the ground sitting upright to 35 inches fully reclined in my HT seats. That puts the center of the screen 2 full feet above my eye level. I now sit at dead center eye level on my 60 in RPTV. Isn't that what we want with big screens as well? Are my numbers off and is there a way to lower the screen from the ceiling to put my eyes closer to the center of the image?

What am I missing or not understanding in terms of screen sizes, viewing distances and optimum seat height?

I was thinking of going to 113" even. My front speakers are optimized for sound at where they are at in terms of distance from the walls, etc, so I have about 98-100 inches between them which means I can't go much bigger than a 96 inch wide screen, which is what the 110" diag. is.

We will be talking more I am sure since we are on a similar path. I really got the bug the last few days and it will be my first projector. I look forward to hearing and seeing more from you.

Your screen is Angular Reflective? And I don't know if it has any gain factor. If so, remember the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. So figure out how far from the bottom of your screen your eyes are and mount it that far below the top. All this assumes you are an absolutely anal perfectionist who also loves symmetry.

Sure you can project on it. But I wouldn't "recalibrate" the projector settings to make the best picture on the wall, because when you get your screen, you won't remember what "default" was.

Use one of the presets and make due until you get a color neutral screen.

Hopefully they have remedied this by now, but these things have sliding filters in tracks that sometimes get screwed up if the projector is inverted. I have had 2 AU models now and desk mounted both (in bookshelves) and never had such a problem.

One guy was complaining above (or somewhere) that on a 150" 2.35:1 flannelmaster, raincoat, do it yourself, rubber baby buggy bumper screen that it was too dim.

If you go that big you have to go High Power. I have a 133" HP which I run on low lamp and color 1 and it is VERY bright (of course it will dim down over time) so I expect there is plenty of headroom to go up to the next size, especially since you can jack the bulb up to normal. Just keep the throw at the minimum if you can. You should have plenty of snap if you control the ambient light.

Two points. 110 will be fine if it is unity gain. Not too big at all. If you are talking about a High Power, I think you will find that to be too bright at that relatively small size.

Just for perspective, I started out with a 100" 4:3, then 120" 16:9 and now at 133" 16:9, and I would get the next size up now if the room didn't prevent it.

Where you put your projector vertically depends on if it is retro-reflective (High Power) or angular reflective (just about every other screen). Mount it at or slightly below the top of the screen if it is not a High Power, but make sure you find out what kind of screen it really is.

Next, the 4000 loses 42% of it's brightness if it is mounted at the maximum distance. You probably don't want to waste all the light. I would mount it at the absolute minimum (give yourself a few inches for focus slack) to start out with all the light the pj can provide and then bump the lamp to low if you need to.

You want the projector near to where your eyes are, regardless of where it sits relative to the screen. Wherever the pj lens is, that's where all the light returns to, whether it is high, low or sideways. So you want to sit with your head close to the path of the lens (but not in it of course). And as a practical matter, 2 feet is absolutely fine, you will be in the cone of highest gain right there (or near enough).