What does everyone think of the PT-AE500?

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  • MattCXII
    Member
    • Feb 2004
    • 90

    What does everyone think of the PT-AE500?

    I am very much considering entering the relm of PJ's. For the same cost of a 50 inch rear projection TV such as the Sony, I can have a 100 inch inmage of good quality/resolution in the Panny.

    What I am curious of is who has one? What are your impressions of it? I can get it for a VERY good price from a dealer in the area. He has made this a very possible solution for me to enter the world of front projectors....

    any info on good screens in the 1000 dollar and less range would help as well. Screens seem to be a more difficult thing for me to decide on than the projector!

    Matt
  • George Bellefontaine
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Jan 2001
    • 7637

    #2
    Matt, I don't own the 500 but I have read a few positive reviews on it. It's being compared to, but not quite up to the quality of the Sony HS20. Now the Sony msrp. in Canada is just under $5K, and I believe the Panny can be had for under $3K CDN, so I doubt the difference in quality between the Panny and the Sony is worth another $2K.

    As for screens, I have always used a 1 gain matte white screen. This has served me well from crt to lcd to dlp. I currently use a Da-Lite Da-mat 92" x 52" fixed screeen and it cost me around $800 CDN.

    Check out the Carada website on the page below. They are HT Guide sponsors and their prices are excellent.




    My Homepage!
    My Homepage!

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    • MattCXII
      Member
      • Feb 2004
      • 90

      #3
      George,

      Where can I get a Da-Lite Da-mat 92" x 52" fixed screeen for 800 Canadian? I have been looking everywhere for a decent screen and most are over a grand. As well, I checked out the Carada website and noticed it was all in American prices. I may have to contact them on a Canadian price and to see how much it would cost for shipping/duty/taxes and such. Often it turns out to be very expensive with all the duties to import gear from the states. Anyone from Canada buy from them?

      Comment

      • MattCXII
        Member
        • Feb 2004
        • 90

        #4
        I did a bit more searching and found some Da-Lite dealers in the area. I can get a 92" Diagonal permwall screen for approx. 747 + tax. I figure that is decent but I am still looking around.

        Thanks George

        Comment

        • George Bellefontaine
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Jan 2001
          • 7637

          #5
          Matt, I bought mine a few years ago for the price I mentioned. They are probably more expensive now. You may also want to check out Draper and Vutec. Draper is less expensive than Da-Lite, but they still make a pretty darn good screen. Also, some members here have made their own screens for very little money. Perhaps one of them will chime in here and offer some info on a DIY screen.




          My Homepage!
          My Homepage!

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          • ThomasW
            Moderator Emeritus
            • Aug 2000
            • 10934

            #6

            Here's a US price list for the various Da-Lite model B screens

            I bought my model B 16X9 Hi-Power from Medical Video Systems. They offer very competitive pricing, I don't know how their pricing will translate to CA$




            theAudioWorx
            Klone-Audio

            IB subwoofer FAQ page


            "Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson

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            • MattCXII
              Member
              • Feb 2004
              • 90

              #7
              I have decided to go with the PT-AE500 and a Da-Lite Fixed mount screen at 92" diagonal. I have a throw distance of 10 feet... do you think that is too short?

              Thanks,

              Matt

              Comment

              • ThomasW
                Moderator Emeritus
                • Aug 2000
                • 10934

                #8
                I have a throw distance of 10 feet... do you think that is too short?
                Try this online calculator




                theAudioWorx
                Klone-Audio

                IB subwoofer FAQ page


                "Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson

                Comment

                • MattCXII
                  Member
                  • Feb 2004
                  • 90

                  #9
                  Well I have ordered the PT-AE500. Should be here in a couple of weeks. I will post what I think of it once I get it all set up and had a few hours to play.

                  Thanks for all your help,

                  Matt

                  Comment

                  • George Bellefontaine
                    Moderator Emeritus
                    • Jan 2001
                    • 7637

                    #10
                    Can't wait to read your comments after you have the Panny up and running. Congrats on the buy.
                    My Homepage!

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                    • MattCXII
                      Member
                      • Feb 2004
                      • 90

                      #11
                      Thanks George,

                      It should be here on Monday, Tuesday at the latest. I have to wait 'till the middle of the month for the screen so I might wait to do a review of it then. The review will not be much to speak of since this is my first projector and have very little to base it on. I will include some screen shots for what they are worth and a little review.

                      Matt

                      Comment

                      • RickS
                        Super Senior Member
                        • Aug 2000
                        • 1247

                        #12
                        Hi, Matt!

                        I have had the PT-L500U for about a week in our HT. I just upgraded from the Pannt 300. I use a HTPC for my source of DVD and HDTV. I paid $1800.00 Usd and am very pleased with it. The thing I was looking for was 1 to 1 pixel mapping on the 1280 x 720 panels and can confirm that I have done this with Powerstrip thru the RGB input. The HDTV stations that broadcast in 720P do look amazing! :T Congrats, on your purchase I think you'll be very happy with it.

                        Rick

                        Comment

                        • Trevor Schell
                          Moderator Emeritus
                          • Aug 2000
                          • 10935

                          #13
                          Good Job on investing on the Panny 500.
                          So far it is a winner based on real life comments on the forums.

                          Rick,,Just curious as if you can comment on the difference between
                          1080i vs 720p, to your vision.
                          Trevor



                          XBOX 360 CARD

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                          • RickS
                            Super Senior Member
                            • Aug 2000
                            • 1247

                            #14
                            Hey....Trevor!

                            It seems that the 720P broadcasts look better on this projector since it is native to the panel but, if I switch to 540P the two pictures are very close. The 500 does scale the 1080i stations very well so I don't bother switching resolutions.

                            Rick

                            Comment

                            • marco10
                              Junior Member
                              • May 2004
                              • 24

                              #15
                              My Da-Lite Screen

                              Hi MattCXII, Take a look at my setup. I got this Da-lite manual high contrast grey, 106" diagonal for ... are you ready for this?...$200 CAD! Can you believe that? I thought the vendor I got it form had made a mistake on the price but the salesman told me since they get literally hundreds of orders a week they were able to offer it to me at that price. Unbelievable! Anyway, just thought I would share this.
                              Attached Files
                              :righton:

                              Comment

                              • blackthunder
                                Junior Member
                                • Jun 2004
                                • 12

                                #16
                                Originally posted by marco10
                                Hi MattCXII, Take a look at my setup. I got this Da-lite manual high contrast grey, 106" diagonal for ... are you ready for this?...$200 CAD! Can you believe that? I thought the vendor I got it form had made a mistake on the price but the salesman told me since they get literally hundreds of orders a week they were able to offer it to me at that price. Unbelievable! Anyway, just thought I would share this.
                                hey ... could you PM me the vendor information ... i am in the market for a screen too ... thanks!

                                Comment

                                • marco10
                                  Junior Member
                                  • May 2004
                                  • 24

                                  #17
                                  Hi Blackthunder. I don't know where you are located so I can't be sure if the vendor will ship a screen to you but I'll give you the info anyway. The phone number is 905-625-4321 and are located here in Toronto, Canada. Give them a call and see what they can do for you. Let me know what happens.
                                  :righton:

                                  Comment

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