Official AX-200 Owners Thread - Page 100

Am looking at buying one of these, I haven't had a projector in about 4 years when I sold my old house with the AE700 still attached to the roof . I can get one for roughly $2k NZD ($1.3 - 1.4k US) which is pretty much at the outer end of my budget. The AE4000 is about $1500 more so just too far out of reach )

Unfortunately where I live in Christchurch NZ, there are few options to actually demo a projector, the only other LCD model I can think of is an Epson TW450HT (not sure of the equivalent US model no.) which is also 720p but has 2500 lums and a contrast ratio of 3000:1 but is about $400 cheaper.

Will be projecting to a screen of about 92 - 100 inch and projecting from about 10 - 11 feet from the screen (most likely wall for now until I can afford a screen at somepoint).

Is the AX200 still the class leader / value leader for 720p LCD projectors?

Any form of DLP is out for me as I am too susceptible to RBE / eye strain.

Thanks

Sen

Are you sure th projector is parallel to the screen and not "twisted"?

Great question and that's what I was thinking might be the problem. But when I do an eyeball test, it looks like it's parallel to the screen.

Maybe I'll have to get one of those laser distance calculator thingys.

Project the test pattern. Measure the left and right sides of the image vertically and see if they are close to the same size. If not, the projector is not square to the screen.

So is $309 shipped currently the best deal for an OEM replacement lamp?

Im looking to purchase one of these used. Upgrading from an Optoma H31 854x480 DLP.

Any tips on things I should look out for?

Thanks!

My used one is on ebay right now ! ends in 12 hours

item 280612465063 mint condition

Is that your first and only bulb? I was going to try to find one with low hours, with less wear on the LCD panels and lens via heat.

yes 1st original bulb; about 1648 hours

I have had my PT-AX200u now for about 3 years with about 1300 hours on the bulb. Lately, I have been noticing that the pic is not as bright and its bothering me. I have read in the past, but can not find, posts regarding changing settings to compensate.

What would you recommend.

I did not notice any loss of "brightness" until I reached 2500 hours.

Well, after 7 years, with an ae500, then an ax200, I'm leaving my Panasonic for an epson. The 500 gave me 5500 hours on the first lamp and was still going strong when the blue polarizer started to go.

My current ax200 is @ 3500 hours on the 1st lamp, but an orange/rust area started in the lower right and is spreading. If I don't like the epson 8700ub, the Panasonic 4000 will be my second choice.

Lately, my image just appears dim and its been starting to bother me.

I am curious if others have noticed theirs dimming and when.

Probably just a tiny bit of fine dust...

Hey guys. Like a lot of people I have the yellow spot/blue streaks on my PT AX200U. The whole screen is yellow. I am going to take it apart but I am in need of a service manual. Could somebody send me a copy@ JRS2002@mailcity.com ?

From all the threads I've been reading, I know I need to replace the blue in/out polarizers and more than likely the LCD panel is burned. I think it would be an interesting project and I'm still trying to decide if I want to spend $600-700 to try and fix or get the Epson 8350. My AX200 has over 4000 hours. If I replace the polarizers and LCD panel will it be like new?

You can't fix it. Don't waste your money on the polarizer, your LCD is shot. Go ahead and take it apart to get a look at the guts and then use it to project shadows on halloween.

Get the Epson 8350. I did and I'll never go back. This thing rocks!
Two year warranty with no hour limit, and the bulb is covered for the full two years. When Epson had a few customers with bulb problems, they didn't screw them, they covered bulbs for everyone for the full two years.

Yes, if you are two feet from the screen you can see screen door. No, there is no lag when playing video games other than what your receiver may introduce.

It takes longer for the bulb to warm up and it's huge, and the lens shift doesn't have a lock and is loose for some, but that hasn't been a problem for me yet.

For the price, I don't think you'll find a better 1080p LCD projector.

Good luck!

If some one has the service manual... can you please send me a link to download. Thank you

Retiring my AX-200 this week. Too many blue spots/streaks going on. I purchased it in Oct '07, kind of disappointing it only lasted 3 years. I got 3-4k hrs on the original bulb, which I replaced last year and this one was still plenty bright with about 1500 hrs on it, but the blue spots are just too distracting.

Took advantage of a sale on an Epson 8700UB for $1899 after rebate plus a free $300 replacement lamp, so actual cost about $1599. No way was I going to try and fix this Panny when I can upgrade to current tech/1080p for only $1599.

what are you going to do with the old disappointing AX200?

Probably going back in the box it came in. No real use for it. I might fire it up for some outdoor movies this summer against the side of the house. No idea.

My original lamp is just about out of gas...it's getting pretty dim and has been flickering quite a bit lately. I'm just north of 3,500 hours. Trying to decide whether to drop $300 on a new one or move to a new projector. I don't see any signs of failing polarizers...but the unit is 2 1/3 years old now. What is everyone else doing?

Anyone interested in a 1 year old unit with only 750 hours on it and the original bulb? If so PM me and we can chat.

Abandon ship. A failing polarizer is just around the corner.

I got 4200 hrs out of my original bulb w/o any issues either, and then it was just too dim to watch so I put a new bulb in. After about 500 hrs the polarizers started to go, and when it got to 1500 on that bulb, it became very unwatchable with all of the blue spotting.

I just switched over to an Epson 8700UB and have been loving every minute of it. Native 1080p, deeper blacks, no flickering at all, and a remote I point at the screen and the projector (ceiling mounted behind me) can pick it up.

Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely torn. Nearly pulled the trigger on new lamp tonight...but had been worrying about playing Russian roulette with the polarizers. The 8700UB is no doubt a great projector, and a definite upgrade from the AX200...but a replacement lamp is $300 while the Epson is 6x that. I'm just thinking that if I can manage to get a year out of the replacement bulb before things start to go downhill that might be $300 well spent. It's a tough call.

I just installed a brand new OEM Panny bulb into my AX200 and I am not sure if I was too used to the dimness of the older bulb, but the new bulb is really washing out the picture with it's brightness. It kinda makes the entire picture have a white overtone.

Is this normal to see this type of difference when installing a new bulb, and will a simple fix to the video settings just fix this? How do I fix this? I have used the new bulb for a total of 1 hour thus far.

Does resetting the hours or installing a new bulb somehow change the video settings back to default? I can't remember if I had tinkered with the video settings on the first bulb and maybe it reset them all and hence why there is a change in the picture.

This doesnt seem right...just cycle through your settings per picture mode to see if you have anything + or - 0.

I just picked up a Pioneer VSX 919AH-k receiver and am using Panasonic BD35 for blu-ray...to get TrueHD and DTS-MA, i must connect to my receiver via HDMI (I wasnt planning on it, as I like to just feed my projector straight from the source).

I am just curious...the picture looks fine, but am I missing something by feeding the video signal through this receiver? Is there anything I should know?

I ask because i am always afraid of missing an obvious setting that will make it all that much better OR I am doing something wrong that is sacrificing something I am not aware of.

Thanks in advance.

Just curious...what did you pay for it? Still on the fence about buying a new lamp...but I could definitely be swayed if the prices came down. Ideally I'd love to find an OEM for under 3 bills.

So I pulled the trigger on a new lamp. Got it off ebay from one of the sellers from Japan. The box looks like a legit OEM Panasonic, but the actual lamp itself says "made in China" on it. The part number printed on it is the same as my original. It works great and I'm loving the bump in brightness, but did I get taken?

What did you pay?