 | | | 
30-09-2004, 4:54 PM
|
#1 (permalink)
| | Member
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Notts
Posts: 325
Thanks: Gave 9, Got 6 | Panasonic PT-AE700 Reviews
Reviews or Comments  | 
|  | |
30-09-2004, 5:25 PM
|
#2 (permalink)
| | Guest |
Hello, I saw the AE 700 yesterday after visiting ben's store with the intention of buying one. Not having had a projector before I relied heavily on the info on this forum, and it seemed that the panasonic was the one to go for.
Originally had a demo of a Themescene H30, but found the rainbow effect too noticeable (the wife noticed it too). Ben then let us compare the AE 700 and the Sony HS20 (which I had previously seen compared with an AE 500).
I'm not sure if its fair to compare the two projectors, but the PQ was significantly better on the HS20. We may still have gone for the 700 were it not for the vertical bands that we noticed, particularly on daytime scenes. I have never seen this band effect before, and perhaps was only looking out for it after it was mentioned by people on the forum, but it was certainly present. Apart from this detail it seemed a great projector, and the lens shift function was very cool.
We ended up buying the HS20 which was £200 dearer, but it had everyone go 'wow' last night when watching the digi remastered star wars dvd.
I am looking forward to hearing a critique of the AE 700 from an experienced A/V forum bod, to see whether I am talking garbage or not about the VB.
Anyway, now that the projector is sorted it is time to move to the Speaker forum!
Cheers 
P.S: I would feel very confident in recommending Ben and his store to get your A/V stuff from. Top bloke, who seemed genuinely interested in what the individual customer was looking for. Thanks Ben  | |
| | |
30-09-2004, 5:55 PM
|
#3 (permalink)
| | Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Horley, Surrey
Posts: 1,075
Thanks: Gave 3, Got 21 | Quote: |
Originally Posted by chilli We may still have gone for the 700 were it not for the vertical bands that we noticed, particularly on daytime scenes. I have never seen this band effect before, and perhaps was only looking out for it after it was mentioned by people on the forum, but it was certainly present. : | Oh Dear, here we go again.
Perhaps the AE500 Mk 2 (sorry I mean the AE700) is going to suffer from the effects of these dam panels again.
When are the new panels coming out (this year?)
__________________
Time Flies like the Wind, but Fruit Flies like a Banana!
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 8:43 PM
|
#4 (permalink)
| | Guest |
Although to be fair, Ben did say that the 700 was a massive improvement on the 500, with regards to VB.
I probably wouldn't have worried about it too much if I didn't have the HS20 to compare it with. Also, by choosing the HS, we had to forego the superior flexibility of the 700. In our case, we had to accept a smaller screen size due to the long throw distance of the Sony.
Whilst we were in the shop, two other customers joined our demo, and also saw the HS20 comparison. They both walked out with 700s, seemingly very satisfied with their purchase.
It would be nice to hear Ben's informed opinion on the AE700, but I think he mentioned it's his day off today.
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 8:54 PM
|
#5 (permalink)
| | Veteran Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,258
Thanks: Gave 705, Got 434 |
** reposting this in this thread as it's probably more relevant here ***
Ok, got mine up and running, will post some pics soon. Very quick first impressions... previously had a Z2 so will do a lot of comparing against that.... The first thing I noticed when I switched it on was that my Panny plasma switched on as well! Will do some more checking but it could well be that the power on/off has the same codes for the plasma and the projector which frankly is going to be bloody annoying and perhaps a show stopper! Anyway onto performance, colours are excellent, skin tones very realistic, in this respect a lot better out of the box than the Z2 was and I haven't done any tweaking yet. Fan noise about the same as the Z2 in low lamp mode i.e. not a problem whatsoever. Dynamic iris works in low lamp mode, haven't really seen what effect it has yet but will do some more testing. The lens shift isn't as flexible as the Z2 was as I can't get the picture as low as I could with the Z2. Fortunately I can move my screen up to compensate but the image is now a little higher than I'd like but perhaps I'll be able to use the mount to move it down, that might necessitate the use of keystone though which I'd rather avoid. VB is present, I have noticed it but I'll reserve further comment until I've done more viewing with more sources. Going to try and get the Crystalio 1:1 pixel mapped with it now and see how that looks and try some dvds. I've taken some pics off Euro1080 and I'll take some Sky and dvd pics and post em a little later.
Cheers,
Andy.
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 8:59 PM
|
#6 (permalink)
| | Veteran Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,258
Thanks: Gave 705, Got 434 | | |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:21 PM
|
#7 (permalink)
| | Member
Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: NW London
Posts: 782
Thanks: Gave 1, Got 1 |
what size screen do you have?
I cant see vertical banding on those pictures... does that mean I might not notice it or do you only see it in moving images?
thanks | |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:29 PM
|
#8 (permalink)
| | Guest |
What is that pinkish dot that appears in almost all the pics? Middle-left.
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:29 PM
|
#9 (permalink)
| | Veteran Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,258
Thanks: Gave 705, Got 434 |
It's a duff pixel on my digital camera!
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:31 PM
|
#10 (permalink)
| | Veteran Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,258
Thanks: Gave 705, Got 434 |
Screen is 72" diagonal. VB doesn't show up at all well on photos for some reason...
Cheers,
Andy.
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:33 PM
|
#11 (permalink)
| | Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 512
Thanks: Gave 0, Got 3 |
Thanks for the reviews and comments guys, I really wanna be sure about this Projector before purchasing it. Regarding Vertical Banding, we all know it exists, but how bad is it? Thanks for the great pictures zAndy1. Could you please also take a picture of the Vertical banding and post it so we know how bad it is. Below I have posted a link for the Vertical banding on ae500. How does it compare, and when does it occur most (ie what connections HDMI, Component, Scart, S-Video etc) Thanx once again.
VERTICAL BANDING ON THE AE500 http://www.romabio.dk/media%5Cdownlo...screenshot.zip | |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:37 PM
|
#12 (permalink)
| | Member
Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: NW London
Posts: 782
Thanks: Gave 1, Got 1 |
whats the difference between uden_vb and med_vb?
The uden looks fine to me but if the picture was like med it would drive me mad!!!!
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:46 PM
|
#13 (permalink)
| | Guest |
I think the uden one is the tweaked picture. I also couldn't live with the med picture. That's like watching through a prison cell!
Was it possible to tweak the AE500? For VB?
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:49 PM
|
#14 (permalink)
| | Veteran Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,258
Thanks: Gave 705, Got 434 |
Really annoying the fact that when I turn on the projector it switches on the plasma and visa versa. Can't believe Panasonic have been that dumb! That in itself means I can't have both in my living room I'm afraid. Looks like the H77 then.....
Andy.
| |
| | |
30-09-2004, 9:49 PM
|
#15 (permalink)
| | Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 512
Thanks: Gave 0, Got 3 |
Sorry I don't know what it means. I got the Screenshots from a Dutch site. I think "Uden" Most likley means "Less/Little". The other Screenshot would drive me mad n all. That is why I wanted to know how the Vertical Banding on the AE700 compares to that of the AE500.
| |
| | | |
, Jamo A102HCS5 5.1 Speakers, Foxsat HDR Freesat recorder 
, Xbox 360 60GB 
Linear Mode
