Demo Z4 vs AE900 vs PJTX200 vs HS50 vs H30A vs 4805 vs H79 (vs PJTX100!)

[PJTX100]

I’ve just spent a very enjoyable morning in the demo room of DiscountTV in Colne. First thing to say is what an excellent (and possibly unique, in the UK anyway) demo room this is. There were 7 or 8 of the latest PJs all lined up there ready to be viewed on a very expensive Beamax screen! Benji was on a day off I think but Shane stepped in and a fine job he did - the friendly non-pressured way he demonstrated the PJs was great. When he asked what I particularly wanted to look at, he didn’t even flinch when I said “just about everything thanks!”

Shane even brought in a selection of DVDs for me to see but I brought 2 of my own and we watched the same scene from both using the same DVD player on each PJ. For info the discs used were:

R1 Apollo 13 (1.85:1 IMAX disc) – scene early on where the shot sweeps over the Apollo assembly building and then internal shot of it being assembled followed by conversation of people being shown around. This is a particularly demanding shot, the angular building fast panning across the screen is a killer, as are the vertical ridges on the spacecraft as it’s lowered into place.

R2 Day After Tomorrow (2.35:1) – opening credits as they sweep over the ice pack (All CG I believe) – another demanding fast pan scene, blown snow over the ice, detail in the dark waters.

Apologies I’ve forgotten which player was being used but it was a high-end hard disk unit and player – looked expensive, a massive slab of aluminium on the front panel! For good luck we also viewed some HD material stored on the hard drive – Fifth Element and some golf from HD TV.

Sound-wise it was kept extremely low, I wasn’t interested in the sound (even though there was an impressive array of speakers and AV amps just ready to rumble!)

Anyway, onto the PJs…

[PJTX100]

I walked into the room and the Z4 was already on. I immediately put my nose close to the screen to have a look at the D5 pixel structure. Was it a big leap forward over previous generation panel? Well, it’s a bit better, bit more fill, bit less pronounced, but not invisible by any means – perhaps 20% better, yes an improvement but not radical and not enough to warrant changing based on that alone!

In common with most if not all PJs I think the unit wasn’t adjusted much from the default, and to be honest I’m used to watching a brighter pic at the sacrifice of contrast. But we didn’t have time to delve into and calibrate each PJ, and this is how Benji demo’s the PJs I believe, hence we proceeded with the viewing. And impressive it was. It handled all scenes well, relatively smoothly, plenty of detail, good colours, not a sniff of VB, absolutely no SDE from viewing distance. I was impressed. I do believe the dynamic iris setting had been switched off, quickly dispensed with I believe because of the issues already reported on this forum. I certainly didn’t notice any darkening/lightening of scenes. The contrast looked fine and better than I’m used to but to be honest if I put the TX100 on its default settings (as I did right before writing this) the contrast looks similar. But still, in isolation, a fine picture all round.

Just remembered we also looked at some HD material on the Z4 – looked fantastic. Again not a quantim leap, but a leap nevertheless. Fifth Element in HD – wow!

[PJTX100]

OK, the one I really wanted to see. Very little between this and the Z4 to be honest. Great detail akin to the Z4, contrast similar. Colours to me looked a little deeper and well defined, but easily could have been down to different settings. The TX200 handled the “Apollo scene” very well but it didn’t handle the opening scenes of “Day After Tomorrow” as well, it was clearly less smooth than the Z4 in terms of movement and continuity. I was surprised by this, could be a particular anomaly with this display/player combination - certainly my TX100 combined with the Oppo handles this scene much better. Pixel structure as expected identical with the Z4, overall very little between them but I did prefer the Z4 based on this albeit short sample.

One other comment, this unit is very quiet. I’m not saying the Z4 isn’t, it’s just that the TX200 was so close to my head I could feel the heat from the vent yet it was still almost silent.

[PJTX100]

Shane commented that Benji seemed to be selling more AE900’s after demoing it, people commented the blacks seemed better. I could see what they mean but I put it down simply to the fact the pic was generally darker than the previous two. I was interested in the smoothscreen technology, yes it did make the pixels less defined but for me at the expense of detail – it didn’t look as sharp as either the Z4 or TX200. It handled all scenes pretty well though, smoother on the R2 disc than the TX200, but what did become noticeable was VB. Not drastic, but unmistakable on those white scenes (also saw it on the R1 disc). I certainly would not have walked out with a 900 based on this demo. Don’t get me wrong, it looks great but for me the Z4 and TX suit my tastes better for very sharp pics – and the VB is a worry with Panasonics.

[PJTX100]

OK, relatively “old tech” vs the others, never seen one before so how would it fare? It was the first PJ where I said “pass me the Remote I need to turn up the brightness” – (I upped it from 50 to 80). Once done it turned in a very impressive performance indeed. The best contrast so far for me – inky blacks but still a punchy image. Scenes were handled more smoothly than any so far, basically I found myself enjoying this PJ a lot. Pixel structure looked fine, even though it was using older panels it seemed to have good fill and less distinction than the Z3/TX100 and wasn’t far off the Z4/TX200. Not a sniff of VB. Great detail. HiDef looked great too.

[PJTX100]

My first true experience of a DLP in the “proper” environment. I was quite impressed. Vivid pics, colours looked better then I expected and certainly a match for LCD from what I saw in terms of colour. I probably saw more depth/detail in the water on “The Day After Tomorrow” clip than any unit so far but again I think it was settings (I saw the same detail later at home with my TX100). The contrast was great but it didn’t blow me away and didn’t seem to be a distinguishing factor vs the HS50 for example. Detail was surprisingly good for SD. Rainbows? Yes I instantly saw them, especially flicking from the remote to the pic and back again. I could live with that, but what I could not live with is the low resolution. I could clearly see the pixels from the seating position. I can’t understand the LCD SDE argument now, the only SDE I saw up to now was on this unit. Even so, in isolation, this is a fine machine.

[PJTX100]

Must say, compared to the H30A this looks a brute and sounds like a brute too – noisey fan! There was very little between this and the H30A to be honest, I probably preferred the 4805 because the pixel structure though still visible was slightly less apparent, also the RBE was slightly less pronounced. I can understand why people like this machine so much though, a very clean and punchy image though again contrast did not knock me dead vs the LCDs.

[PJTX100]

OK, so if I can see the pixels with SD machines, and RBE, the answer must be a step up in resolution and wheel speed! The H79 is big compared to the others but I thought it looked rather nice in a minimalist sort of way! But it’s the picture that’s important and at 2 or 3 times the price of the others I sat back prepared to be wowed. First thing we did was again turn up the brightness, it looked well darker than the other PJs. RBE was reduced but still there slightly, I’d need an extended viewing to be 100% sure it was not an issue but I’d guess it would be fine. In isolation the pic was detailed, refined and punchy. But when compare to the Z4 and the HS50 I wasn’t blown away. If the H79 was the same price it would be a tough call, but at this price it’s not competitive IMHO. I’m sure if you paired it with a scaler and calibrated it properly then it would look stunning, but so would the others probably.

Also a comment on pixel structure, not much less pronounced than the new D5 LCD panels to be honest.

[PJTX100]

OK, I came home and admit the first thing I did was watch the same scenes (who wouldn’t?!). First thing that struck me is how much brighter I have everything pushed up, people must feel like wearing sunglasses when visiting me if the norm is what I saw at DiscountTV! When I switched the TX100 to default settings there was really not much difference certainly to the TX200 for example, I really could not justify the expense of upgrading at this point in time. But clearly if you are coming in from a few generations back then the new crop of D5’s are a compelling buy with stocks of bargain older models dwindling.

[PJTX100]

Well, the overriding view was that in isolation I think anyone would be happy with any of these machines. There’s certainly not much between the HD units, and the SD units are no slouches but unless you can get a SD unit for silly money I don’t see the rationale for buying them any more.

But which would I have walked out with? Well, if it was between the Z4/TX200/AE900 the Z4 would just get the nod for me – but it is more expensive than the TX200 (3 yr warranty though). I was slightly disappointed with the 900 to be honest, again in isolation it would look great but the Z4 and TX200 seem clearer and more detailed to me. And Panasonic don’t seem to have sorted their VB woes yet.

Surprisingly though, based on what I saw, it would be the Sony HS50 I’d walk out with. “Old Tech” I know, and people seem to either love or hate this machine. I can understand the gripes of it being a bit weak on light output, but as a “package” it seemed to provide good detail, good punch, good contrast, smooth panning, no rainbows and no VB/SDE!

Can I just thank Shane and DiscountTV again. If you are in the market for a PJ and are within an hour’s (or two even) drive of Colne then pay them a visit. Certainly when I come to upgrade I’ll be buying my PJ from them. But I’ve a feeling based on what I’ve seen today it might be a while – unless the TX100 goes phut of course!…PJ

[JiveTalker]

Originally Posted by PJTX100

I’ve just spent a very enjoyable morning in the demo room of DiscountTV in Colne.…

Thanks for a very objective comparison of models.

So have you chosen your new toy or are you sticking with the old one?

[homeagain]

Well done PJ. I'm guessing the HS60 will be the one to wait for then.... with its improved CR and sharper image with perfect pixel mapping over HDMI.
Did the TX200 also have its dynamis iris switched off ?
Thanks, Rob.

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by JiveTalker

Thanks for a very objective comparison of models.

So have you chosen your new toy or are you sticking with the old one?

I'm sticking at the moment. The HS50 will become very tempting though as the price drops!...PJ

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by homeagain

Well done PJ. I'm guessing the HS60 will be the one to wait for then.... with its improved CR and sharper image with perfect pixel mapping over HDMI.
Did the TX200 also have its dynamis iris switched off ?
Thanks, Rob.

I would be interested to see the HS60!

I'm sorry I'm not sure if the dynamic iris was on or off. Most of the remotes were still in the packing case and with time short I didn't have much time to delve deeply. I do think the CR figures on the new D5's seem to be more of a paper exercise however in a practical sense. The CR on my TX100 is a meagre 1200:1 and I've never had an issue with that...PJ

[rdundas]

Do me a favour and ask if the Auto Iris was switched off or not on the Z4 during Demo. I would lay odds it was on and you just didn't see it, particularly as you did not comment ot it on the Sony HS50. A lot of people have been panicking about this and I have yet to spot it moving on mine