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Panasonic PT-AE700U by JohnB - May 28, 2007
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| HD 720 (1280x720), 1000 ANSI Lumens, 7.9 lbs, $2,999 (MSRP) |
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| Personal Experience |
| I've had the unit for over 2 years (installed Feb 2005). Overall extremely pleased with my experience. Excellent HD TV picture. Cable guy said it's best video he's seen in over 2000 homes. I bet he says this to all his customers. First time viewers are always awestruck. Setup: Theater designed in deluxe basement with ambient light control. Used 6 ft HDMI cable from HD cable box. Factory settings. Toshiba nonprogressive DVD player using quality component cables. HD TV amazing for sports. DVD very very good. Can't wait for HD DVD viewing. Awaiting prices to come down before purchasing HD DVD. Throw: 15 ft mounted on custom built shelf in existing wall with back end left open for better air flow. Screen: 96" digital grey Goo painted on flat wall with 2 3/4 in black matte pine border. Looks impressive/classy when viewing and quite handsome framed wallpiece when not used. Bulbs: First bulb went after 1300 hrs. Second bulb at 1600 hours and still going strong. Believe main reasons for better performance on 2nd bulb are 1) cleaning filter regularly - vacuum all air ports regularly (monthly) 2) not viewing more than 4 hours at time 3) not cycling on/off and keeping off minimum 30 minutes before new startups 4) keep low bulb brightness mode / regular fan setting. Overall: Very very happy. All who see it are amazed. Hope bulbs won't be a big issue and unit lasts for years to come. |
| Problems |
| Bulbs not a big issue for me (yet). Unit/bulb need a bit of special care but that's ok. Unit repair required after 11 months. Unit did not turn on. When turned on it turned off on it's own (with bulb still good). Two PCBs were replaced - Part numbers TXANP02VJY7 and ETXMM519MBGB. I think they're PC boards. Lucky stil was under warranty. Base warranty from Panasonic should be more than 1 year. Did not buy extended coverage which is overly expensive. Next major purchase will pay with a credit card which has warranty extension protection and doubles manufacturer warranty up to one year. Have a small yellow spot on screen when there's pure white background (such as when watching hockey games - ice is white). Think it's a dust blob. Figure it needs internal cleaning. Have details to remove dust blob from a website at http://www.avforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-165188.html but not tried it yet. |
