OWNERS Thread for the Panasonic PT-AE7000U 3D Projector - Page 115

Regarding the frame dropping, I purchased the new Apple TV and rented a movie and was slightly distracted by a frame being dropped every few moments. I changed the frame rate response on the projector and that did help the problem, however what eliminated the problem was changing a setting on my receiver. The receiver was set for 24fps on this input while the Apple TV displays at 60fps. Set for AUTO instead of 1080p:24fps, this fixed the issue. I returned the projector to normal frame rate. Hope this helps.

Convergence should be a non-issue unless you have a bad unit.

To calibrate the PJ you have to have special software like CalMAN and a meter and access to test patterns. The AE7000 has all of the menus to support an ISF calibration but you can't do it by eye.

On mine, out of the box, the picture didn't look bad in the REC709 mode (officially the HDTV standard) but flesh tones didn't look natural. Firing up my test gear I found that the seconday color Magenta was pretty far out of whack. Getting all of the colors in their proper balance made skin tones essentially perfect. Now if the picture on the screen looks off I know it's the source, not the PJ.

I spent more on the test equipment and calibration training than I did on the AE7000 but I'm a fanatic about the best picture possible. If you want to calibrate yours you can probably find an ISF calibrator in your area. It will cost a few hundred dollars but I find that it makes a big difference.

Of course, wait until you have your screen in place before undertaking any calibration since the screen is an integral part of the picture you are seeing.

I have thought about professional calibration, but how do you know if they are good or not? Especially if they don't sell your projector. There is a Best Buy real near who offers the service, plus a well known A/V store as well as other A/V specialists in my city.

Here's the best tip you will receive after a post like that:

DON'T let Best Buy calibrate anything.

You're welcome.

There are two main groups that specialize in video calibration, the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) and THX. Both require intensive training and investment in equipment in order to use their moniker. Some specialty AV stores have ISF certified calibrators on staff, other people who have been certified work independently on many different types of displays. All PJ calibration menus are laid out and named differently, AE7000 included, but any competent calibrator could figure out which ones adjust the Color Gamut, the Grayscale, etc.

Do a search on ISF and look under Dealers on their website. There are several independent companies near you in Texas (San Antonio and Boerne) that would probably do a good job. Talk to the person who would do the calibration. Ask them what software they use, what meter, other test equipment. You may not know the names they give you but it should be more than just a disc of test patterns.

I, personally, would be a bit leery of Best Buy

The Disney WOW disk left me very satisfied. Give that one or one of the others a shot before paying for any "expert" calibration. You will take far more time and care on it for yourself more than anyone else will be willing to for $, IMO.

While I definitely agree with your comment of Best Buy calibration (basically they can't take the time to do it right) I take a little issue on looking on the ISF site. They list ALL calibrators who have EVER been certified. A much better list is on the isfforum. The calibrators there are those who are CURRENTLY ACTIVE isf calibrators.

Message received on BB calibration. :-)

Considering this projector for purchase and have a couple questions.

I currently have a Carada 106" High Contrast Gray screen 0.8 Gain. Will this be ok for 3D movies?

I'm looking at the projection calculator and for a diag of 106" it looks like projector distance can be between 21' and 10.5' from the screen. At 10.5' from the screen the projector would be completely zoomed in. I remember with my old Infocus IN76 that this caused some image bowing or soft-focus issues. Is that the case with this projector as well?

That's all I've got for right now. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Gonna get flamed but I'm going to raise the BS flag a bit on pro cal. On a slightly side note, Best Buy is known for having the same source plugged in via composite (uncalibrated) vs. HDMI (calibrated) to show the "differences."

A friend has a JVC D-ILA and he hired an ISF-certified technician from a specialty HT retailer to calibrate it (not from the Geek Squad). We made certain to take a thorough "mental image" of his self-calibrated picture quality before the tech did his thing.

The tech was very polite and seemed very knowledgeable. He spent two hours on the JVC and then took his $600 and left. Was there an improvement in picture quality? Nominally, yes. Was it a $600 knock-your-socks-off, I'm-glad-I-didn't-buy-anything-else improvement in picture quality? HELLZ TO THE NO.

Conclusion: pro cal did make a difference; but it was a $50-$100 difference at most and laughably not close to $600. My friend felt like one of PT Barnum's suckers afterwards so set your expectations accordingly.

P.S.: I've noticed that PJs are replaced at a faster rate than regular flat displays, generally around the time when bulbs need to be replaced. Keep in mind that if you calibrate and get the "3D perhaps LED engine" upgrade bug when the bulb is running low, you'll have to pay the snake oil guy, I mean the ISF-certified calibrator again to get the new PJ "calibrated."

Construction should be done next week. Is it best to mount the projected as close as possible for the size screen you want or as far away as possible? I have a 120" diag screen and my total room length is 20'10".

Hi guys, just got an AE7000 which I love but have one small question. Every time I turn it on it starts with a white screen, so I shut it down, restart and it's fine but I have to redo the keystone and reload my lens memory setting. It's almost like it is going back to factory default every time I shut it down. Suggestions?

Concratulations, you're the first poster I've heard have this problem. There is a 'Default' button on the remote that might be the culprit. Take out the batteries in the remote and start the pj from the unit itself and see what happens. If it starts OK, then the remote is the problem and will need replacing. If not, then I don't know what to tell you except send it back to the seller for a replacement or refund.

Wolfie

Hi Guys,

I finally got everything in place and watch my first movie with the new Panny last night. I tried for a whole day but could not get the zoom feature to work.

Essentially, I have the source (2.35) zoom up and adjusted to fit by SI screen (2.40 at 110") perfectly. Now, when the source is (16:9) and I zoomed out, I can't get the picture to fit within my screen unless I manually adjusted the lens shift with the joystick on the actual projector.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

Also, distance from PJ to screen is 12 feet, PJ is ceiling mounted at around 9.4 ft

There are no settings related to frame rate on my receiver. When I look in the projector menus it says the signal is 1080p/60. Also, when I bypassed the receiver completely it made no difference. An Xbox 360 set to 1080p, connected directly to the projector through HDMI, should provide smooth DVD and HD-DVD playback. I know the playback was perfect when connected to the Epson 8700UB and the BenQ W6000.

No replies?? I would really like to get a handle on how many units experience the flickering. Seeing that I've had three, I'd have to imagine I'm not that unlucky. Isn't anyone here really worried about what's going to happen once the one year manufacturers warranty is up? I'm also very surprised to hear that people have settled for so called riding out the flicker. What if it reappears out of warranty and you could have had it addressed and at least documented by Panasonic under warranty. There just seems to be such a cavalier attitude and I'm not sure I get it. There's definitely something wrong with this unit and Panasonic seems to be skirting disclosure and accountability.

I'm having a hard time understanding what you all mean by "flicker". Is this different than the "frame dropping" that is occurring on 1080/60i?

I have the Dish Network Joey DVR hooked up to this Panny and it appears to be dropping frames and stuttering quite often. I also have the Hopper hooked up to a Panasonic VT30 plasma and another Joey hooked up to a Sony XBR4. Neither of those have any frame dropping or stuttering issues. So, it has to be the 7000U.

To me, it looks like the video processor is not processing the video properly when fed specific frame rates. For example, 24fps 1080p is fine. 1080/60i, not so much.

How old is the house you are using the 7000 in? Is your projector power in regulated by a power conditioner? Irregular power can and will jeopardize the picture stability and cause flicker. Have your voltage in checked by a qualified electrician.

Wolfie

The projector has a built in regulator, so this is a non-issue.

I know this is going to be a very BROAD question, but I could really use some technical expertise on this topic:

When programming the Harmony 900 remote, I am quickly learning that I do not want to control this projector using IR. I would much rather go the RS-232 route. Here are the two problems I'm running into.

1. I don't know anything about programming RS-232. What do I need?
2. I would still like to use the Harmony 900 to send IR to somthing that converts the IR codes to RS-232 commands that the projector will understand.

So, for example, I would like to switch inputs on the projector without having to use IR to cycle through all of the inputs. I would like to push one button on the remote that sends an IR code to something that receives the code and then switches the projector directly to that input.

A better example is this Lens Memory feature. I want to push one button on the Harmony, send IR code to something that receives the IR code, converts it to the correct RS-232 command that changes the projector to that lens memory setting.

I know the projector's IR remote makes you push a sequence of buttons just to load a Lens Memory or switch inputs. I don't want to do that because IR is so hit or miss (trying to set up delays is so stupid) and the Harmony can't really do sequences for this sort of thing.

If you are an RS-232 expert and would like to take this to PM, just let me know.

Thanks!!!

Yes, almost all electronic devices use a regulator of some sort, but a regulator only works within its specs.
This projector is designed to run at no lower than 100 VAC when drawing 3.5 Amps. If you have low line voltage to begin with and you are cranking your audio and whatever other items are trying to draw current on the same circuit, you could very easily have voltage drops below the minimum voltage needed to run this unit.
It may not even be because of your home setup, power companies do not allway provide clean power, and if your neighbors are "heavy users" your gear can suffer.
I have a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my AV system and I also use a APC S15 power conditioner with battery backup to be sure NOTHING interrupts my setup.
Until you can prove you have good AC power, you need to consider it to be the cause of your grief

The flicker is the same as the one that has been mentioned on this board many times. Dsando posted a video of it on youtube. His was severe, but all three units I've had have had varying degrees of this exact flicker.

I live in a new construction home less than two years old. I owned the PTAE4000U prior and did not have any issues with flicker whatsoever. If my three units are any idication of the prevalence of this issue, then Panasonic should really be issuing a recall for proactive repair or an extended warranty to fix this particular issue should it ever arise outside of the one year manufacturers warranty.

I thought these projectors have a 2 year warranty? Also, if you bought during the promo time, it gets extended to a 3 year warranty.

I have 621 hours on mine and haven't seen any flickering issues or frame dropping.

This flickr issue does seem to be pretty bad and widespread. I received my projector back from Panasonic and all theu replaced with the lamp. It's not flickering now though, but it took about 1000 hours for the flicker to show up.

I purchased when it first came out so I don't qualify for the extended warranty. Customer support verified a one year warranty.

Seems you got buried by all the flicker stuff. The answer to your question is that most likely you have the projector mounted too high to use the zoom feature for switching formats. The projector lens must be no higher than the top of the screen for it to work without requiring tweaking the joystick. Since you have a high ceiling, I assume the screen can be high enough that you just need a short extension on the projector mount to make it line up. My ceiling is 8' so I can't get my 7000 low enough without hitting people's heads. Luckily, I use an anamorphic lens anyway so I only need to mess with the joystick for the rare 3D 2.4:1 movie where I can't use V stretch.

As close as possible; due to the way zoom optics inside the projector works, this gets more light.