As title please give me your pro's and cons of both projectors and if possible could you provide pics of your setup etc?

I have decided to get one from discounttv due to peoples recommendations on here

So now after looking at reviews im none the wiser which I should go for, the usual stuff to be used i.e xbox360, dvd , sd tv and gamecube,dreamcast.

Thanks for your help

By the way the projectors are both £999

room size approx 11 foot max, to be put on a flat surface for now and projected onto a flat white wall,until I can afford a good screen.

One more thing whats the difference between the ae900 and the ae900e ?? homecinema gives the ae900 4.5/5 and the ae900e 4/5 whats up with that?

[Donnacha]

Can you get a demo? That's the only way to decide. There's not much between either according to those who have seen them in action. Its down to personal taste.

Oh..one thing that may help is that I believe the Hitachi bulbs are cheaper than the Panasonics.

Originally Posted by Donnacha

Oh..one thing that may help is that I believe the Hitachi bulbs are cheaper than the Panasonics.

Yeh I just noticed that! whats the bulb life for both please?

[pure_geordie]

Your right donnacha

Hitachi bulbs are about £170
Panasonic is about £280

[pure_geordie]

2000hrs high use
3000hrs economy

[pure_geordie]

I've heard that Customer service from Panny are not very good if the 900 breaks down, also smooth scale technology on it obviously is not as sharp as the Hitachi.

Regarding it as a whole would choose the Hitachi not only because it out
performs the 900....it doesn't look like a show box

[pure_geordie]

Sorry a shoe box

[PJTX100]

The Panasonic uses smoothscreen technology to make the pixels less apparent at the expense of some detail. However the pixels aren't that apparent anyway with the new D5 panels and IMHO that trickery is overkill and does the PQ no favours.
Also, Panasonics do seem more prone to having vertical banding issues.

Whats the projectors like with sd stuff i.e ps2 and gamecube? and also what about p.c on the big screen?

One last question what are the chances of getting screenburn due to static text/pictures on projectors, sorry im a total noob here

[sandstheman]

I'm also in the same dilemma currently, not sure which one to go for out of the panasonic AE900 and the Hitachi TX200, would be interested as well to see peoples thoughts on this.

[Tempest]

Just out of interest..............

May I ask why neither of you are considering the Sanyo Z4 which is supposed to be the sharpest image, not have banding issues and also has the dust blower holes (if needed)

Tbh the price is the issue for me as the sanyo is £1200 ish and the others are £999

[spencer_uk]

You should really try and demo them Dazsly. I had the same dilema and went down to my (not so) local AV shop in Chiswick. IMO both projectors are awesome and you should really enjoy either of them. I went for the Hitachi PJTX200 in the end as the picture was sharper and it gave a more cinematic view. I don't notice the screen door effect (far enough back for that) and the smooth screen technology on the Panny did make the image softer.

I project from about 12 foot back and get a 7 foot picture. I don't know what size you are hoping to achieve...

Like I say, the best way to make up your mind is to check them out. In the end I made a 3 hour journey to the shop - and it was 3 hours worth making. The AV Shop were also very accomodating and I spent most of the afternoon in there and they answered a lot of my questions - but then I also felt obliged to buy from them because of the great service.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by dazsly

Tbh the price is the issue for me as the sanyo is £1200 ish and the others are £999

True, but the Z4 does come with a spare bulb and a 3yr warranty for that extra 180 notes - decisions decisions

I went to demo the projectors today, I must say Roy Jowwets/discount tv are excellent, anyway a break down,

The panasonic ae900:
using a hd demo of the paul mcartney super bowl concert, very good picture and blacks and colour,

Gladiator first war scene - again very good colours and blacks picture sharp.

Gladiator Colosium fight - very bright with good skin tones and colour.

Xbox 360 - demo of lost planet, and motogp 6 demo - amazing picture very vibrant colours and blacks.

The Hitachi tx200:
using a hd demo of the paul mcartney super bowl concert, very sharp image, blacks look abit hazy grey and colours a bit washed out.

Gladiator first war scene - again a very sharp picture but blacks look abit hazy grey, colours not as vibrant as the panny.

Gladiator Colosium fight - image sharp, very bright with o.k skin tones and colour.

Xbox 360 - demo of tigerwoods 06 , and motogp 6 demo - amazing sharp picture, colours not as good as panny.

To sum up:

panasonic ae900 , good picture, very good blacks and colours.

Hitachi tx200 , great sharp image, not bad colours and blacks

so which one, I cannot decide both same price as well

Anyone who has seen both projectors like to comment on my comments?

Thanks

by the way these babys are much better than a lcd tv or a plasma for the same money!!!!

[jamieuk23]

not to complercate things here thou but dont you fancy the HD72 optoma ?

Budgets £1000 mate the hd72i is too much

From first page sorry for duplicate.


I went to demo the projectors today, I must say Roy Jowwets/discount tv are excellent, anyway a break down,

The panasonic ae900:
using a hd demo of the paul mcartney super bowl concert, very good picture and blacks and colour,

Gladiator first war scene - again very good colours and blacks picture sharp.

Gladiator Colosium fight - very bright with good skin tones and colour.

Xbox 360 - demo of lost planet, and motogp 6 demo - amazing picture very vibrant colours and blacks.

The Hitachi tx200:
using a hd demo of the paul mcartney super bowl concert, very sharp image, blacks look abit hazy grey and colours a bit washed out.

Gladiator first war scene - again a very sharp picture but blacks look abit hazy grey, colours not as vibrant as the panny.

Gladiator Colosium fight - image sharp, very bright with o.k skin tones and colour.

Xbox 360 - demo of tigerwoods 06 , and motogp 6 demo - amazing sharp picture, colours not as good as panny.

To sum up:

panasonic ae900 , good picture, very good blacks and colours.

Hitachi tx200 , great sharp image, not bad colours and blacks

so which one, I cannot decide both same price as well

Anyone who has seen both projectors like to comment on my comments?

Thanks

by the way these babys are much better than a lcd tv or a plasma for the same money!!!!

[Donnacha]

although I haven't seen either in action, I believe the Hitachi can be tweaked to improve colours, but I would suspect the shop has already done this, then again you could tweak to your preference.

So by your post the Hitachi has a sharper picture, but not as good colours?

I suppose it comes down to personal taste. Which is more important to you, sharpness or colour? Also the maintenance is potentially cheaper on the hitachi as bulbs are alot cheaper!

I don't think we can help you decide just give you the info you need to make an informed decision. Besides you have the advantage over me, you've seen both in action side by side!!

Hi, yeh I have a feeling that the Hitachi could be tweeked more? with the colours, its a close call tbh some reviews rate the hitachi and others rate the panasonic

Well after some thought, I have decided to go for the Panasonic ae900, I can always take it back under the long distance selling laws and change it if I dont like it.

It should be here on Thursday

Will post a review etc when I get it.

Thanks for all your help! and discounttv.

[trolly]

I went on Saturday to demo the Hitachi, Panasonic, Sanyo Z4 & Optomo HD72i.

Been watching the PJ prices and was hoping to pick up my 1st PJ to replace an 42" RPTV. Hopefully for £1000, top's £1500 if it was fantastic.

Couldn't decide which of the LCD's to go for as the Hitachi & Panasonic were the same price and the Sanyo was £180 dearer with a free £250 bulb & 3 Year Manufacturers warranty.
Not much difference between them on spec.
Wanted to see a DLP to check for rainbows.
Hope a demo would reveal a clear winner.

Couldn't see much difference between all 3 LCD's. The DLP was slightly better but not £500 better.
Also the DLP rainbows were present, only slightly.

Took 3 DVD's to demo, Revenge of the Sith, Toy Story 2 & Pride and Predjudice.
Only Pride and Predjudice looked much better on the DLP compared to the LCD's.

In the end bought the Hitachi as the bulb's are the cheapest!

Have to say Discount TV were fantastic, Shane did the demo and was extremely helpful.
Even suggested a good pub for lunch, Langroyd Hall (Brewers fair I think).

Hope you're happy with your Panasonic, I'm happy with my Hitachi!

Thanks to everyone on this forum for the usefull info I've gleaned over the past 3 months while I been dithering on which PJ to buy.
Now the real fun starts......

Nice 1 mate I went for the Hittachi in the end!! It turns out the colours and the blacks are much better after tweaking at home! just one thing that annoys me is the variable dvd quality between different films, like revenge of the sith is excellent but house of the flying daggers and some older films is very grainy @ 576p @ 50hz, I wonder if this is my xbox360 player?

[trolly]

I'm too running my Xbox 360 as my main DVD machine. And I don't rate it!
I've Not tried any of the High Def trailers on Live yet, will be interesting to see if they any better.
Not sure if to buy an upscaling DVD player, like the Denon 1920 from the Demo ast DiscoutTV, or wait for MS HD DVD drive.
Though the lack of HDMI connector on the Xbox 360 is disapointing.
Check the link for background, http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...kZfMXYQhXB.php
All depends on price.

[mainaman]

The high-def trailers(with some small foibbles) on Live look really nice-better than dvds on my Oppo at 720p,even better than dvds on a high-end player like Meridian.And users say that real hd-dvds through the toshiba players look even better!As for the xbox360 dvd playback,its performance obviously wasnt a priority at Microsoft;entirely justifiable,looking at today's cheap,compact and capable dvd players with HDMI,upsampling and coaxial output.

Hmm well it looks like I will sit it out maybe until the hd dvd / blueray thing has slowed and then buy, Im nt gonna get a xbox360 hd dvd if they dont have hdmi/dvi

[Fulltopuk]

Hi

I am in the same boat of either a Panasonic or Hitachi. What screens did you guys go for to view them on?

Thanks

I use my wall at the moment and its not bad at all!! I get a great picture even at only 9.5 feet away!! although my only problem now is getting a decent dvd player as their is a huge difference between dvd's.

[trolly]

Not bought a screen yet, projecting onto a Yellow Wall. 8ft diagonal picture.
Was going to Ikea on bank holiday monday to buy a Tuplor 2m black out blind (£20) to help determine final Screen Size & Position. (Massive queue on M62 slip road so didn't go!)
Once I've bought a proper screen the black out blind can be cut down to size and help cut down the light coming through the curtains.