Panasonic PT-AE4000 MSRP $1999 - Page 113

Those samples shouldn't be blue, especially not in Color1 mode. I think what may be happening is it just looks blue because it's surrounded by a brown wall.

Your color perception is completely relative to surroundings. That's why colors look normal when you're in a fluorescent-lit office, but when you take a photo, everything looks green. The light actually is greenish compared to incandescent light or sunlight, but your brain compensates. In your case it thinks the light is brownish, and that small sample is therefore perceived to be blue. Do you have a bedsheet or something else large and white you can surround the sample with?

If you have a 10' throw, then you'll need a fairly small screen. So you could get away with a gray screen if black level is very important to you.

Can you go to Options>Test Pattern and see if you see all the colors in the SMPTE color bars? I'm thinking something's off and the reason you see black on your wall is because most of the colors are being absorbed by the dark wall. Maybe try going back to factory default settings.

Bob, thanks for your reply. I think you may be right. I do have a large bedsheet, and will try that when I get home. That is a great idea! I will see what happens....

Hey guys i put my projector up last night on the ceiling and I was leveling it off at the top of the screen which was nice and straight across. but when I zoom out to get the bottom to fit inside the screen it was like 2in higher on one end. I haven't had to chance to play with it more since last night But i figured if I had the top straight shouldn't be the bottom? The project is not at the same level as the top of the screen, so I had to tilt the project a 5% and keystone it by 3. Would that have anything to do with it?

Thanks for reading.

Look at the pics i posted of mine they have one just like it but the wire are run inside the pipe. I think its is called NLP from mountsdirect.com.

I have DirectTV and I noticed that to just last night watching Comedy Central John Stewart. on the bottom was short like 1/2" bu then the next screen view it was normal. No biggie for me. I will live. I guess some broadcasting or camera are different or set it different. I am still loving the 4000 in cinema 3.

Email Carada and have them ship you screen material samples. They will send you fairly large pieces you can stick on your wall to compare. I have a total bat-cave (can be noon and so dark you can't see hand in front of your face) and after seeing all three materials i'm actually considering the Classic Cinema White because otherwise the contrast ratio seems to go down (blacks aren't as black on the Brilliant White coating to me).

I definitely would say try it out in your own room with the samples before you commit to anything. My plain old wall actually is indistinguishable from the screen material (the CCW material blended into the wall seamlessly!) so i'm not sure how soon I will sink the money into a screen since it looks so nice already on the matte painted white wall.

Here's the one I actually bought: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/APC+-+13...&skuId=9307797

It looks really nice since it is black and matches the other A/V equipment. I got it cheaper than that but I guess it was on sale in the store for some reason.

I just put my PJ up and am using the Cinema3 Mode. I found the color in the other modes not so great either. Maybe its because nothing has been calibrated yet.

Scott

Hey man I just put my ceiling mounted my 4000 and I had a similar problem and could not understand why the right side was higher than the left side and the 4000 was leveled perfectly. Well since my projector is mounted directly over my head when my chair is reclined I just happened to look up and the 4000 was crooked, meaning it was not straight facing toward the screen. So I got up and turned 4000 so it was straight facing the screen and re adjusted the controls on top of the 4000 which are now on the bottom and it is perfect now. So when you get home lay on the floor and make sure you are laying straight with the the screen/walls and look up and see if the 4000 is not crooked, if it is, straighten it and then properly adjust the 2 control on the 4000 top panel (now on bottom) and see if that works, did for me. This is also my first projector and I did all the setting up myself, trial and error. I hope this works for you.

Same Issue for me. You have to make sure that the projector front is completely parallel to the screen. If either side of the PJ is closer to the screen, that side will be smaller than the other. Also, look carefully at your screen as your screen may not be 100% parallel to your wall either. I just did the same adjustment and it helped. But it is not easy getting everything lined up...vertically, horizontally and parallel. Also, use the lens shift dials if possible instead of keystone.

Yea that is what I meant, make sure the 4000 is parallel to the screen and then re-adjust the lens shift.

I have a small room like you and have just set up a 103" 2.35:1 screen. The 16:9 image is still very watchable and more immersive then my old 50" RPTV...but scope movies are just awesome, wider and waaay bigger then what I had before on my 50 16:9.

I was debating doing CIW to get more size for 16:9 but I'm glad I stuck with CIH on a 2.35:1 screen. All the reports from viewers thus far, are; "sick", "that looks as good as plasma", "".

As far as brightness goes, I'm projecting on Draper M1300 material which has a gain of 1.0. It's plenty bright and I'm not at minimum throw distance or highest brightness setting on the 4k.

I have a Carada 1.4 BW screen and I do no feel it is too bright, it looks perfect to me and I am used to a Pioneer Plasma. Professionals have said that there is not much of a difference from a 1.4 and 1.0. If you have a bat cave then 1.0 is better I would say. I kinda wish I went with a 2.34 screen for movies but when I am watching sports and other HD content I am glad I didn't. In either screen ratio its win or lose. I suggest go with what you view most and consider your viewing environment.

GETTING BETTER BY THE HOUR. ON CINEMA 3

The trick is to make sure your screen is level, then turn on the pj, and loosen it so you can swivel it, and use your vertical lens shift to get the top of the image close to the top of the screen, then swivel the pj back and forth laterally until the top of the image is perfectly level with the top of the viewable part of the screen. THEN, you can tighten it down and lens shift will get the picture on the screen from there. Horizontal first, centered it in the screen, then zoom out to fit. As long as the top of the image matches the top of the screen, the projector is square. Of course, it doesn't hurt to eyeball the pj itself to make sure it looks level, front to back.

Confused?

If you have a small 6 in laser level, and your projector is mounted in-line with the center of the screen, its pretty easy to square things up. 1st as suggested by others here, make sure your screen is level. Then put the small laser level on top of the projector and level it front to back and side to side. Snug but don't tighten your projector mounts. You want to be able to move the projector with a bit of effort but not so loose just touching it moves it. Recheck you front to back and side to side level.

Now, the following step depends on your setup. You will need 3 six inch long pieces of masking tape each piece with one vertical line drawn at the center (3 inch) mark with a black marker, 3 pieces of string long enough to reach below your screen from the top frame and a few small washers or nuts Now using a tape measure, find the center of your screen along the top horizontal edge - where the black velvet or frame exists. Attach the string to the frame or wall using the masking tape with the black line with the string behind the black mark and the line right at the center of your screen. Now from this center taped string, put up another string 9 and 1/16 inches to the left and right of the center. Essentially what you have done is frame the outside dimensions of the projector onto the screen area. Now hang some washers from the bottom of the 3 strings so the string is pulled tight. Make sure that neither the washers or masking tape touch the actual screen surface.

Put your laser level on the left side of the projector. The beam should hit the left most of the 3 strings. Turn the projector left/right until this happens. Now put the level on the right side of the projector and it should hit the right string. If your laser level has a small offset - say 1/2 inch from the straight side of the level, you can either move the stings out the offset amount, or just visually note that they are 1/2 inch to the left of the left string and 1/2 inch to the right of the right string.

At this point you should be almost perfect. Fire up the projector and put on a bright source material to fill your entire screen. Zoom in/out until the image just fills the screen - I actually enlarge a 1/4 inch past that point and let the velvet absorb the spill. If your image is too high/low or too far left/right, use the manual dials to move the image, don't twist the projector. Also since the projector may not be 100% perfect in relation to the screen you may need VERY slightly tilt the project side to side - but we are talking fractions of a degree here.

This entire process takes less time to do than it took me to type this and you will be set. Now firmly tighten all bolts and do one final check to make sure you dind't move anything. If all is good, remove the string/masking tape. BTW, the center string is used on the Zoom/Focus screen as a double check to see how close the horizontal offset is.

PM me if you have questions.

Nice pic's Never, i'm not sure what camera and lens your using but try not to pause as most of the time you end up with a fraction of blur if something is moving in the background.

I'm running my 4k from 10ft on a 92" 16:9 screen as i thought running any larger screen would look silly and the fact that my room is only 12ft x 15ft ad don't want to turn my head all the time to watch the screen.

Yea I noticed that, but now when I do pause it I clicked the forward button a few times in slow-mo and it makes the image somewhat clearer. I am just using a 8mp Norcent camera and a tripod, nothing special. Actual image looks like 20% better on screen thats why I took pics cause I said "wow I need to take a pic of this." That is how good it looked. Thanks for the tip.

I have the same size room as you and I sit 12' from screen with a 110" and I do not have to turn my head. You could have gone a little bigger trust me. 110" perfect, however, there are times when I say damn I should have got the 120" and 2.35 ratio.

I have a velvet curtain. Here are pics.

By bujee1, shot with DSC-H1 at 2009-10-07


By bujee1, shot with DSC-H1 at 2009-10-07

Looks nice, how big the the screen before and after masking?

can I do that with a 110" screen?

You can do the same thing on any size screen, yes!

What size screen you think it will come out to 100" and do you know what I would have to do. I guess I'll play around with it now and see for myself. Trial and error.

There are plenty of screen calculators to work this out, go to the Panasonic website for the PT-AE4000, but trial and error is always the best. Check and measure yourself on a wall and see what you like best.

Before masking, 100"
after masking 95"

And yes you can do the same with a 110 inch screen.

ok thanks

All,

Can anyone advise me as to the expected degradation in picture quality due to using a clean single-edge mirror ?

In my small bat-cave, I have the choice between using Panny ae-4000 about 2 foot short of its minimum throw distance, or using a mirror to extend the light path.

Any suggestions as to which delivers the better picture?

(sincere apologies if I posted this in the wrong forum, I am a noob and I know it :-) )

Welcome. There are several threads discussing using a mirror for this purpose, here's one:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1021983

But it's not a cheap or simple thing to do. You might consider a short-throw lens instead:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=876935