Audio Video News

Panasonic has announced the PT-AE1000U, its first 1920x1080p LCD projector. Priced at $5,999 ($4,000 MAP- Minimum Advertised Price), the unit is said to offer features useful both to consumers and film production studios for use in production and post-production activities.

The PT-AE1000U offers a (peak) contrast ratio specification of 11,000:1, achieved with the help of a user-selectable dynamic iris. According to Panasonic, this iris operates on a frame-by-frame basis to eliminate visible pumping, and is designed to eliminate the color shifts such irises can cause.

The Panasonic-designed and built optical system features a 14- element, all glass, aspherical lens. It offers powered (2x) zoom and focus, manual horizontal and vertical lens shift, and the latest generation (Epson) C2Fine LCD panels said to provide enhanced black levels. A further refinement of the Color Management System used in previous Panasonic home theater projectors is included, along with a new Pure Color Filter.

The projector also incorporates Panasonic's Smooth Screen technology to reduce the screen door effect common to LCD displays. The Smooth Screen feature cannot be defeated as it is an integral part of the optical system. To those who wonder why this might be needed with the increased resolution of 1080p panels, a Panasonic rep noted that even with the enhanced resolution, the spaces between the pixels can be reduced only so much in an LCD device (the circuits that drive each pixel are routed through these spaces). He also pointed out that the system has been optimized for high definition use, and that in-house tests indicated that viewers preferred it.

Another feature is a new waveform monitor that provides the viewer with an on-screen visual indication of the level of brightness (red, green, and blue) from any video source There are also separate red, green, and blue gray scale adjustments for the top, bottom, and middle (gamma) of the brightness range.

The projector is shipping now and is available through authorized Panasonic presentation systems dealers. This does not include all dealers who carry Panasonic consumer goods; go here for more information.