“Panasonic took great lengths to not only gear the PT-AX200U’s performance toward gamers, but offer the ability to provide an overall Home Theater experience. From the inputs to the instruction manual, you can tell the design team had a great feeling for what the inner-gamer and home theater enthusiast in all of us wanted.”

“The AX200 is an upgrade of its popular AX100. Two improvements include better detail performance with dark scenes and better motion response for video game play. With its native 720p resolution and high light output, the video quality is excellent. Flesh tones, overall color saturation, and contrast levels provide a very natural looking image, with none of the usual LCD artifacts, such as the screen door effect. The level of performance is hard to beat in this price range.”

“I found that with both the AX100U and AX200U, when watching movies, I had to remind myself and my viewing partner that we´re watching an LCD projector and not a DLP projector. There was no sign of the usual screen door effect that can plague LCD projectors.” ... that this was “a great performing, affordable, video projector to consider for a home theater setup.”

“This (AX200) is replacing pretty much everything. I can hook up my 360, my Wii, my PS3, I can hook up my digital cable all right on that (AX200). And, I can switch it over if I want to play competitive gaming. Go right to game mode.”

“It goes from Game mode to sports mode to movie mode, I can pretty much do everything with the projector.”

“I wouldn´t back anything else up. I wouldn´t even play on anything else.”

“Even when running the AX200U in "Economy" lamp mode vs. "High" lamp mode on my old projector the brightness was a huge jump. In fact, the projector is so bright that even with both sets of my theater lights on the screen lost no visible detail or clarity. This simply didn't happen with my old projector which is almost unplayable with the lights on. The AX200U also has a built in sensor, that when enabled, will adjust the projector's brightness and contrast to accommodate adjusting lighting conditions. This makes the projector great for your everyday living room where light control may be more difficult.

Like I said earlier, it's pretty tough to find faults when you are sitting there staring at a 92" image in hi-def. At a price of $1299 you can have big screen hi-def gaming for less than a price of a 40" flatscreen TV. Gaming on a projector is something everyone should experience...”

“Oh, how people complain about high-definition video projectors! The products are expensive and demand a totally dark room to perform well. And LCD-based models suffer from visible lag and blurring when displaying fast-moving sports and video game action. Clearly, these complainers haven't met the new Panasonic PT-AX200U, maybe the best little 720p LCD projector that's ever landed on these shores.”

“The most stand-out feature is the addition of Game mode....I tested this out with Halo3 and the Game mode became my best friend almost instantly.”

Panasonic is again making sure that users have some very helpful default settings “out of the box”. We measured the Cinema1 mode and received the following excellent results.

“At this price point the PT-AX200U is a no-brainer for gaming, but it also seems to be targeted for an all-in-one projector for all your home theater needs as well.”

“This projector has a retail of under $2000 and a street price of less than $1,300. At that price it's hard to criticize anything at all, let alone try and find something on this well-rounded projector.”

“Colors are vivid, detail is sharp and accurate and the lens shift and zoom functions make this one of the easiest projectors to install.”

“Impressed? You should be, I certainly am. I spent a good many hours watching various movies on the PT-AX200U in the Cinema 1 mode. The AX200U never disappointed when it came to producing natural looking, film-like skin tones.”

“The end result is that the Panasonic happens to be excellent at shadow details, rivaling most of the far more expensive 1080p projectors out there.”

“With the PT-AX200, pixels are noticeably far less visible than even DLP projectors.”

“Personally, despite the slight softness, I consider the Panasonic PT-AX200U, the 720p projector to beat.”

“No question about it, those game scenes with areas too dark to make out in other modes are very watchable in Game mode.”

“...let's just say that the PT-AX200U is the brightest projector around.”

“What the PT-AX200U is about, or rather, what separates it from the competition, is how it performs in rooms that are not fully darkened. It is the best projector in its class for dealing with ambient light.”

“The PT-AX200U is mostly evolutionary, but has one major change, in that they have added special processing to speed up the system, so that there is a mode really designed for today's serious gamers, whether they run XBox 360, PS3, Wii, and so on.”

“It offers the same brightness (2000 ANSI Lumens) and contrast (6,000:1) as the PT-AX100U but includes enhanced color management and a new ‘gaming mode’ that improves panel response time by one third over the PT-AX100U.”

“More importantly the projector has a gaming mode which optimizes frame response to improve signal processing by a third. The setting also tweaks the contrast settings bringing out darker scenes and images that are typically over saturated.”

“The gaming mode improves signal processing for 1/3 faster response time over prior Panasonic projectors. By increasing the throughput time of the incoming video, signal processing speeds up by as much as 60 percent.”

“That kind of boost translates into much less “Game Lag,” which is critical for serious gamers and professionals like Tsquared.”

“Reflex and reaction times for these professionals—and, more importantly, serious hardcore gaming customers—have become so fast that the delay introduced by a video projector’s signal processing chip can mean the difference between winning an online match or going home empty without a title win.”

“Tsquared says that he has played Halo 2 so much and so many times that he can easily detect game lag and was surprised that he did not notice any lag at all on the new AX200.”

“We've had the pleasure of working with the AX200U and it looks to be another winner from Panasonic.”

“Of particular note is its outstanding display of HD movies from HD DVD and Blu-ray. Believe it or not, even though the display is native 720p resolution, the HD image quality looks for all the world like it is coming from a 1080p projector to just about anyone but a professional critic. So if you are looking for a projector that delivers virtual 1080p quality at a fraction of the price, the AX200 is a projector you won't want to miss.”

“The game feels very smooth on the projection screen, which is largely due to their feature, “game mode”. In this mode it reduces the lag/delay by 60% which is a HUGE difference. On normal projection screens or even HDTV’s you notice an enormous amount of lag and in all honestly I can play Halo on this and enjoy my experience.”

“I’m actually pretty pissed that I just spent $1,200 on a new 42in. HDTV when I could have gotten this 120in for under $1,599. It’s perfect for any family room, furnished basement, or gamer like myself.”

“Those looking for a single projector that fits the bill for movie watching and game playing need to look Panasonic's way, as the firm's PT-AX200U HD projector claims to cut the response time down a full third from its prior models.”

“It also has two HDMI inputs, making it friendly to home theater lovers who want a simple want to enjoy their high definition content on a bigger screen.”

“The AX200U is the company’s first projector targeted explicitly at console gamers: a special toggle cuts response times to one third of their normal rate and tunes the image to help reveal details in dark areas.”

“The new 720p model, the PT-AX200, deserves some particular attention, as Panasonic cites gaming as the primary motivating factor in the upgrades applied to the new model.”

“Panasonic says it has improved the projector’s signal processing, so the time between pressing a button on a gaming controller and the results showing up on the screen is much quicker than ever. In fact, this is the first projector created with gaming in mind.”

“This baby also lets you see better into those murky dark areas so you can frag those villains with increased confidence and reckless abandon.”

“Can a person be unfaithful to his home theater equipment? As loyal BigPictureBigSound readers can attest, I'm a huge proponent of Sanyo projectors. My first was the PLV-Z2, and I recently upgraded to the stellar 1080p PLV-Z2000. But when I saw the image produced by the Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p home theater projector, I have to confess I started having impure thoughts. (Oh, I hope Sanyo isn't reading this.)”

“Right out of the box, the Panny's picture appeared brighter and richer than the Sanyo's. Even with the lights on and no calibration I could tell the difference. Part of this is due to the fact that the Panasonic's factory presets are actually (no way!) well-calibrated, but also the default 'Normal' setting is set at a fairly bright 900 ANSI lumens. The other modes (particularly 'Cinema 1') looked even better, and less bright, with deeper color saturation.”

“Overall, I am most pleased with the PT-AE2000U's skin tone performance, after minor grayscale adjustments. The Panasonic projector produces a ‘film-like’ quality, consistently.”

“The Panasonic has improved since last year. This new PT-AE2000U, definitely comes through as sharper than the less than average in sharpness, PT-AE1000U it replaces.”

“The Panasonic PT-AE2000U creates a truly excellent viewing experience, on both movies (especially hi-def.) That said, HDTV viewing was most impressive as well.”

“All considered, Panasonic may well be the best overall value out there.”

“Of all the 1080p projectors reviewed to date, my opinion right now, is that if you need to keep your projector's budget under $3000, the Panasonic looks to be the best overall projector out there.”

“When you consider all these projectors with excellent price performance, and sub-$3000 pricing, I see the $2699 Panasonic as the one likely to have the widest appeal, and will predict that it proves to be the top seller in the 1080p class for 2008.”

The AE2000 has more range than the HC6000 in both zoom and lens shift.

The AE2000's price advantage, should it be maintained into the future, will be a competitive edge that will enable it to capture a greater market share in the 1080p marketplace than the HC6000.

“Topping its long list of great attributes is its outstanding contrast and black level performance. On these measurements it outperforms every other 1080p projector we have put it up against that is anywhere near its price range. And along with its high contrast comes excellent color saturation.”

“Selling at an official street price of just $2,699, it is one of the most formidable and competitive of the new 1080p projectors released this fall.”

“The AE2000 has a remarkably clear and sharp image. Overall, image clarity with HD material is as impressive as it gets. We have not yet seen any competitive unit that can beat the AE2000 where sharpness and clarity of an HD image are concerned.”

“With the PT-AE2000U, Panasonic has delivered another star performer in the world of home theater projectors. It edges out the competition in contrast and color saturation. It has superb color accuracy in video optimized mode, and a supremely serviceable bright operating mode that penalizes the user very little in terms of color accuracy. For HD DVD, Blu-ray, and HDTV sources in particular, the AE2000 is the strongest of the 1080p projectors we've seen so far under $5,000. And since it is only $2,699, it represents a terrific deal for the money in today's highly competitive market for 1080p projectors.”

“As for my opinion, the picture and colors are beautiful and has a nice sharp image. I have always thought that while I love DLP sharpness, it doesn’t have to be the standard. Black levels are very good and I actually like Cinema 1 and I enjoy bright pictures so the 1500 lumens worked well with me. Plus since so many of us are going with large 2.35 screens, the extra lumens can be used.”

“If the MSRP or MAP is really ~$3,000. It's a steal for what you get. Once I can confirm what the problem with the 24p is, there were absolutely NO FLAWS.”

“Most notably, it's brighter than the PT-AE1000U, claiming 1500 lumens, up from 1000, a rather significant jump, plus the PT-AE2000U claims significantly higher contrast of 16,000:1, for better blacks and shadow detail.”

“The PT-AE2000U 1080p model (1920x1080 native panel resolution) is one of the first to feature Epson's latest D7 3LCD C2Fine chip set, an inorganic LCD panel that offers better black levels than its predecessor (the PT-AE1000U) as well as longer life.”

“Enhancements to the lens system allow the AE2000 to shine brighter than its predecessor as well, with 1,500 ANSI Lumens of light output (compared to the AE-1000U's 1100 Lumens).”

“The new projector's improved dynamic iris is said to enable contrast ratios of up to 16,000:1 (over the AE1000's 11,000:1 rating). In short, it offers improvements in virtually every area over the already excellent PT-AE1000U.”

“I’ve always liked Panasonic’s LCD front projectors and in keeping with tradition, Panasonic has chosen CEDIA Expo to unveil their latest 720p and 1080p machines. The one everyone is keen to hear about is their new PT-AE2000, successor to the sensational PT-AE1000.”

“A nice touch is the ability to connect to three HDMI sources at once and the projector can throw a 120-inch image from 11 feet away.”

“This HT-centric LCD projector rocks a stunning 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution, puts out 1,500 lumens of brightness, and features a 16,000:1 contrast ratio for good measure.”

“Furthermore, pro users will likely love the Split Adjust mode &mdash which ‘allows users to split the screen into two halves, one to make picture adjustments and one to see those adjustments as a baseline reference’ &mdash and the trio of HDMI ports should keep you satisfied for the time being.”

“Images should also be sharper through a new detail clarity processor that automatically gauges the amount of refinement needed at different points in the picture.”

“The new AE2000 projector offers some sweet upgrades over what was already a strong product, bumping contrast ratio from 11,000:1 up to 16,000:1 and lumens from 1,100 to 1,500.”

“Panasonic’s PT-AE2000U is a HT-centric LCD projector which comes with a stunning 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution, 1,500 lumens of brightness, and 16,000:1 contrast ratio.”

"It is not possible to give this model anything other than a full five stars across the board."
-Evan Powell

ProjectorReviews.com Hot Product Award for the PT-AE3000U

“The Panasonic AE3000 will be one of the year's hottest selling projectors. With stunning, natural high-contrast image quality and an impressive array of unique features that don't exist on competing models, Panasonic has established a formidable price/performance proposition that will be hard for others to match.”

“You're sure that your new High Definition Panasonic LCD projector is the veritable bee's leg joints, but how to convince your other half that the $3500 (£2000) you've just splashed out is worth sacrificing that Caribbean holiday for?”

“Simple. Just fire it up and activate Split Adjust mode to divide the screen into two. One half shows boring old vanilla 1080p Full HD signals, while the other highlights the cutting edge adjustments the PT-AE3000 is capable of: pin-sharp 120Hz images thanks to its Frame Creation technology; 21:9 cinema-format widescreen; and a Detail Clarity Processor V2.0 thats extracts the most detail from low, mid, high, and even the super-high frequency components.”

“While Panasonic's latest front projector has plenty of features to admire — full HD (1080p) resolution, easy display of extremely wide aspect ratios, and all the image processing you could want — I say it's most useful ability is side-by-side picture adjustment. When you want to tweak the picture (and we know you do), just engage the projector's Split Adjust mode, which splits the screen into two halves: make adjustments on one, and compare with the original settings on the other.”

“Panasonic kicked off the official opening of the 2008 CEDIA Expo a day early with a press conference to announce a new three-chip 1080p front projector as well as two Blu-ray disc players that feature BD-Live support for movies that incorporate interactive online features.”

“The Panasonic PT-AE3000 is a self-described evolution of the company's highly regarded PT-AE2000 LCD front projector. Similar to the technology featured in 120Hz flat-panel LCD HDTVs, the AE3000 "Frame Creation" feature inserts interpolated frames into a standard 60Hz video steam for a claimed improvement of picture detail and clarity.”

“Panasonic this week announced a successor to its very popular flagship high definition LCD front projector. Replacing the 1080p PT-A2000 will be the 1080p Panasonic PT-AE3000. ”

“The new projector, which looks virtually identical to its predecessor, features 1,600 lumens of brightness; 2.0X zoom; 60,000:1 contrast ratio; dynamic iris; Smooth screen technology; and new 100Hz Motion Picture Pro Frame Creation technology optimized for the reproduction of fast motion images on a large screen.”

“Frame creation technology works to create sharper images for fast moving scenes in sports and action movies by interpolating an additional frame by analyzing the characteristics of two adjacent frames.”

“The Panasonic carousel of management had plenty to share today—they all sort of linked their announcements together like the web of connectivity the company is creating with its Viera link line of products. The ‘Visual Era’—Viera—as they are calling it. ”

“In that respect, Panasonic covered the whole home theater realm during its press conference, starting with its new Blu-ray players, on to an A/V receiver, to the projector, to larger-size plasma TVs.”

“Some 1080p projectors are getting down below the $2,000 mark, but the real news is that insanely good projectors are appearing in the $3,000 range. On the heels of Sony's VPL-HW10 comes Panasonic's AE3000, which has 60,000:1 contrast ratio using LCD projection technology. The $3,500 system handles motion blur withsomething like the 120Hz seen in LCD flat panels: 120 frames per sec for 60Hz content; 96 frames per second for 24P content. It's smart on power consumption, reducing the drain on the lamp according to the scene's requirements.”

“It was this time last year when Panasonic shook up CEDIA with its 1080p PT-AE2000U. Fast forward twelve months, and here we are starting down the lens of the predictably named PT-AE3000. The latest in the company's line of 1080p LCD PJs, this one boasts 1,600 lumens, a 60,000:1 contrast ratio, Frame Creation Technology optimized for large screen viewing and a Lens Memory Load feature which is capable of ‘memorizing and restoring zoom / focus positions for multiple aspect ratio flexibility.’ You'll also find the Detail Clarity Processor V2.0 for sharpening up images, and the Split Adjust mode allows users to split the screen into two halves; one to make picture adjustments and one to see those adjustments as a baseline reference. As for ports, there are a trio of HDMI 1.3 sockets and two component terminals. Those anxious to get this one in their home cinema will be asked to hand over $3,499 this October. Full release is after the break. ”

“Panasonic just announced its brand new PT-AE3000 LCD Home Theater Projector at the CEDIA Expo (the annual convention of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, if you were wondering). According to Panasonic, this projector pumps out images at a full native 1080p HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), 60,000:1 contrast ratio, and 1,600 lumen brightness. The projector includes several tools that let users customize the image to their liking, whether it be color, brightness, sharpness, or aspect ratio (the proportion of the horizontal length to the vertical height of the image).”

“We're intrigued by the Frame Creation Technology, which enables quick and easy switching between various widescreen formats -- most projectors on the market that allow aspect ratio changes force you to refocus the lens each time. This means the PT-AE3000 will let you switch from the 16:9 aspect ratio to others. The projector also features an aspect ratio of 21:9, which comes close to simulating the movie theater experience. As for inputs, the PT-AE3000 comes with a generous three HDMI 1.3 inputs and two component inputs.”

“Panasonic has debuted the LCD home theater projector, the PT-AE3000, which has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of US$3,499. It sports full high-definition 1080p (1,920×1,080 pixel) native resolution, 1,600 lumens of brightness and 60,000:1 contrast ratio.”

“Panasonic has developed and equipped the PT-AE3000 with new Frame Creation Technology optimized for large screen viewing. For adjustment to different widescreen movie formats like 21:9 or 16:9, the projector is also upgraded with a Lens Memory Load feature that’s capable of memorizing and restoring zoom/focus positions for multiple aspect ratio flexibility.”

“Well, there are a lot of good projectors out there, and the Panasonic PT-AE3000 is the latest to join the line. I suppose the AE3000 could be a sequel to the PT-AE2000U which showed up a CEDIA last year.”

“Features of this 1080p projector include a 60,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,600 lumens of brightness. It also has Frame Creation Technology which is designed for large-screen viewing and a Lens Memory Load that is able to memorize and restore zoom or focus potions for ‘multiple aspect ratio flexibility.’ ”

“Another shining feature is the Detail Clarity Processor Version 2.0 that can sharpen up images. The Split Adjust mode allows the user to cleave the screen in two halves so you can make picture adjustments on one side and see the results on the other. As for the ports, there are two component terminals and three HDMI 1.3 sockets.”

“Panasonic has introduced its new AE3000 home theater projector. The projector has full 1080p resolution and 1600 lumens of brightness. The contrast ratio for the projector is 60000:1. Supported widescreen formats include 21:9 and 16:9.”

“Lens Memory Load is included, which can store focus settings and zoom positions. The projector supports frame rates of 120 fps, 60 fps, and 24 fps. The projector can split the screen into two halves to allow adjustments to be made on one section and the other can be used as a baseline. The projector will ship in October for $3499. ”

“If you've seen the PT-AE2000 (and yes, you've seen the PT-AE2000), then you've seen the PT-AE3000. Without close inspection with your trusty magnifying glass, you could easily confuse the two, though this year's 1080p beamer boasts a few extra niceties compared to last. At any rate, we got our camera all up on the newcomer and hosted up the results below -- have a look, won'tcha?”

“Panasonic is more well-known these days for their Plasma Televisions, but they also have a heavy presence in home theater video projection. At CEDIA 2008, they have announced its new PT-AE3000, which brings high performance 1080p video projection, and professional features, to a lower price point.”

“On the design front, the PT-AE3000 has a plain, but functional, appearance, highlighted by its convenient center mounted lens. On the inside, this new projector features a 3-Chip LCD panel, (1920x1080) 1080p native pixel resolution 1,600 lumens output, and a stated contrast ratio of 60,000:1. In addition, ‘Frame Creation’ technology provides 120Hz processing for 60Hz input signals or 96Hz processing for 24Hz input signals. What this means is that this projector provides smoother motion response, especially for Blu-ray Disc source material.”

“At CEDIA Expo in Denver earlier this week, Panasonic announced the latest model in their 1080p front projector line, the PT-AE3000U. The most notable improvement over its predecessor, the PT-AE2000, is a native 24p mode with Frame Creation technology that displays native 24 frames/second material at 96 frames/second, interpolating the intermediate frames for smooth motion reproduction.”

“Like its predecessor, the new projector will feature full HD 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution, using Epson's D7 3LCD light engine. But the new projector features an improved brightness spec (up from 1500 to 1600 Lumens) and a vastly improved dynamic contrast rating (up from 16,000:1 to 60,000:1) through the use of Pure Contrast Plate technology. The PT-AE3000 also features a new lens memory so you can optimize the zoom for different aspect ratios with the touch of a button.”

“Fans of Panasonic will really want to demo the new PT-AE3000U projector. This updated model is going to sell for $3499 and will be available around October. The new model has 1600 lumens - brighter than the former iterations - and has the same wide angle 2x zoom lens we've come to expect from Panasonic projectors. There are also three HDMI inputs and a new lens memory mode which can even support a setting for their new anamorphic zoom mode - which Panasonic says eliminates the need for an anamorphic lens (we think it will be a nice ‘poor man's’ anamorphic mode). The projector adds a new high pass filter to its redesigned optical path designed to generate better black level performance and also added a version of 120Hz technology that employs frame interpolation to reduce motion blur. They also do this with 24p sources - something that will be exciting to test out and see how it affects the picture quality of Blu-ray titles.”

“Once again, I was invited to see Panasonic's newest projector at their facility right next to Universal Studio in Hollywood although to be honest its really closer to North Hollywood than Hollywood.

As for specs, the projector is rated slightly higher going from 1500 lumens in the AE-2000 to 1600 in the AE-3000. I have always been impressed on the brightness of the Panasonic projectors and this one continues with a nice bright picture. The big increase comes in the the contrast department. The projector goes from 16,000 in the AE-2000 to 60,000 in this new projector. ”