Projector Reviews

Finally, the projector will accept and display not only 1080p/60 and other common standard and high-definition resolutions, but 1080p/24 as well. It frame-triples the 24fps and displays it at 72Hz, which eliminates the judder inherent in 3/2 pulldown.

By the Numbers
The projector's scaling and deinterlacing, in both HDMI and component, were generally good to excellent, but with some exceptions. They were merely fair on the waving flag test and on bad edits, and fair to poor on mixed content (video scrolls over a film background and vice versa). The Panasonic picked up 3/2 pulldown on all of my 480i 3/2 tests, performed well on 2/2 video cadence test, and properly deinterlaced 1080i to 1080p on both film and video. It also picked up 1080i 3/2 pulldown as well (it would occasionally break lock on 3/2 at 1080i, but immediately recovered).

Resolution on burst patterns was very good with HDMI but slightly compromised on component. Overscan was excellent on high-definition resolutions and satisfactory in 480i/p.

At first, I had difficulty with the Panasonic's grayscale tracking. None of the factory default Picture Modes produced good measured results. My first attempt at calibration, performed in the Cinema3 mode (which initially appeared to be the most promising option) didn't work out well. It was reasonably close to 6500K up to mid brightness, then rose slowly to about 7700K at 100IRE. The 20IRE reading, about 6400K, was also plus green by a significant amount.

But previous Panasonic projectors we've tested have had excellent grayscale tracking, so after watching the projector for a couple of weeks to put more hours on the lamp, I attacked the calibration controls again. I looked again at the different Picture Modes and decided that Cinema1 might now be a better candidate as a starting point. It was, although this might not necessarily be the case with all samples. I was able to get a result very close to the desired D6500 from 30IRE to 100IRE. The 20IRE result was a little too red, but acceptable.

The improved grayscale did come at a cost: a loss of about 15% in available brightness. The peak white reading dropped from just over 15foot-Lamberts to 12.8fL (using a full white field pattern on my 78-inch wide, 16:9, 1.3-gain, Stewart Studiotek 130 screen). This post calibration light output was comfortable, though far from exceptional. I would not recommend a large (over 7-feet wide), gray or low gain screen with this projector. The 1.3-gain on the Studiotek is nearly ideal. With 180+ hours on the projector as I write this, I find the brightness level very comfortable on my screen, though I would expect further light losses as the hours on the projector accumulate.

Both of the above readings were taken with the lamp set to Eco-Mode. Surprisingly, I measured almost no peak output difference between the Eco-Mode and Normal lamp settings. I was able to check a second sample of the projector, and the two lamp settings measured exactly the same on that projector as well. Based on the relatively quiet operation of the projectors, I suspect they are stuck in the Eco-Mode, though there is no way to directly determine this. Perhaps a glitch in the firmware is rendering the lamp power setting inoperable.

The Panasonic's blacks are excellent, but only if you use the Dynamic Iris. With the Dynamic Iris engaged, and 100 hours on the lamp I measured an excellent peak contrast ratio of about 4,000:1, depending on the measurement method.

This measured peak contrast is well short of the impressive 11,000:1 Panasonic claims in its literature (interestingly, there is no contrast ratio in the specs listed in the user manual). But my readings were taken with the projector set up to produce the best image. The conditions used to determine the specification are unknown.

The contrast on the Panasonic is not as jaw dropping as the contrast we've measured recently on several new projectors, notably the Sony Pearl and JVC DLA-HD1. But it's very close. Dark scenes were convincing, the dreaded "gray fog" was almost never a factor, and the subjective contrast remained consistently good on both dark and bright material.

For more technical details on these and other topics, see "Tests and Calibration."

Watching
I've spent dozens of additional hours watching the Panasonic projector since we posted my Short Take report three weeks ago. I've used it to review several HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. I've compared it to other projectors (see below). The more the more I watch it the more it impresses me.

I was not a big fan of Panasonic's earlier 720p designs. They were good machines for the money at a time when the competition cost hundreds or thousands more. But the PT-AE1000U is a major advance. Panasonic has built on its experience and produced an excellent 1080p projector. Its color reproduction is outstanding, although I definitely recommend a professional calibration. Its blacks are near state-of-the-art for a digital projector, (but again, only with the dynamic iris engaged). Its detail, while perhaps not as striking as some projectors we've seen, never left me wishing for more. And I never saw any digital artifacts. The projector also worked well in 1080p/24 mode on Blu-ray discs, apart from a few discs that the Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 Blu-ray player had problems with. (There's now an update to modify the player to play these discs, all of which apparently come from Sony and are encoded using MPEG-4/AVC video compression.)

The Sony Pearl has now left my studio and was not available for a direct comparison, but my feeling is that the PT-AE1000U is slightly more detailed, and also better at maintaining contrast in brighter scenes.

I was, however, able to compare the Panasonic closely to the Optoma HD81. The Optoma was clearly sharper. It also had a more vivid image, with the characteristic "pop" that DLPs generally excel at compared to competing technologies. But the Optoma's black level and peak contrast were no match for the Panasonic.

Subsequent to my First Look piece on the Panasonic I was also able to compare it to a new JVC DLA-RD1 (a functionally identical sibling to the DLA-HD1 reviewed here recently). The JVC was also clearly crisper-looking than the Panasonic, though not in an unnatural way. The difference was subtle, but visible even without a direct AB comparison. The JVC was also brighter, with even better contrast.

But the Panasonic was more than a match for the JVC in color with its more extensive array of adjustments, and also competed in black level (the JVC's better contrast is largely a function of its higher light output, with only marginally better blacks). And of the Optoma, JVC, and Panasonic, the Panasonic is easily the quietest.

Conclusions
None of the differences I saw with the other projectors that passed through my home theater while the Panasonic was under review were at all obvious without viewing them either side-by-side with, or immediately after, the Panasonic. In fact, I lived with the Panasonic for several weeks when it was the only quality projector available to me, and not once was I less than delighted by its picture.

The Panasonic's picture has a very film-like, natural, and non-digital look. By "film-like" I do not mean soft, but rather a well-balanced combination of creamy smoothness and detail that was a pleasure to see. And, of course, there were no rainbow artifacts from this three-chip LCD design.

The choices in affordable, high quality 1080p projectors available to the home theater enthusiast are growing rapidly. And prices are dropping even as quality increases. The more the better. As big screen projection becomes more affordable to more enthusiasts and even to casual viewers, more of them will opt projectors. The superiority of high-definition will then become strikingly obvious even to those who think standard definition (particularly on DVD) is "good enough." The Panasonic is a compelling choice in this hot race to put projectors into more homes, a choice that isn't likely to disappoint any home theater fan.

Highs
Superb color, outstanding blacks and contrast
Highly adjustable
Smooth, natural-looking, yet detailed image

Lows
Needs a good calibration to meet its potential
Light output best suited for small-to-medium-sized screens