Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p Full HD 1500 lumens LCD Projector Review

Panasonic’s PT-AE2000U is 3LCD, Full HD projector has a performance which will please a home theater enthusiast. It has also become a popular purchase for gaming. For those enthusiasts who like to tweak picture adjustments, this projector comes with some professional level features. However, it also comes with pre-set modes for a great picture at the press of a button.

Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p 3LCD Projector

The Panasonic PT-AE2000U packs plenty of brightness for a home theater projector, able to pump out up to 1,500 lumens. The contrast ratio is high at 16,000:1 (full on/full off, AI mode with Dynamic Iris on)providing for more detail in darker scenes which are prevalent in games. Excellent set-up flexibility is provided by wide horizontal and vertical lens shift ranges and a zoom lens.

Lamp life is 2,000 hours at full power but can be extended with lower power and prudent use.

Next-Generation C2Fine Full-HD LCD Panels

Panasonic’s PT-AE2000U owes it’s improved contrast ratio in part to the new next-generation C2Fine (Seiko Epson Corporation) full-HD LCD panels which use vertically aligned liquid crystal molecules with inorganic alignment layers. The inorganic alignment layer reduces orientation unevenness producing smoother images while vertical alignment reduces light leakage improving contrast and deepening blacks.

Smooth Screen Technology

As always Panasonic have incorporated their Smooth Screen technology which uses crystal double refraction to arrange pixels on a screen without gaps between them so there is no screen-door effect where individual pixels can be seen in the projected image. The Smooth Screen is optimized specifically to match the characteristic of PT-AE2000U’s optical system.

Dynamic Iris Control

As well as employing the light leakage reduction of the C2Fine LCD panels, Panasonic have used three other techniques for producing deeper blacks; iris (light restricting aperture), lamp brightness and gamma control. Sixty times a second the PT-AE2000 determines the brightness level of each image and adjusts the lamp power, iris opening and gamma value.

Dynamic control of gamma* level compensates for the non-linear nature of the gamma response curve which results in a static gamma setting being unable to optimise for both lighter and darker video frames. By manipulating the gamma value (dynamic vs static) it’s possible to have an optimised setting for both darker and brighter images.

*Gamma is the rate of transition from black to white between brightness levels which number 100 for video signals.

Video Processing

Video processing is becoming a more significant factor in picture quality with each generation of projectors. The Panasonic PT-AE2000U has an improved 16-bit processing capability giving a four-fold increase in the number of gray levels (brightness variations) and color hues for more life-like images with finer gradations of color.

The PT-AE2000U’s digital processing unit includes a Digital Clarity Processor for improved clarity and sharpness of details usually lost due to image compression. It works by analysing the frequency of the video signal for each scene then extracting information on the distribution of high, medium and low frequency image components and finally applying an appropriate sharpness to each portion of an image. Image sharpness is something you want for all reading text, menus or control consoles in games.

Panasonic have used an optical filter (Pure Color Filter Pro) to optimize the light spectrum from the projector lamp for dual purposes of achieving deeper blacks and improving primary color (RGB) purity levels.

Picture Adjustments

Split Adjust Mode

For those who like to make use of the professional level of picture adjustment options available, the Panasonic PT-AE2000U will allow you to freeze an image on a split screen and make your adjustments while comparing the result to the adjacent original image.

New Waveform Monitor

Panasonic’s new high end Waveform Monitor feature allows the waveform of the source device to be displayed and a check made if the luminance level is in the recommended range. If not it can be adjusted manually or automatically for the best picture quality (full black and white levels of the original video can be reproduced). Panasonic have made the manual process a simple one of adjusting the top and bottom of the waveform to match the top and bottom of the optimal dynamic range for the projector.

Cinema Color Management (CCM)

With the ability to color correct 1.07 billion colors to get just the right color equalization in hue, luminance and saturation, Panasonic’s Cinema Color Management is a feature which is something only the serious enthusiast or professional would mess with. It would also require some test equipment to be used effectively. Fortunately, there are handy preset picture modes for quick and professional results.

PT-AE2000U Projector has Excellent Set-up Flexibility

Awesome set-up flexibility is provided by the PT-AE2000U. The 2x optical power zoom/focus means a wide range of suitable distances from the screen to the projector. The projector has lens shift rather than digital keystone correction so there is no chance of video processing artefacts. The projected image on the screen can be shifted up to +/- 100 percent vertically and +/- 40 percent horizontally. The motorized zoom lens and remote allows you to stand just in front of the screen to get the focus perfect. The universal “learning” remote can be used to control multiple devices in your home theater. You can also assign direct shortcuts to functions you frequently use on the three function buttons.

Connections

The PT-AE2000U has three v1.3 HDMI input ports which will support Deep Color and the relatively new xvYCC color space. There’s also two component video inputs, composite video, S-video, RS-232 for command and control and an analog computer input.

Panasonic PT-AE200U for Gaming

As with all projectors and HDTVs purchased for gaming you need to have a game console output of 1080p matching the 1080p (1920×1080) native resolution of the PT-AE2000U if you are to avoid scaling lag. Panasonic have done a lot to provide deep black levels and lots of detail in darker scenes. The high maximum brightness output of 1,500 lumens is good for gaming. You shouldn’t be distracted by projector noise as it is rated at 22 dB for low power which is a good figure. At 15.9lbs or 7.2 Kg the PT-AE2000U is over double the weight below which a projector would be considered portable.

Other Features

Seven quick set picture modes including; Cinema 1/2/3, Normal, Dynamic and Color 1/2.
3D noise reduction for high-precision noise detection and reduction
Scene-adaptive MPEG noise reduction to block regular noise and minimize mosquito noise.
Scene adaptive resizing LSI improves quality when resizing 480p images or those from other sources with resolution lower than the PT-AE2000U’s native resolution.
24fps compatible for better looking cinema feature playback (filmed at slower 24 fps)
Progressive cinema scan (3/2 pulldown) and HD IP
Selectable frame response
Up to sixteen sets of picture adjustment settings can be stored in custom labeled memory
Built-in test pattern saves loading a calibration disk
On-screen input guidance
Auto input search – saves time
Normal/economy lamp power selection for extending your projector lamp life
Off-timer