Official AX-200 Owners Thread - Page 99

My ae500 lasted 5500 hours in eco mode, and although dim, it was still hanging on. However, I was noticing that tell-tale yellowing in the center of the image.

I replaced it with an ax200 about a year ago. It now has about 2200 hours in eco mode, and it looks great. I, too, am waiting for the price of the 200 or 4000 to drop, or a new model to be released.

Is it true that the 1080p 4000 has inorganic panels, instead of organic ones like the 200? Are the inorganic panels supposed to last longer and avoid the yellowing of the 200?

By the way, my ae500 is in my garage if anybody wants it!

After ~2300 hours, I went ahead and purchased a new OEM Panny (NOT an equivalent or compatible) lamp today and should have it next week. The picture still looks great, but I'm starting to see a slight "softness" in overall PQ and hoping a new lamp will make an improved difference.
It was tough seeing all the early raves on new models and possible price drops, but I decided to wait another year before upgrading to a new PJ. I'm still blown away by AX200U every time I turn it on and have had zero issues with it so I'm hoping a new lamp will satisfy the updraditis in me...at least for awhile anyway.

Hey Javy, I'm in the same boat as you. I have ~4000 hrs on my original bulb with zero problems with my PJ. It still seems plenty bright and movies and sports still look great. Convergence seems a little off though. Let me know your results and impressions with the new bulb....we get accustomed to the slow degradation and I'm curious............

Thanks,

Jack in Ohio

Same here. I just replaced my lamp after about the same number of hours. The PJ is now 3 years old and its picture quality remains just as good as new. This time, I'll probably wait until the lamp burns out before replacing it.

The new ET-LAX100 OEM lamp arrived yesterday and I had it installed in about 10 minutes. It also came with a new filter. My first impression is it's definitely brighter; I'd guess about a 25-30% increase in brightness. Overall, the image is much sharper and crisp and the slight softness I was seeing has disappeared so I'm happy (even though nobody could see the softness except for me). I used to notice some softness when watching sports in the scores and text area, but now it really looks great. I turned off the dynamic iris and harmonizer after the install as I figured I never really needed it anyway since I have total light control in my basement. With this lamp and the old spare, I should be good for at least 18 months or better (...knocks on head). And just in time for the NLDS playoffs...go Phils!

Well, after about 3,000 eco-mode hours,I started to see my first sign of what looks like the blue polarizer starting to fail. A brownish strip in the lower right-hand corner. At least it's not in the center of the screen.

I guess I'll start saving for a new one. A question for anyone this has happened to...can anyone likely say how fast this might spread?

i have the dreaded blue blob on the top of the screen and the yellow blob right in the middle. ever since i noticed it i have taken extra precaution to not over heat the unit. its been a noticeable issue for the last 3 months and is getting progressively worse. i would say i have another 3-9 months (500 hours) of light use before the projector is no longer usable... just a guess though.

So the AX-200 just had its 3rd birthday. Anyone know what Panasonic's plans are for this unit, or a possible refresh? I guess they could just go with it for another year as 720p is phased out...but I'm honestly not aware of any other current consumer model being sold for this long.

Just checked projector people and they list the AX200u as discontinued! Visualapex seems to still have some in stock.

Very interesting. Wonder what Panasonic is planning as a replacement, if anything.

Yeah...It does seem odd that they have nothing to go head-to-head with many PJs at the ~ $1K price point. Since they offered nothing new at CEDIA, maybe they will come out with a 3D 1080 in the next couple of months and drop the price of AE4000?

Does anyone have a lightly used AX200 lamp they no longer need? I'd be happy to pay a reasonable price for it. I've decided to keep my AX200 for another year but will likely need a new lamp in the next few months.

Hi guys,

I have a little problem with my AX200 and I was wondering if someone with more experience could have a guess at diagnosing the problem... Here's a pic!



As you can see, I'm getting a cyan discolouring at the top of the picture. I only noticed it yesterday, so it might be gradually getting worse. The bulb's only done 950 hours (on eco-mode), so I'm wondering if it's the red polariser? Or perhaps the red LCD (although other people with bad LCDs seem to be getting blotches, not faded areas)? Or is it just the bulb, do you think?

I'm up for getting handy with a screwdriver if I need to. But I could do with a hint as to where to start looking. Any help diagnosing the problem would be appreciated!

Hi,

My AX200, three years old and extensively used (we use it as our tv and we have four kids of different ages, so yeah... about at the end of its second bulb), keeps shutting off due to overheating. Basically, when I turn it on, it will shut off around two hours later...
The left back corner (so diagonally from the lens) is indeed very hot... I believe the lamp is more or less in the center so that's not it, no idea what's in there.
I'm running it close to the ceiling (on top of a bookshelf), so I have it set to high altitude, and run it in Normal mode.

Did anyone else experience this? Could it be a failing fan? Has it seen its last days? I'd wish the pt-ae4000 would drop down in price a bit before that happens

Kind regards,
Wim

I'm assuming you regularly clean the filter. If not, I would start there.

Yes I do, but it won't hurt to look at it again... Didn't even occur to me. Thanks

So I realize I'm late to the party, but I just bought a barely used* unit this last weekend that has a brand new bulb in it.

Without wading through 99 pages - can someone tell me what I should do to this thing (or what I should search for in this thread) immediately to get the most out of it?

I have a 92" Elite Silverscreen showing up this weekend.

*Yes. I know. Buying a used projector is fraught with danger. I'm satisfied with my purchase, so it's not necessary to debate the merits of buying used equipment please.

Turn it on - nothing else needed

Sweet! I can do that!

I'm excited for my screen to show up. This is my first projector since my Sanyo PLV-Z2 died a couple years back.

I've really missed having a projector.

Turning mine on was all I did for 2+ years.

I agree. I really didn't tweak anything. Just turn it on and clean the filter every month or so. Whoops...that reminds me

+1

Same here OH and pop some popcorn and enjoy your favorite blu-ray

Still no word from Panasonic on a replacement model for the AX-200?

Anyone have a lightly used bulb they can sell me?

My guess is that we've seen the last of the 720p machines from Panasonic. Sure would be nice if a 1080p unit would fill that price point. Maybe drop the price of the 4000 while introducing a new unit. HINT!

I've searched and searched but can only find rumors that something may come out of 2011 ces, (January 6-9).

That's a good guess. 720p has probably reached the end of the road...even cell phones are starting to record in 1080p. lol Hopefully they'll go with your suggestion and give us a 1080p unit at the 1k price point. Hopefully my AX-200 (and original bulb with 3,000+ hours) can hold on for a bit longer.

My Panasonic AX200U PJ hit 3000 hours Sunday and I had to reset the bulb timer. Everything seemed fine and the menu came up, but I could not access "Picture" on the top of the menu. I also noticed that there was no HDMI signal and no picture.

I shut the unit off and restarted it and while reading the manual it states that the PJ will wait 10 minutes before restarting. That section of the owners manual was not too clear about the 10 minute waiting time. After some time, the picture came to life from the cable box and I could access the picture setting in the main menu.

Was this just a normal part of resetting the timer?


The picture is still fantastic and I have upgraded my chairs to an L shaped set of Palliser power recliners to enjoy the PJ and a 40 " LCD on the side for Mon to Thursday viewing to save the bulb. I plan to watch this PJ till it dies or just sell it when the bulb finally goes for a few hundred and get a 1080P model. I find that my picture quality is more dependent on the quality of the HD broadcast. Blue Ray is stunnning.

if anyone is interested in a used AX200 in Mint condition with the original box, etc
working great
let me know. I have one available; pm me

I'm quite happy with my purchase. Coupled with the Elite Silverscreen 92" I got for a great price, it's quite the upgrade from what I had previously.

The only thing I've noticed is that I can't seem to get both halves of the screen in focus at the same time. It's particularly noticeable when there's a static text image (think of the PS3 menus) on screen. If I get the right half focused, the left is slightly out of focus - and vice versa.

Could there be something wrong with the projector or maybe it's a geometry problem? Inner lens smudge? I dunno.