Panasonic PT-AX100 - Page 3

Thanks for the link. Seems I am mistaken on quite a few of my points. Will be interesting to see what Panasonic announces officially at Cedia.

References to the use of C2Fine are for the 1080P panels not the 720P panels.

lol, I see I hit a nerve.

Anyone see the Panasonic PT-AX100 press release on audioholics yesterday? (Can't post URL since i'm still too new here lol)

Looks like the MSRP of the PT-AX100 is going to be $2999 according to the press release. I'm starting to worry what the MSRP for the 1080p panny will be this year if the 720p is going to be so high

Very bad news indeed. There are MUCH better deals out there for those who don't need a light cannon.

Well, with a MSRP of $2999 I can cross this one off my list.

How can this be the successor to the AE900 if it is only going to MSRP for $300 less?! This should have MSRP'd for a lot less than that, I am very surprised.

For what its worth I saw a site that had the MSRP listed at $2,199.00 with a release date in October.
I have also seen a few other mentions online of a $2,199.00 MSRP.


Davyo

OK this is better news, hopefully that press release was just wrong.

It's a press release, hard to believe the mistake is there...

I checked and the AX100 streets for $1999, already now !.

I guess MSRP is meaningless.

I think everybody will agree that's an excellent introduction price.

Agree - doubtful that the actual press release is in error.

MSRP is pretty meaningless as we all know, but as for how the 2199.00 price was published, it came from the German press release back on August 31, which states the projector is going for 1699 euros. 1699 euros is about $2199.00 USD.

http://www.panasonic.de/presse/detai...1&refer=recent

Well then, the $2199 USD price is meaningless as products are priced individually for each market, not by exchange rate. A perfect example of this is the existing range of Epson and Hitachi projectors. Prices differ drastically between European and North American markets for the same product with N. Americans having to pay far more for the same projector.

Same goes for pricing between Canada and US. The exchange rate is in our favour these days, but the Canadian pricing model is still on a 1990 exchange rates.

True, but 2 weeks ago, that's the first solid information we got on the projector.

Keep in mind that the AE900 is still listed at $3199.00, but they throw in a bunch of rebates to get the price down. Chances are, they'll do the same thing or something similar for the AX-100. Manufacturers always intentionally inflate the MSRP, it's in their marketting strategies.

If nothing else, we can always offer the Europeans some Playstation 3's in exchange for some cheap AX-100s.

Very true

Rusty Dylan

Any feedback from your viewing yet (sorry to be so impatient!!!)

I did not get the 2,199 MSRP from a German website, I saw the price on an American A/V website and it was on pre-order at the full MSRP on that American website.

Davyo

That seems a high MSRP. In light of the Optoma HD70, I wonder if Panasonic will be revising the MSRP. I was really hoping for a good budget king projector from Panasonic, but so far looks like Optoma is still the one to get. But a lot can change in the next week.

720p LCD is going to be crushed by the HD70 with ridiculous prices like that.

I'm not too worried about the price after seeing it available for pre-order well below the MSRP at a forum sponsor. Yes the HD70 is a great deal, but it will have RBE for me and a high offset so LCD is still worth the price difference in my case.

I'm new to this projecor think, but want to get one in the next month or so. I am set right now on the 900u, and the quastion I have is this new PJ will be that much better that I should buy this one? Thanks everyone.

Maybe, but it has a 30% offset. I'd think that alot of folks looking in this price range are converting basements with low ceilings into HT so placement and offset does matter.

The only one that comes close is the IN76 at 15%, but is double the HD70.

RBE, while it seems impact a small number of people, is a real thing.

Still, it's signifigantly higher than the HD70 price. However, I predict an AX100 price drop once the inventory of AE900s is cleared out. Either that or one hekuva new mail-in rebate offer. For both the 900 and X100.

The fixed offset of many of the DLPs is the reason I'm looking at LCDs -- I simply cannot put a projector that has fixed offset in my current room.

As little as 720 projectors interest me, this high and variable light output is an incredibly cool feature - especially since according to Jason it really works well.

Sure, having a completely blacked out dark as a cave home theater is optimal. But when you have guests over, it's kind of awkward to turn off all the lights. We always leave some offset lighting on - and never as much as I'd like (cause it washes out the picture too much),

Imagine turning on an extra light or two and have the projector automatically compensate. Or be watching during the day with some light leakage into the room and have the projector automatically get as bright as it needs to be to compensate? Or Superbowl parties? Or when your kids want to watch movies with your friends? Trust me, you don't want to leave them in a dark room with all your gear and other breakables.

Or how about this? What about when the bulb starts to age and the projector can automatically compensate by boosting the light output?

If you own a projector you know what a great feature this would be to have. If you don't, trust me, you'll really want this. I just wish this came on the AE1000 1080p projector, but most in this forum don't want to spend the bucks on 1080p anyway. But it's just a wickedly cool feature that I hope gets used on all class of pj's someday.

Up on the US site. Already has a Blockbuster card rebate attached to it.

Haven't seen this link posted yet...but I'll cut and paste contents in the interest of one stop shopping

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...odel=PT-AX100U

OVERVIEW
High definition cinema comes home with Panasonic's newest LCD projector, the PT-AX100U. It puts you front and center for the latest concert, big game or Hollywood blockbuster film with up to a 174" wide (over 14.5 feet) HD image. In addition to providing 2,000-lumen brightness - the brightest in its class* - the PT-AX100U also incorporates Panasonic's new Light Harmonizer technology, which produces bright, beautiful, easy-to-watch images even in a well-lit room. So you can spend the afternoon watching your favorite football team without having to close the drapes and still enjoy clear, brilliant images in crisp detail.

Developed especially for home theater use, the PT-AX100U incorporates all of Panasonic's highly acclaimed home cinema projector technologies. No compromises were made in its development or production. Our Hollywood Color Tuning includes a new Pure Color Filter developed in conjunction with David Bernstein and other top Hollywood colorist and directors of photography.** The result is technology that captures the artistic sensibilities of moviemakers with deeper, richer blacks, more vibrant color and a more dynamic overall viewing experience particularly for motion pictures.

The PT-AX100U integrates easily into your home theater system and offers outstanding setup flexibility. It can be placed on a coffee table, suspended from a ceiling or set on a bookshelf across the room from a screen. The awesome power of the large screen and the stunning detail of high definition is now ready for its big debut right in the comfort of your own home with our most impressive HD cinema projector yet - the PT-AX100U.

* For LCD projectors with native resolution of 720p, as of August 31, 2006.
** David Bernstein is a top Hollywood colorist whose expertise is evident in the telecine process (converting film to video) applied to a number of successful films, including "Titanic," "Moulin Rouge" and "X-Men."


FEATURES
Display Type .7-inch diagonal (16:9 aspect ratio) x 3
Native Resolution 1280 x 720
Brightness (ANSI lumens) 2,000
Contrast Ratio Up to 6,000:1
Lamp Type 220W UHM
Video Compatibility NTSC, NTSC 4.43, PAL, PAL-M, PAL-N, PAL 60, SECAM
YPBPR Compatibility 480i, 576i, 480p, 576p, 720/50p, 720/60p, 1080/50i, 1080/50p, 1080/60i, 1080/60p
Digital Keystone Correction Yes (V)
Dynamic Iris Optical System Yes
Cinema Color Management Technology Yes
Smooth Screen Technology Yes
Progressive Cinema Scan (3/2 pulldown) Yes
Optical Axis Shift Horizontal and vertical
Remote Control Wireless
Dimensions (H x W x D) 413/32'' x 1517/32'' x 1125/32''
Weight 10.8 lbs

I would recommend downloading the brochure on their site under support & resources as it contains more details than the spec sheet I'm attaching, including mention of the ambient light sensor and adjustment.

Here's the detailed spec sheet in pdf form:

 

S_PT-AX100U.pdf 451.97265625k . file

Ditto! I've been on the 2-year upgrade cycle with my Pannies. My first PJ was the Panny 300, then my current Panny 700. My next step will be to full HD - most likely either the Panny AE1000, the Mitsu HC5000, or the Sony Pearl. That should hold me for a couple more years.