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Pansonic PT-AX100U 3LCD Home Theater Projector

About.com Rating five out of Five

By Robert Silva, About.com

Panasonic PT-AX100U 3LCD HD Home Theater Projector - Front View

Panasonic PT-AX100U 3LCD HD Home Theater Projector - Front View

Photo (c) 2007 - Robert Silva - Licensed to About.com

The Bottom Line

At an MSRP of $2,999 , the Pansonic PT-AX100U offers lots of useful features and solid video performance that is normally reserved for projectors in higher price ranges. With a native pixel resolution of 1280x720 (720p), the PT-AX100U is HD-compatible. In addition, the video quality is excellent for a projector in this class; flesh tones, overall color saturation, and contrast levels provide a very natural looking image that is hard to find in other similarly-price units currently on the market.
Pros
  • Excellent Image Quality for the price
  • Accepts input resolutions up to 1080p - also accepts 1080p/24
  • Lots of Lumens
  • Very practical Lens Shift Lever and adjustable feet - Very Easy to Use Remote Control
  • Runs quieter than most projectors in this class
Cons
  • No Motorized Zoom or Focus Function - must be done manually at lens.
  • Only one set of Component and HDMI inputs.
  • No separate DVI input.
  • Larger footprint than many projectors in this price range.
  • No carrying case or storage bag included in box

Description

  • 3-Chip LCD Video Projector with 2,000 Lumens of light output and 1280x720 (720p) Native Pixel Resolution.
  • Image size range: 40 to 200 inches - adds flexibility for both small and large screen sizes and room environments.
  • Native 16x9 Screen Aspect Ratio. Can also be set to 4x3. The 16x9 aspect ratio is desirable for widescreen films.
  • 6000:1 Contrast Ratio provides good detail in very dark scenes and providing a natural look and texture to images.
  • 220 Watt Lamp and 3000 Hour Lamp Life. This is consistent with projectors in this class.
  • HDMI, VGA, HD-Component, S-Video, and Composite Video inputs. Any standard video source can be connected to this projector.
  • Compatible with input resolutions up to 1080p, including 1080p/24 (scaled to 720p for screen display). NTSC/PAL Compatible.
  • Automatic video input Detection - Manual video input selection also available via remote control or buttons on projector.
  • Built-in Visual Test Patterns to check focus and image alignment with screen.
  • Can be Ceiling Mounted or placed on a table. Wireless Remote Control. Easy to use owner's manual and quick startup guide.

Guide Review - Pansonic PT-AX100U 3LCD Home Theater Projector

The PT-AX100U offers features and performance that really brings the movie theater experience home. Setting up and using the PT-AX100U was very easy; the rear mounted connections are clearly labeled and spaced out, and the on-unit control buttons and remote control were easy to use in conjunction with the onscreen menus. Both the instruction manual and quick start guide were very easy to understand; a novice should have no problem setting up and using this projector.

The PT-AX100U's practical lens shift lever makes it easy to position and line up with the screen, especially in smaller rooms.

Although the PT-AX100U is not in the same price class as high end video projectors, it none-the-less is an excellent performer. I found the color quality and contrast levels exceeded my expectations. In addition, the built-in 720p scaling of the PT-AX100U did and excellent job of upscaling lower resolution 480p DVD material and downscaling higher resolution 1080i/1080p Blu-ray and HD-DVD resolutions, including 1080p/24 signals.

Another observation was that the traditional LCD Screen Door Effect was not noticeable, even on large projected images. I had to keep reminding myself that I was viewing an LCD projector and not a DLP projector.

The PT-AX100U is a welcome entry into the video projector market and is part of a trend that is making high quality video projection more affordable for consumers. With a list price of $2,999 (as low as $1,999 on the street), the PT-AX100U is a hard one to pass up.

If you are in the market for your first home theater video projector or want to upgrade a older projector, definitely check out the Panasonic PT-AX100U.

I was impressed with the overall performance and function of the Panasonic PT-AX100U. I give the Panasonic PT-AX100U 3LCD Video Projector 5 out of 5 Stars.

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