Panasonic PT-AE4000 MSRP $1999 - Page 261

I just picked up a used AE4k, and am looking for recommended pic settings. Currently, with all default settings, the colors seem a bit off, and blacks are more grey. I am using a panoview graywolf 2 92" screen. The gameroom where this is mounted is not light controlled ... there is a bit of diffuse light coming through from one place or the other.
Any suggestions? I'm coming from a optoma HD20 that i had to sell because of lack of lens shift and placement was becoming a big headache.

Panasonic actually makes a cable cover that fits over the back of the projector to hide the cable connections from view (when ceiling mounted). This cable cover is only about ~5-6" deep. I would assume the Panasonic engineers would not have designed this if air flow restriction was an issue. This is a Panasonic accessory not an aftermarket add-on from another manufacturer. With all that being said, I still wouldn't mount it as close as the photo below (from Panasonic's website). You can make out the cable cover on the back in the photo.

Every projector is going to be different, but in general the Normal mode seems to be bright and oversaturated. For my AE3000 I have found that Cinema3 gets me closest to the correct color balance, but it is a bit dimmer than Normal. For adjusting brightness and contrast I would recommend you get a calibration disc and use a greyscale ramp test pattern. I have used Digital Video Essentials and the AVS Forum calibration disc. I prefer the AVS disc because its patterns are easier to use, but DVE came with red, green, and blue filters.

The 4000 has a waveform monitor that you can use to help with the brightness and contrast settings. It even has an "autoadjust" mode but I found that I got better results tweaking it by hand. Or you can use other test patterns to adjust brightness and contrast directly. Then for color balance (hue and saturation) you use a blue filter with one of the color test patterns. I found that using Cinema3 and the right greyscale settings I had to make very few adjustments to hue and saturation. Color1 is supposed to be REC709, but I got better results with Cinema3.

Anything beyond that would require a colorimeter and specialized software.

Not just for airflow, but your cinemascope screen would have to be up against the ceiling to use the zoom method for multiple aspect ratios.

I'm thinking it's not as much about reduction of airspeed which the cable manager might induce, but the source of the intake air. If the cable manager is on the back of the projector, it is still drawing in air from behind the projector. I'm thinking that if you place the projector in a bookshelf with the same 5" - 6" rear clearance, the issue is that the intake air is being pulled from the front of the projector. The volume of cool air behind the projector is less, so in order to fill the vacuum caused by the intake, air will be pulled from the next closest source which is the front of the bookcase/projector...where the hot air is exiting the projector.

Hey guys - I'm trying to mount the AE4000U with the monoprice mount but having troubles. I was wondernig if someone could look at the pic below and let me know if I got this right? It's not cenetered, the mount only came with 3 extendable arms, so cince one is short I'm trying to line that one up first somewhere and still be able to extend to the other 3 slots. I placed the arms out best I could, is this correct? I can't really find any instructions on this and I'm a little concerned because it's not centered:




Thoughts? Thx

Ive had the cable cover on mine since the 3000 and no issues

Mine didn't come with any instructions either, but it was pretty easy to figure it out. I can't remember if I was able to get it centered or not. I can look at it tonight and see. I didn't use any of the extensions on mine so I can't help you there.

EDIT:
I looked at mine last night and I was indeed able to get the 4-legged bracket centered on the projector.

It appears that your upper right leg is in the safety cable mounting hole. You should have a leg in the gold hole at the back center of the PJ. The mount should ideally be centered or the projector will want to list, although one might be able to overcome that with enough tightening. It also makes centering on the screen more complicated. However, the mount can be centered. I seem to remember that I needed to swap two of the leg extensions. Here is a photo of what mine looked like after I removed it (might have shifted some), but my mount was obviously 90 degrees to yours.

Dang - thanks guys. I did do it how I posted it, and I basically mounted it an inch off center to make up for it. However, it does want to lean a little to the unsupported side a bit. I can get it level but it would be easier if I redid it how you have had klarson.

Thanks a lot guys, I might end up redoing it and horizontally shift it. I don't think my 16x9 image would look too off center being off an inch.

I think this projector holds up well. I paid $1999 for mine 2 years ago. The price today is still around the same at most places. Although you can get it from projectorpeople for only $1750 with rebates.

Probably not. My projector is mounted as close to the screen as allowed and as near to the top edge as allowed, so I didn't have much of a fudge factor to work with. It took quite awhile to get the 2.35:1 and 16:9 lens shift settings made because my mounting was at the extremes. I didn't realize for months that with H-POSITION/V-POSITION and H-AREA POSITION/V-AREA POSITION that you actually lose pixels.

Yes I agree. I just recently got mine from Projector People for that price, including a 1 year extended warranty. I am very impressed with this projector, it puts out a stunning 1080p picture on my 110 ins 2.35 screen, and where else can you get lens memory at this price? I almost went for the AR-100 but the AE4000 seems to offer a lot more at just a slightly higher price.

To resurrect an old post in this thread:

How do you use another source to focus since the projector's built-in pattern is in the way when attempting to focus?

BTW, the test pattern is Title 13, Chapter 2 of DVE and System Evaluation Patterns, Chapter 2 of DVE HD.

So I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or I just am misunderstanding, but I'm having some aspect ratio problems. Before I bought my screen I thought it would be a good idea to get my projector in my home and test it out by projecting different size images and seeing how it looked in my room, as well as test it with various light levels.

I thought I had figured out what size would work well, but then I measured the image that was being projected up on my wall and it doesn't make any sense. When I play a movie that is 2.35 format I'm getting an image of approx. 53" tall x 124" wide. This makes sense and is what I would expect after entering that ratio and width into the calculator pro at projectorcentral.com. The issue is when I try watching shows that are 16.9 format (I don't have cable so I've been using old movies like Toy Story 1 and Alias TV Series on DVD) the image on my wall doesn't match up. The width of my projected image is 124" which according to projectorcentral.com 's calculator tells me I should have a 70 inch tall image. I also varified these measurements should be what I'm getting based on a Carada 142" screen dimension http://www.carada.com/ProductInfo.as...N-SCREEN-H142C

Anyway the image I get when watching these movies is 64" tall X 124" wide. Using this in the calculator that would lead me to believe I'm projecting a 2 to 1 aspect ratio even though I'm watching 16X9 content. Does anyone know why this is happening and if I'm doing something wrong?

The other issue I have is Alias is a 1.8 image and Toy Story is a 1.77 so when I change disks though the image is roughly the same size the image shifts slightly so it wouldn't line up with where the screen would be mounted. Do I have to create individual memory saves for each aspect ratio I come accross?

Oh just an FYI the projector is laying on a card table for now with the projector raised up in the front using the adjustable feet. My final setup will be a ceiling mount using a Cheif RPAU. I heard I need to have the lense of the projector within the vertical frame of the screen and centered horizontally before any lense shifting? If that is right does it need to be within the frame of the screen for both the 2.35 and the 16x9 image? I'm guessing just 16x9 because otherwise I wouldn't think it would be possible with a ceiling mount. Anyway Thank you for any help sorry about the long post.

When you invoke the internal focus screen, you will notice the on screen icon of the four way controller shows the center button is labeled "PATTERN CHANGE" (They use all capital letters; I'm not yelling at you ). Tap it repeatedly and you'll see one of the three options is to focus on the incoming source image.

[The link in the other post doesn't seem to be working, but here is the center of the SMPTE 133 image I took standing right next to the screen with my point and shoot camera in macro mode].

The smaller lines are individual pixel width alternating with unlit lines. Note, with precise focusing you can even faintly see the sub element panel(s) which make up each white pixel "point"; the red LCD is the easiest to pick out. Also note the stellar "fill factor", thanks to Smooth Screen, which completely eliminates any discernible black area between individual pixels, both horizontally and vertically, which causes the dreaded SDE if viewed closely on all other brands. I love my Panny !

the Epson in a light controlled theater though.

I am commenting first on the question quoted above. The center of the lens must be inside of the screen. This is a physical requirement enforced by the laws of optics and physics. It doesn't matter what the screen ratio is or what the ratio of the program content is.

You are questioning about zoom settings. I use only three: one for 2.35:1, a second for 1.85:1, and the third for 16:9. For any other material, there are either small black bars (top and bottom) or a bit overspill on the mask. On my setup, I can NOT see the small black bars when they are present. The black velvet mask does the same for the small overspills.

I think you are getting confused by all of your measurements. What you need to do is to pick what you think is the screen size you want. Use masking tape and mark the screen on the wall. (Be sure to position it so the lens is within this screen area even if the screen is not at the height you want in the final setup .) Now setup the three lens settings using appropriate material and save them.

Position your seats as they would be in your final setup and watch some material in all of the aspect ratios you are interested in. If everything is satisfactory, go with it. Otherwise, pick a new screen size.

Isn't 16:9 the same as 1.78:1 ?

There are no subpixels in a 3-LCD display, there are only single-coloured pixels overlaid on each other, making white when they're all in a row. What you're seeing in that photo is poor convergence. Those lines should be pure white or grey, with no colors visible at all. Some purple fringing will come from the lens, but that's normal. Certainly don't brag about that you see red, that's a defect

I wanted to get a 142" Carada shown here http://www.carada.com/ProductInfo.as...N-SCREEN-H142P
so I measured out the screen and placed painters tape on the wall so I could see how big the screen would be and whether it would look right in the space I have. When I put in Toy Story 1 a 16x9 movie the image did not fill the entire screen height wise, but filled it fully width wise. That is why I made this post because it appears to me that even though I'm projecting on a space that would be a 16x9 screen my image is not 16x9 even though the content I'm using is. Does that make better sense?

16/9 = 1.77777777 etc., so "Yes".

Very good point. My bad. I have edited my post to reflect what is seen is the individual LCD panel element (red) which makes up each white pixel "point", not a "subpixel". Check. [I knew that actually, but must have been having a brain fart and worded it poorly. Oops.]


I personally disagree with that assessment of it being "poor", though. What I am seeing, and is shown in the photo, is such spectacularly good convergence, AFAIC, such that neither vertically nor horizontally, even when examined so closely that individual pixel "points" are discernible, do the white lines show any degree of red, green, or blue fringing, at all [ignoring CA]. They are just white lines. The "poor" misconvergence, as you deem it, might be just barely discernible if I had a test pattern with diagonal, instead of horizontal and vertical lines, I suppose [considering the individual white pixel "point" seems slightly red in its upper left], but for a straight out of the box projector with smooth screen and no user adjustable panel alignment facilities, I've never seen better. If you have pictures of a superior convergence, under said conditions, I'd be more than happy to examine it.

Considering the individual white lines are indeed just white lines, and not "clearly fringed with red, green or blue on one edge, at least when examined at extremely close distances using a torturous test pattern of alternating, single pixel width, white and black lines", I'm quite happy with my "poor" convergence.


The CA might also be partly from the lens on my cheap point and shoot camera. It balks at extremely high contrast situations like this.

Zergman, have the projector ON but with no source feeding it, so it displays a blue screen. That is the total area the projector can project and it is 16:9. Adjust this blue screen to your projection screen.

Then, have your source playing 16:9 content and compare what area the actual picture have. If it's not the same area as the blue screen, then some setting in your player and/or projector is not as it should.

Second, using the projector front feet means the projector is slightly tilted up. You won't be able to have any of the zoom memory functions to work in a satisfactory way if the projector is not near 100% level.

Ok thanks. I'll try leveling the feet out and clearing out the settings I have to see if that fixes my problem.

Thanks, corrected original post to make 1.78:1 to 1.85:1

Your problem is that according to IMDb (the movie data site), Toy Story 1 has a 1.85:1 ratio! You will always have a either (1) small black bars at the top and bottom if the width is set exact or (2) over spill on width if the height is set exactly. You will have to chose which condition you want with a 16:9 screen!

Now, what you have to realize is that most of us who purchased the AE4000 did so that we could use a screen with a ratio of approximately of 2.35:1. With this setup, the height of the image is always constant and the width of the image varies depending on the aspect ratio. Most of your issues disappear when you use constant height image mode.

That are a few people who have have used other screen ratios for various reason. I am not prepared or informed enough to discuss the reasons for their choices..

Oh, I never said I could show you better! I had one Epson (out of 16) that had very good convergence - perfect, actually - but it still had lots of CA from the lens. I couldn't prove it with a picture, though! I'm using a Sony LCoS now that supports 10 steps per pixel adjustment - for someone as OCD as me, it doesn't get any better. Still has CA from the lens, but that never bothers me. Now that I've had that luxury, I couldn't ever go back to the LCD panel alignment lottery - I have really, really bad luck. The one you showed is better than 95% of what's out there. Of course, single-chip DLP still rules... I wish I never saw one!

That is really strange because the back of the box on my Toy Story 1 copy says 1.77 aspect ratio. I also tried throwing in Alias Season 1 since I don't have cable right now to use for testing and it looks the same size as Toy Story 1. According to the back of the Alias box it is 1.8 aspect ratio and it also doesn't fill up the 16x9 screen that I have outlined on my wall with painters tape.

I'm going to try what Deromax suggested and clear out all my settings and lower the adjustable feet on my projector and give it a try. I can't imagine both the Toy Story and Alias boxes are wrong, but I guess it could happen.

If you measure the image these 2 shows are putting up on my wall and enter those measurements into a projection calculator it appears that what I'm viewing is a 2.0 aspect ratio even though I'm using 1.8 material.

make shure you don't have any electronic masking set AND no electronic lense shift (Think they call is vertical area/horizontal area). Either could mess up a 16:9 image size.