0305wv22 Panny PT LCD pro

13/3/2003

5:06 pm

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PANASONIC PT-AE300

LCD projector

BETTER THAN EVER
Panasonic follows up a stunning LCD projection debut with its flagship PT-AE300. Marco Bilello is brimful of praise for this sleek machine
Small, stylish, backlit and eminently easy to use
SD card slot for JPEG and MPEG4 playback
The first projector to sport an RGB Scart socket
Panasonics first home cinema projector, the PT-AE100, revolutionised the LCD projector market by selling for an astonishing 1,500. A year on and Panasonic has upped the ante with two replacements for the PT-AE100. The PT-AE300, reviewed here, benefits from an impressive set of improvements but still only retails for 2,000. At its heart is the patented Smooth Screen technology, designed to eliminate the common LCD fault of chicken wire in the image. These unsightly lines appear between pixels, so the PT-AE300 uses a double-refraction crystal device to reduce the gaps between pixels, while making lines thinner and brighter. The projector also employs gamma correction to adjust dark-to-bright gradations at 10-bit intervals, producing natural colours while reducing over-saturation and blurring. To deliver optimum movie-viewing enjoyment, the PT-AE300 sports high-resolution 960 x 540-pixel
widescreen LCD panels displaying 16:9 DVDs in the correct aspect ratio. Nice. All of this processing trickery is clad in Panasonics trademark swanky mirrored finish. Manual controls are located on top of the chassis and cover every aspect of operation should you misplace the remote. This diminutive backlit handset is a big improvement on its predecessor, sporting a more consumer-friendly design and practical layout. Its a doddle to use and delivers access to the onscreen menu, where you can tweak the picture and change the aspect ratio. Socketry is highly impressive. For starters, an SD card slot enables playback of MPEG4 movie files and JPEGs. This is useful for owners of SD-compatible digital cameras and camcorders. The PT-AE300 is also the first projector to sport an RGB Scart socket, allowing direct connection of a DVD player or Sky digibox. For anyone who wants to
pipe digital satellite into a projector this is a real boon, as until now the best option available has been a composite video feed. Another highlight is the DVI input, which plugs into a PC and ensures the projector is ready for forthcoming compatible players. There are also the usual suspects such as component video, S-video and composite video inputs. The OSD is a breeze to navigate and allows for 294 customisations. These include standard picture tweaks plus adjustment of black and white levels and sharpness. The hue can also be altered, while advanced colour temperature tweaks allow for fine alterations of the blue and red levels. Elsewhere theres noise reduction and seven preset picture modes. The SD section of the menu is split between moving footage and stills. The still portion offers a slideshow with interval adjustment
M AY I W H A T V I D E O W I D E S C R E E N E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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SPECIFICATIONS
FEATURES 960 x 540 resolution; 16:9 LCD panel shape; 525i, 480i, 625i, 525i, 480p, 750p, 720p, 1125i, 1080i compatibility; NTSC/NTSC 4.43, PAL, PAL-M, PAL-N, PAL 60, Secam compatibility; 800 ANSI lumens; 800:1 contrast ratio; seven-step gamma correction; seven preset picture modes (Normal, Dynamic, Cinema 1, Cinema 2, Music, Sports, Natural); horizontal and vertical digital keystone correction; manual zoom and focus; SD card image rotation; SD card image interval adjustment; SD card repeat mode; auto and manual playback of still JPEG images; slideshow; colour, contrast, brightness, tint, sharpness adjustment; colour temperature adjustment x 4 plus fine user tweaks on blue and red levels; freeze; noise reduction; 8 aspect ratios; horizontal and vertical position adjustment (PC only); RGB adjustment (PC only); mounting position selection (front/rear, desk/ceiling); back colour (blue/black); fan control; 28dB fan noise; 2W mono speaker; backlit remote SOCKETS Side: SD card slot Rear: RGB Scart; component video input; PC input; DVI input; S-video input; composite video input; stereo audio input DIMENSIONS 280(w) x 80(h) x 278.5(d)mm WEIGHT 2.9kg TEST DATA Colour: very good with minimal bleed and sharp edges Convergence and geometry: perfect, with no curvature at all Frequency response: excellent. Clear all the way to 5.8MHz

and image rotation. The sensibly laid-out menu is easy to navigate, displaying card data clearly. Standard features include horizontal and vertical keystone correction, while brightness is rated at 800 ANSI lumens and the contrast ratio at 800:1. A massive 80in image can be hurled from a throw of just 2.5m, with projection sizes ranging from 40in to a whopping 200in.
Panasonic claimed, the chicken wire effect is completely eradicated and when the aforementioned patterning isnt in evidence the picture is silky-smooth.

PERFORMANCE

The PT-AE300 is a very impressive performer, but its not perfect. The biggest flaw is smudgy patterning thats sporadically present around object contours and large banks of colour. This patterning is mainly present during heavily detailed long-distance shots and camera pans, although its also occasionally visible on close-ups. However, as
With a component video feed and a decent-quality DVD images are bright and colourful, with a commendable black level. The latter talent helps to deliver impressive contrast and provides high levels of detail in dark scenes. Colours are impressive via the RGB Scart, although theyre slightly less dynamic and edge definition is softer, while tizzing can intrude. At a lowly 28dB fan noise isnt a big problem.
the picture is generally silky-smooth
Still JPEG images stored on an SD card display sharp edges and good colour rendition. Detail levels are high, while noise and grain are absent. Colours are rich with moving MPEG4 footage, although the formats compression causes jagged edges and blocking. Panasonic plans to sell the PT-AE300 as a package with one of its forthcoming all-in-one systems. This would make a highly enticing proposition for anyone seeking a plug-and-play instant home cinema of real impact. The smudging problem aside, picture quality is exceptional, and every bit as impressive as its predecessor and Sanyos rival PLV-Z1. The PT-AE300 is also the first projector to sport a Scart socket. Add the SD card slot into the mix and you have one of the most innovative LCD offerings around

VERDICT

WHATS GOOD Bright, natural colours; smooth picture; low fan noise; ease of use; stylish remote; SD card slot; RGB Scart WHATS BAD Occasional patterning around edges OVERALL Stonking LCD projection and excellent connectivity at a budget price PICTURE.%%%% FEATURES.%%%%% EASE OF USE.%%%% VALUE.%%%%% OVERALL.%%%%%

033 EHC 08 SPORT GROUP TEST

4/6/04

4:58 pm

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1,850 Panasonic follows up its acclaimed AE500 LCD projector

Panasonic PT-AE500

Super spec includes a Scart input
Good looking remote fairly easy to use
What we like about this projector Smooth image and good contrast range RGB Scart great for DVD or digibox Easy to set up What we dont like about this projector No SD Card slot
NVESTING IN A HOME CINEMA PROJECTOR CAN SEEM like a scary business. The popular conception of these devices is that prices are high and user-friendliness is low. Indeed, this is often the case, but its also true that there are many affordable and easy to use projectors out there. When it comes to encouraging the average man on the street to bite the bullet and opt for a projector, few companies have done as much as Panasonic; the Japanese manufacturers PT-AE300 was one of the few projectors to sport a Scart socket, it was incredibly easy to set up, and didnt require you to take out a second mortgage. Now we have the PT-AE500, the AE300s replacement and proof that Panasonic is still keen on creating the perfect budget LCD projector. For a mere 1,850 (only a slight rise in price over its predecessor), the AE500 provides a vast hike in contrast ratio, a small improvement in brightness and an impressive new resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels. The latter means that the projector is much more suitable as a display device for HDTV than the AE300 ever was. Thankfully the RGB Scart input is retained, which is an ideal connection option for digital TV boxes or games consoles. If youve got Freeview or Sky Digital and fancy taking full advantage of digital TVs superior picture quality when watching football on a projector, then a feature like this is valuable. Panasonic has also included a DVI input, allowing both PCs and
the new generation of all-digital DVD players to be connected. The only thing missing from the feature list is the SD Card slot that adorned the AE300, but this was only really useful if you had a digital camera with SD Card compatibility. The AE300 was very capable when it came to producing an image, and the AE500 improves upon it in every respect. Panasonics proprietary Smooth Screen processing has all but eliminated the chicken wire effect, so theres little chance that your viewing will be disturbed by a visible mesh overlying the picture. Feed the projector a progressive signal through its component video input and youll get an exemplary, noise-free image. The RGB signal displays a small amount of picture noise, but this is due to the limits of the source rather than any shortcomings on the part of the AE500. Dark scenes, so often the bane of LCD projectors, are handled with aplomb, courtesy of the high contrast ratio, while colours are displayed with pleasing intensity. The only grumble we have is that colours have a tendency to lose their natural appearance and become a little green during the aforementioned dark scenes, but even this can be remedied with adjustment of the gamma settings. Overall, its difficult to think of a better projector for the price, although Sanyos PLV-Z2 runs it close. If ease of use and picture quality are important to you, you cant go far wrong with this fine LCD specimen.

ESSENTIAL HI-FI & HOME CINEMA

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MAKE MODEL TYPE

SPECIFICATIONS

Price Dimensions Tel Web

THOMSON 61JW643S Rear-pro TV
2,500 1434(w) x 1472(h) x 578(d)mm www.thomson-europe.com
PANASONIC TA-42PA20 Plasma TV
4,000 1,170(w) x 658(h) x99(d)mm 7357 www.panasonic.co.uk
PIONEER PDP-504HDE Plasma TV
6,500 1,270(w) x 737(h) x 98(d)mm www.pioneer.co.uk
SANYO PLV-Z2 LCD Projector
1,550 359(w) x 97(h) x 274(d)mm 363 www.sanyo.co.uk
PANASONIC PT-AE500 LCD Projector
1,850 280(w) x 85(h) x 269(d)mm 7357 www.panasonic.co.uk

FEATURES

Size Resolution Viewing Angle Brightness Contrast Ratio Processing PAL progressive scan Sound 61in n/a 130 n/a n/a Hi-PIX YES Nicam stereo/Virtual surround We say: It packs a pair of 20W stereo speakers and a 40W subwoofer if you already have some AV gear. The clarity of multi-channel soundtracks is lost as effects and dialogue fight for supremacy. We say: A reasonable array of connection options. Three Scarts (two RGB), component video input, S-Video input, plus composite video input and stereo input and output. 42in 852 x 480 n/a 650 cd/m2 4,000:1 n/a n/a Nicam stereo We say: A decent selection of features, with the contrast ratio being particularly noteworthy. 50in 1,024 x 768 n/a 1,000 cd/m2 1,100:1 Pure Cinema YES Nicam stereo We say: This is a fantastically exhaustive spec sheet, with just about all the tweaks, picture processing and performance stats you'll ever need. If you want it, Pioneer has included it. We say: HDMI is top dog in an awesomely well-equipped connections roster that caters for just about everything. 31in-200in 1,280 x 720 n/a 800 cd/m2 1,300:1 NO YES n/a We say: An impressive array of features, particularly the high contrast ratio. 40in-200in 1,280 x 720 n/a 850 cd/m2 1,300:1 Smooth Screen YES n/a We say: The HDTV-friendly resolution, brightness and high contrast ratio are all improvements over this models predecessor.

CONNECTIONS

Scart Component S-video Composite video VGA DVI RF aerial in Audio line in
We say: Not too bad on the socketry front, but the lack of a DVI input is a bit disappointing.

We say: An onboard Scart input would have been useful, but you can buy an adaptor for the DVI port.
We say: From the ever useful Scart to the high-def compatible component and DVI ports, its a great selection.

VERDICT

Features Looks Picture Sound Value We say: An impressive picture provider that brings cinema-sized visuals into the home. The sound system is not up to the task of movie soundtracks, however. We say: An extraordinarily high contrast ratio and smooth image are the strongest weapons in this nicely designed TVs arsenal; it lacks connectivity flexibility though. We say: It's expensive, but then you get your money's worth in terms of sheer picture brilliance and future-proofed spec. We say: A classy LCD projector at a temptingly low price. It doesnt have the all-round picture quality of the Panasonic, but is a great, slightly cheaper, alternative. We say: A top-notch LCD projector: easy to use, packed with features, well priced and, above all, a great performer. Youd do well to find better for the price.

OVERALL