Early thoughts on the Panny PT-L200u LCD FP (1 Viewer)

[TommyL]

Steelers? WOohoo! I don't care what every one else says about ya*lol* j/k...your kick ass! Steelers rock! Man, if I have to get another pc for running this thing, I'm gonna flip...lol...I build'em, but still a pain in the ya know what how does the xbox/ps2 look on it? I need a beer..I'm overwhelmed......again! Thanks, and keep us posted please! tom

 

[Don_Goreham]

TommyL,

You don't need a PC to run this projector. The only reason I have the PC hooked up is because my theater is also the computer room for now. I will not be using it as a regular HTPC as I have an AMD 2800+ and it puts out a lot of heat that makes the room uncomfortable for movie watching. I'll mainly be using it for computer games, which look great. I have also been experimenting with dscaler for standard def. sources and the results are pretty good.

I can't say anything about the xbox or PS2, but my Gamecube looks great on this projector!

All of my movie watching will be done with the Denon. No amount of tweaking I have done with the PC has made me think that it is better than the 1600. At least enough to suffer with the heat output of my PC.

It's good to see another Steeler fan around. My cousin and I will be going to see them play SF on Monday Night Football in Nov. The last time we played them in SF it was almost like we were in Pittsburgh there were so many Steeler fans.

later,

Don

P.S.

RonP

Just wanted to give you another thanks for this post that started this whole FP thing for me. After reading some posts regarding CEDIA and its somewhat lackluster offerings for this price range I am so glad that I didn't wait.
Now just to get the money together to get that theater built in the garage. Was there a reason why you took down the pics detailing the building process of your theater? I found them quite interesting.

 

[Tim Glover]

I was a proud owner of this projector since last June thanks to Ron-P who helped several of us make the leap to front projection. I've posted a lot of positive remarks about this unit. However I have had some bad luck with mine the past several months, (recurring dust blobs, and optical block failure).

I sent my PTL-200U for service in early April. They couldn't correct the problem and have sent me a replacement. Very cool. However they sent me a new PT-L300 U. It arrived yesterday.

I wasn't expecting this! Certainly not night & day differences. Maybe a little deeper blacks and a little brighter picture. Probably the most noticeable difference is in the lack of screen door. It's smoother....

However, after about 10 minutes of viewing I began to notice a Blue Dead Pixel just off center on the screen!!!! Later this afternoon I turned the unit on again and thought this was no longer an issue but within 5 minutes or less, there it was.

Is there a way to fix this? I can live with a dead pixel or 2 if it's near the top or bottom of the screen but right near the center is totally unacceptable. Looks light someone is pointing a laser in Frodo's nostril.

The thought of sending this back is disconcerting.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Tim Glover]

Thought I would resurrect this thread since I posted alot in it.

An update. Got the pixel thing fixed last summer. Should have posted the update then but...

A quick note regarding my PT-L300U. I know this is the 200U thread but there's not one on the 300.

And this may have happened to other LCD owners too, so please post your thoughts if this applies to you.

First, let me say that Panasonic has managed to save a customer. I was feeling rather upset with them for quality control issues with my 200U and my 300U...however...

Since last fall, maybe around October at around the 280 lamp hour usage, I noticed the picture quality improving??? Maybe my eyes were decieving me but the picture looked more detailed and vibrant. Cleaner too?

I've noticed this even more since Christmas. I now have 498 hours on it and it looks better than ever. Just recently watching films like Patton, LOTR, Cellular, & Finding Nemo that it was like seeing a new projector.

And I was thinking of replacing my near 2 year old Panasonic XP-30 DVD player since it's had so much use that maybe it's time for it to reside in the bedroom. But I guess not. :b

Have others experienced this P/Q improvement like I did? Like I said, I noticed it around the 280 hour on the lamp and it hasn't stopped. BTW, I use the lamp on low mode.

I'm projecting it onto a 4x8 parkland plastic screen. I have some screen shots below in my sig that I really need to update since these were taken before the PQ improved.

Looking forward to reading others take on this.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Tim we have the exact setup, 300U, parkland and XP-30. I bought my 300U in the Spring of 2002 and have about 650 hours on it. I can't say that I have "noticed" any improvement. What I haven't noticed is any degredation in PQ over the hundreds of hours of viewing .

Even after 650 hours I still have a huge grin on my face when I'm watching DVDs with excellent transfer like I-Robot, Matrix, etc. Maybe I'll consider upgrading when HD DVDs come out but right now I'm quite content.

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks Drew! Pretty cool that we have the same gear. Great minds think alike

I'm with you. No reason to upgrade any of this really until High Definition is clearly in my home. And I guess by then the 700U will be replaced by the 900U?? :b

Thanks for the response and hope you get many many more hours of enjoyment with your rig.

 

[Ron-P]

Damn, it's been almost 2 years .

I haven't noticed any improvements in PQ but I've not noticed any degradation either. My 200u is still running perfectly with about 420 hours on it and the image looks just as good as it did when I took it out of the box. I haven't had a single problem yet.

Like you Tim, I don't plan on a PJ upgrade until HD-DVD / Blu-ray is out in full force.

 

[Tim Glover]

Wow. Very cool to hear from Ron on this as his experience with his 200U is what made me take the plunge back in June of 2003. There's no going back now!

Thanks again Ron

 

[Robert James Clark]

Wow,

You guys don't watch enough TV. I have almost 1300 hours on my AE500 in just one year.

Still love it...

 

[Tim Glover]

Wow. I just use my main HT setup for movies and sports.

 

[Greg Bright]

None of you watch enough TV! I have over 3000! hours on my 500u in a little over a year. PQ is still excellent. No dead pixels. VB has always been an issue. Spare bulb still sitting in its unopened box. Panasonic just built mine too well. BTW, it's the big screen or a 13 in. Sony. What would you do?

 

[Drew Bethel]

I have over 3000! hours on my 500u in a little over a year.

That's more than 7 hours per day on average!

 

[Greg Bright]

Actually over 8 hrs per day. I have to believe that the timer in the projector counts any fraction of an hour as a full hour. It's on probably 4 hrs per day M-Th, 6 hrs on Friday, and 16 hours on a weekend that we're home. That comes to 38-40 hours per week. Still alot, but hey, who's counting? (Guess I just did.)

 

[Drew Bethel]

So Greg, how's that bulb holding up with 3000 hours on it? When are you planning on swapping it out? I'd be interested in any difference you notice.

 

[Greg Bright]

Drew et al,

Good question. I was just recently considering changing bulbs to see how much the old one had deteriorated. Haven't done it yet. When I do you'll know. I tried setting the bulb and fan to High in order to use AI, but the fan was too loud. I worried about having the lamp on High but the fan on Low. So instead I've changed some settings. I switched from Natural to Cinema 2. I had calibrated Natural w/ S&V disc, but haven't taken time to do so w/ Cinema 2 setting. The picture is noticably brighter, probably due to the fact that it isn't calibrated; and I haven't lowered the contrast. My room is totally light-controlled, btw. So in a nutshell the picture is now brighter but not as accurate. I'm surprised that the bulb has lasted this long, but we do leave it on for at least 3 hours each time we use it, and it's always on Low. Maybe that helps account for its longevity. Any other Panny owners with info about bulb life...please post.

Greg