Download
Share
Print this page
Panasonic PT-AX200U Brochure
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Panasonic Manuals
  4. Projector
  5. PTAX200U - LCD PROJECTOR
  6. Brochure

Panasonic PT-AX200U Brochure

Home theater projector
Hide thumbs Also See for PT-AX200U:

Advertisement

Quick Links

Download this manual See also: Service Manual
Panasonic PT-AX200U Home Theater
Projector Review: Overview
10-27-2007 - Art Feierman
ProjectorReviews.com
Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector
Highlights:
•
Brightest projector in its class
•
Excellent color, film-like quality, after minor adjustments
•
Enhanced modes for gamers, for superior performance with game machines like Sony
PS3, PS2, X-box 360, X-box, and Nintendo Wii
•
Wide range zoom lens, and lens shift for easy placement on tabletop, shelf or ceiling
•
Invisible pixels thanks to Panasonic's Smooth Screen technology
•
Overall, image is slightly softer than many 720p projectors
•
Value proposition (price/performance) is excellent
•
$1299 MAP, should represent the high, online pricing.
Reviewing the latest Panasonic 720p projector is a bit of deju vu, it seems. Every fall,
Panasonic rolls out a new 720p projector, and the PT-AX200U is simply the latest. Last year it
was the PT-AX100U, and before that... PT-AE900U, PT-AE700U...
PT-AX200U - This year's best seller?
I'm going to devote a few paragraphs here, on the nature of this segment of the home theater
projector market, in terms of what is popular. If this bores you, just skip down to the next
heading.
Every year I have to listen to Panasonic remind me that the model they are replacing has been
the best selling home theater projector in the market. Every year, they proclaim that they
expect the newly released Panasonic home theater projector to become the new best selling
projector on the market. And, it seems, every year they are right.
So, what gives? With competition out there from plenty of major players, from the likes of
Sanyo, Sony, Optoma, and Mitsubishi (to name just a few), you would think that sooner or
later, a more popular projector would show up from someone else.
So before we figure out in this review, whether the Panasonic PT-AX200U should be the best
seller this coming year, let's spend a few more seconds exploring why Panasonic has been
dominant.

Advertisement

loading

Related Manuals for Panasonic PT-AX200U

Summary of Contents for Panasonic PT-AX200U

  • Page 1 Reviewing the latest Panasonic 720p projector is a bit of deju vu, it seems. Every fall, Panasonic rolls out a new 720p projector, and the PT-AX200U is simply the latest. Last year it was the PT-AX100U, and before that... PT-AE900U, PT-AE700U...
  • Page 2 Panasonic, for sheer volume sales. PT-AX200U - What's new? Ok enough of the marketing hype, let's get back to the PT-AX200U. Talk about deja vu, the PT-AX200U is almost identical to last year's PT-AX100U projector. In fact, there are few...
  • Page 3 PS3, Wii, and X-Box 360, in the General Performance page. After saying all that, the PT-AX200U has been slightly improved as both a projector for movie watchers, and TV/HDTV/sports, and it remains the brightest home theater projector on the...
  • Page 4 To fill a 100" 16:9 screen, the front of the Panasonic PT-AX200U, can be as close to the screen as 10.2 feet, or as far back as 20.4 feet. This makes shelf mounting the PT-AX200U practical in almost any room. Focus and zoom are effected by rotating their respective trim rings around the lens.
  • Page 5 Still they can be helpful when taken with the comments. Certainly, they make the review prettier, if nothing else. In the case of this Panasonic review, as with the older PT-AX100U, for some reason, I encounter difficulties with the color balance captured on my camera.
  • Page 6 Moving to hi-definition, the rest of the images on this page, (except from Sin City) are all from Blu-ray disk, using my Sony PS3. (My HD-DVD player is on vacation.)
  • Page 7 The PT-AX200U also performed well on "black and white" and sepia type tonal scenes, such as these two. The first from the beginning of Phantom of the Opera, and the second from Sin City (SD-DVD), which is basically a black and white film, sometimes looking black and white, sometimes sepia or other shades, with spot colors added for effect.
  • Page 8 Bottom line: The Panasonic does a great job when it comes to reproducing skin tones, to provide natural realistic colors, and shades. Panasonic PT-AX200U Black Levels and Shadow Detail As is typical for LCD home theater projectors, the PT-AX200U cannot match the black level performance of the better DLP projectors it competes with.
  • Page 9 I'll start with this image from Aeon Flux. An excellent night scene with some bright areas (which severely limit what the Panasonic's dynamic iris can do to lower black levels), the blacks come out fairly black, easy enough to watch. The shadow detail, though is really very good, with really no dark areas where all the detail is lost.
  • Page 10 Nothing like some good deep space scenes to show off black level performance. On these images from Space Cowboys, the blacks, overall were good, but not that ideal "inky" or "jet" black, that is ideal. There's always that awareness of a bit of gray, instead of pure black, unless the screen is extremely large, and high contrast, to lower the visibility of the blacks.
  • Page 11 Because the PT-AX200U relies on a dynamic irs, as do almost all LCD home theater projectors, they can do a really great job of producing the "blackest blacks" on very dark scenes. Where the DLP projectors have the advantage, is on mixed scenes, where there are some very bright areas as well as very dark ones.
  • Page 12 Earth below, you can see how much detail there is in the dark components on the satellite. Click on the thumbnail image below left for the PT-AX200U image The right image is a similar frame, shot with of the competing (DLP) Mitsubishi HC1500. Unfortunately, the level of overxposure isn't identical (never is), but you can still understand which projector makes it easier to make out these shadow details.
  • Page 13 Our last image, is the table scene from Aeon Flux (Blu-ray Dvd): The detail of the table surface itself and the shadows, are good indicators of shadow detail. The Panasonic does a good job on this image as well:...
  • Page 14 With the PT-AX200U, pixels are noticeably far less visible than even DLP projectors. In solving this one problem, however, there is a price, and that is a slight softness to the PT-AX200U's image. How soft is it? Not bad at all, in fact, comparable to many of the DLP projectors out there.
  • Page 15 1080p projector, but then, that's why 1080p projectors start at over double the price of the PT-AX200U. Bottom line: The Panasonic PT-AX200U is on the soft side for a 720p projector, but not much different than the typical DLP competitor. The LCD competition definitely looks a bit sharper, most notably the Sanyo PLV-Z5 and the Epson Home Cinema 400, but there is a major trade- off.
  • Page 18 Click on the General Performance link. Before we get started with the various topics here, I want to discuss some of the PT-AX200U's special features. Dynamic Iris: Panasonic's Dynamic Iris, which you normally want on for movie watching, is multi-function.
  • Page 19 The Function menu lets you assign one function to the programmable "Favorite" key on the PT-AX200U's remote control. When you select the Function menu, you can choose from any of the seven Presets, for the Function button (Cinema 1, Dynamic, etc, or any of about a dozen other functions including different sources, light harmonizer, or a favorite saved setting).
  • Page 20 From the top: A red power button (press once to power up, and twice to shut down). Opposite it, is the backlight button. Please note, the backlight on the Panasonic PT-AX200U, is about the brightest I've ever seen, and the labels on each button are large and easy to read. Almost all of the competition can learn from Panasonic in this regard.
  • Page 21 PT-AX200U Lens Throw and Lens Shift The PT-AX200U has a 2:1 zoom lens, which is "classic" for many LCD projectors. This provides exceptional placement flexibility, and means you'll be able to table, ceiling or shelf mount your projector in almost any room.
  • Page 22 (more reds) than the left side. We saw that in the original PT-AX100U review (which was a pre-production version), but not in a follow up piece. As you can see from this image below, however, this Panasonic is consistent from edge to edge.
  • Page 23 10% less. Theoretically, both should have the same brightness. The PT-AX200U's Cinema 1 mode we used for most all movie viewing, with the lamp at full power, managed 672 lumens, before adjustment. In Eco-mode, that drops to 592 lumens, a drop of only about 12%.
  • Page 24 I was able to get Dynamic up to 2361 lumens! PT-AX200U Projector - Light Leakage The PT-AX200U is very clean, when it comes to light leakage. There is no leakage worthy of note through the lens, and only very minor amounts from the vents. Bottom line: No issue here.
  • Page 25 PT-AX200U Projector Measurements and Calibration The Panasonic PT-AX200U was off the ideal target of 6500K temperature in all of its Cinema modes, but correcting the problem was simple. Cinema 1 mode, out of the box, was somewhat "cool" (bluish), with white measuring at 6999K.
  • Page 26 DLP projector. I should note that the PT-AX200U, supports 1080p 24fps, so when it has such a source, as we are starting to see on Blu-ray discs, they do not need to use 3:2 pulldown, providing smoother motion on movies.
  • Page 27 So, while 3rd party warranties may have issues and hassles that a manufacturer's warranty won't, when you consider the low cost, I'd recommend picking up that 2nd year warranty. And I mean that, not just for the PT-AX200U, but for any home theater projector that comes with only a one year warranty.
  • Page 28 Add to that, the Panasonic rivals them in terms of producing a natural, film-like picture quality. Then of course, there's the big differences, which are that the Panasonic is significantly brighter, and has drastically better placement flexibility.
  • Page 29 Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector: Pros • Brightest home theater projector around, over 2000 lumens at brightest • Very bright in best movie mode, as well • Very good at revealing shadow details • Significantly lower starting price ($1299) than its predecessor, the PT-AX100U •...
  • Page 30 Perfectionists may choose another projector in the general price range, especially those focused heavily on black level performance, but for the rest of us, the PT-AX200U, is going to be a serious contender. Of course, a number of competitors cost less, with 720p projectors these days, starting under $700 street price, and with several under $1000.
  • Page 31 AX200U home theater projector, may be a bit of a compromise in a few areas, but it excels in others, and the bottom line is an excellent price performance proposition. Translating that into English, the PT-AX200U is a great deal.