New Panasonic PT-AE4000 projector

[Chris D]

Both new projectors that I've bought have been Panasonics, the PT-AE700, and PT-AE2000 which I still own. This series have CONSISTENTLY been on top of the popular projector list, and very highly rated. Well, there's a new one in the series, and it's debuting at under $2k. Sounds good to me!

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Pana...PT-AE4000U.htm

[Hdale85]

Yeah...kind of skeptical weather it's really better then the old one though. Generally better but cheaper doesn't really go together well

[farazakan]

well i prefer cheaper with most functionality......

[Hdale85]

Well I hope its better then the AE3000U as that would set a new benchmark for price/performance.

[farazakan]

Well I hope its better then the AE3000U as that would set a new benchmark for price/performance.

Well Ae4000 has become one of the best pj to be bought under 2000usd by pcworld.

[Txgrizzly]

i just bought one of these after reading a lot of good things about it all over the web. the only negative thing i have heard about them is a message comes up when it changes from 2:35 to 6:1 format. also one guy had an issue with the focus of his but after talking with some other people of the website he realized it was just his unit and he sent it back.

[Chris D]

Great... let us know how it turns out! :banana:

[Burke Strickland]

From my own viewing of the Panasonic PT-AE4000U, I'd say it is deserving of the praise heaped on it by the reviewers at Projector Central and Projector Reviews. It gives an amazing out of box experience which is borne out by more extended viewing. This unit is very easy to set up and produces a beautiful picture even with NO calibration on the "Color1" setting. Very simple zooming to keep constant height while changing aspect ratios from 16:9 to 4:3 or to 2.35:1, which was a major frustration not being able to do that (keeping constant height) with my previous projectors.

On the first few "demo" disks, ("The Fifth Element" BluRay, "Gone With The Wind" BluRay, "The Rock" Blu Ray, "How The West Was Won" BluRay, "Police Academy" standard DVD) I was amazed at how good the picture looked. Absolutely no screen door effect, even on standard DVD, very smooth, sharp detail, awesome contrast and vibrant colors -- and very deep black (with excellent shadow details). AND IT IS QUIET! (I'm shouting to emphasize the point,.) :>)

Then I realized I still had my BluRay player set for 720p, which is the native resolution of the five year old Sony Cineza VPL-HS51 that the Panasonic replaced. So I was even more amazed when I replayed movie scenes at 1080p/24. Awesome picture -- not eye-popping posterish, rather, spot-on color and detail to make both an impressive and satisfying viewing experience. If you want a more "punched up", bright, eye-popping image, that can be achieved with other settings than I an using for movie viewing. Tried 'em; decided to be more "conservative" with the settings for extended viewing.

Anyone who passes up this projector because it doesn't produce deep enough blacks is overly obsessed with one feature, IMHBCO. I haven't tripped across anything yet that I don't like about the picture or the operation of the projector. Lightyears ahead (pun intended) of what my previous projector is capable of, and I'd go so far as to say the picture quality, including rendition of black, beats what I saw a couple of weeks ago at the local cineplex watching "2012". I guess I'll keep it. :>)

[George Bellefontaine]

Tell us how you really feel about the AE4000, Burke...

[Lex]

Sounds like a great PJ. I'm fortunate at this time to have 2 projectors meeting my needs. One of them I have SAVED for quality 1080P presentations, for Blue Ray, and cough HDDVD. But I love to see advances, because that means next time I do need a PJ, I got more options. My Sanyo Z4 and Z2000 are doing just fine. :-)

[Burke Strickland]

Tell us how you really feel about the AE4000, Burke...

Don't think I will, George. Wouldn't want to tip my hand. :>)

[Chris D]

Sounds great! I've always been a fan of this model line.