Panasonic AE2000U Projector Review

If you’ve followed the progress of my new theater in my previous articles, you know the display is a Panasonic AE2000U projector. This unit is a 3 LCD design utilizing the same D7 C2Fine panels found in the Epson Ultra-Black series as well as the Sanyo line of home theater models. Native resolution is 1920x1080. There are 3 HDMI inputs which accept both 60 and 24Hz refresh rates. The projector’s actual refresh is 60Hz or 96Hz for 24p material. The cadence used for 24p is 4:4 where each frame is simply repeated 4 times. I’ll talk a bit more in detail about this later. Two component, one composite and one S-video input are also included. HDMI inputs are up to 1080p/60 compatible with Deep Color and xvYCC support. An backlit remote is included which controls all projector functions and is programmable for other devices. The projector responds very well when the remote is pointed at the screen. Also included is a 9-foot power cord. I was happy to see this as I am using a high shelf for the projector and the power is of course by the floor.

Installation is very easy and flexible with this unit. The throw range is quite large with the 2.0x zoom. You can project an image of 40” at 3’11” up to 200” at 39’4”. My theater uses a 92” Carada Brilliant White screen with a gain of 1.3. The throw distance is around 10’. Generous horizontal and vertical lens shift is available. You can go one full screen height above or below the lens axis. You can go about 40% off-center horizontally. The only caveat is if you max out one axis, you have less range on the other. There is rarely a reason to use horizontal shift for more than fine tuning however. I mounted my projector right around the height of the top of the screen and had no problem getting everything lined up. It’s critical for accurate geometry to have the projector and screen level and parallel in both planes. The front feet adjust independently for this purpose. I achieved a perfectly square and centered image. Focus from edge to edge was excellent with only the slightest aberration on the sides of a fine grid pattern. As with any 3-chip projector, convergence can be an issue and there is no adjustment for this available on the AE2000U. Fortunately, my unit had no problems. Color uniformity was excellent with only a barely perceptible green tint toward the right side. Focus and zoom are motorized so you can get right up to the screen and adjust them with the remote. Lens shift is accomplished with two dials on the top of the case. If you use a ceiling mount, these will point towards the floor.

The user menu has everything a tweaker (tweakaphile?) could ask for and more. You can fiddle to your heart's content and save all your work to one of 16 memories! The seven picture modes are labeled Dynamic, Normal, Color 1 and 2, and Cinema 1, 2 and 3. Color 1 measured almost perfectly to Rec 709. I did my initial calibration in this mode after running the lamp about 80 hours. All other parameters were very accurate and the projector was very easy to dial in. A complete set of grayscale controls are included as well as a three-point gamma control. I did all adjustments with the iris turned off. After calibration, I turned it on as it does improve shadow detail and black level quality. Though this projector won’t compete with a CRT or the new JVC RS2, its black level and gamma quality is superb, especially in my totally dark theater. There is a color management system which is quite unique. You display a target on the screen and sample a particular color. Then you can adjust Color, Tint and Brightness for that color. All you need to do is display a primary or secondary color pattern and adjust away! Unfortunately, this isn’t available in the Color 1 and 2 modes. After about a week of viewing, I decided to try adjusting the colors in Cinema 1. Initial measurements showed a bit of oversaturation but perfect decoding. After calibration, I was much happier with the overall image quality. I recommend Cinema 1 as the best mode for this display. If you have a color-neutral screen like the Carada, little adjustment is needed to the color space.

Video processing in the AE2000U is fair but not stellar. I engaged the Cinema Reality option to check out the inverse-telecine capability from standard DVD. Judder was reduced as expected but the overall image was softer when fed a 1080i signal from a Denon 2930CI. I preferred the picture with the Denon set to output 1080p. Even though there is some judder, the increased detail and almost total absence of artifacts is a worthwhile tradeoff. There is also a Detail Clarity control which I left on. It does a good job of reducing noise without softening the image.

Blu-ray image quality is simply amazing. If anyone is on the fence about whether to go for a new player, you won’t be if you see a movie on a quality 1080p display. It’s not just the increased resolution that’s in play here. It’s the total absence of video processing required to display the image. Blu-ray movies are almost exclusively encoded at 1080p/24. The data is decoded from the disc and output without modification. The AE2000U accepts the signal, does the YCbCr to RGB conversion and displays the signal at 96Hz. The appearance of an artifact-free and judder-free image must be seen to be appreciated. There is no more film-like display than this. Even real film must be projected under the correct conditions (mechanically sound projector, unworn print, color accurate light source) to approach what I’m seeing in my theater. The only drawback is how I’m going to afford to upgrade my entire DVD library to Blu-ray!

Obviously, I’m very happy with my purchase. If you’re looking for a comparison to the Epson 1080UB, here it is: these projectors are identical in image quality. I measured the same black levels from the AE2000U as I did from an Epson UB. You could pretty much toss a coin to decide which one to buy. The Panasonic is a bit quieter than the Epson but most people would not hear the difference unless the projector is right overhead. The only other difference is the Panasonic has an H-Fit aspect mode that will support an anamorphic lens setup. Doing a constant-height system with the Epson would require an external video processor. Other than that feature, you won’t be sorry with either projector. I’ve had the theater running for a few weeks now and I can say with certainty that I won’t be going back to a movie theater for the foreseeable future. The large high-quality image coupled with the amazing sound make for an experience far above any I’ve ever had in a commercial theater. There’s nothing like having an intimate space with the movie literally filling the entire space both visually and sonically with no extraneous sound whatsoever. Stay tuned for my Onkyo SR805 receiver review.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!

Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Calibration

This projector is one of the heavy hitters in the hot sub-$3000 1080p projector market. I wrote about the Panasonic AE1000U recently and the AE2000U just found its way into my own theater, review to follow. This unit like the others in its class uses the latest C2Fine LCD panels from Epson. These panels offer superb black levels and a tack-sharp image as their top features. This unit did not disappoint in either area.

The menu system is quite large and covers every possible calibration control required. There are cuts and gains for grayscale, color management, 9-point gamma, lamp brightness, iris on/off, position and overscan and a very useful multi-level sharpness control.

I began with basic level adjustments. This projector really does render superb blacks. Pluge patterns were fully resolved with the setup level on 0 IRE. This allows passing below black and above white signals which are present in most DVD and Blu-ray content. I was able to fine-tune the color gamut using the excellent color management system which offers Hue, Saturation and Brightness for all six colors. Once I had made adjustments to cyan and magenta, the gamut and color decoding were right on the money.

Next I turned my attention to gamma and grayscale. As automatic irises play havoc with gamma measurements, I turned it off temporarily. My approach is to achieve a correct curve without the iris then turn it on viewing actual content to check black level detail. The 9-point gamma adjustment was really handy as I couldn’t achieve 2.2 even with the control set on 2.4! I lowered every point with the most adjustment in the low and mid areas. I finally settled on 2.12. Any higher and black would start to crush. The net effect was positive after I re-engaged the iris. Blacks were very inky with great shadow detail. The image really popped. This is one of the real justifications for a precise and thorough calibration. Without test equipment, it would be impossible to find the best balance between good black levels and a correct gamma curve.

Grayscale was a snap to adjust with a full set of cuts and gains available. Tracking was excellent, within 100k and under 0.5 DeltaC*. I checked the grayscale with both windows and full fields. This projector had excellent panel alignment and color uniformity. There was no perceptible variation across the screen.

With the proliferation of Blu-ray players outputting 24p and a compatible display such as this one, it pays to spend time with some motion patterns to ensure you’ve got everything set up correctly. This projector has excellent video processing so I wanted to take advantage of its inverse-telecine de-interlacing ability. This means setting the SD DVD player to output 1080i. The projector correctly discards the extra fields created by 3:2 pulldown and makes 24p from 60i. The end result is judder-free motion from standard DVD. Blu-ray output is obviously set to 1080p/24. Unless you have a really good SD DVD player or an outboard video processor, I recommend sending a compatible display 1080i whenever possible.

My customary post-calibration reality check was quite enjoyable. In fact, it stretched to about an hour of watching scenes from different movies! Switching back and forth between Blu-ray and DVD versions of The Fifth Element really showed off the projector’s excellent image and excellent video processing. The Blu-ray was obviously superior but the DVD looked great too. Even though Blu-ray has won the war, we’ll be watching DVDs for a few years to come. It pays to consider this when purchasing any display or player. This particular system had an Oppo 981 for DVD. I recommend this or the more expensive Denon 2930CI. None of the currently available Blu-ray players can upconvert DVD as well as the Oppo or Denon units. A projector like this deserves the best sources available. For anyone considering a new projector, you won’t be disappointed with the Epson 1080UB. With superior projectors costing at least 3 times as much, you’ll have plenty of cash left over for a calibration and some quality source components.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!

Choosing Components for Front-Projection

Now that my mancave has evolved into a theater, I have had to expand my research into front-projection systems. I use the word system because that’s exactly what it is. There is a projector and screen of course but there is a sometimes forgotten element - the room. Before you spend one dime, you have to know the exact conditions of the room; light control, mounting positions for projector and screen, wall and ceiling construction and of course, throw distance.

Ideally, a theater should have total light control. You should be able to make it totally dark. This includes light leaks around the entry door which can be considerable. Windows can be covered with blackout curtains but the best method is some sort of panel or shutter. In my case, I used acoustic panels to both cover the windows and act as sound treatment. To seal the door, I used some thin rubber strips in the door frame and a sweep for the door’s bottom edge. Not only is light sealed out but sound transmission through the door is nearly eliminated.

My next order of business was choosing a screen. I knew I wanted a fixed-frame screen for a few reasons. Since the room is a theater, I don’t need to retract the screen at any time. I also wanted a wide, light absorbing frame. Lastly, the highest image quality comes with a perfectly flat screen. I chose Carada based on excellent reviews, value and design. Their Criterion Series screens have a 3.25” wide by 1.5” deep extruded aluminum frame covered with a velvet-like material they call “Black Hole Trim.” They are not exaggerating about this. It really does absorb all light. I’ll be able to take the image right to the edge when I have the projector set up. This frame is extremely stiff. The screen can’t help but be perfectly flat. The mounting system allows the screen to hang on a bracket so if the wall isn’t flat (mine certainly isn’t) the screen still will be. The screen material is also important. Carada offers three: high-contrast gray, cinema white and brilliant white. The gray has a gain of .8 and will improve contrast at the expense of light output. Black levels will be very good with this material. Cinema white has a 1.0 gain which means it will be completely neutral. Brilliant white (my choice) has a gain of 1.4. I do like bright whites and 1.4 is not such a large increase in light output. Given that I measured .02fl on a 0 IRE field from an AE1000, a gain of 1.4 will give me .028fl, still quite black!

My choices in projectors started with price. I wanted to spend under $3000. Fortunately, there are many excellent models to choose from. The top models from Epson, Panasonic, Sanyo and Mitsubishi all have just the right attributes for a small theater like mine. Using the excellent throw distance calculator on ProjectorPeople.com, I determined the Panasonic AE2000U could project a 92” image within my possible throw of about 11 feet. I also thought very hard about mounting options. Certainly a ceiling mount would work but I have some obstacles. The walls in my house are old-world plaster making stud finding a real challenge. I certainly would need to attach a ceiling mount to the joist for safety’s sake. I also have an 8’6” ceiling in the theater. Putting the projector that high would be too far above the screen top for my taste. Even though the Panasonic has a large vertical lens shift range, I’d rather keep the projector closer to screen center for better uniformity. I decided to go with a shelf about 6 feet high. The shelf gives me another bonus: adjustability. To achieve the best image, you need to have the projector and screen perfectly on plane both vertically and horizontally. You can do this with a ceiling mount but you have to be sure to buy one that allows pitch, yaw and rotation adjustments.

There are of course other considerations with projector models, namely, black level quality, color accuracy, image clarity and light output. While the SMPTE standard for cinema is 16 foot-lamberts with no film in the projector, many professionals are recommending 20fl peak. The Panasonic AE2000U can achieve this. By using the formula: fl=(lumens/screen area in square feet)*gain, a peak reading of 402 lumens with a 92”, 16:9 (25 square feet), 1.4 gain screen yields 22.5fl, more than enough. The color accuracy is certainly there with the 2000 and black levels are superb. This projector uses the same D7 C2fine panels as the Epson Ultra-Black series. Black levels I measured from an AE1000U were the same as a good plasma panel.

My final consideration is the room’s construction. As I said, my walls are plaster and therefore more difficult to work with than drywall. I have the added challenge of mounting the screen over a window. The window is totally covered with black acoustic panels and I’ll be covering the rest of the wall behind the screen with black burlap. This will absorb any light that shines through the screen material. These reflections can alter the color if your walls are not perfectly color-neutral. Many installers use either flat black paint or black carpet to do solve this problem. To find studs to support the projector shelf and screen brackets, I’ll drill small holes. The location for the shelf is right over an electrical outlet. There is a stud on one side or the other which I’ll confirm by removing the wall plate. Once I confirm the stud’s location, I’ll use 3.5” lag bolts to secure everything.

All this information is out there in various places on the internet. Hopefully, this will tie together a few things for those of you interested in going to front-projection. Prices and quality have never been better and you don’t need a huge room to have a huge screen. I’ll never have to go to the movies again!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!

Panasonic AE1000U LCD Projector Calibration

The 1080p projector market is white-hot these days with several superb units priced at under $3000. Even one year ago, this was almost unheard of. Epson, Sanyo, Mitsubishi and the subject of today's article, Panasonic, all make models. The model I calibrated is the AE1000U. It has been recently replaced by the AE2000U. This unit uses a new LCD panel set and is slightly brighter. In fact, the 2000 uses the same panels as the new Epson HC1080UB. But I digress: The AE1000U has every possible calibration control available in the user menu. You have complete control over color primaries and secondaries, grayscale, and a neat 3-point gamma control. There is also a waveform monitor that makes setting black and white levels very easy. You can have the waveform on the screen while you navigate through the various menus and make your adjustments.

The AE1000U has 2 HDMI inputs as well as component, s-video and composite inputs. There is also an RS-232 port for control systems. There is no IR hookup but the receiver on the front of the unit is very sensitive. I had no trouble bouncing the remote off the screen to control the projector. My client had the projector ceiling mounted with about a 12-foot throw to a 100-inch Da-Lite fixed-frame screen. I measured the screen's gain at 1.1

First up was geometry. It's important to have the image perfectly positioned without visible distortion. There are horizontal and vertical lens shift controls for this purpose. There is also a 2x zoom for lots of flexibility in sizing and placement. Vertical shift range is one-half screen height above or below the screen. Using the extremes of the vertical shift will limit the horizontal shift. This is not an issue if you place the projector's center-mounted lens within a few inches of screen center. Once image geometry was set, the calibration was pretty much the same as a direct-view display. Black and white levels were set with pluge patterns and checked with the waveform monitor. I measured gamma before grayscale calibration and came up with a disappointing 1.71. After turning off the dynamic iris, it improved to 2.0. I was able to get it to 2.2 with the 3-point gamma control, which has sliders for high, mid and low. I only needed to lower the low control to get a perfect curve. Given this result, I left the iris off permanently.

Grayscale was no problem with the complete set of RGB gains and cuts available. Color decoding allows several approaches. You can adjust the primaries with the color management system. This involves displaying a pattern, a 75% color window works for me; then setting a target to adjust. You can tweak the color, tint and brightness of the primaries (or any other color for that matter) this way. After some very small adjustments to the color profile, I had a perfectly aligned decoder and primaries and secondaries were spot-on. At this point, I should talk about the different picture modes. The 2 to be concerned with are Cinema 1 and Color 1. Cinema 1 is claimed to be "Hollywood style colors" in the manual. It places a filter in the light path that darkens the image. It also appeared to me to introduce a slight yellow shift. Color 1 does not use the filter and is pretty much right on Rec 709, HD standard. Obviously, I left it on Color 1. The other modes are progessively less accurate.

When I was finished, I was able to save the settings in the first of the AE1000U's 8 memories. There are also 3 memories for the color profile should you wish to have multiple color gamuts available. My client's sources were an HD cable box and a Toshiba A20 HD-DVD player. The image simply leapt off the screen! Planet Earth in HD-DVD looked simply stunning. I cued up a scene where a colorfully-clad base jumper jumps into a giant cave shaft in the middle of the South American jungle. The blackness of the hole was very impressive. Any stigma LCD projectors might have had about black quality was not apparent with this model. In fact, I measured the minimum black level on a 0IRE field at .02fl. This is in the same range as any plasma I've measured. Max light output was 14fl, plenty bright for a totally dark room and a 10-foot seating distance.

I can't imagine a better projector for a small theater than this Panasonic. Other reviews I've read seem to bear this out. This projector is also the quietest I've ever worked on. You have to put your ear right up to it to hear the cooling fan. The color is very accurate, the gamma is perfect and dynamic range is very wide. At this point, I plan to add an AE2000U to my personal theater. For the same or less money than a quality 50-inch plasma TV, you can go front projection. I guess for me 92 is the new 50! Stay tuned for an article I'm preparing on my selection process for a projector and screen. There are many factors to consider when choosing the right equipment for your theater. Thanks for reading and enjoy the view!