Animated films are improved with Mode 3 as well. Ratatouille shows plenty of judder on the big screen if viewed on a projector with no frame interpolation. But Mode 3 virtually eliminates all judder without introducing any unwanted side effects. In animated films, the digital video effect is a non-issue, so Frame Creation can be turned up to max without any worries.
Once you've seen Ratatouille with a robust frame interpolation system, you won't want to watch it any other way. But it does impart an incremental sharpness and stability that makes it worthwhile. It is noteworthy that Frame Creation works with 3D, because on some p 3D projectors that have frame interpolation, the system can only be activated on 2D material.
Lens Memory. Most people opt for format screens. But many prefer the wider 2. If you want to go this route, it is easy to do with the AE The Lens Memory system lets the projector memorize the zoom position and focal point of the lens when it is set for a image. Then all you do is reset the lens and focus to display a 2. From that point on, you can reset the lens automatically to display either or 2. The projector even has an optional auto-detect feature that will cause the lens to automatically reset depending on what you pop into the disc player.
If the centerline of the projector's lens is above the center of the screen which it usually is , a switch from to 2. But it is easy to move the 2. In setting up the Lens Memory position, the projector will remember not only the image size and focal position, but the vertical offset as well.
Basically, using this system is a piece of cake. The huge advantage to it is that it eliminates the high cost and cumbersome nuisance of an external anamorphic lens.
And you end up with a sharper picture to boot. The AE will display a 2. When an anamorphic lens is used, the signal is digitally stretched, then optically compressed. The result is always a softer image. There are real advantages to going with a 2. If you are just now planning a new home theater, choosing the right screen size and aspect ratio is a critical first step.
Lumen Output. The AE is rated at lumens, and our engineering test sample not a production unit measured lumens with everything cranked up to maximum. This projector has seven pre-programmed operating modes. Lumen output at default settings on each of these modes, with lamp set to Normal and the lens at its widest angle position, were in descending order as follows: Dynamic, ; Normal, ; Game, ; Cinema 2, ; Rec, ; D-Cinema, ; Cinema 1, Typically the brighter modes on home theater projectors tend to sacrifice color accuracy, black level , and contrast in exchange for the added brightness.
However, among the highlights of previous generation AE was a Normal mode that was remarkably well color balanced. And the AE takes this to a new level. Normal mode is increased from about lumens to But at the same time, color and contrast are noticeably better on the AE as compared to the AEnot quite as pristine as the pure cinema modes, but the picture quality in Normal mode on this projector is outstanding.
It could very easily be called Cinema 3 or Bright Cinema. Many competing home theater projectors have goosed their Cinema modes up to lumens or more, which is far too bright for classic home theater. Yet there is a tendency for people to compare Cinema modes between projectors and give extra points for brightness when they have some ambient light to contend with. In a side by side comparison the AE is likely to win not only for brightness, but for overall image quality as well.
I say this with confidence, because we have some p home theater projectors on hand. When we set them up in their best cinema mode, they are not as solid as the Normal mode on the AE The bottom line is that if you want to set up a " screen in a dark theater, you can do it without sacrificing much at all in the way of overall picture quality.
Alternatively, Normal mode gives you some flexibility to maintain superb image quality on smaller screens with some ambient light in the room on occasions when you might want to do that. Color has always been a strong point on Panasonic home theater models. And no, it does not make whites look red. The point of the Red Rich lamp is to strengthen the red component, which is notoriously weak in high pressure lamps.
The objective is to end up with better color balance on the screen. The AE has a pre-calibrated mode for Rec, the industry standard for ideal video that specifies a color temperature of K and a gamma curve of 2. In theory this should be the ideal viewing mode for home theater. However, on the AE as well as other p models we have seen, the Rec standard looks dull on a " screen. Some will assume this is due to inadequate luminance , but there is a separate phenomenon at work.
The human eye perceives color values differently in large scale. Let's presume you are in a black projection room with no reflected or ambient light. If you look at a red circle that is 30" diameter, and the same precise value of red in a circle that is three times the size, the smaller one will appear to the eye to be more saturated, even though it isn't. The same thing occurs no matter what color the objects are I just used red as an example. Panasonic runs this test at their Hollywood lab to demonstrate the effect of object size on perceived color saturation.
Having participated in this test myself, I can say from personal experience that the phenomenon is real. Smaller objects of a certain color value look more saturated when placed next to larger objects of the same color value when there is no other light to distract one's perception. Panasonic addresses this issue with the Cinema 1 mode on the AE Cinema 1 is based on Rec, but it is color enhanced to compensate for perceptual differences on a large screen.
When you flip back and forth between Cinema 1 and Rec modes, the latter looks decidedly flat and dull, while Cinema 1 is more vibrant. Some will argue that the issue is exclusively a matter of inadequate luminance per square foot. In our experience, the phenomenon of differing perception of color in larger scale is a contributing influence.
In any event, Panasonic has given the user both Cinema 1 and Rec calibrations on the AE, so you can choose which you prefer. For us, the Cinema 1 mode was preferable on large screen display, looking decidedly more natural and balanced. The brightest pre-calibrated mode on the AE is Dynamic, which measured lumens.
On our sample, this mode is biased toward green. It is certainly watchable if you need the bright picture and don't mind that color is not quite on target. But we found Normal to be much preferred. It measured lumens. The difference in brightness that the human eye perceives between lumens and lumens is insignificant, especially when there is any ambient light present.
But with the Normal mode you get decidedly superior color balance. The lamp can be put into Eco mode in any of the operating modes, including 3D.
Lamp life in Normal mode is expected to be hours, and hours in eco mode. Fan noise is a low whisper in Normal mode, and virtually silent in eco mode.
It is not likely that fan noise or the incremental hours would be large enough issues to motivate the user to opt for eco-mode. The decision will be driven by how much light is needed in any given situation. Therefore, our preference would be to choose a screen size and throw distance that allows you to operate in eco-mode during the first half of the lamp's life.
As lamp output on all high pressure lamps diminishes with usage, the Normal lamp mode can be activated after, say, to hours, to maintain optimum screen brightness over a longer period of the lamp's life. Versatile Installation Flexibility. Vertical lens shift range is three full picture heights, and horizontal shift is one-fourth of a picture width in either direction from center.
Once the projector is installed you rarely need access to the lens shift control, so in normal operation a panel slides into place that covers these elements to make them invisible.
These zoom and lens shift adjustments give you significant flexibility to install the projector either on a wall shelf or a freestanding rack behind the seats, or in a ceiling mount. The connection panel is located on the rear of the projector. It includes three HDMI 1. One of these triggers can be used to drive an external IR emitter for 3D installations that require a throw distance longer than 6 meters.
Other Features. Panasonic home theater projectors are unique in the industry in the sense that they come fully loaded with a host of features that do not exist on many other home theater projectors.
We've touched on some of them, but to discuss them all would turn this review into a novel. Lumen loss through zoom lens. While the 2. That means the longest throw distances you can get on the AE will be accompanied by curtailed brightness. Sometimes that won't make any difference. If you want to hit a " diagonal screen from the maximum throw distance of about 20 feet, you can certainly do that.
But for most situations, if you are planning to use the projector in ambient light or on a very large screen, you will want to install the projector at a distance that uses the wider end of the zoom lens. Reduced horizontal lens shift range. If you happen to own one of these previous models, and have installed it in a location that requires aggressive use of the horizontal shift, you may not be able to upgrade to the AE without relocating the projector.
Lens shift adjustment control. On earlier models the lens shift was controlled by two wheels that gave you rather precise control over the position of the lens. On the AE these wheels have been replaced by a relatively flimsy joystick that makes lens shift adjustments more difficult.
I found myself chronically overshooting the mark when trying to reset the lens for a new screen. Getting the image to square precisely with a screen frame requires both patience and luck. Fortunately, once it is set, neither your projector nor your screen are going to move, and you won't need to mess with this control again. People will have different experiences with the comfort of any given set of 3D glasses. The glasses provided by Panasonic with our AE have smaller lenses than are ideal for those who must wear them over a pair of regular optical correction glasses.
When I put them on, the frames intrude into my field of vision a bit more than I would prefer. If I remove my optical glasses, the 3D glasses fit more comfortably and the size of the lenses is not a problem, so if you do not normally wear glasses, this is probably a non-issue. Panasonic informs us that they will be offering glasses in three sizes once shipments commence--small, medium, and large.
We have been testing with the medium size. It is unclear whether the sizes of the glasses is related to the frames only, or whether the large size glasses will have larger lenses. No matter, this is a great projector value for an ultra-high contrast home theater projector.
Well, that wait is all over now. What is the competition for this Panasonic projector? More theatre automation, such as lighting and a motorised screen, can be achieved with the PT-AE because it comes equipped with two programmable volt trigger terminals.
The holy grail of home cinemas is a set-up that can be operated with one device and the VIERA Link feature does this by providing seamless operation of multiple compatible Panasonic devices by using the PT-AE remote control. Added Removed. Add to Wishlist Remove from Wishlist. The PT-AE has also been redesigned from the ground up to achieve higher basic 2D performance, and packed with unique 3D features to deliver the level of quality demanded by Hollywood professionals.
Our Editor's Choice designation is our top award earned by reviewed products and is reserved for those offering extraordinary performance or value in their price class. Read Review. The ANSI lumen rating measures the brightest white that a projector can produce by averaging nine light meter measurements taken across the projected image.
BUYER BEWARE Either this projector's brightness specification does not cite an industry-accepted unit of measurement, or according to our calculations it seems unlikely that this projector is capable of producing the manufacturer's cited brightness specification.
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