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Beautiful HD in size XL that won't break the bank
sci-fi aficionado, technically savvy, movie buff, mac user, love movies that make you think, father of 3 young kids, pc user, practical
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SEP
28
2007
The Panasonic PT-AX100U is the third interation of the most popular HD home theater projector line ever produced. Panasonic really hit its stride with the PT-AE700U and then went on to get raves with the release of the PT-AE900U.
What really sets Panasonic PT-AX100U projector apart from others is its film like quality - there are no pixels to be seen. This is inspite of the fact that it uses 3 LCDs to generate the image - Panasonic has outdone itself in finding a way to mitigate the screen door effect that has plagued LCD projectors for years. Panasonic also worked with a notable Hollywood colorist (the person who ensures the colors in a movie are consistent and true to the director's vision) to better reproduce that better than life look that you see in movie theaters right in your home theater. Again, Panasonic raised the bar in image quality.
Another great convenience is that the Panasonic PT-AX100U projector has optical lens shifting. What's that you ask? When projecting an image, you don't always have a straight and level shot to the screen. Often you have to place the projector on a table or mount it near the ceiling or worse place it on a shelf that is to the left or right of the center of the screen (or wall) that you wish to project on. Well will optical lens shifting, you can move the image up, down, left or right using a joystick located next to the lens and reposition the projected image without introducing any distortion (i.e. keystoning) and maintain a perfectly rectangular image. And the range of motion is rather astounding. The projector comes with a 2x zoom lens which is more range than most projectors on the market. Combining the optical lens shifting with the tremendous 2x zoom makes for very flexible placement of the projector.
The only con with this projector is that it is a bit bigger than I was expecting with dimensions of (H x W x D) 4.5" x 15.5" x 12". So don't expect to be toting around - then again it wasn't made for that.
With an HD resolution of 720P, the Panasonic PT-AX100U is a solid choice for any home theater. There are the purists who would counsel that a 1080p projector is the only way to go, but in the experience of many AV critics, 720p is almost indistinguishable from 1080p at normal viewing distances. For those that insist on putting their nose right up against the screen - they may notice a difference. In my experience - the 720p image has been spectacular. You can get up to a 174“ wide (over 14.5 feet) HD image on your wall or screen - true home theater!
It is also relatively bright at 2000 lumens. Depending on your placement of the projector, you can easily watch sporting events in broad daylight, but movies that have a broader dynamic range between well lit outdoor scenes and darker night scenes would be better viewed in a dimmed room. The projector is extremely quiet - essentially you could be sitting next to it and not notice that it is even on.
The projector comes with a plethora of inputs: HDMI, composite video, S-video, component and VGA (for PCs). So you can hook up the Panasonic PT-AX100U to practically any video source. So far I have used the Panasonic PT-AX100U projector with my Apple MacBook Pro (via a DVI to HDMI cable), Oppo DV-981HD DVD player (HDMI to HDMI) and Sony VHS VCR (yes I still have some tapes kicking around - composite video). All yielded great results - especially the Oppo DVD player.
Panasonic packages the PT-AX100U projector with a relatively simple backlit remote that lets you access all of the settings for the projector.
Perhaps one of my favorite features of a projector is when it's not in use - the room is not dominated by a large black screen staring back at you as is the case with a plasma or LCD television.
One final item of note - Panasonic quite often offers a $400 rebate on this projector. So make sure you buy from an authorized dealer.
Last edited on Feb 13, 2008
Panasonic Multimedia Projector PT-AX100U-EC is recommended by vytas
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