Panasonic PT-AR100 MSRP$ 1,999 - 4000U replacement... kind of - Page 28

A 100" (16:9) screen gives a width of 87" and height of 49" but sometimes people forget to factor in the frame border which can vary in width but let's say the width is 2 1/2" - that gives you another 5" in width and height for the entire screen assembly. For some it's not a big consideration but for others where space is limited it's important.

If this is your first screen and projector 100" can seem very large but for people who have had several projectors and screens the bigger the better. With a 10 foot wall for the screen and side speakers you've pretty much hit your limit - 120" (wall) - 87" (screen) - 5" (frame) = 28 inches - divided by 2 = 14" on either side of the screen frame for your speakers.

On the length of the pole (if you went with a ceiling mount) - bottom of the screen frame from the floor (24") + 49" screen height + 2 1/2" frame (you don't have factor in the top frame since the projector lens will be below that) = 75.5". Which means you have to drop the lens center about 44.5" from the ceiling. However you also have to factor the size of the projector mount and ceiling plate. With my Peerless mount PRG-UNV subtract 7" and another 1" for the ceiling plate - so now you're down to 36.5" for the column length. On the long-ish side but not overly so. Of course with a wall mount like the Peerless PRS Series PRS-EXA you would just set it to the right height and extend it out from the wall about 12" which would allow you 4" behind the projector for your HDMI and power cable connections.

Eco mode means the projector projects less light which extends the bulb life plus decreases the fan noise.

Are those PJ heights for most brands,

if so as a woodworker hobbyist, I can make a better looking one then that metal wall mount and mount the unit face up as well.

Paint it to blend with the wall.

Ok I understand eco now, but you think it's mandatory or just an option,
if in eco mode the picture is still great ir is it degraded?

Also if I needed a few inches for the L/R speaker I can make the screen a bit smaller and adjust the pj's image width, correct?

tks

1. Mounting heights for projectors can be different - especially when choosing between LCD and DLP. I mentioned the 2 foot distance off the floor (for the screen) because I have an 8 foot ceiling in my family room/home theater. With a 10 foot ceiling you can easily bring up the height of the screen which would reduce the column length or where the wall mount will be placed.

2. If you are going to have the projector lined up with the top of the screen you will have invert the picture in the projector menu or lay the projector upside down on a shelf. The problem comes with the fine tuning necessary to put the projector image on the screen. A regular projector mount allows you to swivel the unit, tilt it side to side and front to back to get the picture placed correctly on the screen. A compromise would be to construct a wood shelf and attach the Peerless mount (PRG-UNV) to the underside. This would allow the flexibility needed to properly position the picture. Remember the shelf would have to be sturdy enough to support 19 pounds.

3. Eco mode is not mandatory but you will find that at full power the fan is too noisy for anything other than a sports party. For movies it's too loud IMO. At full power for a 100" screen the AR100U is much too bright in a darkened room. I use mine on a 119" screen in eco mode and it's more than bright enough and no the picture is not degraded.

4. I have 9" wide Klipsch tower speakers on either screen of my screen so I'm not sure why you would need more than 14" - but yes you can reduce the size of the screen to accommodate larger speakers.

Finally if you do decide to reduce the size of the screen to less than 100" you may want to look at other projectors with less lumen output. There are many fine projectors in this price range besides the AR100U.

G.
Edited by Mr.G - 10/18/12 at 2:39pm

I was looking at this model because there will be some ambient light and was told that DLP will not work well with light during the day.

any other I should look at

I've never owned a DLP projector so I can't help you there. But for additional information you look through Coderguy's Top Projector Picks and his Cheat Sheet for Choosing a Projector.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1391476/coderguys-top-projector-picks

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1339241/coderguys-cheat-sheet-for-choosing-a-projector#post20524796

-

great source of info

tks

I bought this projector about 6 months ago but I haven't been able to use it until this week as we had to build our media room first. This projector is loud! People have mentioned to turn on Eco mode, but when I do I don't notice any decrease in sound at all - and there is no dimming of the screen that I can see when Eco mode is activated. I don't have high altitude turned on. Any simple thing I am missing? It is mounted about 4 feet above our heads when seated and is very distracting noise wise whenever there is any quiet portion or if we are just watching tv and not a movie. Great picture, but I am contemplating selling it.

I am hoping there is something I am doing wrong as to why Eco mode is no quiter than normal mode - I've tried all the picture modes in combo with Eco and normal and it seems to make no difference.

Thanks.

If you have followed the instructions on pages 66 and 67 of the owner's manual and can not hear any reduction in fan noise you have a faulty unit. There is a very distinct difference in fan noise in going from full power to eco mode.

If you have gone through the owner's manual (on the CD that came with the projector) and have not found a remedy call Panasonic technical support for assistance.

http://www.panasonic.com/business-solutions/contact-projectors-support.asp

Thank you, Mr G - that was very helpful, I appreciate it. I figured out that my lights were too dim in the room and that is why there was no difference between Eco and normal. When I brightened the room I could hear a difference between the two. Eco mode is still ridiculously loud. The projector noise has been annoying me greatly. My wife is not normally picky at all and makes fun of me for how concerned I get with my picture and sound quality, and yet she even makes fun of the hovercraft above our heads.

I got out my sound level meter to give some objective data to my complaints.

Here are the measurements in my room:

At seat level ear height 4 feet below the projector (my listening position):
40-41 dba Eco
42-43 dba normal
43-45 high altitude

Here are the levels when the meter is placed right at the exhaust port at the front of the projector:
52-53 Eco
57-58 normal
62-63 high altitude

40 db in Eco mode seems extremely high for 4 feet below the projector. Is this abnormal for the projector? I couldn't find noise measurements in the manual.

If this is normal I am selling it. Way too noisy - we can't hear speech well in quiet portions of the film. If it is abnormal I'll contact Panasonic for a replacement.

Thanks.

Dammit!! As soon as I decide on the projector I want I see that it's noisy :/ are you in Cali? Maybe I can buy it off you/listen to it for myself.

I can assure you that what you are experiencing in eco mode is not normal. I can't blame you for being disappointed but you should really contact Panasonic for help or repair information. You are either not doing something right or the projector is not switching over from full to eco mode.

Thanks again for the input., Mr. G. I contacted Panasonic using the link you provided and got the following reply:

"Dear Valued Panasonic Customer,

Thank you for your inquiry. It is impossible to determine that the readings that you have gotten from your unit are accurate due to the fact that it was not tested in a sound proof room. The normal dbl rate for this unit is 29. Again, tested in a sound proof room. If you are able to conduct test without any ambient noise, please do so. If you still have issues with the readings, we will be more than willing to begin to provide possible solutions for you.

Hope this information is helpful.

Thank you for choosing Panasonic."



As my room has several layers of sheetrock (silent fx) and an exterior grade Safe N Sound door as the only entry, and we live on a greenbelt cudesac, there is no outside noise that I can hear in the room. I don't think that I am picky about ambient noise per say as I have a playstation 3 and Xbox that I sometimes run in the room and that noise doesn't bother me in the least. But when the fan noise of the projector is louder than the movie dialogue I have a problem with that.

So I contacted panasonic again and I am sending it in for them to do testing on it. I used to install audiovideo equipment when I was in college and I spent a whole lot of time in postgraduate training, so I figure if I can't figure out how to get it to be quieter after spending several hours with it I am just never going to figure it out. Will send it to someone that has more knowledge than I in this regard.

P.S. Pinoyruckus - I am unfortunately not in Cali or I would probably take you up on your offer, thanks.

Thanks again to AVSFORUM and Mr. G. I have only posted a couple of time, but have gotten so much useful information out of the site over the years.

Sorry to hear Panasonic couldn't clear up what the problem is exactly, but from your sound level readings it's obvious that eco mode is not engaging.

I guess I would have opted for talking to someone with experience in repairing this projector and I probably should have referred you to the Panasonic repair facility in Kansas.

Panasonic National Service Center
14206 Overbrook Road
Leawood, KS 66224
913-685-8855 (Projector Administration / Support)

Before shipping your projector try calling this number for additional advice.

fyi-it llooks like this unit is on sale at projector people. Only $100 off though. $1299 to $1199. Not much of a sale. I've been waiting for $200. Any headsnup on holiday sales would be appreciated. Been as low as $700.

Tom
Edited by Bluedog225 - 11/20/12 at 9:29am

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone trotted out this $700 price story. It's almost become an urban legend. Yes, it's true that a few people were able to play the system to get this price but it was NEVER Panasonic's intention to sell this projector for $700. It was the result of a miscommunication between Panasonic and it's authorized dealers about the selling price in conjunction with the $300 rebate. So if you're hoping for this to happen again - it won't.

I already opened a new thread regarding with my problem with AR100U , and realized that there is an owner's thread, and wanted to post here too.

I am owner of a panasonic AR100U projector, and really love it, bought 7 months ago, 1200hrs usage.
2 days ago, it started to project strange, arch shaped vertical thick lines, it a little changes the color of the projected area, either to yellow or magenta .
It is not even visible in dark scenes. I cleaned lens surfaces, tried to connect different equipments but no way. It is really annoying when watching movies.
I added 2 pictures, describing my problem. Do you have any idea what can cause such a problem?
Lamp, lenses, or filters or something else? How can I solve this problem.
Thank you very much.

I've considered buying a projector for awhile now and I feel the AR100 will work best in my situation. Here are some details:

-14x18 room with 9' ceiling. It's a game room on the 2nd floor that opens up on two sides to the 1st floor.

-Good amount of ambient light right now but will install curtains to keep sunlight out. This should allow me to control light in the room.

-Will use the room mostly for watching sports and movies, possibly some gaming. So I would like to have some light in the room.

-Considering a 110" Elite screen with a throw distance around 13'. I plan to mount the PJ to the ceiling using a Peerless mount.

-I'm not too worried about sound at first, I really just want the big screen. My buddy said he'd sell me his 5.1 system for $700. But I was thinking of just picking up a cheap soundbar to hold me over.

-I plan to connect my Dish HD-DVR directly to the PJ via HDMI until I upgrade my sound system.

Will the AR100 work in this situation? Should I invest in a screen with this PJ or try a DIY solution?

This will be my 1st PJ so I want to make an informed decision before making a purchase.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds almost exactly like an install I did for my niece a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1440566/panasonic-pt-ar100u-vs-my-old-epsom-pro-cinema-810-advice#post_22614080

Sounds good. I think after doing a bunch of research the AR100U is definitely the PJ for me. Now I just have to pick a screen.

I gave my niece several screen manufacturers to choose from and she eventually opted for the inexpensive Elite SableFrame 120" CineWhite 1.1 gain screen. She and her husband put it together themselves and I thought it was a good choice for the AR100U. Nice frame and the screen material displayed a solid picture both from the prime viewing area and off-axis. Good bang for the buck.

http://www.projectorscreenstore.com/Projector-Screens/Elite-Screens-ELITE-54X96-SABLE-FRAME-SERIES-PROJECTOR-SCREEN-ER110WH1-CINE-WHITE-FABRIC-HDTV-FORMAT-PROJ-SCREEN-51121.html

Get yourself a decent AVR like the inexpensive Denon 1712, it will make managing your sound and system a lot easier. If you do decide to go with a sound bar make sure it can input and output via HDMI since the 100 has no sound capability.

Thanks Mr. G. That's the screen I was leaning towards.

I don't know much about sound systems so I will need to do some more research.

Hello Everyone...I've had my viewsonic Pro8200 for about 2 weeks now and I'm alittle on the fence about it. I have the PJ in batcave ceiling mounted, 19ft back projecting on a 150" 16:9 1.1 gain cinewhite elite screen. During light scences the projector performs well, but during dark scenes with the 4000:1 contrast ratio it really struggles. I've found out the hard way how important lense shift is in a PJ and probably the most annoying thing is the hot spotting I'm getting. I have my key stone at +8 and I'm getting some over scanning and cannot fix one without breaking the other. I cannot raise the PJ or the screen so I'm stuck. I'm curious if I would get better results with the panny?

By all accounts the Viewsonic Pro8200 is an excellent bargain projector, $500 less than the AR100U. Your issue with 'hot spotting' is kind of a puzzler since a 1.1 gain screen should not display this problem. My niece has the Elite CineWhite 120" screen with the AR100U and it does not hot spot. You are using quite a bit of keystoning which is never good for any projected image and is part of your problem. Your screen at 150" is almost 66 square feet versus 43 square feet for a 120" screen so you are asking your Viewsonic to spread its light output over a much larger area and you are going to lose brightness and the perceived contrast will also suffer.

Projector Facts.

As you know the AR100U has lens shift but without knowing your ceiling height I can't say for sure it will solve your displacement problem. The AR100U has a 50,000:1 contrast ratio (auto iris) and 2800 lumens (full power mode).

Read the reviews and decide.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ar100u/

http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_PT-AR100U_home_theater_projector_review.htm

Thanks Mr. G....going to do some more research for sure! My ceilings are 9ft tall ...thanks for your input! Looking at the PJ link you sent....I think my biggest problem is the PJ is mounted at the very top of the screen. So, I need to lower the screen or raise the PJ.

This may be a help: http://www.panasonic.net/avc/projector/calculator/simulation_w/simulation.html

===UPDATE AFTER ALMOST 1 YEAR OF USE===

We use the PT-AR100 in our living room for TV, movies, and PS3 games. It's continued to kick ass in every respect.
I posted a video clip months ago to demo blackness levels etc and there's no change today.

Details and comments here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MB5QEYboE0

Since my wife's home all day, it gets lots of use with her either watching TV or playing Final Fantasy.
We're now at 2,940 hrs on our first bulb, so it's time to start looking for replacements.
For my old PT-AX200U, I once tried a "compatible" bulb from China, but it died after 900 hrs. Every other bulb I bought for it was a Panasonic bulb and I ended up running them about 10-20% over their recommended rating with no problems.

At this point I want to stick with a true Pana bulb - and likely have to buy from either US or overseas (bulbs are $600 in Canada... don't get me started about Panasonic's moronic pricing strategy in Canada...). I'm going to have to reset the bulb hours when it hits 3,000 hours in a week or two, and plan to run the bulb to [maybe] 3,500 hours.

Has anyone else had to replace their bulb yet?

Happy viewing.
[...I forgot that there's an Owner's thread as well so I'll post it there too. Mod - feel free to remove one if needed.]
Edited by mulpha - 12/9/12 at 8:32pm

From the youtube link for people:
Ambient light blacked out. Carada Criterion 88″ Classic Cinema White screen 1.0 gain. Panasonic PT-AR100U, eco mode, Cinema 1, default colours. Room has light green walls.

eaadams - thanks for adding my specs!

Anyone else hit the 3,000 hr mark yet?....

I'm willing to put $100 down on what's going on here, lol.

Is your projector in the basement?
You are posting at a time when many people now have their heaters running.

IS THERE A HEATING VENT NEAR YOUR PROJECTOR OR NEAR THE SCREEN?

Even on my Sim2, I thought something was terribly wrong, then I realized - damn - there's a heating vent on the ceiling dropping hot air and it's disturbing the projected image!

Happy New Year

I love this pj! I am planning on reconfiguring my set up so my daughter may be able to use it with Kinect. I am going to be mounting this about 11 ft from the screen. I don't know where i've been for the last 5 years, but i had no idea longer hdmi cables where such a headache. Based on my measurements i think i am going to need about a 40' cable. The price tags blew me away. What is everyone else doing for longer runs? Surely everyone with a mounted pj encounters this.