ae900 or z4 (1 Viewer)

[Travis]

Can those who have experience w/ either, or even better both, give their impressions on each.

I just sold my Hitachi Ultravision 57s500 in preparation of moving into a new house. Anyone who has had the opportunity of viewing the newer CRT's will know I am a little spoiled. The colors are brilliant and the blacks amazing. I am a little hesitant about switching to a FP because I know I am going to be sacrificing some pq but I feel the larger more immersive picture will be worth the tradeoff.

A couple points about my new room. It is 10'6" x 22' x 10' (I'm not positive about the height as I forgot to measure it). It has a 4' window at the front and back that will be completely blocked off so light will be controlled. The room is going to be painted a flat black. The carpet is currently a beige color but will be swapped out for a darker color in the upcoming months.

I am looking at either a 92 or 106" screen depending on how much room I have up front once my towers are in place.

If anyone could give a good fixed screen recommendation for this setup I would appreciate it. I would like to keep the cost under 700.00 for the screen. I was leaning towards a Dalite matte white with a gain of around 1 but am not sure it that is the best route. All input is appreciated.

Travis

 

[Shane Harg]

In an online review of both projectors, at ProjectorCentral.com - check it out here: http://www.projectorcentral.com/ae900_plvz4.htm - the Z4 edged out the AE900. But not enough for me to justify spending more (it's more over here in Japan, anyway) on the Z4, so I went with the AE900.

I haven't seen a demo of the Z4, but I did see one of the AE900 and there were no weaknesses that I could see.

 

[Tim Fleming]

Shane, what did you pay for your AE900 in Japan (I assume yours is the TH AE900)? I am going over in April (for one month) and plan to purchase the Panasonic while there.

The best price I have been able to find is approx 149,000 yen via a site called Kakaku.com that searches out all best bargains available:

http://www.kakaku.com/prdsearch/deta...ey=00884510777

Also, am I correct in my belief that the Japanese version (TH AE900) has only 100 volts (or is it 110) and does not handle 100 - 240 volts? I have a transformer that will cope, but it would be nice if I didn't have to rely on that... here in Australia we use 240 volts.

 

[Shane Harg]

Yes, I did some research on Kakaku.com but you have to be wary of some of those online places. If you go that route, be prepared with cash and do COD, because most of the online places compared on Kakaku do not accept credit cards. All the money I was using for my home theater was in America, so I had no choice but to use my debit card. The first place I tried to order from was represented on Kakaku as accepting CCs, but they in fact did not. They tersely confirmed this over the phone. Next place I tried accepted CCs, but only up to 100,000 yen. They were just as cold to me over the phone as the first place. I even tried to buy the subwoofer I wanted COD from a 3rd place, because I had enough available cash for that and the online store had it listed as being in stock. Wrong, they were out and didn't know when they'd have them back in. Strike three! Internet is OUT!

I had been consorting with a high-end dealer in town. They could not match some of the online prices I presented, but I'd rather buy everything from one place, anyway, and they did help me out a LOT with auditioning and in steering me toward the right products. Plus, they offered their services to help me set everything up in my home for free, so I decided to purchase everything from them, pay a little bit more for the extra service and avoid the hassle of trying to buy everything at a different place online. I think I ended up paying 190,000 yen for the projector. That and the screen, however, were the only things I went over budget on.

And yes, you will need a transformer. Everything here is 100-110v.

Sorry to hijack this thread.

 

[Tim Fleming]

Thanks Shane. I will bear all of that in mind. I am hoping that my brother in law may be able to help me get over a few of those hurdles, but if not it may have to be cash. I did notice that a couple of places did have B&M locations (in the Akihabara area), so with a little luck I might be able to manage something

 

[mark campbell]

Tim
I just bought(this week) a Panny 900 here in Australia for $2532 (aus). I live 2 hours south of Sydney.I got it from Ausmedia ..ausmedia.com.au
and was the cheapest on line I could find. At sunshine computers in QLD it was advertised for $2300, but this was a mistake I found out after ordering it!!
Ausmedia were fast and efficient. I read the forums on here for months as well as all the reviews so I sort of knew what to expect... and I was still very impressed with the picture quality. I am projecting onto blackout cloth from a distance of about 5 metres. Even at over 2m wide the picture is amazing. I am a weddding photographer so I am fussy about colour..no problems ..beautiful colours. Projector automatically detects the format of what your'e projecting sideshows or movies or photos from PC. Plenty of zoom to play with as well.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Mark

 

[Oren Paul]

I have the L-500 Panasonic with a 92" Carada white screen, I can not comment on the 900 but I can say I am completely happy with the 500 and the 900 is two generations better. By all accounts both a very good and I am sure either will satisfy.

 

[Travis]

Just to give an update I ended up purchasing the 900. With the mail in rebate the price was too hard to pass up. I'll have to give an update when I get my HT room finished (30 days). After some other recommendations I have decided to go with a 1.0-1.3 matte white screen. Thanks for all the help.


Travis

 

[Tim Fleming]

Mark wrote: "I just bought(this week) a Panny 900 here in Australia for $2532 (aus). I live 2 hours south of Sydney.I got it from Ausmedia ..ausmedia.com.au"

Thanks for that info Mark.

I will see how I go with the Japan option first as it would work out to be costing a tad over $1,700 (AUD) which is much more appealing

If I have to pay cash, then so be it. I will buy early on during the visit so that I can give it a good testing to ensure that it all works properly... and having a brother-in-law who is a native speaker (and very persuasive person into the deal), I am pretty confident I will end up coming away with what I want Also, customs won't be a problem either, as we are travelling as a family and the allowance will more than cover it.

 

[Art Feierman]

greetings, you can get some comparative thoughts on the two projectors at projectorreviews.com. There are long reviews on each, a comparison article, and a brand new article on the 900u called "who should buy".

I've written those articles, and hopefully you'll find them helpful. Personally, I lean toward the Panasonic of the two, but there are distinct trade offs. Lastly - I tend to more of a DLP fan, than LCD (except when it comes to ergonomics - the LCD's are much more flexible at room placement), so I would advise also considering projectors like the new Optoma HD72 if it works in your room.

Good hunting. -a