Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 Posted on July 22, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Panasonic PT-AE8000U Home Theater Projector Review - Panasonic PT-AE8000U Projector Highlights - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Overview2. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Special Features - PT-AE8000 Lens Memory and Lens Features - PT-AE8000 Projector: 3D - PT-AE8000 Projector 3D Glasses and Control - PT-AE8000 Gaming Abilities - PT-AE8000 Creative Frame Interpolation3. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Special Features 2 - PT-AE8000 Waveform Generator and Side By Side - PT-AE8000 Dynamic Iris - Viera-Link4. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Special Features 3 - PT-AE8000 2D to 3D Conversion - PT-AE8000 Lamp Life - Other Dynamic Controls5. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Physical Tour - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - Appearance - PT-AE8000 Control Panel - PT-AE8000 Projector - Input/Output6. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Physical Tour 2 - PT-AE8000 Menus - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Remote Control - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Lens Throw - PT-AE8000 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen7. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - Flesh Tones8. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - Image Quality - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Performance - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: PT-AE8000 Projector - Bottom Line9. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Overall Color & Picture Quality10. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content11. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Brightness - Post Calibration: Best Mode = REC 709 - Post Calibration: Brightest Mode = Dynamic12. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance 2 - 3D Brightness of the Panasonic PT-AE8000 - PT-AE8000 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - PT-AE8000, Post Calibration, Best Mode (REC 709)13. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance 3 - Comparing Picture Modes of the PT-AE8000: - Panasonic PT-AE8000 3D Brightness - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Bottom Line Brightness:14. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance 4 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Sharpness - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise15. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Calibration and Settings - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Color Temperature - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Basic Settings16. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - PT-AE8000 Greyscale Calibration REC 709 Mode - PT-AE8000 RGB Settings17. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - CMS Adjustment Basics - Calibration Charts (Before and After)18. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Projector Screens - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Screen Recommendations - Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Projector Screen - Cave / Home Theater - Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Projector Screen - Family Room19. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Competitors - Panasonic PT-AE8000 vs. HD830020. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Competitors 2 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 vs. Sharp XV-Z3000021. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Competitors 3 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 5010 - Panasonic PT-AE4000 vs. Panasonic PT-AE800022. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Warranty23. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Review Summary - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - The Bottom Line24. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Review Summary 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the PT-AE8000 projector25. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Review Summary 3 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Pros and Cons - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Pros - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Cons26. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Full Specifications PT-AE8000 Greyscale Calibration REC 709 Mode Color Temp over IRE Range (Post calibration) 20 IRE = 6465 30 IRE = 6665 40 IRE = 6614 50 IRE = 6335 60 IRE = 6395 70 IRE = 6542 80 IRE = 6638 90 IRE = 6705 100 IRE = 6532 Average gamma = 2.23 PT-AE8000 RGB Settings HC5020 Post Calibration settings Rec. 709 (Memory 1) Quick Cal of Dynamic (Memory 2) Contrast R 1 R 20 G -4 G -15 B -2 B -15 Brisghtness R -1 R 0 G -1 G 0 B 0 B 0 Here are Mike’s adjustments for the REC 709 and Dynamic modes. Again the goal of “best” is a great looking 6500K grayscale, and the goal of “brightest” is to improve a bright mode in terms of color accuracy, but without compromising brightness significantly. Mike’s spreadsheet reference to Memory 1 and 2 are the first two savable memory slots on the PT-AE8000. Interestingly, as it turns out, all of Mike’s settings above are identical to calibrating last year’s AE7000, except for REC 709’s Red Contrast, which dropped from 7 to 3. That covers the calibration data, except for CMS. More on that to be mentioned in my blog. Mike’s two cents about his calibration experience: Mike’s Notes: Overall, the projector looks really good. Grayscale is not bad right out of the box, though there’s too much blue and too little red in Rec. 709 mode. It calibrates fairly well (see graph), but the color temp and RGB balance are not as flat as I’d like to see (note the peaks of red at 40 and 50 IRE in the RGB Color Balance chart and the bumps in the Correlated Color Temperature chart. None of this is really visible in actual use however. There are extensive gamma settings available, but the simple gamma setting is so good, most people won’t bother with it. The AE8000 can be very bright, with almost 2200 lumens in Dynamic mode with full wide zoom. However, Dynamic is very green, not great for most viewing. Doing a Quick Cal of Dynamic helps some, but the lumen output starts to drop rapidly. As the brightest of the other modes (Normal) has a 33% drop from Dynamic and Rec. 709 is about one third as bright as Dynamic, the usable lumens for most viewing are comparable to other projectors that might have a lower rated maximum output. The color gamut is decent by default in Rec. 709 mode, but can be improved with the CMS. In particular, green and cyan are well outside of the Rec. 709 standard, but can be brought in line. Similarly, magenta leans toward blue by default, but can be brought back into line (see CIE and CIE-CMS gamuts for before and after). The result looks pretty good with most source material. If your personal tastes are for less red in skin tones, you can always turn the main Color control down. 1. Panasonic PT-AE8000U Home Theater Projector Review - Panasonic PT-AE8000U Projector Highlights - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Overview2. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Special Features - PT-AE8000 Lens Memory and Lens Features - PT-AE8000 Projector: 3D - PT-AE8000 Projector 3D Glasses and Control - PT-AE8000 Gaming Abilities - PT-AE8000 Creative Frame Interpolation3. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Special Features 2 - PT-AE8000 Waveform Generator and Side By Side - PT-AE8000 Dynamic Iris - Viera-Link4. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Special Features 3 - PT-AE8000 2D to 3D Conversion - PT-AE8000 Lamp Life - Other Dynamic Controls5. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Physical Tour - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - Appearance - PT-AE8000 Control Panel - PT-AE8000 Projector - Input/Output6. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Physical Tour 2 - PT-AE8000 Menus - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Remote Control - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Lens Throw - PT-AE8000 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen7. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - Flesh Tones8. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - Image Quality - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Performance - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: PT-AE8000 Projector - Bottom Line9. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Overall Color & Picture Quality10. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content11. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Brightness - Post Calibration: Best Mode = REC 709 - Post Calibration: Brightest Mode = Dynamic12. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance 2 - 3D Brightness of the Panasonic PT-AE8000 - PT-AE8000 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - PT-AE8000, Post Calibration, Best Mode (REC 709)13. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance 3 - Comparing Picture Modes of the PT-AE8000: - Panasonic PT-AE8000 3D Brightness - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Bottom Line Brightness:14. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Performance 4 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Sharpness - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise15. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Calibration and Settings - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Color Temperature - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Basic Settings16. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - PT-AE8000 Greyscale Calibration REC 709 Mode - PT-AE8000 RGB Settings17. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - CMS Adjustment Basics - Calibration Charts (Before and After)18. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Projector Screens - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Screen Recommendations - Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Projector Screen - Cave / Home Theater - Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Projector Screen - Family Room19. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Competitors - Panasonic PT-AE8000 vs. HD830020. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Competitors 2 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 vs. Sharp XV-Z3000021. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Competitors 3 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 5010 - Panasonic PT-AE4000 vs. Panasonic PT-AE800022. Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Warranty23. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Review Summary - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector - The Bottom Line24. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Review Summary 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the PT-AE8000 projector25. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Review Summary 3 - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Pros and Cons - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Pros - Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector: Cons26. Panasonic PT-AE8000 – Full Specifications Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector Calibration and Settings Panasonic PT-AE8000 Projector – Advanced Calibration Information