AE100 sad tale and Sony Sideshot

After months of frustration waiting for the Piano (which I note still isn't released Mr "Next Week" Rapesco Brian Wood), I finally got a Panasonic AE100 a couple of months ago.

I have been very impressed but unfortunately the other half is less so!

The problem is we have a very high vaulted ceiling so the projector has to be 'coffee table mounted'. With its particular focal length and our room layout, this means the living room needs rearranging every time we use it - hence the grief.

So it looks as if it will soon be a very sad day, and I will put my beloved Panasonic AE100 projector up for sale (I was thinking of about £1050, it has 60hrs on the bulb - does that sound reasonable?).

But having tasted from the projector cup, I can't go back to TV for DVD viewing. One solution to my problem would be to get the soon to be released Sony HS2 instead and use the sideshot feature (this would suit the room layout nicely).

It is meant to be an improved sideshot on the new Sony projectors but what is the general feeling about the present sideshot feature on the HS1, does it degrade the pq a little/quite a bit/loads?? I have avoided keystone on the Panny because I thought it reduced pq a bit so would I find it unliveable with?

Has anyone any other ideas, eg. a different widescreen projector with a longthrow lens which doesn't cost an arm and a leg or maybe a different other half who is into furniture moving. all comments appreciated.

Just for the record I have been feeding the Panny from a Toshiba 510 DVD player and have to say region 1 prog scan is particularly nice!

BTW Has anyone tried one of the new RGB to component converters with the AE100 yet?

Cheers

Sykes

 

sideshot on the HS1 was OK. The projector tries its best to keep the image stable, but there are jaggies introduced. The main problem is if you use it too much, you get lot of overspill.

Because its off to the side, the lense projects a bit trapezium onto the wall/screen, and the projector corrects the image so that it fills a rectangle inside the trapezium. But it is distracting. Much more so than simple vertical keystone - and you were avoiding that.

IMO better to go with a longer throw lense. In a similar price bracket is the Sanyo PLV30. This is a slightly older projector, so it might have a more traditional long throw lense, before ultra-short became fashionable. Some members here have one and could help, or try out projector centrals calculator (put in PLV 30 and screen size and it'll tell you the needed distance)

Also, the new panasonic AE300 apparantly has optional replacement lenses, including an ultra short and a longer throw one.

 

Richard

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't realised that a long throw lens would be available for the AE300. That could well be the answer, but I'll have to wait and see what the projection distances will be. Anyone know if there is any info about the releases date in the UK?

Sykes

 

The Sony HS2/HS10 models come out in the UK in mid to late October, I beleive the new Panasonic AE200 is released in Jan 2003, with the AE300 to follow soon after that. Not sure when the new Sanyo Z1 (pretty much the same as the AE300) is released though.

Quite a few projectors now have changeable lenses, however these are not cheap!!!. It seems a bit silly by the projector manufacturers to not sell either a model with either a short throw lens or long throw lens. I think most people wont buy a projector and then buy another lens which is a considerable cost (£400 + ?)

/James