Panasonic PT-AE4000 MSRP $1999 - Page 276

A room that quiet is quite good, especially if you live near other people and are above ground level. I suspect your unusually quiet environment makes you more sensitive to the 4000's noise because there is nothing else to mask it. I suspect it is normal.

I don't know much about that particular SPL meter, but often ones that can take really loud measurements, like 130 dB SPL (as it states), aren't always the most accurate at the quiet levels, which is how you are using it. I'm not suggesting you should go buy another one but just take its readings with a grain of salt. If they are quite consistent from day to day, then at least you can safely assume it may not be absolutely accurate to a reference level, however it is accurate enough to itself from other readings, so you can use it to further attempt to reduce your noise [if you REALLY can't live with it as it now is].

Further steps to reduce the noise would be to coat all the reflective surfaces near the pj (ceiling and rear wall mostly) with sound absorbing material,( like 1" or thicker sheets of rigid fiberglass encased in cloth, as one example that's inexpensive) or if you really want to go wild build the 4000 a "hush box", which is akin to those Plexiglass boxes they put around blenders in some juice bars (but with its own dedicated ventilation system).

Thanks for the info.

I think what I'm worried about is the fact that the fan noise is abnormal. I swear hooking it up the first time and it being almost silent (as many have mentioned on this thread). I actually played around with it yesterday and it is louder than I remember. I just hope as you mentioned, I didn't get any dust in there past the dust filter to screw something up. If that's how it sounds, I live with it, but if it's not normal, than it will bother the crap out of me...lol

I'm gonna try calling my local repair center and see how much they will charge to take a look at it to make sure everything is up to par with it (depending how much they will charge of course).


EDIT: Just called and it would cost me 63$ tax in to get it checked out...???? Dont know what to do...
Edited by VinnyS - 10/10/12 at 6:05am

Sorry, I see your dilemma. The only thing I can think of is to intentionally run it at fullest speed possible for a night of viewing. (get out of eco mode and set it to manual high speed, or I forget, do they call that "high altitude" these days?). This will make the fan bearings vibrate as much as possible and also heat them up as much as possible to hopefully redistribute the lubricant/oil more evenly, which may solve the noise problem. Just a thoiught, no guarantee, but it is "free". Good luck.

Thanks buddy, will try that tonight when I get home

fwiw, the fan noise at my seating position i have seen as low as 43db, about 3 ft from the projector.

i also have noticed that many things effect the fan speed. changing from color1, to dynamic will change the fan speed, as will eco to normal. the loudest i have ever heard the fan was while in dynamic mode with high altitude mode and normal mode on. it is one of the noisiest things in my room on that setting.

I know this thread's an "oldie but a goodie"... but I'm finally nearing the point where I'll be replacing the bulb on my beloved Panny 4000. In all the projector's I've previously owned, I've upgraded before changing bulb (from Panny 900 to 1000 to 4000)... so this will be a first for me, changing a bulb.

My big question: should I be prepared to completely re-calibrate after the bulb change? Seems like a new bulb will have different levels of red, or run cooler when it's new. Do most people calibrate from scratch, as if it's a new projector?

Might want to get some hours on the bulb before you do a full cal.

^I'd agree. Do a quickie calibration just to make it nice, but don't knock your socks off or spend much time on it. Wait until the bulb has had some time to "burn in" over the next few weeks. [I can't believe I just wrote that considering how many in these forums ridiculously apply this "burn in" nonsense to things like SS amplifiers and, gulp, disc players where it doesn't apply, yet millions think it does! DOH!

Also calibrations shouldn't be done unless the pj has been warmed up for say 20 minutes or so.

I totally understand about waiting to do calibrations until the new bulb has had a "breaking in" period... but for those who have done bulb changes... does a bulb change radically alter the projector calibrations, or will I find that my existing settings (that I've been very happy with for the entire life of the old bulb) will be just about "right on" with only a few tweaks? Just want to know what I'm in for. Thanks for the replies!

Brand new bulbs (genuine Panasonic, that is) are always much brighter, but then dim quickly after around 100 hrs (or so) of use. They then have a gently declining plateau from there, so if doing full calibrations is a hassle and you want to do only one, wait 'til 100 hours (or so) of use.

If you don't mind re-calibrating repeatedly, calibrate per use! [joke]

To some degree there must be a small variation from bulb to bulb, even if both are brand new. I doubt it is very significant in the big picture though, so I wouldn't worry about it. I suspect when you put in your new bulb it will be quite acceptable (using your older calibration, that is) however if you have colorimetry instruments they might discover that your adjustments are slightly off by a notch or two. Again, not a big deal.

If you don't own any calibration tools and would have to pay for an ISF or similar technician to come visit, I'd personally think it's not worth it.

Keep in mind there are probably bigger differences in your source material itself, movie to movie or TV network to TV network, such that this small difference between bulbs would be swamped by variations within your source material.
---

Coincidentally we are a day away from a great source material to demonstrate this. When Obama or Romney gives their acceptance or concession speech (assuming this election isn't another "drag out for weeks" one) flip around from network to network and watch how the color values vary by network channel [ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc], yet all originate from the same camera feed. This was especially true back in the olden days of NTSC [never twice the same color ]
Edited by m. zillch - 11/5/12 at 5:43pm

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and in-depth reply. Much appreciated!

I just picked up a Panny 4k think weekend and mated it to the Panny BDT500 BluRay player. With the BD having so many picture options, which ones should I use? Do I just feed the PJ an untweaked signal or do I utilize them and the PJ settings?

Ideally you should get a calibration disc and send an untweaked signal to the 4000. The 4000 has finer adjustments than most other external sources and a waveform monitor to tweak brightness and contrast using instrumentation, assuming your source can send a gray scale ramp pattern, such as is found on many BD calibration discs.

Which one do you recommend? Thanks.

Care to share how much you were able to find it for?

Bought it from a member on this site in the Classifieds..

The big names in video calibration are Avia by Ovation software, HD HQV Benchmark by Sicicon Optix, Spears and Munsil HD Benchmark, and Digital Video Essentials [but there are others too]. Sorry, I don't recall off the top of my head which of these offer grayscale ramps (you can use either stepped or continuous), you'll have to research that on your own. Also, these companies offer more than one disc, yet they all have similar names, so it can be confusing. Be sure you are getting a BD and not just a DVD which would only allow you to calibrate at 480i/p only, not 720p or 1080i/p (HD that is, which is what you want to do).

The AVS-HD Bluray calibration disc has a greyscale ramp on it. It is also the easiest one to use with RGB filters for color calibration because it uses flashing bars. The test screens are far easier to navigate on this disc than on DVE. And it's free, but you will need a Bluray burner to create the disc.

This thread describes it in detail, including how to download:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/948496/avs-hd-709-blu-ray-mp4-calibration

Good point. I can't believe I forgot that one and it's right here! DOH!

Also, you don't need a Bluray burner to make it. Using the AVCHD version you can use a common DVD burner and make an HD disc that will play back in the vast majority of modern bluray machines, in full HD.

The only problem is you don't get a blue color filter for some of the other adjustments, which typically comes with the commercial discs. THX used to sell the blue filter a la carte, but all the links to their purchase site I've come across seem down at the moment.
Edited by m. zillch - 11/12/12 at 7:14pm

Does anyone know the outlet temperature expected range for this projector?

I recently mounted mine in a hush box and want to make sure temps are under control with the power ventilation.

Thanks
Nicholas

I would think what matters is the internal temperature, not the exhaust. Access the service menu and it shows the status of several internal thermal sensors.

Thanks good point, Anyone know what those should be reading?

You needed a hush box for the AE4000? Mine's directly overhead and I can't here it even when things are muted.

If you haven't tried it outside of the hust box, might be worth giving it a chance. You'll also want to ensure you are in Normal mode (rather than High Altitude), unless you are actually at high altitude.

Mike

Hi Mike,

My hush box decision was two fold. I have heat issues in my theater room and the projector contributes many btu/hr to the room, so the hush box addressed two "issues" with one treatment. Yes, I had it mounted above my head for a long time and its hard to hear except on quiet passages. However, noise floor is additive and I have other amps and components with fans. I opted to seal up my equipment rack and projector in seperate systems with their own respective ventilation systems to address both the noise floor and heat issues.

I did measure the outlet temp before moving the projector but didn't measure for long. I assumed the projector would be "up to temperature" after only a short bit and now after careful study I see the projector outlet temp rising for a longer period than initially thought. Since its in the box I really don't have a baseline now and don't know exact temperatures one would see "open air."

Can someone please check their temps in the service menu "open air" so I will have something to compare?

Thanks,
Nicholas

OK, you owe me one.

My room is 79 degrees F (measured just under the pj). First I checked the mode I was in, which is not what most people use: High Altitude ON [prolongs bulb life] Lamp power ECO-Mode [improves blacks]. Some of the values flicker between two values, but I'm only reporting one of them:

Freshly turned on, about 30 seconds from hitting "Power On:

INTK: 164
EXST: 151
FLTR: 163

20 minutes later, I assume at a state of thermal equalibrium:

INTK: 163
EXST: 102
FLTR: 165

I then took a break at let the pj cool down (off) for half an hour or so.

I then tested the more common use setup, High Altitude OFF and Lamp Power Normal. Again, some values flickered. From freshly powered on:

INTK: 166
EXST: 158
FLTR: 168

20 minutes later, I assume at a state of thermal equalibrium:

INTK: 163
EXST: 109
FLTR: 169

NOTE: These values aren't Farenheight or Celcius, I don't know what they are, but it seems they have a numerical value of "0-255" (2 to the power of 8) and lower numbers are HOTTER values. I would assume "163-166" is close to my 79 degrees F room temperature.

Interestingly there seems to be little variation based on the changed modes, in fact "High Altitude/ECO-mode" seems hotter at the exhaust port after 20 min.

Let us know if you find a way to translate these figures to what we commonly use (temperature scales, that is).
Edited by m. zillch - 11/13/12 at 6:01pm

^Thanks!

I moved the projector last night so spent my time realigning projector. I'll check my numbers against yours and see how they line up.

I'll also change my projector into "high altitude" mode since I can't hear it now anyways.

Thanks,I have the DVD versions of both so now I will look for the BluRay updated versions.


I actually had that issue somehow.When I first setup,for some reason it was in HA Mode and I really thought the thing was broke..Holy Cow than fan is loud!!

The German site Cine4home has a review on the temperature output of the 4000. Scroll down to where you see the 'thermo' pictures.

http://www.cine4home.com/tests/3-tests/28-panasonic-pt-ae4000-lcd-projector-.html

Mr. G,

Thanks, It looks like I'm within a few degrees of that spec so I'm thinking the ventilation is adequate.

I'm going to try to check the heat numbers against those zillch got for one extra level of assurance.


Thanks,
Nicholas.