Panasonic 700u vs 900u or something else???

[thxgoon]

I decided that this would be the year that I would upgrade to a high def tv for my home theater, and after much deliberation I've decided I want to go ahead with front projection. Wohoo! I have a few questions regarding some LCD projectors and was hoping to get some input from anyone with any personal experience. I think I've narrowed my search to the Panasonic 700u or 900u. However I've seen the Sony HS51 and am intruiged by the Audioholics decision to put the Yamaha 510 in their reference system. So here come the questions.

Has anyone actually had personal experience between the Panasonic 700u and 900u? Is it worth the extra $500 dollars or so? My biggest concern with buying a projector is screen door effect. I don't think I could be satisfied with a projector if it has visible screen pattern. In the Audioholics review of the 900u, they state the differences between the D4 and D5 panels and talk about the use of the Smooth Screen technology as a difference between the 700/900. However, Projectorcentral.com and Panasonic's website state that as a feature of the 700u as well. Did they just enhance it for the 900? Is it a noticeable difference?

Seeing as all LCD panels seem to be made by epson....

Audioholics decided on the Yamaha 510 for the Reference 2 system and this got me considering it. Does anyone know which panel is in the Yamaha 510 and if it has any kind of smooth scaling tech to minimize screen door? Is the Yamaha that much better than the Pannys?

As to my experience with the Sony HS51, the image produced was awesome! Very close (I thought) to that of a high end (10k) DLP projector in the same room, however the screen door effect was prevailant. Can anyone comment on that versus the Pannys or Yamaha?

Thanks for any help you all can provide. I have decided on a 106" screen from Goo and I sit about 14ft back. I am going to great lengths to control the light in the room so it will be pitch black at Noon, and there will be enough dark wall coverings to stop light reflection.

 

[wilkenboy]

thxgoon,

My cousin has the Panny 700u unit, projecting from roughly 15ft onto a 110 inch 16:9 screen in a completely light controlled room. You can't see screen door effect (SDE) until you get about 1-2 feet from the screen, none at all at any reasonable viewing distance. He's projecting onto an ebay "goo" equivalent mixture painted onto hardboard.

If you're looking at projectorcentral.com you're on the right track. Also might want to check the front projector sections of the avsforum if you have some more free time to burn in your research.

A few other things to think about are ease of setup - a good built-in zoom and image shifting are things you'll want to think about in relation to how you are going to set up your room.

You may also want to check out the Sanyo Z3 and Z4, they are in roughly the same class / price range, but best bang/buck seems to change daily.

I hope this helps and let us know what you pick!

~Josh

 

[BMXTRIX]

Let's begin by clarifying one thing:

ALL PROJECTORS HAVE SCREEN DOOR!

The 700 & 900 eliminate it completely (even from a few inches) but it softens the image slightly. Still looks great, but individual pixels are not nearly as distinct as they could be.

DLP, LCoS, and LCD all are made up of individual pixels and there is a inter-pixel gap that shows up as dark areas on the screen. The screen door. The closer you get, the more easily it is visible. In order? LCD, DLP, LCoS. LCD is worst LCoS is best.

But, at what distance is screen door visible to the human eye and what do you give up by switching from one technology to another? Well, generally speaking, with a HD display (Z4) and a viewing distance following THX standards of 1.5x screen width, a person with 20/20 vision will be 100% incapable of seeing screen door. Simple as that.

You can get up closer, and see it - you will know it is there. But, you simply won't be able to see it no matter how hard you try if you never get close. What you will see is a very sharp image out of the Z4 with no softness whatsoever. The AE900 is visibly soft when compared to a proejctor with no smooth screen technology.

I personally keep glancing sidelong as the Epson 550 right now. A projector that can actually crank out some lumens when I want it to really appeals to me. Then, I can tone it back when I don't need the lumens. Plus, it has RS-232 so I can control it via Crestron and automatically set the lumen level based upon the time of day!

My opinion? It almost doesn't matter. LCD - AE700 is awesome, AE900 is not worth a ton more, but has a $200 mail in rebate right now and some blockbuster freebies. The Z3, the Z4, the 550... it is hard to screw this up really! As long as it is a home theater projector to begin with and you are putting it into a home theater, you are most of the way there.

 

[thxgoon]

But, at what distance is screen door visible to the human eye and what do you give up by switching from one technology to another? Well, generally speaking, with a HD display (Z4) and a viewing distance following THX standards of 1.5x screen width, a person with 20/20 vision will be 100% incapable of seeing screen door. Simple as that.

Is this on the Z4? Or any HD projector. I can see screen door with most projectors at 2x distance. Including DLP. It is something that really bothers me. This is why I was interested in the Panasonics.

I personally keep glancing sidelong as the Epson 550 right now. A projector that can actually crank out some lumens when I want it to really appeals to me. Then, I can tone it back when I don't need the lumens. Plus, it has RS-232 so I can control it via Crestron and automatically set the lumen level based upon the time of day!

Me too. I wish somebody has seen the 550 or even the 800. They appear to be awesome but I wasn't too impressed with their entry level 10+ and 200. Especially when it came to screen door. Thanks for the input. I think I'll take a more serious look at the 700u and see if I can find anyone with a sanyo in the area.

 

[BMXTRIX]

It should be with any projector that is 720p and designed for home theater. At about 1.2-1.4x screen width SDE disappears. But, this is more for the newest LCD panels and all the DLP and LCoS models. Off brand names, and non-home theater projectors often don't live up to this level of avoidance of SDE.

Also, you need to be aware that if you are feeding a lower resolution image to the projector, you may see visible pixelation, which is not the same as SDE.

If you have good vision, then perhaps the upgrade to something like the Mitsubishi HC-3000 is in order. A sharp image combined with DLP technology will give you a bit less SDE which may be good for your needs.

SDE doesn't bug me in the least... so I don't worry about it as a factor when I buy.

 

[westcott]

Just make sure that if you decide to go DLP, that you or your family are not affected by the rainbow effect, headaches, naseua, etc.

Audition one for at least an hour before you buy DLP.

Good Luck. It seems you are on the right track. You could not go wrong with any of the four projectors mentioned.

Happy Holidays!