Panasonic PT-AR100 MSRP$ 1,999 - 4000U replacement... kind of

Yeah, total disappointment. Either get this which is below the 4000 abilities or the 7000 which has stuff maybe u don't want... ie 3d and a much higher price.

Way to go panasonic by completely miss the middle of the road. Ill be looking for another vendor to buy from.

Unless this screen memory thing is their new term for lens memory....

This projector has manual zoom and focus I believe, which rules out lens memory for it unfortunately.

The lens is manual zoom & focus so it must be something else.

panasonic = fall down

I think the phrase "epic failure" is more appropriate.

"fall down" is >2010 for epic fail. Get with the lingo.

Say it a few times, it's much smoother and more satisfying.

Your neighbor leaves his lawnmower out overnight and it gets stolen, just say to him, "fallllllllllll down". High pitch on the "fall", lower on the "down."

I have just enough tech understanding to be dangerous to myself and others standing nearby, so perhaps some knowledgeable person will offer an opinion. My setup is total darkness dedicated theater, 15 foot throw (13 foot viewing) to a 110" white fixed screen. BluRay DVD and Directv HD sources.
I'm really very happy with the output (brightness, color, 720 NR) of my four year old PT-AX200U with one exception - the dreaded "background blurries". John Wayne's static closeup in the foreground is as sharp as I could want but the Indians riding by in the background are blurry. My wife doesn't even see it but it drives me nuts! I assume this is caused by a refresh rate (?) that is much lower than my HD plasma TV.
On the new PT-AR100/AH1000 theRGB Scanning frequency is: H: 15 kHz–74 kHz, fV: 24 Hz–85 Hz,dot clock: 154 MHz or lower as opposed to my AX200U's fH 30–70 kHz, fV 50– 87 Hz Dot clock: Less than 150 MHz
AX200 Brightness: 2000 lumens AR100: 2800 lumens
AX200 Contrast: 6,000:1 AR100: 50,000:1
Are the specs on the new AR-100 going to make a big "spend the money" difference in what I see? In the past, I was told by good honest sales reps at two of "everybody's favorite online dealers" that the AE-4000 just wasn't going to make that much difference in my results and to wait for the next generation. As I have NO interest in the 3D fad (the third attempt to lipstick this pig in my lifetime) does the AR100 look like it's going to be the model I've been waiting for?

I really do hope they dot not see this projector as the follow up to the 4000, as this seems to have way less features and is not as flexible with its position in the room when installing. I did not hear any news about any other projectors for home cinema use from Panasonic this year unfortunately, hope I am wrong..

I bet it is digital, much like the Mits projectors. Sounds like it is the LCD equivalent to the Mits HC4000, except it has a digital shift.

Most of the Mits projectors have a feature where they can be used for 2.35 without gray bars. The HC4000 has this (using remote only) feature and that projector has manual zoom and manual focus. Mits does this digitally not optically.

So, wasn't $2k the MSRP on the Panny 4000? Aside from more light, this one is missing a lot of features from the 4k. I'm a bit surprised at the same MSRP. If I am wrong and $2K was the MAP and the AR100 ends up with a MAP below $1,500 then I am interested. It is going to have to be priced like an Epson 8350 to compete (and win) against the Epson.

I'm surprised someone who is at CEDIA isn't responding to the question about "screen memory", would take about 30 seconds to ask a Panny rep...

trimule

I'm also looking at upgrading my 720p PT-AX200U. I've been holding out for a really bright 1080p projector that's less than $2k and this looks like a pretty obvious choice.

podaman - Looks like we're going to have to wait and see what the actual selling price is going to be and if the dealers are going to dump the 4000 model.

lol

I was wrong, 4k has an MSRP of 2,500 or so. If the AR100 follows and has a MAP around $1,500, then it could be very interesting. Competitive with the Epson 8350.

I met with a Panasonic marketing type at CEDIA and he said the AE4000 will still be in their projector line-up as the mid-priced model. The AE4000 has an MSRP of about $500 more than the new entry-level AR100. Panasonic projectors will normally have a MAP lower than the MSRP.

What about smooth screen technology. is it still included in this PJ ? I can't find it mentioned anywhere in the specs.

With the fill percentage that they are getting off of the new generation chips it may not be required. I never exactly figured out what smoothscreen was, slight de-focus or slight bloom of each pixel.