Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - Performance 3

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Art Feierman

Panasonic PT-AR100U Sharpness

Very nice. The PT-AR100U focuses very nicely. The result is a sharp image as you can see from the first close up comparison below (PS3 screen). No issues at all. While one can argue that single chip DLP projectors technically have the big advantage of not having to converge three separate color beams, and thus are typically sharper, but in this case, I don't think that holds up.

The reason is that first, Panasonic has done a very good job in overall sharpness and convergence, so it starts out pretty sharp. But the other reason is the competition. Most of those low cost DLP projectors simply haven't invested in optics as clear as the Panasonic's, or at least that's my take.

The end result, some of those others are visibly a bit soft looking for DLP projectors.

Sharpness Comparison Images

Panasonic PT-AR100U

Optoma HD8300

Runco LS-5

Panasonic PT-AE7000

Optoma HD33

JVC DLA-HD250

Detail Clarity Control

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The Detail Clarity control of the AR100 projector adds apparent sharpness or crispness to the image. Increasing the control settings also makes the overall image look harder, and makes image noise a bit more visible. This seems to be a dynamic control, as with all such controls, you tend to trade off some naturalness for other benefits. These image give you a decent idea of how much the control impacts the picture. You can read the Detail Clarity setting in the bottom center of each image.