Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p HD Projector

[Sonnie]

PT-AE2000U 1500 ANSI Lumens Widescreen 1080p High Definition Home Theater Projector with Smooth Screen Technology and up to 16000:1 Contrast Ratio

U.S. List Price $3,499.00 / Street Price $2,699.00
2 Year Warranty!
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Overview:

The newest LCD home theater projector with 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) native resolution: the PT-AE2000U is designed for savvy home theater enthusiasts and audio video professionals who desire an immersive home entertainment viewing experience, the new projector delivers 1080p images with a carefully-tuned lens system to reproduce remarkable detail and clarity with 1,500 lumen brightness and 16,000:1 contrast ratio.

The new PT-AE2000U model is the next evolution of its predecessor, the PT-AE1000U, which has been widely accepted and used to display professional movies. The new projector reproduces the original picture quality intended by Hollywood movie and television directors -- all within the comfort of consumers' home theaters.

Beautiful Picture Quality with Improved Clarity

The PT-AE2000U model comes equipped with Panasonic's new optical system that's designed to display beautifully detailed images with a captivating brightness of 1,500 lumens. Careful craftsmanship is incorporated into each individual optical system by highly skilled technicians to fully optimize the image for full high definition (HD) resolution. The projector's new Detail Clarity Processor analyzes frequency characteristics of each frame in three dimensions (horizontal, vertical, and along the time axis) and applies necessary sharpness at varying degrees to create natural, life-like images with exceptional clarity.

The PT-AE2000U projector reproduces Hollywood movies, independent films and other entertainment with exceptional color accuracy. Its enhanced unique Pure Color Filter Pro uses optical adjustment to achieve a higher purity level of the three primary colors; it also helps displays deeper, purer blacks. The color space has been extended even more to match the approximate level specified in the digital cinema industry.

The new projector also incorporates Panasonic's well-known Smooth Screen technology that reduces the black lines between pixels that mar picture quality. The technology has been tuned together with the new full-HD optical unit, allowing consumers to enjoy vibrant, smooth images found in commercial movie theaters. In addition, Panasonic's original Dynamic Iris has also been improved for further stability and response by controlling the iris speed at finer increments to help reproduce darker blacks and brighter whites.

The image processing system has been improved dramatically, with a maximum of 16 bit digital signal processing making it possible to reproduce subtle hues and brightness variations faithfully with greater smoothness. Furthermore, the projector also incorporates next-generation, full high definition LCD panels (C2Fine), which are characterized by inorganic alignment layer and vertically aligned liquid crystals for enhanced black level performance.

Professional-Level Features

The new LCD projector also comes equipped with professional-level features that let users personalize the images they see on the screen. First, the projector's Split Adjust mode allows users to split the screen into two halves, one to make picture adjustments and one to see those adjustments as a baseline reference. Second, the PT-AE2000U's waveform monitor -- seen mostly on professional video and film equipment -- measures the level of brightness output from a given video signal source. This feature also now automatically verifies that the source device is outputting at full dynamic range, and quickly makes adjustments to optimize it for your home theater setting. Users can easily see a graphical representation of any changes made to the unit's color settings.

In addition, the Cinema Color Management feature helps color correct approximately 1,070,000,000 different colors for a more refined, customized control of individual colors -- closely representing the process used by Hollywood's motion picture color correction specialists. The PT-AE2000U also incorporates picture modes demanded by film production studios to help them with production and post-production activities. You can now store up to eighteen personalized settings with customized names.

Ease of Use

The PT-AE2000U is now equipped with three HDMI inputs, so you can connect multiple HD sources without a HDMI switcher. Set-up and installation are a snap with the PT-AE2000U projector's 2x powered zoom and its wide lens shift range. Thanks to both features, the new model can cast a 120-inch diagonal image from as little as 3.6 meters (about 11 feet) to 7 meters (24 feet) from the screen. The new projector's lens shift capability enables full, 100 percent vertical adjustment and 40 percent horizontal adjustment so that viewers can suspend the projector close to the ceiling in a stylish fashion, or conveniently place the projector on a book shelf.

The projector's lens-centered design and maintenance features, such as the replaceable side filter and top lamp, make the ceiling mount very easy to install. The PT-AE2000U's jet black color and sleek cabinet design also fit well in home theater environments, and its universal remote control enables viewers to easily control their entire home theater system from one device.


Panasonic PT-AE2000U Projector Specifications:

• Native Resolution: 1080p
• Brightness: 1500 ANSI lumens
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Technology: Polysilicon
• Contrast Ratio: 15000:1
• Features:
  • Full HD Spec - 1920x1080p
  • HD at 60Hz and 24Hz
  • Pure Color Filter Technology
  • 3 HDMI Inputs
• Weight: 15.9 lbs.
• Dimensions: 18.13in W 5.13in H 11.78in D
• Compatibility:
  • Native: 1920x1080
  • Computer: VGA, SVGA, XGA, WXGA, SXGA, WXGA+, SXGA+, UXGA (Compatible)]
  • Video: 480i/p, 720p, 1080i/p (24/50/60) - Displays Up to 1080p
  • Video/Color Signal: NTSC, PAL, SECAM
• Warranty: 1 Year Limited Parts & Labor; 90 Day on Lamp
• Included:
  • 6ft. Power Cord
  • Remote Control Unit
  • Batteries for Remote Control (UM-3 x 2)

Additional Features:

• Digital Clarity Processor gives images a more natural, lifelike expression than those of previous image-processing methods
• Maximum 16-bit Digital Processing provides 4 times the gradation of the PT-AE1000U to faithfully reproduce subtle hues and brightness variations
• New Waveform Monitor on-screen to adjust black and white levels automatically or manually
• Split Adjust Mode to freeze any scene and make adjustments while easily comparing the original image side-by-side with the adjusted image
• Cinema Color Management (CCM) to adjust one color without affecting the neighboring colors
• Lens-Centered Symmetrical Design
• Versatile Input Interfaces - including 3 HDMI 1.3 Inputs with Deep Color (xvYCC) support
• 2x Optical Power Zoom and Focus
• Wide Lens Shift Range - Horizontal ±40%, Vertical ±100%
• Learning Remote Control with Function Buttons
• Seven Picture Modes
• Progressive Cinema Scan (3/2 pulldown) and HD IP
• 3D Noise Reduction
• Scene-Adaptive MPEG Noise Reduction
• Scene-Adaptive Resizing LSI
• 1080/24p Compatible
• Selectable Frame Response
• Built-in Test Pattern
• Up to 16 Sets of Adjustment Settings Can Be Stored in Memory
• On-screen Input Guidance
• Auto Input Search
• Normal/Economy Lamp Power Selection
• Off Timer
• 22db Quiet Operation (in Economy Lamp Mode)

The Power of Full HD... Beauty of Rich Details...

Panasonic is bringing Full HD image quality to even greater heights with the new PT-AE2000U. A Full-HD compatible home cinema projector that achieves a remarkable 15,000:1 contrast ratio and a maximum brightness of 1500 ANSI lumens. Developed with the quality and precision that are needed to allow use by Hollywood professionals in the moviemaking process, the PT-AE2000U features three LCD panels that display beautiful 1080p high-definition pictures in remarkable detail. With the new PT-AE2000U, Panasonic gives you the ultimate cinema experience at home.

Next Generation Full-HD LCD Panels

The new generation Full HD LCD panels* use vertically aligned liquid crystal molecules with inorganic alignment layers. When no voltage is applied, the molecules are aligned perpendicular to the glass substrate, so there is no light leakage and the substrate remains black (called "normally black" operation), providing higher contrast.
* C2FINE™ D7 1920x1080 Panels

High 15,000:1 Contrast Ratio and 1500-Lumen Brightness

Almost all the key components in the optical system have been renewed to unleash the beauty of Full HD expression with an outstanding contrast ratio of 15,000:1 and brightness of 1500 lumens.

Carefully Tuned Lens System for Maximum Full HD Performance

To assure maximum clarity in Full HD images, the PT-AE2000U employs a new Full HD-compatible lens unit comprising 16 lens elements in 12 groups, including two large-diameter aspherical lenses and two high-performance ED (extra-low dispersion) lenses. Each lens is carefully aligned by highly skilled technicians to assure a uniform focusing balance from the center to the edges of the screen. The resulting high-quality images are clear and free of distortion and color bleeding.

Dynamic Iris Designed for Full HD

This system works by analyzing histograms to determine the brightness level of each image, then adjusting the lamp power, iris and gamma curve.*² accordingly to create the ideal image. The adjustments are made 60 times every second. In the PT-AE2000U we doubled the control speed pattern to further improve response and stability. This helps the projector achieve a wide dynamic range with swift smoothness for added beauty in both dark and bright scenes.
*² Parameters for adjusting the output brightness gradation level according to the input signal.

Smooth Screen Technology

Panasonic's Smooth Screen technology uses crystal double refraction to arrange pixels on a screen without gaps between them. The new Smooth Screen is optimized specifically to match the characteristic of the PT-AE2000U's optical system, giving you the kind of smooth, vivid and three-dimensional-like images you see in a movie theater.

Pure Color Filter Pro

This optical filter optimizes the light spectrum from the UHM projector lamp, helping to produce deeper blacks while improving purity levels in the three primary colors (red, green and blue). This advanced filter system improves color purity to such an extent that the color gamut is expanded to approximately match the level specified by the digital camera industry.*³ This gives images the deep, rich coloring that distinguishes movie images.
*³ Specifications put forth by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) DC28 Digital Cinema committees.

Lifelike Images in Crisp Detail

Developed in collaboration with leading filmmakers, Panasonic's Hollywood tuning process produces images that mirror the director's artistic vision and intent. This process is now further aided in the new PT-AE2000U by maximizing the image quality of the Full HD content in Blu-ray discs and HD broadcasts for large-screen viewing. The carefully tuned optical system teams up with a newly developed Detail Clarity Processor to dramatically boost image clarity. The PT-AE2000U offers the ultimate home cinema experience with crisp Full HD images in remarkable detail.


Full Review at Projector Central

Full Review at Projector Reviews



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[Sonnie]

I want one!

[Sonnie]

Found a sweet deal on one of these from RobZ over at AVS... I'm officially broke. I must sell my Z4 now so we can have food.

[ACGREEN]

How is this projector at keeping up with fast moving pictures. Does it have the same LCD lag I've seen in the Epson?

[Sonnie]

I really don't know, but what I do know is I've not read anything bad about it thus far. Everyone I know that owns one has been extremely happy.

[thxgoon]

Wow Sonnie! First ML's now this! Drrrooooooolll..... This pj looks awesome, perhaps in a year or so the price will drop enough and I can upgrade from my AE700.

[Fincave]

Show us some screenshots, please. How much better is the PQ compared to the Z4, is black really black? A short review would be great once you can tear yourself away from watching movies.

[Sonnie]

Well I'm definitely not the one to be able to tell you that black is black and give you a review. My eyes are just not up to par for this stuff. This is one reason I purchased this pj... because it is supposed to be calibrated for accuracy straight out of the box. According to RobZ (pretty nifty guy on pj's over at AVS)... he has tested this unit and claims it is on the money.

I will however give you some screen shots as soon as I get it in and watch a movie or two. It should be here by Thursday or so.

A note on my Z4. JimP (member here and at AVS) visited my house a while back with one of his video boxes and got the Z4 pretty accurate with grayscale and color, so it looks really good. I did actually notice a considerable improvement after he calibrated it. I had attempted to calibrate it, but was so far off it was comical.

[ACGREEN]

What kind of deal di you get? i am looking at buying one this week. Can you give me te contact info from whom you bougt this projector?

[Sonnie]

I purchased it from RobZ over at AVS... he's not a dealer. He's a pretty sharp display guru IMO. I got it for considerably less than street price. I believe the cheapest I've seen them otherwise is $2700.

[MatrixDweller]

Sonnie wrote:

I must sell my Z4 now so we can have food.

If it wasn't for food for my wife and three kids, oh yeah and diapers and clothes and birthday parties and gasoline and mortgage payments and...

I might be lucky if I get this one used 3 years from now after I sell a bunch of stuff on ebay and convince my wife that she really really needs 1080p.

[Scuba Diver]

Just bought one. I have not set it up yet. I need to get my screen up first.

[ACGREEN]

I just ordered mine from Amazon.com. Can't wait. I am having my screen installed next week and should be viewing this projector in two weeks.

[Sonnie]

I've never owned a projector that does not include auto-off when no signal is present.

I've had my 2000 connected since Saturday morning and it mysteriously turned on some time Saturday night. I didn't realize it was on until early this morning... some 32+ hours unnecessarily burned up. I turned it off this morning, waited and verified it was in fact off. Got home and low and behold it is on again... and had been on for 10 more hours. More lamp hours wasted.

I've checked all of our remotes in the house... checked our garage remotes... nothing is accidentally cutting it on. We live way, way, way back in the boonies... down a dirt road and way off that dirt road. Not close enough to anyone else for something someone else owns to be turning it on.

Hopefully Panasonic technical support will have a miracle answer for me.

[Rodny Alvarez]

Maybe the ALIENS!!!

[ACGREEN]

Oh boy, I hope this isn't an issue. I should have mine up and running in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know.

Are you losing power? Sometimes, electronics default to on when they get a small power surge.

[Sonnie]

No sign of us losing power... no clocks flashing to be reset, etc.

[MatrixDweller]

I think my Epson has a setting for what to do when the power fails (last-state, off, on). If the Panny does then set it to off. It could be triggered by a power sag or spike. Country power is notorious for being dirty. The lines stretch for miles and service only a few peple thus are last on the list to be upgraded or repaired. The step down transformer could be as old as you for all you know.

[ACGREEN]

whats the latest on your power problems. i just got mine, but it will be another week before it is even hooked up. Thanks for keeping us posted?

[<^..^>Smokey Joe]

Why not just turn the power off when not in use? Doesn't truely solve the issue, but does save you money being off standby.