Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners New HT Room Advice

Whaooo Dean, I just noticed that your thread has been viewed more than 54000 times! That might be a record! I would call Guinness

Well I went ahead and did it. I just preordered the Panasonic AE7000 from Projector People today. It’s supposed to start shipping the last week of September or first week of October. I broke down because I’ve got the Star Wars BDs and Gears of War 3 arriving by the end of the month and Shyrim second week in November all supposedly before the new Epson projectors will be out. There are 63 people ahead of me which was about the same as when I ordered the AE4000 and I got it in the first shipment.

I also went ahead and ordered a replacement bulb, second one in two years, for my AE4000 and plan to continue using it for everyday computer monitor and Netflix streaming.

Sorry I didn’t notice your post earlier Bruno. I never looked at that before. I just checked again and now it’s up to over 62,000 and tops in the subforum it’s in. I hope people have found it helpful.

LUCKY! I really like the specs of the 7000, but don't think that I can swing the $3500 price tag. I was going to go with a 4000 since they are EOL and hopefully a deal can be had. The specs on it totally blow about the Sanyo Z3 I used to have, but I am also looking at doing a 130" 2.37:1 screen, so I am not sure how the 4000 will handle it with a Seymour AT screen at 1.2 gain.

Yeah. I'd really, really, really, really like to pick up a used ptae4000u on the cheep. (lol).

Hmmm Cat. I wonder if anyone might have a used one lying around pretty soon. I mean really, who REALLY needs one for a computer monitor or Netflix anyway? :-)

I also really liked the specs on the AE7000. Two years ago when I got the AE4000 I vacillated between several different models but kept coming back the AE4000. I just decided this year to save all the bouncing between reviews just to end up doing the same thing. I’ve no issues with the AE4000 and even though it’s not a light cannon and I’ve got a pretty big screen with the projector 19 feet away it’s still plenty bright enough, however I don’t think it would work as well in a non-black-out room with a similar sized screen.

I've got a 100% light controlled room. What is your current screen size again?

It’s a 134” Carada Brilliant White (about 1.3 gain) in a totally blacked out room. Note that my projector is at 19 feet so if it was closer the image would be brighter.

With a new bulb I find that “Cinema 1” in eco mode looks perfect for about 150-200 hours at which point the drop-off in brightness starts to become noticeable. Somewhere around 500 hours I usually switch from eco to regular lampl mode. Then around 1,000 hours end up switching from “Cinema 1” to “Normal” image mode which remains more than bright enough until somewhere around 2,500 hours. Note that while “Cinema 1” is a bit more colour accurate “Normal” is pretty darn good and the only time I notice the difference is if I A/B between them most of the time.

I should note that up to a point you will get a more impressive image (more pop and wow) if it is brighter.

Actually very used would be more appropriate. Based on the lamp timer it’s been on more than 5,000 hours in just under two years. The average works out to about 50 hours a week, which is down from the initial 70 hours a week I was putting on it the first few months.