Sense check please before I spend my wedge

The time has come for me to set myself up with a projector. Something I’ve wanted for years but not managed due to circumstances.

Anyway, I think I’ve decided on the Panasonic AE300 with a Grandview 80” wide manual screen. But a couple of questions linger and, well, I guess I’d feel a little more comfortable getting some feedback from people “in the know” before I shell out my cash!!

1. I’m planning on mounting the projector on the ceiling and will sit about 12’ from the screen. Is this too close to an 80” wide screen (1.8 X screen width) or should I get a smaller screen?

2. I’m still confused about different video signals and compatibility. Currently I have a Toshiba SD220 DVD. This has component outputs, but does not do progressive scan. I’m considering getting a Philips 963SA for the progressive scan output. I read in one of the home cinema magazines that this player can output PAL progressive. Does the AE300 support PAL progressive?
The brochure shows the following compatibility - 525i (480i), 625i (576i), 525p (480p), 750p (720p), 1125i (1080i)
Which one is Pal Progressive, and is this the way to go for playing region 2 DVD’s??


3. Not sure about HTPC. I work in IT, so I’m not too keen on having to mess about with PC’s when I get home. I’d rather have a “turn-key” operation that the wife and kids can use as well.
But… if I did want to play with setting up a HTPC is the AE300 a bad choice?
I read that a 1:1 pixel mapping can’t be achieved. Is this a showstopper? I’ve also read that this is because of a firmware issue with the projector. If this is the case then what’s the likelihood of Panasonic doing a firmware upgrade? Hey, maybe it could be done using the SD card???

TIA
Rich.

[gothmog]

1. 1.8x is fine for an AE-300.
2. Yes it will accept PAL prog (625p)
3. I don't feel it should be a show stopper at all, certainly not for gaming or video as you can still achieve very acceptable results. It does make a mess of the desktop though so you won't want to be browsing with it Note: You can get 1:1 mapping if you're willing to mess about (a lot), but the effort out-weighs the gains in my opinion (for the AE300 at least ). As for a firmware update to make it easier, who can say

-- Jon

[tonytigerrr]

Rich,

I have an AE-300 with an 80" wide screen and am currently sitting about 13' from the screen. The picture looks great but I'd definitely recommend this as a minimum viewing distance if you dont want to be really distracted by pixelisation and artifacts.

I wouldnt discount the use of an HTPC because of non 1:1 mapping. I'm not using it as my main input for DVD viewing, however DVDs and particulrly games look superb using 1280 x 768. If you wanted to use it for web-browsing then a sharper desktop can be achieved with a near native resolution (using powerstrip) - it can be a bit fiddly though.

If you do happen to have a PC with a DVD player in it, then I'd give it a try before buying your progressive player. The image does look sharper through VGA, but not so much that I'd consider it worthwhile my interlaced DVD player with a progressive one (which I assume wont be quite as good as HTPC).

Cheers,
Tony.