Questions about the Panasonic AE100 projector (1 Viewer)

[Boka]

I plan on purchasing a panasonic AE100 projector. This will be used exculsively for DVD viewing in a light controlled room.
Does anyone know of a good U.S. supplier or European supplier of this projector?
Does anyone have experience using the PT-AE100e (European) version of the projector or in using the American/Japanese version on 220v power?
Do most people run the projector in high or low (bulb/brightness) mode? Is there a quality difference?
What colour/gamma do I want for the screen. Pure white, slightly gray, etc...
Although I have complete control over the lighting, my room has alot of white surfaces (wall and ceiling). Would this affect the type of screen I should use?
I was planning on sitting about 9ft away from 6ft wide screen. Is this a good distance or will screendoor be extremely noticable?
Is there anything that can be done to improve the blackness of the blacks?
Many, many people say that the best picture is obtained when input is given through the VGA port. Is there any difference between using a HTPC and a DVD player with VGA video out?
Thanks,

 

[David Hicks]

Lots of good questions! I don't have most of the answers, but I'll give you my thoughts...

I've got an AE100 from Japan. It's got 190 hours on it and one newly stuck pixel. Haven't tried to fix it yet, because it doesn't bother me very much. It didn't get stuck until about 170 hours. Might actually be dust, but I haven't looked into it yet.

Screen door from your distance might be somewhat bothersome. 10ft would probably be better. But, the screendoor issue is very subjective. What one person wouldn't notice might ruin the experience for another.

I run mine with the bulb set to low. Couldn't notice a diffence when changing it to high.

Haven't tried a DVD player w/ VGA out, but my HTPC beats the hell out of my DVD player via components. I just got DirecTV this weekend and got HDnet working yesterday. Words cannot describe how good HDnet looks on this projector. I'm still stunned this morning. My only fear is that it will ruin DVD's for me! 1080i is a beautiful thing!!!

For a US supplier, the cheapest I've seen is ritzav.com. For overseas, pricejapan.com (where I got mine) was great to deal with. Personally, I love mine and couldn't bear to go back to a small screen (I moved my 50" RPTV to the bedroom). And, for ~$1500, it's a great way to get into the front projection hobby without too much expense.

Good luck with whatever you get.