Panasonic problems

[Bmac]

I've owned two PT units in three years, most recently the PT-AE900U. I love the picture, but I've had it (PT-AE900U) repaired twice. Both times a new power supply was installed. It's now giving me problems again.

The problem: Push the power button, and the fan kicks into high. No picture is displayed, and the green light flashes. After 2-3 minutes the fan shuts off and the green light turns red....no picture, and no light.

Panasonic's solution: They now tell me it could be a bad lamp.The projector has less than 500hrs on it, and is a year and four months old. It was last repaired in March(still under warranty).

I've got this unit on a power conditioner, and a whole house surge arrestor along with a surge outlet.

Should I try a new lamp, or a new brand of projector?

[draganm]

Should I try a new lamp, or a new brand of projector?

I've always had a lot fo respect for Pannasonic but the quality on their front projectors is awful, only surpassed by Infocus which sells some of the worst junk imaginable. I think it's a lost cause, people who have been in the same boat as you have gone round and round with repairs and never wound up with a working unti. There's basically 2 good options right now , one is a JVC RS1, if you have the $5K. JVC has achieved the biggest break through in LCD front projection ever with their ingenious DILA tech. and it's native 15K:1 contreast Ratio. This machine ROCKS. Other machines in this 1080P category are the Sony Pearl but at $3K+ for a Sony product with only a max true CR of 4K:1 it's really a bad investment IMO.
The other, more affordable option with similar performance is a nice CRT projector if you can accomodate the size and don't mind the learning curve. I've had a 1996 Marquee 8500 in my theatre for about 5 years and it's rock solid. AAMOF I just ordered an HDMI input card for it so I can FINALLY hook up an HD player. I'm still not sure if I will run 720Por 1080P but i'll have to try both and see which looks better. A rebuilt CRT projector starts at about $1K and goes up from there. Check either Videogon.com or Curt Palmes web-site.

[wildfire99]

There's also the Mitsu 5000 and the Epson 1080 for the occasional bargain (especially slightly used) to keep inside the LCD family.

The Panny 900's problem can either be the lamp or the ignition components (probably $400 either way) it's a roll of the dice as to which, unless you inspect the bulb and see if it looks physically torched.

[Bmac]

I've looked into the Mits, and that's the way I was leaning for a replacement. I've not seen the Epson.

Is it worth it to replace the lamp, I mean only five hundred hours on the lamp...should I look at it as a defective lamp? I want to believe that's what it is.

[draganm]

I've looked into the Mits, and that's the way I was leaning for a replacement. I've not seen the Epson.
Is it worth it to replace the lamp, I mean only five hundred hours on the lamp...should I look at it as a defective lamp? I want to believe that's what it is.

the Mitsubishi looks ok with 10K:1 CR but if you can bridhe the xtra $2400. to the RS1 it's a much better machine. Remember that convergence has always been a problem with 3 chip LCD and I don't see any adjustment on the Mits? It would drive me nuts to pay $3200. and see a Red or Blue fringe around object like This Ruby. Also, when they throw in nonsense like "HQV processing" (Hollywood Quality Video) " it's always makes me feel like i'm looking at a product targeted at suckers. :roll:

[wildfire99]

The RS-1 isn't exactly perfect with misconvergence either given the lens design. And all LCD is 3-chip, so it's not like you can have LCD with perfect convergence. If you get panels that are just way out of whack send it in. You'll never see most of it during movie playback anyway, and test signals only make you go cross-eyed.

Going from Panny 900 to RS-1 is a huge leap in terms of money (but also in performance). That's kind of steep just because a lamp or electronics died.

People seem to think the Panny 1000 is the best of the new 1080p LCD's, though the Epson was the undisputed winner for brightness and overall performance with 720p. The mitsu just seems overpriced and under-performing.

If the OP had two bad power supplies, then chances are it's the power supply again. You can try getting a bulb from someplace with a return policy, or send it back to Panasonic for testing (maybe $$$ if out of warranty). It's not unheard of for a bulb to die that soon, but it's unusual. Check the bulb physically, look for obvious damage. See if the bulb flashes when the PJ tries to ignite it (if it does then it probably works and the power supply is bad again).

If you can afford it, get a new 1080p unit, they're nice. But you still have the issue of what to do with the Panny. People on feebay will pay ridiculous sums for projectors with no/bad bulbs, but an unworking unit is just trouble (though i'm still shocked what they will pay for something that's completely and totally dead).

Oh yeah, lets make sure we put Optoma in the Hall of Quality Shame too.

[Bmac]

I got the unit to come on today. Right after the fan stopped, I started it again and it worked. Ran it for three hour, and shut it down. I start it in a normal fashion four hours later. What gives?

[draganm]

The RS-1 isn't exactly perfect with misconvergence either given the lens design. And all LCD is 3-chip, so it's not like you can have LCD with perfect convergence. If you get panels that are just way out of whack send it in. You'll never see most of it during movie playback anyway, and test signals only make you go cross-eyed.

I sit 9 feet back from an 8 foot screen, I can easilly spot MC,720 pixels, and screen door. While the RS1 might not be perfectly convergable across the entire screen at least it's got SOME adjustment. Oh and test patterns are my forte, as a CRT guy I can stare at test patterns for up to 4 hours before I get dizzy. :B

If the OP had two bad power supplies, then chances are it's the power supply again. You can try getting a bulb from someplace with a return policy, or send it back to Panasonic for testing (maybe $$$ if out of warranty).

Sure sounds like the PS, question is why? It's one of 2 things, all the Power Supplies for this machine are defective OR the circuit feeding the PS is out of spec and causing it to fail prematurely. Either way, if the manufactuer couldn't fix it the first 2 or 3 time's then it's ready for the dumspter. :stupidpc:

[wildfire99]

At 1.0x screen width I'd believe you could see pixels... that's close! 8O

And yeah... especially since the bulb came on again, it's probably the PS is on death's door. Time to throw it on feebay.

[Bmac]

I'm now looking for a new projector. Has anyone seen the Mits HC4000?

[Bmac]

Epson 1080p has solved my problem.

[Chris D]

Oh yes? You MUST tell us how it turns out!!!!! :banana:

[Bmac]

Well it's here!!! The thing is super quiet, you don't hear the fan(on low) at all. The Image is really clean . I was shocked by the size difference. I think I'm in love all over again.

[Chris D]

Arrrrrghhhhh... now you're making it harder for me to not buy one. Thanks...

[ktaillon]

Hi, I'm late to reply, but I have the same panasonic 900 projector. I also have the starting up problem. I've found that its noise in the electrical, I had to add a noise filter surge strip (which you did) but my biggest problem is the lighting in the room.

I have 6 in-ceiling lights, two are in the back of the room near the projector. If those two are on, either full on or being dimmed, they cause the startup problem.

Hope it helps,
Ken

[sirbogey]

I've had the Panny 900 for almost a year now. 1500 hours on the first lamp. No problems at all so far. Great unit, great picture, almost no fan noise, etc.
Keep my fingers crossed.

I've had an Optoma 753 (or something like that) before, which broke 7 times in 3y. Had if fixed 6 times under warranty, then had to trash it.. waste of space.