Panasonic PT-AR100U – Review Summary Posted on July 28, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Panasonic PT-AR100U Home Theater Projector Review - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Highlights - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Overview2. Panasonic PT-AR100U Special Features - PT-AR100U Projector - Typical Street Price, MSRP, and Value - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Game Mode and Gaming - PT-AR100U Dynamic Iris - PT-AR100U Projector 3D - Rather, The Lack of 3D3. Panasonic PT-AR100U Special Features 2 - PT-AR100U Frame Interpolation - FI - not CFI - Viera-Link - PT-AR100U Lamp Life - PT-AR100U Gaming Abilities4. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Physical Tour - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - Appearance - PT-AR100U Control Panel - PT-AR100U Projector - Input/Output5. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Physical Tour 2 - PT-AR100U Menus - Panasonic PT-AR100U Remote Control - Panasonic PT-AR100U Lens Throw - PT-AR100U Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen6. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Image Quality - Panasonic PT-AR100U Out of the Box Picture Quality - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - Flesh Tones7. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Image Quality 2 - PT-AR100U Projector Black Level Peformance - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: PT-AR100U Projector - Bottom Line8. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Overall Color & Picture Quality9. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Overall Color & Picture Quality 2 - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - General HDTV images10. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Overall Color & Picture Quality 3 - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content11. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance - Panasonic PT-AR100U Brightness - Post Calibration: Best Mode = REC 709 - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode):12. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance 2 - PT-AR100U Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - Panasonic PT-AR100U Pre-Calibration Color temp, REC 709 Mode: - PT-AR100U, Post Calibration, Best Mode (REC 709)13. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance 3 - Panasonic PT-AR100U Sharpness - Sharpness Comparison Images - Detail Clarity Control14. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance 4 - Panasonic PT-AR100U: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise15. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Calibration and Settings - Panasonic PT-AR100U Color Temperature - Panasonic PT-AR100U Basic Settings - Panasonic PT-AR100U Post Calibration Grayscale - PT-AR100U Greyscale Calibration - PT-AR100U RGB Settings16. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Projector Screens - Panasonic PT-AR100U - projector screen - cave / home theater - Panasonic PT-AR100U - projector screen - family room17. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Competitors - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Mitsubishi HC4000 - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. HD33 Projector - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Acer H9500BD18. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Competitors 2 - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Epson Home Cinema 3010 - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Epson Home Cinema 8350 - The Panny Compared to the Optoma HD20, Vivitek H1080D, and BenQ W120019. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Warranty20. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Review Summary - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - The Bottom Line21. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Review Summary 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the PT-AR100U projector - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Pros - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Cons22. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Full Specifications Time to try to put all the features, performance, flexibility, warranty, and other aspects of thePanasonic PT-AR100U projector into perspective. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - The Bottom Line It really is quite amazing really. This year Panasonic offers you a very capable, 2800 lumen projector for $999 street price (as of the time of this writing), based on online dealer advertising. Last year the PT-AX200U was $999, but it was 720p resolution, and offered only 2000 lumens. This new Panasonic projector also has improved blacks with 50,000:1 contrast, compared to 6,000:1. One month people were buying the PT-AX200U, and the next, this PT-AR100U. Now a couple months later, the AR100U’s price has come down to where the older projector was. Compared to the overall similarly priced competition, the PT-AR100U has to be considered one of the best values around, and I’m convinced enough to give it a Hot Product Award, as it offers a lot for the money. This really is a projector suitable for the family room, bonus room, etc. Finally a projector that can tackle a respectable amount of ambient light. Pair the PT-AR100U with the appropriate screen for your room and lighting. I’ve been crying for projectors with up to about 3000 lumens for years, specifically for family room type use. This year we finally see a number. Most of those new projectors that are that bright, in order to do well with 3D (which costs about 75% of the brightness). Not so, this 2D only PT-AR100U, it’s brightness is there to be unleashed in rooms that would overwhelm most more expensive projectors two to ten times the price, as most are designed primarily for more of a dedicated theater or cave. Despite the high brightness, calibrated the PT-AR100U produces a comfortable 650 lumens, not too many lumens for a nice 100 or 120 inch screen in more of a dedicated home theater. The thing is, there are lots of projectors that have the brightness to handle a theater, but very few can do what this Panasonic can in a brighter room. As a projector in a theater, the PT-AR100U works great. It cruises under my theater’s lighting conditions. But, brightness isn’t the only thing. Overall image quality is very good, skin tones look rather good, a touch of reddish caste, sometimes appears, but every projector has some bias. Some of you might prefer the look and feel of a DLP projector, in which case there are several to choose from, but there’s nothing wrong with this projector’s overall picture. The PT-AR100U projector’s handling of sports is really good, I’d say excellent, but for the lack of having creative frame interpolation, which many should like on sports, if nothing else. Understand, that’s not a feature normally found in this price range. As I have said, there’s plenty of lumens for a nice bright sports image, even on a very large screen. That’s the way I like it! In a good home theater you will be able to have a enough ambient light for socializing when watching sports, without any difficulty, but what about in a family room? Where you place the projector in the family room will be important to its brightness. If not too far back you’ll get to enjoy almost all of the PT-AR100U’s 2400 lumens that we were able to measure, with the lens near wide-angle. In the brighter modes there’s more than enough brightness to handle modest ambient light levels, or perhaps a bit more, depending on how large a screen. Even with a pretty large screen though, this projector will have less trouble than any others. If you have (off)-white walls and no way to block all the light entering from windows, then your family room / living room / bonus room normally isn’t suitable for watching movies during the day, because most movies have some dark scenes, and those normally wash out. With all the lumens of the PT-AR100U, you’ll have a better chance, and for those where the not to much daylight gets in, movies might work, not great on dark scenes, but sufficiently. Come nightime, though, the PT-AR100U should go great in this type of room for movie viewing. The more than adequate black levels make for a nice showing, for a lower cost projector. There’s a huge difference between the blacks in this projector and Panasonic’s more expensive PT-AE7000U, but that projector’s more than 2.5 times the price. Until you’re an afficiano of home theater projectors, these blacks should serve you fine. 1. Panasonic PT-AR100U Home Theater Projector Review - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Highlights - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Overview2. Panasonic PT-AR100U Special Features - PT-AR100U Projector - Typical Street Price, MSRP, and Value - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Game Mode and Gaming - PT-AR100U Dynamic Iris - PT-AR100U Projector 3D - Rather, The Lack of 3D3. Panasonic PT-AR100U Special Features 2 - PT-AR100U Frame Interpolation - FI - not CFI - Viera-Link - PT-AR100U Lamp Life - PT-AR100U Gaming Abilities4. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Physical Tour - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - Appearance - PT-AR100U Control Panel - PT-AR100U Projector - Input/Output5. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Physical Tour 2 - PT-AR100U Menus - Panasonic PT-AR100U Remote Control - Panasonic PT-AR100U Lens Throw - PT-AR100U Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen6. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Image Quality - Panasonic PT-AR100U Out of the Box Picture Quality - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - Flesh Tones7. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Image Quality 2 - PT-AR100U Projector Black Level Peformance - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: PT-AR100U Projector - Bottom Line8. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Overall Color & Picture Quality9. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Overall Color & Picture Quality 2 - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - General HDTV images10. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Overall Color & Picture Quality 3 - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content11. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance - Panasonic PT-AR100U Brightness - Post Calibration: Best Mode = REC 709 - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode):12. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance 2 - PT-AR100U Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - Panasonic PT-AR100U Pre-Calibration Color temp, REC 709 Mode: - PT-AR100U, Post Calibration, Best Mode (REC 709)13. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance 3 - Panasonic PT-AR100U Sharpness - Sharpness Comparison Images - Detail Clarity Control14. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Performance 4 - Panasonic PT-AR100U: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise15. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector Calibration and Settings - Panasonic PT-AR100U Color Temperature - Panasonic PT-AR100U Basic Settings - Panasonic PT-AR100U Post Calibration Grayscale - PT-AR100U Greyscale Calibration - PT-AR100U RGB Settings16. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Projector Screens - Panasonic PT-AR100U - projector screen - cave / home theater - Panasonic PT-AR100U - projector screen - family room17. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Competitors - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Mitsubishi HC4000 - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. HD33 Projector - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Acer H9500BD18. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Competitors 2 - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Epson Home Cinema 3010 - Panasonic PT-AR100U vs. Epson Home Cinema 8350 - The Panny Compared to the Optoma HD20, Vivitek H1080D, and BenQ W120019. Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Warranty20. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Review Summary - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - The Bottom Line21. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Review Summary 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the PT-AR100U projector - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Pros - Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector: Cons22. Panasonic PT-AR100U – Full Specifications Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector – Warranty Panasonic PT-AR100U – Review Summary 2