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 Home
theater projectors have significantly increased in numbers over the years, primarily
due to the demand from enthusiasts seeking larger screens. There are certainly
limitations to a front projection system that can make achieving an optimal picture
difficult, such as room lighting and screen options. However, as prices decrease,
many consumers are seriously considering this option. Furthermore, projectors
are improving not only in resolution, but in overall video performance and reliability.
Panasonic is making the home theater dream come true with the introduction of
their new PT-AE500U high-definition LCD projector, priced at an amazing $2500.
Unlike DLP projectors that have received high praise from the videophile community,
the new PT-AE500U is based on three 0.7" diagonal 16:9 high definition LCD
panels. The 1280x720 native resolution is the same density found on today's best
HD2 and HD2+ DLP projectors that create almost a million individual pixels on
the screen for a truly impressive cinematic experience. The two technologies (LCD
versus DLP) differ yet both are capable of producing high resolution images. One
of the concerns related to LCD-based projectors is the screen-door effect that
is often very noticeable with this technology. However, the PT-AE500U appears
to have reduced this problem considerably. We're not exactly sure how Panasonic
accomplished this, but the results are impressive compared to other LCD projectors
we've seen in the past.
The PT-AE500U also offers full gamma and color temperature controls with up to
three custom memory settings. A full set of inputs accommodate a wide variety
of input options including an HDCP compliant DVI interface. The
130-watt UHMTM lamp produces 850 lumens and the projector offers a contrast ratio
of 1300:1. If you're used to noisy projectors in you theater room, you'll be pleasantly
surprised at how quietly the PT-AE500U operates. Panasonic claims a mere 27dB
of noise in the low power mode. A slight increase in fan noise can be heard when
going to the higher power mode. Full 10-bit gamma correction and color temperature
control is included for optimal picture quality and the built-in digital keystone
correction adjusts the image a full ±30° in both the horizontal and
vertical axis.  Controls
The top of the unit has controls for operating the projector, particularly when
it's sitting on a table top where the unit is easily accessible. The power indicator
light illuminates red when the unit is in Standby mode and changes to green
when the unit goes into Operational mode. The Temp indicator will
illuminate if there is a problem with the temperature of the projector. In extreme
cases, the lamp will automatically shut off to prevent overheating. As part of
normal maintenance, Panasonic recommends that the air filter be cleaned after
every 100 hours of use. The filter is easily removed and can be cleaned by the
user. The Lamp indicator will illuminate red when the lamp operation time
approaches 1800 hours of use in the High Power mode. The Lamp
indicator may also
flash if there's a problem with the lamp circuit. Full menu controls are available
to adjust the projector settings. Keystone controls are also available.
Setup
The PT-AE500U
footprint is fairly small, measuring 11" x 10-1/2" x 3-1/2" (WxDxH).
We inverted the projector and mounted it on the rear ceiling of our room. The
manual zoom and focus lens (1:1-1:1.2, F 1.9-2.2, f 22.0-26.2mm) projects a sizable
image from a rather short distance. In our case, we projected video onto our reference
100" diagonal 16:9 Stewart FireHawk filmscreen from about 12 1/2 feet. This
gray screen works well with DLP™ projectors by deepening the black level.
Since the PT-AE500U does have some difficulty with deep blacks, we recommend using
a gray screen with this projector. We found this projector to also work well with
the less expensive 92" Da-Lite High Contrast Cinema Vision screen mounted
on their Cinema Contour frame. We set the lamp power to low, which keeps the black
level in check and reduces the fan noise. The High setting may help when ambient
light is a little more difficult to control. We positioned the projector to minimize
geometric errors, so that we could avoid using the built-in digital horizontal
and vertical keystone correction, as this tends to introduce undesired artifacts
in the picture. We were able to get the geometry almost perfect with a slight
over-scan on the screen, which was completely absorbed by the black frame material,
resulting in a perfect looking 16:9 image. Connectivity
 The
rear panel of the PT-AE500U has a good selection of inputs including both analog
and digital interfaces. The cooling fan is also located here. The composite and
s-video inputs are fully compatible with NTSC, PAL or SECAM standards. The component
video inputs (YPrPb) use the standard three RCA jacks. All of the RCA jacks are
gold-plated including the composite input. There's also a VGA-style 15-pin D-sub
connector for the RGB inputs. This input accepts many computer VESA standards
for using it with a PC as well as high definition 1080i video. The DVI-D interface
is fully DVI/HDCP compliant for encrypted video content. For those who need it,
an optional adapter can be used to interface to HDMI (High Definition Multimedia
Interface) equipment. There's
even a 12V trigger to work with other devices.  Remote
The infrared remote supplied with the PT-AE500U is small, yet fits nicely in our
hand and provides all the needed functionality to control the projector. The glow-in-the-dark
Light button, located in the upper right corner of the remote, illuminates
the rest of the buttons for easy viewing in a poorly lit theater room. The top
three buttons control the input to the projector and are labeled Video,
Component, and PC. The Video button toggles between the composite
input and the s-video input. The Component button selects the component
video input and the PC button toggles between the 15-pin VGA input and
the DVI input. The Menu and Enter button in conjunction with the
Up/Down/Left/Right navigation buttons completely control
the functions of the projector through the menu hierarchy . The Keystone
button is also provided to correct for geometric distortions in the image due
to the projector's placement. The Aspect button changes the aspect ratio
based on content sent to the projector. This is particularly important with the
wide variety of material being displayed on today's screens. Both 4:3 and 16:9
content can be adjusted. A total of five display modes are supported for optimal
viewing of both 4:3 and 16:9 formats. Even older non-anamorphic (non-16:9 enhanced)
DVDs can be displayed in the zoom mode to better fill the screen, albeit with
a loss in resolution due to the format of these discs.
The
Picture Mode changes the picture settings for various viewing conditions. Selecting
this mode lets the user choose from several different settings (Cinema 1,
Cinema 2, Video, Natural, Normal, and Dynamic).
We used the Cinema 1 mode for most of our viewing of content. The user
can also push the Memory button and choose from three predefined settings (Memory1,
Memory2 and Memory3) depending on the input video mode. Under
the Picture menu, the user has full control of Brightness, Contrast,
Color, Tint, and Sharpness. Color temperature control is
also adjustable with five different settings. When the DVI input is being used
there are no controls available for Color or Tint. There's also
an Advanced menu that allows the user to control the RGB contrast and gain
individually as well as low, medium and high gamma levels. The TV-System
(Auto, NTSC, NTSC 4.43, PAL, PAL-M, PAL-N, SECAM) is selectable when a composite
or s-video signal is being input. When any other video input (RGB, Component or
DVI) is used, the Signal Type (i.e. 525i, XGA, etc.) is displayed. The
Position menu has full horizontal and vertical screen adjustments as well
as Aspect ratio control (16:9 or 4:3). The Dot Clock and Clock
Phase are also adjustable to help tweak the sample time of the incoming video
to properly align the fixed pixels on the screen with the data. The Dot Clock
is not available when using the component inputs and neither Dot Clock
nor Clock Phase are available when using the DVI input. These controls
definitely work as we were able to align the incoming video when using the analog
RGB input. The
Option menu has several parameters that configure the projector, including
the On-Screen Display (On/Off), PC Priority (Normal/Wide), Background Color (Blue/Black),
Projector Configuration (Front/Rear, Desk/Ceiling), Fan Control (Normal/High),
Lamp Power (High/Low) and Extended Display Identification Data (EDID1/EDID2).
The EDID setting must be on EDID1 to work with high definition content. Our review
projector was set on EDID2 and it took us a while to figure out why the DVI interface
was not working with our high-definition set-top box. The Lamp Runtime is
also displayed here so that the user can see total accumulated time on the lamp. Color
Tracking
 We
set the projector mode to Cinema 1 and adjusted the color temperature to
the middle setting before we started taking measurements. We began with the 15-pin
D-sub (RGB) input and calibrated the projector using our Sencore VP300 video generator.
Using 720p video in the RGB/HV mode, we set the black level and verified the stair
step levels on the screen to ensure we had properly adjusted the display. Using
our Sencore CP5000 All-Display Color Analyzer, we measured the color temperature
in 10 IRE increments starting with 20 IRE. The desired 6500 °K setting was
very accurate and deviated no more than ±400 °K across all measured
IRE levels. The Advanced Menu options allow the user to adjust RGB contrast
(high IRE) and brightness (low IRE) as well as high, mid and low gamma. Using
these controls, we were able to adjust the color temperature to within ±200
°K across all IRE levels. However, the pre-calibration levels were quite impressive
to us for such an inexpensive projector.  Display
Primaries
We measured the primary colors produced by the PT-AE500U using
our GretagMacbeth Eye-One Pro Spectrophotometer along with the ColorFacts System
from Milori. Measurements were taken from our 100" Stewart FireHawk filmscreen.
The CIE chart shows where the ideal primaries are located with the smaller three
points making a dark triangle. The measured primary colors have the red, green
and blue markers connected together with the white triangle. Only colors inside
the white triangle can be generated by the display by definition. Even prior to
calibration, the PT-AE500U produced accurate flesh tones with rich saturated reds,
deep blues and lush greens. In fact, all colors were well saturated in the material
we tested.
Performance
 We
used a variety of source material including over-the-air high definition material
with the DVI and analog RGB inputs. We also connected our Marantz MV8300 D-VHS
VCR using the component inputs. Once the projector was calibrated, we watched
The Tonight Show and Las Vegas using our Samsung SIR-T165 high definition
set-top box through the DVI input on the projector. The picture was beautiful
with only a slight amount of low-level grain in the image. Using our D-VHS VCR,
we watched some colorful scenes from our HD-Net tapes that included Bikini
Destinations at Lake Powell and Over Ireland. The colors were well
saturated and the resolution was certainly high-definition. Skin tones looked
amazingly natural. The screen-door effect was not visible from our seating distance,
which was approximately 14 feet with a screen size of 100" diagonal on our
16:9 FireHawk. Even close up to the screen, the fill factor wasn't nearly as bad
as other LCD projectors we've seen in the past. However, the picture did lack
the ability to produce deep blacks particularly in night scenes. For example,
some of the dark racing scenes from the D-Thearter version of The Fast and
The Furious revealed this. Shadow
detail was good, but not perfect as one might expect with an LCD projector. However,
as mentioned before, the gray screen definitely helps. Brighter scenes were absolutely
gorgeous and it really surprised us that this inexpensive projector was capable
of producing such impressive picture quality. The colorful scenes from Moulin
Rouge were very satisfying to watch. Excellent color fidelity was noticeable
especially compared to the DVD version. Overall, this projector has a slight softness
to the image when compared to some of the more expensive (three times the cost)
DLP projectors that we've seen. This didn't appear as a loss of resolution, but
a more smooth looking film-like quality. The picture brightness was excellent
and we didn't have any problem filling our Stewart FireHawk in our theater room.
We happen to have good light control in our environment, so potential buyers need
to make sure they too can control their room lighting. The
only 720p video we had on hand was Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials
in the D-Theater format, which has some excellent reference video patterns for
calibrating the projector. The majority of material we watched was 1080i high
definition content, which requires the projector to scale this to the native 720p
format. We didn't notice any objectionable artifacts with the scaling process,
nor did we see any real problems with 480p DVD material. We watched very little
480i (Component or NTSC) video with this review system, but did notice some degradation
in picture quality as one might expect, especially when using a composite source.
We would recommend using a progressive scan DVD player with this projector for
DVDs. Conclusion
The Panasonic PT-AE500U sets a new standard for delivering a quality high-definition
picture to its customers for a fraction of the cost of many competing products.
The resolution of the PT-AE500U is certainly one of its best attributes and the
accurate colors we saw surely make it a projector that we can recommend without
hesitation. The color tracking was excellent and the overall picture was simply
amazing for a $2500 projector. The limitations would be in the deep blacks, but
is not terribly distracting and certainly forgivable given the price. Its ability
to accept 1080i, 720p, 480p or 480i makes it compatible with any high-end home
theater system. The out-of-the-box color tracking was actually quite good, but
certainly benefited from our calibration. The fan noise was relatively quiet when
set to the low power mode. In fact, this has been one of the quietest projectors
in our theater room. Anyone on a budget who desires to have a large screen with
a real high definition picture needs to take a look at the PT-AE500U. One must
pay attention to room lighting and the improved quality that comes with mating
it to a high-quality screen. -
Kevin Nakano |
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