What do you guys think about the AE700? (1 Viewer)

[HongH]

I found a great deal for canadians on link removed by moderator. They have the ae700 in stock, anyways I just wondering what you guys think about this projector? I can tell you I am very excited about getting one.

 

[Brian Gi]

At Cedia I spent 1/2 a day touring 720P LCD projectors. Previous I hadn't considered LCD an option over DLP, the AE700 changed my mind. I ranked them in the following order.

1- Epson 500 (It was ISF'd)
1- Panny AE700
3- HS51
4- Screenplay 5000
5- Hitachi PJTX100

The AE700 was amazing in eliminating SDE. I'd definately buy one.

From a former LCD bigot!

 

[Chris PC]

Wow. That is a very very interesting ranking. Althought the Epson remains on top, you rank the AE700 above the others, including the Sony, and the Hitachi comes in last place, BEHIND the Infocus SP 5000? Wow. Thats quite something.

What conditions did you view the projectors in? Any feedback regarding contrast black level comparisons? How was vertical banding on the units?

(I don't mind the idea of the AE700 but so far my experience with smooth screen has me less than thrilled. I saw an AE300 and I could have sworn it looked softer than my defocussed L200. Perhaps that was due to the scaling and not as much a factor of the smoothscreen? I found it hard to sharply focus the 300. I admit the lack of screendoor is neat though, but I can achieve the same thing and it seems sharper, with my L200 defocussed.)

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I haven't had any problems getting a sharp but screen-door-free focus on my L300U. I'm using an 88" screen at a distance of about 12'. I'm also using a Bravo D1 over DVI w/ a custom resolution. I'll agree that SDTV does look a bit soft but DVD and HDTV look amazing. I'm hoping the AE700U will drive the L500U prices down to around $1000 - $1200 and I can replace my L300U w/ the L500U. If the L500U prices don't come down much I may just go on up to the AE700U. Either way, it'll probably be after christmas befor I can do anything. I'm still really enjoying my L300U though.

 

[Chris PC]

I had an AE300 for a brief time and I thought the picture looked ever so soft vs my L200. Perhaps I didn't spend enough time with the AE300. I have the L200 connected to my iScan Ultra via VGA cables and my panasonic dvd player is connected to my iscan via component cables. That is the same way I had the AE300 connected. Perhaps its a combination of the scaling and the smooth screen that made it seem a tad soft vs the L200.

The AE700 is looking good either way. I think there will be a few Canadians with this peice soon, so I'm hoping somebody will entertain some of us with a demo

 

[Chris PC]

Brian,

BTW, further to my asking you about the testing conditions and contrast/black level comparisons, could you give us some feedback as to what your criteria was for ranking?

 

[Mike Voigt]

There is a LONG discussion on this over at AVS Forum, in the under 3500K area. Quite interesting.

What I have read so far has me intrigued. I am not going to get into the pj upgrade business, that becomes way too expensive in the long run. And what I have seen and read in the past on a lot of projectors has me worried about the screendoor effect, VB, etc.

A few (read 2-3) folks have posted reviews over there. Generally speaking, quite good out of the box, and feasible to tweak to very good levels in a short time. One group in Germany (?) took an extra step in getting good color analysis and was able to tweak it beyond its 1:2000 CR WITH excellent colors, which is a really good sign.

Seems like folks are happy. Now where do I find the money to buy one of these - plus the other hardware (cables, mounts, screen, etc.)...?

Mike

 

[Chris PC]

I'm still eager to hear reviews. I'm not thrilled with these dynamic iris type contrast ratio specs. ANSI and true ON/OFF contrast ratio is what we want to know. Black levels too. Of course, if ANSI or ON/OFF contrast ratio is high but black levels still aren't low enough, or black enough, then a filter can do that without losing all the contrast ratio. I talk about ANSI and ON/OFF contrast ratio because if the Panny uses a dynamic way of getting a contrast ratio spec, then that doesn't help when you're looking at ON/OFF contrast ratio of a single scene, ie, where there is very dark areas and very bright areas of the scene, you want ON/OFF contrast ratio, the native CR of the LCD panel to be high. Dynamic tricks don't do enough for that.

One thing I'm really curious about is whether or not the Panny has the same "colour uniformity" tweak that the Hitachi has. That would be handy, as many Panny LCD PJ's end up having less than spectacular uniformity. Unless of course, they've somehow done other engineering to eliminate that problem, but that is doubtful.

 

[Chris PC]

Hope to see this unit in person soon. Anyone else seen this one?

 

[Cam T.]

Hi,

Has anyone here had any dealings with link removed by moderator? I'm thinking of purchasing a ae700 unit from them. I notice they have only been in business since Sept '04, so I'm a little hesitant.

I realize it comes as a Japanese model with a Japanese warranty, but for $2500CDN it sounds pretty good. (the model is classified as a THAE-700, but I believe it is equivalent to the PTAE-700U for North America, correct?) Anyways, apparently the unit comes with an English translation menu, and all buttons are in English as well.

Thanks in advance,

Cam

 

[Chris PC]

It comes with an Japanese OSD but a translation manual, that is ok. I've never dealt with them before. He's been offering these deals for a while. I am considering buying from him too. Not sure, but I may wait until the units are available and I can see one for myself. I'd like to know if anyone else has given them a try.

 

[David_Rivshin]

If you're willing to put up with the japanese OSD, then check out www.pricejapan.com. Current price seems to be about $1700 USD delivered to USA or Canada. You'll want to check out the Canadian customs fees that you might have to pay to see if that comes out better for you.

-- Dave

 

[Parker Clack]

There is a great review on this projector at Projector Central.

This looks a great buy all the way around.

Parker

 

[David_Rivshin]

I'll agree with that. Seems to be definite bang for the buck leader in the hot $1500-2500 segment right now. If I decide I can afford the luxury (and figure out a good way of getting a screen together), one might just be in my future...

-- Dave

PS. Don't get me wrong, I find ProjectorCentral rather useful for lots of things, and like it in general. That review just gave me a real "glossy print magazine" feeling, if you know what I mean. I do, of course, suggest reading it, just as I suggest reading any information you can find on a prospective purchase.

 

[Chris PC]

Yeah, it wasn't a very informative review in my experience. In todays lcd projector climate, its a tough read. Things like vertical banding and contrast are some of the most important things about projectors that we buyers are concerned about. IIRC they did mention vertical banding, but their comments on contrast and black level were in-sufficient. We need numbers.

 

[Drew Bethel]

I've had my L300U since 2002 and have only racked up 400 hours on it so it will be along time before I'm ready to upgrade. I'll probably need a VCR to DVD type of change to upgrade sooner.

 

[Chris PC]

Some people in the US are getting their AE700's in now. This is a totally new timing for lcd product introduction. For the last two years, new projectors from Panasonic, arguably the leader in low cost home theatre lcd front projectors, have come out in Japan in Oct/Nov and haven't been found in North American until Dec 31 or Jan 1rst of the following year. I think the mid-year introduction of the very well received and excellent performing Hitachi PJ TX100 has stirred up the lcd front projector market. Infocus's SP 5000 is also out now too, and the Sanyo Z3 is coming out soon also. The D5 panel of next year should be another leap ahead. I wonder when those PJ's will come out.

So is anyone here awaiting a AE700 of their own?