Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector Overview

Wow! The PT-AE3000 has been extremely impressive from the moment I first plugged it in. With the previous Panasonic projector, the PT-AE2000U, its price was a very important factor, which allowed us to give it a Best in Class award for the “entry-level” 1080p projectors. The older model though, came up a little short compared to the best of the mid priced 1080p order, notably the Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB.

This time around, the PT-AE3000 looks extremely formidable, and despite the relatively low price ($2499 selling price), it looks to not only be competitive with other top projectors including the new Mitsubishi HC7000, Sanyo PLV-Z3000 and the Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB (all to be reviewed in the next 3-5 weeks), but has some interesting features not found on some or all of those mentioned. The PT-AE3000U is the most feature laden of the bunch!

Perhaps more importantly, the Panasonic has improved significantly in some areas, most notably in terms of black level performance. Panasonic’s PT-AE3000 home theater projector is a much better projector than the PT-AE2000U it replaces! It will be interesting to see if the comparable entries from Sanyo, Epson, and Mitsubishi, will be able to match or beat the Panasonic’s performance. That should be especially interesting, as the Panasonic will likely be the least expensive of the four major “top of the line” 3LCD home theatre projectors.

PT-AE3000 Projector Highlights

• Average brightness in both best and brightest modes (but, a slight improvement over the PT-AE2000U)
• Extremely good out of the box color performance (one of the best)
• Frame rate interpolation for improved handling of fast moving objects and scenes, to reduce motion blur
• “Pseudo” anamorphic lens features, including savable memory settings on zoom and aspect ratio – an extremely interesting feature with many benefits, which allows an owner to choose a 2.35:1 aspect ratio screen, without spending the big bucks for an anamorphic lens
• Power zoom and focus
• Excellent black levels
• Very good shadow detail
• Good sharpness (seems a touch sharper than the older model), but still “average”
• Excellent price/performance value

http://www.dlp-projector.com

http://www.optoma-hd.com

There isn’t much difference between the different 1080p projectors from InFocus when it comes to physical layout and features, but performance in areas like brightness, black levels and image processing do vary. For many looking at InFocus projectors, a challenge is to decide which one to buy – the X10 for the least money, a little more for the IN81, more still for the more expensive models. For each incremental dollar you should get a better overall performer.

InFocus X10 Projector: Highlights

• Very bright projector in “best mode”, it can handle larger screens
• Black level performance is OK, but then that’s why they have more expensive models
• Very good out of the box color – barely needs any calibration beyond significantly reducing the default contrast setting
• ISF certified, with ISF Day/Night modes available for professional calibrators
• Two screen triggers for working with motorized and masking screens
• Limited placement flexibilty (but typical for DLP projectors)
• Unlike the other 1080p projectors from InFocus, this one is available from authorized on-line dealers
• One of the lowest cost new 1080p projectors

In one sense I was disapoointed with the InFocus X10. I’ve still got the Darkchip4 IN83 here, and I’ve been watching it quite a bit. I (unreasonably) figured the X10 would be close to the IN83, and, of course, (especially with two other models in the middle), it wasn’t. That doesn’t, however detract from the X10′s actual performance, which is, considering everything, including price, very good.

The X10 is a larger home theater projector, designed primarily for ceiling mounting, but a small tiltable table stand is also included. It has an iris, but like other InFocus projectors, it is manual, not dynamic. Stop it down and the image gets less bright, but contrast improves slightly. The projector uses the same remote control as other 1080p projectors in the lineup. Like vitually all DLP projectors, it is a bit noisy in terms of audible noise, at least compared to most 3LCD projectors.

The X10 supports HDMI 1.3 with Deep Color, and 24fs, all the goodies we now demand.

http://www.dlp-projector.com

http://www.optoma-hd.com.com

Please note, this review is using our new layout. We’re shaking out the bugs, but a few links and a lot of Back to Top buttons don’t work correctly. We’re on it! -art

InFocus X9 Projector – Overview

The X9 is a very interesting projector. It seems to me that InFocus has realized that in the entry level 720p projector space, there is room for a very bright home theater projector that will work well in family rooms, bonus rooms, and other less than optimal locations. InFocus has definitely put the X9′s emphasis on brightness, and ease of use. Rather than being a projector designed for the hard core enthusiast (not that it’s image won’t impress them as well), it looks to be a very good projector for those that just want to kick back, and enjoy a good image, an image that is brighter than most of the comparable competition can produce.

We are pleased to award the X9 with our Special Interest award. We would have liked to see more comprehensive image controls for the enthusiasts out there, and perhaps a touch better black levels, but it’s brightness, out of the box color, ease of use, and sharpness, definitely earn this projector an award!

(The image below is from Men In Black. Let’s face it, this screen shot just looks great!)

That’s not to say that there aren’t other bright projectors, notably the Panasonic PT-AX200U, which is fairly similarly priced. At this price point, for those that prefer DLP projectors over LCD projectors, this small black under six pound projector, is the about the brightest around, unless you are willing to spend a bit more, for the slightly more upscale Optoma HD71.

Thanks to the small size, and light weight of the InFocus X9, there is even a silver lining. The X9 makes a very nice entry level widescreen projector as well, supporting WXGA in both 1280×720, and the popular laptop screen format of 1280×800 (16:10 aspect ratio).

Using the X9 is a snap. The little “credit card” remote, stores right on the top of the projector in its little recessed area. Press power, select your favoite preset (Movie, Game, etc.), and source, and start watching.

Basically, we learned quickly that the X9 is limited in some color controls. More importantly it has really impressive color, right out of the box, with Brilliant Color engaged. Color is definitely a major strength of the X9, while on the other hand, the basic 2500:1 contrast ratio means only typical black level performance for an entry level 720p projector. Shadow detail is excellent!

InFocus X9 Projector Highlights

• Ease of use
• Really good color right out of the box in all modes (with Brilliant Color on)
• Very sharp image
• Can double as a viable, entry-level widescreen projector for business
• Limited zoom lens range, limits placement flexibility
• Two year warranty – better than most entry level home projectors
• Limited color controls – no grayscale calibration possible (lack of separate R, G, B colors) may turn off the “enthusiasts” and “tweakers”
• Nice projector for the family and bonus rooms with some ambient light
• Can be ceiling mounted, but is small enough to take it with you, or move from room to room

http://www.dlp-projector.com
http://www.optoma-hd.com.com

Optoma HD8200 Projector Overview

The HD8200 projector is Optoma’s latest entry, and, in my opinion, a significant leap for Optoma. Picture quality is very good, placement flexibility dramatically improved, and, check this – at least for me – the HD8200 sports improvements that have essentially eliminated the rainbow effect for many of us. (Most folks are not at all sensitive to rainbows, but I consider myself to be moderately sensitive.) In addition, the HD8200′s dynamic iris is near silent – as it should be. My experience with most recent 1080p Optoma projectors has been that their iris has been excessively noisy, enough so that I couldn’t use it. Considering that I really don’t have many issues with projectors with fairly loud fans, to have an iris so noisy that I can’t leave it on, means that the iris noise on older models was a problem for most people.

The HD8200 is one of the most expensive projectors considered in the mid-priced Class in our recent comparison report. I didn’t have a chance to spend much time with it before publishing the Report. With a list price of $4999, and a MAP (minimum advertised price), I believe, of $3999, it was questionable as to whether this projector – officially sold only though local dealears – could be had for $3500, but that price did seem reasonable, after much searching the internet. In reality, perhaps the HD8200 belonged in the higher priced tier, but the mid-priced tier is where I ended up placing it.

Keep in mind that Optoma offers a slightly less expensive version called the Optoma HD808, which does sell online for about $3000 at this time. The HD808 home theater projector seems very similar. The primary difference is that the HD8200 uses a Darkchip3 DLP chip, while the HD808, I believe uses the less expensive Darkchip1 or Darkchip2. The HD808, because of the different chip, claims 15,000:1 contrast compared to the HD8200′s 20,000:1. The HD8200 claims an extra 100 lumens as well.

Overall, the Optoma HD8200 is very bright in “best” movie viewing mode, and on the dim side in brightest mode. For those only interested in movie watching, or who don’t mind other viewing (general HDTV, TV content, and sports) in an almost completely darkened room, the HD8200 is capable of handling fairly large screens. I’ve been watching it on my 128″ Firehawk G3, and it’s definitely got the necessary horsepower with the room darkened. Reducing the screen image to 100″ diagonal, and it’s downright bright!

And of course, as a DLP projector, it exhibits those characteristic rich colors, sharp image and good depth that still have many folks swearing loyalty to DLP. That is even though DLP projectors, as a group, no longer have any black level advantage (their strong suit for years). In fact, the HD8200′s black level performance is pretty good, but really no match for those ultra high contrast LCD projectors it competes against. All considered the HD8200 seems to be on the expensive side, but that is typical of projectors sold only through local dealers.

The combination of a really impressive picture, more placement flexibility than any competing DLP projectors, and lots of lumens in best mode, will allow the HD8200 to be more viable for more potential buyers, that most DLP projectors. The fast (6x) color wheel, and improvements from TI, have dramatically reduced the rainbow effect, affecting far fewer folks than most other DLP projectors. For all of that, and more, the Optoma HD8200 earns our Hot Product Award. It’s pricing, however, low “brightest” mode lumens, and some definite issues with its dynamic iris operation did prevent it from picking up an award in our recent 1080p Projector Comparison Report.

HD8200 Projector Highlights

• One of the brightest of all affordable 1080p projectors when in “best” mode
• Very limited brightness, in brightest mode, will be an issue for those watching lots of sports, HDTV etc., with some lights on
• The most placement flexibility we’ve seen in an under $5000 DLP projector, with a wider range zoom, and lens shift
• A very sharp image
• 6x color wheel, TI improvements result in essentially no rainbow effect for those normally moderately affected (such as myself), a major step forward
• Dynamic iris modes do have some issues, but at least one, offers acceptable performance
• Physically, somewhat large, but attractive
• Quiet iris (iris noise a big problem on many older Optoma projectors)
• Reasonably quiet (fan noise), definitely about average for home theater projectors

http://www.dlp-projector.com

http://www.optoma-hd.com

I think it necessary to briefly discuss the abilites, the role and the types of usage these new projectors are best suited for, before focusing on this particular LED projector. Here goes:

The biggest question out there is who will buy them, and what will they use them for. It’s been argued by some, that they can be used for presentations. Whether they are viable for presenting in the tradtional sense is iffy at best. I’ve been in the projector industry for more than 15 years, and even the early portables back in 1994, (about 20 pounds) produced 100 lumens or more, and here we have something only 1/10th as bright as the dimmest of those early projectors.

About three years ago we saw the first small LED projectors. Mitsubishi’s probably being the best selling. Those types of LED projectors are much larger, and typically weigh in at more than 1/2 pound, excluding their battery packs which could bring them up to about 1 pound. That class of projector has proved abysmal in sales, considered a novelty by most, and despite typically 30 – 80 lumens, dim compared to the dimmest business projectors. Those larger LED projectors have found some specialty vertical markets, but their overall sales numbers are insignificant, compared to either business or home theater projectors.

Projectors like the Optoma Pico, however will find a different market, and that one primarily consists of working in conjunction with portable devices like cell phones, portable game machines (think Sony PSP3000, etc.) and a variety of other portable devices.

Ultimately industry forecasters see this as a huge market – bigger by far than the traditional projector market. One industry analyst projects (no pun intended) that as many as 15 million will be sold by 2012! There are, however two different types – first there are the stand alone projectors like the Pico, as well as competing models from 3M, AIPTEK, Samsung, and others. The rest of the sales are for the projector engine, to be built into other devices (like cell phones). The market for the engines to go into other devices is almost certainly the far, far, far, far (get the idea?) greater market. Imagine – if Apple decided to build a mini-projector into a future version of the iPhone (very likely), right off the bat, the sales of those LED projector engines (in units) would dwarf the unit numbers for traditional larger projectors (about 1.25 million projectors, worldwide in 2008).

So, what can we do with the Optoma Pico? I’ve had it hooked up to and working with my Wii, and my PS3, Oppo DVD player, as well as my iPhone, and an old portable DVD player system (with built in 7″ diagonal screen and speakers). Right off the bat, I only see one possible reason for people to buy it with the larger game machines, and that’s if they want to take their machine with them on a trip. The Pico then allows them to project the image onto a small screen, or small area of wall, but that’s better than not taking the game machine for those folks.

Above: From Lord of the Rings – standard DVD, from an Oppo DVD player. Projected image of approximately 50 inch diagonal screen in a darkened room. Most of the light in the room is coming in from the blinds you see, below the screen that the image is projected on.

Working with the iPhone, and other compatible phones, as well as portable game machines and devices that can support it, is a significantly more logical market.

The Optoma Pico is the first pico projector I’ve had a chance to review, so I’m not prepared to determine how good a value it is, nor can I clearly say how it differs from the competition. That said, over the next two months, I plan to review at least three additional pico projectors from other brands. Once I have reviewed four of them, I will also assemble an article comparing them, and which are better for different user applications.

Ultimately, the main attraction of the Pico is its tiny size and light weight, as well as being battery operated. The Pico comes standard with two batteries (they are about the size of a cell phone battery). One goes in the unit, the other, a spare.

I find that the projector can produce a respectable image in a mostly darkened room of 10 to 30 inches diagonal. Fully darken the room and you can go larger. At one point I projected a 58 inch wide image (almost 80 inches diagonal). Even in a fully darkened room, the image appeared very dim. Sufficient to say, at that sized image, it’s not something I would want to watch for any period of time. In a fully darkened room, however, the Pico does a decent (but hardly bright) job on a 30 inch diagonal image. Drop the image size down to about 12 inches diagonal (just a touch smaller than the average laptop screen, and the Pico can work reasonably well in a room with low lighting.

Optoma Pico PK101 LED Projector Highlights

• Simple to use
• 640×480 resolution (VGA)
• Suitable for projecting a small image – 10 to 50+ inches diagonal, in a mostly darkened or fully room
• Compatible with standard composite video sources, as well as many portable devices including iPhones, game machines, some other cell phones
• Weighs only 1/4 pound, including battery
• Recharges fairly quickly (less than 4 hours) from the provided AC adapter though its USB port, comes with two batteries
• Includes iPhone adapter, mini-USB to mini-USB cable, mini-plug to 3 RCA connector cable (for video and audio)
• .5 watt speaker
• Two brightness modes
• Comes with an adapter to place on a mini tripod (a great idea)
• Easily fits into any pocket, and a soft carry case just large enough for the projector cable and adapter (but not big enough to also fit the recharger
• Rated 11 lumens, this is not a product for use in a bright room (consider that the dimmest home theater projectors are 20-25 times that bright, and the dimmest business projectors are 100 times as bright

http://www.dlp-projector.com

http://www.optoma-hd.com

I bought this projector back in 2004… Having a home theater had always been a dream of mine, but I didn’t want to fork out unreasonable amounts of money to do so… The main reason I chose this projector was for its lumen rating, and the fact that Best Buy sold it, so I was able to purchase it with my brothers employee discount for under 1000 dollars, keep in mind this was back in 2004…

At first, I was dissappointed… I ran a s-video cable straight from my AV Receiver (sony str-de1075) into the projector with dissapointing results… I tried everything, even svideo signal boosters, but the picture was mediocre at best… Then I bought a VGA HD cable for my xbox 360 and plugged it into the unit and was shocked, the picture quality was clearly sharper and much more defined…

This led me to believe that using component could possibly give me a decent picture… I bought a DVDO iScan video processor on ebay, and ran the prjector off that unit… I was pleased, the picture wasn’t as clear as a CRT, but still very good for a SD signal, especially when watching DVD content…

When i really became pleased with this projector was when I bought a Samsung over the air HDTV tuner… I ran a 35 foot Monster HDMI cable thru my ceiling into the projector being fed by the HD tuner, and my jaws dropped… The picture was insanely bright, super sharp, and amazingly accurate in terms or color… This projector really shines when being fed by HD content, so I would encourage anything to invent in this unit if it’s purpose will be HD/BD/HD-DVD Content, you simply cannot get much better for the price… I am currently shooting it on a flat white wall, but have a Goo Paint Screen on the way, i’m confident that will make the picture stronger as well…

The bulb blew at about 2000 hours, a little dissappointing, but sometimes my theater room got really hot during the summer days (northern california) so i know that was not safe for the bulb… I got a decent deal from projector people, the bulb shipped overnight for 325 out the door, cant complain…

All in all, its a great projector… SD content is good with an appropiate signal processor, but HD is where it really shines….

more info http://www.dlp-projector.com

home theater projector replaces their highly regarded H77. The HD72 has been built to compete directly against the latest crop of 720p resolution LCD and DLP home theater projectors. The older H77 was a feature laden model, but could not be brought down to the current sub- $2000 prices. Enter the HD72 projector with improved performance, a few less features and a highly competitive price.

Optoma has initially set the MAP (minimum advertised price) of the HD72 at $1999, whereas the H77 sold for close to $3000 at the end of its life.

The overall performance of the Optoma HD72 is excellent, however if I had to pick one aspect that best describes this projector, it would be Vibrant, Bright Colors.

Here are the Optoma HD72 home theater projector’s basic published specifications:
MSRP: $2995
Technology: Darkchip2 DLP projector
Native Resolution: WXGA 1280×768
Brightness: 1300 lumens
Contrast: 5000:1 (AI mode) 3500:1 (AI off)
Zoom Lens ratio: 1.2:1
Lens shift: Vertical and Horizontal
Lamp life: 3000 hours
Weight: 7 lbs.
Warranty: 2 years

Before we get started, I’ll comment on the competitive field of under $2000 (selling priced) home theater projectors. There are several, highly regarded LCD projectors (which tend to offer more features, notably zoom lenses with more range, and variable optical lens shift). Some of the top rated LCD projecors with 720p resolution, include the Panasonic PT-AE900u, and the Sanyo PLV-Z4. There are other LCD projectors of this resolution, (that cost more), such as Epson’s Cinema 550 and Sony’s HS51A. On the DLP projector side, there is the recently upgraded BenQ PE7700. There is also Mitsubishi’s new HC3000 (which we have not yet obtained for review as of this writing). The HC3000 has been priced well above the sub $2000 projectors.

The Optoma HD72 picks up our Hot Product Award, just as several other projectors in this class have done previously. The projectors in this class are highly competitive, and our award indicates that this projector has features and performance that will make it the first choice for many potential buyers. You will find that there is really no one best projector out there for everyone. There are plenty of tradeoffs, in image quality, seating distance, cost of operation, projector positioning, and more.

Physical Layout

Starting from the front, the HD72 has a lens mounted off center, (toward the left if you are facing the projector). The lens itself is recessed, but has a large outer (silver) guard, which is also the focus ring. (The inside of this trim ring is black, no doubt to absorb any stray light coming from the lens assembly). On the right of the front is the IR sensor for the remote control. Below the front are two drop down feet – left and right, with the releases located at the bottom front of the left and right side of the projector.

Moving to the top of the projector, just behind the lens is the adjustment control for the 1.2:1 zoom lens. It should be noted that 1.2:1 is a small amount of zoom, allowing limited placement flexibility. This amount howeer is fairly typical of DLP based projectors, which due to their technology are more limited than LCD projectors which often have 1.5:1 or even 2:1 zoom ratios, for a great deal of placement range.

Across the back top of the HD72 home theater projector are seven bar like buttons, and two indicator lamps. Looking at the projector from the rear, from right to left: The lamp indicator, and a temperature indicator. Next is the Power/standby bar. Then after a space are the Menu and Select (enter) bars. another break and the down and up arrow keys, and finally two more bars, each with two functions. when the menus are in use, they are the right and left

arrow keys. When you are not using the menus, one is the source (input) select. The other bar, labeled re-sync, triggers an auto adjust to provide the best possible image.

The bottom of the projector has 4 small recessed screw recepticles for attaching a ceiling mount. Optoma offers one, or you can use one of many universal mounts on the market. As Optoma chose small (metric, I believe) threading, make sure, if you order a 3rd party mount that it has the correct screws included.

Of particular note there is also a large standard thread recepticle for a tripod. This allows some interesting options. If you need to shel mount up high (which means the projector is inverted, this could allow an extremely small, and neat alternative to adapting a ceiling mount, or building a cradle. It’s a nice touch, and I’d like to see Optoma offer a custom wall bracket that would take advantage of this. I all ready mentioned that there are two drop down feet, at the front left and right. An additional nice touch – there are two rear adjustable feet as well, both screw thread style.

That takes us, finally to the back of the projector, where all the inputs are located. Facing the rear of the projector, from the left:

• A 12 volt trigger for operating motorized screens
• A USB service port
• An RS-232 command and control port
• S-video input
• Composite video
• A component video input (Red, Green, and Blue RCA jack inputs)
• A DVI-I connector, which can handle a digital input, or analog computer
• A separate HDMI digital connector
• There is also the recepticle for the AC power cord and the master (hard wired) power switch
• Lastly, a Kennsington lock slot (for physical security).

where to buy >> http://www.dlp-projector.com