Early thoughts on the Panny PT-L200u LCD FP

Ron-P

Bought this from ProjectorPeople.com, $1,099, free ground UPS shipping and a free Da-Lite wall mount 37.5"x67" 16:9 screen. I paid a bit extra for faster shipping. I did not have to pay tax as well.

This is a very early review. It arrived yesterday and I've only spent about 1.5 hours with it. I will say, after that time I had no headaches or eye fatigue. I know now that those symptoms were brought on by the rainbows from the X1.

I set the PJ up at 8' from the screen projecting an image size to fill the Da-Lite, roughly 77" diagonal. I sat in my front row at 9' and the back row at 13.5'.

Out of the box, colors were vibrant, rich and flesh tones were perfect. Black levels matched those of the X1 if not a touch better. During the scene in Fellowship of the Ring in the mine when Gandalf falls into shadow. The cliff detail was more prominent than with the X1. Also, in clothing detail of the characters, I noticed more detail and deeper blacks in the folds of the clothing. In the large dark scenes is where a lot of detail is lost as with the X1. I did notice a bit more of a blue tint in the large dark scenes with the 200u than with the X1, mine you this was very minor, my wife was unable to tell the difference. But, I did have time to tweak the colors of X1, I have yet to do that with the 200u. I did note in the final battle scenes in Attack of the Clones there was a bit of red-push happening. This should be easily corrected once I tweak the colors and run the breakout cable.

The screendoor effect between both is identical. At 9' from the screen it is slightly noticeable, at 13.5' its not an issue. After slightly defocussing both PJ's I did find the 200u to maintain a slightly sharper image over the X1.

Build quality I feel is a bit better than the X1 as well, very solid construction. It also has a more solid feel to the lenses when zooming and focusing. The 200u's fan noise is also quite a bit quieter but it does seem to get a bit hotter over the X1.

The two things I do not like about the 200u is the throw distance, it's short. With the X1 I was able to mount it on the back wall and get a perfect image size. With the 200u it will need to be mounted from the ceiling in the middle of the two rows of seating. Not a major concern, but a dislike. Also, using the component input does not allow you access to the individual RGB color adjustments for tweaking. You must use the DVI input for this. In my case it's not a huge deal as a 25' breakout cable will be a lot less expensive over a 25' long component cable.

Overall I am very pleased with the 200u and will most likely keep it. It's an excellent deal with the free Da-Lite.

Both the X1 and 200u are quality PJ, offered at an excellent price and produce an outstanding Picture.

I will add to my review as I have a small breakout cable at home and will be able to tweak the image. As of now it was just the out of the box image.

More to come...


Peace Out~:D

dlew308

pix!

Ron-P

No pics yet man. The room is a mess, no audio at all, it's all on the floor. The PJ is sitting on a theater seat. Maybe after the weekend I'll get some pics up.

About a half hour more with it last night and a few more discoveries.

First off, the 200u does not have a DVI input, only PC. Both models are listed in the instruction manual side by side and I read the wrong one. So, that means I do not have access to the RGB color controls. A big deal, not in my case.

Again, out of the box the colors were excellent on both LotR and Nemsis but when I put in Attack of the Clones I noticed some red push and a blue tint in the blacks. Each time I put in a different movie, I played with the settings. Right before I put in AotC I accidentally changed the picture setting to Dynamic which enhances the colors for a brightly lit room. After changing it back last night, Attack of the Clones looked excellent. No red push and the blue tint in the blacks was gone. So no individual color controls via the component input, only a color slide which I have not adjusted yet.

I did adjust the contrast and brightness in the Cinema 1 mode to achieve a better black level. The picture is really looking excellent.

Back to the short throw distance, a bummer indeed. I cannot ceiling mount this unit as it would hang too low in the room so it must be table top mounted. I will need to remove my middle theater seat and convert that over to a table for the projector and DVD player. I lose a seat (didn't get much use anyway) but will gain a very nice area that I can also use as a mini-coffee table for drinks, popcorn, etc. From the 300u to the Sanyo Z1, they all have short throw distances so upgrading to one of those will not help.

Last night I put in Toy Story II and both my wife and I were extremely happy with the PQ. At this point, for the $1,099 price and free Da-Lite I don't think I can land a better deal.

So far, this ones a keeper, but this weekend I'll have much more time on my hands to see if I can squeeze out any more performance.


Peace Out~:D

Ron-P

Spent some time tweaking this weekend, but most of the time putting my audio back together, building new audio racks for all the components and a stand for the PJ.

A little more on the Panny 200u.


Dislikes:

First off, I am unable to add a breakout cable to this unit. It only has a PC in, no DVI (only on the 300u). Unless I purchase something called a transcoder box for about $150 I am stuck with a single color slide bar for color. What you get via the component input is; Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint, Sharpness, Color Temp., plus the 7 factory settings of Cinema 1 or 2, Normal, Sports, Concert...and so on. More than enough to achieve a beautiful picture.

Secondly, the short throw distance. A pain, yes, workable, yes. To get my max screen size of 82" (16:9), the PJ had to be mounted about 8' from lens to screen. I had to remove my center seat in the front row and build a stand to house the PJ and DVD player. I plan to buy a longer component cable so I can move the DVD player to the front of the room with all the other components. I cannot ceiling mount.

Likes:

The out of the box impression you can read in this thread. After spending some time tweaking, I could not be happier. I set the PJ in 'Cinema 1' mode and adjusted the brightness and contract slightly to achieve a better black level. I did not need to adjust the colors at all.

I also replaced the Da-Lite matte white screen with my home-grown Valspar gray screen and was impressed even more. Black levels increased and the screendoor effect greatly decreased. No other colors were affected. Sitting at 1.5 the screens width (my front row) slight screendoor is noticeable in only certain scenes. At 2x's (my back row) there is no screendoor noticeable at all. As with the X1, a gray screen is a must. Screendoor is one of those things that if you know about it and are looking for it, you'll see it. People that came over to see the 200u set up did not even notice it standing 6' from the screen.

Overall, I feel this is a better deal than the X1. They both have faults, but for roughly 1k, you can't get perfection. The X1 is $100 less, but you do get the free Da-Lite with the 200u which I plan to sell on ebay.

I also found the black level to be better on the 200u than with the X1. Colors were nearly identical between both units, very vibrant and natural, excellent flesh tones. The fan noise on the 200u is much quieter and the build quality is better.

For the $1,099 I don't think you can do better. No matter which display type you have, they all have faults, dislikes and likes. Pick your poison and go. For me, the small sacrifice in video quality is well worth the 82" of screen I now have. My Mits 46" is now up for sale as is the Da-lite screen. Selling the Da-Lite should bring the price for the 200u down right about what the X1 cost.

Anyone want an ISF'd Mits 46" RPTV. It's going up for sale:)


Peace Out~:D

dthomps

Nice writeup Ron.
I am still very anxious to see the photos. With all this FP stuff goin down here and at the HTF, I have been bugging my dad to pick one up. He missed the deadline for the X1 rebate, but there are a few others in this price range I have been telling him about, and and your Panasonic is the one I think he is most interested in. I hope he goes for it, we have the perfect room for it. Very light controlled, and its 21' by 12' so we would have place to mount on the ceiling and still be able to sit far enough back to accomadate the big screen. Cant wait!

faster100

you lucky dogs with FP, i need a HT room bad!!! to do all this nifty stuff

wallstreet

I went and checked out the projectorpeople website and they have a reseller program. In this economy, I need two careers. So I signed up to be a reseller! LOL! Get ready boys for some great deals on projectors.:cool:
Now I've got to see which one I need...for demo purposes only, of course.

Eddie624

Yeah i have been looking hard at getting a fp since i just bought a house a couple of weeks ago. Been a long time since i have been on the polk boards. Actually gonna stop by a place in pa tomorrow on my way home to hopefully check out some fp and hopefully take one home with me. I am thinking about going with the Sanyo Z1. Anyone played with or had one of these or still has one?

Ron-P

The Z1 has better resolution for HD. For myself, I'm only viewing DVDs and with that, the Z1 and 200u are fairly identical.

I've also noted quite a bit more problem threads over at AVS with the Z1, more so than with any other PJ. Maybe that's just due to popularity of the machine, I don't really know.

I believe the warranty is better with the Z1 over the 200u as well. But, price is a bit more too boot.

I was after the least expensive machine with the best PQ as I was not even considering going FP for a couple more years but the X1 started a chain reaction.


Peace Out~:D

Eddie624

Well i picked up the z1 he other day for 1200. So far i think it looks pretty good for me but i am probably not as picky as you are Ron. Pretty much just set it on my coffee table and shot it against the wall and was pretty happy with the results. Still living in my apartment but am moving into my house in a couple of weeks where i will take more time and set it up better.

TroyD

Eddie,

How goes it?? Where are you moving to??

BDT

Eddie624

I am moving over to tramway finally got around to buying a house. Lately pretty much have been either working or on the golf course. I still live over at archdale for a couple of more weeks but then i am outta here finally. So now i will be able to actually watch movies and listen to music how they are supposed to be listened to. Troy have u looked into hdtv in the area around here at all. I have only checked websites and seems a few stations are broadcasting some hdtv. I have debating on whether to get a hdtv receiver or a satellite hdtv receiver.

TroyD

My in-laws live right accross from Tramway. The big, ugly blue house on the right (coming from 17A) just before you get there with the detached garage and big fountain out front....

To be honest, no, I haven't paid any attention to HDTV in our area actually...

BDT

Eddie624

Hey troyd i was reading over in the avs forum about local hdtv in the area and looks sorta promising here. There is a couple of guys that appear to keep in contact with people at some of the stations and i believe they got a field trip out to one of the stations hdtv towers by the one dude that is working on the transition for the station. Wish i would have found out about that before they did it would have been kinda interesting to see how all that stuff is set up. Cant wait to move into my house so i can start playing with my home theater stuff and setting up. I am diggin that fp. Anyway have a good one and catch ya later. Golfing any lately? I have played a lot except the last couple of weeks.