Panasonic PT-AX200U 720p 3LCD Home Theater Projector

Other products by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 15.5 x 4.5 inches ; 10.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 19 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000WZO9ZU
• Item model number: PTAX200UCIRCUIT
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #27 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Video Projectors > LCD Projectors
  #57 in	Electronics > Televisions & Video > Projectors
  #87 in	Electronics > Camera & Photo > Projectors

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 9, 2007

Product Description

Product Description
The PT-AX200 is ideal for watching sports events or playing video games in daylight conditions and surely for viewing movies in a dark room. Powerful 2,000-lumen brightness and new Light Harmonizer 2 technology make it easy for people to enjoy vibrant, dynamic images even if they don't have a special theater room. Together with the 2,000-lumens brightness, Panasonic's Light Harmonizer 2 technology produces vivid and easy-to-see images even in the kind of bright lighting that makes images from other projectors look whitish, faded or lacking in detail. The Light Harmonizer 2 circuit not only adjusts the gamma curve, but also controls the iris setting, lamp power, and picture sharpness to maintain easy, comfortable viewing at all times. The PT-AX200 features a Game mode that improves signal processing for better response, allowing you to play games with minimal stress. It also reveals gradation in saturated areas to show details that are otherwise lost in very dark areas. The Pure Color Filter was born from Panasonic's pursuit of optical technology that delivers true Hollywood picture quality. The light spectrum is adjusted to produce a level of light that maximizes the performance of the LCD panels, which expands the color range and produces truer blacks. The high definition picture of the PT-AX200 is remarkably smooth and film-like, while remaining amazingly sharp and detailed. Dynamic Iris has been refined to provide deeper, richer blacks for true image reproduction with stunning smoothness. This technology adjusts the lamp power, iris, and gamma curve according to data obtained from frame-by-frame histogram analysis of the image brightness level. The new Advanced Dynamic Sharpness Control determines image areas that need to be sharpened at varying degrees by examining small changes in brightness levels within the image. This greatly reduces noise amplification and delivers clear and natural looking images.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Months of agonizing down to my purchase selection, December 26, 2007

By	Edward Yang "maximm3" (Tega Cay, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Didn't think buying a projector would take as long as it did. I've been researching projectors off and on for the past 2 and a half years and have enjoyed the process of testing a virtually endless onslaught of manufacturers and different image quality. Finally decided on a Panasonic PT-AX200U due to a special running through HTmarket.com that had a mail in rebate for an additional 1 year warranty on the purchase of a Panasonic projector. I bought my projector for $1299 and have had about a month to play with the projector.

Initial highlights - good projector for the money if you have a good source (HD DVD/Blu Ray/upconverting DVD player). Very easy setup with image adjustments. I was up and running in 5 minutes.

Friends and family are stunned at the size of the screen images capable with this projector (I'm running a 110 inch screen). Clearly capable of more than that.

Good image for old format DVDs IF you have a DVD upconverter to 720p/1080i/1080p. I initially ran a couple of DVDs, the Incredibles, Lord of the Rings, the Matrix, Blade, into through my Denon DVD 2900 (originally a $1000 DVD player) and was somewhat disappointed by the pixelation and some noticeable Screen Door Effect (SDE).

My brother came over the following weekend with his Sony Playstation 3 and we ran one of his videogames through the HDMI cable into the projector to see if we could tell a difference - whoa, noticeable difference in image detail and elimination of the pixelation and SDE.

Went out to Best Buy the following weekend to buy a cheap RCA dvd up converter for $30 and now run all my DVDs through it.

Would recommend this projector if pairing to a high gain screen - the bulb brightness, while bright for stock, definitely requires a high gain (+1.3) screen to maximize some of the darker image films (Blade/Matrix/Lord of the Rings/Aliens).

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why and Why Not, To Buy This Projector., April 27, 2008

By	Real Home Theaters "Professional Installer" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am the lead installer for a company that installs RealHomeTheaters, so hopefully my experience can be of some help. This projector has some great features not found on all projectors in it's class.

1. Great throw ratio. ( the zoom lens on this projector allows you to throw a 120" image from as close as 11' and from as far from the screen as 22'.)

2. Brightness. ( at 2000 lumens it is one of the brightest 720p 16:9 home theater projectors in it's class. This allows you to overcome ambient light that would "washout" dimmer projectors.)

3. Lens Shift. ( give you the ability to mount the projector off camber to the screen and in most cases higher or lower than normally possible with other projectors.)

But, if you have a normal room with controlled lighting and are able to install the projector at a normal height (7 to 10' off the floor) and centered on the screen. You will not benefit from this projector. Consider the Mitsubishi HC1500 and be sure to read my review on it as well. It will give you just as strong of an end result and save you some money. Provided you do not need any of the three features above.

Hope this helps get your RealHomeTheaters off the ground!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Value in Home Theater, January 1, 2008

By	B. Almonrode (Bettendorf, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased the PT-AX200U for my dedicated home theater room in Aug 2007 after much reading and reviewing all options. Projectorcentral dot com is one of the best sources of information such as placement as well as reviews (both professional and consumer).

About the projector: Sharp, clear and bright (2000 lumens is really bright). While this PJ is 'only' 720p several professional reviewers have dubbed this the 'poor-mans' 1080p. Panasonic has developed a technology called smooth screen that effectively minimizes screen door effect and it really works. I have my viewing area exactly 1.8x the diagonal (105" screen) and there is NO pixel distinction.

Setup: This was a snap. I used the much debated Avia setup DVD and the "Cinema 1" Mode was spot on out of the box. Looked great.

Gaming: While we are not a gaming family, we do have a Wii hooked up with great results. We also have the Fisher Price Smart Cycle and it looks awful - terrible resolution a la 1985. The PJ just exacerbates the lousy FP technology in the Smart Cycle - Don't misunderstand - the Smart Cycle is great - just needs real graphics.

Placement: This PJ has phenomenal flexibility with incredible lens shift and 2.0x zoom. To make a 106" picture unit can be from about 10 feet to about 20 feet away. Look carefully at zoom and lens shift before you buy.

Compatibility: This PJ accepts nearly all inputs (i.e. 1080p/24) and does not have to put the picture through 2:3 pull down. If you are considering a Blu-Ray or HD DVD be sure to check the signal compatibility of the PJ you are considering.
Noise: I sit under and just behind the PJ installed on the ceiling and it's barley audible with no other sound in the room. Very good dB rating.

Summary: Great value. Great picture. Easy installation. 2 HDMI ports. Highly recommended!