[ordymanm31]

I recently bought a pt-lc75u from visual apex when i got it, it had some micro scrathes on the inside of the lens. Visual apex called me about a week after I got it to see how things are going and i told them about the scratches. they then told me they would offer me 100.00 rebate or i could swap it out. I decided to swap it out, but at this time they are all out of them. I was called today (great customer service so far) and was told Panasonic is not making the Pt-lc75u any more and it's being replaced by the PT-LC76U which i was offered at no additional price.


1. does anyone know any thing about this pj

2. is this a good deal bought my pj for 1600.

3. should i just call pana to use warranty and panazip

 

[darinp]

With the way projectors change I would definitely take the newer model if it is still XGA.


EDIT: I searched on the web for PT-LC76U and found that it is 1600 lumens where your current one is 1200 lumens. It looks like it is 5.5 lbs where your's is 6.6 lbs. It looks to me like you got lucky and I would definitely make the trade if I were you. It didn't look like it is available yet. If Visual Apex can trade now, then you might end up with one of the first ones. If so, you'll be obligated to post how it compares to the PT-LC75U


--Darin

 

[ordymanm31]

VISUAL APEX IS JUST ACROSS THE WATER FROM YOU ON BAINBRIDGE ISLAND. I use to live in Silverdale (us navy), anyway they said they will get them in three weeks. i looked around a little and saw that the lumens went up to 1600 but the contrast dropped from 400-1 to 300-1. I don't know how big a diffrence that is.

 

[darinp]

Quote:

Originally posted by ordymanm31 VISUAL APEX IS JUST ACROSS THE WATER FROM YOU ON BAINBRIDGE ISLAND.

They're pretty close but if I buy from them I have to pay something like 8.6% sales tax. Makes it kind of tough.
Quote:

I use to live in Silverdale (us navy), anyway they said they will get them in three weeks. i looked around a little and saw that the lumens went up to 1600 but the contrast dropped from 400-1 to 300-1. I don't know how big a diffrence that is.

Okay, I take back what I said. This is the first model I've seen actually drop in contrast ratio over the model it was replacing and I had made the mistake of assuming that they wouldn't go backwards. Its hard to say how the real world CR performance would differ, but that 300:1 number would concern me. I guess it depends on how you are going to use it, as the 400:1 would have already concerned me and I think a lot of people around here would consider about 400:1 as a cutoff point of reasonable performance.


Sorry, now I'm not sure what to tell you. That definitely makes it a harder decision.


--Darin

 

[SKoprowski]

I talked with Clawdaddy about the 76U. He said based on what he saw the 76U has the blacks of the 300U and the contrast looked close to the 300 to him. I was suprised to see a 300:1 ratio on the 76U. It's possible that the contrast ratio is better than 300:1 when the lumens are turned down, which I assume the 76 can do. The 76U does not have MLA like the 75U does. You have to get the new 80U that has MLA and 2000 lumen. I have a feeling that Panasonic doesn't want their business projectors to be competition for their home theater projectors anymore, hence the change with the 76U. Basically if you want MLA, 3:2 pulldown and higher lumens, you have to get the 80U which I assume will be priced above the 300U and not threaten the HT projector. It will be interesting to see what the 80U will cost.


Scott

 

[noah katz]

"... it is 1600 lumens where your current one is 1200 lumens. It looks like it is 5.5 lbs where your's is 6.6 lbs."


My first thought while reading this was to wonder whether the higher brightness and lighter weight meant a business oriented pj that had a smaller case and resulting poorr control of scattered light.


Couple this with no MLA (more screen door) and it's not sounding too good.

 

[DenisT]

I suspect that because they have given the HT people 2 new machines, they are making a lean mean business machine with lighter, cheaper more lumens the priority. You can read the press release projectorcentral.com


How about the Epson 73C it has MLA and 500:1 contrast. I have not read anything about it on this Forum. It may need a scaler/deinterlacer, but these are getting pretty inexpensive (see the AVT 3700) in the Video Processers forum.

 

[mapson]

Quote:

Originally posted by SKoprowski I talked with Clawdaddy about the 76U. He said based on what he saw the 76U has the blacks of the 300U and the contrast looked close to the 300 to him. I was suprised to see a 300:1 ratio on the 76U. It's possible that the contrast ratio is better than 300:1 when the lumens are turned down, which I assume the 76 can do. The 76U does not have MLA like the 75U does. You have to get the new 80U that has MLA and 2000 lumen. I have a feeling that Panasonic doesn't want their business projectors to be competition for their home theater projectors anymore, hence the change with the 76U. Basically if you want MLA, 3:2 pulldown and higher lumens, you have to get the 80U which I assume will be priced above the 300U and not threaten the HT projector. It will be interesting to see what the 80U will cost. Scott

Where did you find info about this 80u and when is this 80u coming?

 

[ordymanm31]

what is MLA and how much does it affect the picture? i might be able to live with the contrast but if the screen door gets worse i don't know.

 

[Assayer]

MLA is the screen door reduction optics that are used in the 75U and 300U. Without it, screen door effect could potentially be much more noticeable.


I was waiting to see what the 76Us would look like and after seeing the specs, it didn't look as HT friendly as the 75U. So I put in a quick order for a 75U while I still could (yesterday). When considering waiting for the 76U, the lack of MLA was the discriminator for me.

 

[lespurgeon]

So, Ordymanm31,


What did you end up doing? How is it going?