[Steve Withers]

Just announced 2pm Wednesday 29th August at IFA, AVForums gets the low down on the new projector in town. SRP Price announced 06/09/12 at £2999.99

Last year when we went to Panasonic’s Bracknell offices to take an exclusive look at their PT-AT5000 3D projector, their demo room consisted of a couch, a table and a screen. Clearly Panasonic felt that such an environment wasn’t ideal for demonstrating their latest projector technology and this year there have been a few changes. When we arrived at their offices we became the first people to see Panasonic’s new demo room and, after a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, we found ourselves in a custom built dedicated home cinema. The new demo room has motorised 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 screens, along with a 65” VT50 and a full 7.1 system with multiple subwoofers. There is custom cinema seating for up to 15 people, as well as an equipment rack at the rear housing various sources and Panasonic’s SA-BX500 AV receiver.

However, as impressive as Panasonic’s new demo room is, that wasn’t the reason for our visit. We were there to get a first look at their new PT-AT6000 3D projector, which the company are announcing today at IFA and launching in September. The PT-AT6000 represents a culmination of 11 years of home cinema projector engineering and is a refinement of last year’s PT-AT5000 rather than anything revolutionary. However, Panasonic have certainly addressed a number of issues that were raised in last year’s review and it is encouraging to see that they value our feedback. In terms of headline features the new projector can produce up to 2,400 lm of brightness, deliver a contrast ratio of up to 500,000:1 and includes innovative new 3D features that promise a more natural and immersive home cinema experience.

The PT-AT6000 uses a 220W Red Rich Lamp for increased red intensity which produces brighter images and better colour reproduction. However, the use of a more powerful lamp also results in much higher temperatures, so the design of the prism and lens have been enhanced to deliver better convergence characteristics which also contribute to the 2,400 lumens. The lens has a new AR (anti-reflective) coating and the prism uses a polarising filter for improved cooling efficiency. The PT-AT6000 includes condenser lenses for better colour reproduction with purer reds and greens which, when combined with Panasonic’s Pure Contrast Plate technology means the light path can be corrected to better block out light and thus reduce light leakage. The PT-AT6000 also includes Panasonic’s Pure Colour Filter Pro, Smooth Screen technology and has a claimed contrast ratio of 500,000:1, although this number is achieved using a dynamic iris.

As with previous projectors, the PT-AT6000 includes a number of colour gamuts including one designed to replicate the industry standard of Rec.709. However, also included on the PT-AT6000 is a colour gamut called Cinema 1 which Panasonic Hollywood Labs developed in conjunction with cinematographers and colourists. Panasonic claim that the resulting colour gamut is closer to the creator’s intention and is better suited to a larger screen sizes. We certainly agree that it is important to replicate the creator’s intention but Cinema 1 is clearly a wider colour gamut than Rec.709 and the opinions of individuals - no matter how qualified - are completely subjective, so we would always choose the industry standard as the best way of watching content as their creator’s intended.

Panasonic continue to strive for the most comfortable and natural 3D viewing experience at home and compared to its predecessor model, the PT-AT6000 ensures there is less crosstalk through better temperature control and more impact thanks to the 20% brighter image. In addition, the newly developed 3D Motion Re-master results in more natural motion, whilst the 3D Viewing Monitor and 3D Picture Balance control ensure a comfortable and safer 3D viewing experience.

The idea behind the 3D Motion Re-master feature is to correct an inherent problem that active shutter 3D has with motion. Active shutter 3D technology operates by alternately opening and closing the shutter for the left and right lens, which in turn creates the 3D images. However, this creates a slight delay of 1/120 of a second between each eye which with motion creates an unnatural parallax due to a phenomenon called the Mach-Dvorak effect. This effect is caused by both eyes seeing the same image due to the delay but the second eye expecting to see the image in a different place due to the motion and compensating for this. As a result the brain becomes confused, hence the unnatural parallax. In order to resolve this issue the projector interpolates an image that compensates for the 1/120 seconds lag for smooth continuous 3D movement. We were given a demonstration of this effect and how the 3D Motion Remaster corrects it and whilst it works it also introduces interpolation artefacts.

The 3D Viewing Monitor visually shows the amount of parallax within the 3D images and where they sit within the safe zone set forth by the 3D Consortium Committee. This safe zone was developed to ensure a comfortable 3D viewing experience and because the amount of parallax varies according to screen size. Using the 3D Viewing Monitor you can see the image in black and white with the positive and negative parallax within each image highlighted in red and blue. There is also the 3D Picture Balance feature which allows both the right and left eye image to be shown side-by-side to match the colours of the two sides.

The PT-AT6000 includes dual core processing with enhanced Detail Clarity Processor 4 and the Frame Creation 2 chipsets, which are now optimised for 3D images. Just like with 2D images, these two features are designed to bring out all the natural fine details in the image, as well as deliver a sharpness and clarity to fast moving scenes. The Detail Clarity Processor also adjusts the brightness of different parts of the image at a pixel level in much the same way as Darbee’s video processor. The Frame Creation 2 is now also available during 2D-3D conversion and the lens memory and colour management functions can now be used in 3D.

The PT-AT6000 is equipped with a built-in IR emitter that can transmit up to 6m and can be used with Panasonic’s original 3D eyewear (TY-EW3D3M) or with third party 3D IR glasses such as the XpanD X104. An optional IR emitter is also available for longer transmission distances of up to 10m (33ft) and the optional Panasonic 3D eyewear, (TY-EW3D3M) are also compatible with the PT-AE6000. When we asked Panasonic why they didn’t use the RF system that is included on their 2012 3D TVs, they explained that since more people tend to watch a projected image and the RF system has a limit to the number of glasses that can sync, they feel more comfortable using the older IR system.

The installation of the PT-AT6000 is very easy with a motorised 2x zoom lens, along with lens shift and lens focus. The PT-AT6000 can project onto a 120in diagonal screen from as close as 3.6m to 7.2m and it can either be installed on a ceiling or mounted onto a wall with +/- 100% vertical adjustment and +/- 26% horizontal adjustment. The PT-AT6000E also contains three HDMI inputs, along with two 12V Triggers to allow for more flexible home cinema installation and of course there is Panasonic’s excellent Intelligent Lens Memory which automatically detects the aspect ratio of the content and adjusts the zoom, shift and focus accordingly. Panasonic have also listened to the complaints of some users regarding the 'Processing' text box that would appear in the centre of the image when changing aspect ratios using the Len memory function. This can now be switched off.

The PT-AT6000 includes the same six axis colour management system as on the PT-AT5000 and unfortunately it has the same problems, although there is a work around. The PT-AT6000 also includes a new Advanced Gamma Adjustment which has been improved on the previous gamma control. There is still the option to move the entire curve but the number of adjustments points has been increased from nine to fifteen allowing the user to fine tune the gamma curve if necessary.

We were given a chance to see the PT-AT6000 in action in Panasonic’s new demo room, where we watched a combination of 2D and 3D content. We also had a chance to directly compare the PT-AT6000 to last year’s model and see how some of the new features work. Overall the PT-AT6000 looked very impressive but obviously we won’t be able to make any objective comments until we get one in for review. While we were at Panasonic's new demo room sampling the PT-AT6000 we made the following video with Rena Yotsu, from the projector product management in Osaka.

Panasonic PT-AT6000 (PT-AE8000) 3D LCD Projector launched - YouTube

[MAX1210]

Definitely a brighter image as I saw this at the dealer launch in the afternoon after the press launch - did you go for the hotdog or the burger ?

EDIT: The company I work for were involved in the remodeling of the Panasonic Demo Room

[Steve Withers]

I had the hotdog. The demo room looked great, good job.

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by Steve Withers

I had the hotdog. The demo room looked great, good job.

Any notable improvement in black levels?

btw- what happened to the video? They forced you to remove it??

[Steve Withers]

No, the black levels between the AT5000 and AT6000 looked the same to me but we won't be able to say for sure until Phil gets one in for review.

The video is just being uploaded again, it will be back soon.

[Webmonkey]

did they reveal anything about price and when it will be available?

[Steve Withers]

Launching in September, no idea about pricing yet.

[tirane]

any idea?
IS it suitable for on line 3d shooters?
I'm talking about not more than 30msec...(40msec will be bad...etc...)
thanks,
Tiran.

[Steve Withers]

Sorry, no idea.

[Webmonkey]

Is it just me or does the AT5000 / AT6000 projectors not have convergence adjustments controls??????

[MAX1210]

Originally Posted by Webmonkey

did they reveal anything about price and when it will be available?

Pricing is to be "in the same ballpark" (so around the £3k mark) Glasses will not be included in the box but there "MIGHT" (and I cannot stress MIGHT enough) be a promotion where you'll be able to claim 2 pairs of glasses (either from dealer or direct from Panasonic website) but this offer is to be confirmed.

Tentative release date it the end of September. Projectors are a bit different stock wise than say Plasmas or LED/LCD's - stock does not come direct from factory to Panasonic UK warehouse, it is sent to a European warehouse (as indicated by the "E" suffix instead of the usual "B" suffix) So I would approx stock to start hitting those selected dealers who stock/demo the projector by the very end of September/beginning of October depending on when their delivery days are.

[Steve Withers]

Originally Posted by Webmonkey

Is it just me or does the AT5000 / AT6000 projectors not have convergence adjustments controls??????

Do you mean for correcting slight misalignment of the panels?

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by Steve Withers

Do you mean for correcting slight misalignment of the panels?

Yes.

[Steve Withers]

I didn't review the PT-AT5000 so I don't know for sure but you can check Phil's review here: Panasonic PT-AT5000 3D LCD Projector Review | AVForums.com - UK Online

I'm sure that if there are convergence controls on the new projector, Phil will mention them in his review of the PT-AT6000.

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by Steve Withers

I didn't review the PT-AT5000 so I don't know for sure but you can check Phil's review here: Panasonic PT-AT5000 3D LCD Projector Review | AVForums.com - UK Online

I'm sure that if there are convergence controls on the new projector, Phil will mention them in his review of the PT-AT6000.

Is it not normal to expect a higher end projector to have adjustments controls for convergence?

[iamsludge]

It'll be interesting to see what the review says about the "Detail Clarity Processor" given that it modifies the image in a similar way to the Darbee... Not what the director intended, not reference.. blah, blah.

[Seahorse]

What about people do do not want 3D, what do they have in their range for that?

[Steve Withers]

Well Panasonic released a 2D only projector last year so it's possible that they might again this year. To be honest, 3D is fast becoming a standard feature on all TVs and projectors. In the case of the PT-AT6000 the glasses won't be included so it's ultimately up to you whether or not you take advantage of the 3D functionality.

[Apone]

I really liked the 5000, I'm looking forward to seeing this one.

[Seahorse]

Originally Posted by Steve Withers

Well Panasonic released a 2D only projector last year so it's possible that they might again this year. To be honest, 3D is fast becoming a standard feature on all TVs and projectors. In the case of the PT-AT6000 the glasses won't be included so it's ultimately up to you whether or not you take advantage of the 3D functionality.

I have no desire to pay for a feature that results in a darkened blurry image. I would love to know who the manufacturers and film studios think think that an ageing novelty feature is any kind of a selling point? As for 3D becoming a standard feature, this can only happen in my nightmares...

[Douglas Harley]

Originally Posted by Seahorse

I have no desire to pay for a feature that results in a darkened blurry image. I would love to know who the manufacturers and film studios think think that an ageing novelty feature is any kind of a selling point? As for 3D becoming a standard feature, this can only happen in my nightmares...

Seahorse, Please consider the following.

Do you think colour in movies is an "aging novelty"? Do you think sound in movies is an "aging novelty"? Most humans have the ability to see images in colour. Most of us also have the ability to hear sounds. That is why each of these features have been added to the "moving image" to give us what we call "movies" today. When each of those features was introduced, I'm sure there were people going on and on about how these "aging novelties" would never last. They would just be a "fad" that would die out over time. In the early days of each of these "aging novelties" I'm sure they had technical difficulties that meant they weren't "perfect", or as good as they are now.

It's EXACTLY the same with 3D. Most of us can see in 3D. So, it makes perfect sense to produce movies in 3D. I can absolutely guarantee for you that 3D in moves is NOT an "aging novelty". In years to come it will be taken as being as natural as sound or colour is in today's movies. Especially when they work out how to do it so we don't need to wear shutter glasses, or polarising glasses to see the image, in 3D.

Thanks for reading this. Bye for now.

[Seahorse]

I am not advocating 4:3 B&W silent movies, please don't put your words in my mouth. If they invented a 3D hologram projector that didn't need glasses, and produced clear, high definition and very large images, I would buy one tomorrow. They don't, and no one is going to get up in the morning, put on some sunglasses and watch the news headlines in 3D.

As for 3D in the cinema, it was heavily used in the 50s, the 80s and now the teens and with 60 years (or 30 if you like) practice it still does nothing more than allow the director to poke something out of the screen every so often and adds nothing valid to the experience other than the aforementioned dark/blurry image. The 30 year intervals seem faddish enough to me.

Currently they still post-process and pump out 5 badly converted films, for every Avatar (not that that was much of a movie either, but the 3D was respectable enough).

3d has been around almost a hundred years, it's still not mainstream, it re-appears in cinemas every 30 years and then disappears again what would you call that if not an ageing fad?

[Steve Withers]

Guys you're getting off topic a bit can we stick to questions or comments related to the Panasonic PT-AT6000.

[ROGER THE LODGER]

Hi everyone,back yesterday from Berlin which was a surprise treat from the missus. After reading on AV Forums that Panasonic had shipped their new projector out to Germany I was eager to see for myself how the new projectors compared. First stop the huge panasonic stand and after drooling at 8k 145" plasmas and the like it was time to search for the "mother-ship" so to speak. Couldn't find a single projector anywhere,and every member of staff, although polite, simply passed me on to someone else. This was heartbreaking,all this way from Ireland to Amsterdam,then Berlin for nothing.Just then,as I was about to head for the Epson stand the fairy godmother tapped me on the shoulder,or should I say a Panasonic lady,whose name escapes me.After repeating my plight she told me to head for the "Professional Area". Well let me just say it would be easier to get past security at a night club wearing jeans and trainers. I've always believed in the honest approach,and after very little bloodshed,gained entry.WHEW! My nose took me to a far corner,and there she lay,all resplendent in black,but without a pulse. Just then a white door opened and a second fairy god mother by the name of Keiko Aoki asked me "would you like to see demo of new projector".well I of course said "Not in my lifetime"and jumped into a very dark room and sat down and put on some sun glasses.
First clip:Pirates of the Caribbean 4.
First impressions were "What a fantastic picture with great depth,colour and no noticeable cross talk". I HAVE seen a better 3d picture at the Bristol Hi-Fi show,but that was using a stack of two projectors and a price that starts with Man City.
Second clip:Star Wars without shades.
I must confess I'm not a big fan of this movie,so a few minutes of light sabor action was long enough to see a projector handling fast movements of light-sticks with aplomb,with no noticeable (to me) judder.I thought the colours to be only average,especially skin tones,with Harrison Ford looking as he would on my old Sanyo Z1 projector at home.When I remarked on this to Keiko,she went into the picture presets and changed into the Rec.709 mode. Much better complexions everywhere(even on the robots ) I could have watched a whole chapter but the next clip beckoned.
Third clip:Transformers(not sure but I think the latest film)also in 2D.
Yes you've guessed it,not a fan but here to judge projector so here are my thoughts.....Not the most impressive demo for me as there seemed to be so much movement going on,which with the Transformers "evolving" and bits of debris flying everywhere left the picture looking pixelated or over processed.
To be fair we were viewing on an 114" screen sitting about 8-10 feet away,so any problems appear magnified,but from memory my panasonic plasma at home didn't seem to look so unnatural.
Forth clip:Avatar 3D
Much much better looking picture,certainly the size of the image helping the 3D to feel kind of "enveloping".There were less erratic movements compared to the Transformers clip and the scene with the hanging mountains and flying creatures was extremely impressive,with no cross talk anywhere and smooth motion handling it appeared.
With people knocking on the door to come in behind ,I asked Keiko if it would be possible to return later in the day(after comparing Epson)and she kindly agreed.

While I think about it,the PT-AT6000E was quiet enough at the back of the room as to be not an issue for me,in fact this lap-top has a noisier fan,and we had watched every clip not in eco but full brightness mode.The room had a very modest in fact you could say budget sound system,and the source player was the new panasonic bt-500.The room had an open ceiling so not quite black out conditions -but nearly there.
Will post later thoughts in my next post.
Roger.

[ROGER THE LODGER]

Hi again, I'll keep this report brief as I know this is a Panasonic thread,coupled with the fact that most of the Epson demo was in German,but with the PT-AT6000 fresh in my mind I sat down at the very front of the room to compare it to the EH-TW9100.
Firstly it was immediately apparent that this was no rush job.High end speakers and top of the range amps from Denon not to mention active motion seating WOW!
After a long introduction in deutch we were treated to a stop start clip of Casino Royale,which was I think to demo motion handling, with a feature he was switching on and off the name of which escapes me(sorry my German is nicht good)
What a can say is that when the clip rolled the 2d picture seemed very impressive and film like,to my mind equal to the Panasonic with no issues to report.
Second clip was I think of Star Trek with another stop start presentation to show hidden detail retrieval.Quite impressive as stars that were at first "lost" at the push of a button came out of the darkness.
Third clip was the same movie but this time the 2D to3D conversion.Seemed to be a reasonable attempt, and certainly not unwatchable,but more work is needed if this is to warrant bonus marks(the red car chase scene looked slightly blurred to me).
Third clip was from the much used Despicable Me roller-coaster scene. It is hard for me to be objective here as with the seats moving and juddering in sync with the film I burst into laughter.Oh my god those seats were epic,like a full blown motion simulator,but the 3d appeared almost flawless,certainly a match for the PT 6000 and seemingly just as quiet(not sure what mode we were in).
Demo over I went to see some OLED and 4K 2K at LG Samsung and Sony then headed back to the PT-AT6000 booth for more info.
Roger.

[ROGER THE LODGER]

Hi again,back at the Panasonic booth Keiko Aoki went onto the laptop to explain how 3d Motion Remaster aims to combat a 3d problem called the Mach-Dvorak effect which in simple terms means some horizontal movement can appear unnatural whereby the brain perceives depth incorrectly.The clip was of a lady exercising on a walking machine. With Motion Remaster switched off it was bizarre with the lady's legs appearing to criss cross or sometimes bow in and out(headache inducing) Keiko went back into the menu and a few seconds later the womans legs had been surgically repaired and no eye strain. Very impressive demo this.
Next I asked for a dark space scene demo so we flipped on some opening credit material from Star Wars in 2D. Hard to say what had the edge on contrast and detail, but would probably guess the Epson,but this could be down to the superior cinema room they constructed or possibly newer source material(unfortunately unable to compare like for like films,we will leave that to the experts at AVForums).
Next clip was some natural history with footage of polar bears in 3D.Again very impressive with great whites and life like colours.
Lastly I was given a demo of the lens memory and zoom functions which now works on both formats followed by some more POTC 4.The close up of Mr Depp's face was amazing,with every strand of beard or whisker visible clearly.
Would I buy the Panasonic or the Epson given the choice?would be happy with either.although I have 4 pairs of panasonic glasses already that could sway me.I'll let AVForums do all the proper testing first, but the final deal breaker for myself will of course be reliability and most importantly price.
Hope my ramblings can spurn some debate. Over to you Phil Hinton.
Roger.

[Steve Withers]

I talk about the Mach Dvorak effect in the article, the demo clip they use (the woman on the cross-trainer) is particularly effective at showing it but I'm not sure I've been consciously aware of it before. Panasonic's solution to the problem is to use frame interpolation but that just introduces numerous other problems and artefacts, so I guess it comes down to which one bothers you the most. Still it was interesting seeing an obvious limitation in the active shutter technology and provides another reason why passive 3D can be more comfortable to watch.

[iainl7]

Originally Posted by Steve Withers

Guys you're getting off topic a bit can we stick to questions or comments related to the Panasonic PT-AT6000.

With that in mind, I'll be very brief. I would be -very- surprised if the direct elements of the projector that directly provide 3D (transmitter, the software) add more than a few percent to that ~£3000 price tag. Most of the "expense" of making a projector 3D is in refresh rates, processing power and so on, which also benefit 2D performance. Any new mid to high end projector or TV that is 2D only is deliberately limited only to sell to the "I don't want to buy 3D" niche.

As for this specific model, I'm hoping it lowers the cost of the 5000, as it's a highly capable box, but a little out of my price range. The lower-end HD projectors had been coming down in price nicely until 3D became the big thing to have, at which point things levelled off a bit. Well, I say nicely as a consumer; I think it was very much killing the manufacturers' margins, which is why they grasped the excuse.

[Phil Hinton]

SRP price announced as £2999.99

[keyser]

Originally Posted by Steve Withers

I talk about the Mach Dvorak effect in the article, the demo clip they use (the woman on the cross-trainer) is particularly effective at showing it but I'm not sure I've been consciously aware of it before. Panasonic's solution to the problem is to use frame interpolation but that just introduces numerous other problems and artefacts, so I guess it comes down to which one bothers you the most. Still it was interesting seeing an obvious limitation in the active shutter technology and provides another reason why passive 3D can be more comfortable to watch.

I´ve heard that Panasonic uses one of the best CFI with their Trident chip. Very little framedrops and in the low settings not so much soap opera effect. Is that not the case with the "Re-Master" option? Also does it only have either on or off.. no levels if there are artefacts?