Panasonic PT-AR100 MSRP$ 1,999 - 4000U replacement... kind of - Page 10

Let me know if you guys have any further questions. I can provide more pictures if requested.

Steve & megashadow11

Thanks for all the info regarding ar100. Like I've said before,I decided to get this model a month ago or so, and I don't have any doubts about it. It's just curiosity how this projector shine in real life...how is PQ compare to other PJ's. And,you deliver answers to my questions,thanks a lot for this. I'm pretty sure,that many people reading your reviews start thinking differently about Panasonic AR-100. Remember,so far we got only one professional review coming from Projector Central,and it's hard to describe Bill's review as a enthusiastic one.
Thanks Tom

Okay, I had some time this morning to do a basic calibration on the projector and take some screen shots. I must say, the projector is looking pretty fabulous in person. I'm a bit disappointed in the screen shots. They're a little bland looking. It must be the Canon Powershot SD780 IS I used for the shots.

I am a BIT concerned about the frame interpolation (or lack thereof) on this. I'm not sure I quite understand exactly what FI is supposed to accomplish, so I'm off to study that. But, everyone once in a while, I'll see a bit of a 'mess' or grain look to the picture.

The screens shots are below...

And three more shots...

Steve
Don't worry about a quality of pictures taken with a Canon,they always look worse then a projector screen. Regarding FI, I don't consider this feature as a most important in entire set of capabilities AR100. Maybe this is important when watching a sport with all that fast movements. From what I read online, many users are turning off FI b. they don't like how the picture look on the screen. What counts is how YOU like quality of PJ.
Have good time with playing AR100.
Tom
thanks for pictures

After a full weekend of watching and tweaking, I am now fully satisfied with this projector. The images are just stunning. There are NO problem with black levels. They are just as good if not better than with the AX200. Both the wife and I were constantly commenting last night on how exceptional the picture was. I'm a HAPPY camper.

thanks for your input. I'm estimating the throw distance to be approx. 09ft. I will probably go with 80in wide screen. Not sure which screen type to use?

I'm no expert, but with that layout, I don't think the AR100 is for you. Unless you're going to be showing it in a room with wide open windows and sun shining in constantly. It's a really bright projector and you can only 'dim' it down so much. I think you might want to consider a projector with less lumens.

Hopefully other, more experienced folks will chime in too.

That sounds about right Joe. At 9ft. and an 80 inch screen, even using a grey screen the brightness will be overpowering, effecting the contrast and viewing experience.

Steve
Can you tell me how long is your HMDI cable between PJ and receiver. I'm trying to figure out if my setup is going to be OK. I got to run HMDI about 75'... not fun...not at all. I know that there is an access to extended mode for HMDI in this model.
thanks,Tom

Hi Tom. I have a 50' HDMI cable going from my receiver to the projector. I've had no problems with that length.

Steve
I know that your room is light controlled,so you don't have to worry about that ambient light,but here is my question ,have you notice how Light Harmonizer is working...just by turning a light on & off. In my setup,with a lot of ambient light,and some direct light present during a day (my livingroom - 26x38' with 9 skylights,two windows...), that feature would be quiet useful ,I guess. Most of my watching it's going to be in the evening & night (movies). But,sometimes I like to click my TV remote control at noon...I wonder if PJ is adjusting picture properly according to amount of light in the room.


thanks ,Tom

Visual apex has the ar100 on sale for $1,299.

Okay, this projector is looking very interesting for my setup - I currently have a Panny PT-AE-900U that I'm ready to replace (even though I think it only has about 1,000 hours on it in 5 years). I have a very large living room which has vaulted ceilings. Ceiling is light, carpet is light. I've painted the walls a light-medium brown. Windows have plantation shutters on them. There is a skylight up the stairs that lets in a ton of light. During day time viewing there is definitely ambient light even with all the shutters closed.

My floor plan (note projector is on table on a shelf between the top of the table and drawers):



View from the couch (note front wall and wall to the left painted light-medium brown):




Projector is located 11.5' back from a 106" Elitescreen high contrast grey screen.

I obviously don't use this projector a ton, but I would say I use it probably 60/40 TV/movies. Daughter plays Wii on it as well.

Do you think this projector is a good fit for my setup? Or will it be too bright?

Thanks for your input. It has been awhile since I've done anything to my HT so I've been out of the loop. 2,800 lumens vs. 1,100... 50,000:1 vs 5,500:1 contrast ratio. Wow. Oh the other new projector I'm considering is the Epson 8350 since it is a bit brighter (nowhere near the AR100U but brighter than some of the others I was looking at - 8700UB, 6500 refurb, etc.)

Too bright? No way, this is the environment this thing is designed for.

Okay I'll give this thing a shot! Thanks! I was sitting there watching football yesterday and looking at all the ambient light. Tons. So looking forward to getting this bad boy. Visual Apex has a nice return policy too but sure sounds like this fits my need perfectly.

I just ordered one also. It will replace an AX-200. I use mine in a multi use room also and need the lumens.

Sorry for the late response. I've been traveling over the holiday.

I don't notice any harmonizer activity as my room stays at pretty much the same illumination constantly. I actually turned the dynamic iris off. So, I'm not going to be able to give you much info on this.

Watched the PJ again last night after being away for a week. It blew me away. I couldn't be happier with this purchase. It's working perfectly for me.

I ordered AR100 yesterday, so by saturday I be a happy user of that light cannon... So far most owners are pretty happy with AR100. Will post some pictures next week .
Tom

Congrats, Tom. I'm sure you'll love it.

Bought my AR100U from G&G on Monday for $1275 - due here tomorrow - can't wait!

Replacing a AE900U that is still going strong (see at http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-PT...item2c6122c697)

I'll post a review/comparison once I've setup, calibrated, and done some testing. This forum helped me select the original panny and now the new ar100U as well - THANKS!

Looking forward to it, jrburley!

Have been using the AR100U for 5 days now and I am still in awe at the brightness and PQ! Brightness is incredible - even with all the lights on in my room (1000+ watts) the picture is beautiful. The 1080p is also very apparent on my 135" diag screen - 720 was nice but 1080p over HDMI from a bluray player is stunning! I went back and watched several older movies (Stargate) and was blown away by the detail and overall PQ. Blacks are not a problem either - much better than the 900U I was using (cinema mode).

Setup was a breeze as the lens shift features of the 900 are still there. Only problem for me was the size of the ar100 - ~4 in wider and deeper required me to increase the size of the overhead platform my projector is mounted on. The remote that comes with the projector is not nearly as nice as the remote that came with the 900 but I use a customizer any way so it's not a big deal. Since the new ar100 recognizes all of the same remote commands, I didn't have to change any of my macros on the customizer - NICE!

jrburley... Congrats! Glad to hear you're enjoying the new AR100. Sounds like you're having a very similar experience to me. I'm still blown away each time we watch something on the projector. It is certainly a step up over my AX200 (which was no slouch).

And yes! I forgot to mention how nice it was not to have to reprogram my Harmony remote. All the old codes worked fine with the new projector. That was definitely a bonus.

It would be nice to see some pictures which show its performance in terms of colour. Can someone post some pics of some images from films like Cars / Nemo or similar...

Does anyone know of any reviews bar the one published by Projector central?? This PJ seems to be taking ages to be extensivley reviewed.

No more screenshots of images under moderate/strong ambient light situation?

I don't know, but it is a bit hard to review this duck. Typical HT reviews will show up its weaknesses (contrast, black level) without easily showing off its strengths - Sunday football games with the blinds closed, but lights on. I'm thinking somebody like Trusted Reviews or other general-purpase review sites that look at TVs might give a more useful review than an HT site.

I ended up with an 8350 rather than the ar100 based on mostly evening viewing with some external light and a small screen.

What type of iris adjustments in the menu? I mean the service menu?
Might be the icing on top of the cake

Okay these were taken at noon-ish, in dynamic mode. Taken with iPhone 4S camera. Skylight shade open as are the other shades in the house. Tons of ambient light. Have not calibrated the projector. Auto iris off, light harmonizer on. I had to shrink the projected image due to the Christmas tree placement (106" screen). Projector 12' away on coffee table projector in "eco" mode. Sony Blu-Ray player, standard definition DVD. Screen is an Elite Screens high contrast grey.

Oh no! I was so sure I wanted the Epson 8350 until I saw this. Maybe you guys could help me with what's best for my setup. Right now I'm just playing with an old viewsonic pj766d, so I don't have much to go off of.

I own a condo so it'll be in my 16x16 living room, 12 to 14ft from the screen. I can fit a 92" screen, so I will be getting a cheapo 1.0 gain matt white just to start off with. Only place for setting the projector up is 4ft right of center, so I need the horizontal lens shift. Hopefully all of that is within spec so far, because the calculators online are kind of confusing. As far as lighting, during the day I always have indirect light coming in through my patio door. It isn't much, but its un-avoidable. At night I like to have a 60watt lamp on in the living room while watching tv and I usually leave a 60 watt hallway light on attached to the living room. Light grey walls, white vaulted ceiling, and plenty of shiny surfaces. I'll post up some pictures to give you guys an idea. I like the idea of having that high lumen flexibility and auto adjusting light output, but maybe its overkill for my setup.